Anyone who has ever put on a face of makeup before knows that it comes in stages. Your foundation, cover up, and mascara is basically your base face (patent pending) and everything on top of those first steps are kind of like the cherries on top of your personalized look. While these base steps are very important, we have to admit – those extra little steps are usually so much more fun!

Who doesn’t love nailing the perfect cat eye flick with liquid liner? How fun is it to blend different shades of blush into the apples of your cheeks? And, of course, we dare any makeup lover to deny that they don’t love playing with a range of different lipstick shades.

One of those finishing touches that we love to hate is eyeshadow. A perfect coat of eyeshadow can really pull your look together or it could completely ruin the hard work you put in on the rest of your face. It’s a tricky thing to master (we admittedly haven’t totally figured it out ourselves) and it can feel like such a crap shoot, it might not seem worth it.

But if you have an affinity for this difficult makeup technique and you want to master the delicate art of eyeshadow, this tutorial is the perfect place to start. Beauty blogger AlexandrasGirlyTalk is showing us a few tricks to not just nail eyeshadow, but to get perfect eyeshadow every single time.

Whether you’re a beginner to the makeup world or you’re more experienced but have been struggling with your shadow palette lately, this to-the-point video offers some amazing tricks. Here are a few of our favorites:

Reconsider How You Hold Your Brush

The next time you’re applying eyeshadow, take a look at how you’re holding your blending brush. Are you holding it closer to the bristles? If you’re realizing now that, yes, you do hold your brush this way, that might be your first problem.

As it turns out, the closer you grip to the bristles, the harsher your control. This means that you’re going to have patchy, uneven blending, which is the bane of most makeup lovers.

Try holding your brush more towards the tip, which will give you less control and a softer, more natural look.

Your Eyelids Need Foundation, Too

Yes, your eyelids are skin, too! This means they benefit from being prepped just like the rest of your face – with a coat of concealer. Take a flat brush, coat it in your concealer of choice, and start by tracing the arch of your eyebrow. Then paint your eyelid with the same. Blend everything with a makeup sponge.

Not only will this act as a nude base, but it will also be a primer at locks all the eyeshadow in and helps it stay all day.

 

With this eyeshadow makeup tutorial, you’ll be on your way to flawless eye makeup in no time at all! Make sure to share your thoughts on this tutorial and your own eyeshadow tricks with us.