Thread: Makeup-How to best make cat/oriental eyes

Hi ladies.

I know this topic has been posted before, but I need some help. How best can one elongate the eye, giving a catlike appearance? My eyes are naturally somewhat slanted, and I think I could eggagerate this, but I have seen some makeup that goes WAY over the edge. So how best to do it subtley? What if I wanted to apply eyeliner for every day but wanted a bit of a dramatic line? What works best for you? Thanks for the advice.

There are two ways that work well for me:

1) If you have a small mirror, place it on a flat surface (like the edge of the sink) and stand above it. Looking down into the mirror, keep your eye open when applying the liner. Looking down will lower your top lid enough that you can get close to your lashes, but will also allow you to watch yourself applying the line so that you get the effect you want. Draw in one smooth line and just add a small "flick" at the end - that will result in a subtle, but sassy cat eye.

2) If Option 1 is not for you, try applying a line on the top lid with pencil, as usual. Then, place a small dot past your lashes where you would want the cat eye to end. Connect the line to the dot. Go over it with liquid for a more vibrant cat eye effect.

Hope that helps!
Makeda

Wow, great technique, Makeda!

There is more than 1 way to peel an orange (I'm not into skinning cats or killing birds so I came up with vegan friendly sayings) and you can try all of them to see what's easiest what works best.

I like to use the shortest brush possible. Body Shop has a liquid eyeliner that I've used for years that I love. The brush is quite short but maintains a fine point.

I tilt my head back and look into the mirror. I apply the fine point of the brush where I want my cat eye to END and then I work my way IN towards the inner corner of the eye. It's similar to Makeda's dot w/o the dot.

This I will also cover in the makeup DVD. ;0)

I also tilt my head back and look into the mirror, but I do it "wrong" and draw a line (Kryolan, I never use anything not liquid to line) from inner corner to outer, angling it up a bit so that what I end up with is a small triangular space at the outer corner, below the line. Then I fill it in. If I'm being particularly particular, I start over my pupil and go out to the flick, then go back into the inner corner and do it over again.

I never line the bottom.

black eye shadow & kohl & i draw the bottom eye line out to the eyebrow tip. see profile photo. tina

you may want to make a trip to your nearest MAC counter and have them show you. how you do your wings might be different depending on your eyes. my lids are a little bit hooded, so I was shown how to draw the wing lower so it wouldn't go across the crease at the outer edge of my eye (and subsequently smear). I also need to use a cream liner applied with a brush instead of liquid - liquid, even waterproof, melts and smears from my upper eyelid laying on it.

also, now staring down the barrel at 40, my eyelid skin is a little loose, so instead of drawing a long continuous line, I need to fill in the line using little tiny almost vertical strokes with my little angle brush. I get a nice, rich solid line that way with no skips or bobbles. I also need to NOT pull my eyelid smooth - totally counterintuitive, but that gives me the most solid line. I tilt my chin way up, drop my lids as far as I can and slowly dash in my line.

there are also a couple ways to do the across-the-lid part of the liner stripe. the way that looks best on me is the "lemon wedge": instead of the line being thinnest at the inner corner and widening to thickest at the outer, I do my line thickest in the center, right over my pupil. it's very marilyn monroe. :)

I tried to figure out wings for years and am so glad I finally asked a pro to show me how! I'm pretty handy around a makeup brush but I swear, every time I go to MAC I learn something new.

Thanks, guys! I may have to get some professional help one of these days. I fear I put on makeup like a 70's glam star (You know, row of blush, blue eyelids-kinda dated!! ;-)

I have a hard time because I hardly have any eyelid at all. When I used to go to makeup consultations, it was funny becuse they would want me to use like 3 different tones in my noexistant eyelids. "Lid, crease, and brow". That's a total of like 1 inch on me. Whenever I do eyeliner, as soon as I look up it's all smudged up past the crease, because my eyes are so tiny. The plus side to all of this, I guess, is, people have told me before that I have "almost almond-shaped eyes." I just wondered how best to eggagerate that quality without a lot of "surface room!" ;-)

Originally Posted by Elianae

Thanks, guys! I may have to get some professional help one of these days. I fear I put on makeup like a 70's glam star (You know, row of blush, blue eyelids-kinda dated!! ;-)

I have a hard time because I hardly have any eyelid at all. When I used to go to makeup consultations, it was funny becuse they would want me to use like 3 different tones in my noexistant eyelids. "Lid, crease, and brow". That's a total of like 1 inch on me. Whenever I do eyeliner, as soon as I look up it's all smudged up past the crease, because my eyes are so tiny. The plus side to all of this, I guess, is, people have told me before that I have "almost almond-shaped eyes." I just wondered how best to eggagerate that quality without a lot of "surface room!" ;-)

It can totally be done, girlfriend.

So I have really big round eyes and if I use eyeliner my eyes look like balls with lines around them How do I get the slanty, sexy eyes??

Rassi,

Where are you putting your eyeliner?

At one point I attempted to use eyeliner on my cousin who has amazing, round, slightly protruding eyes (for wedding makeup). It did not look great on her. We abandoned the eyeliner altogether and opted for false lashes and a different application.

Rather than a defined line, try slanted dark eye shadow in the outer corners of your lid. Then apply false eyelashes that are cut so that they lay on only the outer 1/3 or 1/4 of your eye and they are cut so that they gradually elongate towards the outer edge. You can also slant them slightly upwards to emphasize the slant.

Originally Posted by Elianae

Thanks, guys! I may have to get some professional help one of these days. I fear I put on makeup like a 70's glam star (You know, row of blush, blue eyelids-kinda dated!! ;-)

I have a hard time because I hardly have any eyelid at all. When I used to go to makeup consultations, it was funny becuse they would want me to use like 3 different tones in my noexistant eyelids. "Lid, crease, and brow". That's a total of like 1 inch on me. Whenever I do eyeliner, as soon as I look up it's all smudged up past the crease, because my eyes are so tiny. The plus side to all of this, I guess, is, people have told me before that I have "almost almond-shaped eyes." I just wondered how best to eggagerate that quality without a lot of "surface room!" ;-)

I can't recall the link but check out Aziza Said's site - her eyes are just like that and she has tips.

My friend is Japanese, and she does have creases but not huge ones, and she pretty much does her eyes only with a red/pink shadow on the lid and into the crease, much like Chinese opera, liner on the top lid and false lashes on the outer corners. Looks good.

Rassi, you could also try abandoning slant altogether and doing a big black 20s raccoon eye, which is something that only looks good on a large eye. Or else, try going for strong colour and not so much dark liner. Really large round eyes can carry that off. Otherwise, as Azhia says, try the outer corner only and fill in the gap between lashes and line. My eyes are round and have downward turned corners, and that's what I do.

Thank you so much for the information, Azhia and Zumarrad! I'm going to try both looks. Until I started dancing about 10 years ago, I rarely wore make-up so it's been a big challenge for me. My former instructor insisted that we wear liquid eyeliner and even did an eyeliner check before performances. I never had enough on to please her!

I love reading makeup threads! Even as the beauty junkie that I am, I always learn new techniques and new products.

Makeda

I've never been able to pull off the cat-eye look. Does anyone have a recommendation for eyes that appear to slant downward on the outer corner? It's the fold of skin that comes down and covers the corner of my eye - if I follow it exactly with eyeliner it ends nearly at the top of my cheekbone. I also have fairly small/different size and shape of eyes and they're close together. I'm three times cursed!
Azhia, if you cover this on the DVD I'm putting in my advance order for one right now. ..g.:

Haleema, I have the same problem. Droopy eyelids are on both sides of my family. I never had a chance! Mine started to fall in college. I am pretty much makeup illiterate as it is, so the droopy lid presents a challenge. I don't even bother with eyeliner on the top of the top lid since it's not even seen. I put it out toward the corners, drawing it on as the eyelid rests. If I lift my brows you can see the huge skip. ..l;,

Andrea I have that SAME problem. Anyone have a fix for that?

Oh lord, I just realized I bumped a thread from May. I'm a goober.

A zombie goober!..l;, May 2008.

The cat eye is always worth revisiting. I just saw Salt and am once again obsessed with Angelina Jolie's perfect, perfect liner and lashes. (That's in the part before all hell breaks loose, of course.)

Ah ha! ..l;, I use the lazy method: the 3M Scotch tape trick!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2U3bjR7DwM&feature=related]YouTube - Arabic Makeup: Green eyes dramatic eyeliner[/ame]

Qamar

My eyes don't droop, they just point down a bit. So I don't follow the upper lid when extending my line, but the lower lid. This means the line points slightly up (and if continued, would go into my hairline). Then I join the top line to it.

I've never done a true cat-eye, though, just everyday-worthy stuff. I think I tried it once on Halloween, looked in the mirror and cringed because I noticed I looked trashy a la the Olsen twins a few years back (you know, the "crack whore" look that was popular for a while), not exotic, and washed it off! So either the look doesn't suit me (oh hai, I'm pale and look like a 16-year-old choir girl), or I did it wrong, lol.

I LOVE Miss Chievous--I subscribe to her you tube and fan page on facebook (notices sent when new videos are up)--the best make up tutorials and new product reviews--the eyeshodow 120 is amazing, I bring it to all shows for emergency fixes--the ladies are very appreciative with every color in there.

Question for the MUAs (and the rest of you):
Am I being a wimp and spoiling the effect if I don't line the inner rim? I just can't. I tear up like crazy, especially since I also wear contacts. If I get the liner into the lashline, is that good enough?

Originally Posted by Suzana

Question for the MUAs (and the rest of you):
Am I being a wimp and spoiling the effect if I don't line the inner rim? I just can't. I tear up like crazy, especially since I also wear contacts. If I get the liner into the lashline, is that good enough?

I used to line the inner rim, but I found that if I use the technique in the video, without lining the inside, it is quite sufficient. My eyes are not large and it makes them seem larger if I line only the outside--Plus it is much less chance of bacteria problems and I'm much more comfortable & happier without irritating build up on my contacts, as you know. If you feel like you want to build a little more drama, I take the black shadow on a thin brush and go over and blend the bottom line and out.
You are not alone!! and certainly not a wimp

There is a tutorial on youtube of Ansuya showing how she does her eyes...it is quite ueful to watch.

Also on google there is a great 'salt' (the movie) eye tutorial by 'ilovegerardo' which is helpful

Originally Posted by bul_bul_ksa

There is a tutorial on youtube of Ansuya showing how she does her eyes...it is quite ueful to watch.

Also on google there is a great 'salt' (the movie) eye tutorial by 'ilovegerardo' which is helpful

'ilovegerardo' does some fantastic hair tutorials on youtube as well, she is fab.
I'm off to find the Ansuya one now, I haven't watched that one yet!

Originally Posted by Qamar60

Ah ha! ..l;, I use the lazy method: the 3M Scotch tape trick!

YouTube - Arabic Makeup: Green eyes dramatic eyeliner

Qamar

This is fantastic! I just burned a couple hours on You tube perusing "Arabic eye" how to's.

Great thread to bump in the " '10s "
:-)

Thanks for sharing Qamar

IMO a really good cat eye depends not only on liner,it needs shadows to be 100%.

For someone that wants to learn how to do dramatic eyes her/himself I recommend training with liner/shadows every night before taking off the makeup...not trying on new makeup techniques just before going out or up on stage!
Practice makes perfect,as we all know when it comes to dancing;)

It seems to be easier for most to sketch the winged eyeliner with a soft pencil first,then filling the line in with liquid liner(making a dot first where the line will end)

If you want a total transformation in enlarging hooded eyes you can fake a crease where there isn´t any.
I learned it first from a japanese colleague.
Google or search on YouTube for "cut crease"or "cutting the crease"!:)

@Elianae:This can be done very subtle by shading with matte neutrals like cream,taupe&cocoa brown+going over your liner with eyeshadow to make it less harsh.


I love Tina Maries looks,here are some that use this technique that would be perfect for stage:
Tina Marie Online - Makeup Looks, Tutorials & Reviews

Buying tips:
I recommend Essence of Beauty´s crease duo brushes for cat/crease definition/smokey looks-bought them as cheapo backups but ended using them more than my MAC´s!
I think the "super sharp" eyeliners (automatic with extremely thin applicators) from Korea and Japan are the BESt thing since sliced bread.
NYX makes one too now that should be avaliable in the US?
With them it´s easy for anyone to make really thin(perfect for day time) or very defined liner without skipped or shaky lines.


I have small eyes,so instead of lining inner rims I leave them bare or line with a light beige colored liner(stark white can actually make the whites like bloodshot)
Even those whos eyes aren´t irritated by lining the inner rim*should*sharpen their liner after each use to minimize the risk of irritation&infection...not lining there is NOT wimpy!

I never use any kohl/kajal under my eyes as they are wax based and will settle in lines or fade(especially when performing),only shadows or waterproof liners.
Lashes are optional,but I use a double pair of Ardell´s Demi Wispies for party/restaurant gigs (or Wispies for bigger stage)
False lashes are the fastest and most effective way to have glam eyes!