Eyes

Facing the Day the MAC Makeup Way With a Teal, Brown and Blue Smokey Eye

August 1st, 2012 by Karen 33 Comments

mac tarnish with club eyeshadow

“When the makeup calls, the girl must answer.”

That’s how I feel today, like I was lured by love to do something more special with my makeup than my plans today would otherwise warrant.

I think that’s one of the things I love so much about makeup, that you don’t really need a good reason to play with it. It’s just there, so why not?

Sure, so I got glammed up to swing by Safeway at lunch to get heirloom tomatoes and basil. It won’t be the first time I go grocery shopping all gussied up.

Actually, I didn’t do anything fancy at all. Just a teal, brown and blue smokey eye using some of my MAC favorites, like Tarnish Kohl.

mac tarnish with club eyeshadow

This is one of my favorite MAC eye looks because of how easy it is, and because it’s a little different than a standard smokey eye with black or gray.

I call it my “peacock feather” eye look. 🙂
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Easy on the Eyes: Flaunt Your Inner Feline With This Soft and Simple Cat Eye

July 31st, 2012 by Karen 42 Comments

cat eye makeup tutorial 1

Even if you feel like your previous attempts at eye makeup left you looking like a horror movie zombie clown (been there, done that!), trust me, babe, you can do today’s easy cat eye makeup look.

Because it relies on forgiving neutrals, as opposed to saturated brights, and doesn’t require extensive blending or complex brushwork, it’s a great confidence builder. Perfect for when you want a quick, elegant eye look easy to dress up or down.

Before we get started, let’s go over the products we’ll use…

cat eye makeup tutorial 2
From the left: MAC 217 Blending Brush, MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, MAC 266 Small Angle Brush, Dior 3-Couleurs Glow Palette in 651 Nude Glow

Like last time, these are only suggestions, so feel free to substitute any similar colors you already have. As you browse through your collection, look for 1) a neutral (beige, brown, peach, taupe, gray, etc.) powder eyeshadow, ideally one within a few shades of your natural skin tone; 2) a complementing glittery shadow; and 3) a black, brown or gray shadow for the cat eye itself.

(Note: For this cat eye look, I find that soft powder shadows are easier to work with than eyeliners. The shadows don’t look as intense as liners, and you don’t have to worry as much about buffing out the edges.)

I’ll be using the new Dior 3-Couleurs Glow Palette in 651 Nude Glow because it has a good selection of shades for this particular look, but you could also use shadows like NARS Cyprus, MAC Soba, MAC Patina, or MAC Arena as your main neutral; NARS Night Star for your shimmer/glitter shadow and something like MAC Carbon for your darker shadow shade.

Okay, here we go! Let’s get started. 🙂

First — and this is really only the first step if you have oily eyelids — starting with a primer can really help extend the wear time of your shadows. If it’s not a problem for you, you can skip ahead.

Now, using a flat eye shader brush like the MAC 239, pat your main neutral shadow, which for me is the darker golden brown shimmery shade in the upper left of the Dior palette, on your lids starting at the lash line and slowly working up into the crease.

cat eye makeup tutorial 3

Try to concentrate more of the color near the lash line than the crease, as this creates the gradient/transition effect, and also gives the eye more depth, and the overall look more polish.

While you’re still holding the same brush, take the leftover product, and run it along your lower lash line.

cat eye makeup tutorial 4

Then, grab a domed blending brush like the MAC 217, and gently buff the edges, further diffusing the color, by running the brush along your brow bone…

cat eye makeup tutorial 5
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MAC Unsung Heroes: Tarnish Eye Kohl

July 30th, 2012 by Karen 36 Comments

mac tarnish

One could probably pen a trilogy of Tolkien-ian proportions on the fantabulousness of MAC’s soft and smudgy $15 Eye Kohl in Tarnish, a blackened forest green pencil eyeliner, but because you have pretty nails to paint, diva pets to assist and [INSERT SNACK FOOD OF CHOICE] to nom, I’m gonna try to break it down for you, bullet point-style. 🙂

1. Whatever your eye color happens to be, MAC Tarnish makes magic happen!

I’d even go so far as to call this blackened green, with its hint of sheen, universally flattering.

It’s like a pigment power-up! Whether your eyes are brown, blue, green, hazel, grey or violet (mine are dark brown with a navy blue ring around the edge of the iris), MAC Tarnish turns up the natural color of your eyes, making blue eyes appear bluer, brown eyes browner, green eyes greener — you get the idea.

To showcase your eyes by enhancing their natural color, apply Tarnish along your lash or water lines (or both, which I like to do).

2. MAC Tarnish is a great alternative to black and brown

If black eyeliners and other super dark shades are just too stark for you, here comes Tarnish to the rescue!

I think the forest green tones really help to soften the color, making for a noticeably less dramatic liner look than basic black.

mac tarnish swatch
Tarnish on NC42 skin
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I’m Drawn to Your Pigment and Wear Time, NARS Eyeliner Stylo

July 26th, 2012 by Karen 39 Comments

nars eyeliner stylo

Ah, flexibility… It’s good, no? GREAT, in fact, especially when you’re battling Channing Tatum on the dance floor, wrangling friends into last-minute dinner plans or, say, applying liquid eyeliner.

Honestly, without the flexible tip at the end of my far-and-away favorite LORAC Front of the Line Pro, my liquid liner cat eye looks would look like a hot mess. That flexible tip makes drawing straight, crisp lines much easier for me and my sometimes shaky hand.

But because I suffer from chronic makeup madness (I believe that’s the clinical term), I’m predisposed to seek out other options…

You know how it goes. 🙂

Which brings me to the four new colors in the NARS Eyeliner Stylo line ($27 each).

Even though their tips are a little too firm for me (ruh-roh!), I wanted to test them with an open mind.

The four new shades — black Carpates, brown Nuku Hiva, navy Atlantic and grey Koala — are en route to narscosmetics.com, ETA August 1 (not sure if they’re also going to be available in stores).

nars eyeliner stylo tips
From top to bottom: Atlantic, Koala, Nuku Hiva and Carpates

nars eyeliner stylo swatches
Swatches from the left: Koala, Carpates, Nuku Hiva and Atlantic

nars eyeliner stylo
Wearing Koala on my eyes
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Easy on the Eyes: A Super Simple Smokey Eye With Brown and Black

July 25th, 2012 by Karen 53 Comments

A simple smokey eye tutorial

Of all the eye makeup looks I’ve worn over the past — let’s see, I started wearing makeup when I was 14, and I’m 37 now (LOL! First I typed, “…and I’m 27 now.”) — 23 years (!), this simple smokey number with brown and black has to be one of my favorite five.

It’s one of my best conversation starters, because whenever I wear it and bump into fellow beauty fiends (MY PEOPLE!), there’s a pretty good chance they’ll ask what I’m wearing.

I like that it’s easy and elegant, and even though it’s more dramatic than the look earlier this week, I still think it fits within the “natural with a kick” category.

In terms of products you’ll need, there’s not much to it. Just a few things…

smokey eye tutorial 1
From the left: MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, MAC 217 Blending Brush, MAC Kohl Power Pencil in Feline and MAC Eyeshadow in Soba

Like last time, I’m mostly using MAC products here, but there are literally dozens if not hundreds of similar shades out there from other brands. There’s no reason you couldn’t use some other colors and brushes you already have on hand.

Right. Now, on to the look! 🙂

First, it’s time to prime — at least if you have oily lids. If not, let’s skip ahead.

Next (or maybe first, if you didn’t need to prime), grab something like MAC Kohl Power Pencil in Feline, and apply all over your lids.

Don’t worry if it looks a little messy at this point, because we’ll be doing some blending in a minute. Right now we’re just trying to start with a good base and give the overall look some depth.

smokey eye tutorial 2

You can probably guess one of the reasons I’m a fan of Feline, but it’s also super soft and easy to blend.

For this step, I’d probably steer clear of quick-setting, long-wearing pencils like Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion that might not allow enough time for blending, but other than that, any good black liner should do.

Now, take your blending brush (I’m using the MAC 217 here), and gently start buffing out the edges; your smokey look should start to take shape.

smokey eye tutorial 3
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You’ve Piqued My Interest With Neutrals, Benefit! The New Benefit Peek-a-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit

July 24th, 2012 by Karen 32 Comments

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit

Of course I got all jazz hands (JAZZ HANDS!) when I saw the neutrals in Benefit’s new eye illuminating kit, Peek-A-Bright Eyes ($32).

Brown, beige and pink eye makeup works on me like shot of makeup love straight to the heart! The combo takes me to that happy place where pink unicorns with rainbow manes roam free, Ryan Gosling walks around shirtless 24/7, and everyone’s eye makeup always looks flawless. 🙂

Benefit says the shades in the kit, which arrives at Benefit stores, counters and online next month, all work together to create a dazzling, bright-eyed, wide-awake look.

A pink unicorn with a rainbow mane It comes with three eyeshadows (a base shade in Buff, a contour shade in Brown and a highlight in Pearly Pink), two tiny eye brushes, an Eye Bright and a booklet with a tutorial, and some tips and tricks.

For my makeup this afternoon, I used the tutorial in the kit as a jumping off point…

Benefit Peek-a-Bright Eyes Eye Illuminating Kit swatches

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit

benefit peek a bright eyes eye illuminating kit product shot
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Easy on the Eyes: A Quick Eye Makeup Look Starring Bronze and Brown

July 23rd, 2012 by Karen 54 Comments

A bronze and brown eye tutorial

Oh, did I tell you? Last weekend I did a marathon…text message session about makeup with my friend Jen. 🙂

Jen’s a busy new mom with a full-time job. She hasn’t been too adventurous with her makeup for the past few years — mostly just mascara and gloss — but she wants to start playing a little more now and asked me for some easy eye makeup ideas. Nothing fancy, just simple looks she could wear to work or to dinner with her hubby.

When she described the overall look she was going for as, “natural with a kick,” that got me thinking… It might be fun to make a series out of this. Just some really easy eye makeup looks to get you pretty, polished and out the door.

If you’re a busy mom like Jen, a student heading back to school this fall, or anyone looking for a few more quick eye makeup ideas, hopefully the brief tutorials I’ll be sharing over the next few days can help.

So, what does “natural with a kick” mean? Well, for me it means a look that’s one step above a no-makeup makeup look, like something where you can definitely tell that you’re wearing makeup, but it doesn’t look anywhere near as done up as a full-blown Kim Kardashian smokey eye.

The colors I think of for looks like these are usually soft daytime neutrals, bronzes, browns and khakis with matte, sheen and shimmer finishes. Nothing too crazy at all. Just a simple, pretty look with very few products and a wee bit o’ blending.

Today’s eye look is super easy, too. It’s a soft and shimmery eye with bronze and brown, and it only takes about 10 minutes.

I’m mostly using MAC products here, but if you have any similar shades from different brands, feel free to substitute.

bronze and brown eye tutorial products
From the left: MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, MAC 266 Small Angle Brush, MAC 217 Blending Brush, MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy, MAC Eyeshadow in Concrete and MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood

First things first — if your lids are oily, as mine sometimes are — prime them first with a translucent primer (I like NARS Pro-Prime Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base). The primer gives the other products we’ll be using a better surface to adhere to.

If your lids are dry, on the other hand, in the interest of saving time, you can probably skip this step.

bronze and brown eye tutorial 1

Next, apply MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood on your lids with something like the MAC 239 Eye Shader Brush, concentrating most of the color along the lash line.

(No need to worry about being too neat here, because we’ll be blending things out in a minute.)

Then, take the remaining product on your brush, and run it along your lower lash line.

Grab a MAC 217 Blending Brush (or something similar), and blend out the edges of the shadow on your lids.

Try to create a soft gradient/transition where the pigment is at its darkest along your lash lines, fading as it moves up toward your brows.

To further define the shape of your eyes, reach for MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy, and line the upper and lower lashes (you can also be a little messy with this step, too), and then use your MAC 239 to softly blend out the edges.

bronze and brown eye tutorial 2
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Saving the World $6 at a Time: Milani Instant Eye Makeup Remover Is a Worthy Superhero Sidekick

July 19th, 2012 by Karen 15 Comments

milani instant eye makeup remover

I figure it’s only a matter of time before it happens…

…a bite from a radioactive spider, a shot of super soldier serum, contact with a meteor fragment from the other side of the galaxy — sooner or later, it’s bound to happen, but since one can never predict the exact moment of their superhero transformation, it’s a good idea to be prepared.

You’ll need an outfit (cape or no cape?), a heroic hairstyle and oh! — can’t forget the makeup.

Superman might be able to just tear off his tweed blazer, toss his glasses aside and slick back his hair, but we ladies like to go the extra mile, like Catwoman, with her black liner and red lipstick (I can only imagine the leaps and bounds her credit card takes at Sephora).

Superhero Karen wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without long-wearing, waterproof eye makeup on her lids and lashes, since saving lives frequently involves 1) perspiration and 2) inclement weather.

(And it’s a fairly safe bet that she and Storm would cross paths every so often.)

One thing’s for sure — she’ll need a really good eye makeup remover, something able to vanquish everything, including waterproof mascara.

Wait! — what’s that?! Up there in the sky! It’s a bird, a plane, it’s Milani Instant Eye Makeup Remover!! 🙂

A dual-phase liquid formula free of oil, silicone and artificial fragrances, it bats aside eye makeup like the Hulk bats aside cars. Cost: $5.99.

milani instant eye makeup remover

milani instant eye makeup remover
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