I’ve done many a cat eye in my makeup career and the best tip I can give you for a precise, symmetrical and mess-free flick is… to lightly draw the shape that you want with a black eye pencil then when you’re happy and both eyes are even, paint away with a gel or liquid.  Also, don’t forget, practice makes perfect, so best not to try this one when you’ve only got 20mins to get ready!

xxo

She has such a beautiful face, a perfect profile and gorgeous hair, it was very fun turning her into a classic coquette for the day. Nars’ Laguna, Revlon’s ColourStay Liquid Eye Pen, Lanolips’ Lip Ointment in Rose et c’est tout! Tres jolie!

xxo

I think it’s about time I branch out from my regular 50s cat eye – what do you reckon? I tried Revlon’s ColourStay Liquid Eye Pen the other night at one of the ’30 Days Of Fashion’ launch events and was instantly sold. The liner is like a felt tip pen but with a beautiful, soft point, so it’s so easy to use. The best feature though is that if you need to re-shape your cat eye, the black disappears without a trace. Finally, a liquid liner where it’s okay to make mistakes! Eee! xxo

Caroline Brasch Nielsen, Julia Nobis and Julia Step shot by Kacper Kasprzyk for Dazed & Confused September 2010.

Never have dark circles looked so chic! I love the black curves around her eyes, the texture of her hair and head scarf, and the print of her jacket. Beautiful!

Mollie Gondi shot by Tim Zaragoza for Oakazine #4.

Love the smokey eye look with a simple white shirt. They’ve used a cool brown to create this eye and the best thing to remember when trying to recreate this look is to blend. Start with colour on the eyelid and then use a blending brush to create the wing. Take your time and you’ll get the perfect point.

Kim Noorda shot by Tzema Yeste for Harper’s Bazaar Spain June 2010.

There were two absolute standouts for makeup from last week, Christian Dior and Givenchy. Designer at Dior, John Galliano, was inspired by early 20th century equestriennes. There were three makeup looks, all very old hollywood glamour with winged eyes and matte lips in nude, scarlet and crimson, and the most perfect porcelain skin. The look was modernised by the use of vibrant shades over the eyelid, similar to that of the Spring 2010 Dior show.

Givenchy’s designer on the other hand, Riccardo Tisci, dreamt up contemporary pieces for his ideal Parisienne with fine tailoring mixed with frivolity, and on occasion a touch of disco. A black shadowed eye with a hint of midnight-blue glitter gave us a retro effect however the fresh matte skin and statement lips kept it contemporary.

The most wonderful hair was seen at Chanel. Heart shaped hair with large silk bows and streaks of baby blue, how fantastic!

Oh couture!

xx

All images from style.com

It looks like lilac is going to be big! Firstly at Cynthia Rowley and then the hair at Proenza Schouler, Nicole Farhi is adding to the trend. The eyes were first lined with black liner, followed by a purple wash taken up to the brows and then lashings of black mascara. The look was finished off with muted pink lipstick, so not to take away from the bold patterns of the clothes.

I can’t talk about London Fashion Week without mentioning Matthew Williamson’s return! Having not shown in London for the past ten years his collection this time around was much more sleek than the boho ways of yonder.

The makeup look was so subtle but absolutely gorgeous! One that I’ll definitely be wearing within the next few days. Simply take the colour away from your lips (by using a nude or beige lipstick) and basically mimic your eyeshape with a light brown eyeshadow applied with any regular brush. A good trick is to bring the point of the eyeshadow a little higher up than corners of your eyes as this livens up the face and makes it less smouldering-sexy. If you want that extra bit of shine on the lid like Abbey has, just apply an eyegloss (or even Paw Paw Ointment) on the lid.

And finally, one of the coolest makeup looks of the day was at Antonio Berardi. It’s a 60s/futuristic/cat-eye all in one! With nothing else but a gorgeously fresh (read: moisturiser, no powder) base the eyes are just so powerful! Once again I’m recommending MAC’s ‘Fluidline’ in Blacktrack (what would I do without this product!?!) with a small angled brush (MAC #236) or a very fine, petite brush (MAC #210) so you can really get creative. Take the time, have a bit of a play around and I promise you that you’ll be blown away by what you’re capable of!

‘Til tomorrow! xx

(Images 1 & 3 from londonfashionweek.co.uk/. Image 2 from nymag.com/fashion/)

(Pic of Bettie from Wiki)

But after trimming my fringe every week (my hair grows really fast), I’m a bit over it. It’s perfect timing though, I’ve been in a really dreamy space listening to lots of Au Revoir Simone, Beach House, Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, Marissa Nadler and as always, Dead Meadow, The Warlocks, and so on. So I figure a nice, long, relaxed fringe, kinda in my eyes, would be quite apt.

I’ve turned to one of the most gorgeous French women, Francoise Hardy, for inspiration. I was first blown away by this pic:

Her really carefree hair and those black cat eyes!! *ahhh* And then I went to her website and couldn’t stop myself from going through (and adoring) all of her photos from the 60s, and, and… Watch out black liquid liner, here I come!

(pics from www.francoise-hardy.com)

My all-time two favourites, both of which achieve different results and are totally unsurpassable, are the Bourjois “Liner Clubbing – Ultra Resistance” liquid in Absolute Black and MAC “Fluidline” in Blacktrack.

The Bourjois one is a liquid that dries quickly and doesn’t budge. It’s perfect for slim lines and little flicks. And is best applied with patience and by drawing little dashes along your lashline to create a full line instead of drawing the line in one go. That NEVER works, trust me.

The MAC one is fantastic for achieving a thicker, more dramatic eye (such as the design Francoise is wearing in the first pic). “Fluidline” is a gel-cream that is best applied with a slim, small angled brush (MAC #236) and for the finest of points and sharpest corners a tiny brush with a few short hairs (MAC #210) will do the trick.

If you really wanna make the Francoise-eye your signature, I recommend taking the time to do every morning for one to two weeks (with remover and cotton tips on hand), and then after that it’ll be a breeze!

Alright, now my look is ready for Paris, I just need to start saving!

bisous!