Quite possibly the world’s most perfect eyeshadow

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Believe it or not, this universally flattering eyeshadow trick will work for women of any age or ethnicity. Whether you have aging skin and are faced with the problem of finding eyeshadows that will not settle in wrinkles, or if you’re fighting the “mother vs. teen daughter” battle over what makeup a teen or tween can wear without looking too mature or inappropriate — or you’re just someone who has trouble finding great eyeshadow colors for your skin tone, you’ve now got a great solution.

Pressed powder — yes, the stuff for your face — can make an excellent eyeshadow. Since face powder is formulated in natural shades that are designed to accurately match skin tone, you’ll find that, when applied to the eyes, the color is soft, subtle and natural. For a shade to highlight the brow bone, inner corners of your eyes, or to dab on the lid, simply pick a color that is 1-2 shades lighter than your own skin color. Similarly, if you’d like a darker shade for a crease color, pick a powder that is 1-2 shades darker than your natural skin color. Want an even more dramatic, smokey eye look, or a shadow to smudge on as a liner? Go for a shade that’s even darker.

By considering all face powders as potential eyeshadows, you open up a whole big, new world of possibilities — oil-absorbing matte powder for extremely oily prone skin (or to use as a no-slide eye makeup base), semi-matte for a velvety finish, or a wrinkle-fighting formula that protects the skin as it disguises flaws. Not to mention most powders are now also formulated to be long lasting, which means less eyemakeup mess and fewer reapplications.

The result — particularly if you buy colors from the same line — is a beautiful, highly blendable, low-fuss makeup look that can even be customized for your skin type. If your skin color changes enough that you need to buy different makeup for Winter and Summer, this trick is a great way to use up any leftover powder without having to throw it away. Plus, you get a whole compact full of makeup. Now tell me, what regular eyeshadow can do that?

To try this look out, Loreal True Match Powder is a great starting point, since most stores have a plastic color matching card that makes it easy to find an exact match for your skin tone. Once you’ve got that figured out, it’s a cinch to pick lighter or darker eye shades.

Another great choice is Tru Blend Pressed Powder by Covergirl. Since this “smart” powder works to match 97% of all skin tones, you get a really subtle, well-matched eyeshadow color when you deliberately choose shades that are darker or lighter than your own (since this powder really does match a wide number of skin tones, you’ll probably have to choose shades that appear much lighter or darker than your own).

Other great picks, simply because they have such a silky texture and high-quality pigment are Nars pressed powder and DiorSkin pressed powder.