Siren eyes take the classic winged liner and push everything outward and upward. The wing starts around the middle of the eye rather than the inner corner, the shadow gets smoked into the outer third, and the whole shape reads as a long almond. Nothing is round and nothing is centered, which is what gives the look its drama.

The look came up through social media, where the appeal is how much it changes with so little product. You are not adding color so much as redirecting the eye, which is why it works across almost every eye shape and why it photographs the way it does. If you already know your way around a smoky eye, you are most of the way there. Our guide to How to Do a Smokey Eye covers the blending that carries this look.

How to Do Siren Eye Makeup

1. Prep the lid with a light base so your shadow has something to grip.
2. Using the fluffy brush, sweep a light neutral shade from the ColorStay Day to Night Eyeshadow Quad across the whole lid.
3. Take a darker shade from the same quad on the small angled brush and press it into the outer corner, blending up and out toward the end of your brow.
4. Draw a thin sharp wing with the ColorStay Line Creator Double Ended Liner. Start in the middle of the eye and flick outward with a slight lift. Keep the line thin, since the length is doing the work.
5. Finish with So Fierce! Big Bad Lash Mascara on upper and lower lashes.

Pro tip: Place a piece of tape diagonally at the outer corner of your eye, angled back toward the end of your brow, and use it as a guide for the wing. Peel it off and tidy the edge with a cotton swab. For more liner control, see How to Do Winged Eyeliner.

What Does Doe Eye Makeup Look Like?

Doe eyes work in the opposite direction. Everything opens the eye up, so the shape reads rounder and the whole face looks more rested. Light neutral shadow on the lid keeps the space bright, a nude pencil on the waterline visually extends the white of the eye, and lashes get pushed up and out on both top and bottom.

The difference between doe eyes and simply going light on your makeup is the placement. Definition still happens; it just sits in the crease and along the lower lash line instead of the outer corner, which lifts rather than lengthens. Done well, the look reads open and awake rather than sleepy.

How to Do Doe Eye Makeup

1. Prep the lid with a light base.
2. Sweep the lightest neutral shade from the ColorStay Day to Night Eyeshadow Quad across the whole lid with the fluffy brush.
3. Take a soft mid-tone from the same quad on the small angled brush and blend it through the crease, keeping it lifted at the outer corner.
4. Line your waterline with a nude ColorStay Multiplayer Eye Pencil. One pass here does more for brightness than any other step in the look. Our guide to How to Put Eyeliner on Waterline: Pro Tips for a Bold, Defined Look has the technique.
5. Draw a thin line along the upper lash line with the ColorStay Line Creator Double Ended Liner, staying tight to the lashes with no wing.
6. Apply So Fierce! Big Bad Lash Mascara, wiggling at the roots and pulling through to the tips. Build two or three coats, then use the small side of the brush on your lower lashes and soften the lower lash line with the smudge brush.

Which Look Suits Your Eye Shape?

Either look works on any eye shape. What changes is where you place things.

• Almond eyes: Both looks land easily. Siren eyes exaggerate the shape you already have, doe eyes soften it.
• Round eyes: Siren eyes give the most visible transformation, since the wing lengthens a shape that is naturally open. Doe eyes lean into what is already there.
• Hooded eyes: Keep the siren wing thin and check the angle with your eyes open, since a thicker line can disappear into the crease. Our guide to Makeup for Hooded Eyes: Tips for the Perfect Eyeshadow covers placement in detail.
• Downturned eyes: Lift the outer end of the siren wing higher than feels natural. For doe eyes, concentrate the lower lash mascara toward the center rather than the outer corner.

Can You Have Naturally Siren or Doe Eyes?

Sort of, and it matters less than the internet suggests. People describe naturally almond, upswept eyes as siren eyes and naturally large, round eyes as doe eyes, and both descriptions are just eye shape. Neither one limits which look you can wear.

What your natural shape does change is how much effort each look takes. If your eyes already turn up at the outer corner, the siren wing needs almost nothing to read. If your eyes are naturally round and open, doe eyes take about three steps. Working with your shape is faster than working against it, and both looks are worth having in rotation.