Wet-To-Dry Eye Shadow: A Guide

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Where to Eat the Best Greek Food in New York City

Source: [caption id="attachment_77" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Thalassa in Tribeca"]<img src="https://newyorkcity.kitchen/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/thalassa-300x225.jpg" alt="Thalassa in Tribeca" title="thalassa" width="300" height="225" class="size-medium wp-image-77" />[/caption] I dip a piece of pita bread into some skordalia and then into some taramosalata. It’s ok in that, “I’ve eaten this a million times” kind of way. I’m still waiting for the horta, which I usually find overcooked and mushy like hospital food. Will I enjoy the moussaka? I’m not so sure. I have to admit, I’m just not into the old-world Greek restaurants in Astoria, the traditional tavernas, and I can’t wait to get back to Manhattan where, for a while now, chefs (thankfully) have taken this ancient food and given it a modern translation. Blasphemous, I know. The Greek gods probably aren’t happy with me, but I prefer Greek food the way I like my friends: thoughtful and creative. Which is how I’ve come up with this list of the best Greek restaurants in New York (in my humble opinion). Thanks to chefs like Michael Psilakis, going out for Greek food is NOT like going to Yia yia’s house for dinner; it’s full of surprises, a reason to visit the following. Anthos 36 W. 52nd, east of 6th Ave/212-582-6900 I wrote about Anthos in a New York Daily News article, and I still hold the same sentiments. Michael Psilakis is one talented chef, and though he’s Greek and learned from his family, he’s also added a mastery of cooking unfounded at other Greek restaurants—his very own translation. Try the smoked octopus with fennel and lemon confit, onion soup with lemon braised pork belly, baby halibut with yogurt shellfish broth and for dessert, the ouzo baba. Barbounia 250 Park Avenue South at 20th St/212-995-0242 This location has been the home to so many different restaurants over the years, but it seems content with its Greek/Mediterranean incarnation. I’ve never seen fondue at a Greek restaurant, but it’s served here with kefalograviera cheese and metaxa brandy. There are good meat dishes, yes, and even vegetarian options (mushroom gnocchi) that anyone would enjoy, but I’d stick with the seafood: for appetizers, try red snapper ceviche or terra cotta shrimp. For an entrée, the pan seared halibut with turmeric emulsion or the grilled swordfish with garlic and paprika sauce are two good choices. Periyali 35 W. 20th east of 6th Ave/212-463-7890 Periyali was the first Greek restaurant in New York that showed diners there’s more to Greek cuisine than the usual suspects. Still going strong with its message since 1987, Periyali serves updated Greek food in an unassuming setting. At lunch I enjoyed grilled calamari with oregano oil, beet root with garlic sauce and charcoal grilled filet mignon shish kebab. For dessert try the Alexander the Great Cocktail, with Metaxa seven star brandy, crème de cacao and cream. Pylos 128 E. 7th St, west of Avenue A/212-473-0220 Pylos has been holding fort in the East Village for over six years and unlike many other area restaurants, it’s definitely staying put. Although the food still stands by its rustic Greek roots, there are definitely some surprises on the menu, including the addition of champagne in the traditional avgolemono, lemon egg soup, and the Cretan-honey braised lamb shank. Thalassa 179 Franklin St/between Greenwich & Hudson/212-941-7661 Physically-speaking, this is probably one of the largest restaurants in New York and even more exciting they have 5,000 bottles of wine in their cellar. That alone (well, if you’re an oenophile) is worth visiting. But the food lives up to the space: try the lamb shank ravioli appetizer or the scallops wrapped in kaitafi, then head straight to seafood for your entrée, like the Hawaiian lemon snapper fillet.

Wet-to-dry eye shadows need not be complicated. While it might sound like yet another technique one must master in order to navigate a makeup counter, perhaps it’s better to think of it as a two-for-one deal.

Wear it dry, and you’ve got your standard dusting of color—classic and predictable (in a good way). But wet! Wearing it wet opens a whole new world of opportunity. “What you’re doing is bringing out the pigmented nature of the shadow,” makeup artist Vincent Oquendo says. “Whenever I wet an eye shadow, it’s when I really want it to pop—but it really has to be a special kind of product to be able to blend after it sets. Because a lot of the times when it sets, you get streaking.” Nobody wants that. In order to avoid any wet shadow mishaps, follow these guidelines:

Product

It's like insurance, Vincent says. "You're doubling your wearability." — It’s like insurance, Vincent says. “You’re doubling your wearability.”

First, go with the obvious: any eye shadow labeled wet-to-dry. The Nars Dual-Intensity line is the standout—the singles come in 12 different shimmery shades, and there’s a corresponding brush (then there’s the newly released Dual Intensity Blush line, which was all over Fashion Week—but that’s a product for another post). Burberry also makes a few very versatile shades specifically for this in their Wet & Dry Silk Shadows. And the technique-specific eye shadow category isn’t just a ploy to get you to buy more product. “You can’t just use any eye shadow for this,” Vincent says. “Certain ones will harden up on top and become unusable because they’re not made for this.”

Baked shadows are also fair game—we’re fans of Laura Mercier’s Baked Eye Colour Wet/Dry and Lorac’s Starry-Eyed Baked Eye Shadow Trio in particular.

For more advanced players, Vincent suggests moving on to straight pigment (MAC or even OCC’s Pure Cosmetic Pigments). With the added moisture, they’ll become easier to layer with other products. For a look with more depth, try using a cream shadow as a based before swiping with a wet powder shadow. “It’s like insurance,” Vincent says. “You’re doubling your wearability.”

Brush
This all depends on exactly what you want to do. “Mind the resistance,” Vincent says, particularly if you’re looking for uniform color across the lid. “I tend to recommend a blender brush, which is the brush that looks like a feather duster. If you do it with a stiff brush, you’re defeating yourself before you even start. The joy of a wet-to-dry is you have to get it right amount of product loaded up, and then it blends itself. If the brush is too stiff, it will leave the shadow streaky and then much harder to control.”

However, if tightlining or waterlining is in the cards, a much thinner brush is required accordingly.

Liquid
Do not, repeat, do not put eye drops, water, or any other sort of liquid directly on your eye shadow. This’ll screw up your product for later use. “Lately, I’ve been wetting the brush with the Glossier Soothing Face Mist, but Evian Mineral Water Spray is good for sensitive eyes,” Vincent says. If the top of your powder does get a little hardened by wet application, there’s a trick to remove it: Get a clean mascara spoolie and “exfoliate” your compact, Vincent recommends. This won’t crack the compact and will make it ready to go once more.

Photographed by Tom Newton.