Lots of Laura and a Little Dita

The above picture is just for funsies, to show how truly asymmetrical my eyes and brows are!

Tarte BB Tinted Treatment Primer Fair
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Nars Light Reflecting Powder Loose (under eye)
Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Powder Foundation #2

Dior Aurora 01 bronzer (I'm running dangerously low on this much loved staple!)
Shu Uemura Glow On Blush Soft Pink 324
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Highlight 01

Wet 'N Wild Fergie Eye primer
Laura Mercier Artist's Palette -
Sparkling Dew (brow bone)
Vanilla Nuts (inner corner/crease)
Fresco (crease)
Guava (lid)
Too Faced Midnight e/s from Matte palette (cut crease with angled liner brush)
Laura Mercier black cake liner
Enter Pronoun black liner pen over top of cake liner
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (for tight line)
Laura Mercier Twilight Caviar Stick (lowers)
UD Midnight Cowboy e/l pencil (inner lowers)
Hourglass Arch Soft Brunette (for tails)
Anastasia Brow Powder Duo Ash Blonde/Taupe (lighter side)
Make Up For Ever Smoky Extravagant <3
Blinc Kiss Me Amplified (lowers)

Artdeco Dita Von Teese No. 637 lipstick


I'm trying to conquer the winged liner.  Lately I've been lightly sketching out the trajectory of just my end wing portion using a little brush and some powder eyeshadow prior to applying the liner.  That seems to be helping me a lot!  I still have so much room to improve, though.  Today I tried using a cake liner and a small traditional pointy liner brush.  It went well enough, but I struggled to keep the line smooth across the center of my lid.  Also, I worried that the cake liner mixed with water would not last all day for me, which is why I topped it with a pen liner.  I'm assuming not all cake liners are created equal.  And that some just might need to be mixed with a sealing gel for maximum longevity and smear prevention!  Also, I'm really just working out what my favorite type of liner is going to be for the iconic black winged liner look.  I tried Bobbi Brown's gel liner the other day but was definitely not wow-ed.

The cut crease is a new-to-me look.  I don't hate it, but I feel awkward in it.  I am not certain that it's suited to my eye shape.  I plan on tweaking it to see if I can come up with a more flattering version!  I've decided that I like using just a powder shadow with an angled liner brush instead of pencil liner first with shaded shadow over top.  I would maybe go with a pencil, though, for a really dramatic one.  I just find it tough to blend out the pencil nicely.

That was a lot of rambling and obsessing from me.  The only other thing I'm going to say about this is that 1) I think I love the Laura Mercier Smooth Finish Powder Foundation 2) I was really hot and flushed in these pictures and 3) I prefer looks that require less geometry and need for precision/perfection!

Dana, thank you SO very much for the goodies that you sent me!!  <3

Mauvewood in Action

Face:
Dr. Jart + Renewalist BB Beauty Balm
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Nars Light Reflecting Loose Powder

Cheeks:
Dior Aurora 01
Illamasqua Katie
Laura Mercier Baked Matte Radiance Highlight 01

Eyes:
WnW Fergie eye primer
Tarte SmolderEYES chubby pencil Silver Black (lid base)
Shu Uemura Prestigious Bordeaux palette
- dark purple on the lid, blended into crease
- lavender on the inner crease
- beigey tan as transition
- coppery brown smudged into lowers
- sparkly gold on inner lowers
UD Smog e/l pencil on lowers, under shadow
Stila Smudge Stick Damsel (waterline)
Stila black liner pen (tightline)
Hourglass Arch Soft Brunette
Perfekt clear brow gel
PTR Lashes to Die For mascara (base)
Guerlain Maxi Lash
CG Clump Crusher water resistant (lowers)

Lips:
Sephora + Pantone Astral Lip Glaze "Mauvewood"


I love this!  I'm only grumpy with myself for not seeing that my inner crease on my left eye was badly in need of blending/toning down.  Well, to be fair, I did see it as soon as I was in my car on my way to work!  Something about that car mirror reveals all truths.

I wish the camera had better captured the really cool multi-colored shimmer of the purple shadow on my lids.  The silver glitter in the base is dominating where I feel in person it was much more delicate, dimensional, and just plain magic.  Yes, to me, pretty shiny sparkly = magic.

What do you think of Mauvewood?  Lovely, isn't it?

Eclipse Eagle

Face:
Nars Light Optimizing primer (under eye)
Tarte BB Tinted Treatment Primer Fair
Illamasqua Concealer 115 (spots)
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)
Nars Light Reflecting Powder Loose

Cheeks:
Too Faced Bronzed & Poreless bronzer
Illamasqua Hussy
Sephora Microsmooth Luminizer 01 Stardust

Eyes:
WnW Fergie eye primer
Inglot AMC Pure Pigment loose e/s #35 (lid into crease)
RBR Eclipse Eagle (crease)
RBR Snowy Egret (inner corner)
MUG Shimma Shimma (brow bone)
Lorac Posh e/s (transition)
RBR Volcano Fairy-Wren (outer corner)
UD Oil Slick e/l
UD Ether e/l (lowers)
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tightline)
Hourglass Arch Soft Brunette
PTR Lashes to Die For mascara (base)
Dior Iconic Overcurl 
CG Clump Crusher water resistant (lowers)

Lips:
Hourglass Aura Sheer Lip Stain Flush


There's just something about this that I can't put my finger on - I look feverish?  Maybe it's the blush.  In any case, I really like the eyes.  I think Eclipse Eagle is going to be a versatile taupe for me!  Gotta love a taupe that loves you back.

Peach Parfait

I'm still here!  Fear not.  :)  I just love Revlon's Lip Butter in Peach Parfait.  I'm wearing it here.  Yummy!  Other things I am wearing:  Tarte's Tinted Treatment BB Primer in Fair, Tarte's Amazonian Clay blush in Glisten (sadly looked a bit feverish in real life, but I think photographed very nicely), the Hourglass Soft Brunette brow pencil, and some eye stuff.  Mwahaha!

So, for the eyes...I mainly used Too Faced's The Return of Sexy palette.  I worked off the grouping to the far right, called "The Bombshell."  "Maneater" sandy taupe all over the lid and blended into the crease.  "7 Year Itch" shimmery white on the inner corner/crease area.  "Hollywood" medium gray in the outer "v" and "Beautymark" darker gray just a bit along the end of the upper lash line.  The green is Urban Decay's Graffiti pencil liner with Rouge Bunny Rouge Whispering Ibis smudged into it.  I also used Sephora Flashy Ultra Green liner on my waterline.  Tightline was Stila Stay All Day black liner pen.  For mascara, I used Guerlain's Maxi Lash, which I'm pretty happy with so far.

I really liked this look overall, but was annoyed that I messed up the symmetry of the outer "v" portions of my eyes.  My blush looks quite uneven, as well.  It's always got to be something!  Hopefully no one noticed, though.  And even if they did, I'm only human.  :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Slackin'

Okay.  I've been seriously slacking on the posts.  Sorry for that!  Here are a whole mess of looks from the last week +.  This first one features Shu Uemura's Prestigious Bordeaux palette.  I used the blush in the palette, as well!  That was a total pain in the bumsky to get on my brush because the pan is so tiny.

I'm wearing Beaute weightless lip creme in Trace.  It's a really good nude for me.  I was also testing out Nars Light Reflecting Powder (loose) - stay tuned for a freaky flash pic!

Prestigious Bordeaux is great for me, as long as I use a good base under the dark purple (I used Stila Smudge Stick in Tetra here).

Next is a face featuring really simple eyes with Laura Mercier Gilded Platinum eyeshadow.  I also used a Tarte SmolderEyes pencil in Rainforest Black.

The lipstick is By Terry Grenadine Diablotine.  I got it on super sale through Space NK recently!

Here is a look using the Ulta Lorac Mint palette.  I look so tired here!  It was kind of early in the morning.  I used all the shimmery shades of eyeshadow as well as the lightest matte ivory shade.

This one below features Guerlain Terracotta Sun in the City, which I've used as eyeshadow and also a highlight.  The liner is UD Lucky pencil and I used a darker brown in my crease (it's from Sephora's Moonshadow palette - the black and gold one).

I'm wearing BECCA Bronzing Skin Perfector, along with BECCA mineral powder, Dior Aurora 01 bronzer, and Hello Kitty blush (from the black and white Head of the Class palette).  BECCA beach tint in Dragonfruit is on my lips.

The next look features the lovely Nars Cordura eyeshadow duo, a la smoky.  I'm loving how my eyes look more blue here.  I wore Dior Aurora as blush here and Lipstick Queen gloss in Saunter.

Also worth noting is that I'm wearing the Too Faced BB Cream in Snow Glow, along with the Nars Light Reflecting Loose.  I think my skin looks really great!

Last, but not least, is a smoky look with shadows from Urban Decay's NYC book of shadows.  I used Loaded, Bordello, Rockstar, and Perversion.  I've done this look before and I imagine I may do it again!  I just love it.

I'm wearing Illamasqua Naked Rose blush, Nars New Order (super shimmery in person), and Nars Albatross lip gloss.

I really wish I had bronzed my neck.  It only takes about 10 seconds, but makes a big difference (at least, in pictures, where my neck often looks blindingly white compared to my face).  Live and learn!

Thanks for stopping by and do let me know if you have questions about anything.  I'm happy to ramble on more about these looks, as much as I can remember what I did/used.  :)  Aaaaand I'm going to try to get back to more regular posts (unless of course you like these monster posts).

Jungle Eyes

This look started with Laura Mercier's Jungle Caviar Stick.  I used is as a base all over my eyes and blended it with a Sephora Platinum cream eyeshadow brush.  It's also on my outer lower lash lines.

I used Urban Decay eyeshadows in Graffiti (the bright green) and Underground (blended above the crease with my much loved Shu 8HR).  Sephora Prisma Chrome eyeshadow in Moonbeam (the pink version) was my brow bone highlight.  The black liner is Urban Decay Perversion pencil and Stila Stay All Day black pen for tightlining.

The new things I'm trying out?  You know me, I love to try new things.  :)  I'm testing Too Faced's BB cream in Snow Bunny and also used Anastasia's brow powder duo in Ash Blonde/Taupe (the lightest shade only).  I'm not used to using brow powder on myself, but I think I did an okay job.  Hopefully I will get better with practice!

Face:

Too Faced Beauty Balm Snow Glow

Illamasqua concealer 115 (spots)

BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1 (under eye)

Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder

Cheeks:

MAC Mineralized Skin Finish Light Year

Eyes:

Nars eye primer

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Jungle (base)

UD Graffiti e/s 

UD Underground e/s

Sephora Prisma Chrome Moonbeam e/s (pink version)

Stila Stay All Day black liner pen

UD Perversion e/l pencil

Benefit They're Real

Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)

Anastasia Brow Powder Duo Ash Blonde/Taupe

Lips:

Tarte LipSurgence Luster in Buff

Thanks for stopping by!  

Many Faces

I really would like to stop being a slacker about my posts.  Really.  But for now you'll have to cope with a random catch up featuring several different faces.  This first one features Tom Ford Diabolique lipstick.  It's the most intensely pigmented and matte of my Tom Ford reds.

On my eyes is Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick in Rosegold, some smudged black Sephora liner, and Stila's glitter liner in Golden Silver (LE Japanese, if I'm not mistaken).  I used Sephora Prisma Chrome eyeshadow in Moonbeam (pink version) as a highlight.

This next one features Tom Ford Slander lipstick.  My face is looking extra pink in the DiorSkin Nude BB Cream 001 (in real life it looked pretty natural).

The amazing eyeshadow you see is Addiction Thriller and the also stunning eyeliner is Stila Smudge Stick in Bluefin!  I love this so so much.

Lastly, I'm wearing a dramatic emerald smoky eye.  This was really fun for me to do.  I almost always have the most fun when I do super dramatic eye looks.

I used Stila's Smudge Crayon in black as a base, which really helps the green (Envy) to pop and gives it awesome depth.  Makeup Geek's Shimmermint eyeshadow is in my inner crease and on the inner half of my lower lash line.  Makeup Geek Envy is on the lid and lower lashes.  I used Rouge Bunny Rouge Whispering Ibis to blend out and above the crease.  Tarte's skinny pencil in Emerald fit perfectly onto my water line.

I kept the lips simple, using one of my favorite lip gloss formulas - Urban Decay Lip Junkie.  Midnight Cowboy has a really beautiful champagne shimmer that my pictures do not capture.  Also, it feels so comfortable and hydrating on my lips!

I started using a lip brush to apply my Tom Ford red lippies and I have to say, WOW, what a difference!!  It takes me longer to apply (or so it seems), but the end result is far superb to free-handing it with the bullet.  I get a really crisp line.  The reds have all worn spectacularly on me, so I don't know if applying with a brush extends the wear, as I've heard it does.  I would not doubt it.  I think I'm officially in love with the Tom Ford lipstick formula.  And applying with a brush!  Who knew?!

Oh, and for you blush fanatics out there, my blushes, in order of appearance, were:  Givenchy Bucolic Poppy, Becca Dragonfruit Beach Tint, and Illamasqua Naked Rose.

Thanks for stopping by!  Do let me know if you have questions or thoughts about anything.  :)

Aphrodisiac

This smile reminds me of many childhood pictures.  It's my silly fake yet sweet smile.

My poor hairs are badly in need of a cut!  I'll be doing the Bumble and Bumble model thing again next month, so, if only I can make it until then.  :)

Tom Ford lipsticks...are...so...amazing.  Go and get some RIGHT NOW!  And then cry for your poor wallet.

Face:
DiorSkin Nude BB Cream 001
Illamasqua concealer 115
BareMinerals Stroke of Light Luminous 1
Vincent Longo Velour Pressed Powder Faire

Cheeks:
Stila Rose Gold Liquid Luminizer
Givenchy It-Girl Purple

Eyes:
Nars eye primer
RBR Solstice Halcyon (lid)
RBR Umber Firefinch (crease)
RBR Delicate Hummingbird (smudged into liner on lowers)
RBR Alabaster Starling (inner corner)
RBR Lilac Reef Curassow (inner crease)
Makeup Geek Shimma Shimma (brow bone)
Sephora Flashy e/l Ultra Violet (lowers)
Essence Gel Liner London Baby
Stila Stay All Day black liner pen (tightline)
BareMinerals Round the Clock e/l 5PM (water line)
Tarte Taupe brow pencil
Dior Diorshow Maximizer Lash Plumping Serum
Benefit They're Real
Givenchy Phenomeneyes waterproof (lowers)

Lips:
UD Ozone lip liner
Tom Ford Aphrodisiac

I love this look.  I don't think taupes are the best color ever on my eyes, but I like the purple included and I feel like it's a nice natural-yet-dramatic sort of eye.  I also don't think it competed too terribly with the nearly neon bright pink lips!  I hope.

The new Dior BB Cream photographed beautifully, don't you think?  My nose got really shiny through the day, but I now realize it was an error in powdering.  I've since worn it with my beloved Korres Wild Rose Mineral Setting Powder over top and that kept nearly all shine at bay.  I'm almost out of that powder!  I will buy a new one because it's so darn awesome on me.  If you ever peek at it in person, do not be put off by the shimmers, please!  It doesn't look shimmery on the face at all.

Thanks for stopping by!  Let me know what you think of this look or anything that's on your mind!