How many times have I declared myself a cosmetics novice? Is the tally up to 87 by now? Somewhere in that range, I’d wager. And it is STILL TRUE, even though I have honed a tiny little group of makeup skills since launching this blog five years ago. And so it is with some hesitation that I share a relatively recent eye makeup discovery.
I’ve finally realized that brown and black eyeliner are both fine, but if I go for purple on my top lid it makes my eyes look bright and clear. (I use the liner pictured above, Rosie Jane Eye Define in Grapevine
But eyeshadow? Not worth it. I don’t know if I have deep-set eyes, small eyelids, wee eyeballs, or some combination thereof, but I’ll tell you this: Eyeshadow is wasted on me. You cannot see it, it makes no difference, and it just ends up a smeary mess after a few hours of wear. And since it takes time and skill to apply properly, and I’m short on both, I’ve taken to skipping it altogether when I do eye makeup.
Let me show you what I mean.
Here’s me with no eye makeup at all besides undereye concealer:
And here’s my current eye makeup process. I line my top lid with a bit of purple.
My bottom lid gets a very light line of dark brown to about the 2/3 mark.
Then mascara on top and bottom.
And done.
It’s a light, fairly casual look but I love it. And the little peek of color is visible and effective, unlike any eyeshadow that would be completely hidden after application.
Just to prove my point further, here are photos of me smiling. We shot these first, the day before the series you see above and before I realized that virtually EVERYTHING about my eyes is obscured when I smile.
Smiling, with nothing but concealer:
Smiling, with purple and brown eyeliner and mascara:
Hardly any visible difference at all. You can only really see a contrast if you get right up in my face and/or zoom in.
I do realize that there are techniques that involve application of eyeshadow above the crease that could totally help my eye makeup pop, but I’m yet to find one that fits my barely-there makeup preferences. I will occasionally do some champagne-colored shadow just to add a bit of shimmer, but most of the time I simply don’t see the point.
I’m SO curious to hear if many of you are eyeshadow skippers, too. It seems like every eye makeup tutorial I’ve ever seen has 95 steps, most of them involving applying and blending four-plus shades of shadow. Does anyone else find eyeshadow superfluous? Just use some colorful eyeliner to perk up your eyes? Is this something that 90% of the world is already doing and I just didn’t know it? (Highly possible.) Or are there simple application techniques that might work for someone with eyes like mine and I just haven’t found them yet?
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Sal, I find it so interesting that I pretty much do the opposite of what you do–yes to the eyeshadow and forget about the eyeliner. I usually use only one color of eyeshadow, but sometimes apply up to three in almost no time at all. I have really great brushes that I bought at an art supply store, and they are the perfect size to get the powder without wasted effort.A few years ago, I found it helpful to pay to get my makeup done, just to see some new techniques and ask questions. I left there feeling a bit clowny because it was gobs more than I’d ever use, but did take away some techniques that were useful.
I agree with you 100%. Like you my lids disappear – I think that is called “hooded” lids. Now who can we sell our stash of barely used eye shadows to??? LOL
I have very similar eyes to you and I agree. I try with all my might to use shadow, because all the youtube makeup gurus seem to have huge eyes with lids that go on for days and have so much fun changing up their eye looks…alas this is not me. Maybe someday I’ll accept that, but for now I’ll just try to remind myself that I’m saving money on not buying more eye shadow, even though I have a cabinet full already.
BTW thank you for this post, it reminds me that I’m not the only one.
I stopped wearing eye shadow sometime in college, which was a very long time ago (late 80s). I got tired of the time it took, and thought it wasn’t make the big of an impact anyway. Like you, I wear eye liner and mascara in a barely-there way, and that completes my eye make up routine.
Completely off subject, but your hair looks fantastic in these photos. I love this style!
Well girl, first time commenter, long time reader.
I just HAD to chime in when I read this post: after BB Cream, eyeshadows and mascaras are my ‘desert island’ products!
I’m itching to get my hands on you and at least do your eye make-up! You definitely need a better mascara for starters. There’s a Maybelline one in a fat, yellow tube which, two coats later, will make a real difference. Also try tight lining your upper waterline with a gel eyeliner or pencil, then line the top lashes and flick it out slightly. I know you feel your eyes disappear when you smile and I am in the same boat, girl.
Benefit do an amazing palette called Smoky Eyes or something like that which comes with everything you need for your eyes. I’ve hit pan and repurchased three times already on that palette alone. Two colours last the day, the palest of which I just smudge on with my finger!
I think the main thing though, girl is to get an eyeshadow primer – this one product alone turned me into the eyeshadow freak I am today! I got Urban Decay’s primer potion and could NOT BELIEVE the difference it makes! You know when you do your eye make up in the morning and by lunctime it’s in your eyelid crease?? Well, with the primer everything stays put! All day! Until you wash it off again!
Guh! Lol, I sound manic, but I just know you’d really benefit from decent product – I know I did! A neutral pink base and a taupe/grey for the socket is all you need shadow-wise
Okay, stopping now
I just bought my first tube of BB cream and THAT I’m loving!
I appreciate these suggestions, but what’s funny is I had that Benefit smoky eye palette and could never do anything good with it myself. I have the Urban Decay primer and it just doesn’t work on me – stuff still slides around. And I’ve had full makeup done by professional artists several times … and just can’t see a big difference!
This is me too. Eyeshadow always falls off and/or creases in an ugly way on me, and all lid primer does (no matter how expensive or how hyped the kind I try) is add to the mess. I do feel like I’m missing out, but I have indeed given up.
Eyeshadow is one I often wear (but I tend to skip the lipstick and eyeliner on a regular basis). I’m a one, maybe two shade girl, sticking typically with a light, champagne or orange-y shade. It makes blue eyes pop, adds a bit of color to my fair face, and is easy. That being said, my eyeballs are also huge and it’s really easy for me to just swish it over my eyelid and call it a day.
(I save the 4+ shades and super blending for 80s night or costumes that make me look like a drag queen.)
Yes. I completely skip it unless I’m dressing up for something in the evening, and even then I probably SHOULD skip it. Does nothing for me but make a mess:). And I too have purple eyeliner as an option, along with teal and brown.
Makeup itself seems wasted on me. Seriously, no matter what I put on after lip gloss, it looks like nothing. I can make myself look more colorful but that’s about it. No matter what I put on or who applies or if I do the free half a facial in the mall, I either look the exact same or like a small child who played in her mother’s makeup for too long.
I’m with you, Juli. The only makeup that seems to actually make a difference on me is professionally-applied photography-style makeup, and that’s far too heavy for everyday. My “special occasion” makeup wouldn’t even be considered everyday by most women (beige shimmer eyeshadow, purple eyeliner on top lids only, powder, maaaaaybe light foundation, colorful lipgloss, worn on occasions when it’s expected so the important bit is being seen to have made the effort, rather than actually looking any better) and day to day, I don’t wear anything. I am always a bit amazed by people who talk about their simple morning routines as “tinted moisturizer, concealer, brow pencil, lipstick” – I know that’s much simpler than lots of people, but when your morning face routine is “wash out my swollen crusty eyes so I can see to drive to work” it’s a bit overwhelming to realize how “not normal” you are! So thanks, you make me feel a bit better.
Glad to see I’m not the only one who skips eyeshadow…I have about 10 eyeshadow palettes in my makeup drawer and only wear them for VERY special occasions. Like you, I just don’t see the point. All I use on my eyes is a little foundation/concealer to even things out, then mascara. I usually curl my eyelashes too. My biggest issue with eye makeup is that I wear glasses and once I put them on, I feel like the eye makeup is barely visible anyway. I always wear blush though, that is something that I think makes a huge difference on me.
Like another commenter above, I am the exact opposite. I have tried pencil, felt-tip liquid, and gel liners (with a slanted brush) and I cannot do it. I can’t seem to get a line close enough to my eye AND thin enough that I think it looks OK. I have never worn contacts and I guess I’m a little squeamish about my eyes, although mascara is a-ok!
I typically wear neutral eyeshadow (I love champagne-y light colours and shimmery khakis and taupes) with brown or black mascara. At most two shades, and although I do have a dinky little set of travel-sized brushes I’m a big fan of cream shadows because I can use my fingers to apply. I find it so much easier and straightfoward than using liner.
Overall though I’m more of a lipstick girl, which is why my eye makeup is usually quite understated.
I’m 32 years old and feel like I’m just now competent with eyeliner. My trick is to use the kind that’s like a marker – not the liquid ones you dip in product, but a very fine felt tip that feeds out the ink. You can get a nice thin line along the inside slope of each upper lid just by laying the pen flat along your lash line – so that the tip is pointing toward your nose – and pressing. Then in the center, right above your iris, the line should actually thicken a little and stay that way all the way out to the outside corner. It will look so much more natural, I swear. I don’t know why the thin-thick line makes a difference, but it does.
My makeup routine changes daily. Sometimes it’s light and sometimes it’s heavier. I gravitate towards grays and purples. Mostly I use dry shadows as opposed to cream ones. I use regular pencil liners, and tend not to use liquid and gel ones. Everything ends up a smeary, melted mess when I do–in spite of shadow bases. And I always use mascara.
Also, these are beautiful pictures of you!
I’ve got similar eyes to you (hooded, dark brown, disappear when I smile even more than yours do) which I why I always use eyeshadow. I generally put a mid brown in my crease and blend it up toward my eyebrows. I put a paler colour (champagne, very light beige) in the inner corner towards my nose, in the outer corner and under my eyebrows blended down. The lighter colour makes my eyes look fresher, brighter and more open, the darker colour counteracts the hooding.
Putting on eyeshadow takes less than a minute and as I use neutral shades I don’t have to be too meticulous about it. I can (and do when driving) put it on with my fingertips.
Eyeliner comes and goes depending on how I feel. These days I’m using it more under eye (a very popular look in the UK).
Mascara is a must as I have short eyelashes. I’m using ‘They’re Real’ by Benefit. I agree with the poster above that you could consider more/better mascara – your eyelashes should look lifted and curled up by the mascara, I think.
I don’t use primer and I don’t smear at all. I’ve trained myself not to rub my eyes with big mooshy gestures.
Dear Eleanorjane: You apply eyeshadow while driving? Please, dear woman, apply it before you leave the house. We hear too much these days about the consequences of distracted driving, typically engaged in by people who are overconfident about their ability to multitask while driving.
I remember the first time I watched this tutorial about applying make up while driving:
http://youtu.be/wMFqSjjnte0
I use it sometimes, but mostly just some the same color as my eyeliner to make it last longer and soften it a bit. But one trick I love is to use bronzer over my whole eye area after liner but before mascara. It softens the liner, adds a bit of shimmer and warmth, and requires 0.0% skill.
Then with some mascara after, my eyes really pop without shouting “I have tons of makeup on!!!” I am a blue eyed blonde with pale skin, so no makeup = polar bear in a snowstorm.
I came around to eye shadow (with the base – sometimes just the base if I’m in a rush) as an “everyday” thing because it evens out my eyelid, just like a bit of foundation on cheeks and nose does the same. The more neutral color of shadow instead of the very pinkish appearance of my natural lid just calms things down a bit. And with my blue eyes and fair complexion, mascara is a must, i’m just amazed the difference it makes.
I am a notorious eyeshadow skipper. My routine is moisturizer, BB cream, blush, lipstick. No eye stuff. I would love to wear mascara but it is a pain to get off. I don’t want to work when I take off my makeup! Plus I always feel “too done up” when I wear lipstick AND eye makeup. or blush AND bronzer. It is just weird to me. I have enough confidence to wear bright lipstick, but put eyeliner + mascara + even eyeshadow together with that, and I don’t want to leave the house. :\
If I wrote this post, it would be entitled “Why I Skip Thrifting,” and by that I mean we usually don’t mind spending time on things we enjoy. I love makeup and have learned things over the years, but honestly: I could take twenty minutes each morning applying my makeup and love every minute of it. But I would not be caught dead in a thrift store, because of the time involved. See the irony? Twenty minutes is twenty minutes: we all have very different feelings about how we like to spend the time we have. The good news is that we all have the same amount of time, and unique priorities in which to fill that time. So you’ll find me perfecting my smoky eye on eyes (which are very similar to yours, Sal), while you are hunting for the perfect find in a thrift shop!
Hi Sally, I have to ask- what undereye concealer do you use? I have such dark circles that if I don’t wear concealer, I look like I got beat up. Yet my skin is so fair that I have a hard time finding something that actually blends and doesn’t look cakey, creasy, or orange.
Oh! I used to do a concoction of several products, but now I actually use Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20! The color I use is called “nude.” Once it’s dry, I use a tiny bit of light powder to help it set.
I have the same eyelids as you, small eyes and they are not round!!!!!! I use eyeliner and mascara . The eyeliner I wear is a waterproof so I don’t really need eyeshadows ( dior long-durée) and fausse cils by YSL. They are a bit expensive but they are worthy.
Nice post.
Deep-set eyes? Check. “Hooded” eyes? Check. I’m with you, Miz Sal, honey — the crease of my eyelid is so far back that my brows hang over the top lid. All surface available for painting with pretty color just slides to the back as the lid retracts into the eye socket. All the fleshy surfaces rub against each other until the resulting friction and perspiration melt the color and it runs down my cheeks from the outer corner of my eyes — NEVER a fashion “yes.” Until menopause, my eyelashes were so long that they brushed the inner surface of my eyeglass lenses, so I gave up mascara in favor of being able to see through said eyeglasses. I use a pencil liner to line the outer 2/3 of top and bottom lids (eyes are also fairly close set), and an eyebrow pencil to better define my thinning, graying eyebrows. Good Lord, this sounds like a completely misshapen face!
I’m not wearing eyeshadow this summer! Olive oil is great for my skin, but it makes my eyeshadow crease & slide right off – and it’s way worse in the summer (primer keeps this from happening, but I’m on a tight budget right now & I can’t seem to find any that is drugstore-price). So I’m skipping all makeup except a little concealer, eyebrow pencil, and mascara (and lipstick when I’m feelin’ fancy!). It’s really nice not having to worry about my makeup rubbing off, and now my morning face routine is under 5 minutes
I actually use eye shadow on a regular basis, but rarely use liner. I’m kind of incompetent with eyeliner (raccoon eyes, anyone?) but I can do shadow in maybe 15 seconds. I don’t do anything complicated; I have green eyes, and I tend to wear a big ol’ smear of either plum or gold shadow, occasionally green, and then if I want to be fancy I’ll put gold on *over* plum or green. I have much more visible eyelids than you do, though.
Well, I notice a difference between eye makeup and no eye makeup in the photos above! With eye make up your eyes look just a tad more defined. It looks good.
I also skip eye shadow, because I have sensitive eyes and contacts. I’m always rubbing my eyes and shadow just seems to get in my eyes and cause problems. I do wear black, purple, or green eye liner and lots of black mascara. I have dark green eyes and the purple and green make them pop a bit.
I have “hooded” eyelids much like you. The good news is that eventually our eyelids will cloud our peripheral vision and we’ll get our eye lifts covered by health insurance, just like my mother!
If you have health insurance. I ‘m just sayin’.
I have hooded eyes, too, and although there are tutorials for how to wear shadow on hooded eyes, I find they totally contradict themselves about what to highlight and how and so on. I find the problem with the hooded eyes isn’t so much that the shadow doesn’t show up (though this is an issue – I read one makeup blog where the author does amazing multi-hued looks, and she has very hooded eyes also, and while I’m sure in real life the colors are visible because we move our eyes/blink/etc., a lot of the good stuff gets obscured), because you can always shade up above the crease. It’s more that my lid and brow bone meet, to some extent, and the rubbing between the two wipes off the color. I envy people with big lids and raised brow bones because I like the idea of a simple wash of color, but on me it doesn’t show up and then it rubs off and creases. (In fact, if I’m not careful with my eyeliner, it will transfer to my brow bone by the end of the day.) I’d much rather look a bit drabber without the makeup than look messy from wearing makeup that migrates to where it’s not supposed to be!
However, I’ve got very good with gel/liquid/felt-tip liners.
(I like the purple eyeliner on you a lot – but it is interesting how little the mascara shows up in the pictures. It might just be the photos, of course.)
Oh! Sorry to double comment, but I meant to add that I ADORE BB Creams! And I highly recommend buying from bello-girl (or bellogirl? I forget) on eBay, who is in Korea and sells a huge variety very inexpensively (Korean brands you don’t see sold here), and includes notes in charmingly not-quite-right English (seriously, they are charming, and I know no Korean whatsoever, so that’s not at all meant to be critical).
I skip eyeshadow. Occasionally I wear eyeliner, but not often. Not only do I have those “hooded” lids, but my lids are very oily. Everything smears into the crease or disappears within an hour – even the so-called “long-wearing” products, like Revlon Colorstay eyeliner (though that’s the most long-wearing I’ve tried). And I have tried primer (also, I don’t like the “drying” sensation I get from primer). I don’t even like wearing mascara. I have large brown eyes and dark lashes, so i don’t really feel like I “need” eye makeup. Along my lower lash line, I have sort of a naturally occurring dark line from purplish blood vessels close to the surface (I’m pretty pale), so eyeliner doesn’t seem necessary to me either. It’s pretty much just concealer for me on most days.
Hee! I just discovered via your post that my eyes disappear when I smile too. They’re small to begin with, and what with the lines of wisdom around them, etc., they just fade away. No worries, I do love lipstick : >
I don’t wear eye makeup on a daily basis. When I wear my contacts, I’ll either do eyeliner OR I’ll do some shimmery eyeshadow and mascara. I rarely do eyeliner and shadow and mascara, that just makes my eyes itch. I do like how quick and easy it is to just sport the eyeliner. And there are so many fun colors out there- I have this blueish purple one from urban decay that I absolutely love.
I know you didn’t write this post looking for makeup suggestions, but like Eve up there, I can’t help but want to do your eye makeup! The liner is a nice, subtle look, but believe me, with the right products and technique, you *would* notice a difference with a “fully-done” eye. Have you ever looked through Kevyn Aucoin’s book “Making Faces”? It is full of amazing tutorials, and does a good job showing how different faces can look with different styles of makeup.
“Making Faces” is awesome! Ha, I totally want to take Sal to my make up artist friend Grace’s house. We’d both go crazy with our kits ;D
Agreed – great book – also his “Face Forward”. I tend to stick to very basic stuff (eyes, brows and lipbalm) on a daily basis, but can do a full face if I have the time/inclination. And Aucoin is full of inspiration! At 46, my eyes are hooding, so the fact that I could (and did) apply some of his ideas to my 80 year old mother gives me hope for the future. As an aside, we then went out and purchased some great makeup for my mum that she would never have considered and now seriously loves!
And good quality cosmetics make a huge difference. They tend to last better. Most of my eyeshadows are either Zuui or Napoleon Perdis. LOVE Kevyn Aucoin mascaras. The waterproof curling one is brilliant for those of us with a tendency to panda eyes.
I don’t wear eyeshadow very often. Maybe for special events. For the most part, I do my eyebrows with a pencil (they are super light, so I make them a tad darker to match my hair), eyeliner on top and bottom (a brown that looks very natural) and then mascara.
My whole cosmetic routine is less than 5 minutes – foundation, setting powder, blush, eyebrows, eyeliner, mascara, and a tinted lip gloss. I got my routine down flat about 17 years ago – when I had my second child! I now have 6 children, and am a full time student (I get my undergrad in Dec and start my master’s the next semester!).
It has been wonderful to have a short and sweet morning routine – it makes me feel beautiful, but natural every day!
You look great in all the photos–both with and without make-up, so you don’t need to add any steps to your routine if you’re happy with it.
If you want to try a one-step shadow trick that makes you look more awake/refreshed than made-up, a thing to try might be to buy a one pot/pan powder shadow in a tone that’s just a tad lighter and warmer than your skin tone. Then, apply with a fuller brush (usually the ones labeled “blending” in those cheap-o big box store kits work pretty well) to the space where your eyelid meets your brow and nose–just on the inside in a little triange from inner corner of the eye (one swipe up and then one swipe down). This makes your eyes look a bit larger and whitens the whites a bit; plus, it takes two seconds per eye.
It’s good to know that I’m not the only one with “weird” eyes. And yet, I love my eyes and all the makeup guides that don’t work for me can shove it. I generally skip eyeshadow, especially in the warmer months, because I don’t want to be perceived as “fussy.” I have found that a subtle winged line with a dark brown liquid liner (black is too harsh) looks fantastic with lots of mascara for a more polished look. It makes you look awake and multiplies your eyelashes–the ladies in the 1960s were on to something!
Eyeshadow is very simple. I’m similar to you with the eyeliner and eye colour. I put a light colour (like cream, or light beige) all over my eyelid, even up to my brow, and then put a darker colour (like medium brown) in the outer corner of my eyelid and blend into the crease. I find it really enhances my eye; gives it depth and adds a bit of sultriness (is that a word?)
No shadow for me, although after reading some of these comments I may give it another try. Right now all I do is encourage my brows (with a drawing pencil, Berol Prismacolor in cold grey dark, because I can no longer find the right shade in the “real” brow pencil I used to use, and furthermore have seen many online complaints about the disappearance of that shade), and then line the uppers and the outside quarter of the lowers with a kohl eye pencil in a semi-iridescent denim blue-green, some drugstore purchase with the brand name rubbed off from long use (Nate Robbins? can no longer find anywhere). The pencil is down to its last inch. I love the color and am already in a panic about how I can possibly survive once that pencil is gone.
I’m with @Eve! I’m dying to do a smoky eye on you. Or at least something super deep on your upper lids, like navy or a thick, retro black liner. You would DEFINITELY notice a difference. Glad you’re loving the BB Cream . . .
I think you should try it on her. Just to see…
I agree. I want to see what it looks like!
I have deep set eyes like yours, and prefer a natural look. Most of the time I just use concealer and eyeliner in black, brown, bronze, green or purple (my eyes are a light brown). My lashes are long enough (and thick enough)that mascara only makes a mess on my glasses/sunglasses.
I do use eyeshadow if I want a bolder or more polished look, but I don’t bother with brushes., I just use the inexpensive sponges that come in the compact. I put a highlight shade down first across the whole eye from lash line to eyebrow, and from the inner eye to the outer corner. Then I take a darker color on the edge of the makeup sponge applicator and make a sideways V (greater than, or less than sign for those who like math and programming logic) going from the outer 2/3rds of the lash line and the outer 2/3rds of the upper eyelid crease (usually along the upper orbital socket if you squint and raise your eyebrows at the same time.) Then I take a clean, dry finger and working from the outer corner in, lightly rub and smudge things up until the color is blended. After that, all I really need to do is line the lower lid with eyeliner.
It takes about five minutes for both eyes. If you’re in a real hurry, you don’t even need the highlight color. Just do the color V and smudge away. Although, I will say the smudging goes better if there is an underlayer of shadow.
If you want to play around, dollar stores usually sell a 2, 3 or 5 color compact for under $5. Spend an evening or two in front of a mirror putting shadow on, then wiping it off and trying again. You can play around with different densities of color and different light/dark combos to see what you like best. That way, if you don’t like any of the looks, you haven’t invested a lot of money in product. Once you’re comfortable with speed application, spring for the good stuff. Treat the cheap stuff like training wheels.
Also? This kind of trial and error work is like letting your inner 5-year-old out to play dress up.
Your eyes are neither wee, small or deep-set. In fact they are quite the opposite! You have lovely large dark eyes, and the lids are somewhat hooded, which means a fold of skin drapes over the lower part of the upper lid, nearly to the eyelashes. This is sometimes called “bedroom eyes”, and it can make a person look more youthful, in my opinion. You think they eyeshadow is wasted on you, but that’s only because when your eyes are open you can’t see it much. Remember that you blink every few seconds. My best friend has eyes much like yours, and when she occasionally wears some shimmery eye shadow, I’m always struck by how beautiful she looks.
Your eyes are are set shallowly. You can tell if someone has deep set eyes by looking at them from the side. They eyes are literally set farther back in the skull, so that the eyebrow ridge projects forward. Really deep-set eyes can appear sunken if you put on a lot of dark eye makeup, whereas if you wanted to wear lots on yours, it would look great. They look great without a lot of eye makeup anyway, but I’m just sayin’. If you wanted to wear it, you could pull it off.
For the record, I’m a mascara only girl myself on a day-to-day basis, but for going out I might do a touch of eyeliner on my upper lids only, and sometimes a shimmery light gray eyeshadow.
I am generally a no-shadow wearer as well. But sometimes, I will put a gold coloured shadow all over the lid to the browbone and on the bottom lashline and then add a bronze shadow to the outer half of the upper lid. Looks lovely and no funny crease business required.
Usually, I just use a chocolate shimmer eyeliner on the top lashline, curl my lashes and add 2 good coats of black mascara on the top lashes only.
I think what your look may be missing is a darker eyeliner (could still be purple) curled eyelashes (very important!) and more/darker mascara. Then, I believe you would see a big difference.
A couple years ago, I was all about eyeshadow and wore it every day. Now, though, I’ve become much more of a lipstick / blush and bronzer girl. Especially in the summer, I tend to wear less eyeshadow, as I have the same problem as you: it just slips and slides all over my lids, regardless of whether I use a primer or not. I normally use a generous coat of mascara, a bit of liner, some foundation, and some blush / bronzer. I do second the tip of using a bit of bronzer to add some color to your lids, though! I use the Too Faced chocolate soleil bronzer in the hollows of my cheeks and also a bit on the lids, blended into my crease. It adds a little definition, but since it’s so slight and neutral, it is hardly noticeable if it creases like crazy.
I wear eyeshadow everyday. I have similar deep set eyes like yours and I find it is vital.
Right now I use Clinque’s Victorian Pink combo.
I put the deeper shade (a neutrally purply grayish lovely shade) all over my lid and up above my crease. I put the shimmery pink glimmery color in the center of my lids to make my eyes pop.
On the other hand I have green eyes with a dark blue rim, not brown, so maybe that’s the difference. I also slap it on while riding the train in the morning. My entire face takes less than 5 minutes to apply — foundation, concealer, the eye shadow, blush, eye liner, mascara, and lipstick. I’ve done it so much I barely even need to use a mirror while I do it.
I have very shallow/flat hooded monolids, so applying any kind of eyeshadow to my lid looks CRAZY (because none of it disappears when I open my eyes) unless I blend all the way up to my eyebrows. Even then, it’s a relatively dramatic look for my tastes.
I prefer just true black eyeliner and no mascara (we won’t talk about the disaster that is my eyelashes, that pro makeup artists have struggled with) to give my eyes more depth. I have to color in about a half-inch thick line of black eyeliner to get a thin line to show up with my eyes open, due to the hood, and then I wing the corners up a bit.
You look fabulous, but you could totally skip all the rest of the eye makeup and get yourself an eyelash curler, especially since you have such nice dark eyelashes already. They’re amazing!
Curling my eyelashes is the only eye “makeup” I wear. It takes 5 seconds and makes a world of difference!
This is interesting since I avoid mascara. I’m worried about my eyelashes breaking though, does that happen??
I curl mine daily both before and after applying mascara and I have never had any lashes break.
You must curl your eyelashes without mascara on or you will break them!
1st curling
2nd mascara.
I curl my eyelashes every single day and rarely wear mascara. I have never had any breakage. It’s HAIR – it’s like the hairtie ‘kink’ you get from wearing a ponytail.
Thanks everyone, I’m definitely going to give this a try!
Yes, I agree with the curler! I normally wear one or two colors of shadow, black eyeliner and black mascara, but if I could only have one eye product thing on an island…it would be an eyelash curler. That makes the biggest difference on my eyes of any of the things use.
Hooded-eye girls, unite! Eyeliner is my personal must-have, because I don’t have your naturally dark lashes, brows, and eyes to provide contrast. I often go without eye shadow, but when I do apply it, I apply it “high and outside” (if the baseball term means anything?) of my eye. More or less like this. It’s still very subtle, but defines the eye more, and fills in the “droopy” outside corner of the lid.
http://pinterest.com/pin/228135537343792931/
Yes! I’m normally not that into make-up products and posts but this was so interesting. I have lids that almost completely disappear into the crease. Sal, in the closed-eye pics I think your lashies look like some cute little falsies I have in my drawer
This is my everyday technique: I “line” my top eyelid, sometimes winging it out ever so slightly, using an angle brush and loose eye powders from Larenim (to cut down on chemicals and filler ingredients). It takes some practice, but you can really control the pigment intensity this way. Then I usually sweep light sheer powder around the brow bone. So, I’m targeting only the areas that “show” when my eyes are open (lash line and brow bone) with a light hand. I often use just one forgiving tinted powder for both, but I also have a charcoal powder if I want a true dark liner look. Washable mascara or very gentle lash curl if I want a little more drama. I try not to wipe or tug at my eyes much so I want everything to rinse easily.
I’m kinda worried that I might have to deal with surgery someday for vision. The lids sometimes feel crepe-y and heavy, and are gradually encroaching over my eyeballs. Can feel unpleasant and bothersome. :/ Ah well, maybe that’s better than grandma’s cataracts, right? Hope so!
OMG, finally someone else who skips eyeshadows!
I’m really too lazy to do much of a makeup; it’s pretty much moisturizer, powder and lip gloss or transparent lipstick. My eyes hide behind glasses anyway so most days I just won’t bother – plus I’m always late in the mornings
Looking at your photos, our eyes look similar and I’ve never seen the point of wasting eyeshadow either when it really doesn’t do anything. Some liner and mascara, though… but only on upper lids, otherwise it’ll be a mess again.
A few years ago, someone shared a liner tip in her blog (which is long since deleted): you can use eyeshadows as liners, you’ll just need a proper brush and a certain technique!
I only started to love wearing eyeshadow when I switched from nude or darker tones, to golds, copper, and whitish apricot tones — I was so conditioned to go for darker colours, but the lighter/ brighter tones make my eyes pop more (they are blue, but I have darkish circles). I have an Estee Lauder copper/gold that I always receive compliments on — the colour is very saturated, and shows up up well. People are surprized that it looks good because they expect darker greys and browns on the eye, and think that gold is too ‘much’ — however, it actually looks very elegent during the day, especially when it does not have too much shine.
I love my eyeliner pen that is crayon sized and a whitish gold — I line my eyes with this and then smudge — stays on my eyes all day, and super fast to apply.
I’m a newcomer, love your site. May I ask what lip color you’re wearing? Thank you.
Welcome, Mary! Oh gosh, I nearly always do a mix of two or three colors … this is likely an E.L.F. dark red called Posh along with a Primitive gloss in Lanai. But there might be another color in there, too. Sorry!
Thanks, Sal!
I adore the look of eyeshadow on other ppl, but as a permanent glasses-wearer, you can’t see eyeshadow when I try to wear it, so I basically stopped trying. Especially once I got my beloved cat-eye glasses, they’re narrow & really obscure anything going on around my eyes. I wear eyeliner so my eyes don’t entirely disappear, & that’s it (I can’t wear mascara bec. my lashes are long enough that mascara will rub off onto my glasses).
I’m completely with you on the eyeshadow! I actually extend it further and avoid all eye makeup unless it’s a special event. I’m Asian so all tutorials on how to apply eyeshadow has never worked for me since my eyes look completely different. And since my lashes are dark, I tend to already look like I have some liner and mascara on anyway. I wear contacts and my eyes have become more sensitive over the years so I just skip everything except undereye concealer, mineral powder, a little blush and tinted chapstick. Five minutes tops.
Sal, have you ever tried a liquid version of your eyeliner (i.e. same color but in a liquid)? It makes the look pop a LOT more in terms of making your eyes look more defined because of the deeper pigment of the liquid, and there are many that are super easy to apply. I have found this one to be the absolute most long lasting:http://www.sephora.com/aqua-liner-P286205
I have, but of man, what a MESS I make with liquid liner!
Me too Sal. I keep trying, but what a mess. Blank spaces show in the part that stays on my lid and more than half of it runs into my eyes – that really hurts. I’d like to have someone put it on me and show me, but then I would feel obligated to buy their product and those are usually too expensive.
I find the kind in the link above really hard to use, but the kind that’s like a marker very easy to use. Easier for me than a pencil because it goes on so much smoother! I’ve been using this one: http://www.sephora.com/stay-all-day-waterproof-liquid-eye-liner-P253818
But ELF has a decent one in black or brown you could try for a dollar!
Thanks for posting about this. I’ll have to check that out!
Can I suggest an eye crayon? NARS does an excellent one-they seem to think it is a liquid-type eyeshadow but I use mine as eyeliners. With a touch of dark eyeshadow applied with a thin stiff brush underneath, along the lash line, it stays put all day. Keeping the crayon sharpened gives a perfect thickish line every morning! http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/color/eyes/eye-liners/~/soft-touch-shadow-pencil
Sal – I am a cosmetic minimalist myself – especially eye shadow. Like you I never had much luck applying it well and it took too much time. I don’t often use mascara since I am really good at rubbing my eyes more than I should but my ‘go to’ item is my eyelash curler. That alone can brighten my eyes without even needing mascara. The other thing I use on special occasions is a light stick shadow/pencil on the inside corner of my top eyelid. It helps brighten my eyes quite a bit. I do use a pewter eyeliner because black is too dark for my fair skin. Anyway, if you don’t do anything else – try an eyelash curler – it will help frame your eyes and make a difference you can see whether or not you also use mascara.
I also tend to say “no” to eyeshadow, but my reasons are just the opposite! I feel like I look ridiculously made-up if I have anything dark on my eyelids. I might be wearing jeans and a t-shirt and people will ask me if I’m going to a party. And I also find that the eyeshadow-eyeliner-mascara combo makes me look tired.
If you’re looking for a pop of color from shadow w/o a million steps, just find a color you like, ditch the applicator and apply it to your lid with your finger tip. You have more control over the shadow with your finger. And if you feel like getting really crazy, you can extend the shadow a little above the crease.
A really easy way to make eyes pop with shadow is to take a color that is a little lighter than your skin and brush it just under the eyebrow. For some reason, that line of shadow really opens up the eyes. And again, feel free to use your finger tip for maximum ease.
I usually skip eyeshadow too, but it’s out of laziness or because I think anything more than concealer and mascara will look overdone with a bold lip colour.
Can’t believe I’m posting again, but this is where I really have something good to share! I used to have fun with eyeshadow, but now I rarely wear it. Instead, I’ve been loving three things:
elf Eye Brightener–Just a nice matte mineral powder that takes away any discoloration on my lids. Still no color (and no fuss), but makes my eyes seem more awake.
An eyelash curler–Seriously, elf has them for a buck. Just try it (like you did above–take a before & after) & see the difference, even if it’s just for fancy times!
L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. Even if you skip the above, or skip your eyeliner or concealer, this will change your whole outlook on your eyes (ha! pun intended!). Yes, it’s a two-step process, but once you see the results you will gladly take the extra ten seconds it takes to apply. LASTS ALL DAY. NO SMUDGING–I MEAN, NONE. LASHES A MILE LONG. There’s nothing else like it.
Those 3 plus some eyeliner (I like yours! Also, elf has some liquid ones that are like markers–super easy to use.) are cheap, crazy easy, and amazing. TRUST ME.
(no, I don’t work for elf!)
Very different situation, here. I do often wear less eyeshadow in summer, and sometimes skip it altogether, depending on what I’m doing/wearing that day. But that’s only a summer thing for me! I wear less makeup overall in summer. A bit of tinted moisturizer, concealer as needed, eyebrow pencil (I color my hair red and “strawburn” pencil in my brows makes my hair look more natural), lip and cheek stain, eyeliner and mascara are my baseline for summer. Less might be lip/cheek stain, eyebrows, curl my lashes. I always, always curl my lashes! More is a return to my usual eyeshadow, too. And sometimes I play with liner color or shadow. Fall, winter and spring are full face, primer included.
I’m very pale, so shadow palettes never work for me. Instead, I bought a Stila 3-pan compact and picked out my own colors. They’re all variations on a pink-beige theme and fairly light colored. Oh, and I never put liner and rarely use mascara on my lower lid. It tends to make my eyes look “piggy.”
I find that for me, eyeshadow works much better than eyeliner in creating a pretty, smoky look, and the dryness of it stays better than oilier eyeliners that tend to dissolve away. Liquid eyeliners do stay, but are a harsher look and more difficult to apply. For m,e eyeshadows all the way. Plus, and its possible that I just have more “territory” to cover the way my eyes are built, using different colors to highlight inner/darken outer and create depth in the crease really helps. And blending/smudging is key but actually a slightly messy almost slept on look is more flattering than harsh lines. SO yes, eyeshadow for the win. And way easier to apply than eyeliner for shaky hands! To each her own!
Which BB cream do you use? I want to try one, but many of them have sunscreen ingredients that irritate my skin.
Boscia. I’ve been using their daily oil-free moisturizer for over a year and love it, so I tried the BB cream and so far so good. Very mild!
I put eyeshadow thats my skin color or a bit lighter to cover my naturally darker lids, makes my whole complexion look brighter/healthier
I pretty much skip all make up everyday. I put on moisturizer and that’s it. I tend to have itchy face all day otherwise. The most I do is put eyeliner across my top lid only, define my brows! (most important), and chapstick. I do have a couple of make-up palettes but they get used maybe once a month tops.
I didn’t read the rest of the comments so someone may have said this already, but I am another who tends to skip the liner and do shadow. Eyeshadows can actually be used as a nice, light eyeliner if you get a slant brush and wet it down. I usually do this with a brown or violet shadow. And I can’t discount the brightening, eye-widening effects of using a light highlight shadow (an orange, light pink, sometimes gold or white on a more formal occasion) to widen eyes and make you look more awake. For that you can get a crease brush. I always try to dot something in the corner of my eyes and just under the brow. But I would say my most typical standby is the brown shadow applied as a liner with a slant brush. Hope this helps!! It’s a fast technique that I learned from Carmindy on What Not to Wear lol!!
I totally skip eye shadow. My lids are so oily that within a few hours it’s just a gunky mess. And eyeliner has always been beyond my skill level. I have big eyes and mascara seems to be enough, along with a little blush and lipstick.
I use purple eyeliner both under my eyes and on my lids. Then I use a pointed brush to sweep a small amount of shimmery eye shadow along the line on top. Sometimes, I use the eyeshadow on my eyelid (when dressing up, etc.), but I have oily skin and it seems to always end up in the creases no matter what I do.
I’m not into youtube-level makeup AT ALL, but I have straight blonde eyelashes and loathe wearing mascara. My desert island product that I use EVERY DAY (like brushing my teeth!) is my eyelash curler. Makes SUCH a difference. I dearly love coloured eyeliner, but always have to ‘set’ it with eyeshadow over the top so it doesn’t wear off. You look lovely in the purple eyeliner, and I can totally see the difference when you wear it. But your mascara doesn’t seem to be making a blind bit of difference – curl those lashes, or use ‘curling’ mascara! (Hope you don’t mind me bossing you around! Of course you can do whatever you like.)
Sorry, but I can’t tell any difference between the two photos. I think the mascara makes more of a difference than anything else. If you feel better, mission accomplished, but the camera’s not picking it up.
I often do pretty much what you do but occasionally will do the complete opposite and do eyeshadow sans liner! This is just when I have time to try something different. But I am mostly in a hurry and happy with minimalism too.
Marie @ Lemondrop ViNtAge
You know what really stands out for me in all this? You look stunning with and without the eyeliner etc. In fact i really like the no-make-up look. Maybe your colouring gives natural definition. whatever, you look beautiful. If you want to try a new look, go for it, but your eyes look just perfect unadorned .
Thank you, Debbie! What a sweet thing to say!
Despite having formal training in makeup artistry, I skip eyeshadows completely as well. I tend to look at the computer screen all day, therefore giving me very teary eyes. Also, my eyelids are slightly sensitive to certain brands of eyeshadow so I skip this step.
I do, however, wear eyeliner. I wear primarily black eyeliner (I have jet black hair and medium-light skin at the moment) just to make my eyes pop. I’m looking to experiment with other eyeliner colours or even layering the looks.
I almost never do eyeshadow. All the instructions are so fussy, and for day, it seems like too much. I love eyeliner, though and wear it every day. I also swipe on some e.l.f. All Over Color Stick in Golden Peach, with my finger, just for sparkle. It’s pretty neutral (on me) so it doesn’t matter if it slides around. And always mascara, in blackest black.
I use purple liner too- it plays well with my brown eyes. Where did you get those earrings?
Hi, Sal! I’m surprised to learn you wear mascara. I have always thought, from your photos, that you don’t. I am in the curl-your-lashes-before-applying mascara camp – I think you would see a big difference! And perhaps darker mascara? From the photo of you with your eyes closed, your lashes are clearly very long, but when viewed straight on with your eyes open, the lashes aren’t curling upwards and visually framing your eyes.
Actually, I don’t do ANY of this except for special occasions. Prolly should’ve mentioned that, eh?
I find that I feel more glam even with just a touch of eye makeup, but like you, it’s barely visible. I have very hooded eyelids, so that’s probably why. But if you think about it, it gives you the excuse to get away with the brightest, most outrageous colours, since almost no one can see it on you!
I LOVE eye shadow! Usually with liner, and always with mascara. For whatever reason, the shape of my eyes means that even with my eyes open, you can definitely tell the difference between liner alone and liner plus shadow. I love all the options from just one color from the lid to the crease, to the tiramisu eye that blends multiple shades from the liner to the crease, to the smoky eye….it’s all fun to me!
I love eye make-up, but as a sahm, I rarely have enough time to do a full makeup job and even fewer reasons to do so.
That said, a tiny smidge of a shimmery white or champagne at the inner corners can brighten the entire area and make you look more awake. Just a tiny little bit will do it.
I started wearing makeup as a young teen in the late 1960s–the full Yardley, three shades of eyeshadow, cake eyeliner, mascara, concealer, “medicated makeup,” lipstick, Slicker. (In retrospect, I’m amazed my parents let me out of the house.) I’ve always loved makeup, but now, in my late 50s, it’s not working for me anymore. My eyelids have become more hooded, and I have dry eye (related to an autoimmune disorder), so I’m using artificial tears several times a day. My old eyelining technique doesn’t work as well with the changed shape of my eyes, and my skin tone has also changed, so the colors I used to like don’t look as good. Nowadays I mostly use a waterproof black lengthening mascara (or a tubing mascara–why don’t any mass-market companies besides L’Oreal make them?) and a bit of eyebrow pencil to cover the gray, and that’s about it. I’m trying to learn to love lipstick.
Occasionally I do get an urge to buy something expensive, but if I go to a department store, the SA inevitably does a very disco-looking smoky eye. I’ve been through the 1970s and don’t want to go there again!
I have those heavy, hooded lids too. I do wear eyeshadow every day. I’ve never liked the primer products, but I LOVE MAC’s “Paints” cream eyecolor that comes in a metal tube (yes, like paint). I use a color called “Still Life”–a sort of pale peachy pink–over the whole lid. It helps balance color and brightens the eye. Then, I just use a little soft brown on the lid and shade up a bit–none of this elaborate “shading in the crease” nonsense.
Even with just one shade, I used to get creases and oily bare spots over the course of the day because of the fold in the lid, until I started using the Paints. Keeps everything in place.
Other than that, I focus on good brows, slightly winged black liner and lots of mascara on upper lashes only. Since I always wear bright red lipstick, I tend to avoid fussy eye makeup. I’m a contact wearer, so all this smoky eye stuff with liners and shadow under the eye just ends up running and smudging, anyway. Yuck.
My eyes are very similar to yours–I get so jealous of women who have tons of “real estate” between their lash line and eyebrow, because they can have so much more fun with eyeshadow. I still feel like it makes a difference on me, though. I don’t skip eyeshadow because I don’t like it or because I feel that it’s wasted on me, but usually I skip it because I’m lazy. One product that I really love is “Prime Time Primer Shadow” by Bare Minerals. It’s a creamy primer in a tube, and it has the eye color mixed in. All you do is squeeze a little onto the tip of your finger, smear it on your eyelid, blend it upwards a bit, and you’re done! And it stays put all day. I really like the “Sunlit Peach” color–it is a nice pink-y neutral, and it just evens out the skin tone on the eyelid, brightens it, and adds the slightest hint of shimmer.
I second all the recommendations for an eyelash curler, and I also second the recommendation for the L’oreal Beauty Tubes mascara. I have super sensitive eyes, and I have never found another mascara besides this one that I can wear. (Sephora also sells a tubes mascara called “Kiss Me” by Blinc, but it costs 3x as much as the L’oreal one, and honestly I don’t like it as much.) Those who have issues with eyeliner not staying put could try Blinc’s “Kiss Me” eyeliner, which works on a similar principle to the tubes mascara.
I rarely wear more than mascara, although I do wear mascara every day. I know how to apply eyeshadow, because of my involvement in theater, but I usually prefer a more natural look for every day.
If it is a normal day and I wear eye makeup, it’s a bit of Stila’s Smudge Pot in Kitten (light shimmery gold) and thinnish eyeliner. The Smudge Pot is a cream-to-gel shadow/liner that won’t crease and won’t come off till you take it off. (Benefit’s Creasless Shadow/Liner does the same thing.)
For heavier eye makeup – usually only on stage but sometimes for fancy parties – I do a taupe/brown along the lid and extending horizontally from the top arch of the lid and the outer corner of the eye to the edge of the brow bone – kind of a wedge that shades where your eyes naturally have a shadow when lit from above. (Look in a mirror in indoor lighting and pay attention to where the shadows fall on your eyes -you’ll see what I mean.) Then a dot of bright white on the inner corner of the lid blended outward to brighten, then liner to define. I have pretty deep-set eyes and I feel like this does make a difference in making them pop, while still maintaining a basically natural (although more made-up) look. Even with hooded eyes, this style of makeup would show, as it would extend out to part of the upper lid.
As for fun styles of eyeshadow, forget it! I’m not much for super obvious makeup anyway. I did once manage to do a decent smoky eye that didn’t make me look like the Hamburglar – but only once! I seem the remember the key there also being to blend a very light shadow outward from the inner corner.
Those of us with eyelids that disappear – in my view the effort to apply flattering colours is not wasted because we don’t spend the whole day with straight neck looking straight ahead. Our faces and eyes move around all the time so parts of the lid are visible to other people, parts that we wouldn’t usually see when looking at ourselves in a mirror. Also people who wear glasses that magnify the eye to the beholder may feel it necessary to add the extra primping.
I’m a bit of both. Hoody eyelids and glasses when working. I do liner on top and bottom, mascara, and various shades of eyeshadow, but not usually all the way up to my eyebrow. Sometimes just the lid, sometimes a bit further if it’s a shade I can pull off without looking too ‘done up’. I tried blusher and liked the effect but I think I was allergic to it, and I do lipstick a few times a week when I think I need more colour in my face. I can’t do the thing where you apply liner to the inner edge of the eye, too hard, too easy to stuff up and seems to me too close to the eye itself to be ‘painting’.
I’ve always been a bit scared of eyelash curlers, but was given a mascara application tip recently that seems to have a similar ‘opening’ effect: place the brush at the base of the lashes, wiggle a little, then *roll* it up your lashes a little bit (a quarter turn of the brush, maybe?), hold for 5 seconds, then brush along the rest of the lashes like normal. The rolling seems to push the lashes back a bit, and when I apply this way I really feel it adds an extra ‘pop’ compared to my usual mascara application technique. Hope someone else might find it useful too!
Sal, you’ve got the hooded eyelid. You need to go higher up with the eyeshadow, and create a crease above your real crease. Here is a great tutorial:
http://thebeautydepartment.com/2012/07/eye-focus-hooded-lid/
Ah. Just have to gently point out that I don’t “need” to do anything. I’m actually quite happy with my little routine.
While I certainly appreciate suggestions, makeup is all about choices!
Sal,
I think that’s a pretty inappropriate response to the OP. She was suggesting how you need to put on makeup for it to make more of a difference since how you applied it seemed to make no difference at all. I’m frankly really surprised and disappointed at your response since the OP was just trying to be helpful
I agree with this. If this post is supposed to show us, the faithful readers, how great the eyeliner looks and we can’t see any difference, maybe something’s not working. Why not go get a pro makeover and video that? I’d be interested in seeing what someone else would do to you. And calling the post an “Eye Makeup Revalation” might be a reason for some of these comments.
Well, the purpose was to illustrate why I skip eyeshadow and generate discussion around that, not to show off my mad eyeliner skills. (Since I admit that I have none!) And the post title is “Why I Skip Eyeshadow.” Not sure where the other title is coming from …
I’ve had many offers, so hope to do a follow up working with a pro. But as I mentioned earlier in the comments, I’ve had several pro makeup sessions, and eye makeup generally doesn’t make a dramatic difference on me!
The web address for this page is
http://www.alreadypretty.com/2012/07/eye-makeup-revelation.html#comments
That’s where the “eye makeup revelation” is coming from.
Hmmm. She was indeed, and as I said, I definitely appreciate suggestions … but makeup is extremely personal and, in many ways, charged. It’s a topic that many people approach with a sense of right and wrong ways to do things. That can be borne of experience and expertise, but I still prefer to view it as a spectrum of choices. Just like dressing and personal style! Telling someone what they need to do without any qualifiers can carry implications of fault, so I wanted to gently remind folks of that. I try to always approach advising others in terms of what they want, need, and prefer in addition to making suggestions.
True, but you were asking for opinions – and while the poster may have said “need” I think she meant it in the context of “if you want your make up seen” not As in, “you need to do this to be a woman or to be beautiful”. That’s how I understood it in the intent of the post and the questions you asked of your readers.
I don’t wear eye shadow every day, but I’ve recently discovered a wonderful product that makes all the difference when I do. It’s Benefit Stay Don’t Stray, and it’s a primer that goes on under your eye makeup. It will stay the way it looks when you first put it on, until you take off your makeup. I weeded my garden yesterday in hot hot humid sticky weather (makeup was for church!), and everything stayed put! I have oily skin and things used to smudge, or just wear off. No more! This stuff really works.
Hello Sal,
I too have the same deep-set eyes. I’m 40, which means I like a more natural non-teenagery matte look (no sparkles for me). After years of frustration I had also given up on eye makeup except for mascara.
But! This year I followed a link you posted to Johanna Ost’s blog. She featured a section on how to do her retro-style eye makeup, and that’s when I realized that she also has deep-set eyes! And she’s gorgeous! She even models! So it’s not necessary for the lid to be inches wide in order to wear eye shadow if you want to. Her eye makeup tutorial has changed my life: http://blog.johannaost.com/2010/04/28/the-hair-and-beauty-post
Here’s the trick: use white eyeliner (I know!) on the water line on the lower lid half-way. Line lightly with grey pencil just under the white, also half-way. Then line the entire upper lid with grey pencil to the very corner of the eye, widening slightly near the outer corners, and feather out a tiny “wing” angled slightly up, just past the end of the eye corner. Apply a light matte shadow over the entire lid up to the eyebrows (I use a very light pink, almost white). If I’m really feeling fancy I’ll use an extremely light caramel color in the crease and just above the crease, feathering it out to touch the eyeliner “wings”, then use a very sharp angle brush to dab on some midnight shadow over the upper eye liner. Curl lashes, and use mascara. You will be AMAZED at how bright and big your eyes look. (I skip Johanna’s secondary “wing” on the lower lashes as well as the dot of white at the corner of each eye since I want a more natural look).
My favorite matte collection that doesn’t slide into creases is this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057N3TPS/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
Good luck!
I hate million-step routines, and I love eyeshadow – but don’t use more than one shade at a time. With blue eyes, my tried-and-true colors are all goldy, peachy, rosy, and are only sometimes applies perfectly symmetrically. They don’t show up much, but they add a touch of something to “finish” my face. Also – I got hooked on Benefit’s Lemon Aid as a primer after reading about it here!
One thing I have given up on (unless the boyfriend is taking me somewhere dark and I’m feeling daring) is a smoky eye. maybe I need to try a wider range of colors, but every time I put on dark shadow and blend it around symmetrically, I simply look like I’ve got a nicely matched set of black eyes. Too pale for that crap.
I noticed there were lots of comments about how shadow mushes up into a useless mess by lunchtime, which happens on hot days like these no matter what. But I find pencil eyeliner to be the worst culprit with this sort of thing – even if I draw on the thinnest line I possibly can, and use primer and everything, I have a lovely half-circle of dark brown beneath my browbone, and a matching giant smudge all in my bags underneath.
Thus the only kind of liner I ever bother with is liquid in basic black (L’Oreal’s brand with an actual brush). I nice stark vintagey line, not washed out like you get with many of the foam-tipped applicators. Liquid liner really isn’t more of a hassle than pencil, and isn’t necessarily more difficult to clean up if you end up with one Sophia Loren eye and one Zooey Deschanel eye.
My two cents.
^^ “one Sophia Loren eye and one Zooey Deschanel eye”…love that mental image…thanks!
Sal, I’m with you on this one…it’s not so much that eyeshadow doesn’t show up on me (it does), but more that, on a day-to-day basis, I simply cannot be bothered to apply it. My daily face is wash & wear, my “special occasions” face is mascara, eyeliner and maybe some lip gloss. The thought of full-on foundation, concealer, powder, potions, etc. just doesn’t appeal.
This is my exact eye makeup routine! Raisin/Plum/Eggplant-ish eyeliner and brown-black mascara. I also have brown hair and eyes. This combo is subtle and really opens and adds sparkle to the eye.
I’ve watched video tutorials, read magazine articles, and experimented long and hard, but I have never figured out eyeshadow. No matter how I apply it, it seems to add 10 years to my face.
Carmindy of WNTW is my makeup guru–her book “The 5-Minute Face” taught me how to properly do makeup. In the book, I can’t remember eyeshadow being part of the process unless you’re going for a special-occasion look. It’s all about highlighting with Carmidy, which is subtle and makes your features pop, no need for shadow.
My eyelids sweat. Or are greasy. Or something. Whatever it is, eyeshadow doesn’t stay put for me, even with primer, so I just skip it. But, I also have chipmunk cheeks when I smile which squeezes my eyes into tiny slits and I’m always smiling so even if I did wear it, you wouldn’t be able to see it.
I don’t really wear eye makeup either. When I do, I put on a bit of eyeshadow with a 4-pack for brown eyes that has instructions on the back for where on the lid and all that and add some mascara. I can hardly see the shadow but I figure it shows a little and when I blink or look down, it gives a nice look. The mascara seems obvious to me even if I put it on lightly enough that it doesn’t scream MASCARA!
I feel all confident and pretty when I’m wearing my eye makeup and when I ask my husband how he finds it, he can’t see it.
Seeing your makeup routine makes me see what he’s talking about… I can’t really see your makeup!
OMG YES. Eyeliner? Yes! Mascara? Yes! Brow pencil? Bring it! But eyeshadow? It doesn’t show up, it disappears on me, and it takes too much skill. I’ve noticed that whenever I have my makeup done it does tend to stay, but honestly the makeup artist could skip it and I’d be fine. Doesn’t do a thing for me.
As an Image consultant here is my advice concerning eyeshadow for YOUR eyes. Your upper lid is drooping and covering the lower lid-the one closest to the eye.
Light colors bring an object forward-into view- and dark colors recede an object-so what you want to do is this.
1. Apply a neutral eyeshadow to your entire lid.
2. Apply a shade of brown perhaps a light to medium shade to the part of your upper lid that is drooping.Do this with your eyes open and relaxed so you can see where to place the darker shadow. This will give the effect of a crease in the lid.
3. Highlight with a highlighter shadow above the brown shadow just under your eyebrow. The effect will make your eyes look as though the lids are not drooping.
If you wanted to get rid of the excess upper eye lid tissue you could have a simple procedure called a Blepheroplasty. It can be done by an Aesthetic Dermatologist that is Board Certified in Plastic Surgery or a Plastic Surgeon. The cost is around $2000.00 and the down time is about a week.
A local anesthetic is used and if you are anxious about the procedure a sedative can be given. This is not a painful experience and the results will take years off the way the face looks.
As we age the fat from under the eyes trickles down to the cheek area creating deep folds around the nose to the mouth. Jowls start to form below the lips-this is loose skin on either side of the lower chin– and can be treated with a procedure called Thermage which tightens and lifts the skin up.
All of this costs money and is only to be considered if the signs of aging bother you to an extreme.
The labial folds-those around the nose to the mouth can be filled in with FILLERS and make that part of the face look smooth.
Good luck to you whatever you decide. You’re an attractive woman just the way you look now.
Elizabeth BSN- Baceleor of Science in Nursing- and Image Consultant
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I TAKE YOUR ADVICE, YES! What good sense you have. Nothing is sillier to me than all the eyeshadow hype on the market, and only the very young may do it. Three and 4 layers and stripes of colors, even horrendous things never found in nature (lime green, bruised blue, etc) Your burgundy is not too purple, and I like it alot. But for the life of me, after many years of trying to figure it out, I have “droopy” lids, deeply set eyes, and all I do is:
Spend all my money on good, natural oriented face care products (see Pratima in NYC)
Buff face with a rough cloth twice a week
No foundations, powders, only diluted concealer or something to hide dark circles if needed
Black mascara
lipbalm, tinted
small miniscule amount brow powder if brows look faded out
Done
When I used to spend a fortune on all the other stuff, I couold not tell the differences. And this thing they do called tightlining? Looks dangerous.