Meow!

Some makeup rules are meant to be broken, but when it comes to the cat eye, you’ll want to play it by the book. The golden rule of makeup is to have one feature (eyes, lips or cheeks) be the focus. The cat eye look plays up the eyes, and everything else is secondary. I prefer this makeup look the classic way, with black liner and black mascara, but feel free to push the envelope with bright blue, green or tangerine liner, shown on the catwalk in more than one recent runway show.

To do:

• Start with a near-flawless complexion. Depending on you, it might mean applying concealer alone, a beauty balm or primer and foundation. Add very little blush, just enough to give your skin a healthy glow without looking like you have anything on and swipe a nude-toned shadow on your upper lids. You can also apply a tinted lip balm or gloss for moisture and just a bit of color on your lips.
• Though liquid liner will give you a beautiful look, if you don’t have surgeon-steady hands I recommend you use an extra-creamy pencil or my favorite pen liner, Smashbox Love Me Paint Pen Eye Liner, $24 at smashbox.com. You’ll find the paint pen so easy to use, it will look like a makeup artist did it for you!
• Look straight in the mirror, and starting at the inner corner of your eye, gently drag it across your upper lash line, making the line just slightly thicker as your get to the end. As soon as your reach the end of your eye, stop. Then, slightly past where you just ended, draw in the opposite direction to make the little tail and connect it to the liner.
• On upper lashes only, add two coats of black mascara followed by a third coat on the outer upper lashes only.