Rookie

I’ve always been most inspired by the 1960s, especially when it comes to makeup. Cosmetics in the ’60s were all about enhancing your favorite features and making a bold statement, and icons like Twiggy, Penelope Tree, Peggy Moffitt, and Edie Sedgwick came up with looks that were all about more, more, more.

For this month’s Transformation theme, I wanted to give you guys some ideas for transforming your eyes. A mod eye-shadow situation is guaranteed to make your peepers stand out and get people asking how much time it took to get them that way (you can lie and say it took an hour, but it actually takes only a few minutes).

What you’ll need:

• A matte white eye shadow, like Wet ’n’ Wild’s Color Icon Eyeshadow Single in Sugar ($2, drugstores).
• A matte white eyeliner, like New York Color’s Classic Brow/Liner Pencil in White ($1 at drugstores).
• A matte medium-toned brown eye shadow, like NYX Cosmetics’ Nude Matte Shadow in Underneath It All ($5, nyxcosmetics.com).
• A matte dark gray or black eye shadow, like NYC Cosmetics’ Nude Matte Shadow in Stripped ($5, drugstores).
• A small, stiff-bristled eye-shadow brush like Sephora Collection’s Classic All Over Shadow Small Brush #23 ($11, sephora.com).
• Gel eyeliner and a fine-tipped brush. I used Maybelline’s Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black, which includes a brush ($7, Wal-Mart).

How to do it:

1. Cover your entire eyelid, from the brow bone to the lash line, with the white eye shadow. You can use your finger to apply it, if you want. I use my fingers all the time! I’m not fancy.

2. Use the white eyeliner pencil to color in your waterline (the inner rim of your lower lash line). This will make your eyes look much bigger and more awake.

3. Use the tiny shadow brush to apply the mid-tone brown shade in an arc, just above your natural crease. This creates an exaggerated, heavy-lidded look that a lot of mod models were known for. Extend it from near your tear duct upward and out toward the edges of your eyes, slightly above the outer corner.

4. Use the shadow brush to apply the dark gray or black shade to really exaggerate the “crease” line you drew in step three. Focus the color in the center, and really blend it out to either side.

5. Dip your tiny liner brush into the liner. You can also use a felt-tipped liquid liner for this, but I think the cream liner is a lot easier to apply. Apply the liner to your upper lash line, starting a few millimeters away from the inner corner, and extending slightly out at the outer edges of your eye. Build the coverage up until you have a reasonably thick line.

Try doing this at a desk or table where you can sit down, with a tabletop mirror. Rest your elbow on the table for balance and precision. It will make the eye-lining process a whole lot easier.

6. Make a line of thick dots with your liner, a few millimeters apart, along your lower lash line. Slowly draw them out so that they make slightly triangular shapes. Make them as long or as short as you like, but I think somewhere in the middle looks best.

7. Finish up with two coats of your favorite mascara and a nude-toned lipstick, like Revlon’s Super Lustrous Matte Lipstick in Nude Attitude (about $8, drugstores).

If you’re feeling more adventurous or having a really gloomy day, add color! Switch out the brown and gray shadow for shades of blue or green, or add accents of purple, pink, or yellow at the outer corners.

Boom, there you go. It’s eye makeup that will look just as awesome with your cute floral minidress as it will with a sleek all-black outfit. Happy spring! ♦