What were you doing to keep yourself busy at the start of the pandemic? Like most of you, I found myself with a lot of free time. I baked lots of cookies, attempted the two-week Chloe Ting Shred Challenge, went on many bike rides, binged Tiger King, and played around with eye makeup.
I constantly found myself pulling out my old Morphe palette, assorted eyeliners, and various brushes to try some new looks. Self-isolation was the perfect time for me to try some things I would normally consider out of my comfort zone, without fear of being seen in public.
I discovered that ‘dressing up’ with fun makeup not only distracted me from the COVID-19 doom and gloom, but it gave me a new sense of confidence, too. I am nowhere close to being a makeup expert, but with winter approaching, I may emerge in the springtime as the next James Charles (minus the drama).
Here are four of my favourite looks that I recreated from my time in quarantine.
The Look: Blended Blues
With all that extra time, self-isolation is a perfect opportunity to practise your blending skills and try out colours you wouldn’t normally wear.
For this look, I chose two shades of blue and a yellow shimmer. I blended the blues together over my entire lid, ending just below my brow bone. For this, I used the Luxie Good Night 110 Brush. Although this brush is meant for blending concealer, it works great as an eyeshadow applicator, as well.
Then, I used the Beau Gâchis Eyebrow Brush to add the shimmer in my inner corner and the inner lid. The angled tip is perfect for applying eyeshadow in smaller areas.
The yellow ended up creating a light green tint to the look. I wasn’t exactly aiming for this—but Bob Ross once said that we don’t make mistakes, only happy accidents, and I stand by that.
I finished off the look by curling my eyelashes and adding some mascara.
Products
Eyebrows:
Gosh Defining Brow Gel
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in shade 3.5
Eyes:
Luxie Good Night 110 Brush
Beau Gâchis Eyebrow Brush
Morphe Artistry Palette Colour Burst 35B
Lacross Eyelash Curler
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara
Face:
Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek
Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in the shade Moonstone
The Look: Watermelon Sugar
This eye makeup look is very straightforward. Apply the first shade, second shade, eyelashes, and you’re done. However, for those of us that aren’t very good at applying fake eyelashes (don’t zoom in, please), what better time to practise than while others can’t get physically close to you?
For this look, I chose a warm and a cool colour, pink and green. I dusted the pink over my entire lid and lightly blended it up on my brow bone. Then, I drew a green line along my water line. The key to this look is mixing the warm and cool tones of the eyeshadows, and keeping them contained. Keep a warm colour like pink on the upper lid only, as bringing it on to the waterline can make you look sickly (although, if that’s the look you’re going for, it can definitely work!). Throwing in a cool tone on the waterline instead elevates the look and makes your eyes pop.
To finish it off, I applied fake eyelashes and put mascara on my bottom lashes.
Products
Eyebrows:
Gosh Defining Brow Gel
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in shade 3.5
Eyes:
Luxie Good Night 110 Brush
Beau Gâchis Eyebrow Brush
Morphe Artistry Palette Colour Burst 35B
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara
Ardell Faux Mink Wispies
Duo Brush-on Adhesive in the shade dark
Face:
Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek
The Look: Fox Eyes
It’s no surprise this dramatic look took off during quarantine—it’s the perfect liner style to wear with a mask to really make your eyes stand out. Want to look so intimidating that everyone will actually stay six feet away from you? This is how you do it.
I drew the wing with liquid eyeliner. Then, I continued a thin line from the wing just below my lower lash line, on my waterline. Finally, I extended my inner corner on the top and bottom, and left an unconnected section on my waterline.
The trick to get this mysterious, almond-shaped fox eye, instead of a rounded cat eye is all in the angle of the eyeliner. While the cat eye and fox eye are very similar, you want to angle your eyeliner wing upwards, pointing towards the tip of your eyebrow. This creates that “snatched” look. The cat eye makes your eyes appear bigger, while the fox eye creates a more sultry look.
This look is best paired with fake eyelashes, so I added those, too.
Products
Eyebrows:
Gosh Defining Brow Gel
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in shade 3.5
Eyes:
Covergirl Intensify Me! Liquid Liner in the shade intense black
Ardell Faux Mink Wispies
Duo Brush-on Adhesive in the shade dark
The Look: Quarantine Green
Do you feel like all you do is log onto Zoom calls and do readings all day? When was the last time you went outside? Do you miss nature so much that you accidentally do a makeup look inspired by it? (Or maybe that’s just me?)
This look is a bit abstract. I applied a light green eyeshadow to my entire lid. Then, I lined the bottom of my brow bone with liquid eyeliner, and smudged some brown eyebrow pencil under it. I chose to underline the black liquid liner with a brown tone to make the line less harsh. Last, I put mascara only on my bottom eyelashes.
I have hooded eyes, so I chose not to apply anything to my top lashes to make the colour and eyeliner more noticeable.
If I can do these four looks without being any kind of beauty expert, so can you. The best part about makeup is that it’s entirely up to you. Want to rock some glitter and winged eyeliner? Go for it. With so many other things going on in the world right now, you deserve to feel dressed up.
If you want to rock your look in public, just don’t forget a mask!
Products
Eyebrows:
Gosh Defining Brow Gel
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in shade 3.5
Eyes:
Luxie Good Night 110 Brush
Morphe Artistry Palette Colour Burst 35B
Covergirl Intensify Me! Liquid Liner in the shade intense black
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil in shade 3.5
Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara
Featured images provided. Graphic design by Pascale Malenfant.
