At Essex Fashion Week I discovered the Kryolan makeup stand, as they were the official make up artists for the runway and had a beautiful display of brushes, varnishes and powders for guests to test and buy. I spoke with a makeup artist and enquired which colours would best suit my dark blonde hair, blue eyes and light complexion, and handing me a silver compact and mirror she pointed out three shades to create my very own tailored palette.
Kryolan Professional Makeup Eyeshadow Palette
The three shades that I have are a Coffee G in an eyeshadow compact glanz, a black eye shadow compact matt and finally a highlight eye shadow compact matt. They come sealed in individual pods which you remove and clip into the palette case and mirror, and can comprise of any shade of the rainbow.
As these three colours were best suited to my skintone and eye colour I was more than happy to take the makeup artists advice and select the coffee, black and highlight to create my palette. Eyeshadow can really make or break a look, as not having a vibrant enough colour can make your eyes sink back, but something too bold or dark can make you look like a raving panda. I generally select natural and nude tones, soft cappuccinos, warm golds and earthen browns to compliment my blue eyes, so these fit in beautifully with what I’m used to.
Cheap or poorly made eyeshadow can separate, crack or not sit on the lid properly. Some you have to really rub and agitate to get the pigment to stick, and others are so loose and flaky that they drop off onto your cheeks when you blink, so finding a quality product is key before you even think about colours or palettes. And when wearing makeup it very much depends on the skill of the person applying it as to the final results. You could have a million-dollar product which can look horrendous when slapped on with a trowel or rubbed into place with a finger, so it’s useful to brush up on some beauty tips first in order to get the best out of your cosmetics.
Kryolan have been supplying the film, theater and television industries for over sixty-six years, which makes them one of the world’s first professional make-up brands with an extensive range of over 16,000 high-quality make-up products and accessories. Kryolan’s chemists have been developing their professional range from their headquarters in Berlin for over six decades. The qualified chemists are continuously developing new products with exceptional qualities, which led to their Dermacolor range attracting the attention of clinical dermatologists all over the world.
I always apply my own makeup, aside from when I’m on a photoshoot and have a makeup artist to do it for me. The beauty of doing your own makeup is that you know what works best for you, you know how dark or light you like shades to be, how long to make your eyeliner and how far up or out to take the colour. It is fun to experiment with new styles and looks, but you can’t beat what you know best.
So I started my eyeshadow by sweeping the coffee colour across my lids, smoothing it across with the pad on my middle finger and blurring it out towards the edges. I take the colour from my lashline to the edge of my eyelid and then fade it out across my socket with either a fluffy brush or a soft stroking movement with my finger so as not to leave a harsh edge. This is my base colour and is the medium shade of the three colours. I then use a small pad brush to take the coffee colour under my lower lashes from my pupil back to the outer edge of my eye like an eyeliner. This helps to define the eye and continue the colour from the lid.
I then apply the black colour with a small soft pad brush, taking a fine amount of pigment on the tip of the pad and tracing it from the edge of my eye inwards along the crease of my eyelid. I make the black thicker and stronger towards the outer edge of the eye, again blurring it inwards as it goes along. The idea is to bring depth with the darkest shade in the crease of the eye socket and add definition to the curve.
Finally I use the lightest colour, my highlighter, to accent the brow bone just below the outer edge of my eyebrows, starting from the middle of my pupil and smoothing it out to the edge of my lashes. I usually use my middle finger to apply highlighter as I like to be hands on and not apply too much product that can flake and fall. I also dab a finger of highlighter on the inner crease of each eye, either side of the bridge of my nose as this area can tend to look quite dark and tired, so adding a light touch to the skin really opens the eyes and brightens the face.
And tah-da my look is complete in just a couple of minutes. I am also wearing liquid eyeliner on my upper lids which I had applied earlier in the day on its own for a plain look before doing my eyeshadow just now. You could also use a black mascara to define and thicken the eyelashes to really make the eyes pop, or a white pencil liner on the lower eyeline to contrast with the black.
The Kryolan eyeshadow trio costs £17.50 and is available in every colour combination imaginable, with handy individual eyeshadow refills starting from as little as just £4.50 each.
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