subtle smoky eye

if you've ever read this blog before, you know that i'm more about the statement lip than i am the statement eye. to me, it's so much more comfortable to do neutral eyes and slap on a bright lipstick. but i was in an experimental mood last saturday night, and decided to try a not-too-dramatic smoky eye. i thought the result was appropriate for a lingerie shower:

i first applied wet 'n wild's idol eyes creme shadow stick in "techno" all over my lid. then i brushed on a layer of maybelline's shadow quad in "natural smokes." i liked how the purple still kind of came through.... 

the purple shade, "techno", is the one i used

 

on top, i layered the top left shade, the one labeled "lid"

by the way, i just figured out this weekend that if i curl my hair with a curling iron, and then hairspray it upside down, it turns out awesome like in the first picture. i really should do that more often, but i'm just so gosh darn lazy (about hair. about makeup, not so much).

easy every day eye makeup look

this is an eye look that i do a lot, especially when i want to look classy and professional. like for meeting my boss, going to church, and oh yeah, my college graduation!

me and daniel being silly.... and look, he wore green on my big day, just for me! awwwww.....

me being silly all by myself....

it's really easy- all it takes is 2 shadows:

 covergirl eye enhancers 4 kit in "urban basics"

1. the taupe shade (2nd from L) on the lid

covergirl eye enhancers 4 kit in "country woods"

2. sable brown (on L) in the crease

that's it! this would be perfect for an every day wear-to-work look. just add brown liner, mascara, pretty, neutral lipstick, and you're ready to go!

inspired by: the chanel runway

i love silver eyeshadow. and i love gold eyeshadow even more. but it never really occurred to me to combine them in one makeup look. check out the chanel face on the right:

photo: who what wear 

 

my version's not quite so dramatic, but i like it anyway:

 

definitely good for those sleepy bleary-eyed days!

silver on top, gold on the bottom courtesy of my trusty old profusion palette. and you thought i'd forgotten about it. ha.

and on my lips:

 

covergirl's lipslicks in demure. just a sheer wash of a sort of mauvey color. i love these things because they're moisturizing. wish they had more colors!

wet 'n wild idol eyes creme shadow pencil in "pixie"

i have a confession to throw out there: i LOVE me some cream eyeshadow. i would wear cream eyeshadow all the time, if i could get away with it. i love the consistency, the easy blending, and the metallic or pearly sheen of them. they just have much more of something special to them than do powder eyeshadows. 

the problem is, there don't seem to be many good ones at the drugstore. and there certainly aren't very wide color selections. i've worn the revlon cream eyeshadows before, and they're just ok. nothing very wow about them, at least not to me. 



anyway, i saw a good review online about this cream eyeshadow that's (gasp!) only 2 buckaroos! i swear, i will buy just about anything for $2. pathetic, i know.

and surprise, i actually like this! the color is a kind of champagne/taupe and the consistency is very smooth. easy to glide on. the finish isn't particularly metallic, which is ok, because i like how subtle it is. just a nice flattering wash of color. kind of like a candlelight glow. because it's so subtle, this shadow stick is ideal for highlighting the browbone. i hate it when people use white (or any kind of pale) shimmery shadow to highlight their browbones and it's just way too shimmery and metallic. i want my browbones to subtly catch the light, not blind you with a ridiculous amount of shimmer. 


it's also really great for swiping over the corners of your eyes (the tear duct area), or underneath your lashes to look very awake. and because it applies smooth and not sticky, it's perfect as a powder eyeshadow base. i've tested it with multiple colors, and it keeps powder eyeshadow on longer, makes it more vibrant, and adds a little extra glow. love. 

maybelline eye studio eyeshadows... be ye warned!!

if you're thinking about buying one of these new maybelline shadows, be careful!!!!!

 they look almost the same, don't they?? but one of these things is not like the other.... one is shimmery and beautiful, and one is total crap. of course, i got duped into buying the crap one first..... grrrr. at least it was on sale....

just to prove that there's a *huge* difference-

sunset seduction- for those who want dull, boring eyes

copper chic- for those who want glamorous, shimmery, dynamic eyes

"sunset seduction" looked shimmery in the package, but as soon as i put the applicator in the pan, it became obvious that the shimmer was frugally dusted on top only. no shimmer in the actual product! booo.... now "copper chic", on the other hand....

here's a simple look with copper chic (just the peachy color- super easy):

so, just to summarize:

"copper chic"- good. buy.

sunset seduction- baaaad, do not buy!!

e.l.f. haul.... from target!

look at all the stuff i got for $11!

oh yeah, and a n.y.c. liquid eyeliner thrown in there too. i read that one of the rockettes swears by this eyeliner, and i'm in the market for a new one (for the musical!), so i bought it. it was definitely less than $2. oh yeah, and the fake lashes are for the play too. who wants to mess with gobs of mascara on stage? not me.

anyways, the coolest thing i got from my "haul" (does $11 count as a haul?) is the palette. you can purchase little magnetic pans of eyeshadow, blush, or lipgloss (only eyeshadow is available at target, though) and make your own customized palette! so cool. i know what you're thinking: why do i need any more eyeshadow?? i have that huge honkin' palette of 120 colors. but i'm not actually gonna take that thing on a trip somewhere! or carry it in my purse! so i figured this was a good thing to keep on hand:

moondust, mocha, pink ice, and golden glow

these are all of my favorite neutral shadow colors! and i'm really loving having them all together in one palette. and even though each component is only $1, this stuff is good quality! not as shimmery as some other shadows i have, but i really like it. you could make these shades work for anything, for a daytime event or even a more dramatic situation. i'm definitely taking this with me to my in-laws' house this weekend. 

i'll post more about the other items after i've tested them out!

120 days of shadow: Day 1

In honor of my amazing eyeshadow find (120 colors!), I've decided to break out of my neutral shadow rut and to try more colorful looks. So I will using a different color in my palette every day for the next 120 days (that's 4 months!).

Today I decided to go with pale purple. Why, I'm not sure, especially since I was wearing dark teal all day. But whatever, it's Saturday. Here are my awesome lids:



Let me just mention that I took this picture hours after I applied it, at the end of the day. And it only took a small swipe with those spongy eyeshadow brushes to look like this.

RUN, DON'T WALK TO WALGREENS RIGHT NOW!

Ok, ok, I know it's been lightyears since my last post, but you'll forgive me when you see these pictures. I was at Walgreens yesterday (looking for dark blue nail polish) and found the product that will change my life forever. I'm not just saying that, either. I predict I will use this every day for the next 10 years.

Intrigued? It's this eyeshadow palette from Profusion Cosmetics (yeah, I'd never heard of them either) that has....... 120 shadows.....! It was only $10, so I figured, hey, what the heck? I needed some new eyeshadows anyway. I'm profoundly bored with my usual sands, coppers, golds, and browns. I wasn't really expecting the quality of these shadows to be that spectacular (I mean, there's 120 of them in one palette!). But um, I was so wrong. They are vibrant, highly pigmented, and shimmery almost to the point of being metallic! All things I LOVE in eyeshadows, but can never seem to find quite to my liking. The package says these are "sheer", but there's not really anything sheer about them. Except maybe sheer joy.

Wow, gotta calm down. I looked this makeup company up, but this product is not available online. So you better run, run, run to Walgreens right now. This will save you some serious dough, beat your beige shadow boredom, and basically make every day happy until you run out of shadow. Which will be..... never.

Go!