Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Ten Tips for Panning Eyeshadow

When I first got into makeup it was no big deal to pan an eyeshadow. I only had 3-8 different shadows and one color or mini palette would serve as my everyday color. In the beginning I remember panning shadows from Covergirl, L'oreal, HIP, AVON, Wet N Wild and Maybelline. But since my shadow collection has exploded to upwards of 200 shadows I don't pan things as regularly. In fact, most of my collection looks barely used and some shadows I've never even used. And yet, I still want more. 

In order to break the cycle and get use out of my shadow, I've decided to pan a couple shadows. It might seem like it would be harder to use up some other stuff- but I actually do get more use out of my whole collection. I try more and more shades and try to incorporate them with what I'm trying to use up. So here's some things I've learned along the way. 


1. Use it as a base- I don't normally apply shadow before my primer or shadow. But if you have oily lids doing so can make your shadow last hours longer. A color close to your skin tone or a white/nude type of color works best. It can also help blend out difficult to blend eyeshadows. I'm using up one of my white shadows pretty quick that way, but I do have to be careful what I use it under. It doesn't work with everything! 



2. Highlighter- If you can use a shadow on a larger area of your face, you will use it up much quicker.  This usually goes for lighter shimmery shades or skin tone shimmer shades. Gold shades can work really well as long as they aren't too pigmented. You can use it to highlight cheekbones, under brows, or even dap a bit into the center of lipstick. 

3. Blush- Usually eyeshadows in the pink/red/orange tone can work really well as blush. And since you are using it on a larger portion of your face, it get's used up quickly.

4. Setting powder- If you have a color that's close to your skin tone, you can use it to set foundation. Or if it's a shade lighter you can even use it to set your under eyes. Sometimes other colors work too.  I have a Makeup Forever Shadow in Yellow that doesn't have much pigment to it....I use it as a setting powder. It was terrible as an eyeshadow. This way I am using it and getting it out of my collection. Almost like the infamous banana powder, but a deeper yellow.


5. Bronzer- It may be a struggle to get your brush coated but it can work. You can choose shimmer or matte depending on your preference. 

6. Eyebrow Powder- Doesn't use up much, but if it matches your brows it can help. My favorite brown shade is MAC Mystery. Works great on the eyelid but even better as my eyebrow shade. It works much better for me than shades that were meant to work on the brown. Imagine that!


7. Layer It - Have a color your don't like? Layer it with something else and you can create a color you do like. 


8. Eyeliner- The look is generally softer than if you used  liquid or gel. It's also much easier to apply. You can smudge out any crooked lines. Sometimes you can even use a glycerin spray to get that liquid look. Just be careful because some eyeshadows get ruined when you use them wet.


9. Contour- Before every company came out with contour palettes, I used a shadow to contour. It actually worked out better for me than using colors that were specifically created for contouring. I had a Wet' N Wild shadow that was probably one of the best contour colors I have used-but of course they discontinued it. 


Contour and Highlight in my old Wet N Wild Belgian Chocolates Trio. I panned it years ago. Wish they still had it!

10. Make Your Own Nail Polish- I've never done it personally, but if you mix the powder in with some clear nail polish, you can create your own unique colors. You can mix whatever colors you want. Pretty cool. 


Bonus- Use it to practice. Need more practice blending? Use the shadow your'e trying to pan! 

That's all I have for now! Any tips? Be sure to share them in the comments.

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