Eyeshadow was first used in ancient civilizations such as Egypt, where it was applied for both cosmetic and spiritual purposes. The use of eyeshadow can be traced back to around 10,000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, where it was commonly worn by both men and women.
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Eyeshadow originated in Ancient Egypt, where malachite was used to create a greenish hue in the eyes. However, it was not a full-fledged shadow but rather an eyeliner. Malachite was used to contour the eyes and also to paint the eyebrows.
From Egypt, the practice moved to Greece, where the contour pencil Kayal appeared, which was made of antimony, lead, ochre, and other components, but the main ingredient of the composition was copper ore of green-blue color. Substances could be mixed with each other in different proportions to obtain dyes of different colors. Stone containers were used for storage, and before use, the substances were diluted. Sometimes oil was used, but if it was not available, water was also suitable. Kayal eventually appeared in Egypt as well, and everyone used it: women and men, queens and ordinary women, to dye their eyes.
In Roman Empire, women actively colored their eyelids with cosmetics made of saffron and ash. The first component was used to create dyes of orange or yellow color. However, the collapse of the Roman Empire led to the fact that the existence of eye shadow was forgotten for many years &#; two thousand years.
It was not until the early twentieth century that eyeshadow began to reappear, but not as a cosmetic product but solely as an element of theatrical makeup. Until the thirties, it was believed that only actresses and singers could wear makeup, while the vast majority of women did not do so.
The product did not gain real popularity until the fifties, and even so, society continued to condemn women who used this cosmetic product.
Nowadays, dry eyeshadow does not differ much in composition from powder or dry blush. The composition of these cosmetics includes talc, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and a number of other components. However, there are alternative approaches &#; liquid shadows or products in the form of cream, which are made from vegetable components.
Eyeshadow goes on and around the eyelid and, sometimes, the lower lashline to add definition and emphasis to your eyes. It comes in cream and powder formulas. Powder eyeshadow is applied with brushes, while cream eyeshadows can be applied with brushes or with a finger. (Powder eyeshadow can even be applied with fingers as well, but brushes allow more precision.) Some drugstore eyeshadow recommendations:
Eyeshadow can be very tricky for beginners, especially if you have a non-&#;standard&#; eye type/shape (ex. hooded eyelids, protruding or deep-set eyes, monolids &#; see here for more). If you keep following &#;standard&#; eyeshadow advice but feel that it&#;s not doing anything for you, you may have a non-&#;standard&#; eye type and may need to follow different advice for a more flattering look.
Eyeshadow Basics
As a general principle, keep in mind that light and/or shimmery colors bring an area forward, while dark and/or matte colors make an area recede. This is the principle behind contouring, and it&#;s also important for eyeshadow. Essentially, eyeshadow is used to accentuate the natural shape of the eye, by highlighting areas that already extend outward (typically the eyelid) and contouring areas that are recessed (typically the crease of your eye).
If your eyes are pretty &#;standard&#; in their shape, the diagram shows a typical eyeshadow look:
For beginners, I would recommend starting out with just one color on your lid and one in your crease, or an all-over lid color only, then going on to more complex looks.
Don&#;t put eyeshadow too far down/off to the side; this will drag your eyes down rather than giving them lift. If you draw a line connecting the outer corner of your eye with the tail end of your eyebrow, then your eyeshadow shouldn&#;t extend past that line (aside from maybe putting a little on your lower lashline). Also, don&#;t bring your eyeshadow all the way up to your eyebrow (aside from a highlight color).
Make sure to blend your eyeshadow with a separate clean fluffy brush, using light circular motions, so your eyeshadow looks like a nice gradient and not blobs of color sitting on your eyelid. Tips for blending:
Eye Shapes/Types
There&#;s a wide variety of eye shapes/types.
If you have protruding eyes, using darker matte shadow all over the lid will help your eyes recede. You don&#;t necessarily need to use a dark color &#; just something darker than your skintone. Smokey eyes work particularly well for protruding eyes.
If you have deep-set eyes, using relatively light, shimmery shadow on the lid will help bring your eyes forward.
If you have downturned eyes, concentrating color on the outer corner of the eye, including the lower lashline, will emphasize the downturned shape. Conversely, keeping your eyeshadow and eyeliner on the top lid/lashine and doing a cat-eye look will lift your eyes up visually.
If you have close-set eyes, concentrating dark eyeshadow at the outside corner of the eyes and using a highlight color on the inner tearduct will make your eyes look wider-set. Winged eyeliner can have a similar effect.
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If you have wide-set eyes, concentrating darker colors on the inner corners of your eyes can make them seem closer together, if that&#;s what you want. Doing a sort of reverse cat eye can have a similar effect.
If you have round eyes, concentrating dark eyeshadow at the outer corner of the eye and extending it out and up, as shown here or here, can help elongate your eyes. Winged eyeliner can have a similar effect.
If you have monolids, try doing a gradient of eyeshadow as shown here, with a dark color along the lashline transitioning to a medium color, then a light color at the top of the lid.
If you have hooded lids, try extending your crease color up above your actual crease. Here you can see demonstrations of a lot of advice for hooded eyes.
Of course, eye shapes/types are not mutually exclusive &#; your eyes are likely a combination of several types, and in that case there&#;s probably one characteristic you&#;ll most want to address with your eyeshadow. For instance, I have protruding, round, wide-set eyes. I personally don&#;t care about making my eyes look closer-set, and the round shape isn&#;t really a big deal to me either, but eyeshadow looks much, much better on me if I follow advice for protruding eyes. So experiment with different application styles to see what works best for you.
Regarding choosing eyeshadow colors, I have recommendations, including specific products for each color, here:
Other eyeshadow application tips:
Tutorials:
Basics:
Eye shapes/types:
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