When applying eyeshadow, the basic rule is to use at least three different colored shadows:
base color (lightest shade)
main color (medium shade)
highlighter for the crease (darker shade)
1. Always use a primer before your eye makeup. You can use a special formulated eye foundation such as Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, ($18) or a dab of your liquid foundation. Starting from the lash line to the eyebrow, gently rub the primer into the skin and cover the whole eye area. Let dry before you start applying eye shadows.
2. With a large, flat eye shadow brush, apply your base color to the entire eye up to the eyebrow.
3. Then with a tapered brush, apply the main color eyeshadow to the eyelid up to the crease.
4. Lastly, using an angled brush and a light sweeping motion, apply the darkest shade along the crease of your eye from the corner to the outer edges. For a natural look and to avoid a harsh line across the crease, blend it in well with a big, soft blending brush or a cotton swab.
5. Dab a thin eyeshadow brush into the darkest eyeshadow color and line your lower lash line.
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Stila Smoky Eye Palette – Original ($40) Here’s the palette that took the beauty business by storm! Stila’s groundbreaking ORIGINAL talking palette taught the world how to create the perfect smoky eye.
How does it work? It’s simple – just push the button and the palette literally talks you through 5 easy steps to the perfect smoky eye. It’s complete with artistry tips and what brushes to use – all in under a minute.
Steps to create a perfect smoky eye:
Apply the base color by using your base brush to wash color over the entire eye area.
Now apply the lid color by using your lid brush, defining the eyelid up into the crease and lightly under the eye.
Next, apply the crease color using the same brush to contour an arc into the crease. Remember to blend well to avoid edges.
Finally, the liner color: using the liner brush, smudge the outside corner of the eye, then the top and bottom of the lash line. To intensify, use brush damp.
Finish with Stila’s onyx kajal liner and major lash mascara in black.
The palette includes four shades: an icy champagne as the base, shade slate that is silvery gray for the lid, shade kettle that is dark gray as the contour and shade ebony that is smoky black brown as the liner.
My review:
I love the concept of this palette. It comes with easy-to-follow, step by step audio instructions that make creating a smoky eye fast and easy.
The colors are sheer but you can add more product to get a darker smoky eye effect. However, when I tried to build up more color with layering, I had way too much fall out (definitely not a good thing). My cheeks were covered in eye shadow and it frustrates me when I have to fix my face makeup after it was already nicely done. Also, these eye shadows aren’t very long lasting, but don’t worry that can be fixed with a little eye primer.
Overall, I have a like/dislike relationship with this palette. I mean, this eyeshadow palette is perfect for day-wear but this being a “smoky eye” palette, I assumed the colors would be a lot darker so I was a little disappointed when they weren’t. But I still love the color combination, they’re VERY nice shades. I especially like the base shadow in icy champagne, I use it all the time.
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Having loved the Pixi Eye Beauty Kit in Mango, I went back to Target for another Pixi pallet. This time I picked up Pixi’s Eye Beauty Kit in Mod. The shades of this particular pallet are fantastic!
And the quality is just as good as all of the other Pixi products that I’ve used. Except for the shade in medium bark, I don’t like it at all. It’s too light and it almost dissapears on my skin. I hate not being able to see where I’ve already put color at or having to put too much of one product to get a decent looking shade out of it.
Anyways, here are the swatches to Pixi’s Eye Beauty Kit in Mod:
Oh and another thing, ice-white and skin cream look similar in the swatches that I did but they’re not, skin cream has more of a pink color to it.
Overall, I think Pixi cosmetics are fairly good and I don’t mind having them as part of my makeup collection.
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I finally got a chance to try out my Duo Eye Shadow Creams by e.l.f. cosmetics and so far I like.
The quality of these cream eye shadows is pretty good. They’re very pigmented. They blend easy. The color combinations are beautiful and they have a nice shimmery finish.
But besides all of these wonderful qualities, e.l.f.’s Duo Eye Shadow Creams are not long lasting and if you put too much on, they will crease.
You definitely don’t want to wear these cream eye shadows alone; instead, use them as a base. Make sure you put a primer first, then set them with some kind of powder. This will make the cream shadows longer lasting and their colors more vibrant.
Swatches:
Eggplant: a grayish, dark green and purple. Both with gold undertones.
Butter Pecan: a medium brown and a peachy like color. Both shades have gorgeous gold undertones
Black Licorice: a creamy silver and black.
I like that they each come with two shades and you can easily apply these with a flat brush or with your finger. Plain and sweet, they’re easy to use and for a dollar you should give them a try.
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I went to Ross last night, and as soon as I walked in, I headed towards their gift sets. I was digging through their stuff when I came across a few goodies – Profusion eyeshadow palettes and products by e.l.f. cosmetics.
Wow, there was a lot of products by e.l.f. cosmetics. I didn’t even know Ross carried e.l.f. They had their nail polish sets, mineral makeup, and lotions. I ended up getting their Pineapple Mango Nourishing Body Lotion for $2.99. Yummy…it smells so good!
Anyways, I had never heard of Profusion cosmetics and I wasn’t sure whether to buy these palettes or not. But these eyeshadow palettes look like the ones from Coastal Scents or the ones from BH Cosmetics only cheaper. So, I was like “what the heck I’m going to buy them.”
Ross had many sized Profusion palettes to choose from. I picked up their two biggest eyeshadow palettes. I got the 88 Pro Eyeshadow Palette for $5.99 and a 98 color eye palette for $7.99.
Profusion 88 Pro Eyeshadow Palette
Profusion 98 Color Eye Palette
The eyeshadow from the 88 eyeshadow palette are smaller and a bit more sheerer then the eyeshadow on the 98 eye color palette. The eyeshadow on both sets are very creamy and beautiful.
I know many of you will want to know how these palettes compare to the ones from Coastal Scents. Unfortunately, I don’t own the Coastal Scent palettes or any of the BH Cosmetics Palettes. Boo hoo! However, both of these two makeup brands rank high among reviewers. (I think they’re the same products just under different brands. )
Anyways, I went on YouTube to look for video reviews. Luckily, I found a video by the lovely eyeshadowanonymous where she compares the 88 eyeshadow palette by Profusion to the 88 eyeshadow palette by Coastal Scents.
Have you had a chance to try any of these makeup brands? I would love to hear what you thought about them…
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1. Always use a primer before your eye makeup. You can use a special formulated eye foundation such as Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, ($18)
