Twilight Fae: Dramatic Hologram Eyes

For those of you craving some excitement for Summer nights, here's a colorful and dramatic smoky eye which is actually pretty easy to create. To tone it down for day, just keep the shadow within the socket area instead of blending it out and up as far as I did.

There were 3 main products I used:

• Black kajal (any very creamy and smudgy black cream shadow or pencil will work)
• Translucent green sparkle (I used a discontinued mica from TKB called Starlight Green, which has been replaced with Starbright Green. The Body Shop also has a single shadow highlight #08 which is exactly the same thing but in pressed form.)
• Pink/purple duochrome with blue sheen (I Nuovi Amethyst dust; this is like a loose version of MAC Stars n Rockets shadow.)

And yes, these swatches above look NOTHING like how they appear on my lids, but that's why it's so fun working with duochromes and a black base!

Step 1: First apply black kajal or paint very thickly all over the lids, up to the socket line. 

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Step 2: Using a synthetic concealer brush (or any synthetic paint brush), softly smoke out the edges so there are no hard lines, and bring the color up and out. 

Step 3: Apply the kajal to the lower lash line and water line as well, and smudge out lightly. The finished look should now be like the above image, which is a typical winged smoky eye shape.

Step 4: From here, we move on to the fun stuff. Lightly dust the translucent green highlight all the way from lower lash line up to the brow, but ONLY ON THE INNER HALVES of the lids.

Step 5: The shade that's going to make everything look holographic is the pink/violet/blue duochrome on the outer half of the eyes, top and bottom. When you pack it over the black, you will no longer see the pink, but the violet and blue is going to take on a sort of glow which is going to stand apart from the green and give the most interesting effect.

Step 6: This step is optional. I wet a flat brush with a little liner sealant (Ben Nye Liquiset), dabbed it into some aqua green translucent glitter, then pressed it right down the center of the lids. This echoes the green shadow, but adds a "wet" effect and gorgeous sparkle when you blink.

Step 7: To finish the look, I curled my lashes and then applied a strip of wispy lashes. Any type of lashes would work, including plain black mascara.

Soft Pink and Purple Evening Look

So many women love purples and pinks in the day, but we often forget it's possible to get it quite dramatic for an evening out as well. The general rule of thumb is, the greater the difference between the darker and lighter shade you choose, the more dramatic it can look.

(I paired a dark bruised purple with a pale, almost-silver pink here.)

The shape of the eye is also more dramatic than usual, with a more angular and elongated wing than I would normally wear. The good news is, it's actually very simple to do and doesn't require many products.

All that's left is to keep the lips and cheeks soft and complementary.

Brush suggestion:

Step 1: Apply a deep purple to the outer 2/3 of the lower lash line, then apply it to the outer half of the upper lids. Following your socket line, extend the outer corners into a wing.

Step 2: With a soft silvery-pink, fill in the inner half of the lids, blending the pale shade into the purple you applied earlier. 

Step 3: The finishing touch is applying a plum metallic pencil (plum works better than pure purple because it's a little more red/pink toned, which works with the purple and pink you applied) to the upper and lower lash lines. 

If you need, re-assess the shape and decide if you might need to extend your wing a bit more at the outer corners. 

When you're satisfied with the shape, curl your lashes and apply lots of mascara to finish! (This look works with false lashes of course.)

Step 4:  For the cheeks and lips, I kept it simple with a Lip and Cheek cream (MAC Casual Color in Weekend Getaway) in a soft pink. I apply it to the center of the lips with a finger first, and then distribute the remainder onto my cheeks. You need very little on the cheeks, so if you start by applying the product there, you're likely to end up with too much.

I Nuovi and MAC are cruelty-free brands. Visit PETA.org for more information regarding animal testing and brands.