The Complete Guide to Applying Eye Makeup
The Complete Guide to Applying Eye Makeup
It’s relatively easy to wear eyeshadow. However, learning the right way is not an easy task. How do you choose the eye shadow that suits your eye color and skin tone? Do you really need 10 makeup brushes? Do you use every color on your eyeshadow tray?
We know that it’s easy to get confused about how to make your eyes look better, so we’ve crafted a 5-step guide on how to handle all your eyeliners，mascaras，and shadows, regardless of the shape or color of your eyes. Let's get started:
1.Start with great makeup brushes.
There’s a reason famous artists don’t finger paint: without the proper tools,it’s hard to create a masterpiece. The same goes for makeup applications.Buy a few good brushes for even, precise, hygienic makeup.Fortunately, you can get great ones without dropping an entire paycheck.
When we tested the best brushes in the Beauty Lab,we found that synthetic brushes were almost always preferable to their natural-fiber counterparts, and that they were more affordable, easier to clean, and allergy-friendly. (Psst: All of our winners were synthetic, and the pros couldn’t differentiate them from pricier natural picks!)
2. Apply a base eyeshadow to the lid.
With your eyeshadow brush, apply your favorite base shade on your eyelid. If you have brown eyes, glitter is great.
Depending on how you want to look, you can apply this base color all the way down to the eyebrow bones for a more dramatic smoky eye, or you can rest on the wrinkles of the eyes for a basic look.
In the latter case, here’s a very simple tip: when you open your eyes,apply the color to the wrinkles in your eyes, then toward the eyelash line. That way, you’ll never exceed your creases or end up with messy lines.
3. Concentrate darker shadow in the eye crease.
Dark colors attract light, so adding dark shadow to your eye creases will make your eyes stand out and add depth and dimension in the right places.
If you (like me!) have hooded eyes, your upper lid covers most of your mobile lid when your eyes are open. That means you will have to use different, higher positions to make the crease shadows, because if you just rub along the eye socket, the color will disappear when you open your eyes. Instead, open your eyes and use your brush to mark where you want that dark color to start in order to be visible. Then, close your eyes and blend across, smoothing out any hard lines and focusing pigment on the outermost corner of the eye in a "V" shape.
4. Rim your lash lines in a super-dark color.
The right eyeliner can make your lashes look thicker and your eyes look wider. If you're not a big fan of eyeliner, you can also use super dark eye shadow for the same effect (it's easy to wash off!). With a flat bristles brush the dark eye shadow along the upper lid where the lashes begin and along the lower lash line.
If you like to wear liner on your waterline (the inner-most rim of the eye), be aware that the bristles might irritate your eye. In that case, you can trace this line with our favorite eyeliner,or (beauty hack alert!) apply a pale nude liner to the waterline to make the eye look wider and more awake.
If you like to line your eyes to the waterline (the innermost edge of the eye), be aware that the bristles may irritate your eyes. In this case, you can draw the line with our favorite eyeliner, or (Beauty warning!) Apply a light-colored, nude eyeliner to the waterline to make your eyes look bigger and more awake.
5. Highlight with a pretty shimmery shadow.
Make your brows pop and add lift by adding a shimmery pale eyeshadow or pencil directly under the brow. Add the same pearly light color to the inner corner of the eye to brighten things up, too. Finish with a few coats of our favorite mascara or flase eyelashes and you're good to go.