Raccoon Eyes

I've been wanting to use NYX's "Black Bean" eye pencil for awhile. I decided to use it as a dark base and put a carbon black shadow on top. The black shadow is from my Sephora palette.





I didn't have a plan for this look other than seeing how the NYX pencil acted as a base. Unfortunately, despite using an eyelid primer it managed to crease. Depositing the matte black shadow on top took effort and I had to use a lot of it for even coverage. However, I do like the "wet" look the pencil gives and decided to try something else to intensify the effect - vaseline! I went a little crazy with the shape, color and texture but I had a lot of fun doing it.

Here's the look:







When I saw the photos, I immediately thought of a raccoon. Not always a good thing in reference to make-up, but when it comes to being creative and having fun, who cares?

Anyway, I think raccoons are pretty cute.

Miu Miu with Sephora

Lately I've been reading fashion blogs and finding inspiration in clothing design and color combinations. The make-up I did today is inspired by this photograph:



I adore the cream, black and green colors of the floral arrangement. The eyeshadows are from this Sephora palette:



And the look:







Hope you all enjoy!

On a side note, I'm really pleased with how my eyebrows have grown out. I was over plucking them and getting frustrated with the upkeep as a result. Not only are thicker eyebrows easier to maintain, they're the best way to naturally frame your face and give yourself a more youthful appearance. It's hard to resist excessive plucking when you shape and fill your brows every day, but I've learned to appreciate my naturally thick eyebrows and am quite fond of them now. Count your blessings and embrace what makes you unique!

Just Like Honey

I love yellow and orange eyeshadows. They aren't viewed as very wearable or user-friendly but I think they're complimentary to most eye colors.

The first look was inspired by a color combination I noticed on a friend's t-shirt. It was golden yellow with dusty rose, mauve-ish pink writing. I thought it would be fun to translate onto my eyes. I only wish the colors showed up better in the photos:







And now the orange look! After putting this together I realized it's fairly similar to the robin inspired look I did, only darker and more dramatic. The false lashes give a "double lash" effect and I love them. They're my new favorite pair of lashes next to Ardell's wispies.







Stay tuned for my next post! I went to MAC and Sephora today to pick up a couple of goodies. I'm going to attempt swatches and reviews, so we'll see how that turns out!

Spring Is In The Air

The other day I was on my balcony and noticed a robin in a tree close to me. When I saw its coat of feathers I knew I had to do a look inspired by the colors. I love the golden orange color they have on their chest. So pretty! Here are the colors I used:





MAC's "Plumage" (photo) is a deep, matte teal/blue color. It's one of the first "expensive" eyeshadows I bought years ago and I still love it. I knew it would be a perfect match for the golden toned colors I wanted to use for this look. I used the copper color all over my lid, plumage in the outer crease, and blended everything out with the lighter, shimmery golden yellow color.

And here it is:









I love these colors! Metallic tones are always gorgeous no matter what color your eyes are, and plumage is awesome for the same reason.

Also, I wanted to show everyone a new brush set I picked up at Target yesterday.



It's Sonia Kashuk's "Gold Mine" 7-piece brush set. Usually I steer clear of brush sets because they contain brushes I already have or simply would never use. This kit is the exception. All of these brushes are useful for general application, fine-tuned application, or blending.

From my experience, Sonia Kashuk brushes are good quality and engineered very thoughtfully. I've never had a bad experience. Of course, I'll let you guys know more about them as I use them.

That's all for now! Happy Spring!

It's Been Too Long

First of all, I wanted to say I am happy to see I have a few followers! ^_^ I appreciate the interest, guys! I'm going to try to update more often, even with "incomplete" looks. If there's ever a look you want me to do, advice, how-tos, anything, leave a comment and let me know. I am open to criticism, no matter how harsh. Honest!

Now, onto the post. I was shopping at Ulta a few weeks ago and noticed these crazy colorful NYX liners. I swatched them and knew I had to buy a couple. I decided on "Extreme Blue" and "Crystal Champagne".



The blue is a gorgeous royal blue color, unfortunately it looks a bit light because of flash. The crystal champagne liner is pretty and perfect for highlighting under the eye or adding a neutral glitter to finalize a look. I immediately thought of putting them on top of liquid liner and put the blue on as soon as I got home.



I've used both of them a few times now and I have been disappointed in their performance. Crystal champagne has a tendency to peel off, like you've applied a strip of glittery glue that breaks down over a few hours. It came off in one piece! I'm going to test them a bit more, but for now their staying power is not as good as I was hoping. Otherwise, they are a lot of fun to play with!

I also bought a few NYX pearl pigments. This is a quick look I did with "Lime Pearl". I definitely recommend picking these pigments up. They're cheap, easy to apply, and color payoff is excellent.



Now onto nailpolish! I've been loving nail colors lately and wanted to try crackle polishes. After some searching, I found OPI's "Black Shatter" at Ulta. I wanted to grab a glittery color to put underneath and decided to go with Orly's "It's Not Rocket Science". Here are the two colors:



And on my nails:



I know, messy application! But practice makes perfect, right? Overall, I have to say I'm not a fan of crackle polishes. They have a tendency to get clumpy after opening the bottle a few times. I may use Seche Restore to thin it out, but I haven't been able to verify if it's safe to use in crackle polish. Anybody know? I would love to use it more but now it's too difficult to apply.

Now yesterday's make-up! I wanted to try something neutral but with huge lashes and bold lips.



This is the same look with a lighter color concealer under my eyes and a nude lip:



I used my favorite false lashes, Ardell's "wispies" or "demi-wispies". They are perfect for everyday wear and really tie a look together.

Okay, that's all for now. Remember, any feedback is welcome! I would love to hear from some of my followers!

I Love the 80s

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love unexpected color combinations. I've been wanting to do a hot pink, blue, and teal look for awhile and finally managed to do one tonight. The hot pink color I used is a NYX color from the first palette I ever bought:



The blue color is "radium" from Urban Decay's Book of Shadows Vol. 3:



The teal color on my lower eyelid is none other than the matte teal from Wet n Wild's "Pride" palette. This color is amazing and surprisingly versatile, especially with bolder looks like this one.



And finally, the look:









And now I sleep.

Starry Night with Wet n Wild

My friend Julie bought me a "snowflake" pigment as a Christmas gift and I've wanted to create a look with it ever since.



Doesn't it remind you of fluffy snow shining under the sun? I love it! I decided to apply it over a purple smoky look. I blended everything out with a teal color and it instantly reminded me of a starry night sky. The purple colors in the Wet n Wild "Lust" palette served as a great base for this look.



Anyway, this is what I ended up with. It was difficult to capture the shimmer, but I hope the idea is still there:

Wet n Wild Pride

This palette contains some unique colors. The matte, mossy/minty green color is awesome. The blues are superhero-esque. The matte white is pretty chalky and the shimmery white/cream color is great for highlighting. But who's worried about naturally highlighting an eye covered in green and blue? I wish the whites were orange or yellow colors instead, honestly. Either way, using these colors together was a challenge. Maybe I'll tackle this palette again another day but for now this is what I came up with:

Wet n Wild WTF?

Like many other make-up enthusiasts, collectors, whatever, as soon as I saw swatches from Wet n Wild's "Color Icon" palettes, I knew I had to get them. After some searching, I finally managed to find them and bought all four.



I decided to use the "Greed" palette today (first in picture). The black color wasn't as pigmented or intense as I was hoping, so I added a deep, carbon black color to the outer corners to darken it. Anyway, here's the look I ended up with and I hope you all enjoy: