How to Apply Eye Shadow: Bobbi Brown’s Eye Shadow Tips

Bobbi Brown is a professional makeup artist who built a global beauty brand with Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Bobbi’s early career included her calling photographers from the Yellow Pages to offer her makeup services before going on to land top-of-the-industry cover shoots. By 1991, she launched Bobbi Brown Essentials with ten lipsticks at Bergdorf Goodman.

On her mission to help women feel like themselves, Bobbi has created an international makeup line, written nine beauty books, and launched a modern lifestyle company for wellness, beauty, and everything in between.

Eye shadow is a makeup product applied to the eyelids. The product comes in powder, cream, and liquid forms and in glittery, matte, metallic, and pearlescent finishes.

You can use a variety of application methods and even mix and match eye shadows to create different looks, such as a smoky eye (dramatic, smudged appearance) or a gradient (a blended light-to-dark or dark-to-light effect).

From picking out the right product to application techniques, here are Bobbi’s eye shadow tips:

• Pick your matte eye shadow carefully. Matte eye shadow, also known as flat eye shadow, doesn’t have any shimmer and is sometimes dry. “Some matte eye shadows on the market are very dry, and they don’t blend very easily,” Bobbi says. “And they’re not that flattering. So whatever matte or flat you choose, make sure it blends easily. Make sure it’s a color that will blend into the skin.”
• Use a wide, fluffy brush. A wide, fluffy brush can make eye shadow application easier. “You’re able to see where it goes,” she says. “And [it can] go three-quarters of the way up to create depth.”
• Tap your brush before application. After dipping your brush into your eye shadow, tap off the excess powder. You can also blow on the brush. “If you get a big blob of color, you [didn’t] blow it properly,” she says.
• Use three tones. Bobbi suggests using three eye shadow tones: a light, a medium, and a dark. “[I start] with the color that basically will lighten, a little bit, the eyelid,” she says. “It just takes all the oil out of the eyelid. It should blend in. It shouldn’t be a color that’s gonna turn pink. It should literally just lighten up the eyelid. A medium tone would go on the eyelid. And the darkest one is used as a liner.”
• Add shimmer to the inner corner of the eye. To make your eye makeup stand out, consider adding a bit of shimmer on the inner corner. “This is one of those techniques that is really fun,” Bobbi says. “It’s almost like wearing a pair of jeweled earrings. It’s gotta be just a hint, almost like it was a mistake. But it’s kind of like a new, fun way. And it really does open up the eyes.”
• Forget about the rules. While rules may guide you as you apply eye shadow, you can also decide what works best on you. “It’s not about rules, honestly,” she says. “It’s about looking and knowing how to see what’s working. And what works one day might not work the next day.”

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