Just when my blogging friend blackbird is bragging about how productive I am, or, irony in action

Oh, internet, you know I love you, but I'm having a few problems with my next eye shadow post. And it has nothing to do with all the M.A.C. shadows I just bought over the internet. I am not freaking out AT ALL that M.A.C. gives their shadows all kinds of unique names like Wedge and Cork and Bamboo and Corduroy and then when you order 15 of them, it tuns out they're all exactly the same color.

(Some makeup expert I turned out to be.)

Also, I really want to scan in some pictures from some out of print books I have on makeup. I dug up a couple of excellent diagrams of the general eye area, with very clear instructions on where to put which shade of shadow. They would be so helpful. But I can't get my scanner to work.

Also, LPC kind of derailed me with a question about lilac-colored eyeshadow; specifically, whether it's OK for us old broads to wear it. (My answer is yes, of course, but only with due diligence about shimmer. And unless you're planning to star in a remake of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, I'll terminate glittery lilac-colored eyeshadow with extreme prejudice.)

So I'm getting way behind on my posting. For example, I have plans to start a regimen that I'll do for an entire month, so I can report back with a truthful, objective review (albeit marred by parenthetical remarks in italics.) I bought a Murad Get the Glow! Resurgence kit, as well as a couple of other supposedly miraculous products. I was planning to post about them on May 1st, and now I'm all BEHIND.

Capital letters were designed by the ancient Romans to express FRUSTRATION.

And now I have to go to see lovely Tony at Pascal Pour Elle (he's completely adorable) to get a blow-out because I have two cocktail parties to attend tonight.

WHAT A WHIRLWIND.

The only eyeshadow shades you need

You know those fabulous blockbuster palettes that everyone comes out with for the holidays? Estee Lauder, Sephora, Walgreen's, you name it. A whole rainbow of colors and so many finishes: matte, satin, frosted, opalescent, glittery. How fun are they?

Great fun. But let's remember eyeshadow's primary purpose. It's not to go all Crayola 64 shades. Eye shadow exists to sculpt, enlarge, and accentuate the eye.

Say hello to the idea of Your Eyes But Better

If you want startling effects, you'll need a range of different colors of eyeshadow. But if you want to do a neutral, pretty makeup job--your eyes but bigger, brighter, more defined and more expressive--you only need three shades of shadow:

1. A light, non-shimmery base color

This shade should be about the color of your brow bone. You'll be applying it all over the eyelid, from lashline to eyebrow. This sets your concealer or primer, mattifies the area, and provides a base for the rest of your eye look.

2. A darker, non-shimmery midtone/contour or transition shade for sculpting

The transition shade should be only a few shades darker than your light shade. This is where fair-skinned girls get gypped. In the average quad, this shade is usually far too dark. You really only want it to be a couple of shades darker than your light shade. Think about the way paint companies show shades on paint strips--the difference in color should be visible, but subtle.

3. A very dark shade for lining and special effects

The dark shade should be somewhere between your contour shade and your eyeliner and/or eyelashes.

To those shades, it's also nice to add

4. A light shimmery highlight color



OK, I realize this comes as news to absolutely no one. I swear, as I type this, I'm picturing my makeup-obsessed internet friends rolling their (perfectly made up) eyes and saying "duh." After all, every eyeshadow manufacturer from Maybelline to Chanel produces a quad with four beige-to-chocolate brown shades.

Except that the companies often act as thought these quads were one size fits all, when they're really not.

Beware of Shimmer

You'll find lots of quads with absolutely gorgeous colors--except the shadows are all shimmery. Shimmery shadows are fine for certain uses, but for this natural, neutral eye, you want to shape and sculpt the lid, browbone, and crease, and you can't do that with sparkly shadows.

Also, once you have even a hint of droopiness, crepey-ness or crows' feet, you have to approach shimmery shadows with extreme caution. (This is because--to revert to my paint metaphor--you don't use high-gloss, light-reflective paint formulas on a cracked surface!)

Work with your complexion

Here's another way in which eyeshadow quads aren't one-size-fits-all: the four shades you select should relate to your complexion shade and tone. I'm not talking about eye color here; this advice holds no matter what color your eyes are.

You're using these shades to contour the area around your eyes, and they need to work with the color of your skin. As a fair-skinned, cool-to-neutral person, I've found many eye quads to be way too dark or too yellow toned. Often the lightest shade is fine, but the midtone or contour shade is the color of Grey Poupon mustard. Nothing against you mustard-colored ladies, but not only is Grey Poupon-colored eyeshadow unattractive, it looks unnatural. On me, at least.

If you're medium-to-dark-toned, you'll have to watch out for the lighter shades. Often the'll be too light, and end up looking ashy and unnatural. And if you're warm-toned, too taupe-y and cool a shade will look muddy.

Ideally all four eyeshadow shades blend together to create a soft, natural, big-eyed look--which is why I call it Your Eyes But Better.

My Recommendations

When you're looking for a set of eye shadows, it's tempting to buy a ready-made quad. But as I've already pointed out, I've never had much luck with that; it's awfully hard to escape shimmer, and the contour shade is too dark and warm a brown.

However, quads can definitely be cost-effective, as opposed to buying four single shades. Bobbi Brown makes amazing shadows, but they're $20 each, so I hesitate to order you to run out and buy four of them. Still, if you click over there to check out the colors, you'll see how soft and subtle they are. That's the look we're aiming for.

There's also the advantage that someone else has coordinated the colors for you, which is helpful if you're a beginner.

Here are my suggestions:

Drugstore Quads

Revlon's Colorstay 12 Hour Eye Shadow Quad in Coffee Bean


Physician's Formula Canyon Classics and Classic Nudes

 

Department Store

Clinique's Color Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Teddy Bear. Spicy and Choco-Latte are also beautiful, and would work well with people with warmer and darker complexions.



Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Eye Shadow Quad in Sueded Browns or Neutral Cashmeres.

 

Creating the perfect eyeshadow quad

As you can see, sometimes a quad has one or two or even three gorgeous colors, but it doesn't have everything you need. Once you know the shades that work best for you, it's a great convenience to fill a compact with them.

M.A.C. sells empty four- and fifteen-pan compacts. If you get a four-pan, you could fill it with shadow that work perfectly for you. This is something to keep in mind if you've tried one or two ready-made quads and found you only used two or three of the shades. A custom compact is really wonderful for travel, and it really simplifies life to open one compact and find everything you need.

My favorite eye shadow palette? Glad you asked

OK, this is definitely a case of do as I say, not as I do, because my favorite eyeshadow "quad" has nine shades of shadow. It's Too Faced's Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection.


It has a perfect base color (top left) and the all-time fabulously wonderfully perfect crease shade for me (top middle). It also has some great shades to use as eye liner, and some shimmery and glittery shades to use for evening, so it's basically one-stop shopping. It retails for $34, but since you get nine shades, I think it's a pretty good deal.

(Confession time: I've also taken the plunge and ordered a M.A.C. 15-pan palette. Of neutral colors. Heh.)

Coming up soon: how and where to apply your eyeshadow.

Elsewhere:

MakeupGeek has two helpful videos that relate to this post, Makeup 101: How to Apply Eye Makeup, and How to Organize Your MAC Neutral Palette

Basic eye makeup for a woman of a certain age: Step 1: Wear neutral shades

If you read as many fashion magazines as I do, you're constantly being inundated with advertisements featuring amazing images of dramatic eye makeup. These images are doing an excellent job--at least as far as I'm concerned--since I actually spend good money on these colors. And then I gloat over them like Gollum with his Precious. Sometimes I hole up in my bathroom and do a full-on Sephora-worthy eye makeup job, featuring five shades of shimmery green shadow complete with shimmer and a heaping helping of glitter. But I don't leave the house looking like that, and neither should you.

Just say no.

I hate to ruin anyone's day, but extreme eyemakeup is for the young.

Holy Crayola, Batman!

(These advertisments should come with a cautionary label, like cigarettes: KIDS! Don't try this at home!)

Eye makeup for the not-so-young

Here's the deal: as we age, we develop crows feet. Our eyelids become crepey. We might start to suffer from puffiness and bags under our eyes. The dark shadows that we always got under our eyes when we didn't get enough sleep become darker and become a permanent condition. On top of that, the shadows start to go all the way around our eyes. Our brows start to collapse and land where the crease of our eye used to be.

Yes, it's depressing.

The good news is that the eyes themselves don't change all that much. The exquisite color of your iris and unique shape of your eyes can still be emphasized. This will wake your whole face up and make you look refreshed and youthful.

I don't go through all these steps every day, but when I want to look really good, I use concealer, eyeshadow primer, three shades of eye shadow, two shades of eye liner, brow color, and mascara. And I do it all with neutral shades of eye makeup: beiges, tans, brown, and black.

And it doesn't look boring. Also, I'm in pretty good company. Marilyn Monroe wore a bold red lip, and she balanced it with neutral eyeshadow.


It's a classic look that never goes out of style. Here's Naomi Campbell modelling the late, lamented Kevyn Aucoin's iconic version of a neutral eye look, from a 1991 Allure magazine:


You'll notice that the lid is very light; the crease is very dark; there is a LOT of eyeliner, and the whole thing is contoured like crazy.

It's way over the top, and it's dated, but Aucoin was exaggerating to make a point. It's a ton of makeup, but it's a symphony in neutral color; beige, dark brown, and black. Campbell looks like a goddess.

Here's a recent version from Temptalia:


These shades are too shimmery for us, but I love the way she blended them and then set them off with that great eyeliner; I love the little upwards flick at the outer edge of her eye.

I hope I've sold you on the importance of developing a neutral eye makeup look. Tomorrow I'm going to talk about how to find the three or four eyeshadows to use as a palette of colors for your everyday neutral, polished, pretty eye look.



This is post belongs to a series I'm posting on natural-looking, flattering eye makeup for women of a certain age. Check back for posts on concealer, eye shadow primer, eyeliner, mascara, and brow color.

My Dior Spring 2010 picks

The past couple weeks I've gone just a wee bit crazy with the on-line shopping. First of all, Nordstrom was having a "secret" beauty event. (I wouldn't call it all that secret, but I didn't see any print advertising. I guess it's secret if you only hear about it on line.)



So I popped for some Dior makeup from the Spring 2010 collection. And you can hardly blame me. First of all, how seductive is this graphic?



And then, most of the makeup in this collection has that lovely lace-y pattern pressed into it.



Anyway, I bought two items from the Dior spring collection, the Dentelles eye shadow quint

Dior 'Dentelle' Iridescent Eyeshadow Palette Pearl Glow 059

and the silver nailpolish

Dior Vernis Nail Enamel, Silver Pearl 604

which is really gorgeous. I thought a fun metallic twist on a gray would be an interesting change from the vampy purples I've been wearing lately.



Verdict? Well, the eye shadow palette was an absolute revelation. I've been reading rave reviews of Dior eyeshadow for years, and finally see what all the noise is about. The shades are gorgeous and the finish is incredibly soft. They blend so beautifully.



That being said, the shades are lighter in person than they looked on the computer screen. Lovely for spring summer, but they probably wouldn't show up as anything more than a pearly shimmer on darker complexions.



I haven't tried the polish, but I will this afternoon. I'm really looking forward to having gorgeous superstar toenails. And I need to have them before sandal season starts, or people will wonder whether I have delusions of glamor.

30 Days to 10 years younger--10 minute tips. Tip 10: Lighten up, Francis

When you get to be our age, everyone has one piece of advice about makeup: wear less.

Well, I disagree. I wear much more makeup now than I did in my 20s, 30s, and 40s. For one thing, I wear foundation pretty much every day--I never bothered before. I wear concealer, eye shadow, eyeliner, and eyebrow color pretty frequently, too. But it's not obvious, because I 1) pick the right shades and 2) blend like crazy. I also retouch, check for shine, and fix smears.

These ladies don't. Here's Maggie Gyllenhaal in need of some foundation, but with too much smeary black eyeliner, a startling amount of very pink blusher placed too low on her cheeks, and very bright lipstick.


She looks better here. Her eye makeup is great, and her skin looks beautiful. There's still way too much blusher, though. And it should stop at the bottom of her nose, not go all the way down to her lips.


This is Catherine Zeta-Jones promoting Elizabeth Arden's new Red Door Red lipstick. Where do I start? Too much eyeliner, too much blusher, and basically too harsh a look. Let's just call her Cruella de Lipstick and move on, shall we?

To a different picture of Catherine Zeta-Jones, this time demonstrating that when it comes to bronzers, a little dab'll do you.

Would it be over the top to call her Cruella de Oompa Loompa?

In conclusion, wear as much makeup as you want. But please, emphasize either your eyes or your lips. Limit your blush to a healthy flush. That goes for bronzer, too. And for heaven's sake, keep the eye shadow above the eye.

This advice is for everyone, of course. A 23-year-old needs to guard against a tendency to ladle on the spackle. Makeup is fun, after all. Whee! But you get older, you really need to be careful. Constant vigilance.


Be Joan. Not Bette.