Blue eye shadow, no primer - bad idea

If my previous post about priming your eye lids didn't convince you that applying your eye shadow to naked lids is a bad idea, maybe this one will. For the last two months I've been testing make-up products and experimenting with looks for my wedding day. I've tried glamorous, natural, smokey and long lasting looks - all in nudes and browns and so it was not surprising that after not wanting to wear any make-up for the first few days after the wedding, I grabbed for my bright, blue eye shadows to get into the holiday swing of things.

But, because I was on holiday and lazy I did not feel the need to use my eye shadow primer or foundation before going bananas with the eye make-up, and although it looked great and holiday-ish for the first two hours, it looked bananas thereafter. Pretty soon the shadow started to crease and while my eye crease colour became more concentrated and less blended, the lid colour became more sheer and sore looking.

As a contact lens wearer, I am someone who rubs her eye lids often and without my usual eye lid primer and setting sprays, my blue eye shadow transferred to my bottom lids to enhance my eye bags and smeared to where it created blue cheek bones. I saved what I could with the quick wipe of a tissue but for the most part, I went with it.

I messed up my hair and pulled my shirt over my one shoulder so I could look like I really do not care and pretended that I'm bringing blue, grungy make-up back. I don't know how convincing I was and although I wouldn't have, at that stage, thought that it was my biggest make-up blunder yet, when it came to winding down for bed and removing my make-up, I sincerely regretted not spending 30 seconds more with my eye shadow primer that morning.

After slipping, sliding and smearing all over my eyes during that day, upon using make-up remover that night the blue eye shadow would not budge. My blue eye shadow on my fresh, naked lids had stained my skin. I rubbed vigorously with my various different make-up removers but in the end I had to get into bed with blue lids.

Needless to say that I have learned a lesson but this whole situation made me think of the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy asks the Emerald City beautician: "Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?" I would recommend that Dorothy primes her eye lids first but if she asked me, my short answer would be: "Yes, Dorothy. Yes, I can."