I don’t know that I have a real go-to, but if I did, it would be Tom Ford Escapade with Pink Haze Cream Color for Eyes – I have used those together at least half a dozen times before.
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My everyday go to is a pale browbone color like MAC Vanilla, Blanc Type or Brule. A deeper matte in crease like MAC Soft Brown, Wedge, Charcoal Brown or Mystery. A shimmery shade on the eyelid like MAC like All that Glitters, Naked Lunch or Vex
Of course I use Milani Eyeshadow Primer underneath daily and I top the look with eyeliner like Marc Jacobs Highliner gel eyeliner in Brown Out, Mac Teddy or Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner in Brown #03 if I’m feeling like brown or if I want something darker I use Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel eyeliner in Refined Charcoal. I rarely use black. I only line the top lash line maybe wing out a tad. I don’t tightline, add liner to my waterline or add liner or eyeshadow to my bottom Lash line. It just gets to messy and muddled, makes my eyes too small so I like to keep that area clean on most days. I top with black mascara. Usually Revlon Dramatic Definition in Blackest Black or Max Factor Masterpiece mascara in Velvet Black. Funny I prefer a bronzey eyeliner or a gunmetal grey not black but with mascara the blacker the better any time!
Me too! Pale shimmer on lid and matte warm brown in crease. I love Cork for this.
We are twins! These are my combos!
Mine’s really lazy–either a wash of shimmering champagne (Ardency Inn Sunday, L’Oréal Infallible Iced Latte, UD Sin), shimmery rose gold/copper (Ardency Inn Rose Gold, L’Oréal Infallible Amber Rush, Laura Mercier Rose Gold), or matte light brown (MUFE Milk Tea, UD Buck, etc).
I have hooded eyes and tend to wear a bold lip, so complicated/time-intensive eye looks are saved for special occasions. 🙂
I like to apply Charlotte Tilbury’s cream shadow in Jean across the lid and use a soft brown shadow in the crease and under lower lashes. I love how shiny/ polished CT cream shadows look. Also love wearing TF’s Pink Haze cream shadow and pressed shadow. Gorgeous combo!
Almost daily I incorporate either a cut-crease or halo look to add definition to my almond shaped, very hooded eyes. Otherwise they look rather flat and unidimensional, and small, too. As for colors? I can get a fairly fast, easy look using my ABH Modern Renaissance palette, Chanel Empriente du Desert Quad or one of a few MAC quads I put together.
I think I have the same eye shape as you Nancy – almond and hooded. Yep that’s me!
Hmmmm……since I wear a very dramatic feline/cateye eyeliner everyday I usually just do a light wash of pale gold or shimmery beige from lash line to browbone.
Stila’s Kitten is my favorite for this and L’Oreal’s Infallible 24 hr shadow in Iced Latte is a good budget alternative. My latest pan of Stila’s Kitten seems to be spreading a lot of glitter everywhere after a few hours though – anyone else having problems with Stila’s shadows?
I’ll also blend a dab of whatever blush I’m wearing along the creae in my lid to tie in to my usual monochromatic color scheme. And I always highlight my inner eye corner with a dot of MAC Nylon as I feel my eyes are a bit close set too.
When I don’t want to put too much effort in I throw some pukey mattes in my crease like MUG tiki hut and desert sands, then use Kat Von D thunderstruck in my inner corner. Slap on winged liquid liner and I’m good 😀
If I’m running late or can’t decide on colors, I reach for Lorac Unzipped. The colors seem to go with everything, the shadows blend themselves, and with primer, I can easily get +10 -12 hr wear, even with my super oily lids.
Definitely MAC Sweet Heat on inner lid, MAC Havana on outer lid, and Urban Decay Naked in crease, with MAC Brule on the brow bone. This is my “throw it on” look when I’m short on time or inspiration, or just want something I know will always work and look good. I can make it smokier if I go heavier on Havana, or lighter by using mostly Sweet Heat. Works perfectly.
I looove the Extra Dimension eye shadows ?
MAC Quite Yummy + MAC Everyone’s Darling.
The eye look I’ve done the most is UD 24/7 eyeliner in Hustle with Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Sandglow on the lid with MAC Sable in the crease and outer corner. It’s a very flattering look for green eyes like mine and although I wouldn’t describe it as subtle, it’s not over the top either.
Something like MAC Patina on the inner half of the lid, a bronze like MUG Pretensious or Stila Golightly on the outer half, and a soft tan in the crease. This kind of goes with any color I want to put on the bottom lash: red, burgundy, teal, olive etc. and then MAC Powersurge in the water line.
Go to? Gosh, the closest answer I can come up with is neutral.
I naturally reach for the Becca Ombre Rose or the KVD Shade & Light. I’ll add some shimmer from a few MUG singles if the mood strikes.
An easy MAC combo that takes no thought is Naked Lunch, Saddle, Brown Script, and Sketch. That’s always a no fail.
In 2017, my plan is to branch out a bit more with color. Tarte Pro Palette and the KVD MetalMatte may add the kick start. It will be fun experimenting again. I may have a different answer to this question next time!
Your MAC combo is my best no fail as well. These shadow work no matter what, love them!
I don’t really have one either, but if I’m headed somewhere for the weekend I’ve started grabbing my Lorac Pro 3 and some kind of pink single shadow and/or eye pencil, a black mascara, and UD Demolition to darken my brows.
Lately my everyday/workday look has been either BB Telluride or EL Modern Mercury (yes, highlighters! so versatile 🙂 ) on the lid, MAC Soft Brown in crease, WnW Reserve Your Cabana under the brow, and Becca Moonstone for the inner corner. I’ll often line my upper lash with Stila Deep Burgundy and always finish with a healthy dose of black mascara.
Love this question! I have a few go-to looks to which I can default quickly and easily. A lavender eye (like just using the Tom Ford Lavender Lust quad or one of my thousand other lavenders) sometimes with a purple smoke and sometimes with a blue smoke, a bright blue eye with lavender pops (MUFE shades with the Electric Palette for example), or just using one cream shade (usually Tom Ford or Armani but any will do and there are endless great options).
Lately I’ve been really into the Touch in Sol Metallist Liquid Foil & Glitter Eye Shadow duos and definitely recommend them. Super easy to use and they leave a gorgeous effect that looks like you spent much more time on it than the few seconds application takes. One side is a liquid shadow similar to the Armani ones. The other is a complementary glitter. The final effect is just stunning and it’s easy to apply with the doe foot/glitter spatula included, with fingers, or with a brush. Those are so easy. And the wear is incredible. Yesterday I wore it while travelling so it lasted all day in NYC, throughout the plane ride, and until I took it off last night in Chicago. Iron!
I change up the actual eyeshadows and liners but my go-to look hasn’t changed dramatically over the last handful of years.
1. Primer, then a skin tone paint pot all over.
2. Pale, shimmery gold on lid.
3. Matte medium brown in the crease and thoroughly diffused out.
4. Matte, dark brown worked into the crease and outer v to deepen.
5. Pale, skin tone eyeshadow on brow bone and used to make sure the crease colour is well blended.
6. Matte, medium brown smudged on lower lash line.
7. Black eyeliner, winged out, with either a pencil or liquid liner.
8. Finished with a good cost of something like L’Oréal Voluminous Carbon Black.
That’s my go-to look. ?
Mine is nearly the same, except I skip the winged liner. I swap out colors using whichever “palette of the week” + a good basics palette if it’s lacking utility shades.
Chanel Empreinte du Desert or Tom Ford Disco Dust!
ABH Mod Ren. Tempera in crease; Riff on lids; ABH Red Ochre or Realgar or MAC Brown Script on outer corner of lids. Sometimes more Tempera on brow bone.
Great question for a student! Maybelline Color Tattoo in Creamy Beige with a similar brown in the crease to set it down. Then I put a shimmery light shade in the center of the lid and inner corner, usually a white gold or a peach. I take the same brown shadow from my crease and run it along my lower lashline. I use UD Venus on my lower waterline and Crave on my tightline and finish it off with Ulta’s Twisted Volume Mascara.
This is the system I developed for my saggy, hooded lids: I like a light/bright/shimmery color across most of my mobile lid, with a darker color at the outside edge and up into the crease. A slightly satiny base shade from crease to eyebrow, then a mid-tone matte or slightly satiny neutral in kind of an uplifted triangular shape on the hood itself, blend the hood color with the darker lid color, blend everything lightly so it doesn’t get muddy. Highlight inner corner. Line lower lid with the lid colors, smudge a little to avoid fallout. Tightline only, no liner above upper lashes. I change the colors I use from day to day, but this placement works well for me for daytime wear; smoky eyes can look a bit more dark/dramatic than what I’m usually going for, unless I do them in a very light color. It’s kind of funny, because you don’t actually see that much of my eyeshadow until I blink or close my eyes, but I still really like wearing it, actually feel like I can get away with much more intense colors because you don’t actually see much of it.
I don’t know that I have a “go-to” look, but there is something I fall back on if I’m pressed for time and needing to look as neutral as possible (which rarely happens): ColourPop “Honey Blonde” brow pencil on my lower wetline, ColourPop “Flutes” everywhere (eyelashes to just above crease, and also in a thick halo around the outer corner of my eye and lower lid), with MAC “Outre” layered over top. Diorshow black-brown waterpoof mascara. An inner corner touch of a matte cream shadow (“Half Full” by Blackbird Cosmetics), or a yellow highlighter if I’m feeling fancy (“Lustra” by Aromaleigh).
Just a wash, usually of Kitten.
Something very neutral: a light beige all over the lid (these days I use bareMinerals BB Cream eyeshadow in Soft Linen a lot), a medium brown on the outer corner and crease, and a dark brown to tightline.
There are a few color associations that I love!
РMaybelline cr̬me de nude as primer, MUFE me-512 golden beige over the mobile lid; gradient of brown in the crease and outer v to lift my hooded eyes so well as on the lower lashline; black or brown eyeshadow as liner that I often fleek out slightly.
РMaybelline cr̬me de rose as primer, some cool grey or light purple in the crease and MUFE aubergine smoked out on the lower mesh line
– Maybelline creamy beige on the lid that I smoke out with some golden pigment such as new year’s eve afterglow or sweet dreams from MUG from the inner corner to half of the lid.
I also often make a smoky eye with one matte to darken the crease and another one to highlight the brow bone.
Lately it’s been a one-and-done thing, usually with Charlotte Tilbury’s Eyes to Mesmerize in the shade Bette. Sometimes I’ll add a brown in the crease like MAC Saddle (or Cork, or Wedge, or Soft Brown…) to diffuse it. I want to get my hands on the Eyes to Mesmerize shade in Jean or Marie Antoinette as they’re both lighter than Bette and would be better for everyday. I usually can sheer out Bette but wouldn’t mind having those other shades on hand.
I am a graduate student currently writing my thesis, so quick and easy is the name of the game these days. I am also a big time neutrals lover on the eyes. I always start with a primer, currently UDPP but I switch it up depending on what I have. One favorite look is a wash of bronzer through the crease with stila kitten on the lid. A second favorite look is Maybelline Bad to the Bronze all over the lid, with a matte brown to blend out the edges into the crease. I’m lucky to have large eyes and good lashes so I can skip liner most days, but I pile on the mascara!
I switch it up every day, but two of my staples are 1. very white highlighted eye (either geek chic newb/mac grain in center of lid, or a matte white mac gesso lid, sometimes with kid or omega in the crease v lightly and also under the lower lashes, gesso on the browbone and crystal avalanche on the highest part of browbone & inner corner) 2. a grungy red eye, sometimes with smudgy black sometimes not.
When you say go-to, I’m not sure if you mean quick and easy, or tried and true. Either way, I generally stick with sparkly black liner underneath, and if we want quick, I do a highlighter on my lid, then a black liner close to the lashes. Simple, calls attention, to the eyes, makes them sparkly, not too much color. If it’s going to be shadow that I know will always look great, color isn’t that important…almost all of them can work for me, so long as they look good together. I’ll do a color I really like on the lid and a darker color I really like in/right above the crease. Then I’ll decide if I think I need top lid liner. A coat of brown or black mascara, and depending on the look, maybe a second coat of mascara in a color – I’ve been into CG Katy Cat Eye in Blue lately.
Smokey eye…all colors…always my fall back in a hurry or when I don’t have any inspiration!
A smudgy/smokey or grungy eye look (a la Victoria Beckham I guess or any 90s grunge looks) with a gloss or sheer lipstick.
Used to use a primer before powder shadows until I tried Mally cream eye wands. No primer necessary and stays on until you take it off.
My go to is not a particular color pallet as I rotate between my collection but I have 2 signature styles.
1 – cat eye with a glitter on lid, matte transition color and matte highlight, then satin in the crease and a darker color to deepen the outer v then I smoke out the bottom lash line. Depending on the palette it can be very neutral or very dramatic.
2 – tan crease color with neutral highlight then a very bright pop of color only on the lid and along the lower lash line.
My go to is natural with a burnt orange crease!
Oh, I am still on the hunt for a good burnt orange ES, @Tamika B. Could you recommend me something ? 🙂
Hi Chris, most orange eyeshadows end up looking burnt orange on my complexion but the ones I’m currently using and loving are by an indie brand called Juvia’s Place and one in a pallet from BH Cosmetics named Missy Lynn!
Thank you! I will check them out 🙂
My go to eye shadow colour is either be UD Naked Darkhorse and Sidecar or my Dior 3 Couleurs in Khaki – the olive brown, olive green and a heavenly gold shade,
Tightline in dark brown
MAC Painterly Paintpot
MAC Vapour on entire lid
UD Fireball Mobile lid – depending how the light touches it’s either pink or peach
Outer V colors vary depending on what I’m wearing
WnW crème Brulee highlight under brow bone
UD Midnight Cowboy – inner corners
Colored pencil Half outer upper & lower lash line
my go to is a medium matte neutral color in the crease from one of my many palettes, soft brown on the lid and line my lower lash line with a dark brown and smudge it out. sometimes I play around with it and add some other colors with black mascara and brown liner. sometimes I use a soft cream on my brows and in the tear duct and sometimes no!:)
On the weekends I use brown mascara, brown liner, blush, highlighter and a softer lip color !!!:)
my go to is a medium matte neutral color in the crease from one of my many palettes, soft brown on the lid and line my lower lash line with a dark brown and smudge it out. sometimes I play around with it and add some other colors with black mascara and brown liner. sometimes I use a soft cream on my brows and in the tear duct and sometimes no!:On the weekends I use brown mascara, brown liner, blush, highlighter and a softer lip color !!!:)
I don’t really have go- to colors but for a basic application I do a light color on my brow bone, medium color on the lid and a darker color in the crease v’ed at the outer corner and along the lash line.
I usually try to do something different each time I do an eye look.
The following are common to most looks:
– matte off-white under browbone
– shimmery off-white in inner corner
– medium matte taupe in crease (could lean brown or mauve)
– dark shade in outer v (almost never black, though)
– black winged eyeliner, black mascara
Two looks I do repeat are:
– light shimmery taupe on lid (Rouge Bunny Rouge bohemian waxwing, with RBR chestnut-napped apalis in crease)
– shimmery medium plum on lid and dark plum in outer v (Anastasia sangria and rosette or MUFE pink chrome and Anastasia rosette, with MUFE dark purple taupe in crease)
Neutrals neutrals neutrals give me a neutral palette and I’ll give you a look. Lately I’ve been adding a little wing black for night and dark brown for day.