From the archives: Eyeshadow 101

Happy Monday, all! Today, I'm focusing on a series that I wrote awhile back called "Eyeshadow 101." (Because who doesn't need a little eyeshadow refresher every so often?)

"Eyeshadow 101" is a four-part series that hones in on the best eyeshadow shades for each eye color, and how to create great "every day eye" and "dramatic eye" looks. I also provide my favorite eyeshadow options. Click on the links below to read the original posts. 

Part One (Brown eyes)

Part Two (Green/Hazel eyes)

Part Three (Blue eyes)

Part Four (Grey eyes) 

(Whew, I used the word "eyeshadow" a lot in two paragraphs. Yay for me?)

Eyeshadow for grey eyes

This is a little addendum to my Eyeshadow 101 posts, because I have a friend who has grey eyes. Grey eyed beauties should stick with deep purples, cool browns and charcoals. Highlight with pearls and faint pinks, so long as they harmonize with the other colors you're using.

Mineralize Eye Shadow Duo in Earthly Riches

Also, MAC Eye Shadow in Print, Concrete, Sketch and Plum Dressing. I also like Covergirl's Eye Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows in Drama Eyes and Berries & Cream.

Eyeshadow 101, part three: Baby blues

No I did not forget all of the lovely blue eyed gals out there... I apologize this installment is a bit belated.

Let me reiterate the point that you should not try to match your eyeshadow to your eye color! This only dulls the beautiful color of your eyes, and in the case of you blue eyed beauties, just makes you look like you were caught in that really awkward makeup period between the 70s and 80s.

Thus, your signature colors are: rich warm browns, warm taupes and soft peaches. (If you are a fair blonde with blue eyes, violets will also work well for you.) Make sure you go with a rich, deep brown if you want to achieve a more dramatic and impacting look. Sorry to use more shades from MAC, but here goes:

Motif

Amber Lights

Espresso

For an everyday eye

Step One: use Motif on lids and lightly on the brow bone (underbrow region)
Step Two: use Amber Lights (or a LIGHT application of Espresso) in the crease
Step Three: blend

For a dramatic eye

Step One: use Amber Lights on the lids
Step Two: use Motif on the underbrow region, in a slightly heavier application than for the everyday eye
Step Three: use Espresso on the crease and blend into the corners of the lid
Step Four: continue to blend until shadow appears fluid
(Use your favorite dark brown liner to complete this look.)

If on a tighter budget, Almay provides a lovely option:

Almay intense i-color play up trio for blues

I also think that Covergirl's Eye Enhancers 3-Kit Shadows in Cafe Au Lait (or, if you fall into the violet category, Dance Party) is a wonderful option.

Have fun and rock those baby blues!

Eyeshadow 101, part two: Glorious greens

As you can probably guess from the title of this post, this eyeshadow 101 installment will focus on you gorgeous girls with gloriously green eyes. (Did I get a bit carried away with the alliteration? Probably. He hee.) This post also applies to my lovely hazel eyed girls whose eyes are dominantly green toned.

I think green eyes are so intriguing on their own, that the last thing you would want to do is choose an eyeshadow that detracts from them. A lot of people will claim that green eyeshadow is the way to go, but I have to respectfully disagree. Green eyed girls, your signature colors are going to be in the purples and plums family. Pearls are a great highlight color for you and Greys are a nice compliment as well. Sephora actually has a lovely product called Colorful Pro Eyeshadow Palette-Green Eyes that I think would be an excellent start to your foray into fabulous eyeshadow.

eyeshadow colors from left to right: shimmering dark grey, rich olive, light grey, cream pearl, petal beige and shimmering warm russet

For an everyday eye

Step One: Use Petal Beige on lids with a superfine dusting of the same color on your brow bone (aka underbrow region)
Step Two: Use Shimmering Warm Russet on the crease
Step Three: BLEND

For a dramatic eye

Step One: Use Petal Beige on lids
Step Two: Highlight the underbrow region with some Cream Pearl
Step Three: Use Shimmering Warm Russet in crease and into the corners of the outer lid
Step Four: BLENDY mcBLENDERSON
(If you so desire, line eyes with Shimmering Dark Grey shadow or another grey eyeliner of choice. Black liner tends to be a little too harsh for your eyes, so make sure you stick with a slate grey or even a brown when lining your eyes, depending on which eyeshadow colors you use. I would strongly advise sticking with a grey liner.)

Here are a few more shadows I heart:

MAC eyeshadow in Trax

NARS Single Eye Shadow in Ondine

I also like NARS Single Eye Shadow in Abyssinia, but I couldn't find a picture.

Stay tuned for part three, which will focus on your Baby Blues.

The eyes have it: eyeshadow 101, part one

This eyeshadow 101 installment is for my beautiful brown eyed girls.

But before I get into the specifics, I want to show you something:

This is a diagram of the eye as it pertains to eyeshadow application. I will refer to these specific regions throughout these posts, so I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page before we get started. (Besides, aren't visuals so fun?)

Typically, the objective of wearing eyeshadow is to enhance your eyes, not detract from them. I know you've all seen that girl whose eyes seem to just "have it." Where all you notice is how her brown/green/blue/hazel eyes just seem to sparkle. I'm here to help you achieve this same sparkle. Here goes...

Eyeshadow 101, part one: Beautiful Brown Eyed Girls

All while growing up, I was warned against being too "matchy-matchy." Be it with clothes (though I did have this brilliant phase in which I had an entire pastel green outfit from Gap Kids-- we're talking overalls, shirt, socks, shoes AND hair accessories) or with makeup, I have read countless articles that have practically banned me from being too literal, too "matchy."

However, you brown eyed babes are in luck, because in the world that is eyeshadow, you can and should use browns and bronzes to accentuate your eye color. Greens are also an excellent option for you, because their tones are harmonious with your chocolicious eyes. These lovely earth tones (browns, bronzes and greens) are your license to stun.

Since I was a wee lass, my mother taught me the importance of using multiple eyeshadow colors to add dimension to my lids. She started me out with some Covergirl eyeshadow kits that contained complimentary colors (typically shadows from the same color family in varying hues), so that I could learn how to make them all work together.

I will provide you with a simple example involving colors that work brilliantly with brown eyes. The shadows that will be used in this example are all from MAC:

Retrospeck

Honey Lust


Tempting

{I apologize that the images I found do not really show the difference in shade of Retrospeck and Honey Lust. Retrospeck is about two shades lighter than Honey Lust, and Honey Lust has a lot more of a metallic punch to it.}

For an everyday eye

Step One: use Retrospeck on lids and lightly (meaning a superfine dusting) on the underbrow region (I personally like to refer to this area as the brow bone, but we'll go with the terms of the diagram for now.)
Step Two: use Tempting in the crease
Step Three: blend, Blend, BLEND
(You should never be able to see a line of demarcation between eyeshadow colors, rather, it should appear fluid. Like you're using one continuous eyeshadow with different shades.)

For a dramatic eye

Step One: use Honey Lust on the lids
Step Two: use Retrospeck on the underbrow, in a slightly thicker application than on the everyday eye
Step Three: use Tempting on the crease, and into the corners of the outer lid
Step Four: BLEND until you can blend no more
(If you so desire, use your favorite black or dark brown liner to accompany the shadow.)

Make sense? It's really quite simple and intuitive after some practice. Since I have provided you with some options in the browns/bronze range, here are a few that I heart in the green family:

MAC Eyeshadow Duo in Brightside/Gallery Gal

MAC Eyeshadow in Sumptuous Olive

{I do apologize that I tend to always use MAC products in my examples... the fact is, this brand provides a lot of colors to choose from, so you almost always find exactly what you're looking for.}

If on a budget, I think Covergirl puts out a great product for the price point. I especially like Covergirl's 4-Kit Shadows in Country Woods, and think it could work quite well. I also think that their 1-Kit Shadow colors in Kaboom Kelly, Brown Smolder and Swiss Chocolate would be great additions to any eyeshadow collection.

Stay tuned for part two, where we will foray into the glorious world that is green eyes.