I got all the nostalgic feels with this late ’90s-inspired look with bright blue inner corners (thanks, MAC Tilt). Was anybody else obsessed with blazingly bright inner corner highlights way back when? I most certainly was. I usually rocked MAC Vex around the tear ducts. (Side note: normally accompanied by a frosty brow bone and HELLA SKINNY brows, OMG!)
I felt like revisiting old-school inner corner highlights with this look because I saw a character wearing something similar on a show I just started watching on Netflix called Spinning Out.
It’s a drama about some Olympic hopeful ice skaters (January Jones of Mad Men fame is in it), and if you start watching it, just FYI, 1) there’s more drama than actual skating, and 2) you won’t be able to look away, because something over-the-top happens to the characters every five minutes. It’s not Melrose Place in the ’90s caliber bat-sh*t cray, but it’s pretty close.
Anywho…like I was saying, one of the main characters wore a similar look with a shimmery blue inner corner highlight to a skating competition. I, on the other hand, wore it around the house to do laundry. 🙂 I did keep it on when I left to pick up Connor at preschool, but I buffed down the blue quite a bit to make it more wearable and less in-your-face.
The pencil brush is your friend.
It had been a while since I wore such a bold statement inner corner, and doing so reminded me that a pencil brush is your friend, especially when you’re placing shadow in a tight space like the inner corner.
Sure, you could easily press some shadow there with your finger — and that’s something I do all the time with shimmery peaches, beiges and pinks for a soft highlight — but if you want concentrated, intense color, grab a pencil brush.
I like to start by applying the shadow around the inner corner with the pencil brush. Then I wet the brush head with a setting spray, dip it back into the same eyeshadow (don’t forget to tap off the excess), and apply the just around the tear duct to intensify the color and shimmer and create a subtle gradient.
Then, I take another pencil brush and soften out the edges.
I think this effect looks super cool with many different colors — blue, green, light purple, even pink!
Speaking of ice skating…
Another potential side effect of watching Spinning Out has been that I fell into a rabbit hole of subsequently watching a slew of historic Olympic ice skating performances on YouTube. This one by Michelle Kwan from 2002 in Salt Lake City made me tear up a little (OK, a lot).
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
The pink and blue reminds me of the late 80s. 🙂 Your lashes are looking LUSH, my friend! Figure skaters are the real deal. No padding and many, many hard falls along the way.
I rocked bright pink and blue circa 1990!
I love the blue inner corners! Bright inner corners are very on trend now, too.
Thanks, Rachel! 🙂
As I have very wideset eyes, I adore placing colors onto my inner corners! Sometimes it sparkles there, sometimes it smokes. The blue looks swell on you.
Ice skating is my favorite sport to watch. As a dancer, it is fun to figure out which skaters are studying ballet. I know it is hard to point your foot in a skate boot, but some do manage it! ??
Hi Mary,
Thank you! 🙂
Are you a ballet dancer? My daughter is learning ballet! I’ll never forget taking her to Nutcracker last year. Right after the show, the first thing she said was, “Mama, I want to watch it again!”
Love the inner corner highlight. Love your lush lashes too. I miss skating but I don’t miss the constantly bruised legs and bum. Yes I fell a lot. In Tokyo right now. Forgot to pack foundation. Guess I need to go makeup shopping while Dear Husband is at work.
I guess you need to go! Maybe pick up a few more cool brushes along with your foundation? 🙂
Hi! Great eyeshadow look! What is the pink shade?