A Guide To Getting a Glamorous Makeup Look: Eyes

Hey Guys! For this blog I'm going to be talking about the eyes in this makeup look. The eyes are usually the center focus for the makeup look. When starting your eye look, there are many this you need to take into consideration. According do Gary Cockerill, a professional makeup artist, "Skin tone, hair, and eye color should all be taken into account when you're choosing a color for your eyes"(Cockerill 119). Not only do you have to know your skin type for foundation, but its important to know it for the eye makeup. For different eye colors, come different shades to correspond with that color. For example, if you have blue eyes, the best shades to go with that would peaches, purples, golds, and pink tones. If you have really fair skin, the best shades to go with that are taupe's, browns, golds, and soft tones. However, that's not all. For hair color, blondes usually go with golds, pinks, and grays. While brunettes work well with browns, greens, and purples. Getting the look you want with eye shadow takes time and practice. Eye looks can vary from very neutral to a intense smokey eye. Cockerill says, "From a sheer colorwash or a natural and nude eye for daytime or to compliment a strong lip, to a glamorous contoured eye or a statement flick, there are almost endless ways to make up the eyes"(Cockerill 162). For a neutral look, you want to use soft tones and matte shades. However, for a smokey eye, you want to use dark, sometimes shimmery shades. There are many different palettes that are good for different eye looks. Here are a few that I like to use.

Now that you have read this blog and all the tips I have left for you, what will be your next eye look? A calm neutral look, or an intense smokey eye?

Cockerill, Gary, et al. Simply Glamorous: Make-up Transformations to Make You Look & Feel Fabolous. Jacqui Small, 2015.

How to: Makeup Manual / Face

The most important aspect to a complete makeup look is the foundation. Judging just from its name, we can gather that finding a good way to keep an even complexion is one of the first steps to having a good makeup routine. As someone with combination skin (both oily or dry skin depending on time of year), I have yet to find a foundation that sticks all day, doesn't get oily, and gives an airbrushed finished look, all while not damaging my skin during its time of application. Since I have not found a foundation that does all that and evens out my skin tone, I decided to turn to concealing and color- correcting in order to achieve my goal. 

In chapter 4 of Bobbi Brown's Makeup Manual, she provides several different techniques and tips on having good skin coverage for your specific tone/type of skin.

The main aspects I wanted to focus on in the skin makeup category is brightening my under eye area.

"Correctors can be pink or peach toned. Make sure it is applied up to the lashes and in the inner corner space between the eye and the bridge of the nose." (Brown 54). Brown elaborates how to use color corrector the right way.

Before reading this chapter, I was already familiar with color correctors, but not each of their specific jobs. I found through reading this section of the Makeup Manual that peach or pink toned concealers are specifically made for the under eyes, since it cancels out the purple/green/blue tones that under-eye bags typically have. 

I rummaged through my makeup bag and found a NYX under eye color corrector and decided to test it, following Brown's 4 steps to achieving brightened under-eyes.

I started by applying the corrector up to my lash line in order for all the darkness or discoloring to be completely gone. Then I went over the color corrector with my usual Tarte concealer, blended it with a beauty blender, and set tat with setting powder. I used the same routine for the other eye, only without using color corrector,

As seen in the results below, the side with color corrector is much brighter than the side without it, and the color corrector cancelled out the blue and purple tones in my under eyes.

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My left eye: side with only concealer

My right eye: side with color corrector and concealer

Through this chapter, I learned how to properly conceal under-eye darkness using tones that cancel each other out, instead of just applying concealer straight onto my under eyes. Truthfully, I thought this tip would be just like any other hack and not make any true impact, but I was surprised with the outcome and I will certainly be adding this to my foundation routine. A question for those reading is have you guys ever used color corrector? And if so did it work?

B Brown, Bobbi, et al. Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: for Everyone from Beginner to Pro. Springboard Press, 2011.