Steal the Look: Padma Lakshmi

Whether its hosting Top Chef or out partying, one of the things I love about Padma Lakshmi's beauty look is that it is very natural and very easy to achieve in a matter of minutes. There's no fake lashes or big hair for this lovely lady. At the Tribeca Film Festival Vanity Fair party a few days ago, Padma kicked up her natural look a notch with creamy, mauve lips and light lavender shadow that looks gorgeous on dark eyes.

To get the look:

Eyes: The eyes are the focus here. Prepare eyes with a good priming lotion such Urban Decay Eyeshadow Priming Potion to make the light colored shadow adhere and show up well. Apply a bright lavender shadow such as MAC Eyeshadow in Beautiful Iris from lashes to crease on the top lid, in the inner corners of the eyes and also under the eyes. Use a shadow with more shimmer for more drama and less shimmer for a more muted look. Blend out the edges well for a seamless look. Padma wears very little eyeliner in these photos so only line top lids with a black liner such as MAC Powerpoint Pencil in Engraved. If you want a more dramatic look in which case you can line both the top lid and the bottom waterline. Finish with mascara.

Cheeks: Lightly apply a muted, plum blush such as MAC Blush in Breath of Plum such to the apples of the cheeks.

Lips: Line lips with a neutral liner and fill in lips with a soft mauve shade such MAC Lipstick in Midimauve so as to complement the shadow.

Note: No matter what brands/products you use, the key with using a bright lavender shadow like Padma's is keeping the rest of the colors on the face in the same purple color family to tie the look together. Avoid mixing in too much pink and brown and definitely no reds or oranges!