EOTD: MAC Style Black/DSquared

Create this easy, soft, glittering smokey eye using some of the products from MAC's Style Black and DSquared collections.

Products used:

MAC Select Concealer NW20

MAC DSquared Greasepaint Stick in V

MAC Style Black Mineralize Eye Shadow in Young Punk

MAC Tecknakohl Liner in Graph Black

Maybelline Great Lash Waterproof Mascara in Very Black

MAC Eyeshadows in Espresso & Cork (for brows)

Dior Diorskin Translucent Powder

Prep your under and inner eye area with concealer - you can also use this on your lid as a base.  Set the concealer with translucent powder.  Make sure to dust a little extra powder underneath your eyes to help remove any potential eye shadow fall out.  Begin by smudging V Greasepaint stick on your lid, blend upwards and outwards with your ring fingertip, also smudge some of the Greasepaint stick on your bottom lid.  You may find this step easiest using a pencil or angled brush.

With a flat eye shadow brush, apply Young Punk by pressing the shadow onto the base you've created with the Greasepaint stick.  Pressing the shadow on will help the fine glitter to adhere to your eye lid.  Also apply Young Punk to the lower lash line using a pencil brush.  Blend the edges of the shadows well using your ring finger tip, pencil brush or q-tip.

Once the shadow is well blended on the edges, using your pencil brush reapply Young Punk to the outer 1/3 of your eyelid, again pressing the shadow into the base.  Work Graphblack liner into your upper lash line and also use it to line your waterline.  Define brows. Curl lashes and finish with two coats of black mascara. Finally using a powder or fan brush, clear away the extra translucent powder (and any shadow fallout) underneath your eye area.

In real life this look is quite a bit more glittery than in the photographs.  However it still has a very soft feeling given that the hard edges have been blended out.  The ultra fine pink glitter on top of the misty violet is fun and feminine but not over-the-top.  This would be a great look for a night out and would work best with very subtle pink lips and cheeks.

All these products are still available on http://www.maccosmetics.ca/.

J

The Beauty Squared Closet: The Candi Factory

From time to time on Beauty Squared we'll do a bit of fashion blogging. Not too much, mind you, as this is predominantly a blog about make-up and cosmetics. But we wouldn't get very far with just fabulous hair, skin and faces and no clothes, now would we?

So here's the first in our Beauty Squared Closet and we're starting with the basics - underwear!

I've seen these underwear at The Clothing Show and Sale, at shops like Fresh Collective and featured in newspapers and magazines. I've often taken a closer look and contemplated buying them but as I tend to be partial to fancy-looking knickers, these seemed a little too sporty, basic, a wee too crafty-looking for my taste and not my brand of sexy. I like my underthings to be sexy and functional, or just sexy. Rarely just functional and almost never full-coverage. There's also the pricetag - $20 (CDN) for one pair seemed a bit much for something that wasn't covered in lace, made in silk or had ribbon ties at the side. Not for me, I have always thought.

Recently, a friend (who I've always envied for her lithe figure and ability to look incredible in anything she puts on) and I were wander-shopping and popped into Fresh Collective for a browse. She told me how much she love-love-loves these undies and how they're incredibly comfortable, last forever and "prevent butt jiggle". Her butt jiggles??? I thought. Now I was listening!

I started digging through the display to see if there were any styles and colour combinations that I could satisfy my inner Belle with. I was surprised to see that there were! In addition to the polka-dot fabric daisy and bird styles there were lovely silk-screened birds, delightful ruffles, elegant bows in a criss-cross pattern and sweet flowery hearts. My friend ended up buying some for herself and bought the pair I had selected (white with pink trim and a silk-screened lace pattern on the front) as a belated birthday gift for me.

They're made from soft, breathable microfibre (88% nylon and 12% lycra with a cotton gusset) and let me tell you, these ARE incredibly comfy. They're stretchy, but not tight (unless you're wearing the wrong size) and the edges don't dig into your skin. You honestly forget you're wearing them they're so comfortable. There's no squirming, adjusting, digging out, pulling up and they do cover your tush, just as my friend told me they did.

Evidently they hold up remarkably well too - no pilling, fading or shrinking - no matter how you wash them. There's no tag with washing instructions on these - however you want to wash them is fine, although air-dry is better for drying than the drier, but that's the case for any stretchy fabric.

Oh and the men's briefs are pretty cheeky and awesome too. I'm partial to the streetcar/crossword puzzle one.

 

They're available across Canada and in a few places in the US (click here for locations) and you can order them online as well.

C.

Bobbi Brown Holiday 2009: Chrome Eye Shadows

Bobbi Brown always has a large selection of great palettes and gift sets for holiday.  Usually the palettes steal the show - but this year the standout products are the Chrome Eye Shadows.

Available in three colours - Gold, Silver and Pewter, these shadows are outstanding.  They are beautifully metallic, pigmented and just plain gorgeous. These are limited edition.

Left to right: Gold, Silver and Pewter ($26.00 CA)

Gold is a tarnished version of the colour, not your average gold shade by any means.  This subdued darker shade is more sophisticated than brighter golds and will work well on any skin tone, especially when paired with warm browns. Silver is a true silver which is not too white or too blue.  Pewter is a taupey metallic and it is a perfect mix of cool grey tones and slightly warm greeny gold tones.  Pewter is a HG (Holy Grail) eye shadow and will (without any doubt in my mind) look amazing on anyone.  Everyone!

The shadows are very versatile, and can be worn sheer as a wash or layered on more heavily for serious drama.  As well, each shade will look great mixed with other shadows or on it's own with a little black eyeliner and mascara.  Since nabbing these on the weekend, I've already worn Pewter twice this exact way.

Left to right: Gold, Silver and Pewter

I can't recommend these enough.  They really are gorgeous and perfect for all those holiday parties around the corner.  Although they might seem expensive, price per gram they are cheaper than other department store brands. If you love metallic shadows run, don't walk over to your local BB counter and check them out.  I bet you won't be leaving empty handed!

J

FOTD: Gunmetal and roses

Shimmery grey eyes and rosy lips: a simple look with a lot of impact. It can be done with a little oomph or a lot and it's a flattering look and colour combination for everyone.

This FOTD has just a little oomph to it. For more oomph I simply add more to the lips and more to the eyes.

Basically, I layered four silvery-greys (mostly loose Bare Escentuals eyeshadows) to get this effect. This wasn't an easy task as working with loose shadows is challenging. I have also done this look using my JoeFresh eyeshadow in Midnight with Bare Escentuals in 1980s on top.

I lined my waterline (inside of my eyes) with Bloom eyeliner in black and smudged it out for a smoky effect. I also used MAC liner in Black as it's much softer than most eyeliner pencils to darken the outer eye line. I layered the darker of the shadows (BE Rockstar) on top and smudged it up onto my lid to the crease. Here's where you can intensify the look if you wish to, by darkening the base colour it'll deepen the effect, no matter what shade you put on top.

I used a combination of the silver-grey shadows on top of this, brushing it up past my crease and layering them to get the effect I wanted. Underneath my eyes I also smudged out the liner and then swept a combination of each colour over top (darker as I moved away from my nose).

Smoky eyes, no matter what colour - black, brown, grey, green, purple, etc - you use, the key is to blend dark into light. The colour at the waterline should be darkest and the colour near (or on) your brow bone should be lightest.

If you prefer, you can tone down this look by not lining your waterline, and using the shadows on your eyelid only (not below the eye). You can also opt to use less shimmery shadows (though you should use some shimmer).

My base is Bare Escentuals in Light and Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil. Also not pictured below is MAC Strada blush which I am wearing on my cheeks and on top of which I applied Benefit Dandelion powder (pictured).

My lips are a combination of MAC See Thru Lip Colour in Secret Crush and one of favourite lipglosses MAC Plushglass in Full For You. My mascara, also a favourite, is Bare Escentuals Buxom in Black.

Apologies for the text in the above photo. I am using a free MAC image editing software and it's giving me trouble so I cannot edit the errors I made above. Please note that the product labelled MAC Lipstain is actually called MAC See Thru Lip Colour in Secret Crush and the lipgloss is called Full For You, not Full of You. 

And there you have it, my gunmetal and rose look. Fairly simple, a little (or a lot) dramatic and it looks good on everyone. Try it!

C.

Link: Amazing Roy Lichtenstein art-inspired make-up!

I came across this on Twitter this morning and had to share it. Check out this absolutely astounding shots of a make-up look inspired by the art of Roy Lichtenstein, the pop artist. When I did my make-up course we had an photoshoot assignment where we had to make our models look like a painting. Everyone else chose classic paintings from Renaissance or Impressionist artists and I was the only one who chose a pop artist, Andy Warhol. So this is right up my alley artistically and speaks to my retro sensibilities too!

Need a Hallowe'en costume idea? Grab a retro costume and try out this make-up and hair look. (The pumpkins are pretty cool too.)

http://charmedtasha.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-most-wonderul-time-of-year.html

The Tip Off: Concealer

Today's tip can be summed up in two words: shake it!  If you use liquid concealer in a tube or a wand, make sure to give it a good shake before you use it.  The pigments in the product are often of differing weights and as such can settle as you can see in the photo below.

This also applies to liquid foundation...so ensure you're getting the right shade and shake it!

J.

LUSTING: This lip colour!

This gorgeous lip colour that Dragonette frontwoman Martina Sorbara is wearing in the photos in the CD booklet for their new CD is very bold, very flattering and oh so covetable!





It's a slightly coralized berry-rose lip colour with some boldness but not too much. It's a colour that can be worn for day if you want that pop of colour and really, there's little prettier than a subtly bold lip at the office or on the subway. For night you can pair this colour with a gunmetal grey eye (VERY flattering on everyone), or with a line of liquid eyeliner, or a grey/black smoky eye.

LUSTING!!!

C.