Red for Days!

If you'll forgive my hair, I think this look turned out really awesome!  I wanted to do dark eyes and dark lips.  It was the perfect opportunity to break out my newly beloved MUFE 48 lipstick.  48 is possibly my favorite vamp ever!

Sadly, it was very overcast outside, so all the sparklies on my eyes refused to shine.  Mirifique has soft rainbowy multi-colored sparkles and Berber has beautiful gold sparkles.  Oh!  And MUFE 307 e/s has tiny rainbow glitters, too!

Next up are some bloopers.  That's right, folks.  You heard me right.  I make silly faces.  Mostly on accident while trying to make really cool faces (or while attempting to smile in a natural looking manner).

This is maniac smiley face.

This is "oh no you di'in't" or alternately, the face of indigestion.

This is smoochy eyes to the sky face.

And lastly we have squinty-eyed smoochy pirate.

Face:
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat BR20 <3
Illamasqua concealer 115 (spots)
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder <3

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Tarte AC Stellar
Nars Hungry Heart

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Mirifique (base/lowers)
Illamasqua Pigment Berber pigment (everywhere you see red)
Make Up For Ever Diamond e/s 307 (outer corner and smudged into lash lines)
Face Atelier White Gold pigment (inner corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Posh (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
YSL black cream liner (waterline)
Sephora + Pantone e/l pencil Meteorite (upper lash line under 307 e/s)
Sephora Outrageous Volume mascara
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)
Tarte taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Make Up For Ever Rouge Artist Intense 48

I'm still loving the Touche Eclat foundation.  Also, the formula on the lipstick is pretty great, too!  I definitely think I want to do more red eyes with red lips in the future.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you enjoyed the silliness.  :)

Darkness in My Eyes

Here's a relatively quick yet dramarama look I did the other day using the new Shu Uemura Karl for Shu Smoky Velvet palette.  I got Smoky Velvet, Prestigious Bordeaux, and Chocolate & Pistachio during the crazy good sale last week.  I couldn't resist!  They all seem super nice.

I started with Stila's Smudge Crayon in black as a base on my lids and lower lash lines.  I smudged them best I could using my finger - that sucker does not want to move!  I looked quite hilarious until I put the powder shadow on top.  That's the beauty of a smoky eye, though - it never has to be perfect.  Admittedly, I do try and perfect it toward the end of the process.

The shimmery green you see above the crease is the deep khaki in the palette.  I do believe it's a cream!  They call it and the glitter black "silky smooth" eyeshadow.  If they are not creams, they are hybrids like many of the colors in the Dior 5-Colour Designer palettes.  The elegant light silver I used in the inner corner is sparkletastic rainbowy heaven.  It's even more reflective and amazing in person!

Face:
Miracle Skin Transformer Light
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation Porcelain
Illamasqua Concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Becca Gypsy blush

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Stila Smudge Crayon Black (base)
Shu Uemura Smoky Velvet palette (charcoal, white, and shimmery green)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES wp liner Emerald (waterline)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Chic (brow bone)
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes wp mascara (lowers)
Anastasia Go Brow pencil

Lips:
Lorac Couture Shine Trendsetter


This is a really heavy eye look for me and I still feel a tiny bit self-conscious when wearing ones like this.  I'm gaining confidence, though.  Several people complimented me on it, which was really sweet.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions.

RBR Smoked

I'm back into my comfort zone now with smokier eye looks.  :)  I had missed them!  This was done with various gray tones from Rouge Bunny Rouge - arguably the best (or perhaps just my favorite) eyeshadow out there!  I wish I had remembered to use Volcano Fairy-Wren, too, but that's okay.

The Essence Twi-hard glitter liner is super subtle, but I actually like it!  It just adds a tiny bit of shimmery interest.  Never met a glitter I didn't like.

This is the first time wearing YSL Touche Eclat foundation in at least several weeks.  I had tested out a sample previously and decided that I very much liked it.  I still do!  It just makes me look better.  That's what we all want in foundation, right?  It smells nice, goes on easily, has a beautiful softly glowing finish, and lasts all day.  I finished with Cover FX powder for a little extra coverage since I applied very little liquid foundation.  Too bad Cover FX recently changed all their powder colors and my color no longer exists.  :(

Face:
Benefit The Porefessional
YSL Le Teint Touche Eclat Foundation BR20
Cover FX powder compact (old) E0
Make Up For Ever Lift Concealer 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder (under eye)
Illamasqua concealer 115

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Addiction Amazing powder blush
Sephora Prisma Chrome e/s Moonbeam (pink version)

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Sephora + Pantone Meteorite black pencil e/l
RBR Trumpeter Koel e/s (smudged into liner)
RBR Electrifying Storm-Petrel e/s (lid)
RBR Vivacious Maguari e/s (crease)
MUFE 307 e/s (outer corner)
Dior 5-Colour Designer palette Smoky Design (white and silvers used to highlight)
Essence Twilight Breaking Dawn part 2 glitter eyeliner Alice Had a Vision - Again (upper lash line)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
GA ETK black wp e/l pencil (waterline)
Laura Mercier brow pencil Fair Blonde (too yellow!)
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes! topped with
Lancome Hypnose Drama sparkly silver top coat mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes wp mascara (lowers)

Lips:
Illamasqua Sheer Gloss Intimacy


Let me know what you think and watch out for more smoky looks to come!

End of the Line

If you are wondering why the cheesy title for this post, it's because I am not intending to do any more winged or graphic liner looks for a little while!  I need a break.  Let's call this the culmination of a somewhat stressful week of special liner looks.  Yeah, I know - I'm being a big baby.  :)

I really love how the close up picture below turned out.  Except for the angry red bit near the base of my inner brow (you probably didn't notice it until now anyway, huh?), it's all looking much cooler than I could have hoped for!  Yeah, I know the random dot is not perfectly round, but it was the best I could do with my smushed-tipped Stila felt pen (smushed from me using it for tight lining every day).

My blush looked really strong in real life, but photographed rather nicely.  Pardon my brows, please and thank you!  I need to trim them and I've also been playing with a different brow pencil.

I'm including the close up of my left eye for learning purposes.  It amazes me how much I learn every time I try winged liner and then carefully examine the close ups afterward!  The shape was a little too wide at the outer end of my lid, up top as it swooped into the wing portion.  Oops.  The crazy thing about that is that I truly believe my left eye wing turns out better when I'm doing it, but inevitably find out differently when editing my pictures!  I've also clearly missed a bit or two on my tight lining here.

I'm smiling!  That's because it's before I went to work in retail on Black Friday.  I definitely can promise you that I was not smiling after seven hours of work.  A very, very long seven hours.  That kind of exhaustion is extra special and reserved only for that one stinking day of the year.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

Face:
Koh Gen Do Makeup Color Base Pearl White
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Under Eye Primer
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Illamasqua Concealer 115
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Nymph
Nars New Order

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
BareMinerals Well Rested click pen (inner corner/crease area)
LM Caviar Stick Sterling (base and inner corners)
LM Caviar Stick Turquoise (smudged into lowers)
UD Vice Palette -
Desperation e/s (crease)
Junkie (smudged into/over Turquoise Caviar Stick on lowers)
Occupy (outer corner)
Provocateur (center of lid)
Anonymous (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen
Armani ETK wp black liner pencil (waterline)
Anastasia Go Brow pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)

Lips:
YSL Glossy Stain 15

Hearts and love for the Glossy Stain.  It's such a perfect cheery shade of pink and it wore perfectly through a crazy and stressful day.

Thanks for stopping by and please feel free to comment or share any makeup related Black Friday stories.  :)

The Blue Line

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is the look I wore yesterday.  I apologize for the lack of great pictures.  It just didn't work out like I'd hoped.  The wing here isn't tremendously ambitious, but it did give me some anxiety!  I am totally not sure about the shape. Again, please feel free to help me out with any tips or constructive advice.  I'd love to learn and hope to keep improving.  :)

It is odd to me how my Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #1 eyeshadow (on the lid underneath Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Vision) is primarily gold, with just a tiny hint of blue, and the tester at my Sephora, where I bought it, is primarily blue with a hint of gold!  I'm kind of bummed, as much as I love gold.  I suppose that is the kicker of having multi-color mixed shadows.

Face:
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Foundation Porcelain
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Illamasqua Concealer 115
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Givenchy Bucolic Poppy
Nars Hungry Heart (pink side)

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
GA ETKI #1 Blast of Blue (lid)
Chanel Id'O Vision (over top of Blast of Blue) <3 - super sparkly love it so much
UD liquid liner Sabbath
UD liner pencil Binge
GA ETK waterproof black pencil (waterline)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
Anastasia Go Brow pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V Beautenizer Volume Lash
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)

Lips:
UD Lip Junkie Lip Gloss Jilted <3

I'm testing out a sample of the Korres mineral foundation and I think I like it!  The color seems about perfect and it wore nicely on me through the day.  It did get shiny on my nose after I'd had it on for a full day, but that's not a total deal breaker for me.

If you haven't tried the Urban Decay Lip Junkie glosses, I insist that you must.  They are among my favorites!  They stay on a decently long time, they are minty cool and fresh, they actually and I mean seriously actually plump up my lips over the long term, they hydrate, and they come in some pretty nice shades.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a safe and wonderful holiday!

Mullet Makes it Better

Well, don't I look bronzy or something?!  My friend at work asked me what I was wearing because she said, "You look tan.  You look good!"  It's just mineral powder because I was in a hurry!  I also have to laugh at the white glow around my hairline - which is decidedly from the Yes! to Blueberries SPF 30 moisturizer that has tons of zinc and/or titanium in it and looks like white paste going on.  It's nearly impossible to blend away and has obviously left it's mark on me.  It's not my favorite moisturizer by far and I think I'll be better to save it for days with higher humidity.

The latest Armani Lip Maestro is Ecstasy 504, which has nearly freaked out my camera.  It's a bold and almost neon fuchsia.  A colleague thought it looked sort of red, as well, but I'm going with fuchsia.  This one is true love!!  The formula and wear were fanfrickintastic!  It's odd, but the feel and wear of this one is much nicer than that of Dark Velvet 201.  Further experimentation is warranted.

I used my Bare Minerals The Star Treatment eyeshadow palette for this look, as well as various Urban Decay eyeliners.  Go Mullet, go, go, go Mullet!  That's the green glitter.

I tried a slightly different eyeshadow shape than normal.  I was not feeling well when I did my makeup, so I'm not sure what inspired that exactly - accident is the most likely cause.  What do you think?  Is it good on me?  I think I like it.

Face:
Armani Face Fabric primer
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Illamasqua Concealer 115 (spots)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder (under eye)
Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Pressed Powder Ultra Light
Guerlain Meteorites du Dragon

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Naked Rose
Nars Hungry Heart (pink side) - I wish you could actually see this twinkling under bright light!

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
BareMinerals The Star Treatment eyeshadow palette (three colors used - I can find out names if you need or want me to)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Urban Decay e/l pencil Mildew
Urban Decay glitter e/l Mullet!
Urban Decay e/l pencil Baked
Korres Volcanic mascara
Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Armani Lip Maestro Ecstasy 504 <3

Thanks for stopping by!

My Epic Wings

Alright.  I just had to title this post the way I did because these are my biggest wings to date!  Go me!  I have wing fears.  Wing issues.  I'm trying to work through them.

I used YSL's black cream liner and a small angled brush from Tarte (I probably got it in a QVC set).  The angle of the brush seemed to help do some work for me on the actual wing.  Nothing is perfect here, but I'm mostly happy with the way the liner turned out.

Please share all your winged liner tips with me!  I'm game to try anything that will help build my confidence.  Also, I never know what to do with my lower lash line.  Do I put liner on it as well?  And what kind?  Do I line the inner rims?  Obviously I lose all sense of direction when it comes to doing winged liner on myself.  I opted to just use a little shadow softly on the lower lash line and a brightening pencil on the rims.  I think I probably could have used more definition after all - maybe a pencil liner.

Face:
Armani Face Fabric primer
MUFE Lift 11
MUFE Lift concealer 1
Illamasqua Concealer 115
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:
Nars Sin
Sephora Prisma Chrome e/s Moonbeam (pink version)

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Tarina Tarantino e/s duo Moon Opal & Iris Plume
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Chic (brow bone)
YSL Eyeliner Effet Faux Cils 01 Black
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tight line)
Tarte Taupe Brow Pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash (this stuff is awesome, BTW)
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)
Tarina Tarantino e/l pencil Broken Doll (waterline)

Lips:
UD Ozone lip liner
Armani Lip Maestro 201 Dark Velvet

I have a few disappointments from this look.  Nars Sin blush did not wear well on me at all.  It faded noticeably through the day.  Also, the Dark Velvet lip color did not wear as good on me as the other Lip Maestros I've tried so far.  It faded on the fat part of my lower lip (the pillowy part in the middle, if that makes sense) after only a few hours.  It didn't look awful by any means, but not as gorgeous as the other colors.  It also felt much drier to me, if that's even possible.  I'm thinking maybe I was internally dehydrated, but I'm also wondering if the formula could vary due to pigment differences?!  I'm not sure, but it's worth noting.

Thanks for stopping by!

Gold Glitter Brows

I tried gold glitter brows with my Urban Decay Baked glitter eyeliner.  It was a huge hassle to paint it on using the tiny brush that it comes with.  I know I could remove the stopper, but I'm always reluctant to, for some unknown reason (I'm probably loathe to encrust a brush of mine with glitter gel).

The glitter looks chunky-not-so-lovely in these super close up pictures.  In the other pictures you can't really even tell it's there!  Perhaps a fail.  No harm done, though.  Can I just say how stunningly gorgeous L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in Gold Imperial is?!  That's the gold over my entire lid, that you see more on the inner half.  I absolutely love it.

I really like the Tarte "Emerald" skinny pencil liner, too, that I used on the lower lash line.  I wish I had smudged some shadow into it, though, to intensify and solidify the color.

Face:
Nars pore refining primer
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0
Illamasqua Concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
MUFE Super Matte Loose 12

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Hello Kitty Head of the Class black & white palette peachy blush

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
L'Oreal Infallible e/s Gold Imperial (all over)
Vincent Longo Pearl X e/s Etherea (crease and outer corner)
Lorac Baked Matte Satin e/s Posh (brow bone)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tight line)
Stila Smudge Stick e/l Lionfish (smudged into uppers)
Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES e/l Emerald (smudged into lowers)
UD Baked e/l pencil (waterline)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
UD Baked glitter e/l (brows)
Dior New Look black mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)

Lips:
Armani Lip Maestro 300 Flesh

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Armani Lip Maestro Swatches

I took some quick swatch pictures of my Armani Lip Maestros.  Awww...they look so happy together!

Dark Velvet is a vampy, deep, wine red.  I'm curious to see if it will look plummy on me (probably).  The Red is a classic, rich blue-based red.  Ecstasy is a smoking hot, nearly neon, fuchsia pink.  You've seen me wear Tibetan Orange here.  It's a striking, bold orange that leans red.  And Flesh is more of a medium intensity pumpkin orange.  I assume by "Flesh" they do mean pumpkin flesh...not any human flesh tone I've ever seen before!

Below you can see the result of my attempting to wipe them off with a dry tissue.  They leave a stain behind.  Even after washing and scrubbing my arm with soap and water, I'm left with about half the stains you see here.  Lasting power = great.

I plan to wear each of these new ones in upcoming FOTDs, so fear not!  More pictures will be on the way soon.

To recap what I've said about the formula, I think I am in love!  They have a forgiving, ever so slightly radiant matte finish.  They are cushy, soft and comfortable on.  I won't yet say that they are hydrating, but they seem to be minimally drying (which is my most favorable stance on nearly all supposedly long-wearing yet "hydrating" lip formulations).  They go on easily and stay on for a long time.  The eventual fading is relatively even and flattering.  Bleeding without liner appears to be very minimal so far.

If you have any of these I'll be curious to hear your thoughts and feelings.  Share!  :)

Black Karat

Oh look!  Another smoky golden eye.  It's quite similar to yesterday's in terms of concept, shape, and placement; however, much more shimmery and sparkly over all.

I used Laura Mercier's Baked eyeshadow single in Black Karat wet on the lid.  It's always fun applying metallic baked eye colors wet because they really sparkle and glisten like you would not believe!  I think they lose a bit of the intense sheen after they dry, though.  The effect is still more intense and metallic than if they are just used dry, though.

Black Karat is basically black with lots of gorgeous gold shimmer, which somehow ends up translating into olive.  What's up with that?!  Still love it.  I used my Sephora Moonshadow Baked Palette "In the Night" for the other shadow colors you see.  The gold liner on the inner lowers is MAC Pure Show liquid liner.

Here is a creepy close up of my lips, so you see the insane iridescent glitters!  I don't think Givenchy makes this one anymore.  It's called Pop Gloss Crystal Glitter Pink.  Or maybe Sephora just doesn't stock it anymore.  It smells super perfumey but feels great on.

Face:
Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15
Koh Gen Do Aqua PK-0 (applied with my Sephora I.T. brush!)
Illamasqua Concealer 115
Smashbox under eye primer
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder (under eye)
MUFE Super Matte Loose 12

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Tarte AC Frisky
Nars Hungry Heart (gold side)

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Laura Mercier Baked Eyeshadow Black Karat (wet on lid)
Sephora Moonshadow "In the Night" palette - Onyx in the crease, Black Gold smudged into lowers, Light Gold in the inner corner, White Gold for the brow bone, and Gold Metal in the inner corner/crease area
Urban Decay e/l pencil Uzi (lower lash line under Black Gold shadow and outer part of upper lids)
GA ETK black waterproof pencil e/l (tight line and waterline)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (upper lash line)
MAC Superslick liquid e/l Pure Show (inner lower lash line)
GA ETK Excess mascara
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Givenchy Pop Gloss Crystal Glitter Pink

Something feels off about this look and I can't quite put my finger on it.  Either the eyeshadow shape needs to be bigger and more dramatic or I need a bolder lip color.  Or I'm just used to doing things dramarama and have no clue what looks good anymore.  I did end up putting on an orange lip color at work and I think that maybe looked better (why yes, it was another Lip Maestro and why yes, I did buy it!).

Here are some pics of the Sephora Moonshadow palette for anyone who is curious.  I've been using it a lot lately and really enjoy it.

The swatches below aren't terribly impressive but as you can well see in my FOTDs, they are great shadows!  I particularly love "Onyx" for a soft matte black/gray in the crease and "Gold Metal" is just off the hook.  "Black Gold" sort of looks similar to LM Black Karat, but turns out to be more gray and a little less sparkly.

The dark brown blob off to the left is Sephora Glitter Eyeliner and Mascara in Chocolate Brown.

Thanks so much for stopping by!