It's entirely up to you whether or not you want to wear foundation but a quick substitute would be pressed powder as this will even out your skin tone, prevent shine and it's quicker than foundation to apply when you have little time. Just sweep some over the areas of your face that you need it. Or you can use a tinted moisturiser. Obviously if you choose to wear foundation you should allow yourself more time. In all of these looks I am wearing liquid foundation (MAC Studio Fix in NW15) and blusher (No7 Mineral Blusher in 'Petal'). I used Urban Decay Primer Potion as my base. (See my upcoming review on this product to find out what it's like and how to use it.)
From The Base Up
Apply a good base first. A base is either a creme shadow or eye primer that you apply to your lids before you put your eye shadow on. You can use any creme shadow or eye primer of your choice. A base gives your eye shadow something to stick to and this is important because it will stop your eye shadow fading, creasing or sliding off.
Apply Shadow
Next choose a shadow and pat it all over the lid with an eye shadow brush. Neutral colours work better for the day because they aren't overwhelming.
Colours I recommend for a daytime look include: taupe, light brown, peach, light mint green, lavender, baby pink, baby blue and ivory.
Line With Eye Shadow
If you think a shadow alone looks too 'flat' or 'one dimensional' on your eyes you could always take a plain black eye shadow and line half of the outer portion of your lids (go in between the lashes with the black shadow using a slanted liner brush to give the lashes a fuller appearence) and create a very thin 'wing' with the black shadow to give the shadow a bit of a kick. Using a dark shadow to line your eyes is much faster than using liquid liner and is much less harsh for the daytime. Take some shadow on your brush and pat it onto the lash line first before blending to make sure the colour shows up well.
Here's a few shadows I would wear in the day:
No7 Mono Shadow in 'Tender'
No7 Mono Shadow in 'Magnolia'
Bourjouis Liquid Shadow in 'Beige Metallique'
No17 Mono Shadow in 'Statuesque'
Natural Collection Mono Shadow in 'Milk Chocolate'
Finish by lining your waterlines with either a brown or black eye liner pencil and about two layers of mascara on the top lashes only. If you do choose to put mascara on your lower lashes I would suggest only going lightly. Too much will create a darker, heavier appearence that's more suited for night time.
