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

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.

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.

Eyes:

• 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

This 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!

Sparkly 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

I 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.

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

Eyes:

• 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

Sometimes 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.

I 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.

Eyes:

• 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

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.

I really, really like this look though.

Eyes:

• 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?

FOTD: Gold Eyes and Bright Red Lips

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.

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.

Eyes:

• 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: Low Key Pink and Grey Look

I love pink and grey together. The pairing feels soft and subtle, but still feminine. I like it. Although, to be honest I was expecting it to be more of a lavender and grey look, since that’s what Catticus Finch looked like in the bag and I hadn’t used or swatched it yet. But when it turned out to be pink, I went pink with the rest of my face too!

Snapdragon and Mucha Ado About Nothing are both colors that go with pretty much everything. But they really go with Catticus Finch.

Eyes:

• Hello Waffle Catticus Finch
• Hello Waffle Purrian Gray
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Uzi
• Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Kae Q Snapdragon

I primed my lids and patted Purian Gray, a sparkly almost-white light grey, all over my lids. I used a fluffy angled brush to work Catticus Finch, which I thought would be lavender but was actually mauvey pink, through the entire crease. I swiped the extra across my lower lashline. I used a blending brush to blend out the upper edge of my shadow. I lined my eyes with a shimmery dark grey liner and curled my lashes. I did my usual face stuff and used Mucha Ado About Nothing, a rosy blush that goes with everything, on my cheeks. I applied Snapdragon, a lovely MLBB pink, with a doefoot applicator.

Not much to say about this look. Simple and pretty.

FOTD: Darling Girl Summer Look

As I’ve mentioned before, each month Darling Girl has a contest on their facebook page. To enter, you post a look based on that month’s theme using Darling Girl products. This month’s theme was summer, and this is the look I came up with.

I was going for a sand and water look with my eyeshadow, but I don’t have a true turquoise from Darling Girl, and Lucky pulled greener than I remembered it. Oh well. I also added a bit of pink, because summer should be colorful.

Eyes:

• Darling Girl Bubbles
• Darling Girl That’s a Big Twinkie
• Darling Girl Lucky
• Darling Girl Tit Punch
• Darling Girl Superstar Serum
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Benefit Cha Cha Tint

Lips:

• Fyrinnae Meloncholy
• Firebird Strawberry Tangerine lip balm

I started by priming my lids. Then I applied Bubbles, a light cream/tan with a blue green sheen, all over my lid. I used That’s a Big Twinkie, a matte tan, in my crease. I lined my upper lashline with black liquid liner and winged it out. I patted Lucky, a white with green shimmer that’s designed to pop over a black base, on top of the liner. However, it didn’t show up as much as I wanted it to, so I went over the line (but not the wing) with pencil liner and patted more Lucky on top. Then I mixed Tit Punch, a bright pink, with Superstar Serum and applied it to my lower lashline with an angled liner brush. I applied mascara and did my usual foundation routine, with a double dose of undereye concealer. I used a coral liquid cheek stain, which I blended in with my fingers. I applied a thin layer of Meloncholy, a bright coral lip lustre, over the top of a balm and blended it with my finger to sheer it out a bit.

I love contests and coming up with looks to fit themes, so I had fun with this. If I had to do it again (and I might), I think I’d do a look with more tropical bright eyeshadow, rather than a look that’s heavy on the eyeliner for color.

FOTD: Password Protected Smoky Eye

I was in the mood for a pixie epoxy smoky eye a while back, since it had been a while since I’d done one, and another user posted a really pretty look using Aromaleigh’s Password Protected over on r/indiemakeupandmore, so I decided to combine the two of them. I’ve had this post sitting in my drafts folder for a while, but I’m working on finally finishing up my enormous Brilliant Deductions review (21 shadows. Craziness.) so I figured I’d post this now as a sort of preview.

 For a look that is in theory purple, this wound up looking surprisingly neutral. I still like it though.

Eyes:

• Aromaleigh Password Protected
• Aromaleigh Psychosomatic Limp
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Tornado
• 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
• Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer in Rose Gold
• Baroque Sonrel Not Sonrel

Lips:

• Marc Jacobs Lip Lacquer in Kissability

I did my usual pixie epoxy smoky eye here. I applied primer then patted pixie epoxy onto my mobile lid using my pinky. After it set, I patted Password Protected, a purple with a strong gold sheen, on top. I swiped what was left on my blush through my crease and below my lower lashes. Then I picked up a little Psychosomatic Limp, a light golden brown, with a blending brush and used it to blend out my crease. I put a little of it below my lower lashes to deepen the color there as well. Then I applied a purple pencil liner and smudged it out with a smudge brush. I finished my eyes with a coat of mascara. I did my usual face stuff and highlight my cheeks with a rose gold liquid highlighter. I also applied a plummy blush and a plum lipgloss with a bit of gold sparkle.

I like this look quite a bit. It’s very wearable way to do purple, and I think the gold looks really nice with my eyes.

FOTD: Glamorous Red and Sparkly Taupe

Over on r/makeuprehab, they’re doing a lip dare, which means using a different lip product every day for the rest of the month. It sounded like a fun challenge, so I decided to join in. While I use a pretty good rotation of lip colors, it seemed like a good way to encourage myself to give some love to my lesser used lip colors. So in that spirit, today I’m wearing a blue-based red, which I think is pretty, but don’t wear often.

I paired it with a simple sparkly taupe eye, to keep the focus solidly on the lips.

Eyes:

• Darling Girl Jeweled Taupe
• Blackbird Atlas
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Crave
• Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Fyrinnae Glamorous Rebel

I started by priming my lids (but with a different primer than usual). I then applied a wash of Jeweled Taupe, a sparkly light taupey tan, all over my lids. I applied Atlas, a matte brown, in the crease and below my lower lashes and blended it in a lot to soften the lines. I lined my eyes with a brown-black pencil liner and applied mascara. I did my usual face stuff, with a warm rosy blush. I finished with Glamorous Rebel, a blue toned red lip lustre, which I applied with the doefoot.

I think it’s worth noting that I don’t always put my looks up on the blog the same day I do them, so my blog posts might not reflect the lip dare perfectly. (For example, I technically started the dare yesterday with a post that’s going up later this week, since yesterday was the Planetary Challenge.) But I’m keeping track of what I use, and at the end of the Lip Dare challenge I’ll post a round up of all fifteen lip colors.