27 January 2007

The best celebrity perk


Having a makeup artist at my 24-hour disposal comes thisclose to trumping free couture clothing and my-job-depends-on-it pressure to stay thin as the celebrity perk I covet most.

Every morning when I'm getting ready for work and on the occasional evening when I'm getting ready to go out, I have a celebrity muse from whom I shamelessly steal one of their recent looks. My desired end result depends on three variables: season (i.e. how tan I am), the outfit I'm wearing, and most influential of all, my mood. I should qualify that statement, however, by saying that on the not infrequent weekday mornings when I have I-feel-sultry moments, I do have the good judgment not to fasten on my false Shu Uemura lashes and apply my NARS lip stain and head to work.

No, on those days, I tend to get my fix with the nude leather 4.25-inchers.

For day and evening makeup. my routines are relatively the same. All I need to go from the office to peach Bellinis at Spezie is a black eyeliner pencil, a second coat of waterproof mascara, another dab or two of silver shimmer shadow in the corners of my eyes, and depending on the company I'm about to keep, another three spritzes of Fresh Sake (meeting a friend) or Dior Miss Dior (meeting a "friend").

Below are some of the lovely looks I have tried to reproduce in the past.

Day Makeup:
Top to bottom:
1. Jessica Biel
2. Anne Hathaway
3. Rachel Bilson*
4. Scarlett Johannsson
5. Sienna Miller
*most resembles my day look


Evening Makeup

Top to bottom:

1. Jennifer Lopez

2. Angelina Jolie

3. Scarlett Johannsson

4. Sienna Miller*

5. Sienna Miller

*most resembles my evening look

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your face shape and cheekbones give you a great advantage to try the heavier evening eye makeup (that and your perfect skin). I don't think very many peope could get away wit the Angelina/JLo looks, but I'd love to see your interpretations and get your advice on the best looks for different face shapes, etc...

Anonymous said...

And if you're graced with a perfect mouth--as I suspect you are--there must be many options there, too. What do you like to do with that asset?

Johanna said...

You're too sweet.

Actually, you're right, not many people can get away with the Angelina "cat-eye" look. My DC BFF pointed this out to me when I asked her to help me re-create that very look a couple of weekends ago. "Your eyes are too round for this," she told me, "it won't look right." Undaunted, I tried it anyway, and it turns out her assessment had been spot-on -- I couldn't pull it off. My eyes *were* too round. Odd, given my ethnic background, but there you have it.

I'll definitely do a more in-depth post on evening makeup in the near future, though I think face-shape is less a determinant than other characteristics like skin-tone, eye color and eye shape.

Thanks again for the kind words!

Johanna said...

In case it isn't clear, that last comment I wrote was in response to the first anonymous comment.

As for the second one, hmmm...yes, I actually do have a perfect mouth. Shaped like a heart on top and a nice, medium-sized pillow on the bottom.

What do I like to do with my mouth? During the day I like to keep it - my lips - moisturized with Kiehl's lip balm, and at night, well...I like to have 107 minute conversations about movies, hotel hallways in NYC and happy endings.

I also like to use my mouth to eat foie gras and say bitchy things just a little too loudly.

Does that sound about right?

Anonymous said...

Sounds perfect.

Johanna said...

I want reciprocation. What do you do with yours? I'm assuming you, too, have a nice mouth.

Nice lips, at least...

Anonymous said...

Well, thank YOU. But my lips are not my best asset (cheekbones, I've been told). I'm a big fan of Burt's Beeswax--do you know it? I wouldn't use anything else.

Never saw "Lost in Translation." But I love Scarlett!

Anonymous said...

I'm supposed that you can't rock the Angelina look, I thought you'd be one of the few. And, Johanna does have a perfect mouth with the right sized teeth to boot.

Anonymous said...

I want to see this mouth now...

Anonymous said...

Yes--we want to see it!

Johanna said...

You just want to see it? How very PG-13 of you all.

Anonymous said...

All of you, get a room.

N-Y-i-E