Riot girl hair and makeup: 6 Beauty Panel tips for embracing your rebellious side

Date October 3, 2013

Eyes are getting some serious kohl treatment, hair is left unkempt and the darker the lipstick, the better. Or at least that’s what happens when fall’s riot girl trend takes over our beauty routines—and we’re totally on board. The minimalist no-makeup look has its time and place, but there’s something so liberating about smudging eyeliner into messy shapes and embracing our rebellious side.

Thanks to this year’s punk-themed MET Gala, our favourite stars gave us a plethora of moody beauty looks to take inspiration from. Wearing the most daring deep shades of lipstick, Rooney Mara and Katy Perry were the epitome of sultry. Taylor Swift was all about the eyes, wearing top and bottom-heavy liner. And Kristen Stewart swapped out her signature charcoal smoky eye for a burgundy look worthy of Gucci. The message is clear: Get ready to reach for all the deep-toned makeup palettes in your arsenal when trying the riot girl trend!

Challenge 30: How do you channel the riot girl trend with your hair and makeup? See the answers now! »

Our Beauty Panel stepped up to the challenge of channeling their rebellious side through inventive beauty looks. Emily Chan of This Was Forever used Lily Collins’ MET Gala look as inspiration and changed up her eyebrows with graphic details. Stephanie Lau of Fun Size Beauty created a look that is perfect for those who prefer subtle makeup and are still warming up to the punk look. And Anjali Handa of Rock That Look gave the roots of her minimally curled hair a little shake to create an effortlessly disheveled style.

Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at [email protected]. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.

Emily Chan
Toronto | THISWASFOREVER

Studs, metals, spikes and leather are a few things that come to mind when I think about the riot girl trend that’s hitting up the fashion runway for Fall. Rebellion is indeed in the air! The first makeup look that came to my mind instantly is Lily Collins’ edgy style from Met Ball 2013. To me, her look resembles everything that’s grunge. So I have decided that I’m going to try to recreate her look.

This Lily Collins look is all about the brow and the eyeliner. So after applying my foundation and concealer, I sculpted my brow using my favourite brow pencil to be as full as her beautiful brows. I also used a brow mousse to tame any stray hairs. Then I took a brown pencil eyeliner to extend the inner corner of my brows down to same level as my tear duct. (I would suggest sharpening your pencil liner in order to create sharper edges).

Then using the same liner, I started to make the sideway “V” shape at the top of my eyelids. Since I have a folded crease, I decided to apply the liner just above the fold so that it can be visible. I began at the inner corner of my eyes and worked my way to the outer corner. The key is to be patient and steady with your hands. If your pencil liner is not sharp enough, I would suggest using a liner brush. You can also have a photo of her makeup look in your hands to follow along. To finish the look off, I applied a nude lipstick in order to keep the emphasis on the eyes. And then you’ve completed your riot-inspired makeup look!

Products used: Maybelline Dream Smooth Mousse Foundation, M.A.C Impeccable Brow Pencil, Tweezerman Brow Mousse, Rimmel Soft Kohl Pencil Liner in “Chocolate,” Cover Girl Clean Glow Bronzer in “Spices,” Essence Cherry Blossom Girl Highlighter Pen and Revlon Lip Butter in “Crème Brulee”

Anjali Handa
Toronto | Rock That Look

Unkempt. Rebellious. Dark. Misunderstood. All of these words come to mind when I think of the grunge/punk movement. Given that the Riot Girl look is “in” this season, how does one incorporate the trend into everyday wear? Simple adjustments will do the trick. I sprayed my clean hair with AG Hair Texture Spray and ran my fingers through it a few times. To create more of a rebellious look, instead of curling my entire head, I chose just 4 chunks of hair near my face and curled them using the Sultra Reverse Cone iron. I then gave my roots a little shake with my fingers until I had a voluminous not-here-nor-there style that was frizz-free and wearable in public. For the makeup, I applied my regular black liner to the waterline, but smudged Urban Decay’s Creep shadow on the lower lash line. The key here is to start with small smudges, and work your way across the waterline; otherwise you might end up looking like a raccoon. This, combined with the deep tone of Annabelle’s TwistUp lip crayon in Vamp gave me the dark and devious look I tend to associate with grunge style.

Products used: Arbonne Perfecting Liquid Foundation, Marcelle Velvety Eye Shadow + Primer, L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Liner, Revlon Lash Potion Volume + Strength Mascara, Nars Blush in “Torrid,” Urban Decay eye shadow in “Creep,” Annabelle TwistUp lip crayon in “Vamp” and AG Hair Texture Spray

Ellie Somfelean
Montreal | My Beauty Box

Every girl has those days when you just want to put on your leather jacket, a dark lipstick and feel like a total badass. The beautiful thing about make-up is that you can use it to showcase your inner self and feelings. For those days when I want to let me inner bad girl come out, I tend to gravitate towards a light smoky eye, contour heavily and put on my favourite dark lipstick. I used matte shades of brown all over the lid, and I kept is quite messy, blending it without trying to be too precise. I took my dark brown shade under the eye and blend it to give me an almost slept-in look and left it at that; nothing on the waterline. I skipped the blush and just focused on bring out my cheekbones with heavier than usual contouring. On my lips I mixed a shade of brown and a dark purple to add some drama to the look, swept my face with a mattifying powder and left it at that.

I decided to wear my hair pin-straight and applied a serum to tame my split ends and give me that no-time-for shampoo look.

Products used: Urban Decay Naked Palette, Revlon Colorstay Lipstick in “Catwalk” and Revlon Lipstick in “Va Va Violet”

Marilou Moles
Ottawa | Twenty York Street

Channeling angst and rebellion is no easy feat for the office but it certainly is a fun look for an evening out. One of the most important things to remember
when replicating the riot girl look is that it’s the complete look, from the hair to the make-up to the clothing and of course, biker babe/punk rocker-inspired accessories.

Keeping everything else simple and subtle, concentrate all the drama on the eyes! They are after all the windows to your angst (at least for this make-up trend).
Use a dark charcoal shadow and apply generously over the lids and line under the eye. Riot is not about perfection so this is the time to be liberal with the black kohl, line the upper and lower rim and smudge to blend. Just a swipe of mascara to open up the eyes even more and keep the lips matte and pale.

One other thing to remember, show ’em that killer look, that attitude with an edge!

Products used: Revlon Illuminance Creme Shadow in “Precious Metals,” Maybelline Master Precise and Master Duo in “505”

Stephanie Lau
Toronto | Fun Size Beauty

For those of who prefer subtle makeup, my rendition of the “riot girl” is a little more soft and subdued than thick, black eyeliner all the way around the eyes.

I started by applying a creamy black pencil liner all the way around the eyes as a base, softened the eyeliner with a smudger brush and patted a matte brown eye shadow on top.

Dark eyeliner and shadow around the entirety of the eyes often makes them appear much smaller. To counteract the dark shadows and brighten the eyes, I applied a shimmering silver-green cream shadow into the inner third and inner corner of the eyes.

I wanted to make the eyes look less smoky and more “grunge” (bottom heavy), so I reapplied and re-smudged black eyeliner onto the lower lash line for added intensity and completed the look with nondescript blush and gloss to emphasize the eyes.

Products Used: Lise Watier Ombre Souffle Supreme Cream Eyeshadow in “Vert Enchante,” Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in “Zero,” TheBalm Matte Eyeshadow in “Matt(e) Batali,” Cover Girl LashBlast Mascara, Caryl Baker Visage Blush in “Dial ‘M’ for Makeup,” New York Color Big Bold Gloss in “Big City Blush”

Genevieve Peeke
Montreal | Gen In The City

My style when it comes to beauty is usually very feminine, polished, and natural. The punk trend is everywhere right now and it is definitely a fun way to spice up your makeup for Fall. I like to incorporate it in subtle ways into my makeup. I smoke out my liner a little, fill in my brows a little heavier then usual so they are thick and bold looking and I contour my face so it looks chiseled and fierce! As for hair, I like to put it up in a high bun or sleek ponytail. You don’t have to go crazy to take part in this trend, just play up your usual makeup a little more!

Products Used: Clarins Skin Perfecting BB Cream in “01 light,” Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess bronzer, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder, Maybelline Define-a-Brow in “Dark Brown,” Maybelline Falsies Mascara in “Blackest Black,” Cover Girl Flamed Out Shadow Pencil in “300,” Clarins Kohl Eye Pencil in “Extreme Black,” Essence Lipstick in “52 in the nude”