The eye shadow you choose should flatter and enhance your eye colour and the shape of your eyes, as well as your whole appearance. The skin colour, the eye colour, and your life style need to be considered when choosing and using eye shadow. Although there are no hard and fast rules for choosing the colour of your eye shadow it is best to find out by experimenting with colours. But always harmonise the colour of the eye shadow with that of your skin and your eyes. Whatever the colour, it should be blended in well, so that there are no harsh lines. Aim always for a natural look.

Eye shadow goes on each entire lid and sometimes in the space between your lids and your eyebrows. It comes in a variety of colours and also several different forms, including cream (good for dry skin), matte (good for oily skin) and pencil (good for all types of skin).

Apart from colour, there is a choice of forms of the eye shadows. You can choose from pressed powders, pencils, sticks, gels, crayons and creams. Pressed powders are still the most popular form of shadows, because they are the easiest to apply and control. These are available in pearly and matt textures. The effect is not long lasting, but if you apply them with a wet brush, you can get a deeper effect and increase the staying qualities of the colour.

The cream based eye shadows are oil or wax based. They are best suited for dry lids and should be avoided on oily lids. Sticks are a firmer form of cream shadow and look quite like lipsticks. Pencils have, however, almost totally replaced sticks and crayons. They have a high colour and filling ability. Gels are suited for oily skins. These give a long lasting, subtle and translucent effect. Liquid shadows also have a long lasting effect, but are difficult to apply because it is difficult to get an even flow of colour with them.