It's no joke..

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So, yesterday I officially "launched" Jade Louise Makeup blog on Facebook and Twitter and I've been so overwhelmed by all of the lovely comments and by the number of people spreading the word that I couldn't help but try a new creation this evening to share. I was so hyped by the positivity, that I quite literally decided to paint a smile on my face...

Okay...so it doesn't quite scream "I'm the happiest girl alive", but I've had this in my mind to recreate for ages now and decided today was the day!

This look is so simple yet so effective. I used just three colours to achieve it.

The other great thing about this is that it's meant to look imperfect and undefined so its incredibly hard to go wrong. The more bedraggled it comes out, the better!

I threw on the white base with a large brush, leaving space around the eyes and some lines on the forehead. I then went straight to the black and followed the natural hollows of my eyes, taking the top line right up to and slightly over the brows. To get that intense black look I use my trusty MAC "smoulder" eye khol pencil and went along my waterline and right into the inner corners of the eye. I used my finer brush to blur and rough the outer edges of the circles and drag a few fine lines above the brow, to the nose and out towards the side of my face to give the creased, running makeup look that is seen on Heath.

I used this same technique on other areas of my face such as the lines from the nose to the mouth and on my philtrum (that's one for the pub quiz!) which I then blotted with a damp sponge to blur and blend in to look more natural and give grey tones for texture. I added the dark red to my top and bottom lip - though hardly any on the top lip - and took the brush line up at a 45 degree angle to the tops of my cheekbones. I then used the same blotting/sponging technique to blur and smudge this in, taking it down onto my chin to look like it has been smudged by being rubbed.

To finish this I continued to blot and smudge everything, defining the lines with some more bright white and grey to provide a more 3D effect.

There are a lot of interpretations of this "Joker" look online and I can see why. It's amazingly quick and effective and it really spooked me out looking at it! So here is my take on this incredible makeup to pay homage to this epic film and absolutely awesome actor, Heath Ledger...RIP x

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