I am drowning in eyeshadow palettes.
From Urban Decay and Huda to Colourpop and Anastasia Beverly Hills, my vanity is exploding with heavy little rectangles filled with different colored powders.
I don’t get to use as many as I’d like and, the other day, I found myself leaning toward purchasing cream eyeshadows. To some cream eyeshadow might sound like a messy, creasing disaster but I’m often trying to get my makeup done FAST. A quick sweep of a cream shadow across my lid sounds like the perfect way to get ready without putting in a ton of effort on days where I just do not have the time or energy.
Then, rotting away in my pajamas on a Saturday afternoon, I watched celeb makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes videos until my eyeballs popped out and came across the coolest little hack. Hughes was demonstrating easy eyeshadow looks with cream and powder formulas. Though, she basically made virtually any powder eyeshadow into cream formula in a few simple steps.
Spray a flat brush with (matte) setting spray and squeeze out excess. Then, dip the brush into the shadow and swipe across your lid from lashline to crease. Use a dry fluffy brush to smooth out any edges.
You can do so much with this including adding a lighter color in the center of your lids to make your eyes appear larger or in the inner corners to give a lifted, cat-eye look.
You could use water but I feel like matte setting spray really makes the shadow stick. You can do this with a matte formula but an eyeshadow with a shimmer, pearl or even glitter finish will look more luxe. (If it’s too foiled for you, take that fluffy brush and gently buff over shadow to soften.)
You also should lay down a base of eyeshadow primer since creamy formulas (even if they’re DIY) tend to crease faster and easier.
Otherwise, that’s it. It makes you look like you spent some *~t i m e~* doing your eye-makeup, even though you swiped on as you were running out the door.
Check out this Katie Jane Hughes dreamy eye tutorial below.
Gia Mazur is an award-winning staff writer and beauty obsessive who joined The Times-Tribune’s Lifestyles department in 2015. She’s a product enthusiast who can’t live without an eyelash curler. A proud Virgo, Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in Pillow Talk is her go-to. Contact: gmazur@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9127; @gmazurTT