Archive for the 'Makeup Tips/How To' Category

A few of my early efforts with blue eye shadow left me gun shy for years. There was a time when blue eye looks terrified me worse than MJ’s Thriller video scared me as a kid. Nature’s rarest color isn’t always easy to work with, and even the simplest of blue eye looks can quickly devolve into hot blue messes if you don’t know which products to use and where to put them.

Enter Mally Beauty’s Nolita Navy smokey eye kit (pictured up top), a palette of blue and peach shadows with a handy black pencil liner.

It eases the process of creating simple blue eye shadow looks done with very little blending or effort. Created by celebrity makeup artist Mally Roncal (she’s Filipino like me, haaay!), you may have seen the kit sold alongside Mally’s makeup line on QVC.

Each $39.50 kit comes with one cream eye shadow base, three powder eye shadows and one black pencil liner. The pans are about the same size as MAC’s eye shadow pans, and the pencil closely resembled MAC’s Technakohl liner. Value-wise, the cost breaks down to $8 for each of the five products in the kit. If you were to purchase comparable products separately from MAC, you’d pay almost twice as much.

What you get

Peach cream-to-powder eye shadow base - This peachy beige base instantly brightened my lids. It glides on and gives the shadows a surface to adhere to for all-day staying power.

Peach matte eye shadow - This peach complements the cream-to-powder base well. Wearing it along with the base creates a perfect canvas for the blue shadows and black liner. For a fresh and casual “no-makeup” look, I wear peach eye shadow over the base, line the upper and lower water lines with the black pencil and add two coats of mascara.

Royal blue shimmer eye shadow - This shimmery, mid-tone blue looks great when applied wet or dry. I wear it on the lid or as a liner.

Navy shimmer eye shadow - A very dark, highly pigmented blue with lots of fine shimmer. I like wearing it as a liner. You can also wear it in the crease, but I wouldn’t advise it if you’re a total beginner because the shade applies very dark. Used incorrectly, it can leave you looking like you just tussled with the local street toughs.

The texture of these shadows reminds me of Tarte and Lola shadows — not as fine or as buttery as Shu Uemura or Lancome, but a definite step up from most drugstore brands.

From left to right: base, peach shadow, royal blue shadow, navy shadow

Black pencil liner - The liner has medium staying power when used on the lashes and water line. I would have preferred it to be a bit more emollient than it is. For me it wasn’t easy to blend shadows on top of it, but it’s not a bad pencil liner at all.

Black pencil liner swatch

Each kit also comes with a clear snakeskin pouch and detailed illustrations on different looks.

A few eyes

I get more value out of this palette when I stick to very simple looks that don’t require a lot of blending. The few times I attempted bold, blue smokey eyes with it, my success rate dropped. I’m sure more practice would help, but I had a hard time creating dramatic blue looks with this kit.

But the kit makes simple blue looks a breeze.

Simple day or evening smokey blue eye

Get the look: Smooth cream base on the lids with fingertips. To cover entire eye lid, use a flat shader brush like the MAC 252 to apply the peach matte shade. Use the same brush to apply the royal blue shade onto the lid and then blend out any stark edges with a blending blush like the MAC 217. Use a flat, angled brush like Sonia Kashuk’s angled eyeshadow brush to apply the navy shade to the upper and lower lash lines. Line the upper water line with the black pencil liner.
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Shu Uemura has the market cornered on high fashion, drag queen-esque, stage worthy false lashes, but Shu’s false lash fabulousness comes at a steep price — a single pair of their most dramatic lashes can set you back $50 or more!

No problem. Budget divas need look no further than the Make Up For Ever counter at their nearby Sephora.

At each Sephora Make Up For Ever Lash Bar, lash pairs cost just $14 each. I think they compare well with most Shu Uemura lashes in terms of craftsmanship and design. No doubt, Shu makes some of the most unbelievably beautiful lashes in the world, but let’s face it: they ain’t cheap. With over 50 styles to choose from, the Make Up For Ever Lash Bar has lashes for just about every occasion. You can go from tame (long and black) to outrageous (teal and blue two-inch feathers) without breaking the bank.

I love the hot pink, polka-dotted “Heidi” pair pictured at the top. Maybe I can rock those on my next trip to Safeway! I also like the neon green pair pictured below.
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Nope, not cupcakes and pies; I’m talking about baked eye shadows.

Unlike regular pressed eye shadows, with their flat, even surfaces, baked eye shadows rise up out of the pan like shimmery muffin tops.

If you’re a fan of shimmery long wear eye products, browse through the selection of baked eye shadows now available at Sephora. Baked shadows are generally more water resistant than regular pan shadows are, and many boast shimmery satin finishes.

Before applying baked eye shadows, first prime your lids with a base like Too Faced Shadow Insurance or MAC Shadestick in Shimmersand. Using a base helps make eye shadows last longer.

Once your lids are primed and ready, use a flat shader for the entire lid, a tapered crease brush for detail work, or a dual-tipped brush like the Stila #30 Double-Ended Shadow Brush ($32), which has both kinds of brush heads.

Here are a few baked eye shadows that recently caught my eye:

Stila Eye Shadow Trio, $26

Pictured above, from left to right…

• Old Glow - gold, bronze, ivory shades
• Bronze Glow - rose, gold bronze, ivory
• Champagne Glow - taupe, burgundy brown, champagne

Baked in a terra cotta disk, each pan of these sheer, shimmery shadows houses three different shades. All can be used wet or dry.

For a quick and easy daytime look, choose one of the multi-colored pans and brush the lightest shade over your entire lid. Then, apply the medium shade in the crease. Finish the look by wetting an angled eye brush and using it to apply the darkest shade as a liner.

Too Faced Galaxy Glam Baked Eyeshadows, $19.50

Pictured above from left to right…

• Moon Beam - black with light green
• Deep space - black with cobalt blue
• Shooting Star - black with galactic gold
• Super Nova - black with peach and pink

Too Faced baked Italian opalescent pigments into each of their black domed shadows for that “galaxy far, far away” look. When mixed together, the shades create a shimmery blend of black and green, blue, gold or pink.

I like these a lot. They’d make great shimmery smokey eyes with a twist of color. For an easy smokey eye, layer eye shadow on top of a creamy, blendable eyeliner like MAC Smolder. A dark, creamy eyeliner helps exaggerate the smokey effect.

Lorac Starry Eyed Baked Eyeshadow Trio, $24

From left to right…

• Starlet - pink pearl, muted plum, dark purple
• Evening Star - silver, gray, dark gray
• Superstar - golden beige, golden tan, bronze

Create shimmery eye looks with the three color-coordianated shades in each Lorac Starry Eyed Baked Eyeshadow Trio. Apply them dry for a natural look or wet for an intense, dramatic effect.

I’m off to go running! What are you up to today?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

The look I did for work today draws heavily on products from the Lancome Color Design Artist Palette in Couture Warms ($70). Lancome knocked it out of the park with Couture Warms, ladies. It’s an amazing palette, but you can always duplicate this look using similar products from other lines.

Couture Warms

Top colors from left to right

• Strut - jade green shimmer
• Designer - moss green shimmer
• Pose - gold shimmer
• Positive - beige matte

Bottom row from left to right

• Couture - reddish-brown matte
• Model - bronze shimmer
• Vue - peachy pink shimmer
• Daylight - white matte

Products I used for this look…

1. Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer
2. Lancome eyeshadow - Positive
3. Lancome eyshadow - Vue
4. Lancome eyeshadow - Couture
5. Lancome eyeshadow - Strut
6. Lancome Le Stylo Waterproof eyeliner - Noir
7. MAC eyeshadow - Concrete
8. Lancome High Definicils mascara - Black
9. MAC Select Moisturecover - NW 25
10. Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder - Number 2
11. MAC Cremestick Lip Liner - Sublime Culture
12. Chanel lipstick - Leopard
13. Laura Mercier Oil Free Foundation - Suntan Beige
14. Laura Mercier Translucent Powder
15. MAC Loose Beauty Powder - Natural Flare

Brushes and tools I used…

1. Shu Uemura eyelash curler
2. MAC 239
3. Sonia Kashuk large eyeshadow brush
4. MAC 224
5. MAC 217
6. Sonia Kashuk angled eyeshadow brush
7. MAC 226
8. MAC 194
9. Billy B Paintbrush 13
10. Sonia Kashuk powder brush
11. Shu Uemura 20 brush

Here’s the basic layout of the eye products:

1. Too Faced Shadow Insurance
2. Positive eyeshadow
3. Vue eyeshadow
4. Couture eyeshadow
5. Strut eyeshadow
6. Noir eyeliner

The eyes

Begin by blending an even layer of Too Faced Shadow Insurance onto the surface of your eyelid with a MAC 239 brush.

Using the Sonia Kashuk large eyeshadow brush, apply Positive eyeshadow to the browbone.

Next, apply Vue eyeshadow to the lid with the same brush.
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Dear Makeup and Beauty Blog,

I’ve read on your blog that you take hip hop dance classes. I want to start taking them too, and there’s a place near my house, but I have a problem. I absolutely have to wear eyeliner to look presentable out in public, but I sweat a lot when I exercise. I don’t want streaks of liner running down my face, and the thought of watching myself for an hour in those huge dance mirrors without eyeliner stresses me out. Can you recommend a good eye pencil that can stand up to someone who sweats a lot like me?

Love,

Eyeliner Lover in Emeryville

Dear Eyeliner Lover in Emeryville,

Girl, I am a huge fan of sweat-resistant makeup, especially when big mirrors are involved. I know I don’t want to look at smudgy eyes and dark circles while I drop it like its hot (well, like it’s warm; this 30-something booty can’t move like it used to). I *totally* feel your pain.

What you need is a good waterproof eye pencil. I’ve road tested some different brands in dance class and my favorite by far is Clarins Waterproof Eye Pencil ($22). It’s both sweat- and smudge-proof, even when I’m sweating buckets. And the texture feels creamy and soft, so the pencil doesn’t tug at my lids (a pet peeve) when I apply it onto my upper or lower lash lines.

It comes in four lovely colors — black matte, bronze shimmer, violet matte and turquoise shimmer. I’ve worn all four in different combinations while dancing, and my fave combo is violet on the upper lash line, with bronze on the lower. The look packs just enough color to make my eyes pop.
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Emancipate yourself from the land of bland, chalky eyeshadows with Shu Uemura’s Fleur de Rose Palette! With soft, velvety textures and rich, intense colors, the seven pink, purple and neutral shades combine easily to create several different looks. The palette’s great for makeup neophytes as well as eyeshadow experts, and from now until June 29th you can get it online for 20% less (Shu Uemura friends and family online sale).

Here’s a close-up of the palette (the numbers correspond with the swatches to make it a lil’ easier to follow).

1. Gold shimmer
2. Dark purple shimmer
3. Silver-white shimmer
4. Light pink-coral shimmer
5. Maroon shimmer
6. Beige matte
7. Brown-gold shimmer

My favorite shade is the brown-gold shimmer. Doesn’t it bear a striking resemblance to MAC Soba, but on shimmer steroids? I think it’d make a great crease color or a base for either simple or complicated eye looks. I can actually see myself hitting the pan with this one!

While playing with the palette, I used the brown-gold shade in the crease to do a soft purple and pink eye.

(Side note: Just as I finished this eye the Fed Ex guy rang the door bell. When I answered, I had my right eye done, but the other eye was bare. The poor guy looked at me like I was nuts, LOL. Perhaps in some ways I am.)

The shades are shimmery yet natural — still appropriate for work or play.

Here’s how I did the look…

1. Applied the matte beige shade on the browbone.
2. Added the brown-gold shade into the crease.
3. Smoothed the light pink-coral shade onto the inner two-thirds of the lid.
4. Added the maroon shade onto the outer third of the lid.
5. Applied the dark purple shade into the outer V and the lower lash line.

Numbers refer to the palette above…

Fleur de Rose Palette Shortcut

There are several steps involved in the eye look above. If you’re new to eyeshadow, well, don’t freak out. You don’t have to go as far as I did to create pretty looks with this palette.

Start by exploring the brown-gold, beige, gold and silver-white shades — they provide great basic neutrals to begin a look with. From there, add pops of color with the pinks and purples.

Here are six beginner-friendly ways to use the colors in Fleur de Rose…

A Simple Look for Work

Apply beige shade (6) over the entire lid and brown-gold shade (7) in crease for an easy, neutral look.

A Subtle Pop of Color, Numero One

Add a pop of concentrated color to the Simple Look for Work above by wetting a stiff angled brush like the MAC 266. Use the wet brush head to apply the maroon shade (5) as a liner on the upper lash line. Wetting the brush amplifies the color as it’s applied.

A Subtle Pop of Color, Numero Two

Follow the same steps for A Subtle Pop of Color, Numero One but replace the maroon shade (5) with the dark purple (2).

Silver and Purple Night Look

Apply the silver shade (3) over the entire lid. Use a stiff-angled brush (either wet or dry) to apply the dark purple shade (2) on the upper and lower lash lines.

Daytime Smokey Purple Eye

Apply the beige shade (6) to your brow bone. Add the brown-gold (7) shade into the crease. Line the upper and lower lash lines with a creamy black pencil eyeliner like MAC Smolder, and then smudge the dark purple shade (2) over the liner with a pencil brush.

Pink-Coral and Maroon Eye

Apply the gold shade (1) to the brow bone; then add brown-gold (7) into the crease. Smooth the pink shade on the inner half of the lid, just barely into the crease. Finish by adding maroon shade to the outer half of the lid and just barley into the crease. Apply the purple shade (2) to the lower lash line. This is a variation on the coral and brown eye I did a few weeks ago.

Just imagine all of the palette combinations out there to discover! What looks would you create with Shu Uemura’s Fleur de Rose palette?
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Yes, Virginia, there is Chanel Heaven, and thy name is the Chanel Makeup Studio.

One of three Chanel Makeup Studios in the US (Honolulu, Hawaii; Costa Mesa, California; and Seattle, Washington), the Honolulu studio, located at Nordstrom in the Ala Moana shopping center, not only lets Chanel junkies play with the company’s full domestic makeup, fragrance and skin care lines but also allows them to get their Chanel-addicted hands on exclusive international products not normally carried by Chanel’s regular US counters.

Some European Chanel products currently available at the Ala Moana Chanel Makeup Studio

• Chanel Irreellee Blush in Snow ($40)
• Chanel Irreellee Blush in Sable ($40)
• Chanel Les 4 Ombres De Chanel Quadra Eye Shadow in Beiges Velours ($55)
• Rouge Allure Lipstick in Reve ($30)
• Rouge Allure Lipstick in Discrete ($30)
• Hydrabase lipstick in Sahara Beige ($30)
• Glossimer in Muscat ($25)
• Chanel Les Vernis Nail Color in Viollete ($20)

Non-Hawaii Chanel-aholics needn’t despair because nirvana is just a phone call (and a credit card) away. US residents may order Chanel’s international products by calling any of the three US Chanel Makeup Studios. Reach the Honolulu studio at (808) 953-6100. Ask for Sheila, the studio’s fabulous Chanel makeup artist, and tell her “Hi!” for me.
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