Photo
Lifting combo
A classic eyeliner combined with light shadows, keeping the contrast between the line and the shadow.
A permanent makeup technique by Elena Kaligina
Lifting
Eyeshadow
One shadow zone across the mobile and immobile eyelids. An ascending line instead of a falling crease. A lifted, more open look — a non-surgical PMU procedure for every eye shape, including heavily hooded eyelids.
Hero photo
healed Lifting Eyeshadow, hooded eyelid
healed Lifting Eyeshadow, hooded eyelid
2018in permanent makeup since
3championship wins, shaded eyeliner
7,000+procedures performed
24+advanced trainings taught
The method
Changing where the eye's focus lies
Lifting Eyeshadow grew out of everyday work with clients. A shadow placed only on the mobile eyelid did not give enough volume on hooded eyelids, where the mobile lid is almost completely covered by the immobile one.
On a hooded eyelid, the crease falls toward the outer corner and pulls the whole look down. Lifting Eyeshadow moves the attention away from that falling crease to an ascending line, created by the eyeliner direction, and joins the mobile and immobile eyelids into one shadow zone. The result reads as a lifted, younger, more open look.
Classic shaded eyeliner
Done only within the mobile eyelid. It needs an open area on the mobile lid — when hooding hides it, there is nowhere to place the design, and such clients are often turned away.
Lifting Eyeshadow
Works on both the mobile and the immobile eyelid. It can be created on any eyelid, including very heavily hooded ones, at any age — exactly the eyelids that most need a lifting effect.
The common core
Three elements in every design
- 1
The lash line
The area between the lashes, usually filled with the darkest color.
- 2
The eyeliner direction
The ascending line of the tail that carries the eye upward.
- 3
The shadow
The gradient zone that connects the lash line and the eyeliner direction.
A perfect result is a smooth gradient — a soft transition from dark to light without sharp edges. Saturation is reached only by layering, never by depth or pressure.
Five styles
From a soft lift to a dramatic look
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Shaded eyeliner
The classic shaded eyeliner on the mobile eyelid — the foundation the method grows from.
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Lifting Eyeshadow
Black between the lashes, a gradient of brown shades above the lashes.
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Dramatic Lifting Eyeshadow
Black added above the lashes, at the base of the brown gradient.
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Smoky Lifting Eyeshadow
A gradient of brown shades with a soft, smoky outer border of the shadow.
Principles
What the healed result depends on
Patience
The gradient takes time to appear. The work is checked every 15–20 minutes and moves forward step by step.
Layering, not pressure
Color is built in layers. Adding black or pressing harder leads to swelling and a cold healed result.
Brown as the main color
Black turns cooler with time; brown fades through brown shades. A dramatic look uses several layers of dark brown.
Two procedures
The full result is seen after the first procedure and a touch-up that adds saturation and refines the direction.
Selected work
Before and healed
Before / after 1
Before / after 2
Before / after 3
Before / after 4
Before / after 5
Before / after 6
Recognition
Awards, judging and speaking
Championship wins
- 2025
Winner, Shaded Eyeliner
PMU Skills Online
- 2024
Winner, Shaded Eyeliner
WULOP USA
- 2023
Winner, Shaded Eyeliner
Vegas PMU Championship
Championship judge
- 2025
WULOP USA
- 2025
Etalon LA
- 2025
PMU Golden League
Conference speaker
- 2025
Etalon NY Conference
- 2024
Worlds USA Conference
Presented the Lifting Eyeshadow technique
- 2024
Vegas Conference
- 2023
WULOP USA Conference
- 2023
Vegas Conference
Publications
Innovation Lifting Eyeshadow: A Synthesis of Makeup and Optical Illusion
Social Effect of the “Lifting Eyeshadow” Permanent Makeup Technique
Permanent Makeup as an Instrument of Social Mobility
Age Stratification in the Permanent Makeup Industry
Innovative Management in the Beauty Industry
Teaching the method
Elena Liga Academy
Online and in-studio training for permanent makeup artists. Elena's students work in the USA, Russia and Europe.
2-day PRO course
Shaded Eyeliner & Lifting Eyeshadow — in-studio training with the author's 50-page manual and a personal certificate.
Online training
A two-week online program with video lessons and practice assignments.
Live webinar
A 6–7 hour live session on the Lifting Eyeshadow technique for artists with at least six months of PMU experience.
Mentorship
Basic and advanced PMU training and professional mentorship programs.
About the author
Elena Kaligina
Elena Kaligina is an international permanent makeup artist, educator, championship judge, speaker and author. She has worked in permanent makeup since 2018 and holds a degree in arts. She is the owner and head artist of ElenaLiga PMU Studio in Laguna Niguel, California, where she provides PMU services, runs educational programs and mentors beauty professionals.
Her work focuses on advanced eyelid pigmentation and shaded eyeliner. She is the creator of the Lifting Eyeshadow technique and the author of a professional training manual for advanced eyelid PMU artists. She has completed more than 24 advanced trainings in Russia and Europe.
Her practice is built around the clients who actually come to the studio: almost all have hooded or heavily hooded eyelids. Elena performs about 200 first procedures and 150–170 touch-ups a year.
“Look at the eyelids of the clients who actually come to you: either simply hooded or very heavily hooded. That is why I built the method around them.”
Forthcoming textbook
The method, in a professional textbook
Elena is completing a textbook for practicing permanent makeup artists: anatomy of the eyelid, color and pigments, the three elements, sketch, stroke and gradient, work on hooded and other eye types, procedure, safety and common mistakes. [Publisher, expected date.]
Contact
Studio, training and press
ElenaLiga PMU Studio
28281 Crown Valley Pkwy #250, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677