Eye Makeup Contouring 101 with Matthew VanLeeuwen

It's Oscar season in L.A. this week and Elizabeth Arden is helping makeup artists, publicists, stylists, and agents get ready for the biggest red carpet event 2011 with some much-needed pampering at the Elizabeth Arden Mobile Beauty Suite. Beautylish Beauty Director Ning checks out the mobile beauty suite and gets a makeover from celebrity makeup artist Matthew VanLeeuwen. Keep reading for Matthew's tips on contouring eyelids, even if you have monolids like Ning.

HOW TO Eye Makeup Contouring 101 with Matthew Vanleeuwen

After years of interviewing celebrity makeup artist Matthew VanLeeuwen (who works regularly with A-listers like Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz), I finally got the chance to sit in his chair today for a glam makeover in the Elizabeth Arden Mobile Beauty Suite. Using just two eye shadows (Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Eyeshadow in Vanilla and Smoke), Matthew transformed my eyelids with a simple technique of basic contouring. "Nobody needs contouring, but everyone benefits from it," says Matthew, who proceeded to apply the Vanilla shade across my lids. Then he took the darker Smoke shade and swept it in a rounded arc above my socket. "Placing the highlight in the center of the eye--from above the iris in--makes the features stand out. Winging out the shadow puts more of the focus on the makeup colors."

But that doesn't mean that color isn't important. Matthew chose the shade Smoke because of its soft plum undertone: "Plum, purple, and gray are three of my favorite eye makeup colors because they harmonize with almost everyone's skin tone. When it comes to lining the eyes, plum is the new black. It's still a grayish tone, but when you use it with black mascara, it makes the eyes jump forward off the black background. It allows the lashes to look more fringey and have more impact," says Matthew. The effect? My boring monolids suddenly got more definition and intensity--gorgeous!