The Three Cardinal Rules of Eye Makeup

Eyes are the window to the soul.  Kknowing how to make up those windows is one of the top priorities in any makeup routine.

There are all ready tons of information out there telling you what to do and how to do it.  Some of the information is excellent and I get really excited when I find new tips and tricks.  But for the most part what I find seems to be redundant and boring.

It's a pet peeve of mine that everyone is trying to give us all a "cookie cutter" look.  Each one of us is unique and we deserve to look that way.  True, some tips will work for us all, but what about some tips that will help us stand out from the crowd, in the best of ways, instead of blending in with it?

Here are some fresh ideas:

• Don't worry about three shades of the same color. That can be a great "daytime" look, but it's pretty boring for evening wear or parties unless you are going for some intense color shades.  Experiment mixing cool colors with warm colors, pastels and earthy tones, shimmer and matte effects.  Right now one of my favorite looks sounds gross on paper, it's a peachy pink with just a touch of shimmer, a matte olive and shimmery white.  I pair that with reddish brown eyeliner and mascara and it really works for me!

• Mix creams and powders for an even more unique effect. Mixing creams and powder together will give you an intense look that will last a long time.

The only cardinal rules of eye makeup are:

• Blend, Blend Blend!!! You want colors to merge into each other.  Think of a Monet painting when you are painting or powdering your eyes.  Whether you blend a little, or blend a lot is up to you, but avoid streaky or blotchy looking eye shadow.  Use your makeup brushes to blend, or for a more muted effect, use a makeup sponge.

• Check your makeup in natural lighting. You want to make sure you are getting the right effect.  If it's daytime makeup, check in natural daylight, and if it's evening makeup, check in a darker room than where you applied your makeup.  You'll find that different lighting will have a completely different effect.

• If you see the eye shadow before you notice the eyes, you are wearing too much! You can go bold and still bring out the eyes.  If you hear people say "I love your eye makeup" instead of "What beautiful eyes you have", chances are you are wearing too much.  Tone it down.

Now that you know the rules, the sky is the limit on how you apply your makeup.  So, take some time and play, try to be completely outrageous and you might surprise yourself with coming up with a gorgeous new look for yourself!  Just make sure you have time to wash off and start over if you need to!