Congrats, collegiettes! You’ve made it past fall break, and powered through those midterms, never-ending papers, and maybe even a few all-nighters. Well, I’m here to give you one last study guide, the one I hold nearest and dearest to my heart. Tried and true, this is my trustworthy study guide to applying eyeshadow perfectly. So study up!
Pick a Color, Any Color
Traditionally, the rule for choosing eyeshadow palettes goes as follows: select eyeshadow colors that complement your eye color. Its been said that blue eyes go with golds and browns, green eyes look good with pinks and browns, and brown eyes go with blues and jewel tones. Sure, that’s all good and fun, but my list of great go-to colors is short and sweet: grey, gold, brown, and lavender. They work with any eye color and come in tons of different shades that you can play with.
The Tools You Will Need…
The Method to the Madness
- Prime Time! Always apply an eyeshadow primer to your eyelids before you start to sweep on color. Primer helps the powder stick better and also prevents fall-out on your cheeks and under your eyes. Remember to apply your shadow before your face makeup, so that you can wipe off any fall-out (excess powder).
- Bases Loaded The base color in your palette should be the most universal of all the colors, meaning that it connects all the other colors coherently. I suggest matte colors for the base so that the finished product doesn’t look too busy. Apply this color from corner to crease. Brush: regular application brush
- Shady Lady The third step is to apply a darker color to the crease of your eyelid. My rule of thumb is to make a small triangle at the outer corner of your lid, with the base on your lash line and one side marking the border of your crease. Fill in this triangle with the darker color from your palette. This color can be matte or have shimmer, but remember that the darker you go, the more dramatic the look is.
Brush: slant eyeshadow brush
- Light and Bright Next apply a highlighter color to the area just above your crease, right under the brow bone. This color works as a contrast to the other two and makes the whole look pop! When I want to make the look more dramatic, I use a shimmery highlighter color. Typically, this color should be in the same palette as your base, but a couple shades lighter.
Brush: rounded application brush
- Corner Stone The last color to apply is the corner color. This color works like the highlighter to make the look pop. Most people suggest using just a lighter color within the color scheme that you’re working with; however, I recommend just using a white or cream. These colors make the whites of your eyes pop, in turn making your eyes look brighter and your eyeshadow more noticeable.
Brush: rounded application brush (your finger works well here too)
- Grand Finale For your last and final step, take your blending brush and smooth the lines between all the different colors using small circular motions across your lid. There you have it, your finished product!
Brush: blending brush