From 9 to 5…and beyond!

Well, hello there blog world. I feel like I’ve been absent for eons. Work has kept me occupied and away from providing you with my “two cents”. ( Who knew there were so many people in need of translation?!? A.k.a my day job 😛 ) Since I’m unable to channel my creativity in that direction ( something about “accuracy and fidelity” 😛 ) I figured I’d redirect it over here 🙂 .
A little while ago, you saw me (well, sort of 🙂 ) raaaaave about the Wet n’ Wild here. Well, words aren’t worth much unless there is concrete proof to back them up! And since a couple of you requested a look using this palette, I am merely giving the people what they want..( If you build it they will come? No?!? 🙂 )
Well, let me tell ya, I’ll do you one better! I can honestly say I’m VERY amazed by the versatility of this palette, so I decided to show you two looks: an everyday, more subtle look appropriate for work, and an edgier, evening look for after work.  And the beauty ( pun fully intended! 🙂 ) of it is, that you can attain the edgier night look by merely building on the existing day look all from one palette…Bonus!

For this look I primped my lid with MAC Painterly, and then applied the colour labelled “lid” to… the…lid! Next, using a fluffy dome brush, I applied the colour labelled “crease” to the…you ready?…crease! ( with me so far?!? 😛 ) Lastly, I lined my upper lash line with Yves Rocher Waterproof liner in Black and smudged it with the shadow labelled….”definer” ( had you going there for a while, didn’t I?) To finish it off, I applied L’Oreal Carbon Black mascara to curled lashes…all in under two minutes! ( Man, I should do infomercials! 😛 )

For this one, working with what I already had, I applied a smidge (scientifically defined as “don’t overdo it or you’re screwed”) of the “definer” shadow in the crease, and blended it out with a fluffy dome brush.  The unbelievable pigmentation of these “definer” shadows makes them apply more like a silky, smooth cream rather than a powder. UNREAL! Next, using any residual shadow I had on the fluffy dome brush, I applied it to the lower lash line.  To add a bit of drama (the good kind) I lined my water lines with the same Yves Rocher liner, and threw on a pair of lashes! Voila!

Eventhough, the second look is a bit more fierce, it’s still  neutral enough that you can pair it with the oh-so-of-the-moment bright lip. Like a bright coral, or even fuschia.  But, just keep the blush subtle…otherwise you’re ready for  a whole OTHER profession! 😛

Thanks for reading!

P.S. Both of these looks were created using the left side of the palette.  For my rendition of the right side, you gotta stay tuned! 🙂

 

All is not gold that glitters…it may be bronze!

As I mentioned here, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending the IMATS show. One of the seminars presented was by Kevin James Bennett, titled “Runway Redefined”. He had recently keyed the Flaguni & Shane Peacock show during NY Fashion week, and mentioned that there was a HUUUUUUGE trend for metallics. ( you can watch the interview here) He then proceeded to give the model a stunning coppery bronze eye. Well, let me tell ya, that man sure knows his makeup! ( not two words I often use in the same sentence 😛 )
Since this is a look I gravitate towards VERY often, I was glad to hear I’ve been au courant this whole time! 😛
Normally, on days where I feel ‘uninspired’, I reach for MAC Bronze, and top it off with MAC Teddy liner. For my rendition here I decided to kick it up a notch, adding some gold….

Nars Ponderosa Cream shadow-base
MAC Bronze-lid
MAC Woodwinked– inner corner * I think that’s what it’s called 🙂 It’s the same shadow I used here

Coastal Scents Black Gel liner

L’Oreal Carbon Black Mascara-applied to curled lashes

Yves Rocher Waterproof liner in Black-waterline

Lashes-Ones I bought at IMATS 🙂

Fluffy dome brush-application and blending

I like this eye look best paired with peachy-pink blush and a fairly nude lip.  Depending how heavy handed you wanna be, it can either be quite subtle or really dramatic…

If executed properly, the sparkle in your eye won’t be the only thing shining! 🙂

So tell me, do you ever take inspiration from the runway?

Seeing things rosy…

It’s Wednesday. I know a lot of you lovely ladies wear pink, but as we’ve seen here I don’t. Can I has pink eye instead? No, not the kind readily spread by snotty first graders! This kind…

MAC Painterly– lid primer

Joe Fresh Vintage Pink-lid colour (are you starting to see a pattern here? 😛 )

MAC Cranberry– crease

Nars Mandchourie (the darker one)-crease

MAC Naked Lunch-inner corner, brow highlight

Yves Rocher Waterproof liner in Black-upper lashline

L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

Andrea 21 lashes

My first endeavours into this new realm of pink happened when i fell in love with MAC Cranberry, and realized how much it accentuates my eye colour. The only word of caution, ladies, when working with anything with red undertones is to be careful when putting it near your waterline. It will immensely amplify any redness you already have in your eye…
The way to make something this bright wearable, as we learned here, is to pair it with a neutral. I used a greyish navy (navy is KINDA neutral, no? 😛 ) in the crease and the bottom lash line. Normally I’m not a big fan of a harsh black line along the lash line, but in this case I think it adds structure to the whole look and anchors it quite well…

Sporting such colourfulness today, the world took on a completely different hue… 😛

So ladies, are you also feeling adventurous today?

A Walmart gem…

Usually when I use those two words in the same sentence it refers to the various “gems” that can be found on the pages of http://www.peopleofwalmart.com . This one, however,  truly earns this title.
After reading various reviews on many sites, including Temptalia and Makeupalley, I decided to hunt down this little treasure. The “pot of gold” I’m alluding to is the Comfort Zone palette by Wet n’ Wild. Yup, THAT Wet n’ Wild, notoriously known in the 90s for frosty lipstick and chalky shadows. Well, they’ve definitely stepped up their game!

Primed, indoor light                                                              Primed, natural light
The 8 shadows in this palette are incredible! Not only are the pigmentation and colour payoff UNREAL, I swear a bunch of them are exact dupes (quality and colour) for MAC shadows. Oh yeah, and this set set me back $4.64 for EIGHT shadows. I almost felt like I was stealing…almost 😛
So, on the top of the left side we have a yellow beige labelled “brow” ( for you novice ladies 🙂 ) which really reminds me of MAC Rice Paper. Next, we have a warm peachy pink labbelled “eyelid”….*cough* MAC Jest *cough*. This is followed by a warm bronze shadow labelled “crease”. No joke , this is an exact dupe for MAC Bronze, which I have gone through 674535 of. The last one in this column is labelled “definer” and really, really reminds me of MAC Beautymarked, though a bit lighter.
On the right, up top, we have a grey shadow with a pearlescent sheen labelled “browbone”. I find this one to be thisclose to MAC Vex. Below that is a warm green labelled “eyelid”. This is probably the only one that I couldn’t find a dupe for. Still very pretty, though. Right underneath we have a grey with a gold shimmer, which is meant for the crease. OK, I lied. I don’t have a dupe for this one either 😛 . And the last one in this column is a brown with a greenish duo-tone. Very, VERY reminiscent of MAC Club.  Word of caution, the “definer” shadows are SUPER pigmented and are kinda dark to blend out in the crease.  Let’s just say I MAY be speaking from experience 😛
So there you have it. That’s what I call beauty on a dime…
And I have a funny feeling that the gems AT Walmart won’t be sporting the awesomeness OF this Walmart gem 😛

Question: would you be interested in seeing a look using this palette?

Birds of a feather…

Hi, my name is Magda and I have an addiction. To makeup that is! So much so that when I see the various wonders nature has to offer the first thing that comes to mind is “How can I take this concept and translate it into makeup?!?” Take peacock feathers for example. The average person sees the unbelievable melange of rich, saturated jewel tones. I see an eye “look” 😛 . Yeah, it’s THAT bad…
So, when I recently saw these magnificent feathers popping up all over the runways and in accessories, I figured it must be a sign! 🙂 I MUST recreate! Aaaaaannnd….voila!

 

MAC Painterly-lid primer

Joe Fresh Peacock-lid colour

Kat Von D Johnette-outer lid

MAC Bronze-crease

MAC Coppering-inner corner    * I’m not a 100% sure on this, as all my shadows are depoted and the name is gone 🙂

Nars liner in Campo de’Fiori-inner corner

MAC liner in Teddy-upper lashline and lower waterline

L’Oreal Voluminous False Lashes Mascara

Andrea 21 lashes

 

I’m a big fan of jewel tones to start with, so putting them together only seemed like a natural progression. Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely not a Saturday-morning-Home-Depot-shopping kinda look, but in the proper setting it’s quite stunning! It being Hallowe’en today, the opportunity is definitely there to test drive it…

And if you ask me, these colours flock together quite well… 😛

Ladies, what do you take inspiration from when it comes to makeup?

Falling for these colours….

Considering this is what I see every morning when I look outside (the Niagara Escarpment), or into my closet, really, it was just a matter of time before I would try to recreate it. As you’ve already heard me affectionately describe my love of autumn colours here on nails, I figured this time I’d adapt it to eyes…

I tried to incorporate the colours of the leaves, without making it look like it belongs at a fall parade. 🙂
As always, a good base is a must. I used MAC Painterly paint pot to prime. In order to get a nice wash of a warm brown across my lid, I used a fluffy dome brush to apply NYX in Rust. Also using a similar brush, but smaller, I applied NYX Walnut Bronze in the crease. Incorporating the last colour in that NYX trio, I applied Golden in the inner corner, using a small stiff eyeshadow brush. Along both lash lines, I applied MAC liner in Rosemary & Thyme, a deep olive green with golden shimmer. Curled my lashes, and coated with L’Oreal Carbon Black mascara. I purposely left off false lashes, as I felt there was enough going on the lash line…

And I promise next time I fall into Cosmoprof, I vow to branch out… 😛

P.S. I’m a HUGE fan of NYX shadows, and promise to do another post dedicated to them. The pigmentation is unreal!

Let me know, have you ever tried this type of combination?

Holy Smokes!!!

During my recent fashion reading endeavours, I stumbled across the October cover of People Stylewatch which caught my eye in a mayjah way. It features Mila Kunis with the most incredible, yet subtle, eye makeup. She’s wearing a plumey-greyish smokey eye, which has become eponymous with her lately. Love, love, love this look! In my eyes, Mila can do no wrong makeup wise.(*cough*… girl crush… *cough*) 😛 Whether it’s this particular look, or something a bit more sultry, she always looks chic and never tacky, like some other celebs! ( Kim Kardashian….who said that?!?)

As they say, imitation is the best form of flattery, sooo….Here’s my take on it!

 

Surprisingly, this is fairly easy to reproduce! As always, I used MAC Painterly to prime my lids, and followed it with MAC Sketch applied with a fluffy dome brush. In the crease I applied Joe Fresh Smoke ( Joe, how I love thee! 🙂 ). Next, I tightlined both lash lines with Yves Rocher waterproof liner, and smoked it out with MAC Smut. Highlighted the brow bone and inner corners with MAC Brulee, followed by a generous amount of L’Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black applied to curled lashes. Topped it of with Andrea 21 lashes….and, PRESTO! 🙂 For those with greenish eyes (like myself) this will make your eye colour pop incredibly! I definitely use this as my “go to” when going out and such.
Simple,right?!? Like I said, when it comes to makeup, it’s not all smoke and mirrors…:)

So, let me know, is this something you’d try? 🙂

sTEALing ideas…

So, recently while conducting research (reading Allure magazine, as I do religiously every month! 🙂 ) I came across an article by uber-makeup- genius Francois Nars. It talked about how trendy bright colour liners are right now, jewel tones especially, and how to make it work in real life. What’s that, Monsieur Nars? You want me to take a ridiculously bright colour and make it look legit?!? You’re on… 😛
The problem with something so vividly bright is that it can quickly go from boardroom chic to Friday night drag. So, much like leftover Thanksgiving dessert, it must be approached with caution. I find, and Francois agrees with me 😛 , that it’s best anchored with something neutral and not too dark. Drumroll….taupe!

Let the layering begin! I primed my lid with MAC Painterly, and evenly swiped MAC Shroom across it. With a fluffly, domed brush I applied MAC Cork in the crease. Lined both lower and upper lids with JOE liner in Aqua, and smoked it out with MAC Parrot. To create a contrast, I tight lined with Yves Rocher Waterproof eyeliner, and topped off my curled lashes with L’Oreal’s Voluminous mascara in Carbon black. Applied Lancome’s Filigree in the inner corners, highlighted the brow bone with MAC Brulee, threw on a pair of Andrea lashes in 21…and VOILA! Phew…:)

It’s best to keep the rest of the face minimal and neutral so it doesn’t compete. I brushed Milani’s Luminoso blush on my cheeks, and applied nude gloss to my lips…
I can now rest assured that if I get apprehended for this little theft, at least I’ll be looking trendy and du jour…that’s French for ‘current’, Mr. Nars…