Eye Shadow: Skin Tone, Eye Colour: Eye Makeup

Eye Shadow: Skin Tone, Eye Colour: Eye Makeup

Eye Makeup - Choosing Eye Shadow

Choosing the correct shades of eye shadow that compliment your eye colour and skin tone can take a lot of research, practice and patience.

The hardest part is knowing how to determine your skin tone. Not everyone will fall neatly into the cool and warm toned categories, however, the information below should serve as a useful guide.

Cool toned people tend to have a pink or rosy skin tone and look good in blues, purples, pinks and greys. They also suit rich shades such as deep emerald, sapphire or plum.

Warm toned people will have a more golden or peach undertone and are suited to anything with yellow or golden undertones, such as apricot, green, brown and warm tawny shades.

The vein test is an easy way to determine your skin tone. In natural light, make a fist and examine your inner wrist. Blue veins indicate a cool tone, while green veins are a hint that you are warm toned.

If you're still not sure whether your skin tone is cool or warm it's best to stick with natural, subtle colours. If you have a fair complexion, try to avoid dark shades. If your skin tone is dark, choose deeper shades, stay away from white or light colours.

When choosing eye shadow, pick a colour that compliments your eye colour not one that matches it. When in doubt, stick with colours in the brown family.

Blue Eyes - blue, taupe, rich warm browns, grey, peach or golden shades

Green Eyes - plum, apricot, bronze, caramel

Hazel Eyes: Green, deep brown, purple, golden shades

Brown eyes - Copper, beige, green, gold, purple, navy

Apply eye shadow with a brush using a neutral toned base from lashes to eyebrows. The main colour is applied to eyelids just above the lashes where you normally apply eye liner. Use a light shade along the crease line for highlighting your eyes or a darker shade for emphasizing.

Eye Makeup - Applying Eyeliner

When applying eyeliner, rest your elbow on a hard surface with your wrist resting on your face. Tilt your head back slightly and keep your eyes half open.

Draw a line across the upper lid as close to the lashes as possible. This gives the desired illusion of thicker lashes.

Line the lower lids just below the lower lashes, Moving from the outside edge inward, draw a faint line following the shape of your eye, go back over the line and darken. Your line should be slightly thicker at the outside corner, becoming thinner as it moves in toward your nose.

Eye Makeup - Applying Mascara

Apply your mascara in two thin coats, building up the length and thickness gradually. Allow to dry between each coat.

Starting in the middle of the upper eyelash, sweep the wand from root to tip, wiggling the wand a little as you move upwards, then work your way out to the edges.

For your lower lashes you will need less mascara. Apply by brushing from side to side rather than up and down, taking care not to smudge under the eye.