Hello everyone! The first week of Mineral Madness has come to a close. From reading the comments, I’ve gathered that a lot of you had been interested in mineral makeup, but kind of apprehensive about the messiness of it all. I don’t blame you.
Mineral makeup is not for the clumsy or rush-out-the-door types. It really requires most people to sit down and take their time. Here’s a quick post on how to use and apply mineral eyeshadow, if you want to venture out into that world anyway.
1. Use a primer or a sticky base. For my Mineral Madness looks posts, I mainly used Benefit Lemon Aid, which I am trying to use up. Similar things you can use are tacky bases like cream shadows or cream pencils, or even primer. Make sure to pick something that is somewhat sticky or tacky, or just “wet.” This helps the loose pigments and shadows to stick to your lid.
L-R: Benefit Lemon Aid, NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Base, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk, Urban Decay Primer Potion
Similarly, you can also use a mixing medium on your brush and apply your shadows with a wet brush.
2. Pat, then blend. To keep the color concentration strong, pat the pigment instead of swiping it on. That’s a general rule, even for powder eyeshadows. Patting also decreases fall out. Just blend out the edges when you’re happy with the amount of color on the lid. A flat shader brush is great for this purpose.
3. Do your eyes before your face. Sometimes loose eyeshadow can get a bit messy on the face, especially when what you use is prone to fall out. Doing your eyes first makes the fallout easier to brush away, because there is nothing on your face that the fallout will end up sticking to.
It’s also easier to correct mistakes this way because you don’t run the risk of destroying your base.
4. Lay down a paper towel or a face towel on your table. For the simple reason of easier clean-up and decreasing high chances of messes. You can also “spot-clean” your brushes by rubbing them on the towel if you need to use the same one for another color.
5. Always tap away the excess. If you know what’s good for you. Get just enough product with your brush, tap away the excess on the cap, then apply. It’s easier to build up the color than to erase color you’ve already applied.
6. Don’t rush it. If you’re clumsy like me, rushing through mineral makeup application will more than likely result into a mess. Remain calm and apply gently.
You don’t have to try these tips out if you’ve found a way that works well for you. These are just some ways I apply mineral makeup in a mostly pain-free way.
If you have other cheats, tips, and tricks, please do share them! 🙂
Softly Sometimes 
My eyes are drawn to that teal-y green, so pretttttty… I always think mineral makeup is too messy for me, then again half the time I do my makeup, I’m already late for work. Haha
Thank you! It’s lingered in twilight from Shiro Cosmetics, and it’s awesome. 😀 I know what you mean, with these, you really have to take your time!
Love mineral shadows … I sometimes use wet shadow brush to apply them …. but as you say they are very tricky to apply 🙂
Do you just use water to wet them?
Ohhh that picture… so pretty… 😀
Thanks 😀
I like loose eyeshadows/pigments but I feel, like I am way too clumsy to use them, I am still looking for the perfect technique for me. I will try some of the tips and see if my fyrinnae e/s will look better once applied, because I adore the colours so much xxx
AHHH I’ve always wanted to try their brand! Many bloggers have pressed their pigments. Maybe that’s an option you can look into if you really can’t get the hang of it. 🙂
I often apply excess loose powder under my eyes so that I can just brush away the fall outs easier.:)
Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Great tips!! I’ve been trying to make time to use my Shiro shadows because I suddenly have so many.
HAHAHAHAHA that is exactly what happened to me.
The eyeshadows look amazing! With loose eyeshadows, I tend to go for a wet brush and then I do the patting motion as you said. If you’ve already got your foundation on, placing a tissue under your eyes helps to catch fall out. 🙂 Great post! 🙂
Thanks for the tips! 🙂
Thanks for the tips! Will come in useful in the future, I’m sure. 🙂
You’re welcome! I hope that they ARE helpful for some people. 🙂