It seems like the only time I do interesting makeup these days is for dance performances, so hopefully there will be more opportunities soon... but in the meantime, last night was my dance society's spring hafla - or, time to break out the heavy-duty goods!

It's a little more matte than last time around, and a bit paler too. As a base, I used MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NW10 (which I only recently discovered, but it's the perfect pale shade for me and I love it!) and Pro-Longwear Concealer in NW15. I used the brown powder from my new Sleek contouring palette (which I got in Light but probably should have looked for Fair) to contour my cheeks, and then Kat Von D blush in Truth for color, with Boots No7 pressed powder in Fair to finish.

The eyes, as always, were the centerpiece, and as usual, I turned to Urban Decay for lots of color and shimmer. Apart from my trusty Nars primer, I used the Naked 1 palette for the whole look: Sin as a base, then Half Baked in the middle of the lid, Smog on the outer third, and a bit of Darkhorse in the crease. Then I used Virgin as a highlight, along the browbone and inner corner, and to blend. I filled my brows in with Hustle (really! the shimmer isn't that noticeable, and I figured it would be fine for stage makeup anyway!) and smudged under my lower lashline with Smog. I used Bobbi Brown long-wear eyeliner in Mahogany to tightline my upper and lower waterlines, and then added a layer of the late, lamented UD 24/7 pencil in Honey (best gold EVER) under my lower lashline. The whole thing was finished off with a pair of UD Urban Lash in Black Velvet, which is a really lush (but sort of natural-ish?) combination of criss-crossed hairs and bits of black feather.

 
The lashes were a bit of a pain to take off - the feathers got wet and I had to try and reposition them correctly - but they looked amaaaazing, as you can see. (They were also a bit stiff as it was the first time I'd worn them, but hopefully they'll soften up with further wear.)

I finished the whole thing off with a coat of Tom Ford lip color in Coco Ravish. Amazingly, this face survived a mile-and-a-half walk into town, a performance, and lots of social dancing after, over the course of about six hours, with nary a bit of oil peeking through or even a hint of smudging. (It did take about an hour to apply and ten minutes to remove, though...)

Last night was my first-ever bellydance performance - and the first time I'd performed any sort of dance onstage since I was 17 (and back then it was flamenco!). It went pretty well, if I do say so myself, but - unsurprisingly - my favorite part was doing my makeup beforehand. (I also did makeup for a few other dancers who had clearly never done stage makeup before in their lives - another favorite thing about performing!)

(This picture makes it look waaaayyyy more subtle than it actually was, FYI. Poor lighting!)

For my base this time, I went with Lancome Teint Ultra 24h foundation in 005 and MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NW15. Blush is Bobbi Brown Desert Rose, and cheekbones are highlighted with Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose Gold. It's all topped off with Boots No7 translucent loose powder.

Next: the eyes! The most important part of any performance makeup, if you ask me! As is my usual these days, I broke out the false lashes - a new pair this time, Urban Decay Urban Lash in Sly. These are shockingly natural looking for how huge they are, and they were SUPER easy to apply - or maybe I'm just getting better? I also didn't have to trim them very much - just one little cluster of lashes off the inner corner.

I also dug into my Naked palettes to do the eye look: NARS primer to start, as always, and then a good coat of Snakebite on the outer half of each lid, up to just above the crease. Then Smog in the middle of each lid, and Half-Baked on the inner half, blending the three together. I added a bit of Blackout on the outer corners and blended, and then used Blunt to blend the top edges together, and Walk of Shame to blend out the edges, under my browbone, and at the outer corners (basically to cover up messy edges!). The lower lashline is Half-Baked on the inner half and Snakebite on the outer half. I used Bobbi Brown gel liners to line: Black Ink on the upper lashline (to help hide the fake lashes!) and upper waterline, and Chocolate Shimmer Ink on the lower waterline.

On my brows, I used Chanel's pencil eyeliner (the "automatic" one) to draw my brows in a slightly larger and pointier shape, and fill them in a bit. I followed that up with Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany, and then Bobbi Brown Brow Shaping Gel in Mahogany to set everything. 

On my lips - Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte lipcolor in Latte. (Lips were really not the focal point of this look, eh?)

Added in my awesome/huge earrings:

And voila: a look fit for dancing the night away!

It took me about 15 minutes (and an oil cleanser) to get this all off at the end of the night, but it was totally worth it - and I can't wait to do it again! But I'm definitely giving my skin a break today - it needs to breathe! Thanks for reading!

You thought I was going to say "Gray", didn't you? (Ha, no, you know me better than that. Me and shades of gray just do not mix, cosmetically speaking.)

So I actually took some time last Sunday morning to do a full, creative face! (GASP, I know!) The basics are the same as always, but I've gone with Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Color in Latte on the lips, and an array of golden-green-brown shades on my eyes.

Shades used (all are Urban Decay's new shadow formula): Blunt (bright gold - all over lid), Bender (green - outer half of lid), Snakebite (bronzy brown - crease), and Walk of Shame (palest beige - browbone). I used MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy dipped in Bobbi Brown gel liner in Ivy Shimmer Ink to line my lower waterlines.

On the lips, as I said, I used Bobbi Brown's new Creamy Matte lipcolor formula - this is over top of Fresh Sugar lip treatment, so it's a bit more glossy than usual; it does dry down to a very very matte finish and I prefer it that way. This shade (Latte) is a warm medium slightly-pink brown, and it's an excellent neutral.

A swatch of Latte below, and my very favorite earrings which I used to complete the whole look:

Final look, with glasses: 

Hopefully I'll be able to do some sort of non-neutral look soon - I have a dance performance coming up which might be a good opportunity to go wild and crazy, so we'll see! In the meantime, thanks for reading!

Hello again! I just wanted to share a haul I made a little earlier this summer, the Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell collection for fall. I bought a limited-edition kit which included a Shimmer Brick and some other goodies, and also purchased the Sand palette and two High Shimmer glosses. I didn't have much of a chance to play with them over the summer when I was  home, due to having chipmunk cheeks, but I thought it was time to play around and offer some impressions of the collection!

(All pictures can be clicked for bigger versions!)

The collection includes: Beach Shimmer Brick, Extreme Party Lash mascara (black), Shimmer Lipgloss in Rose Gold, Creamy Lip Color in Toffee (exclusive to this set, as far as I can tell), Longwear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink, eyeshadow palette in Sand, and High Shimmer Lip Glosses in Beach and Bare. There's also a Bronze palette, but it's intended for darker skintones, and from Christine's review at Temptalia, didn't look like something I'd want to try anyway - too much glitter!

Swatches of everything but the mascara, with flash:

In putting together a look, I used about half of the eyeshadows, and only two of the lippies, but obviously more combinations are possible!

Breakdown of the look, many more pictures, and my thoughts on the collection, including a skirmish with the Shimmer Brick, under the cut!

So, as the Spanish phrase goes, lo prometido es deuda. Time to pay up. (I should really know a better idiom for expressing that...) I promised a look with the Precious Pearl palette I wrote about last week, and here you have it. I didn't really know where I was going with it, so this is mostly the result of me patting various shadows on my lids and then blending when I didn't like the result. (Not enough green, and the blue is just underwhelming - plus it mostly served to muddy things up.) Nevertheless, I thought I should share so you can see the palette in action. (And I'll be trying to do this for everything else in my "Exploring the Stash" series, as well.)

Base: Vichy Normaderm ProMat SPF15; Soap & Glory eye cream

Face: Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer in Alabaster Tint; Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain (under eyes); MAC Select Sheer loose powder in NC5

Brows: Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper in Rich Brown

Lashes: Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara in Black

Lids: Urban Decay Primer Potion: Stila Precious Pearl palette eyeshadows - green shade on inner half of lid and touched at the outer corners, gold shade on outer half and spread liberally over the lid, dark blue in the crease, and the pale pink as a highlight/blend on the browbone

Liner: Urban Decay 24/7 eye pencil in Stash (khaki/olive green shimmer)

(Scary eyes! They have a bit of an alien glow, no?)

Cheeks: MAC powder blush in Tenderling

Lips: Bobbi Brown Creamy Lip Color in Sunset Nude

And hey, who says you can't wear glasses and strong eye makeup together? Not me!

Oh, look, it's my teeth! (They rarely make an appearance in photos, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps I should endeavour to show the teeth more, so that my parents won't have wasted all those orthodontist bills for nothing!)

In happier news, I think I have now figured out how to make the ProMat function as a useful makeup base (though when these shots were taken I still hadn't). The key is to not let it dry - you have to apply your foundation or tinted moisturizer while the ProMat is still damp and thus not prone to rubbing off. That discovery has made my life a lot easier, at least when I'm trying to make myself presentable at 7:30 in the morning.

And here concludes my lunchtime bloggery. Thoughts, comments, questions, rotten tomatoes all welcome, and thanks for reading!

So today is Day 4 of incorporating the new Bobbi Brown tinted moisturizer into my routine, and while the results have been absolutely stellar - my best day was Sunday, when I walked 4 miles (round trip) to a friend's house for a barbeque party and looked like I was wearing HD makeup the whole time, not even a hint of shine, and I stupidly didn't have my camera with me, but I definitely spent way too much time admiring my own reflection - I am not pleased with my day cream's ability to play nicely with other products. It says "makes an excellent makeup base" on the packaging, but it really really doesn't. I have to apply super-carefully and work quickly in sections around my face, because once the tinted moisturizer settles even slightly onto the ProMat, touching it again with your fingers or a sponge or brush causes it to come off. (Yes, it's as gross and annoying as it sounds.) But if I can manage to do that, and set it by pressing some loose powder into the skin, then it's good to go, and the finished look makes up for the ridiculousness of the application process.

(I would imagine, however, if you used a creamier base than ProMat, you should have no application problems whatsoever. They're just a result of my skincare routine.)

Base: Vichy Normaderm ProMat SPF15; Soap & Glory eye cream

Face: Bobbi Brown Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer SPF15 in Alabaster Tint; MAC Select Sheer loose powder in NC5

Concealer: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain

Cheeks: MAC powder blush in Tenderling

Brows: BB Natural Brow Shaper in Rich Brown

Lashes: BB Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening mascara in Black

Lids: Urban Decay Primer Potion; BB Shimmer Wash shadow in Beige (all over lid); BB matte shadow in Mahogany (in crease)

Lips: BB High Shimmer lipgloss in Bellini

This stuff is *extremely* shimmery, there's loads of little shimmer flecks which are sort of pink, and the result is a very shiny, glimmering mouth without actually getting to the point of glitter (of which I am not a fan). It's perfect for days with plenty of sunshine - it will definitely catch the light - and it's not actually that sticky, which surprised me. It feels almost like I'm wearing a thick lip balm.

And, since I had to leave the house and be able to see things, like books and stuff, here it is with glasses:

See? It even passes for a studious, library-friendly look! (Really the only sort I bother with, these days...) Though maybe not with my pajama top, which brings me to a brief rave about it, because I just got it yesterday:

It has a built-in, very sturdy and supportive shelf bra which actually manages to hold up my (admittedly enormous) boobs without underwire, because, well, sleeping in underwire is just uncomfortable, as much as I love the stuff. Plus it is SUPER cute, with three little heart-shaped (non-functional) buttons and some very flattering ruching, and since it's based on bra sizes, it fits properly everywhere - far superior to sleeping in things that fit up top but nowhere else! Now if only Bravissimo would make it in, say, a green...

Okay, anyway, end rave. I need to stop procrastinating and go do some reading :-P Thoughts, comments, rotten tomatoes welcome, and thanks for reading!

Spring seems to have finally sprung around these parts - this picture is from a week or so ago, when I popped into college to check my mail, and the sun was shining beautifully on all the (now-lively) ivy! Fully coincidentally, I had taken a few extra minutes that morning to play around with makeup, beyond my usual slap-it-on-and-go routine.

(Okay, "playing" in this case mostly means I took the time to use some gel liner, but hey, it's better than nothing, right?)

Brows: Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper in Rich Brown

Lashes: Bobbi Brown No Smudge mascara in Black

Lids: Urban Decay Primer Potion; Chanel shadow duo in Taupe Délicat

Liner: Bobbi Brown gel liner in Ivy Shimmer Ink

My first choice of lipcolor was MAC Viva Glam V, but it felt a little dry, so I thought a gloss of some sort might help.

Enter one of my newest acquisitions, Poppy King for Boots No. 7 lipgloss in Confidence.

I was lured in by the polka-dot packaging, and Poppy's name (since I loved her Medieval Lip Treatment), but I stayed for the formula, which is not-too-sticky and just the right amount of pigment (on the sheerer side, which is my tendency these days) and a teeny bit of shimmer. Swatches with no flash (left) and flash (right):

Layered over Viva Glam:

Base: Simple moisturizer, Estee Lauder oil control hydrator, Soap & Glory eye cream

Face: Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Foundation in Alabaster; MAC Select Sheer loose powder in NC5

Concealer: MAC Studio Fix in NW15

Cheeks: MAC powder blush in Tenderling

I think I need to add more green clothes to my wardrobe, what do you think? (Answer: yes. There is no such thing as too much green. I won't stop until all my clothes are green!)

Anyway, I just wanted that to get out of my drafts folder before next spring, so thanks for reading!

Soooo you know how I've been drooling over the new Chanel Rouge Coco Shines?

Yeah. I decided to pay a visit to the Chanel counter at Boots on my way home yesterday, and, um, somehow a tube of Bel-Ami came home with me. Totally by accident.

It took all my willpower not to open the box on the bus and get bus-germs all over my nice new lipstick, but as soon as I got home I just HAD to put some on and see what it was like. AND OH MY GOD I LOVE IT.

It is seriously like the holy grail of lipstick formulas. I definitely like it better than my Rouge Coco original, and may possibly like it better than my Guerlain Rouge G, despite it being like half the price. (Price isn't everything!) It has the texture of a lip balm (though not quite as thick as my regular colorless balm, which is the Bobbi Brown stuff in a tin), and is sheer-but-pigmented and has just the right amount of shimmer, and isn't excessively shiny - it has "sheen" more than "shine", which is good because I'm not always a fan of other people being able to use my lips as a mirror-cum-disco-ball.

*pause for breath*

In conclusion, I love it. Bel-Ami is sort of a pinky-plummy shade which is quite pigmented on my lips, but still noticeably not-a-proper-lipstick. I blot with the back of my hand to take away anything that could come across as super-shiny, to make it look even more natural. It reminds me quite a lot of the Medieval Lip Treatment by Lipstick Queen, although that's a bit slippier and doesn't feel quite like a balm. (I blotted that, too, though.) On the matter of wear, I put some on this morning but ate lunch about an hour later, and it didn't survive a (very oily!) Greek salad with tabbouleh. But I reapplied after lunch, and it's been about four hours and still going pretty strong, even with my insistent gum-chewing.

Swatches, no flash on the left, and flash on the right:

The only thing I sort of wish it had is SPF, especially since it was super-sunny today and I even had to break out the sunglasses for the first time. (I also went barelegged for the first time this spring, and hoo-boy, am I ever pasty! Ah well...)

Makeup was standard, other than the exciting new lipstuff, although I did break out an old-favorite foundation, which I haven't used since last summer. Everyone say "welcome back" to my old friend MAC Studio Fix fluid in NC15!

Base: Simple moisturizer; Estee Lauder oil control hydrator; Soap & Glory eye cream; Bobbi Brown lip balm

Face: MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15, MAC Select Sheer loose powder in NC5

Concealer: Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Porcelain

Brows: Bobbi Brown Natural Brow Shaper in Rich Brown

Lashes: Bobbi Brown No Smudge Waterproof mascara in Black

Lids: Urban Decay Primer Potion (original); Chanel shadow duo in Taupe Délicat

Cheeks: MAC powder blush in Tenderling (sheertone)

Lips: Rouge Coco Shine in Bel-Ami

Then I added some sunglasses before heading out - these are kind of old, I got them from Victoria's Secret sometime before I went to Granada (so around the fall of 2008, I would think?) but they're classic and do a pretty good job of keeping my eyes nicely shaded.

I was amused by my own photo-taking skills, or lack thereof.

The face of someone who's late to the library and doesn't even *care*!

But yeah. In conclusion. I love Rouge Coco Shine A LOT. I'm tempted to go back for Deauville soon. The formula is perfection, and the colors are swoonworthy. I feel like I want to collect them all. Like Pokémon, but prettier. Have you tried this stuff? Do you want to? Do you think I'm secretly working for Chanel? (I'm not. Sadly.) All comments, and even rotten tomatoes, welcome. In the meantime, I'm going to attempt to do some work.

Thanks for reading!

So it wasn't exactly a tea-party, but more of an afternoon garden party, but that doesn't have such a nice alliterative sound, does it? Anyway, I wore a teal dress, and while I wanted to keep my makeup fairly natural (it was a teacher's retirement party!), I felt like the nude eye look I started out with was a bit... bland. So I added a teeny little bit of teal shadow at the lashline to liven things up a bit.

Base: Bobbi Brown Vitamin-Enriched Face Base (all over), with MAC Oil-Control Lotion on nose, forehead, chin, and upper cheeks

Face: MAC Studio Sculpt foundation in NC15; Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil (as setting powder)

Eyes: MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NW15 (under eyes); Too Faced Shadow Insurance (all over lid); UD matte shadow in Naked (up to and slightly above the crease); UD matte shadow in Foxy (browbone and blended at the crease); MAC shadow in Cool Heat (smudged at the lashline with a 219 brush)

Brows: Bobbi Brown matte shadow in Mahogany

Lashes: BE BuxomLash (black)

Cheeks: Bobbi Brown blush in Desert Rose

Lips: Bare Minerals natural lipgloss in Wild Honey

This look features three of my new favorite things: Vitamin Enriched Face Base, which is seriously the most incredible stuff on the planet (how did I live before I discovered it?); BuxomLash, which is pretty damn close to overtaking my beloved Plushlash in the favoritest-mascara race; and Wild Honey gloss, which is kind of similar to my go-to MAC gloss (Nymphette), but with more gold and less pink. In retrospect, I think maybe I should have added a bit of eyeliner to the upper waterline, because my eyes still need a bit of definition. Or possibly a teeny bit around the lower lashline? Maybe a medium-brown shadow smudged close to the lashes? Hmm...

Overall, though, I was pretty pleased with how this turned out, and the fact that it lasted, in perfect condition (okay, I had to re-apply the gloss after eating, but who really wants basalmic vinaigrette-flavored lipgloss? not me!), until the moment I took it off (more 9 hours later). And also that I didn't go massively oily, despite a pretty rich moisturizer as a base. In Washington summer heat. Which is a fairly impressive feat, if you ask me. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I'll try to get some more looks together soon - I've got tons of academic work, but there's no better break than smearing makeup all over your face :-p Plus I have a ton of ideas that really need to be tried out... Ciao for now, and enjoy!

It's been a while since my last post... oops. Life, and stuff. You know how it goes. Anyway, this past Saturday, I needed a very quick, simple, and relatively natural look for a last-minute dinner date with a friend. I decided to use some of my new MAC stuff, from the Redhead color collection.

Base: MAC Oil Control Lotion and Prep+Prime SPF50 primer for face

Face: MAC Studio Fix Fluid founcation in NC15, MAC Select Cover-up concealer in NW15, MAC Blot Powder pressed powder in Light, Make Up For Ever High-Def Finishing Powder (translucent)

Brows: Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Mahogany (matte dark brown)

Lids: MAC eyeshadow in Flip (peachy-gold shimmer, from the Redhead collection)

Liner: MAC Eye Kohl pencil in Teddy (bronzy brown) on lower waterline and lower lashline

Lashes: Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara (black)

Cheeks: MAC Sheertone Blush in Peaches

Lips: MAC lipstick in Marquise D' and MAC lipglass in Live & Dye

It's a very wearable neutral look, I think - pretty much appropriate for any occasion, by any standards, and certainly the colors don't flatter only redheads.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and enjoy!