EOTD

1. I used Painterly paint pot as my base.
2. I packed on Urban Decay's Blunt (love!), from the Skull Shadow Box, in the inner corner and lid.

3. I applied Amber Lights on the outer lid and into the crease.

4. With a dense blending brush, I deepened the crease with Antiqued. 5. I used a tiny bit of UD's Oil Slick to bring some depth into the outer-v. I made sure to blend it out really well, so the black didn't muddy up the earthy colors.
6. Blanc Type with the 224 to highlight.
7. I used Rimmel's "Spark It Up!" liner in Tiger's Eye on my waterline.

8. I then applied Blacktrack fluidline on the upper lid, and finished with Maybelline's Colossal mascara.

I also want to throw in a quick picture of how my toes are done. I'm not huge on nail designs.. I get acrylics myself, but I love blinged out toe nails. I've never tried to do my own nail designs, but I got some nail art pens, and this is what I came up with :)

Crappy iPhone pic:

EOTD

Found my usb cord.. I have a few eotd's to show.

1. I used Mac's Cream Color Base in "Pearl" as my base.

2. I applied Orb in the inner corner, then extended the color out onto the lid. Towards the outer part, I only covered about half my lid space with it, packing it closer to the lash line.

3. I applied Passionate in the middle part of my lid.

4. I mixed a few different purples from the 120 palette together on my 239, then created a deep purple outer-v.
5. Using a lighter mix of purples and the 217 brush, I applied the new color around the darker outer-v.

6. With the 224, I blended everything together. Then, using the same brush, I got some Orb and applied it starting from the inner corner, bringing it up and in to the other colors to pull everything together.

7. At this point I added more of whatever I needed. Orb in the inner corner, more Passionate on the middle of the lid.

8. Using the 224, I used Blanc Type to highlight.

The second look is a easy taupe-y smoky eye. I used Shroom in the inner corner, Era on the entire lid, Satin Taupe in the crease, and Carbon to deepen the crease. I lined my upper lid with a black pencil liner, then smudged it out with the black shadow using a pencil brush. Then, using that same brush, I picked up some color off the tip of the eyeliner, and smudged the liner along my bottom lashline, connecting it with the liner on the upper lid.

Luscious Red Lip Tutorial

Finally I get around to this! I have so much to upload, but I lost the USB cord to my camera so unfortunately all that will have to wait :(
For now here's another tutorial I made.. another basic one, while I get the hang of making picture tuts. This was pre-foundation, so don't hate on my skin.

My Take on Luscious Red Lips ;)

Always start out with a freshly sharpened pencil to get rid of bacteria and give you more precision. I used some nameless liner I've had forever since I don't opt for red lips that often.

To prep the lips, I exfoliate gently with a warm washcloth, then smooth something moisturizing on them (I prefer alba's unpetroleum jelly or aquaphor to a wax-y lip balm before lipstick).

Begin by lining the cupids bow (the top-of-a-heart shaped section of your upper lip) from the middle point up and outwards. Then line the bottom lip. On both the top and bottom lips, leave about half an inch of unlined space on each side of the line.

Finish lining the upper lip by starting from the outer corners and connecting to what you already drew. Repeat the same for the bottom lip: outer corners to previously drawn line.

Use one side of a q-tip to blend and soften the liner into your lips.

Use the opposite end of the q-tip to clean up any messy edges.

Lined lips :)

Using whatever red lipstick you choose, brush a thin layer of color onto your lips with a lip brush. I used Sally Hansen's (Natural beauty) inspired by Carmindy lipsticks in "Sangria".

First layer of lipstick. Not too thick.

If you want your red lips to last through the day or night, do not skip this step! Set your lip color by pressing your lips down on any type of tissue.

This layer will last and last, and creates a base for the second layer of lipstick. The cracked look is what you're aiming for, it's what shows that the inital layer of lipstick is really worked in there, and there will be no funky looking skin-colored lines in your lips when you smile!

Apply a second layer of lipstick. If you want a matte-ish finish, you can continue to brush on color until you get to your desired result. But the look I'm going for is luscious, not business! It's often said that adding gloss to red lips will goop up your look, but I beg to differ.

I finished off with a single layer of clear gloss, and I'm done! I usually pair red lips with nothing more than some winged black liner and sweep of bronzer on the cheekbones.

Hope you enjoyed :)

My First Tut!

I've always felt like it's hard to capture a good, realistic picture of my make-up on camera so I don't take enough pictures.. but I promise I'll start :)
I thought a good start would be with a tutorial, so cut me some slack because this is my first tutorial and I'm still figuring out all the settings and quirks.. What I did was a look I always go to if I'm feeling indecisive about eye make-up that day. It looks clean and classy, and it's versatile enough to work with everything from bold red to shiny nude lips. I used all mac products, unless I mention otherwise. Of course, you could use anything you have that matches the color description. I think this look works best when the shadows are as close to matte in finish as possible.

I started by packing Blanc Type (a creamy, beige-white) onto the lid with the 239.

Then, using the 224, I swept Cork (any light-medium brown) into the crease following a windshield-wiper motion. This creates an outline for the darker brown while contributing to the graduating effect.. doing this step before the dark brown makes application less messy for me.

I then took a dark brown, which is the liner color from Benefit's Big Beautiful Eyes palette (any dark matte brown will do), and used the very tips of the 239 to first apply the color in a v shape, then one side of the brush to pull the color up into the crease color.

This picture is after two steps. First, I used the 217 with Swiss Chocolate (medium brown), blending the dark brown and Cork into each other. Take time to blend the dark brown on the outer v in with the Blanc Type during this step. The point of the medium brown is to merge the borders of the dark and light shadows together. For my highlight, I dipped the 224 into some more of the Blanc Type and lightly swept it along my brown bone.

Next, with some cheap beauty supply store brush, and Blacktrack Fluidline, I lined the upper lid. It wasn't exactly the closest line I could get, but you can never tell after my mascara :) I set the liner with Carbon (matte black). The black liner is a key step in this look, it pulls everything together and makes it classy.

I mascara'd up those eyelashes and lined my waterline with white liner.

Finally...

The camera just doesn't doesn't capture this quite as beautifully as it looks in person, unfortunately, but it's my favorite eyeshadow look.

Hope you enjoyed.

NYX Lipstick Swatches

I took the time to swatch all my nyx lipsticks, because I really do like them a lot. I have trouble with most lip products, within an hour they all give me the dreaded white ring, no matter what I do to my lips to prep them beforehand. It drives me crazy, I have to carry baby wipes around with me and basically re-apply my lipstick or gloss every hour. If anyone goes through this, or knows why it happens pleeease let me know :)
These are all amazingly creamy in texture, and super pigmented. The staying power isn't the greatest, but I get at least 2 hours out of these if I don't eat or sip my water too often.
Anyways, I was gunna do these swatches on the lips, but most of the lippies aren't that flattering without liner underneath (show every crack on the lips), and I wanted to provide true-to-color swatches. If I get a request though, I'd be happy to take some pictures of all of these on the lips.

Swatched heavily, slightly edited to get the best color depiction, (L-R):

Femme, Jupiter, Louisiana, Tea Rose, Heather

Femme and Tea Rose are my favorites out of these. The others are fun colors, but I could live without them. Those two colors have the least shimmery finish, which is rare in the range of nyx lipsticks. Jupiter is a great shimmery barbie pink to layer on top of a flat-pink lipstick, since it's sheer but glossy in finish.

Summerlove, Pumkin Pie (yes, pumkin!), Mars, Perfect, Thalia

Summerlove doesn't show up as much more than shimmer on my arm, but it's actually a pigmented fleshy nude. Thalia is way lighter on the lips, but turns into a darker shade after a couple layers. My absolute favorite is Pumkin Pie. It may look kind of funky in the swatch, but it makes for a great warm nude lip with a similar gloss on top. The name is so accurate, it really looks like pumpkin pie. Mmmm. One of my favorite lip combos is this lipstick with Yes to Carrots lipgloss in "Playful Nude" on top.

Last two colors, Sash and Castle:

These are $4 on the nyx website, but I think that's really overpriced for the actual product. I buy them from $1 at my local beauty shop.

The ingredients, taken from nyx's website: Ceresin Wax, Polyethlene Wax, Microcrystalline Wax, Beeswax, Lanoline Oil, Isopropyl Myristate, Mineral Oils, Octyl Palmitate, BHA, Propyl Paraben, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, D&C Red No.A1 Lake, Pearl Powder, Iron Oxide

MUFE Full Cover Extreme Camouflage Cream

On my never ending quest to find the perfect undereye concealer, I thought I'd check out some of the cult classics. With pigmentation on the mind, I headed straight to the Make Up For Ever display in Sephora. Does MUFE make anything sheer? I avoided the palette, because from my experience those scream cakey under eye's. Instead I opted for the liquid, "Full Cover". Here's the verdict:



What It Is: This is described as a full-coverage liquid concealer, oil-free and waterproof, and able to cover everything from blemishes to scars and hyperpigmentation.
Application: I used this before foundation. I applied about 2 pinpricks of product on the back of my hand. I dipped a flat concealer brush into it, and began patting it on at the darkest part of my circles, under one eye. I let it sit while I did the same to the other (no more than 4 or 5 seconds). I went back to the eye I started with and blended the concealer into the rest of the undereye area, using only patting motions. Then the same with the other eye. I like to use this method when I work with liquid concealer so there's some time for the product to set on the darkest part's of my circles. It's important to work quick initially though. You can always go back in with more product.
Look: Once the concealer was fully dry, I didn't like the finish that much. It was almost kind of fuzzy. The pigmentation was good though. After I applied foundation, the area looked better but some product did rub off. I don't think this color could work for me over foundation, so I didn't like how that worked out.
Feel: This concealer dried quickly, which some might find makes it hard to work with. It did feel a bit dry, but didn't seem to dry out the area by the end of the day.
Staying Power: This did not budge for a solid 6 hours, but by the very end of the day my undereye area did have that (inevitable) grayish cast.

Excuse the pasty skin, terrible lighting:




Final Musings: All the fabulous ratings aside, I don't see what the big deal is. It had good pigmentation, but the lack of color correction left me with uncovered circles. I didn't like how the product highlighted my imperfections, more so than covering them up. Maybe it's just not a good concealer for the undereye area. On blemishes and redness around the nose, this worked great. I tried it on a tattoo by the way, since I've heard this can cover them up, but it didn't come closer than any others I've tried. You'd definitely need to bring in the color wheel and full coverage foundation. C+

Full Cover costs $40 at Sephora.

Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation

I've been in the market for a new pressed powder. I havn't had a good enough experience with a high end brand's powder to decide there's a big difference (for me) between those and a good drugstore brand, which is how I ended up in the Neutrogena aisle at Target.
I remembered reading once somewhere that dermatologists suggest those with sensitive skin buy only Almay and Neutrogena from the drugstore. I dont have particularly sensitive skin, but when it comes to face products, I thought it'd be a safe bet to follow that rule of thumb.

I ended up buying the Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation Compact in shade 50, "Soft Beige"



What It Is: A mineral powder foundation pressed into a compact. Neutrogena's website says it's oil-free, noncomedogenic, and frangrance-free. It has SPF 20, but I wouldn't suggest depending on this.. you'd have to pack it on to get the full protection factor.
Application: I used this as a foundation and as a setting powder. As a foundation, I used primer, then applied this with the sponge it came with (actually quite nice), damp. As a setting powder, I sheered it out over my face with a soft kabuki. I liked the added coverage it gave me on top of my foundation.
Look: As a foundation, this gave me medium coverage with a matte finish, but I packed it on. This is definitely a sheer foundation. Over liquid foundation, this mattified any dewiness I got initially. I didn't like this, so I used Fix+. The color was too light for me, and it seems as if all these powders run light (hello mineral foundation). This didn't melt into my skin the way I'd expect a mineral powder to, but if blended really well, there's no powdery finish.
Feel: Although the product is supposed to have moisturizing elements, it left my face dry and tight-feeling when used as a foundation. It felt and looked better after I spray my face with some Fix+. As a setting powder, it did not feel as dry, but I still set with the spray.
Staying Power: As a foundation, (with the primer) this lasted about 4 hours. Not impressive. To set liquid foundation, the powder worked well, extending the liquid foundation's longevity.

After 2 hours:


Final Musings: I think this serves me well for the purpose I bought it for.. to set my foundation. It created a smooth base for blushes and bronzers so they wouldn't apply streaky, and made my liquid foundation last longer. My biggest problem with this is that it doesn't seem like it would last at all used as a foundation. I can't imagine how long it would have lasted had I not used a primer. I would go a color up next time too, although the shade I got is workable. All in all, I don't think this outperforms the next drugstore powder. The difference, I guess, is in the ingredients, so it comes down to you and your skin's needs.

This foundation costs $12 at Target, but I've seen it around with prices ranging from $9.99-$13.99.

Ingredients: Mica, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Zinc Stearate, Silica, Dimethicone, Oryza Sativa Starch (Rice), Magnesium Myristate, Methicone, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Pantothenic Acid, Panthenol, Glycine Soja Flour (Soybean), Alumina, Silk Powder, Water, Polymethylmethacrylate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben