As Miss Truvy Once Said: “There Is No Such Thing As Natural Beauty”
Hi Amy,
I love your column! Here is my question: I have strong features (read, big nose) and fairly big green eyes (also dark brown hair and significant brows–MUCH better since I have re-committed to the 10th time to regular waxing). It seems to me that in order not to look too totally freaky or overly made-up (especially since my daily life involves 2 young kids and a business-casual part-time job), I need to keep my eye makeup very simple. Which I have been translating into meaning I should use just one product: mascara, eye liner (love the Clinique Quickliner), or eye shadow. Which of those three should be my one product…or is this whole concept faulty to begin with??
Thanks!!
Amanda
Can I start with an allegory? I would like to start with an allegory.
I had a friend in high school who fell deeply in love with the “natural” look. You know, the whole tousled bedhead waif look thing. Anyway, her interpretation of “natural” meant wearing no makeup whatsoever, and not combing her hair. This was…not a good look. Think oily skin, visible blemishes and dark circles. Her hair just looked stringy and messy all the time. She did this for almost a year, I’d say, before she finally clued in on the fact that those models? In the magazines? That don’t look like they are wearing any makeup and just rolled out of bed? ARE ACTUALLY WEARING A LOT OF MAKEUP AND DID NOT JUST ROLL OUT OF BED.
What can I say? We were young, and listening to a lot of that grunge music. (Also, I promise you it really WAS my friend, because Sweet Lord, this face hasn’t left the house without at least a decent coat of Cover Girl on it since 1989. Because I was brought up right.)
Anyway, the point of this story is to say that yes, your whole concept of Simple = One Product is extremely faulty. You want understated, not unfinished, you know?
Achieving the simple look with three products:
1. Single Matte Eyeshadow: Your eyes sound gorgeous, you lucky thing, so you ARE right about keeping things simple. Big green eyes don’t need a whole lot of help to stand out. I’d go for a single shade of matte eyeshadow — something neutral that compliments your skin tone. And then I’d maybe set it off with a touch of a neutral shimmer, but you might not even need that. What you DON’T need is a ton of color and complicated shading. NARS makes great neutrals, by the way, and also have the best and most idiot-proof two-color compacts for those of us who have problems picking coordinating shades.
2. Neutral Dual Eyeshadow: Weirdly enough, when I DON’T wear shadow? My eyelids stand out more than my actual eyeballs. Probably because they’re so pale, or something. They also get kind of shiny by mid-day. So I use the All About Eve duo shadow from NARS (which is no longer available, but this one is similar) — I brush the flesh tone on my entire eye area, up to my brows, and then put the darker shimmery brown on the outer edge of my lid. It’s an EXTREMELY subtle difference, but it works
3. Eyeliner: I also wear eyeliner almost every day, since again — my eyes just look unfinished without it. I use a soft brown-black color and I don’t line my entire lid. Just the outer corners. Soften the line with a brush and then apply mascara. And done. Simple, understated eyes that don’t look made up, using exactly three products.
“Allegory, my ass.”
