That's right. I went there and tried blue eyeshadow. Read on to find out how I felt about it.
Introduction
Oh, blue eyeshadow, how thee confuses me. Everywhere I look, people tend to have strong opposing views on the matter. One of my favourite cosmetic-industry experts Paula Begoun, whose opinion I actually value very highly, strongly cautions against the use of blue eyeshadow in her debut novel entitled Blue Eyeshadow Should be Illegal. Over twenty-five years later, "the cosmetics cop" continues to stand by this argument: blue eyeshadow is unflattering, especially on natural blue eyes, unless it is such a dark navy that it is almost black, in which case she's on board. However, makeup brands continue to come out with eye colour-specific makeup collections, that are marketed as being the perfect complementary shades to wear for your eye colour. And what colours continuously appear on makeup palettes designated for us blue-eyed gals? Baby blues, medium blues, dark blues, just blues and more blues (and some peach). So can you blame me for being a little confused and apprehensive?
Dipping my feet in
Back when I first started getting into makeup, my "collection" consisted solely of (a) products I stole from Debs (my mother), and (b) the small "starter kit" essentials that Debs was generous enough to get me on my first makeup shopping endeavour. Once I started getting more into it and wanted to experiment more my eyeshadow colours/textures, Debs agreed to come with me for one day of the International Make-up Artist Trade Show (IMATS) 2011 in Toronto. This was when I had already become pretty obsessed with watching tutorials on YouTube in any spare time I had, and trying to replicate them as best as I could with the products I had.
Unfortunately, I kept hearing loads of great reviews about some "NYX" makeup brand that I could not find anywhere in Canada. So when I finally found a NYX booth at IMATS, I waited in that long-ass line and grabbed as many products as I could fit in my basket (not a strategy I really recommend but it was all super discounted so...). I had heard only raves of NYX eyeshadows, and several comparisons to MAC in terms of quality and pigment (but for a fraction of the price). At the time, my only other eyeshadow palette was the original Urban Decay Naked, and so I chose to pick up the NYX For Your Eyes Only Sexy Blue Eyes, because I have blue eyes. The picture on my right demonstrates how the palettes differ in size, colour and shape.
While I have given my Naked palette its fair share of love and attention over the years, I sadly cannot say the same for my Sexy Blue Eyes. Occasionally, I have experimented with the copper and taupe shades in the second row, because you always hear that by "using an eyeshadow that is the opposite colour on the colour wheel to your eye colour," your eye colour should pop. According to this logic, I should be using orange-toned shades to emphasize my blue eyes, so at least Sexy Blue Eyes provided some of those shades as well. However, I had never once even dipped my brush into any of the many blue shades included. That is, until the other day...
I don't know what came over me, but I had the urge to test the blue eyeshadow waters. This was most likely due to the fact that during final exam season, no one is expected to look good anyway, and the only people that really see me are the boyfriend and the Starbucks staff. Perfect time to experiment! Its not that I only care about what other people think; I mean, I frequently go out without any trace of makeup on. That being said, neutrals are my comfort zone, and I usually bust out a bronze smokey eye or bold lip when I want to go for drama. I firmly believe that confidence is the key to rocking absolutely any makeup/fashion. In order to ensure that I felt confident, I decided to start out with just a wee bit of blue paired with some matte neutrals (Naked and Buck from my Naked palette).
Swatches
Swatches: 3 blues from the NYX Sexy Blue Eyes palette (numbers corresponding to the picture above); Urban Decay: Naked and Buck (from the original Naked Palette)
Singin' the Blues
So here's how I decided to go about it: I started with MAC's Soft Ochre Paint Pot all over my eye as a base, since I have mega-red vain syndrome. Next, I applied Urban Decay's Naked all over my eye with a flat shader brush, and blended out the crease with a clean blending brush. Next, I threw a bit of Urban's Decay's Buck in the crease with a tapered crease brush, for a little depth and definition (and also blended the two with the clean blending brush). Then, I grabbed my NYX Sexy Blue Eyes palette, and using a stiff short shader brush (SIgma's E20, if you were wondering), I created a gradient of blue shadow under my eye from lightest blue to darkest blue (3-1-2 like the swatches above). Finally, I lined my upper lash line with Urban Decay Blackout eyeshadow from the Naked 2 palette, and lined my waterline with Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Abyss, which Debs bought forever ago and gave to me (or maybe I stole it) last time I was in Toronto. And obviously, I finished with my Maybelline the Rocket Volum' Express mascara.
For the rest of my face:
- Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage concealer in SC2 (but only the salmon shade) under my eyes to conceal them dark circles (warning: this creased baaad midday, but also my eyes prone to major creasing)
- Maybelline FIT Me Powder all over the face
- NARS Deep Throat blush from the One Night Stand palette - see my in-depth review of this here
- Benefit Hoola Bronzer
- Lips: Revlon Pink Pout matte lipstick
So would I do it again?
In short, absolutely. I've always intended on experimenting more with a pop of colour within a neutral eye look, and I don't know why it's taken me so long to try out these blues from NYX. Is using blue eyeshadow/liner the secret to making blue eyes pop? Um...maybe, probably not. To be honest, I must agree that my eye colour is most emphasized when I wear warm-toned neutral shades, but the blues definitely didn't wash them out at all! (At the risk of sounding obnoxiously arrogant, my blue eyes are always kind of popping due to their colour/size/mascara so I'm just lucky okay?) When paired with the neutrals, the blue eyeshadow just added a little extra pizzaz to my day, which I am never against. As such, I would surely recommend trying a pop of blue for any eye colour, especially you brown-eyed girls.
In conclusion:
In conclusion:
- Don't only listen to what the experts/others say, and
- Don't be afraid to try something new and take some risks! Also in case you were wondering,
- NYX and Urban Decay eyeshadows are fab. But most of all,
- Do it all with confidence, and you'll always look great.
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