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What tips would you give to someone new to eyeshadow application?
What tips would you give to someone new to eyeshadow application? Share!
Practice, practice, practice. You don’t need a billion brushes–you just need one or two really good ones (I used only MAC’s 239 for a couple of years, as in one single 239!). Always step back to admire your work; you might think it’s not quite there when you’re two inches away from the mirror but the big picture might tell you something different. Try doing gradients of the same color to get the hang of blending–like a light brown with a darker brown.
Thanks to Emily for today’s question!
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I was gonna say some of the same things as you. Get two to three really good brushes. A shader and a blender would be my picks (MAC 239 and 217). Buy some decent eyeshadows (not expensive, necessarily, but good quality) and just practice practice practice. Other good brushes to acquire at some point, at least IMO, are the 219 (for precise creasework) and the 275 (for highlighting).
Also, taking macro shots of your makeup could really help you refine it, even if you never show them to people. ‘Til I started blogging, there’d be little flaws in my makeup that I never would’ve seen otherwise. It’s not the most important thing in the world, but it definitely helps!
My advice is actually the opposite from everyone else’s… Don’t worry about brushes. When I started out, I got a quad from Clinique, which comes with an applicator that has a sponge on one end and a small brush on the other. The texture was great for beginners, and it was hard to use too much. The woman at the counter showed me how to use it, and I got REALLY good at the smoky eye! But yes, absolutely DO NOT worry about how every speck of your makeup looks close-up, because it looks way different at arm’s length… and people only get within arm’s length of you anyway.
Here’s something nobody ever tells you: Figure out where your face is asymmetrical. Not immediately, but you will probably eventually notice. I actually have to put shadow ON the browbone over one of my eyes to make them look even.
Did not mean to submit this as a reply. :/
Buy high quality brushes!! I started out with cheap brushes and it was much harder than it should have been. Ive had more luck with more brushes than with one or two… did you do “fancy” eye shadow looks with just one or two brushes?
Always use a base!
Thanks for the tips! I really need to get a 239 now, what I’m using is a 275. I guess it’s fine since I like sheer application and neutral eye looks anyway 🙂
Use some kind of primer! After I learned this, eyeshadow application especially blending has been easier!
also have room to want to learn! i think it’s important to dare to experiment and not stick by what you’ve always been doing because what you’ve always been doing might not be the best. read, look at people’s makeup that you admire, and find out why you like it. I took three years to finally get the hang of consistently drawing my eyebrows to the shape I wanted.
Two things:
1. PRIMER!!!
2. Brushes! (a full lid, dome crease, and a fluffy blender)
Primer primer primer. And remember that a little can go a looooong way. You can always build.
I would say always remember to blend! As long as you remember to soften up the edges and blend the shades together, you can start getting more adventurous with your eye makeup. Also, figure out what kind of application works best for your eye shape (and the only way to do that is through practice!)
Blend, Blend, Blend!!! To me there is nothing worse with any kind of makeup, then harsh edges. And as Becky said above, use a good base. 🙂
Really helpful stuff I have been out of sight on the internet 4 a couple of years and now I am trying to keep up with makeup anywho I just wanted to say thanks a bunch
Just ONE thing: Buy a MAC 217-Brush. Made me go from newbie to almost pro.
and always, always, always apply a base underneath 🙂
great advice Christine!
I would say…buy palettes, not singles, cause theyre more practical…buy a blending brush and that should be enough…oh and dont start collecting right away…you might get in over you head with too much stuff early on…
and taking pictures is good…because in pictures you see things diffrently…not always better, but different…
xoxo
I totally agree with taking little baby steps into makeup. I started with one eyeshadow from Mac, then a month later got a second color to go with it and started wearing two colors at once, then a couple months later I bought the 239 brush and got a third color. As I got comfortable with my skills I just slowly added more and more to the look. Like eyeliner and highlighters and whatnot. Then I starte buying more brushes and learning new techniques. Take it slow and don’t rush the process!
Before leaving the house go to a window and look at yourself in a mirror in daylight. What looks great in the bathroom mirror may look over the top in daylight.
This is the best advice ever! When I was younger and knew nothing about make-up I didn’t know this lol. I would look at myself in my bathroom and thought everything looked fine but to my horror it looked a lot different in direct sunlight!
– Start with a primer.
– Use a good brush, as it will up your skill level by 10x!
– You don’t need many colours to achieve a pretty eye look – just one will do! Once you’re comfortable, you can start to add more.
– Blend, blend blend. No harsh edges.
Start off with neutrals. Although when starting out it’s fairly okay to blend using clean fingers, to really achieve a gorgeous look, one must a. invest in good (tough not necessarily expensive) brushes and b. learn how to blend but not to overblend.
Youtube is your friend! I would give them some names of my favourite youtubers for makeup and tell them to just watch. I find that you learn better when you have some sort of visual aid. Also that sponge tip applicators are the work of the devil.
Actually brushes are very unpopular in certain parts of the world. Michelle Phan did a video for “Chinese Looks” where she exclusively used a sponge-tip, because that’s all they use. In other news, I use the sponge-tip for my inner corner because of the tip. They can be quite practical.
It’s true, before watching that video, my friend from Beijing swears by the applicator. I actually was criticized for using brushes.
I saw that video that Michelle Phan made and I felt vindicated. Ever since jumping on the beauty community online, I found that everyone uses brushes (MAC ### and MAC ###). I’ve been wearing shadows on my eyes for over 10 years and used almost exclusively sponge tip applicators and very occasionally my fingers. I only recently started using brushes but still sometimes go back to the sponge tips because they work so darn well. I’m Chinese myself and I don’t have as obvious of a “crease” or even large eye area like most people that publish in the beauty community do, so, really, a lot of the brushes people suggest are way too big for my eye. If a sponge tip applicator works for you, don’t feel like you’re doing it wrong! To each their own, I say (:
1. Good base/primer
2. Good brushes 1 or 2
3. Blend Blend Blend
1. When you first start experimenting, do it on a Saturday or someday where you don’t have to rush off to school or work. Take your time to get the hang of it.
2. If you’re on the fence about your eyeshadow, add mascara and then decided; it makes a world of difference. I find myself disliking some of my eyeshadow looks, but when I add mascara or a touch of eyeliner, it makes it pop and then I like it.
3. Speaking of mascara… if you’re going to do eyeshadow, wear mascara! It’s like a frame to your beautiful eye painting 😉
4. Watch tutorials or look at picture tutorials; this is what I did and how I found Temptalia. I googled “how to do black smokey eye” and found this link:
http://www.temptalia.com/tutorial-smokey-eyes-how-to
I think it was fate I found this because without Temptalia and her introducing me to MAC and the beauty and art of good makeup, I would never be going to school for makeup and fashion.
i agree with what youve said. practice. experiment. have fun. my first eyeshadow brush was the chanel #2 and its the only one i used for a while for everything.
s good primer (I like nars and ud) and good quality shadow brushes (ınglot mac …)
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
MY biggest thing is to look at your self in the mirror from the distance most people are going to see you at.
No one look good an inch from the mirror.
and ya I still only have one brush that I use on a daily basis for eyeshadow. I do have a couple others but they have very specific tasks and I hardly ever use them.
This is the best advice! It will keep you in perspective. If you’re using a magnifying mirror, you’ll stress yourself out.
I think only one brush is kinda pushing it. In my opinion, a 217 or a 224 is 100% necessary with a 239. Applicator brushes just dont blend enough
Employ the scotch tape method in ur routine it helps create a nice sharp edge and picks up fallout.
A lot of people neglect the importance of a good fluffy blender brush! I always recommends lancome, that brush was what really opened up the world of eyeshadow for me.
Along with eye primer, good brushes, and practice, I would also recommend figuring out what your eye shape is and learn the best shadow placement for your shape. There is lots of info online and tutorials on youtube! Also, don’t be afraid to experiment and go out of your comfort zone. I walked around my house with bright teal eyeshadow on for a few weeks before I was comfortable enough to wear it outside, lol!
This may sound silly, but I always had trouble putting eyeshadow into my crease. The brush was too big to make a neat line and my hands were always too shaky.
I bought this “smoky eye” brush from Sephora and I’m obsessed with it, it’s pretty small and has tapered bristles so I can deposit color right in my crease. It gives me a lot of control and I rarely mess up. It’s one of the “platinum” brushes so I think the quality is comparable to MAC brushes.
I don’t necessarily recommend getting that exact one, but I would look for something similar. I use 3 eyeshadow brushes and it’s cut down on my makeup time dramatically.
I am with some of the other comments here –
1 – a good brush (forget the swabs that come with some)
2 – blend, blend
3 – primer (and preferably Garden Botanika’s – best I ever have tried and I have tried a zillion
4 – go with a current trend right now to start with, use only one color to begin with. Get good with how to use that, then move to a crease color and use it to try an out corner V.
Totally agree. Practice practice! Sometimes I still mess up….I don’t wear makeup every single day even if I have been wearing it for years. So I still have my bad eye makeup application days.
My tip is definitely don’t go too high past the crease, that was probably one of my major problems when I first did a smokey eye look, I couldn’t understand why it looked so rubbish.. I’m glad I never went outside with that look! hahaha
blending and lots and lots of practice
two brushes: mac 239 & 217
primer
watch tutorials
practice!!!
My advice is primer for anyone with oily lids but also pick colours that suit them. People do notice when you start to wear make up, so it’s easier to practice the technique you want to try with more complimentary colours and then move onto dramatic looks
Primer, good brushes, and practice!
A good time to practice is at night just before your shower before bed; you can apply and decide what you will refine when time for your final look.
invest in good quality, pigmented shadows. don’t be afraid to be bold and creative.
Start with a good primer(nobody told me that first and I had go around folks with yucky smeared eyeshadow)
Start with a good brush set and build around it.(I started with the KVD eyeshadow brush set and bought other brushes depending on what I thought I needed)
Search youtube for inspiration.(The first look I did that I really felt happy with was from a tutorial)
Practice:)