Sometimes, creating the perfect eye shadow look is easier said than done. It's easy to scroll through Pinterest, looking up makeup inspiration for a date night or boozy brunch. The hard part comes when we try to replicate them without the right techniques, products, and plenty of practice. Thankfully, we have a number of industry experts on speed dial who can point us in the right direction!
For us to better understand how to master applying eye shadow for a perfect finish, we reached out to celebrity makeup artist Tomy Rivero for guidance. So before you reach for your favorite cream, powder, and liquid eye shadows, keep scrolling to learn the best way to apply your products and step-by-step guides for how to pull off three eye makeup looks that continue to dominate our For You pages. Plus, find the best editor-selected eye shadows to bring them to life.
How to Create an Eye Shadow Look
There no "right" way to go about applying your eye shadow, but you can pull off the look of your dreams with the right process and products in tow. As a professional makeup artist, Rivero has a process of mapping out makeup looks for his celebrity clientele that may differ from how a makeup newcomer may go about an everyday look, but it's always smart to think ahead before you dip into your eye shadow palette. "My process for mapping out the look is more of a color test—I do small swatches of all of the eye shadows where I want to place them to see how the colors will look with the finished look," he says.
Additionally, if you're trying to something new with your eye shadow, Rivero shares that the best way to determine if they'll work is by wearing them for a few hours. He suggests trying the look on a day before you wear it outside. To do this, the makeup artist encourages priming the lid with a concealer or eye shadow primer "to get the most accurate idea as to what the colors actually look like on your skin." Pay attention to its wearability as well as if the product will crack, move, run, or disappear. To avoid making mistakes, take note of what works and what doesn't.
Achieving Flawless Eye Shadow Application
For those new to the world of using eye shadow, Rivero's biggest advice is to remember that paint and powder can always be brought down or removed for a fresh start. "The placements of your eye shadows doesn’t have to change much once you have figured out what you like and what works on your eye shape," he adds. More than anything, Rivero encourages makeup newcomers to adjust any look to the way that works for them.
To prevent your eye shadow from shifting, Rivero recommends investing in a good primer to set everything in place and extends the wear time of your eye makeup. He also shared a few ways to combat fading and fallout. "For fallout, a good trick is to fold a tissue under the eyes as you apply the shadow. The paper will catch any powder products," he says. This is especially important if your prefer to do your foundation and base first.
'90s-Inspired Smoky Eye
- Prime the Lids: Use an eye shadow primer or a concealer to make the eye shadow last longer.
- Lay Down a Neutral Base: Sweep a matte neutral shade over the lid and up to the brow bone to set the primer.
- Add Depth With a Dark Shade: With a matte dark brown or black color, focus on the outer corner of the eye, blending it toward the crease and inward for a smoked effect.
- Blend, Blend, Blend: Use a clean blending brush to soften edges, making sure there are no harsh lines.
- Define the Lower Lash Line: Apply the dark shade along the lower lash line and blend out
- Highlight the Inner Corner: Add a touch of light shimmer or a light matte shade to the inner corner to brighten.
- Finish With Eyeliner and Mascara: Apply a thick black eyeliner along the upper lash line and finish with mascara for a true '90s look.
Classic Cut Crease
- Apply Eye Shadow Primer or Concealer: Create a base to make the eye shadow pop and stay in place.
- Transition Shade in the Crease: Use a warm mid-tone shade in the crease and blend out.
- Deepen the Crease: Use a darker shade directly in the crease to add depth, blending upward.
- Define the Cut: With a small brush and concealer, carve out the crease from the inner corner to the middle or end of the lid.
- Apply Lid Shade: Pat a shimmery or matte color over the area where you applied concealer for a defined look.
- Blend the Edges: Use a small amount of the crease color to blend where the cut crease meets the outer edge for a seamless transition.
- Finish With Eyeliner and Mascara: Trace a winged or thin eyeliner and finish with mascara for a clean, dramatic effect.
Gradient Glam Look
- Apply Eye Shadow Primer: Apply primer to make sure the colors are vibrant.
- Lightest Shade on Inner Corner: Begin with the lightest shade on the inner corner of your eyelid.
- Medium Shade in the Middle: Apply a medium-tone shade in the center of the lid, blending into the light shade for a seamless gradient.
- Dark Shade on Outer Corner: Place a darker shade on the outer corner and blend it into the middle shade for a gradient from light to dark across the lid
- Blend the Crease: Use a clean blending brush to smooth out the crease, ensuring the gradient is even.
- Highlight the Brow Bone: Add a touch of a light shade to the brow bone to lift the eye area.
- Finish With Liner and Mascara: Apply subtle eyeliner and a coat of mascara to complete the glam look.
Eye Shadow Palettes
The Mini Spice Eye Palette offers nine full-pigment shadows, from soft neutrals to sparkly tones including five mattes and four metallic finishes. The shadow formula delivers buildable density for the eye shadow looks of your dreams without fading or fallout.
Customer Review: "This palette is so gorgeous. I love that it has range, from matte to shimmery matte to shiny sheer diamond-effect shades. A must-have item in my collection, I'm truly amazed by the quality!"
Product Specs: 0.03-ounce palette with nine eye shadow shades
The Ethereal Eye Eyeshadow Palette by Makeup by Mario is a moonlight-inspired palette that features 12 universal, neutral shades in matte, metallic, and shimmer finishes. Each ethereal shade is buildable and blendable as well as ophthalmologist tested and approved.
Customer Reviews: "The glitters in this palette are so stunning. I love the mixture of warm and cool tones. It's the perfectly versatile. Pigments are so high end and easily bendable. It is a must have eyeshadow palette!"
Product Specs: 0.04-ounce palette with 12 eye shadow shades
Offered in both a warm and cool nude, this eye shadow palette comes with six talc-free shades that cover your basic neutrals in matte, satin, and metallic finishes. Not only are they buttery smooth on the skin and long wearing, but they use jojoba seed oil and vitamin E to keep the skin moisturized while combating free-radical damage.
Customer Review: "I don't use eye primer, so the way these blend on my lids may differ from the experience of others. They sink into skin quite naturally and blend out nicely. Any creasing can be easily tapped out with a finger. The satins are particularly gorgeous: they wear to a translucency that leaves a glass-like glow."
Product Details: 0.05-ounce palette with six eye shadow shades
Designed by Peter Philips, creative and image director for Dior Makeup, the Dior Backstage Eyeshadow Palette helps you achieve a natural or intense makeup look with long-wear finish. It features nine ultra-pigmented shades in matte, pearlescent, metallic, holographic, and glittery finishes that are crease-, fade-, and flake-proof.
Customer Review: "Beautiful palette of neutrals that don’t turn orange or rust-colored on my skin tone. Every color is beautiful and blends nicely. The Backstage palettes never fail! I love it enough to get a second one since it will quickly be sold out and not available again."
Product Specs: 0.40-ounce palette with nine eye shadow shades
This velvety matte eye shadow palette by Patrick Ta includes 12 powder-and-cream warm and cool nudes for multidimensional makeup looks. Each shade can be worn alone or layered, blended, and contoured thanks to a cream base that provides depth and richness.
Customer Review: "One of my favorite go-to travel palettes. Love that there are cool toned and warmed tone colors love using the end cream colors for eyeliner!"
Product Specs: 0.06-ounce palette with 12 powder-and-cream eye shadows
The Mini Xenon Eyeshadow Palette includes five essential shades to help you create Natasha Denona's signature cat eye. It includes four creamy mattes with a metallic shade for bold, dramatic eye makeup looks with a touch of glam. It's also the only Natasha Denona mini palette to include the versatile Blackest Black Eyeshadow.
Customer Review: "This eyeshadow palette was so perfectly compact, lovely for some night out looks and brightening up my makeup to bring it to life! The pigments are so beautiful and vibrant. The colors are so bright and stays on all night!"
Product Specs: 0.03-ounce palette with five eye shadow shades
Liquid Eye Shadows
This easy-to-use, long-wearing, and crease-resistant liquid matte eye shadow delivers customizable coverage with a lightweight formula crafted with a nourishing blend of baobab seed oil, aloe leaf extract, and vitamin E. Plus, it doesn't crease, budge, or fade with all-day wear.
Customer Review: "Colors are gorgeous! I love how soft the applicator is as well—that’s important when you’re going to be placing product on such a sensitive area of your skin. Can’t wait to wear them out!
Product Specs: 0.13-ounce tube with a brush applicator
This stunning long-lasting liquid eye shadow by Armani Beauty features pure color pigments in a water-infused formula for buildable, high-impact color. It glides onto the skin and blends easily using a multipurpose applicator for up to 16 hours of flake-free wear. The best part? No primer is needed.
Customer Review: "This is a great staple eyeshadow! I have a shimmery one as well as this matte color. You don’t necessarily need a primer on it but feel free to! You can apply the product with either the applicator or your finger. Highly recommend!"
Product Specs: 0.13-ounce bottle with a brush applicator
If you love metallics, this one's for you. The Twin Flames Liquid Eyeshadow is a multidimensional chrome shadow that acts as a standalone eye shadow, lip, or cheek pigment. The brand also just launched three new stunning shades: Lust (orange and gold), Love Spell (baby pink and green gold), and Euphoria (electric teal and and green blue).
Customer Review: "Twin Flames is such a versatile product! I love to apply it on top of a darker base (to amplify the pigmentation) or sometimes on its own, and buff out the edges with a fluffy synthetic brush. I also love to use it with a detail brush to create fun eyeliner looks! 10/10! Can’t wait to add more to my collection!"
Product Specs: 0.85-ounce tube with applicator brush
The Ilia cream-to-powder eye shadow applies like cream and dries like powder to a crease-resistant finish in matte and metallic shades. It's formulated with horse chestnut flower to help visibly smooth and firm the appearance of skin. It doesn't budge or fade, so you know it will last you all day.
Customer Review: "Super easy to apply, blend and build. Doesn't feel heavy or like you're wearing eye shadow. I really like how it doesn't look like you're wearing makeup, but you do just look a tad bit better."
Product Specs: 0.12-ounce tube with applicator brush
This long-wearing liquid glitter eye shadow by Stila has a lightweight, water-infused texture that glides onto the skin effortlessly with a smooth dry-down for maximum sparkle and minimum fallout. It can be applied directly to the eye area using a wand and worn alone or over eye shadow as a topper.
Customer Review: "I love the beautiful color of this, and the way it glitters. I used it to top off a liquid eyeshadow, and everything stayed all day and it was such a pretty, glimmers eye look."
Product Specs: 0.14-ounce tube with applicator brush
Eye Shadow Sticks
We love a good dual-ended product that can make your makeup routine quick and easy. This swipe-and-go eye shadow by Bobbi Brown includes a matte shade on one end to add a wash of color to the lids and a shimmer shade on the other for highlight and definition. Its creamy formula lasts for up to 24 hours and offers non-creasing, true-color wear.
Customer Review: "This was gifted by Bobbi Brown, and this product is so creamy and goes on smoothly on the eyelid! I love the dual colors and it's easy to use. Could be used for a day out or night out. I'm definitely going to buy more different shades! I highly recommend this."
Product Specs: 0.06-ounce dual-ended stick
The best-selling Hourglass Voyeur Eyeshadow Stick balances rich pigments and a creamy texture, with eight hours of comfortable crease-resistant wear. It glides onto the lids without skipping or tugging for a flawless finish and multidimensional looks.
Customer Review: "This eyeshadow feels so light and silky when you apply it yet has good pigment levels. It’s easy to blend and to pair with other shades in the range. I’ve got very sensitive skin around my eyes and this does not irritate at all. I will be buying this in more shades."
Product Specs: 0.05-ounce stick
The 24-hour Caviar Stick Eyeshadow offers creamy, rich color that doesn't tug, flake, smudge or crease in versatile matte and shimmer finishes. The Laura Mercier shadow is formulated with nourishing raspberry stem cells and hyaluronic acid that nourish the skin and deliver a velvet-soft feel.
Customer Review: "The best product ever! Goes on super smooth and stays on all day without creasing on your eyes. I LOVE this caviar stick and highly recommend!"
Product Specs: 0.05-ounce stick
This long-wearing eye shadow stick provides intense color in satin and matte finishes and can be used to highlight all the high points of the face, including the tear ducts, cheekbones, and brow arches. Ideal for a stay-all-day look, the Magnetic Eye Color stick comes in shades that complement all skin tones using a formula ideal for oily skin types.
Customer Review: "Easy to apply and lasted for 12 hours without creasing or smearing. I love that it comes with its own sharpener too. Great product!"
Product Specs: 0.10-ounce stick
More Eye Shadow Favorites
Customer Review: "My new favorite thing! Application is easy. A little goes a long way. Then texture is smooth and creamy but sets almost instantly. Wears all day no creasing. I have sensitive eyes and skin and this wore beautifully. Absolutely love it."
Product Specs: 0.23-ounce pot
Customer Review: "Why I didn’t try Danessa Myrick's liquid pigment sooner! Absolutely beautiful. Easy to swipe on. Has a little time before it dries and then wears flawlessly all day! Used it on eyes, cheeks and lips. Blended with other products to create subtle shading."
Product Specs: 0.34-ounce tube
Customer Review: "This is my new favorite eyeshadow palette! I’m going to purchase more of these. They blend like a dream and it stays all day. You can build on the colors it really depends on the opacity you want."
Product Specs: 0.17-ounce palette with four eyeshadow shades
Customer Review: "I love Merit and decided to try this eyeshadow out since I only use one color. It's great, doesn't smudge, pigmented, and lots of product in the container. It'll definitely last a while!!"
Product Specs: 0.17-ounce pot
Customer Review: "This is such a pretty neutral glam palette! I love it almost as much as the Voyeuristic Vixen. The mattes are very easy to blend and the gold topper shade really finishes off the look!"
Product Specs: 0.05-ounce palette with four eye shadow shades
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