16 June 2014

(belated) look of the day - BEST EYESHADOW POSSIBLY EVER

Disclaimer 1: This look was from Saturday. I took the pictures and rushed out of the house and just completely forgot to write this post.
Disclaimer 2: The title is misleading, probably. I'm just kind of obsessed with this colour and want to use it in everything.

Disclaimer 3: I just wanted a third disclaimer.

Saturday was my best friend Katina's graduation/birthday party, so naturally, I was later than intended because I had to do my makeup. I ordered a package from Beautylish on Wednesday at about 10PM and it was at my front door on Friday around 5PM. Their customer service is PHENOMENAL. On two separate occasions, I had something happen to my packages (a lipstick in the wrong shade was mailed and a face oil had leaked) and on both occasions, they were so nice about it that they just gave me replacements free of charge. Seriously, go check it out.

Anyway, so I took the advice of Phyrra who advised everyone to get this eye shadow and I just have to say that I wholeheartedly agree, even if my greasy lids made it crease after some undetermined time. (I wasn't close to a mirror to check it until right before I left Katina's house around 10:30PM and I did my makeup about 12 hours prior.)


I should have taken better pictures but I was already running late.

Anyway, this look was actually quite simple. Take a copper cream eyeshadow and tap that into your inner corner and blend it toward the center of your eyelid, then take the Inglot pigment in 81, the most gorgeous copper-pink metallic shade, and press that on top and toward the outer corner of your lids. Next, take a darker matte taupe shade and blend that into the outer corner of your lids. I used several shadows to achieve the effect I wanted, but if you have a trusty darker taupe, just use the one and save yourself some trouble. Create whatever shape suits you--I just blended it out without really caring what the shape was and that worked out just fine, but if you want to be more precise, go for it. Blend the matte taupe shade into the metallic shade and please, do a better job than I did.

I didn't bother with mascara because it was going to be warm outside, but I did use a thin flat liner brush to tightline my upper lash line. The gold eyeliner on the lower lash line is optional, but I thought it rounded out the look a bit.

My eyebrows are actually purple here, but the flash makes them look a bit more brown. I also didn't put on blush, but the lip colour is lighter to balance out the slightly heavier eye.

BROWS
Inner half - Laura Mercier eyeshadow in Plum Smoke (matte smoky amethyst)
Outer half - Sephora eyeshadow in Blueberry Muffin No 30 (black plum matte)
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Inner half - LUSH Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness (sunset copper shimmer) + Inglot Cosmetics AMC Pure Pigment Eye Shadow in 81 (metallic copper-pink)
Outer half - Sigma Beauty eyeshadow in Hitch (matte medium-dark ash-brown) and Snoop (matte dove grey)
Upper lash line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)
Lower lash line - NYX Slide On Liner in Glitzy Gold (pure gold)
Under eyes - Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 Fair

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01

LIPS
Geek Chic Cosmetics JoyStick in The Last Cetra (metallic purple-toned light pink)


07 June 2014

celebrity-inspired looks #1 - elizabeth henstridge at the 2014 ctv upfronts

Hello! It's been a while and somehow I logged in to find that I've gotten 70 pageviews today. You're all popping out of the woodwork, what happened?!

Anyway, so if you follow me on Tumblr, you'll notice that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is sort of taking over my life. (And by sort of taking over, I mean has 300% taken over.) I also have a habit of loving casts and their dynamic even more than the show itself, and this show is no different. The ladies of AoS are phenomenal and after I saw this picture of Elizabeth Henstridge, I knew I had to try to copy her look.


(I tried to take a picture with my teeth showing and I just looked so awkward. And yes, I'm wearing a lazy t-shirt because it was disgusting in my room and I didn't want to change!)

What made me want to try this look was the lip colour. I currently don't own anything of the sort, as slightly purple-leaning cool pinks aren't entirely my style. But it looked amazing on Elizabeth, so hey, why not?

I didn't have much of a close-up on her eye makeup, but she seems to favour neutral eyes with a bit of a flick on the eyeliner, so that's what I tried to do. Dot a shimmery, light eyeshadow in the inner corners of your eyes. (Alternatively, you can wait until the end so you can adjust the pigmentation as necessary.) Take a matte eyeshadow close to your natural skin tone and swipe it across your entire lid. This acts as more of a base than a part of the look, as it will make blending the other eyeshadows much easier. Use a gold eyeshadow and pat it onto the centers of your lids, and tap a medium-dark brown eyeshadow into the outer corner. Blend the dark eyeshadow into the lighter shades with a tapered brush.

(By the way, you should all be proud of me: I didn't finger paint my eyeshadows like I usually do!)

Take what's left on your eyeshadow brush and blend it into your lower lash line to give some definition. Use a black gel eyeliner and a small push liner brush (I used Wayne Goss' No. 8 brush, which is sort of a godsend) and press liner into the base of your lashes. Use a normal angled eyeliner brush to line your upper lash line and create a small flick at the outer corners. I completely forgot to use mascara, but you can layer some on after curling your lashes. Falsies are totally optional, but I think Lil is wearing some in that picture so I just went for it.

For the lip colour, I blended two different shades together to achieve a similar look and then added a layer of the lighter colour on top. I think the final colour looks pretty similar, although I can't say for sure as most of the pictures I've seen of her were edited.

Also, might I mention the miracle of layers? My hair is a lot longer than it looks in this picture but my front layers are noticeably shorter. Huzzah!

BROWS
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express brow kit in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
(All eyeshadows from the Sigma Beauty Bare palette)
Inner corner - Approach (pale, warm beige shimmer)
Entire lid - Elope (matte cool beige)
Center of lid - Command (light gold shimmer)
Outer corner - Hitch (matte medium-dark ash-brown)
Liner - Inglot Cosmetics AMC Eyeliner Gel in 77 (matte jet black)
False lashes - Ardell 109 lashes
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 Fair

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Matte Lip Tar in Pretty Boy (super-rich fuchsia) + Stained Gloss in Hedonist (neon pastel pink)