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Winged Eyeliner Tutorial for Hooded Eyes: Your Complete Guide
If you have hooded eyes, you already know the struggle: you spend ten minutes perfecting a flawless wing, open your eyes — and it has completely disappeared beneath your hood. Sound familiar? You are absolutely not alone. Hooded eyes are one of the most common eye shapes, and with the right techniques, achieving a stunning, visible winged eyeliner look is not only possible — it is absolutely beautiful.
In this step-by-step tutorial, we will walk you through everything you need to know to master the wing for hooded eyes, from choosing the right products to placement tricks that actually show up when your eyes are open.
Understanding Hooded Eyes
Hooded eyes have a skin fold that droops over the crease, making the mobile lid appear smaller when the eyes are open. This means that any liner drawn strictly on the mobile lid can vanish entirely once you look forward. The key is to work smarter, not harder — adapting your technique to your unique eye shape rather than fighting against it.
What You Will Need
- A precise liquid eyeliner or felt-tip liner — gel and felt-tip formulas tend to offer the most control
- A thin, angled brush (if using gel liner)
- Concealer for cleanup and sharpening edges
- Eyeshadow primer to keep the liner in place all day
- A small mirror held at eye level — this is a game-changer for hooded eyes
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Prime Your Lids
Start with an eyeshadow primer applied across the entire lid and up to the brow bone. Hooded eyes tend to transfer makeup onto the hood, so priming is non-negotiable. Allow it to set for one to two minutes before moving on.
Step 2: Hold Your Mirror at Eye Level
This is the most important tip for hooded eyes: never look down into a mirror. When you tilt your head back or look down, your hood lifts and reveals more lid space — but that is not how you actually see yourself or how others see you. Place your mirror at chin level or use a wall-mounted mirror and look straight ahead throughout the entire process.
Step 3: Map Out Your Wing Direction
With your eyes open and looking straight ahead, use a small piece of tape or a thin brush handle as a guide to determine your wing angle. For hooded eyes, the wing typically needs to angle upward more steeply than on other eye shapes. Follow the natural angle from the lower lash line outward and slightly upward to lift the eye visually.
Step 4: Draw the Wing First
Counterintuitively, start with the tail of the wing rather than the lash line. With eyes open, draw a small dash pointing upward from the outer corner. This anchors your wing in a position that will remain visible once the hood settles back down.
Extend a thin line from that dash back toward the inner corner of the eye, following as close to the lash line as possible. Keep the line thinner than you think you need — on hooded eyes, a thicker line disappears faster.
Step 5: Connect and Fill
Once your wing tail is set, carefully connect it to the inner corner with a thin, precise line. Use short, feathered strokes rather than one long drag to maintain control. Fill in any gaps slowly and deliberately.
Step 6: Apply Liner to the Waterline (Optional but Effective)
Lining the upper waterline with a black kohl or waterproof pencil creates the illusion of a thicker lash line and makes the liner appear more dramatic even if only a sliver shows on the lid.
Step 7: Clean Up and Sharpen
Use a small, flat brush dipped in concealer to sharpen the edges of your wing, especially the tip. This step transforms an amateur-looking liner into something editorial and polished. Set the concealer with a tiny dusting of translucent powder.
Step 8: Curl Your Lashes and Apply Mascara
Curled lashes open the eye dramatically and help reveal more of the liner beneath the hood. Use a heated lash curler for the most long-lasting lift, then apply two coats of a lengthening mascara to the upper lashes.
Pro Tips Specifically for Hooded Eyes
- Skip the lower liner: Drawing liner on the lower lash line can make hooded eyes appear smaller and more closed. If you want definition below, use a soft brown eyeshadow instead.
- Go thinner than you think: Lines that look thin in the mirror often appear bold and perfectly visible when your eyes are open.
- Use waterproof formulas: The hood can cause transfer and smudging throughout the day. Waterproof or long-wear formulas are essential.
- Try a cut crease: A subtle cut crease with concealer above your natural crease can create the illusion of more lid space, making your liner even more visible.
- Stamp, don't drag: If you struggle with dragging the liner across skin folds, try gently stamping small sections of liner and connecting them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Drawing liner with your eyes closed or looking down
- Making the wing too thick near the inner corner
- Skipping primer and wondering why it transfers
- Pointing the wing downward (this droops the eye further)
- Using a dull or dried-out liner that tugs at the delicate skin
Final Thoughts
Mastering winged eyeliner for hooded eyes takes a little patience and a shift in technique — but once you crack the code, it becomes second nature. The secret lies in working with your eye shape, not against it. Draw with your eyes open, angle the wing upward, keep lines fine and precise, and always, always prime first.
Whether you are going for a subtle everyday flick or a bold, dramatic wing for a special occasion, hooded eyes can absolutely rock the look. Embrace your eye shape, experiment with these techniques, and most importantly — have fun with it.
For more eye makeup tutorials, skincare tips, and beauty inspiration tailored to every eye shape and skin type, explore more on eclat-beauty.eu.
Discover the beauty brands we use and recommend: BINU Beauty for premium skincare, Voghion for fashion & beauty finds, and MINOX for luxury high fashion (Moncler, Burberry & more). Some links are affiliate links.



