Violet Arches

I’m back to work tomorrow after my Easter holidays but I still had today off to play around with my make-up, hooray.  I find it a nice and relaxing way to spend a chilled out morning in my flat.  In keeping with the rest of the week I thought I’d go for a different colour again today and I came up with this look which involves the exact opposite of blending, though I can’t think what the word is!  I basically drew in some brightly coloured arches above my crease using just an eye pencil and one shade of eyeshadow.  It’s a little bit of a tricky look just because the lines are quite sharp and it takes a while to get them even, but I think it’s a really nice way to create a striking look with just a small amount of make up, and it is pretty quick.  Plus it’s perfect if like me you’re not the best at blending!

Here’s the finished look, with me looking more than a little smug for no reason – I was having trouble getting my camera to focus and this was one of the best photos I could get.

Creating the Look


Firstly I applied a nude finish silicon based primer all over my eyelids to just above the crease.  You could also apply an eyepencil or creamy base and pat a nude eyeshadow on top, put a teeny bit of foundation on your lids, or leave them bare depending on your skin type – the reason I did this was because although I was only going to wear colour above my crease I do have oily lids and I didn’t want the colour to smudge onto my eyelids as the day went on and my lids got oilier.

I drew the arches in using a purple eye pencil.  This is the step that actually takes the longest because although the colour doesn’t need to be even this is when you create the shape that you want.  When I wear my eye make-up like this I have to keep opening and closing my eyelids and checking the lines from various angles to make sure that they’re approximately even.  It’s also made trickier by the fact that nobody’s eyes are completely symmetrical in the first place, and certainly in my case this line doesn't quite follow the natural line of my socket bone so I have to get a bit freehand with my drawing.

You can use any kind of eye pencil, this is just the one that I happened to use.

Was getting snap happy…he he

Then you just need to pack eyeshadow on top of the lines you’ve drawn.  I like to use a small eyeshadow brush which can be turned on its side and used to create lines with its tip.  I just stroked it back and forth over the eyepencil and stretched it out slightly at the ends.

I chose was a shimmering violet eyeshadow which is really versatile - you can see in the swatches below some of the different finishes that can be achieved with this shade over different bases – I personally like the colour best when applied over a purple eyepencil because it gives a wonderfully intense, shimmery finish.




I then tidied up the ends with a cotton wool bud dipped in eye make-up remover to create an angular edge at the outer corner (you can see this more clearly in the pics below), applied a volumising mascara to my upper lashes, and, erm…that was it!  I love the fact that this kind of look is so high-impact given how little make-up it actually involves.  Oh yes and I popped some pink shimmer all over my cheekbones and temples, which is how I finish every look I wear at the moment.

Finally here are a couple more shots of the finished make-up.