Eyeshadow is sold by colour and used by finish. The finish decides where a shade can go and who it suits, which makes it the more useful thing to understand.

Matte

No shine at all. The workhorse.

Use for: the crease and outer corner, where you want depth. Matte shades recede visually, which is what creates the illusion of dimension.

Suits: everyone, and particularly mature or textured lids, where shimmer settles into fine lines.

If you own one shadow, make it a mid-tone matte.

Satin

A soft sheen without visible sparkle — between matte and shimmer.

Use for: the whole lid as an everyday base. It catches light gently and looks polished without being obviously shiny.

Suits: most people, including those who find shimmer too much for daytime.

Shimmer

Visible reflective particles.

Use for: the centre of the lid, the inner corner, under the brow. Anywhere you want to bring forward and brighten.

Careful with: lids with fine lines or crepey texture — shimmer highlights exactly what it lands on. Keeping it to the inner corner alone avoids this.

Glitter and metallic

Larger particles, high impact.

Use for: evenings, and applied with a fingertip or a sticky base rather than a brush, which loses most of it.

Expect fallout. Do your eyes before your base so you can wipe it away.

Cream

A texture rather than a finish — available matte, satin or shimmer.

Use for: speed, and for dry or mature lids where powder settles into lines. Sets in about thirty seconds and does not move afterwards.

Needs: a primed lid, or it creases.

Pencil and stick

Cream in a portable format. Draw on, blend immediately with a fingertip.

Use for: travel and quick routines. Limited for elaborate blending, excellent for one shade applied in ten seconds.

Choosing a first set

Three matte neutrals — light, mid, dark — plus one satin for the lid covers virtually every daytime look. Add shimmer and colour once the basic gradient is second nature.

The finish matters more than the shade for how a look reads, and matte is the one that does the structural work.

For placement by eye shape, see the eyeshadow guide in the makeup section.