No Clowning Around
Little girls grow up anxious and excited about being able to wear makeup. They can’t wait for the day they can put on a little eyeshadow and some lip gloss. It’s practically a rite of passage. However, if they aren’t shown how to apply eyeshadow effectively, they can wind up looking like a clown instead of accentuating their beauty. Learning how to apply eye makeup is not hard, it simply takes time to learn and some makeup education.
Buying Eyeshadow
It might be tempting to go in and buy every color of the rainbow in eyeshadow. However, it is best to learn which colors are flattering and which ones are best left for a night out on the town or other special occasion. Runway models make it look easy to wear some pretty extraordinary colors but they are not the image with which you should gauge your eyeshadow. You want your eyeshadow you make your eyes look brighter and pop a little without going overboard.
When you first start wearing eyeshadow buy a few neutral tones and use those to learn how to apply colors. You will soon enough know how to apply it correctly so that you can use practically any color you want, with the right technique.
You should also buy good quality eyeshadow if you want it to last all day. Some of the cheaper versions tend to be faded away before you even get through your first coffee break. Some of the more expensive brands have a richer palette of colors as well.
You should also avoid glittering, super shimmery eyeshadows unless you are young and completely wrinkle free. The shimmering aspect may make your eyes appear brighter but it also highlights any wrinkles and lines that you may have forming around your eyes. If you simply must use something shiny, use a matte, neutral on your eyelid and a light shimmer on your brow bone.
Primer
Many women don’t learn about eyeshadow primer until later in life, unless they happen to have someone teaching them about makeup that knows all the tips and tricks. Primer is applied before the eyeshadow to help the eyeshadow stay in place longer. This allows you to go to the office and stop for drinks after without having to reapply your makeup.
Makeup Brushes
Invest in a set of quality makeup brushes; you will be glad you did. There are many different eye makeup brushes from an eyeshadow brush with a square head to a blending brush that is softer and tapered. At the very least you should have these two brushes. If you can, you should also have a crease brush for applying color in the creases.
Applying Your Eyeshadow
There was a time when everywhere you looked you saw monochromatic eyes. Women wore one color of eyeshadow and it extended all the way to their eyebrow. In hindsight this look is not at all attractive. You should at least have two colors that complement each other and your eyes.
After applying primer to the eyes, you should start with a base color. This is the color that is going to cover the area of the eyelid that is directly on the eye and slightly above it. Use your eyeshadow brush to sweep the color across the eyelid and approximately halfway up the eye. You can extend to the outer corners if you like in a V shape or you can leave as is.
If you are using three colors to create a more dramatic effect, the next color will be your contour color. It should be applied in the crease of the eye and extend to the outer corner. This should be where the V shape is if you are using this second color, otherwise, the V shape will be from the base color.
Next, if you are using two colors only, apply the lighter color to the brow bone area. Avoid getting eyeshadow in the eyebrow. This color should accent your eyes and make then pop, not be a rainbow of color.
At this point, if you are not going to use a third color, you should take your blending brush and use it to blend the areas where the colors meet so that there are no obvious color lines from one to the other. Blend each area and look closely at your eyes when finished. If you aren’t able to see distinct lines between the colors, you are ready to add some eyeliner and mascara for drop dead eyes.
When you learn how to apply eyeshadow correctly without going overboard you will have fun creating different looks using various colors and even changing up how you apply it, such as creating smokey eyes instead of bright eyes. You will soon find that you can accentuate your beauty without overpowering it and be all that you can be.