For the past year or so I have been agonizing over an eyeshadow tutorial. I couldn’t explain it! Then, I saw the adorable cat picture and realized purrfect!
First and foremost, the cat is not mine. The cat pictures are from photographer Ryan McGuire. Please check out his photography and his generosity of stock photos at Gratisography. Even though I don't need to credit him, I felt the need to mention his site because the cat really did help open up my eyes! (pun)
Okay, back to the post. When you look at the surrounding area around the cat’s eye, the eye is defined in such a manner that it looks totally adorable and normal, very wearable! What does this type of eyeshadow application involve? The basics.
The basics have to do with guidelines. Guidelines which I didn’t understand when I did Into the Palette. These guidelines are different from the usual eye makeup tutorials. This is the main reason why I haven’t incorporated many of the tutorials into this blog. I found them just too restrictive, too much inside the box. Eyeshadow is to create illusion and enhance your beauty. You shouldn’t look like everyone else. The only way to be yourself is to be better version of yourself. The only way to achieve this is to think outside the box!
If you think about makeup application more deeply; you realize contouring, highlighting, and shaping the face all have a simple guide sitting in the center of the face - the nose!
The nose knows and guides all makeup basics. Just in case you didn't know, the eyes are the part of the face!
Let’s take the cat again. Notice the guidelines in dark red.
Notice the same on Aldona. Does this look familiar? Yes, they are the guidelines for the eyebrows. They are also more than that. The average person will calculate this area as the eyeshadow area. To a certain extent it is but it is limiting.
Let’s expand this area. Notice Aldona with the yellow guides. The line starts at the tip of the nose and all the way up even with the brow. Take another line and angle it right on top of the cheekbone.
Take a look at the cat and you see eyes which are shaped and colored within those guides and very strategically.
There is a difference to what we think is the complete eye area to what really is the complete eye area.
Here is a side view. And what do these guidelines achieve? Why should you change your way of thinking? There is more space.
The eye has the front plane and it also has a side plane. These two together elongate the eye. Elongating the eye alone won't achieve eye makeup bliss. This can narrow the eyes when it comes to the front plane.
You also have to take into consideration the lid area. It needs to be heightened.
Do you get it? Do you understand that eyeshadow isn't just about the simple lid, crease, and brow bone? If you want to expand the area of your eyes, you have to expand your mind.
Because the difference becomes this:
Think about this and expand your mind, you also need a good matte taupe!
Olivia
*Special thanks to Aldona*
