I've been racking my brain over the last couple of days about what I could possibly write about. I promised eye shadow, but have had somewhat on a brain fart as to what about eye shadow. This entry is for those of you who need help with figuring out how to do a really nice, basic natural look as well as those just starting out that aren't quite ready for super bold colors. I have done many different variations of natural looks and have found the following to be my all time favorite. The products are inexpensive and last forever. I use this palette almost daily for work (I work 6 days a week) and it has lasted me 9 months so far and still has quite a bit of life left in it.
This book is only $5.00 online and is well worth it. Something like this would cost minimum $20 if it were what is considered 'top end' brands, but this works just as well. It comes with an applicator, eye primer and a mini eyeliner in a brownish color. Personally, I used the eyeliner once but didn't much care for it as it was hard to blend and even hard to apply. The only way I could get it to go on smoothly was to hold a lighter to the end of it and melt it a bit. The primer however, is my favorite at the moment. It glides on smoothly and is very light and non greasy.
It comes with two different "sets" on the inside along with a guide on how to apply them properly. The left side is for a daytime look with the right being for an evening look. I like my crease a little bit darker so I mix and match.
Maybe not the best swatches in existence but it still portrays the colors pretty accurately. The above look has the daytime colors. The highlight (top) color is very light. Just enough to add that little extra emphasis of color on your brow bone. The lid (middle) color is a pretty, shimmery pinkish/brown. The crease (bottom) color is a very light brown; sort of what I would describe as hazelnut.
The evening colors are much, much darker. The highlight color is what I would consider a mixture of the daytime highlight with the daytime lid color. Sort of a very pale rose with a tint of white. The lid color being a deep coffee color with the crease color being a deep, dark brown. The crease color on the evening look has a little bit of glitter in the shadow, which you can't see much at all in this picture.
I like to mix up the colors when I do my daily look. I almost always use the lightest color in the palette for my highlight color. If I am going super natural, I use the highlight color on my brow bone only, or for a little extra pop, I will use the nighttime highlight on my brow bone, and use the daytime highlight on the inner corners of my eye.
I like to go two toned with my lid color, so I will use the nighttime highlight on the inner side of my lid and apply it halfway out and on the other half I will use the daytime lid color. I will apply as much as I need to get the desired look/intensity.
Finally, for the crease, I will almost always use the nighttime lid color as it isn't very strong once it is applied. If I am going for a smokier natural eye, I will add the nighttime crease color to the outer corners of my eye and blend it all together. Blending is very important. Otherwise, you will end up with really awful harsh lines.
The last thing I do, on occasion, is to add a very small dab of the daytime highlight (or nighttime highlight depending on which variation I am going for) to the very center of my lid to sort of open everything up through all the dark browns. It add's a little extra highlight to the center of the whole look.
Here are a couple photos:
These are cell phone pictures from a couple months back, so unfortunately they have some instagram filters on them, making them a little bit blurry. But I think you can get the idea. The top photo is my very basic variation for an acceptable daytime look and the bottom is more of the evening look, although it isn't too harsh for the day. But like I said, I tend to mix up the colors depending on how I am feeling and the outfit worn that day.
