Audrey Hepburn: How To Steal A Million Smokey Makeup

jancynbindman
Oct 20, 2022
2 min read

If you've ever seen the movie How To Steal A Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole, you will be familiar with this look. It was the one that made my mouth drop open when I first saw this movie. I think I missed most of the conversation that happened between the two characters because I was so caught off guard by Audrey's amazing makeup and costume.

If you're not familiar with "The Proposal" scene, it is where Audrey Hepburn asks Peter O'Toole to help her steal her family's priceless statue back from the museum. We, as the audience, know why she wants to but Peter O'Toole is still trying to figure it out. We also know that Peter O'Toole is completely head over heels for Audrey's character at this point and will do pretty much anything to spend more time with her. But I digress, onto the makeup!

The key takeaways with doing a look like this is that you need time. Just like in the other Audrey Hepburn look, it is vital to give yourself grace and time above all else. A cut crease using black shadow does not just slap on the face. It takes precision, time, and a steady confident hand. If you mess up the blending or the placement you are going to start over. So, if you have an event to go to and this is your first cur crease...try it at least 24 hours before. You will learn a lot! I'm a confident makeup artist, and it still took me 10 more minutes than an average makeup look because I don't do this kind of look all the time.

Something else to consider is that you MUST relax your face. If your eye area is in a smile or surprised eyes then you are going to get a very different look. Your skin and bone structure changes as you change your face. Take a look at the difference between my smiling photograph and the one where my eyes are relaxed. The makeup hasn't changed, but you can see detail in the relaxed photo you can't see in the smiling one.

Last, but not least, play around with shadows. During the tutorial I used a glitter I was unfamiliar with (and ended up not liking), so make sure you can get your hands on products you know and trust. It was just a flook that I couldn't get my normal glitter, but these things happen. If you're on a makeup job using something unfamiliar give yourself some extra time to play beforehand. If you're doing this look for yourself same thing. Don't be surprised in the moment.

I hope you enjoy the full tutorial, and the movie if you have time to watch it. Let me know how you get on in the comments, and I will be back soon for another fashion and makeup week!