FEW TIPS FOR EYE MAKE-UP

Dr Blossom Kochhar

Doing your eye make-up correctly can be a game-changer for your whole look, one wrong step and you can look damsel in distress rather than the Cinderella you wished to be.

It is important to use the right shades, techniques, and know what eye shadows will make your eyes stand out. Let us look at a few ways that will perk up your eye makeup:

♦ Always apply a primer before you put any eye shadow, this will smoothen the crease on your eyelids and make your eye shadow smooth. Applying primer will also make your eye makeup stay on for a longer time.

♦ It is equally important to prep up your under-eye area, you can do the best eye makeup but if your dark circles are evident your eyes will look darker after the makeup. Only use a dot of the product under the eye each and lightly tap it in. Leave it on for about five minutes so that it sinks in. If you have extremely dry skin, use a couple more dots of eye cream but give it about 10 minutes to soak through. Then, pick a corrector based on your skin colour. If your skin falls under the light to a medium category, pick one on the peachier side, and if you’re of deeper skin (medium to dark), use an orange-coloured one. When it comes to the eye area, everything is applied with a tapping motion. Start with a little bit of corrector and dab it all along your under-eye. Keep tapping and lightly blending – you will need to try this process a few times to understand how much of the corrector your eyes actually need. Next, use a concealer in a colour that is a single shade lighter than your skin (since you want to brighten the area) and tap and blend it into your skin.

♦ If you are opting for a cut crease look then sweep a warm neutral shade above your natural crease line. Now cut the crease with concealer and set it with a translucent powder. Apply a lighter shade to your lids to create a contrast and blend it outwards. Finish off with a swipe of eyeliner for a rather dramatic winged-eye look.

♦ If you really want to make your lashes stand out, use two formulas: one for thickening and one for lengthening. Jiggle the brush of the thickening formula at the base of your lashes to build fullness and fully cover the root, then apply the lengthening mascara from the middle to the tips, adding a little extra to the outer lashes for extra flair.

♦ Another trick really powers up the effect of pencil liner. Go back over the pencil line with the same or similar dark powder eye shadow or the darkest shade from your palette of shadows. This fills in any gaps between pencil and lash roots and reinforces the intensity of the liner.

♦ If you want your eyes to look more awake and your brows to look more defined, apply a white eyeliner underneath your brows along your brow bone, then blend.

♦ Typical Smokey eye makeup is always a good option for a night out, but if you want to add an extra dose of drama to your makeup, reverse the smokiness and put it along your bottom lash line instead of the top.

♦ Contouring the crease works for everyone except those with deep-set lids where the crease is not visible. Use a neutral medium-toned shadow crayon. Trace the hollow of the eye right above the crease but keep the emphasis on the outer half of the eye. Then blend the line with a brush to slightly soften it and retrace it with a similar shade of powder shadow in a brown or grey — depending on whether your eye makeup is on the warm brown or cool grey side. The creamy crayon works as a base so the shadow clings.

Dr Blossom Kochhar is Chairperson of Blossom Kochhar Group of Companies