Brightest Young Things

Welcome to our new and very awesome BEAUTY COLUMN. As run by Kim Klinger (of Powwow and Reform School) and Ashley May (of canvasface.com) in which, step by amazing step they help you recreate the looks you want. One word: exciting.

ready?

As reported by Morgan last month, jewel tones are totally hot this fall. Gorgeous, rich, saturated shades of sapphire, emerald, ruby, amethyst - they’re a hell of a lot more lively than falling into the all-black rut as soon as the weather gets cold. (Not that I do that or anything.) You can still wear black and gray this fall, as we’re seeing a return to more somber, mature styles – but why not add a shot of color? The trend follows to makeup, where a jewel-toned smoky eye looks fresh and yet classic.

Before we get into the step-by-step, a few general tips and notes:

First, this smoky eye will take both time and product. I know, I know – you just want to slap some dark shadow on your eyes in 20 seconds flat and come out looking like a total sex kitten, right? Well, suck it up, girls. The only way to get a good smoky eye – you know, one that doesn’t look like you either got punched in the face or just wore last night’s smeared makeup out again? – is to take your time, use a few different colors, and layer little bit by little bit.

Work from the top down. The order we show you below is the order you should use – unless, of course, you want to spend all your time cleaning errant shadow from under your eyes and reapplying your concealer 63 times!

Prep your skin with a good moisturizer (Ashley uses Kiehl’s) and eye cream (totally decadent La Mer cream was used on my eyes and I’m now a believer).

If you’re going to splurge on anything, make it concealer. Getting the good (read: creamy, blendable, high coverage) stuff makes a huge difference. We used DermaColor – a makeup artist’s product, but totally available to us amateurs here.

Ok, now that you’ve gotten through all that, here’s how you do it:

1. Start with eyebrows – the trend this fall is a fuller brow (check Sienna on the cover of Vogue for an example of the trend gone way, way too far). Use a pencil to fill in, using light, short strokes (heh, strokes) to impart a natural, not-too-opaque look. If you have dark hair like me, try MAC Eye Brows pencil in Lingering.

2. Ooh, I got my face airbrushed! Ashley used her fancy Iwata Silver Jet Pro to gently “blast” Temptu silicone-based foundation all over my lucky face. However, she only did the forehead and temple area first – remember what we said about working top down? The lower part of my face was done after the eyes. If you’re into trying this at home, check out Iwata’s site. It gives great, even coverage. With this look, no matter what foundation or applicator you use, go for a matte, not dewy, look.

3. And now, the eyes:

First, a light layer of MAC Paint in Graphitto (dark charcoal grey with a touch of sparkle) was used all over the lid with a MAC 239 brush. Follow this with MAC Pigment in Teal on the inside half of the lid, and Blue-Brown on the outside half, using a MAC 246 brush.

Next, emerald green Lancome Montage was worked through the crease (Trish McEvoy 29 brush) and further defined with a bit of MAC Carbon in the corner (MAC 222 brush). The sage green shade in Nars’ Sea Sex and Sun was used to highlight the inner crease (MAC 246 brush, back again).

Moving to the under eye area, Ashley used Nars Danceteria pencil (a very pretty, peachy-gold shade) on the inside. MAC Tealo liner pencil was traced around the outer corners of the eye and smudged into and away from the lash line with Nars 15 brush. On top of that MAC Smolder Pencil was used lightly very close to the lash for extra definition and was softened with Sephora's short handle crease brush, which resembles a smudger brush. MAC Vanilla highlights the brow using a MAC 252 brush.

Finally, take a MAC 224 brush and blend, blend, blend everything so it looks really soft. Finish with 2 coats of mascara – Maybelline Great Lash and Benefit BadGal.

4. The all-important concealer comes next. Clean up any messes you made with a Q-tip and use a flat eyeshadow brush to apply a creamy concealer such as DermaColor (D50 was used on me). Finish applying your foundation now, too.

5. Complete the look with light, natural shades on cheeks (try Nars Zen to contour and Nars Orgasm as blush) and lips (Nars Galaxy Girl topped with MAC Clear LipGlass).

And that’s that. It’s a bit of work, yes, but the payoff is totally worth it. I wore the makeup out the night of the shoot and got a lot of compliments. And speaking of wearing last night’s makeup out again - I did something stupid and slept in the makeup. (I wouldn’t recommend that, y’alls, but sometimes things (and Jamesons) happen.) The next morning my eyes still sparkled with teal Pigment, proof that taking your time and using good products gives the best, most long-lasting results. It also gives you funny looks from the people in Heller’s during the brunch rush, but whatever.
Have fun and we’ll see you next month with a new look!

photos: Joel Didriksen for kingpinphoto
make-up: Ashley May for canvasface.com