Horse Show Makeup: Congress Copper Cat Eye Tutorial

By: Brittany Bevis

Your tack room is likely full of sprays, coat conditioners, hoof polishes, and other beautifying products to make sure your horse puts his best hoof forward in front of the judges. From the more subtle sheen of a Pepi polished coat to lengthy tail extensions and custom matched coat sprays to camouflage small blemishes, a great deal of work goes into our horse’s show ring presentation.

So why do competitors often overlook similar small, but important details, in their own show ring appearance?

While it’s highly unlikely that the perfect shade of bronzer will garner you any extra points during your Horsemanship pattern, it goes without saying that presentation and polish is everything in the horse show world. That’s even more true at an event like the largest single breed horse show in the world, the All American Quarter Horse Congress.

Enter Emma Koprowski, the woman behind the YouTube Channel Horse Show Beauty. While some makeup artists make it seem like that glamorous look is hopelessly out of reach for the normal, everyday woman, Emma’s easy-to-follow video tutorials break it down into simple steps with titles like 10 Minute Horse Show Makeup, Horsemanship Versus Pleasure, and Mature Skin Horse Show Makeup.

Speaking of the Congress, Emma has partnered with Winning Couture to offer custom makeovers in Columbus, Ohio, October 15- 23. But for those hoping to achieve the look themselves, Emma created a special video for our EquineChronicle.com readers!

Click here to view the Chronicle Copper Congress Cat Eye!

One of the main points Emma focuses on in this video is the importance of having long lasting but lightweight coverage for the show pen. It’s great to have a glam look, but if it won’t stay put during an 8-hour show day, that’s not going to do the Congress competitor much good.

To prep skin before makeup, Emma uses a primer that neutralizes redness, moisturizes the skin, and helps foundation last longer. One of her favorites is the Stila One Step Correct Primer. For foundation, Emma chose Fiona Stiles Matte Finish Foundation because of its lightweight coverage. The application process is also important. For full coverage, Emma suggests using a brush. For sheer, more translucent coverage, she recommends using a sponge applicator.

 

Contouring can be tricky, but by using an Anastasia of Beverly Hills Foundation Stick in “Mink,” she’s able to easily place shadows along the cheekbones, sides of the nose, and jawbones to slim the face and add definition. Emma works on one side of the face at a time and blends with a sponge. While cream products work great on someone with normal to dry skin, using a setting powder like Urban Decay Naked Skin High Definition Loose Setting Powder can be helpful for those with oily skin. 

The next step is to add a bit of NARS Cream Concealer in “Vanilla” to help cover up those dark circles and under eye bags caused from late night riding sessions. Emma recommends avoiding putting too much foundation on your forehead, so it doesn’t get on your expensive hat or helmet.

To help set the foundation layer, Emma uses Kat Von D Lock It Setting Powder with a technique called “baking.” The process involves putting an excessive amount of powder where needed and letting it sink into the skin. Later, the excess can be brushed away when you add Urban Decay Naked Skin High Definition Loose Setting Powder to set the rest of your foundation.

Next, Emma uses a MAC Sculpting Powder Stick in “Taupe” to chisel the cheekbones and temples. “This helps to really define the look when you’re out on the rail and you want more definition to your face,” she says. “Everything gets kind of lost when you’re that far away from the judges.” Afterwards, Emma uses a neutral to cool tone bronzer from Sephora in “Los Cabos” to warm up the skin in preparation for the copper cat eye. A touch of Becca x Jaclyn Hill’s “Champagne Pop” on the top of the cheekbones and over the nose adds a nice highlight. The final step for the face is a swipe of NARS blush in “Taj Mahal.”

To create the perfect frame for a smoky cat eye, Emma uses Essence’s Make Me Brow Gel by working it into the brow hair. Then, Sephora’s “Honey Blonde” Pencil can be used to define the edges. To help your eyeshadow last the entire day without creasing or smudging, Emma recommends Smashbox 24 Hour Eye Primer, which can be set with either a translucent powder or nude eyeshadow.

For the copper cat eye, Emma uses two main shades from Urban Decay, “Beware” and “Riff.” Beware is applied in the upper crease to create the smoke and Riff can be blended into the deeper parts of the crease for definition. Emma’s trick for blending is to use a fluffy brush to buff out the eye shadow line. Switching back and forth between defining with more eye shadow and buffing out with a brush is the easiest way to blend.

For a flash of copper color, Emma uses Revlon’s Photo Ready Eye Art Cream on the lid and up to the crease of the eye. By using a brush and blending with metallic powder, like Anastasia of Beverly Hills’ “Dark Chocolate Shimmer,” the effect can be blended to perfection before adding “Champagne Pop” as in inner eye corner highlight to make the eyes pop.

To highlight the whites of the eyes even further, Emma recommends tight lining, which is the process of applying eye liner along the waterline under the lashes of the upper lid and above the lashes of the lower lid. For this look, she used Marc Jacobs Highliner.

Now, for the most important of the cat eye, Emma uses her all-time favorite, Kat Von D Tattoo Liner, to create the perfect winged look along the outer lashes. The finishing touch comes when applying Huda Beauty Lashes in “Sasha,” lots of Max Factor Master Piece Max Mascara, and adding a bit more dark eyeshadow to smoke out the lower lash line.

To top it off, Emma used two warm lip tones, Kat Von D “Lolita 2” and Urban Decay “Conspiracy” to create gradient lip color.

Hopefully, you learned a few tips and tricks to help create the perfect makeup look for your debut at the upcoming QH Congress!

Products used within the tutorial:

• Stila One Step Correct Primer
• Fiona Stiles Matte Finish Foundation
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Foundation Stick in “Mink”
• It Cosmetics Bye Bye Redness
• Kat Von D Lock It Setting Powder
• Urban Decay Naked Skin High Definition Loose Setting Powder
• MAC Scultping Powder in “Taupe”
• NARS Blush in “Taj Mahal”
• Becca x Jaclyn Hill in “Champagne Pop”
• Essence Make Me Brow
• Sephora Collection Brow Pencil in “Honey Blonde”
• Smashbox 24 hour Eye Primer
• Urban Decay Beware and Riff
• Anastasia Beverly Hills “Dark Chocolate Shimmer”
• Marc Jacobs Highliner
• Kat Von D Tattoo Liner
• Max Factor Master Piece Max Mascara
• Huda Beauty Lashes in “Sasha”
• Kat Von D “Lolita 2”
• Urban Decay “Conspiracy”