Whether you’re heading out to party hard, or planning a cosy event indoors, it's great fun to up the glamour. However, if like us, you're skin flares up easily, you're wary about what you put on your skin. With that in mind, here are our top tips for sensitive eye makeup and cleansing to ensure you ooze glitz and glamour and aren't left feeling sore or stingy.

Create an Ace Base for Sensitive Eye Makeup:

Even if you have oily skin, you need to use a moisturiser before applying your makeup to stop it from being absorbed or sliding right off your face.

This means less reapplication and less product being pushed into your pores.

We love a light moisturiser BEFORE applying makeup to provide a primer. -  Odylique's Timeless Rose Moisturiser is a fantastic light moisturiser to use as a makeup base.

PRO BEAUTY TIP: Avoid silicone based ‘smoothing’ primers. Whilst they do create a smooth finish, they really irritate the skin and are highly comedogenic (pore blocking) and you can get the same results with really good brushes.

Apply Eye Makeup First

Now your skin is properly prepped, it’s time to apply your makeup.

We advise applying your eye makeup FIRST. Why? For minimalism: Instead of re-applying foundation over any product fallout, you can do your eyes and then only apply ONE layer of foundation or concealer over the top.

Choose your eye makeup products carefully. - The best makeup for sensitive eyes contains pure minerals and is free from artificial ingredients (like Odylique's). Products that use soothing plant extracts are generally more compatible with sensitive skin.   

Apply a line of colour using a brown pencil just above the socket line, and one just above the lash line then blend out with an eye-shadow brush, joining them at the outer corners of the eye.

PRO BEAUTY TIP: Sensitive eye makeup is also in the application technique. - Warm your liner between your fingers, or with a hairdryer for ten seconds. This ensures it doesn’t drag across the eye line and trigger irritation.

From here, apply a lighter colour to the socket, and a pop of a very light eyeshadow on the inner corner of the eyes to create a wide effect. Choose an all-natural eye shadow brand like Odylique - our organic eye shadows contain soothing herbal extracts that care for the skin. 

Finish with two coats of organic, fibre free mascara. Whilst fibre-based mascaras do add length, they also cause huge irritation for the lashes.

Odylique mascaras are smudge-resistant and packed with deeply conditioning plant extracts like aloe vera, calendula and sea buckthorn fruit to beautifully define and care for your lashes. Simply curl the lashes for a better effect.

Glow for Glamour:

To finish off your makeup, apply foundation using a brush or sponge, and use a concealer across any areas you want to improve the look of.

Dust a pink toned blush over your cheeks and a super bright lipstick to lift your look. Our peach melba is a great choice for all skin tones, without being too intimidating. Just blot with tissue and reapply for lasting power without dryness.

Cleanse with Kindness:

Eye makeup, especially darker eye shadows and waterproof mascaras, can be hard to remove.

The skin around your eyes is thin, delicate and doesn’t produce as much moisture as areas like the cheeks, so becomes red and damaged very quickly. Long term this can lead to fine lines and wrinkles.

The answer is in the texture of what you remove your makeup with. Steer clear of sulphate or soap-based washes for this type of makeup, and instead cleanse with a really good oil or balm (our Calendula Balm is a lovely, gentle makeup remover for sensitive eyes).

Don’t rub at the eyes, gently massage the balm over the eye area working from the inside out. Then using a natural, organic face cloth dampened in warm water, hold the cloth over the eyes for 30 seconds, then gently pat the colour and product off the eyes. Rinse and repeat until all the colour is gone.

The extra bonus of this technique is it removes ‘post night out panda eye’ – that lovely effect when makeup gets stuck under the eye and every time you wipe it, it gets worse.

Finish with a double cleanse of the rest of the face, and spritz with a soothing facial tonic (look for ingredients like calming, anti-inflammatory rose, or chamomile as opposed to citrus, which tends to be clarifying).

PRO BEAUTY TIP: You can also use your spritz to set your makeup and refresh it through the night, avoiding lots of reapplying.

For more advice on sensitive skin, ask our organic skincare experts today