Tutorial: Eoljjang eye makeup

After ordering and receiving my coloured lens, I am into the “Eoljjang” (Ulzzang) makeup and look.

Ulzzang is defined as “best face” or “good-looking” in Korean, and the “Eoljjang” is someone who is popular based on their appearance. (Damn superficial as these Eoljjangs get celebrity status because their popularity is based on their appearance and nothing else.)

Basically, to achieve the Eoljjang look, you’ll need a doll face, with huge eyes, perfectly sculpted nose and clear skin.

I don’t have clear skin at all, so I am going to use makeup to cheat. As for the doll face, enlarging my eyes would do the trick. My nose is far from perfect, and I need a nose job more than anyone else.

But in this tutorial, I will just focus on the eye.

Wore my Super Barbie Eye lens in Bambi Grey.

I have extreme dark eye circles, but nothing makeup can’t conceal.

After application of BB cream from Hanskin and concealer from my 15-concealer palette, my dark eye circles become less obvious.

I used BB cream from Hanskin from Korea, because I needed a fairer, porcelain skin. BB creams from Japan and U.S will not be able to give me that kind of effect. If you want to look extremely fair, BB cream from Korea will be perfect for you.

If you want to buy the 15 concealer palette, shop HERE.

Drawn brows with my Daiso eyebrow pencil in Black. Korean girls like extremely thick brows to keep them looking young, but I can’t carry off the thick eyebrow look so I drew it the normal way.

Trying really hard to balance both sides..

Highlighted my brow bone with the lightest beige from my concealer palette, and used eyeliner to draw the outer half of my lower line.

This immediately made my eyes bigger and more enticing.

Then, I used eyeliner to line the outer half of my upper lash and joined it with my lower lash line with a ‘V’.

My eyeliner is Castledew Colourshot Pencil in Black (non-waterproof). I love this eyeliner because it is double-sided, and there’s a pretty pink sparkly rhinestone on top of each side of the cover.

(Blurred my face because I am extremely shy, haha)

As you can see, I used a cotton swab to smudge the eyeliner to make it less harsh.

Applied waterproof Mascara - Maybelline’s Volume Express.

Used falsies for my left eye.

Finished look.

Easy peasey, lemon squeezy.

This look is really simple, try it and rock it!

Are concealers always in the colour of our skin tone?

15 concealer palette.

Concealers are not always in the colour of our skin tone.

In a concealer palette like the above, we can see white, green, lavender and yellow. These colours neutralize flaws, and I am going to share how each colour has a different function and how it works.

White concealer 

Trust me, you do not want to appear white unless you are Caucasian. And it reminds me of how my dear Indian friend tried to dress up as a white vampire during Halloween a few years ago. Instead of appearing like a white-faced clown, the white above dark brown made him look really washed out. (Thankfully, he doesn’t know that this blog exists.)

Using white concealer is an art. And I will only use white concealer as a highlighter.

The concept of using highlighter is to allow light to reflect from certain parts of our face, making our cheekbones higher, lips fuller, nose sharper and we will look stunning.

The areas which we usually apply highlighter is above our blush line, below our eyebrows, on our nose bridge and on the milk line of our lips.

Green concealer 

Yes, green concealer. It is not on the shelves we see at makeup stores because of Halloween.

Green concealer is used to cover blemishes, inflammation, and red acne because the colour neutralises red. If we were to look at the colour wheel, green is directly opposite red and it will effectively conceal all red marks.

Because we don’t want green marks on our face, the concealer is primarily used as a primer (or base). As we do not want an overcast of green on our faces, we should use the concealer as little as possible. After using the green concealer as a primer, we would then use the skin coloured concealer or regular foundation above it to cover the horrendous green.

After layering regular foundation over the green concealer, we should look television-worthy. If you’re looking witchy green, you’re doing it wrong.

Lavender concealer 

This must be my favourite colour corrective concealer because it erases yellow spots. Being exposed to the sun everyday has given me a thousand freckles, and lavender concealers cover them pretty well.

The effect of the lavender concealer is that it gives me a healthy glow after application.

We do not wear lavender concealer on its own unless we’re going to attend a costume party. Lavender concealer only works well as a primer, and we have to use our regular foundation or BB cream on top of concealing.

Yellow concealer 

I’m Chinese, but yellow concealer works wonders for me though some would agree that I need not be more yellow than what I am now.

But I love it because this amazing colour would hide dark eye circles and erase all signs of fatigue. Besides adding some warmth to our skin tone, yellow concealer can also create a lightening effect by concealing dullness.

And apart from concealing dullness, applying yellow concealer on our eyelids as a primer would help us achieve the ‘clean’ look and our eyes will look brighter. It can also even out the tones of pink blemishes.

Like the above, we do not wear yellow concealer on its own and we have to use our regular foundation or BB cream on top of concealing.

General tip: The last thing we want is our concealer to appear cakey, so we have to make sure that we get just the right amount of it on our faces before finishing it off with loose powder.

(To purchase the 15 concealer palette, click on “makeup shop” at the top right hand corner)

My smokey eye looks punched.

“My smokey eye looks punched!”

…Just how often do we exclaim in horror when we look into the mirror? I, for one, have said that a zillion times after countless of attempts to achieve the smokey eye effect.

My idea of a perfectly smudged asian smokey eye

Credits: asian-trends.tumblr

I remember my first attempt very vividly. That was after I watched a chick flick when I was still in secondary school. At that point of time, the girl in me wanted to transform from geeky school girl to a hot chick. Think Christina Aguilera, Olsen twins and Britney Spears (when she was skinny). But hey, don’t we all secretly love attention?

So, my attempt to look like a white chick flopped and I looked like a deranged psychotic asian girl who lives in a haunted mansion instead.

My next few attempts were no better. The looks I achieved were I-just-got-punched, Gothic princess, amateur teen with smudged eyeliner still in the midst of learning, and drunk party girl.

From there, I learnt a few lessons. To be able to create the smokey eye requires a hell load of techniques, and I will discuss a few of them here.

Bad smokey eye on Kelly Osbourne

Credits: webparkz

***

Number #1 – “I am Asian, hence I don’t imitate Taylor Swift”

One of my biggest mistake is to copy the smokey eye effect on Caucasians. And that means an extra thick layer of eyeshadow that we don’t need. We should keep the smokey eye as natural as possible (Number #12 elaborates the details), and not as dramatic as the above picture unless our next destination is to a Halloween party.

Although I have double eyelids, my Asian eyes are not as deep set. Applying dark coloured shadow a few centimetres above my eye would immediately turn me into a gothic chick.

Unless you want to look punched, the over-exaggerated application of dark eyeshadow is a recipe for makeup disaster.

Taylor Swift’s smokey eye

Number #2 - Use a pigmented eyeshadow so the colour stays

Have you ever tried black eyeshadow from Daiso? For those of you who tried, you would probably agree with me that the quality is so bad that the black eyeshadow, when applied to the eyelids, looks grey mainly because the particles are too thick to stay on the eyelids.

After trying a couple of black eyeshadows, I would say that most brands work well. That includes Bobbi Brown, MAC, L’Oreal, Maybelline and 88 eyeshadow palette.

So, if you want a black eyeshadow to stay on, don’t try buying the product from Daiso.

88 Eyeshadow Palette

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #3 – Prevent eyeshadow from falling all over your face

Many times I used a brush to apply eyeshadow, and little particles will drop on my cheeks. When I swipe it away gently with facial tissue, I get a long streak of black. And this is a major bitch.

However, we can prevent it from happening. Using a piece of tissue on the cheek while applying the eyeshadow with a brush should do the trick.

Tissue!

Number #4 - Let the eyeshadow last all day

You might ask – How do we let the shadow last all day? Wouldn’t the pigment fall off automatically after 12 hours?

Well, thanks to the primer potion by Urban Decay, eyeshadow can now last for very, very, very long hours and make your eyes look more vibrant at the same time.

If you want a creaseless effect, this Holy Grail of eye primer is the product for you.

The holy grail of eye primer

Number #5 - You need a base colour to highlight

If you have dark eye rings like me, you probably need a highligher to cover the dullness. A white or light coloured eyeshadow serves as a great base before application of dark coloured eyeshadow because it creates a three dimensional effect as well as make the eyes look less tired.

From my lazy-days experience, I have tried using black eyeshadow without a highlighting base and it does not look as great. So my point is, the base colour works wonders, if you know what I mean.

White base

Number #6 - Get rid of dark eye circles

Smokey eyes with dark eye circles are for vampires, not a pretty girl.

Without concealing, smokey eyes will not look good. To begin with, dark eye circles do not look good! For the dark smokey effect to look red-carpet worthy, there should be a contrast. Dark eye circles or heavy eye bags will destroy the look.

That said, you need to conceal, conceal, conceal.

[Concealing is another tough part, so I will blog about the art of concealing in another entry.]

15 Concealer Palette

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #7 - Decide on whether you prefer liquid, gel, pencil or other types of eyeliner

They are not the same, although the purpose of eyeliner is to enhance our eyes and make them bigger.

Pencil and gel eyeliner are easier to control and slide on our eyelids. However, it is not easy to smudge it if we want to create a smokey eye effect. Hence, we can try applying eyeshadow before using eyeliner to define the shape of the eyes.

My method is to blend and smudge eyeshadow, before applying a thin line of liquid eyeliner for definition. Liquid liner will be more contrasted against the eyeshadow as compared to pencil eyeliner, but that is how I like it. For those without a steady hand, you might choose to use a pencil eyeliner instead.

(To purchase, go to “Makeup shop” at top right hand corner)

Number #8 - Decide on whether you prefer a shimmer or matte texture

Kawaii girl, or smoldering eyes that make men go weak?

For the kawaii look, I will use the new Chanel shimmer black eyeshadow for the top, and shimmer white eyeshadow on my lower lash line.

For the smoldering look, I will definitely go with my matte Bobbi Brown black eyeshadow.

Number #9 - Minimal application on our lower lash line

Applying minimal eyeshadow on our lower lash line is extremely important.

Being Chinese, it is not easy for me to carry off the dark lower lash line look. But I personally think that Indians can carry off that look beautifully.

What I do to my smokey eye is to line only the outer half of my eye. This would prevent me from looking like a panda, yet enlarge my eyes at the same time.

Number #10 - Decide on whether you want to use a brush, or fingers

For those without a sponge applicator, smudge applicator or an eye defining brush, you can too smudge your eyeshadow with your fingers.

In fact,  I believe that most people will agree with me that the effects of using fingers to smudge works way better than any sort of applicators.

Being lazy and tired of the many steps I have to take to get my smokey eye, I would usually apply my eyeshadow with a brush. With sufficient practice, the brush effect can too look good.

Number #11 – You need a few eyeshadow colour to create the smokey eye effect

To be able to make a nice, gradual, smokey effect, the trick is to blend the dark colour such that it fades out beautifully.

Have you ever seen smokey eye instructions at the back of little eyeshadow boxes, where the instructions tell you exactly where the dark and light colours should be?

Well, try it!  The different colours will make your eyes more three-dimensional and deep set, so your features will not appear flat.

It is not simple, but practice makes perfect!

Number #12 - Do not over apply

Over applying black eyeshadow is the highway to Ugly Avenue.

Black eyeshadow is supposed to enhance our eyes, not make us look as if we put on eyeshadow so people would know that we are wearing makeup.

We should always keep in mind where our eyebrows are, and how would the proportion of our eyes be like after application.

Unless you want to look like Kelly Osbourne (refer to Kelly’s image at the top), it’s best to be less dramatic.

Number #13 - You do not forget the brows, unless you have bangs

Smokey eyes work if eyebrows work. It is rather pointless to have a gorgeous, perfectly smoked eyes, only to have it ruined by messy eyebrows.

So, do yourself a favour and trim the brows as often as you can.

Number #14 – Take your time

Time is precious in Singapore, and every second counts. I know how is it to have only 10 minutes for makeup before rushing off for work.

But the last thing you want to do is to re-do your messed up smudged eyeshadow after spending 15 minutes on it.

Take your time, no one can rush perfection.

Number #15 - Don’t forget the lashes

Short lashes and beautiful eyes do not bode well, like how uncurled eye lashes could ruin pretty fake lashes.

If you have the intention to smoke your eyes, do also take some time to curl the lashes and apply mascara. This would open up the eyes, creating a doll-like effect.

Number #16 - Don’t forget the pupils

This is optional, but I prefer to enlarge my pupil by wearing big-eye lens.

Smokey eyes would also more captivating with light coloured lens.

Number #17 – Don’t try to use loose powder on your smokey eye

Common sense, right? Apparently, I have subconsciously applied loose powder to my eye area after application of black eyeshadow.

Dumbest. Thing. Ever.

What do I do after that? Well, remove makeup, and start from Step #1.

***

Phew, that’s about the basics of applying smokey eye without looking punched. I have not entirely discussed how to exactly apply eyeshadow the right way, but I will do so in another post.

I came up with the above after years of experimenting and perfecting the smokey eye (though I don’t wear them out everyday), and I hope these little tips would help you in achieving the perfect smokey eye.

Till my next post, enjoy digesting this.