Saturday, May 21, 2011

My take on Katy Perry's E.T. Warrior Makeup!

So let me preface by saying, I was so in love with the look of this makeup when I watched the video that I wanted to recreate it but make it wearable so that I could leave the house in it. HAHA well that didn't end up happening. I started off by taking high quality screenshots of the video on VEVO to start my transformation. And while I was trying to make this look "wearable" I ended up copying the look as closely as I could (apart from the warrior paint) stroke for stroke. I still love the makeup, I wish I could find a way for it to be acceptable in public haha! The tutorial will be on my YouTube channel, and when it is finished uploading I will post the video to this page. Below won't be a run down of what I did to achieve the look since it is very detailed and takes a long time, but I am going to list some pointers!

First, tape! If you're trying to create a perfect angle to use as a guide, I highly suggest taping from your lower lashline, at an angle out and upward toward your temple. This not only gives you a clean guide to work with afterward but it keeps the area under the tape clean which will make your lines look much more defined!

Curl lashes well PRIOR to makeup application. You don't want to risk messing up your hard work, whether it be this look, or another labour intensive look, in one of the last stages of completion!

Second keep cotton swabs nearby. Preferably a generic brand. I find the Q-tip brand tries to be more "plush" so you get lots of cotton on your swab, whereas generic brands tend to be more tightly wrapped and use less cotton. Think about generic toilet paper vs. non-generic, generic reminds me of sand paper, while non-generic is soft and gentle haha. Cotton swabs are great for "oopsies". Which trust me, I made hundred of.

Cutting the crease. This is a technique a lot of really gifted and talented makeup artists use. It is a precise sharp line that makes makeup look incredibly artistic and dramatic. An easy way to start cutting your crease is with an eyeliner in the color of your choice. The fine tip and precision your eyeliner is going to provide will make an easier transition into placement of color and sharp perfect lines. Eyeshadows can sometimes be messy, and without a steady hand can end up everywhere and not as "clean", "sharp", or "cut" as desired. Also, for cut creases, if you're looking to venture into this world, matte shades work better than glittery or shimmery shades. Shimmery shades have more fall out because in general they are more loosely packed from the fine particles of shimmer in the shadow.

Making your lines look sharp: If you have problems making your lines look clean and sharp and easy way to trick people into thinking you're an expert with precision is to take a flesh toned creamy concealer or base to use next to any line you want to appear sharper and more defined. What I did was I took my MAC paint pot in the color Soft Ocre and I took a small synthetic precise brush (MAC 231 brush) and created brightness along my lines on the inner corner of my eye. I used a flesh toned paint pot in this area and not a creamy concealer because I don't want the makeup to move or crease. If you're working with color, same rule applies, use some form of product in the same manner to clean up your lines (covering any blemishes or flaws in your precision work). For under eye area, keeping the area clean and sharp is easier. Take a creamy concealer of your choice, I used Bobbi Brown's creamy corrector in Light Peach and a synthetic concealer brush. I used the soft pliable bristles of the concealer brush to create a sharp line of the shadows on my lower lash line by sweeping/dragging the concealer in a clean smooth motion along the line I was already trying to create.

Keep brush cleaner near-by so you can reuse your brushes! I applied mine to a cosmetic round and applied it to a hard plastic surface so that I could reuse brushes that don't require a long drying time. After cleaning off the product off the brush I'd dry it well. Not drying it properly will create "crusts" on top of your eyeshadows. 

For incredibly clean, sharp lines

Be patient young grasshopper, doing any finely detailed look requires time and practice. I messed up so many times on the same areas it was ridiculous. That's what cotton swabs are for! Have fun with it, it doesn't have to be perfect, make it your own!

Have everything you need close by because complicated looks can take awhile, and the best way to lose motivation is to not have what you need near you haha.

Plan your attack first, think of your complicated looks in layers and think about what needs to be done first and last. That way you don't have to wash it off and start again! :)

And voila, some tips on helping any of you, like me, with less than expert abilities appear like experts! :)


Below are the screenshots I took to use for reference!








Products Used
- MAC Soft Ocre Paint pot
- Scotch Tape Matte Finish/Magic Tape
- Mixed MAC Wedge with MAC Grain eyeshadow
- Rimmel Special Eyes Precision liner in Rich Brown
- MAC Corduroy eyeshadow
- MAC Blacktrack fluid liner
- MAC Bronze eyeshadow
- Bobbi Brown Creamy Corrector in Light Peach
- Too Faced Naked Eye Palette Stiletto eyeshadow
- Laura Mercier Metallic Cream Eye Color in Platinum
- MAC Soft brown eyeshadow and MAC Corduroy eyeshadow mixed
- QUO #808 False Lashes with Duo Lash adhesive
- Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic's Lip Tar in Petty Beige
- Gosh Giant Sun Power 001


Brushes Used
- Large generic brand shader brush (eye)
- MAC 266 Small Angle brush (eye)
- MAC 219 Pencil brush (eye)
- MAC 210 Precise Eye Liner brush (eye)
- Smashbox #15 Definer brush (eye)
- MAC 231 Small Shader brush (eye)
- Lise Watier Blending brush (eye)
- MAC 214 Short Shader brush (eye)
- MAC 321 Lip brush (lip)
- MAC 109 Small Contour brush (face)



2 comments:

  1. Keep up the good work girl!
    I love your style. (And hair)!
    Kisses from Holland

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, looks so wicked! Great tutorial :)

    ReplyDelete