Eyeshadow bases 101...and some of my favorites

The first eyeshadow base that I want to discuss are gel eyeliners...

The gel liners shown below are from Coastal Scents ($6.95) these are creamy, blend-able, incredibly pigmented and serve double as an eyeliner. In my experience these are crease resistant and can be a bit drying on the lid. There is also a chance that the gel liner will stain the eye lid so I always make sure to put on UDPP to help avoid staining.

Colors above from L to R, top to bottom: 24kt, Deep Plum, Indigo Blue, Truffle, True black

Colors swatched, L to R, top to bottom: 24kt, Truffle, True Black, Indigo blue, Deep Plum

Next are MAC Shadesticks ($16.50/1.5g)...

I only have three shadesticks. These were my first try at cream bases other than UDPP and TFSI. I have a few issues with these but still use them, just with caution.

Problems:

• Creasing--even with UDPP. This may be partially due to the fact that I have oily lids--I can't use NYX Jumbo Pencils either which is why they aren't part of this post.


• Color selection-- These used to come in a wide range of beautiful colors but now we are generally limited to neutrals and pastels (i.e. Sugarsweet collection).


• Staying power--I can't seem to keep my eyeshadow from fading after about 6 hours with these.


• Longevity--I seem to burn through a shadestick pretty quickly so for the price I find that MAC paints or Paint Pots are more economical.

MAC Paints are next ($16.50/6.5g)...

I should start off by saying that I have never tried a Cream formula paint. This statement is important because I have never been more disappointed in a product than I am with MAC Paints. They are supposed to wear for 8 hours or more but I find that these crease worse than the shadesticks which makes it near impossible for me to utilize them. I've resolved to only wear them in the winter but that doesn't work all to well either. It might just be me but Paints are the under achieving little brother of MAC paint pots.

Above (L to R): Shimma, Stilife, Bamboom Above (L to R): Bamboom, Stilife, Shimma

My final, and favorite base type is MAC Paint Pots ($16.50/5g)...

Paint pots are a great base! On my oily lids I do not have a problem with creasing, staining or wearing off. I choose to wear some color of paint pot nearly everyday. What's great is that over the past few big collections (ie Heatherette, Fafi, McQueen) there have been some amazing colors which are generally available at CCO's. They are advertised to wear for 12-16 hrs and I generally find these to be incredibly stubborn almost annoying to remove. Fortunately a good makeup remover solves all problems. Below are some of my favorites (the colors correspond to the swatches). Besides these wonderful colors there is also a wide range of neutrals in both cream formulas and frost formulas.

Below (L to R): Delft, Perky, Contructivist

Below (L to R): Rollickin', Otherworldly, Electrosky