Exaggerated eyeliner makeup tutorial

Adding to the celebratory feel of Alber Elbaz’s 10th anniversary as the creative director of Lanvin, the fashion house didn’t leave a stone unturned in coordinating every aspect for its fall / winter 2012 show in Paris. Without taking much attention away from the feminine silhouettes in optimistic fabrics, the make-up for the show posed to be head-turn worthy sans domination.

Head make-up artist, Pat Macgraw, painted on, literally, a dark cat eye flick and paired it with a natural base skin and nude lips. She wanted every model to have a distinctive architectural line on the face that stood-out without taking attention away from the main actors of the play.

Thanks to the revival of the 1950s, the fashion and beauty industry has found new tools and tricks to play around with; cat eye being the team leader. Sydney-based make-up artist, Anni Hall, breaks down the look for you to try it at home and channel your inner Sophia Loren.

And if you’re wondering how this is different to a dark smokey eye, keep reading after the jump, Fashionising.com has all the answers.

lanvin cat eye liner

Skin

The word on the majority of fall / winter 2012 runway was less is more, as far as the skin was concerned. As we see natural skin with minimal brush and contouring take over the beauty trends for the coming season, things look pretty similar at the Lanvin show.

All you need is a primer, moisturiser and a light-reflecting liquid foundation to successfully get this look, according to Anni Hall.

Hydrate the skin with a good quality moisturiser after washing your face.

Use a foundation brush to apply primer on the entire face. This will set as a base for the foundation that follows after.

Pump two or three blobs of liquid foundation on your palm and apply it all over your face with your fingertips. This is important, as the foundation brush will make it streaky. You need a crease-free base.

Wait for the foundation to dry, then rub the palms of your hands together, warm them up and press onto the face. This will help the foundation bind to the primer and create that long-lasting glowing effect, especially on the high points of the face.

karlie kloss lanvin backstage

Eyes

The dramatic eyes seen on Lanvin models is more refined, polished and chic than a dark smokey eye, says Hall.

Smokey eyes can be translated as a crazy party look, sometimes also considered too heavy for a daywear look. However with a flick of these cat eyes, you can be qualified to be a cast member in the Mad Men series.

But before you audition for Joan or Betty’s role, master the perfect cat eye flick with Anni Hall’s ”credit card” secret. Get those wallets out!

Keep your eyes open and look straight ahead into a mirror. Place a credit credit, business card or even a ruler on an angle next to the outer edge of the eye. Tilt the card until you decide on an angle. If you want an elegant look: go with a flatter angle, otherwise make it more vertical for flirtatious.

Use the card like a ruler and draw a line from the eye towards your temples with your liner.

Now use only the eyeliner to draw an almost horizontal line back in towards the eye.

lanvin backstage beauty

You should have a triangle on your eye-lid by this step. Colour in your triangle.

If you want Lanvin’s level of drama, use an extra-fine tipped brush to draw above the crease of your lid and a flat powder brush to colour in the lids with a black cream-based eye shadow.

Do keep in mind that liquid liner eventually creases in the socket of the eye, and also takes longer to dry. Unless you’re going for a subtle and simple cat eye flick, which would be easy with liquid eyeliner, use gel eyeliner (usually comes in pot) to get the best out of the crazy cat eye look.