Eye shadow and eye color

I just sat through the debut of Eyes By Design on HSN. I spent 30 minutes listening to some woman with a grating British accent and the usual hyper-perky TV shopping network hostess, who subjected me to pitches that the eye shadow palettes were created "scientifically" (a red flag word) to enhance one's eye color.

The presentation so totally bummed me out that I won't be buying Eyes By Design. I'm disappointed - I expected better from BeautyBank.

The HSN and QVC websites are among the most sophisticated e-commerce sites I've seen, with lots of information about products. Download the tip sheets for using Eyes By Design palettes. The tip sheets are available in a printer-friendly version and can be used with other palettes .

I'm not smitten with the idea of selecting eye shadow shades based on eye color alone - refer to Makeup lessons from Di Kennedy to see what other factors should be considered.

Still, if you're interested in eye shadow palettes based on eye color, I recommend L'Oreal's recent Made for Me Naturals eye shadow palette collection. All the palettes are beautiful, and you don't have to limit yourself to the palette for your eye color: I chose the palettes for brown eyes (Penelope Cruz) and dark eyes (Beyonce).

I'm also enjoying the Pop Beauty Eye Class palette in Brown Eyes (although the appliqués make the wallet look tacky). I also like the Play It Up eye shadow trio for green eyes from Almay, and while I grumbled about Almay retaining Elaine Mellencamp after it completely redid its brand, she's picked up cachet through her husband's recent - and deserved - induction into the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame!

Friday roundup - March 7, 2008

It's Friday, and time for the Friday roundup, for the fourth week running! The Friday roundup highlights blog articles written by Friends of The Style Page in the past week.

SugarShock loves the Pop Beauty Eye Class in Brown Eyes. She writes, "While the shadows looked kind of sparkly in the kit, when you apply them they actually have a nice iridescence that's not too glimmery, but just right."

Pop Beauty Eye Class in Brown Eyes

Mischo Beauty announces the debut of her Facebook page.

Scandalous Beauty features Whitney and Bobbi!! No, not Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston's ex-husband. Rather, Bobbi Brown. Scandalous Beauty recommends the new Bobbi Brown Nudes Collection to recreate Whitney's makeup (but not that Carol Brady hairstyle):


Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston had been on a downhill slide since she married Bobby Brown in 1992. I was routing for her comeback when she filed for divorce in 2006.

It should be evident to regular readers of this blog that I share i♥make-up's love of Indian beauty. I'm not Indian, but my husband is. In Recreating the Sixties' Look, i♥make-up discusses how to recreate the dramatic winged eyeliner look popularized by Indian actress Sharmila Tagore:

Sharmila Tagore

TV presenter (and ex-wife of Salman Rushdie) Padma Lakshmi recalled that she spent hours trying to recreate Sharmila Tagore's look.

The late Bengali film director Satyajit Ray discovered Sharmila Tagore when she was just a teenager. He cast her as Apu's bride in the third and last film of his Apu trilogy that won international acclaim and brought attention to Indian cinema. Ray must have been prescient about his actresses: similarly, he discovered Aparna Sen and Jaya Bachchan nee Bhaduri, both of whom had gone onto major careers in Indian cinema, when they were mere teenagers. Non-Indians might remember Sharmila Tagore as Meena's mother in Mississipi Masala, about the unlikely romance between Meena, a young Indian woman (played by Sarita Choudhury) and an African-American man (played by Denzel Washington).

Demystifying eye makeup

Perhaps I was a bit critical of Stila's Smoky Eye Palette - I'm not adverse to pricey brands (particularly if they provide something I can't find in less pricier brands) and some folks seem to like the palette. Still, I think it was nervy to insert an audio commercial advertising other Stila products on a $40 item.

That said, eye makeup is the trickiest part of makeup application, and it's to a makeup company's advntage to provide guidance on applying makeup to sell product. Here's a rundown on products with accompanying guidance:


Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes

Bare Escentuals Get Started Eyes and Bare Escentuals Tutorials - Lesson 1: Smoky Eye provide guidance with the set. I think that the lid and eyeliner shades on the model are great, but I'm not smitten with the pale pink highlighter, especially with deep-set eyes like mine (and the model's). I wish the Chocolate Raisin liner was sold individually - it sounds like the dark-dark brown-plum I love (see also Constant Color Gel Eyeliner)

Jemma Kid Eye Wardrobe Eye Shadow Quartet
Jemma Kidd is a London-based makeup artist. She's also the sister of model, champion polo player, and race car driver Jodie Kidd; great-granddaughter of press magnate Lord Beaverbrook; and wife of the grandson of the current Duke of Wellington - whew! Advice on application may be downloaded from Jemma Kidd's website, as well as her columns for The Mail on Sunday (UK).


Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit

Mally Beauty is a makeup line from celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal (she's the one who makes Beyoncé always look fabulous). Originally available through QVC, Mally Beauty is available at Amazon.com. Mally Beauty City Chick Smokey Eye Kit comes in five different color themes: Brownstone (browns), Skyscraper (slate/gray), Central Park (greens), Nolita Navy (blues), and Plum Chelsea (guess). Each palette comes with eye shadow base and eye liner pencil.

Pop Beauty Eye Class - Smokey Eyes is the most diversified palette of the lot, and features these shades: jet black, smokey steel gray, sapphire blue, silver, deep plum, deep violet, burnished bronze, emerald green, olive gold, nude glow, opal gold, and sparkling white. Examples of application are provided with the palette.