Have fun with your eye shadow colors

If you would like to use more color when you apply eyeshadow, but aren't sure how to make it look right, here's a tutorial for you.  First I want to write a disclaimer - I'm not a cosmetics sales person, or a make-up artist.  I use certain brands like MAC a lot, but I don't receive any compensation from anyone.  I just enjoy doing make-up.  I learned from my mother when I was young, I've read beauty magazines for years, I've gotten advice on techniques from make-up artists, and I enjoy passing it on.  I don't always do a perfect line with liquid liner, and I never brush the clumps out of my mascara because I don't want to pull on my skin (once you get into your 40's you become very careful about the skin around your eyes). I can't afford to get my brows done every 3 weeks, so sometimes they're a little grown out in the photos.  I'm not conservative - I like bright make-up and having fun with it.  I assume my audience is regular people who are just looking for make-up ideas or to get a little more comfortable applying their own make-up.
So, on with the fun...  Generally I gravitate toward similar colors when it comes to lipstick and eyeshadow (I have more berry colored lipsticks than I should have), so my favorite colors are usually in the same color range, & they compliment each other.  For this experiment, I opened my eyeshadow palette and just picked 2 colors that I liked.  The first was a pale, sparkly pink powder and the color right beside it was a bright purple.  The pink was my lid color, and I used the purple in the crease of my eye.  I brushed the pink across the whole eyelid.  It took about 3 coats because it is a pale color.

MAC "swish"

Next I added the purple in the crease.

MAC's Purple Haze

After these I added just a dab of gold shadow in the center of each upper lid.  It's not easy to see at first, but it adds just a bit of glimmer to the overall look.

MAC's Honey Lust

Next I added a teal green in the inside and outside corners.  In retrospect I should have used a smaller brush than the one shown.  This big fluffy one covered up more of the pink and purple than I wanted, so I had to go back and add a little more purple to the crease.

MAC's Newly Minted

The look so far....

More purple added in crease and colors blended

Adding highlight under brow arc

Stila's Moonlight shadow

Next I lined the upper eyelid with a dark teal pencil.  I like soft pencils that don't pull on the skin very much.  The ones that I use the most are MAC's Powerpoint and Kohl pencils, and Urban Decay's 24/7 ones.  I've heard great things about Make Up For Ever's Aqua pencils as well.

MAC's powerpoint pencil in Tealo

Next comes curling your eyelashes, not nearly as hard as it looks..

  It's as simple as opening the top, placing it against your eye and making sure that the eyelashes are between the rubber grips.  Just don't get too close to the eye or you'll pinch your skin.  If using an eyelash curler makes you too nervous, ask someone at a make-up counter to show you.  Now putting on mascara - your choice of brand should depend on your eyelashes - short, long, thin, thick.  I use a volumizing formula because I want more thickness to my lashes.  Therefore for me, the best applicator brush is thick.

First I close my eyes and brush the wand up the upper lashes.  I start near the base of the lash and brush up, wiggling the applicator a bit to get the mascara into every lash.  If you accidentally get mascara on your lid you can take it off with a Q tip with a tiny bit of make-up remover on it.  Next I open my eye and do the same thing on the other side of the upper lashes.

Last I used L'Oreal's Telescopic mascara that has a little ball wand to get at the lashes in the corners, the lower lashes and the small lashes.  You can also do this by using the tip of a regular mascara wand.

If the clumps bother you, you can separate them with a mascara "comb".  I've never been bothered by them.

Choose a pink or medium berry shade of lipstick and you're ready to go.  I used MAC's Plumful.  I think the more that you experiment, the more comfortable you'll be mixing and matching colors. The most important thing is that you like and feel comfortable with the looks you create.  I view cosmetics like art supplies, and my face is the canvas.  I create what I think is beautiful, not what others do.  Some days I don't love my creations, but most days I do.  That's life.  Beauty still is in the eye of the beholder!