I love NY Fashion Week as much as the next girl, but it feels weird lusting after fall looks in the middle of winter. One look that has warmed my winter heart this year is a variation on a classic.
The NY runway makeup gods have decreed that we all must bask in the glory that is the smokey eye! The variation I’m referring to is called the “super-blended eye,” and, according to MAC VP of Makeup Artistry Gordon Espinet, we should expect to see a lot of it in all our favorite magazines come fall.
The super-blended eye at the Monique L’huillier Ready-To-Wear show this week
“There hasn’t been a lot of hard lines [on the runway] in terms of how eyes are done,” says Gordon. In a super-blended eye, colors and lines are blended to perfection.
It takes the right brushes to create this layered, seamless look. Gordon suggests MAC’s 219, 224, 252 and 242.
The trick is layering products with different textures. Gordon usually begins by rimming the eyes with a dark pencil, which he then covers with a layer of matte shadow.
On top of the matte, he adds a product with sheen, like one of MAC’s pigments. “From there you take a soft blending brush like a 242 and blend all the edges all out,” says Gordon. Play with blending and mixing different colors, like navy blue and purple, or maybe purple and brown.
Ultimately, what you’re striving for is a smooth transition from one color and texture into the next, like what you’d see in the iridescence of a peacock’s feathers or the coloring on the back of a scarab beetle.
Are you feeling this? Yea or nay? I think it’s pretty.
How has your week been? Are you ready for the weekend? I’m excited about getting my roots done this afternoon. They’ve been tow up for way too long.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
EtherealPrey says
February 8th, 2008 at 1:32 pmI’m glad fashion week is over, all the crazies can get out of NYC already and go elsewhere! That dark smokey eye is just a bit too much for me personally, a little bit lighter and it’ll be wearable at night. hee hee…have a good weekend!
Holly says
February 8th, 2008 at 2:05 pmI really like the look of the swiss Chocolate eyeshadow, has anybody tried it?? Im not sure if it would be too red on the eye??
Kimie says
February 8th, 2008 at 2:07 pmHappy Day Happy Day!!! MY procard came in the mail yesterday and I just placed my order to fill up the big palette!!!! He He I’m as giddy as a kid on Christmas Morning!!! I got some of those colors above so I’ll let you know how they look….yay lol Im such a geek for makeup!
Glosslizard says
February 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pmI do like the idea of the super-blended eye, but I don’t like it quite so black as it appears in the photos. Usually I like to keep the liner thin and then blend the middle shade over a larger area of the lid for a more subtle look. I’m loving the colors, though! That deep blue green pigment has my rapt attention! Yummmm! The purple is gorgeous too!
Happy weekend, everyone! Hope you all get some sunshine!
Mrs. Lynne says
February 8th, 2008 at 3:22 pmVery good tips from Gordon. I definitely agree that lining first does intensify the dramatization of the look versus as the traditional finishing touch. I did this once, marked my lid with Deep Truth and it really did look smoky. My co-worker was even complimented on it, lol.
2dressedup says
February 8th, 2008 at 4:38 pmI wear Swiss Chocolate all the time. It doesn’t come off red at all. I put it in the crease with Orb on the lid, sometimes with black eyeliner, sometimes without. I have dark red highlights in my hair so it is a great look!
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pmHi Ethereal Prey,
I was almost one of those crazies in NYC this week, ha! Then I remembered that I don’t like being cold…I’ll probably be there in the fall, though.
I hope you are a great weekend, too! Doing anything fun?
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:28 pmHi Holly!
Look at you, Miss Thang, with all your ever-growing MAC-ness! I don’t have Swiss Chocolate, but Brun is a great dark brown!
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:28 pmCongrats Kimie! You better break that in ASAP! I’ll be with you in spirit, wooty woot woot!
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:29 pmHi Glossslizard,
Isn’t that shade pretty? For some reason I just KNEW you’d be feelin’ that color!
Any exciting plans for the weekend?
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:31 pmMrs. Lynn, that sounds very pretty. I don’t have Deep Truth but I’ve kinda been wanting it lately (honestly, what’s yet another MAC product to the ever expanding list? I’m afraid it ain’t ever gonna end).
Hope you’re having a fun Friday with your family!
Karen says
February 8th, 2008 at 5:32 pmThanks for the info, 2dressed up! I have trubs sometimes with brown shadows looking really red on my skin, too (Saddle is SO RED on me) too.
Have a great weekend! 🙂
Holly says
February 9th, 2008 at 1:47 amHi Karen,
I blame you for this new Mac love in my life! With this and Chanel im going to be bankrupt!
Glosslizard says
February 9th, 2008 at 9:20 amThis weekend is one of those that is basically filler until the really great stuff starts happening! Val’s day is coming up, then dinner with my girl, Paula, then a seminar at my Dojo, and then comes the NM Beauty event!!! Can’t complain, tho’, because I’m in a great mood, everyone is happy and healthy and the sun finally came out! Just passing the time doesn’t feel like a hardship right about now! Aaaaah!
Glosslizard says
February 9th, 2008 at 9:21 amHi Holly!
I feel ya, girl, she’s got me out at MAC all the time now too! 😉 And look out, Fafi’s on the way!
Amanda says
February 9th, 2008 at 12:42 pmi’m such a fan of the smokey eye! I do need to practice my blending though. And I’m kinda starting to want the 252, in addition to my 242 and 219.
Karen says
February 9th, 2008 at 10:33 pmOh Holly and Glosslizard,
You know you can always could on me to be your MAC pusher, ha!
Glosslizard says
February 9th, 2008 at 10:37 pmThanks, you know we love you for it! 😉
Karen says
February 9th, 2008 at 10:37 pmHi Amanda, the 252 is a great brush. It’s one of my faves, and I reach for it all the time. I use it to apply both dry and moist eye products, including Paint Pots, MAC Paint, Concealer, Eyeshadow, Pigments… And it’s also a champ. That thing traveled with me to work every day for years and it’s still going strong. Definitely a work horse brush!
Louise Gray says
February 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pmHi,
I just love your new hair look! Those highlights are super on you. I like the smokey eye look. Now the superblended sounds good but I would like to see it toned down a little for streetwear. It’s confession time. Yes, my feud was over with Karl L. and so I went to the counter and bought the new quad Mystic something or other. It looked so much prettier in person than in pictures. I also bought, thinking of you, the Leopard lipstick. Me-o-o-o-w! I bought two more things, too. But here is why I am mad at Karl for the second time and he is on my shizz list, as you say. The lovely Chanel MUA Grace who is 60+ ( I hope that I look as good as she does.), handed me a generous amount of samples and told me as a heads up that Chanel was going to discontinue their sampling very soon. She said no more. I figure that I give Karl a lot of my dough. The least he can do is let me try some of his goods before I buy. Right? No try, no buy. I am going to have to think on this one.
But anyway, sweetie, you are looking good. I hope that your writing class is going well. Maybe you should write about us-your fans!! Have a relaxing Sunday. Louise