So while I didn’t dress up for Halloween yesterday, I wanted to share an event from a few months back for which I did get into character.  I was the makeup artist at a Bollywood themed pre-wedding event, where had their makeup done by me to be transformed into a classic Bollywood beauty.

Stoked to be doing 60’s style Bollywood makeup at the event – checkout my setup, referencing classic Indian actresses such as Saira Banu & Sharmila Tagore. Wanna channel their look? All you need is a nude or red lip and lots of extra black liner! — at Aashirwad Palace & Martini Lounge.

To research what exactly the classic Bollywood glamour look was, I turned to the famous Bollywood actresses from the 60’s, Shermila Tagore & Saira Banu. Since most of the guests at the event would attend having already applied their makeup at home, all I really needed to do was apply lots of thick black eyeliner (with double wings for those who dared!) paired with either a red or nude lip. I even made a little inspiration sheet that I popped in a frame for reference, and let the guests choose which one they wanted to look like. For my own look, I channeled the picture in the bottom left corner.

Smokey eye with a double-winged liner, neutral blush and soft lips

You can see a little bit of the white liner in my waterline, and in the space between the 2 ‘wings’ of black liner.

The clients were all delighted to see that the hosts of the event provided a makeup artist to tweak their makeup to look more in sync with the theme. I’ve rarely even seen brides provide that for their own bridal party, let alone for 150 guests at an event!

While I had my makeup kit by my side for various touchups, the items I used most were a nude Urban Decay lipgloss, a discontinued Max Factor dual ended lipgloss & stain, black liquid eyeliner and Bobbi Brown black gel liner. This post seemed like a great opportunity to give my review for the Bobbi Brown Long-wear Gel Eyeliner, which I’ve had along with the coordinating Ultra fine eye liner brush for a few months now.

The color Black Ink is described as a jet-black, but I really think it’s more of a medium black. Being that I really don’t consider it a jet-black, that’s why I brought along the liquid black liner to the event in case I needed something really really black. The gel liner started out with a super soft consistency, but after a month, it has dried down a bit. I pay extra close attention to make sure I closed the lid tight until it wouldn’t turn anymore.. but like most gel liners, there’s something about the packaging that won’t give it an airtight seal to keep it moist. Still, it didn’t dry out worse than any other brand.

I applied it using the coordinating Bobbi Brown Ultra Fine eye liner brush, but found myself feeling very clumsy with its application. The brush bristles come to a kind of thick point, which gives less control to create a smooth line. Even as a makeup professional, I found it difficult to make a neat winged line, and had to go over it a few time to get it just right.

I tested the gel liner multiple ways – using it to line my lid without anything else on there, with some eyeshadow primer underneath, and lastly with full eye makeup. As expected, due to the super oiliness of my lids, (combined with the hooded shape of my eye) caused the liner to run a bit when I applied it on a naked lid. However, with a normal application of eyeshadow primer and shadow, the liner lasted all day with minimum fading.

Bottom line: while I have an extreme case of oily eyelids, this will work well for most people. So if you’re on the market for a new gel liner, why not give the Bobbi Brown a try – most people love it! If you’re in need of a small brush for smudging eyeliner, then pick up the brush, too. But for applying the gel liner, I’d pass on it, and use  your favorite angled liner brush instead.