Friday, June 18, 2010

An Eye Makeover


Sometimes the thought of a much needed makeover can be a little daunting. Between the time and expense it's natural to put off a makeover and next thing you know the checkout girl is cheekily calling you "Mam".

Well I am suggesting that if a head to toe makeover sounds too ambitious at this point in your life how about a small makeover that will really make a difference? How about an eye makeover?

Now I am not talking about plastic surgery (although that would be the first plastic surgery I would get for myself) but simple changes you can make with your eyes to make them look more youthful, less tire and more alluring.

Over the years I have had friends and makeup artist give me some great tips that really make a difference in how I look and feel especially when it comes to my eyes. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to feel like a movie star when it comes to improving how your eyes look. Growing up I was convinced there was nothing special about my peepers. They were just plain old brown eyes (with one more almond shape than the other which happens when the gene pool gets mixed around a little bit). Unfortunately it wasn't until my early thirties when I took some advice and changed my opinion of a very important part of my face forever.


First Step: Eyebrows
I grew up with thick shapeless eyebrows that I almost could braid on my brow. A friend of mine suggested one day I go to her brow guy to get my brow shaped and sculpted. I didn't even know "brow" people existed back then and it all sounded just too...painful. I made an appointment at the ridiculously expensive salon Garrens located on one of the floors of Henri Bendel back in the day (now located at the Sherri-Netherland Hotel) and was introduced to Robert the "Brow Guru". As I sat on a chair very similar to a dentist chair he looked me up and down and asked if I ever had my brows professional done. I said no and he replied, "That's what I thought. But we have a lot to work with here and that's good". Ten minutes later of being pulled, yanked, trimmed and me sneezing like mad (the nasals for some reason unbeknowst to me are attached to the eyebrow nerves) I looked into the mirror and once I looked past the redness and swelling I saw a very sexy woman staring back! I rushed to my boyfriend's apartment which was near by with my large black sunglasses on and when I arrived I flung them off and said. "Look at me! I have movie star eyes!" He pretended to notice the difference (because that is what good boyfriends do) and that is when the second, much better half of my beauty life started. I am still convinced it was the best $25 I ever spent.

 Feeling like a movie star with the right eye makeover!
(Umm, warning this picture is a few years old)

Now Robert I believe is at the salon at Barney's on Fifth Avenue and his price has gone up to over $100 for a brow shaping! Too rich for me. So I still go to either Garren's and ask for their brow lady when things are great (approximately $30) or I go to the Indian thread shaping girls when times are tough (hey, it's $6 dollars and it stops me from looking like a Wooky).


Second Step: Eyelashes
Due to one of my ancestors being Japanese I have longish but very straight eyelashes. No curl at all! When I was young my mother would try to curl my lashes but the eyelash curler would either pinch my lids or yank out half my eyelashes because I flinched too quickly. In my late twenties the buzz starting going around town about Shue Uemura ( a great Japanese cosmetic brand) and their cleverly revamped design of the eyelash curler. They reconfigured the arm and the eye piece to be angled differently than a conventional eyelash curler and their pad is made of silicone which gives a softer curl and no pinching at all!


At the time I bought my first Shue Uemura eyelash curler it was only available at their SoHo store (now it's available at all Sephoras and online) and after spending $16 dollars (in which you also get a replacement silicone pad) I was amazed at the transformation of having all my eyelashes curled out and how it brought attention to my eyes. I then used some Maybelline Great Lash (all my makeup artist friends still recommend Maybelline Great Lash and it cost less than half of what higher end mascaras do). I now really have movie star eyes and I feel like Sophia Loren (minus the heaving breasts, that's another makeover). Who would have known you just needed a cleverly designed eyelash curler to make such a difference?
 


Sometimes I put fake eyelashes on the ends of my eyes on special occasions but I try not to go too tranny on myself as I do not like the tarantula look and I am always paranoid of the lashes falling off right in the middle of dinner in my soup as I go on talking, clueless to my cosmetic mishap and my dining partners pretending that this look is normal for me. I'm afraid I speak from experience.


Third and Last Step: Eyelids
We gals (and some boys) all like to don eyeshadow on from time to time but one tip I learned on an Oprah show a few years ago was to put a light blue powder on my eyelid (not upper part) especially if you have brown eyes. It works as an optical illusion to give your eye color some extra pop. Now I am not talking about the Brady Bunch blue your mother or grandmother wore in the sixties and seventies, I mean a lightly brushed on (not caked on) ice blue. Then instead of lining the inner eyelids with black (which can make your eyes look small and beady) line them instead with white eyeliner (lightly, again we do not want the 60's Mod look here). This helps give eyes a youthful look. Finish with some under eye concealer for dark circles and wha-la! A mini eye makeover that makes you feel alluring, attractive and hides how tire you may feel after a long day at work or chasing the kiddies. It's funny hearing compliments about my eyes late in life after never receiving any compliments about them before I made these slight changes. I gladly take them.


Now with my mini eye makeover I am wondering if I can go back and Photoshop all my pictures before I learned of these tips and update the appearance of my eyes. I'm afraid my vain ego may demand it!


Thanks!

Posted by Cute at 5:23 AM

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