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Mixing Mediums: DuWop, Glycerine, Water
Nov 13, 2008
in Beauty
I don't know about you, but I always want that extra punch of color out of my eye shadows. And that means mixing mediums. I've tried out quite a few and here's my two cents on these three.
DuWop
So, DuWop's Payoff is mostly just water and glycerine itself with a couple of other preservative type stuffs for good measure. Instructions are to drop a bit directly into your eyeshadow and use like always.
Pros: Easy to travel with, easy to use, decent staying power.
Cons: Potentially unsanitary, not quite as much pop to colors.
Overall rating: 3/5 when used as directed, 4/5 when you dip the brush directly into a drop of Payoff. (I like to use the kind of painting palette you can get at places like Michael's.)
Glycerine
Typically, glycerine gets watered down with at the very least equal parts water. My particular mix is a drop of glycerine to four drops of water.
Pros: Incredibly inexpensive, very good color payoff and staying power.
Cons: Difficult to get a consistent mix, not as easy to travel with as DuWop.
Overall rating: 4/5
Plain Old Water
Some people wet the brush directly, some people mix some water with some eyeshadow before the brush enters the picture. I wet the brush directly and dip it right into any color that I don't ever plan to use on anyone else. I also make sure to keep the shadow open until it dries to minimize the bacteria potential. If I might ever use the shadow on someone else, I put some into a painting palette and mix it there.
Pros: Basically free, easy, excellent color payoff.
Cons: Pain in the butt when you're not working in a bathroom, slightly less staying power than a glycerin mix.
Overall rating 4.5/5
All in all, the only thing I love above DuWop is the bottle. When I use it up, I'll probably keep the bottle and keep my own glycerin mix in it for travel. But on a regular basis, plain old tap water gives me the best color payoff and is easiest. Any longevity that glycerin has is mostly overshadowed by the color payoff of water. Plus it mixes better with stuff like Kryolan Aqua Paints.
What works best for you guys? Has anyone tried using other unconventional products as mixing mediums?
DuWop
So, DuWop's Payoff is mostly just water and glycerine itself with a couple of other preservative type stuffs for good measure. Instructions are to drop a bit directly into your eyeshadow and use like always.
Pros: Easy to travel with, easy to use, decent staying power.
Cons: Potentially unsanitary, not quite as much pop to colors.
Overall rating: 3/5 when used as directed, 4/5 when you dip the brush directly into a drop of Payoff. (I like to use the kind of painting palette you can get at places like Michael's.)
Glycerine
Typically, glycerine gets watered down with at the very least equal parts water. My particular mix is a drop of glycerine to four drops of water.
Pros: Incredibly inexpensive, very good color payoff and staying power.
Cons: Difficult to get a consistent mix, not as easy to travel with as DuWop.
Overall rating: 4/5
Plain Old Water
Some people wet the brush directly, some people mix some water with some eyeshadow before the brush enters the picture. I wet the brush directly and dip it right into any color that I don't ever plan to use on anyone else. I also make sure to keep the shadow open until it dries to minimize the bacteria potential. If I might ever use the shadow on someone else, I put some into a painting palette and mix it there.
Pros: Basically free, easy, excellent color payoff.
Cons: Pain in the butt when you're not working in a bathroom, slightly less staying power than a glycerin mix.
Overall rating 4.5/5
All in all, the only thing I love above DuWop is the bottle. When I use it up, I'll probably keep the bottle and keep my own glycerin mix in it for travel. But on a regular basis, plain old tap water gives me the best color payoff and is easiest. Any longevity that glycerin has is mostly overshadowed by the color payoff of water. Plus it mixes better with stuff like Kryolan Aqua Paints.
What works best for you guys? Has anyone tried using other unconventional products as mixing mediums?
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Comments (6)
I find that using Smashbox's primer (photo finish) works just as well for this situation. Great as a foundation primer and great for eyeshadow popping. Then it has multi-uses and I feel better about the not-so-cheap purchase (and it does last forever)
Totally good point. Also, the MAC paints I talked about using as a primer in another blog pop color very well. But on an everyday basis water = win for me. Primers sometimes add nice dimensions that water doesn't, but you could get nice dimension from layering eye shadows, too. I guess it's a matter of personal taste a lot of the time!
I've used different colored eyeshadow with Benefit's SheLaq, mostly as a dramatic eyeliner. Shelaq is not very conducive to all over color since it's a lacquer and you feel like you're wearing glue. It has excellent staying power and makes shadows/liners pop.
I never tried Shelaq, mostly because I mostly only wear black eyeliner. Thanks for the intel!
If you were to take a white pencil over lid where you want the most colour the shadow will really pop!
Great tip. Thanks for sharing!