Coronavirus changed a lot of things, with the most obvious change day-to-day being that everybody’s wearing a mask. Of course the reason for this is so we can protect other people, but it does put a bit of a spanner in the works when it comes to how we present ourselves. If you’re a lipstick lover or contouring professional it’s fair to say that most of your makeup efforts will go to waste behind those layers of protection. Eyes are the only place you can really show off your beauty skills now. Thankfully eye makeup can be mega creative, and there are loads of looks you can try to switch things up. We’ve rounded up some of them.
Who else could give us the inspo for this than queen of eye looks Jamie Genevieve?
For this sixties look, Jamie used P.Louise’s metallic base to create an opaque colour up to the crease, slightly flicking out. This was then outlined with a Glossier eyeliner pen. You can play about with products to find which ones suit your own colour palette best, but avoid the temptation to use multiple colours and blend them. This one is all about a block colour. Fenty has some great colourful liquid liners that you can experiment with if you’d like a brighter look.
Whether you’re wearing the standard light blue mask or shaking it up with some patterns, there’s always room to customise. As you can see from this stunning pink look, a graphic cut crease with glitter will always be dramatic and show off your skills. Think of the best way to complement the colour of your mask. So, with a pink mask, butterflies like these match perfectly. Flowers could also work. To match a pale blue you could go for polka dots, gems, or white glitter snowflakes. For patterned masks, try to recreate the pattern on your eye. Investing in some great brushes will be key here, as will high-pigment eyeshadows and a primer like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion.
When your cat eye liner is perfect, nobody in the world can cross you. You can get yourself templates and stamps if you can’t quite manage the flick, but any good black liner like the KVD Tattoo Liner or Kiko Definition Liquid Liner will do the trick. Take a pencil or pen and hold it with one end at the side of your nose and the other at the outer edge of your eyebrow. This should give you a good idea of the direction you’re looking for to frame your eyes. Once you’ve mastered the flick, you can use different colours or a pencil liner on your waterline to make the look more dramatic.
Why go for one eye look when you can do two at once? Opt for dramatically different colours on each eye to avoid it looking you just did your eyes in the dark. Soft matte shadows also look best here, creating a dreamy effect that’ll make you look like an abstract painting.
Not all of us are blessed with Jackie Aina’s long lashes, but a good mascara and some falsies are not to be underestimated. One tip is to lightly warm your eyelash curler with a hairdryer (not so hot that it’d burn you, obviously) and use this to get a curl before you put your mascara on. Black eyeliner on your upper waterline will also give you a more dramatic look, and help keep things even if you wear false lashes (Ardell Wispies are always a good buy if you want fluffy and long). And don’t forget the bottom lashes.
Not for the faint hearted, rainbow eyes are a great way to build your skill level with eyeshadows. Use a small brush for the pattern and a fluffy one to blend into each other for a soft yet colourful eye.
