Eyeshadow Masterclass

I've decided to do a 'rescue' blog for those of you who have been asking me over the past couple of days about eyeshadow. It's not really a review although I will be touching on some of my favourite products that will make you and your makeup collection really happy! I've had a few requests about which products to use, how to apply them depending on your eye shape, what colours to use for different eye colours and also how I do my 'smokey eye' effect. I'm going to be covering all of the above but firstly there are two life-saving facts I think you should all know first:

1) You don't need top branded eyeshadows! (Although it does help to have a decent palette for blendability and what not). If you're looking for a versatile palette, I recommend Urban Decay's 'Naked 2' palette for £36.00 from Debenhams. I know this sounds expensive but it's literally all you'll ever need! It's got neutral colours through to black which obviously comes in very handy for the smokey eye effect. I've put a picture of it below so you can see it in most of it's glory - the colours aren't very visable on there but I'll do a video blog showing you how to use it and which colours work best together.

2) You don't have to have a certain shape of eye! Yes, it's really true! Time and time again I've heard girls say they can't wear eyeshadow because of the shape of their eye. Either they're 'too big' and they end up creating the 'drag queen' look because they over compensate or they have small inset eyes and don't think there's any point in putting it on because no one will see it. It's all about how you apply and the colours you use to emphasise the colour of your eyes. Ever heard the saying Size Doesn't Matter? It's true! Unless of course we're referring to the size of our makeup collection then the saying The Bigger The Better comes to mind!

I went for years without wearing eyeshadow, mainly because I didn't know how to apply it - I had no idea of the amount of insecurities us girls could come up with over silly little things like the shape of our eyes?! I mean, come on!

Blue Eyes

If you've got dark hair and blue eyes, try to stick to taupe / champagne / brown eyeshadows as these are all really flattering colours and will brighten up and accentuate your eyes completely. Add a little dark brown or black eyeshadow to create the smokey effect for evening wear if you feel it's too much for a daytime look (I personally don't!)

Try adding a small amount of golden brown shimmery shadow into the crease of your lid for a a really effective daytime look. 'Amber Lights' by MAC works great for those of you with fair skin and light eyes.

If you're feeling really adventurous and want to make them pop, try adding a light blue to the base of your eye, a pale shimmer under your brow and a deeper blue for the crease to really make a scene! Try not to overdo it though because this look is very intense!

Brown / Hazel Eyes

I hope all you brown eyed beauties know how lucky you are! You can pretty much wear any colour of eyeshadow you want and it will still look great, especially if they're dark brown. Mix up some purple and lavender tones to make your eyes pop for a really classy evening look. Or for a more neutral day time look, try some khaki / light green shimmery colours to really accentuate your eyes - this works great with dark hair too!

Try MAC's 'Performance Art' as a base colour (pearly lilac shimmer shadow) and 'Shadowy Lady' for the crease of the lid (blackened plum shadow) for the perfect smokey eye look for gorgeous brown eyes!

Green Eyes

Despite being the prettiest and most unusual colour of all eye colours, they are most definitely the hardest to match with eyeshadows. Just like brown eyes, purpley plum colours can look great with green eyes to make them really stand out. I always think green eyes look best when they've got a light coating of a neutral brown or a really light grey with blue undertones.

Lots of forums tell you not to wear shimmery shadows if you have green eyes but I disagree, I think it can make them look really pretty and no one wants to be told they can't have sparkly eyes!

Try MAC's 'Arena' eyeshadow which is described as a soft gold-peach with pearl shimmer but it's just a really light brown that looks great on green eyes, especially if you have flecks of copper and brown in your eyes too!

My Must Haves!

Lots of people haven't even heard of Too Faced cosmetics which saddens me greatly. I first stumbled across their eye catching packaging in Boots - it's so pretty and girly yet bold and flamboyant all at the same time! It's definitely worth paying the extra money for. I've had another palette of theirs before and didn't have the heart to throw it away because it's such a gorgeous little product. It's got a mirror on the inside of the lid so I keep my hair grips in there now and keep it in my bag incase I ever have any rogue hair that needs taming! I love everything about this brand - the colours, the packaging and above all, the quality! Their pricing is similar to MAC products and if I'm honest, some of their products are much better quality.

These are my two favourite products by Too Faced. I got these as part of a kit that ASOS had in their beauty sale - it also came with another palette of blusher and bronzer and also their LashGASM  mascara (which is amazing!!). The eyeshadow quad contains a really light shimmery pink that works as a great neutral base, a light shimmery green, a dark shimmery golden brown and also a medium-dark matte brown. They are powder eyeshadows but they have a slightly creamy texture which makes them really easy to blend out or into other colours. The high pigment means you barely need any on your brush to get the look you want! The Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer in 'Candlelight' has been mentioned throughout my blogs - I have a smaller sized tube because that's what came in the kit but it's the best primer I've ever used so I'll definitely be buying it again when I run out. I use it nearly every day and I've had it for about 6 months and it's still going. Most of the time I use it on it's own because of its gorgeous sparkle that lasts all day!


A couple of months ago I was feeling extra frivolous and decided to create my own eyeshadow quad with MAC products. I got very excited and ended up picking colours that didn't really go together but I'm happy with it nonetheless!

Top left: Knight Devine - black w/ silver pearl

Top right: Electra - silver w/ icy shimmer

Bottom left: Filiament - platinum silver

Bottom right: Gesso - vivid white

The palette alone was £6.50 and then an extra £10 for each eyeshadow. I only ever use this palette if I'm going out because the silvery colours only look good on my eyes with certain outfits. If I was going to get another black MAC eyeshadow I'd go for 'Carbon' or 'Typographic' because the texture of the silver pearl in 'Knight Devine' makes it quite harsh and not the easiest to blend. However, it's a great product and really handy to carry around in your makeup bag. MAC also do duo palettes for a smaller option which makes it more portable and more importantly, cheaper!

I went to PC world yesterday to get this really good video webcam so I can start my video tutorials to show you how to apply it for different eye shapes etc but they didn't have any in stock so unfortunately these are on hold for a while - sorry!

Let me know what you think of the blog so far!