If you have monolids, you probably already know the drill. You spend a good amount of time blending your eyeshadow, applying and curling falsies, and sharpening a cat-eye wing, only to blink and watch almost half of it vanish into your lid in real time.
Monolid girlies know the struggle: no visible crease to serve as a canvas for your shadow, and a flat lid that hides your hard work the second your eyes open. Add in Manila’s infamous humidity, and a beauty feed that only seems to highlight other eye shapes, and the question, “Why do I look like I’m wearing nothing?” starts to feel like a valid concern.
It’s a valid struggle a lot of Filipinas go through. Allure Philippines compiled tips from local and international makeup artists who work with monolids to share what actually works for them.
Determine whether you actually have monolids or hooded eyes
Jharwin Castañeda
The two usually get confused for each other, but they’re not the same. Monolid eyes have no visible crease at all. Hooded eyes do have one, but a small fold of skin from the brow bone usually droops over it, so it disappears when your eyes are open.
Here’s a way to tell one from the other: look straight into a mirror with your eyes relaxed and open. If there’s no crease line, then your eye shape is a monolid. If there’s a crease that peeks out from the outer corner, then you have hooded eyes.
Build your shadow from the lash line up
Eyeshadows on monolids isn’t a lost cause, whatever online tutorials have made you believe. Filipino makeup artists say so, too.
Makeup artist Janica Cleto, who has monolid eyes herself, said that she personally embraces her own features. For a previous beauty editorial with Allure Philippines, Cleto bleached the model’s eyebrows to create more eyelid space, and from there, mapped out the eye shape with shadow. “I love extending this shape by putting emphasis on the shadow near the lash line,” she explains. “It gives a lift.”
Makeup artist Angeline Dela Cruz tells Allure Philippines that she starts the eye look with a light wash of color on the entire eyelid, then blends it upward without touching the brow bone.
For a more dramatic eye look, she says to not overthink it. “Just slowly build the color, and add dimension to it. Strategically applying eyeliner and shimmer to the inner corner of the eyes can help the eyes look more defined and brighter.”
Try eyelid tape or skip it, whichever works for your eyes
Eyelid tape is the first thing many monolid-eyed beauty enthusiasts reach for to fake a crease, but some makeup artists don’t use it.
For Dela Cruz, monolids don’t need eyelid tape to achieve a better eye shape. She prefers to not use them at all, but when she does, it’s only when the client really needs it. “Monolids are normal,” she says. “Let’s stop internalizing the idea that double eyelids are the only standard of beauty.”
However, she still has a tip: map your eyes properly. “When you have that crease, you really need to add color higher,” Dela Cruz says. “You have to look directly at the mirror, with your eyes open, and map out the shape of your eye so you can see where to blend the shadows.”
While this tip was meant for hooded eyes, it also works wonders for monolids, too.
Angeline Dela Cruz
Go horizontal, not vertical
Eyeliner can make or break a makeup look, no matter what the eye shape. For monolids specifically, the trick is direction. Instead of flicking the wing sharply upward, keep the line long and flat, so it follows the shape of your eyelid.
New York City-based makeup artist Tommy Napoli told Allure US that the trick isn’t how far the wing extends, but how “the eyeliner is more horizontal than it is at an angle.”
He added that he favors lining the eyelid beyond the natural lash line but cautions against starting the wing from the outer corner or bottom lash line, since it can drag the whole eye down. He said, “A harmonious winged eyeliner will meet the top eyelid and no lower.”
Local beauty content creator Nate Javier broke it down in a 2022 TikTok tutorial, showing how the trick works on most eye shapes, hooded and monolid included. He applied the liner on the lid right above the iris, then drew it out horizontally.
Dela Cruz shares that the style of liner she does depends on the preference of her clients, but she likes applying the liner when their eyes are open. “That way, I can easily map the shape [of the liner].”
If you prefer a more snatched liner, Dela Cruz says that the tail of the brow and the liner should meet at the same angle. For a straighter line, she says that she normally follows the natural shape of the eyes and extends it outward.
Choose your falsies carefully
Angeline Dela Cruz
False and cluster lashes can definitely work for monolids, since they play a huge role in opening the eyes. However, it’s important to choose them carefully.
Dela Cruz says that Korean and Thai lash styles work best for monolid eyes. “I would say avoid using lashes that have too much volume,” she explains. “This tends to make the eyes look darker and smaller.”
Her cluster lash suggestions? The Faboulash x Jelly Eugenio Coffee Collection, and the Faboulash Bespoke Collection by Anthea Bueno.
To give your lashes volume and oomph, Dela Cruz suggests using a heated eyelash curler and a waterproof mascara with a metal wand. Her favorites are the JudyDoll 3D Iron Curling Mascara and the Barenbliss Roll to Length Steel Mascara.
Make it work for your eyes
At the end of the day, the goal isn’t to fake a crease or chase an eye shape that was never yours. It’s to work with what you have. So next time you sit down to do your eyes, skip the tutorial made for those with creases. Start with your lash line, keep your liner horizontal, and let the people who know how to work with monolids do the talking.
That way, your eyes will be the first thing that people notice about you.
