So I spoke previously about all the great facial products you could use, and now I'm moving onto the eyes. For me, the eyes is what really brings it all together. I can do a really simple lip look, but dazzle with the eyes, and it really makes that much more of a difference. My favorite MAC products to buy are eye products, and it's so much fun to play around with the different colors.
Bases
I will start with the bases. These are the things you can use under your eye make up to make it stay all day. Don't you just hate when you get home, and realize that your face looks nothing like what it did at 7 a.m. this morning? This is why bases are necessary. They make everything stay put.
Sometimes simple concealer can work miracles. If your concealer is just a tad lighter than your skin color, you can always use it as a highlighter right under your brow. Also, depending on the shades of my eyeshadow, I use
Shadestick. Depending on your skin tone, you can find something fairly neutral that just makes your eyeshadow stick to the eyelid a little more, or you can use dazzling colors like Sea Me if you're using blue shades. I use Shimmersand under any color eyeshadow and it makes it pop more. It's like using chalk in scrapbooking: if you put the chalk over another brighter color, it gives it a less translucent effect. Think of this when you put eyeshadow on. Sometimes you put it on, and it looks barely there. If that's the look you're going for, then fine. If you don't want to come home at 6 p.m. and look like all you did was sprinkle yourself with glitter, use some Shadestick, or concealer. The downside of the Shadestick is that it dries out easily. So every time you use it, you have to make sure the cap is on really tight, otherwise -the next time you use it- it will feel like you're rubbing charcoal across your eyelid. It's extremely concentrated and thicker than other products, so it's almost like using crayon on your face.
I also use Paint Pot. It comes in so many luxurious colors, but my favorite is
Rubenesque just because it acts as a great base, but you can also use it as a beautiful highlighter for under the brow because it has a natural, yet iridescent quality to it. I use this on my eyes no matter what color I'm putting on top. Even if I'm dealing with funky blues or purples, I use my Paint Pot first. And do you see how rich and creamy it is {look to the right}. That's just how it feels on your eyelid. Just the feel of it makes me giddy, but I'm just silly that way.
Eyebrows
These babies should not be forgotten. You actually don't have to get them arched if you have the right
tools. I once went into the store on 125th St. before my girl Delali's party, and the manager at the time, Jennifer, damn near cussed me out for not getting my eyebrows arched, but once she was done, you couldn't even tell. If you are in desperate need of some threading, you can cover the hairier areas that should have been plucked off of your eyelids with a great highlighting eyeshadow. If your eyebrows are already plucked {or you simply like the Chewbacka look} and you just want to tame them, then Brow Set
works wonders. It is basically like when you put a dab of Vaseline on your eyebrows just to make all the strays stay in their place. You know us women of color have that hair that doesn't necessarily stay where you put it, so this allows your brows to stay straight all day long. They have it in varying colors to match your hair's color, or clear if you have a hard color to match {and ladies...eyebrows should match the hair on your head. There is nothing wrong with dying your hair a nice shade of magenta...just make sure that you sit for an hour while dying your eyebrows as well. How many times have you wanted to scream at Madonna for having those harsh black eyebrows with a blond mane?}
Now I don't have pencil thin eyebrows. It probably goes back to my mother harping all those years growing
up about how she missed the eyebrows she had plucked to oblivion leaving nothing but a few scraggly strays. But don't worry, penciling in your eyebrows after you've plucked them so much they won't grow back doesn't have to leave you with those hideous Esmerelda-drawn-in-like-a-numbered-picture brows. Use Eye Brows. I once saw the current manager at MAC apply this to a woman's face whom had plucked off all her eyebrows only to trade them in for some look alike tattoos on her forehead, and he made them look like there was actually hair there with this product. This pencil requires no sharpening because you can just twist it and it sharpens itself, and the point is so thin that you can mimic the look of hair. Voila! Instant eyebrows!
Eyelashes
Yes, even these need a little more attention. We don't usually want the look of spider eyes, and aren't all the new mascara products suggesting that they can promise that you won't get that? I'll give you a little secret...shhhh...it has nothing to do with the product. It has to do with the way you put the mascara on!
First and foremost, I use Prep + Prime Lash. Yes, even eyelashes need a primer. Please believe me on this one. I once went to the MAC store in Berkeley and asked the guy to give me a new look for my eyes. He pulled out his mascara, and got so close to my face that I could smell his breath {thank God for the Tic Tacs he was sucking on}, and he actually told me that I didn't need mascara because my eyelashes were so lusciously long already. He didn't even realize that I had on a full coat of Prep + Prime, and Pro Longlash! And I had put on the Pro Longlash that morning and this was high afternoon!
Here's the trick. First and foremost, actually bend your mascara wand so that the brush part is at a 45 degree angle. It allows you to put on the mascara evenly. If you don't trust that you can do it yourself, ask a MAC artist to do it for you when you buy the mascara. They all swear by this. And because of MAC's lovely policy, if you accidentally break it, you can easily return it. Second, you must start from the base of your lashes and move slowly all the way to the tips. Quit all that rubbing your eyelashes ten times tomfoolery. That's what gives you the spider eyes. It's just that the mascara is clumping on top of itself. if you go through two times slowly, it will truly look like your own lashes.
Eyeshadow
This is truly my favorite part of doing my face. I mentioned before that I do this before putting on foundation. I have shadows in every shade, but let me just mention a few of my favorite "go to" colors just to humor myself.
Now mentioning this will probably just make you mad. My favorite of all time is actually a discontinued item because it's part of a limited collection. It is Engaging from the Mineralize collection. If you look hard enough, you may find it on Ebay. My principal saw it on me, and declared she had to have it, so I had to get it for her in an auction. It comes with both silver with a hint of pink, and gold. It's wonderful with the two colors together.
My other favorite is also from Mineralize and called Mi'Lady.
Good luck finding that one. It was sold out at the MAC store before its actual release date. Everyone had bought it up at the launching party. I actually had no money at the party to buy it, but the manager knew me, and held the last one for me to buy on the release date. After that, the store got no more! That purple and red make me happier than a kid in a candy store! MAC rarely if ever comes out with a red eyeshadow, so the next time they do, if that's your thing, rush out and get it. It will probably be a discontinued item and sold out in a day like Mi'Lady was.
Also, if you're a definite MAC fan, and you love blue shadows, you need to rush out and get Parrot. MAC actually discontinued it, and rereleased it for all us fans whom pined over not having it for years. I don't know if they are keeping it in their regular color choices, but it is part of a rare cache so definitely cop that if you can.
Another trick when buying MAC eyeshadows, get the quad compact, or the 15 pack compact, and purchase the little eyeshadow decals as opposed to the individual eyeshadows. The decals go for $10.50 while the individual ones go for $14. While the decal looks smaller, it is actually the same amount of eyeshadow and you're paying less. You can also arrange them in your compact by color groups if you slightly obsessive compulsive like I am.
When you apply eyeshadow, make sure you use an appropriate brush {that discussion will come in a later installment} and pack it on as opposed to brushing it across the eyelid. This makes the color more concentrated, and makes it pop more.
Eyeliner
Eyeliner is coming back in a huge way in the fashion world. There are all kinds of funky things you can do with it now that is all the rage. Do you see this enchanting picture on the left? That cat eye is phenomenal, and the eyeliner really sets it off!
I just knew when I looked at the picture what they used to do that too. It's so simple to paint on perfect eyeliner with Fluidline and the right brush. And while I use Blacktrack primarily, you can use so many other colors as well. You can use white liner {like the picture on the left} to brighten the eyes up, or liners that match your make up to bring the whole look together. Turquoise liner with a fuschia lipstick can give you that perfect '80s look. I also love using eyeliner right around the tear ducts. If you use a lighter color right there {eyeshadow works too} you can really brighten they eyes up also.
My other favorite liner to use is Liquidlast Liner in Aqualine. When they say it lasts, it truly does. Water and soap alone will not ever get this off! I have worn this liner in Inkspill for days in a row because I didn't have anything to get it off with. It will only come off with an oil based product. MAC's Gently Off Eye and Lip Makeup Remover will do the trick because it is oil and water mixed, but some baby oil will do it also.
Just a note with the liner, if you're going to use it on your water line {that section underneath your eye} make sure it has "Kohl" in the name. This is the only liner you should use there. It doesn't bother your eye like other liners, and it won't run.
And here's a little extra something for you. Pigment! Let me tell you. I love Ruthie at 125th just for putting me onto this. I also love her because she gave me several free containers to just try out, and since a little goes a long way, I haven't had to buy any yet! Pack this sucker on over some eyeshadow, and it does some funky things. What I really love about it is that you can match your eyes with your lips by adding just a little to a tissue and mixing it with your favorite lipglass and applying that to your lips. You've instantaneously got a matching face! Do not just put this on your lips and then apply the lipglass. It will stay in your lipglass forever {as I have now learned with my Greenbean}.
Here's a little lesson about putting your eyes together. Always put a light highlighter in a silver or gold right under the brow. The color should not go all the way to your brow unless you're using naturals. Put your darkest color in the crease, or on the outer part of your lower lid for a smoldered look. Put the darkest color on the inner eye to provide a contoured face or for a really goth look. Use a really light color right in the center of your lower lid just to open up your eyes. And whatever you do, experiment. I hate it when people say, "Oh I just don't look good with that color, but you can do all that." Hush your face! We can all do it! Look at my sister Anoa with those lovely bright colors. If you go into any MAC store in the nation, you will find artists of every hue rocking every color...now lips...that's another story. If you have a preference for more natural shades, that's fine. But there are still so many to choose from.
And when all else fails, and I don't have time to put on any color, I'll give you another trick. Just take some Clear Lipglass and put it on your lids. I kid you not! Yes, it will feel sticky until you get used to it, but that with some mineralize foundation and a natural lip will give your face an angelic, and subtle glow all day! You can actually do a really natural face with color as well. Here I have on the red from Mi'Lady, and you can't even tell.