BSB: Beauty news, makeup swatches and pictures, nail polish articles, makeup tutorials, product reviews, and how-to's from a MAC-trained makeup artist.

Makeup look: Silver and Gold

Silver may not have been one of the gifts of the Magi, but it's always appropriate at the holidays! Here, I did a quick and easy look and paired it with a berry red lip. This looks great with anything, so if you want to dress it up instead of wearing it with your hubby's flannel shirt, feel free to get fancy! ;)

How to:

• Radiant light-coverage foundation keeps this look luminous and light. I used MAC Face & Body. Concealer hides circles and other signs of holiday wear and tear.
• The complexion was warmed up with softly applied matte bronzer (not fake tanning a la Jersey Shore... just a healthy hit of warmth).
• Brows were lightly filled in. Too much would be too much!
• Eyes were prepped with Make Up For Ever's Aquacream in a glowing, gorgeous silver. This doubles as the main shadow color. These are quickly becoming my go-to shadows, thanks to their flexibility (sheer, opaque - whatever!), and crease-proof, budge-proof durability.
• I patted a yellow gold on the center of the lid, then a more rosey shade of gold in the corner, blending up and through the crease.
• A skintone shade with the slightest bit of gentle shimmer was used to highlight the brow.
• Black gel liner was pressed onto the top and bottom waterlines. I feel like these colors needed that kind of definition on me, but feel free to skip that step or just line the top waterline if you like.
• Mascara was then copiously applied.
• Lips are a blend of two of my favorite reds: MAC Cockney and MAC New York Apple. Neither seemed right on their own, but blended together they were perfect.
• My cheeks looked like they needed a little something, but I wasn't sure what. I tapped the lipbrush I had just used onto the apples of my cheeks and blended. Voila! Yummy winter flush and perfectly coordinated with my lips to boot.

Not sure you want to go with so much silver? Reverse the idea and use gold as your base with a touch of silver on the inner 1/3 of the lid! That would look great with more of a plum toned red lip and cheek.

FOTD 10.13.10

I actually accomplished a look today. It's not too fancy, and perfect for Fall.

The key player was a little crayon of pigment that I got from The Body Shop ages ago. It's a gorgeous copper color. They don't sell anything like it anymore and that's too bad because it's a definite favorite in my collection!

Anyway, I smudged that onto the lid (any copper or gold would work). Then I put a taupe shadow into the crease and blended the two colors up and out. I dabbed a cool beige-gold into the inner corner, lined the top lashline and both waterlines. I smudged the copper onto my lower lashline, then topped with a major mascara I'm testing (love it!). It needed a little sumpin-sumpin, so I used a fluffy brush to sweep a pretty rose-plum onto the outer corner of the lid and into the crease. Perfect. Concealer and foundation ensued, followed by MAC's Shimpagne Mineralize Skin Finish (MSF) buffed into the cheeks. Lips were a shimmery natural shade, courtesy of MAC's Roman Holiday Dazzleglass (a pinky-gold blend).

 

 

• 

 We just got some really good news today. I hope your Wednesday is as stellar! I'll be back in a bit with some more makeup news and a few reviews.

 

For what I used, keep reading...

Five Days, Five Ways: MAC Melon Pigment - Melon Mushroom

 Hi, beauties!

Here's Day 1, Way 1 for our pretty peach Pigment from MAC: Melon. Read the rest of the days & ways by visiting the hub post, here.



MAC Melon +  MAC Subtle Pigment = Melon Mushroom

Clever name for a look? Maybe not, but the color combo is genius! Golden cantelope meets glowing taupe.

Perfect for: Cool, fair complexions (like mine!); blue eyed beauties; almost any fair-to-medium complexion and many darker tones. I see no reason to limit this to a particular age group, though very crepey eyes will show their lines with all of the shimmer (but who cares?!).

Wear it: Just about anywhere. The peach isn't screaming "ORANGE" so she's not too bright to pull off in quieter arenas. The taupe does a good job of grounding her to keep her from looking too young or silly.

Take a look at how they swatch. The inner swatches were applied dry and the outer two were applied iwth a dampened brush.

There's more on the next page, so keep reading!

Five Days, Five Ways: MAC Melon Pigment

Beauties,

Are you having a good Monday? I know, I know. "Good Monday" is an oxymoron. And to add insult to injury, it's even raining where I am. Well, at least the weekend was good! We went antiquing on Saturday and just had a cozy day yesterday. What did you do?

To cheer us up from the Monday thing, I'm introducing a new BSB feature called Five Days, Five Ways. It's going to run pediodically and give us a chance to look at one product used a few different ways. I am going to keep this to permanent products, rather than Limited Edition items (at least, I am most of the time). I thought that way we can have more of a chance to all play together!

Please let me know how you'd use the Five Days, Five Ways products when you see this feature. You're always welcome to submit your own looks, comments, or thoughts!

Without further ado...

 

 

 

MAC Melon Pigment

This Pigment is one of my favorites. In fact, it's on of my favorite products in the whole wide world.  :)  Since it's being repromoted in this week's Venomous Villains collection (it's part of the Dr. Facilier portion of the set), I thought it was place to start our Five Days, Five Ways series. Plus, if you buy it as part of the Villains collection, you get special packaging. Cool!

Pigments, for those of you not familiar with the product, are loose color powders that can be used in an astounding number of ways. Other companies make similar loose powder products, but the MAC brand calls theirs "Pigments". They're quite, well, pigmented. You can apply them to skin, hair, lips, mix them in lotion, make them into nail polishes, or a few other things. Of course, not all are eye-safe or lip-safe, so be sure to check the recommendations on the item before you get too creative!

Melon is a soft orange shade that makes me think of cantelope. MAC describes it as "bright golden peach". Below are some pictures and swatches of my Melon pigment, which is in the older style of packaging. The new jar is a bit more narrow and tall.

Stay tuned for the first look I came up with for Melon. It's on its way, soon. I'll link all of the Five Days, Five Ways for Melon to this post as they publish, so you may want to bookmark this if you're curious about this awesome Pigment!

1. Melon Mushroom
2. Melon Sunrise
3. Melon nails
4. Melon Sunset
5. Bronzed Melon

Do you have Melon Pigment? Like it? Love it? Hate it? How do you like to wear it, or what would you pair with it?
Do you use loose pigment products, or prefer the pressed?

Pretty Purples (makeup look)

I am working on some swatches for some green shadows, and man did I need a break from greens! I've done green looks every day for a week. Zoiks.

Here's a purple look I did today...

Items used:
- Eye primer; medium purple, matte shadow pressed on the lids; a darker, more blue purple on the outer corner of the lid and out a bit towards the temple and also pulled through the crease; a white with gold pearl pressed onto the inner corner (tearduct) and as a brow highlight; then since it didn't pop enough I pressed a pinky-purple shimmer on the center of the lid.

- Face is a new foundation I'm testing by L'Oreal, a pink blush, and a bit of bronzer to keep myself from looking dead.

- Lips were a pinky brown liner and lipstick topped with a sheer shimmery lavender lipstick

- Clearly, I did nothing with my hair. ;)

 

More pics and product names are after the cut.

Easy monochromatic look

I'm posting this from my phone, which is a pain in the neck! My computer is still out of commission, (it's also a pain to post this and it sat in my phone for days and days! I finally got it to go through today) and while I'm thrilled to have this phone to play on, it's tedious to type a lot on it. This post will be (blissfully?) short on words. ;)

Today, I wanted to do a monochromatic look. I chose to do soft beiges with a hint of peach. One of the easiest ways I know to do monochrome is to multi-purpose the products being used. MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes are great for that. Here, I used MAC MSFs in Lightscapade and By Candlelight, two of my favorites (both were LE). The first is a soft, pastel highlight-type of product (nearly-white with swirls of pink, yellow, and blue), while the latter is more of a soft glow (peachy-beige with lots of shimmer).

I added my bronzer (Bobbbi Brown Medium) and brow color (Chanel Brow Groomer) to the mix, plus foundation (MAC Face & Body), concealer (Bobbi Brown Corrector), and mascara (L'Oreal something... I quite like it. Will edit when I double check the name).

Oh, and I made my own lipgloss!

Eyes: By Candlelight from lash to above crease and under the lower lashline. Lightscaped to highlight the browbone and tearduct. Bronzer in the crease. I lined the outer 1/2 of my lashline with the same shade I used to fill in my brows. Mascara, of course.

Cheeks: Bronzer on the high points of the face (cheeks, forehead, bridge of nose, chin). Lightscaped to highlight. By Candlelight on the apples of the cheeks.

Lips: I squeezed a bit of clear gloss (MAC Lip Conditioner, actually) onto the back of my hand, then used a clean, dry lip brush to pick up some of the By Candlelight. I simply dunked that in the gloss, swirled to mix it, then applied. Voila!

 

How do YOU get a monochromatic look?
Which colors do you like?
And how many ways do you use your MSFs?

OK... Maybe not so brief, after all!! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Aromaleigh look with Victoria's Revenge | Look 1

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Love this collection! See my post on Aromaleigh's new group of hot colors, Victoria's Revenge.

If you like MAC's Sumptious Olive shadow and Golden Olive Pigment, you'll want to add Private Lunacy to your stash.

If you like unusual colors, collect yellows, or are seeking the perfect mustard shade, you'll love Airy Ethos.

If you hoard red-browns, chocolates, or like MAC's Embark, Folie, and Cut to Fit (LE), you'll love Perpetual Motion. 

If you dig oranges or coppers, have blue eyes(!), or like MAC's Coppering, you'll flip for Braze & Bitter.

Here's how the look breaks down:
Eyes are MAC Painterly Paint Pot as primer; Aromaleigh Airy Ethos (mustard gold with shimmer) on inner corner; Brazen & Bitter (rusted coral with shimmer) in the middle of the lid and crease; Perpetual Motion (burnt chocolate with a hint of rust and shimmer) on the outer 1/3; Private Lunacy (shimmery moss green) along the lower lashline.

Also making an appearance: MAC Full Coverage foundation; MAC Improper Copper Cream Color Base on cheeks; Clinique High Lengths Mascara; Chanel Creme Gloss Lumiere (color unknown and besides they don't make this stuff anymore). Oh, and I tossed MAC Blacktrack on the waterlines, top and bottom. Not that it stayed in place for long. ;)

Since this look reminded me of the retro shades I've been loving lately, I put on my tie-dye t-shirt and spritzed on some patchouli (ok... it was Tom Ford White Patchouli, so not really the same as the hippies wore, but the spirit was there).

Aromaleigh's new collection "Victoria's Revenge"

Look deeply into my eyes and listen while I tell you a tale
of Aromaleigh's new collection, "Victoria's Revenge".

A stunning collection of deep, rich shades that suite your Gothic Lolita steampunk Victorian esthetic. A little secret: even if that's not your thing you can still wear these amazing colors! You guys... this collection is AMAZING.

Stay tuned for some looks done with these colors. The first one is coming later today.

See the collection here. See swatches here. Buy tons of makeup from the collection here.
Keep reading for the color descriptions and insight into the inspiration for the collection.

A soft pink look with Aromaleigh (Valentine's '09) and Smashbox

I wanted to play around with Aromaleigh's Valentine's 2009 Collection, which features a lot of soft, romantic colors. The end result wasn't as pink as I'd intended, but it's certainly a really good work-friendly pink look. And bonus: no lab mouse eyes from the pink shadow!

 

Eyes

• 

  Prep eye with primer of choice. (MAC Painterly Paint Pot)
• Lay down a soft pink-nude color from lashline to brow. (Aromaleigh Pillowtalk)
  Technique: Pat/press it on, rather than sweeping it on.
  Brush: a flat eyeshadow brush is best.
• Place a slightly deeper pink with a metallic tone up above the crease, as appropriate for your eye shape. (Aromaleigh First Kiss)
  Technique: I swept back and forth in a windshield wiper motion.
  Brush: the same brush as above.
• Contour the eye as appropriate for your eye shape; use a chocolate brown . (Aromaleigh Intrigued)
  Technique: I pressed the color on. Feel free to dampen the brush slightly to deepen the color if desired.
  Brush: Same.
• Apply a dark bronze shade as liner, top lashline only. (Aromaleigh Lovelorn)
  Technique: I dampened a round, pointed liner brush and applied it while holding the brush at a 40 degree angle.
  Brush: See above.
• Use a soft golden color into the area around the tear duct and under the brow bone as highlight.
  Technique: I pressed the shadow onto the skin.
  Brush: Flat eyeshadow brush.
• Line top and bottom waterlines for extra definition, if desired. (new product I'm testing)
• Mascara (new product I'm testing)
• Brows (new product I'm testing)

Face

• Foundation (Armani LSF)
• Cheeks (Aromaleigh Soulmate buffed in w/ a MAC 188)
• Highlight (Aromaleigh Be Mine) 

Lips

• Smashbox Photo Finish Lipstick in Sweet
• Smashbox Limitless-Long Wear Lip Gloss SPF 15 in Boundless

Above, just the lipstick
Below, lipstick w/ gloss on top

LOTD kinda-sorta inspired by Kara DioGuardi (I'm embarrassed to say)

I'm an American Idol fan. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I don't, however, like Kara "How Else Can I Get Attention" DioGuardi. She just rubs me the wrong way. By the way, how cool was Victoria Beckham the other night? She's much more normal than I thought she was. And I always love Mary J. Blige, so I wasn't surprised that I enjoyed her stint as guest judge. When she busted out a "Oh, Lord, girl!" at one of the (awful!)  auditioners... auditionees... try-outees... people auditioning... "AI hopefuls" girls and then slapped her hands over her mouth, I nearly lost it!

Anyway...

One of those Boston auditions she had a really dark blue lid that faded to a touch of purple. I liked it. I really liked the super-dark, super-saturated blue lid. I tried it. Here's how it went:

 

 

I really liked this look, though proof of the fact that I haven't done a smokey or dark look in awhile hit me in the face when I looked in the mirror after a few hours and scared the crap out of myself.

Eyes

 

• Prepped with a skintone-matching creaseproof cream eyeshadow. (MAC Bare Canvas Paint)
• Used a flat eye shadow brush to press two dark blue / navy shadows on the lid. (MAC Thunder and Deep Truth)
  I used two because... well, I just wasn't getting the depth of color I wanted. I dipped the brush in one than the other then patted them on. Easey peasey.
• Because of my eye shape (fleshy and puffy is not a makeup artist term, but dude, it's true), I also patted a bit of the blue mixture up onto the full area of the eye above the crease. If you need to pull the blue shadow up because of your eye shape, either to contour or to make the blue more visible when the eye is open, do so!
• Gently pressed a bright pink-purple shade into the top edge of the blue with a flat eyeshadow brush. (MAC Stars N' Rockets)
  I chose a bright pink with a touch of purple on purpose. Remember your gradeschool art classes? If you mix pink with blue, you get purple. I didn't want to use a straight-up purple, because I wasn't going to get the bright purple I wanted as a result. Clever, no?
• I used a fluffy blender brush to sweep back and forth ever so lightly to blend the pink into the blue.
• I used a dark blue eye pencil to line the top lashline. (MAC Eye Pencil in Indigo)
• With what was left on the flat eyeshadow brush, I lightly pulled color under the lower lashline.
• I used concealer to highlight under the brow.
• Filled-in brows. (Chanel)
• Patted a highlight in the inner corner of the eyes / tearduct with my fingers. (Givenchy Mister Bright)
• Mascara, natch. (L'Oreal something or another)

Face

• Concealed the darkness under the eyes as best I could. (Bobbi Brown Corrector)
  This is pretty critical for a dark-shadowed look, or you end up appearing bruised and extra tired. Bad!
• Foundation applied, of course. (Armani LSF)
• That's it.

Lips

• Just stuck on some gloss (MAC Internationalist Dazzleglass)

I gotta start using lip liner...

Aromaleigh - A neutral butterfly?

If you thought all butterflies are brightly colored show-offs, think again! I used neutrals from Aromaleigh's Les Papillons ("The Butterflies") collection to do my LOTD, and chose some not-so-brights to do so.

By the way:

TODAY (Dec. 21, 2009) ONLY, THIS COLLECTION IS 50% OFF!

Shop Les Papillons here. Now!

I found the butterfly at the top of this post after doing my makeup! Oddly, I found a picture that has most of the colors I used, but I was just putting together shades I liked rather than trying to match a pic.

Kinda boring looking from afar - and in pictures - but really it's quite dimensional and pretty! Still very work-friendly and wouldn't scare your grandma at your holiday dinner!

Face

Super easy!

1. Prep skin with moisturizer and primer.
2. Correct undereye circles with a peach or pink product, as per your skintone (an old MAC product that has been discontinued and didn't really do the trick anyway!).
3. Apply foundation (Armani LSF).
4. Apply concealer to any blemishes / flaws not covered by foundation.
5. A soft-bright blue-pink blush goes on the apples of the cheeks today (MAC Dame).

 

Eyes

1. Prep with primer of your choice (MAC Paint Pot in Painterly).
2. Dampen an eyeshadow brush and press a silver-taupe onto the lid.
   In this case I used the most beautiful nude I have seen in forever (and that's saying a lot!): Aromaleigh's Earthly Delights.
3. Using the same brush, re-dampened, press a bronzey brown into the crease, then sweep back and forth while pulling the brush up towards the brow to diffuse and soften the color.
   I used Aromaleigh's Thalia's Return, a oh-so pretty dimensional bronze.
4. Pops of color are needed! Pat a melon / orange shade into the inner 1/3 of the crease and then sweep upwards and towards the center of the eye area a bit, blending it into the bronze. Be careful not to get it on the lid!
   Monarch butterfly orange did the trick, courtesy of Aromaleigh's Spread Your Wings.
5. Why use a boring liner when you can use GOLD!? I dampened an eyeliner brush before pulling gold pigment across the lower lashline and up around the tear duct (only a bit!).
   Color of choice: Aromaleigh's Golden Chrysalis.
6. I used concealer to highlight the brow bone.
7. I applied a black gel liner to the top and bottom waterlines.
   Bobbi Brown's black gel liner via her stellar eye liner brush!
8. Mascara on the lashes, of course.
   Chanel Inimitable.
9. Filled in the brows.
   Some Chanel thingy.

 

 

Lips

I busted out of the lipgloss-only rut! 

1. Lip pencil.
   MAC Plum (of course!).
2. Lipstick - plum.
   Smashbox PhotoFinish Lipstick in Glamourous. (review coming soon!)
3. Lipgloss - deep berry-pink with pink and silver shimmer.
   Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Spark. (review coming soon!)

Aromaleigh- Red & gold butterfly!

I'm in love with this look! I ought to wear reds & fuchsias on my eyes more, but the colors look so intimidating, don't they? But the result... So pretty.

I used shades from the Les Papillons collection from Aromaleigh. I wrote a bit about the collection here. Remember: if you want any of the shades, order now, because that particular collection is retiring on December 31st!

Lips

I put on two glosses - one was Chanel's Sparks Glossimer (a gold-flecked red) and mixed it with a MAC's Funtabulous Dazzleglass (fuchasia purple brightness). While sheer, which I intended, I think the color complements the eye makeup well!

Eyes

Goreousness was created with Aromaleigh's Golden Chrysalis in the inner corner, and their red, Crimson Mimicry, on the rest of the lid and the crease. I used a flat brush to apply both colors, and patted the color onto the eye. Then I used the same brush to sweep back and forth, pulling it upwards towards the brow, and pulled some under the lower lashline. I then pressed Soul Takes Flight onto the outer corner of the lid and crease. Using a liner brush, which I spritzed with water, I used Soul Takes Flight to line the top lid, too.

Non-Aromaleigh add-ons: I used Bobbi Brown's black gel liner to the top and lower waterlines with Bobbi's fabulous liner brush, and I put on Givenchy's Moonlight Mister Bright pen (see it here) on as a brow highlight and on the inner corner of the eye (tearduct). Mascara is Diorshow.

Note: while Crimson Mimicry seems very red in the swatches and in the sample bag I got (click pic above to see it larger), it turned out a lot more pink-fuchsia on the skin. That could just be me, or maybe it's that way on everyone? I expected a little orange to show up when it blended with the gold (Golden Chrysalis), but I didn't expect this much pink from the start. To be honest: I actually had planned on this to be a holiday red look! Not so much once I started. Adding Soul Takes Flight brought a lot more purple into the picture, thanks to its violet undertones and flash, and voila: unexpected "Sunrise Eyes"! Not what I was aiming to do, but still one of my favorite looks I've ever done!

 

Aromaleigh - Soft Blue-Green Butterfly!

This is a pretty look using Aromaleigh's lovely shadows, which you can read more about here. It even looks nice despite my exhausted and dehydrated self.

Eyes

Pretty darn easy! I put a really pretty pale taupe-off-white, Air & Light, all over the lid fom lashline to brow using an eyeshadow brush and a pressing motion. Glowing Luna, a super gorgeous pale-but-bright Spring green, was pressed onto the lid with a dampened brush. I also pulled the same color upwards on the inner 1/3 of the crease and above. Morphing Moon is a very sexy teal shimmer, which I patted onto the outer 1/3 of the lid and crease with an eyeshadow brush. I then used the same brush -without dipping it back into shadow- and swept back and forth across the outer and middle section of the crease. I also swept Morphing Moon under the lower lashline. A touch of Flutura's Cloud, bright and multi-faceted blue, was pressed into the outer corner of the crease and blended in with a patting motion.

Non-Aromaleigh add-ons: I used Bobbi Brown's black gel liner to the top waterline with Bobbi's fabulous liner brush. I put MAC's Fascinating Eye Kohl (matte and creamy white) on the extreme inner corner of the lid and on the tearduct.  I also used Fascinating to line the lower waterline. I used my finger to press it into the skin and pull it in towards the nose, too, to brighten it all up! I put on Givenchy's Moonlight Mister Bright pen (see it here) on as a brow highlight and on the inner corner of the eye (tearduct) on top of the white pencil. Mascara is Diorshow.

Lips

I really need to bust out of my gloss-only habit, but have not done so in this look. This is two swipes of Local Colour Dazzleglass by MAC.

Click the pic to see an enlarged version which really
shows off this gloss!

Holiday festivities

It's been busy around the BSB campus lately. No posts yesterday due to amazing holiday festivities! Take a look:

 

That's an action shot of Ara at her school Christmas program. She's rocking the baby Jesus. SOOO Cute!

Here's how I did my makeup:

Breakdown:

Eyes

1. Primed eyelids with MAC Painterly Paint Pot.
2. Pressed a blend of two taupe shadows on the lid with a flat eyeshadow brush.
3. Also pressed this combination under the lower lashline (lightly).
4. Swept a sandy color into the crease and above slightly, using a fluffy blending brush.
5. Filled in brows with a Chanel trio, custom-blending the right shade.
6. Placed brow highlight with concealer slightly lighter than my skintone.
7. Lined the inner eye area (around tear duct) and lower waterline with a white eye liner pencil (MAC Fascinating).
8. Mascara primer went on, followed by mascara (Urban Decay's lash primer, Diorshow mascara).

Lips

1. Applied a dark plummy red lipstick (Chanel Longwear Lipstick in Garnet).
2. Topped it with a brighter shimmery red lipgloss (Chanel Glossimer, Spark).

Face

1. Concealed under eye with Bobbi Brown Corrector (not enough!).
2. Applied a slightly glowy foundation (Armani LSF).
3. Added cheek shimmer with a glittery and soft champagne/light-bronze shade (MAC's ShimpagneMSF ).
4. Added cheek color with a bright pink.

Subtle, and perfect for the occasion.

How is your holiday season going!?

Holiday Makeup Look #2: Gold & Bronze Eyes

Holiday Makeup Look #2

Gold & Bronze Eyes

Decided to try some nice warm and holidy-esque golds and bronzes today. These colors really bring out the green and gold in my eyes. Since I have cool undertones in my skin, these warm eye shadow colors can look a bit "off" if they aren't balanced with some cool tones. I handled that by adding black liner, nearly neutral cheeks, and lipstick that had both cool and warm tones.

Again, trying to keep the look fairly easy and straight-forward. Steps for the eye makeup are listed below.

Take a look...

Eyes

I'm really happy with how this turned out, and it wasn't difficult (though it took a few extra products to achieve). I didn't want the look to be too frosty or shimmery, so started with soft shades and added a few glimmers of... well, glimmer.

1. Prep eye with primer of choice.
   I used MAC Painterly Paint Pot.
2. Press a matte or nearly-matte midtone brown from the lid up to just about the crease.
   Brush suggestion: use a flat eyeshadow brush to press or pat the color onto the lid.
   Product suggestions: I used a mixture of MAC's Patina and Soba. Soba is a golden-brown, while Patina is a fairly unique taupe with a golden pearl (it also almost looks like there's a flash of pink in it at some angles). Patina is called a "frost" by MAC, but in my opinion it's not very shimmery; it has a gentle sheen. On a personal note, these are two of my very favorite browns in the world!
   

   *You don't have to mix colors, but it's always an option if you can't find the color your heart desires!
   To mix two shades, either pick up one color on your brush then the next, then apply to the eye (easy!) or pick the colors up and mix them a bit on the back of your hand before applying to the eye.

3. If necessary, take a fluffy brush and soften the edge of the color at the top.
4. Place a bit of a darker brown or bronze in the extreme outer corner of the lid and crease.
   Brush suggestion: I used a fluffy "blender" brush to apply it, because I didn't want it too dark; I just wanted to add dimension.
   Product suggestion: I used my other favorite brown in the world, MAC's Tempting (a shimmery bronze).
5. Put a splash of gold on the center of the lid to add more dimension and really catch the eye in a fairly subtle way!
   Brush suggestion: I used the flat brush mentioned in Step 1. Again, I used a pressing technique to apply the color.
   Product suggestion: I grabbed an LE MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow I have that has several colors in it, including a gold. The compact is called Odd Bits. Any gold frosty shade will do, though!
6. OPTIONAL Pull some of the brown under the lower lashline if desired using the colors and the brushes mentioned above. 
7. I lined the top lashline and with a golden-bronze metallic liner. The look is still pretty without this step.
   Product suggestion: I used Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes liner in 10L which they call "bronze" and I'd call "not-gaudy gold". Po-tay-to, pa-tah-to!
8. I used a black liner on the waterline, top and bottom. Again: optional.
   Brush Suggestion: Bobbi Brown's Eye Liner Brush is hands-down the best liner brush I've used.
   Product suggestion: I used Bobbi Brown's Longwear Gel Liner in Black Ink.
9. Finish the eye with either a matte shadow or concealer under the arch of the brow. This adds highlight.
   I love using concealer for this, since it brightens and lightens a bit without adding shimmer or high-contrast.
10. Fill-in brows.
    Go soft if you want to keep it lower-key, or really fill them in for a dramatic look!
11. Add mascara over primer.
    I put the primer only on the outer lashes, to give a bit more of a cat eye shape.
    Product suggestions: Primer - Urban Decay Lash Primer Potion. Mascara: Diorshow.
    

Lips

I love this lipstick with warm-eyed looks! Sometimes when I wear golds and bronzes they can look a bit over-the-top against my cool undertones. My trick is to use cheek and lip colors that have a base color that is "cool" with a gold fleck added. This cool base color is more flattering to my complexion, but the gold fleck or shimmer ties the warm colors in the eye makeup together for a cohesive look.

1. Prep lip with primer.
   Product suggestion: The best lipstick primer I use is non-drying, easy to use (no "drag"), and hols color pretty darn well. MAC's Prep + Prime Lip.
   My suggestion: I let the primer "set" for a few minutes, which really increases its ability to hold onto the lipstick!
2. Line lips and fill-in lips with a lip pencil.
   This really helps the color wear!
3. Use a brush to apply lipstick.
   Brush suggestion: I really feel like most lip brushes are the same. Take your pic! My favorite is a retractable Sephora brand brush.
   Product suggestion: This look is full of some of my favorite products! I used MAC "O". LOVE this lipstick! They describe it as purplish-red with golden pearl, I say "plum with gold frost".

Face

I wanted healthy-looking skin that wouldn't compete with the eyes and lips.

1. Prime face so makeup stays put.
   Product suggestion: I recommend MAC's Prep + Prime Face or Mehron's Velvet Finish Primer.
2. Conceal under-eye shadows.
   Product suggestion: I like Bobbi Brown's Corrector to negate shadows, topped with either skin-toned concealer or foundation. I used foundation.
   
3. Apply a "radiant" foundation.
   I used my fingers, but feel free to use a brush or Beauty Blender sponge.
   My foundation for this picture was Armani LSF.
4. Smile and place blush on apples of cheeks (the "fat" part).
   I used a MAC Tenderling (a sheer and matte soft-soft nearly-nude pink).
   Cheeks here are subtle - just enough to give skin some color and avoid death-like pallor.
5. Go back and use a concealer to hide any "imperfections" not covered by the foundation.

Holiday Makeup Look #1: green and silver eyes

Holiday Makeup Look #1:

Green and Silver eye makeup with a neutral lip
and then with a red lip.

 

I thought I'd do something nice and pretty for the holidays, and I wanted it to be something really wearable and straight-forward. If you can get past the plain-old pink t-shirt, I think you'll see I came up with a nice glowy look that's not OTT.

Eyes

Silver with a splash of green. Super easy to recreate!

1. Prime eye with the primer of your choice.
   (I like MAC Paint Pot in your skintone, or Urban Decay Primer Potion)
2. Dust a silver powder shadow onto the entire eye area, from lash up through the crease to the brow.
   Brush recommendation: I used a fluffy shadow blending brush to apply a sheer layer of silver. Using a flat shadow brush or shadow applicator would put on too opaque of a coat and it would look too cartoony.
   I used Bobbi Brown's Silver Chrome shadow.
   If your skin isn't one that works well with silver, try a champagne color - that works well, too!
3. Darken the silver on the inner portion of the lid (close to the tear duct), with the same shadow.
   Brush recommendation: Use a flat shadow brush for this.
   Press the shadow on - don't sweep! It places a more concentrated area of color.
4. Press a medium green shadow onto the outer half of the lid.
   Brush recommendation: Use the flat shadow brush.
   You can use either matte or frost for this.
   I suggest using cool-toned or neutral greens rather than olives or yellow-greens, since the silver base is "cool-toned".
   I wipe off my brush to "clear" the silver off of it first.
   I used a color from Yaby.
5. If desired, darken the outer third of the lid with a slightly darker green shadow.
   Brush recommendation: Use the flat shadow brush.
   This adds dimension.
   I suggest using cool-toned or neutral greens rather than olives or yellow-greens, since the silver base is "cool-toned".
   Again, a Yaby shadow.
6. Apply a green liner across the top lid.
   I used a LE MAC Pencil, Jealous Kohl Power, but you could use the dark green shadow applied with a wet brush if you don't have a green pencil!
7. Apply mascara to top and bottom lashes (use a mascara primer first for maximum impact).
8. Fill in brows if necessary.
   
   

 
 

Face

The aim is glowing but not glittery!

1. Prime face so makeup stays put.
   I recommend MAC's Prep + Prime Face or Mehron's Velvet Finish Primer.
2. Conceal under-eye shadows.
3. Apply a "radiant" foundation.
   I used my fingers, but feel free to use a brush or Beauty Blender sponge.
   My foundation for this picture was Armani LSF.
4. Smile and place blush on apples of cheeks (the "fat" part).
   I used an LE MAC Mineralize Skinfinish.
   Cheeks should be enough color to look healthy, but not enough to compete with the eyes, which should be the focus.
   If you use silver on the eye, stick with cool-tone blushes like blue-pinks, rose, plum and the like.
5. Go back and use a concealer to hide any "imperfections" not covered by the foundation.

Lips

I did two looks - one with a more neutral lip, and then with a bit more bright of a lip.

Neutral:

1. Use your favorite neutral or cool-toned lipstick or gloss. It's as simple as that!
   Here, I used MAC's Plum pencil and smudged it, then topped it with MAC's LE Dazzleglass Vie Veneto (a cool-toned, sparkly, translucent gloss).

Red or Berry:

1. Grab a berry gloss or a sheer red gloss and slick it on.
   I suggest a gloss here, because I still feel the eye should be the focus if one wants to keep the entire look fairly toned-down. A gloss will be less intense than a full-on lipstick (though if you have a sheer lipstick then that counts, too!).
   Again, stick with cool tones here, to make a cohesive look.
   I used a Chanel Glossimer from a few years ago (I can't read the name, so I don't know what it was); it's a sheer, slightly glimmery red.

Here's the difference with the more neutral lip vs. the "brighter" lip:

Notice how different the looks are with just a change in the lips (and the sun came out from behind some clouds for the second shot!).

What a witch.

Felt witchy today, so I naturally acted out!

The above is photoshopped, because I wanted to see if I could do it. :) I'm teaching myself photoshop, so I changed the skintone (obviously!).

I wanted to play with an "easy" witch look that fell somewhere between "just" green eye makeup and a full-on green look with fake nose, etc. Those things are great, but I wanted to do an informal series of makeup for Halloween that shows you can fairly easily sketch in an idea with products you already have at home (or can pick up without hassle--- and cheaply!).

This is what I came up with, but of course as soon as I 'shopped the green in I wish I had gone all of the way with the makeup!

Here's what it looks like without the green filter:

So, with an eye to proving it can be done cheaply with what you have at home or with one a few additions, I won't be saying which products I used (except one cool one).

Face: Witches can have so many different looks, but I wanted a bit of that Evil Queen Witch look with fair skin and red lips, so I started by whiting down the face. You could use a shimmer cream, a foundation lighter than your own, or mix a light luminizer with your own. I used Face atelier's Zero Minus all over the face, then loaded on some too-light mineral powder I happened to have tossed in a drawer after realizing it wasn't my shade. I used a burgundy blush for a bit of color - the shade matches one of the colors I put on my lips, so they all tie together. Cohesion really helps a look appear more "done".

Contouring: I wanted to change the shape of my face a bit, but didn't want to apply prosthetics or glue over my brows or any of that nonsense (which is super cool, but not the point of this particular look!). I took a taupe-beige eyeshadow and used it for most of my reshaping. I contoured the cheeks heavily using an angled shader brush. The shape and application was much more dramatic than my usual contouring - I used a steeper pitch from temple to just below the pupil around the area of the tip of the nose. I also shaded the outer portion of my cheekbone, which usually curves outward - I wanted to blunt that shape and make it look like I had a longer, thinner face --- you know: "witchy", whatever that means. I also shaded the outer "corner" of the jawline for the same reason. I took a fluffy shader brush for eye makeup and used the same contour color along the sides of my nose to make it look longer, and then pushed up the tip of my chin a bit, too. I took a firmer brush and dusted in a bit of a chin cleft, just for grins. :)

Eyes: I wanted a strong green look, so I put a green cream shadow on first to help intensify the shades I put on top (optional). I used only two green shadows here - both from Yaby. Eyes could be more elaborate or less, depending on what you want, of course. I just wanted simple. A brighter "grass green" went from lashline all of the way up to the brow. A darker green was placed in the inside of the nose and up to the brows, then blended into the other green, to help add to the elongation of the nose and the plunge of the brows. Speaking of brows, I took a small angled liner brush, spritzed it with water (or you could dab it into a wet tissue) and tappped it into some matte black shadow. First I traced my own brows, then exaggerated their shape with a stiffer arch, then pulled the inner corner in and down to look a tad evil (I hope). Black liner went across the top lid and got smudged along the bottom lashes, too. I used a black pencil on the waterline, but the angled brush and wet black shadow works great for that, too! I tossed on some false lashes (they're cheapie Ardells from Sally Beauty), too, but a few passes with a lengthening liner would work, too.

Lips: Super basic. Could have done green, but was feeling an easy red today! I used a lip brush to place a bright red lipstick on the entire lip, then took a burgundy lip liner and darkened the corners and bottom of the lower lip. Then a black sparkly gloss went on top, but a red or clear would have been cool, too. By the way, I did overdraw the lips a bit, trying to get a more shapely look. I exaggerated and curved the top lip and pulled the bottom lip down a bit in the center, too. That's not necessary, but fun if you're in the mood.

Summary:

Is this a terribly complex look? Not really. Is it the best witch makeup in the world? No.
But I did it in about 10 minutes, which means you can too.
Maybe next year I'll do "fancy" makeup tutorials on YouTube
but I will think it's important to do some attainable looks to show you that
YOU can do this, too!

Great sources for cheap makeup:
Look at Sally Beauty for little nail polishes, shadows, lipticks.
Check out the drugstores and Walmart to see what they have...
Dollar Stores actually have makeup a lot of the time.
If you ever have an opportunity to pick u one of those "blockbuster sets" somewhere
(Sephora, Ulta, Kohls, etc) they often have colors you might not use
except at times like this, but you get a ton and will have 'em forever!

 

Monday Musings | 10.5.09

Do you ever have a day where you just can't get your makeup together?

You know what I mean, don't you? Not a day where a specific product is stubborn and un-workable (those days suck, though). Not a day where you're just not in the mood to do your makeup (yes, even I have those). What I'm talking about are those days where you just can't get anything to work right! The days where you put it on, smudge it around, maybe even take it off and try again only to be dissatisfied at the end result. I can't be the only one who that happens to, can I? I even have those with clients from time to time, though I find them easier to work through than when it's my own makeup. I call these scenarios Bad Makeup Mojo.

Today I wanted to test some new products in a LOTD, but I just couldn't get anything to look right! It wasn't the fault of the products - I'm sure when I use them tomorrow they'll work fine. (I hope my mojo is back tomorrow, man!) I also wanted to try a new technique for my eye makeup, but that just wouldn't pull together. I was in the mood to do my makeup... I just couldn't get anything to work the way I planned. I wiped down my eyes partially twice before finally taking it all off and starting again. And by the way, I still wasn't happy with the final result!

BAD MAKEUP MOJO. If this persists, I'm going to burn sage around my vanity and stash...

Do you ever have a Bad Makeup Mojo Day?

     

 

Find more Monday Musings here. 

Don't miss a thing! Subscribe by by reader or through email today!

MAC's Style Black collection: Mineralize Eyeshadow, Cinderfella, in use! Look #3

Quick summary: I'm using a MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow every day this week (except Sunday and Monday, because I didn't think of it 'til Tuesday). I want to show how versatile it is. The shadow is black with silver veining; it can be used wet or dry, alone or layered over something. You can see Look #1 (unnamed) here, and Look #2 ("Halloween Cinders") here.

I'm not naming this look. That's stupid. If I did name it, I'd call it something like "Bumble Bee"... but that would be dumb, so I'm not going to do it.

Let's get started.

Or I'd name it "The Hornet". That would be ridiculous. Just skip it. Forget about the naming thing!

Moving on. Here's the shadow in question: Cinderfella:

 

CINDERFELLA LOOK #3

For whatever reason, I decided last night that I needed to do a black and yellow eye today. I don't look great in yellow, but since it sounded like a good idea as I was falling asleep... I guess I just accepted it as "a challenge" when I woke up. :)

I prepped the eye with this pencil thingy I have from Shu Uemura. It's creamy-style shadows in a pencil, and there were three stacked together like shown to the right. ---->
I used the yellow one all over the lid and through the crease to halfway to the brow. I used the white pencil above that, all of the way up to the brow. The yellow also was drawn around the tear duct area and a bit under the lower lashline. I smudged with my finger to get it nice and smooth - it's an excellent base!

MAC's Chrome Yellow shadow is matte, and thus a little hard to use. A flat brush picks the color up great, and pressing onto the eye is the best technique to get the color to adhere well (evenly, smoothly). I applied Chrome Yellow to the entire lid and through and above the crease a bit - over the yellow base.

Rose Blanc, by MAC, went from just above the crease to slightly under the brow, on top of the base and Chrome Yellow. I used a fluffy brush to blend.

I took a flat brush (dry) and pressed Cinderfella over the lid. The result allowed the yellow to show through, giving a neat transparent look to the Cinderfella. Nifty!

MAC's Carbon went into the crease and extreme outer corner of the lid and was also pulled down under the lower lashline. MAC's Rite of Spring was applied over the top of the yellow and up under the brow as a highlight. This was blended well, so it was as seamless as possible. 

Diorshow mascara topped it off.

 

 

The rest of the look:

Face: Armani LSF
with Beauty Blender sponge that I wet with MAC's Fix +.

Cheeks: Nothing with a touch of nada

 Lips: MAC Pas a Deux Lipglass topped with MAC's Vie de Veneto Dazzleglass

Brows: MAC's Auburn Brow Shader (discontinued because MAC hates me)

Rose Blanc - soft, pale butter yellow frost

Chrome Yellow - bang-on intense yellow matte

Carbon - black matte

Rite of Spring - the best shadow EVER! Palest yellow with a pink duochrome

Wait! I know! I could always come up with a name that brought to mind The Steelers, but I'm not really a fan... ARGH! This naming thing is driving me nuts.

MAC's Style Black collection: Mineralize Eyeshadow, Cinderfella, in use! Look #2

Day 2 working with MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow Cinderfella, trying to prove these shadows are versatile and easy to use. I actually named this look because I'm a dork. This is "Halloween Cinders".  (That cracks me up, naming my looks! How pretentious!)

See Look 1 here. Now, for Halloween Cinders... (lol)

CINDERFELLA LOOK 2

I love orange. Love it! Guess I was in the Halloween mood when I thought this one up. I used no shadow primer today (what?! no, really!). MAC's coral shadow, Pollinator, was pressed on to the lid and upward, to just above the crease. I patted Cinderfella into the outer portion of the crease and lid with a brush I dampened with water, and pulled the color down under the lower lashline, too. I took a fluffy brush and blended MAC's Coppering into the crease, using a windshield-wiper motion to combine the orange and black. For more definition, I pressed some more Cinderfella onto the outer 1/3 of the lid and crease with a dry brush.To really build the colors, MAC's Firespot was applied to the inner 1/3 of the lid and the inner 3/4 of the lower lashline. Coppering was tapped into the center of the lid, and I gently tapped the lid with a compact, flat brush to blend the colors so no harsh edges remained (but all colors were still distinct). I pressed a small amount of MAC's Motif into the tearduct area. Under-brow highlight is skin-toned concealer; mascara is Diorshow.

The rest of the look:

Face: MAC Full Coverage Foundation in NC15 applied
with Beauty Blender sponge that I wet with MAC's Fix +.

Cheeks: MAC Springsheen powder blush applied with MAC 188 brush

 Lips: MAC Mellow Flame Lipstick topped with MAC Oh Baby Lipglass

Brows: they're nekkid!

1. MAC Firespot (bright orange frost)
2. MAC Coppering (burnt copper)
3. Cinderfella (black w/ silver frost)
4. Coppering
5. Also used: MAC Motif in tear duct area (soft yellow-peach with pink duochrome)