This recent red carpet look makes us want to grab a kohl instantly and abandon all other make-up …
Sometimes, a beauty look spotted on a red carpet can inspire us to try something different, adapting it to suit ourselves. No, we’re not talking cat prosthetics. On the Met Gala red carpet, it was Billie Eilish’s make-up that stood out for me: in keeping with the sheer edgy glamour of her Simone Rocha outfit, her eyes were lined with black, emphasising the cool punk elegance of her look.
Main featured image via Jason Lloyd Evans; GCDS; Altuzarra; Philip Plein.
The way to wear it, as Eilish demonstrates, is with a nude lip colour and sheer gloss on the eyelids to reflect the light (try Eight Hour Cream, or Jones Road Miracle Balm in transparent). It makes us want to grab a kohl instantly and abandon all other make-up. We saw liner-ringed eyes worn elsewhere, paired with powder-blue eye make-up, but it looked somehow dated – Billie’s pared-back way feels more modern. Excuse the name-drop, but as Kate Moss told us in Dublin last month (see thegloss.ie), for years her beauty look was based firmly and solely on eyeliner: “My thing when I was young was literally one black eyeliner in the bottom of a handbag, and you’d use it right down to the stub. That was all I had.”
Just as we’re seeing some stunning “summer black” in fashion this year (see thegloss.ie), we’re seeing darker looks in make-up too, such as rich plum lipsticks and nails worn with soft linen suits for summer. It can offer a chic alternative to corals and pastels.
So we’re sharpening our finest black kohls: try Hildun’s German-made pencils (€18, www.hildunbeauty.com). If you prefer a liquid liner, beauty panellist Catherine recommends Sephora’s (www.sephora.co.uk) – “a perfectly shaped felt tip for easy application”.
And we want to try out Jones Road’s pencils – based on the rest of the range (see thegloss.ie), we reckon these (€22; www.jonesroadbeauty.com) will be worth a try (and they also come in striking shades from emerald to midnight blue).
The brilliant thing about eyeliner is not only its immediacy, but also the fact you don’t need to spend much for a good one. Catrice’s slim waterproof eyeliners (I love the gunmetal grey one) are under €4 at pharmacies (www.catrice.eu), while Inglot’s kohls are €13. Forget silver linings – what we want is black …