The Best Eye Shadow for Your Eye Color

Many women don't know where to start when they sit down to do their makeup (or to have their makeup done). There are several factors in determining the best makeup for you - but a big one (and an easy one to learn about) is that your unique eye color can be "brought out" or emphasized based on the color of eye shadow that you use. Now please whatever you do, don't lather on a single eye shadow across your entire eye area based on this post! In a different post I'll talk about where exactly you want to put the eye shadow. Here, we're just going to discuss the general colors that will make your eyes pop. The cool thing about having a background in art, is that I already knew makeup color theory before I learned about it.

The best way to learn about makeup color theory is to look at a color wheel. Like this one:

The basic principle with color (if you have any background in art, you'll know this) is that the colors directly opposite of one another are the most contrasted and complimentary. The colors closest to one another can also create a nice "matching effect" but they will not create a contrast. What you want to do with your eye makeup, is create a contrast in order to highlight your eyes and make that color "pop." Let's talk specifics...

BROWN EYES

Figure out more specifically where your brown eyes are on the color wheel. If they have a gold or yellow tint we would put them around the "rust" color on our wheel above. If they have a green or blue tint we would put them around the "olive" color on the wheel. Then look directly across the wheel and see where you land. Now obviously, you're not going to want to cover your eyelids in neon red. But if your eyes are around the "olive" color, burgundy and reddish brown shadows will look amazing with your eyes. Let's check out some celebrity examples:

Jennifer Lopez has brown eyes that have a very orange (almost red) tint (let's place her eyes near "rust" on our color wheel). Her shadows are cool-toned (blues and silvers). Natalie Portman's eyes are cooler, they have a violet (purplish) tint (let's place her between "maroon" and "plum" on our color wheel). Direct contrast for her are warm tones. Her eye shadow colors here are orange and brown. Now obviously the subtle difference between these two women in eye color is so slight that they would both look amazing in one another's eye shadow. But for the sake of this post, I'm pointing out tiny differences to make a point.

GREEN EYES

Again, find which side of the green spectrum your eyes are and look directly across. 

Drew Barrymore is wearing purple shadow with a slight burgundy tint. The clever stylist in this ad even added a purple piece of fabric to further highlight her green eyes (and purple earrings too).

Scarlett Johansson's eyes are a bit bluer on the green spectrum so she's wearing yellow tinted shadows (peach and gold).

BLUE EYES

Blue is fun because you can kind of make anything work. Let's look at the celebs for tips:

                                                                              

Blake Lively and Megan Fox are both wearing warm-toned makeup (browns, gold, peach) which is directly across from blue on the color wheel. It's the classic contrast for blue eyes and always works. If you look closely, Blake's eyes are greener and her shadow is slightly redder, while Megan's eyes are more violet and her shadow is slightly yellower. Tiny differences, but they make a difference.

Ok ladies! So find your eye color on the color wheel and find the shadows that will make your eyes pop. I hope this was helpful. Have a wonderful day!

"Natural Makeup Please!"

When most women say they want their makeup to look natural, what they really mean is "make it look like I'm naturally flawless, but not wearing makeup." What they don't mean is "I really like my pimples, please make sure they're visible. Oh, and the bags under my eyes are important to me."

Any time that you see a celebrity looking incredible natural and not "made up" let me promise you, she is wearing a lot of makeup. That being said, I completely respect the desire of many women to look "natural." On a very basic level, this means using as little foundation as possible, making sure the blush and all products on the face are blended very smoothly, and that the colors used on the eyes are neutrals and not applied in a harsh or conspicuous way.

Last week I was honored to do Jenna's makeup, a bride-to-be who likes "minimal makeup" (in her own words) and wanted to look radiant for her engagement photo-shoot (by Sigala Photography). Since she's absolutely gorgeous, it wasn't too difficult to stick with her desire to stay natural.

Eyes: I used a very light beige shadow, slightly lighter than her skin color on her lid and then used a darker beige along the entire crease. I used a warm brown shadow on the very outer "v" of her eyelid to give her eyes a bit of definition in a subtle way. I then used a warm pink shadow with a tiny bit of shimmer over her entire lid, concentrating on the inner corner of her eye. Instead of using an eye liner, I used a burgundy eye shadow (applied with a damp eye liner brush) along her upper and lower lash line so that it would look seamless and not at all like she was actually wearing eye liner. I used a eye lash primer before applying mascara to make her lashes a bit fuller and appear longer.
(Products: Benefit eye primer, Lancome Divine Hold eyeshadow palette in Desert, MAC eyeshadow Da Bling, MAC eye shadow Twinks)

Face: I applied a thin layer of moisturizer on her face to give her a dewy glow. Jenna did not need a full face of foundation so I used a concealer brush to cover up only the areas that needed some coverage and blended it well. I used a powder foundation and dusted it lightly over her face to even it all out. I applied a little bit of bronzer under her cheek bones, and a peach colored blush onto the apples of her cheeks. I also applied an illuminating highlighter along the tops of her cheekbones and down the bridge of her nose.
(Products: Clinique Even Better corrector makeup, Bella Terra mineral foundation in #2, I.D. bronzer in Glow, L'Oreal matte blush in Peachy Perfect, MAC skinfinish highlighter in Precious Pearl)

It was a pleasure working with such a gorgeous and sweet person. Hope you all enjoyed the makeup info and pictures. Have a wonderful day!

Back to Basics

Rediscovering my love for makeup, and finding the confidence and conviction to pursue it professionally has brought me to a great place. I have felt energized, excited, and hopeful despite the fact that there are so many talented and successful makeup artists out there. I am an open vessel - learning from the endless supply of websites, blogs, tutorials, and youtube videos. Makeup is an art. It is personal, it is subjective, and most of all, it is about finding the beauty in people. This last element is what draws me to it the most. When a woman sits in front of me, it is a vulnerable moment. I look over her face and see what is beautiful, what needs to be highlighted, and shaped in order to make her feel her very best. Makeup is transformative. Yes, beauty is on the inside, but looking in the mirror and loving what we see is imperative to how we can project our inner-beauty.

This blog is a way to share what I have learned and continue to learn ~ there are so many incredible sources out there, so I want to start by sharing the top sites that I have found to be helpful:

Makeup Geek

Temptalia

Musings of a Muse

Elke Von Freudenberg

Makeup for Life

The links above are sites that are helpful for everyone - general reviews about products, tips and ideas for different looks and styles, etc... As I blog more I will focus posts on specific topics. Like makeup ideas for the lovely ladies over 40, makeup for skin with acne, etc... and on those posts I will add helpful links for those topics. So whether you are an aspiring makeup artist, or a woman learning about your own makeup needs, I hope this blog will be helpful and give you confidence!

Ok, now for some pictures (thanks to the incredibly talented Yehoshua from Sigala Photograpy) and a little blurb about a certain birthday girl...
My friend Rebecca went out with her family for a birthday sushi date, so I wanted to give her a light, and casual look for her Jerusalem outing. Look at this gorgeous mama!

Eyes:
Rebecca has beautiful "bedroom eyes" (a term that describes sultry eyes that have a slightly downward slant - think Angelina Jolie or Elizabeth Taylor), so I wanted to make sure to highlight them with a defined outer crease (putting a slightly darker shade along the outer part of her eyelid and slanting it slightly upwards). Since her eye color is a deep brown, purple is an excellent shade for her (truthfully purple is a great shade for all eye colors). For the lid I used a pinkish gold shadow to make her eyes pop a bit. I wanted the liner to be subtle, so we used a mild black pencil on the top lash line and lower waterline, and used the purple shadow from her crease to very lightly line the outer part of the bottom lash line. And of course, topped it off with a thick coat of mascara on her curled eyelashes.
(Products - Benefit eye primer Stay Don't Stray, MAC shadow Retrospeck, MAC shadow fig, Bella Terra mineral shadow Highlighter #3, Almay eyeliner pencil in Kohl Black).

Face:
To even out the skin and give the foundation a smooth surface to adhere to, I used a primer over the entire face. I then applied a very fine layer of foundation (with a stippling brush) making sure to match the makeup color to her neck to avoid an ashy or "mask-like" effect. After applying some concealer to any areas that needed a bit of coverage, and under the eyes, I used a bronzer under the cheek bones and above the brow bone to give her a warm glow. I then applied a soft, rose colored blush on the apples of her cheeks and a mineral bronzer right on the top of her cheek bones to catch the light. Lastly, I misted her face with a makeup finishing spray that melds everything together for a flawless, natural look.
(Products - Smashbox Photo Finish face primer, Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation in Ecru #16, Almay Clear Complexion concealer in Naked, BareMinerals bronzer in Warmth, Bella Terra mineral blush in Ambrosial Crush,  MAC Skinfinish highlighter in Precious Pearl, MAC Fix Plus spray).

Hope that was helpful! Please feel free to leave comments with any questions or ideas. Thanks, and have a wonderful day!

~ Lia