Hello pussycats,
Anonymous Lovely Reader writes in,
I LOVE your blog. Thanks for taking time to share with the world in this way. You have had a positive effect on my life as I am now more aware of the implicit messages being sent by how I present myself. I now even dabble in make-up sometime.
In fact it is the make-up that brings me to my question. I just did a search of your previous blog entries and didn’t find anything that answered this question so I am writing directly to you. I rarely wear eye shadow, but had the opportunity to the other day. I went to put some on and realized that I had forgotten how to apply it in a fashionable way. I do understand the mechanics of applying it (brush on eyelid) but was mystified about where to put the contrasting color and if the contrast should be lighter or darker. Any tips would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Blessings,
AnonymousPS Regarding the eyeshadow, I always wear glasses and am nearsighted. This has the effect of making my eyes look smaller than they really are.
Darling Anon,
Thank you for your kind words and praise. It seriously means a lot to the ‘Bang to know that this blog has helped you to more intentionally put yourself out there as a public leader who looks the part.
Eyeshadow is no big deal. You might start with a nice smudgy brown eyeliner — say, something by Revlon or Cover Girl — and line just the top of your lid with it, blend, and be done. Be sure to go all the way to the end of your lid and all the way in (you’ll smudge the inner corner so much it will be barely perceptible, but it’s important not to line only part of your eye if you’re a newbie at it). Of course you’ll want to add mascara (and PB never goes a day without curling her eyelashes first — they’re long, so why wouldn’t I take the extra ten seconds it takes to do something that creates such fabulous results?). I usually smudge a much lighter, shimmery brown under my lower lash and leave off the mascara on the lower lashes because it can get smudgy. What you don’t want is to draw two harsh lines drawn around your eyes. Blend! Blend!
Another thing I like to do a lot is to smudge a dramatically dark brown shadow with some gold in it all along my lid, making a little window-washer gesture with the brush as I hit the crease (NEVER EVER use those useless, cheap applicator sponges they give you in the package!! They apply the product in an absolutely inferior manner, they’re like something BARBIE would use, for God’s sake!). Thlen I curl my eyelashes and apply a ton of mascara. You could do the same thing, but with a more muted color. You just have to play around with the colors. They often look far more pigmented in the package at the drugstore than they really are.
I like a dramatic eye and a subtle lip (try to avoid wearing a bold eye and a bold lip at the same time — if you’re doing a big red mouth, just do a soft wash of color on the lids, curl your lashes and add mascara. Make sure your skin is flawless but avoid lots of blush, too).
I’m not so into this “wear a neutral color all the way up to the brow and contrast with a deeper color in the crease” look, because frankly it can look very 1980’s and the next thing you know, you’ll be sporting ginormous shoulder pads or big floppy bows at the neck or some other tragic Murphy Brown or “Designing Women” look that we’d all do much better to put out of our minds immediately.
PeaceBang is also nearsighted and alternates between contacts and glasses that make her eyes look smaller. None of that matters, but what does matter is to think about what look you want for your day. Am you just doing some visits and spending some time at the office? A smudge on the upper eyelid and mascara will do. Are we preaching? If we are, then I spend some time with “special effects” because I want my eyes to project to the back of the sanctuary. If that means icing puffy eyes, then I do it. If that means adding a few false eyelashes because I’m tired and I don’t want to look it, then on they go.
I love and adore eye make-up. It can make us look entirely different. But there is a lot of BAD, BAD eye make-up out there, so until you feel confident following a period of exploration, keep it simple. Browns are good, matte shadows are good (applied with a small finger-shaped BRUSH, NOT a sponge applicator), things with a bit of shimmer in them are good but not all over the lid, and if you’re dramatic enough, liquid eyeliner can be your best friend, especially the waterproof formulations.
If you have sparse brows don’t forget to include them in your eye make-up preparation! I never, ever appear for an event unless my eyebrows have been carefully filled in with powder. They are such an important frame for the face, especially if you wear glasses!
Hope that helps, Lovey.
Ahh; eye make up – the great mystery is finally made less mysterious. Thanks, PB!
One trick to help your eyes look bigger is to use a lighter, neutral, color all over your lid, and then a slightly darker one blended on the outer 1/3 or so. And then blend it all up into your crease. You can use the same darker shadow on the outside 1/3 of your lower lash line, too, and line over that, smudging really well. This can give you a nice smoky look in neutral colors and isn’t too fussy. [Just to help clarify what Jess just said: use the slightly darker shade blended on the outer 1/3 of the eyelid close to the lashes, then blend up into the crease, again using the window-washer motion. She’s right. It’s a good technique. – PB]
OK, PB- now help us with the rest of it- eyebrows? I don’t want to look like one of those scary, older women with drawn on eyebrows, but Im at the age/have the coloring that my eyebrows disappear in striong light…what to do? What products to use? thanks
PB, could you do a pictoral demonstration? That would be easier to understand.
Yes, a photo play-by-play would be really helpful! Where would you recommend to visit for real-life help – Sephora? a dept. store? do you make house calls? 🙂
And never forget the beauty queen’s secret formula for puffy morning eyes: hemorrhoid cream. Dab it on under the eyes and spread it thinly about 15 minutes before adding make-up.
Amen on the Preparation H. Works every time. And the slight shellfish scent disappears quickly.
Just a caution, though! This is a treatment that should be used once in a while, not every day.
VERY fascinated by this post – would love to see it in pictures too!
Question about the browns: I have pink and white skin, light brown hair, and blue eyes. I look best in cool colors, particularly blue. I avoid wearing brown next to my face, as it is warm and has yellow undertones. Do you still recommend browns for me? When I go beyond mascara, I usually made a nice smudgy navy line on my upper eyelid.
Thanks PB. I wear eye makeup, but basic tips are always good to remember. Jess thank you for the quick smoky eye too!
Shawna
I’ve found a good solution in Almay products. The have a series of co-ordinating eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, lipgloss and who knows what else. You choose based on your eye color and between a more muted or slightly more dramatic look. And the eye shadow comes with directions — illustrated directions! — for how to best apply it. I’ve used both the eye shadow/liner/mascara for brown eyes and gotten quite a number of compliments with each.
Friend with cool complexion: I just read an article saying that grey is the new brown. Seems a pale grey would be a great option for your cool tones!
Friend with the brow question: brow pencil or brow powder (much like eyeshadow). Gently apply within the brow you alread have (ie no drawing) and even if they’re becoming invisible, pluck enough to keep the shape.
Folks who want pictures: lots of fashion magazine sites have these. Or try real simple or O mag. Sometimes the combo three (or four)-shadow sets have drawings on the back.
Like Jeannie mentioned, some have drawings on the back. Those nice little Maybelline shadow quads have each shadow labelled “lid,” “crease”, “brow bone” and “outer corner” — they also have a diagram on the back to show where to put each one if you want to do the full highlighted effect… though you may not follow their exact directions its helpful in putting shades together.
http://www.maybelline.com/Product/Eye/Eyeshadow/expert-wear-eye-shadow-quads.htm
I have sensitive eyes and find their products non-irritating, plus they last fairly well throughout the day
Revlon has a similar product with 4 coordinated colours, but without the diagram/labels
Ah, you bring out the Macy’s in me with this one!
I can’t say enough about stopping by Prescriptives to have them do your colors. A good Prescriptives professional will bring out undertones in both your skin and eye colors. She (sometimes he) will put you in colors that look bizarre in the box but disappear into your face for just a more generally healthy look.
Complimentary makeovers also teach you to deal with quirks like glasses, deep set eyes, close set eyes (I have ALL THREE!) and nose shapes that have potential (mine doesn’t).
For us fair ones, Clinique has a really good eyebrow powder, called Wheat. It blends perfectly with my yellow Prescriptives eyeshadow base. DO NOT SKIMP — begin with the best eyebrow waxing professional you can find, and keep them up (or down). Even fair folks get stray hairs.
The more you appear to do around your eyes, the more you ought to do on the rest of your face. For casual but not sloppy, I do a light matte powder and really delicate brush, with the surpluses dusted off with a second brush. A little gloss and off we go!
Don’t worry about drawn on eyebrows, I draw mine on every morning and noone notices:) The trick is to be soft and put powder on to stop smudging.
For being near-sighted, I have that issue as well. Use a ligher, mabey shimmer colour in the corner of your eyes blending out with a darker shade. Remeber to blend well:) Use a liner only on the top lid. Colours dont matter, use what you wand, any colour can go with any skin or eyes, its the shade of it that matters. Find a shade that works for you.