CoverGirl Beauty Breakdowns: Pink and Taylor Swift (+ My Own)

To conclude my CoverGirl MTV VMA 2012 COVERage, naturally, we’ll discuss a little makeup. Specifically that of Pink (both for her red carpet and her ravishing red performance makeup moments) and the glamorous look created for Taylor Swift that was ever so Elvira Hancock of Scarface fame paired with her matte white suit (as opposed to her signature sparkles). Here, the beauty breakdowns, courtesy of both pop princesses’ makeup artists.

P!NK’s MTV VMA Red Carpet and Performance Red Carpet & Performance Looks by Kathy Jeung

“Pink’s choice for her red carpet dress went wonderfully with what I had in mind for her beauty look, which was creating soft metallic depth around the eyes and keeping the rest of her face soft, glowing and bronzed. Since we only had a short amount of time for a makeup change for her performance look, we both loved the idea of a red carpet look that I could quickly transform in one or two steps.

Her performance outfit had such a great modern interpretation of film noir and punk and with the bold graphics and colors in the set design and lighting, I knew it was the perfect place to do something dramatic! I had just enough time to not only add color to her lips, but add depth to her eyes and give her look a twist by adding appliqués of bright red patent on her eyes.

Face
I applied COVERGIRL Natureluxe Silk Foundation using a foundation brush and moistened blender sponge. I then set with a dusting of COVERGIRL Professional Loose Powder. We used
COVERGIRL Clean Oil Control Pressed Powder for touch ups throughout the night.

Eyes

RED CARPET For the eyebrows, I used a few soft strokes of COVERGIRL Brow & EyeMakers Pencil in Soft Blonde to define, then brushed into place with COVERGIRL Professional Natural Lash Mascara in Clear.

For the eyes, I first applied COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Champagne all over the lid and brow bone as a base color. Next, I applied COVERGIRL SmokyShadowBlast in Onyx Smoke, using the dark grey side over the lid and into the crease. Over this I added COVERGIRL Queen Collection Eyeshadow Quads in Lionqueen, using the grey color to intensify and add more dimension. Along the lower lash line I used COVERGIRL Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Silver Spark and to add a little more dimension and to further blend; I added COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Golden Sunrise in the area just under the brow bone with a medium fluffy brush. Over curled lashes, I applied two coats of COVERGIRL LashBlast 24HR Mascara in Very Black

PERFORMANCE
I added COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Shimmering Onyx along the lower lash line, then lined the inside upper and lower rims of eyes with COVERGIRL Queen Collection Vivid Impact Eyeliner in Midnight. Using clear eyelash glue, I adhered appliqués onto her eyes that I cut out of red patent leather

Cheeks
I first applied COVERGIRL Cheekers Blush in Pretty Peach on the apples of the cheeks and blended outward and up. Then I applied COVERGIRL Cheekers Bronzer in Copper Radiance along the upper outer cheekbone area and also on outer temples (upper sides of face near eyes).

Lips

RED CARPET
I prepare the lips with a lip balm when I’m doing skin preparation so it has a chance to absorb into lips. I then lined the lips with COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipliner in Smoky and applied COVERGIRL OutLast All-Day Lipcolor in Faint Hue. To finish the lip look, I added the corresponding Outlast All-Day Lipcolor clear lip gloss top coat to add shine.

PERFORMANCE
I started with applying COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipliner in Passion to define the lip edges then lightly powdered the edges to set, especially since I was working with a strong color.
After applying COVERGIRL Queen Collection Lip Color in Ruby Slipper, I blotted the lips after the first coat with a tissue, lightly powdered the edges with a powder puff and re-applied the lip color using a lip brush for extra staying power and intensity.” What are your thoughts on Pink’s two makeup concepts?

Taylor Swift’s MTV VMA Red Carpet Look by Lorrie Turk

“Taylor wanted her VMA makeup look to be inspired by her new CD, Red, and by the sophistication of the sleek ivory suit she wore on the red carpet. We knew that a strong red lip color would be perfect for the evening, but also wanted her eyes to stand out with bold liner.

Face

COVERGIRL NatureLuxe Silk Foundation was buffed in with a damp sponge, leaving a dewy even finish. COVERGIRL Fresh Complexion Under-Eye Concealer was lightly patted on with a fingertip to brighten up the area under her eyes. Since her eyes and lips were strong, we wanted just a hint of color on her cheeks. I dusted COVERGIRL Classic Color Blush in Soft Mink lightly along her cheekbones.

Eyes

I brushed on COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Champagne from her lash line to the crease, concentrating the color in the inner corners of her eyes for sparkle. In the eye crease and slightly above, I brushed COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Tapestry Taupe, which is a great color to add a bit of warmth to the eyes without adding too much color. For the defined bold eyeliner, I used COVERGIRL LineExact Liquid Liner. Starting at the inner corners of her eyes, I drew outward to the end of the eyes, going from thin to thicker with the liner and flicked up when reaching the end of the eye to create a cat-eye look. On the lower lash line, I used a damp detailer brush dipped in COVERGIRL Eye Enhancers 1-Kit Shadow in Brown Smolder and brushed it into the lower lash line for a less-defined line on the bottom. I finished the eyes with COVERGIRL LashBlast Fusion Mascara.

Lips

Using a lip brush, COVERGIRL LipPerfection Lipcolor in Hot was applied to her lips for a perfect bold red mouth.”

Last, here’s my own beauty breakdown. Makeup was courtesy of the lovely Stella Kae. The inspiration for the look? Miss Taylor Swift’s classic lined eye and red lip combo. Here’s what Stella used.