- 1). Groom and enhance your eyebrows as necessary. Tweeze the strays outside your brow line and fill your brows in with a brow pencil or stiff angled brush dipped in brow powder for the most natural look. This leaves more room for your eyeshadow to be outrageous if you prefer. Use a brow color that is slightly darker than your brows if they are very light and slightly lighter than your brows if they are very dark. For a more dramatic look, use brow stencils to help you recapture certain brow shapes, like those of Marilyn Monroe or Audrey Hepburn. In any case, use light, soft strokes to simulate the appearance of fine hairs. Comb brows into place with a spooly brush to remove excess color if you think your brows may be too strong.
- 2). Apply an eye primer on clean eyelids, from lash line to browbone. This will help your eye makeup go on smoothly. When the primer absorbs, lay down an eyeshadow base, also from lash line to browbone. Eyeshadow base will help your eyeshadows pop and appear more vibrant against your skin.
- 3). Choose a bold and vibrant eyeshadow that brings out your eye color. Pick a blue eyeshadow for brown eyes, a green eyeshadow for hazel eyes, a purple or violet eyeshadow for green eyes, and a vivid brown or bronze for blue eyes. Choose a shimmery formulation if you want your eyes to sparkle every time the light catches them. Apply the eyeshadow from lash line to just slightly above the crease, stippling it on with a flat head eyeshadow brush. Soften up just the edges of your eyeshadow application by using a fluffy eyeshadow brush to buff any lines or hard edges in your application; blend upwards until just under your brow-bone for a smoky effect.
- 4). Set off your wild eyeshadow by adding some highlights to your eye makeup. Dab a lightly shimmery flesh tone eyeshadow under the arches of your brows, on the inner corners of your eyes by the bridge of your nose and on the outer corners of your eyes. Blend the edges of the product for a seamless finish. You may apply a deeper shade of eyeshadow on your crease or on the outer corners of your eyes if you want to add dimension to your eyes (see Resources for tips on adding contour to eye makeup). Choose a more intense version of your first eyeshadow or pick a deep shade that complements it, such as an indigo contour eyeshadow to go with violet on the eyelids.
- 5). Bring out the shape of your eyes by working a creamy black eyeliner into your lash lines. You aren't drawing a line so much as creating the illusion of thicker lash lines. Use a lighter hand on your lower lash lines if you have relatively small eyes, as dark eyeliner here will pull your eyes down and make them appear tinier. To add intensity, you may use a liquid eyeliner on your top lids, keeping the line close to your lashes and winging it slightly at the end. You don't have to stick with black. You may choose a darker version of your eyelid eyeshadow, or one that matches your contour eyeshadow. There are even metallic or glitter eyeliners if you want to catch more attention with your eye makeup.
- 6). Curl your eyelashes to further open up your eyes. Apply black mascara to your top lashes from the base of the lash line, wiggling upwards to the tips. Position the mascara wand vertically to apply mascara to lower lashes; this will define them without giving them that long and spidery look if it isn't what you're going for. After the black mascara dries, you may coat the ends of your lashes with a different colored or glitter mascara. This is appropriate for clubbing or attending a party at night. To create an even more outrageous look, experiment with wildly colored false eyelashes (see Resources for photos).
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