Claire's Eye Shadow Palettes

Hi Everyone!

So, a while ago I was browsing through Claire's (the accessory store) and came upon their "mini" eye shadow palettes. Because the palettes were only $5.99, I decided to take a chance and purchase the neutral palette without any insight into the pigmentation of the shadows. When I arrived home and opened my palettes to test colors, I was pleasantly surprised by the pigmentation of even the darkest colors!

Although the palette is made up of neutrals, the colors vary from golden beige to a dark black (comparable to MAC's "Black Tied"). All the finishes are somewhat shimmery and frosty, but not overly so - you can definitely wear these shadows every day without seeming gaudy. My favorites to use are the burgundy and purple shades.

Today, I did a look using purple on the lid and black and grey in the crease:

(the palette pictured above)

The Palettes seem to come in 3 main color schemes: Neutrals, Pastels, and Brights. As of now, I have only purchased the safer neutral option, but I most definitely plan to go back and buy the brights palette!

HAVE FUN!

Quick Tip!

Angled Eyeshadow:

To try an interesting and more intense look with your eyeshadow without using necessarily bright colors, pick up good ol' scotch tape. Break off a piece of tape and place it diagonally from your eye's outer corner to the end of your brow. This will serve as a guideline for your eyeshadow, so now you can apply all your makeup normally and end up with a finished product like this (once you remove the tape):

fun huh??? :)

Products Used:
UD Primer Potion, MAC "Blanc Type", MAC "Shroom",
MAC "Pink Venus", UD "Ransom", UD "Peace", & UD "Zero".

HAVE FUN!

TAG

What's your favourite make up look?
I love bronzer paired with super contoured cheek bones, a sexy smokey eye, and of course nude lips. Essentially, what I call "clubbing makeup" !!

Do you have a beauty vice?
I am obsessed with blush, bronzer, and MAC MSF's. I'm running out of space in my blush drawer :(

What part of your body do you love?
I like my eyes, they are the window to the soul after all, haha ;P But truthfully I do like them because they are sometimes green, sometimes blue, sometimes even grey!!

Who is your beauty icon?
SOPHIA LOREN. She is the ultimate ideal of beauty in my opinion, classy but still exotic and beautiful.

What beauty product makes you feel instantly sexy?
A nude lip :)

How do you look after your skin?
Wash my face with face wash every morning and night, then do a full body exfoliation once a week (or whenever I feel like I need it), plus use dermatologist prescribed acne treatments.

What is your signature scent?
I don't really have one yet, but for now I use Bath & Bodyworks Body Mist - Sweet Pea.

What are your hair care secrets?
I use a TON of conditioner so my hair stays soft, plus John Frieda Frizz Ease!!

How do you pamper yourself?
I get Manicures once a month and Pedicures once every two months, super fun :)

What is your beauty pet peeve?
Eyeliner that has been applied crooked, lipstick over dry lips, and un-blended foundation!!

What would your desert island must haves be?
Conditioner, Mascara, Lip Gloss - I can work with those three things haha...

Finally, do you have a beauty philosophy?
Makeup is Art, so don't be scared to try new things and get creative :)

Makeup Look of the Day - 10/30/09

This is just a quick peek into what makeup look I'm sporting today:

The look was done using one of my favorite, budget friendly, eye shadow palettes from Claires (neutral eye shadow palette - $5.50). This palette comes with a beautiful range of soft, blendable neutrals. All the colors have a metallic sheen to them, none of them are matte, but they can easily be used for a night OR day look. Best of all, Claires Cosmetics does not test on animals, so you can enjoy being beautiful guilt-free :)

I'm thinking of doing this occasionally, so let me know what you think and if you would like to see more of my makeup looks!

Halloween Makeup

Halloween is coming up this weekend, and it seems that I already have a list of people lining up for me to do their makeup. For anyone who enjoys doing makeup, Halloween is an absolute dream. The "crazyness" of the holidays allows such a flow of creativity and freedom when creating a look that any other day may be deemed "too much".

Wether you're sticking to the traditional costumes, like witches and vampires, or trying something a little different, like your favorite movie character or celebrity, makeup can be a great way to showcase your talent and passion to the extreme.

Dont have any ideas on how to do your makeup?

• If you're dressing up as a celebrity, choose a look they are well known for, and embellish it. Going as Jennifer Lopez? Give her famous bronze makeup added glam by pressing gold glitter onto eyelids and out into a "cat eye". Kim Kardashian? A fan of long lashes, take a tip from Kim and grab the longest lashes you can find and pair them with a sultry smokey eye!
• Going for a more "typical" Halloween look? Visit maccosmetics.com (under Artistry - MAC looks) and take a hint from the free face charts. Under the "Style Black" collection, there are some excellent ideas for vampire and undead costumes using pitch black shadow and lipstick, plus gorgeously contoured cheek bones.

(black fire)

So take advantage of Halloween this year and go all out: glitter, bright colors, and fake eye lashes give instant POP and FUN to any look!!

HAVE FUN!

Quick Tip!

Have a favorite perfume or signature scent?

Many of us do, but I have talked to a lot of women and girls who are dissapointed with the lasting power of their favorite perfumes and body spray's. To help your favorite scent last longer and stay fresh throughout the day, spray a light mist of whatever product you are using all over your hair. The fragrance will hold in your hair the same way a scented shampoo does!

Try it out and let me know what you think, hopefully this will diminish the amount of perfume or spray you have to use for each sitting, therefore saving you money :)

What I recommend:

Bath & Bodyworks Body Spray -
"Sweet Pea"

Fragrance Top Notes: Sweet Pea, Watery Pear, Logan Berry, Rhubarb

Fragrance Mid Notes: Cyclamen, Freesia, Raspberry

Fragrance Base Notes: Musk

(via www.bathandbodyworks.com)

HAVE FUN!

Hot Fall Trend: Nude Lips

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to post a quick blog talking about my new, absolute favorite, lip color for fall. Nude lips are BIG this year and look both classy and sexy, if done properly. Nude lips are super tricky, so its essential that you find the right shade of nude lipstick or gloss for your skin tone.


As you can see in the photo above, each celebrity has taken into consideration their hair color and skin tones when choosing their "nude" shade of lips. Blonde's and those with fair skin should stick to neutral pinks, whereas those with slightly darker skin should stick to tan and bronze shades (see also Beyonce at right). The purpose of a nude lip is to "blend" with ones natural skin tone, and so you should look for a pink, yellow, or even blue based shade to match your actual skin's undertones.

Nude lips can be worn many different ways, depending on what sort of look your going for. If you're attempting a retro look, try a nude lipstick with a matte finish (something almost impossible to get with a gloss). Only attempt this look if you are absolutely comfortable with nude lips, as you are now combining two very tricky elements of makeup. Make sure to majorly moisturize lips before applying any matte lipstick, as they contain little to no moisture and can make lips look dry. If done properly however, matte nude lips look stunning when paired with a smoky eye (see left)! Nude lips also can be worn with a frost or gloss finish for instant glam :)

My Favorite Nude Lip:
Lately I have been wearing this combination nude lip ALOT and have gotten a ton of compliments on it! I love it because its neutral enough to wear everyday, but totally glamorous and dressy enough to wear out to dinner or clubbing. First, I moisturize my lips by applying a little bit of my overall face misturizer onto my lips.

Then, I apply Revlon's Matte Lipstick in the shade "Nude Attitude" (this was part of a limited edition collection so it may not still be available, check your local drugstre just in case). Lastly, I coat my lips with MAC's Lipglass in the shade "Viva Glam V".

The last product is a bit of a splurge (retailing for $14), but every cent of your purchase of any "Viva Glam" product goes towards MAC Cosmetics Aids Fund, which educates about and helps prevent Aids through research. So why not splurge occasionally if it benefits the world somehow?

HAVE FUN!