Beauty Amulets: Megan
Make it stand out
2005 was a special year. My uniform was a pair of black skinny jeans from Dorothy Perkins, long sleeved black top from Primark and purple Converses. I frequently made trips to either Pontypridd’s Claire’s or the Blue Banana in Cardiff to buy yet more stripy arm warmers and stroke the very expensive Nightmare Before Christmas merch. Whilst flipping my poor attempt at a Hayley Williams hair cut in my Kerrang wallpapered bedroom, I was meticulously drawing black circles around my eyes and wiping them off again with baby wipes. Repeating this until I perfected the ultimate emo eye.
In 2004, My Chemical Romance’s, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album was released, and I was introduced to every emo’s dream, Gerard Way. Way taught me everything was going to be okay, that it didn’t matter if I wore black and no one else did, that I didn’t need to buy Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, and to say f**k off to all those girls at school who didn’t want to be friends with me because I was fat.
It was extremely frustrating when my racoon eyes were not symmetrical. Emo was so image conscious. You would be called out for not having perfectly oval blackest of black eyeliner, so I went red. During the Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge era, Way’s eyes were red raw and looked easy to emulate compared to the complex Hayley Williams’ Misery Business look, that was far too advanced for a teenager to copy. My makeup references have matured since. I look to make up icons and creators from Princess Julia to David Bowie.
___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Living in a rural village had its limits. The nearest Superdrug was five miles away, and no red eyeshadow available (still to this day it’s not stocked), so I had to get creative. I rubbed lipstick all over my eye socket and continued to do this for many years, until I finally found the perfect red, NYX High Definition Blush in Crimson. Its packaging alone brings a jolt of nostalgia, triggered by the plastic black bow on the lid clasp, incredibly similar to Kelly Osborne's then girly goth hair accessories.
For this look, I’m inspired by New Romantics and their extensions beyond an eyelid. This could be a form of draping, or with goth influences and blending on the forehead, the upward strokes could be interpreted as devil horns. To start, prime the lid with foundation or an eye primer then with a fluffy brush, sweep red eye shadow all over the lid. Then, take your brush and draw a line upwards past your brow. Once happy, start blending and re-apply red for a more defined line.
Words and Imagery: Megan Winstone
