If you've just received your first indie order full of dozens of loose eyeshadow pigments and are thinking, "now what?" then this is the guide for you!
Primers
Most of us prefer to wear eyeshadow primers underneath any eyeshadow, to help prevent creasing, improve pigmentation, and extend the wear. Lately I've been trying to use up my very-old MAC Paint Pot so I've been double-priming, layering my Painterly Paint Pot over Urban Decay's Primer Potion. In addition to regular eyeshadow primers, you can also use sticky/tacky bases meant for loose pigments/glitter, which enhances pigmentation even more, and for colour-shifting shades, helps to bring out the shift. I do not own any of the popular sticky bases, but check out Cosmos guide to Sparkle Adhesives here! The two most popular sticky bases are probably Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy and Darling Girl's Glitter Glue (pro-tip: if you want your eyeshadow to look like Kristin's amazing swatches, she layers Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy over Urban Decay's Primer Potion). A mainstream option would be Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue.
Not quite a primer but in a similar vein, are mixing mediums and eyeliner sealants. I make my own mixing medium, 2 parts water to 1 part glycerin, which I use when I want to wear my eyeshadows wet. Using eyeshadows with a mixing medium helps the eyeshadows to glide on like paint, and can also intensify the pigmentation. I also like to mix loose pigments with an eyeliner sealant, to create my own shades of liquid eyeliner. I have and recommend Meow's Eyeliner Sealant. A mainstream option that I have heard good things about is Illamasqua's Sealing Gel.
Brushes
For patting on loose pigments (remember to use a patting motion, not a sweeping motion), it's usually easiest to use a flat, stiff brush to minimise fallout. I like to use MAC's 239 Eye Shader Brush to pack on any eyeshadow, pressed or loose, on my eyelid. When I use loose pigments with a wet brush, I like the The Body Shop's Eyeshadow Brush since it has synthetic bristles. I also like the Real Techniques Detailer Brush when I want to concentrate the colour in a smaller area. You can also use your finger to pat on loose eyeshadows; I do this when I'm in a rush and just want to wear a neutral colour on my eyes. For eyeliner, I like Sigma's E65 Small Angle Brush and E10 Small Eyeliner Brush.
Miscellaneous
When I first started playing with loose pigments, I decided on a whim to pick up a cheap painter's palette and palette knife from an art supply store. Those two items have come in very handy, especially for mixing loose pigments with a mixing medium/eyeliner sealant. The palette knife can be easily sanitised, and doesn't absorb product like using a brush to mix pigments would. The palette also comes in handy for using samples of face products - it's much easier to tip a bit of powder out into the palette and using your brush as usual, than trying to stick a large face brush into a tiny zip-lock bag!
What are your tips/tricks for using loose pigments on the eyes? Let me know below in the comments!
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