Temptalia

Build a Quad: “Island Paradise”

Christine — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:41 +0000

Build a Quad: “Island Paradise”

Island Paradise is very similar to The Tropics, except it takes it to the next level–brighter, bolder–with the addition of two permanent, but PRO-only eyeshadow shades. I thought it might be nice to give you a more over-the-top kind of tropical eye.

This quad includes: MAC Bright Sunshine eyeshadow (bright yellow), MAC Bio-Green eyeshadow (bright medium green), MAC Freshwater eyeshadow (bright medium blue), and MAC Shimmermoss eyeshadow (shimmery teal). You could also swap out Freshwater and bring in Electric Eel for an even brighter blue.

A few combinations to try with this…

Bright Sunshine all over lid, Bio-Green in the outer crease and lid, highlighter on brow
Bright Sunshine on inner third of the lid, Bio-Green on the middle of lid, Freshwater on the outer third, Shimmermoss in the crease, highlighter on brow
Bio-Green on the inner half of the lid, Shimmermoss on the outer half of the lid, Freshwater in the crease, highlighter on brow
Bright Sunshine all over lid, Bio-Green in the outer crease and lid, Freshwater in the crease, highlighter on brow

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

See swatches…

Bright Sunshine, Bio-Green, Freshwater, Shimmermoss

Build a Quad: “Sunset Style”

Christine — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:25:42 +0000

Build a Quad: “Sunset Style”

There’s one look that I do often, even if the shades themselves are interchangeable, and it’s what I’d call a “sunset eye.” Like it sounds, it includes the colors you might see in a sunset: bright yellows, fiery oranges, coppers, and reds.

This quad includes: MAC Goldmine eyeshadow (bright, true yellow gold), MAC Coppering eyeshadow (a coppery-red bronze), MAC Passionate eyeshadow (matte deep fuchsia-pink), and MAC Rule eyeshadow (a matte lightly burnt orange). If you wanted a more autumnal quad, you could easily swap out Passionate for MAC Antiqued eyeshadow, as well.

A few combinations to try with this…

Goldmine all over the lid, Rule on the outer lid, Coppering in the crease
Goldmine on the inner third of the lid, Rule on the middle of the lid, Passionate on the outer lid, Coppering in the crease
Rule on the inner half of the lid, Passionate on the outer lid, Coppering in the crease
Goldmine all over the lid, Passionate on the outer lid, Coppering in the crease

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

See swatches…

Goldmine, Rule, Coppering, Passionate, Antiqued

Build a Quad: “Smoky Duo”

Christine — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:25:03 +0000

Build a Quad: “Smoky Duo”

To me, the classic smoky eye is a mix of grays, silvers, and blacks–but the best part about smoky eyes? You can make any eye smoky. I thought rather than just doing a monochromatic quad for smoky eyes (at least, this time around!), it’d be nice to give you the ability to create two different smoky eyed looks in one.

This quad includes: MAC Ricepaper eyeshadow (a soft, lightly shimmered beige), MAC Soft Brown eyeshadow (matte reddish medium brown), MAC Silver Ring eyeshadow (shimmery silver-gray), and MAC Carbon eyeshadow (matte black).

A few combinations to try with this…

Ricepaper all over the lid, Soft Brown in the outer corner/crease, Ricepaper to highlight
Ricepaper all over the lid, Soft Brown in the outer corner/crease, Carbon dusted lightly in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight
Ricepaper all over the lid, Silver Ring on the outer lid/corner, Carbon in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight
Silver Ring all over the lid, Carbon in the crease, Ricepaper to highlight

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

See swatches…

Ricepaper, Soft Brown, Silver Ring, Carbon

Build a Quad: “The Tropics”

Christine — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:45:26 +0000

Build a Quad: “The Tropics”

One of my all-time favorite color pairings is green, teal, and blue. There’s just something so fun and youthful about it–it’s a combination I find myself going back to over and over again. The quad includes MAC Freshwater Eyeshadow (a medium dark blue frost), MAC Shimmermoss Eyeshadow (a shimmery dark teal), MAC Juxt Eyeshadow (a summery yellow-green), and MAC Shroom Eyeshadow (a soft, lightly shimmered highlighter). But… but… if I had my way, I would do away with Shroom and bring in MAC Gorgeous Gold Eyeshadow.

You can always mix it up, too — if you have similar shades, whether they’re limited edition, another brand, or what-have-you, there’s nothing wrong with swapping in a yellow-green substitute for Juxt. You could easily add a brighter pop of green like MAC Sour Lemon Eyeshadow if you so desire. It doesn’t really change the theme of the quad, but you can change it up and make it your own.

A few combinations to try with this…

Juxt on the inner half of the lid, Freshwater on the outer half of the lid, Shimmermoss in the crease, Shroom as a highlighter
Juxt all over the lid, Shimmermoss on the outer corner and crease, Shroom as a highlighter
Shroom all over the lid, Juxt slightly layered over, Freshwater in the crease, and Shroom as a highlighter

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

P.S. – It’s great that the response to this feature has been so overwhelmingly encouraging and positive, and I’d really love to hear from you as to how often you’d like to see it pop up per week. (Once, twice, everyday?) I want to try and see what might work best Thank you!

See swatches…

Freshwater, Shimmermoss, Juxt, Gorgeous Gold

Build a Quad: “Purple Shock”

Christine — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:47:46 +0000

Build a Quad: “Purple Shock”

Rich in purples, Purple Shock is a mix of cool-toned, blue-based purples and a more red-toned fuchsia purple to give it a little more oomph, a little something extra. Featured in the quad are MAC Parfait Amour eyeshadow (a cool-toned medium purple frost), MAC Stars ‘n Rockets eyeshadow (a fuchsia-purple with a icy purple sheen), MAC Beautiful Iris eyeshadow (a soft, iridescent lilac purple), and MAC Shroom eyeshadow (a soft, lightly shimmered highlighter).

For more customization, you can easily swap in your favorite highlighter in place of Shroom, or if you’re not looking to use this quad on its lonesome (e.g. you have plenty of highlighters elsewhere), you could add in a fleshy pink like MAC Hush eyeshadow instead. On the opposite end, you could go darker and smokier by adding MAC Contrast eyeshadow in place of Shroom.

A few combinations to try with this…

Shroom all over the lid, Stars ‘n Rockets on the outer lid, Parfait Amour in the crease, Shroom to highlight
Beautiful Iris all over the lid, Stars ‘n Rockets on the outer lid, Parfait Amour in the crease, Shroom to highlight
Beautiful Iris all over the lid, Parfait Amour in the crease, Shroom to highlight
Shroom all over the lid, Beautiful Iris on the outer lid, Stars ‘n Rockets in the crease, Shroom to highlight

A few looks I’ve done that can be replicated with these shades…

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments! Don’t forget to name your quad!

P.S. — Thank you for all of your fantastic and encouraging feedback on last week’s debut of this feature.

See swatches…

Build a Quad: “Soft Fire”

Christine — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:16:51 +0000

Build a Quad: “Soft Fire”

Dubbed Soft Fire, this eyeshadow quad features four permanent shades of MAC eyeshadow: Amber Lights (a coppery frost), Antiqued (a reddened brown frost), Bronze (a rich bronze frost), and Grain (a lightly shimmered beige highlighter). All of these shades have warmer tones, so I would consider this to be a warm quad. (I say this to caution you if you dislike warm shades, this is probably not the one for you!) All four shades are colors I’ve been using for years without fail, because they’re pigmented, smooth, and easy to work with. Grain is more of a neutral highlighter, and I like the way it accents the rest of the quad’s stronger warm tones–it helps to balance everything out.

A few combinations to try with this…

Amber Lights all over the lid, Bronze in the crease, Grain to highlight
Amber Lights all over the lid, Antiqued on the outer lid, Bronze in the crease, Grain to highlight
Grain all over the lid, Bronze in the crease
Grain on the inner lid, Amber Lights on the outer lid, Antiqued in the crease

Build a Quad is a feature focusing on creating different eyeshadow palettes that are both beautiful and functional using permanent shades of eyeshadow. We invite readers to suggest their own build-a-quads — just leave your ideas in the comments!

P.S. – As this is a new feature… tell me if you love it or hate it so I know whether to continue it!