Fumbling around with the dual tipped inch long sponge applicator and discovering that more eyeshadow has fallen on your cheeks than has made it successfully onto your lids brings about a special kind of frustration, shame, and futility. It’s just powder, like, what gives? Especially if you’ve spent any time watching self-professed makeup artists on YouTube or Instagram, who manage to haphazardly flurry some $80 brushes across their lids and wind up looking expensive and flawless despite how effortless the whole process seemed.

I’m far from an eyeshadow wizard, but as a makeup nerd, I’ve tried to learn a thing or two. Eyeshadow can really suck sometimes. Hopefully this guide to eyeshadow can help you suck less.

There are SO MANY ways to approach eyeshadow. Here’s a pretty halo eye look, note the light in the center of the lid surrounded by a deeper shade and another halo eye with a really softly blended gradient and smoked out lower lashline. Here’s a cut crease and another cut crease Here’s classic fan style eyeshadow, with the color gradient deep at the outer corner gradually lightening as you move inward and here’s another one. These definitions can also vary from person to person, artist to artist, blogger to blogger, but I’ll say that lots of women sometimes say smokey eye when in fact they mean a dark fan style. Here’s a good example of a smokey eye. Note the depth of color on the upper and lower lashline, and how the color does softly diffuse out while remaining very deep and intense? Here’s another example. And another example from my very favorite MUA.

You can combine concepts, change the colors, play with eyeliner, blend a lot or barely blend at all, but those are the core concepts. From easiest to most complex, I think it’s best to start with fan, proceed to halo, proceed to cut crease, then proceed to smokey. That evolution helps build the important skills of color selection, product placement, and blending over time.

I like what Mykie (the girl who has been awarded for special effects and beauty makeup alike, with a sizable social media following for her channel/accounts called “Glam & Gore”) said in one of her rose gold eye makeup tutorials… because makeup is worn, every look is therefore, by definition, wearable. It’s just a matter of whether or not you personally like/value the look and its impact.

Color selection is probably important

• Know what you look good in. Let me start with the idea that you get your seasonal color analysis to better determine the colors and finishes that will best complement the already lovely things about you! Based on your coloring, decide where on the spectrum of warm/cool you want your looks, and individual products, to hit.

There are different finishes at your disposal.

• Matte shadow is a shadow without glitter, shimmer, or sheen. Best for a “natural” look. Here is an image of matte shadows and here is a matte eyeshadow look

• Satin shadow is a shadow without glitter or shimmer but it will allow for a bit of sheen. Here’s a satin look.

• Shimmer shadow is a shadow with a fine, sparse sheen of sparkle. Here’s an example. No matter how much of this product you pack on, you usually can’t achieve a sparkley or glittery finish. That’s what the next products are for.

• There’s no concrete difference between “glittery” and “sparkly” but since eye glitter does exist with large reflective particles, I feel a sparkle eyeshadow is halfway between a shimmer and a glitter. Densley packed shimmers, if you will, I consider sparkley.

Of course, there is a wide range of different forms of eyeshadow.

• Pressed powder eyeshadow is the most obvious. Not all pressed powder eyeshadows are created equal. While you can certainly use them for different purposes, generally highly pigmented (be it white black or aqua blue) shadows are preferred. Usually there is a preference for soft, “buttery” shadows rather than dry, chalky shadows, as the former are easier to apply and blend. We’ll get into specific brands that lean one way or the other later.

• There is also loose pigment eye shadow

• As well as cream eyeshadow

• And liquid eye shadow

• And gelee eyeshadow

Every one of these products has different purposes, but for the most part, pressed powder shadow is the most widely used. While if dropped it can break and become loose shadow, it usually is the least messy and easiest to blend and build color. Now that I mention it, let’s talk about some eyeshadow application concepts.

• Blending is something you hear a lot of when it comes to all makeup, but eyeshadow in particular. You might remember everyone online throwing shade at Beyoncé’s 2016 Met Gala makeup artist (or even Beyoncé herself) because of the intentionally unblended eye makeup. Whether you do or don’t like the look, it’s a great example of an unblended eye makeup look. Compare it to this blended eye makeup look

• Building or packing is something else that comes up. I used the same brush and the same eyeshadow on the top and bottom, applying both on top of the same primer. I lightly swept and swirled the brush to create a diffused, blended wash of color on top, while I patted the product into my skin in small, firm taps on the bottom. The latter is called packing. Look at this brush from iT cosmetics. On top is a fluffy brush that is used to apply shadow allover and blend it, while on bottom is a dense brush that is used to pack pigment on.

That said, brushes and a few other products are usually valued by eyeshadow wearers.

Sure, you can apply with your fingers on bare skin and leave it as is. But not only do you risk hard panning your shadows which is where the oils on your fingers, or left over on your unwashed brushes pack over the top of the product surface, making it impossible to pick up pigment (no worries if this has happened… you don’t need to scratch the pan up with a bobby pin or toothbrush, just take some masking tape or scotch tape, adhere it to the hard portion of the product, and then remove it evenly), but you’re sort of heading off potential to do more fun, intricate eye looks.

Like everything else we talk about in this sub…. Why not push the needle on perfect and see how amazing you can be?

• Different brushes for different purposes. Here’s a beautiful kit I’ve been lusting after for a couple years. But even though that is eight brushes… I could still use a few more. That kit includes a tall-tapered blender for blending, a small angled shader for adding focused shading into contours of the eye, a large and medium fluffy shader to apply creams, primers, transition shades, or other products… they’re versatile enough that they can be used to blend and pack product. There’s a stubby shader to build color and depth via packing, as well as a short smudge for blending out kohl/gel/pencil eyeliners. There is a fluffy pencil for focused application and blending and a small domed contour to blend out contours. I also like to have a bent liner brush for eyeliner as well as an angled brush and spoolie to do my brows as well as a metal tooth comb like this to apply mascara and remove eyelash glue.

Like I mentioned in another comment, you don’t need all of these brushes necessarily. I advise against getting the whole kit right out of the gate. Get yourself a large fluffy brush to start with, try to create a look, then figure out what would make it easier. “I really need something short, dense, and thin to carefully apply color in the crease.” “I need something tiny and firm but not stabby to smudge my eyeliner.” Then go to the makeup store and look at the brushes until you find something that looks like it’ll work! Usually you can feel the luxury brushes, so go look at those first. When you find it, go see if there’s a less expensive option in the drugstore racks. I love the black handled e.l.f. brushes, sold in kits or individually and the Real Techniques brushes a whole lot. They're very high quality, soft, and durable while being pretty affordable. I haven't tried the eco tools, but those are usually affordable too. I've almost bought the Spectrum Collections brushes so many times, but I just stick to drugstore brushes with the occasional iT cosmetics brush. I think I'll do another post soon about makeup brushes.

• Eyeshadow primer saves lives. There’s nothing that crushes your makeup loving heart like finally nailing the application of an eyeshadow look only to check your fine self out a few hours later to find this little disaster. I don’t have an issue with an unconventional avant-garde look.. except when it’s obvious the look was in completely different spirits when first applied. Eyeshadow primers fix this. They provide a base for your eyeshadow to stick to, and like everything else in the makeup world, not all primers were created equal. I will never buy anything but the NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base. I have dry skin, and frustratingly all the oil my face should produce seems to be centralized in my eyelids. No waterproof mascara or liner, let alone eyeshadow, could match up to it until I tried this stuff. Ever used a nifty shadow with glitter in it, like Urban Decay’s super popular Midnight Cowboy? It’s a beautiful shade but until I started using the NARS primer, the flecks of glitter fell out all. Over. My. Face. The only thing is that this primer really grabs whatever shadow you lay down first… I learned the hard way that applying my transition shade the same color as my skin tone first is an important step to ensuring blendable shadow. No matter how much or how many shadows I apply on top of this product, they all stick. It’s magical.

I personally never had success with the following, but lots of people swear by Urban Decay Primer Potion and Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Now, are these products costly? Yes. But they make even cheap eyeshadows perform better, while giving expensive shadows a real shot at giving you your money’s worth.

• A dry switch is also really helpful. A makeup brush cleaner like this can be used to remove any residual color so you can reuse the same brush with different pigment right after the other without taking time to actually cleanse the brush with water. Should you still do that regularly? Yes. Will using a freshly cleansed and still damp eyeshadow brush to pick up more eyeshadow create hard pan? Yes. I was about to buy multiples of the same eyeshadow brushes in order to switch colors until I found out about these things. If you don’t feel like buying one of them just use one of those sock bun donuts.

• Setting sprays/mists* exist also but I haven’t ventured there yet myself. The Make Up Forever Mist & Fix Setting Spray, the Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray and the Kat Von D Lock-It Makeup Setting Mist and the MAC Prep Prime Fix are all popular. I do have my eye on the Pixi Glow Mist.

• At this point, you’re starting to realize that your makeup kit could grow at an alarming rate. An empty makeup palette where you can put individual pans of shadow, rather than keeping eighteen singles and numerous palettes, is really handy. Z Palette’s were really popular until some PR SNAFU a while back, and now there are numerous options. Having something like this is nice… I’ve found I use a broader range of shadows I already have when they’re all easily accessible in one location. To do this, you’ll need a makeup de-potting spatula to carefully pop the metal pans of shadow out of their existing homes, unless you buy all new singles from a brand like Anastasia Beverly Hills or Buxom.

Now that we’ve covered all that, let’s get down to some of the eyeshadows that most eyeshadow lovers start with. In my opinion, the following shades should be primarily matte or satin finish. Finding matte or satin shadows is surprisingly difficult sometimes, especially when you’re looking for a good range of shades on a budget. Many drugstore shadows seem to lean shimmery/sparkley, but given how popular matte makeup in all product varieties is, there’s a better showing now than a few years ago.

• Transition Shade Get yourself a “transition” shade that is the same lightness/depth and undertone as your bare skin (or the shade your bare skin should be once made up, for those of us with some dark circles/redness/scars.) Vaguely the same color as your eyelid skin. This shade is used as a base pigment, and as a pigment used to blend the deeper/lighter shades of shadow you’ll be applying.

• Contour shade Get yourself a contour shade a few shades deeper than your skin but with the same undertone. Look in a mirror and find the hollows under your cheeks, around your collarbone, between the tendons and bits that cord your neck. The color of that shadow is the contour shade you are looking for. This shade will be used in any number of ways to create depth in the eyeshadow look, for example in the crease or along the lower lashline. This shade should be fairly similar to the shade you use to contour your face with. For example, I use the NYX HD Blush in Taupe to contour my face and eyes. Most all contour and bronzer shades are far too orange for me, and this little guy works perfectly.

• Highlight shade This shade should be at least one, if not a few shades lighter than your transition shade. I usually stick to white. The transition, contour, and highlight shades are the very most basics. If you don’t have these you’ll generally find yourself hard pressed to any other looks. Personally, I think the [all nude/brown eyeshadow palette craze] https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/37/88/6a/37886a516c51ff0c17a6265733496e1b.jpg) is a bit redundant, although there are certainly so many skin tones out there that accommodating everyone is hugely important. But as someone who likes experimenting with color… buying a lovely colorful palette to find half of the shades are all various shades of brown makes me roll my eyes a little bit (but this palette is so worth it for me anyway, even though half the shades never get used.) I’ve found that a vaguely peach shade and a vaguely black shade all work well to give me a solid shadow palette to do a variety of basic looks. The Lancome Color Design 5 Pan Eyeshadow Palette in 109 would be perfect for this, given it matches your skin tone. Note how the base shade up top and the peach shade on the left are comparatively largest, with the contour and highlight and black shade taking up less room? That’s because this quad is designed for a basic, “natural” look where only a small percentage of the entire eye is shaded darkly.

Then there are some elevated basics that can nicely round out your basic collection.

• A vaguely shell pink shade is nice to add a bit of femme glam to a look.

• A shimmery shade similar in color to your transition or highlight shade is a great way to add some glam while keeping a neutral theme.

There are SO many palettes that fulfill all of these needs, so let’s talk a little bit about some specific eyeshadows.

• Viseart Shadows are pretty dang extra. I’m not budgeting for these yet, but all the reviews I’ve watched point to these bad boys being worth the hefty price tag.

• Inglot Shadows are usually cited as a dupe for the Viseart shadows. The range of colors and the cost/quantity is also pretty impressive.

• Juvia’s Place is a black owned brand and I LLLLLOOOOOVVVVVE the shadows. The only downside is that they sell out. Literally. I can’t say enough good things about these shadows… the variety, the texture, the blendability, the pigment… Check out some reviews. Does $20-40 seem like a lot? Sure. But it is so worth it. I’m tempted to tell everyone they’re terrible because I’m sick of waiting for them not to be sold out. But please buy a palette anyway.

• Buxom has some great shadows as well.

• NYX Singles are really great for drugstore price. They have lots of dupes for higher end eye shadows that are great if you’re experimenting. If you’re new to eyeshadow, or new to trying to do a better job at eyeshadow, I’d start here!

• The Kat Von D Metal Crush Eye Shadows specifically are pretty great, although her palettes usually don’t have the same high quality for some reason or another.

• The Covergirl Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadows are my favorite drugstore shadows. They are a little chalky, but they get the job done when necessary. Note that when you break down the cost, most all of these eyeshadows are usually more expensive than the Juvia’s Place palettes. Just sayin’.

• [The Anastasia Beverly Hills Eyeshadow Singles[(http://www.sephora.com/eye-shadow-singles-P404832?skuId=1791698&icid2=products grid:p404832) were my first real shadows. The color range online is pretty stout, but they are pretty expensive given how little product you get. They are super pigmented and fairly soft which is nice, but they are almost so pigmented they are tough to blend sometimes.

• I’m so happy with the Juvia’s Place palettes I’ve yet to try the Colourpop eyeshadow products which many people seem to love, both in terms of color range, price, and performance, so those are worth considering as well!

• There are SO MANY SUPER COOL indie makeup brands, and the indie makeup scene is kind of known for dynamic loose eye pigments. I haven’t ventured far here yet, but I really want to.

• Coastal Scents is a commonly purchased budget friendly brand, but I’ve heard quite a few lackluster reviews.

• I’ve had some great and some terrible experiences with designer shadows from Estee Lauder and Elizabeth Arden. Usually I get gifted shadow palettes and will end up only liking one or two… but those one or two shades are totally worth the price for me, like a really great cool toned brown I’ve been using for like three or four years now.

Let’s revisit some basics of eyeshadow application. You’ve got shadow on your brush… now what?

• Sweeping is what it sounds like. You softly sweep the brush back and forth, usually side to side.

• Tiny circles, usually used to try and blend out a shadow.

• Patting. This is is gently tapping the bristles against your skin, which is very similar to….

• Packing, where you press the bristles into your skin, usually to apply denser, fuller coverage of the shadow.

When trying to get a nice gradient, I usually first pack pigment on, then clean off the leftover pigment and pat to do some blending, followed by tiny circles, and finally sweeping.

But what about the order in which you apply shadow?

Some people prefer to apply their eyemakeup before their face makeup, especially if they expect fall out. This lady had some glitter fallout she removed with tape and this lady holds paper/cotton pads under her eyes to catch the fallout while this lady isn’t taking no for an answer with a whole paper towel under her eyes. You can also apply some excessive loose face powder under your eyes over your face makeup prior to doing your eyes so you can sweep it and the fall out away upon finishing the look. Other people do face makeup before eye makeup. Others will do their upper lid eyemakeup, followed by face makeup, ending with lower lashline since usually you apply pigment there too and may need to even out your complexion. Some people will apply a lip after the eye makeup to better gage their look, and vice versa. Because I don’t like to leave the house without finished lips, I do my lips first. Then I decide what kind of eye there is time for and what kind of eye will match my lip. Then I add my contour/blush to ensure there is not too much/not too little color in my cheeks to match the lip/eye combo.

• First put on the eye primer on the top and lower lid, and dab it across the whole eye. Don’t rub it, dab it.

• Then lay down your transition shade.

• Now you can either go from darkest to lightest shade, or lightest to darkest shade. It really depends on the look, your preference, and your skill. I usually like to start with the peachy or contour shade in the crease, then I decide if I’m doing a fan/halo/cut/smokey look. Usually I then gradually work my way into deeper shades before transitioning to pops of color/highlight/lighter shades. Usually I end up going back to deepen the deep shades even more.

There are SO MANY reviews of products/tools out there, as well as tutorials for specific techniques, as well as tutorials for overall looks.

• Stephanie Nicole is my favorite reviewer. If she loves it, I usually buy it and love it too.

• Stephanie Lange is my favorite for application techniques… she does an excellent job explaining what she’s doing and how to make products work. She has some great product recommendations as well.

• Glam&Gore is also really great at explaining technique.

• Bailey Sarian is my favorite when it comes to makeup looks. I love practically every look she has ever done, and have also enjoyed a lot of her product recommendations.

• I haven’t watched many of Atleeeey’s, Linda Hallberg’s, Evelina Forsell’s or Beetotheo’s youtube videos yet but I get really inspired by their Instagram posts. I also think that La’Tecia Thomas’s makeup looks are beautiful. But that’s just me!

I think eyeshadow is one of the products that you struggle with for a long time until all of a sudden, it starts working fabulously and you still can't believe you actually pulled it off. Hopefully you pull it off a lot faster than I am!!!