Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Stylish & Serena

"Good Morning Upper East Siders"

If you recognize this phrase, then you know that today's post is dedicated to... 

::drumroll:: 

xoxo,

Gossip Girl!!! 

Yes, I too, take part in the cult following of this young adult dramedy and cannot deny that it is one of my guilty pleasures to watch every Monday night. Sure, the plot is luke warm, and the acting is rather mediocre, but who the heck watches GG for the story lines?? It's all about the fashion baby, and the boys are cute too (says the 13-year-old in me)... well, just Nate. Anyway, after watching GG last night, I was inspired to do a Serena Van der Woodsen makeover... or just her makeup. For the head-to-toe makeover, I would need Eric Daman himself (the head honcho of GG's fashion sense) to give me his stylish eye and the generous wardrobe budget that comes with it. For now, I'll just play dress up :))
I know I don't look like Serena (Blake Lively), but I'm channeling her quiet confidence & polished yet carefree style... This is the still that inspired me:
Read on for pix, deets, product reviews, makeup tutorial & more on Serena's style...
This is gonna be a long one :)))


The screen caption above was taken from season 5, episode 1. The turquoise necklace reminded me that I own a similar necklace that I've never been able to find a purpose for... that is, until I saw it on Serena. I immediately decided to do a series of Gossip Girl inspired makeup posts, starting with my favorite character Serena Van der Woodsen and the beautiful Blake Lively who plays the part. Here is another pic of her outfit paired with a natural beach babe maquillage, a messy pony tail and a bright, chunky, turquoise necklace that started it all for me :))
Here's my interpretation, imitating Serena's signature pose minus the blue nail polish (that's all Maryam :)


I thoroughly enjoy Serena's style and I think it's more me than the styles of Blair Waldorf, Vanessa from Brooklyn, or Jenny Humphrey; though Blair is a close second favorite, and Vanessa is third... I like the guys' styles as well. I appreciate the exquisitely tailored Chuck Bass (my bf's favorite) but I simply adore the casual athletic cutie Nate Archibald. Don't mention the third one, he irks me... but I do love the Humphrey dad who looks oddly younger than the son :)) Here's a pic of Nate, Serena, and Chuck sipping the bubbly on a yacht, aaah the life of an upper east sider lol...
Serena, her style and chunky jewelry...
I want her legs and all the shoes attached to them!!!

On to the maquillage!
Serena's makeup is typically very bare, with an emphasis on the eyes and lashes. Blake Lively's eyebrows are naturally blond, so her makeup artist usually brings attention to the eyes by building up the lashes and using them as a frame for the eyes. My features are quite the opposite: my eyebrows are very dark and dense; and my eyes, although similarly hooded--like Blake's--are slanted and curve up at the outer edges... not to mention, her eyes are BLUE. So, without overstating myself, I basically applied the makeup as I would on myself, without attempting to change my features to look like the actresses (though I did try to lighten my brows). Keep in mind, this makeup look would be perfect for any blue eyed blonde beauty. Here's my version:


To execute this simple makeup look, I used only two eyeshadows but several different bases to get the contoured effect. Here's a breakdown of what I used for the eyes and how I applied it:
  1. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt (blended all over lid)
  2. NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha (blended all over crease and outer corner)
  3. H&M Eye Pen in Champagne (inner corner)
  4. Revlon Marble-ous Match Duo Crayon in Set the Nude (highlight under the brow)
  5. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencil in Whiskey (under the lower lash line)
  6. Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette--Reddish Bronze marked with "M" (set over whiskey under the lower lash line and smudged over the top lash line)
  7. Too Faced eyeshadow in Peach Fuzz--marked with "M" (on top of the four bases--all over the lid, crease, inner corner, and up to the brow)
  8. L'Oréal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black on upper and lower lashes (2-3 coats)
  9. NYX eyebrow pencil in Taupe (to lighten my brows)

Here are the swatches of the bases I used in this look:
1. H&M Champagne is the original NYX jumbo eye pencil for me. The color is a superb shimmery ivory with chunky gold glitters: perfect for a Serena beach-y eye.

2. NYX jumbo eye pencil in Yogurt is one of my all-time favorites, it's a perfect daytime pink champagne color and makes any eyeshadow look amazing when used underneath.

3. NYX Iced Mocha is my #1 favorite Jumbo Eye Pencil. I use it whenever possible, all over the lid, in the crease, under the lash line, everywhere! For this look, I used it to add dimension to the eye.

4. Revlon Marble-ous Crayon Duo is an old product that I've been loving for some time. I used the lighter true champagne color as a highlight under the brow.

Next, I applied Too Faced Peach Fuzz eyeshadow all over the blended bases to look something like this: -->

The shadow is a true champagne and is packed with gold micro glitters that shine beautifully in the sunlight and give the eye the most sublime effect ever. This is seriously my favorite daytime sparkly eyeshadow ever. I think its quite appropriate for a Serena makeup look, because it is understated enough to wear with any outfit and/or accessories. When layered on top of sticky bases, the eyeshadow has an almost wet finish, which I think is so nice and unusual.
Next, I layered a warm bronzy eyeshadow close to the top lash line and over a brown eyeliner under the lower lashes. Serena hardly ever wears liner, so I wanted to stay true to the character and make the statement with the heavy--though not fake--lashes. After curling my lashes, I applied several coats of my blackest and chunkiest mascara--L'Oréal Voluminous in Carbon Black and curled my lashes again afterwards. I don't generally curl the lashes after a mascara application, but in this case, I wanted them to be as dramatic as possible. Here's the finished eye look :))

My skin routine was very quick and easy and here are the products that I used:

  1. Laura Mercier mineral foundation primer (my fave!)
  2. Bare Minerals matte foundation in Golden Medium
  3. Lancome Maquicomplet concealer in Medium Bisque (to get rid of those under eye circles)
  4. Mac sheertone blush in Gingerly for contouring (obsessed with this thing!)
  5. Coastal Scents pink blush marked with "M" from the blush palette
I lined my lips with NYX lipliner in Natural and applied clear gloss on top.


Here's the final look with my hair looking almost blonde in the sun :))
I'm not used to my lightened brows... eeek!
Do I have the Serena in me?

Phew, long post done. Please let me know if there are any celebrities and/or TV characters whose makeup you'd like to see. I've already been requested to do Beyonce and Nicole Scherzinger and in the past, I've done a JLo full face transformation, as well as Christina Aguilera, Scarlett Johansson and Black Swan-ish inspired makeup. 

Next up, Blair Waldorf!!

xoxo,

Maryam Maquillage



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Maryam Maquillage © 2012. www.maryammaquillage.com

31 comments:

  1. *scream* I love GG too!! lol. And I adore Serena's style. She always looks so poised and elegant even when she dresses down (and I just loooove Chuck lol) You did a fantastic job hun.

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  2. oooo Gorgeous! Love GG, Blair is my fave... She is such a lady!
    You look stunning love, your make up is perfection! You've made me want to use my Gingerly blush right now! :)

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  3. Lovely makeup, I really love the lips! I'm addicted to Gossip Girl too and Serena is my favorite character (:

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  4. OMG...you look much hotter than Serena! My darling, sorry I haven't been at ur page in forever.,..I have def. missed you...will have to go back and check all the postings! Besotes...I love the natural look!

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  5. Lovely Pictures...I love Blake Lively :))

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  6. You look stunning, as always!
    xx

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  7. Naturally gorgeous!
    Really, you look beautiful in anything you wear!
    I am really into the statement, chunky jewelry. Very stylish~

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  8. I like your lightened brows ; o )

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  9. You look extremely pretty! I love your necklace, you always have lovely jewelry :)

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  10. You're like a more exotic version of Serena! Great look hun, I love her chunky necklaces that she wears, so stylish. Yep, I watch GG and not for the storylines, but purely for the fashion.
    Lilit
    xo

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  11. good inspiration :D your eyelashes are bananas and I may have to steal that necklace from ya! so pretty

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  12. Hey hun! thanks for your comment.. yh I love blue right now.. sooo nice. Have a lovely evening x

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  13. thank you girls!!!
    @Villa Bisono: I've missed you too girl!!! stop making me blush :P
    @Lilit: Ha!! I knew I wasn't the only one!!!

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  14. Love it!! The makeup and the outfit, both perfect!! <3

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  15. Very beautiful, M! :D I loooooove Gossip Girl. It's like comfort food to me. I really need to catch up on the episodes, though...
    I really like Serena's style though I also love Blair's! She's so polished, prim and lady-like while Serena's chic and boho. I love both their styles, really. :D I think Nate's such a cutie, too! Rufus is quite a hottie. :P

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  16. cool as ever, and ur killing smiles... :)

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  17. I also loved that necklace when I saw it! and I loved reading this funny post ;)

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  18. You look lovely! I love the necklace and the makeup!

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  19. Hey, you're such a gorgeous lady!!!
    Love your look and esp, your neckpiece is awesome!!!
    New here to your blog and loving yours.
    Do drop by mine sometime!!!
    Bhusha's Travelogue
    Fashion Panache

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  20. I love Blake! She's super pretty and I love her style. By the way, I'm loving you recreation. Gosh, you're so pretty Maryam! Your makeup looks always makes me smile...sighhh

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  21. Everything about you is just perfect! You pull off that look beautifully! <3

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  22. thank you so much for your comments and compliments!!! it truly means the world to me :)))

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  23. great look on you, and i love how detailed your posts are

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  24. Awesome post! I LOVE that necklace on you!

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