More Looks

There are several problems with this eye.  I won't go into it, though.  I give myself points for brightness, fun, and perseverance!!  I really had to persevere with that awful matte blue (I think it's called Chaos).  The eyeshadows used here are from the Urban Decay Vice palette.  The blue liquid liner is a Milani pen that was limited edition about six months ago, give or take.

I know the foundation looks really dark, above, especially when compared to my day-glow white neck.  I assure you that in person, it looked quite fine.  I have this trouble a lot where my foundation looks natural and lovely in real life, but not so good in pictures.  I hope you'll forgive me.

Here I am wearing colors from Stila's holiday Luxe eyeshadow palette!  I really like it!  I'm also wearing Illamasqua Morale blush and Buxom Starr gloss (so much prettier in person).  The liquid liner is the burgundy color from Make Up For Ever Aqua.

I'm still getting used to my fun new brow things (Anastasia brow powder duo in Ash Blonde/Taupe, used here, and also Hourglass Soft Brunette pencil).  I wish my brow didn't look so scraggledy below, but I'm really happy with the powder color.  I just used the lighter side of the duo only.

Next look!  I'm playing with a new Lorac mint eyeshadow palette from Ulta (mint shadow smudged into Korres white/green soft liner on lowers).  I also tried my Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Orchid on the lid/crease.  The liner is YSL black cream, which wore like a rockstar, I'm happy to say.

I'm not all the way content with this liner shape, but I'm proud of myself for going outside my comfort zone.  I've decided that I want to do more winged liner and just deal with the dread and discomfort of it until I've mastered it and it's no big deal anymore.  Or something like that.  :)

I used the Hourglass brow pencil here.  Also, I'm wearing MAC Full of Joy blush and YSL Glossy Stain #17.

Last is another Spring-ish sort of look that I wore yesterday.  I wanted to try the Caviar Stick in Seashell.  It's an odd kind of pastel yellow gold color that I was worried wouldn't look so good on me.  I think I've gotten over that worry now.  I really like how brightening it is!

The blue liner on the upper lash line is Tarina Tarantino Glamorous Thief.  The lower is a combination of Korres soft pencil in 3 smudged with Sephora Outrageous Lilac Prisma Chrome eyeshadow.  I'm using the Anastasia brow powder here with Perfekt clear gel over top (not sure how I feel about the gel yet).

The Caviar Sticks feel kind of sticky and strange to me when I don't use powder shadows over top of them.  They wear very well, though, so I don't mind all that much.  My blush here is Tarte Amazonian Clay Dollface and my lipstick is by Terry Grenadine Diablotine, blotted.

Oh!  And it simply must be noted that I'm also wearing my Guerlain Meteorites Perles du Paradis in this last face.  <3

Let me know if you have questions about anything and I'll do my best to answer.  I hope you enjoyed the different looks!

Narcotic Rouge

Face:

Smashbox Dark Spot Correcting Photo Finish Primer

Stila Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 Fair

Illamasqua concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Korres WR Mineral Setting Powder

Guerlain Meteorites Perles du Paradis

Cheeks:

Vincent Longo Dew Drop blush Temple Peach

Sephora Prisma Chrome e/s Moonbeam (pink version)

Eyes:

Nars eye primer

Sephora new Prisma Chrome Outrageous Metallic Lilac 

Sephora Prisma Chrome Moonbeam (pink version)

Stila Smudge Stick Triggerfish

Stila Stay All Day black liner pen

Stila Smudge Stick Silver Dollar

Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Benefit They're Real

Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)

Lips:

Stila Long Wear lip liner Passionate

Tom Ford Narcotic Rouge

So, I absolutely love Narcotic Rouge!  It wore extremely well and while my lips were somewhat dry, especially toward the end of the day, it was completely tolerable.  The color is most accurate in the last picture - a vivid, bright, and rich red with a hint of cherry coolness.

I also seriously love the Sephora Prisma Chrome Outrageous Metallic Lilac eyeshadow.  It's duochrome and shimmery, so those two elements alone had me from the get-go!  The color, pigmentation, wear, and ease of blending were all noteworthy, as well.  I have plans to try it over a black base for a more dramatic look.

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Gilded Bronze

Face:
Armani Fluid Master Primer
Becca Radiant Skin foundation Porcelain mixed with Illamasqua Skin Base 2
Illamasqua concealer 115
Smashbox under eye primer
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
Guerlain Meteorites du Dragon

Cheeks:
Guerlain Terracotta Light Blondes 01
Illamasqua Lover
Nars Hungry Heart (gold side)

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
Belmacz Blitz (lid blended into crease)
RBR Bejewelled Skylark e/s (crease)
Makeup Geek Corrupt e/s (outer corner)
Sephora Moonshadow In the Night palette (gold on lid and lighter gold on inner crease)
MUFE 2L e/l (outer corner lowers)
MUFE 10L e/l (main portion of lowers)
Stila Sandstone e/s (smudged into 2L on lowers)
Stila Gilded Gold e/s (smudged into 10L on lowers)
Stila Champagne e/s (inner corner)
Too Faced In the Buff e/s (brow bone)
Stila Damsel Smudge Stick e/l (smudged into upper lash line)
Stila Stay All Day black pen e/l (tight line)
GA ETK black waterproof e/l pencil (waterline) <3
Illamasqua Liquid Metal Solstice (inner lowers)
Tarte taupe brow pencil
Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara (lowers)

Lips:
MAC Ruffian Gold lipstick


Okay.  I really struggled with the shape of the eyeshadow on this one.  I'm not sure I got it to where I wanted it (I actually tweaked it immediately after taking the pictures, too), but I was happy enough to stop obsessing!  I have a droopy crease on my left eye, coupled with an oddly high brow arch on my right eye, which is double trouble, if you ask me.  In any case, it's just makeup.  I tell myself that.  :)  It's not supposed to be perfect (and neither is my face).

I love how these colors make my eyes look super blue.

All in all, it was a great makeup day.  Everything wore exceptionally well on me, I am pleased to say.  The lipstick was probably the most finicky bit, but not in a major or truly annoying way.  I just had to check ever so often to make sure that the gold shimmer bits weren't wearing unevenly or bunching up in funny spots.

I realize that I used an absurd amount of things on my eyes.  Some days I just get lost in doing it and keep finding things I want to add in.  So I do.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions or comments.  :)

Dragon Ballz

With this face, I got to try out a few things I bought over the weekend:  Guerlain Meteorites Perles du Dragon and Givenchy Bucolic Poppy blush!  I'm very pleased with both.

A few nit-picky things about the Dragon ballz...  In all of the promo pictures, the ballz are clearly overflowing out of the container.  Also, in the promo pics, the ballz have a really hefty amount of purple, pink, and peach (as compared to, say, white).  For the record and the sake of reality, I am here to tell you that if you buy these ballz, they will not come overflowing out of your container.  In fact, when you open the container you might be looking around for missing ballz - ballz you believe are missing because you've been trained by marketing tactics to believe you will be getting twice the amount of ballz than you actually get.  And, for the record, the vast majority of your ballz will be white.  I literally only have like one or two pinky red ballz.  If you don't believe me, google "Perles du Dragon" and see the differences in images for yourself.

I love the iridescence of MUFE Star Powder!  How deliciously pretty is the pinky-gold shift?  Also, if you dislike creasy eye products, feel free to skip NYX Glam Shadow Sticks.  I used a pretty sparkly gold on my lid, under the Star Powder, and it began creasing within about 30 minutes (over primer, of course).  I guess I'll be saving it for use on the lower lash line only - or maybe as a more robust brow bone highlight.

Bucolic Poppy blush is more pink than I expected, just from gazing lovingly at it in the pan.  I'm not sad for that, though.  I absolutely relish a good pink blush.  This is no exception.  I'm actually super happy to have it because I had somehow convinced myself that it was limited edition and long gone - that I would never ever try or own it.  Hmmm.  Apparently it is LE and I am lucky to have stumbled upon it (just did a quick internet search)!  Whaddayaknow?!

Face:
Benefit The Porefessional (a couple of dots near the center of my face)
Amore Pacific Moisture Bound Tinted Treatment Moisturizer SPF 15 102 - Fair
BareMinerals A Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Korres Quercetin & Oak concealer Fair
Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder
Guerlain Meteorites Perles du Dragon (all over, except nose)

Cheeks:
Givenchy Bucolic Poppy <3
Tarte AC Stellar

Eyes:
Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
NYX Glam Shadow Stick 24 Karat (lid)
MUFE Star Powder 940 (all over - lash line to brow bone)
Tarina Tarantino Electric Butterfly e/s (crease)
UD Half Baked e/s (outer corner of lid)
UD Lucky e/l pencil (lower lash line)
MAC Pure Show Superslick liquid liner (upper lash line)
Stila Stay All Day black pen liner (tightline)
Givenchy Noir Couture
Givenchy Phenomeneyes Gold Sparkle
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil

Lips:
Nars Indian Red lip stain


I expected Indian Red to be more warm toned.  It's quite a classic red, perhaps only the tiniest bit warm.  Initially, it feels undetectable and weightless on the lips.  After about 30 minutes on, it begins to feel a little bit dry and papery.  I cannot speak to wear time because I actually took it off after about 40 minutes.  I just wasn't loving how it looked with the eyes and the blush in real life.

Good news, I think!  I may have found a dupe for Tom Ford's Black Orchid lipstick.  I had to return mine because, so so sadly, it had turned bad (smelled and tasted icky).  They didn't have a suitable replacement, either (Cosmetics Company Outlet).  Last night, I tried on Rouge D'Armani 609 and it was instant love.  Obviously, I don't have Black Orchid anymore to compare it to directly, but my initial thoughts are that it is gosh darn close.  What do you think?  Have you looked at, worn, or played with both?  The Armani also feels quite fantastic and buttery on the lips.

Oh, and despite my prior rant about discrepancies in the Perles Du Dragon, I love how they look on my face.  The high white ball count lends itself to a lovely, almost ethereal glow on my skin.  Bravo!

Thanks for stopping by and listening to my ramblings.  Or maybe you just looked at pictures.  Either, way, I appreciate it!  :)

Quick Looks

Somehow I left myself with very little time to do my makeup the last few days.  What gets sacrificed, you ask?  The eyes, of course.  I used GA ETKI #8 as a wash, YSL's waterproof eyeliner pencil in 3 Ultramarine, lightly smudged, Illamasqua Vow on the waterline, Stila Stay All Day black liner pen for tightline, and Givenchy Noir Couture mascara.

On my face I am wearing Smashbox dark spot correcting primer (which smells a little strange after I've massaged it in), Amazing Cosmetics Velvet Mineral Pressed Powder, Illamasqua Hussy blusher,  Guerlain Meteorites Perles D'Or, and the BareMinerals Stroke of Light brightener under my eyes.  The lip color is Tarte's Luster in Obsession.

The next look is a little more amped up with the eyes, but not by much.  I used more mascara and shadow smudged into liner for a very quick smoky liner effect.

I'm wearing Tarte's lip Tint in Lust, which is one of my favorite reds ever because it's easy, quick, long lasting, low maintenance, and comfortable.  My pictures here make it look slightly pink but I assure you that in person it is a warmer, true red when layered to intensify (yes, I've layered it here but it just looks a little dull and cool).

On my eyes I am wearing GA ETKI 18 as a wash, Stila Lionfish Smudge Stick with RBR Abyssinian Catbird smudged into the uppers and UD Baked eyeliner pencil on the lowers (again, with Abyssinian Catbird smudged into it).  I've used Stila Stay All day black liner pen for tightlining, Fiberwig D.J.V. Beautenizer Volume Lash mascara with Korres Volcanic over top on the uppers lashes, and Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof mascara on my lower lashes.  The mascara looked a little chunky, but seen from a reasonable distance gave me quite a nice dramatic look!

On my face I wore the Amore Pacific Tinted Moisturizer, which I continue to enjoy.  It's so smooth!  Also, my skin is very clear right now, so I have to wonder if I should give it that credit.  I finished with Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder, blushed with Stila's Custom Color Coral blush, and do believe I went for a dusting of the Guerlain Meteorites in Perles D'Or yet again.

I apologize that the last picture is so blurry, but I was smiling, so I decided to include it.  :)

I've obviously not listed every single detail of my makeup for either of these looks, so please feel free to ask about anything you see or wonder about that I've not mentioned.  Otherwise, I'll assume that you are happy just to breeze on by and see what I've been up to makeup-wise the last few days.  I'm hoping to get back to some more dramatic eye looks very soon.