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/ August 13, 2013

Eye Makeup Basics

Click HERE for the video.

It took me a long time to figure out eye makeup.  I felt like I was always using colors that were too dark or somehow just off.  The powder from the eyeshadow would fall down all over my cheeks, after juuuuust finishing my foundation, and giving me the effect of two black eyes.  Or I’d start out trying to do cat-eye eyeliner and end up with Cleopatra eyes.  Not necessarily a bad thing, just not the look I was going for.

I remember this happening to me when I was in college. My friends and I were doing our makeup before we went to dollar beer night.  Remember how classy everything was in college?  We had no idea that those $1 beers were all the makeup we needed.  By the time we showed up, the guys had such crazy beer goggles on we looked like early 90’s Pamela Anderson to them.  Oh, Beer Goggles, I owe you so much.  How you helped a gal who was still learning how to do her makeup.

Despite all this, we tried our best.  It was Tuesday night in Upstate NY, and dang it, we were gonna be glamorous!  I started doing my eyeliner and then adjusted one side a little heavier to match the other side.  And then added a little more to match that side, and just kept adding liner.  I asked my friends if I did ok and my friend looked at me, paused, and replied “Dramatic!”  …  Good enough for me!  We were out the door, dollars bills clutched in our hands.

Years later, after keeping one eye open do watch makeup artists do my other eye  (SO creepy of me, right?)  I finally got the pointers I needed.  So lovely & glamorous, Ladies, here you go:

EVERYTHING I’VE EVER LEARNED ABOUT EYE MAKEUP:

I’m using Cargo Essential Palette, because it’s easy.  That is why I love palettes.  They do the work of color coordinating shades for you.  I got it on sale at Ulta for $15 (21 Days of beauty Deals Sale), but normally it’s $34, kind of pricey, sorry Ladies!  But it is huge, I don’t feel like I’ve even put a dent in it and I use it almost everyday.

Covergirl makes great eyeshadows as well.  I would try their Eye Enhancers 1-kit shadows in French Vanilla or Champagne for your Brow Shade, Mink for your Lid Shade, Tapestry Taupe for your Crease Shade, and Brown Smolder for your Liner Shade.  I use Brown Smolder all the time.  It’s amazing and they are under $4 each.

Fav daytime look.
Fav daytime look.

The Basics Tutorial:

1.  Start with primer.

I always thought eyelid primer was gimmicky.  Like, you ran out of stuff to sell us and this is what you came up with?  C’mon!  Then I bought a makeup set, see my last post about sets.  In that kit was Benefit’s Stay Don’t Stray Eyelid primer.  I tried it and guess what?  My eyeshadow lasted 12 hours, and would have lasted longer if I hadn’t needed to go to bed.  It didn’t crease on my lids and the colors were so much more vibrant.  I was sold.  E.L.F. Cosmetics makes one for $3 that you can find at Target.

How to use:  Put the tiniest dot on your ring finger, and dot as if you were applying eye cream.  Blend quickly across your lid, up to your eyebrow, and below your eye where you’ll be adding concealer.

2: Brow Shade.  Start working it into the upper, inner corner of your eye and swept it up right under your brow.  Just a tiny line under your brow.

3: Lid Shade.  You can use the same brush you used for the brow shade.  Sweep this color, again, starting at the upper, inner corner of your eye, but this time take that color across your whole lid and up to the line of where your brow color starts.

4:  Crease Shade.  The step I had been missing forever.  This step makes all the difference.  Dip a crease brush, again E.L.F. Cosmetics makes one for $3.  It’s the perfect size for my eyes.  In the crease of your eye, in the center of your crease, run this color back and forth, until it’s really blended in.  This is the only color that doesn’t go into the inner corner of your eye.

5: Liner.  I like Revlon’s Grow Luscious eyeliner for liner on my inner eyes.  It’s super creamy.  Start with your inner eyes first and do a light line on the inside of you eye, as close to your lower lashes as you can.  For my upper liner, I like Physician’s Formula Eye Booster Eyeliner.  Again, affordable and it has the thinnest tip.  Thin tip = precision = making you look like a pro.  Starting at the inner corner, draw a thin line to the outer edge, as close to your lashes as you can.  I like to flare up the ends for a mini cat eye.

6:  Liner Shade.  For this look, we are just going to use this color as liner.  I’ll do a smokey look and a full cat eye later.  This is a good, everyday eye shadow look.

Taking a liner brush for a more precise line or a smudge brush for a softer line, dip it lightly into your darkest shade.  You can always add more color later.  Run it just above your eye liner and wing it out into a small cat eye as well.

Dip your brush again, and starting at the outer corner, underneath your eye, draw a thin line underneath your lashes.  Gently blend the shadow out with your ring finger.

7.  Blending.  Take a larger, fluffy eye brush and BLEND all the shadow above your eye.  From trial and error (yikes), I have found the key to any good eye look is really blended shadow.  A good eye look is not being able to see any lines of where colors start and stop.  If the fluffy brush isn’t blending enough, take your brush that you used for each step and really blend it again, the go over it with the fluffy brush.

8.  Add mascara or false lashes and you are good to go!

9.  For a more dramatic night time look, take your liner or smudge brush and go back over the liner with your darkest shade, bringing it all the way up into the crease of your eye.  Blend again with your crease brush at the crease and your large fluffy brush all over.

Great nighttime look!
Great nighttime look!

I hope this helps!  Please feel free to ask any questions in the comment section below if a step doesn’t make sense.  Which do you guys like better, a video or a pictorial like my other posts?

Thank you for reading, you can follow me on Instagram at: girlgetglamorous.  Also, feel free to share this post on your Facebook or Twitter!

Stay Glam!

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XO,

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  1. I’ve really enjoyed your tutorials and I’m interested in learning more. I have hooded eyes which makes it hard to combine my eyeshadows. I love a pop of shimmer but I don’t know if I’m doing it right.

  2. Thank you for sharing this! You make it sound so easy. Question, why put eye primer under your eyes where concealer goes?