Runway Beauty: Behind the Scenes with Sephora

At Wednesday night’s Gainesville Fashion Week, Sephora makeup artists Mandi and Ellie went with a retro ’50s look to accompany Natalie Kim’s game-day dress collection, focusing on two favorite beauty trends—cat eyes and bright red lips. We crashed a pre-show makeup session with model Meghan van Joosten to break down the look step-by-step.

1. A few minutes of prep.

Mandi starts with the model’s eyes to avoid eye shadow debris on the foundation. She begins by applying Too Faced Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer all over the lid. This helps retain color and prevents the shadow from creasing. Next, it’s time for Urban Decay’s matte eye shadow. A nude shadow, like Foxy, blends well with the model’s fair complexion and evens out the skin tone. The nude color is applied on the lid up to the brow bone with a medium shadow brush. She then contours with Shakedown, a darker color, which she uses creating circles in the crease to add definition to the eye.

2. Cat eyes are a great look for small or close-set eyes.

“To create a cat eye, you want to go straight instead of following the natural line,” Mandi says. She uses a bent eyeliner brush and Smashbox’s Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner. To perfect the eye, start at the middle and take small baby strokes out to the corner. You can clean up the look by going over it with a felt tip liquid liner, like the Kat Von D tattoo liner in Trooper. Now, the tricky part. For a winged eye, Mandi says it’s best to follow the natural line of the bottom of the eye instead of the top. You can follow the line up and then just bring out and connect the top line with the bottom line. Finish with a volumizing mascara like Urban Decay’s Big Fatty Waterproof Mascara.

3. A flawless natural finish.

Next, it’s off to Ellie to complete Meghan’s look. They used Make Up For Ever’s HD Invisible Cover Foundation for an airbrushed complexion. When finding the right shade, it’s best to apply the foundation to the side of the cheek and bring it down to the neck. If it blends well, it’s a color match success. After applying primer, Ellie likes to apply the foundation at the nose and work her way out. Pull the foundation downward to match the direction of the hair on the face.

4. Sculpting and contouring.

Ellie uses a Make Up For Ever sculpting kit and NARS blush in Orgasm to add definition and shape the cheekbones. For blush, she says the biggest mistake is using too much or going too far. Apply from the middle of the cheekbone outward—you can use the iris of your eye as a marker point. Apply a little bit to the apples of the cheek. Next, she uses the darker color in the sculpting kit and applies it below the blush. By pushing the blush down and the darker color up, she reshapes the model’s cheekbones. Add a hint of the dark color along the sides of the nose to make it appear longer and thinner.

5. All about the eyes.

To define eyebrows, use LORAC's Take a Brow to fill in any gaps. Ellie applies the lighter shadow in the fuller part of the eyebrow and the darker shadow in the thinner part. If your eyebrows are short, drag the shadow out past the brow to lengthen the curve. Finally, shape the brows with a brow brush and set with a clear brow gel.

6. Red lips look good on everyone.

“You just have to find a shade you’re comfortable with,” Ellie says. Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick in Barcelona completes Meghan’s look. The lipstick comes in the shape of a pencil and is soft and moisturizing on the lips.

—Lauren Peterson

Photos: Sarah Hsu