Smokey, sultry eyes—they look so good in the pages of a magazine, but we all know those models didn't do it themselves. Usually there is someone like me standing just out of the range of the camera making sure those eyes look perfect. And yes, for a close-up on an advertising shoot, the makeup application can take well over an hour and even more time being retouched. But as with anything, a little know-how and the right tools will take you a long way. Believe me, smokey eyes can actually be done by anyone!

Last week I said I would take you through a step by step primer. Rather than brown, I opted for a silver and grey combination that I believe could truly work on anyone. I was lucky enough to have my friend Jacalyn agree to be my model. So here we go:

I have recently had the luxury of being a captive audience for this upcoming fall-season looks.

No, I wasn't given front row seats at any runway shows. I am on a road trip and sitting on my lap are all the latest editions of my favorite fashion magazines. Since I hate driving on road trips and my husband hates stopping (only if we absolutely have to), I can leisurely peruse these inspirational tomes of fashion and let my imagination run free.

Magazine editorials are fun to look at because what they tend to show is a distillation of trends across brands. Generally a style editor and team will look at all the season's offerings and gather pieces which express a certain direction they feel will be important for the upcoming season.

I love pedicures! My toenails are polished 24-7, 364 (or 365) days a year. I love all kinds of crazy colors; actually, the brighter and crazier, the better. Ironically, my fingernails are typically bare. Remember, I work with my hands and I am touching faces all day. I am also constantly washing my hands. Honestly, nail polish just doesn't last for more than a day before my nails look terrible. Besides dancing without shoes, my other pet peeve is chipped nails.

So it was with much reluctance that I tried the Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips. I let my daughter pick out the color—and she picks the snake skin. Really?! But I am conducting an experiment, so why not?

I think it was Bill Cunningham, fashion photographer for The New York Times, who said "Beauty is all around us if we just choose to see it." I have to agree with him—although sometimes I forget to look around. As an artist I need not only to look but also to choose to see, because only then will I find inspiration.

This weekend I literally ran into the Uptown Art Festival. I was running an errand at the MAC store on the corner of Hennepin and Lake—by the way, the artists there are so talented and always helpful—when I drove right into the center of the fair.