Grab Three Shades of Eyeshadow
You know how so many eyeshadow palettes come with 10 or more shades and you kind of stare at them, unsure which to use where? Simplify all of that by sticking to just three shades: a medium, a light, and a darker tone. That’s it — that’s all you’ll need to properly contour your eyes.
As for glittery shades, ignore what you’ve been told about not being able to wear shimmer over a certain age. You can and SHOULD wear shimmery shadows if you want to. The key is placing them correctly on the lid.
One-And-Done Look
Let’s say you’re pressed for time in the morning and want to do a quick, one-and-done look that brightens up your face and eyes. Here’s what you can do: apply a lighter shade to your entire lid. Now take a medium shade of eyeshadow and, using a brush, apply it to what Makeup Expert Lisa Monique called the “transition area” of the eye — the part of the lid that creases to separate the lower and upper lid. If you want to add a highlight to your brow bone to create more emphasis, that’s something you can also do. If not, consider this your simplest one-and-done look (even though you’re actually using two eyeshadow shades).
Get A More Sophisticated Look By Adding Shimmer
If you want to step up your eyeshadow look a bit more, apply the medium shade of eyeshadow on your lid, the shimmer shade on the inner two-thirds of your lid, and the darker shade on the outer portion of your eyelid. Monique recommends using a large, flat brush because it’s easier to apply your eyeshadow with it. Keep a highlighted portion right underneath your brow.
Emphasize Eyes With Liner
Eyeliner on the top lid will emphasize your eyes beautifully after you’ve applied eyeshadow. But you don’t actually need a separate eyeliner to make your eyes pop: use a smaller angled brush that you dip into your darkest eyeshadow (and maybe wet the brush beforehand) and then sweep it over the upper lash line to create the same effect.
Mascara, Mascara, Mascara
There are few ravishing eye makeup looks that doesn’t end with the icing on the cake: curled lashes and mascara. Make sure to use a clean eyelash curler to plump up thin lashes and then add two coats of mascara for the ultimate eye-opening finishing touch.