“Painterly” is the defining beauty technique of the season—and just like any fine art form, mastering it requires the right tools. If you want to replicate this high-fashion finish, a little backstage DIY is a must.

Below, makeup artist Booya breaks down her exact process using a mix of bold pigments and an ingenious brush hack.

The Product Breakdown

The Base: Kiko Milano Glamour Multi Finish Palette (in blue shades)

The Texture: BYS Glitter Fix Primer

For the eyeshadow base, makeup artist Booya used the blue shades in the Kiko Milano Glamour Multi Finish Palette in Blue Variations. Then she crushed the silver pigments from the same palette and used the BYS Glitter Fix Primer to “create a liquid metallic texture.”

Here’s how to recreate the look on your own.

Step-by-Step: How to Create the Textured Metallic Look

1. Lay the vibrant base.

Start by applying the deep blue shades from the Kiko Milano Glamour Multi Finish Palette across the lids to establish a rich, dramatic foundation.

2. Mix your own liquid metal.

Crush the silver pigments from the same Kiko Milano palette, then blend them with the BYS Glitter Fix Primer. “This creates a bespoke, liquid metallic texture,” Booya notes.

3. The DIY Brush Hack

“I cut out some bristles of a flat brush to make it more sparse, and I used that to apply the silver pigment,” says Booya. “That’s what gives the eyeshadow a streaky, painterly look.”

Photography by: Josh Tolentino, assisted by Rojan Maguyon. Makeup: Booya. Hair: JA Feliciano. Model: Sophia Santamaria of PMAP.

Frequently Asked Questions

The painterly eyeshadow trend replicates the look of loose, expressive brushwork on the eye — streaky, textured, and multi-dimensional rather than blended smooth. Makeup artist Booya achieves it by combining bold pigments with a liquid metallic texture and applying the result with a deliberately modified sparse brush, which distributes product unevenly and creates the characteristic sketch-like finish.

Booya uses two products: the Kiko Milano Glamour Multi Finish Palette in Blue Variations as the eyeshadow base, and the BYS Glitter Fix Primer as a binding agent for the silver pigments crushed from the same palette. The primer converts the dry pigment into a liquid metallic texture that can be applied with a brush for a high-shine, painterly finish.

Booya cuts out a portion of the bristles from a flat brush, making it deliberately sparse and uneven. When used to apply the liquid silver pigment mixture, the reduced bristle density deposits product in irregular, streaky patterns rather than smooth coverage — producing the expressive, sketch-like strokes that define the painterly eyeshadow look.

Crush the silver pigments from a pressed eyeshadow palette — Booya uses the Kiko Milano Glamour Multi Finish Palette — into a fine powder, then blend them with a glitter fix primer such as BYS Glitter Fix Primer. The primer binds the loose pigment into a thick, high-shine paste that applies like a liquid metallic product without requiring a separately purchased formula.

Yes — the technique is intentionally DIY-friendly. The only modification needed is cutting bristles from a standard flat brush to make it sparse, which requires no professional equipment. The products used (Kiko Milano palette and BYS Glitter Fix Primer) are accessible, mid-range items rather than professional-grade cosmetics, making the look achievable without a makeup artist’s kit.

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