How-To: Mardi Gras Makeup

After Halloween, Mardi Gras is one of our favorite holidays to experiment with wild and crazy face designs. The New Orleans-based extravaganza brings together Cajun cooking, festive music, and gorgeously lavish hues from Venetian masquerade masks! Beautylish’s Jasmine takes this pre-Lenten celebration to the next level with a decorative Mardi Gras-inspired makeup tutorial–perfect for celebrating Fat Tuesday in style!

What You’ll Need

• 1. Eye shadow primer
• 2. Eye shadows in:
  • •  purple
  • •  chartreuse
  • •  blue
  • •  dark green
  • •  bright pink
• 3. Chartreuse water-based cake makeup
• 4. Loose eye shadows in: purple and iridescent white
• 5. Concealer
• 6. Teal gel liner
• 7. Black liquid liner
• 8. Gold liquid liner
• 9. False Lashes
• 10. Bright Pink Lipstick

After priming your lids with an eye shadow base, trace a thick cat eye shape on your lids with a flat-edged brush, then fill the area with a deep purple eye shadow (we used Make Up For Ever Eye Shadow in 92).

Use the same deep purple shadow and flat-edged brush to draw a long sweeping line along your crease. Taper the line as you reach halfway across your lid.

Continue the graphic violet line down below your inner corner and square off the shape. Extend the plummy color midway across your lower lashes.

With a bright neon water-based paint (we opted for Mehron Paradase AQ Tropical Palette), repeat another cat eye shape below your original purple silhouette using a thin angled brush. Be sure to leave some lid space between the neon green color and the purple cat eye shape. Blend out the neon green paint towards the brow bone by setting it with a similar-toned powder shadow (we chose MAC Eye Shadow in Bitter).

Give your neon green base more dimension using shades and tints. Apply a matte forest-colored eye shadow at the base of your chartreuse shape (we chose a MAC eye shadow in Plumage). Add a pale highlight above the green shadow for an ombré, gradient effect (we used an Urban Decay eye shadow in Dashiki).

With a hot pink eye shadow (we used Sugarpill Pressed Shadow in Dollipop), accent the inner corner of your eye, blending the rosy hue into the purple base. Use a clean, fluffy blending brush to buff out any harsh lines in this area.

Mix a shimmering loose plum shadow with water to form a paste (we opted for Sugarpill Loose Shadow in Hysteric). This technique enhances the shadow’s intensity and gives it extra staying power. Pat the shadow paste onto the center of your lid—over the purple cat eye shape—and blend out the edges with a clean finger.

Dip a small flat, round brush into concealer, and swipe the brush along your outer crease to sharpen up the lines in your corner (we used Bobbi Brown Face Touch Up Stick in Warm Ivory).

Apply a teal cream liner (we chose Inglot AMC Gel Liner in 87) to the outer corner of your lower lash line and smudge the color into the purple shadow.

Give your peepers extra definition with a fierce cat’s eye. Use a black liquid liner to trace a winged shape for your false lashes to blend into.

Give your eyes some razzle-dazzle with a thin line of gold glitter liner above the chartreuse shadow, on the outer corner, and below your winged black cat eye (we used Urban Decay 24/7 Glitter Liquid Liner in El Dorado).

It’s Mardi Gras–go lash crazy! Apply a funky colored pair of falsies to tie the extreme design together. We opted for green and purple Toxic False Lashes from Sugarpill, but the skies the limit for this parade!

A dramatic masquerade eye like this merits an equally vivid lip! Fill your lips fuchsia with a vivid pink lipstick (we chose Cover Girl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Spellbound). To give the appearance of a fuller pout, round your lip shape using a lip brush. Press an iridescent loose shadow (we used Sugarpill Pressed Shadow in Lumi) over the center of your bottom lip for some extra punch. And Violá! With this stunning masquerade makeup design, you’ll be ready to party away!