When sitting at your easel (or vanity table, if that’s your thing), there are an infinite amount of ways you can go about applying your makeup. Ranging from the brash and carefree strokes of a sultry, rebellious smoky eye to the calculated precision of the perfect winged liner, eye makeup techniques have much in common with those used by the world’s best painters.

This spring, in particular, the watercolor look is set to make a major splash in the eye shadow department, with bright, vibrant colors running the gamut.

“You start with a little bit of color,” makeup artist Abby Prather told the Indianapolis Star. “Put that on your lashline, and blend that out until it almost disappears – like a watercolor painting. It’s that ’70s look that’s very soft and blended in.”

To do it like a true pro, it’s well worth your while to invest in some high quality brushes. The Jane Iredale Eye Shader Brush and Crease Brush will lend you the perfect painterly tools to create your makeup masterpiece.