If you’re on a budget, I’d recomend Barry M Dazzle Dust. You can buy it here or in most Superdrug stores, and if you catch it at the right time, Superdrug often do 3 for £10 offers, which is when I got my three

If you’re ready to splash out a bit more, then Urban Decay Deluxe Eyeshadows may be for you. They retail at about £12 and most larger Boots stores stock it. You can also view and buy the whole range here. I only have one of these eyeshadows (Peace) but it really is very good. And the packaging is pretty funky; each colour has it’s own design and they come with a mirror, brilliant for popping into your bag on a night out for emergency top ups (not that I’ve ever needed that with this stuff, it really does stay well)

When applying eyeshadow, it really is important to have a range of brushes. They don’t have to be amazing; mine are pretty decent (my mum got them in a gift set that came free with her perfume, but she already had the brushes, so I ended up with them), but they don’t have to be. Variety is really the most important thing, but in my opinion, the most essential brush is the medium one with a slant cut along the bristles; its brilliant for getting the eyeshadow in all the right places.

Another essential is sponge applicators. I would advise you to get a nice big pack of them, enough for one per shade of eyeshadow. Double ended applicators like these are perfect because you can use the fat end to smudge and blend the basic colour(s) and the small, thinner end for finer detail or even just a thin line of colour above your eyelashes for a subtle look.

Don’t limit yourself to what I’ve put here; I haven’t tried everything because, quite frankly, I can’t afford to, and theres only so many testers you can try! Experiment, have fun, but DON’T buy stupidly cheap stuff; it rubs off, so whats the point?