FOTD: Fourth of July Red, White and Blue Cut Crease

fourth of july big Happy Fourth of July everyone! In America, I was never super into Independence Day, but living abroad makes being super American for a day more fun. So I put together an All-American red, white and blue look.

fourth of july look I feel like it’s pretty intense, but also fun and good for a holiday. Plus, I finally got around to doing another cut crease! I liked it in this case because it kept the red and the white separate, instead of them melding into pink.

fourth of july shadowsEyes:

  • Corvus Euterpe
  • Shiro What’s This Lever Do?
  • Shiro Attercop, Attercop
  • Darling Girl Superstar Serum
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Face and Body in N1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
  • Tarte Natural Beauty

Lips:

  • Fyrinnae 1952

After I primed my lids, I patted Euterpe, a matte creamy white, all over my lids. I then applied What’s This Lever Do?, a shimmery red, above my crease. I very lightly blended them together, and then I went back over my lid with a bit more white to keep the colors distinct. I mixed Attercop, Attercop, a sparkly navy, with Superstar Serum to make a paste and applied it as liner for my upper and lower lashes, making sure not to make the line too thick along my upper lashes so that the white was still visible with my eyes open. I curled my lashes and applied mascara. I did my usual base make up, and lightly applied a bright red blush, which I blended out with a clean blush brush. I finished the look with 1952, a warm red lip lustre, which I applied with a doefoot.

I actually really love this look. I wish I had a barbeque with lots of other Americans to wear it to! Happy Fourth everyone!

FOTD: Sparkly Teal Liner

teal liner bigThis is a look I photographed awhile ago and forgot to put up on my blog. I wore this to one of the days of my conference, and I thought it was a nice balance of interesting and not drawing too much attention to itself. I got compliments on it, too!

teal liner lookSparkly champagne and turquoise/teal are pretty much my two favorite eyeshadow colors, so of course I like this.

Eyes:

  • Shiro Doge
  • Notoriously Morbid Jupiter Rain
  • Darling Girl Superstar Serum
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Face and Body in N1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
  • Tarte Blissful (I think. I didn’t write it down.)

Lips:

  • Kae Q Mamey

I started by applying primer to my lids and sweeping Doge, a sparkly champagne, on top. I mixed Superstar Serum with Jupiter Rain, a sparkly teal, to make a paste and applied it with a liner brush, winging it out at the outer corners, and lightly lining the outer half of my lower lashline. I applied mascara and I did my usual face stuff. I finished the look with Mamey, an orangey coral balm that I applied with a doe foot.

I don’t have much to say about this one, except I wish I’d put on a little more concealer. Good lord I look tired.

FOTD: A Sparkly Coral Pink Look

coral bigI built this look around Hello Waffle’s Fey, a color that’s right on the border between peach and pink gold. I love it, but I’ve got it in a mini instead of a sample baggie and so sometimes I forget I own it when I’m leafing through my eyeshadows. But I’m glad I found it, because it’s just so pretty.

coral lookI love pinky peachy coral looks. Besides Fey everything else is pretty monochromatic.

coral productsEyes:

  • Hello Waffle Fey
  • Notoriously Morbid Shoes to Kill For
  • Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
  • Sephora Collection Black Lace Eyeliner
  • Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
  • Sephora Collection Outrageous Curl Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
  • Benefit Boi-ing in 1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent
  • Shiro Gelato Beach

Lips:

  • Shiro It’s Called Love

I primed my lids, then patted Fey, a golden peach with a hint of pink, all over my lids. I placed Shoes to Kill For, a hot pink, in the outer corner and blended it in until it was diffused. I put some under my lower lashes as well. I lined my upper lashes with black liquid liner and winged it out. I lightly lined my lower water line with pencil liner also. I did my usual face stuff and placed Gelato Beach, a bright coral pink blush, on my cheeks using a contour blush and blended it out with a clean blush brush. I finished off with It’s Called Love, a bright coral pink tinted balm.

As, I said before, I’m super happy with this look. Fey is just a gorgeous color and I really want to do better about remembering it. Do you have any colors you love but forget about?

FOTD: Super Quick Taupe Look

hodor bigSometimes I want to wear make up but don’t really have time. This was one of those days. The pictures are from a while back, but I remember I was in a rush to get out the door because I needed to get to the bank, so I did something super foolproof and simple.

hodor lookI wound up with a super easy to wear, work appropriate look. For whatever reason, whenever I go to the bank I feel like I need to do super toned down make up. Like the type of make up I could wear if I actually worked at the bank.

hodor productsEyes:

  • Shiro Hodor
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Pistol
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Face and Body in N1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
  • Tarte Cheek Stain in Flush

Lips:

  • Tilt/Shift Equinox

I primed my lids and swept Hodor, a lovely taupe, across my lids. I lined my eyes with shimmery taupe liner and mascaraed my lashes. I did my usual face stuff and dotted a berry cheek stain onto my cheeks, which I blended in with my fingers. I finished with Equinox, a peachy lipstick, which I applied with a lip brush cuz I only have a sample.

This is the type of easy look that I can do in a rush, because it’s pretty impossible to screw up. Do you wear make up if you’re running late? If so, what do you do?

FOTD: Coral and Green

coral green big I never would have thought to put coral and green together in an eye look, but it’s the theme for a new subreddit I joined, and they looked really nice together, so I thought I’d give it a go. Guess what? They look really nice together on my face too. Guess what else? I’m an enormous dork sometimes.

Coral green look I really, really like this look though.

coral green productsEyes:

  • Baroque Walking on Air
  • Shiro Gelato Beach (blush)
  • Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Mars
  • Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • Lancome Teint Miracle in Buff 4C
  • Benefit Boi-ing in 1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent
  • Shiro 1-Up

Lips:

  • Life’s Entropy Apoptosis

First I primed my eyelids. Then I patted Walking on Air, a light pinky orange, all over my mobile lids. I used a different brush to deepen the outer corners with Gelato Beach, a bright coral pink eye-safe blush. Then I lined all the way around my eyes with a shimmery dark green liner, including my waterlines. I used a smudge brush to smudge out the liner, working it up into my crease at the outer corners. The end of the green was a bit abrupt and I had too much liner on my smudge brush, so I went over the end of the green with the eyeshadow brush I’d used for the orange. I mascaraed my lashes, and applied foundation, a double whammy of concealer and setting powder. I used a light coral pink blush and filled in my lips with a bright orangey pink lip theory using a brush. I didn’t want the color to be as intense as possible, so I applied it in a very thin layer.

Have you ever seen a color pairing somewhere and thought “hey, those look nice? let me put it on my face!” or is that just me? What’s the most unexpected color pairing you’ve tried? Did it work out?

Comparison: Gold Eyeshadows

Golds swatches

DMM Aries, Shiro Perfect World, HW Tchaikovsky, Shiro Remake, Baroque Versailles / AFK Solar Flare, HW 1000 Likes, HW Amber, Shiro Mockingjay, Corvus Clio

Recently I wanted to find a dupe for Shiro’s Perfect World, my favorite gold eyeshadow, which is now sadly discontinued. I asked for suggestions on Indie Makeup and More, and realized I already had a couple of the suggested colors in my stash. I wound up pulling out all my metallic golds and decided to swatch them all to compare. (I skipped my peachy golds and yellow based golds, since that wasn’t what I was looking for.) I figured it might be useful to someone else who was also looking for a specific kind of gold.

All shadows are swatched over Urban Decay Primer Potion on the top/left and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the bottom/right. The top picture was taken in indoor natural light and the bottom in direct sun, for maximum sparkle.

Gold swatches 1Dark Matter Makeup Aries, Shiro Perfect World, Shiro Remake, Baroque Versailles, AFK Solar Flare

Gold swatches 2Hello Waffle Amber, Hello Waffle Tchaikovsky, Hello Waffle 1000 Likes, Corvus Clio, Shiro Mockingjay

Aries 2Dark Matter Makeup Aries: “A light metallic gold with gold sparks. It also has an orange highlight that makes the color shift from a light to a more orange gold.” This is a pale sparkly light gold. Over primer it’s a little sheer. There’s a slight cool grey undertone to it in some lights. I don’t get the orange shift at all. If you’re looking for a sparkly gold, this is the one with the most sparkle out of the ten. (Previously reviewed here.)

Perfect WorldShiro Perfect World: “Pure, soft, slightly metallic gold.” This is my personal favorite gold. It’s description is spot on. It’s a neutral gold without noticeable undertones, and it’s very smooth and metallic. It doesn’t have any sparks. I’m super sad that Shiro discontinued it, since it’s great with my light skintone.

Tchaikovsky 2Hello Waffle Tchaikovsky: “Vibrant gold with red, silver, and blue sparks.” This is a neutral-toned gold, with a smooth metallic finish and noticeable sparkles. The sparkles mostly struck me as silver and blue. I didn’t really see red. Over Pixie Eposy it’s more densely metallic, but it looks nice over primer too. (Previously reviewed here.)

Remake 2Shiro Remake: “Shimmery gold-bronze with purple sparks.” This is a slightly warm, very metallic gold. When I reviewed it before I didn’t notice the sparks, but this time, with more experience looking at eyeshadow nuances, I definitely did, The strike me as bluey purple and are very pretty. (Previously reviewed here.)

VersaillesBaroque Versailles: “Antiqued molten gold.” This is a gold with a bit of a greenish tint to it, which makes it look antique. (The pictures pulled a little warm, but the green twinge is definitely noticeable in person. You can see the difference between it and the warmer golds in the shot of all them together at the beginning of the post.) It has a very smooth metallic finish, and a hint of silvery sparks. The antique greenish quality makes it distinctive in my collection.

Solar FlareAFK Solar Flare: “A bright and sunny gold with a metallic finish.” This is an orangey yellow gold, with less sparkle to it than most of the other golds I swatched. It’s like a mildly metallic goldenrod. Over primer it’s a little sheer, so it can come across as more yellow on the eyes if you don’t use a sticky base.

1000 Likes 2Hello Waffle 1000 Likes: “Dark gold shimmer.” This is a very warm orangey gold. It darkens as it gets more opaque and metallic on a sticky base. Over primer alone, it’s sheerer and lighter. The lumps you see in the swatch are 100% my fault for not waiting long enough for the Pixie Epoxy to dry. Last time I swatched it it didn’t have that problem at all, as you can see in this swatch. If you wait for your base to dry like a smart person, it applies very smoothly. (Previously reviewed here.)

AmberHello Waffle Amber: “Dark orange-gold shimmer.” This is a very warm gold, enough to make it look almost like a rose gold or a pale copper instead of a pure gold. It’s very smooth. Over primer it’s a little sheer, but on a sticky base it takes on a nice metallic sheen.

Mockingjay 2Shiro Mockingjay: “Metallic brown-copper-bronze.” So this one is more copper than gold (and as you can see, Shiro doesn’t even call it a gold), but in direct sun the shimmer takes on a bit of a yellow gold quality. In indoor light it looks like a shiny new penny. (Previously reviewed here.)

Clio 2Corvus Clio: “A slightly blackened molten gold with a metallic finish.” This is the darkest of my golds. It’s also the least shiny. Over primer it’s more of a tan brown with a hint of gold, but it’s almost matte. On a sticky base, there’s more of a sheen, but it’s still the least metallic of all the golds I swatched. Its darkness makes it excellent as a liner. (Previously reviewed here.)

So there you are! Ten of my golds swatched side by side. Hopefully this was helpful to someone else. If you’re interested in me adding in my more yellow or peachy golds, let me know and I can look into updating the post. If, like me, you were looking for a dupe for Perfect World, Hello Waffle Tchaikovsky or Dark Matter Makeup Aries are the closest that I have. Tchaikovsky looks closer to me over primer, but Aries is closest over Pixie Epoxy. Both of them are more sparkly than Perfect World, but it’s more noticeable with Aries. So if I had to choose one, I would go with Tchaikovsky.

How often do you wear gold eyeshadow? If you want some ideas on how I use it, all my posts tagged with gold are here.

Also, I finally got around to making a swatch gallery. It’s in the menu at the left and it has all my swatches sorted by brand. So hopefully that’s helpful to you!

FOTD: Gold Eyes and Bright Red Lips

recursion gold big Red lips + black glasses = win. I almost never wear my black glasses (they’re my “special occasion” glasses and I don’t want to scratch them up too much), but one of the times I’m most likely to pull them out is when I’m wearing red lipstick. It’s a classic combo and I love it.

recursion gold look I also wore gold eyeshadow! I’ve got a gold eyeshadow comparison post in the works, and having all my golds out made me want to put them on my eyes.

recursion gold productsEyes:

  • Shiro Perfect World
  • Baroque Versailles
  • Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
  • Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer
  • Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
  • Sephora Collection Outrageous Curl Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
  • Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
  • Shiro 1-Up

Lips:

  • Life’s Entropy Recursion

I primed my lids and patted on Pixie Epoxy and waited for it to set. 20 seconds latter I applied Perfect World, a light gold, all over the top with a fluffy brush. I used a rounded blending brush to put Versailles, a darker gold, in the outer half of my crease. I lined my eyes with black liner, curled my lashes and applied mascara. I did pretty standard face stuff and finished off with Recursion, a bright red with a hint of orange, which I applied with a lip brush.

I really like Life’s Entropy’s lip theories. They’re smooth and super pigmented. My lips have been kind of dry lately, but I feel like it still looks good. It doesn’t cling too much to my dry patches. I lined up my samples this morning and let my husband pick which one I wore. Recursion is a super bright, almost neon red, but I still find it flattering. It’s being discontinued soon, so if you’re interested in it, you should probably pick it up now!

FOTD: Sparkly Purple Winged Liner

madness big I was in the mood for something simple, and when I don’t know what to do, I default to sparkly neutrals and winged liner. To give it just the tiniest smidgen of interest, I used Superstar Serum to make a sparkly blackened purple into my liner, instead of reaching for my usual black.

Madness look I really have very little to say about this look. I like it, but it’s basic.

madness glasses It also gave me an opportunity to use the lip gloss I’m trying to finish this month, so there’s that. Not the most exciting color, but it has sparkle too.

madness shadowEyes:

  • Ten Three Labs Madness
  • Shiro Doge
  • Darling Girl Superstar Serum
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Face and Body in N1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
  • Tarte Blushing Bride

Lips:

  • Marc Jacobs Lip Lacquer in Kissability

I primed my lids and then applied Doge, a sparkly pinkish champagne all over my lids. I mixed Madness, a glittery blackened purple, with superstar serum and applied it as winged liner. I had a little bit of the mixture leftover so I lined my bottom lashes too. I added mascara, did my usual face routine and finished with a slightly purple gloss with gold shimmer.

Madness makes a really good liner color. It was a GWP a while back, but it’s still up on Ten Three Lab’s site if you want to snag it. My sample is hand labelled because Cara very nicely tossed it in as an extra when I bought some stuff she was destashing. I’m glad I got to try it!

FOTD: Gold Eyes and Pinky Purple Lips

birthday 2 big This is actually another face of the day from yesterday. I wanted to be extra pretty the entire day for my birthday, so this is the make up I did in the morning, and the look I posted yesterday was what I did in the evening, post-shower. I think I saw a look somewhere recently that inspired me to do this, but I don’t remember where. I just knew I wanted gold eyeshadow and pinky purple lips.

birthday 2 look I’m almost out of my usual setting powder (MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural), so I did a little experiment to decide if I wanted to replace it or switch to an indie alternative. I did the left half of my face (the right side in the pictures) with Blackbird’s Magic Trick Super Powder, and the right side with MAC (on the left in the pictures). Then I compared the two. I had my husband inspect the two sides up close and he couldn’t tell the difference at all. I thought both sides looked equally nice, but the Blackbird feels a touch nicer on the skin and is an entire 20 dollars cheaper, so Blackbird wins. I’m gonna get a full size of it instead of another pan of the MAC powder.

birthday 2 glasses Obligatory glasses pictures. I think the lip color is really fun with this pair.

birthday 2 productsEyes:

  • Shiro Perfect World
  • Shiro Cake
  • Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Face and Body in N1
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (right half)
  • Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent (left half)
  • Shiro You’re Making Me [blush]

Lips:

  • Kae Q Passionflower
  • Fyrinnae Visual Kei

This look was pretty simple to pull off. I primed my lids and then patted Perfect World, a light gold, all over. I dotted a tiny bit of Cake, a white with a bit of reddish yellow shimmer, in the inner corner. I lined my eyes with black gel pencil liner, and smudged only the outer corners. Then I curled my lashes and applied mascara. I did my foundation and concealer, but then used two different powders to set it so I could compare them. I used a tiny bit of You’re Making Me, a magenta blush, on my cheeks, which I applied with my contour brush. I didn’t own the right pinky purple shade I wanted for my lips, so I started by applying Passionflower, a lavender, with a doefoot applicator, and then dotted Visual Kei, a bright pink, on top. I used my finger to blend them together until the color was even.

I’m super happy with this look. It was cheery and fun and pretty much exactly what I was going for.

Do you ever do your make up more than once in a day? I definitely do sometimes. Make up’s a hobby for me, so if I have an idea in the afternoon, I have no problem washing my face and doing my make up again.

FOTD: Turquoise and Champagne Birthday Look!

birthday bigIt’s my birthday! So I did a look using all my favorite colors. Champagne and turquoise, together at last. While I love both of them, I think this is the first time I’ve used them together in the same look.

birthday look I like it a lot. It reminds me of the gold and turquoise mermaid inspired look I did in my Jupiter Rain post, just done with more skill.

birthday glasses

 

Smiley glasses picture! I got cold and put on my jacket and realized I’d unwittingly sort of matched it, with the turquoise and toned down magenta.

 

birthday shadows

Eyes:

  • Aromaleigh #lovenotfear
  • Shiro Maiden Queen
  • Hello Waffle JK Meowling
  • Shiro Cake!
  • Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
  • Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer
  • Urban Decay Primer Potion
  • Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

  • MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
  • Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
  • Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent
  • Tarte Flush Cheek Stain

Lips:

  • Kae Q Sapodilla
  • Fyrinnae Sexy Nerd

I started my priming my eyes. Then I applied #lovenotfear over the entire lid using a flat brush. I took a fluffy brush and worked Maiden Queen, a bright greenish turquoise, into the Champagne, starting at the outer corner and ending about 2/3 of the way across. I tried to blend them so there was an even gradient, from turquoise at the outer corner to champagne at the inner corner. Then I used a fluffy angled brush to put JK Meowling, another sparkly greeny turquoise, just a bit darker than Maiden Queen, in the out portion of my crease. I used a clean blending brush to even out the transitions. Then I used a teeny tiny brush to highlight my inner corner with Cake, a shimmery white with yellow and red to its sheen. I lined my upper lashline with liquid liner, winging it out at the end, and my lower lashline with pencil liner. I curled my lashes and put on my favorite mascara. I applied foundation, concealer and powder and dotted a berry cheek stain onto my cheeks and blended it in with my fingers. I highlighted the tops of my cheeks with a pinkish liquid highlighter. For my lips I started with a layer of Sapodilla, a nude that’s pretty close to my skintone. Then I dotted on Sexy Nerd, a magenta with a bit of gold shimmer, and blended them together with my finger.

So that’s it! I’m very happy with it, and I’ve been having a really good birthday so far too!