makeupbox:

Basic Green/Black Winged Eyes

—

There’s nothing quite as dramatic as a solid winged eye, and the good news is that it isn’t actually extremely hard to do as long as you get the basics right.

This look is good for:

• All eye shapes and any skin/hair/eye color.

I used L’oreal Infallible Shadows in Eternal Black and Permanent Kaki. (I believe this is named differently in the States. You can use any deep khaki green you have.)

You will also need black liner, and mascara. 

Read More

makeupbox:

Soft ‘n’ Hazy: Soft Candy Shimmer (88 Shimmer Palette)

—

Wearing a dark smoky color at the crease is a way to create a slightly smoky look without actually using a lot of dark shades around your eyes. 

Here’s a way to wear color in a “stacked” way that actually doesn’t look too over-the-top in real life. You can try this with all kinds of pastel shades, not just the ones I used.

For women with visible double lids, it will look the most subtle if you use a champagne, beige, peach, as the main lid shade. (I used pink.)

Using green, blue, violet, etc would instantly make the look more colorful and dramatic just because 

For women with mono or hooded lids, it’s the reverse, because your lids are tucked away and hidden, and the most visible section will be above your socket line. So this will look more subtle if you use a more neutral shade at the top, and more dramatic if you use blues, violets, green, etc above the crease. 

—

Step 1: I used one of the many teal greens in the palette; I’m not going to point out EXACTLY which shade because you should just pick what you want and adjust according to your skin tone. This is like a lighter version of MAC’s Steamy shadow.

Using a soft blending brush, I swept the shadow on the upper side of the socket line. Make sure it’s not harsh. The color should be quite soft and subtle.

—

Step 2: Using the same brush, and same side with the green shadow, dab a little yellow gold shimmer and then blend out the outer edges of the teal green and pull it outwards slightly towards the temples. The green should look like it fades into the gold.

—

Step 3: Pick up a deep purple shadow on a pointy/pencil brush (you can use a flat brush as well but make sure to blend and soften the line out) and then apply the shadow along the deepest part of your socket line (“follow the hollow”), going from outside in.

The purple should be intense on the outside and fade off towards the inner corner.

—

Step 4: With the soft fluffy brush and buff a soft pastel pink onto the mobile lid. Don’t muddy it up with the purple on the outside, but do overlap the purple at the inner corners, just to soften out the purple a bit more. 

If the purple is too strong, you can also use the teal to soften its edges.

—

Step 5: Using the pencil brush again, run a little of the same deep purple from earlier along the lower lash line. Try to get as close to the base of the lashes as you can.

—

Step 6: Finish with black mascara! I didn’t add any dark liner etc as I wanted the look to stay quite soft and cottony.

makeupbox:

Painted Lady (Retro China Glam)

—

Was inspired by a recent campaign by Majolica Majorca to do a retro Chinese glam look featuring pale skin, winged liner, very intense pink cheeks and red-tinted lips. To update the look and keep it modern, an intense reddened pink liner was created using pigments and the lips were kept juicy and sheer with a clear red gloss.

• Black pencil
• Red pigment with a touch of pink (try MAC Bright Fuchsia pigment)
• Mascara
• A matte, bright, red-pink blush (I used Shu Uemura P Red 14)
• Sheer red gloss (I used Lipstick Queen Shine Gloss in Red Sinner

—

Step 1: Begin by applying black liner along the upper lash line, and then gently smudging it out with your finger so it’s just a smoky line. This just adds nice dark definition to the base of your lashes when you apply colored liner.

—

Step 2: I mixed some red pigments with a drop of liner sealant (use eye drops if you can’t find any) and then apply it like a liner along the upper lash line from OUTSIDE-INWARDS. This makes sure you deposit the most color and thickness to the outer corners, and the line is fine on the inner corners.

—

Step 3: Finish the liner by extending the ends out into dramatic wings, following the angle of your lower lid. Then apply black mascara on the upper lashes to finish.

—

Step 4: For the cheeks, you want to use a soft brush so you don’t get streaks. Then pick up some blush and run it very high up on your cheekbones. Then spread/buff upwards right under your eyes, and downwards to the hollows of your cheeks. It should be most intense right along the cheekbones.

Avoid bringing the blush too far inwards toward your nose or it could look really odd.

—

Step 5: For the lips, keep it simple since the rest of the face is pretty dramatic. Just apply a clear red gloss. Look for one that looks bright red because it will take on a slight pink cast over your lips.

—

As a final fun step, I dotted black liner near my lip, and then set it with matte brown shadow so it looks like a real beauty mark.