Eye Candy

Bring out your soulful beauty by enhancing your eyes. Whether your eyes are big, small, round, narrow, or deep set, all eyes will be on you when you give them a touch of glamour. Doing up the eyes is a great way to play with makeup, so have fun!

Breaking Old Habits
Psst... come here and listen, I am going to let you in a little secret. Always, apply eye makeup before any face makeup! Yes, you heard me right!  Now, I am all about breaking rules, but this is one rule I, myself and professional artists alike, never break. Applying your eye makeup first saves so much time!  As we all know time is money and professional artists are sometimes pressed for time and don't have any to waste. When eye shadow, mascara and liner is applied it sometimes leaves residue of pigment on the face, especially under the eyes. If there is foundation on the skin before these products are applied they tend to stick, making it hard to wipe off and clean up. It can leave the under eye area as well as the cheeks, and nose looking dirty, and even worse, it can turn your foundation and or concealer a greenish color, YIKES! So, unless you are going for the Wicked Witch look, follow this one simple rule and see how easy it will be to go from a novice to a professional.

Always apply a highlight shade under the eyebrow and in the tear duct area. This creates at an open, bright-eyed look. Younger women can choose shadows or creams with shimmer; older women should stick with sheer, matte colors like vanilla. Highlight shades include: light pink, white, vanilla, gold, iridescent, and champagne.

For a natural day look, you can stop with Step 1 before moving to eyeliner. For a little more definition or an evening look, apply an eye shadow shade across the lid and a slightly darker one in the crease. Blend well; no stripes.

Apply a dark liner to the upper lash line of the eyes. You can use a pencil, shadow, or liquid depending your desired effect. Liner enhances your lash line to frame the eyes. The closer to the lash line, the more natural the effect.

Mascara is a must on top lashes. If you tend to smudge the lower area when applying, skip it underneath. Curling lashes first makes a huge difference on straight lashes. Curled lashes=more drama. Consider having your lashes permed and or tinted for a 24/7 lush lash look! And for all those divas, eyelash extenions are an amazing additive.

• When choosing colors, use shades opposite your eye color. Contrast really makes the eyes stand out.
• Don't overdo it. If you are doing a strong or bright lip, use minimal eye makeup. For a classic look, apply the highlight shade, a taupe shadow across the lid, a dark line along the lashes and finish with mascara.
• For a sexy, smoky look on larger eyes, rim the inside with a black pencil.
• When using cream shadows apply only on the lid and not into the crease so the color does not become a creasy, greasy mess.
• Splurge on brushes. Blending is so important when using eye shadows and having good brushes makes all the difference. I buy some of my faves at art supply stores as well as makeup shops. If loose shadow falls under the eye when you are applying shadow, wipe away with a sponge dipped in a little foundation. It's the perfect eraser.