Ladies, thanks to your recommendations I’m now officially obsessed with MAC Amber Lights eyeshadow, aka the ultimate pan of peachy bronze goodness. 🙂
Yesterday, I borrowed a few of your color combination suggestions for this plummy bronze eye.
I know spring is right around the corner and all, but the colors remind me of autumn leaves.
I used six MAC products for the look.
- MAC Indianwood Paint Pot cream shadow: shimmery bronze
- MAC Amber Lights eyeshadow: shimmery peachy brown
- MAC Saddle eyeshadow: matte orangey brown
- MAC Star Violet eyeshadow: shimmery plummy brown
- MAC Shadowy Lady eyeshadow: matte plummy black
- MAC Honey Lust eyeshadow: shimmery bronzy peach
It starts out with a thin layer of Indianwood Paint Pot patted over the entire lid. It’s a cream base that adds staying power to the powder eyeshadows and turns up the color intensity.
After Indianwood, I go straight for Amber Lights, aka my new eyeshadow crush, applying it on the lid with a MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush.
For added color and contrast in the crease, I follow Amber Lights with a sweeping of Saddle eyeshadow on the inner half of the crease using a MAC 217 Blending Brush. After that, I sweep Star Violet eyeshadow on the outer half with a MAC 224 Tapered Blending Brush.
I’m shooting for a little more of a smokey look, so I grab my trusty pan of MAC Shadowy Lady eyeshadow (remember her from the MAC Cult of Cherry Collection?) and pat her in the outer corner with the MAC 239.
After lining both the upper and lower lash lines with a MAC 209 Eyeliner Brush, I sweep some Honey Lust eyeshadow onto the brow bone and into the inner corner of the eye with a MAC 217 Blending Brush.
A few coats of mascara and concealer under the eyes, and then I move on to the lips and cheeks…
For the rest of the look, I decided to go with a strong lip and nearly-nude cheeks. I apply a single of layer of MAC O lipstick (a plummy red) on the lips and MAC Emote blush on the cheeks.
I think I’ll wear this look with my plum dress (or maybe a white top and chunky gold jewelry) out to dinner tonight…
Weird urges
This morning I woke up needing to hear some Tevin Campbell. Remember him from the ’90s? I’m Ready was quite the slow jam back in the day!
I have no idea what brought on the T. Campbell nostalgia. I guess it could have been the box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies I ate right before bed…
I wonder if there’s a link between Tevin Campbell and Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Part of me wants to conduct an experiment over the course of several weeks. The other part of me — the one reaching for the stretchy pants a little too often these days — believes this might not be a good idea.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Juanita says
March 7th, 2009 at 2:13 pmBeautiful look, matches the rich colors of the blouse. I can’t get brown to work well alone without using green, I’ll have to try plums now. Love the lip color you picked.
tanya says
March 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pmha ha love it, I haven’t heard him in sooo long..bringin’ back the memories!
I like this coppery look–it has a lot of depth with all the colors but doesn’t at all look too shimmery or showy. Love it!
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Kate says
March 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pmOMG, I love thin mints!!! They are heavenly! I haven’t seen any girl scouts around to buy them from however!
Your shirt is absolutely adorable! Where do you buy it? Does it come in an extra small or small for teensy weensy me?
Bj says
March 7th, 2009 at 3:08 pmooh love the look, its pretty fab. Mac C-thru lipglass would be totally hot with this
Elena says
March 7th, 2009 at 3:29 pmOoh man, Karen, I haven’t had a box of thin mints in so long! Eat extra for me! LOL
I like the color combination idea a lot and, maybe this is a result of the flash, but in the close up the bronze/brown seems to be muting the plum and amber out. Though, in the full face shot it looks like a good balance. Have you considered trying it out with a thin line of deep plum eyeliner?
Overall, I love this look! MAC “O” was the first MAC lipstick I ever bought and I love it so much; I’m glad you thought to add it to the look. Hope the weekend is treating you well. 🙂
Rachael says
March 7th, 2009 at 3:31 pmThis looks so good on you Karen! I have Amber Lights but I find that it’s too orange with my red hair so I never wear it… Although I really like the MAC Shadowy Lady colour, I should check it out at the counter!
Janet says
March 7th, 2009 at 3:39 pmGorgeous look!
laurie says
March 7th, 2009 at 4:41 pmbeautiful, love the combination. what are the lips?
Heidi says
March 7th, 2009 at 5:19 pmOMG you look absolutely amazing. The hair, makeup, clothes, everything is flawless! Bronze and plum shades look great against your skin. I was at my local MAC store yesterday and saw amber lights. It’s a pretty shade, but I’m afraid it’s a tad orangey for me. bleh lol. But with your help, I purchased soba and woodwinked. they’re my first mac shadows!
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:32 pmHi Juanita,
Thank you! That lip color is MAC O. It’s an amazing shade — I hope you try it. 🙂
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:32 pmHi Tanya,
Thanks!
LOL, I know… the last time I heard a Tevin Campbell song was probably ten years ago. 🙂
I hope you’re having a nice weekend so far.
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:32 pmHi Kate,
I heart Girl Scout cookies. I could eat them all day. Somebody at El Hub’s work was selling them and so I told him to get me two boxes. Gah! I know they’ll probably be gone before the weekend’s over.
I’m wearing a really old dress in this pic — I think I bought it at some random boutique in SF like, eight years ago. I like it because I don’t have to iron it. 🙂
Anyway, how’s your weekend going?
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi BJ,
Good idea! I have that around here somewhere… I’ll pop that on top the next time I do this look.
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi Elena,
Will do, miss! 😉
I didn’t think to try this with a plummy liner — that’s a great idea. Can you suggest any plum liners that you like?
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi Rachael,
Shadowy Lady super pretty. I got her in one of the Cult of Cherry Quads. You can totally smoke it out or use it for a liner. Do you have Satin Taupe? They pair nicely together.
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi Janet,
Thanks! Happy Saturday!
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi Laurie,
That’s MAC O liptick. It’s a really nice shade — it flashes from gold to plum in the light! You should totally check it out the next time you’re at the counter.
Karen says
March 7th, 2009 at 7:33 pmHi Heidi,
YAY! You got two of my favorites. 🙂 Isn’t Soba amazing? Girl, you’re going to be able to wear that practically every day.
Let me know what looks you whip up!
Kate says
March 7th, 2009 at 8:46 pmKaren–
GAH!!! The horrors! My dad works at a government/military building. Government or military buildings=no Girl Scout cookies, no fundraisers, etcetera. :sobs: I miss my Girl Scout Thin Mints!!! Why don’t they sell them online? They could make bazillions if they sold them online.
Eh, my weekend so far has been kinda iffy. On the upside, I bought new brushes from EcoTools (they’re very soft and fluffy. <3 <3) and three new nail lacquers. On the downside, this PMS migraine will not go away. I’ve had it since Tuesday or Wednesday. I’m hoping I can kill the rest of it tonight. I’ve got the migraine down to just pounding now and not the I-have-a-very-long-vibrating-needle-going-through-my-brain migraine. It’s painful, nonetheless.
Shiny says
March 7th, 2009 at 9:00 pmI wear this look a lot, I use the Body Shop shimmer cubes instead. I am going to look into Amber Lights now, I can see it being really useful for an everyday look, but can be mixed up for evening.
Heidi says
March 7th, 2009 at 10:26 pmRight now I’m experimenting with golds and bronzes because they’re more wearable than dark browns and black. woodwinked is a fantastic shimmery gold that looks great with olive shadow, and soba is awesome for everyday wear. It looks good alone or with black eyeliner. Ahh, i’ve been bit by the mac bug! I can’t wait to buy more eye shadows.
Wendy says
March 7th, 2009 at 11:19 pmKaren, You look lovely, your hair is also beautyfull, really shiny! Do you use the Shadow lady quad often? I have all the quads from the Cult of Cherry collection (amazing collection!), and this one I always forgot so thank you for reminding me this little fellow 🙂
Karen B says
March 8th, 2009 at 3:51 amLooks gorgeous. I think that Amber Lights is such a versatile colour 🙂 And it probably suits tan and fair-skinned ladies which is definitely a plus in my book
SMarie says
March 8th, 2009 at 5:06 amThis is a gorgeous look! I love it! I am going to add Amberlights to my “wishlist”!
Glosslizard says
March 8th, 2009 at 8:48 amYou look so beautiful and sophisticated! The makeup is perfect with that lovely top!
Sarahc says
March 8th, 2009 at 9:49 amI like the makeup but that top is hot. Perfect match. Where is it from?
Dao says
March 8th, 2009 at 10:19 amCongrats on your recent acquiring of Amber Lights. It’s a gorgeous color, isn’t it? I think if people just dig deep into MAC regular colors, they’ll find some really interesting gems. Sometimes I wish we could just forget all about the LEs.
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Daya says
March 8th, 2009 at 1:35 pmLove it!!! I don’t have Shadowy Lady, but do have Top Hat and will try your look with that 🙂
lexi says
March 8th, 2009 at 5:22 pmHey Karen,
Looks great – I knew amber lights would look great with plum – you know I’m a color wheel geek! I love my complimentary colors!
Elle says
March 8th, 2009 at 8:01 pmLate to the party, but this is one of my favorite looks, hands-down! You look gorgeous! How are you liking the Honey Lust? You’ve also just made me realize that I own O and haven’t used it yet…
Elle says
March 8th, 2009 at 8:02 pmPS–I just inhaled half a box of those Samoas. Stretchy pants here I come!
Ova says
March 9th, 2009 at 2:38 amHi, I`m a girl from Norway and
i like your blog very much. Look at it every day:)
The lipstick you have on the picture has a beautiful color.
Can i ask which lipstick it is?
Hope you undastand what i am writing.
Sarahc says
March 9th, 2009 at 1:15 pmOMG how long has MTV posted their videos like this? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop!
Rinslet says
March 9th, 2009 at 5:37 pm😀 Glad you tried it with Star Violet. It looks gret
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