Here are two ways to use pink eyeshadow that are far from intimidating
Any look which has connotations of deadly disease or general sickness really appeals to me. I’m serious! Anything which puts a cute spin on the ugly or the creepy is my bag of tea. I think I’d rather look actually frightening than just blandly hot (“Well, that’s good to hear,” says my entire “audience”).
One of the best slightly creepy, disease-connoting looks is pink eye. It’s literally the name of the disease! But this isn’t the crusty eyed look of an actual infection — oh no! — I’m nowhere near talented enough at SFX makeup to do that. These are two separate and different, yet undeniably pink eye looks.
Here’s the first look that is subtle, yet dreamy.
Think of this first eye look as your gateway drug to pink eyes. It’s a lovely blush color, that is cute and pretty, instead of scary, infected, and in your face. The key to this eyeshadow look is to harness the girlishness of pink — pale, pastel and, if possible, super iridescent. It can almost be ignored because of its light pink hue, but if it was pointed out you could be all, “oh yeah, that is pink eyeshadow. Cool!”
Here are the shades I used:
From left to right: Maybelline Color Tattoo 24 hr Eyeshadow in Creme de Rose, $24.99 (It is out of stock in the US and sold only on Amazon). A similar option is the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Inked in Pink, $6.99. Make Up For Ever in Yoghurt, $21 and Make Up For Ever in Crystalline Pink, $21 rounded out the eyeshadows I used for this look.
I used Maybelline’s Color Tattoo in Creme de Rose for my base. People think this is like MAC’s Paint Pot in Painterly, $22, but I think it’s quite different in color. Painterly is more of a true nude pink, while the Maybelline one has a plummy grayness to it. It’s subtle, but it’s beautiful, and it works really well as a primer, too.
On top of this, I used my specially designed pink Make Up For Ever duo. I love these eyeshadows! If you want a specific color, I bet they will have it, and I bet the quality will be on point or whatever. This duo is made up of a matte shade called Yogurt, which is a creamy pastel pink, and Crystalline Pink, a shimmery one.
I swept Yogurt all around my eyes, slightly winging out the corners, and blended it with a fluffy brush. I then patted Crystalline Pink on the inner and outer corners with a finger. I kept it quite subtle, but you can wet your brush a bit for a foiled pink shine. I also used a bit of this as highlighter because I’m all for iridescent, duochrome highlight!
Here’s the second look that is definitely over-the-top and it screams pink eye.
Once you’ve achieved this pink eye look, you can graduate to pink eye college. This means using un-subtle, neon-based hot pinks around your eyes.
Here are the shades I used:
From left to right: Wet ‘n’ Wild single eyeshadow in Cheeky, $0.99 and Barry M Dazzle Dust in Fuchsia, $5.53. A similar US product is Jesse’s Girl Pure Pigment Eye Shadow in Fruit Punch, $4.99.
Over the same Maybelline base, I blended the Wet ‘n’ Wild Single Eyeshadow in Cheeky all over. This eyeshadow isn’t super pigmented, which works well as a transition shade, but you can wet your brush to make the eyeshadow pigment show up properly.
After applying Wet ‘n’ Wild’s shadow, I added a butt ton of a Barry M Dazzle Dust in Fuchsia into the crease. I also added a little bit on the lower lashline. Barry M Dazzle Dust’s shadow is an amazing electric pinky red but unfortunately, it is a UK only product. The Jesse’s Girl Pure Pigment Eye Shadow in Fruit Punch looks similar, and it’s more glittery. I just merrily plastered it on, added more mascara and a touch of waterline brightener and called it conjunctivitis.
How will you rock this look?
