I got a Morphe palette for Christmas from a friend of mine, but it’s so pigmented and I don’t want to experiment too much with it until I’m better at makeup because it was expensive (for me, at least ). I’ve never really been into makeup until recently, and can say I’m decent. I can do a cat eye bomb, I have to say. But I absolutely cannot master eye shadow for the life of me. I don’t use a primer because I don’t know of any good ones, but I also don’t know how to apply it đ but I still seem to struggle after experimenting with eye shadow. I have cheaper shadows for dollar stores to practice with, so a $ 50 pallet goes down the drain đ
As someone who isnât good with makeup and is on her journey Iâd just say..makeup is meant to be experimented with! It has an expiration date. Itâs okay to use it although itâs hard at first especially when itâs so expensive! (For me it was hard to use because itâs so pretty packaging wise). that said I hope folks give you some good tips! I personally like YouTube. Amanda Z, chessie domorongchai and Julia adams MUA are some of my favs. Their styles vary too.
I don’t have any specific recommendations but what I did the first couple of times with a fancy palette is look up specific youtube tutorials eg “morphe pallete tutorial” and find one you like. You might need to search a bit to find one that doesn’t use shades from other brands (hate when they do that) and sticks to just your palette.
Once you’ve got the hang of it you’ll feel more comfortable mixing things up on your own.
I guess my advice would be to get used to building up colours and blending. So instead of thinking “I want my outer corner to be dark brown so I’ll do that” you start with a colour closer to your skin colour over the whole eye, and gradually build up to darker colours and blend each one
I’m not a makeup artist, so take this with a grain of salt but figure out your eye shape and that should help a lot. Look at makeup looks people do with your eye shape, don’t stick to those but start with them.
If you’re completely new to eyeshadow, I say try to start with light natural shades, but if you mean you’re experimenting with color, I suggest using one color gradient: lightest color in inner corner, medium shade in middle and a small amount of the dark shade on the outer edge. Using one color is actually harder to make look complete (in just my opinion). Start small, do not put a lot of pigment on the brush at first, build up layers, and blend well. Also, tap the excess pigment off your brush.
Using the right brushes helps sometimes, so experiment with different brush types.
Primer does usually help. I haven’t tried a bunch because I stuck with I heart Stage primer the first time I tried it years ago, super cheap and it works. Just put a small amount on your lid and blend out to all areas you will be covering with eyeshadow.
Also, the way I learned to do makeup was just by watching other people. Everyone does makeup differently so you’ll always learn new things if you keep watching or keep asking new people, but the best way to learn is to practice, even if you hate the look you do one day, you’ll learn from it and do better next time, until you’re really good at it.
I really like Urban Decays Primer Potion. I usually just take the little swab and apply it on my eye, and just Pat it over my eyelid with my finger. Primer will help your eyeshadow not only last longer, but also help with the color âpopping out,â if that makes sense. Helps your shadow stick to your eye, hence giving more color payoff.
If you donât have brushes, I would invest in a few. You can find cheap brushes at Ulta, morphe brushes are okay. Personally, I really like Sigma brushes, but they can be kind of expensive. Wash your brushes! You can use dish soap, but they also make specific soap for brushes.
When it comes to applying shadow, I always pretend Iâm kind of like a painter, in a sense. I hold my brush at the end so that my wrist is more flexible and I can make more movements vs at the bristles where I canât move my wrist freely. When you blend things out, you usually will want to blend them out in small circles, or like a windshield wiper. With shimmers, youâll want to wet you brush with water before applying, and gently press onto your lid.
All in all, I hope my comment helped a little bit, but I would seek out some YouTube videos, maybe tutorials on the specific palette that you received, or basic eyeshadow application. Good luck!
***Thank you for contributing to MUA! If this is your first post, please be sure to check out our rules in the subreddit sidebar. If you are on mobile, they can be viewed by tapping the*** â ***symbol***
**A few quick highlights:**
⢠If you are posting a look, haul, or flatlay, please be sure to include a [product list, complete with shade names within 20 minutes of posting.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/wiki/productlist)
⢠Also, please ensure your pictures are not [edited or filtered. This includes automatic beauty modes found on many phones and newer cameras.](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/wiki/photoediting)
⢠Lastly, our [Helpful Guides for Navigating MUA](https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/wiki/helpfulguides) in the sidebar explains some of the basics of the community as well as commonly misinterpreted rules.
**Is your post just a search away?**
Before you make a post, search with Reddit’s search feature or use this handy [customised Google search.](https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=008480394191906358284:aflieg73nqm)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MakeupAddiction) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Primer is very helpful, bc it creates a uniform base for eyeshadow. Iâve had good experiences with ELF pro eyeshadow primer and Urban Decay primer potion. The third time I bought Urban Decay, it was dried out though so I tried ELF.
I use a quarter of a pea size amount per eye, and kind of warm up the primer by either dotting it on my eyelid and waiting 15 secs, or hold it between my fingers for a bit before swiping. Make sure to get a thin layer all around your eye socket: on your eyelid, inner corner, up to your brow bone, out to the edges of where you will apply transition shades and wings, and under your eye where you will put color, too. If you donât, then the eye shadow will show up patchy or end abruptly where the primer stops.
What eye shape do you have? That will greatly influences how eyeshadow will look on you, and you can learn different techniques or looks based on eye shape. Search for something like âeyeshadow for hooded eyesâ on YouTube, or find influencers and YouTuber with your eye shape. They might have GRWM âget ready with meâs that you can follow while doing your makeup.
Sometimes dollar store eyeshadows are more trouble than the money you save, and youâd be better off getting $9-15 palette. Dollar store eyeshadows can be chalky or difficult to apply nicely, and the increase in quality in a $9-15 palette is worth it. Colourpop has good quality palettes (try Nude Mood or Going Coconuts), ELF Bite 4 pans are good (and they are under $5).
What kind of brushes are you using? I got a few sets from BH Cosmetics during their 50% off sale, and I even saw 60% over the holidays. Amazon also has some brush sets for $10-20. What helped me was finding eye brushes that were small enough for my eyelids, bc I originally had lots that were too big and only 1 a good size.
Hey, I wouldn’t worry too much about using up your Morphe palette. Eyeshadow palettes take a ridiculously long time to use up and they dont go bad for a long time too! Morphe also has big pan sizes and they’re not super soft and powdery (so you don’t end up using a lot) that’s another reason not to worry. Look at /r/panporn and see how long it takes just to finish an eyeshadow!
I would recommend just following along with YouTube channels that focus on techniques. I like Robert Welsh for that and I think he has a specific video on eyeshadow techniques.
I second the elf eyeshadow primer in the pot. I would also get at least like two decent eyeshadow brushes, I got my first ones from real techniques off amazon and theyre still some of my favourite.