A few swipes of eyeshadow can easily finish off a simple daytime look and to take things to the next level. Eyeshadow doesn’t need to be overly dramatic, take too long, or consist of 25 steps to take your makeup up a few notches.
When paired with an intelligent selection of colors, the right formula and correct application techniques can take you from “meh” to magnificent. Let’s dive in and learn a few reasons why our Eyeshadow Duos are the best option out there to elevate your look, and learn a few tips in the process.
The Value of a Good Eyeshadow Primer
Just as regular primer can hold your foundation in place, eyeshadow primer can turn even the simplest makeup routine into something special. Not only will it intensify the color of your eye look, but it will also prolong it.
With the smallest dab of eyeshadow primer, something that may have only lasted until lunchtime will last through the end of the day. It also won’t smear onto your under eyes and will require less product to create your desired look, allowing your Eyeshadow Duo to last even longer.
If you don’t have a separate eye primer on hand, don’t fret! A small dab of our Cream Concealer will do the job.
What Goes Where, and When?
Most of the time, you‘ll want to do your face makeup first before moving to your eyes. Here’s what a normal makeup application process will look like:
- Remove any leftover makeup, cleanse your face, and apply other skin care
- Apply foundation, cream contour, concealer, and blush
- Apply translucent powder, with extra pressed on top of concealer
- Add powder bronzer, contour, blush, and highlighter
- Add eyebrow pencil and/or gel
- Use your eye primer, then eyeshadow
- Apply eyeliner, then mascara and/or lashes
- Finish with lip balm, stain, gloss, or some other lip product
- Top with setting spray to lock it all in place
However, if you’re going for a more dramatic eyeshadow look, you might actually want to start there first before moving on to your face makeup. Sometimes, when you’re packing on multiple layers of vibrant pigment, shimmer, or even glitter, it might miss your eye and fall down onto your under-eye or cheeks instead.
You might be able to gently sweep it away with a fan brush but that’s not always the case. If a dark color gets stuck to your skin, it’ll run and bleed, ruining the perfect base you’ve already created.
Using makeup remover on the singular spot doesn’t always solve the problem. Sure, that’ll remove the mistake, but it will also remove every other product you applied. If you’re going for a more dramatic look than you usually do, apply your eyeshadow first, then go about the rest of your routine as normal.
How To Use Our Eyeshadow Duos
When doing your eye makeup, generally speaking, you’ll start with an eyeshadow primer, coat your lid and crease in a neutral base color, concentrate a deeper shade in your crease, and accent your lid, brow bone, and inner corner with a little bit of shimmer to kick it up a notch.
Our Eyeshadow Duos give you everything you need to do exactly that and add the right dose of definition to your lids.
All our Duos come with a flattering matte shade and a bright, shimmery counterpart, with the exception of our two newest additions. Wanderlust and Cruise are made up of two complementary matte shades, perfect for daily use. Wanderlust consists of a warm-toned, peachy, light pink, and a rosier counterpart, while Cruise consists of a cool-toned lavender and taupe with a hint of violet.
For these two new additions to our collection, start with the lighter of the two shades and sweep it onto your lid and into the crease with a fluffy eyeshadow brush, like the one found on our Dual-Ended Eyeshadow Brush. You can then take the same brush, lightly dip it into the darker color, and really concentrate that shade into the crease to create depth and natural dimension.
If you gently drag the color outward toward your temple and sweep it onto your under eyes, this is another simple way to take your eyeshadow look up yet another notch without having to use additional products.
With our other traditional Eyeshadow Duos, sweep the matte shade onto your lid and into the crease, then concentrate the shimmery shade on your lid, brow bone, and inner corner.
Should You Use Your Fingers or Brushes?
The Perks of Using Brushes
A fluffy brush is best used when trying to sweep color all over the lid or into the crease as a bit of a transition shade. Fluffy brushes are also great for smooth, lightweight color application when you don’t want to go so boldly all at once.
On the other hand, a dense brush can be used for a myriad of things. Packing color onto the lid, dabbing on a floating liner look, and precise color application can all be achieved with a dense brush. A dense brush is also perfect for applying color to the undereye without the risk of smearing, smudging, or making you look like a raccoon.
The Perks of Using Your Fingers
Your fingers are also great tools for creating a quick and easy eyeshadow look, made especially simple with our buttery smooth eyeshadow duos. The natural oils and heat produced by our fingers mean they can help apply, buff out, and evenly spread products onto our skin, especially if it’s a shimmery pigment. If a shimmery pigment is applied with a little bit of moisture, it can elevate the appearance even more and give it almost a glimmering wet look.
Before applying any shade, shimmery or matte, make sure your fingers are clean and you’re gentle with how much pressure you put on your skin. You should also avoid tugging at your eyes. Tugging and dragging can lead to premature signs of aging over time.
Wet or Dry?
If you don’t want to use your fingers but want the same intensity of shimmer, those same wet looks can be achieved with a brush as well. Taking an eyeshadow brush, particularly a dense or flat packing brush, and misting it with a little setting spray will deliver a similar effect.
You can also try this with matte eyeshadow to create an opaque sweep of color, or even use it as winged eyeliner. For this, try looking for a very small brush and clean up any imperfections or smudges with a cotton swab, makeup wipe, or concealer.
Color Matching 101
Another easy way to dramatically play up your eyes without putting in too much effort is to look at a color wheel. Applying the color the opposite of your eye color will create a dynamic, vivid effect within minutes. To put it simply, two colors opposite of one another will deliver the most dramatic results when put together.
If you have blue eyes, look at shades of copper, mauve, or rose gold. Green eyes look dazzling when paired with brighter shades of pink, fuchsia, magenta, and purple.
If your eyes have a little hazel in them, a touch of gold will really kick it up another level. Those lucky enough to have brown eyes can pull off just about anything, but shimmering sunset shades provide a truly unmatched look.
Luckily enough, our Eyeshadow Duos cover all these color families, giving everyone something to fawn over.
What Else Can You Use on Your Eyes?
Our Eyeshadow Duos may be the only item we carry explicitly labeled for eye use, but every single one of our Makeup Stack components can be used in multiple steps of your routine. Our Cream Concealer is great for covering up under eye bags but also serves as a wonderful eyeshadow primer to make sure your look will stick around all day long without creasing or fading away.
The Powder Bronzer is a great option for a simple transition shade and is especially flattering when paired with powdered blush as a lid shade. Patting a little highlighter on your lid, brow bone, and inner corner will complete this simple, yet glamorous trifecta.
Eyeshadow can completely transform the aura of your daily aesthetic. These few simple tips can all be applied using our Eyeshadow Duos, high-quality brushes, and other components from our Makeup Stacks. Browse through all our color options today and consider picking up a few different shades to give yourself options you can take to the office, to the coffee shop, on the road, and beyond.
Sources:
How to Choose a Good Primer | Acne.org
How To Use Cosmetics Safely Around Your Eyes | American Academy of Ophthalmology
Colour Theory for Makeup Artists | Hair & Makeup Artist Handbook