It’s no secret around here — Missy Elliott has been one of my beauty inspirations for a while now. The magic of Billy B made her features come alive in the earliest videos from Supa Dupa Fly. I loved Missy then — as a full figured girl looking for media affirmation that she too could be considered beautiful and desirable, Missy was a breath of fresh, much needed air. She came out swingin’, clad in an inflated garbage bag, rocking finger waves and fierce makeup. I’ve been an unabashed stan ever since.
Having said that, I’m a little sad to admit that I’m with Soulbounce on this one — Best Best isn’t going to stand among my favorite Missy tracks, not by a long shot. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll bump this in my car on the way home from work, but it doesn’t have that replay factor. But her makeup on the cover of the new single is gorgeous. Like I did with the Chrisette Michele makeup inspiration post, I’m going to try to guess what she used to get the look, and also suggest ways you can get the look for less. Will Missy stop by the blog to set me straight on what she did or didn’t use, like Chrisette did? That would be awesome. Only time will tell, bellas…
Missy’s a MAC kinda gal with a Viva Glam ad under her belt — so I’m going to assume quite a bit of her look can be attributed to MAC. Let’s start with those eyes. She’s got bold kohl liner around her eyes, and that shadow is all kinds of blended gorgeousness. Looks almost like either Goldmine — one of my favorite shades of shadow — or maybe it could be Old Gold pigment on the lid itself. The touch of deep purple in the crease could be Graphology — a black/grey that’s got a slight hint of purple, making for a gorgeous smokey eye. The upper lid has a whisper of almost-fuschia, blended into a champagne colored highlight at the brow bone. But who’s noticing all those tints and tones? Those stunning lashes stand out more than anything.
MAC makes lashes, of course. But on a recent trip to Sephora, I was blown away by the insane selection of classical and extravagant lashes by Make Up For Ever. Shu Uemura is also known for making fabulous lashes, and a layer of their False Eyelashes 600 would give that thick, dark, eyelash drama. But of course, if Billy B did indeed do this makeup, the lashes could well be purchased at a party or costume store, and cost like $2.50 instead of $20.
There’s a lovely, shimmery effect on Missy’s skin around her nose and under her eyes, that almost calls to mind that MAC Fafi shimmer (which has completely disappeared from their website). Another product that could create a similarly stunning, glowing effect is Saude Pele Radiance Booster by Christopher Drummond Beauty. It’s a truly unique and amazing product — I use it on my cheeks as a highlighter, and it truly does make me glow like nobody’s business. Look out for a bigger review of this stuff to come.
Let’s talk lips — Missy’s lips are clearly outlined, but not with a darker lip liner on the bottom lip. It’s possible that her makeup artist has gotten wise to my latest beauty find — BeneFit’s D’Finer D’Liner invisible lip liner, which really keeps lipstick from feathering. I can’t figure out which lippie she’s sporting there — it’s a deep fuschia that could be venetian lusterglass, but it might also be one of those hot slimshine lipsticks. To recreate a similar look on myself, I’d just reach for my beloved Vincent Longo lip stain in Baby Boo, and layer with super cheap Milani glossy tubes — I have a hot pink shade that isn’t on their website, but you can find it at your neighborhood drugstore.
I’d love to interview Missy’s makeup people and find out exactly what she’s using, but it’s fun to try figuring it out on my own for starters. For a fitting Throwback Thursday, here’s one of my fave Missy joints of all time — Take Away, an ode for the late, great Aaliyah. Oh, how I love this song.
What did you bellas think of Best Best? Do you have a favorite Missy video?
Hey Bella,i’m a fan of Missy also,and I thought “Take Away” was a touching tribute to Aaliyah.My favorite Missy video is “I Can’t Stand The Rain”.
Missy looks gorgeous on this cover. This is the best she’s ever looked in my opin. My fave video by Missy is a tie between Beep Me 9-1-1 and She’s A Bitch.
I LOVE her makeup!!! I’ve always noticed how flawless she’s looked for all of her photo ops and videos. As for favorite video…Its so hard to choose! I love artistic and unique visions when it comes to music and media.
Missy always makes me wanna bust a move on the dance floor, lover her! I thought she was great on the Ms Rap Supreme Finale too.
$85 for the c drummond radiance booster? YIKES! I use the sephora luminizer in rose and it works pretty good and kind of does the same thing. Plus its only $18.
Dadmn her eyes look great on that cover. I need to get threaded or something, because her brows are so fabulous.
Speaking of fabulous, Bella do you by chance watch “So You Think You Can Dance”? There’s this contestant, Chelsea, that has been sporting some crazy pretty eye shadow. Doesn’t hurt she’s got anime sized eyes, lol. Last night they did this dramatic pale ivory & charcoal combo on her (like Estelle’s) that actually said out loud “Bella would love that!”
Unfortch no good quality vids of last night’s performance are up, and I know it’s odd to suggest watching a dance show for the Make-Up, but if you have a chance, check her out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVqMitNHSC0
Thank you so much, Bella for focusing on Missy & her exquisite make-up. My complexion is close to hers, so I will be checking out these tips–especially for the eye makeup!
BTW…my favoite Missy song? “Get Ur Freak On”…both the original and the remix with Nelly Furtado. HOT!
It’s so funny that you posted this video!! That song has been stuck in my head!!! It’s one of my favs too!!
And yes, Missy’s make-up is GORGEOUS. I have yet to listen to her new stuff. I’m a little scared…
ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!! I was very disappointed in the first track that leaked which was produced by Danja. It just lacked innovation that was FUN! I restored all my faith back into this upcoming album with this new PART 2 version that Mikey Bo produced. FUGGIN CRAZY!!!!! VERY MISSY. It’s a banger 4 sure! Can’t wait for the album now!
download it : http://www.zshare.net/audio/1393083418deb4d9/
“Hot Boyz” w/ Nas and Eve. That was my joint right there!
Hey Afrobella peeps! I ran across this site when searching for Missy’s New Album launch date. After reading on another post that I had done Afrobella herself (the queen of beauty blogs 🙂 I thought I would jump in as I did the make up for Missy’s upcoming album cover (and yes the “Best Best” cover you are commenting on above)! Thank you all for the kind words- I LOVE MISSY and have been working with her for the past four years! I’m the San Francisco based Senior Artist with M.A.C. and YOU GUESSED IT… it’s all M.A.C. I noticed you wanted a product breakdown or a chance to interview Missy’s make up peeps- So here’s a quick breakdown of what she has in this photo.
Mositure Cover Concealer
Studio fix (3 different shades to create dimention)
Mineralized skin finish natural (created the skin effect- along with great lighting and an amazing photographer)
Breezy and Fluer Power Blush (Sketch to contour… “don’t try this at home” hee hee)
Clear Brow Finisher with Folie on Top for the brows
Naked Pigment as a highlighter
Razin Blush in the contour
Embark and Carbon to deepen the corner of the contour
Blacktrack and Smolder
Custom lashes I created using #6/#7/#2 and Blacktrack (for the spike factor)
Lids (YOU WERE CLOSE) Gold Metal Pigment (MAC PRO) with Reflex Gold Glitter
Lips (I’m a mixer… aren’t we all) it was Vino,Chestnut,Rebel,Syrup, and Wonderstruck)
Stars (NO THEY ARE NOT PHOTOSHOP 🙂 Neon Pigments (soon to be at MAC PRO) sent through and air brush over a star stencil
Hope that helps… not sure if I’m suppose to say- but there were 4 more looks on the shoot- so the album insert should be a BIG MAC FEST for those of you that love beauty.
In close- thank you for having this AWESOME chat about Missy’s look- thank you all for supporting BEAUTY and the incredible powers make up can have on your energy (inside and out). I hope the break down was helpful (I really just wanted to give you “Sexy Missy” with some unexpected twists).
Take care eveyone,
Victor C. (Senior Artist- MAC Cosmetics, San Francisco)