Makeup for negative canthal tilt (downturned eyes)?

[Anonymous]

I figured out why I hate my face.

I’ve always thought of myself as a “butter face” - I’ve got a great body, I dress well, I have nice tan skin and long hair, and I’m happy with everything that I have any control over. And yet I am just simply not pretty. My face has always been blah, plain, and even a bit “off” or “unfortunate looking” in my own opinion. People often tell me to the face that I’m “cute”, but I’d never be described as beautiful or striking in any way. I always figured it was my lack of prominent cheekbones. I have a thin, oval, flat face that no amount of contouring can convincingly fix, and that is probably not going to age well. I can kind of see my eyes starting to get that “hooded” look (Nancy Pelosi comes to mind as an example) Some might say it’s my nose, but I actually kind of like the shape and prominence of my nose, it’s the one thing that adds character to my face. My ethnicity is Portuguese and Sephardic Jewish, for whatever it is, if any of these traits is genetic.

But really, the problem is my eyes. I found out this is called negative canthal tilt - when your outer corners of your eyes are lower than the inner corners. Kind of downturned and droopy like. I’d even say mine are slightly downturned and somewhat asymmetrical, creating this lazy eye effect. This is also why I hate forward facing photos of me, whereas slightly tilted and off centered photos don’t show this droopiness. I hate it, because I like most other things about my appearance, but if the eyes are the window to the soul, then my soul is plain, droopy, and dull.

What are some potential fixes to offset this? I’m NOT interested in surgery. Winged eyeliner also looks silly on me, or I’m not doing it right. Any makeup tips? Or haircuts to deflect the eye downturn? Or maybe even glasses frames (I wear contact lenses)? I also have naturally long eyelashes, but they don’t do enough to offset the ugliness.

Or do I need to cut my losses and accept that I’m the reason why other people’s beautiful eyes are appreciated?

[Anonymous]

I bet you aren’t ugly at all. Your face sounds interesting. I love interesting faces.

[Anonymous]

Lots of movie stars who people think are pretty have eyes like this. A subdued cat liner might be fun to play with.

[Anonymous]

If it bothers you, I'd make an appointment with a oculo facial plastic surgeon (specializes in the eyes)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I bet you aren’t ugly at all. Your face sounds interesting. I love interesting faces.

+1
It just sounds like you’re dissatisfied because you’re chasing the basic face everyone else has. Katie Holmes has downturned eyes and I think she has really pretty eyes. I also think that women who have those downturned eyes look sympathetic and caring.

Instead of looking at yourself and seeing what you can “fix,” look at yourself and think how lovely you look!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it bothers you, I'd make an appointment with a oculo facial plastic surgeon (specializes in the eyes)

Terrible idea. Plastic surgery rarely fixes the actual problem which is poor self image, low self esteem, focus on the superficial. Unless OP has done extensive therapy, risking your health for “better” eyes is insane.

[Anonymous]

I think that the right eyeliner shape would be the best idea - I know you said you haven't had success on that front, but maybe try watching some youtube videos or even (depending on covid situation) get a makeup artist to help you with some tips.

[Anonymous]

Maybe get lash extensions? Those can really open up the eye area.

[Anonymous]

There are lots of tutorials on youtube for people with downturned eyes. One makeup guru I follow, Stephanie Marie, has a tutorial for how to make downturned eyes look more upward tilted. She does it with eyeliner without a wing so it pretty natural looking. I suggest you do some research online and follow any tutorials you can find. Personally I think having a nice body, dressing well, and nice hair gets you really far in the attractive department. A little well-applied makeup should really help!

[Anonymous]

I am not really sure about this, but it occurred to me lately that having an upper body posture with "forward-head" can make the eyes seem more closed. If you have lordosis or just forward-head you may be able to do core exercises to change how your head is being held and open up the muscles around the eyes. My husband and I were just talking about this because of how people look in Zoom calls and the light can be blocked from seeing a person's eyes.

[Anonymous]

I am olive skin, blue-eyed brunette with slight down-turned oval eyes. I have been told I'm beautiful since I was a small kid.

I get that I'm "exotic' looking. I also have a Roman nose (though small nose). My brother has the same eyes and was always Homecoming King, etc.

They can be sexy. I don't think it's your eyes. I think you are likely very pretty and much more interesting than the typical, boring conventional way.

What's funny is that in my 20s I made a good friend that had similar shaped eyes. When I was at her wedding everyone thought I was related to her, a sister or a first cousin. I think she's gorgeous and love her eyes. We look more alike than my sister who has very big round dark eyes.

I use a lot of mascara to open my eyes. I need to top and lower line to make them noticeable. Their light color with darker skin and darker hair makes them pop. You sound like you are similar.

I wouldn't fight them. The plus is that I have zero bags, puffiness or lines even in my old age").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am olive skin, blue-eyed brunette with slight down-turned oval eyes. I have been told I'm beautiful since I was a small kid.

I get that I'm "exotic' looking. I also have a Roman nose (though small nose). My brother has the same eyes and was always Homecoming King, etc.

They can be sexy. I don't think it's your eyes. I think you are likely very pretty and much more interesting than the typical, boring conventional way.

What's funny is that in my 20s I made a good friend that had similar shaped eyes. When I was at her wedding everyone thought I was related to her, a sister or a first cousin. I think she's gorgeous and love her eyes. We look more alike than my sister who has very big round dark eyes.

I use a lot of mascara to open my eyes. I need to top and lower line to make them noticeable. Their light color with darker skin and darker hair makes them pop. You sound like you are similar.

I wouldn't fight them. The plus is that I have zero bags, puffiness or lines even in my old age").

OP here and you sound like me, except my eyes are more hazel than blue. I think I’m dissatisfied with my eyes and face shape because we’re conditioned to find high cheekbones, heart shape faces, and upturned cat-like eyes to be most feminine and attractive. I also think there is something asymmetrical to my eye tilt, and that’s why my mirror reflection looks so different than in photos.

Will try some different makeup tutorials and try my hand at eyeliners and shadowing and eyebrow tweaking again, I’ve just never been really good at it. I’m also considering wearing glasses more if I can find a frame that’s flattering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am olive skin, blue-eyed brunette with slight down-turned oval eyes. I have been told I'm beautiful since I was a small kid.

I get that I'm "exotic' looking. I also have a Roman nose (though small nose). My brother has the same eyes and was always Homecoming King, etc.

They can be sexy. I don't think it's your eyes. I think you are likely very pretty and much more interesting than the typical, boring conventional way.

What's funny is that in my 20s I made a good friend that had similar shaped eyes. When I was at her wedding everyone thought I was related to her, a sister or a first cousin. I think she's gorgeous and love her eyes. We look more alike than my sister who has very big round dark eyes.

I use a lot of mascara to open my eyes. I need to top and lower line to make them noticeable. Their light color with darker skin and darker hair makes them pop. You sound like you are similar.

I wouldn't fight them. The plus is that I have zero bags, puffiness or lines even in my old age").

OP here and you sound like me, except my eyes are more hazel than blue. I think I’m dissatisfied with my eyes and face shape because we’re conditioned to find high cheekbones, heart shape faces, and upturned cat-like eyes to be most feminine and attractive. I also think there is something asymmetrical to my eye tilt, and that’s why my mirror reflection looks so different than in photos.

Will try some different makeup tutorials and try my hand at eyeliners and shadowing and eyebrow tweaking again, I’ve just never been really good at it. I’m also considering wearing glasses more if I can find a frame that’s flattering.

I personally think its weird that there is all of this focus now days on having "upturned" eyes. I feel like only Disney princesses have upturned eyes and it doesn't exist in real life. I'll be happy when this upturned eye makeup trend finally dies.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't know what to tell you. We can't control what our faces look like. You don't sound like you have a facial deformity, just that your face isn't magazine-cover beautiful.

We all come into this world with gifts. Some have more than others, but I am sure that there are some that you possess. Beauty is merely one of the gifts that are given to humans, and not nearly the most important.

I recommend you stop comparing yourself to others. Stop using social media - it just feeds unrealistic expectations. Keep your body healthy. Dress in a way that flatters your shape. Keep your hair neat or styled. Wear flattering makeup, if you choose. Focus on being the best version of yourself.

[Anonymous]

I hesitate to post this because this is the beauty and fashion forum, and it's not wrong to think about beauty and fashion sometimes, even if we spend 90% of our time cultivating inner beauty. That said, my initial reaction is that you are too hung up on inherent facial beauty. You spend enough time analyzing your face to determine that that the outside of your eyes are slightly lower than your inner side of your eyes and that is the reason you are plain? I have never thought this about anybody's eyes, including my own. I can't see why that would make any difference. I think you are too fixated on this feature.