BEAUTY TIP OF THE MOMENT

Smokin’!

Sexy, sultry, smoky eyes are particularly dramatic with the total palette range of gray hair. It gives a very strong focus to the face that can be wonderful if you feel like your face is fading away. But subtlety is the key. You can end up looking a bit punk/Goth, or worst case scenario – like somebody gave you a shiner. So go lightly, apply with a fine hand, and all eyes will be on you!

To start, it’s always best to prime the lid to keep colors from smudging. Later on, you’ll want to smudge, but not on the lid. Borghese has a terrific line for creating a smoky eye, so I’m going to start with their primer – Eyeshadow Base. It comes in a tube, glides on effortlessly to create a smooth, unwrinkled surface, and creates a brighter, more even tone. $17.50

Next, grab one of their Shadow Milano Trios, three shades coordinated to make the light-midtone-deep selection sooo much easier.  The bonus is, these shades are crease-resistant, help condition delicate eye skin, and are amazingly long-lasting. $32.50

The obvious choice is to select their Il Bacio Gray, a blending of charcoal, white, and light gray tones. The white is hard to play, and looks a bit too dramatic on the browbone. It’s good for blending with the other two shades to give you a wider gray range if you like, but I’d prefer a soft, natural pinky tone on the browbone.

Which you can find in their Amalfi Sandstone trio, or their Prima Plum Mist. And these work just as well to create a smoky eye. I particularly like the Prima Plums. If I’m wearing black, yes, I’ll go for the mix of grays and black, but for anything else, using a softer, subtler color range works better. You can still create intensity.

You’ll want to rim your eyes in some way, either with a pencil or a liquid liner. Borghese makes a pencil I recommend in the book – it’s one of the few I really like because it does glide on very smoothly, and has a sponge tip at one end, which is great for smudging.  It’s called Eye Accento Pencil, and comes in shades like Black Vellura, Botticelli Charcoal, and Plum Espresso. Coordinate the color with the shadow range you choose. $20

If you prefer a liquid liner, go for their Linea Precisa Liquid Eyeliner.  With its felt-tip applicator, it’s very easy to use without botching up the whole job. Plus it’s waterproof, too. Which is a very good thing. $18.00

Now, here’s how to do it:

1. Apply the lightest eyeshadow shade to the area just under the browbone.
2. Apply the mid-tone shade from slightly above the crease to the lashline. Go over that, from the inside corner of the eye to midpoint on the lid with the lightest color. This creates a natural highlight and gives subtle shaping.
3. Apply the deepest shade at the outside corner of the eye, creating a small V from mid-lashline, up to the crease, and out to the side.
4. Rim your upper and lower lashline with either pencil or liquid eyeliner. This reinforces and helps hold the shadow colors. Here’s where subtlety comes into play – do NOT create a doe-eye, or sweep liner up and out at the sides. I don’t care what the magazines say. It always looks artificial. You’ve already swept your deepest shadow color up and out to the side. That’s enough.
5. Now here’s the fun smudgy part. And smudging is a must for the smoky eye look. If you’re using the pencil, use the sponge tip to smudge lightly along the lower lashline. ONLY. Then, take a straight-edged brush (see makeup tip “Be Precise,” below), dip in the deepest shadow shade, and gently “place” along the lower lashline.
5. Sweep on one or two coats of mascara (allowing each to dry between sweeps).

That’s it! Very simple really.  And very smokin’!

Don’t go there

Fall ’08 runway shows are as much about makeup trends as they are fashion. And here’s a coming trend I think we all should skip – pale, natural lips. Very pretty on ingénues and models, they really do nothing for a face that is looking a little tired, or pale, or surrounded by – yup – gray, white or silver hair.

The best thing to do is use your lips as a focal point. A way to make your teeth look whiter. A way to bring some life to your face. Red lips? Terrific. Matte red lips? Not so much. Remember, you want glow and light wherever you can get it. Purple lips or too-pale pink won’t do a thing for you either, but do investigate a pretty rose, a pink with some punch to it, a vibrant rose-coral or a soft plum.

Photo Credit: MAC cosmetics

Be Precise

This one comes from Jennifer Wobito, principal makeup artist for Going Gray, Looking Great!  http://www.jwoproductions.com

You know how you get an eyeshadow, and it comes with those little brushes? So you dip the brush in the color and swipe it all over your lid. Wrong-o. Jen taught me a little goes a long way. You have to be precise. And the best brush to get is one of those flat-across makeup brushes. Dip it in the shade, and put it – point it – exactly where you want the color to go. Sometimes it’s as simple as just applying a small “dot” of color just where you want it, say at the outside corner of the lid. Maybe you’ll want to brush the color up just a notch, maybe not. But the trick is, you control it, you put it just where you want.  Less is more, and color placed precisely has more of an impact.  I also use this brush to put color just under my lower lashes.  I do a very fine line there with the flat edge of the brush.  Because I use it with powder shadow, it gives a softer impression than pencil or liquid eyeliner. Try it. It may change the way you put on eyeshadow forever.