How to do Makeup for Prominent Eyes (Guide + Tips)

As a Makeup Artist, I know that the eyes are the most crucial part of the face when it comes to makeup application.

Just by making adjustments to the shape of your eyes with makeup, you can dramatically change the entire outlook of your look.

This is why it is necessary to know your type of eye shape and the kind of makeup that best accentuates them.

There are different eye shapes and sets, ranging from the popularly known almond-shaped eyes, hooded eyes, droopy eyes, to close-set eyes, wide-set eyes, and round or prominent eyes.

Each eye shape is unique, with differences and peculiarities that often make applying makeup on them challenging.

For example, if you have a round or prominent eye shape, the wrong eyeshadow technique or shade can make your eyes look more protruding, and the whole makeup will seem excessive.

However, darker and softer tones are perfect for making the eyes appear smaller, elongated, and balancing out the shape between both eyes.

While eye makeup opens up a world for you to explore your creativity, understanding what best suits each eye shape or set is critical to achieving a beautiful finish.

In this post, we’ll focus on prominent eyes, sharing our makeup guide and tips for applying prominent eye makeup. Not only that, but you will also learn the difference between other eye shapes and prominent eyes.

Just keep reading till the end.

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prominent eye of a woman wearing eyeshadow with how to apply eyeshadow for prominent eye text overlay

What are prominent eyes?

Eye shapes have different characteristics that make them unique and distinct.

Although prominent eyes are frequently confused with almond-shaped eyes, there is a lot of difference between the two.

For one, almond-shaped eyes are, just as the name implies, large eyes shaped like almonds and appear elongated or slated.

Prominent or round eyes are big, beautiful eyes that protrude out of the eye socket. They have a round shape that stands out when directly looking at the eyes from a front view.

Similar in appearance to Barbie doll eyes, prominent eyes have more of the white visible around the iris, both for the top and bottom eyelids.

The most exciting thing about prominent eyes is the ability to switch quickly from round attractive doe eyes to slanted oval-shaped eyes, simply by using the right kind of makeup.

Difference between prominent and protruding Eyes

Prominent and protruding eyes are often used interchangeably, but there is a bit of disparity between them.

On the surface level, however, they look almost the same. Both eye shapes are forward and make the eyes look large and round.

The main difference between them is that protruding eyes are slightly more forward than prominent eyes.

Protruding eyes are basically more prominent eye shapes.

They have a round shape that stands out even more and appears bulged when the eyes are closed. Both the upper and lower lids are more prominent from the side view, giving the eyes a slightly conical shape in profile.

They also form a deep crease in the upper eyelid similar to those of deep-set eyes.

Another fascinating thing about Protruding eyes is the way the upper eyelids interact when the eyes are opened. The upper part of the eyelid overlaps with the lower part and slightly covers it.

Prominent eyes shape also has all these features, but they are less pronounced or visible.

When applying prominent eye makeup, you should aim to complement the shape by making them look more appealing and less exaggerated.

How do I know if I have prominent eyes?

Questions about eye shapes are asked more frequently than you’d think. People always want to know what eye shape they have, whether prominent or protruding, wide-set or close-set, elongated or round.

There are easy ways to know your type of eye shape. They are:

Use your thumb and index finger to measure the distance between your eyes:

To do this, start from the inner part to the outer edge of your eye, and check if the space is the same on the bridge of your nose, in between your eyes.

If there is no space, that is, your two fingers are touching the inner part of both eyes, you have close-set eyes.

If, on the other hand, there’s space between where your fingers are on the bridge of your nose and the inner part of both eyes, then you have wide-set eyes.

Check the brow bone and the middle part of your eyelid:

This is yet another way to determine the type of your eye shape.

If the central part of your eyelids is more forward than your brow bone, then chances are, you have prominent eyes.

Look at your profile when your eyes are closed

For prominent eyes, the outer side of the eyes is slightly flat while the middle part goes out like a circle.

The bottom eyelid is quite prominent and, in most cases, has a visible deep bone that protrudes from the side view. So together, both eyelids form a round shape, with the upper eyelid being the larger of the two.

Meanwhile, deep-set eyes are similar to prominent eyes but are not always the same.

So, to know whether you have a prominent or deep-set eye, check from the side view how deep the outer side of your lower lash line goes when it is closed.

If it goes farther inside, you have deep-set eyes. It is possible to have prominent and deep-set eyes. In such cases, the eyes have a deep crease with wide lids.

Best makeup tips for prominent eyes

The goal of prominent eye makeup is to make the eyes appear less protruding and create the illusion of a balanced and attractive eye.

As such, not every kind of makeup will fit this eye shape. You want to avoid eye makeup that makes protruding eyes more prominent.

The best way to do this is by following some of the makeup tips outlined here.

This way, you know how to use makeup to flatter prominent eyes.

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #1

Use medium to deep-toned matte colors for eye shadows. Darker shades help make the eyes look smaller and create an illusion of pushed-back eyes. This is something you want to achieve if you have really prominent or protruding eyes.

I like this eyeshadow palette especially for my prominent eyes because of the medium and deep matte shadows that include!

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #2

Consider tight-lining the eyes instead of lining them from outside.

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #3

Avoid using a white liner for the lower lid waterline. White liner exaggerates your eye shape and makes it look heavy. You don’t want that for your eyes, isn’t it?

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #4

When creating smokey eyes, use a dark shade and stay as close to the lower lash line as possible. A thick smudge is better for prominent eyes.

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #5

To make the eyes elongated or have an oval shape, use dark shade eyeshadow to form a contour around the edges and create a shadow around the eyes.

Prominent Eye Makeup Tip #6

You can make your eyelids smaller by using 3 different shades (light, medium, and dark) from the inner part of your eyelids to the outer part. The result is a fade gradient effect.

Eyeliner for prominent eyes

When it comes to eyeliner for prominent eyes, achieving a winged look or cat eyes is typically the go-to option.

However, there are certain things to consider while selecting the perfect eyeliner for prominent eyes. One of such is the size of your eyes.

woman eye wearing winged eyeliner for prominent eyes

Prominent eyes come in different sizes; this determines the lid space and how much you can play around with the eyes.

There are very big round-shaped prominent eyes, smaller oval-shaped prominent eyes, wide-set prominent eyes, and close-set prominent eyes.

Larger, round prominent eyes often have more lid space than smaller prominent eyes.

The lid space is the distance between the root of the upper lash line and the crease of the eyelid. Thick and lush cut eyeliner flatters the eyes best for such eye shapes. You could also tilt the wing to give an illusion of lifted eyes.

This technique, however, is not so great for smaller prominent eyes. This is because they have less lid space and, in some cases, slightly hooded eyes. So, thick eyeliner will look overdone and a bit messy.

Therefore, thin winged eyeliner complements small prominent eyes best. The eyeliner does not overlap with the upper eyelid, creating a clean natural finish. Depending on how skillful you are, you can use a liquid, gel, or pen liner. You can even try neutral or soft-colored eyeliner like brown or taupe for prominent eyes.

Conclusion on How to do Makeup for Prominent eyes

Of all eye shapes, the prominent eyes are unique. And doing the best prominent eye makeup may be pretty daunting, especially if you don’t know the knack for doing it.

For someone with prominent eyes, you should always go for makeup that flatters your round eyes or makes them look smaller. While doing this, ensure you use darker shades of mattifying eyeshadow for your upper and lower eyelids.

If you must use eyeliner, don’t just go for the usual ones. This may leave you looking funky. Smokey eyes with thick smudges and lush eyeliner cut complement prominent large eyes best and give you the best look possible.