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The following guest post was written by Sunny of Mostly Sunny blog. You can also find Sunny on Twitter and Facebook.
Despite the fact that it’s impossible to generalize “Asian eyes” in a single word, monolids seem to be one of the traits most commonly associated with them. Monolids are characterized by the lack of a prominent crease, and monolidded eyes are usually more almond shaped than round.
I remember thinking how unfair it was as a child that I ended up with my father’s monolidded eyes, while my mother and one of my brothers have a prominent crease. It took me years to see how both were beautiful in their own way, and now my monolids aren’t something I try to work around, but something I enjoy working with!
Sure, round eyes with pronounced creases are beautiful, but so are almond-shaped eyes without a crease. 🙂
My naked eye
Now, I know that it’s also impossible to generalize even among people with monolids, as there are different shapes and techniques, and people will sometimes prefer one method over another. Ultimately, it all comes down to what you like and feel comfortable with.
Nowadays, there are even eyelid tapes and glues available to create a crease, if you think it helps you apply makeup, and some even find that applying false lashes gives their eyelids a fold.
In general, I don’t believe in hard and fast rules when it comes to makeup, and I think you should do whatever you’re most comfortable with. The following tips are just some things that have worked well for me.
I know that many readers who come across this post might not have monolids themselves, but why not keep these tips in mind for a friend who does?
The MAC 217 Blending Brush
Tip 1: Blend, blend, blend!
As important as blending is when it comes to eyeshadow application, I think it’s even more important for those of us with monolids, because we lack a natural demarcation between our eyes and brow bones, so if we apply a patch of color right on top of our eyes without blending, it can look a bit unnatural.
Unblended eyeshadow
In the picture below, I’m wearing Urban Decay Verve on the inner half of my eye and Busted on the outer. Personally, I think that once the eyeshadows have been blended, they appear more natural, and add more dimension to the look than a simple patch of color.
Blended eyeshadow
Tip 2: (Don’t) work it into your crease
If you don’t have one, why fight it? I know that dramatic cut-crease looks are gorgeous on our double-lidded counterparts, but if we’re not careful, they can easily look overdone, and dare I say it, a little fake.
While it’s not impossible to emphasize the outer v and bring a bit of the color into our (imaginary) crease, I try to do it with an easily blendable color using a blending brush instead of a pencil brush; otherwise, it can take a looong time to blend the harsh line out afterwards!
Defined outer v
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