Favorite beauty looks: The Grammys
Many red carpet events tend to show off similar hair and makeup looks, but I was happy to see that there was variety at this year’s Grammys. These are the ones that stood out for me.
Lady Gaga
Wow! This girl can sing! Watching her performance with Tony Bennett, I had to wonder why she feels the need to dress in outlandish costumes when she’s already a talented performer without all the hoopla. Anyway, I’m glad that she toned things down for her duet with him, with her glamorous evening dress and sleek hairstyle, but still maintained a Gaga vibe. Her exaggerated winged shadow and liner in emerald, paired with a peachy lip, added some nice pops of color to her silver dress. Onstage, for her black dress, more black shadow and liner was added to her eyes and paired with red lips. I personally like the emerald eye look more. When trying out jewel-tone eye colors, do what Gaga’s makeup artist did and blend a warm brown eyeshadow into the crease and “anchor” eyes with black liner and mascara.
Taylor Swift
Another wow! For once, she wasn’t wearing red lipstick and black liner. I’m sort of not that wild about the fact that she was very matchymatchy with her eyeshadow and dress, but Taylor’s makeup is proof that blue eyeshadow does not have to look dated. She is wearing a sapphire blue hue on bottom lash lines and on the lids, winged out on the outer V’s to really emphasize her eye shape, with lots of black mascara on top and bottom lashes. To avoid looking too 80’s with blue eyeshadow, go with a nude-pink lip color like Taylor’s instead of, say, frosty pink or orange.
Katy Perry
I’m obsessed with her hair here, but one source says it was just a wig. Nonetheless, I love Katy’s winged liner and nude lips. So wearable, especially if you don’t make the liner quite so thick. Her makeup artist blended a darker brown shadow on the crease and outer corners of her eyes, and a lighter brown shade on the lids. Doing a gradient effect like this with the lighter colors on the inner half of the eye and darker shades on the outer half helps eyes look larger and more lifted. I love how her brows are perfectly groomed, not looking too overdone nor too sparse; they balance out the winged black liner really well.