Makeup Look of the Day: The Starlet

The Starlet is representative of Old Hollywood glamour icons like Jean Harlow (upper right) and is depicted by none other than Courtney Love (upper left).  It's very eyelash heavy and looks the most authentic when the brows are bleached and light brown pencil is used to draw on the signature skinny high-arched brows.  A dark brown eye pencil is also used on the upper lid in a curve, meaning the line should be thickest in the middle.  A thick coat black mascara is applied to both upper and lower lashes and a bright pink blush is swept over the cheeks.  My take on the look is a more watered-down version. I chose to keep my natural brows in tact and focus more on the lashes and red glossy lips.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Latisse ($120) is a liquid eyelash enhancer to be used nightly that can be purchased (without a Rx, despite what the ads say) at most medispas.  I've been using it for the past few weeks and so far I have noticed a slight increase in length and thickness of my lashes.  However, it takes about 2 months for the effect to peak.  Aside from Latisse, another important item that helps to achieve long lashes is an eyelash curler. Personally I like to curl my lashes after applying mascara. I find that lashes already coated in mascara tend to curl better and hold the curl longer than lashes that are curled prior to applying mascara.  However, this technique only works if no eyeshadow is being worn on the upper lid since the mascara on the lashes tends to mark the upper lid upon curling which ruins the eyeshadow and can be quite messy and difficult to fix.                                            

Makeup Look of the Day: The Flapper

T-Boz

Josephine Baker

Another '20s look, the Flapper is undoubtedly the most iconic look of that decade.  Along with the help of a few non-cosmetic accessories, this look is dependent upon an almost-black smoky eye and a dark lip.  No powder or blush are used. Just black pencil liner on top and bottom of eyes, charcoal eyeshadow around the entire eye, and some black mascara to top it off.  For lips, I used a dark berry toned lipstick, which was very popular in that era.  My only regret is not having gone a bit heavier on the charcoal shadow both in the crease of the lid and under the eye for a really smoky effect.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Jordana eyeliner in Onyx

Despite what you may have heard, smoky eyes are not a trend-- they are here to stay!  Therefore, it's worthwhile to have the right tools for it.  How you choose to apply the look is your call.  You can go heavy, light, or somewhere in between.  It's up to you if you want to use just an eyeliner or shadow, or both of them together.  If you use an eyeliner (alone or with shadow), make sure it's a pencil liner instead of liquid since a liquid cannot be smudged without looking like a complete mess.  The eyeliner I used was Jordana Kohl Kajal eyeliner in Onyx (only $0.99 at drugstores).  And the charcoal shadow came as part of a quartet by L'bel Paris eyeshadow quartet in Fantaisie, which unfortunately has been discontinued.

L'Bel Paris eyeshadow quartet, Fantaisie

Makeup Look of the Day: The Vamp

      Very 1920's, the Vamp is a tribute to silent film stars such as Clara Bow (below right).  It should look a little bit...well, scary.  Demi Moore's (below left) face transforms perfectly into this role.....the look is all about angled eyes and a dark, dark over-drawn lip.  Women with dark eyes and dark hair have an advantage at pulling off this look.  I'm definitely not the most fitting model for it, but I'm content with my own interpretation.   The Vamp is not to be taken too literally (unless you are attending a costume party).  It's just something to have fun and experiment with, and maybe take away an idea or two to add to your normal routine.

                       PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

I was supposed to use a dark-toned lip pencil, which I didn't have, so I had to think outside the box and use my L'Bel Paris Defini Eyeliner in Capuccino.  It's more of a burgundy-brown as you can see in the picture to the left.  I think it passes quite well as a lip liner! Also, if you look closely, you can see that I overdrew both my top and bottom lips.  I also made the width of my mouth narrower by applying foundation to the outer corners (you can really notice this on Demi).  

Makeup Look of the Day: The Innocent

Tori Amos

The Innocent has been one of my favorites so far because it's a look that I would wear myself.  It should have a whimsical and ethereal vibe, reminding you of a Botticelli portrait.   The makeup is really soft and plays with light and natural looking shadows, like an oil painting come to life.  This look requires a shimmery liquid foundation, pink creme blush, white iridescent eye shadow, brown cream shadow, black mascara, flesh-toned lip pencil and a dab of clear lip gloss.

Botticelli's Venus

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

I think the stand-out item in this look would have to be this Baked-to-Last Bronzer in Golden Bronze from the Body Shop, ($21).  Not only does this product illuminate your skin beautifully, but it's actually good for your skin too-- it contains organic olive oil from southern Italy which conditions the skin.  This look doesn't actually call for a bronzer but since I didn't have a shimmery foundation, I figured that a little bit of this bronzer over my liquid foundation would give off an almost identical effect.  I think it worked out pretty well!

Makeup Look of the Day: Classical

model Chandra North

This is very stripped down and very '90s-- no foundation, powder, or blush are used. "Classical" proves you don't need to wear a lot of makeup for it to be effective.  All this look requires is gold eye shadow, black mascara (for top lashes only), and a matte red lip color.  

          PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Since the skin is "naked" in this look, I used Jafra Gentle Exfoliating Scrub, $16 (right) before applying any makeup for a healthy glow (that a good foundation and blush usually help out with).  An oatmeal or apricot scrub (St. Ives is the gold standard) are also recommended.  

Makeup Look of the Day: Softness

Tina Turner

Softness, as the name suggests, is a look that has a certain ease to it.  The colors are well-blended to avoid any harshness and no eyeliner or lip liner are used.  The eyes only use a burgundy-brown shadow and black mascara while the lips are only coated with a swipe of clear red gloss.  I didn't have a burgundy-brown shadow so I created it by first applying Mary Kay Hazelnut powder over the entire lid and then applied a shimmery pinkish cream shadow on top of that, and finished it off with another layer of Hazelnut shadow in an attempt to keep the color more on the brown side.  Another important part of the look is apricot toned blush that is generously applied over the cheeks, temples, and chin.  Tina Turner's complexion offers the perfect canvas for apricot blush.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Avon Morph Tones ($19.99) is what I used to add burgundy to the eyes. When mixed with brown, the pinkish color (on the left) becomes burgundy.  This cream eye shadow duo has come in handy for a lot of looks I've already done and they blend surprisingly well with powder shadows.  I like the two shades this one offers because they are natural and earthy while also shimmery for added glamour.

Avon Morph Tones shadow in "Jillian's Pick"

Makeup Look of the Day: Defining

American actress Gena Rowlands

 Rowlands in the '90s

This look is essentially a combination of two prior looks: Shimmer and Glamorous.  It's a lot of makeup but when done right, should look clean and rich.  It's called Defining because the eyes, lips, and contours of the face are all simultaneously being spotlighted.  It's also an appropriate look for all ages.  As you can see, Gena Rowlands wears the look flawlessly in both her younger days and as a mature woman.

Defining uses a golden blond eyeshadow on the lid and a neutral shimmery shadow for the browbone.  Personally I didn't have a golden blond eyeshadow so I ended up mixing shimmery bronze and soft yellow powder shadows together to come up with the shade I needed.  You don't need to always run to the store to get a color you don't have-- chances are you already have two shades that can be combined to make whatever color you need.

The look also uses black pencil eyeliner on the upper lid and black mascara on the upper and lower lashes.  The lips are outlined and filled in with a neutral pencil before applying a red cream lipstick.  Soft rose blush is applied generously to the cheeks and temples.

                                                                       PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Lilique Dome brush

The Defining Look is really dependent upon having the right brushes.  Get yourself a variety of brushes that serve different purposes.  I used a Lilique #400 Dome brush which costs around $15 and is used for translucent powder to be applied all over the face.  I also used an eyeshadow brush to blend the eyeshadow up and outward after applying it with a sponge-tip applicator. I like Sephora All Over Shadow brush, #22 (left).  A blush brush should be separate from your powder (dome) brush.  You don't want to get blush on the brush that you are going to use for powder.  The difference between blush and dome brushes are the bristles.  Whereas on a dome brush the bristles become gradually longer towards the center (shaped like a dome), a blush brush's bristles are all one length.  Brushes can be purchased at a drug store or from a more expensive department store.  However, I don't believe brushes need to be expensive in order to serve their purpose.  Thankfully there are a lot of options for different budgets.

Ultima II blush brush