Tip 1: Always start with a good base. They make your eyeshadows go on more vibrant, keep them on all day and night, and help stop the eyeshadows from creasing. One of my favourites are MAC Cosmetic's Paint Pots. You can read my full review of them
here. Some other ones that are popular are Urban Decay Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance.
Tip 2: Make sure you test eyeshadows at the store to make sure they are pigmented, smooth, and easy to blend. Just open the container and rub your finger around in the shadow. What you're looking for is to see if the colour on your finger matches the colour in the container. This is called
swatching. Another good idea is to then rub that finger on the back of your hand to see how easy it is to move around, and how much it fades out. Also, make sure you get eyeshadow colours that you love. If you don't love the colour, you will probably never wear it, and there goes at least $15 down the drain for no reason.
Tip 3: Invest in good brushes. Most makeup artists will probably agree that brushes can be more important than the makeup itself. Learn what kinds of brushes work best for certain things. Animal hair brushes will give you the best pigmentation and are softer, while synthetic brushes give more sheer application and are much more durable. Don't be shy when you go to makeup counters, ask any questions you have about the brushes there. I find the people who work at MAC (at least around where I live) are very knowledgeable about how their brushes are made. They know that the animals are shaved, not killed, for their real hair brushes, and they know how the animals there are treated. Don't shy away from animal hair brushes just because they are natural, not all real hair brushes are made by killing the animal, so just ask. Learn how to work with your brushes as well. It's one thing to have nice brushes, but it's another thing to know how to use them and clean them properly.
Tip 4: Practice makes perfect. The best way to learn basic eyeshadow and eyeliner
techniques, and the way that I learned, is to watch endless videos on
Youtube. Then, just copy what they're doing. Practice the techniques
over and over again until you're comfortable with your brushes and your product. Don't feel discouraged when you mess up, it's no problem, even the most experienced and professional make up artists screw up from time to time. There is no shame.
Tip 5: Find out what compliments your eye shape and colour the best. Blue eyes are complimented by browns, green eyes are complimented by plums, and brown eyes can pretty much wear anything. Find out weather or not you have hooded eyes, almond eyes, big eyes, small eyes, wide set eyes, close set eyes, droopy eyes, etc.
Tip 6: Figure out what's easiest for you. Just because a certain technique or tip works for someone else, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for you. Everybody is different and everybody does things differently. Find your own rhythm, pattern, and style. Just because everyone wears cat eye eyeliner doesn't mean you have to wear it too if you don't like the way it looks on you.
Tip 7: Skip the spider eyelashes! You know, those clumpy, gross eyelashes that fuse together and just make you look sloppy and like you never take off your makeup. Like
this. If you work hard blending, smudging, and building up your eyeshadow, why ruin it by doing this to your poor eyelashes? Just apply one or two coats of mascara and leave it at that. A tip to happy, pretty, wispy lashes like
this, just take a face tissue and take the extra mascara off of your wand. You will notice that it almost just looks like you tinted your lashes a darker colour. It really helps you stand out in a very natural way.
Tip 8: Last but not least, remember to just have fun with it. If doing your makeup feels like a chore, you're doing it wrong. You should be having fun, not wanting to throw your brush across the room. Find your own style, play around with it, and do what you like.
