PSA: There's about a month left until the new STAR WARS: The Force Awakens hits theaters. We've bought our tickets in advance and rewatched the first six films — twice. We thought our excitement levels couldn't get any higher. Then, in a turn that completely satisfied our inner franchise and beauty fangirls, the inimitable makeup artist Pat McGrath brought this visual feast of a fantasy world to real life, exclusively for COVERGIRL's latest campaign. In this perfect pop-culture-meets-beauty moment (sorry, is our nerd showing?), McGrath personified six otherworldly characters from the light and dark sides of the Force and literally put a face to the names. With nothing more than movie characters and special effects to go by, she translated artificially intelligent robots, faceless soldiers, dutiful clones, and more into amazing, avant-garde beauty looks. Despite the unusual origins, these looks are more high-fashion than sci-fi — easily at home on a runway or in the editorial pages of a magazine.But as much as we’d like to wear Stormtrooper's sharp, graphic liner to the office or Droid's all-gold-everything on a date, we recognize that pulling off such bold artistry is not for the everyday.
So, we tapped into our own Force and reimagined some of our favorite far-out looks in a more realistic, wearable way. Not only are these iterations of McGrath's looks easy to replicate with COVERGIRL's STAR WARS-centric product line, but makeup artist Deanna Melluso's expert application tips allow you to embrace your own light side on days you’re feeling sweet or tap into your dark side when you’re leaning a little more badass. Whichever way you play it, you're sure to look out of this world.
The Inspiration:Stormtrooper
The Look: Cat-Eye 2.0
Toughen up an everyday go-to with this graphic look inspired by the character's black-and-white helmet. Taking cues from McGrath's angular, colorblocked creation, we created a bold yet wearable negative-space cat-eye. Then, we balanced it out with matte skin and neutral lips.
Giambattista Valli collar, YSL vest.
Start with your usual base makeup. Then use a large fluffy brush to dust a light layer of loose mattifying powder all over your face. This will act as the perfect backdrop for a strong, graphic eye.
The key to this look is breaking it into three steps. First, use an inky liquid liner to trace along your upper lashline from the inner to the outer corner. Once you reach the end, extend the line into a small flick for your cat-eye, then retrace the line to thicken it. (You can also do this in short strokes if you've got unsteady hands.)
For the negative-space effect seen here, draw a line through your crease — starting about a quarter of the way inward and extending to meet the tail of your cat-eye. Melluso suggests practicing the shape with a pencil liner first, then tracing over it with a liquid liner once you're satisfied.
Define and fill in your brows, then finish the eyes with several generous coats of mascara. Start by holding the wand at the roots of your upper lashes, and then twist as you sweep through to the tips for clump-free fringe.
To define those hard-to-reach bottom lashes, try holding your wand vertically and running it across your lashes like a windshield wiper. This distributes the product more evenly, so your lower lashes pop against your matte skin. COVERGIRL's Super Sizer mascara wand is especially handy here, since its plastic bristles are longer at the tip to reach even the tiniest lashes.
Round out the look with a nude lip to balance your graphic eyes.
The Inspiration:Mystic
The Look: Emerald Envy
This iridescent green and purple look, inspired by McGrath's "forest dweller," puts a colorful twist on a tried-and-true smoky eye. And like McGrath, we mixed and matched metallic and frosted textures for an end result that's truly out of this universe.
Alexis Bittar necklace, Antonio Berardi dress.
After applying your base makeup, use a fluffy eyeshadow brush to dust metallic, emerald-green shadow over your entire lid and just slightly above your crease. You're aiming for a dreamy vibe here, so use your ring finger to diffuse any harsh edges. Then, tap gold eyeshadow right in the inside corner of your eye with your pinky finger for a light-catching highlight that won't detract from the rest of your look.
For an additional pop of color, use a flat eyeliner brush to stipple purple eyeshadow along your lower lashline, pushing the pigment toward your waterline with the tip of the brush. This helps define the hard-to-reach area while avoiding unnecessary tugging and pulling on delicate eyes. Top it off with major mascara.
Now, just slick on a few layers of frosted purple lipstick straight from the tube. This one from COVERGIRL's STAR WARS line goes on sheer but has buildable coverage, so you can customize to your desired level of shimmer. Given that the inspiration for this look is all about capturing light, we say the icier, the better.
The Inspiration:Dark Apprentice
The Look: Smoke & Fire
We've all heard the old-school beauty "rule": You can't wear a bold eye and a bold lip at the same time. But, while the character inspiration for this look is a dutiful and obedient apprentice, we consider ourselves the opposite — especially in beauty. That's why we paired a smoky, sultry cat-eye with a red-hot lip that defies convention.
Jonathan Simkhai dress.
Use a flat eyeshadow brush to apply charcoal-gray eyeshadow from your upper lashline through your crease. Then, without adding more shadow, use your brush to drag the color out past the outer corner of your eye until it reaches the tail of your brow. You want a thick, diffused line here, almost like a rectangular, blocky cat-eye. Use the side or tip of the brush for this, rather than laying it flat against your skin, so your cat-eye comes to a point. Then, brush any leftover shadow along your lower lashline. Finish with a coat of mascara on your upper and lower lashes.
If need be, you can easily clean up or finesse the shape you've created using a cotton swab dipped in micellar water. Melluso prefers this to an oil-based remover because it melts through makeup quickly without leaving behind any oily residue that could compromise your smoky eye.
An amped-up cat-eye demands a bold brow to match, so pick up a pencil, powder, and gel for maximum impact. Start by filling in any sparse areas with an eyebrow pencil that's the same shade as your natural brow color or one shade lighter. Then, bring on the drama by extending the tail end of your brow slightly past its natural stopping point, tapering the shape into a sharp "V."
Trace over the pencil with a matching powder, then run a clean spoolie brush through your brows to blend everything together. One final comb-through with tinted gel will keep stray hairs in check. (Clear mascara or all-purpose balm works in a pinch, too.)
With a lip this bold, any dry skin or flakes will be instantly visible, so prep with a moisturizing lip balm first. Then, using a small lip brush for control and precision, apply red lipstick from the center of your lower lip toward the outer corners, repeating this same movement on your upper lip. Top off your lips with a red gloss using using the same brush.
For perfectly clean lines, run another micellar-water coated cotton swab around the outer edges of your lips to clean up any stray pigment or gloss. No apprentices here — this is an expert red lip.
The Inspiration: Droid
The Look: Gold Mine
Inspired by the franchise's beloved artificial intelligence android, McGrath really went for it in her STAR WARS creation — gold hair, brows, cheeks — everything. For a look that's more of this world, Melluso kept the metallic hue concentrated on the eyes and lips, then upped the karat quotient with some subtle golden strobing on the cheeks.
Chloé collar, D Squared dress.
To get the look, load a flat eyeshadow brush with deep-gold shadow, and coat each eyelid from your lashline to just under your browbone. (We used COVERGIRL's truNAKED Shadow palette in Goldens, available in January, but you can experiment with any hue in your makeup stash.)
Using your pinky finger or a small smudger brush, diffuse the edges along the top for a softer, blurred look. Then, at the outer corner of your eye, draw a line of shadow angling up from your lower lashline into a squared off cat-eye. Fill in the rest of the shape as needed, so you have a solid swath of color. Finish your eyes with a few coats of mascara.
For a Droid-centric twist on strobing, swap your usual highlighter with a gold cream shadow. Swipe it down the bridge of your nose, along the tops of your cheekbones, and just above your Cupid's bow. Then, go over those areas again, patting on more product for maximum sheen.
Finally, bring home the gold by swiping on a metallic lipstick. Keep the edges soft and light by applying your lipstick straight from the tube, rather than with a brush. Slick on an extra layer in the center of your lower lip to catch even more light.
© & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.
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