Saturday, March 14, 2009

Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge

Even if you hate Moulin Rouge (which I will never ever understand, but still) you can still appreciate the fantastic makeup look that Nicole Kidman's character sports throughout the movie. Honestly, her fantastic smoky eye is the one thing that caused my obsession with eyeshadow. It wasn't reading all my beauty blogs (of which there are way too many) or magazines or anything like that. It was this movie. Now, her look is pretty darn complicated, so bare with me.
She has two different, but very similar, smoky eyes going on during the film, but here's the overall look. I'm going to assume that it's mostly MAC products, because this is a hardcore, over the top musical about burlesque dancers, so it seems right up MAC's alley.

I'll start with the lips, because that's the easy part. Her lipstick is a very bright, intense blue-based red. Most of the time it's matte, sometimes it's a little glossy. Start off with a coat of MAC's Lip Conditioner, $13.50 at maccosmetics.com. Follow with MAC's lipstick in Ruby Woo, $14 at maccosmetics.com (if you like lip liner under your lippie, try MAC's Lip Liner in Cherry, $13 at maccosmetics.com). Ruby Woo has a matte finish on it's own, but if you like a glossier finish, try MAC's Clear Lipglass, $14 at maccosmetics.com.


In the film she has very matte, pale skin. If you want the slightly paler look, go down a foundation shade, but to tone down the theatricality go with your usual foundation shade. I'd try MAC's Studio Sculpt Foundation, $28 at maccosmetics.com, and top that off with a dusting of MAC"s Select Sheer/Loose Powder, $21 at maccosmetics.com. As for the cheeks, absolutely no bronzer. This is a bronzer free zone. To get a rosey-pink glow on your cheeks, dust MAC"s blush in Dollymix, $18 at maccosmetics.com, lightly along the cheek bone, not on the apples of the cheeks. I realize that Dollymix looks scary-bright in the pale, but it's not highly pigmented, so if you apply it with a light hand you get a gorgeous rosey flush.


Now for the hard part: the eyes. On the top left is her more dramatic look with eyes open, and on the top right is her dramatic look with her eyes closed. On the bottom left is the more subtle look with her eyes open, and on the bottom right is the more subtle look with her eyes closed. I'm pretty sure both of these looks have false lashes, but I'm going to leave those out because that's not exactly a day-to-day sort of look. And I know nothing about them, but if you're going out and you want to wear this look, by all means go for the false lashes.


You can click on the images to enlarge them, but basically it's two slightly different shadows with slightly different shading. I included two more shots below so you can see how her lids were shaded (the left is the dramatic look and the right is more subtle).

For the dramatic look: line the upper lashline with MAC's Powerpoint Pencil in Engraved (black), $14.50 at maccosmetics.com, and go over that with MAC's Penultimate Liner (black liquid liner), $16.50 at maccosmetics.com. Line the lower lashline with MAC's Powerpoint Pencil in Grey Utility, $14.50 at maccosmetics.com. Then take MAC's shadow in Print (dark matte grey), $14.50 at maccosmetics.com, and apply it to the outer edge of the eyelid, building up to until you get a deep shade of grey. Then blend the shadow inwards, gradually fading it out until just past the middle of the lid (you want the shape of the shadow to be diagonally tilted so that it goes further inwards closer to the lashline and fades out sooner up near the crease). Take more of the Print shadow and use it to extend the lashline horizontally upwards past the eye, creating a subtle cat eye. Blend the cat eye line upwards a little so that the top of the shadow creating the cat eye matches the top of the shadow on the lid (it sounds complicated, but if you look at the picture it makes sense, I promise). Lightly (very lightly) line the outer half of the lower lashline softly with Print. Then go over the outer edge of the lid, upper lashline, and the bottom of the cat eye with MAC's shadow in Carbon, $14.50 at maccosmetics.com. The important thing here is to use matte shadows and to get the shadow in a blended, tilted oval shape with a slight cat eye.

For the subtle look: Line the eyes as before, but skip the liquid liner. The shadow here is applied in a very similar way, just without the cat eye, but instead of grey and black, the colors are dirty, softer greys. Take MAC's shadow in Copperplate, $14.50 at maccosmetics.com, and apply to the outer half of the lid, fading inwards towards the middle of the lid. Apply MAC's shadow in Mystery, $14.50 at maccosmetics.com, to the very outer edge of the lid and fade inwards (this is just to give extra depth and definition).

Her brows are the same in both looks, extended out very far horizontally, and angled downward just a tad. I wouldn't recommend lengthening your brows this much every day, but you can use a brow pencil like Anastasia's Perfect Brow Pencil, $22 at sephora.com, and wing out your brows a little more than usual.



Shadows from left to right: Mystery (bottom left on hand), Copperplate, Print, Carbon

Don't you just love Nicole Kidman's hair in this? Major jealousy. I seriously hope someone tries this look because this post just took me two hours. I may have been watching Moulin Rouge at the same time. You know, for inspiration...
Image Sources:
First screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Dollymix: temptalia.com
Ruby Woo: specktra.net
Second screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Third screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Fourth screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Fifth screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Sixth screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Seventh screencap: leavemethewhite.com
Hand w/ swatches: karlasugar.blogspot.com
Copperplate: makeupalley.com

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