Makeup Tutorial: St. Patrick’s Day!

I don’t know why I don’t use colorful makeup on a more regular basis, but lately I have realized that, while I do tend to be a more natural-look kind of girl, bright eyeshadow looks are something I really enjoy wearing and creating! Plus, I’ve discovered that so long as there’s no super dark liner/black shadow, my husband likes these looks as well. I used to think he didn’t like crazy  makeup. Turns out, he just doesn’t like super dark makeup.Which is fine by me.

So today, since it’s St. Patrick’s day and I have no outfits to share, I thought I’d do a fun, bright green eyeshadow look! I am part Irish, after all. Well… less than 1/16th… but who cares?  (And I know, it’s almost the end of the day by now, but hey… you can rock this for an after-work party, right?)

For this look, I am using shadows entirely from the holiday eyeshadow palette from e.l.f. But if you can’t get that, just grab a few different shades of green shadows, one pale shimmer that compliments your skin tone, and a yellow shade (if you’re brave!). You’ll also need brown liner, white liner, and a nude lipcolor. And mascara. Of course. (Tip: I used to have a really hard time picking out eyeshadows that looked good on my face until I realized I can wear the same colors on my eyes that I can on my body. So, boggled by what color of shadow you should choose? Ignore your eye and hair color — just look at the colors of your clothes, and match those!)

Let’s get started!

Begin with your usual foundation, concealer, and blush routine. If you’re afraid to have too much color in too many places, feel free to forgo your blush, or apply it lightly. I have naturally very pink cheeks, so I apply my blush to be quite bright, to match my natural complexion.

With a pale white or nude shadow (a few shades lighter than your skin tone, and on the white or silvery side) highlight your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes.

With the darkest of your green shadows, create a sideways from the middle of your eyelid, out to about where the tips of your eyelashes seem to stop when your eyes are open looking straight, and back into your crease. Don’t worry if this looks messy; you’ll fix it later. With your medium green shadow, press into the middle of your eyelid straight up and down.

It should look like that.

Taking the same medium green shadow, line the outer 2/3rds of your lower lash line. Next, take some yellow shadow (this, you can skip if you don’t think it’ll work on you) and press between the medium green shadow and the white shadow on your eyelid. Line the inner corner of your lower lash line as well.

Take a moment with a nice fluffy brush to blend the line across your crease as well as all the shadows on your lid. Then, going back in with your darkest green shadow, line the outer third of your lower lashes and create a nice smooth line from there to the outermost corner of the green shadow. Gently press dark green shadow into your crease all the way down to the inner corner of your eye. (This will create a sort of retro feel to the makeup, which I love!)Liner time! Using a dark brown eyeliner (liquid, gel, or pencil, it doesn’t matter!), add a thin line right into your upper lashes, flicking outward at the corners of your eyes. With a white or cream eyeliner, line your waterline. (It looks scary, but it doesn’t hurt and it’ll prevent the whites of your eyes from going yellow like mine do with this shadow color.)

Add mascara and a light pink or nude lipcolor or a shimmery lipgloss, and you’re done! (I a color similar to this in Sugar Frosting because I can’t do full nude)

I think this is a super fun look, and the more I play with colorful eyeshadow, the more I want to wear them all the time! 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

bloglovin | chictopia | facebook | twitter | pinterest | Instagram | Fiction Press