Fashion Fraction [Tutorials] Basic Visual Kei Eye-Makeup

Hello, fashion fiends... and welcome to the first Fashion Fraction Tutorial!

Today I'm going to demonstrate how I do a BASIC Visual Kei eye. Now, to me, basic VK means the black eyelid with rounding at the sides that lead to the bottom lash line (you'll see exactly what I mean here soon). It's the simplest and fastest makeup I've been able to do and still feel "VK".

What You'll Need:

- makeup applicator sponges (for foundation)
- 3 brushes - thin tipped gel liner brush, angled eyeshadow brush, and a soft round eyeshadow brush
- 3 step foundation - concealer, liquid foundation, and powder foundation
- black pencil liner
- black gel liner
- black eyeshadow
- white eyeshadow
- mascara

What I'll Be Using:

- Maybelline Fit Me concealer and powder foundation; Covergirl -3 in 1 liquid foundation
- NYC pencil liner
- Revlon gel liner
- Hard Candy black eyeshadow
- Hard Candy white eyeshadow
- Maybelline One By One mascara
- brushes are both makeup brushes & paintbrushes (when in a penny pinch, they work just fine!)

Step 1: Push your hair back out of your face and clean your face free of excess makeup and dirt. I have specific products I use to treat my acne while also moisturizing my face and reducing redness- which I shall recommend in my November 11 post!

NOTICE: I don't have eyebrows. This tutorial is going to show how I draw on my eyebrows. If you still have eyebrows, no worries! Just go about your normal eyebrow business. If you want to temporarily get rid of your eyebrows, take a glue stick and run it over them; patting them down as flat as possible before you put your foundation on. There are many tutorials out there that teach you how to do this step by step if you want a clearer explanation.

Step 2: Foundation routine!! Apply your foundation as normal. For myself, I go concealer -> liquid -> powder. Conceal all red marks and imperfections then, with a foam applicator, apply your favourite liquid foundation- blending down the neck and to the ears-, and lastly apply your powder foundation over for a matte finish.

Notice the different the 3 steps make!? Some people use a 2 step routine and that's fine- if you can achieve a clear matte finish with whatever routine you use, then good! This is no filter, no editing- just pure makeup.

Step 3 - Line your eyes as normal. Using the pencil eyeliner, trace as close to your lash line on both the top and bottom. Some people have a problem getting all the skin filled along the top lash line especially.

Something I do is close my eye and pull it to the side to eliminate any puckering skin and make it as smooth as possible. Pull your bottom lash line down to get right on the waterline; you can also pull it to the side like the top to connect the liner in a complete almond shape (or whatever shape your eyes may be).

Step 4 - Trace your crease.

This can be tricky than what it seems because your eye socket shape and crease could make a shape that you don't necessarily want when you open your eye. Try to keep the angle from the tear duct as sharp and low, building to the outer edge of the eye. Think of it like half of a heart at first- later you can make it more rounded on the outer edge.

Something to keep in mind: Everyone's eyes are shaped differently- including creases and sockets. Example: I noticed that my left eye socket will create a higher arch while my right will be farther to the side. You have to experiment and learn to compensate for what the results may be. No one is proportional; it's been determined that many of us all have a "lazy eye". So don't get frustrated if your makeup isn't as perfectly arched or even on both sides. It's all a matter of illusion and angle :)

Step 5 - fill in your eyelid with the black gel liner with the gel liner brush. TAKE YOUR TIME! Use even strokes and make sure to fill in to the lash line. Be even on the inner edge towards the tear duct and keep the arch like I previously mentioned- like a half heart. Don't cake the gel on; some gel liners feel "heavy" on the eyelids and some are easy to spread and blend. Practice with the gel to get a feel for it. Gel is more forgiving than liquid and easier to work with (in my opinion)- it has the consistency of liquid but with the controlled comfort of a pencil liner.

Step 6 - Set and fill in with black eyeshadow with a combination of the angled shadow brush and the soft round shadow brush. Many people skip this step and I don't know why. For me, this helps my makeup stay longer and stay vibrant. You have primer for your face and eyelids that does a good job at that, but to be double sure... setting with a matte shadow and even going the extra step with a setting spray will do wonders.

You're going to cover the gel liner with your favourite black eyeshadow. REMEMBER- fill in your waterline as well and blend the outer edge of the eye to connect with the top arch. You can also take this time to round out the edge even more. To get that swoop of thickness near the outer edge, just take the angled brush while pulling your outer corner to the side and follow the curve of your lower eye to the top lashes.

Step 7 - Add some colour ~

I used my soft round brush with white eyeshadow just to trace along the outer edge of the arch, up to about the middle of the crease. You can use any colour you want here. White also serves as a highlighter and makes the eyes pop even more than they already will. You can play with this and make the line thicker and even layer more colours on top of one another.

Have fun with this part!

Step 8 - Eyebrows!

I normally take a brown liner pencil and trace out the basic shape of the eyebrow that I want... but, my brown liner officially ran out the other day and I have yet to get to the store to get a new one. So, for this tutorial, I'll be using my black liner to trace the shape and a dark brown shadow to fill in.

I love drawing on my eyebrows because I can change the shape to whatever I want. Today, I went more sharp and angled with a nice arched tail. Alternatively, I could have just ended the brow at the highest point before the arch and had angry little daggers for eyebrows.

Filled in with dark brown shadow ->


You can also experiment with thickness at the bridge by taking an angled brush and creating little triangles, blending them back smoothly to the arch.

Something I shall demonstrate next time.

DONE~!

Keep in mind... this is really simple and focusing on the eyes only.

Other things to add in are contouring on the bridge, nose, cheekbones, temples, and chin; playing with the lips- either a gloss or more flesh tone; and even some decorations like acrylic gems or makeup designs.

I will be doing more demonstrations of Visual Kei makeup (as well as maybe some other styles) in the future.

Please be sure to send in your Visual Kei fashion photos to me by October 25. You can email your photos to taka_kagaku2011@hotmail.com and please be sure to specify what type of VK you would like to be featured under- I will be covering Angura Kei (eroguro/chikashitsu), Kote Kei, Tanbi Kei, Nagoya Kei, Neo-Visual, and Soft Visual.

Also, be prepared for the Taka's Product Picks to be posted on November 11. I will be talking about some of my favourite skin care, makeup, and hair care products!

Thanks for reading and good luck, makeup artists~!

~Taka