Not quite sure about the proper techniques to use when it comes to applying your eye shadow? Or maybe you just got one of those amazing new palettes with a ton of fun shades and you don’t know where to begin. Did you know that certain shades cater better to one eye color over the other? How do I make my eye shadow last all day? To prime or not to prime? And what about eye liner? So many different kinds out there, which one will work best for the look I’m going for? We’re going to break it all down for you here and help you get started!
First Things First… Choosing the Right Shade for Your Eye Color is KEY!
Eye Makeup for Brown Eyes
To accentuate the natural gold undertones in brown eyes, stick with gold and copper shades. They’ll give your eyes a sparkly effect. Purples are another good choice as they’ll help to brighten the whites of your eyes. Nudes and soft neutrals are also very popular among brown-eyed gals. And you may think that blue shadow is a thing of the 80’s that we’d like to leave in the 80’s, but cool shades of navy and cobalt blue will highlight those gold and orange undertones and make dark brown eyes really POP!
Eye Makeup for Green Eyes
Green eyes look their best when you use it’s complimentary color, red. Stick with warm taupe, copper, terracotta, pinks, Heather grey, dark emerald green, and all shades of purple.
Eye Makeup for Blue Eyes
The complimentary color for blue eyes is actually orange. You’ll be safe sticking with various shades of peach, apricot, nude, gold, copper, bronze, caramel, and orange-based browns. Or you can even try a blue shade that’s softer than your eye color to make it really pop, like blue-grey, blue-silvers, or soft aqua.
You may find this chart useful to help you when choosing the right shades for your eye color!
Now that we’ve got your perfect shade picked out, it’s time to get started! Just like you’d prime your face before applying foundation, you can also prime your eyelids to help ensure that your shadow stays put all day. When it comes to makeup, super expensive doesn’t always mean better. That is especially true when it comes to eye primer. I love Urban Decay’s Eye Shadow Primer in Potion. Urban Decay also makes a few other eye primers that are tinted and designed to give you that crease-free wear for up to 24 hours. There is even one that supports Anti-Aging! But, if $20 to $24 isn’t in your budget for an eye shadow primer, you can always save money by choosing a more budget friendly primer that can be just as effective. Eye shadow primer by Milani will only cost you $6.99. It comes up a little short in it’s longevity, at only being able to do the job for eight hours, compared to a full day with Urban Decay, but really, who needs to wear their eye makeup for a full 24 hours? According to their website, “This lightweight, nonsticky color-intensifier and crease-minimizer goes on nude and once it dries down, it’s invisible.”
If you don’t want to go the primer route, I’ve found that cream-based shadows also work great as a primer. Then, you kill two birds with one stone as you’ve already got your shade with added staying power! Feel free to top light cream-based shadows with color. I love this one from Colour Basis in Milky Way, but again this makeup line is designed with TV people in mind, so that’s why the price is on the higher end. One last thing, unlike face primer where you wait for it to set for a few minutes, do not allow eye shadow primer to dry. Apply eye shadow while the primer is still fresh and wet.
How to Apply Eye Makeup
So, now that you’ve got your color palette figured out and your lids are primed, it’s time to actually apply the eye shadow! As a side-note, not all eye shadow is created equal. You want to make sure you’ve got a well-pigmented eye shadow. That doesn’t necessarily have to mean pricier, although the higher end shadows will have the deeper pigments. L’Oreal, Maybelline, and Revlon have developed affordable eye shadows with generous pigmenting if you’re on a tight budget and can’t afford the likes of Urban Decay 1, 2, & 3 palettes.
But, first things first, throw out that sponge applicator that came with the shadow. The best way to apply eye shadow is with a brush.
Thank you to the Drugstore Princess for this amazeballs eye makeup brush break down! So, starting with your flat brush, choose a neutral shade, not the darkest, not the lightest, and sweep it over your entire eyelid, top to bottom. (This is where I use the Colour Basis Milky Way creme shadow I mentioned earlier.) This first layer will be your main shadow base which you will build upon. Up next, using your blending brush or crease brush, choose a darker color to fill in your crease. If you have a 3-color palette, choose the darkest color. If you have a 4-color palette, choose the 3rd darkest. If you’re not using a palette, use a color that’s in the same family as the neutral color. When applying your crease color, you’re going to go back and forth, like a windshield wiper, blending it into that color on your lid. Blend, blend, blend. If you want a little more of a dramatic look, using your detail brush or pencil brush, go with your darkest color and form a “V” on your outer crease. Kind of like this: 
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If you’re going for the more natural look, skip this step and pick your lightest shade, and using your angled brush, highlight the upper lid, right beneath the brow, above the crease. You want your lids to seamlessly blend from light to dark to light again. Blending is key! To make your eyes look wider and brighter, take your lightest color and dab a little bit into the corner of your eye. You don’t want it to be too noticeable. It’ll just give your eye that extra pop!
Here’s a look at a few of my favorite eyeshadow looks!
Smokey Eye Tutorial
Are you looking for a more dramatic, sexy looking eye? You want to look sultry, not like a raccoon rummaging through trash at the trailer park. With a few simple steps, you can get that sexy smolder and master the smokey eye. It can be a bit intimidating, look overly complicated, but it’s totally do-able! Check out some of these step by step guides…
Smokey eyes, don’t just have to be dark and black. Have fun with it and mix it up with maybe a little gold or even blue!
But then if you’re going for SUPER dramatic, channeling your inner Cat Woman, check this tutorial out…
Natural Eye Makeup Look
We are going from one extreme to the next and possibly my favorite look for eye shadow is the natural look. It’s pretty, it’s soft, it’s flawless and it never goes out of style. It comes off as fresh, like you aren’t even wearing makeup at all. I love this tutorial from LuLu’s Blog which you can find HERE. 
1.) Start with your lightest eye-shadow in white or cream color concentrating on the inner lid.
2.) Using an angled shadow brush, choose a golden coral eye-shadow above the crease moving from the middle to the outer lid.
3.) Choose a pointed shadow brush to pull a matte hazelnut brown color just through the crease of the lid.
4.) Gently blend the 3 colors.
5.) Line the upper lash line with a chocolate brown shadow using a fine point liner brush.
6.) With the same dark brown shadow, lightly smudge the outer upper lid to create definition.
7.) Using the same brush and technique as Step 5, line the outer lower lash line.
8.) For a little more dramatic look, smudge the upper lash line with black shadow.
Time to Talk Eye Liner
There are three kinds of eye liner: Pencil, Gel, or Liquid. Let’s start with the pencil eye liner. Pencil eye liner is generally easy to apply, but it may not spread or come on as thick as a gel or liquid liner. But, it can blend well for that natural look.
The Gel eye liner has a matte finish and glides on easy. You may also find gel liner in a little pot that you can apply with a slanted brush. Gel liner has staying power and isn’t prone to smudging. (Which also means if you mess up, be prepared to clean it up with a make-up remover soaked q-tip or a q-tip dipped in petroleum jelly. If all else fails, dab a little concealer on the mistake.)
When I think of Liquid liner, I think of a felt pen. There’s no sharpening or twisting like a pencil or gel liner. If you’re looking for a more precise line that can range from super fine to extra bold, a liquid liner will get you to that level of dramatic flair you’re looking to achieve. Liquid liner is perfect if you’re going for that Cat Eye look which we’ll get to in a moment.
I myself have graduated from the pencil, to the gel, to the liquid. I loved my Estee Lauder pencil that was my very first eye liner pencil in high school. Then when I began a TV career, I moved up to applying my liner using E.L.F. cream eyeliner from a pot. Using a brush to apply liner was a little tricky at first, because if you aren’t careful the line can get super thick and then you’re eyes come out looking unevenly matched, and because it doesn’t smudge, it’s hard to fix without removing it completely and then having to re-do your whole eye shadow and everything! Ain’t no one got time for that… Then, after getting an Ipsy bag, a liquid pencil was included in my bag and I haven’t looked back since. I do still use an eye pencil for my lower lash line and I’d definitely recommend going waterproof when it comes to a pencil eye liner, otherwise it may come off or smudge easily.
Cat Eye Makeup
Mastering the puuur-fect cat eye is probably one of the most difficult looks to master. Your precision must be razor-sharp and that is no easy feat for a novice or a pro. The cat eye look helps to elongate the eye and can even draw attention away from tired, puffy eyes. As mentioned earlier, a liquid liner will work best to achieve the cat eye look. Figure out the shape of your eye and then start drawing, making sure you follow your eye’s natural curve. Start in the inner corner of your eye, working your way out, getting thicker as you go. Stop when you get to the end of your lashes. Then pick up your liner and start the tail coming in from the opposite direction and connect the lines. Try your best to keep your eyes open while applying to ensure even cat eyes. Top it off with a few coats of mascara and then keep the rest of your makeup simple with just a little blush and lip gloss. 
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Hopefully these tips on how to apply eye makeup have been useful and informative. Something I can’t go without mentioning is now that you’ve got your eye makeup looking fabulous, do NOT go to bed with it on. Wearing any makeup to bed will age you quicker than you’d like! Something that will help you get the eye makeup off and help the skin around your eyes to look great are Rodan + Fields REDEFINE Eye Cloths. The REDEFINE Eye Cloths serve a dual purpose, removing makeup without tugging that delicate skin around the eye and they deposit cosmetic ingredients to combat the visible signs of aging. These cloths minimize the appearance of lines, wrinkles and under-eye puffiness while cleaning off stubborn eye makeup, including your mascara, by using a blend of proven peptides. REDEFINE Eye Cloths complement every Rodan + Fields skincare system and work great with the REDEFINE Multi-Function Eye Cream to achieve maximum results!
What’s your favorite look for eyes? Any tips on mastering that cat eye look? Coming soon, let’s talk the one makeup I’ll never leave the house without… MASCARA!