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The Daily Face - March 7, 2012 - Black and White; Natural

under eyes: Make Up For Ever HD Concealer in 325

eyeliner: NARS Eyeliner Pen in Black

eyeshadow: MAC Eyeshadow in Aqua, MAC Eyeshadow in Copperplate, MAC Eyeshadow in Gesso

eye brows: Tom Ford Brow Sculpt in Espresso

eye lashes: MAC Haute & Naughty Mascara

cheeks: MAC Harmony

lips: NARS Lipstick in Morocco

Do you love black and white films?  Because I do, especially anything by Hitchcock and specifically starring Ingrid Bergman.  Makeup for black and white films was almost a different medium than makeup for color film.  Today, if you want an actress to look natural you can put almost no makeup on her, aside from a little foundation to even out the skin.  However, in the days of black and white film a makeup artist had to pile on product just to achieve a “no makeup” look.  If you sent an actress to set with no makeup on, her face would look flat and washed out and she would most likely throw a fit when she saw herself on the reel.

Makeup for black and white film is different because color doesn’t matter, you are only working tonally to create values of grey which will add dimension to the face.  Because of this, makeup artists used all kinds of crazy colors, like blues and greens, to achieve tonal distance between shades.  Sculpting was extremely important so in lieu of blush makeup artists would apply a dark shading in the hollows of the cheek bones to accentuate the highlights and shadows of the face. If you saw an actress’s makeup in person she might literally look like a clown, but on film her face would look natural, dimensional and totally beautiful.

Here’s my interpretation of the natural black and white look, a la Ingrid Bergman in Notorious.

First I applied MAC Aqua shadow to the entire lid from lashline to crease. 

Next I blended MAC Copperplate into the crease from corner to corner of the eye and applied a drop shadow under the lower lid. 

Then I applied MAC Gesso to below the brown bone, blending into the skin to create a highlight.

Next I applied a very thin line of NARS eye liner pen to the top lid.

I blended MAC Harmony to the hollow below the cheekbones.  Use quite a lot of product here, you will feel like a clown, but in black and white it will show up as if you have perfectly sculpted cheekbones.

Last I applied a light sweep of mascara and NARS Morocco lipstick lightly to the lips. 

I feel super ready to engage in some espionage.