What is an eye base?
An eye base is a product you lay down on your eye area before applying any kind of eye shadow powder. It’s normally like a concealer.
Why use an eye base?
If you try and apply eyeshadow to naked skin the product has nothing to ‘grab’ onto. The colours will be weak, and the shadow will not stay in place for long. A couple of blinks and its gone or gathered into the creases of your eyelids. An eye base will also even out the tone of your eye skin. If you are going for a natural look this is the best place to start. Some people just like to use the base and leave it as that for a great simple and natural look. You may need to seal the base with a little powder depending on the product. Foundation doesn’t work as well as the formula is different and will fall into the creases of your eyes emphasising them.
How do you apply it?
I used a small flat brush. First carve a line under the eyebrow to define the brow area. Then I take it over the mobile lid and everywhere I will be applying shadows. Make sure the coverage is even and there is no skin showing through. If you have a few holes in the application, then the eye shadow powder will apply differently in this area and the result will be patchy. If you are applying shadow under the eye, do this after you have completed the top part of your eye. If you get fall out, which is where the shadow falls onto your skin, it is easier to clean this up with a makeup wipe. If you have applied a base under the eye beforehand you are just wiping away the base and must reapply. I always start my makeup routine with the eyes mainly for this reason. If you want to use your fingers to apply the base this is slightly better as your body heat warms the product making it easier to apply. The only problem with this technique is achieving a hard-clean line under the brow. I use a brush for hygiene purposes when working with clients.
Above is the brush I use. It’s a small brush from Muji. You can buy it from here: Muji Online
So, what products do you recommend?
My absolute favourite go to product is the MAC PRO LONGWEAR PAINT POT. A long-wearing blendable cream shadow that can be worn alone or with other products.
It costs £16.50 for 5g but, I find, does last a long time. The colour I use is ‘Painterly’ which works for all skin colours. I even use this colour on black skin. This product has great coverage, has a matte finish and doesn’t fall into the creases of your eyes.
You can buy it from here: MAC online
My second choice is the base from P.Louise. I normally order shade no. 2. The average cost is £10 for 15ml. It’s nice a creamy but a bit ‘wetter’ than the MAC product. There are plenty of P.Louise YouTube videos to show you how to use this product. I find it is excellent at most eyeshadow colours but not for a dark black smoked eye. The black over this product seems to be weak for some reason but other colours do pop nicely. Of course, if you do want a deep black over this product you can layer a black powder with a black eye cream shadow which will give you the same effect but it’s harder work. Lay your black powder down first, followed by your black eye shadow cream and then finish and seal the cream with the black powder again. Don’t forget to blend well. If it is still looking weak and greyish repeat the process until you achieve that nice dense black. The secret of a great looking black smokey eye.
You can buy it from here: P. Louise Online
I hope you have found this little article of some use. Finding good products, that actually work, can be a minefield as there are many on offer out there. A lot of which doesn’t really work well.
Keep safe and take care of yourself.
Paul xx