Eye Shadows Buying Guide

Eye shadow  is one of the more creative aspects of makeup. You can choose to naturally highlight your eyes, paint your lids crazy colours, or to make your eyes appear smaller or larger. Eye shadow comes in virtually every shade one could think of, so be prepared to have a wide selection to choose from. Some eye shadows are sold in single form, while others come in palettes  that can contain anywhere from two to thirty different shades.

Tips on Choosing an Eyeshadow

• You get what you pay for usually in the world of cosmetics. Here eye shadow is no exception. The pricier forms of powder eyeshadow contain higher quality pigments and a finer consistency. That means pricier shadows will be richer in color and be easier to blend. They might even last longer and have less of a tendency to crease. As for cream shadows, don't worry about spending an arm and a leg since it won't make much of a difference in the quality.
• Get top of the line eyeshadow in the shades that you'd wear most often. Feel free to buy a cheap bright blue eye shadow if you are just wearing it for a costume.
• Color choice is completely optional. Everyone will have a preference as to whether they like earthy neutrals or bold shades best and nobody can tell you that you aren't allowed to wear green eyeshadow if you want to. But remember that depending on your hair and skin tone some colors might naturally be better matches to bring out your best features.
• Experiment with cheaper eyeshadow. If you are looking for the perfect shade, try buying a cheap, large eye shadow palette. When you find a colour that you love, go out and buy the shade in a higher quality form.

Eye Colour and Eye Shadow Guide

There are a lot of factors that go into whether or not an eye shadow looks good on you. Eye colour can play a part, but skin tone, hair colour, confidence, season, time of day, personal preference, and the quality of the shadow all play a part. Darker shades usually look better at night, and bright, wild colours look best in late afternoon and early evening. Keep experimenting until you find the best shade for every occasion. Here are some basic guidelines for matching eye colour with eye shadows. 

Brown Eyes Neutral tones like beige, brown, and taupe. Gold. Purple. Navy.	Blue Eyes Grey. Purple. Taupe, gold, and beige. Peach.	Green Eyes Plum. Bronze Caramel, gold and brown. Apricot.	Hazel Eyes Green. Purple. Deep brown and golden shades.

Eye Shadow Types

Pressed Powder  Matte powder eye shadow is basic. It is versatile, subtle or bold depending how you apply it, and it is good for all ages and skin types. It can be applied wet or dry either with a hair brush or a sponge brush. A substitute for matte shadow is bronzer, but never blush or lipstick.	Cream Eye Shadow  This is the most recent advance in eyeshadow. This sheer and shiny formula is easy to apply, blend, and mix. You can apply it with a makeup applicator or your fingers. The only drawback is that this type of shadow is easily smudged, so take care to prep properly. Also, these are best reserved for the younger ladies. If you have lots of wrinkles around your eyes, it will only make them more apparent.	Eye Shadow Pencils  These are not as common. Usually the formula is creamy and may have a shimmer. They are easy to apply because they come in a stick form. Not good for older eyes because they may tug on the skin.	Illuminators  These are fairly new to the market, but a great tool to have in your toolbox. These are basically highlighters built in a narrow form factor. They allow you to touch up around the inner corners of the eyes or sweep just under the tail of the browline to make it seem more lifted.

Application Tips

• When you want to apply a one, two, three, or four color design to your lids, always be sure to properly prep your eyes with concealer  and/or foundation  so that the color stays and doesn't smudge.
• Use separate brushes if you are using more than one color.
• Always tap or shake of the brush before applying the color so that it won't become caked.
• Forget using the foam applicators included with the cheaper variety of shadows that are mediocre to poor quality.
• Blend always! There should never be obvious lines where you apply shadow.
• Do not match the shadow to your outfit when using bright colors unless it is subtle.
• Unless you are young enough to sport them, avoid bright neon shadows.

Top Eye Shadow Picks

Dior 5 Colour Eyeshadow  Options, options, options! Here you can wear all five shades at once or wear them all separately. This is super high quality makeup, so make sure you like the shades before you purchase!	MAC Paint Eyeshadow  This high quality eyeshadow goes on creamy but dries powdery fresh!	Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Eyeshadow  This is the best selling product from this well-established makeup company.	Stila Smoky Eye Talking Palette  This set contains four eye shadow shades and a recording of a Stila artist giving you step by step directions on how to create the smoky eye.

Related Guides

Mascaras	Makeup Removers	Bronzers	Eyeliners	Makeup Tools

International Resources

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NL: Oogschaduw Shopgids