Beauty Tip: Miss America Eye Make-Up

Beauty Tip: Miss America-Style Eyes

If you know anything about the Miss America pageant, you know it is anything but a beauty contest!  Young women enter the pageant not for modeling contracts, but for opportunities to serve as role models, promote platforms they care about, and earn scholarship money to further their educations.  It’s no wonder that huge, successful companies, including Artistry US by Amway Global, are willing to sponsor the pageant.

Even though the pageant is not just about beauty, contestants still want to look their best in order to make a strong impression on the judges.  Since Miss America is a “natural” pageant (as opposed to the “glitz” pageants that we see on reality TV), the contestants need to create a natural, classy look with their hair and makeup.  All aspects of make-up are important, but, many women agree that our eye make-up is most important -- after all, if a pageant judge, potential employer, or first date is interested in getting to know someone as a person, eyes become the focal point.  Of course, make-up is an art form and every woman has her own style, but, as a former competitor in Miss America and a consultant for Artistry US, I’ve learned a few tricks that Miss America contestants use, especially for their eye makeup. 

If you want to use Artistry like Miss America contestants do, you can check them out here:
http://www.amway.com/HannahAppleton/Shop/Product/Category.aspx/Makeup
You can also talk to anyone you know who is an Independent Business Owner through Amway Global.  The products you would need include:
Artistry Brush Set, #700154
Artistry Essentials Mascara, #105542
A skin-toned eye shadow (I use Bone #109926)
A white or lighter neutral shadow (I use Starry Night #109905)
A black or dark brown shadow (I use Spiral #109917)
Two similar-colored shadows that compliment your eyes and will match the colors you wear, such as Eden #109914 with Rain Forest #109906, or Glacier #109915 with Capri #109913.
If you deal with dark bags under your eyes, you might want to check out Artistry Time Defiance Lifting Eye Crème, #105532, and Artistry Concealers (choose a shade lighter than your foundation for under your eyes.  To cover up blemishes, choose a shade that matches your foundation.)

You don’t necessarily have to use Artistry to get the classic Miss America look, but it is important to invest in quality cosmetics!  Drugstore makeup may be a fraction of the price, but it might not look as nice, and can be hard on your skin…not to mention, cheap eye makeup will probably be smeared and creased to the center of your eyelids by the end of the day!  Make your beauty life easier by choosing a make-up line that will give you your money’s worth!

Now, creating the actual look:

After cleansing, toning, and moisturizing (and applying eye crème!), dot your concealer over any dark circles underneath your eyes, and then use your ring fingers to blend it, using a patting motion and working upwards (from the inner to the outer corners of the eyes).  Your ring fingers are your weakest, so they are the least likely to do any damage to the thin skin and muscles below your eyes, and the upward motion will boost circulation and help slow down the aging, “sagging” process.  Apply foundation to your entire face as you normally would.

Use the eye-shadow brush (in the Artistry set, it is the 3rd largest brush, with yellowish bristles) to stroke the Bone shadow (or the shade that matches your skin tone) from your lash line to your brow.  This creates a base for the eye shadow to avoid the creased look. 

Next, use the eye-contour brush to blend a little bit of the Starry Night around the inner corners of your eyes to brighten them up a bit (if you need a visual, google some headshots of actress Blake Lively and look closely at the inner corners of her eyes- she is known for rocking the white eye shadow!).  To highlight your eyes, apply a subtle streak of white, starting at the highest point of your brow arch.  Then, follow your brow line down to the outer corner of your eye.

For color, you will probably need to experiment to find shades that compliment you best.  The key is lighter on the lid, darker on the brow.  This will give your eyes some color and make them look deep-set, without making them look overly-shadowed.  Take a light, metallic or shimmery shade and apply it from the lash-line to the crease of your eyelid, from inner to outer corner, using the contour brush.  Now, hold the contour brush straight up and down and tap the ends of the bristles in the darker color (this gives you more control) and apply it in the crease, and at an angle down toward the outer corner of your eye. 

If you are planning to apply a translucent face power, apply it now, dusting it over your face, including your eyelashes.  This will make your lashes look thicker and fuller.  Now it’s time to line your eyes.  Take the eyeliner brush (the one with short, flat, stiff bristles) and tap the ends of it in the Spiral shadow.  Run the brush slowly and lightly below your lower lash line, creating a tight, fine line.  Avoid tapping the brush against your skin, as this will cause the eye shadow to spatter and make your make-up look smeared.  For the upper eyelid, the line should be narrower at the inner corner and just slightly thicker at the outer corner.  You can achieve this by pressing the brush down lightly on the inner corner of your eye, and gradually pressing harder as you work toward the outer corner. 

You can brush the mascara on if you’re in a hurry, but if you have time and want your lashes to look longer, here’s a trick: place the mascara brush on the top of your upper lashes by the outer corner of the eye.  As you brush the lashes from root to tip, push them towards your nose.  Work from the outer lashes to the inner ones.  Then, hold the brush vertically, with the tip pointing down, and run it in quick, sharp motions from the root to the tip of the bottom side of the lashes.  Apply mascara lightly to the bottom lashes by holding the brush horizontally and running it from the root to the tip.  If there are clumps or the lashes look lumped together, use the lash/eyebrow brush in the brush set to comb them out and separate them. 

A few tips to remember:
1.) This will take a lot of practice, so be patient with yourself!  Practice doing this look on a few Saturday afternoons when you have nothing to do- don’t wait until twenty minutes before a big event!  After several months, I can do my eye make-up in 2-5 minutes, but it’s taken me a while to get there!

2.) Subtleness is the key!  If you are getting ready to appear onstage for a pageant, dance recital, etc, you will want heavier make-up and bolder colors, but if you are getting ready for a date or job interview, natural is the way to go!  Avoid colors that create an extreme contrast with your skin (such as too dark or too pale colors) and make sure to blend colors a bit (except for the eyeliner) to avoid a clownish look.

3.) If you want to line your eyes in color for something different, wet the liner brush with water and then dip it in the darker shade of the colored shadow you used on your crease, and use it to line your eyes.

4.) Make sure to remove eye make-up properly!  Leaving make-up on overnight can irritate eyes, accelerate the aging process of your skin, and even high-quality make-up will clog pores if the skin never gets a chance to breathe!  Always use a make-up remover (Artistry Lip and Eye Make-up Remover, #106403, is one option), or use baby oil.  Soak a cotton pad with it, hold it to your closed eye for several seconds, then wipe it away.  Follow up with your skin cleansing routine.

Remember, eyes truly are the windows to the soul!  No matter how high or low the quality of your cosmetics, regardless how perfect or awkward your make-up turns out, nothing can conceal the true person behind those eyes.  Your make-up should never be your focus in life- it should only enhance your natural inner and outer beauty!