Celebrating Asian Eyes

I've always loved Asian eyes, to me the beautiful heavy monolid is one of "sultry sexiness". I've never really understood why so many Asian women opt for surgical techniques to make their eyes appear more caucasian. Sure, magazines that predominantly feature Western almond shaped eyes may be an influence and the lack of "how to's" when it comes to applying makeup sends a subliminal message of beauty ideals. But at ELES we say "celebrate your beauty" do not try to replicate the beauty of others. And the gentle shape of the Asian eye is in my opinion a feature worth celebrating.

Just as Asian women know that the average hairdresser may not know the correct technique for cutting their gorgeous locks, they may also shy away from having makeup applied by someone who is not familiar with bringing out the best in their eye shape.

Traditional makeup techniques play upon the natural crease that appears just above the top lash line. Generally we enhance this crease by apply darker shades there to help the area "recede" and lighter shades to areas that we want to bring "forward". The end effect is one of greater contrast, playing upon the features that are typical of this kind of almond eye.

If however, this natural crease does not exist the effect will look artificial and "painted on" which is why so many Asian women are dissatisfied with a traditional eye makeup application. Instead of creating a crease in the lid area the shadow should be applied in a pattern that enhances the natural curviture of the eye. This diagram below offers a guide to application;

GREEN - Apply a darker shade, generally cool undertone colours work best such as charcoal, soft greys, blues and purples. To intensify this area apply a pencil liner beneath and dab the shadow over the top

RED - Apply a medium depth colour here, a few shades lighter than the contour colour (Green Area) Blend this area well leaving no edges visible, this shade should act as a shadow that fades out into the surrounding area

BLACK - Apply a darker shade here but blend the outer edges as above, this will give an illusion of wider set eyes playing upon the curves of the Asian eye.

BLUE - Use a highlighter shade here, to enhance the brow bone and "open" the eye area. Colours such as Champagne, Opal, White or Light Beige work best

Liquid Liner can be used for a natural day time look with plenty of mascara applied to the top lashes. Avoid too much liner and mascara below the eyes as this can "close" the eyes too much. Begin with a very fine line on the inner eye area tapering to a thicker "cat lick" on the outer eye, this gives the illusion of thicker lashes.

As the lashes on Asian eyes tend to grow straight instead of curving up you may want to invest in a good lash curler if going for a more made up look. Apply eye shadow and just prior to applying mascara lift the lashes by squeezing the curling pads together firmly and slowly, apply mascara after lifing the lashes using firm strokes upward from the base to the tips of the lashes.

I hope these tips work for you...I believe in celebrating individuality and dismissing the dictatorial ideals that we are bombarded with in fashion magazines. Makeup is there to enhance and not conceal

Visit ELES Cosmetics for full details of eye shades available, we love Titanium, Tourmaline and Opal for Asian Eyes