Wanna smudge of color? Here are my fave no-eyeshadow eyeshadows

Hi friends!

To kick off the New Year I’ll be talking about fresh barely-there makeup all month long on here. If you missed my little intro post to this series, I’m linking that here for you. I’m going for the whole ‘cool girl’ I-didn’t-spend-much-time-doing-my-makeup-but-I-still-look-polished-and-well-put-together kinda vibe, if you catch my drift.

I’m starting things off today by sharing three of my current favorite no-eyeshadow eyeshadows. Now, if you want a true no-eyeshadow eyeshadow, simply apply a bit of your current concealer across your eyelids and then set it with a finishing powder. This will help cancel out discoloration or veins around the eye, and give an overall more smooth and finished appearance.

But personally, I like a bit more definition on my eyes. These are the products I reach for when I want something that’s just one step up from a bare lid. When I just want a touch of color and texture, but nothing too dramatic or even overly noticeable.

 

 

If you know my makeup style you know I prefer a cream texture over a powder all day long. So, big surprise, this list is all cream products! If you do have oilier eyelids, you can always set your creams with powders for longer-lasting wear or apply a primer first. Keep in mind, these shadows work on my pale-to-light skin tone; you will have to switch out shades depending on what your skin tone is to get a similar effect.

LAURA MERCIER CAVIAR STICK IN AU NATUREL

I’ve been loving on this Laura Mercier Caviar Stick for quite a while now, but I have yet to talk about it on here. Everything from the texture, to the color, to the finish – it’s just beautiful. I’d say it’s somewhere between a light pink and a muted grey; definitely on the cooler side of neutral. I believe it’s categorized as a matte on Sephora’s website, but it’s definitely more of a satin texture in reality. It gives a beautiful light glint or sheen across the eyes as it sets, which makes it look quite Au Naturel as the color states.

I absolutely adore stick eyeshadows as you can literally just draw the color on. Keep in mind this formula does set quite quickly and can be a bit stiff. I would recommend getting it on there fast and blending it out with the warmth and pressure of your fingers. But it’s got great longevity; I’ve only noticed just slight creasing after about 9-10 hours of wear. (I never apply primer under cream shadows, FYI.)

(When I want to amp things up, I’ll add a touch of glitter or sparkle just in the center. Something about the tone here just plays off the shine so prettily!)

Read this: Want quick & easy makeup? Grab a stick!

 

MAC PAINT POT IN GROUNDWORK

MAC Paint Pots have been a staple in my collection since I started wearing makeup. I absolutely love them! You can either use them as primers for other shadows or on their own. MAC likes to annoyingly shuffle different colors and finishes in and out of the line-up all the time, but luckily Groundwork is a permanent shade.

This is the ideal in my little pantheon of no-eyeshadow eyeshadows. Slightly darker than my natural skin tone to give definition, but still buildable so I can customize the color to my liking. It’s definitely on the neutral side of taupe, with an extremely flattering satin finish (not unlike the Laura Mercier). It’s extremely easy to apply as the texture is very creamy. You can apply it with a finger and get light pigmentation for an extremely natural, barely-there look. But you can build it up a bit using a dense synthetic brush for something slightly deeper (that’s what I did in the photo below).

MAC claims that this is crease-proof, but I’d beg to differ. I wouldn’t say it creases horribly on me by any means, but out of the three shadows listed here Groundwork probably creases the most by the end of the day. So if have oily eyelids or just can’t stand when your shadows crease, I’d recommend using an eye primer like the UD Primer Potion first.

Read this: MAC Paint Pots – my most used product of all time

 

PIXI ENDLESS SHADE STICK IN MATTE COGNAC

When I first bought this shadow I wasn’t too impressed with it. I thought it was a bit boring, to be honest. However, I’ve grown to really like it in the past few months and I reach for it quite often now. Matte Cognac is a neutral brown shade that’s completely flat matte in finish. For that reason, out of all the products included in this post, this Pixi stick most effectively mimics what a natural shadow would look like on the eyes. Slightly ashy in tone, but soft in finish.

I love how chubby this stick is as it makes application super quick across the eye. The texture is definitely less stiff than the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick, and it blends out quite easily just using a finger or brush. It’s also quite long-wearing with only minimal creasing by the end of the day – very comparable to the wear of the Laura Mercier.

Read this: Pixi Lower Lash Mascara – snatch it or skip it?

 

What are your favorite no-eyeshadow eyeshadows?? I’d love to know!

xo, Erica

 

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