Mermaid Eyeshadow Tutorial

Mermaids have been blowing up the internet lately. I’ve seen makeup products, brushes, coffee mugs, shirts, blankets, you name it. I don’t know where it started, but I’m not mad about it. I’ve always wanted to be a mermaid and I swim pretty good, I think I could make it happen. Just kidding, but this eyeshadow look will definitely move me up to the next step. This is a little bit more of an extended tutorial than my usual looks, so grab a snack...or your makeup and let’s get to it.
Tutorial.jpg
Starting with my Ulta Nude Matte eyeshadow primer, I’m placing that all over my eyelid. This stuff actually works pretty well now that all of the oil has come out of the tube. It’s more sticky and I don’t have a problem with it separating anymore. Once that has dried, I swept a tiny amount of Wet n Wild’s single eyeshadow in Brulee directly on top of the primer to help the other shades blend better. This priming combination has been one of my favorites lately.
Primer.JPGWet n Wild Brulee.jpgStep 1.JPG
Because we’ll be using so many bright colors, we need a matte tan or a light brown to keep everything grounded. I’m using Ulta’s single eyeshadow in the shade Sable on a Morphe MB23 blending brush and placing that all throughout my crease. This shade isn’t my favorite because it’s a little too light on my skin tone and took a bit more effort to build up the pigment enough for it to be seen. If you’re more fair than I am, you probably wouldn’t have that problem.
Ulta Sable.jpgStep 2.JPG
For the color, I’m dipping into my Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette first and grabbing the eyelid shade on the green side of the palette. I’m applying this on the outer half of my crease with a slightly more dense blending brush from the Sephora Professional collection. I wasn’t too careful with this shade and brought some on the eyelid also so that it will show more behind the other blue shades. From this point out, make sure you blend after each step with an empty, more loose blending brush to prevent it from looking muddy.
Light green.jpgStep 3.JPGStep 4.JPG
Going into a color that I rarely use, but is absolutely beautiful. I’m taking Ulta’s single eyeshadow in the shade Turquoise and placing that on the outer half of my eyelid and slightly into the crease with that same Sephora brush. I didn’t take it too high in the crease because I didn’t want to cover up the green. For this look, I want to be able to differentiate slightly between the different shades.
Ulta Turquoise.jpgStep 5.JPG
Now I’m going into one of my Clinique gift-with-purchase eyeshadow duos and taking the shade Nightcap on an Elf Contour brush. This shade is slightly darker and has the perfect combination of blues and greens in it. I can’t even imagine how long I’ve had this, but I’m pretty sure this duo is still available in their line. I applied that shade in a sideways “V” shape on the outer corner of my eye. If you didn’t want it so intense, you could also just tap it on the very outer corner instead. Once you’ve laid that down, go back and blend everything one more time. I did end up adding just a little bit more green at the top and blended the tiniest amount of Brulee on top of it to make it more matte and faded.
Clinique.JPGStep 6.JPG
Moving on to the lower lashline, this is where you’re gonna think I’m crazy (if you haven’t already). I wanted to combine the colors from the lid underneath the eye to bring it all together, but didn’t want to single out one shade. So I dipped my BH Cosmetics #105 pencil brush in the bright green shade, then into Turquoise, and in Sable. I tapped off the excess and blended as close to the lashline as I could get. That combination was exactly what I wanted.
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To complete the eyelid, I’m using my Ofra Rodeo Drive Highlighter because I still can’t get over how beautiful it is. I applied it with my finger first and then blended it out with a BH Cosmetics #103 small shader brush. If gold tones aren’t your thing, I’ve also used a more white based shade with this and loved the way that looked too.
Ofra Rodeo Drive.jpgStep 8.JPG
When I have an eyelid shade that is as shimmery as Rodeo Drive, I typically like to keep the inner corner matte. Ulta’s single eyeshadow in Naked is one of my all-time favorites, which would be no surprise if you’ve ever seen any of my other tutorials. I’m applying this with a smudge brush from the Sephora Professional collection. I love the way this contrasts with the shimmer and catches the light perfectly.
Ulta Naked.jpgStep 9.JPG
For eyeliner, I’m using my Pür Cosmetics Double Ego Dual-Ended Eyeliner in the shade Bora Bora. There is a liquid liner side if that works better for you, but I like how creamy the retractable pencil is. I placed that halfway along both the upper and lower lashes and then set it with the L’oreal Infallible single eyeshadow in the shade Midnight Blue. These are a great formula to top eyeliners with. Since I can get closer to my lashline with an eyeshadow and a brush, I also took some of that L’oreal shade all the way to the inner corner on my upper lid.
Loreal Midnight Blue.jpgEyeliner.jpg
Then all there’s left to do is curl the lashes and add as much mascara as possible. You could leave them like this or add falsies, whichever is going to make you more comfortable. This is a more dramatic look, so fake lashes would pair nicely. I keep telling myself I need to practice with them more, they’re just so aggravating and I have zero patience for anything. One day!
Lashes.jpg
Here’s a close up of the final look:
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And the usual, more condensed guide for easy reference:
Guide.jpg
I paired this look with some blue and gold earrings that I found at Burlington. These were actually part of my Princess Daisy Halloween costume last year! The lip color that I’m wearing is Jordana’s lip liner in the shade Baby Berry. If you put on a lightweight lip balm on first, such as an Eos balm, it makes lip liners glide much easier and fill in the lips faster. My shirt also has a few mermaid vibes with the bright green fading to a light blue. It was just made to be!
Mermaid eyes.JPG
I don’t use such bright colors very often, but for some reason this is a look that I’m really comfortable with. I love the green and blue combination with the gold. Because it is a little more dramatic, you could also take the liner up a notch and create a half wing. There’s so many options! Which is one of the reasons I love makeup so much. You can never be bored!

If you recreate this look or get inspired to create something similar, please tag me on any of my social media. All of the links are at the bottom of the post and on the left sidebar. What do you think of the whole mermaid trend? Is it better than unicorns?
~Christina~

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