WHAT A DIFFERENCE A BASE MAKES

How often are we lured in with beautiful eye shadow colors only to get home and be completely disappointed in what they look like applied.  We've all been there, we've all done that.  There are some tips and tricks to help you get the best performance out of the eye shadow you long to wear and make it look like a professional did it, too.  Bring on the Battle of the Bases!

As you can see in these pictures a base makes a HUGE difference in how your shadow will apply; no matter the cost of the shadow.  Think of it this way...would you build a house with just the walls or would you want some sort of foundation to start with?  A house foundation allows everything to go on straight, to be supported, and to last.  The same thing applies with an eye shadow base; a proper base will allow your colors to shine through, to not crease throughout the day, and most importantly, to last a lot longer so you can continue looking beautiful-gorgeous all day, darling.

The first key to understanding what type of base to use with your eye shadow is understanding both its strengths and weaknesses.  Below I will go through some of the types of bases available and when you might use it.

So we need a starting point, a fixed point of reference to compare a non-base to our later bases.  As you can see in the image on the right, the color applies unevenly and is not vibrant.  It makes me sad that it is not living up to its potential. 

Enter now eye shadow primer.  This product was specifically developed because of all of the reasons we saw above.  It helps the eye shadow apply more evenly on the skin, allows the color to be much more true to what it looked like in the pan, and as some added bonuses this will help keep your shadow from creasing as you wear it throughout the day AND will help keep your shadow looking like it was freshly applied hours later.

Foundation is another great base.  What this does is it helps create an even canvas on the lids without having to purchase a separate product.  The only thing is that if you have particularly oily lids this will crease over time.

Does your eye shadow have a lot of fallout?  Do you have darker skin that changes the eye shadow color in a way that just doesn't tickle your fancy?  You might go for something that has more of a sticky base like a white eye liner.  If you apply white liner first in the area you want your shadow to really stick/shine, pat out the liner a bit so that it is more even and then apply your eye shadow on top before it has time to fully dry.  Your fallout will reduce quite a bit and those chunkier glittered shadows will have a home in the right place, on your lids and not your face.  The only negative thing I will say about the doing only a liner is that it could crease as the day wears on if you're in a humid place or have naturally oily lids.

Who says you are limited to white bases? With the huge array of eye liner colors out there these days you should experiment with color!  Applying a color under your shadow will create some depth and potentially change the color of the shadow.  You can just barely see it, but there is a change in the purple when using this darker base versus the white base above.

















The double threat is my personal favorite when I want everything to pop, stay put and be gorgeous.  Pop on some primer, let it set, then pop on some liner (white or colored) and then apply the eye shadow.  I know it seems like a lot but the result will be a shadow that won't crease, that will mega stick, and will last all day.



















Alas, I completely forgot to include paint pots in this post but the gist of a paint pot is that it acts like a primer, foundation and color liner all in one.  They come in multiple colors and help your eye shadow adhere and last throughout the day.

Now go forth, my beautifuls, and play with your bases.  Share your findings and let me know what your favorite method of base is!