Spring Flowers Inspired Makeup Tutorial - Anemone EOTD

 My Anemone inspired look.

 Did you know there are more than 150+ species of Anemone!?

Hi everyone!  Happy Monday!  It rained most of last week here, and I'm itching for sunny weather.  I decided to post this spring flower inspired makeup tutorial to brighten my day (and hopefully yours too).  Anemone are such beautiful flowers.  I love how they have so much variation in size, style, color.  I also love how they are so simple in composition but can have intricate differences in shades.  While researching for this tutorial, I had a hard time deciding on what color to pick because there are so many.  My local farmers market has some of the best flowers, and it was almost impossible to pick only one bunch of these gorgeous flowers.

 The products I used!  All by Sugarpill Cosmetics.

 1. After applying primer, I put a base of MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot.

 2. Then I applied Sugarpill Weekender ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadow on the lid.

 3. Then I took Tako, a white matte pressed eyeshadow by Sugarpill, and used it at the bottom of the lid and sweeped to the corners near the tear ducts.

 4. I brushed Poison Plum, a deep violet pressed eyeshadow with slight shimmer, creating a faux crease.

 5. I bring Poison Plum to the outer corners of my eye creating a long 7 shape from the corner of the eye over the lid.

 6. Blend, blend, blend.  Bring down Tako to the lower lashline.

 7. Using a black eyeliner, I line the waterline and do a soft cat eye towards the outer corners.

 8. I smudge the black pencil down to the outer third of the lower lashline.

 9. I used Maybelline Unstoppable Highlighter in Fluffy Cloud, a matte white,  to line the inner corner of the lower waterline.

 10. Mascara and eyebrows!  I am using Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill.

 You are done!  A spring inspired purple eye.

 I would wear this look in the day time.  Or maybe if I'm lucky enough, on a date with my hubs.

Happy Monday!!!!

All the Sugarpill products used here are available at www.sugarpillshop.com.  MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre is available at MAC counters nationwide, and Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara is available at nordstrom.com.

What are some of your favorite spring flowers?  Or for any season?  I am still waiting for lilacs here!  Mmmm I love those!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Part 2 - Four Leaf Clover Painted Face Tutorial!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  EOTD + Clover!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!   To compliment my St. Patty's Day EOTD, here is a tutorial on face-painting clovers or really any shape.  A really fun, easy way to stencil cute shapes for you or kids on your face.

Tools for your stencil.  Put scotch tape, overlapping the panels, onto a piece of wax paper.  This will make it easy to peel off.

Draw your desired shape on the tape.  I drew a series of clovers, but you could really draw anything.  You can make them bigger for your cheeks. 

 Cut out your shapes. 

 Here are the products I used.  See the step by step for details.

 Peel the tape off the wax paper. 

 Apply the stencil to the face (cheek, eye, lip, whatever). 

Once the stencil is on, make sure it's adhered to skin without any gaps or lifts.  Paint on your base color.  I am using MAC Fluidline Ivy, a bright kelly green with no shimmer.  Fill in the shapes.  Don't worry about staying within the lines.  The stencil helps protect the rest of your face and eye makeup.

 After you've filled in the base color, tap on your pigments and glitter.  Have fun with this part!  Try mixing different shades.  I used Sugarpill ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadow in Tipsy and MAC Antique Green.  Then I dusted Make Up For Ever Diamond Powder on top.  The stencil helps prevent fallout.

 Peel away and viola!  A pretty painted shape.  You could do this freehand without the stencil, but the stencil helps with fallout and keeps the edges clean.  Also you can really have fun shading your shape.  Look at the color variation on the four leaf clover! 

 Now you're ready for a St. Patty's Celebration!

What are you doing for St. Patrick's Day?

 

Try this technique with kids!  They will love the face painting and using "grown-up" makeup.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!! Part 1 - Irish Green Eye Look EOTD

St. Patrick's Day EOTD!

Happy St. Patty's everyone!  Whether you plan on drowning in green beer or are just staying in (like me), here's a fun and light green eye look to help celebrate. 

This look is actually Part 1 of 2.  The second part I will be doing a little face painting for those feeling extra festive.  Whether it's for yourself or for kids, it's just something fun to add to festivities.

1. Prime your eye.  I'm using MAC Paint Pot in Painterly.

 2. Use a lighter green on the lid.  I'm using Fyrinnae's Prince Charming.

 3. Then I put a slight deeper green at the crease.  I'm using Sugarpill ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadow in Tipsy.

 4. Then I highlighted the browbone.  I'm using MAC Vapor.

 5. I lined the eye with Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Ivy Shimmer Ink.

 6. I sealed the gel liner with MAC Pigment in Antique Green and applied a little to the bottom lashline.  Curled eyelashes and added mascara.  Fill in brows.

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What do you guys do today?  Corned beef?  Avoid all bars?  Parade?

Sakura Collaboration - Spring Cherry Blossom Eye Makeup Tutorial with Sugarpill Cosmetics

My finished sakura-themed look.  

I am thrilled about today's post.  Anna of Fenua Beauté and I were gushing about our love for Sugarpill cosmetics and had previously discussed how we are weak in the knees for any makeup product with incoperating the theme of sakura.  So, we decided over Twitter to collaborate to do a sakura-themed FOTD on our respective blogs using our favorite Sugarpill products.

In Anna's look, she paints delicate petals on the corners of her eyes.  Click here to see her look.  She looks ethereal!

I wanted to paint the actual blossoms on my face and extend the shadow to the hairline.  I think it would be awesome to bring this look to the next level and make it uber kawaii and outrageous.  But I wanted it to be somewhat wearable for most folks.  You can make this look more subtle by not taking the shadow out as far and limited the blossoms to one (or none). 

The Sugarpill products used.

See the step-by-step for details.  Above are Tiara (silver), Lumi (white) and Paperdoll (purple) loose eyeshadows.  The palette is 4-Color Palette in Sweetheart.  I used Dollipop and Tako pressed eyeshadows.  All products are available at sugarpillshop.com.  If you want to see a review of them, click here for the Sweetheart palette and here for ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadows.

Step 1: After you have put on your face makeup, prime your eye area (lid, undereye and to the temple) with an eyeshadow primer.  I used Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Primer.

Step 2: To create a base, I mixed Inglot Duraline with Lumi ChromaLust Loose Eyeshadow.  Lumi is an irisdescent white with blue and green shimmer.  It is very sheer and makes a nice base for the eyelid.

Step 2 (cont'd): Cover the entire lid to the brow with this base.  Also apply to the lower lash line.  This will help hold color.

Step 3: Apply Dollipop at the crease.  Blend upwards.  Pack on extra color at the center of the eye for a pop of pink.

Step 3 (cont'd): Blend upwards and to the start of the eyebrow, creating a sort of Y shape.  Don't worry if this looks weird now.  You'll blend and mix later to soften edges and bring the look together.

Step 4: Where Dollipop ends, take Paperdoll and blend to soften the line.  Extend outwards towards the temple.

Step 4 (cont'd): Blend outwards towards to temple.

 Step 4 (cont'd): Keep going.... all the way to the hairline.

Step 5: Take a larger blending brush and dip in Dollipop.  From the hairline in circular motions create soft clouds of color towards the eye.

Step 6: With the same brush, dip in Tako and blend towards the eye.  Don't be afraid to go above the eyebrows or onto the tops of the cheekbone.

Step 7: Take Tiara on a clean brush and highlight the eyebrow and the inner corners of the eye, near the tear duct.  Using the same brush, apply Tako to the inner corners of the eye.

 Step 8: Blend Tiara to the eyeshadow in the temple.  Blend to make everything cohesive, but don't over-blend to muddle the colors.

Step 9: Line the waterline.  I used Stila Smudge Stick in Lionfish, a shimmering brown, vs. a black to keep the look soft.

Step 10: Line the bottom waterline with a white pencil.  I'm using Maybelline Unstoppable Eyeliner in Fluffy Cloud, a limited edition shade for Spring 2011.

Step 11: Apply top lashes.

Step 12: Apply bottom lashes for an extra doll-like look.  Define your brows.

Step 13: The fun part!  Painting the blossoms.  I'm using creme colors from Make Up For Ever's 12 Flash Color Case.  I mixed the white and fuchsia shades together to create the petals.

Step 13 (cont'd): Obviously, I'm not going for perfection here!  The petals can be more blobs, and then go in with another color to define.

Step 13 (cont'd): The smaller the brush the better.

Pretty petals!

Sakura! Spring is here!

Right eye (blossoms here are dotted with yellow and silver).

Go large or small on the petals.  No reason to just stop at 3.  Go above the eyebrow or onto the cheeks!

Thanks Anna for collaborating with me on this super fun project!  I had a great time doing it, and I hope it's one of many!

Do you like cherry blossoms?  Do go anywhere to see them? 

Wet n' Wild Color Icon Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned Eyeshadow Palette - Swatches, Photos, EOTD

I'm Getting Sunburned Eyeshadow Trio from Wet n' Wild.

Do you like hunting?  I do.  Of course, I'm talking about tracking down makeup and beauty items.  Sometimes there is such a rush in the thrill of the hunt.  Then you feel such a rush when you finally get the item you are looking for.

That's what it was like with these new Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trios.  I have beens scouring my local drugstores for weeks, and I finally ran into them at a Walgreens recently.  I was PSYCHED! 

This eyeshadow trio was worth the hunt.  The shadows were very smooth and creamy.  There was a slight fallout issue with the darkest shade, but I find dark formulas with tiny micro glitters (like the Nars night series) just tend to have fallout.  So when you apply on your brush make sure to shake off any excess.  Other than that, these applied very well and were on par with many department store brands.  Best part...?  This palette is $2.99.

 I'm Getting Sunburned Trio holds a frosty cool pink, a shimmering brown black with pink shimmer and a sparkling warm copper gold.

 Here is a soft EOTD with I'm Getting Sunburned.

 Can you believe this look cost less than a latte?

I definitely want more of these Wet n' Wild Color Icon eyeshadow trios!  I have one more that I purchased with this one, but I will definitely be back to Walgreens for more.  Have you tried these yet?

Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned is $2.99 for 3.5g, 0.12oz and available at drugstores nationwide.

Half Dose of Sugarpill - Bright Colors For A Casual Look - Sugarpill 4 Color Palette in Sweetheart

A half dose of Sugarpill.

I love, love bright colors, but when I posted my Sugarpill reviews, I heard from a lot of you that you loved the colors but weren't exactly sure how you would wear them.  The founder of Sugarpill, Amy Doan, aka Shrinkle, has such fun, vibrant, cute style, but not everyone who loves Sugarpill feels bold enough to wear their super saturated colors in a SHA-ZAM fashion (though I do love that).

I decided to showcase some more toned down, casual eye looks using Sugarpill's 4 Color Palette in Sweetheart.  I "cut" the intensity of the colors by using Urban Decay Naked palette (I am using the first edition one with the double sided pencil) for base lid colors and highlights.  I will specify which shades under each image.   Bright colors, even for those who love them, can be intimidating.  So dip your toes in first.  Sugarpill's pressed eyeshadows are so pigmented and blendable that you can easily smooth them with a softer shade to draw back on the intensity but still add pop.  They are easily buildable, so you can go as intense or subtle as you would like.

In this look below, I used Dollipop, a bright matte hot Barbie pink, to cover 2/3 of the lid, and Tako, a super matte white, to highlight the inner corners of the eyes.  I used Urban Decay's Hustle for the crease and Sin to highlight the brown bone.  I used Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Whiskey to line the eyes.  For mascara, I'm wearing L'Oreal Double Extend Eye Illuminator in Black Quartz for Brown Eyes, which I will be reviewing soon.

Dollipop and Tako

Afterparty and Midori

Here is a look with Afterparty, a bright shimmering Smurf blue, and Midori, a sweet melon green with a pearly sheen.  I used Virgin from Urban Decay mixed with Sugarpill's Tako to create a soft shimmering color to highlight from the crease to brown bone.  Zero 24/7 liner was used to line the waterline and outer third of the lower lashline.  I smudged Afterparty with Zero near the lower lash line.  Mascara here is Make Up For Ever is Aqua Smoky Lash in Extra Black.

I think I pushed this look just a little.  You could even take this to an even softer level by just lining your eyes with one color.  But the idea of this look was bright yet soft and casual.

 

Sugarpill's 4 Color Palette in Sweetheart from the Addicted to Pretty Collection.

Sweetheart is available for $34 at Sugarpill's site www.sugarpillshop.com.

Dollipop, Afterparty, Midori and Tako are also available individually for $12.

REVIEW and EOTD: Eyes Lips Face ELF's The Beauty Encyclopedia Smoky Edition Palette - Holiday Gift Guide Series

ELF's The Beauty Encyclopedia seemed like a really good deal when I saw it in Target a couple weeks back.  In part with our Holiday Gift Guide series, I posted a first look about this budget-friendly palette, and it drew a few interested parties!  So here is my review with swatches and an application example. 

This set contains:

12 eyeshadows

1 eyeliner pencil in black

1 mirror

1 applicator

$5 at Target stores

Different versions of the The Beauty Encyclopedia are available on Elf's site.

The palette opened.

  

First row: matte and shimmer.

 Second row: The blue was built up a lot to show that much pay-off.

Sadly, the purple was built up as many times, but the efforts were futile.

No color pay-off from that purple.

 

 Very weak last row.

 Instructions.

 

 Eye diagram.

I didn't follow the Encyclopedia's instructions.

See below for which colors I used (you may find it surprising!).

Diagram of the colors applied.

No, that's not a mistake.  I *did* apply that bright robin's egg blue.  

Color pay-off?  Zilch.

D, the navy shade, was oh-so disappointingly hard and didn't show up at all.

Nars eye primer and MAC Haute and Naughty mascara were used on both eyes.

An eyebase to help bring out color from these weak shadows.

This is Cyber, a Metal-X shadow from MAC (discontinued).

If you missed Metal-X shadows the first or second time, more on on their way.

Base applied.

A metallic silver cream-to-powder shadow base.  

Now let's try this again.

 

What a difference a base makes.

Pow... now THAT'S blue.

This is C, patted on.

The base made all the difference.  

See the colors actually showed up!

 Side by side, the eyeshadow base really brings out the colors.

Sadly, these shadows are just not that pigmented, but it's $5...

Seriously, what do you expect?

 Another edition of the Beauty Encyclopedia.

 The quality was very similar to the Smoky palette.

To Review:

Pros: Good gift that's very wallet friendly.  Would make a good stocking stuffer or a nice Secret Santa/office present. 
Cons: Hard, dry, mediocre quality shadows.  Dry eyeliner pencil.  Not a gift for someone who is really into makeup.  They will be disappointed with the quality.... but then again, it's $5 (pro).

Overall Rating: C+ (only because it really is such a good value)