Why it works: Lucy Liu has lighter shadow focused on most of her upper lashline, with a darker shadow just on the ends, which helps to lift her eyes, says Babaian.
Who should do it: This great-for-daytime look works for mostly everyone though the particular "orange-y shadow will show up better on lighter skin tones," says Babaian. And it's ideal for "somebody who has a fuller brow and more of an uplifted eye" or short eyes as it helps "to extend them to make [them] look more wide," she adds.
How to get it: Step 1: Prep lids with foundation. Step 2: Apply an orange-y brown eyeshadow on lids, extending it out past your outer corners a bit. Step 3: Blend dark brown shadow over the orange. Step 4: Apply a black liner on top lashlines. Step 5: Curl lashes and apply mascara. Step 6: Apply individual false lashes, which make eyes appear like they're naturally wider. Check out this how-to guide on applying individual falsies.
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The classic Asian makeup look
Why it works: Margaret Cho has "small eyes that kind of downturn at the ends," so to counteract that, she used dark brown eyeshadow on the upper edges, says Babaian. Her makeup is also "focused more on the eyebrows and the dark lip, which accentuates [her] fair skin tone."
Who should do it: Women with small, downturned monolid eyes.
How to get it: Step 1: Prep lids with foundation. Step 2: Sweep brown shadow on your lids, paying more attention to outer corners of the eyes to counteract the downward sloping. Step 3: Apply a darker brown shadow just above the previous brown. Step 4: Line a black shadow along your top lashlines. Step 5: Apply a thin line of black cream or liquid liner on the mid to outer corners of your eyes, again to help lift them. Step 6: Apply highlighter on your lower lashlines to make your eyes look more open. Step 7: Curl lashes, apply mascara and finish with false lashes. Click here for a video tutorial on applying false lashes.
What's the most frustrating task for Asian women? Hint: It happens in the bathroom. Yup, you guessed it — applying eye makeup. Each and every time we meticulously pile it on, we open our eyes and... it's totally gone — not a speck of color in sight. The monolid is to blame and is one of the most common complaints amongst Asian women. It's also the reason why blepharoplasty (or double eyelid surgery) is the second most requested cosmetic procedure among Asian-Americans. Couple that with stubbornly sparse, straight eyelashes and you have the reason why many Asian women give up on applying eye makeup and mascara altogether.
But before you run off, convinced you need to go under the scalpel, check out these tips from Taylor Chang-Babaian, celebrity makeup artist and author of "Asian Faces: The Essential Beauty and Makeup Guide for Asian Women" and "Style Eyes." She shares 12 specific makeup looks and techniques that not only allow eye makeup to show on monolids but also help emphasize the ever elusive Asian eye shape.
She also gives application tips and techniques along with common mistakes to avoid. For example, if you don't have a crease, don't buy the pre-made strips of tape and stick them onto your eyelids (we're not in junior high — it's not cute anymore), and definitely don't create a faux-crease with eyeshadow... you're not fooling anyone. Babaian goes on to stress that we should all remember that there are many varying eye shapes and great Asian makeup looks exist for all of them. So, without further ado, here are the celebrities we'll show wearing these copy-worthy eye makeup looks: Grace Park, Maggie Q, Michelle Kwan, Sandra Oh, Ming Na, Lindsay Price, Zhang Ziyi, Jarah Mariano, Kelly Hu, Lucy Liu and Margaret Cho.
