You’ve nailed your base, your under eyes look like they’ve been photoshopped, and your cheeks are the perfect rosy pop. You go to pat your first layer of eyeshadow onto the lid and, oh dear, fallout sprinkles all over your handy work. Cue aggressive re-touching of concealer and setting powder.
This common situation, while highly frustrating, can be avoided! Here are 5 hacks to prevent eyeshadow fallout.
Tap your brush
Okay, before you roast me for stating the obvious, newbies may not automatically know to tap the brush! So, after you load your brush with shadow, tap it sharply on the back of your hand. This will ensure that any excess will fall away, leaving the bristles nicely coated yet not drenched in shadow.
Tip: Don’t blow on the brush as this not only poses a health risk but it creates an uneven dispersion of shadow. (Don’t worry, we’ve all been there).
If you’re wondering what the chances are of a fallout mess on your hands, you can usually tell by how the shadow acts in the pan. Is it super powdery and soft as soon as you touch the brush to it? This means it’s more likely to migrate below your eyes during application. This is usually the case for very pigmented matte shades.
Do your eyes first
This is a well-known hack, but it’s easy to forget! It seems intuitive to start with your base first and work up to the eyes. However, starting with your eyes means you’ve got a raw canvas to work with so any fallout is going straight on unmade skin as opposed to your flawless base.
Tip: I like to lay down a thick layer of moisturizer on my face to sink in while I do my eyes. I add an extra generous layer under my eyes so it’s easier to wipe away fallout. Plus, this hydrating treatment leaves the skin looking more plump and ready to accommodate your base.
The extra moisture plumps out any lines and smooths any textured dry patches so your undereye concealer glides on like magic. When you’re done with the eyes, simply take a damp cotton round and wipe away any eyeshadow fallout along with your excess moisturizer. Done!
Choose cream shadows
If you just cannot handle the thought of fallout or your morning is too busy to remedy the issue, go for cream shadows. All you need is a skin-matching or slightly deeper shade to pat over the entire lid, then a darker shade to smudge into the crease and along the lower lashes.
Use your kohl liner to define the lashes and smudge out with a stubby brush. Voila, poppin’ eyes, no fallout. No mess. Save the fancy shadows and artistry for the weekend.
Use your finger (or a flat packing brush)
If your powder shadows aren’t playing ball with a brush, you can forgo the brush altogether and use your fingertip.
Because brushes have so many tiny tips and surface areas, they can tend to flick powders all over the place, especially if the powder is very dry, very lightly packed, or very heavy (i.e glitters suspended in matte powder). In such cases, use your finger to place the shadow before buffing with a clean brush. For example, if you’re placing a pop of very pigmented, bright color shadow onto the lid, press it on with the tip of your ring finger.
For really shimmery shades that tend to get dispersed and fly away when buffed with a fluffy brush, switch over to a flat packing brush. Press the shadow onto the lid instead of buffing, and use your finger to dab away any excess before it tumbles onto your cheek. You can always go in with a clean brush and buff out those hazy edges once the color has been applied to the lid.
Use a protective shield
And, finally, use a protective shield to catch the fallout. You can buy special patches designed for this very purpose, however, there are cheaper ways!
I like to use a piece of cardboard (i.e. from product packaging) as it has soft edges for safety and is sturdy enough to stay in my drawer for a wee while before switching it for a new one.
You can also use dampened cotton rounds that have been folded in a half-moon shape. Hold the straight edge of whatever you are using against the cheek and just under the eye, at a slight angle. Press it there as you buff your shadows and it will catch any fallout speckles like a dream.
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