Sparkle & Shine this Holiday Season
As much as I love the look of smokey eyes, they tend to overpower natural beauty.That crisp blue is lost under heavy lids of black. Complex and textured brown turns muddy and unremarkable next to deep, unnatural shades. A perfect face shape is quickly overshadowed by piles of makeup. To me, nothing is worse than covering up and downplaying natural beauty. Because of this, I have never actually tried to wear smokey eyes. You may be gasping in disbelief, but it’s true! Miss Makeup Gal herself avoids the smoldering smokey eye. But when I saw smokey eyes in some of the Fall 2012 fashion shows, I knew they were onto something. They were, of course, over the top, as fashion shows infamously are. But with a little tweaking, I discovered that the sparkly and silvery shades on the eye could result in a look that is festive, wintry, and not too overwhelming. A look in which the makeup does not compete with the glow of natural beauty.
Prep your face with your favorite cream or liquid foundation, concealing as needed. With the same concealer, cover your eyelids from lash line to brow. This makes for a quick and easy eyeshadow base. Also fill your brows thoroughly.Pat a shimmery, silvery eyeshadow all over your lid. Also apply it in the inner half of your lower lash line.
Stroke a smokey gray into a slight S shape in the crease area of your eye, beginning just at the end of your eyebrow and stretching to the inner corner of your eye. This balanced, nottoo-thick application over the center of your eye helps keep the look from “reshaping” your face. Putting more dark shadow into the inner corner will cause your eyes to appear closer together,while putting more on the outer corner will make them appear farther apart. When even in both inner and outer corners,your eyes will appear the same distance apart as without makeup. Feel free to play with the shaping in this step! It’s fun to see what you can do with just a little shadow and a brush.
With small brush, apply a matte white just below your eyebrow. Be careful to keep the edge in an arch shape. If you flatten it, it will give you an angry, hooded look. Keep it rounded and soft. At this point, lightly smudge the gray under the outer half of your lower lash line, connecting it with the gray from the previous step.
Blend the white and gray thoroughly, keeping the rounded shape. This step also allows you to tweak the exact shape of the white/gray edge. Touch it up several times until you’re happy with it. At this point, very thinly line your upper lash line with the gray. You don’t want an obvious line, just enough to visually thicken your lashes.
To finish: Apply black mascara to your lashes and an almost nude, muted rose lipstick to your lips.
Products used:
Face: • Bellus Mineral Crème Foundation
• Monave Eyeliner Pencil Espresso (works quite well for the brows)
Eyes: • Afterglow Organic Aloe Concealer
• Monave Versatile Mineral Powders: Silver #1, Sabotage #93, Semi-Matte White #61m
• Emani Soy Mascara Midnight
Lips: • Red Apple Lipstick Lip Pencil: Mocha
• Red Apple Lipstick Secrets
