Makeup Monday: Emphaseyes.

Bonjour tout le monde - how was your weekend?

My weekend involved amazing sushi [avocado, sweet potato tempura, and hot banana maki], interesting people watching, and a Friday night consisting of wine and the sending of inappropriate greeting cards to my very special friends who I miss verymuch.com

Today is makeup monday, and today starts a series of makeup mondays dedicated to eyes. If you know me personally, you know that eyes creep me out. I can't wear contacts let alone watch anyone insert, remove, or fiddle with theirs without my eyes watering. I also squirm when people try to touch my eyes [not like it happens on a regular basis thank God] and harsh lighting makes me look like I ate too many of Moms special brownies.

Because of this - I do my makeup in the dark.

When I do my makeup [or anyone elses makeup for that matter] these problems all reside and I have no problems. Out of my entire makeup routine, I spend the most time on eyes because I believe they are the focal point of any look. Even if you are doing a bold red lip or princess pink cheeks, your eye makeup really affects how your look comes together. Because of this, there will be several makeup monday posts about eye makeup, and todays will be on the basics: brushes, eye prep, and colour selection based on your features. Yay!

The Brushes: eyeshadow brushes are a must. You don't have to have many, but using brushes not only deposits the correct amount of colour in the correct place, but it prevents your fingers from tugging on your eyelid which, in the future, can cause sagging and wrinkles. Not a makeup junkie? Purchase two basic brushes - an all over shadow brush, and a contour brush. The all over shadow brush is for, surprise, depositing a wash of colour all over your lid. The contour brush, which is an angled version of the all over shadow brush, is great for running eyeshadow in the crease of your eye to create dimension or a smokey look. These brushes do not have to be expensive, and Quo [or Sonia Kaschuk for you lucky girls able to visit Target on a regular basis] make fantastic brushes. Love makeup and love eye makeup? Sephora's all over shadow brush and angled contour brush are amazing (and still very cheap - about $13!), and invest in a MAC 217 blending brush. This baby is amazing for not only blending, but contouring and drawing shadows down under your lashline for a great smokey look. I own a good 25 eyeshadow brushes all with different purposes, but the Sephora all over shadow, Sephora contouring, and MAC 217 are the ones I couldn't live without [if we were only talking shadow, with liner, everything changes]. Want an all-in-one? Sephora makes a great double ended everyday eye brush, great price, great colour, great quality. WIN.

Eye Prep: prepping your eye area for eyeshadow application will not only create a smoother canvas for your shadow, it can make you look more awake, create wider eyes, and help your shadow to stay on all day long. No matter what eye look I am doing - I use four products.

Before setting your foundation with translucent powder:

1. Liquid highlighter - I use a small amount of liquid highlighter [some are especially created for under your eyes - Smashbox Photo Op under eye brightener is great, and I love Laura Mercier Secret Brightener] UNDERNEATH my concealer. When I do my face makeup, before concealing under my eyes I put a small amount of this stuff in the inner corner and blend down under my eyes, then use concealer over it. This really brightens up the area under your eyes without looking like you've warn your tanning goggles on the beach for too long
2. Primer - I never used to use an eyeshadow primer and by the end of the day, my shadow was either gone or a jumble of the colours I had used during the day that had creased together. I started using a primer in university and I don't think I will every go without one. Eyeshadow primers are used all over your top lid [if you place shadow on your lower lash line, using a small amount below your lid helps it stay] and into your brow bone. My favourite part of eyeshadow primer is that it corrects the colour of your eyelid. I went through the days of smokey shadows, but at the moment I am loving a nude eye with subtle liner, and lots of lashes. Most days I will only use primer on my lids to correct the colour, and skip eyeshadow all together. I use Urban Decay Primer Potion in Original, and I am yearning to purchase it in Sin which will dry to a pretty champagne finish. There are tons of shadow primers out there, but this is one of the items you don't need to invest in - simply dab your undereye concealer over your eyelid and voila - primed lids without adding another tube to your kit!

After setting your face with translucent powder

1. White cream shadow stick - I use an NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (white) and I couldn't live without this. I got mine at Ulta for $3, and I believe it's on sale for one dolla on the NYX website (http://www.nyxcosmetics.com/) - fist pump! I use the pencil on the inner corner of my eyes, and put a small amount right on my tear duct, and a tiny amount up into the innermost crease of my eye (see pic). I take a brush (or your finger if you'd like) and blend the colour over my tear ducts and up into the crease and what this does is open up your eyes and brighten them. Putting a lighter colour on the inside bridge of your nose near your tear duct can do wonders for awakening your face and eyes - and if you can't find NYX where you are, and cheap, thick, white pencil will do.
2. Flesh coloured liner - rimming this coloured liner on the inner rims of your lower lashline is a trick that makeup artists use to freshen up your eyes and make you look more awake. I'm not too sure what a hangover feels like, but apparently this is great if you've had a late night and need to erase the vodka eyes the next morning. Finding a colour is slightly difficult - the best option is a flesh toned pink, slightly lighter than the inner rim of your lower lashline, which is where you will use the liner. The best one I've found is Make Up Forever's Concealer Pencil. Previously I had been using a white pencil (this works too, but is a little dramatic in the daytime) and the colour of the MUFE one is spot on. You can also use it to line your lips, highlight around your nose, and blur small spots on your skin. It blends like a cream concealer and stays on all day. You'll also notice in the product description the MUFE artist suggests using the pencil for this reason, I'm not just making it up :) WIN.
   

Seems like a lot of work just to get your eyes ready for eyeshadow - but all together, the white pencil and the flesh liner really open up your eyes, and the primer will allow your shadow to last longer, stay crease free, and colour true. If you notice your eyeshadow seems to change colours during the day [foundation can too], this means that the oil in your skin is causing the makeup to oxidise, a primer will prevent this. Doing all these steps and simply adding mascara and dotting eyeliner in between your lashes (awesome tip - next Monday) is a quick, easy, pretty looking everyday eye look.

Lastly for today, there are a million eyeshadow colours on the market today - if you are a makeup novice, there are premade palettes you can purchase depending on your eye colour. Using eyeshadow colours that complement the colour of your eyes can really create a standout eye using minimal effort. This is not to say that if you should limit yourself to certain colours [well you blue-eyed beauties should nix the blue shadow] - if you like it - work it! Your hair colour can also play a role in choosing an eyeshadow colour. Light hair? Browns work best for you, darker hair can get away with more playful colours without looking too barbie-ish.

Here are shades that can be used to intensify your own eye colour:

Brown: green, bronze, champagne, brown, blue (deep navy liner is amazing on brown eyes)

Blue: taupe, grey, purple, champagne, golden tan, browns

Green/Hazel: deeper bronze, gold, tan, champagne

Looking for a great universal shade that flatters all eyes? MACs All That Glitters is a beautiful champagne colour with subtle shimmer that intensifies all eye colours and is great for an everyday look. I've hit pan on ATG and have repurchased this baby multiple times.

So there you have it: eye basics and eye prep. Next Monday we can fiddle with liner and some basic eyeshadow applications for everyday looks. Lashes will come in a few weeks. My all-time fav with eyes is lashes and I've already started writing the MM post for it I'm so excited. Is that pathetic?

On a separate note... my FAVOURITE make up artist Melissa just uploaded her newest makeup tutorial. Melissa has taught me everything I know about tips and tricks for Hollywood-style makeup, I can't wait to try this one out!

...till next time, xxLM