Jessica Alba might have been giving us a glimpse of her enviably toned tummy at the A.C.O.D premiere this week, but it was her striking makeup look that really caught our eye. The beach bronzed beauty and mother of two kept her outfit choice in line with the of-the-moment geometric silhouettes and monochrome palettes, wearing a two piece black ensemble and cream accessories.
Her makeup look was a lesson in how to successfully walk the smokey-eye line between beautifully intense and over-done. The key to this is to concentrate shading on the upper lid. Begin by sweeping a metallic brown shade across the whole lid, extending its coverage up to the hollow of the arch. Chanel’s Le 4 Ombres (£38, Houseoffraser.co.uk) provides every shade you need for this look and the medium brown is perfect for the base. Try lightly pressing the pale pink shade into the inner corners of eyes and sweeping alongside the lower line of the eyebrow to really highlight and contour. The pale mink colour should be blended minimally from the inner corner of the eye to just under a third of the way into the lid, before applying very lightly to line the lower lash line.
Next turn to the darkest shade. Start by lightly lining the upper lash line and sweeping upwards and outwards as you reach the outer corner. Build up colour intensity on the outer half of the eye lid. Take a thin liner brush, wet it very slightly then use to apply the darkest colour once more as a liner. For the final step use a soft highly pigmented black liner such as Avon’s SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pencil (£6, Avon.co.uk) to give a bold line to the upper lid, which gives added depth to the shadow already there. Apply also to the waterline of the lower lid. Then it’s time to lash on the mascara but take your time. The lower lashes need to be carefully defined, and the upper lashes need some serious length. Add in a few false sections to the outer corners to boost that essential flutter power. Et voila!
As for the rest stick with a foundation or tinted moisturiser that lets your natural skin tone shine through, then sweep a slightly pearlised bronzer like YSL Terre Saharienne (£34, Selfridges.com) with a large brush in a semi circle from cheek bones round to the outer temples. Don’t go crazy though, the key to this look is balance. With such a strong eye taking centre stage, everything else should be sweetly subtle. For lips, use a cream liner such as NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil (£17.50, Narscosmetics.co.uk), choose a subtle colour that suits your skin tone, my favourite is New Lover. Line lips then blend inwards with a lip brush.
Tease hair into loose waves, add a dazzling smile and you’ll have the Miss Alba look to a tea!