Hooded Eyes

Hooded eyes are defined by one anatomical feature: excess skin from the brow bone folds downward over the orbital rim and covers part of the upper eyelid when the eye is open. This fold — sometimes called the orbital hood or brow fat pad — sits between the brow and the lash line, reducing the visible portion of lid space where eyeshadow would normally sit and liner would normally show. Crucially, hooded eyes do have a crease — a supratarsal fold between the mobile and fixed lid — it is simply hidden from view when the eye is open. Close the eye and the crease reappears; open it and it disappears. That single distinction is what separates hooded eyes from monolid eyes, which have no crease at all, and it is also why most mainstream makeup tutorials, written for an open, almond-shaped lid, frequently produce unexpected or unflattering results when applied to hooded eyes without modification.

Key Characteristics of Hooded Eyes

1. 1A crease exists but is hidden when the eye is open — visible only when the eye is closed
2. 2The orbital hood reduces visible lid space between the lash line and crease
3. 3Hooding is a modifier, not a primary shape — it can combine with almond, round, upturned, or any other outline
4. 4Often becomes more pronounced with age as brow-bone skin loses elasticity

What Causes Hooded Eyes?

Hooded eyes result from excess skin and soft tissue above the eyelid — often called the brow fat pad or orbital hood — descending over the orbital rim and partially or fully covering the mobile eyelid when the eye is open. Unlike a monolid, where the flatness comes from an epicanthal fold that runs over the inner corner and conceals the crease from birth, a hooded eye has a fully formed supratarsal crease created by the same levator-muscle attachment found in any creased eye; the hood simply sits on top of it, hiding it from view in the open-eye position while leaving it visible the moment the eye closes. This is why hooding is classified as a modifier rather than a primary shape descriptor — it can occur alongside an almond, round, upturned, or downturned outline, and the AI eye shape detector assesses lid outline and hood coverage as two independent measurements. Hooding is also distinct from deep-set eyes, where the orbital socket itself sits further back in the skull and the brow bone casts shadow from bone position rather than soft-tissue overhang — the two can combine, but a deep-set eye can have a fully open, visible crease while a hooded eye sits at completely normal orbital depth. Because the fold is soft tissue rather than bone, it is also the one trait on this list most likely to become more pronounced with age, as reduced collagen production and gravitational effects on the brow fat pad gradually increase the overhang.

How to Tell If You Have Hooded Eyes

1. 1Look straight ahead into a well-lit mirror with a neutral, relaxed gaze and check whether your upper-lid crease is visible at all.
2. 2If brow-bone skin folds down and covers most or all of the space between your lash line and where the crease should sit, that confirms hooding.
3. 3Gently close your eye and look for a crease line on the lid — if one appears when closed but vanishes when open, that is the defining hooded pattern.
4. 4If there is no crease in either the open or closed position, your eyes are monolid rather than hooded.
5. 5Photograph your face head-on in even, front-facing light, since side lighting and raised eyebrows can both make hooding look more or less pronounced than it is at rest.

Hooded Eyes vs Monolid Eyes — What's the Difference?

Hooded eyes have a crease that is hidden when the eye is open — close your eye and it reappears — while monolid eyes have no crease at all, just a smooth, continuous plane from lash line to brow. If you can see a crease line only when the eye is closed, that is hooded; if there is no crease in either position, that is monolid.

Not sure which applies to you? Use our free AI eye shape detector for an instant result. You can also read the Monolid Eyes guide directly.

Makeup and Glasses for Hooded Eyes

Tight-line the upper waterline so definition stays visible even when the hood covers the lid, keep any wing horizontal rather than angled upward since upward wings disappear under the fold, and apply crease shadow above your natural crease line — checked with the eye open, not closed — using a cut-crease technique for shadow that stays visible all day. Prime thoroughly first; the hood traps warmth and oil that break down shadow quickly.

Cat-eye frames and thin rimless or semi-rimless styles work best, since they add minimal visual weight above an already-prominent orbital area and can create an optical lift. Avoid heavy top-bar browline frames, which add mass directly above the eye and emphasize the hood rather than softening it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Public Figures Often Cited as Having Hooded Eyes

Blake Lively, Jennifer Lawrence, Brad Pitt are commonly cited in beauty and style coverage as examples of this eye shape. As with any public-facing trait assessment, these are popular reference points rather than clinical classifications.

Hooded Eyes — Frequently Asked Questions

Related Eye Shapes

• →Monolid Eyes — No visible crease — a smooth, single-plane lid
• →Deep-Set Eyes — Eyes recede into the orbital socket
• →Almond Eyes — The most common eye shape — and the makeup baseline