Eyeshadow fallout is so frustrating, isn’t it? You’ve just finished applying your makeup, so you take a last look in the mirror to make sure everything looks good and see eyeshadow specks all over your cheeks glaring at you! So you try to remove them, but that makes it worse. Now they’ve smudged and made a huge mess! And it always seems to happen when you’re running late! Argh!
Luckily, there are lots of ways to avoid this from happening. Here are the ones that work for me:
1. Catch fallout with powder: apply a generous dose of loose powder underneath the eyes with a big fluffy brush. This will catch any fallout. Next, apply your eyeshadow as usual, and, when you’re done working your magic, grab the fluffy brush again and swipe away all the powder. And voilà, all the powder and fallout are removed and your face makeup still looks perfect. This trick is particularly useful when using dark eyeshadow colours.
2. Do your eye makeup first: although the tip above works really well, I prefer to do my eye makeup first, and apply my foundation, concealer and blush later. This way, if some fallout occurs I can quickly and easily clean it up without messing up the rest of my makeup.
3. Tap off excess product: always lightly tap excess eyeshadow off the brush before applying it to your eyes. This will avoid the excess powder to fall all over the face.
4. Pat on eyeshadow: don’t sweep on eyeshadow. Instead, pat it on gently. Not only this will help prevent fallout, but it will make the eyeshadow brighter and more vibrant.
5. Use a primer: I find I get less fallout when I use an eyeshadow primer such as Too Faced Shadow Insurance or Urban Decay Primer Potion. A good primer will help eyeshadows stick to the lid, thus minimizing fallout.
6. Use eyeshadows wet: wetting your brush with water or spritzing it with a product like MAC Fix+ will also help avoid fallout. This method works particularly well with pigments, but shouldn’t be used with matte eyeshadows as it could change their formula.
Do you have any other tips to prevent eyeshadow fallout?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Not too long ago I saw someone applying her eyeshadow with a small fluffy blending brush. She was sweeping it across her eyelid and obviously she had shimmer all over her face. I was slowly dying inside when I saw her do this!
Aya´s last [type] ..Maybelline Lips: PINK HURRICAAAAANNNNEEE
Aya, oh no, what a disaster!
I’m a sweeper, it’s true. I sweep my eye shadow. It helps with blending. Then again, I sometimes have a lot of fallout, so I see your point.
Trisha´s last [type] ..LUSH’s New Emotional Brilliance Makeup Line In Action
Trisha, I agree that sweeping helps with blending but it should be done lightly and only when necessary. I do sweep sometimes to blend colours on the crease, but I apply eyeshadows on the lid by patting them on. That way, you have less fallout and better colour payoff.
I’ve actually discovered the last tip by accident. I took a semi-dry brush to put on eyeshadow and it went on like a dream…though I would worry if water would affect the eyeshadows, even non-matte ones, in the long run…
Beauty Box´s last [type] ..US Mini Haul & Update
Beauty Box, I don’t think it would. At least that hasn’t happened to me yet. I do only wet a small portion of the eyeshadow, near the edge of the pan, just in case.
i usually use the loose powder method, and i find that with creamier eye shadow base, it works better to grab the eyeshadow to avoid fall out too.
xin´s last [type] ..Addicted to the Fresh yet Cheeky: Dior Addict Eau Fraiche
Xin, I agree. Creamier and stickier eyeshadows base do a much better job at making the colours adhere to the lid.
A tissue works well too and also just buying a good eyeshadow haha
Thanks, Gio!
Janessa, that’s true. With good eyeshadows fallout rarely occurs.
With mineral makeup, you can expect some fallout because of particular sizes. A *good* mineral makeup will have non-mineral stuff like carnauba wax or something similar to improve adhesion. I usually use some form of silicon gel (like the Monistat anti-chafe stuff; local drag queens swear by it!) as a primer on the eyelids, then put a very thin layer of Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy over it before putting on eyeshadow. The Pixie Epoxy is like glue for all the shimmery, glittery stuff, so it stays put longer. Then I build up the shadow to the colour I want.
You can also get a large fan brush relatively cheaply at most craft stores. Lay the fan brush under your eye to catch fallout. You can also do this with a tissue, of course. I wear dark eyeshadow frequently, so by doing these things I worry less about my relatively pale foundation.
BebeTaian´s last [type] ..4th Anniversary! Woohoo!
BebeTaian, I agree with you that good mineral eyeshadows need to contain ingredients that make them stick to the lid better. When they do, their formulas are also easier to work with. And I adore Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy too. It’s a glue for eyeshadows, it’s true, and makes them so vibrant and shimmery!