Inspiration of the week #5 -makeup edition

Pulling a face in my typical dark eyeshadow 

I've been thinking about makeup. I'm not a morning person and I tend to go for whatever's easiest (if anything at all) makeup-wise most of the time -lately, that's usualy a half-assed quick smokey eye and some mascara, or some eyeliner if I really feel like making an effort. But some time ago I got my makeup done for free at a makeup bar. I gave the artist carte blanche, so to speak, and came out with shimmery, silvery-white eyeshadow and just a touch of mascara on my lashes. While I thought the look was a bit theatrical, it got me thinking about the possibility of switching to a light palette for my eye makeup for a change...*

The problem is, I find that applying white (or really light) eyeshadow tends to make my eyes look smaller -probably because it 'erases' all the darker, shadowy areas around my eyes that give them depth and make them seem bigger. So how to counter that effect? One idea is to put the focu on the lips, of course, in which case a touch of shimmery white/beige eyeshadow on the lids (and maaybe the tiniest bit of mascara) would be all you needed.

But, as you've probably guessed, I'm all about the eyes... I like a good lip colour, but eye makeup lasts longer, plus I like accentuating my eyes because they're the windows to the soul etcetera, anyway ;) The makeup look from Rochas' Spring 2015 runway show might be an interesting inspiration: Pale pastel eyeshadow is applied to the eyelid, and lots of mascara are applied -literally until the lashes start clumping together, helping to really draw the eye towards the eye again and creating a nice contrast between the black mascara and the light colour of the lids. Then, a black dot is drawn in the middle of the bottom lash line with eyeliner. According to the makeup artist who created this look, the dots have an "eye-opening effect".

Rochas Spring 2015 look

Rochas Spring 2015 look

me putting on my best Rochas face... :P

I actually remember seeing the dot idea before, and I tried it last fall (pre-bangs!) with some of my standard black eyeliner. The result was a little -not too- dramatic -see for yourself! I definitely think I'll try it again with the light eyeshadow instead -although I might still add a really thin line on the upper lashline for extra definition.

Nanette Lepore Spring 2015 look

Another source of inspiration is Nanette Lepore's runway makeup -they used silver eyeliner. In their case, definition was added with fake lashes, so maybe this is a somewhat less wearable look, although it looks just right on the models' faces. I think it may partly be because their flawless, sunkissed skin makes everything look amazing, though... I suppose another post on dewy summer skin is in order? ;)