How to Apply Eye Makeup Makeup should emphasize beauty and highlight your best features, not become a mask for which to hide. It is the eyes, the windows to your heart and character that are seen first. Your eyes create a focal point for creativity, fun, and elegance. Therefore, when applying eye makeup, it is necessary to create balance and harmony to reveal your true beauty. Applying eye makeup can be a frightening concept if you are not equipped with the correct knowledge and equipment. Once you know the basics, you will find that applying eye makeup is fun. All you need is the right color, shadow brushes, an eye lining pencil, an eyelash curler, and mascara. First, it is important to know that your eyes are a great place to begin to express yourself. Adding color to the eyes will automatically draw attention to them. Because of this, when you apply shadow, choose colors that complement your skin tone and eye color. Use the iris as a guide in choosing your color scheme. You want to create a polished elegant look. Color Guide: Blue Eyes To emphasize blue eyes use gray, rose, mauve, purple, orange, peach, gold, or any shade of bronze. When selecting a shade of blue to go with the eyes follow the rule of opposites. (If the eye is dark blue, use sky blue; if the eye is icy blue, use darker blues, even indigo.) Green Eyes To emphasize green eyes use chestnut, royal purple, violet, plum, forest green, and brown. If the iris is a deep green, try using a darker eye shadow; if the iris is a pale green use a pale green eye shadow. Hazel Eyes To emphasize the green in hazel eyes use royal purple, rose, violet, and forest green. To make the eye more brown, use chestnut. Brown Eyes To emphasize brown eyes use copper, bronze, champagne, beige, forest green, gold, and other metallics. Using shades of green will complement brown eyes. Brown-Black Eyes To emphasize deep brown eyes use tones that are lighter and pearly to bounce more light. Try a sheer green. The secret to applying Eye Makeup When applying eye makeup, remember that a small amount goes a long way. It is best to start applying the shadow lightly, building up to intensity desired. Since you can alter the shape and look of your eyes using eye makeup, begin by tracing the brow bone with your finger or shadow tool to get a feel for the shape of your eye. It is important to note that you do no want to apply eye shadow above your brow bone; rather, you will be blending upward towards the brow bone. How to use a brush to apply your eye shadows Apply your shadow using a shadow brush in a medium size. The brush will give you more control. A larger eye shadow brush will give more coverage for the total eye. A smaller shadow brush will give a more defining line. Keep in mind that you will want to use a synthetic brush for creams and a natural hair brush for powder. Using these brushes for specific eye makeup will make clean-up easier. 1. Begin applying the shadow to the mobile eye, making sure that the shadow covers evenly and is blended carefully in an upward movement. Remember to blend toward the brow bone. Keeping the brush moving in circular movements will help create an even blend of color. Shadow should be applied toward the lachrymal area, or inner corner, and blended. 2. Apply the shadow on the opposite eye. Be sure to create equal looks. Uneven shadow will upset the balance and harmony. 3. Apply the eyeliner to the top of the eye, close to the lashes. This will create thickness. You can also line the bottom lashes lightly for a more dramatic and defined look. Remember that when you apply loner, black is more commonly used for nighttime and brown or navy for daytime. 4. For more emphasis, apply a pearly white or ivory in the inner corner of the eyes and above the brow bone to highlight the eyes. Blend carefully so that the shadow highlights and does not appear as a polka dot in the corner of the eye or a harsh line below the brow. 5. Finish applying eye makeup with mascara. Curl the lashes to further open the eyes. Once again, when applying eye makeup, it is best to begin with a light coat of mascara on both top and bottom lashes. You can build intensity by applying another coat, depending on the look desired. Look up when applying mascara to the lashes. Natural makeup is a term used to describe makeup that mimics tones and hues already within one's complexion. A complexion consists of many hues and undertones. The ultimate goal of applying natural makeup is to create harmony with what nature has provided. Often times, natural makeup is confused with no makeup. No makeup just implies a lack of effort and time; natural makeup is actually, just the opposite. It is carefully selected and applied to enhance features so that they appear to have been a genetic gift of beauty. This is not to suggest that natural makeup means spending an outstanding amount of time applying and outstanding amount of makeup. It just means spending quality time applying makeup strategically. Let me explain. To Begin Natural Makeup 1. Always begin with a cleansed, toned, and moisturized face and eye area. Being of mature skin, I use an alpha hydroxy serum for gentle exfoliation and promotion of smoother skin. The serum will help rid the skin of the dull, ashy appearance and improve the color of the skin by getting rid of dead skin cells on the layer of the skin. 2. When applying natural makeup, I like to look back to photographs of my youthful days to remember the colors that lit up my face as a child. I look at the cheeks and lips to get an idea of pink or peach. Over the years, hair color changes, skin changes, and we no longer see the colors that nature once gave to us. This is a once and done deal. Once you look at your photograph and decide which colors were natural to your skin, the rest is easy. Applying Natural Makeup 1. Next, you may still need to correct under eye circles. No matter how natural you want to be, if you have bags and circles, you just look tired! 2. Not everyone needs to wear foundation. A tinted moisturizer is a wonderful trick to natural makeup. You are adding well-deserved nourishment to the skin with an added benefit; a tint of color. You may also opt for applying a bit of foundation to only the parts that show redness to even out the complexion. The truly blessed are those that need just a great moisturizer to add a healthy glow. The end result of natural makeup foundation is to return the skin to the youthful glow. This is why heavy foundations and matte finishes are seldom used in natural makeup. 3. As a child, my cheeks were always rosy. This is the inspiration for natural makeup. Use a rouge that is similar to those pictures. If you cannot tell due to the quality of picture or the lack of color try this easy trick: gently pinch your cheeks. Remember: Gently. Black and blue is not in the natural color scheme. A gentle pinch will give you insight to your skin's natural blush shade. Apply the rouge to the apples of your cheeks. I sometimes sweep a bronzer or rouge to the areas of my face where the sun would kiss. Once again, this gives a natural glow. Just be careful not to apply too much. You don't want to look sunburned. 4. Natural eye makeup is simple. Keep to neutral shades. Colors such as taupe, brown, peach, and mauve give freshness to the eyes without overpowering the skin. These neutral colors will allow your natural features to shine by complementing the iris. When applying natural makeup, I keep the color families for eyes, cheeks, and lips the same. Use your natural blush as the guide for choosing colors. Since I have naturally rosy cheeks and pink lips, I use a light mauve shadow, a rose blush, and clear gloss with a rose tint. The colors don't compete and are not the focus of my face; instead, the dewy glow is the focus. 5. A light powder liner can be applied to make the lashes appear thicker as in our younger days. You may see that liner is not necessary. 6. Curl the eyelashes and apply a brown or clear mascara to add length. Brown is a natural color that won't add drama, but only lengthen and fill in areas that may be sparse. 7. Use a lipstick that is creamy and close to your natural lip tone. Apply a dab of gloss to the center of the lips to emphasize fullness. In place of a creamy lipstick, try a tinted gloss. Tinted glosses are excellent for adding a pinch of color and sheen all in one. Is Natural Makeup Natural? Yes, yes, yes. Natural makeup is fresh and dewy. It lets the world see your beauty. Is it an oxymoron? That might be for you to decide, I myself, love it. MAC Cosmetics Products AdTech Ad [edit] Lip products Lip Gloss * Lipglass is a sticky, color-rich, long-lasting gloss with moisturizers. MAC Cosmetics offers a fabulous color selection. * Lustreglass is a slightly less-sticky sister of lipglass. The sheer, moisturizing color is applied with a brush. * Chromewear is the cross between lipstick and lip gloss. It has a slightly metallic finish and similar to butter for your lips. Not sticky like lipglasses and not as thick as regular lipstick, it's a crowd-pleaser. Lipstick Finishes * Amplified: Creamy with a barely-there shine, if you're looking for non-drying knock 'em dead color, check out the amplifieds. * Frost: Like the Amplified finish, this one has superior color payoff. As the name suggests, though, they're slightly frostier. * Glaze: For the lipstick shy, this one has just a bit of color with a smidge more shine. * Lustre: Fairly sheer with a lot of shine, this is another option for color-phobes. * Matte: Exactly as the name suggests--no real shine, high color, and could be slightly drying so apply chapstick first. * Satin: If Matte and Glaze had a baby, Satin would be its name. High in color, low in dryness and almost matte. * Sheer: Almost like a lipgloss in the color payoff. High shine, low color. Great for spring and summer natural looks. Lipliner Lipliners are available in crème and pencil formulas with a vast array of colors. Spice and Whirl pencils are popular and go well with almost any lipcolor. If you're looking for a liner to match your red, red lips, Red Enriched Creamstick liner is great for keeping bleeding at bay. [edit] Eye products MAC is a popular line of makeup. MAC is a popular line of makeup. Shadesticks/Paints: These can be worn on their own or used as primers for other powder shadows. If layered with shadow, the end result is a more vibrant look. Bare Canvas, Untitled and Stillife Paints all make great neutral bases for any shadow. Beige-ing offers the same result in a Shadestick. Shadows: MAC make up is most known for their selection of eye shadow. There's any color a girl could dream of in finishes from Veluxe Pearl to Lustre. Veluxe Pearl's a smooth, high-color finish. Lustres are a bit grainier, often glittery. In between the two extremes are Mattes, Satins, Velvets and Frosts. Liners: Kohls are known for their smudgeability while Power Points are held high for their ability to apply smoothly, last forever and never tug on the eyelid. Fluidlines are becoming popular for the way they cling to the waterline. They don't budge, and their fluid-gel consistency make them a dream to apply. Honey has long been used in cosmetics, with origins dating back to early Egypt. And this year, M.A.C. Cosmetics is celebrating honey with the introduction of their makeup collection for summer 2009: Naked Honey. Though the makeup collection is the typical bronze, golds, and coppers one expects from a successful summer color line, the added skin care products make the M.A.C. Naked Honey Collection stand out. M.A.C. Cosmetics Naked Honey Eye Makeup For Summer 2009 Three new eyeshadow colors hit the M.A.C. makeup line with the Naked Honey collection for summer 2009, all of which retail for $14.50 at M.A.C. Cosmetics locations: * Creme de Miele - A mac makeup pale, frosty yellow-gold color that is perfect for highlighting the inner corners of the eye or the brow bone. * Pollinator - A mid-level peach color with warm red tones in a pearlized finish, easily swept over the lower lid for a tough of color during the day. * Buckwheat - A dimensional, deep, pearly copper brown, great for accentuating the crease or for use with angle brush to create a summery eyeliner. M.A.C. Cosmetics Naked Honey Lipglass Lip Gloss For Summer 2009- great makeup! It is not typical of M.A.C. Cosmetics to match their Lipglass products so closely with other parts of a makeup collection, but for summer 2009, the company seems to have made an exception. Closely mirroring the eyeshadow colors, three new Lipglass colors will be released with Naked Honey. Each Lipglass is sold for $14.00. * She’s a Star - A mac makeup lip color counterpart to the above-mentioned Creme de Miele, this Lipglass is ideal for someone who wants to wear a subtle or neutral lip with the added benefit of shine. She's a Star is also an easy way to add a touch of shimmer to a favorite lipstick. * Queen Bee - This pearly Lipglass offers a touch of apricot, making it ideal for people who look best in warm lip colors, or for those who want to add a subtle glow of warmth to their overall makeup look. * Buzz - Suitable for someone who enjoys a dramatic mac make up lip look year-round, this Lipglass is a deeper, pearlized copper brown that looks beautiful on darker skin tones. M.A.C. Cosmetics Naked Honey Skin Care Collection for Summer 2009 Perhaps one of the most buzzed about products in the Naked Honey summer makeup collection from M.A.C. Cosmetics is the addition of a product called "Naked Honey Skin Salve." Retailing for $18.50, this multi-purpose body salve is made with organic beeswax, honey, and sunflower oil, along with other natural ingredients, Naked Honey Skin Salve can be used anywhere on the body. It's perfectly suited for the lips, and is an excellent cuticle conditioner, as well. Furthermore, when used under the eyes, Naked Honey Skin Salve helps concealer blend evenly into the skin. Other additions to the M.A.C. Cosmetics summer 2009 skin care line include: