Dark Nude Smoky Eye

Today I played with my 88 Color Cool Matte Palette ($11 – $19.95 depending on promotion) again.  I did a light smoky eye using two of the brown shades plus a burgundy shade blended into the outer corner for depth.  I swiped a little Benefit BADgal Brown Mascara ($19) on lashes, buffed CARGO BeachBlush in Sunset Beach ($30) onto cheekbones and up to temples and slicked some Korres Cherry Full Color Lipgloss in Fuschia 54 ($17) on lips.  Simple, but effective.

Over the Top Dramatic Liner and Purple Eyeshadow!

My latest order came in from BH Cosmetics, so I had to celebrate.  BH Cosmetics is one of many companies who sell the infamously crazy, bright, impractical “120 pro palettes” that are so frequently celebrated on youtube.  I think the 120 palettes are pretty much the same no matter where you buy them, but BH also offers a few unique combinations that I haven’t seen elsewhere and they have the most polished website, so I like them the best.  I already had the 120 palette, but today I just got the 88 Color Cool Matte Palette ($19.95) which I think is exclusive to them.  Not all of the colors in this palette are cool and not all of them are matte, but they are all fantastic, so who cares?  These palettes all come with a huge assortment of teeny, tiny colors that are slightly chalky in consistency, but offer unparalleled brightness and pigmentation.  If you love bold, intense, opaque colors for your lids and can’t find anything to satisfy your appetite for unusual shades, BUY THESE PALETTES!  They’re so cheap that it’s worth it even if you only pull them out for Halloween.

I used a nice bright pink and dark purple for a standard smoky eye, then I used a very light, shimmery robin’s egg blue shade for my browbones and inner corners, all from the 88 color palette.  I finished the eye with a thick, dramatic cat’s eye using the blue shade from Physician’s Formula Shimmer Strips Gel CreamLiner ($10.99) in the “Blue Eyes” Combination.  I coated the lashes in Maybelline Colossal Mascara ($6.99) in Glam Black and applied Revlon Colorstay Just bitten Lip stain + Balm ($8.99) in Beloved with a dab of Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss ($19) in Pulse on the center of the lips.  To go with the dramatic eye I needed sculpted cheeks, so I used a touch of NYX Cream Blush ($6.50) in Glow on the apples of cheeks and Benefit High Beam ($26) on the tops of my cheekbones for added definition.

Backlog: Aquarium Eyes

On Saturday night (3/5/11), I substituted the aqua cream eyeshadow from Kat Von D’s True Romance palette in Truth ($34) for my base instead of my usual eye primer.  I patted NYX Ultra Pearl Mania Loose Pearl Eye Shadow ($2.99) in Turquoise over the matching cream for an intensely metallic eye.  I buffed a little of the brighter lime green shadow from the Kat Von D palette  into the inner corner of my eye, then lined the lower lashline only with Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal Glitter Liner ($18) in Distortion and applied one coat of Maybelline Colossal Mascara ($6.99) in Glam Black to lashes.  I left my brows undone and kept the liner subtle because the shadow was already so intense and I wanted it to stand out without being too dramatic for the jeans and t-shirt I was wearing.  To finish everything off, I used NYX Mosaic Powder Blush ($7.99) in Spice and used the pale beige shade from CARGO’s Lip Gloss Quad in Tijuana ($24)

Backlog – Friday’s Fresh Lavender Look

Ok, time to catch up on my weekend posts again.  Friday (3/4/11) involved the Sephora Collection Color Diary “Must Get New Shoes” Palette ($25).  I used the fresh pink blush from that palette as well as the bright fuschia eyeshadow, which I blended down to a lighter purple shade.  I also put a pinch of pearly pink shadow in the inner corners and along the browbone, but I forget which one I used.  I really need to start writing this stuff down if I’m not going to post these blogs immediately!

I lined the upper lashline with Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Bourbon ($18), the lower lashline with Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Midnight Cowboy ($18) and brushed lashes with a light coat of Benefit BADgal Plum Mascara ($19).  I finished everything off with Rosebud Perfume Co. Minted Rose Lip Balm ($5.59) on lips.  I like all of the Rosebud salves, but this one’s my favorite because it has the lightest bit of rosy color to it, unlike the others which are clear.  The texture is soooo amazing.  Lovely!

My God, It’s Full of Stars!

Today I played with one of the most fun eyeshadows in my collection, Urban Decay Stardust ($20) in Moon Spoon [edit: now re-branded as Moondust eyeshadow, but still the same product].  This stuff is great because it’s packed with sparkly micro-glitter but the fallout is next to nothing, the color is really buildable, you’re encouraged to apply it with your fingers (which is fun), AND the packaging is amazing and unique.  The glistening effect almost looks wet, but without the creasing of a cream eyeshadow.  Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of stuff most people could wear every day, but it certainly perks me up whenever I decide to pull it out of my makeup stash.  I patted it thickly all over the lid, applied Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyeliner in 0L  Mat Black ($17) to the inner rims and just barely along the upper lashline and loaded up on as much Maybelline Colossal Mascara ($6.99) in Glam Black as I could.  My lashes are now set to Kardashian.

I kept everything else pretty simple; I’m wearing NYX HD Grinding Blush in Terracotta ($15) on cheeks (I know, I haven’t shown a lot of variety in my blushes, it’ll be better when the novelty of the grinder wears off) and Korres Cherry Full Color Lipgloss in 25 Natural Rose ($17) on lips.  I can’t get enough of this gloss, the scent is subtle but it smells SO good.

Rose Colored Makeup (plus bonus SPF info)

So I was lazy yesterday and didn’t do my makeup, hence we’re missing a post.  Moving on, today I decided to do a rosy color palette that centers around a blue-pink lip.  Normally I focus on the eyes, so it’s nice to play with lipstick once in a while.

For my lips, I’m wearing Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick ($5.99) in #380 Vintage Pink.  Rimmel is one of my favorite cheap brands, this lipstick feels SO nice and creamy, it covers well and it’s only 6 bucks!  Unfortunately, it claims to be SPF 18, but doesn’t have broad spectrum ingredients so it won’t actually help prevent cancer or wrinkling (I’m super pale, so I take my UVA protection seriously).

**Important Scientific Info** If you want to protect yourself from cancer or wrinkles (let’s face it, this is a makeup blog, so obviously wrinkle prevention is my main concern) The Skin Cancer Foundation only reccomends these ingredients: avobenzone, mexoryl, octocrylene, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide.  The only ones I ever see in makeup are titanium dioxide and avobenzone, so keep that in mind the next time you’re looking for a product that does a little bit extra.  After all, most sunscreen-laced products don’t feel as good on your skin, so why bother if it doesn’t even protect well?

Now that we got that out of the way, onto the eye makeup:  All of the eyeshadows came from a really great eye palette that is sadly discontinued, but luckily all of the shadows are still available individually or have a close counterpart.  Sephora Collection Colorful Mono Eyeshadow ($12) in Tender Pink 27 is on the whole lid with Red Wine 31 blended into the outer corner.  I added French Riviera Gold 48 all along the lower lashline to brighten the eye and put a tiny touch of Wedding Day 24 on the browbone for contour.

I lightly lined the upper lashline only with that wonderful Sonia Kashuk cake eyeliner pallete ($12.99) that I love, but since it’s just black eyeliner, who cares what you use.  I also loaded up on Maybelline Colossal Mascara ($6.99) in Glam Black (not sure what the difference is between that and regular black, but I always buy the darkest sounding option just in case).  I was careful to only apply mascara to the upper lashes to keep the eyes looking soft and open.

I finished by applying NYX HD Grinding Blush in Terracotta ($15)  on cheeks to keep the look warm since the rose colors are otherwise cool.  Enjoy!

One more shot in warmer light: