Break out with the Blues

photo courtesy of InStyle.com - Marley Shelton

Ah Spring! The world comes bursting to life with a cacophony of sounds and colors. Everything is new again inspiring us to make a change. Make that change by breaking out of the boring brown or black eyeliner - look to break out with the blues!

Blue? Fear not! Blue can be worn by anyone and worn well. Try these ideas:

~For those women whose skin tone is darker try a teal blue or deep turquoise like our Duet Eyeliner in Blue.

~If your eyes tend toward an orangey brown... a cobalt blue will make your eyes pop!

~Blue eyed already? Smoke a lovely mid tone blue like Catch Me Powder in Blue Star close to the lashline, try it with a soft silver eyeliner for extra sparkle.

~For a nice variation try a little blue shadow smudged just under the corner of your lower lashline - try Elain's Electric Eyes in Love Cleo.

~Shift your blue toward the green a little with Indigo Dream Electric Eyes.

Be bold! Try something new and experiment - makeup is a flexible and fun accessory!

Sexy Cat Eyeliner: Back In Style

Prrr-fect! The cat eye has returned....... all over the Spring runways eyeliner ala Bridget Bardot abounded. Super sexy with a strong lip and groomed brows or sophisticated by emphasizing the contour of the eyelid and wearing a fleshy colored lipstick. In some cases the liner was playfully applied to the crease of the eye instead of the lashline. Color made a showing in eyeliners too making the options even more fun.

If you want to achieve the cat eye, use Elain Duet Eyeliner starting with the pencil. Line right along your lashline slightly extending the line outside the edge of the eye winging it out. Next go right over the pencil with the liquid to intensify the look.

Beauty Spotlight: Duet Eyeliner

Perfect for Spring... Elain's Duet Eyeliner is a user friendly product. Uniquely packaged, it contains an eye pencil and a liquid eyeliner. The soft, twist up pencil goes on smoothly. The liquid eyeliner is a fast drying, waterproof, long wearing, and smudgeproof formula. Our specially designed fine tipped brush gives you the control you need to achieve a precise line.

The liners can be worn together or separate. For the boldest effect begin with the pencil to lay a nice foundation then follow with the liquid to sharpen the line.

If you want a change from Duet Eyeliner in black, try our versatile shades of brown, blue, olive green, silver or purple. Once you try them, you'll never go back to your old liner. Welcome to enjoying eyeliner!

Elain's "Get The Look": Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore is lovely, young icon for our times. One of her greatest qualities is her willingness to experiment and change her look. Recently she rocked a gorgeous retro 60's look with a fresh twist.

To recreate her look, smooth your skin with Elain's foundation and primer. Next, define your brows with our Duet Eye Brow and sweep your eyelid with a soft white eyeshadow.

The key element is the Duet Eyeliner in Black on the upper eyelid. Start on the inside corner of your eye and slowly widen your line finishing it with a cat tail on the outer corner. Accentuate your lashes with 2 - 3 coats of mascara to finish the eyes.

Finally use a dusting of Baby Pink Chic Blush on your cheeks and Flush Bijou Beam on you lips... now you've got the look!

How to Make Your Eyes Pop - Eyeliner and Your Eyes

How to Make Your Eyes Pop - (I) Eyeliner and Your Eyes

Makeup is a great way to express your mood, it is not permanent so you can change it as often as you like. You can change it by seasonal trend or according to your outfit - whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

One thing that can help you out is understanding your face - what is your best or favorite feature? Maximize that strength and build around it. Many women love to focus on their eyes but are not sure how to use eyeliner to make the eyes luminous. Let's start there.

Catherine Zeta Jones plays up her lovely honey colored eyes, upping the drama by rimming them with a smoky liner.

What about you...

1. If your eyes are close set (close together) - Line your upper lashline partially, start your line about the inside edge of your iris and slightly widen the line toward the outer corner of your eye, finishing just past the edge of your eye.

2. If your eyes are wide set (farther apart) - Starting at the inner corner of your lashline, begin with a slightly wide line and gradually taper it as you move to the outer corner of your eye. Stop your line just where the outer corner of the eye stops.

3. If your eyes are small - Keep your eyeliner close to the lashline and really emphasize the outer corner of your upper and lower lid to draw the attention outward.

4. If your eyes and eyelids are round - Use a thicker eyeliner all the way across the eyelid with the outer corner a bit fuller to create an illusion of less eyelid which helps bring visual balance.

5. If you have Asian eyes - On your upper lashline, begin by drawing a thin line starting at the inside corner and gradually thicken it as you near the outer corner. Finish by bringing the edge of the liner slightly beyond the end of your lashline.

You may choose to use a pencil or liquid. Whichever you choose, go ahead and play up those eyes! If you can't decide...try our Elain Duet Eyeliner which has both a pencil and a liquid liner in one product. Enjoy!

Classic Marilyn Monroe ala Elain

Marilyn Monroe is an American icon. Her sultry style mixed with innocence has been imitated the world over. Here we have recreated her most famous makeup look using Elain Cosmetics. The basic elements are a soft white eyelid, a neutral crease, strong black eyeliner, a dramatic arched brow, bold lips, and of course, the famous beauty mark.

We used our Silver Sparkle Stick as a base with Silver Star Catch Me Powder over it.
Passion Bond Electric Eyes was blended through the crease and slightly up on the brow bone. The lashline was defined with Duet Eyeliner in Black then finished with two coats of Luscious Lashes.

A sweep of Peach Beige Chic Blush onto the cheeks and Sexy Rouge Bijou Beam on the lips completes the look. The final touch is a light dusting of our ultra silky Absolute Powder.

Icy Eyes Elain style

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The crisp air, the snow on the mountains, the crystal clear night skies glittering with stars... these elements inspired me to create a cool, icy holiday makeup.

The first step to creating this look is to prime the eyelid with Elain's Sparkle Stick in Silver. The Sparkle Stick will create a long wearing, crease proof base for our shadows as well as intensifying the shadow colors. The effect is a beautiful shimmer.

Once the lid is primed, take the Elain Electric Eye Duo in Night Fever and apply the white shadow all over the lid and brow bone. Blend well. Next, using a flat shader brush pat the dark graphite color onto the outer half of the lid leaving the white showing in the inner half. Blend the edges of the graphite to soften the edges. Gently blend it into the inner crease to enhance the depth of the crease. Keep it controlled so it is a slight line and not too thick.

Take the white shadow again and intensify the inner crease then pop it into the inner corner of the eye to brighten and open that area up. You can also use your blending brush to softly blend a little over the top edge of the graphite to fade it a bit more.

Next line your eye with Duet Eyeliner in Black - first line the upper lid with the pencil, concentrating on really blending it into the lashline. Follow the pencil with the waterproof liquid in a tight line along your inner lashline; then slightly widen the line toward the outer corner stopping just at the edge of your lashline. For extra wow, use Elain Glitter Eyeliner in Silver right on the lashline.

Elain Luscious Lashes Mascara is the finishing touch for the eyes. Luscious Lashes is a thickening, lengthening mascara that will not dry out your lashes and is long wearing.

To create the perfect skin use our mineral based products: Elain Perfect Finish Base first, Elain Perfect Finish Foundation second and to set it all, our Absolute Powder - a finely milled, flaw covering formula.

On the cheeks I've used Elain Chic Blush in Baby Pink just on the apples of the cheek to give the cheek a more flushed effect instead of blushed. The final touch? A hint of a sweet pink gloss - Princess Pink.

Now all you need is your faithful LBD and somewhere fabulous to go! You go girl!