This past Saturday, I attended a make-up event hosted by my schoolchum and upandcoming make-up artist Noel. He gave a demonstration of four looks for this coming holiday season: Thanksgiving, Holiday Cocktail @ Work, Christmas, and, of course, New Year's. The demonstration also included current trends in make-up (like how everyone's doing the nude lip) and some personal tips taken from trial and error. His audience included some students from the local cosmetology college GGO, where he is going to be lecturing this coming Monday (Go Noel!). And although the evening started off a bit slow, Noel quickly took command of his brushes and gave us all a little show - like any artist should.
The Thanksgiving Look(Model: Pamela)
He stressed that Thanksgiving is not a flashy event. It's low key, where you could possibly meet the potential in-laws for sit down dinner. Subtle neutral tones, then, are the best. The focus point of this look is the eyes - "make them pop". This is easily accomplished by doing a sparkly gold eye. His make-up brand of choice for the night was Bobby Brown, but you can find neutral shades and glitter shadow in less expensive brands like Cover Girl. The blush is a simple pink. Remember to smile when putting on blush, and use long strokes on the cheek bones - NEVER EVER do circles. For lips, you can’t go wrong with metallic gold colors - "they go with everything". He used copper on Pamela because it wasn’t too bright, but if you want bright and shiny, use clear gloss over the lip color.
Holiday Cocktail Party(Model: Tracy)
The focal point in this look is a smokey eye, which apparently is extremely hard to do and most people get it wrong. The easiest way is with a pencil not shadow, like most people use, because shadow gives you a messier, less defined look. For the Cocktail Party Look, black is the color of choice, but a smokey eye can be done in any color. Apply the pencil to the eye lid and use a brush to blend. If you want the eye darker you can use some shadow, but remember a little bit of shadow will go a long way so be delicate with it. Finish off with a gold tone on upper lid and define the bottom with pencil. Add mascara and a nude lip and you're ready to go!
Christmas Dinner Look(Model: Sophia)
Just because it's Christmas, doesn't mean you have to be flashy. This look opts for brown tones but mixes in a silvery gold finish on the eye. To highlight the eye, use a shimmer gold dust, which is messy but can be cleaned up easily. Add a little pencil on the bottom lid and mascara to complete the eye. With this look, Noel discussed the use of fake eye lashes: they can be a bit tricky to measure but simple to put on. Also it may be a bit more expensive, but finding fake lashes made of real human hair look best because they are more delicate. A red lip is good for this look but be careful not to end up with a clown lip. If it looks too heavy, blot with a paper towel.
New Year's Look(Model: Paula)
This is the fun look, of course - it's dramatic and uses more colors "but don’t go overboard". For the eyes, he used purple eye shadow (since shades of purple and fuchsia are his favorites) and a translucent powder. The translucent powder gives the eyes a more shear, sci-fi look. Silver glitter also helps complete the drama in this look, and it’s okay to play with it and let it to fall on more than just the eyes. For the lips, a nice shade of pink lip gloss.
Noel's Top Five
1. Liquid eye liner is messy so stick with pencil.
2. Don’t forget to set everything with powder.
3. Always have eyeliner with you.
4. Shades of brown go with everything.
5. Don’t go heavy on red lips
If you would like to contact Noel, e-mail him: noel@houseofnoel.com or check out his website: House of Noel.
