Today I’m digging up serious 90’s nostalgia and creating
a makeup tutorial of one the most iconic artists of the decade: Shania Twain.
The first CD I ever bought (yes, you read that right, CD)
was Shania Twain’s Come On Over.
I was probably six or seven when I saw the music video
for her mega popular hit Man! I Feel Like a Woman.
Its nod to Robert
Palmer’s music videos wasn’t lost on me, but was greatly overshadowed by
Shania’s incredible makeup; full-on smoky eyes, over the top contour.
Maybe
this was when my love for makeup was born. Who knows. But what I do know is
that the makeup look for that video will forever be a classic for makeup
lovers.
I’ve wanted to recreate this makeup for quite a while,
but have actually been a little nervous to attempt it because I really wanted
to do it justice.
The Essentials to Recreate Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Women Makeup
A Blending Brush
Since a black smoky eye is the anchor of this look a good
blending brush is absolutely essential.
There are a lot of blending brushes on the market. Some
are really decent.
What you want to look for in a blending brush is for it to
be firm enough to buff the eyeshadow or liner, but also soft and fluffy enough
to smudge and diffuse harsh lines.
Not all blending brushes are created equal.
My go-to blending brush is MAC Cosmetics 217 brush. If
you watch any of my videos you will notice that I use it in nearly
every one. It is that perfect balance of textures.
Retailing at $29 it sounds pretty pricy, and it is. But
if you take care of it and clean it regularly this brush will last you for a
very long time.
I’ve had the one I used in this video since I think 2014 and it
is just as fantastic as the day I bought it.
Expert Tip: Start with a clean blending brush, especially
for this smoky eye, you will get way better results.
Matte Black Eyeshadow
There is no question that black eyeshadow is necessary
for this smoky look. Shania was wearing matte black eyeshadow so that’s what I
went with too.
Not just any black eyeshadow will do. Often they are
powdery or patchy.
You want one with buildable coverage and a good level opacity.
I went with another MAC product. No, I am not affiliated with MAC nor do I get any
incentive for recommending them. The products needed for this look are products
that MAC does well.
I used MAC’s Carbon eyeshadow. It is very buildable and
perfectly blendable, ideal for a smoky eye. Pairs perfectly with their 217
blending brush.
Concealer
A big part of this smoky eye look is clean up.
Even the best of powder eyeshadows have a small amount of fall out - little specks of shadow that fall under the eyes.
But, that's no reasons to shy away from using it. Most fallout can be easily cleaned up with a liquid concealer in a shade close to your skin tone.
The key is to keep wiping your brush (or finger) after each swipe on a tissue so you don't spread the shadow flecks all over your under eye area.
Another benefit of using concealer for this look is you can achieve the sharpest smoked wing by swiping it up around you eye (see video for demonstration).
I used Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer in Ivory. A very affordable concealer that works wonders for covering under eye circles, cleaning up fall out, and camouflaging blemishes.
Contour
Shania has a seriously strong matte contour in the video on the jaw bone, cheek, hairline, and nose.
It is buffed out a bit with the blush and accentuated by the highlighter.
The sharp angles add to the overall fierceness of this look.
I used one of the shades from NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette (I also used the highlighter shades in there).
This relatively inexpensive palette gives you four pressed powder contour shades and four pressed powder highlighters so you can perfect any look you could possibly want to create.
A little goes a long way with these colors so you will have this palette for quite a while.
Muted Peach Lipstick
Finding the right shade of lipstick to match the one Shania wore in the video drove me crazy.
I looked through all of my lip colors and nothing was right.
I even tried mixing some shades together but still couldn't match it perfectly.
Finally, I broke down and went to Ulta Beauty. They had NYX Smooth Whip Lip Cream in Kitty Belly, which turned out to be an ALMOST perfect shade for this look.
One major difference is that the finish is matte. Shania's had a slight glossiness to it.
But it was easy enough to add a clear gloss as a top coat.
Now that we've nailed down the essential products to recreate Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman! makeup here is a step-by-step breakdown of how I went about it.
Place and packet the black eyeshadow on to the eyelid using a short shading brush.
Concentrate the color mainly on the lid at this point.
2. Blend + Build & Blend + Build:
With a blending brush start buffing out the black shadow up into the crease and out of the eye to begin a smoky wing.
The next bit takes some patience as it consists of adding color and then blending it to get a diffused smoky effect in the shape that we want. See my video for a more detailed look.
3. Black & White Liner and More Black Eyeshadow:
Run a thin strip of black liquid liner just along the lash line to intensify lashes. Wing it out just a tiny bit.
Use a black pencil liner in the lower water line of the eyes to enhance the dramatic eye look.
On a small angled brush trace the same black shadow across the lower lash line and give it a small wing leaving a tiny gap between it and the liner on the upper lash line.
Take a white liquid liner and create a small flick of color right between the two black lines.
4. Mascara & Concealer Clean Up:
The lashes are probably the most natural part of this makeup look. She doesn't appear to be wearing false lashes so I just swiped on a volumizing mascara on the top & bottom lashes.
Next comes the clean up. Dot concealer all over under eyes and around the nose. As you sweep and blend the concealer to remove fall out, take it up higher and create a sharp wing out of the smoked out eyeshadow.
5. Matte Contour, Highlighter & Blush:
Go big and bold with the contour working it between the cheek and jaw bone starting near the middle of the ear down to around the apples of the cheeks. Work it under the jaw bone, into the hairline, and down the slope of the nose.
Hit the spaces in between the contour color with highlighter.
Use a neutral toned rose blush on the apples of the cheeks and blend it into the contour shade.
Use a pure white shimmer highlighter (one of the only not-matte products) on a small brush and gently tap it on top of the blush on the apples of the cheeks.
6. Peach Lipstick, Gloss & Setting Foundation:
Optional: I used a sienna shade lip liner but that isn't a must.
Sometimes she appears to be wearing a lip liner, sometimes she doesn't. It depends on the scene in the music video.
Pop a muted peach liquid lipstick on the lips.
The one I used was matte so I added a clear gloss as a topper.
To set everything in place I pressed a matte powder foundation onto my face.
And finally we have reached the end of our tutorial!
Products I Used:
Almay: Truly Lasting Color Liquid Makeup in Ivory
Urban Decay: Eyeshadow Primer Potion
MAC: Carbon Eyeshadow
MAC: 239 Shader Brush
MAC: 217 Blending Brush
Eyeko: Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner Travel Size
Sugar Cosmetics: Kohl of Honour
Intense Kajal in Black Out
Beau Gâchis: Eyebrow Brush
Urban Decay: Thirteen Eyeshadow
Complex Culture: Precision Eyelid Brush
Colourpop: bff liquid liner in Graceland
MAC: M·A·Cstack Mascara in Superstack Mega Brush
Maybelline: Fit Me Concealer in Ivory
NYX: Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
Luxie Beauty: Rose Gold Large Angled Face Brush 504
Real Techniques: Pointed Foundation Brush
Beau Gâchis: Concealer Perfecting Brush
Real Techniques: Contour Brush
Pixi Beauty: Fresh Face Blush in Beach Rose
Luxie Beauty: Dreamcatcher Precision Foundation Brush 660
NYX: Smooth Whip Blurring Matte Lip Cream in Kitty Belly
Fluide: Lip Gloss in Elsewhere
MAC: Studio Fix Powder in NW10
Our finished Shania Twain Man! I Feel Like a Woman! inspired makeup look!
Maybe not a perfect replica but it is very similar.
I could've blended out the contour a bit more, especially on my right.
Shania and I also look noting alike, so there's that too 😅
I'd love to do a side-by-side photo with a screenshot from Shania's music video, but I'm fairly certain that could be construed as copyright infringement (none intended).
Check out her video!
The dramatic smoky eye is really the cornerstone of this look.
I could've darked the shadow one more time to better match the intensity of the video look, but I think the shape and idea is pretty similar.
I don't own the top hat, the veil, or the trench coat but I still had a lot of fun recreating the makeup look of one of my favorite artists!
Again you can see my video tutorial of Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman! music video makeup here
Thank you for checking out my blog post!
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Thanks again!
XOXO
Ultima Beauty
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And her makeup was quite lovely as well, I love the icy silver lids.
I found an article with the story behind her look, with her makeup artist Jenn Streicher, who gave us the scoop on what products she used to create Emily's look.
1. Flawless Foundation: Streicher added Dior Capture Youth Intense Serum to Emily's foundation to give her a nice glow. I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid foundation because it gives a nearly flawless, natural finish
(Note: I NEVER wear this foundation when I know I will be in pictures with camera flash, because the SPF in the foundation gives a weird flash back in flash photos).
2. Silver Eyeshadow: Emily's shadow was Diorshow Mono in 554 Minimalism (a lot of Dior products used in this look) but I used an icy silver from NYX Cosmetics and put it all over the lid and about 1/3 of the way across lower lash line.
3. Brown Shadow & White Eyeliner: It doesn't mention it in the article but to me it looked like she had a brown eyeshadow swept softly through the crease (might just have been the way her shadow reflected in the light), and to make my eyes look wider, like Emily's, I used a white eyeliner pencil and ran it along the lower water line.
4. Volumizing Mascara: Streicher covered individual false lashes with a lash primer, Diorshow Maximizer 3d. I didn't have individual lashes, so I used Doucce Maxlash Volumizing mascara, which almost gives the appearance of false lashes.
5. Contour, Highlight & Blush: I used a light brown contour color and ran it just under the jawbone curving up as I came to the apple of the cheek, to get Emily's glow I loaded on a white highlighter under and round the eyes, I used a neutral-rose blush under the cheek bone and blended it into the contour.
6. Mauve & Nude Liquid Lipsticks: Streicher used Dior Backstage Lip Palette in #001 Universal Neutrals and mixed the pink and beige gloss shades together. I made my own mixture using mauve and nude liquid lipsticks from NYX .