If you’ve got TikTok, you’ve probably come across the terms “siren eyes” and “doe eyes” in the last few weeks. The two makeup looks are supposed to change your eye shape – and your entire vibe. Siren eyes are generally considered sexier and more alluring than sweet and innocent doe eyes. Keen to give them a go yourself? POPSUGAR chatted to MUA and beauty influencer Dani G to find out exactly how to achieve both looks. Keep reading for step-by-step guides, product recommendations, and our final verdicts.
What Are Siren Eyes?
Siren eyes are often described as being “dangerously beautiful”. A siren is a creature from Greek mythology that uses its beauty and sex appeal to lure passing sailors to their deaths. The creature is known to be either half bird or half mermaid and half woman, and they would sing a magic song to entice men. While we, of course, don’t encourage manipulation, a siren makeup look is a perfect way to give you that magnetic appeal that draws people in.
How to Do Siren-Eyes Makeup
Siren-eyes makeup is sharp, fierce, and mysterious and aims to elongate the eyes with eyeliner and shadow. To create the look, you’re going to need tape, eyeshadow primer, a variation of brown eyeshadows, bronzer, liquid eyeliner, and mascara (or fake eyelashes).
“The siren-eyes trend is about looking seductive, sultry, and snatched,” Dani says. “I use an eyeshadow primer all over my lid to keep any oils that could smudge my eyeliner at bay! Then, take a strip of tape and secure it from underneath your bottom eyelashes and angle it towards your temple.
After that, you’re going to dust a pale-ish shade of brown all over your eyelid before starting to build definition with a darker shade along the lash line and blending outwards along the tape. I always opt for a neutral or warm brown to keep the look quite subdued and not too overwhelming. The key is not to overpower the lid with pigment and colour, as the real focus will be on the inner and outer corner of your eye.”
The next step is eyeliner. If you’re not an eyeliner pro, the best advice is to use a liner with a thin and precise tip. That way, you’re less likely to make a mess and you can build up the thickness as you gain confidence. “The type of liner you choose really depends on whether you want it to look smoky or intense. Feel free to experiment with different angles, thicknesses, and lengths of the liner. I like to keep my siren eyes sharp and precise, so I opt for a precision-tip liquid liner (I love the Push Poppin’ Liner from Doll Beauty in Black Liquorice ($18),” Dani explains. “You want to start at the inner corner of your eye and flick outwards to your tear duct to create a small cat eye on the inner corner of your eye. Then, take the liner and begin lining across the lid and continuing along the edge of the tape, creating the desired winged shape and filling in the gaps.”
Then, make sure you wait until the liner is dry before peeling back the tape to reveal the sharp, elongated eyeliner. Before going in with mascara, I neatened up my liner with some concealer and dragged a little bit of black eyeshadow under the outer corner of my bottom lashes to make the look a little more cohesive. Then, Dani instructs: “Finish off the femme-fatale vibe with lashings of black mascara. Or, if you’re feeling extra glam, you can use a half lash. I use Doll Beauty’s Gilly Faux Mink Lashes ($17). I simply trim a third of them off and then apply the rest to the outer corners of my eyes.”
Siren-Eyes Verdict
The siren-eyes look isn’t something I’d wear every day, but it’s definitely a good routine to have in my arsenal when I want to feel extra sexy. For someone who hasn’t even mastered a regular wing, it’s the most complex and alluring eye look I’ve ever tried. I had to try this look twice to get it even close to the ones I’ve seen on TikTok, but it’s not as difficult as it seems once you get the hang of it. I paired this eye makeup with lots of bronzers and a red, glossy lip to add extra sass.
It would also look great with a slick bun or ponytail to make your face look even more snatched. One thing to be aware of before trying siren eyes is that you’ll need to trust the process throughout. It looks very messy, but it will all come together nicely once the tape is off and your mascara is on.
What Are Doe Eyes?
Doe eyes are large, open eyes, just like you see on a female deer. Think Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, and Zooey Deschanel. These eyes are just as appealing as siren eyes but in a different way. Doe eyes are typically warm, round, and associated with endearing naivety. And it’s a really easy look to pull off.
How to Do Doe-Eyes Makeup
When creating a doe-eyes look, you need to lay down a bit of groundwork around the eyes first. Your eyebrows are a huge part of changing your eye shape, believe it or not. So Dani recommends starting with the brows and working your way down your face. “Your eyebrows can shape your face and make you look more awake. Just brush them upwards with a spoolie brush and add some extra upward strokes in with an eyebrow pencil.” To do this, I used Ere Perez’s Natural Cosmetics Argan Brow Hero ($39).
Then, use concealer under your eyes. “You can achieve this look with a liquid concealer around two shades lighter than your skin tone. I used RMS Beauty’s ‘Un’ Cover-Up Concealer ($54). Apply your concealer with a damp beauty blender for an airbrushed look,” Dani says. When it comes to eyeshadow, Dani prefers a “pale” colour with a “slight shimmer”. She says: “This gives the illusion of more space between your nose and eyes.”
You don’t want to add dramatic winged eyeliner to this look. “With siren eyes, you want to elongate your eyes using eyeliner, but the goal with doe eyes is to push your liner upwards to widen them. You want to draw a short and straight angled line from your outer eye to create a tiny wing. Then, line across the rest of your eyelid and make it slightly thicker above your pupil. This gives the illusion of a more rounded eye,” she explains. To achieve this, I used Lottie London’s Wing Woman in Brown (Editor’s note: currently unavailable in Australia, try The Quick Flick, 10mm Modest Winged Eyeliner Stamp in Hot Fudge ($35)
Next comes a white eyeliner all the way across your lower lash line. Dani says: “This really brightens up your face and makes your eyes look bigger.” Two of the best white eyeliner, in our opinion, is Charlotte Tilbury’s Rock ‘N’ Kohl in Eye Cheat ($37). Then, top off the look with mascara on your top and bottom lashes. I found a combination of Ere Perez’s Avocado Waterproof Mascara ($38) and Legendary Lashes Volume 2 by Charlotte Tilbury ($48) to give the best result. Dani also recommends adding some wispy eyelashes to the top and even bottom lids for a whimsical finish. Try The Quick Flick, Quick Lash Day Pack, ($40)
Doe-Eyes Verdict
Doe eyes are so achievable that you could easily wear the look on a daily basis. I added a spot of blusher on the apples of my cheeks and a highlighter on the tip of my nose and cupid’s bow. This look needs to feel really soft and round all over, so add your favourite pink lip liner and subtle lipstick. I personally preferred doe eyes to siren eyes because it was still alluring without overwhelming my natural eye shape. I used brown liner instead of black to keep it subtle and make the blue in my eyes stand out. I’ll definitely be returning to these steps next time I do my makeup.
