Absinthia: Green Fairy Eye Tutorial

There was a phase in my life when I wore NOTHING but green eyeshadow. I just thought it was such a sexy and flattering color. All you need for a sultry, smoky eye that stands out is a deep, vibrant green like MAC Humid or a discontinued pigment called Green. (I used that for this tutorial because I still have my large 7.5g jar from years ago, but use Humid or Antique Green pigment if you don't have it.)

I also added a touch of golden lime (MAC Golden Olive pigment) and a deep emerald green glitter called Capricorn. Now, in direct light, this glitter looks like a straight dark emerald green, but when the light shifts or when you're in the shade, it has a teal-blue shift. That's probably my favorite glitter out of the Zodiac range from Lime Crime, but a regular green would work anyday.

Step 1: I used black gel liner to create a slight cat-eye flick at the outer corner. This was done by drawing a line from the outer part of the lower lash line outwards, and then a second line from the outer corner fading in towards the center of the upper lid.

Don't worry about it looking too neat and precise. This acts as a sort of guiding line for the look.

Step 2: Using a flat brush, I blended the vibrant emerald green shadow all over the lid, JUST past the hollow of the socket line. For more drama, you can foil the shadow with a little Fix+, eye drop, or sealing liquid so it's more metallic. 

Be careful if you are using pressed shadows. You should add the moisture to the brush AFTER you pick up the shadow. Introducing fluids into the pan can end up ruining your shadow, depending on its formula, even if you're just using water.

At the outer corner, your shadow should extend straight out a little past the black liner applied earlier.

Step 3: Using a pencil brush, apply the pale lime green shade to the inner corner of the eye, blending a little inwards on the upper lid. Then pull more lime green along the socket line, along the edge of the deeper green applied earlier. 

Pull it to the center of the eye and then stop.

Step 4: Glitter time. Dampen the fine brush with sealant or clear mascara and then pick up some glitter. Gently apply it along the lash line, and then out along the black liner. Extend out along the edge of the green shadow applied earlier. Go over with a second coat of glitter right along the lash line and flick, just to intensify the sparkle.

If you're not able to find a duochrome glitter and want a more dimensional look, you can opt to go for a dark blue or teal glitter as well. It won't be duochrome, but the overall look will permanently look like the daylight image above, rather than shifting between emerald and teal depending on the light.

Step 5: Carefully curl lashes and apply mascara to finish. As the glitter is most intense along the lash line, I find wearing false lashes will obscure the whole look, so if you must, wear only natural-looking half strips.