Holiday Parties... Look the part!!!

It is Mid December ladies! I know you all have holiday events, parties, and New Years coming up. So what is the hot look this year?

I think everyone can agree that you can't go wrong with a beautiful smokey eye. This winter, it is ALL about the beautiful dark, sultry eye. (And LACE! I am SO happy about that!)

Before you get nervous or excited, let me just clarify that a smokey eye DOES NOT mean that you plaster black from your eyelid to your brow bone, circle it around your eye and then slather your brow bone in shimmery white eye shadow. Ugh. Barf.

There are several ways to do a smokey eye. Everyone has a different opinion on how a smokey eye should look, and everyone has their favorite ways to do it. Today I am going to walk you through one of my favorite ways to do an amazing fool proof smokey eye.

1. Start with a clean, well moisturized face.

2. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS start with your eyeshadow. Eyeshadow will always fall underneath your eye whether it be light or dark. If it falls, and you have already applied concealer and foundation, when you wipe it off you will have to reapply your concealer and foundation. Save yourself the few extra minutes and always start with your eyes.

3. Apply a neutral primer all over your eye. I love Paint Pots by MAC in Painterly and Soft Ochre.

4. Grab a black eyeliner that is NOT smudge proof or water proof. (I love Le Crayon Khol in Ebony by Lancome) Color on your eye lid from the lash line to the crease. It does not need to be filled in completely and it does not have to be neat.

5. Take a synthetic eyeshadow brush and blend the eye liner so it turns into a smokey grey and it is evenly distributed all over the eye lid from the lashline to your crease. I love brush #242 by MAC.

6. Take a dark brown eyeshadow and pat it on top of the blended eyeliner. I love Handwritten by MAC.

7. Take a blending brush (brush #224 by MAC) and use a neutral MATTE or almost matte high light color (I love Brule for light skin and Era for medium to dark skin. Both are by MAC) and blend from underneath the brow bone to the crease. Blend the light color and the dark color so that you have a soft transition between the dark brown and the light highlight color.

8. If you would like to add a little more definition to the shape of your eye, or the colors are not blending as well as you would like, take a medium brown and use the #224 brush to softly brush it back and forth in your crease. I love Cork by MAC for all skin tones.

9. If you want to add a little glitz and glam, dust a super sheer coat of loose glitter over the dark brown shadow on your eye lid. I love Reflects Gold or Antique Gold by MAC.

10. Follow with a few coats of black mascara, a pair of false lashes (full or half set... you chose!), and a little black liquid or gel eyeliner and BAM! Smokey eye in full effect.

I personally do not like to put any eyeliner on the bottom, but if you want to, you certainly can. I think it looks really good if you put it in the water line or smudge a little bit of dark shadow right under your lash line.

This smokey eye is cool because it doesn't need to look totally perfect. It is okay if it looks a little messy. That is what makes it so sexy.

Finish off the look with a foundation of your choice, a neutral blush, and a neutral lipstick, and you are good to go.

When you wear a smokey eye, it is good to keep the rest of your makeup pretty neutral. If you start to feel a little daring, you can wear an intense lip such as a rich berry or bright red.

Rememeber, there are NO rules when it comes to makeup. Ok, I lied. There are a few tiny little rules, but for the most part, it is free game! Have fun and enjoy being a woman. Just rememeber, no matter what you wear, you need to rock it!

xoxox
Allyson Stagg
CEO of The Las Vegas Style Sirens
www.LVStyleSirens.com
LVStyleSirens@yahoo.com