Are you looking for a great eye shadow but you're not sure where to even start?
I'm going to discuss five brands and types of eye shadow that have worked for me to hopefully get you started. I'll be discussing eye shadows by Almay, Cover Girl, Jane, and Maybelline.
Almay is great first and foremost because it's hypo-allergenic, so that means it won't irritate your eyes at all. Almay has a new line of eye shadow and liner meant to bring out the colour of your eyes. I have brown eyes, so I bought the eye shadow trio for people with brown eyes. The compact contains a plumb purple, chocolate brown, and sandy tan. I followed the directions on the package to "play up" my eye colour and truthfully, it really didn't do wonders, so now I tend to just use each colour alone or in a combination of my choosing; the purple and brown are especially great for this. Almay's eye shadows are very soft and light and go on very easily. They also come off easily which is great for bedtime. At this moment in time, the only Almay eye products I've seen in stores are part of this collection. They have collections for brown, blue, green, and hazel eyes. But don't hesitate to buy a set for an eye colour different from your own. Experiment with looks and find something you like!
Cover Girl sells a wide variety of eye shadow compacts, ranging from one colour, to two, three, and four colour sets. I chose a four colour set of blues and greens, and a three colour set of purples. The colours included in the blue set are Deep Ocean (dark blue), Blue Caribbean (teal), Minty Seas (mint green), and Arctic Glow (white). The colours included in the purple set are Midnight (royal purple), Moon Beam (a mid-to-dark lilac), and Milky Way (almost white). These Cover Girl shadows seem a lot heavier than the Almay shadows and are harder to put on. I find that it takes a lot more shadow to cover my eyelid completely. My favourite colour from these sets is Blue Caribbean. This will really brighten up your eyes, especially if used with a teal eyeliner (this can usually be found from a cheaper brand like Wet -n- Wild or N.Y.C.). Deep Ocean and Midnight are great for a deep and mystifying look, and Moon Beam stands well on its own. I use Minty Seas, Arctic Glow, and Milky Way only as a slight enhancement in key areas as they're really too light to use alone. I prefer the Almay shadow to the Cover Girl in terms of quality and ease of use, but Cover Girl has such an extensive line of colours, it's really hard to pass it up.
Jane is a trendy brand geared more towards the youth set. These eye shadows come in individual pots and in a myriad of bright and youthful colours. These shadows cover very nicely and are also very light. It can get expensive buying them one colour at a time, but it is well worth it. Jane has colours that you can't find in other brands, especially the more upscale brands like Maybelline and Cover Girl.
Maybelline has a couple of great eye shadows I'd like to discuss. The first is their general everyday run-of-the-mill shadow that comes in one, two, and four colour compacts. I chose a two colour set called Irish Mist, which contains a dark forest green and a lighter shade of green to compliment. This shadow goes on very smoothly and is incredibly light. It takes hardly any shadow at all to cover my eyelid. The other Maybelline shadow I'd like to discuss is the new Shadow Stylist line. This is a loose powder shadow in a container similar to a nail polish jar. There is an applicator on a long stem to dip into the powder. This shadow is incredibly bright. I chose the blue and the pink shadows. The blue would be great for clubbing and the pink is a nice romantic shade. It goes on very smoothly and is very light. My only concern is not being able to see how much powder is left.
All of the eye shadows above can be found in your local Walgreens, CVS, Eckerd, or other drug store, as well as super centers like Wal-Mart and Target.
Almay is great first and foremost because it's hypo-allergenic, so that means it won't irritate your eyes at all. Almay has a new line of eye shadow and liner meant to bring out the colour of your eyes. I have brown eyes, so I bought the eye shadow trio for people with brown eyes. The compact contains a plumb purple, chocolate brown, and sandy tan. I followed the directions on the package to "play up" my eye colour and truthfully, it really didn't do wonders, so now I tend to just use each colour alone or in a combination of my choosing; the purple and brown are especially great for this. Almay's eye shadows are very soft and light and go on very easily. They also come off easily which is great for bedtime. At this moment in time, the only Almay eye products I've seen in stores are part of this collection. They have collections for brown, blue, green, and hazel eyes. But don't hesitate to buy a set for an eye colour different from your own. Experiment with looks and find something you like!
Cover Girl sells a wide variety of eye shadow compacts, ranging from one colour, to two, three, and four colour sets. I chose a four colour set of blues and greens, and a three colour set of purples. The colours included in the blue set are Deep Ocean (dark blue), Blue Caribbean (teal), Minty Seas (mint green), and Arctic Glow (white). The colours included in the purple set are Midnight (royal purple), Moon Beam (a mid-to-dark lilac), and Milky Way (almost white). These Cover Girl shadows seem a lot heavier than the Almay shadows and are harder to put on. I find that it takes a lot more shadow to cover my eyelid completely. My favourite colour from these sets is Blue Caribbean. This will really brighten up your eyes, especially if used with a teal eyeliner (this can usually be found from a cheaper brand like Wet -n- Wild or N.Y.C.). Deep Ocean and Midnight are great for a deep and mystifying look, and Moon Beam stands well on its own. I use Minty Seas, Arctic Glow, and Milky Way only as a slight enhancement in key areas as they're really too light to use alone. I prefer the Almay shadow to the Cover Girl in terms of quality and ease of use, but Cover Girl has such an extensive line of colours, it's really hard to pass it up.
Jane is a trendy brand geared more towards the youth set. These eye shadows come in individual pots and in a myriad of bright and youthful colours. These shadows cover very nicely and are also very light. It can get expensive buying them one colour at a time, but it is well worth it. Jane has colours that you can't find in other brands, especially the more upscale brands like Maybelline and Cover Girl.
Maybelline has a couple of great eye shadows I'd like to discuss. The first is their general everyday run-of-the-mill shadow that comes in one, two, and four colour compacts. I chose a two colour set called Irish Mist, which contains a dark forest green and a lighter shade of green to compliment. This shadow goes on very smoothly and is incredibly light. It takes hardly any shadow at all to cover my eyelid. The other Maybelline shadow I'd like to discuss is the new Shadow Stylist line. This is a loose powder shadow in a container similar to a nail polish jar. There is an applicator on a long stem to dip into the powder. This shadow is incredibly bright. I chose the blue and the pink shadows. The blue would be great for clubbing and the pink is a nice romantic shade. It goes on very smoothly and is very light. My only concern is not being able to see how much powder is left.
All of the eye shadows above can be found in your local Walgreens, CVS, Eckerd, or other drug store, as well as super centers like Wal-Mart and Target.
