Smoky Eyes Using Carmindy's Method

Several weeks ago, I wrote a review on Carmindy’s makeup book. I had stated then that I was going to see how well her advice worked in real life by trying to follow her advice to create a smoky eye look. First, I needed to go out and buy several shadows to help create the look (see my earlier post on my latest experience at MAC for a full explanation). I tried the look three times and have finally began to get it down pat. I used a series of three shadows, eyeliner, and four different brushes to create this look.

I started by using Smashbox Cream Eyeliner in Caviar with an angled brush from Urban Decay on my upper and lower lids, pushing the line as close into the lashes as possible. I then smudged the line with a Q-tip to soften the harsh effect that this product tends to have. Next, I used MAC Filament eyeshadow over my entire lid all the way up until I reached the brow bone. For this step, I used a large shadow brush from NARS.

Next, I used NARS Night Clubbing shadow all over lid up to the crease, using a smaller NARS shadow brush. The last color that I needed to use was MAC Silver Ring. This shade was applied right into the crease with a crease brush from MAC. I then applied Filament right in the corner of my eyes and began the blending process. Carmindy says to the blend the shades until there is a gradation in the colors. This is the most important past of the process and the most time consuming. However, I found that the longer that I spend on this step, the better results that I can yield. Once I was able to get the gradation and the blending down pat, the whole look was much less severe and much more attractive.

I think the only thing that I would change with this look is using a different eyeshadow color for my lid. I am using NARS Night Clubbing, a black color flecked with gold shimmer. I want to try this look with a pure black shadow, a black shade with a silver shimmer in it, and with a deep charcoal shade. I will have to see how the shade change affects the look.

This isn’t a look that I can do everyday. But I really think that Carmindy’s simple advice made what could have been a very hard look to work with and made it much simpler. I really liked the way that this worked out for me and it actually gave me a lot of confidence in my ability to work with dramatic eye makeup. The next step in this experiment is going to be for me to try this look with false lashes to up the ante on the drama.

Carmindy's '5 Minute Face"

I recently picked up the book "5 minute face" by the makeup artist Carmindy. The first thing that attracted me to this book is that she herself is on the cover with flawless yet very natural looking makeup. Her philosophy is that every woman is beautiful in some way and makeup should be simple and enhance features rather than change features. This advice is worth a shot to me.

Here are some things that I learned from the book...

- Use a blush brush to apply powder in order to better target the areas that need powder.

- Use a powder brush to apply blush in order to better hug the apples of your cheeks.

- Wiggling a eyeliner pencil for better application and then softening the line with a q-tip.

- Use a red lip stain before applying red lipstick to make pigment last longer.

the above tips are things that even I have never heard of and am now eager to try. The red lip stain one is my favorite because i have a red lipstick from Vincent Longo that I love but I rarely use it because it is very high maintenance and requires almost constant touch ups.

I only had one real complaint with this book. Carmindy goes through different tones and hair colors and recommends makeup shades for them. Well, all brunettes do not have medium skin! The only place where she mentions pale skin is in conjunction with red hair. Most redheads have a complexion that supports warm and neutral shades, which is very much unlike mine. So I feel rather left out of this section and was unable to learn anything about shades that would work for my skin tone.

Carmindy gives step by step advice on how to create several trendy looks along with her classic 5 minute makeup routine. My next step is reviewing her book this book will be to try some of her advice on how to create these looks and see how well her advice translates into real life.