SMOKEY...DOES HOLLYWOOD

Oh...the smokey eyes. 

Women have straggled for years to complete the look.

 We all know the rules, smokey eyes, pale lips. Magazines have given us tons of advice over the years and makeup artists all over the world have modified and brought it to the next level. 

What is really that next level though? Smokey eyes are smokey eyes. 

First of all if we take the definition smokey and think of its color, it should look like...well smoke, a faint black grayish hue, deepest dark at the bottom and fading as you go up to a lighter version, almost grey. Hhhmm!

When I think of smokey eyes, I think of Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Lauren and all the other gorgeous starlets that started glamour. Ageless beauties.
We, makeup artists and stylists have been copying them for ever. Those makeup artists that introduced these beautiful icons to the sexy smokey eye look are the ones that took it to the next level, the first and last level that there is.

So no, I am not here to alter things when it comes to the look. I- just like every other makeup artist ever since Brigittes and Sophias- have been copying and recreating that fantastic and very feminine design to this day but we have made it our own. We have changed the colors from a vast palette of hues resembling the rainbow, we have added glitter and crazy lashes and the list goes on and on, it is called being creative.

 That is what artists do.

We go into the zone of some weird foreign imaginary world and we get inspired. 

I know it sounds crazy but that is the only way to create something that has not been done or add something unique to a makeup that has been done too much.

I am going to share some of my very own views of the smokey eye today since I am a big fan of it. 

I find the look very sexy. 

It is the makeup look I choose to do on myself when I have somewhere to go. 

Eyes are usually what people notice first, of course with some exceptions... : ), so for me it is the most important feauture when I am working on a face. It is the first feature- after I apply the foundation- that I focus on. It is very importand that the skin is prepped and covered as flawless as possible at first. Everything looks so much better when your skin is glowing, doesn't it? 

SMOKEY EYES 101

1. Take a black kohl liner in pencil form and draw a nice thin line on your top eyelashes, as close to the lash as possible. With the same liner hold and lift the top eyelid to expose the inner part of your top lash and draw a black line on the inside rim of the eye. Be careful, the easiest way to do this is by laying a mirror on the table in front of you and look down in it.

Repeat the same with the bottom lash line. 

For the daring ones, I have used Indian Kajal eye Kohl for years. It is what the Indian culture uses to protect their eyes from air pollution. That is why you see Indian women always having eyeliner on but if you notice a lot of men do too in India. You can find Kajal in Indian stores but since it is not FDA approved and a lot of them used to contain lead, people are scared. Stila just made a Kajal pencil, so you can try that. Again for the daring ones you can find lead free Kajal even on Ebay.

2.Now you can pick your favorite liquid eyeliner and create a precise line over the top lash. I prefer gel liners, they are easier to work with but whatever you are comfortable with will work.

3. Take an eyeshadow brush and soak it up with black or any dark eyeshadow you prefer and start spreading it on your top lid starting from the lash line upwards. Saturate it close to the lash line. Don't try to blend it yet, just administer the color as deep as you want it.

4. If you want to keep it monochromatic, you could, I'll tell you how.

 Personally I like to use a couple of different hues of the same color family so at this point I will take the lighter version of my color and start blending it in to the main color starting from the crease of the eyelid. This would give it the illusion of fading out. 

Now if you want to use only one color, what I do is I take an eyeshadow or synthetic brush and wet it slightly, very carefully and softly I brush out and blend the color upwards.

5. I take a thinner brush that has been saturated with the darker color and I go over the bottom lash line, smudging and blending the the liner and the eyeshadow together in a harmonious effortless way. 

6. Sometimes you can add a little shimmer right under the brow bone but do not go 80's on me. Dip your index finger in the shimmer and dot it softly on the brow bone right under your brow. Sometimes I like to do the same right in the middle of the lid, just a dot of shimmer or glitter, looks fab!

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7. Eyelashes are very important here, if your lashes a long and full, play  up the mascara, 3-4 coats. Trust me on this. If they get clumpy, get a lash comp and brush through it carefully, preferably before the mascara is fully dry. You can add lashes prior to mascara and curling is very vital for the look. It" opens" up your eyes, since the smokey eye look tends to "close" them up a little. 

Now you are ready to go out and get anything you want, since the world around you will not be able to resist or argue with you. 

If they do, you can give them a killer look.

Here is a version of one of my smokey eye creations.  

 This picture is from the movie "HOUSE BUNNY". Katharine McPhee has beautiful features and doing smokey eyes on her was a dream for me. Here we were doing a calendar shoot which never made it in the movie,  I was bummed but I got some snapshots of it. Since this was for a photo shoot we went with a double lash and some integrated glitter on them.

 Fun!

SLASH AND PERLA AT THE GRAMMYS

I am very proud of my creations every time I work with Perla Hudson. She has a beautiful face and exotic features. The best part of all that from a makeup artists point of view is that Perla is open to anything. She loves makeup and is aware of her features, so she lets me create on the spot according to her theme.

Here for the Clive Davis party, the night before the Grammys, she was wearing a very romantic flowing dress with a Latin flair. She is a big help when it comes to her makeup since she always knows what she wants, which gives me a direction.

For that look, which I wish I had a closer picture so you see the details, we used bronze and gold colors. I applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer allover her lid, prior to any shadow. This insures that she can go all night without having to think of her makeup, just enjoy herself. It is one of my main goals to send my clients out and have them feel confident throughout the full extend of their events. I used one of my favorite eyeshadow trios by DUWOP "CRUSH". I took a wet brush and dipped it in the burgundy red shadow and I went over her black eyeliner with it. We love Shiseido 1, black eyeliner for its deep black hue and it's staying power. We used a strip black lash and individuals toward the outer corners of the eyes for that exotic sultry look.












For Russel Simmons Grammy party, Perla had a fabulous young fresh new designer custom design her outfit. JnG! I will provide his website in a later moment so you get to take a look at his couture since he is a new upcoming designer with amazing talent and everything is original.
As a matter of fact he did all the beading on this dress, he is a perfectionist and it shows.

Unfortunately you can't see the whole look which is very unique and fashion forward on this picture but there is a lot of color on the legs, shoes and purse. I did a more colorful eyeshadow on her. Healthy bronzed skin and face with beautiful lavender/purple shadows, blended just enough to smooth all the colors together for a playful glamorous effect.

The colors came from the Bobbi Brown Eye Brights palette.

For JnG couture go to http://www.jngcouture.com/