The most distinctive feature on the South Asian face is the eye, or, more properly, the eyelid, its socket, and the surrounding bones of the brow and upper cheek, also known as the "periorbita."

The bone beneath the brow is well-developed and projected forward, accounting for a generally high-sitting brow. The bones of the upper, outer cheek are similarly well-projected. Together, they create a prominent opening for the eye socket, which thus begins "further back" in the skull than in those of East Asian or European descent. In lighting from certain angles, dark shadowing ("dark circles") around the deep-set eye is common.

The socket housing the eye, however, is not small, and so the overall appearance is that of a large but still deep-set eye, a combination (prominent eye, deep socket) found commonly in South Asia but unusual elsewhere.

While the crease in the upper eyelid appears to sit high and deep, in fact, there is often no real crease but only a large and high flat expanse of skin above the lashes. This is because the South Asian orbit (space around the eye inside its socket) is often short on orbital fat. Without ample orbital fat, a true eyelid crease cannot form, and so the deep indentation suggesting a crease is really only a pseudo-crease or platform diving under the bone.

While often viewed as very attractive in youth, even minimal aging in some people can be associated with noticeable fat loss inside of the socket and beneath the upper cheek and brow, causing changes in appearance not seen nearly as often outside of South Asia: hollowed lids that make the eyes of a young face appear sunken, vacant, and prematurely old.

"Standard" blepharoplasty, a European operation that is essentially subtractive, can worsen such preexisting anatomical traits, leading to extreme hollowing and retraction of the lower lid downward, both very difficult problems to correct surgically.