If there's a makeup artist who knows a thing or two about statement eyes, it's Nick Barose—the man by every single one of Lupita Nyong'o's jaw-dropping gazes. And while Barose acknowledges that not every woman is as "spontaneous" as Nyong'o, the superhuman who pulls of metallic blue lipstick, it's his firm belief that sparkle on the eyes is wearable for every woman. New Year's Eve is just an excuse to amp things up even more.
But while the last day of the year is all about looking ahead, makeup-wise you're going to want to take it back a few decades. "I draw a lot of my references from like the '70s because I feel like that's the time that people were glamorous but not afraid to be messy," explains Barose. "You can be festive, but it doesn't look too precious."
Here, Barose decodes exactly how to pull off the statement eyes you've always wanted to try but never known how.
1. Blot and prime your lids. Oil is the enemy of eye makeup. Blotting the lids with a tissue or cotton ball is an essential first step to prepping the eyes for all-night wear, says Barose. Afterwards, tap an eye primer, like Lancôme's Aquatique Waterproof Eyecolour Base, into the lids with your ring finger to create a and set by dusting on some loose powder for a silky, matte canvas.
2. Go for gold and bronze hues. "When it comes to sparkle, gold and bronze are neutral tones that are more wearable because they read a little bit like brown," he explains. Try Lancôme's Auda-City in Paris Palette, dabbing a gold shadow onto the lids and inner corners of the eyes, then a darker color from the palette on the outer corners for dimension. Once you're comfy with a warmer neutral look, you can graduate to other hues, like silver or burgundy.
3. Wet your powder shadows. Metallic shadows can be hard to work with, so for the smoothest of smoky eyes, "wet the brush," instructs Barose. "It turns the powder into a liquid metallic that goes on smoother and more intense."
4. Don't layer a shadow on too thick. "Even when I do a dark, dramatic smoky eye, I like to see the skin coming through because I think that's what keeps it modern," he says. "When you use too much, it can take the life away from the eyes."
5. Blot your lash lines before applying eyeliner. Oiliness and lids are synonymous, but there's another part of your eye catching some grease: the lash lines. To keep your eyeliner from melting, blot the upper and lower lash lines with a Q-tip.
6. Tightline your lash lines. If you really want your eyes to pop in photos, it's all about tightlining, which is applying liner at the base of/in between your lashes. Smudge an intense black eyeliner, like Lancôme's Drama Liqui-Pencil Longwear Eyeliner, into the upper and lower lash lines to make your lashes look thicker and make your eyes pop in selfies.
7. Choose lengthy over voluminous lashes. If you've got killer statement eyes, you want your lashes to complement, not compete with 'em. Barose's solution is using a mascara that lengthens, like Lancôme'sHypnôse Drama Lengthening Mascara, without too much of that super-curvaceous, lid-blocking volume.
8. Use a cream or liquid highlighter sparingly. Again, everything else should be a little more dialed back. Take highlighter, for example, which Barose likes to use in liquid or cream form, as opposed to powder, to keep it from looking too frosty. You can't go wrong with Lancôme Glow Subtil Silky Creme Highlighter, a buildable, light-diffusing cream that comes in a range of warm golds for a soft-focus glow.
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