So if there’s one thing that’s been essential in my makeup knowledge, it’s knowing the differences between and the purposes for matte eyeshadows and frosty/shimmery eye shadows.

FROSTY SHADOWS:

At a glance, a shimmery/frosty eye shadow looks way more exciting…and most people have the tendency to gravitate to them for their reflective, flashy appeal.

Below you’ll see an image of an eye done with frosty shadows, they have a very metallic, light-reflecting appearance to them. (image not mine, just an example)

What you will notice is that, though pretty….when using only frosty shadows, there is not much depth to the eye. It doesn’t carve out shape, it highlights. The reflective quality brings everything forward. So if you’re using a frosty color in the crease of your eye for depth, it will not have the same effect as a matte shadow.

Frosts are amazing for women who want to make their eyes pop and don’t want to have to use many shadows. You can throw a gold metallic color on the lid with some mascara and have a beautiful and bright eye.

When wanting to use more colors and have some shape to the eye, frosts are wonderful for highlighting. Pop some under your eyebrow to accentuate your brow bone or use on the inner corner of your eye to get a bright doe-eye’d look. Pair a frosty color on your lid with a matte color in your crease to  create contrast and give the illusion of more dimension.

MATTE EYESHADOWS:

Matte shadows are usually the ones that don’t catch your eye immediately when you’re at the makeup counter browsing over colors.

Matte shadows have no sheen, shine, shimmer or frost…they are flat, as you can see in the image below. (image not mine, just an example)

I can’t imagine my makeup world with out my beloved matte shadows. The often overlooked gems, are completely essential in creating many looks you see in magazines and on the red carpet.

When using just one color on the eye, matte’s give a classic, timeless appeal. You can still achieve a “pop” depending on the color you choose. As seen above, the lid and brow bone are very pronounced and bright without the need of a frost.

Matte shadows are a must when wanting to create depth in the crease of the eye. Matte colors can contour, unlike frosts. Matte brings in, frost highlights. Of course of course, there are always exceptions…but I’m just going over the 101 right now.

So if you’re wanting a classic, basic look you can throw a soft matte brown in the crease of your eye to give the illusion your makeup is more done up than it is. And when you want a dynamic, dimensional look, use a frost on your lid and a matte in your crease.

Also use mattes to deepen the outer corner of your eye and give smoky depth.

This look was created using what appears to be all shimmer, frosty, metallic colors

This look uses all matte

Both looks are gorgeous…..

And when you combine matte and shimmer you  get…

Dimension