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Liquid eyeshadow is the ideal one-and-done product - high impact, minimal effort.
Stila Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow comes in a wide array of colors and finishes that stay put even when you're dancing the night away (or falling asleep on your morning commute).
Liquid eyeshadow is intimidating. Powder and cream formulas are more intuitive - apply them with brushes, fingers, or some combination of the two - and bam, you have an eyeshadow look. But most liquid eyeshadows have a doe-foot applicator or brush already attached, and while that might be appealing, it's also a little scary. Eyeshadow is all about control, isn't it?
In reality, a good liquid eyeshadow is that Holy Grail beauty product that gives you a complete eye-look in two-seconds flat. Swipe it over your lids, tap out the edges with a fingertip, and, viola, instant glamour and definition.
I reach for liquid eyeshadows on two occasions: when I want a subtle eye-look with little to no effort or when I want something high-impact with little to no effort. If a liquid eyeshadow requires a ton of finagling, it's because either the formula or the applicator isn't quite right for your needs. I've sourced five top picks in a variety of finishes to help you build your collection - researched and tested.
Here are the best liquid eyeshadows you can buy in 2019:
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Stila's take on a liquid shadow is special because it's just solid, opaque, budge-proof glitter. Finally, a way to wear glitter without half of it ending up on your cheeks by the end of the night. I wore Stila throughout the holiday season and received many compliments on my makeup.
Plus, you won't find flecks of this stuff on your clothing for years to come after wearing them just once. And trust me, you'll want to wear this a lot more than just once. It is gorgeous and single-handedly turned me into a "glitter person."
Available in 17 shades, you have a ton of options. Keep in mind that all of them are high-glam. These are not your subtle, everyday shadows unless you're the type to wear glitter to the office; in that case, please keep doing you.
These stunning shadows have garnered rave reviews at Glamour and Allure, not to mention countless beauty gurus on YouTube.
Pros: Flake-free glitter, long-lasting, easy to apply
Easy on the budget, Revlon PhotoReady Eye Art is the combo liquid eyeshadow and glitter of your dreams. Layer the liquid glitter on top of the metallic cream shadow for a highly pigmented look.
Stock up on some Revlon PhotoReady Eye Art to get a healthy dose of glitter in your life without the painful price tag. For less than $10 you get two shadows — a pigmented metallic cream on one side and a glitter on the other.
Reviewers love the color payoff and the amount of shimmer you get for the price tag, though some note that the product takes a while to dry on the lids, so you'll have to be careful not to smudge it before it locks into place. If you're not a regular glitter user, this is a great option to pick up for those rare occasions when you want to go all out.
The customization aspect is also cool; the glitter is designed to layer on top of the metallic liquid shadow, so you can use it as a liner for sparkly dimension or lay it all over the lid for a super shimmery look. These shadows come highly recommended by Teen Vogue, Allure, and 74% of customers on Ulta's website.
Pros: Double-sided glitter and liquid shadow, affordable, easy to use
Cons: Takes a while to dry, some reviewers experienced glitter peeling
Glossier Lidstar gives you a sheer yet buildable wash of shimmery color that will have you glowing like the '90s pop star you truly are inside.
Sometimes, you really just need to channel that moment in "Ever After." You know, when Drew Barrymore rolls up to the ball looking like a model in the prom-night spread from a Delia's catalog?
Glossier Lidstar is the answer to all of my "missed out on the fun parts of the '90s because I was younger than 10-years-old" prayers. It's a sheer wash of color (an "eye glow," if you will) that distributes subtle shimmer with the wave of the applicator. I use the doe-foot to sweep the color liberally across my eyelid, then blend with my fingertips.
All six of the shades are very sheer, but you can build them up as long as you give the formula a few seconds to dry between coats. Otherwise, you risk erasing some of the color you've already laid down. Choosing just one favorite is impossible — like choosing a favorite child, I'd imagine — but I'm partial to Fawn (smoky taupe) and Lily (sheer lilac).
Another reason I love these so much? They pair together beautifully. As Allure points out, you can use just one Lidstar for a really simple look, or combine two or three. They dry down and stay put, so make sure you blend quickly so you don't get clumps of shadow stuck where you don't want them.
The Milk Makeup Eye Pigment is a liquid-meets-cream, high-impact shadow that comes in a squeeze tube and doesn't move until you're ready to wash it off.
I love the Milk Makeup Eye Pigment for the exact opposite reason that I love the Glossier Lidstar — because of just how not subtle it is. This is more like a thick cream in a tube than a true liquid, but it's more slippery than cream shadows in jar or pencil form tend to be. The tiniest dot of the product creates a solid wall of metallic color across your entire eyelid in about half-a-second. Once it dries, it's not moving until you attack it with makeup remover.
The color selection is stunning (I'm partial to lavender Jam Room and bronze Gig). Because you only have a few seconds to play before the eyeshadow locks into place, I recommend squeezing a tiny bit onto the back of your hand and applying to the eyelids with fingertips or a flat brush for maximum control over where the product ends up.
There's no built-in applicator so these can be a little unwieldy to apply to targeted areas of your eye. Keep a few cotton swabs soaked with makeup remover on hand to clean up any mistakes, for more precise application. But for staying power and pigmentation (without chunks of glitter) you can't beat the Milk Makeup Eye Pigments. Editors at Byrdie and Glamour agree.
Pros: Long-lasting, metallic, beautiful colors
Cons: Dries down super fast and can be hard to work with
I try a lot of makeup, and it's pretty rare that something brand-new becomes an instant fave. But that's exactly what happened when I got my hands on the newly-launched Smith & Cult Glitterbaby Metallic-Shift Eyeshadow.
This is one of the most truly innovative eyeshadows I've tried in a while. Straight out of the tube they look like typical metallic glitters, but as you blend they become smoky and multidimensional. Each color contains black micronized pigments that activate when you rub the product in, creating a look that appears complex but is actually super simple to achieve.
Currently available in 12 unique shades, Glitterbaby boasts a "crease-proof finish." The paddle-shaped applicator comes to a gentle point, enabling a more precise application. "[T]here's absolutely no creasing, no transferring, and no sad fading throughout the day," Cosmopolitan editor Brooke Shunatona wrote.
I actually did notice a tiny bit of creasing after a few hours, but it was minimal and actually added an appealing grunginess to my eye look.
Pros: Easy to use, creates a smoky eye with one shadow, long-lasting
