Field guide

The eight eye shapes, sorted by what a photo can see

Eye shape is three separate things: the outline of the opening, the lid and its crease, and how far forward the eye sits. A front photo measures the first, you can answer the second, and the third needs a side view. Not sure which you are? Take the eye shape test.

Outline shapes

Measured by the test from openness and tilt

01

Almond eyes

Wider than tall, a soft point at the outer corner, a gentle lift.

The most common reading

02

Round eyes

Tall for its width, so more of the iris and white shows.

About one face in five

03

Upturned eyes

The outer corner sits well above the inner, so the lower lid sweeps up.

About one face in six

04

Downturned eyes

The outer corner sits level with or below the inner corner.

A few faces in a hundred

Lid shapes

About the crease; you answer one question

05

Hooded eyes

Skin from below the brow folds over the crease and hides part of the lid.

Very common, more so with age

06

Monolid eyes

No visible crease; the lid runs smoothly from lashes to brow.

The majority pattern in much of East Asia

Depth shapes

Front to back; a side view shows them

07

Deep-set eyes

The eye sits further back in the socket under a prominent brow bone.

Common, and more visible with age or weight loss

08

Protruding eyes

The eye sits further forward, so the lid and the white are more on show.

Less common; a sudden change is a reason to see a doctor

Outline

The test divides eye height by eye width for openness and measures the angle from inner to outer corner for tilt. Downturned, round, upturned and almond fall out of those two numbers in a fixed order. Elongated, the fifth measured shape, is a squint as often as a shape, so it has no page of its own.

Lid

Hooded and monolid describe the fold above the lashes, which a flat photo cannot see reliably. The result card asks one question after the reading: is your crease visible, partly hidden, or not there? The answer sits alongside the measured outline.

Depth

Deep-set and protruding are about the eye's position front to back. Each page has a side-view check you can do in a mirror. Neither is reported by the tool, because guessing depth from a front photo would be wrong too often to be useful.