Consider this your complimentary makeover

You know how some people go out to eat at a nice restaurant, savor the flavors of each dish, and then can go home and re-create it? Yeah, I never could do that.


What I can do, though, is save pictures of faces and re-create the make-up looks. You do that, too, right? It's TOTALLY NORMAL.

First, I want to tell you a secret: I have been on photo shoots and spent many a hour hanging around with the hair & make-up people and I've learned a secret or two in that capacity. And this is what I want to tell you about make-up advertising photography: Yes, there is a law that says if you're advertising Maybelline make up, then the model has to be wearing Maybelline make up. But if the Maybelline doesn't do so good under the lights, or doesn't photograph too well, the make-up artist will totally apply a full face of a reliable make-up brand (say, MAC) first, followed by a little Maybelline on top and say "Ta-daah! Maybelline face!"

So. If you go to a site like Sephora and browse through various brand pages and click on the photo that says, "Get the look," just know that that photo may not be telling you the whole truth and nothing but the truth.


Now, on with the taste-testing.


I really like this photo from the Sephora homepage. If you want this look, you'll need to invest in some sort of highlighting liquid or luminizer, like Benefit's High Beam and apply it to the apples of your cheeks, in a strip down your nose (this makes the nose appear thinner) and on the chin. Voila! You're all glowy and shit. To complete this look, they've used a very thin line of liquid eyeliner around the whole eye; white pencil in the inner corner and accross the lower lid; very natural mushroom-colored shadow around the crease; very pale, pinkish-toned highlighter under the brow; fake lashes; darkened brows; clear lip gloss. It's a look that works especially well with your hair slicked back.

This is some line's idea of a smokey eye. They've lined the entire eye in a liquid liner, then applied a shimmery violet-grey color to the upper lid and all the way across the lower lid. It looks like they're using a little white pencil at the inside corner as well. (This is a trick that a lot of artists use to "brighten" the eye. I guess when you're doing smokey people consider that especially important.) It looks like the eye shadow has been blended up and back into a very slight point from the lid. (You can accomplish this with a foundation sponge.) She also probably has a natural mushroom-colored shadow in the crease and a pinkish-toned highligher shadow under the brows (which look like they could use a little shaping, BTW). The model's wearing fake lashes, but I don't think it's necessary for the look. A lash curler and a good mascara will do. Finish with peachy-colored, natural blush and lipstick.

They call this look "sunkissed." I call it "shake-n-baked." I don't think it's bronzer, unless they put it all the way down her neck and onto her shoulders. Maybe it's tinted moisturizer. She's got luminizer on her nose and chin (where the sun kissed her, I guess), a very soft pink blush which, oddly enough, is not applied to the apples of her cheeks (where, you would think, the sun would smack you). Her eyes are heavy on the white in the inside corners and a silvery color on the lid. (Is it blue? Oh lord, I hope it's not blue.) Nude lip gloss.

This looks like the plain-jane girl in an 80s John Hughes film who's been made over by her friend for the big reveal to hot guy who's way out of her league. But I imagine it might work in person. This is another take on "smokey eyes" that's probably supposed to be "softer" because they're using browns instead of black. Her eyes are lined all the way around in black pencil. A rich chocolate brown has been applied (rather heavily) to her lid and it's either been blended all the way up past the crease, or they've used in the crease a brownish-lavendar shadow that's just one shade lighter than what's on the lid. She's got just a touch of rosy blush on the apples of her cheeks (go very lightly here), lipliner and a silky lipstick also in a rosy color.



OK, this one's fun. Our Goth friend here has a no-blush look, although technically she has a little contouring underneath her cheekbones, to keep her from looking like a corpse. For the no-lipstick look, it appears they've covered her lips with foundation and powder in order to take it one step further to the "no-lips" look. She's got on black eyeliner AND black eyeshadow all the way around her eye and extended up the inside corner all the way to the brow. The black shadow extends from where the arch begins in her brow, in a straight line down to the outer corner of her eye. Along that line, a deep violet has been brushed on, and highlighter shadow is applied under the brow. You're going to need fake lashes with this, because no matter how much mascara you layer on, no one will ever see your lashes hidden in all that black shadow.


This is pretty. This would actually have made a nice holiday look. But maybe Valentines Day. It's kind of hard to see her eyes in this shot, but I'm guessing she's got kind of a pinky-gold color on her lids and a darker golden color in the crease. Black liquid eyeliner and mascara (a couple layers) on the upper lid only. White pencil on the inside of her lower lids. Rosy pink blush on the cheekbones and a gorgeous rosy-red lip gloss or (more likely) lipstick with gloss on top. Very romantic. Don't expect it to look exactly like this on you, though, unless you too get your face airbrushed.

Now here's one for you. This is actually an ad for a skin care line, so we're supposed to believe that she has no make up on. But we know better, don't we? Besides the fact that she's probably wearing foundation and coverup, she also has peachy-colored eyeshadow on her lid, a darker burnt-orange in her crease, a little highlighter under her brow and mascara on her upper lashes (no liner). And I can PROMISE YOU that is not her natural lip color. That is lip liner and matte lipstick in a nude pink. See how naked your face can look just from not wearing any blush?

While this photo is rather dramatic, this eye shadow technique is actually fairly common. You'll see it a lot on TV actresses. This is your basic 3-color design: mid-color on the inside lid, dark in the crease and outer lid, light under the brow.

Here's a good example of how to wear color on your eyes, and that is softly. She's wearing a soft lavender on her lids, a mushroom color above the crease, and a highlighter under her brow. She's got luminizer on her cheekbones, along with a very nude blush and a pinkish-nude (not clear) lip gloss. This is also an example of a model who is NOT wearing false eye lashes.

This is a pretty look for nearly anyone. She's got a taupey-brown shadow on her lid, which you can either blend up to disappear above the crease, or use the lighter shade of mushroom above the crease. Very thin line of eye liner on the upper lid only (and probably only on the outer half, although I can't be sure at this angle); mascara on upper and lower lashes (no liner underneath). She also has luminizer on her cheekbones, soft pink blush under her cheekbone just in front of her ear, and soft pink lip gloss (no liner). Please note that although she has very dark hair and eyes (and brows), she is able to wear this soft, natural look. You do not need to wear dark colors just because your coloring is dark.

Now, I want to know which look you're going to try out and how it works for you.