Teal and purple redo!

Like forever ago, I did a look that I called "Teal(ish) and Purple" that got a HUGE response on Makeupbee.  It was actually voted best colorful look of 2011 on there, which is completely awesome!  However, looking back at the picture, I really feel like I could have done the look better.  So today I gave it a try!!

Old look vs. new look!

I just think I brought the purple in too far in my original look and had too much darkness in the crease.

What I used:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

NYX JEP "Milk"

MAC "Teal" pigment

MUFE 92 shadow

"Darkhorse" from U.D.'s Naked palette to blend between the teal and purple

"Naked" from the Naked palette to blend the purple out

"Virgin" from the Naked palette as a highlight

MAC Blacktrack fluidline 

L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Lips:

Revlon "Cupcake" lip butter

Face Makeup:

Carmindy for Sally Hansen Your Skin foundation in "Porcelain"

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid foundation "Buff"

Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser "Fair"

Maybelline Superstay 24/7 concealer

L'oreal True Match Pressed Powder N3 in contoured areas

Covergirl Professional loose powder "Translucent fair" in highlight areas

ELF studio blush/bonzer duo

NYX "Peach" powder blush

ELF Shimmering Facial Whip "Spotlight" (a white color)

I gotta tell you, I was pleasantly surprised with the ELF Shimmering Facial Whip.  I squirted a little onto the back of my hand and stippled two fingers in it to spread it out a little and then stippled it onto my cheekbones still using my fingers.  It doesn't settle into smile lines when I smile and it doesn't look cakey or super obvious like highlighters have a tendency to do.  I really like it (and for $1 you really can't go wrong!)!

I personally prefer my new look over my old one.  I think the shape is better and the blending is better.  It's just not as intense of a look.  What do you think?  Which one do you prefer???

It's a Poison Plum kind of day!

I was thinking about what kind of look to do and realized how seldom I've used Sugarpill's Poison Plum from their Burning Hearts quad so I wanted to do something with that.

Also, I usually edit my pictures on picnik.com, which unfortunately is closing on April 19th so I knew I'd need a new way to edit my pictures so I downloaded a free trial of Photoshop.  I am really really really not good with computers.  So to edit my pictures today I followed, step by step, Meredith Jessica's photoshop tutorial.  I think they came out really well.  My eyes look so bright!  Generally when I'm editing my pictures, I edit the contrast so my black looks black like it does in person and every once in a while I'll edit the color temperature depending on my lighting.  Sometimes I slightly alter colors, but that's just to make them appear in my picture the way it does in real life.  So this was my first attempt at photoshop!!  Here's my look!

Here it is unedited, just so you can see the difference

Just a simple purple smokey eye!

What I used:

Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper

Sugarpill's Poison Plum

Urban Decay "Naked"

Urban Decay "Virgin" (both shadows from the Naked palette.  I told you I use this thing all the time!)

Bobbi Brown gel liner "Black Ink"

NYX "Black" shadow

L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Lips:

Lime Crime "Coquette" lipstick

Revlon "Cupcake" lip butter

I had asked Meredith Jessica, Dawn, and Ronnie what they suggested I use to edit pictures and they all said photoshop haha.  Meredith Jessica kindly edited two of my pictures for me and they look so beautiful!  Look at these bad boys!  This is how I knew I had to give it a shot!

For this look I used:

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

NYX JEP "Black Bean"

BFTE "Spellbound"

I can't remember for sure but either "Naked" or "Buck" from the Naked palette (I think it was Buck)

and MAC "Vanilla" pigment to highlight

L'oreal HIP "Black Shock" pencil liner

L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara

Lips:

Lime Crime "Coquette" lipstick

Revlon "Creamsicle" lip butter

Face Makeup for both looks:

Carmindy for Sally Hansen Your Skin foundation "Porcelain"

Neutrogena Healthy Skin foundation "Buff"

Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser "Fair"

Maybelline Super Stay 24/7 Concealer (2nd to lightest color)

Covergirl Professional loose powder "Translucent Fair"

ELF studio blush/bronzer duo

NYX "Peach" powder blush

So those are my looks for today!  I hope you like them as much as I do!  I hope you all have an incredible week!!  Thanks guys!!

Reptile Series: Green Tree Monitor

I've been totally lame and slacking in my reptile series lately but I finally have another look to add to it!  This look is inspired by the Green Tree Monitor.  They're beautifully colored and range from a blue green to lime green in color and they're just so vibrant that I knew they'd be perfect to pick for this series.

So here's what a Green Tree Monitor looks like:

Thank you Justin (aka Krusty) for letting me use this picture!

If you look closely at him starting at his nose, he fades from a pale yellow green into a blue green into a lime green into the blue green again then he fades into blue and then back to the blue green.  I just think he's gorgeous.  So here's the look I came up with inspired by this lizard.  It didn't come out as well as I was hoping it would but I figured I'd post it anyways!

  

This is a picture I took of a Green Tree Monitor at Alligator Adventures in Myrtle Beach, SC.

I really tried to get all of the different tones into my look.  It's not as easy as it may seem haha.  I used so many different greens I couldn't even tell you all of them.

But mainly I used my 88 palette, and also Ben Nye "Jade" pigment, Calypso Minerals "Drama" matte blue pigment, and BFTE "Cheap Thrills" (one of the sample sizes I got), which is the second color in from the corner of my eye and is also my highlight color.

I know I could have done this better but I think it's neat and you can definitely see where my inspiration came from!  I hope you guys like this!  I have a few other reptiles left for my series and maybe I won't get any new makeup that I'll have to try out as soon as I get it (impatient much???) so I can keep on track with this series and get it done haha.

As always, thank you so much for taking time to check this out!  You guys are the best!!!

A rusty look using Beauty From the Earth!

My order from Beauty From the Earth came the other day and I was super excited to get to use them.  I ordered the Metallic & Jewels set and when doing that, you didn't get a choice as to what colors you received, they just sent you colors.  But you got 3 full sized jars and 3 samples.  So here's what my order looked like!  Each of the sample baggies had one of their business cards stapled to it.

My full sized jars are Wonder Woman colors haha!

So the first jar is Spellbound, which the describe as a "Dark shimmery blue between a royal and navy blue."

Next is Dragon Slayer, which there is no description for on their site.  But I'd call it a burnt mustard/gold color

And the last full sized jar I got is Vamp, which they describe as, "Deep wine red with copper sparkles."

The sample baggies (I've never used a loose shadow from a baggie before so this was weird for me).

And swatches!  I wanted to show swatches when applied differently.  So the left column is a dry swatch.  The middle is over Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper (I swear this stuff is like magic for loose colors like this!).  The right column is foiled with water.

I'm WAY disappointed in Laura.  I expected a much better color payoff.  Red Hot is an interesting color.  It's very glittery, which of course, you can't tell in my pictures because that's how it works haha.  And Cheap Thrills is super unique, especially when applied wet.  

If I had been able to pick three full sized jars from these colors, it would have been the colors they sent me full sized jars of.  They say that they have 1-3 grams of product in a jar which is not really small difference.  I'm not sure how they measure them out but you'd think there'd be a more consistent amount of product per jar.  But they're only $6.50 apiece which is great.  They apply exactly how I expect a loose shadow to apply.

I did a look using Vamp and Dragon Slayer today.  I'm not much for wearing reds and rust colors, though I like what they do for my eyes, I feel like they suck the life from my skin.  But here's the look I did which I surprisingly liked a lot!

Vamp is probably my favorite color.  It's so gorgeous.  There's a little bit of glitter but not too much and it's just stunning foiled!

What I'm wearing:

Eyes:

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

BFTE "Vamp" foiled on lid

Urban Decay "Buck" to blend up from crease

BFTE "Dragon Slayer" above crease

Inglot 351 M for highlight area

Bobbi Brown gel liner "Black Ink"

Maybelline The Falsies Volum Express mascara

Brows:

ELF studio cream liner "Coffee"

Anastasia brow pencil "Blonde"

Anastasia brow powder duo "Taupe"

Face:

Monistat Anti Chafing Gel as primer

Carmindy for Sally Hansen Your Skin Foundation in "Porcelain" (WAYY too light)

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Foundation in "Buff"  (too dark)

(since Revlon, L'oreal, and MAC supported SOPA I've been avoiding their products)

Maybelline Dark Circle Eraser in "Fair"

Maybelline Super Stay concealer in the second to lightest shade

Covergirl Professional loose powder in Translucent Fair

ELF Studio blush/bronzer duo

Ulta "Girlie" blush

Benefit "Coralista" blush as cheek highlight

Lips:

Buxom "Debbie" lipgloss

Man, that's a lot of products!!  That's because I just keep adding stuff to my face until it looks right haha.  I'm sure I'd stop sooner if I didn't have so much makeup!  I don't usually list everything I use but I know some people like to know what foundation and stuff randomly so I'll try to post that stuff!

I hope you enjoyed this!  If you're in the market for mineral shadows, check out Beauty From the Earth.  They're really not that expensive, $6.50 for a full sized jar (a Lime Crime shadow is $14, granted, they're bigger) and my order was shipped the day after I placed it which is quite quickly.  I placed my order Wednesday night, it was shipped Thursday and was here on Saturday.  So that gets a thumbs up from me!!

A metallic-y neutral look!

When I got the Naked palette, I got it more for kit use as opposed to using it on myself because I figured it would be too neutral for me and I wouldn't want to use it that much.  I was wrong.  I've used it so much more than I ever thought I would (anyone else think the color "Naked" is completely genius???).

Also when I got my Tough as Taupe Maybelline Color Tattoo I knew I wanted to use it with my favorite NYX Ultra Pearl Mania, which is the color Mocha, it's a beautiful grey brown color.  So I used Tough as Taupe for my base today and then I foiled the Mocha on my lid and finished off the look using the Naked palette.  I know this isn't the most exciting look in the world but I like it!

My color placement:

I also placed my first order with Beauty From the Earth yesterday.  They had some blogger set deal where you could pick from certain groupings of colors (pink & brown, mattes, bold colors, metallic & jewels) and you'd get 3 full sized colors and 3 sample sized colors for $12.  I thought that was a really good deal so my metallic and jewel colors (hopefully a good choice haha) are on their way!  Have any of you used BFTE?  If so, how do you like them?  I can't wait to get them and try them out!

Horray for tomorrow being Friday!  I hope you guys all have a great weekend!!  Thank you so much for checking this out!!!

Alter Ego!

Natalie from Urbanely Decayed asked me to be part of a collaboration of a few blogs where we'd showcase our alter egos.  She posted mine yesterday.  Here's a glimpse of what it looks like

To see more pictures and an explanation, head over to Natalie's blog to check it out!!

Kassie from Unique Desire has already posted her alter ego look on there and I can't wait to see what the other talented ladies involved have in store for us!

Dark lips and natural eyes

I've seen looks around where people do these amazing dark lips with natural eyes.  Well, I've done dark lips and dark eyes and liked the way it turned out so I wanted to try the dark lips with more natural eyes and see what I thought.  I took inspiration from Meredith Jessica's Gothic Pin Up look and also a user on Makeupbee, Viola H., who wears amazing lip colors.  So here's my look!

This picture was taken with the flash on

I used L'oreal Le Kohl eyeliner in "Le Plum" to line my lips and then topped that with Lime Crime's "Kaleidoscope" lipgloss.  And on my eyes, I just applied MAC "Blanc Type" shadow all over my lid up to my brow and then added a bit of Urban Decay "Naked" shadow from the Naked palette to my crease for the slightest bit of definition.  The liner is MAC Blacktrack fluidline.  My mascara is L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black.

On me, this look is far from a favorite.  I can dig the eyes but the lips are a bit much haha.  My daughter told me I looked scary and people wouldn't like it.  I feel like my bone structure isn't strong enough for this look.  I don't know, something isn't right.

Here's a look I did the other day that I never posted (I've been doing that lately... whoops!).  I was kind of inspired by a 60's smokey eye, where they're a more elongated shape as opposed to being rounded like I usually do.  

On my eyes:

Lime Crime eyeshadow helper

Lime Crime's Magic Dust "Medusa" (applied wet on lid, this color is GENIUS when applied wet, and blended up dry from there)

Naked Palette's "Buck"

Naked Palette "Virgin" as highlight

On cheeks:

ELF studio blush/bronzer duo

Anastasia Beverly Hills Highlighting Creme Duo in "Aspen" (this thing is GORGEOUS!!!)

Ulta powder blush "girlie"

Lips:

Calypso Minerals Lipthix (a super light pink color)

MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick

MAC "Right Image" Cremesheen Glass

So that's what I have for today!  I hope you all have an incredible week!  And as always, thank you so so much for checking this out!  I apprecaite you so much!

Quick Kat Von D Tattoo Chronicles (Volume 1) look!

So I have two Kat Von D palettes, the Metal Orchestra palette which I used here and the Tattoo Chronicles Volume 1 palette.  While I like them both, I much prefer the Tattoo Chronicles palette.  The texture of the shadows is just better and they apply more smoothly.  Also, it houses one of my all time favorite eyeshadows, the color "Redemption."  I don't know if you can find them around anymore or not but I know that Kat Von D has a Volume 2 out which looks amazing as well!

I wanted to do a look using this palette but wasn't sure what exactly to do.  Then I spotted the color "lemmy" and realized I'd only used it once and wanted to give it another go.  This isn't a look I'd normally wear but I think it came out neat!

please excuse my wanky brows.  Apparently my hand was shaky this day!

So here's the palette and the color placement (I only labeled the colors I used today, I thought with this many colors that would be easier!)!

See why I love "Redemption" so much???

After I finished this look and stepped back from the mirror, I realized how much it reminded me of Meredith Jessica's green and gold holiday look (click on the link to her blog and see how you can be entered in an amazing Anastasia of Beverly Hills giveaway!).  The pop of gold on her lid and under her brow very much of this... whoops haha.  I know the shape is a bit different, as are the colors, but I thought they were similar and I totally didn't mean to do that! 

As always, thanks for taking time to check this out!  I appreciate any comments you guys have.  Thank you so so much!