19 August 2013

How to Intensify the Color of your Eyeshadow


How often have we purchased an eyeshadow for their striking color only to come home and find out that the color pay off is poor, dull and washed out. Don't loose hope yet, as I am going to fill you in on a technique called foiling, which I learnt not so long ago.

What is foiling???

Foiling is a technique where you apply your eyeshadow together with a mixing medium(water, fixer plus or glycerine based mixing medium) to bring out the metallic look of the eyeshadow. It concentrates the color making it more vibrant and intense. It works exceptionally well with loose pigments but can be used with pressed shadow as well.

Another advantage of foiling, is that your makeup lasts twice as long as compared to when you apply it dry. It brings out the vibrance, intensity and luster of the product.



Top: Pigment Applied Dry
Bottom: Applied with Mixing  Medium


So how do you foil your eyeshadow??

With pigments, you can dispense some product into the cap of the bottle, dampen your brush with plain old water or a mixing medium or even some fixer plus and then  pick up some pigment and pat it onto your eyelid. If you need more product, there is no need to dampen the brush again, just pick up more product and apply until you get the desired effect.

With pressed shadows, pick up your product on a dry brush and then dampen it. You don't want to create hard lumps in your eyeshadow by contaminating it with mixing medium or fixer plus.

The advantage of using a mixing medium or fixer plus, is that it helps the eyeshadow adhere much longer than the water leaving you with a deep, intense color that will last you all day and all night;)

How to create your own mixing medium?

To create your own home made mixing medium, mix 1 part glycerine to 3 parts distiller water and shake. Donor use this mix for more than 2 weeks as it has no preservatives. Make a new batch after 2 weeks.

You could also use mixing mediums to create dramatic eyeliners by following the above procedure with an eyeshadow brush.

Foiled Pigment used as Eyeliner


Photo source: agapelovedesigns.com

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