Halston's Make Up Designer Shares the Secret to Recreating Elsa Peretti's Dreamy Eyeliner

For Patricia Reagan, who served as the makeup department head for the new Netflix series Halston, recreating history is always the ultimate goal. "That's why I love to do period. If I have a real character, my goal is to get as close as possible to the real person," she tells Town & Country.

"I always look for nuances when I create my characters. I study my research very closely and I keep going back and trying to find little things that complete the moment—and what works in one moment would not work in another moment because the lighting will be completely different. That's what makes me tick."

For Elsa Peretti, Halston's model, close friend, and muse, getting her eyeliner right was essential to creating the character.

"She had a very particular look. She liked that black eye liner on the bottom of her lashes, which was a big thing all over Europe, especially in the '70s. Everybody did that: put a little bit in your lower lashes, and then it sort of traveled. That was the perfect look," Reagan says.

"She has more of a dreamy feel to her eye make up. It's a softer and more natural look. There's not that much mascara. It's the lower lash liner. It has to be smart."

Using a kohl liner, Reagan says, is the easiest way to recreate the look in 2021 "because it's a soft, smudgy liner." But you don't need to break the bank on this product. She recommends liners from Lancôme and Mac, but also the Sephora line.

"They have a really smudgy black liner," she says, "so the look could work for any budget."

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