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The Look: Smoky Eyes
By TheBeautyEditor | June 23, 2007
A beauty look that can be worn day or night with the same dramatic effect is boldly lined, dark eyes with a neutral lip, a la Gwen Stefani.
For some women, this look is utilized with regularity. But for others, heavy eye makeup may be a bit daunting. One way to feel more comfortable with darkly lined eyes is to find a product that will stay put. You don’t want to look fabulous for the first ten minutes only to have yor eye makeup run and leave you looking like a raccoon that recently got into a fight. That is why MAC is one of my favorite beauty brands, in large part because the colors are bold, the products last forever, and the products stay put. MAC’s Fluidline gel eyeliner, which you apply with a brush, is just about foolproof. It gives the look of a liquid liner without needing to have a surgeon’s hands to apply it. Even better, the texture of this product looks like liquid liner that has been set with powder, giving it slight natural smudge, which is exactly what you are going for, all in one step.
This is real life, not the makeup artist’s chair, so streamlining the process is best. Use a big, fluffy brush for your eyeshadow and a finer brush for the liner, and use a loose hand. Don’t worry, it will look good! Using the blending brush, sweep on a neutral color eyeshadow, in a taupe shade, and a neutral brown on the browline just to define your bone structure. Then use the finer brush to put on the Fluidline. The finer the brush you use, the thinner the line you will dray. You can use a fatter flat brush to great effect, which is what I do, and the width of the brush allows you to use a much freer hand (translation: you can really brush on the line with speed). Experiment with the line you draw: extend it past the outer edge of your lash line, curving it upward or extending it straight out or draw the line thicker or thinner. Curve the line over the top of your eye, peaking in a different spot on your eyelid. With this product, you can actually have fun without worrying about not being an expert.
After you line your eyelids, decide whether you want to do a thin layer of Fluidline on your lower lashes. On the lower lashline, you will want to keep the lining on the thin side so it doesn’t look too rock star messy. You may even want to just line from the outer corner to about halfway in. Then, you could use kohl pencil to line your inner lashline to really create the darkest eye possible. Put on a quick layer of mascara and your eyes are done! Fabulous!
Now, you only have to add a few elements to complete the look. Use a neutral blush with a fat brush to pink up the apples of your cheeks and define your cheekbones. This will help balance the dark eyes and the pale lips. You don’t want to look like a vampire.
Last, add some light shimmer to your lips. The best shade, for all skin tones, is Love Nectar LustreGlass from MAC. Use a neutral lipliner, like MAC’s Lip Pencil in Stripdown, and then brush on the Lustreglass. Now you’ve captured the look!
MAC FLUIDLINE GEL EYELINER
$14.50 at Macys.com
MAC Fluidline Gel Liner
MAC BRUSHES
224 Tapered Blending Brush, $28.00
MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush
212 Flat Definer Brush, $20.00
MAC 212 Flat Definer Brush
POWDER BLUSH in AMBERLING ROSE by MAC
$17.50 at Macys.com
MAC Powder Blush in Amberling Rose
LIP PENCIL in STRIPDOWN by MAC
$12.50 at Macys.com
MAC Lip Pencil in Stripdown
LUSTREGLASS in LOVE NECTAR by MAC
$14.00 at Macys.com
MAC Lustreglass in Love Nectar
Topics: Makeup, Beauty, The Look, Steals! (Under $25) |