Monday, October 24, 2011

Day 24 of The Great Makeup Challenge!




Day 24 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween She-Devil!  Before I even begin my discussion of today's makeup challenge, I have venting to do.  As I noted in yesterday's Halloween Angel challenge, for today I was going to tackle the devil costume, most often referred to as the 'she-devil.'  When considering the type of makeup I would do for a she-devil costume, I decided to do some research via a Google image search.  After browsing 18 pages of photos of various she-devil costumes, I came to the realization that most people pick the standard she-devil costume (i.e. sexy, vampy, seductress) and then seem to forget about the makeup!  Photo after photo, I was staring at the same makeup application: black eyeshadow with red lipstick or black eyeshadow with black lipstick.  Where is the creativity?!  What happened to the excruciating effort we all put into every detail of our costumes as children?  My opinion is this: if you're going to get dressed up for Halloween, you should go all the way.  Don't put on your costume and then take five seconds to put on boring makeup.  Your makeup is what truly finishes your costume!

With all this in mind, for today's challenge I decided to show my version of a makeup style that can really complete your she-devil costume.  Forget the standard look. and be creative!  Trust me - in a party full of girls dressed in she-devil costumes, the one that goes all the way with the makeup will be the one that people will remember!



What you will need:
 Instructions:
For my she-devil look, I started as I did with yesterday's Halloween Angel challenge, a good moisturized base topped with Sephora Perfecting Ultra-Smoothing Primer,  For today's look, however, the overall skin base was not as important to the final look, so I kept at the base simple.  I applied a tinted primer  to the entire face and neck area to even out my skin tone and add a bit of color.  I didn't need any concealer  for my eyes today since my makeup focus was on the eyes and would be covering up the dark circles anyway.

For today's color palette, I did decide to go with the black and red color combination.  As I noted, I decided that the main focus was going to be the eyes.  When I think about what a she-devil would look like, I picture a devil in a female human body.  To me, that devilish entity brings to mind sharp lines and stark contrast.  Essentially, I would categorize the look as severe.  With that in mind, I got started.

I began with contouring the cheekbones, but in a different way from the standard contouring I wear on a daily basis.  (Check out my Contouring Post for instructions on this)  After all, I wanted an exaggerated look.  Using acream bronzer , I worked the bronzer under my cheekbones from the hairline all away down to just under the apples of my cheeks.  I wanted to follow the cheekbones that far down to assist in increasing the sharp angle.  I also applied the bronzer slightly heavier than normal so that the color was more visible.  I then completed the contouring by working the bronzer around my jawline.  With the look I was going for, I did not use any highlighter in my contouring.  After all, I don't think that she-devils should glow like angels.  I then selected a fiery red-orange color for my blush, choosing a cream for its staying power.  Once again, however, my application of the blush varied from my daily blush look.  I applied the blush beginning at the temple and working it downward along the cheekbone in a straight line to the apples of the cheeks.  I wanted to avoid any softness with this look, so I did not apply the blush in circular motion on the apples of the cheeks as I typically would.  I kept the look of the sharp line of blush, but I did gently soften the edges by blending with my finger tips to avoid looking like I had stripes of war paint.

I then moved on to the main focus of my look, my eyes.  I started off by lining the inner rims of my eyes with black inner rim liner.  I then began on the key outer eye makeup using what I consider my mortal enemy: kohl liner.  In case you missed my first kohl liner experience, you can go back and read all about what occurred during the Bombshell Challenge.  Despite my misgivings, I chose to use the kohl liner for its richness and smudging capability.  I commenced my outlining starting at the outer corner of the eye, moving the eyeliner along the bottom lash line in a thick application.  However, instead of following the natural curve of the eye, when I reached the center of  the bottom eyelid, I continued my line straight towards the bridge of the nose, ending at the edge of my eye area.  Going back to the outer corner of the eye, I created a straight line moving from the corner upward towards the hairline.  This created a diagonal line from the inner eye out to the hairline.  I then lined the upper lashline and filled the eyelid in with the liner.  Opening my eyes, I could see a space from where the black color appeared on my upper eye to the outer diagonal line I had created.  Using this as my benchmark, I lined straight across from the open lid to meet the line, resulting in what looked like a triangle at the outer corner of the eye.  I filled this area in with the kohl liner as well.

Next, starting where I had left off my line for the bottom of the inner eye area, I created an arch by moving upward, following the side of the nose, to my eyebrows and above (creating a higher arched eyebrow), and then angling out to the hairline.  You will note with this line that, once I had reached the end of my natural eyebrow and moved toward the hairline, it ran parallel to the bottom line I had created.  I then filled in the triangular area created underneath the eye with the kohl pencil.  I then repeated the entire kohl lining process on the other eye.  When you reach this point, you might notice some unevenness between the two eyes.  Make any adjustments necessary so that the two eyes are as symmetrical as possible.  I highly recommend the use of Q-Tips to assist in cleaning up and adjusting lines you've already made.  To prevent the kohl liner from straying, I lightly topped all of the black liner with black eyeshadow to set it in place.  Now, if you're following along with me when you reach this point, you might begin to think you're looking like a mix between a superhero and a raccoon.  Stay with me! As you can see from the results above, it does work out!

To finish the eye look, I filled in the open area between all that black liner with a red cream eyeshadow.  For my selection, I chose to use Make Up For Ever 12 Flash Color Case.  I highly recommend this palette, as it not only provides you with an array of vivid colors, but it also allows you mix the shades to create just about any color combination you could possibly imagine. To finish the eyes, you can opt for mascara if you would like, however I chose not to.  With all all of the eye makeup in place, it seemed that the mascara would just get lost in the shuffle anyway.

Moving onto the lips, I decided to use trick from my Exaggerated Pout Challenge to make my lips seem bigger.  Following the steps from that challenge, I lined and filled in my lips using a dark brown liner.  This step is, of course, optional.  However, I decided to go with a larger pout to coincide with the rest of my exaggerated makeup, as well as to highlight the overt sexiness that is associated with the she-devil costume.  I then applied Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Color in F-bomb, which is a beautiful deep red with a nice shine that's not overly glossy.  On top of the brown lip liner, the color becomes deep and rich.  To finish the look, I applied a  sparkly red lip gloss to the center of the top and bottom lips only.  This assists in making the lips look fuller while adding to touch of sexiness.

In addition to my makeup challenge instructions today, I also have an overall style tip for those she-devils out there: try pulling your hair into a severe high ponytail, flat ironing the tail to be straight as possible.  This once again plays with those sharp angles that I've been talking about, and highlights that severe look you're going for.  Think part dominatrix and part devil.

Now go out there and have fun! Show me your best she-devil looks, both past and present!  If you have a costume that you'll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 25 of The Great Makeup Challenge!

Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.

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