Subtle Matte Eyes : Tutorial

Since everything 90s is back in style, it only seems right that matte eyeshadows have hit peak popularity again. I really love matte shadows since I find them easy to blend and work with and that they give this beautiful polished look to the eyes. Even though I'm in my mid (late?) twenties, matte shadows just make me feel grown up. To see how to achieve this style, keep reading!

As always, let's start with what we'll be using.

For the eyes:

1) Tarte eye primer... more keeps coming out. Which isn't an issue because I really like this primer, but seriously, I don't know how more keeps showing up.

2) Wet N Wild Drinking a Glass of Shine palette (also released under the name "I 'heart' Matte"): This was limited edition, but you can really use any matte shadows to create this look. I used this because the shades are really warm toned, which can also be found in Stila's In the Know palette or the new Kat Von D palette, Ladybird.

3) Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner

4) Lancôme Hypnôse Star Mascara: I really liked this when I first started using it, but now that it's gotten older, it's starting to get... chunky, not digging that.

5) Stila Eyeshadow in Espresso (I believe that's what this shade is, I could be wrong, I use it on my brows)

Tip: If you're looking for matte shadows, you really need to make sure that they aren't chalky (chalky = hard to apply). Matte shadows should still be buttery and easy to apply, unfortunately there aren't a lot of drugstore options for matte. The Wet N Wild palette that I have is limited edition, but it's been released twice so maybe they'll release it again, but it's magical. The next best drugstore brand for matte shadows (in my opinion) is probably L'Oréal, you can find singles and trios/quads with mattes and if you have Target readily accessible, Sonia Kashuk has a matte quad. 

For the rest:

1) Milani Luminoso Blush

2) Benefit Coralista Blush

3) Maybelline Color Whisper in Lust for Blush (this is a dupe for MAC's Crème Cup)

And brushes:

1) Sephora Professional Angled Liner Brush

2) Smashbox Definer Brush (used for brows)

3) Sephora Professional Small Shadow Brush

4) Missha Medium Base Brush

5) Dual ended Bare Minerals brush

This picture should look familiar since it was in the last tutorial, but I did these back to back, so here it is again. Foundation done!

Prime yo lids.

Using my ring finger, I applied the beige shade from the Wet N Wild palette all over the lid up to the brow bone.

I then took my Missha brush and pressed the peach shade into the outer half of my eyelid and worked it into the crease.

Using the same brush, I picked up the dark brown shade and pressed it on top of the peach. I made sure to concentrate the color on the outer corner and make it lighter the further I brought it on to the lid.

Using the eye shadow side of the Bare Minerals brush, I blended out the brown to make it a bit softer. 

Using the small shadow brush, I added a bit of the black to the outer corner for added depth. I also added more beige to the inner third of the lid to make it pop a bit more.

Here we are before liner or mascara; I took the angled brush and added the dark brown and peach under my eyes as well.

Added liner and mascara. Like I said above, this mascara was great when I first started using it, but now that I've been using it for a few weeks, it's starting to get chunky. Luckily, it didn't act up too much when I applied it for the tutorial, but most days, I have to bust out a q-tip and work the chunks off my lashes. I have another tube of this and I'm curious if the same thing will happen or if it's an isolated incident.

I filled in my brows using the Smashbox brush and Stila Espresso shadow. I only fill in the sparse part of my brows (which for me is the area closest to the bridge of my nose), so I use a brush that isn't super stiff, but is still dense. It just gives a nice diffused look to the powder so it doesn't look super artificial. I also added Luminoso to the apples of my cheeks and Coralista to the tops of my cheek bones.

And then Lust for Blush on the lips.

And there you have it, the completed look! Questions, comments? Let me know down below!

(all photos copyright Allison Richardson Photography and not available for use without permission)