Purple Oyster Cult

Hello Bloggesphere!

It's getting more spring like everyday! I don't know about you, but I am ready for the summer already!
The look of the day is a purple-oyster eye.

How To:

Step 1.

Use an eyeshadow primer for this look. It will help the shadow adhere to your lids better and make it a little more pigmented. First things first, using a blending brush apply a warm colour that is slightly darker than your skin tone to your creased and blend it out. This will help make blending your makeup into your skin easier. It's a favourite trick of mine. I used a warm shade from Smashbox's Full Exposure palette.

Step 2.

Apply a deep purple shade, I used "Hollywood" by BH Cosmetics, to your eyes concentrating on the outer "V" and sweeping it into your crease and about halfway across your lids. Blend mama.

TIP: If you're having trouble blending the purple smoothly, using the brush you applied the first colour to your creases with, dab it in the first slightly darker than your skin shadow and use that to help blend.

Step 3.

Using a metallic blue shade, I used "Cop a Teal" from my Too Faced "Sweet Indulgences" palette, and apply it from the inner corner of your eye to where it meets the purple shade.

Step 4.
If you have seen more than one of my tutorials, you will know I like adding some highlight to the inner corners of my eyes. I used my favourite "Venus" from the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette.

Step 5.

Using a gel liner, apply your liner and wing it out following your bottom lash line out. Aside from the actual wing itself, this doesn't need to be perfectly neat, we are about to apply black shadow to soften and smoke it out.

TIP:
If your wings turn out uneven, you can take a makeup wipe and carefully with the tip of your finger/nail wipe the line thiner/higher/clean it up.

Step 6.
Using a small brush, apply black eyeshadow to the very outer corner of your eyes and across your liner you just made. Blend it using a blank blending brush up into your crease. Re-apply as much black to the outer corners as your want!

Step 7.
Use the same purple shade and apply it with a small brush to your lower lash line until half way. Use the same blue colour and starting from the inner corner apply it to your bottom lash line to meet the purple.

Step 8.
Lining the inner part of your bottom lash line is up to you. I apply a nude colour to make my eyes seem more open. But you are free to line it with black or skip this step completely.

Step 9.
Apply mascara and your favourite false lashes.

And you're all set to shine!

This is such a pretty colourful eye. It suits pretty much everyone!

Good luck beautiful and just keep practicing!

Love & Oysters on the half-shell,

Dark...Really Dark

Hello Internet!

Happy Easter to you and yours this Makeup Monday!
I write to you from a couple provinces over. I have a bunch of wonderful family in New Brunswick and visiting here is always my favourite!

But enough about me...

Today's look is a bold one!

See? Bold. But not hard...

Step 1.

I suggest using an eyeshadow primer with this one — no one likes raccoon eyes. (Don't tell raccoons I said that). Take black eyeshadow and start applying it from your lash line to JUST above your cease. Keep applying/layering the black if the shadow your using isn't pigmented enough.

Step 2.

Using a warm colour —I used a purple shade, apply it to your crease over the back and blend outwards. Warmer colours help blend the black into your skin. The application of makeup isn't challenging, it's ensuring it's blended out well. Harsh lines are not welcome here!

Step 3.

Take a bright/light colour, and apply it to the inner corners of your eyes around your tear ducts. Also, line your eyes with black liner. The blacker, the better!

Step 4.

Since the shadow is so dark, don't stress about lining your top lids. I did and you can see just how visible it is. This look needs no flick of eyeliner but I did it anyways because hey! practice is the key to makeup!

Step 5.

Take a small brush and apply black shadow over the liner on the inside of the lash line and your lash line. Take the same warm colour you used to blend the top lid with and without adding more to the brush you used, start blending the bottom black shadow out gently.

Step 6.

Apply mascara and highlighter just under your brown bone to make 'em pop!

Truth be told false eyelashes would make this look more intense and I would have loved to wear them, however I need to refill my stock so let's just use our imagination that I am wearing them! I suggest for this look, you apply at lease three-quarter strips. When your makeup is dark, it's easy to lose sight of your pretty eyelashes.

Also not to say it cannot be done, but, when you have dark eyes try to keep your lips light. You don't want them to compete against each other.

Take your time with this one. It's really about blending. I believe in you!


Love & Raccoons have beautiful eyes,

Simple.

Hi Beautiful,

Happy Monday once again! This week I thought we would go simple. Sometimes I feel like wearing dramatic makeup. Sometimes I don't wear anything. This is not one of either of those times.

This time we are going for a clean look. A roll-out-of-bed-and-smear-makeup-on-your-way-out look.




How To:

Step 1.
After your usual foundation routine, blend your favourite slightly darker than your skin tone eyeshadow into your crease with a fluffy brush. I used a shadow from Smashbox's Full Exposure palette.

Step 2.
Take an eyeshadow colour that is lighter than your skin tone, I used "Venus" from Urban Decay's Naked Basics Palette. Add it to your lid and just on top of your brow bone.

Step 3.
Using whatever black eyeshadow you like, if you are curious I used the black in the Urban Decay Naked palette called "Crave", and a thin tapered brush, line your lash line with a little flick at the end. Unsure of how to get that cat-eye-flick to happen? Imagine there is a line on an angle running from your nostril to the outer corner of your eye. You can use your brush to see the correct angle—that's how your eyeliner flick should go. Practice is the key here.

Step 4.
Apply that mascara!

Step 5.
Taking the small tapered brush you used for your liner and without adding anymore eyeshadow to the brush, line your bottom lash line from the outer corner to half way or three quarters of the way in.

Step 6.
Blush, eyebrows, lipstick.

DONE!

I swear your can do this half asleep before work. And keep practicing those flicks!

Have a wonderful week friend!

Love & Flicks,

Naked Palette Tutorial — Glamour Tutorial

Happy Makeup Monday! Today's look has everything to do with Urban Decay's Naked Palette! I personally prefer the first palette of all of them so that's what I chose to use. Steps as always are underneath.

How To:

Step 1.

Add "Darkhorse" to the inner and outer corners as well as your crease.

Step 2.

Take "Half Baked" and add that to the middle of your lids joining the Darkhorse on the inner and outer corners.

Step 3.
Blend. When it's blended out to your liking, add a little more "Half Baked" to the center of your lids to really make them pop!

Step 4.
Using your favourite liner, I used transformer with black eyeshadow, give yourself that perfect winged eyeliner.

Tip: 

To help create even wings, imagine your bottom lash line continues out — that's the angle your wing should be on. Practice makes perfect [enough].

Step 5.

Apply "Half Baked" to the inner corners of your bottom lash line and let it fade into "Darkhorse" on the outer sides of your bottom lash line.

Step 6.

I used white eyeliner again to make my eyes look bigger and more open—but feel free to use black if you prefer!

Step 7.
Load on that mascara to complete your look, and I've added lashes from Ardell to make my eyes look even more dramatic.

Step 8.
The key to really bringing this look home is those red lips! I have used one of my favourite lip pencils and shades of red : MAC Pro Long Wear in "Kiss Me Quick". Seriously, it's fantastic!

And that's it!

I realize eight steps doesn't sound like a "and that's it" amount of steps but I really broke it down for you! I promise you can achieve this too!

You go girl.

Love & Practice Makes [almost] Perfect,

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Easy Contouring Tutorial!

You asked for it my friends!

One of the most requested tutorials I have been asked to do is all about contouring.

So below, enjoy an easy and fast tutorial on highlighting and shadowing your face featuring my face!

Remember that everyone's face is different and practice makes perfect!

I am assuming I don't need too much of a step by step explanation for this but let me include some tips.

Tip 1.

 A good rule of thumb for figuring out where your check bone contouring should go: feel where your cheek bone is. Got it? Good. Now slowly feel your way down to where it feels the bottom of it is. That's where your shade should go. Genereally speaking from the ear to the corners of your mouth. (Hopefully the image provided helps this make sense)

Tip 2.

It may be hard to see but I have a highlight just on the top line of the bow of my lips. Especially for us ladies with smaller lips, this helps the illusion of bigger ones. Amen!

Tip 3.
Choose a shade maybe 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone and a highlight colour 2-3 shades lighter. If you go too extreme you may start looking more over-done which is NEVER a good makeup look!

Tip 4.
BLEND Y'ALL!

Goodluck soldiers!

Love & Illusions, 

Pretty in Pink...

It's Monday! Not usually a day you get excited for but hopefully a new makeup look can turn that frown upside down!

Today's look is a bit softer than the previous posts I've had but still has bold eyelashes. I feel like there is a stigma around pink and blue eye shadowed looks. In the way of looking tacky, but if you know where to place your colours — everything will turn out fine! I will do a tutorial in the upcoming weeks to help explain where to put shadow colours. I am sure it will help those people who's blu shadow turns into this:

So let's get on with it!

How I Achieved This Look:

Step 1:

Using a puffy blending brush and a colour like "Backstage Pass" by Lancome from the Color Design palette, blend this shade into your crease. Some like to do the lightest colours first but I find when I define my crease, it's easier to place my other colours correctly and I always have a shade to blend into. Just a personal preference.

Step 2:

With a dense eyeshadow brush apply a colour like "Pink Venus" by MAC across your lid and "Pink Freeze" by MAC on the inner half. Should create a nice gradient of pinks

Step 3:

Using a small dense eyeshadow brush apply "Embrace" by Buxom from the Tango palette to the outer corners and lightly into your crease. Harsh lines are not welcome in this look.

Step4:

Blend until your happy.

Step 5:

Using the eyeliner of your choice, I used transformer mixed with black eyeshadow, apply a thiner but definite eyeliner to the tops lids. I used false eyelashes in this look which required my line to be thicker than if I wasn't using lashes.

Step 6:

Apply your favourite mascara, I am currently using "Full Exposure" mascara by Smashbox. And apply your false lashes if you opt for them. If you need help applying false lashes, I did a tutorial a while back and you can find that here

Step 7:

Line your lower inner lash line with white eyeliner to make your eyes appear bigger and more open.

Step 8:

Using "Pink Freeze" by MAC, apply it under your eyes in the inner corner to 2/3 of the way to your outer corner.

Step 9:

Apply "Embrace" by Buxom to the outer third and blend into the "Pink Freeze" you previously applied.

Step 10:

Finish it off by apply mascara lightly to your lower lashes and adding a highlighter colour, I used "Venus" from the Naked Basics Palette by Urban Decay, just on top of my brow bone and to the inner corners of my eyes.

And there you go! I could have summarized in fewer steps but information is easier to swallow when you really break it down!

If you have a look you want to see me do a tutorial for, as always, send me a message or comment!

Have a wonderful week beautiful!

Love & A Hope for Spring,