Makeup and Beauty Blog | Makeup Reviews, Swatches and How-To Makeup
A beauty blog blooming with fresh makeup reviews, swatches and beauty tips from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict
I’ve been lovin’ this NARS brown-based neutral combo lately with Abyssnia all over my lids from lash line to brow bone, Sophia in the crease and Bengali in the outer corners.
It’s been giving my mainstay brown MAC combos a break…
It’s a good one! You should totes give it a try.
Here’s the makeup I wore to wizardry class today! Huh, I’m tellin’ ya… Sorcery is hard work. 🙂 This is my first look with the new MAC Holiday 2015 Magic of the Night collection, and seriously, I would wear this makeup pretty much every day if I thought I could pull it off.
Just a few quick pics of the makeup I wore today, and fall was in full effect! This was a NARS Steven Klein kinda Monday for me, and glitter also made an appearance.
The NARS Steven Klein holiday 2015 collection is available now online and at NARS boutiques, BTW.
NARS Steven Klein products I’m wearing…
- Killer Shine Lipstick in No Shame Lipstick — lips
- Killer Shine Lip Gloss in Fast Life — lips
- Single Eyeshadow in Never Too Late — lids
- Single Eyeshadow in Mortal — inner corner
- Single Eyeshadow in Stud — pressed into center of my lids
- Dual-Intensity Blush in Vengeful — cheeks
What about you? Did you wear anything colorful today?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I’m counting down the seconds to date night tonight with El Hub. We’re going to watch the new Pixar movie, Inside Out, which I’m very excited about because I’ve read great reviews. Plus it takes place in the San Francisco…Bay Area represent! 🙂
I was in the mood to wear a little makeup tonight, but I wasn’t in the mood to think too hard (such is the case most Fridays), so I fell back on a classic combo of neutral MAC Eye Shadows from the permanent line that I always like wearing — Saddle and Wedge on my lids and in the crease, Brun and Mulch in the outer corners, Ricepaper to highlight the inner corners and brows, and Feline Kohl on my water lines.
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Bonjour, Chanel!
Honestly, I have no idea why I look so serious in all of these pictures, because while I took them I was thinking about…
KITTENS! 🙂
One of the many perks of decluttering your office is finding gems like this copy of a Japanese magazine devoted entirely to cats.
Can I read Japanese? No. But since cats are the international language of love, things like this find their way into my life (I actually got it from this amazing bookstore in Japantown). I’m keeping it forever, obviously. It’s staying far, far away from the purge pile.
My makeup here was inspired by the visuals for Chanel Summer 2015 Collection Méditerranée Collection, which is available now at Chanel counters and online.
Gah! — I love this look. Now, if I could only figure out how to pose with my hands by face in a way that doesn’t make me look like I have E.T. fingers.
How do models do it? I have no idea.
Attempting winged liner in a 10-minute makeup look seems like a flawed idea.
And yet here we are. 🙂
It seems like it would be a near-impossible feat, like — I dunno — convincing your husband to let you visit the animal shelter and bring home all of the kittens.
But you really can do it.
You can! Ten-minute winged liner looks are entirely possible.
In fact, I winged it out today.
Today I aimed for elegant and chic with diffused winged liner, matte lids, a neutral pink cheek and nude lips.
This is one of those “I want to look like I tried, but not like I tried too hard” looks I like to wear, and I think it’s also a really cute first date look, maybe with a dress and heels for dinner, or with jeans and a tee for a casual Sunday brunch date.
Of course you could also totally wear it to work.
It has that reputation…but it doesn’t have to be Olympic-caliber difficult. I think that techniques like this one, which is what I used today, can make it easier.
For liner, I chose a dark gunmetal gray with tiny silver sparkles — MAC Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in Black Swan, which you can find in the permanent collection. Of course you could also use a basic black, or whatever other color you feel like wearing, but I went with this one because it’s not quite as stark as full-on black liner and consequently more forgiving, so if/when I make a mistake, no problem! 🙂 It’s a lot easier to correct.
I also like that it has tiny flecks of silver glitter in it for a little extra kick.
Yes, you absolutely can, especially if you do a couple of these things to save time…
Pick a focal point. If you’re going to incorporate a single focal element (like winged liner in this case), scale back on the rest of your makeup. For me, when I do liner, it always tends to take up most of my time, usually because I have to clean up some mistakes, so it helps to keep that in mind before you start.
Line it up! Before I started this look, I prepped my workspace first. I sharpened my liners, and then lined up all of my tools and the products I knew I’d need on my table in front of me (in order of their use).
If you’re going to be doing a look like this for work, I also suggest laying out all of your products the night before. That way you can just fly through your makeup the next morning.
Streamline your tools, too. Think ahead of time about which and how many brushes you’ll need. I LOVE dual-ended brushes because you’re basically holding two brushes in your hand at the same time. Also, keep your “just in case” products at the ready, and by “just in case,” I mean all of the things you might need if something goes wrong, like paper towels (for spills), makeup removing wipes, Q-tips, eye makeup remover and a pencil sharpener, in case your liner breaks.
Question: What girl puts on makeup just to clean her office?
Answer: THIS GIRL. 🙂
I figure what the haaaay! A little eyeshadow will make the act of purging old Post-It notes, product packaging and stacks of magazines that much more “professional.”
At least that’s the idea.
Fast-forward to right meow…
I didn’t want to spend forever and a day putting on mah face this morning, so I gave myself 10 minutes, and here’s what I came up with.
Because it’s a little more colorful than yesterday’s 10-minute makeup, I think it has a little more oomph.
I used cool-toned matte browns on my lids to softly define the eyes, along with a highlight in the inner corners to brighten things up a bit, and a bold fuchsia lip for a flash of extra color.
I think this look would be totally appropriate for most work environments, and you can seriously bang it out in 10 minutes.
Here are a few things I did to save time…
Simplify the primer situation — This won’t apply to you if you already skip primer, but if you’re a fellow primer addict/practitioner (seriously, I use four for most of my makeup looks), try to simplify (just a little!) by limiting yourself to one. For this look, I only used Make Up For Ever’s Nourishing Primer, which I applied all over my face, on my lids and under my eyes.
Then I concealed my under-eye circles with concealer (Maybelline Fit Me Concealer), and since I was already in the area, I took that up to my lids, adding a layer, which I then set with powder. That way I was able to skip my usual routine of NARS Pro Prime.
Same goes for brows (simplify, that is) — Instead of my usual brow rigamarole, which has lately involved filling and setting my brows with Anastasia’s Pencil and then setting them with Anastasia’s Clear Brow Gel, I used just one brow product, Bobbi Brown’s Natural Brow Shaper, because it does a little of everything.
Pick a palette (or two!) — For speed makeup, I like having a face palette that contains a blush, a bronzer and a highlighter, and 2) an eye palette stocked with flexible neutral mattes. That way I have everything I need for a basic everyday look in one place, and I don’t have to rummage through different containers and whatnot.
Try a timer — Do you have an egg timer or a watch? I use the little timer thingy in the Clock app on my iPhone. Today I set it for 10 minutes and placed it right in front of me on my desk where I could watch it counting down…
Don’t obsess about blending — I’m a weirdo perfectionist, and I can easily get carried away with blending, but for time-sensitive makeup looks, I have to let it go… Seriously, it’s OK if it looks a little messy. I think the key is picking two shades — like a light brown, and also a slightly darker brown — that aren’t too far from your natural skin tone. That way you won’t have to do a ton of heavy lifting.
Also, if the bright pink lip is a bit too bold for you, you could swap it out with a neutral lipstick. Here’s the same cheeks/eyes with a soft rosy pink matte (Tom Ford’s Pussycat) in place of the fuchsia…
Sometimes you feel like a shimmery plum cut crease… Sometimes you don’t. 🙂
Today, I did not.
I barely had the energy to curl my lashes (but I still found the strength to do it, LOL!).
This is a makeup look I’ve been doing lately when I haven’t felt like going to infinity and beyond but still want to look somewhat presentable. It takes about 10 minutes from start to finish, and even though it ain’t flashy or anything, I still feel pretty put together when I wear it.
(Please excuse the hair… I’ve temporarily nicknamed it “The Mop.”)
