Colorful eye shadow palettes are fun to look at, but how often do you find yourself reaching for hot pink, neon green or metallic magenta? Pops of color have their place, but most people need a go-to look for work and busy days. One of the simplest and most effective color combinations is monochromatic, and brown-on-brown works for nearly everyone.
Technically, brown isn’t a color at all. It’s used to create shadows, and carefully placed brown eye shadow gives eyes depth and dimension. You could jump right in and use deep brown shadow in the crease of your eye, but the effect looks more natural if the color gradually develops from light to dark. This tutorial will show how to layer various shades of matte yellow, peach and brown shadow to create a perfect neutral eye.
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Materials
- Brow pencil with attached screw brush (Colourpop Brow Boss Pencil)
- Liquid concealer (AOA Wonder Cover Concealer)
- Flat concealer brush
- Matte golden yellow eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Locked & Loaded)
- Small eye shadow brush
- Matte yellowed peach eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Send Noodles)
- Tapered eye shadow brush
- Matte brown eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Nip Slip)
- Matte deep brown eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Teddy Bare)
- Pencil brush
- Brown eyeliner pencil (Joah Auto Eyeliner, Brown)
- Smudger brush
- False lashes
- Tweezers
- Lash glue (not shown)
- Black eyeliner pencil (Joah Auto Eyeliner, Blackest Black)
- Brow pencil with attached screw brush (Colourpop Brow Boss Pencil)
- Liquid concealer (AOA Wonder Cover Concealer)
- Flat concealer brush
- Matte golden yellow eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Locked & Loaded)
- Small eye shadow brush
- Matte yellowed peach eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Send Noodles)
- Tapered eye shadow brush
- Matte brown eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Nip Slip)
- Matte deep brown eye shadow (Colourpop Double Entendre Palette, Teddy Bare)
- Pencil brush
- Brown eyeliner pencil (Joah Auto Eyeliner, Brown)
- Smudger brush
- False lashes
- Tweezers
- Lash glue (not shown)
- Black eyeliner pencil (Joah Auto Eyeliner, Blackest Black)
Fierce League
Instructions
1. Define the shape of the brows and fill in sparse areas with a brow pencil. Diffuse the pigment with the screw brush attachment, so there are no obvious lines.
1. Define the shape of the brows and fill in sparse areas with a brow pencil. Diffuse the pigment with the screw brush attachment, so there are no obvious lines.
2. Conceal discoloration and prime the eye area for shadow by applying liquid concealer with a flat concealer brush. Brush the concealer below the brow bone to sharpen the brow line, and pat in the product with a fingertip.
3. Create a neutral base for the entire eye area by applying matte golden yellow eye shadow with a small eye shadow brush.
4. Sweep matte yellowed peach eye shadow onto the outer corner of the eye (as well as the crease) with a tapered eye shadow brush.
5. Layer matte brown eye shadow onto the outer corner (as well as the crease) with a small eye shadow brush to give the eye extra depth and dimension.
6. Darken the outer corner of the upper lid by applying matte deep brown eye shadow with a pencil brush. Diffuse the pigment and blend the colors together by sweeping the tapered eye shadow brush over the area once more.
7. Apply brown eyeliner pencil along the upper lash line, and soften the product with a smudger brush. The brush helps eliminate any gaps in the eyeliner and makes the liner look more natural.
8. Hold the false lashes with tweezers, and apply a small amount of lash glue onto the lash band. Let the glue set for 10 seconds, and apply the lashes just above the upper lash line.
9. Apply black eyeliner pencil to the upper waterline just below the false lashes. (This process, known as tightlining, makes lashes look more dense.)
10. Complete the eye shadow look by applying deep brown eye shadow below the lower lashes with the smudger brush. If your eyes are small, only apply shadow halfway from the center of the eye to the corner to keep keep eyes from looking closed off.
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