Look:  Neutral Eyes + Vampy Lip

And the third look I did to test out MAC’s new Pro Longwear eyeshadows!  I don’t know what’s going on this week, but I’m already exhausted!  Can you believe it’s already Wednesday?

You will need the following…

• Eyes: NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Primer (primer),  MAC Carefree Eyeshadow (white gold), MAC Legendary Black Eyeshadow (black brown), MAC Make Your Mark Eyeshadow (medium-dark brown), Burberry Trench Eyeshadow (highlighter), MAC Black Black Chromagraphic Pencil (black), Hourglass Film Noir Mascara
• Face:  MAC Matchmaster Foundation (03), Korres #15 Natural Blush (nude brown), Guerlain Les Violettes Mineral Powder (03), Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder & Blush (illuminator)
• Lips:  MAC Soulfully Rich Pro Longwear Lipcreme (deep wine berry)

For eyes, start by laying down your eyeshadow primer all over the lid and until the brow.  Apply Carefree eyeshadow on the lower two-thirds of the lid with the 239.  In the crease, gently brush Legendary Black eyeshadow with the 222 and diffuse above the crease.  Apply Make Your Mark eyeshadow in the outer corner and lid to add warmth with the 239.  Use Black Black eyeliner on the lower lash lin, then soften with Carefree eyeshadow.  Finish lashes with Film Noir mascara.

For face, apply Matchmaster all over face with the 193.  Add color to the cheeks by gently dusting Natural blush near apples and blended out towards temples with the 116.  Lightly dust on illuminator with the 165 or 188 on cheek bones.  Set with Les Violettes with the 134.

For lips, apply Soulfully Rich onto lips.

Check out more photos!

Urban Decay Rollergirl Palette Look #2

We had our celebratory dinner on Saturday, and I had to wear Chanel Dragon–my go-to for special occasions–and decided to pair it with the neutral shades from the Rollergirl palette, due out in late April.  I really cannot express how absolutely in love I am with Le Metier de Beaute Echo… ah, it is just glowy goodness to the fullest extent.

You will need the following…

• Eyes:  MAC Radiant Rose Prep + Prime Highlighter (white-pink base), Urban Decay Verve Eyeshadow (muted taupe brown), Urban Decay Suspect Eyeshadow (muted champagne bronze), Burberry Trench Eyeshadow (highlighter), Urban Decay Whiskey 24/7 Liner (warm dark brown), Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara (black)
• Face: Guerlain Parure Gold Foundation (02, 03)
• Cheeks: Le Metier de Beaute Echo Blush (pink-peach with gold sheen), Dior Amber Diamond Skin Shimmer (bronze shimmer)
• Lips: Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque (red)
• Brushes: 249 (flat, firm brush), 239 (fluffy shadow brush), 222 (fluffy crease brush), 263 (angled eyeliner brush), 116 (dense blush brush)
• Substitutes: Verve = MAC Retrospeck (for this look), Suspect = theBalm All About Alex

For eyes, start by applying Greed as your eyeshadow base all over the eye area with the 249.  Apply Verve eyeshadow to the lower lid with the 239.  Next, apply Suspect eyeshadow above the crease and into the outer corner with the 222.  Use Trench eyeshadow to highlight the brow bone and diffuse the crease color with the 217.  Apply Whiskey liner on the lower lash line.  Finish by sweeping lashes with Inimitable Intense mascara.

For cheeks, apply Echo blush on the apples of the cheeks and pat towards the temple with the 116.  Lightly apply Amber Diamond on the highest planes of the cheeks with the 165.

For lips, apply Dragon for a complementing lip.

Check out more photos!

Make Up For Ever “Lips to Love” Lip Look

Last week, Make Up For Ever reached out to me to participate in their Lips to Love contest, which is all about spotlighting their new lipstick, Rouge Artist Intense (you can see reviews for 13, 20, 21, 37, 43, 44, 49).  I had a few ideas floating around but once I found out that you could only use Rouge Artist Intense Lipsticks (what can I say, I had visions of using Strass and liner and… yeah, which is a good thing, because it would have been way. too. much!), I took inspiration from a lip look I did a few weeks ago.

My Lip Look: I used #21 (shimmering bright red) on the very outer edge of the lips, and I applied it using a lip brush to get a crisp edge.  I then applied #17 (shimmering gold) on the center of the lips.  On a metal palette, I mixed both #21 and #17 together and blended the two shades together by patting on the color with a lip brush.  This gave it that seamless gradient of gold to fiery orange to scarlet I was hoping for.

There are seven lovely ladies who have all created their own lip looks, and you can check all eight of us here.  The winner gets to giveaway 10 traincases filled with the winner’s favorite Make Up For Ever products to their readers.  So the prize is really going to the readers, which is amazing! They are also giving out a lipstick to 10 winners everyday here.

You can check out all of the entries and vote for your favorite HERE!  Today is the LAST day to vote — good luck to everyone!!

See a close-up… and see my first [totally different concept] attempt!

My first idea was to do a violet to fuchsia gradient lip with leopard print.   It was a good idea in theory, and it looked awesome in my head, but I wasn’t feeling how it translated–it was messier and looked more like I had some sort of disease… LOL!  I think a really opaque liquid liner would have worked best for the spots, and I would also using makeup remover for where I wanted the spots, so that they would really pop rather than layering gold over pink.  (I actually used a palette knife to gouge the lipstick and dabbed the color on so it would be pretty thick and a little 3D.)

Look for Less: Gold Shimmered Red Lips

Many of you really liked my MAC Marcel Wanders Lip Combo that featured MAC Gesina Lipstick and MAC Mary Lip Gloss. It’s a lovely combo, but it’s DEFINITELY! dupeable. Gold shimmer always looks really stunning layered over a red lipstick.

I used…

• Rimmel Berry Queen (940) Moisture Renew Lipstick ($5.99)
• NYX Blonde Pearl Eyeshadow ($7.00) (But any yellow gold eyeshadow will do!)
• Wet ‘n’ Wild Clear Lipgloss ($1.99)

For $15, I think we get pretty close. I specifically wanted to find the cheapest dupe I could, so I only went through my drugstore products to pull colors. Berry Queen is insanely close to MAC’s Gesina, but it’s a little more pigmented, so it doesn’t end up as pink as Gesina when applied.  I mixed the gold eyeshadow with the gloss and then applied, so it would blend better (if you pat it on, it can be lovely, but it tends to stay where you patted it!).

I’d also recommend trying maybe a dark pink and then patting a sheer layer of blue-based red lipstick on top to get that pinky-red if you don’t have one already in your stash!  If you have naturally red lips, you might opt for a fuchsia lipstick rather than a pink-red.

What do you think?  Close enough?  Better? Worse?

See full face and comparison swatches…

Rimmel Berry Queen Lipstick + NYX Blonde Pearl EYeshadow

Marcel Wanders Combo: Gesina Lipstick + Mary Lip Gloss

MAC Gesina Lipstick vs. Rimmel Berry Queen Lipstick

MAC Marcel Wanders: Gesina Lipstick + Mary Lip Gloss

I applied Gesina Lipstick straight from the tube and then patted Mary Lip Gloss on top with a separate lip brush.   I didn’t use any lip liner, but if you find red lipstick is prone to bleeding, you may want to use clear lip liner to prep!

Would you rock this combo?

See full face…

Marcel Wanders Combo: Gesina Lipstick + Mary Lip Gloss

My Special Occasion Look: Red Lips

I don’t know why, but one of my go-to looks for a special occasion is red lips paired with a gold eyeshadow look. I didn’t have much time, so I only snapped a couple of photos of this look. I’m also still mad that Ore photographs so blah relative to how TA-DA it is in person.  Hope you’re having a beautiful Tuesday!

You will need the following…

• Eyes: NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base (neutral eyeshadow base), Illamasqua Ore Pure Pigment (shimmering gold-bronze), Urban Decay Darkhorse Eyeshadow (dark bronze), Urban Decay Virgin Eyeshadow (highlighter), Make Up For Ever #10L Aqua Eyes Liner (bronze), Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara (black)
• Face: Guerlain Parure Gold Foundation (02), Guerlain Voilettes Loose Powder (03)
• Cheeks: Korres #15 Natural Blush (pink-brown)
• Lips: Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque (red), Chanel Exces Extrait de Gloss (sheer red)
• Brushes: 249 (flat, firm brush), 239 (fluffy shadow brush), 226 (fluffy crease brush), 219 (pointed crease brush), 116 (dense blush brush)

For eyes, start by applying Smudgeproof as your eyeshadow base all over the eye area with the 249. Using the 239, apply Ore pure pigment on the entire lower lid to cover.  Then, apply Darkhorse eyeshadow into the crease and blend outwards and on outer third of the lid with the 226.  Diffuse the crease color by applying Virgin eyeshadow above to highlight the brow bone with the 217.  Apply #10L liner on the lower lash line and finish lashes with Inimitable Intense mascara.

For cheeks, apply #15 blush on the apples of the cheeks and sweep upwards towards the temple with the 116.

For lips, apply Dragon Rouge Allure Laque first, and then layer Exces Extrait de Gloss for a complementing lip.

Check out more photos!