Mastering a flawless cat-eye is difficult, but even more so for those who have hooded eyelids. Hooded eyes feature a layer of skin that spills from the brow bone over the crease, shrinking the eyelids, and making it difficult to sketch a straight and precise line with eyeliner. Since the crease is obscured, all the hard work that goes into sketching a feline-eye can often be rendered futile when the eyes are open. Luckily, “difficult” doesn’t translate to “impossible” to sport winged eyeliner.
A simple eyeliner trick for those who possess hooded eyes is the reverse cat-eye—often sported by Blake Lively, Taylor Swift, and Jenifer Lawrence (who all have hooded eyes). The reverse cat-eye is just as precise as an average cat-eye, except with one catch—it’s flipped upside down. This means that eyeliner is traced on the bottom instead of the top lid.
To create the look, you need a pencil liner and a gel eyeliner. We recommend the Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner (US $26; AED/SAR 95) and the Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner (US $25; AED/SAR 92). Below, we break down the reverse cat-eye into three, easy steps.
1. Using your pencil, line your inner lash line starting from the inner corner of your eye and move outwards.
2. Next, dip a fine eyeliner brush into your gel, and draw a straight line that starts from your inner eyelid.
3. Once you reach the outer corner of your eye, extend the line and stop just at the outer point of your brow bone to create the wing. And voilà; it’s easy as 1, 2, 3.
