Health & Beauty

MAKE IT WORK:

The Key to Rocking Bold Eyes and Lips Together

by Candice Sabatini

Smoky eye, pale lip: been there, done that.

Bold Lip, pale eye: piece of cake.

But a bold lip and a bold eye? That can make even the most masterful makeup junkie tremble with insecurity. What’s a girl to do? Ask the experts, of course! I interviewed Ricky Wilson, Christian Dior Celebrity Makeup Artist and Rick DiCecca, Global Makeup Stylist for Artistry Beauty and got the scoop.

DiCecca tells me, “Often people think bold or dramatic means heavy eye shadow, when really it means emphasizing the structure and the architecture of the eye. Smoky eye, while dramatic, often deemphasizes the structure of the eye”.

Wilson adds, “The bold eye, bold lip is an iconic femme fatale look that was even popular with the silent film stars. But in recent years, women believed that they should focus only on one feature, but now everything comes full circle.”

 So are there any rules?

All the celebrity makeup artists agree that you shouldn’t try to emulate what you see on the runways. Those are created for high drama fashion shows, not for everyday wear, even if out clubbing all night. However, use runway looks for inspiration and to be on trend. DiCecca and Wilson agree that the bold eye, bold lip look means playing down the foundation and the blush and adding a bit of sculpting to the cheek.

Wilson says that he likes the complexion to show through and depending on the woman’s skin he’ll sponge on a very light application of foundation, concealer or BB cream only in areas that need it because, “with this look, too much foundation looks like you’re going on stage.” He also warns, “Be careful with blush as too much can catapult the look into something not cool”. DiCecca agrees and tells me “Balance is key and too much color on the cheeks takes away the elegance. Keep it architectural with a little shading in the hollow of the cheekbone”.

Photos from Dior, Pat McGrath for CoverGirl and Gato for Maybelline, show how these looks, although way more dramatic than we would wear in our daily lives, still follow these rules, even on the runway.
So how about color?  Any rules there?

Wilson warns against matching your eye shadow to your dress, but suggests to consider using colors that compliment your accessories. He personally hates pink eye shadow because he feels many women look ill when they wear it, and instead suggests a vanilla tone as a base.

DiCecca advises using shades with your same undertones for a more subdued effect—for example—if you have warm undertones choose earth tones or anything that has a yellow/orange base. And if you have cool undertones, choose colors with a bluish base. For a bolder look, mix it up and choose eye and lip shades opposite of your undertones.

It’s time to change up your look and go for the bold!

Candice Sabatini is a beauty and travel writer whose work appears most often in www.beautynewsnyc.com.  Candice can be followed on Twitter as @SabatiniOnStyle.

 

Tagged: anna sui, Artistry Beauty, best of Spring beauty, Betsey Johnson, Bold Eye, Bold Lip, Candice Sabatini, christian dior, CoverGirl, Gato, Maybelline, Pat McGrath, Rick DiCecca, Ricky Wilson, Spring '13 beauty trends, Spring 2013 beauty trends, Spring beauty, Thibaut de Saint Chamas

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