When we were shooting the tutorials for January and beyond during the week (sneak-peek them here) we had just enough time to whizz in a quick Christmas party look at the end, and once again I was reminded of what a sympathetic makeup artist Leonard Daly is.
All too often, artists are rigid in their rules, making things super-difficult and hard for normal women to replicate at home but he's the precise opposite - a huge amount of what he applies he does with fingers - as does Pat McGrath, one of the most famous makeup artists I can think of. He's a big fan of the tidy up as well. "I buy cotton buds in Muji," he told me, "and they are fantastic, I wouldn't be without them."
So - never ever feel bad about making a hames of something. Take it off, do it again, or tidy it with a tissue, a bud or a brush with a little foundation on it. Try not to feel the need or pressure to have a ton of super skills or to have all your shadows and lines at 90 degree angles and as if they were applied using a set square. Leonard's methods are relaxed, easy to follow and they get great results. What more could you ask for, eh?
Eva's foundation, concealer and powder were already in place (Tom Ford Traceless Foundation, Tom Ford Foundation stick used as concealer, Shiseido loose powder and false lashes were all situ), so do your base first, and then we can get stuck straight into eyes. Apply a black cream shadow over the lid up to the crease. Leonard used one of the new Shiseido Shimmering cream shadows (above), but anything you have to hand will be fine.
He then blended the colour out to the sides and above the crease with his finger.
Tidy! Any little smudges or marks were removed with a cotton bud.
Next up, dab a dot of L'Oreal Paris Colour Infallible in Sahara Treasure (amazing shadows) onto the ball of the eye "for a smouldering gorgeous different look," says the maestro himself. Again, use your fingers. "They're your best tool," Leonard says.
And blend this lightly into the black shade.
Dab a dot of brown cream shadow into the inner corner of the eye, by the nose. Leonard used another Shiseido Shimmering Cream for this, but you could again use whatever you had to hand - or leave out this step. He says this adds a point of difference and some extra definition.
And again, blend with your finger.
Next, on a flat shadow brush, take some of the black cream shadow and apply it close to the lashline at the outer corner and just to about halfway in. We want to add some extra definition to the sides of the eye.
Now blend again with a finger for a nice smudgey result.
Time for some more tidying! Doing this as you go - like you would if you were cooking - gives you a much better finished result.
We're gonna go back to eyes in a minute, but Leonard left the eyes at this point and tackled bronzing. He used the cult - and now discontinued - Bronze Universel de Chanel mousse bronzer which he applied using a Mac 188 duo-fibre in a '3' shape to Eva's face.
This is the simplest way to contour the face - take your brush and apply your bronzer in the shape of a '3' from temples to cheekbones to chin. Then blend, blend, blend, until it's all smooth and diffused. A little luminizing in a 'C' shape around the eye contour came courtesy of the Balm's Mary Lou Manizer.
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Once he'd done that, he decided the eyes definitely needed a little something extra so he decided to line the upper and lower waterlines with Maybelline Eye Studio gel liner.
Line the bottom waterline first; Leonard used a Mac 228 brush.
And now do the top. This is also known as tightlining and is a great trick to know - it instantly gives the appearance of fuller, thicker lashes.
Next up, he decided to quickly add some more colour and definition to the eye, using shades from the Gosh 22 Colour shadow palette.
He patted a little of the lime green shade onto the ball of the eyelid with a finger.
Then blended it, again using a finger.
Next he took a little of a bright turquoise shade from the palette and applied it tight to the lashline, in the centre of the lid. Leonard calls this a "hotspot of accent colour." Love it!
Again, blend this with a finger so it's barely there - it's just to make eyes pop a little.
Leonard then turned his attention to matters lower lashline, smudging out the still wet gel liner and diffusing it slightly using a firm, tapered blending brush. He did this for both eyes.
He then took a little of a dark grey/graphite shade from the Gosh palette and smoked out the lower lashline a little more on both sides.
Now it's the turn of lips. Leonard used a shimmery coral lipgloss shade from Catrice.
While he's not mad on the wands on these glosses, they're super-cheap and tend to have good colour payoff. The coral colour in this complements the green and turquoise tones used in the eye makeup too.
To add some more depth, he patted on a little orangey/red Chanel lipstick in no 79 in the centre of the lips.
Lastly, brows were brushed and groomed and Eva's Christmas beauty look was ready for its big reveal.
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And that's it - feel free to mix up the colours or do the same look with powder shadows and brushes by following the same steps. Will you give it a go over Christmas?
