作者：Rickshaw 在 美丽沙龙 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
The eyes have it
<blockquote> | 
| Eyes are probably the hardest part of the face on which to effectively apply makeup, and it will take many hours of practice, with many failures, before you perfect your look. |
Part of what makes eyes so challenging is the large array of products for the eyes:
- Eye Shadow
A powder (usually) applied to the lids and brow bone. Typically, several shades of powder are used in conjunction with each other.
- Eye Liner
Used to draw a defining line around the eye just under the bottom lash and just above the top lash. Eye liner may be liquid (for a sharp line) or pencil (for a softer line).
- Mascara
Brushed on to the lashes to make them thicker and longer.
- Eye Brow Pencil
Used to darken and define the eye brow itself.
How and when you use these products, and in what combinations and colors, will be determined by the kind of look you wish to achieve, and some basic properties of your facial features.
Like all facial features, eyes come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and may be either set close together or further apart. Eyes may be somewhat round in shape, or more of an almond-shape. Eyes may also be deep-set.
One step I would highly recommend, if it is possible for you, is to try to thin out your eye brows. Nowadays, thanks to Brooke Shields, it is perfectly acceptable for women to have thick, heavy eye brows, and in fact pencil-thin eye brows are a bit of a retro look. But a man's eye brows are thicker and heavier still. You will get much better results if you can remove some of the brow hair from the brow bone over the outer part of the eye. This will also have the effect of creating a bit of an arch to the brow. If you have a "uni-brow", you should also shave away the hair between your eyes.
I know that this is not always possible, and for many crossdressers there is a limit to how much visible hair can be removed. The truth is, many men get their brows waxed, tweezed or otherwise shaped nowadays anyway, so it is not as odd as it would seem. If you're shy, try plucking hairs a little at a time over a period of weeks. You'd be surprised how many people won't notice.
To save time, and because I'm a baby when it comes to pain, I have taken to shaving my eye brows into the shape I want, rather than plucking. Shaving can be risky if you accidentally "slip", lopping off more brow than intended, but I found that once I achieved the size and shape I wanted, it's easier to maintain. So far, no one has ever asked me about it.
Another consideration when doing eyes is using some kind of concealer for dark spots. The skin directly under the eyes, just above the bottom socket bone, is prone to discolor with age. Applying a concealer here will even out the color of your face around your eyes. If you have deep-set eyes, with lots of shadows around them, using a light concealer around the eyes also helps bring the eyes out more.
The basic steps I follow for doing my eyes go something like this.
- Shape the eye brows, removing hair that has grown back.
- Apply concealer to dark areas around the eyes (this may not be necessary).
- Apply eye liner.
- Apply eye shadow
- Define the eye brows with a pencil.
- Apply mascara.
Note that between steps (1) and (2) I also apply a beard shadow cover to my face, and between steps (3) and (4) I apply the rest of my foundation to my face. Since I use a pencil to line my eyes, I often have to re-touch the concealer. Also, after I apply a powder to my face over the foundation, I may go back and touch up the eye shadow or eye brows. There is, of course, no cast-in-stone way to do this. This is just what I found has worked for me.
Keep in mind that the overall purpose of eye makeup is to alter the size, shape and depth of your eyes to something considered more attractive. You are using light, shadow, color and lines to create an illusion. In general, the goal is to make eyes appear larger, more equal in size and shape, and to "bring them out". The final results will depend on how you apply shadow, liner and mascara.
Eye Shadow
Although there is such a thing as cream-based eye shadow, let's assume you are using a powder, which is the most popular form of eye shadow. The first advice I'd offer to get some nice eye shadow brushes and avoid using the sponge applicator that comes with the kit. I use two brushes, one for lighter shades and one for darker shades. Brushes should be cleaned with warm water and mild soap from time to time.
The leading cosmetics brands usually offer a pallet that contains 2, 3 or 4 complimentary shades, meant to be used individually or in various combinations. You can also find single-color pallets.
How do you know what colors to use? Well, you can experiment, if you have the time and resources. You can go for a make-over and let someone who knows this stuff help you out. You can peruse women's fashion magazines and web sites for tips and trends. You can buy a good how-to book.
Here's my two-cents on the subject:
- Avoid blue. People's skin only turns blue when they are freezing to death.
- Avoid red. It makes you look like you have some kind of inflammation of the eyes.
- Avoid dramatic, extreme looks until you have a real good command of the process.
- Some of the nicest looks are achieved with brown and beige. Plums and wines can also work well.
- Green tones seem to work well with blond hair and fair skin, you lucky person you.
- Blacks and greys, a "smoky, smouldering, look", is hard to do, but awesome when you get it right.
Actually, I'm being a lot more dogmatic than I usually like to be. The truth is you should try all these things out for yourself and decide what's best for you and what you enjoy the most. But trust me on the blue eye shadow. The only people over 16 who use it are woman who haven't had a date since 1976.
Regardless of what color tones you end up using, you will be working with lighter and darker shades. The basic rule is to use dark shades on the outer corners of the eyes if you are trying to widen your eyes, and on the inside corners if you have wide-set eyes and want them to look closer. One of the key tricks to effective makeup application is to blend the edges where two colors or shades meet.
This guide, from the Cover Girl how-to web site, has some great tips and ideas:
<blockquote> How to create a day look
<blockquote> 
Smooth a medium shade on your eye lid from lash line up to eye crease. Blend deeper shade into and slightly above crease of eye.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> How to create an evening look
<blockquote> 
Sweep a light shade from base of lash to brow bone. Apply a deep shade close to your lash line and a little in eye crease. Blend.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> How to create a new look for summer
<blockquote> 
Use a soft, shimmering pastel-pink, even gold. Apply from lash line to brow bone. Try a very fine line of liner in a soft shade close to lashes.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> To make close-set eyes appear wider
<blockquote> 
Apply light shade from inner corner to mid-lid. Apply deeper color from mid-lid to to a little beyond outer corner. Blend in middle of lid where shades meet.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> To make wide-set eyes appear closer
<blockquote> 
Apply a deeper shade form inner corner to mid-lid. Apply a lighter shade from
mid-lid to outer corner. Blend in middle of lid where shades meet.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> To bring out deep-set eyes
<blockquote> 
Sweep light shade across lid from inner corner to a small bit beyond outer corner. Place a touch of deeper shade in eye crease. Blend.
</blockquote></blockquote> Eye Liner
Yes, this is hard.
The most important rule is to keep the line close to the lash-line, especially if you are using a liquid liner. There should be no "white gaps" between the eye liner and the lash-line. The basic technique is to stretch the eye back by placing a finger next to the outside corner of the eye and pulling back on the skin towards the ear.
I cheat. I use a pencil liner which I apply and then smudge to get the makeup against the lashes.
The color you choose makes a difference. I have progressed from black to brown (my natural hair color) to taupe to using a darker brown on the upper lid and a lighter brown on the lower lid. It really pays to experiment with a few different things.
Here again are some great tips from the Cover Girl web site:
<blockquote> Natural Effect
<blockquote> 
A thin line along the top lash line brings out your eyes and gives them natural definition.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> Widen Out
<blockquote> 
A thin line that thickens towards outer corner can help close-set eyes look wider apart.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> Expert Length
<blockquote> 
Don't extend past your outer eye corner by more than a hint...trust us, too much drama tends to overpower "you".
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> Line Change
<blockquote> 
Dark, thick lines under the eye weigh down your eyes. Try a lighter, softer color. If you use brown on top, try taupe on bottom. Apply a finer line and smudge it - so it looks like a shadow cast by thick lashes.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> Great Change
<blockquote> 
If you've always used black eyeliner, play with a brown or grey shade, for a slightly softer effect.
</blockquote></blockquote> <blockquote> Drama Tips
<blockquote> 
A slightly thicker line that's smudged gives a more dramatic look. But don't go too heavy or let top and bottom lines meet at outer corner. This makes eyes look smaller!
</blockquote></blockquote> Mascara
Not quite as hard as eye liner, but still tricky. The trick, of course, is not to get any on your face or in your eyes. Ouch.
The purpose of mascara is make the lashes thicker and longer, and more noticeable. If done correctly, your eyes will look bigger and wider.
In general, mascara should be applied to the upper lashes by drawing the brush through the lash, as if you were combing the lash. Apply mascara to the lower lash by using the tip of the brush to "touch" the lower lashes. Ideally, you'd like the mascara to go on smoothly so that you look like you have longer and thicker lashes. More often than not, you end up looking like you have clumps of mascara on the ends of your lashes.
A handy tool is an eye lash comb. This tool usually has a small, plastic comb on one side and small brush on the other. The purpose of the brush is for brushing eye brow hairs into place. The comb can be used to separate lashes after applying mascara.
More than any other makeup product, mascara tends to dry out after a short period of time. This is a big reason it fails to go on smoothly and evenly. If you crossdress only very occasionally, you may have to replace an almost full tube of mascara.
Another very useful tool is an eye lash curler. Before applying mascara, place the curler at the base of the upper lash so the lashes are between the curler pads. Squeeze the pads down on the lashes and hold for about 10 seconds. The lashes will be curled upward, and will also be separated more.
I have no experience with artificial lashes, but they can be used from time to time. To me, they seem dramatic, so I might only use them when I am going for a special kind of look. They are glued to the eye lid (not the lashes!) and it seems to me they take a lot of practice to be able to get them on straight.
Eye Brows
Finally, we come to the eye brows.
Getting the "perfect" shape is an engineering feat, from what I have gathered. If you really don't care about what people will say, go to a beauty salon and have a cosmetologist do your brows for you. The change is dramatic. People will notice that you look different, but won't be able to quite figure out why.
This drawing, again from the Cover Girl web site, shows where the brow should begin, arch to its highest point, and end. The arch lies on a line (the middle line) that runs from the corner of the nose past the outer edge of the pupil. I don't know if anyone who doesn't look like Cindy Crawford can actually accomplish this, so think of it as a guideline and not gospel.
One look that I am not a big fan of is completely false brows. This is where the brows are removed completely and a pencil is used to draw a brow. There are even stencils that can be used for drawing the ideal size and shape.
I prefer a combination of real brows, thinned out and shaped, and then highlighted with a pencil in a matching color. You can try working some foundation into your eye brows to lighten them, and then go over them with a brow pencil to bring back some of the shape.
</blockquote> <blockquote> To help you out, here are a few useful links to places that can provide additonal informations, tips, ideas and products.
</blockquote>
作者：Rickshaw 在 美丽沙龙 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
-- 