Tag: Smoky eyes

21 September 2011     0

The Smoky Eye: Enough Already

Christopher Kane with Chantecaille SS2012

The make-up at Christopher Kane’s show on Monday was refreshingly well, fresh.  It featured flushed cheeks and lips, nice even skin and, said Sylvie Chantecaille, ‘neutral light eyes.’   This light handed eye make-up  illustrates a slow move away from the ubiquitous smoked eye in fashion.  The kind of eye perfected by Princess Beatrice behind her notorious wedding hat, and which has now become a rather hackneyed default option for the camera ready celebrity.

This gentler eye make up involves using a highlight colour – think fleshy cream or powder eye shadow with a very slight sheen – smoothed over the lid,  mascara and a little brow powder to define the eye brows.  The effect is chic and youthful. It works well with a new long lasting cream eye shadow by Clinique – Lid Smoothie in Bit ‘O Honey – a smidgen, over eye lids and into the crease.  Then black mascara – Mac Pro Long Lash makes lashes feathery and pretty.   A caveat: for those with a deep socket (like me), pale shadow can look a little stark.  By blending a touch of grey-brown or taupe shadow over the lid and a little way into the crease the overall look is lovelier.

All this heralds the new lighter, fresher touch to make-up, championed by the new, sheerer make up textures.  Take the new so called hybrid foundations, or BB Creams (an off shoot from the popular, Korean BB Cream, a cult cosmetic in Asia), which are part tinted moisturiser, part super-light foundation, part SPF moisturiser and designed to look imperceptible on the skin.   Garnier‘s BB Cream has already arrived, so too one by Mac and a handful more are on the horizon.  Bourjois Font de Teint Gel has just arrived on my desk  - I highly recommend it for its sheer, natural, expensive finish at a very reasonable price (£10.99).  It hits the shelves in October.   If you do want to splash out, I also recommend Chantecaille’s new foundation, Future Skin (£55 and also used on models at Christopher Kane).  Chantecaille makes some of the best foundations in the world, and this with its light, blendable, flawless finish is exceptional.

Also note the increasing number of sheer lipsticks appearing on the shelves (Chanel, Bobbi Brown, Bourjois and Poppy King for Boots No7 are all terrific).  Expect to see sheer, gel blushers seeping onto the market too, to give you that natural flush without shimmer.   Sadly Ruby & Millie’s version (an old favourite) has disappeared from the shelves, but Benefit BeneTint is alive and kicking.

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1 July 2011     0

The New Autumn Make-Up from Givenchy

This portrait was taken for Givenchy‘s upcoming Autumn Winter make-up campaign.  It’s by (will get back to you) and was taken in a Paris studio, probably  (again, will get back to you, the beauty of the instant blog edit tho’ I know, I know, once it’s out it’s out…).   Anyway, it caught my eye for its classic pose, with the kind of bright white light you might see in an early portrait of Elizabeth 1st.  One of which I was taken through with gripping insight last night at the opening night for Masterpiece at The Royal Hospital.

Said portrait was of a young Elizabeth newly crowned and she apparently didn’t like it. Had her face been painted more akin to this, I think she would have felt differently – in other words with soft, yet oddly dramatic contouring thrown up by a single light source. The painting I saw was of a deathly pale, if prettily translucent face, without gentle, flattering shading.  It was stark, with dark brown background, similar in feel to this deep, saturated midnight blue.  As it turned out, Elizabeth I redirected portrait painters from then on to represent her in a more flattering light – early celebrity public image control.

Back to Givenchy.   The inky, blue black eye shadow highlights the bright white and piercing blue green of the model’s eyes.  Too severe for most of us, but you can achieve the same intensity by outlining and smudging your eyes with blue black liner.   Givenchy Magic Khol in Marine Blue (£13.50, stockists: 01932 233824) is ideal.   Note to self: dark blue – key colour for Fall.

Lips, deep and saturated look stunning against pale skin, also dark skin – skin with a cool undertone.   For those with fine lips (like Elizabeth 1st) and the other side of 40 concentrate on fabulously rich eyes and go for a gentle nude pink lippie.

Skin.  I’ve always been a fan of Givenchy’s face powders.  New for Autumn is Les Ombres de Lune (£36 – available in two shades).  I haven’t yet got my hands on it but am confident it’ll be a goodie.  It contains a translucent powder, which you can use either on its own for a bit of polish, under foundation as a primer, or on top, to add a little light.   It has a soft pearl finish – so check that it doesn’t look too pearly for day.   And then, in one corner, they’ve packed a dark smokey eye shadow.  A great little double act.   The collection Je Veux La Lune is available in August.

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23 May 2011     0

Great new eye shadow and latest spin on Benetint

I’m a sucker for a pretty backdrop so today’s beauty finds have been shot with that in mind.   Just don’t blame my camera focus.  Above, two new eye shadows by Bourjois.  I mention them a lot, the simple reason being that they do great make-up.  Fresh ideas, generally good quality for the price and always with that lively, French spin.

These two are part of a ten strong collection of so called, Intense Eyeshadows.  The greyish colour (07) is lovely blended over the outer half of the lid, into the crease for a smoked eye with a matte finish (good matte shadows are tricky to find among cheaper brands).  It’s powdery, so apply little by little, blend well and be prepared to brush away any that falls onto your cheeks.  The pinkish colour (03) is shot with fine glitter and oh so pretty blended over the lid to soften the grey and give a shimmer.   £6.99 each, available 15th June.

Above you’ll see Cha Cha Tint, Benefit’s new spin on the classic, Benetint – that pinkish lip and cheek stain most of us have given a whirl.  It’s out 25th June (£24.50) so hang in there.

If you haven’t yet discovered the beauty of a lip and cheek stain now could be your moment.  It’s a liquid or creamy make-up in a red, pink or peachy hue, designed to be patted over lips and cheeks to give a subtle hint of colour (with Benefit it’s fool proof, thanks to the diagrams slipped into the box, see above).  And there’s something rather old fashioned about it because it’s subtle, think stealth make-up.  Before the 50s, obvious make-up was as you know, thought to be slatternly.  This idea conjures up that bygone era.

Cha Cha Tint is a coral orange, and best saved for those with ‘peaches and cream skin’, a tan or a darker skin.  The English roses among you would be better off with the original (apply very sparingly over cheek area) or Posie Tint (peach pink).  Click here to see it.

Maybelline‘s new Dream Touch Blushes (£6.49) are a lovely alternative for cheeks – the colour in this photo is Apricot.  Soft and lovely smoothed with a finger on the cheek’s apples, or along cheekbones and brow bones to add super-subtle warmth.

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13 July 2010     0

Chanel’s Autumn Make-Up Story (it’s smokey-eyes heaven!)

Pretty in Jade Rose by Gorunway.com

The print effect eye make-up at Chanel’s Fall 2010/11 show may be tricky to pull off in real life.  But underpinning the look (inspired by, ‘a paint, print texture that Karl used on some of the handbags and shoes for this show,’ says Chanel’s make-up guru, Peter Philips) are several failsafe, beauty tricks that work marvels off the catwalk.  They’re also central to Peter Philips’ Fall make-up collection.

First, blusher.   Applied to the cheek’s apple it lifts your complexion in seconds.  Chanel Joues Contraste Powder Blush in Rose Temptation is one of three, brilliant new hues and gives the kind of skin-kick you can see in this backstage shot.  It adds a pop of colour to all but the darkest skin tones and its rose scent, which is in all of the blushers, is just lovely.

Second, nude eyeliner.  Especially useful if you suffer from red eyes.  Apply to the inner rim to neutralise and give tired eyes a very subtle lift.   It’s a make-up artist trick, so no wonder Philips has introduced Le Crayon Khol in Clair.

Third, a good eyeshadow palette for smokey eyes.   I’ve yet to meet a woman who doesn’t want to know how to do good smoke.  Chanel’s new four-colour eye shadow, Les 4 Ombres in Enigma does it in spades.

A pale lipstick that flatters.  Perfect with the smoked, greys of the eye shadow: Rouge Coco in Chintz (a pale peach, see below) and Rose Dentelle (pinkish nude).  Available 13th August, call 020 7493 3836.

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