I first saw Breakfast at Tiffany's on my 14th birthday. It immediately became my favorite movie and has since remained my most beloved, even as I developed a love for other old movies (I went through a phase of watching every MGM musical starring Judy Garland soon after working my way through Audrey Hepburn's filmography). Every Halloween I've wanted to be Holly Golightly, but I never had a reason to dress up until this year. So finally, I get to fulfill this 8-year-old wish.
I did my research for this look by watching the film many times, and I also found that Lisa Eldridge's Breakfast at Tiffany's tutorial was a huge help as well. I started by applying my current favorite foundation, the Diorskin Nude Skin-Glowing Makeup, over clean and moisturized skin. I then went in and concealed any blemishes with the Maybelline Fit Me concealer and undereye circles with the Marc Jacobs Remedy Concealer Pen.
The eyes are the most important part of this look, and I began by filling in my eyebrows. Audrey Hepburn is quite famous for her eyebrows, but the look in Breakfast at Tiffany's is different from the thick, dark, drawn-on brows she sported in the 1950s. These are softer and more arched. I didn't alter the shape of mine, but filled them in as usual, using the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade in Taupe. For eyeshadow I used the Naked2 Basics Palette, as Audrey doesn't seem to have much eyeshadow on throughout the film, and when she does it's a subtle grayish-brown. I thought the cool-toned matte shades of this palette would be perfect. I started by applying Stark, a nude-pink, all over the lid, and I defined the crease using Frisk, a gray with a tinge of brown to it. I wasn't looking to create a smokey eye, but rather make the socket of my eye seem deeper like Audrey's. I added a little more definition to the outer third of the crease using a mixture of Frisk and Primal, a darker but still muted brown. I also took a tiny bit of Primal underneath my eyes, a few millimeters away from my lower lashline to create the illusion of wider eyes. Next I went in with the Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Black to line my upper lashline and extended it into a wing. I lined my waterline with a nude eyeliner (Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude), and coated my lower lashes with the Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara. I love this stuff because the tiny little brush makes application mess-free, and it doesn't budge or smudge all over the place. For my top lashes I used a coat of the L'Oreal Voluminous Butterfly Waterproof Mascara. I thought this would be perfect for Holly's look because the brush is designed to add extra definition to the outer lashes, which would go nicely with the winged eyeliner. After mascara I applied some false lashes - the Ardell 116's were perfect because they were longer at the outer edges.
Audrey wears a natural pink blush pretty high up on her cheeks, so I used a little bit of the Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in the shade Cherub. To try to accentuate my cheekbones a little more, I added a tiny bit of the Benefit Watt's Up highlighter to them.
All that was left was the iconic lip color she uses in the film. She can be seen applying it in a few different scenes, but the one that stands out most in my mind is the scene when she's in the taxi at the end and must put her lipstick on before reading a letter of bad news. The closest color I've been able to find, and I believe it's a very close match, is the Revlon Super Lustrous Lipcolor in Pink in the Afternoon (415). It's a light warm peachy-pink shade that was characteristic of the early 1960s.
All that was left was adding the earrings and necklace and throwing my hair into an updo on top of my head. I used a lot of texturizing spray beforehand to make my hair more voluminous, and I topped it off with a small crown hair accessory I had laying around. Overall I was really pleased with how the look turned out, and I can't wait to recreate it again on Halloween!
I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial-ish post! What are you dressing up as for Halloween?