Don't be afraid to paint your face: We get tips and tricks from a pro. Photo: Elizabeth Lippman
Are you a rabid
Indianapolis Colts fan, or a devout
New Orleans Saints fan? Well, then you can't just show up to your
Superbowl parties --
gasp -- plain-faced.
If you do, your team will lose.
(Editor's Note: As a Red Sox fan with residual, pre-2004 superstition, I now bestow my crazy upon you.)
Cheer your team to victory and let your true colors shine through -- literally -- with these fabulous face painting ideas from
Keri Blair, a senior makeup artist on the
M.A.C Pro Team. An enthusiastic Colts fan herself (she showed up to our shoot with a signed
Peyton Manning jersey), Blair created a look inspired by the Indianapolis Colts and (surprisingly ungrudgingly) the New Orleans Saints.
Since some fans want to go all out, while others may want to remain, err, cute, Blair created different options for each team. If you're not feeling the face painting, simply create the signature
smoky eye -- blue and silver for the Colts; gold and black for the Saints -- on both eyes and gaze your way to victory.
To take it take it up a notch, Blair offers ideas on how you can paint your face like a pro in the comfort of your own bathroom, with the help of household staples like Scotch tape, wax paper, and Vaseline. I suspect she's done this before.
So don't let your shirtless male cohorts hog the face paint for their
moobs. Follow our step-by-step instructions, and put your face on the line.
First up, the Colts!
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Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Salute the Colts with a blue smoky eye, a horseshoe, and star-shaped confetti.
Elizabeth Lippman
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
"We're doing a smoky eye in color, in blue for the fantastic Colts," said Keri Blair, the M.A.C senior makeup artist who created this look, who's a Colts fan herself (so really, she was just practicing for her own Superbowl plans).
You can take this look as far as you'd like -- creating a smoky blue "Colts" eye on both sides, or paint your entire face, however you feel most comfortable.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
For the smoky eye, Blair used eye pencil and pigment shadow because "it's easy and fast." "You get more bang for you buck that way," she said. Blair also suggested doing your eyes before the rest of your face, so spilled or flaky shadow won't ruin the rest of your makeup.
Cover the balls of the upper eyelids with blue eyeliner. Blair used M.A.C Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Prussian.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Pat blue pigment or powder eye shadow on top of the eyeliner. Blair used M.A.C Pigments in Bell Bottom Blue. "When you're patting a loose pigment on the eye, make sure to use something creamy underneath to help it stick, like eye liner, or even Vaseline," she suggests.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Sweep the blue shadow beneath the eye, from inner to outer corner.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Add shimmery white pigment to the inner corners of the eyes, then use a small liner brush to blend it together with the blue shadow. Blair used M.A.C Pigment in Frozen White.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Apply a a shimmer shadow, like M.A.C Eye Shadow in Velum, underneath the eye brows and from the cheekbones up to the temples.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
For extra flare, hit the party store for some blue and silver confetti. Blair chose stars, but any shape will do. She suggests using either Vaseline or eye lash glue as adhesive. Use your tweezers to grasp the stars, dip them in your chosen adhesive, and apply them in a line near the side of the eye.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Next, top the eyes off with Glitter for extra shine. Blair used M.A.C Glitter in TK.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Download a Colts logo from their website, and cut it out to use the shape as a stencil.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Place the horseshoe on your cheek and use a makeup sponge to paint blue face paint over the cutout.
Fan Face Painting: Indianapolis Colts
Now, Saints fans, it's your turn!
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Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Support the New Orleans Saints with a black and gold cat eye and a golden fleur de lis.
Elizabeth Lippman
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Show your New Orleans pride with a gold and black cat eye, paired with gold face paint surrounding the symbol for the Saints, the Fleur de Lis.
If you're not into a full face paint, then create the right eye using Blair's instructions, and duplicate them on the other side of your face for a sexy smoky eye look.
Or, if you want to take it up a notch, paint your entire face gold, skipping the eye shadow portion of this tutorial and carrying on the face painting instructions to the other side of your face.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Apply black eyeliner on the balls of the eyelids.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Draw the black eyeliner outward to create an exaggerated cat eye.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Use a an eye liner brush to apply gold liquid shadow to the upper edge of the cat eye, from inner to outer corner. Smudge the gold pigment upwards.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Line the lower lids with black liner, connecting it up at the outer corners with the upper cateye line.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Apply golden sparkles to the lower outer corner of the eye. Blair used M.A.C. Glitter in Gold. To help the shimmer stay in place, she suggests first lining the area with lash adhesive, then going over the sticky glue with the glitter.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Paint the right side of the lips with gold -- you can use face paint or eye shadow mixed with Vaseline. Here, Blair used M.A.C Liquid Pigment in Gold.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
To get the perfect Fleur de Lis shape, Blair downloaded the Saints logo from the internet, traced it on to a piece of wax paper, and cut it out.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Place the stencil on you face, where you'd like to paint on the Fleur de Lis.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
Use a makeup sponge to go over the stencil with black face paint. Then remove the stencil and admire the shape of your Fleur de Lis.
Fan Face Painting: New Orleans Saints
