"Romantic, liberating and totally addictive, this is a novel that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever." ~ Fifty Shades Of Grey by E L James.
I've had this post in my head for over a year. I had almost everything, except the most important thing- the Grey Tie. It had to be very similar to the one on the book cover. In New Delhi, I went to all the shops that sell men's formal wear - Lifestyle, Shopper's Stop, Van Heusen, Arrow, etc. It became an obsession. I kept saying to the man that I wanted to buy it for him, but really it's for me ;p
Then we moved to Newcastle. I looked for one there too. I read that grey ties had become a trend in UK after the book, and I wondered if they just meant London. I was so confident I'd find it quickly there that I bought a grey eyeshadow & a grey nail polish. But no luck.
Then about 6 months later, when I'd almost given up, in a shop in Dubai {Koton}, I found something close (or it found me!) By close, I mean something textured, not with stripes or plain.
When I created this look, it's not the female protagonist, Anastasia Steele, who inspired me, it's her complicated & highly controlling lover with very dark secrets ~ Christian Grey.
Here's the step-by-step tutorial on how I did the eyes:
1. Take matte black eyeshadow on a pointy pencil brush, tap or blow the brush so there's minimal fallout, apply it on the outer corner & inner corner. Do it like you're drawing a C. Curve the black e/s all the way to the hollow of your crease. I used Sleek Makeup Noir from Oh So Special Palette with Sigma E40 brush.
2. With a clean blending brush, join the two C's at the crease by running the brush back & forth in a windshield wiper motion. I used Sigma E25 brush.
3. It should look like that. You could add more black if you prefer it darker.
4. Wet a flat shader brush and wipe/squeeze off excess water before using it to apply the grey eyeshadow on the center of lid, not touching the edges of the black e/s. Applying eyeshadows with a damp brush make them look more vibrant, and it gives shimmery eyeshadows that foiled effect + they stick to skin better. I used 2 grey eyeshadows- Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono Eye Shadow Night Jewel & Sleek Makeup Glitz from Oh So Special Palette with Sigma E60 brush
5. Apply the same grey eyeshadow on the center of your lower lash line.
6. With the pencil brush & matte black eyeshadow you used before, apply on the outer 1/4th of lower lash line. Join it with the black e/s on upper outer corner.
7. Do the same on inner 1/4th near the tear duct.
8. It should look like that.
9. Apply black kohl on the upper waterline & lower waterline, but only on either side leaving the grey area in the center. I used Lakmé Kohl Ultimate. *This method does not suit my eyes, and makes me look drunk (hehe!), mainly because I have hooded lids. I should have lined and smudged the black all the way.
10. Apply black liquid or gel liner close to your lash line. Line straight out till it touches the edge of the black eyeshadow at the outer corner. I used L'Oreal Super Liner Instant Impact Felt Liner.
11. Touch up the black eyeshadow if needed. Here, I applied a little bit more and repeated step 2.
12. I put on false lashes, and applied black mascara on top & bottom lashes. I used Eylure 101 lashes & Max Factor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara.
DONE!
I hope you'll try it. You could always replace the grey with other colors, any color you want- gold, bronze, peach, green, blue, beige/taupe, etc.
Products I Used:
Face: MAC Prep+Prime Line Filler, Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundtion #54 Beige, Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer Medium, Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Concealer, NARS Loose Powder Beach.
Blush: Sleek Blush Dolly Mix from Blush By 3 Sweet Cheeks. Swatched here
Bronzer: Benefit Hoola. Swatched here
Lips: Bourjois Levres Contour Lip liner #12 Facetieuse, Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense Lipstick #32. Blotted those, then I applied Bourjois Levres Contour Lip Liner #11 Enjoleuse. Yes, I was confused what to wear, and should have applied only the last one! =D
Grey Nail Polish: Miss Sporty Lasting Colour in New Black
Shirt with bubble sleeves: Mango Suit.
Grey Dress: Guess
Grey Tie: Koton
Silver Earrings: Forever 21
***[This is for readers under 18 years of age: I don't want to sound like a parent, but I would advise you not to read this book until you're over 18. Better yet, wait till you're 25.]
"Laters, baby."
