Eyeshadow Primers & Eyeshadow Bases: Differences, Types & Methods of Application

It's important to know that there is a different between an eyeshadow primer and an eyeshadow base, a lot of people think they're the same thing but they're not. It's okay to refer to a primer as a base and vice versa but it's important to know the differences, especially if you have oily eyelids or are looking for a primer/base that has a specific purpose.

In this post I'm going to be talking about the differences between an eyeshadow primer and an eyeshadow base, the types of eyeshadow primers and eyeshadow bases available and the methods of application.

Differences

*An eyeshadow primer is used to prime the eyes, it creates an even and smooth surface for eyeshadow application. Some eyeshadow primers can also reduce the appearance of fine lines, redness, discolouration and veins etc, whereas an eyeshadow base doesn't. An eyeshadow base creates a blank canvas.
*An eyeshadow primer prevents eyeshadow from creasing, fading or coming off completely, whereas an eyeshadow base doesn't. An eyeshadow base intensifies the colour and vibrancy of an eyeshadow.
*An eyeshadow primer makes eyeshadow last longer, whereas an eyeshadow base doesn't.

Eyeshadow Primers

An eyeshadow primer is a light oil-free cream that is applied to the eyelids, it has a light texture and consistency and is usually a cream, neutral or invisible colour. Eyeshadow primers are non sticky and dry down within a couple of minutes. As well as on the eyelid, eyeshadow primer can also be applied up to the brow bone and underneath the eye. An eyeshadow primer creates a barrier between the eye and the eye makeup, it seals the oil from the eyeshadow therefore eyeshadow primers are great for anyone who has oily eyelids. Eyeshadow primers are primarily used to prevent eyeshadow from creasing, fading, smudging or coming off entirely, they are basically used to prolong the wear of eyeshadow. Not only are they used for their prolonging properties, they are also used to intensify the colour and vibrancy of the eyeshadow.

Eyeshadow Bases

An eyeshadow base is a cream that is applied to the eyelids, again like eyeshadow primers they can be applied to the brow bone and underneath the eye. Eyeshadow bases have a heavier consistency than eyeshadow primers and they also have a sticky texture, unlike eyeshadow primers they don't dry down. An eyeshadow base is used to help intensify the colour and vibrancy of an eyeshadow or pigment by helping it stick to your eye. Unlike an eyeshadow primer, an eyeshadow base will not “prime” the eye as eyeshadow bases don’t tend to have the same ingredients as eyeshadows primers. The majority of eyeshadow bases don't contain ingredients that will prevent eyeshadow from creasing or fading. As well as intensifying the colour and vibrancy of an eyeshadow, eyeshadow bases are also used for other purposes. 

• A nude/neutral eyeshadow base will get rid of any discolouration or redness on the eye. It creates a blank canvas. 
• A dark coloured eyeshadow base, e.g. black, will make the eyeshadow appear darker.
• A light coloured eyeshadow base, e.g. white, will make the eyeshadow appear brighter and more vibrant. 

Types Of Eyeshadow Primers & Bases

There are many eyeshadow primers and bases on the market, both drugstore and high-end. If you'd like a comparison post on drugstore and high-end eyeshadow primers and bases, please let me know. 

Different Types Of Eyeshadow Primers
- Eyeshadow primers typically come in a squeezy tube, non-squeezy tube or bottle. They usually have a doe-foot/brush applicator too.
-Eyeshadow primers are usually a cream, neutral, flesh toned or invisible colour.
-Eyeshadow primers dry down within a couple of minutes.

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion (Original)

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance

3. theBalm Put A Lid On It

4. Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer

5. Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base

Different Types Of Eyeshadow Bases
- For an eyeshadow base you can use foundation, concealer, paint pots, cream colour bases, cream eyeshadows, eyeshadow sticks, eye pencils, gel eyeliners. Eyeshadow bases typically come in a pot, squeezy tube, non-squeezy tube or pencil. 
- Eyeshadow bases come in a variety of different colours and different finishes. You can buy both flesh toned/neutral shades or bright colourful shades, they also come in both matte and satin/shimmer finishes. 
-Eyeshadow bases do not dry down and this is due to their texture. 

1. MAC Paint Pot

2. MAC Paint

3. MAC Shadestick

4. Inglot AMC Gel Eyeliner

5. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil

If you have...

Very Oily Eyelids
If you have very oily eyelids you need to use both an eyeshadow primer and an eyeshadow base. If you just use an eyeshadow base and don't use a primer, your eyeshadow will crease. By using both a primer and a base you're ensuring that your eyeshadow won't crease.

Oily Eyelids
If you have oily eyelids you need to use an eyeshadow primer. If you just use an eyeshadow base, your eyeshadow will crease. A primer will create a barrier between the oil on your eyelids and the eyeshadow.

Normal Eyelids
If you have normal eyelids you have the option of using an eyeshadow primer or an eyeshadow base, or both. 

*If you notice your eyeshadow creases when using an eyeshadow primer and/or base, you're either using too little, too much or your skin doesn't agree with product. Don't worry if you do notice creasing, you either need to change the amount you're using or the product itself. 

Methods Of Application

Application:

• Makeup Brush - You can use a number of brushes to apply an eyeshadow primer or base, e.g. a flat eyeshadow brush, cream eyeshadow brush or blending brush. Apply the product to the eyelid using a flat eyeshadow brush and blend using a blending brush. 
• Sponge - This isn't a common method but some people do use a sponge to apply an eyeshadow primer or base. Simply dab the sponge into the product and apply to the eyelid. 
• Finger - Using your finger is probably the easiest way of applying an eyeshadow primer or base as you don't have the dreaded task of washing your makeup brushes once you've finished your makeup. You can simply apply the product to your eyelid and blend away with your finger. 

When applying an eyeshadow primer or base it's important to know...

• Eyeshadow primers do not need setting as they dry completely.
• Eyeshadow bases do need setting as they don't dry completely - If you're planning on using  matte eyeshadows you need to set the eyeshadow base first with either a translucent powder or a pale matte eyeshadow. You don't need to set it if you're planning on using a shimmer/satin eyeshadows. Matte eyeshadows don't blend well on a sticky base but shimmer/satin eyeshadows do. 

So now we know the differences between eyeshadow primers and eyeshadow bases and we know the different ways to apply them. If you would like me to do a comparison post on drugstore and high-end eyeshadow primers/bases, please let me know.


Thank you for reading and I hope you found this post helpful! Talk to you all in my next post!

Much love,
Cole
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Foundation: Choosing The Right Foundation & How To Match Foundation

The most common questions I get asked are, 'which foundation will be right for me?' and 'how do I match myself for foundation?' Due to a lot of people asking me this I thought I'd do an in-depth post about choosing the right foundation and also matching foundation.

Choosing The Right Foundation

Things To Consider

Before choosing a foundation, you need to consider 4 things:

• Undertone - Do you have a cool, warm or neutral undertone? If you are unsure about what undertone you have, check out my post about skin tones and undertones. If you have a cool undertone you need to choose a foundation that is pink based or neutral based. If you have a warm undertone you need to choose a foundation that is yellow based. If you have a neutral undertone you need to choose a foundation that is neutral based. If you have a neutral-cool undertone you need to choose either a neutral or pink based foundation but if you have a neutral-warm undertone you need to choose either a neutral or yellow based foundation. 
• Skin Type - Do you have normal, oily or dry skin? If you have normal skin you can wear both water based and oil based foundations, If you have oily skin you need to choose water based foundations and If you have dry skin you need to choose oil based foundations. 
• Coverage - Do you prefer a sheer, light, medium or full coverage?
• Finish - Do you prefer a matte, dewy or demi-matte/satin (mix of matte and dewy) finish? If you're unsure about which finish you will prefer then the likelihood is that if you have oily skin you will probably prefer a matte finish and if you have dry skin you will probably prefer a dewy finish.

Skin Tone
After choosing the correct foundation, you need to determine the type of skin tone you have, e.g. a very light, light, light-medium, medium, medium-dark, dark or very dark skin tone.

How To Match Foundation

Where To Match Foundation

A lot of people think that the best place to match foundation is either on the neck, on the jawline, on the inner wrist, the back of the hand or on the cheek but those places are all wrong. And if you're ever matched on those places by sales assistants please do not buy a foundation from them as this is a clear indication that they have little knowledge in matching foundation.

So why shouldn't we match foundation on those places...
Inner Wrist / Back Of Hand - You simply cannot match foundation on your wrist or hand because the skin on your wrist and hand is nothing like the skin on your face. Your wrist and hand are also the places that get little exposure to daylight or sunlight meaning the skin on your wrist and hand is going to be a lot lighter than the skin on your face. This is why you should never match foundation on your wrist or hand. 
Neck - The reason we shouldn't match foundation on your neck is because your face casts a shadow down onto your neck.  When you're directly exposed to the daylight or sunlight, it hits your face, not your neck meaning your face is considerably darker than your neck. Your neck is actually one of the palest parts of the skin as it receives the least amount of sun therefore is contain lower levels of pigment than many other parts of the skin. If you match foundation to your neck, the likelihood is that you'll end up buying  a foundation that's too pale for you. 
Jawline - Because of bone structure, your jawline can cause unintentional highlights or shadows that can be lighter or darker than the rest of your face. So you could potentially end up matching your foundation to either a light or dark part of your jawline meaning it will not match the whole of your face. 
Cheek - Due to several factors, including temperature (warm & cold) and also facial imperfections, your face may not have the same undertone as the rest of your body, your face could have a pink undertone (due to several factors) and your body could have a yellow undertone, and vice versa. If you buy a pink based foundation as it matches your facial undertone but doesn't match your bodies undertone, your foundation isn't going to look right. If your body has a yellow undertone, you need to buy a yellow based foundation as this will match both your face and your body. If your body has a pink undertone, you need to buy a pink based foundation as this will match both your face and your body. If you have a neutral undertone, you can wear both yellow and pink based foundations. 

Now we know where we shouldn't be matching foundation, I'm now going to tell you where you should be matching foundation. You should actually match foundation on your chest, and if you're unable to match on your chest, the second best place is on the outer part of your arm. 

Why should we match foundation on those places...

Chest - The best place to match foundation is on your chest because you want your face to match the rest of your body. By matching foundation to your chest, you are matching it to the part of your body that receives the same amount of daylight and sunlight as your face.
Outer Arm - If you're unable to match foundation on your chest, due to wearing tricky clothing etc, the next best place to match foundation is on your arm. Again, the skin on your outer arm receives a lot of daylight and sunlight therefore the tones of your outer arm are going to be very similar to the tones of your face.

How To Match Foundation

So now we've established where the best place to match foundation is, we're now going to look at the best way to match foundation.

When matching foundation there are four things to consider:

• 3 Shades - It's important to select 3 shades. So if you fit into the light skin tone category, select the 3 lightest shades, if you fit into the medium skin tone category, select the middle 3 shades and if you fit into the dark skin tone category, select the darkest 3 shades. The reason why we choose 3 is because one will be too light, one will be just right (in the words of goldilocks) and one will be too dark. Once you've chosen 3 shades, you need to place them on your chest. One thing you need to remember is that you should place each shade far apart from one another, do not place them next to each other, so place the lightest shade on the right side of your chest, the middle shade in the centre of your chest and the darkest shade on the left side of your chest.

*Original image taken from Cafe Makeup

• Blending - When blending each shade into your skin it's important to use a clean finger for each shade. If you use the same finger you may run the risk of mixing shades and this is something you don't want to do as it won't give an accurate representation of each shade. 
• Temperature - You need to make sure that the temperature of your body is at normal body temperature, you simply cannot match foundation if you have either a very warm or very cold body temperature as this could cause pink or red tones to appear within the skin. 
• Natural Daylight - It's important to see what the shades look like in natural daylight. If a store hasn't got access to daylight, you need to physically go and stand outside in it. If you test the shades in a store that doesn't have natural daylight, you may end up choosing the wrong shade as store lights can be so bright that they heavily reduce the colour of products. They also use different coloured light bulbs which can effect the colour of products, for example, a yellow light bulb will make something appear more yellow. You could end up choosing a shade that's far too pale or too dark, or a shade that's far too yellow toned or pink toned. Looking at shades in natural daylight is important when matching foundation. 

Once you have matched the foundation to your chest, pick up a sample of the correct shade so you can trial the foundation at home. My advice is to try before you buy because there's no point spending money on a foundation that may not be right for you, in terms of wear, coverage or finish. If some sales assistants say they haven't got any sample pots left, simply take your own so they have to give you a sample. If you're looking for sample pots, check out eBay, they literally sell 10 sample pots for as little as £2.00!

Oh and another piece of advice, no matter how pushy a sales assistant can be about matching you to a foundation, just politely decline and say you'll be okay matching yourself. I can 100% guarantee that some of the sales assistants you encounter will NOT be trained in makeup artistry so the likelihood is that they'll match you in the wrong place and give you the wrong shade. When it comes to some brands it's all about selling, they couldn't care less about what their employee puts on a customers face.

In my part 2 foundation post I'm going to be talking about types of foundations that are available, oil based and water based foundations, methods of applying foundation and the different tools you can use when applying foundation. I'm also going to talk about foundations for normal, oily and dry skin.

Video Version

If you're unable to see the video below, please click here.

I hope this post has help you to understand why you need to think about when choosing and also matching a foundation

Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you in my next post!

Much love,
Cole
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