Having trouble with black eyeshadow

Mar 13, 2012

Christina B.

So as the topic reads in having trouble with black eyeshadow. I just don't seem to be getting it right. It never wants to blend or crease just so. Im gonna try to post some pics so you can see. Any wanted pointers or tips are much appreciated. Thanks everybody!!! 

Mar 13, 2012

Victoria D.

What black eyeshadow have you been using?

Mar 13, 2012

Elizabeth G.

Pack it on, and make sure if you're using a matte that it's a GOOD QUALITY matte.
Chalky matte black shadows are a nightmare for anyone doing a smokey look.

If you're having trouble with blending, try taking a lighter shadow and going over the harsh lines. :) 

Mar 13, 2012

Christina B.

Nyx and pretty much any black I've tried alot. 

Mar 13, 2012

Victoria D.

Usually when I wanna put black in my crease or blend it out, I use a small pencil brush. That way it's easy to get a nice thin line, and blend that out. I can get the black exactly where I want it

Mar 13, 2012

Kirsten H.

Try using a tiny bit, blending that out, and then add more. If your using a pencil brush, do the same thing, start with a tiny bit, and build up. I've had the annoying line a million times because I over did it, but this seems to be the best way to prevent a line from showing up. I recommend Sleek or Sugarpill for black eyeshadow.

Mar 14, 2012

Anisha G.

While I've never been too fond of black eyeshadow, I generally apply my darker colors to the crease and outer-v area with a pencil brush -- it deposits more product on the eye with more precision. Then I just take a blend brush of some sort, and blend it out! If you want to darken certain areas, just reapply the shadow with the pencil brush and blend again. You get a really gorgeous, smokey effect this way since you're building layers instead of just packing on color. Hope that helps!

Mar 14, 2012

Lisa U.

Try using a brown first, brown always makes black so much easier to blend. Also, only use a tiny amount, a little goes a long way and you can always add more as it's easier than trying to remove some xox.

Mar 14, 2012

Courtney A.

black shadow is definitely the most challenging for people to nail. Especially matte black.
I recommend building it REALLY slowly. So laying down a small amount of product and then blending and then laying down some more and blending until you get the desired intensity. If you put down a ton of product right off the bat or use a large fluffy brush to apply it you can easily get way to much and with black once you get too much it's all downhill from there lol.
Also, it's SO much easier to blend a shadow into another shadow than into your skin. so lay down a transition color first that you can keep going back to if you need to blend the edges of the black

Mar 14, 2012

Bianca T.

Make sure that you use a primer (concealer can work in place of one) and THEN set it with your face powder. It's harder to blend matte colours on a moist/tacky canvas.

And don't use your application brush to blend. This can make the colour come off patchy. Instead, use one brush to press the eyeshadow on, and another clean brush to blend the edges out.

Good luck with your look! :)

Mar 14, 2012

Althea N.

Apply it with a blending brush and a very light hand. Start with the blending brush in the crease and blend out. If you notice you want more color in the crease pack it on there with a pencil brush... this way you still have the blended, gradient black on the edges, but have all the color where you need it!

Also... the best black I have ever used is Carbon by MAC. I don't buy a ton of MAC eyeshadows because they're so expensive, but this one is worth the investment and it's matte!!!

Mar 18, 2012

Christina B.

Thank y'all so much! Sorry I didn't reply sooner my lil man is out on spring break been super busy. Y'all are the BEST!!!!!! 

Mar 20, 2012

Christina B.

Played around tonight tell me what you think.  

Mar 20, 2012

Rebekah D.

everyone's tips above are basically what i would have said too. apply a TINY bit of color at a time & slowly build it up. too much too fast can go wrong in no time! i love the look you posted! it looks great! :) 

Mar 20, 2012

Jane A.

your application looks flawless to me.

usually I'm deathly afraid of using black as a crease because I end up looking like I have a black eye. so what I usually do is put it on the outer V then blend in.

I do however like to pack black shadow on my lids. Then for my crease, I always blend Brown in.

Lately, I've been trying out black on my crease, and I do notice the trick is to start off small and to blend blend blend!

Mar 20, 2012

Christina B.

Thanks ladies! You make me happy.