Makeup Basics - The Eyes

"The eyes are the windows to the soul." I have no idea who said that or what exactly it means. I may have to do a Google search...

I was lucky enough to have a mother who taught me the art of makeup from an early enough age. I used to makeover my younger sister, Emily, and do photo shoots with her. Makeup has been in my life for what seems like a very long time, and I will never give that up.

I had the pleasure of doing my friend's makeup for her husband's homecoming, but sadly did not get a picture. She has told me on several occasions that she does not know how to do her makeup, let alone apply eye shadow properly. I decided to do a "basics" series, that will hopefully give some hints & tips on what tools are needed that will help achieve any eye shadow look you want.

 

First, brushes. I cannot put enough emphasis on using brushes to apply eye shadow. Brushes will make your life a million times easier. Brushes range anywhere from $1 to $50 and up. The most I have spent on a brush is $34, my very first foundation brush from MAC. It is still in perfect shape even though it is close to 8 years old. My cheapest brushes were $3 from Target by e.l.f. Don't you know my $3 brushes are the most amazing concealer & contour brushes ever!?! I suggest starting off with four types of brushes (pictured below):

Pencil brush. Good for lining top and bottom lash line. The "pencil" will put color exactly where you want it to go, hence perfect for lining. The one I have is by Sonia Kashuk from Target and costs about $7.

Contour brush. Use this brush to add color into your crease line. It is domed, almost like a pencil eraser in shape. I have tried using other types of brushes for my crease, but color gets all over the place or not enough is distributed evenly. The one I have is also from Target by e.l.f.brand. It is literally called "contour brush" and only costs $3!!! (There has been absolutely no shedding of the bristles and the brush stays in shape through multiple washings.)

Flat brush. My all time most favorite brush in the world is the MAC 239 shader brush. It has a tapered, rounded edge with firmer bristles. I cannot remember when I got this brush, but it has passed the test of time. I use it to pack color on my lids, get in the inner corner or brow bone for a high light. It picks up color very well and applies it smoothly. This brush costs $25 and is the one brush that I recommend most.

Fluffy brush. Good for distributing color all over the eye, (lid and brow bone). This one is the Sephora Classic Collection Crease Shadow Brush. But I hate it for in my crease, it is too big, so I use it mainly for my brow bone or to blend shadows. The cost is $16.

After you have your brushes ready, the first step is primer. Without primer, eye shadow does not stick to the lid, the colors are muted, and won't last all day. Loreal, Urban Decay, Nars, (most brands) carry an eye primer. I have currently been using Too Faced's Shadow Insurance. I squeeze some onto my pointer finger and blend it all over my eye. Let it dry for a minute or two and you're ready.

Cream, powder, long lasting, chalky, bright, nude. Eye shadow can be scary. There are so many colors from so many brands to choose from. Where to start?  First do you want to wear bright colors? Or is a more natural eye your style? Shadow preferences are different depending on the person. I personally am not afraid of color, but have learned to tone it down so I don't wind up looking like a clown. For beginners I suggest picking up a natural palette. Wet 'n' Wild has great pigmentation for very cheap. I am not a fan of Cover Girl shadows, they are chalky and don't last long. MAC has the most amazing pigmentation I have ever had in a shadow. My favorite natural eye shadow palette though, is Urban Decay's Naked 1. All of the shades can be mixed and matched together for a flawless look. There are matte shadows as well as shimmers, 12 colors in all for $52. It seems pricey, but the breakdown is just over $4 a shade.

Mascara can be scary as well. There are so many to choose from!!! I suggest CoverGirl's Clump Crusher as a basic overall amazing mascara. Not only is it around $7, the wand is amazing...I have yet to get any clumps from it and it lasts longer than and works better than most of my high end $20 - $30 mascaras. Again, mascara is a personal preference thing that you have to shop around for to find the one that you like.

Whew, that was lengthy, but I hope you found it useful. For me, makeup is trial and error. Sometimes something I had high hopes for failed for me miserably, but thank goodness for good return policies! If you don't like something you bought, don't be afraid to return it, even if it is used. Look around, read reviews if ordering from Sephora or Ulta, or watch You Tube videos on products you are interested in.

I cried...

I cried today. I have been on the hunt for the perfect foundation for a long time. Because of the redness in my skin, I get matched for colors too orange, or get matched for someone who is porcelain...My dry spots soak up the foundation leaving creases, or it all rubs away with a light touch. I got a foundation from MAC, but I looked fake and all of the above. I exchanged it for another that rubbed away instantly and showed every single of my pores.

I went to the mall this morning to return a lippie and the first foundation. Walked out with another foundation and didn't like how it oxidized on my skin. I'm one of those customers when I don't like something, I'm returning it. Makeup is $$$. I wandered aimlessly into Macy's found a woman who looked nice and told her my dilemma. Don't you know I started to cry?!? Tears. Big ones. There went the rest of my foundation, leaving patches of red skin and freckles poking through in the most conspicuous spots! She ever so gently guided me to the Estee Lauder counter and wished me luck.

I had heard great things about Estee Lauder's Double Wear Foundation...come to find out it's numero uno. Out I walk with shade 2N1 Desert Beige. And a free gift! I have only had this on my face for about an hour now, and you are probably wondering what the point of this post is....I'm getting to that.

When the lady I first encountered asked if I was only crying because of foundation, I could honestly say "yes, only because of foundation". Thankfully she was a woman and understood. Sometimes we do cry because of something that seems so trivial and silly later on, but in that exact moment in time, it is the biggest thing in the world. You're probably saying "Buck up Stephanie, it's only makeup". My answer to that: I don't like to look at myself in the mirror with a naked face. And finding the perfect foundation that does its job  helps me to go about my day, easing my low self-confidence so I can go out and do what I need to get done with my head held high.

On a happy note, there was a gift with $35 purchase!!! I completely forgot that Estee Lauder does these gifts and they are AMAZING!!!

 

 

Have a good day everybody! Remember to do what makes you happy and full of confidence. That may be working out, doing your makeup, cleaning, or playing with your children, and if you cry over the "little things" it's okay. Tears eventually dry up and then you can see the good things that are hiding, waiting for their chance to make you smile.

Tricky 3 (Using Urban Decay's Naked 3)

Trick is a gorgeous color in the Naked 3 palette. It's like an orangey/pinky glimmer goodness for your eyes. I watched a YouTube video this morning using Naked 3 and figured I would put my own spin on the look. If you don't know yet, Urban Decay has this whole "Naked" line of shadows, lip glosses, face powders, etc., that are geared towards the nudes. The "3" is pink nudes, soft, romantic, and pretty. I have used it a lot lately, as I am thinking of spring. In the wintertime I go a little darker with my makeup, but now that it is warming up, I am liking softer colors. Okay. Here we go....my "Tricky 3" look down below:

 
I really, really like how this turned out today. It was soft and somewhat subtle, the focus being on the eyes, but the cheeks/lips rounding it all out.

 

Do you see the shimmer? I first applied Trick on the "balls" of my eyes all the way up into the crease, patting the eyeshadow into place. (Patting a shimmer shade will help keep the glitter intact and prevent fallout.) Using Limit I took a fluffy crease brush and blended out the harsh line from Trick. Then I took a small stiff crease brush (I use ELF's $3 crease brush...it's amazing) and applied Nooner into the crease and a slight "v" on the outer corner of the eyes. I used Limit to blend a little more, up above my crease and onto my brow bone until there were no harsh lines. For the space just below my brows I used Strange as a highlight (this shade is matte and perfect for the brow highlight).

For the finishing touch, I used UD's 24/7 Liquid Liner in Smog on my top lash line, then used a dark brown eye pencil on the outer 1/2 of my lower lash line. It looked too blah, so I took a pencil brush and swept Trick on top of the brown pencil and all the way into the inner corner of the eye. Finished off with a coat of mascara and done!


Side view

Can you see the freckles on my nose?!?

The blush I have been loving lately is Mac's "Warm Soul". (Pictured above). It's a gorgeous warm, almost peachy light brown color with a slight shimmer. When I went into Mac to get a new foundation, the girl used this on me and I had to have it. I believe if I were stuck on an island, this is the blush I would want with me. You can see it on my cheeks 3 pictures above. I also used the bronzer from UD's Naked Flushed palette and a Smashbox highlighter on my cheek bones, down my nose, and on the sides of my upper face.

Above are 7 of the colors from the Naked 3 palette. I used Strange, Limit, Trick, & Nooner. For my lips, I used a Cargo Cosmetics lipstick (can't remember the shade) and a Lorac gold glitter gloss. Hope you liked today's look and thanks for reading this!

Leave me a comment with your favorite blush!

I Depotted My MAC Shadows!

Depotting...that word used to scare me! Why on earth would I want to take my beauties out of the little plastic cases they came in? I found the answer in the form of the Z-palette...all my single eyeshadows in one spot. No more forgetting about them in the bottom of the milk glass depression-era bowl they have been in, I can now see all my colors in one easy case. For those that don't know, a Z-palette is a shallow box, with a magnetic bottom, and clear top that holds virtually any eyeshadow, blush, etc., that can be taken out of its plastic case. (There should be an instagram photo that pops up in the feed to your upper right side).

I researched the best way to depot, and found the way that seemed simplest. Here's what I did:

Some of my single shadows in all their glory!
 

There is a "crack" that separates the 'bed' from the 'house'. I used a regular table knife and slipped it into the crack, separating the 'bed' from the 'house'.
 

I set a piece of folded aluminum foil onto a pan, set on medium heat, then placed the 'bed' of eyeshadow (one at a time) onto the hot foil until the plastic warmed up, thus loosening the glue (the glue is what attaches the metal pan to the 'bed'). When it was warm enough, I took a paring knife and poked a hole through the bottom of the 'bed' which then popped the metal pan out...this part was messy! Then I placed the two separated pieces on an old kitchen towel to cool.
 

There was still some glue left on the pan, so I took rubbing alcohol and a whole lot of q-tips to wipe most of the glue off, allowing the magnetic sticker to stick properly. Then I wrote the color name on the bottom of the pan.

And here is the finished product... This is the large palette (it comes in various sizes) so I still have room to fill it. What I really like is that I can see all of my colors, they are all in one spot, and I have room to add more!!! All together, this project took me about an hour and a half. I have decided not to depot my blushes (they are messy and I don't want the colors all over each other) or full palettes (such as the Naked's, I really like their cases). Overall this was easy enough to do, just messy.


Leave a comment if you have ever tried depotting or what you would want to depot!