WARNING! - Shading has been
exaggerated for illustrative purposes! Only drag
queens and Tammy Faye dig wearing this much war
paint! |
FIRST, THE
EYESHADOW...
I usually use four shades of eyeshadow: a nearly-white
highlighting color, a medium and dark color that
compliment each other, and black. (I use MAC
eyeshadows, but I've also used Revlon, Cover Girl,
and even generic brands - it's all good!) (I do have
several different eyeshadow brushes: I use one
medium-sized MAC brush each for light, medium, and
dark colors, because I don't want to mix my colors,
but I'm too lazy to clean my brushes between every
application. DOH! I also use a thin, flat brush to
apply shadow under the eyes, for cleaner, sharper
lines)
Before applying eyeshadow, dust
heavily under each eye with translucent or neutral
face powder to protect your face. Now if any
eyeshadow falls onto your face, just get a blush
brush and gently dust all the powder away, and your
face won't be mussed up! You can dust off and
reapply powder as often as necessary while doing
your eyeshadow.
Start off with the super-light highlighting
color, brushing on upper lids from eyelashes all the
way up to the eyebrows. (see #1)
Next, brush medium color on upper lids, starting
from eyelashes, but only going about 1/2 to 3/4 of
the way up to your eyebrows. Also brush this shade
under the eyes as well, all the way across under
each eye. (see #2)
Now add darker color on upper lids, starting
from the crease in your eyelid and down to the
lashes. Color should be slightly heavier towards the
outer corners of each eye. On your lower lids, add
color from the outer corners of each eye and inward
towards your nose, using most of the color on the
outer corners and fading away as you go. (see #3)
Finally, add some black to the upper lids, just
barely above the lashline, with a little extra 'oomph'
at the outer corners of each eye. On the lower lids,
just add black to the outer corners of each eye. Don't
go all the way across, because that 'locks in the
eye' and makes it look smaller, which is BAD!
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NOW EYELINER,
MASCARA, & LASHES
Draw eyeliner along
lashline of upper lids, all the way across and
continuing slightly past the outer corner of the
eye. (see #5) (I use black liquid liners by Revlon
or Cover Girl, the ones that kinda look like a
pointy little magic marker)
Add a coat of mascara to the top and bottom
lashes of each eye, and then a second coat to each.
(some makeup artists like to use an eyelash curler
on upper lashes first, but honestly, I don't think
they make a big difference, especially not if I'm
adding false lashes anyway!)
OK, now the bitch - applying false eyelashes. (I
use Ardell #117's and clear eyelash glue, both of
which you can find at any drugstore) Gently pull the
false lashes from their container and apply eyelash
glue to each (you can use tweezers if it helps, but
I find it easier to do it all with my fingers) Just
as the glue starts drying and getting tacky, apply
the lash to your upper eyelid, barely above your own
natural lashline, and extending a bit past the outer
corner of your eye. If you try to apply the lash
when the glue is too wet or too dry, it won't stick,
so getting that timing just right will take some
practice. Properly applied eyelashes do feel a
little funny at first, but THEY SHOULD NOT HURT, so
if you feel anything poking into your eye, or
pulling awkwardly when you blink, simply pull the
lash off and try again. This is probably the hardest
part of basic glamour makeup application, even for
professionals, so don't feel bad if it takes a
couple tries before you get it right.
Once you've got the lash-applying down pat, here's
an 'experts-only' secret trick for looking 'super-glam'
- First, I apply one set of lashes normally, as
explained above. Then, I take a second set of lashes,
and cut each of them in half. Since lashes are
always longer on the outer edges, one half will be
slightly longer than the other - throw the bigger
halves away, and keep the two halves with shorter
lashes. Now, carefully apply one half to the
outermost part of each eye, directly above the first
lashes. This "one-and-a-half lashes" trick gives you
extra-sexy, super-exotic 'cat's eyes', which looks
strikingly glamorous in person and in pictures! (see
#6)
OK, almost done with the eyes now...
just gotta do
the EYEBROWS...
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