9 Awesome Eyeshadow Hacks

ICYMI, we’ve teamed up with our mates at NYX Professional Makeup this month, and you’re all getting a gorgeous Avant Pop or Go-To Palette to take pride of place in your makeup kit! Not sure where to start? Here are nine awesome eyeshadow hacks that’ll help you up your eye makeup game in the blink of an eye.  

1. Don’t skip the primer

You wouldn’t apply your foundation without primer (you wouldn’t, would you!?), so don’t apply your eyeshadow without first priming your lids. Choose a primer specially designed for the oily eye area, as this is very different from the skin on the rest of your face. NYX Professional Makeup HD Eye Shadow Base ensures an even application, prevents creasing, and keeps shadow where it belongs, while also boosting the intensity of your colour.

2. Do your eye makeup first

If you like dark and bright shades, especially – like the blues, greens and browns in the NYX Professional Makeup Avant Pop Palettes – you might get frustrated with eye shadow fallout under your peepers. The best way to avoid this? Do your eye makeup first, before your foundation. That way you can easily use makeup remover to swipe away any little spills for a flawless finish.

3. Go light to fake a good night’s sleep

Looking like you haven’t slept since 1999? Applying a little white or pale nude shadow to the inner corners of the eyes can make you look less, well, dead. Shimmer is a winner, too.

4. Follow this diagram

If you’re always unsure which colour goes where, this handy diagram has your back.

5. Disguise blonde roots with shadow

Between dye jobs? Brushing eyeshadow on your roots can help disguise your natural blonde creeping through. Applying eyeshadow to your part can also give the appearance of more volume. Choose a shadow that’s a close match for your hair colour, obvs.

6. Use eye shadow to fill in your brows

If you find eyebrow pencils fiddly to use, your trusty old powder eyeshadow can do double duty as a brow powder. Fill in your brows with a brown shade that’s close to your natural hue, and remember – always make it matte!

7. Hero a single colour

Eyeshadow doesn’t have to be a lengthy process of multiple shades and blending. If you want to make a bold statement with minimal effort, keep the rest of your makeup simple and subtle, and highlight your eyes with a single shade on the eyelid only, with two coats of mascara. We’re smitten with the lilac shade in Nouveau Chic, Art Throb’s coral hue, and the dreamy aquamarine in Surreal Heart. 

8. Layer up for eyes that pop

Want to make that pigment even more punchy? Apply your colour over a white base to build intensity. A creamy pencil/ shadow in one, NYX Professional Makeup Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is perfect for this. Apply it under your fave shadow for maximum impact.

9. Create a custom eyeliner

Sometimes your regular charcoal, black or chocolate eye liner just won’t cut it, but buying a rainbow of eye liner colours can be expensive. Luckily, a powder eyeshadow can work just as well. Simple dip a wet angled brush – we like the NYX Professional Makeup Pro Angled Brush which works for both brows and eye liner – into your favourite hue, and apply along the lash line.

Cover image via: Pinterest