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How to Apply Eye Shadow

Eye shadow is perhaps the most beloved cosmetic of creative makeup artists. Some women prefer to apply eye shadow with a damp brush or applicator. This helps in intensifying the color. Powder eye shadows come in singles or color coordinated sets. Cream eye shadows can be coordinated with powder eye shadows. Eye shadow adds depth and dimension to one's eyes, compliments the eye color, or simply draw attention to the eyes. The effect of eyeshadow usually brings out glamorous and attention bringing out the eyes.

Eye shadows on your eyes should never be too obvious. A good one can be judged by having beautiful eyes without seeing the makeup on it. That is because eye shadows should be used to create the illusion of depths and shades that will bring out the good angles of your eyes without the look of being outrightly painted on. Needless to say, light colored eye shadows are preferred during daytime and smoky eyes are best to party with at night.

Put the eyeshadow on. A nice rounded shape on the eye takes only a few seconds. Beginning at your lash line moving just slightly past your crease you need to apply either a light shade of eyeshadow or highlighter completely across your eyelid. Also do it all the way up to your eyebrows. After that you should put a middle shade of eyeshadow upon your eyelid, also adding a bit under your bottom eyelashes - (not too chunky). Then put a bit on the outer edge of your eye, creating a slightly darker area there.

Begin by applying a light color from lash line to brows. Shades of ivory, beige, peach or pink are common, but other light tones can work well. Then apply a medium shade from lash line to crease. Finally, accent the crease of the eyelid with the darkest shade. Blend with a soft brush to avoid removing your eye shadow or smudging. You can apply eyeliner along the lash line and use mascara to accent your eye lashes if you like. Eye makeup remover or a damp cloth can remove smudges. Some people opt to do their eye shadow and other eye makeup before applying foundation and other makeup to allow mistakes to be tidied up more easily.

Applying Eye Shadow:

Apply the medium shade on the upper eyelid only. Use a lighter shade under the browbone to highlight the eyes.

Use an eye shadow brush and apply the lightest color from the crease up toward your eyebrow. Just apply a light coat across.

However you decide to apply your eye shadow, depending on the size of your eyelid, keep in mind that the lid and under-brow shades should meet but not overlap at the crease.

If you want dramatic eyes, take your eye shadow brush, dip it into water, and then into the shadow, then apply. It will give you a much deeper, dramatic color.

Apply a lighter eye shadow color above your primary color and below your eyebrow.

To make your eyes appear round, apply a soft brown to the lid up and just above the crease. Apply the same shade underneath your lower lashes.

About the Author

Read About Makeup Tips Also About How To Take Care Of Oily Skin and Tips To Avoid Acne During Pregnancy

Women Of Color: Makeup Ideas And Color Suggestions For Light-To-Medium And Dark Skintones

Makeup tones that flatter women of color are usually deep, rich tones.  To show off your natural skintone, select highly-pigmented makeup shades for more brilliant color.   Specific color suggestions for women of color are divided into two different categories below:  light-to-medium skintones and dark skintones.   (Basic eye shadow contouring and color placement, along with blush and lip color placement, is the same for ALL skintones.  Basic color placement tips and instruction can be accessed through the author's website blog.)   


COLOR SUGGESTIONS FOR WOMEN OF COLOR FALL INTO 2 CATEGORIES:  1) Light-to-Medium skintones & 2) Dark skintones.

Colors that accentuate and flatter LIGHT-TO-MEDIUM skintones are:

FOR EYES…

* High-pigment powder eye shadows in shades of Browns, Beiges and Coppers will add definition to the eyes.  Examples of these highly-pigmented tones are shown below.
          
     
  

* Use a liquid or pencil eye liner in Black as shown.  High-pigment Black liquid liner on left and Black pencil eyeliner on right.
 
* For eyebrows, select a tone that is the same shade or 1/2 shade lighter than your hair color.  Shown below are examples of a charcoal gray and brunette automatic eyebrow pencil.

       
* Finish with macara in Black.  

FOR LIPS…

Hint:  First apply your foundation to the lips to ‘even out’ the skintone on the lip prior to applying lip liner and lip color.

* Lip colors in Soft Peach, Raisin, or Coral tones (examples shown below) will define the lips beautifully.

     

* For lip liner, select a tone similar to your lip color choice, for example, the shade on the left below will match the first two lip gloss shades above.  The lip pencil shade on the right will coordinate with the lip gloss on the far right above.
 
        

FOR CHEEKS…

Hint:  To achieve most glowing results with your blush, select similar shades of blush and lip color.

* Blush tones in Peachy-Browns and Corals coordinate beautifully with suggested lip colors above.
 
         

FOR SHOULDERS, ARMS AND LEGS…

Show off your skin with Body Shimmer Powders in a soft warm tone. 
  

 
FOR EXTRA GLAMOUR… 

Use the eye shadow tones suggested above, then blend a charcoal eye shadow softly into the browns to add a sultry look.   Apply a warm red or deep brownish-red shade to the lips and brush a coral tone on cheeks…and you’ve got your night-time glam look!   Glam-up recommendations shown below are a matte eye shadow in a charcoal black, a coral blush and lip glosses in warm, clear red and a brownish-red. 
             
 
 


Colors that accentuate and flatter DARK skintones are:

FOR EYES…

* High-pigment powder eye shadows in shades of Dark Purples, Midnight Blues and Golds will add definition to the eyes.  Examples of these highly-pigmented tones are shown below:  
         
                  

* Use a liquid or pencil eye liner in Black. High-pigment Black liquid liner on left and Black pencil eyeliner on right. 
 
* For eyebrows, select a tone that is the same shade or 1/2 shade lighter than your hair color.  Shown below are examples of a charcoal gray and brunette automatic eyebrow pencil.
 
       

* Finish with macara in Black.   

FOR LIPS…

Hint:  First apply your foundation to the lips to ‘even out’ the skintone on the lip prior to applying lip liner and lip color.

* Lip colors in Burgundies, Plums and Caramel tones (examples shown below) will define the lips beautifully. 

                

* For lip liner, select a tone similar to your lip color choice.  The lip liner example shades below coordinate with the lip gloss shades shown above, in corresponding order.
 

         
             

FOR CHEEKS…

Hint:  To achieve most glowing results with your blush, select similar shades of blush and lip color.

* Blush tones in Deep Roses and Plums will coordinate beautifully with suggested lip color examples above. 
 
           

FOR SHOULDERS, BACK, ARMS AND LEGS…

Show off your skin with Body Shimmer Powders in soft bronze tones as shown.
 

 
 
WHY select highly-pigmented makeup colors?   Makeup colors that look best for photography and stage are usually highly-pigmented, meaning they contain strong color pigments and are not sheer.  A highly-pigmented makeup color product will allow the user to apply a small amount to achieve a bit of color or it can provide darker, dramatic color when applied more heavily.  This allows flexibility for the user to achieve her preferred look.  Along with being longer-lasting, the strong color pigment in highly-pigmented makeup colors will hold up against the harsh lighting from cameras and stage lights (no washed-out, ghostly makeup looks).

About the Author

Commercial Makeup Artist, Jennifer Kalman, has 18+ years of experience applying makeup for thousands of proms, pageants, weddings, personalities, print media, TV and video.  Her professional credentials have included makeup for LeAnn Rimes, Troy Aikman, Dixie Chicks and the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Counted among her many commercial makeup clients are Pepsi, American Airlines, Frito-Lay, Dr. Pepper, and Verizon. This expertise contributed to the development of QDazzleProm.com and QDazzle(R) High-Pigment Makeup Colors.  Jennifer desired to provide a resource to coach women how to polish their makeup skills (skills they can use for a lifetime) rather than applying their makeup for them once.  Her website, designed to help pageant contestants of all ages refine their makeup skills so they can be prepared and confident on stage, contains makeup instruction, techniques, and 'Jennifer's Makeup Tips Blog', along with brilliantly-hued High-Pigment Makeup Colors.