A Purple and Red Eye-popping FOTD (for glasses-wearers)

One of my favourite eye make-up looks is to wear one (at least) shade on my eyelid and another along my lower lashline. Here's a version I've worn a few times to work lately. 

I've been wearing glasses to work since last year, and it's still unsettling for me. I still don't recognize myself and I still struggle to come up with eye makeup looks. My eyesight is poor meaning my glasses are a strong prescription so my eyes look smaller when I'm wearing them, and because I can't see well without them, putting eye makeup on can be difficult. Liquid/gel eyeliner, for example, is impossible to do properly on my left eye when I'm not wearing my contact lenses. I try to find looks that are simple, flattering and help make my eyes stand out behind my glasses.

Anyway, enough complaining and more about the point of this post. This is a colourful but wearable, simple look that make my eyes pop from behind glasses or not.

Here are some close-ups of my eyes.

The products I used for my base are Make Up For Ever HD Foundation in N115 all over my face, with MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW20 under my eyes as well as on any areas that needed more coverage. I set it all with a combination of Ben Nye Neutral Set and Pari Mineral Glow. My eyes are primed with Art Deco Eyeshadow Base. Even though this stuff does not work on me, I keep trying just in case it might someday because I hate wasting product. I do find that it does allow whatever eyeshadow you apply on top of it be true, in that it gives it a base to adhere to and in doing so, it's exactly the colour it is in the container. What it fails at is keeping it from creasing. In the photo two above, you can see some fading in my eyeshadow crease. I applied (the amazing) Anastasia Dipbrow in Auburn through my brows to fill them in, give them shape, and to alter the colour to match my hair colour better. 

On my eyes I applied MAC's Heritage Rouge (dirty brown plum) pigment to my eyelids, starting in the inner corner, working across the lid and up into my crease blending it out towards my browbone. I also carried it out into a winged shape on the outside of my eyes.

I kept applying it until I got the effect I wanted. Along my lower lashline, I smudged L'Oreal Paris Infallible in Purple Obsession. The more I blended, the less purple it looked, so I kept adding and blending until I got both a soft, smudged effect and the colour I wanted. 

For some more definition along my lashline, I smudged MAC's Embark eyeshadow, a warm matte reddish-brown colour that adds a touch of definition but doesn't compete with either the Heritage Rouge or the Purple Obsession.

I curled my lashes and applied lots of Givenchy Noir Couture Volume Mascara in Black Taffeta.

On my cheeks I applied a combination of MAC's Stunner and Warmth of Coral blushes to give my skin some colour and to keep it soft so it didn't compete with my eyes.

And for a final touch, I dusted my skin all over with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Diffused Light, which gives the skin a light glow, and blurs imperfections. 

On my lips, I'm wearing just a sheer lip balm. It's not that I wouldn't and don't wear a lip colour with this look, though I do (usually a MLBB shade). My lips have been chapped and dry lately and lip balm is about the only thing I can wear on them. 

And there you have it - my colourful, my-eyes-are-still-here-behind-these-glasses, fun and simple.

- C.

Beauty Squared Round-Up - October 26, 2014

Hello and Happy Sunday!
Let's get right down to it. There are things to do today!

• Check out this simple, dramatic blush application technique from MAC MUA Nicole Thompson.
  
• Speaking of blush, here's why you need to wear blush when you're rocking a bright lip colour.
  
• Here's a pretty and simple way to make your eyes look bigger and brighter from Chanel MUA Fulvia Farolfi.
  
• Allure's round-up of under $5 beauty steals, including EOS, L'Oreal, Almay and St. Ives.
  
• This is hilarious: The 10 Commandments of Highlighting and Contouring.
  
• Oh, Renee Zellweger. Unless you've been in an isolation chamber for the last week, you've probably heard about Renee's change in appearance. There's been a lot of talk and while we can't possibly share everything we've read or heard about it, this is one that we've chosen. It's a New York Times piece that tries to explain perhaps why there was a such a strong reaction to Renee's new face. 
  

Beauty Squared Round-Up: June 22, 2014

Hello lovelies! I hope you're having a beautiful weekend. World Pride 2014 is happening inToronto right now, so we thought it'd be fun to share with you a few rainbow-inspired makeup tutorials. The first is a colourful eye look by Meredith Jessica and the second is more subtle, but still a dramatic and fun rainbow eyeliner by EmmaJVB. How cool are these?

And now let's look at the links we've rounded-up for you this week:

• Some of the best beauty bloggers share their picks for Fall. Yes, they're thinking Fall already.
  
• Beauty hacks are only helpful if they're truly useful. This one definitely is. Three ways (apart from the regular way) to wear your lipstick - as a tinted balm, as a gloss and with a matte finish.
  
• Yogurt is good for your gut, but did you know it was good for your skin too?
  
• Make Up For Ever is second-to-none in waterproof makeup. Here's a review of their new Aqua Rouge liquid lipstick, a lip stain that lasts even after five hours in water.
  
• A look at the new Revlon ColourStay Skinny Liquid Liner which has possibly the skinniest liner brush available (0.1 mm!).
  
• Do you know what eyeshape you have? Check out this guide and grab a mirror.
  
• Do you have a heart-shaped face (wider at the top than at the bottom and with a widow's peak)? Here are the best and worst bangs for you.
  
• Do you have an inverted triangle face (wider at the top than at the bottom and without a widow's peak)? Here are your best and worst bangs.
  
• Have you heard about the "lob" hairstyle? If you haven't, you've probably seen it and it's super-flattering. Here's a video featuring its creator, who also shows us how to do a sexy, undone wave on it.
  
• Dry shampoo can be lifesaver in the summer, and all year-round if you're prone to oily hair. Here's a list of the best dry shampoos, according to Elle Canada.
  
• Sunscreens are must-haves for summer weather. Here are five you may not have considered (lips, hands, hair, etc).
  
• Who better to ask about sweatproof makeup than fitness instructors?

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencil 10L Copper Review and Swatches

This post features one of my favourite makeup products - Make Up For Ever's Aqua Eyes Eyeliner in 10L. The Aqua Eyes Eyeliners are part of MUFE's waterproof makeup liner which are truly budgeproof, even in the rain, even in humid conditions and even when swimming. 

I came across the the 10L liner at Sephora one day a few years ago and fell in love with the colour. It's not quite gold and it's not quite copper, it's a mix of the two. The shade is subtle enough but with the metallic shimmer, it's also got some oomph. I wear this on days when I want a natural look with a little extra something. 

The texture is creamy and smooth and the pigmentation is immediate. There's no need to go over and over to increase the effect.

Swatches! Lots of pretty swatches!

If you're looking for a long-lasting eyeliner, you can't do much better than the Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner Pencils. I've worn 10L in the rain, on hot, sweaty and humid days in the city and while swimming. It does not smudge or budge one bit. It'd work really well for body art, I bet too. 

Have I talked about the colour yet? Spectacular. A beautiful blend of gold and copper that runs neutral, so it works for both warm and cool undertones and all eye colours. Specifically though, blue, brown and green eyes will pop with this colour. 

I absolutely adore this eyeliner pencil. I wear it all the time, as eyeliner just along my top lashline, all around my eyes and also as an eyeshadow. It works really well as a base. One thing that's neat about it is that if you apply it and then smudge it with your finger, or a Q-tip or a brush, you take away a lot of the metallic sheen. I do this if I want to work it into my lashline or smudge it up into my crease. I then go over it again to get the metallic sheen back. You have to work quickly since it sets quickly and it does not budge until you take it off with a good eye makeup remover, or with a cleansing oil. 

Grade: A

FOTD: 1960s, Mod and Twiggy

When did I flashback to the 60s?

Mad Men's season 6 premiered last night and with Don Draper and his advertising gang and their cohorts well into the groovy, colourful, political 1960s, I thought I'd do a 60s-inspired FOTD in honour of my favourite style and culture decade.

My muse was Twiggy, that doe-eyed, pixie-cut, English supermodel whose gamine look became the style hallmark of the decade. 

Twiggy's look was all about the eyes. The larger the better, with false eyelashes, painted-on lower lashes and an exaggerated crease line. This made the eyes look doll-like and gave her an enhanced look of innocence. 

The preview photos I've seen for the new season of Mad Men show the female characters with distinctly 60s eye makeup, particularly young and stylish Megan (Jessica Paré) and newly single and new ad agency partner Joan (Christina Hendricks). 

I should also mention that fashion designer Lily Pullitzer passed away yesterday and I have one of her dresses. It's a very 60s A-line style shift dress in navy with pink embroidered circles all over it. I thought it'd be apropos to wear it while being having my makeup photographed. You can see a little of it in the shots below.

This look was fairly simple and quick to do. I used no liquid eyeliner which helped to lighten the eye look, but you can feel free to add a line of liquid liner across the top lashline when you recreate this on yourself - because you totally want to, right?

Megalashes, right? I felt like Bambi when I blinked. 

Super subtle crease contour!

How to get the look:

1. If you have oily skin or plan to wear this look for a long time, apply a primer to your skin. Use an eye primer on your lids. 

2. Apply a natural-looking base. Twiggy's skin was always very natural. I used a BB cream, concealer under my eyes and on any red areas and powdered to set.

3. With an eyeshadow brush, apply a very pale cream eyeshadow to your lids, focusing on the lid and on the browbone. I used MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study. The 60s look used a matte white but you can use something with a bit of shimmer and more beige, as I did. The cream colour acts as a base. 

MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study

4. With a clean eyeshadow brush, apply a light champagne-white power eyeshadow to your lids and browbone, on top of the cream colour. I used a combination of MAC Phloof! and MAC White Frost (more of the former, a touch of the latter). Don't be afraid to go a little heavy. You want your eye area to be very light-coloured. Also run the brush along your lower lashline, completely encircling your eye with the light colour. 

MAC Phloof! and MAC White Frost

5. With a tapered crease brush, apply a warm, soft matte beige colour to your crease, very softly. This step is to create a line for your dark colour to follow. Blend to soften and reapply as needed for a soft shadow line. The crease line will be from the inside of your eye to the outside of your eye. I used this shade below, MAC Wild By Heart. You can see the beige line in the close-up photos of my eyes above.

MAC Wild By Nature

5. With an angle brush (MAC's 266 is good) apply a thin line with a matte dark grey or black shadow, following the beige line you just drew. I used a combination of this purpley-grey (MAC To the Ball) and MAC Nehru (a bluish black). Go slowly and carefully with this step as you want to draw as perfect and as thin a line as possible. 

MAC To the Ball

MAC Nehru

 6. With the same brush you used to apply the beige line, blend out the darker line, very softly. You want the line to be distinct. This isn't a subtle crease shadow. Go back with the angle brush if you need to and blend again, if you need to.

7. With the angle brush, smudge the same dark shadow along your lashline. If you'd like to use a liquid liner, this is where you'd apply it. 

8. Curl your lashes. 

9. Apply false lashes to your top lids and lower-lash false lashes to your lower lids. I used MAC lashes but I don't know what they're called as there's no number on either of these. If you get a full-set of dramatic lashes for the top and a piecey set like those pictured below for your lower lashes, you'll be just fine. I used Duo lash glue to apply them. Twiggy used to paint on her lower lashes, so if you want to try that, go right ahead! And if you'd like to use more dramatic lashes than I did, feel free to as well.

False lashes - top

False lashes - lower

10. Apply black mascara to your top and bottom lashes. This is simply to blend your lashes with the falsies. My lashes are almost blonde, so it helps for me to apply mascara to hide them. Apply more dark shadow to your top lashline, if needed.

11. Use a white or skin-tone eyeliner pencil to line your waterline. In the photos of Twiggy above you can see she did this all the time. It enhances the whites of your eyes and makes them look bigger. I used Benefit Eye Bright.

12. My brows are quite a bit thicker and darker than Twiggy's were and they don't suit this look, which is all about the eyes. All I did was comb through some of the Benefit Eye Bright to try to make them look lighter in colour. If your brows are light, simply comb them and apply some brow gel as needed. If they're dark you may want to lighten them by applying a light eyebrow pencil or eyeliner to them.

13. Apply a very natural neutral pink-beige blush to your cheeks, very sparingly. Twiggy's skin was always very natural, so this step is only as needed. The focus is all on the eyes in this look. I used MAC's The Perfect Cheek and a large, fluffy brush brush to apply it just to my cheekbones. Just a whisper of colour was needed as I'm quite fair.

MAC The Perfect Cheek

14. Lip colour. Use a creamy peachy or pinky shade. Use a lip pencil if you need to or apply concealer to your lips to completely cancel out their natural colour. You want the lips to almost disappear, so the eyes can be the focus. I used OCC Lip Tar in Hush on top of a concealer.

OCC Lip Tar in Hush

Groovy, baby!

Bright Pink Pigment: Five Ways

I've owned MAC's New Fixation pigment for a little while and I've never used it. So when I was challenged to do a post on how to use a bright pink pigment, I thought, why not. Let's see what I can do. 

I got New Fixation at a charity bag at one of the Estee Lauder Warehouse sales held in Markham, Ontario. I've never used it. It is described as a bright fucsia red with soft pearl and it was a limited edition product. If you're interested in a similar pigment colour, check out MAC's Fuchsia pigment. 

MAC pigments are loose powder pigments and come in a multitude of colours. They retail for approximately $25 CDN. MAC pigments are multi-use products. They can used as is, and mixed with other mediums for different textures and consistency. Some pigments should not be used on the lips and eyes but MAC is pretty good at labelling which are and which aren't. A little pigment goes a very long way. The photo above of the loose pigment on a tissue is what I had left after all of the product I used below. Unless you're using a pigment colour to mix with body lotion or making nail polish, it's likely one container will last you quite awhile. 

First thing I tried was using it as a blush. I tipped the product out onto a tissue (photo is at the top of this post) and worked it into a blush brush, just as I would with a pressed powder brush, but more carefully. Pigments are concentrated colour so a little goes a long way. New Fixation is a bright fuchsia, so this was going to go on intensely if I didn't go softly. 

Here it is applied to my cheek before blending. It's pretty intense. 

After blending, it's still bright but much more subtle. Most definitely a good blush colour. You could also blend New Fixation (or any pigment colour) with a cream, like a concealer or  foundation or moisturizer to mute the shade and create a cream blush.

Next I tried it on my eyes. I am not someone who wears bright colours on my eyes in large quantities. I tend to keep it pretty simple. Pink eyeshadow can make you look sick and tired since pink is how your eyes look when you get sick or are tired. It's also not great it you have dry eyes since they'll look even more bloodshot and irritated. So I tentatively persevered, applying it to my lid, concentrating it on the outer corner and blending it out towards the inner corner and up to my crease. Pairing a bright colour with black is always a good trick, so I used a black pencil liner along my lashline. This is obviously an edgy look, hot pink and black making me think of the 1980s and punk rock. 

But not quite enough on its own, so I added a bit of black to my crease as well as some black pencil underneath my eye and on my waterline. 

I was impressed how much I like the bright pink as an eyeshadow. It didn't make me look sick or (more) tired. The black pencil also has a touch of sparkle too it which helps to make this look a bit more edgy.

I was liking the way it looked so much, so I added more New Fixation. The black in my crease became more purple underneath the fuchsia and I liked it even better. I'd totally wear this eye look out to a concert. 

So success on the cheeks and success on the eyes. Let's try lips...

Pigments can be mixed with almost any medium. Below, I've mixed it with a lip balm for a sheer, soft rosy effect. 

I topped a red lipstick with some of the pigment by pressing it onto my lips. It matted the lipstick and gave it a velvety effect as well as adding a bit of pink-purple colour. 

Finally I blended New Fixation with some soft pink lipgloss. 

Bazinga! That's a bright lip gloss. 

This is probably the truest New Fixation appeared when applied, colour-wise. It read quite cool on my eyes, and was muted as a lip balm. 

So there you have it. Five ways to wear a bright pink pigment colour. Have I inspired you? I wonder how many different ways I could wear a blue or green pigment? Probably not five...

C.