Super bright lash lines are just a swipe away

Something about a super bright swoosh of color along my lower lash lines just says “summer” to me.

Have you ever lined your lower (or upper, for that matter) lash lines with a bright eyeliner or shadow and have it not turn out as bright or eye-catching as you expected it to be?

Um…me too.

One trick I use to wind up the wattage along my lash lines is to line them with a creamy white eye shadow stick first.

It intensifies colors and brings out more of the brightness of whatever you layer on top, making greens look greener, blues look bluer and teals…well, more teal. And it does the same thing for other colors.

Rimmel’s Whitness White Scandal Eyes Eyeshadow Stick kicks arse with this trick, and it costs less than $5! It’s so pigmented that it’s almost opaque, and once it sets, it’s not going anywhere (has a waterproof and smudge-proof formula).

Plus, it doesn’t tug at my skin. It glides… (And have I mentioned that it’s less than $5?)

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Brighten your lids, your look and your summer days with these three bold summer makeup looks

This summer inspiration is brought to you by Target. Find more fun and surprises all season long on Target’s #SummerUp Pinterest board.

“No fear!”

I think we should make that our summer makeup motto… After all, it’s only makeup, right? Nothing to be afraid of (we can always wash it off).

And summer is a perfect time to shine. The longer days, the warmer nights, flip-flops and loose-fitting clothing.

Why be daunted by daring, dynamic duos and multidimensional eye looks? In the spirit of adventure! — let’s kick off the season and face our fears right now.

Flashes of teal, shimmery oceans of blues, gleaming golds and juicy pinks and corals crank up the heat and fun-factor in these three bright, bold makeup looks.

Everything I’m wearing on my eyes, cheeks and lips in these looks comes from Target, so it didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Your beauty assignment today: nothing! And you will not be graded.

We only have one goal here: no fear! Just have fun.

Purple, Teal and Fuchsia

A look featuring purple lids, with shimmering teal on your lower lash lines, bronze cheeks and hot pink lips. This one’s for fearless felines unafraid of color. In other words, you.

1. Begin by applying a shimmery beige cream shadow, like Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Metal in Barely Branded ($6), all over your lids and along your lower lash lines.
2. Next, sweep a matte brown eye shadow in a shade close to your natural skin tone into your crease. I ended up mixing two shades from the Sonia Kashuk Eye on Neutral Palette ($20) to create a custom color (just for the heck of it).
3. Then, sweep a shimmery coral shadow just above your matte brown. If you’re stuck for ideas, try Pacifica’s Coral Sand from the company’s new Enlighten Eye Brightening Shadow Palette ($12). I’m lovin’ it so far.
4. Pat a dark black matte shadow, like the black matte from Sonia Kashuk’s Eye on Neutral Palette, into the outer corners of your eyes, and then blend away any harsh lines you see.
5. Blend a gray matte shadow directly on top of that to create a soft gradient of color by dragging the gray into the middle of your lids. I used Sonia Kashuk’s Eye on Neutral Palette again here.
6. Now, wet a flat eye shadow brush with water or a makeup setting spray, and use it to pat a bright purple shadow in the center and at the inside of your lids (the side closer to your nose). Aim for blending the purple into the black and gray gradient from the previous two steps. I used Urchin, the purple shade from the Pacifica Enlighten Palette in step 3.
7. Next, line your upper lash lines with a black gel liner, like L’Oreal’s Infallible Gel Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black ($7).
8. Then line your lower water lines with a vibrant teal blue pencil, like Pixi No. 6 True Teal Endless Silky Eye Pen ($15).
9. To intensify the effect, sweep a bright teal shadow along your lower lash lines. I like L’Oreal’s 24HR Infallible Eye Shadow in Endless Sea ($7) for this…
10. Lift your brows a bit by drawing a line beneath them using a flesh-toned matte liner like Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude ($5), and blend.
11. Buff a beige shadow just beneath the arch of each brow to appear to lift them even more. I chose Skinnydip, a shimmery beige from the Pacifica Enlighten Shadow Palette.
12. Finish your eyes with a couple coats of black mascara. I’m using COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara ($7) here.
13. Now for your cheeks and lips! Blend a shimmery bronze blush, like Bronzed from Pacifica’s Radiant Shimmer Coconut Multiples Palette ($12), on the apples of your cheeks, and tie a ribbon around the entire look with a bright fuchsia gloss like Physicians’ Formula Sexy Booster Sexy Glow Glossy Stain in Hot Pink ($9).

Cat lady says “meow!” to these white cat eye sunglasses, which are only $12 at Target

Blue, Teal and Pink

Mermaid eyes! A blue and teal gradient will dance across your lids like dolphins dancing across a beautiful blue lagoon, while coral and pink serenade your cheeks and lips.

1. Begin by blending a shimmery peachy pink cream shadow like Pixi Lid Last Shadow Pen in Shell Sheen ($18) all over your lids.
2. Next, darken the outer corners of your lids with a matte black shadow pencil. I used Rimmel’s Scandal Eyes Eye Shadow Stick in Blackmail ($5) here.
3. Deepen your outer corners by patting a black eye shadow, like the black shade from Maybelline’s Eye Studio Palette in Sapphire Siren, directly on top of the black shadow pencil.
4. Pat a shimmery blue in the center of your lids and at the inner corners, and then drag a small amount of it into your crease to connect the two areas.
5. Then, creating a gradient with the blue from step 4, pat a shimmery bright teal in the center of your lids. I used a teal from Maybelline’s Sapphire Siren Palette.
6. Soften the edges of the blue and teal on your lids by sweeping a matte brown shadow, like the lid shade from the ELF Beautiful Browns Flawless Eyeshadow quad ($2), into your crease.
7. Now, give your brows a lift by lining the arches with a flesh-toned matte liner like Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal in 005 Nude ($5), and blend.
8. Dust a beige on top of that, like the pearly base shade from ELF Beautiful Browns.
9. Line your water lines with a black liner (can’t go wrong with L’Oreal’s $7 Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner in Black, a true black without any blue or green undertones), and give it some depth by lining the outer third of your lower lash lines with the same pencil.
10. Line your lower lash lines with the same shimmery blue shadow you used on your lids (layering it directly on top of the black liner from the previous step).
11. Make your eyes the focal point of the look by lining the inner corners along your lower lash lines with the teal shadow you used a moment ago on your lids.
12. Coat your upper and lower lashes with a good black mascara like COVERGIRL LashBlast Clump Crusher Mascara ($7).
13. Now, get cheeky by blending a bronzer just below your cheekbones for definition, and then buff a coral blush on the apples of each cheek for color. I used Sonia Kashuk’s Chic Luminosity Bronzer/Blush Duo in Glisten ($13).
14. At this stage, I was going to say, “Don’t gloss over your lips,” but that’s exactly what we want. Slick a pink gloss like Sonia Kashuk’s Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss Prettiest Pink ($9) on your lips to wrap things up.

Mint green glasses! These are the Gelato Sunglasses in Mint ($12), available now at Target stores and target.com

(more…)

She made her way through the marketplace with the Persian Sunset on her upper cheekbones and the scent of saffron in the air… Sonia Kashuk’s Chic Luminosity Highlighter Stick in Persian Sunset ($10.99)

I like when cream makeup comes in sticks and pencils (see: Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Shadow Pencil in Mushroom) 1) because they’re easy to use (especially the ones I can blend with a finger), and 2) because they make me feel like I’m back in eighth grade art class, where my biggest concerns were whether my breath smelled like the BBQ Corn Nuts I had at lunch, or whether I’m going to finish my drawing of ceramic bowls by the bell (my teacher was obsessed with us drawing bowls).

Of course, not all cream products are created equal, and some of them just don’t last.

I’m a busy woman with “important” (air quotes) things to do, like figuring out how to dress like Olivia Pope from Scandal without having to throw down the cash for all that Prada, and looking for a monocle for my cat (you know that would be awesome, right?). Having to stop whatever I’m doing every two hours to refresh a product on my lids or cheeks gets really old fast.

Sonia Kashuk’s Chic Luminosity Highlighter Stick in Persian Sunset ($10.99) will show those weak-willed, disappearing creams how it’s supposed to be done.

Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Highlighter Stick in Persian Sunset ($10.99)

Sonia Kashuk Chic Luminosity Highlighter Stick in Persian Sunset ($10.99)

A swatch on my NC 42 skin

Makeup lovers, on your mark… Get set… GO! “Here I’m wearing Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner in Black ($7) on my upper lash lines!!”

Yea! Great product name!

But I feel like Flower Beauty should have added an ellipses at the end of their new $7 On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner, because that’s how I say it in my head.

“On your mark…”

With the pause at the end. LOL!

I’ve been all about liquid liners with shiny finishes lately — liners like the $30 Diorshow Art Pen, which might as well be Velcroed to my hand — paired with some of this season’s raddest lipsticks from Buxom, NARS, Laura Mercier, MAC and Milani.

Some products just seem so right together, don’t they? That’s how I feel about liquid liner and lipstick. They’re a classic pairing, like scrunchies and side ponytails, or Katniss and Peeta (which reminds me, The Hunger Games is now available on Netflix, holla!).

Unfortunately, the Diorshow Art Pen costs three hamiltons (which doesn’t flow off the tongue as well as “benjamins”), so I’ve been looking for a drugstore alternative that lasts just as long and is just as easy to apply.

I think I may have found it, too, in Flower Beauty’s water-resistant On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner, which has a flexible felt tip that lays down lines just as smoothly as the Art Pen from Dior.

So long-lasting (12 hours)! So perspiration-proof (I ran 3 miles with it on, and it didn’t even budge)! So affordable at just $7!

I haven’t been able to keep my hands off it, and I think my Dior liner’s even getting a little jealous…

Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner in Black on my NC 42 skin

Flower Beauty On Your Mark Liquid Eye Liner in Black on my upper lash lines

In the category of “Favorite Drugstore Lip Gloss,” I’m currently crushing on Sonia Kashuk’s Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss in Prettiest Pink ($8.99)

Lucky number nine!

That’s how many shades Sonia Kashuk crafted of her new $9 ($8.99 to be exact) Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss. Partial to pale pinks? Check. Nudes? Got ya covered. Rich plums? Right here.

Right now I’m hooked on Prettiest Pink and Polished Plum, both of which, like the other colors in the line, are unscented and unflavored. Every time I swipe one of their brush applicators across my lips, I’m blown away by how evenly they apply, and I think the pigmented, non-sticky formula feels fantastic (and lasts from 2-4 hours). It’s juiced up with papaya extract, glycerin and antioxidants to make it hella hydrating, too.

“This next-generation lip gloss formula delivers beautiful, buildable color with instant softness and multi-dimensional shine. This lightweight, gel-like texture glides on comfortably to leave lips feeling kissable and moisturized – never sticky. Shades range from subtle nude to bold brights. Infused with Glycerin, Fatty Acids and emollients to hydrate lips and Papaya Fruit Extract, a natural skin softener, this multi-tasking gloss enhances skin’s elasticity and protects lips with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.”

– target.com

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Glosses in Polished Plum on the top and Prettiest Pink on the bottom ($8.99 each)

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss Swatches in Prettiest Pink on the left and Polished Plum on the right

Sonia Kashuk Ultra Luxe Lip Gloss in Polished Plum