Yes, you can rock statement eyeshadow all year round

Inspired by seeing many makeup artist applying unusual mediums to the face lately, Jenny Atwood Smith, Global Makeup Artist for NARS Cosmetics, and Alana Tyler Slutsky, beauty photographer, decided take a different route.

Within a dope editorial shoot they combined the popular fresh dewy look with different washes of color in the makeup and  f*cked it all up by stretching the skin, smushing the makeup and so on, ultimately creating an unconventional MASTERPIECE.

Check out their interview below explaining the method to their madness and more! Plus, the ultimate guide to rocking your statement eyeshadow all year round.

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JAS: It doesn’t really matter if the crazy eyeshadow color you pick is flattering or not. You can just try it on and if you like it, then you wear it. You can add eyeliner or you can add mascara. If it’s too bright, the trick is to either use something lighter to blend it down or use something darker, like dark eyeliner or dark mascara, to make it look more sophisticated. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be flattering to everybody and it doesn’t have to match your clothes or anything like that. Have fun with it.

ATS: At the end of the day, who cares if other people think it’s flattering? As long as you feel good wearing it and you think it’s flattering to yourself then rock it!

JAS: Yeah! And you can always trial a color for a few hours before you go to sleep at night, before you wash your face, so you can see if you like the color. That way you can see if you want to make that commitment in the morning and it’s really easy.

ATS: And if you get bored, mix things together. Who cares if you make a wonderful weird color once and it looks great and you can never find it again, so be it. Ya know?

JAS: Just have fun with it!

ATS: I think that’s kind of what our story is about. Not taking makeup too seriously and being willing to play around with color and application. At the end of the day, makeup is an art form in itself and you should be able to play around and have fun with it. I think now in the digital age, with the YouTube and Instagram makeup gurus, people are taking makeup so seriously that it’s kind of lost its whimsy. So why not just play? We don’t need to have everything so structured all the time…

JAS: Exactly. And if you don’t like something, just take it off! Wake up and wear whatever version of it want in the morning.

ATS: You can see if you put on more, or if you put on less, does it make it more appropriate for work? School? Sometimes you buy a new shade and you put it on and you’re not necessarily comfortable and you’re kind of self-conscious and weird about it all day.

JAS: And if you want to pull off a crazy color for work or school, a great easy way to do that is just apply minimal amounts of it. Or if it’s an eyeshadow you can use wet, just wet your brush with a little bit of water and use the crazy color as a liner. Maybe just apply the color in the outer corner of your eye or just in the inner corner of your eye… Maybe just underneath and pair with a neutral color on your lid. It doesn’t have to be a lot of a crazy color. It can be a little hint of a color that changes everything.

ATS: Honestly sometimes, just a hint is so much more tasteful than going full blown color all over. It’s a little more sophisticated sometimes because you put more thought into it before you apply. It’s more painterly I guess, more intriguing.

JAS: Absolutely. It’s more wearable, I think, when it’s a little pop of color as a surprise rather than like “OH! BLUE EYESHADOW!” If theres just a little tiny bit of it, then a crazy color is more wearable because its not overkill.

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JAS: It’s about variety. It’s about color. It’s about texture. Shimmer is still here and everyone is still enjoying a lot of different colors. Especially with editorial, we’re not afraid to use color and that definitely translates into trends. In New York, women are not afraid to put on a colored lipstick or a bright eyeshadow and wear it out. I saw a woman the other day with aqua blue eyeliner and she was just wearing neutral clothes with it and it looked great!

ATS: Do you think there are any standout colors? I know a lot of times with fall, people sort of resort to jewel tones and typically autumn colors — rust, emerald, etc. Less fun, more power colors. What do you think? Are the trends typically going that way this year?

JAS: Silver, gold, blues — different shades of blues. Teals, navies..

ATS: The usual suspects, just a bit brighter.

JAS: Yeah. And nobody is afraid of metallic right now so go for it. If you don’t want it all over just do it a little underneath the eye or a little in the corner, somewhere simple, keep it interesting. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you want to do something more graphic, pick one feature and go all the way with it. So if you’re going with a graphic shadow, it might be a color or a shape, or even something super textured or shimmery. Graphic can be so many different things – just start with a little bit and add more as you’re going. The rest of the makeup should be pretty neutral so it doesn’t feel like overkill.

ATS: There’s nothing worse than seeing someone with a really beautiful graphic eyeshadow and then they went way overboard with an intense lipstick and you just don’t know where to look. It’s too much. Whereas if they just kept one feature a little bit more neutral or a little bit less bright and they really let the other stand out and let the graphic element speak, it would shape their face differently and make something eye-catching rather than something confusing to the eye.

JAS: Agreed. Your eye shouldn’t go all over when someone is wearing makeup. You should have one feature to go all the way with, and that’s what should stand out — one focus.

ATS: Absolutely. Also, let’s say I am being self-conscious because I have a blemish on my chin, then I’ll play up my eyes so focus goes to that rather than my lips, near where I have an imperfection. Focus is intentionally drawn away and then I feel better, like no one is staring at my chin. It’s all about strategy sometimes. Playful but with a purpose.

JAS: Yeah, yeah. Absolutely, I love it!

ATS: This story kind of came about on a whim when we were shooting another editorial.

JAS: Haha, yeah that was amazing.

ATS: Yeah! Kat, our hair stylist, was cutting some hair and there were little strays stuck to the models face so Jenny whipped out some packing tape and started removing the hair from the model. I was watching all of this happen and just had a little ah-ha moment and was kind of like “Wait a minute! Stop everything. This is major.” We were on to something. Watching the way the skin kind of distorted under the stress of the tape.. It was amazing. We kind of paused what we were doing that day and took 10 minutes to think this through because something really cool was happening and it just kind of evolved into itself.

JAS: That the best way! It just kind of happened very organically, like a natural evolution.

ATS: And it was also great when we were on set shooting this story… Sometimes the makeup and the tape didn’t want to interact well together so we would find something else to do with the tape, or the tape wasn’t necessarily sticking where we wanted it. I feel like everything when we shoot together all just kind of takes on a life of its own and it evolves in its own organic way. We don’t really have to make anything happen, we kind of let it happen itself.

JAS: Yeah, don’t you feel like when you over think it, or when you become too detailed about exactly what you’re going to do and spend all this time on it, it’s just not right and you just reject it anyway?

ATS: Also in the same vein.. You can go in and be like “This is what’s in my head!” And then when you execute it , it never lives up to what you fantasied in your mind. I personally just think it’s so hard to put that on yourself and be like “This is exactly what we’re doing” and mirror these images that are in your head because it almost never lives up to it and becomes a bit of a disappointment. It’s so much more fun to let things take on a life of their own.

JAS: Mmhm, because sometimes it’s just how it evolves, and it gets better as you’re going.

ATS: Beauty editorials are a creature of their own. So let them live, let them breathe, let them become what they’re meant to be instead of forcing it out and you’re going to get a better result in the end.

JAS: So true. Let the creative process happen and when you’re working with different people someone may take a stronger role but the collaboration is really what makes all the efforts come together. Keep an open mind, be willing to hear people out. Maybe someone has strong opinions on an idea that you didn’t initially think of. It could turn into something really wonderful… Just be open and keep going. Push yourself more. Do the best, be your best.

ATS: And I don’t think that even has to be limited to just what we do. I think just in general, make that a rule of thumb in life. Be open, be willing to hear people out, because you never know where it’s going to take you.

 Photographer: Alana Tyler Slutsky 

MUA: Jenny Atwood Smith

Hairstylist: Kat Zemtsova (@katkoncept) using Oribe

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