A narrow eye is longer than it is tall, with a slim mobile lid and a crease that is either fine or barely visible. Makeup for narrow eyes runs against the usual advice: length is already there, so every technique here is about building height.

Work with the eye open

This is the habit that changes results fastest. Looking down at a closed lid, you cannot see how much of your work will actually show. Face the mirror, keep your eyes open, and mark the top edge of your shadow where it is visible in that position — usually a few millimetres above the natural fold.

Building height

  1. Primer, then a light matte wash over the whole lid.
  2. Apply the mid-tone with vertical strokes — from the lash line upward, softening toward the brow rather than out toward the temple.
  3. Keep the deepest shade as a short lifted mark at the outer corner. No long horizontal tail.
  4. Add a satin highlight in the centre of the lid. Light in the middle pushes the lid forward and creates the illusion of curve.
  5. Smudge shadow along the centre of the lower lash line, not only the outer third. This is the step most people skip, and it adds real height.
  6. A nude or beige kajal on the lower waterline.
  7. Curl the lashes. On a narrow eye a curler outperforms any palette.

If the crease is not visible, draw a new soft boundary two to four millimetres above the lid edge and blend upward until it disappears. Any hard line will read as a stripe.

Shade families that suit narrow eyes

  • Warm mid-tones — caramel, sand, soft terracotta — give depth without heaviness.
  • Taupe and grey-brown for a more restrained crease.
  • Satin rather than chunky glitter in the lid centre; large particles flatten the shape.
  • Plum or burgundy, used sparingly at the outer corner, for contrast without blackness.
  • Solid black across the lid is the one to avoid — it closes a narrow eye.

Liner without losing lid space

Thick liner eats the small amount of visible lid you have. Two options work: tightlining along the lash roots, which is nearly invisible but thickens the fringe, and a fine line that widens slightly through the outer third with a short lift. Anything longer than about half a centimetre stretches the shape again.

Long-wear shadows, kajal and waterproof pencils are listed in the current catalogue on faberlic.com. Placement for other eye shapes is covered in the makeup section.