I'm gonna keep this post semi-short and focusing on my favorite looks from last night's Emmy Awards. Also, some trend spotting on the red carpet and some real-life interpretation and how-to's. :)
Let's start with Claire Danes:
Notice the Summer glow going on here!
Claire Danes is usually very pale, but opted for a natural-looking end-of-summer glow. I'm kind of digging it and wondering what bottle it came from. The color on her hair may be washing her out a bit and contrasting in the wrong way, but overall, I think this is one of her best looks to date.
The eye makeup she's sporting was also a common trend on the red carpet last night: a combination of bronze, golden and reddish browns. Those are shades that flatter pretty much any eye color, yet looking more natural than the classic smoky look that goes better in the colder seasons.
To achieve this look, start with a shimmery beige or gold all over lids and under the brow bones for highlight. Focus the darker colors on the outer corner of upper lids and lighter in the inner corner. For dramatic effect, you may apply black or brown eyeliner in the waterline and plenty of mascara.
On her cheeks, we see a soft rose blush, probably creamy or solid stick, to achieve a more natural glow that "comes from within". Try
Nars - The Multiple in Orgasm , applying the color with your fingertips. To make the look even more natural and
seemingly effortless, apply blush
under foundation and finish with a highlighter.
Sweet Surprise: Kim Kardashian
I'm flabbergasted by Kim's perfect, flawless skin. You can tell she's wearing (a lot of) foundation, but man, that is one fantastic airbrush job right there. She's naturally tan and one common mistake people sometimes make on the red carpet or otherwise is mismatch the shade of their foundation with the rest of their bodies. Not her case over here. Her makeup looks like a million bucks and it probably is.
The most interesting thing about her look besides her irritatingly perfect skin was her nude lips (a recurring trend), which can be achieved in the real world with
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Petal (#150).
Also notice the white in her waterline. That was achieved with
white eyeliner right in the inner rim of her lower lashes. That's a little technique I've been using ever since high school (with the good ol'
Wet N' Wild white eyeliner pencil), in order to fake an 8 hour sleep. It pops open your eyes, giving a fresh yet dramatic effect.
For her lashes, oh boy, they better be falsies. The rest of us mortals can attempt that effect by curling the living crap out of our lashes with a good eyelash curler and amazing mascara. I swear by
MAC Splashproof Mascara (thank you @Lietchka!). Makes your lashes seem impossibly long and voluminous. Like,
tranny long.
Kim's makeup artist also used a highlighter shade in the inner corner of her eyes, making her "well-rested" glow even more enviable. To achieve that, choose a pearly eyeshadow or highlighter (not a bronzer) at least one tone lighter than your skin color. Don't be afraid, it's supposed to accentuate.
Now onto Mrs. Seal:
Do I love that hair? Probably not. But moving on:
Heidi followed pretty much the same guidelines as Kim Kardashian. Flawless, even foundation application, nude lips (lighter than your natural lip color), white in the waterline, highlighted inner corner of upper lids and gallons of mascara.
REAL WORLD HOW-TO:
She completed the look with black eyeliner on the upper lids. This dramatic effect can be achieved by using both liquid and kohl eyeliner. I love combining
Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes in Mat Black with
Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eye Pen in Black (gives you perfect precision and easy to draw).
Aqua Eyes is creamy and easy to blend or smudge, not to mention it's
waterproof*. After applying the eyeshadow that will highlight entire lid area, use the kohl pencil along lash line, thinner on the inner corner and thicker on the outer. Smudge slightly and on the very outer corner, draw the
smudger (or q-tip) upwards. Once that's done, you can apply a taupe shadow over that black, so the smoky effect is not dramatic but just a touch of mystery. Finish off with the liquid eyeliner for definition. Liquid eyeliners are especially great for the cat eye effect.
To achieve Heidi's highlighted cheek bones, use something like
Nars The Multiple in Copacabana or even
E.LF All Over Stick (which I own and it's really good and it's $1!). Using your finger tips, blend color starting just below outer corner of eyes, drawing a "C" inwards above cheekbones. This is a technique I learned from
Lauren Luke in
this video.
*For night time events, I always recommend waterproof makeup in the eyes. You don't have to worry about sweating, reapplying, smudging or even the walk of shame the next morning!
Gorgeous Emily Deschanel:
Everything about this look is fabulosity! From the beautiful jewel toned purple gown - a color I'm
kind of obsessed about - to her hair and makeup, the girl was dazzling.
Emily kept it simple, her complexion was even (notice the pattern!) and her lips, very natural. According to
Temptalia, she might have used a plum liner on the lower lash line. And oh, how I love to hear that! For that effect, I would use
ELF Eyeliner in Plum, which is light and discreet. You can smudge it for a more toned-down effect while still playing with color. She also lined her waterline with black and I notice a bit of smoke on the outer corners of her upper lash line.
To achieve this, try
L'Oreal HIP Shadow Duo in Sculpted. The darker color will give you a smoky touch that's not quite purple, not quite black, but something in between. She used a very light pearly-peachy-cream color on her inner corners. Try
Buxom Stay-There Shadow in Mutt or Poodle.
For the lips, I recommend starting with plain ol'
cherry Chapstick - it gives you a very light hint of color while smoothing out surface of lips. Skip the lipstick and go for a lip gloss. I like
Sephora Collection Super Shimmer Lip Gloss in Rusted Rose (a rose-tan-nude). Use your fingertips to blend and keep it from looking too glassy.
Overall Makeup Roundup:
Bronze, taupe, champagne and reddish browns ruled the red carpet for this year's Emmy Awards. I spot a trend I've been observing for a while, and a color that hits that nail in the head is
Nars Eyeshadow in
Lola Lola. Do I want to spend $23 on a single eye shadow? No. Will I probably do it anyway? Yes. In the meantime, I've adapted my budget restrictions to
ELF Custom Eyes in Mocha (it's ONE freaking Dollar!) for the same effect. Worth the money:
Urban Decay in Sin (an amazing all-over color!). Probably worth the money:
Buxom Stay-There Shadow in Mutt.
Naturally glowing cheeks.
Nars Orgasm is always a winner, or
Bare Escentuals All-Over Face Color in
Faux Tan or in
Bare Radiance (or both paired up). Just go with an all-over, even glow (streaks and obvious blushes are so not the way to go), perhaps a discreet little tan-in-a-bottle (not you,
Nancy Juvonen) and some nice cheek highlighters.
Kudos to the purples worn by Jane Lynch, Emily Deschanel and Kyra Sedwick. January Jones was almost there: loved her dress (guilty pleasure!), but the hair was a walk-of-shame hot mess and makeup did not do the look justice. So close.
For the fashion hits and misses on the Emmy's red carpet, visit the
Trend Menu blog, written by my dear friends @Querouaquino and @Lietchka.
