Making Eyes Easy

If I had to choose one thing women are most confused about, it would be applying eye shadow. Do I put a darker color in the crease? What shades work for me? What works best for my eye shape?

Color selection is something we'll get into a bit more, but as far as where to put what, there is a good rule to follow; apply darkest to lightest from the bottom to the top. Eye shadow simply serves the purpose of giving contrast to make your eyes stand out, so when you place the deepest colors closest to the eyes, the contrast is where it needs to be to do its job.

Start with liner and darker shadow on the lash line and lower lid and blend it going upward smudging it into the eye's natural crease. Then apply a medium or lighter shade from the crease working it up to the brow bone. You'll have a smudgy, watercolor effect that works well for all eye shapes.

Keeping the darkest colors closest to the lashes will make your eyes really pop and it's an easier application since it isn't a precision one that requires a steady hand.

OK, now the lashes....

Would you believe you can have longer lashes by just changing the way you apply your mascara? It's true. Instead of quickly flicking the wand against your lash tips, tilt your head back and gently pull your lid upward to expose the base of your upper lash line. Press the mascara wand into the lash line where the hair meets the lid and slowly wiggle the wand back and forth upward until you reach the lash tips. Repeat it a few times until you've built up the volume you want.

Now for the brows...

Using either a brow mascara or pencil, draw in your perfect brows. I highly recommend using a brow mascara like MAC Brow Set(13.50), for two reasons: It will grab stray hairs you might have trouble seeing otherwise if you’re blonde, allowing you to clean them up; it will also encourage you to create thicker brows than pencil. Women have a problem with overthinning our brows, which can create amazing definition for the face. If you feel they look too thick or dark, wait until putting on other makeup before freaking out. They probably look more natural than you think.

For pencil, there are 2 methods: draw tiny strokes in an outward direction, imitating the natural hair, or draw an outline around the entire height of the ideal brow. I recommend the second method, because again, it encourages that thicker brow, and it also gives you the straightest and most even lines from shaping. For brow mascara, it’s a bit trickier. Sweep the mascara over your eyebrow carefully, holding the wand at a 45 degree angle to your face so you won’t over-sweep. Take your fingertip and smudge the mascara over the hairs lightly (we want to color hairs, not skin!). Touch up anything spotty with matching pencil. If you have dark hair and dark or olive-toned skin, you may want to use one of the too-light concealers you’ve inevitably bought and not thrown out to mask the offending hairs and outline the ideal shape. Do not skip this step! Stroke (I use angle tipped brushes or liner brushes) until your brows are the absolute perfect shape. The mascara/pencil color will go away, but this shape is for the next couple of weeks on your face, so make it the best it can possibly be. Make sure to stay with your ideal brow shape! That’s why it’s there: it’s a guideline to make sure you don’t go crazy with the razor or your tweezers and end up browless. I hope all this helps ladies!!

~Smooches~