 In today's video I want to try this new eyeshadow hack which is essentially swiping on eyeshadows with a sponge tip applicator, yes those sponge tip applicators that we always used to throw away and then blending them for a quick and easy eyeshadow look. It looks really interesting so I wanted to film my first attempts at it and I only briefly watched the video because I didn't want my makeup artistry background to affect how I would approach this so we're going at this from a complete beginner's point of view. So I've primed my lids, not sure if there's a particular way to prime it so I just did it the way that I always do. And I picked an eyeshadow palette with four eyeshadows. This palette comes with sponge tip applicators so it seemed like the best palette for this look. So I loaded up my sponge tip and starting on the outer edge I pressed it down. I'm not sure if you're supposed to go from light to dark, I don't think it probably matters. Flipped the sponge over and pressed the next one and then I used a clean sponge wand to do the medium light and the light on that inner corner. So then we have something that looks like this and essentially you're just supposed to blend. I don't remember if you're supposed to use a particular blending brush but the sake of it I use the one that I always use because if it's an easy look you should just be able to use anything rather than a particular brush. And here is the finished look so yes I have eyeshadows on my lid. I have four eyeshadows on my lid and they're all kind of blended together and they look really muddy so obviously I've done something wrong here. So let's try to avoid this muddy finish and let's try again. Let's try with matte shades. I have a matte contour and I have a matte mid-tone and let's try to just apply them two at a time instead of four or three at a time. So I loaded up my sponge and I did a swipe of my contour and then next to that I did a swipe of my mid-tone and then we should end up with something that looks like this. I want to avoid over blending so I'm using a smaller more tapered brush, this gives me a little bit more control and I want to slowly start to blend these. Now from a makeup artist's point of view, blending your contour and your mid-tone together is going to get a muddy finish. I'm going to lose some depth from that contour and then I'm going to lose that soft blend from my mid-tone. So I use the over and back motion. I would assume that's not how you're supposed to do this. I would assume you're probably supposed to just blur the edges of the two shadows together. If you are in fact supposed to just blur the two of the eyeshadows together at the very edge, then that would mean you're going to have to be more precise about where you're applying them in the first place with each swipe of the sponged-up applicator, which doesn't seem like it's a very easy thing to do for all eye shapes and all eye shadow application styles. So that's just something to consider. There's obviously something I'm doing wrong here because I've got this muddy finish again, but let's just finish it off with that medium light and the light on that inner corner this time. I'm blending over everything that I've applied so hopefully that should stop it from being so muddy. I had to use a clean blending brush to blend these two together, which is another thing to consider. If you're using this on two eyes, you're going to need to switch up your application. Again, here we go. We have this muddy finish. I actually think my first attempt was better than this one. If we compare the two, at least I have a little bit more depth in the first one, even if it looks a little patchy on even. Now my eyes are going to fall off at this stage, but we're going to try again. Let's try another way of doing this. Let's swipe the eyeshadows on one at a time. So I'm starting with that mid-tone placing on the outer edge, which is where I would always start my mid-tone when I'm using a brush, and I'm going to blend this across the lid and into the crease, and I'm using a round blending brush for this blend. Now one swipe of eyeshadow just isn't going to be enough. I know that. I'm getting a very uneven finish. I also found every time I went to swipe on more, I was hitting my cheek. So that's something to watch out for. It depends on your eye shape, but I was hitting my cheek. I'm just going to take a couple of attempts to swipe on enough eyeshadow to completely cover this area and get a nice blend. So then it made me think, okay, so maybe you're supposed to do all of this first because a simple wash of color all over the lid and into the crease would take very little effort. You just dip your brush into your mid-tone and then start on the outer edge blending, blending, blending. You might need to pick it up a few times, but it's a much easier than stopping and using the sponge and then blending. So again, we've avoided that muddy finish because we have just used one eye shadow. So let's just continue. Let's pretend you're supposed to do all your base work with your mid-tone in your crease and on your lid and let's just, let's just continue. Let's continue with the contour. I'm going to apply that contour exactly where I want it, which I wanted at the lash line for some depth. So I'm going to swipe it on there and then I'm going to very slowly start to blur and blend. One thing I noticed, this sponge as it swipes on does not apply an even layer. So when I'm smudging, I'm blending, I'm kicking up a little bit of eyeshadow, just a very small amount, getting a bit of fallout here and I'm also getting it in other areas that I don't want it on the lid. So one thing I would say is if you're using your darker eye shadows with your sponge tip, apply a very small amount, smudge and then apply a little bit and build it up and then go in with your brush. I should keep it quite sharp for you and avoid that overblended, muddy look. Now the results weren't bad from this. I have some depth. I have a nice blend. It's not muddy. Yes, it took a few extra steps, but it's actually pretty good. Now I'm afraid of messing up with my lighter shade, so I should use my fingertips. And the thing about fingertips is you can control the placement a little bit better and also control the pressure. So that's just something to consider. And then here we have the finished look. I have four eyeshadows on my lid. I have depth. I have a nice blend. I'm pretty happy with this, but compare that to a look that I did using a brush and there's not that much of a difference. Both of them were very easy to do, but both of them you need to have an understanding of the technique. So is one technique better than the other? Not necessarily. If you want eyeshadows on your lid very quickly, then this technique is kind of fun. It's easy. It gets the eyeshadows on there. It could be a great way of working with different colors, working with different finishes. I could see that being a pretty fun, cool way of trying eyeshadows, particularly for beginners. However, I do have lots of videos for beginners where you can learn different techniques and different applications and where it should be applied. So I think you have either way. You can try the more traditional, you can try the hack. I don't see myself doing it that often, but it is kind of a fun little thing to do. I'm actually going to go off and I'm going to watch the videos, the multiple videos of people trying this because maybe I'm completely wrong. If I am completely wrong, I'll come back and do a video with a little bit more detail. But as always, my friends, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and I'll see you in the next one.