One of the biggest complaints I hear from my clients is that they can never get their eye makeup right. It smudges, fades, or they just simply give up. They tell me they have "bad eyes" or "that just doesn't work for me". Honestly, eyes can be tricky. There are just so many little things that can go awry. So I'm going to let you in on a few trade secrets for battling the perils of eye makeup, starting with...
The Fallout.
There is nothing worse than trying to get rid of eyeshadow thats fallen under your eyes and stained your skin - especially when you've assured your significant other you'll be ready in five minutes (they should really stop buying that line). But there are solutions!
How to fix it when it happens...
1. Try sweeping it off gently with a large, soft natural haired powder or fan brush. The natural fibres pick up the powder pigment whereas any densely packed brush or synthetic brush would apply too much pressure and smudge the pigment into your foundation or concealer.
2. You can also try applying a small amount of moisturiser on top of the fallout, don’t rub it in, just pat it on top. Then wipe it off in one gentle swipe with a cotton pad. The moisturiser collects the shadow pigment without taking the additional layer of your foundation off.
3. Barrier method. This is an old school trick but still works a treat. Pat a dense layer of powder under your eyes with a powder puff or sponge - this will catch any fall out and you can dust it straight off when you're done. You can also try items like shadow shields to give the shadow somewhere to fall.
Left - Powder method. Right - Shadow Shields
Stop it from happening in the first place...
1. First things first - Invest in quality eyeshadows. Now I'm all for a bargain, especially when it comes to colour palettes you don't venture to very often but please invest in your staples. A quality shadow will be finely milled, have a high pigment percentage and be tightly packed. Remember to tap excess shadow off your brush before applying – you can always add more. Quality Shadows don't have to cost the earth - I've listed some of my favourites below.
2. Make sure to start with a primed lid. You can simply use foundation or concealer but eye primers truly are magical things. They even out skin tone on your eyelid, grab onto shadow like a magnet and make your colours more vibrant. My current favourite is this one from Iridis Cosmetics.
3. Choose the right tools. The more dense your brush the more dense your colour pay off. Try to use tightly packed brushes to apply colour to the lid and fluffier, more loosely packed brushes to blend.
a. Pack on colour - MAC 239.
b. Blend and soften edges - MAC 217
4. If you are going for a dark or dramatic colour I always recommend doing your eye makeup first so that you can clean up before moving onto the rest of you face.
Now I know what you're thinking... what about creasing? What about eyeliner?? Stay tuned for more Friday Face Facts to get my top tips on everything from longer lashes to fierce flicks.
xx FemFox