You can skip the gazillion-shade eyeshadow palette for this look. Neil dusted my eyelids with a bony, neutral shade. Anything without texture that will mattify the lid will work, he says. He then used a black pencil to replicate the bold cat-eye. "When the eye is open, look directly in the mirror and draw a little V-shape on the corner of the eye," he advises, "and then with your brush, you can start to drag out the flick, but it's easier to do when the eye is open. If you do struggle with that, it's good to mascara your eyelashes first, and then you can create the tip of of the flick as if it's the extension of another lash." With the liner, remember to stop at the pupil for the wide-awake style Liz was known for.
Step 3: Elizabeth Taylor's Eyelashes
For incredibly long, flirty eyelashes, Neil applied some major falsies. "The 36s or 12s from MAC are amazing because they get longer at the edges," he says. To make them easier to apply, cut each strip in half and glue only on the outer edges of your lash lines. Then, of course, came some major coats of black mascara—to the top lashes only. And let me tell you, after spending the day wearing Elizabeth Taylor-esque eyelashes (the only part of the look I kept on after our shoot), I can totally understand why it was so popular. Seriously, everyone in the office commented on my fluttery lashes. Our editor-in-chief even stopped midsentence during a meeting to ask about them.
Step 4: Elizabeth Taylor's Cheekbones
To give the illusion of even more angular features, Neil contoured my cheekbones with MAC Sculpting Powder, but you can also use a bronzer or neutral blush. Pro tip: Imagine an invisible line from the top of your ear to the corner of your mouth. "That's exactly where everybody's cheekbone structure naturally runs, so if you imagine the line there and contour along it from the top of the ear until you get to the pupil, you'll always flatter your own face," says Neil.
