Eye Makeup: Spring Evening Out

Eye shadows:

1. Wedding Day #24 by Sephora
2. Tender Pink #27 by Sephora
3. 3W Lagoon - Soft Shimmer - by Clinique
4. Tango Night #35 by Sephora

I wrote about the eye shadows and eyeliner here .

5. Eye pencil: Dessin Du Regard Crayon Yeux Haute Tenue - No. 9 Turquoise by YSL
6. Blue Very Me eyeliner by Oriflame

Makeup In Green

The black eye pencil used to be my no.1 makeup item in my teenage years. At that time I also enjoyed playing with various makeup styles. However, I never showed the results of my tries to the outside world. Once, I especially liked my 'green eyes' and decided to see how my neighbor (a girl at my age) would like it.  The girl was not at home and I only talked to her mum. The lady was a kind and polite woman so she sad nothing on my look, but I noticed it in her eyes - the impression my green and black makeup made. I could tell she found it rather surprising, if not improper.

Nowadays, it would be nothing very much unusual, but in the early 80s it was definitely not a kind of everyday teenage look. Anyway, I was quite happy with the effect of my 'ahead of time' makeup experiment then.
These days, I would rather use a green eye liner (along the upper eyelashes only) instead of the black eye pencil. I recently got a Kohl Duo, orange and grey black pencil, by Yves Rocher - also an orange line completes the green eyeshadow quite nicely.

Kohl Dou Eye Pencil is enriched with Cotton Oil. Both the green eyeliner and the Mandarine side of the pencil contain shimmery particles.

St. Patrick's Day is coming,  it is a good time to think of a special green or green-and-white look.

Luminelle Eye Pencil by Yves Rocher

What you need is: a green eyeshadow/green eye shadows, a white eye shadow, a green eye pencil/ eyeliner and a white eye pencil. To make it more colorful, you can also add orange shades to it, including the Mandarine eye pencil mentioned above. Play with various combinations of these  ingredients and choose your most favorite look for this year's celebrations. Have fun!

One of my tries...

For the nails: my choice is the matte green (seems to be discontinued by Sally Hansen) and pearl white (by Yves Rocher) nail polish.

Mini nail polish by YR gives a shimmering, light coverage. The green shade by SH was found at Dollar Tree

Makeup for Cooler Weather And Valentine's Day

This is my makeup suggestion for any bigger winter outing including Valentines' Day celebrations. The luminous elements: foundation, concealer and face powder make the complexion look fresh and radiant without unnecessary excess or mask effect.

1. Face
Teint Miracle by Lancome
I love this hydrating foundation which reflects light and makes the skin face look flawless and great. It is light like a delicate veil but covers red marks really well. The foundation contains Sun Protection Factor No.15 and is a long lasting Miracle too - no need to correct it even if worn for many hours.
I bought it in Europe where the shades of the Lancome foundations are marked in a totally different way than in the US (do not know why). If I wanted to repurchase it here, I would need to compare my item with the samples available at a store and then decide what my tone is called here. A bit complicated but the product is worth doing that research for sure.

Teint Miracle Concealer by Lancome
It moisturizes my dry under eye area, brightens the dark circles and smooths fine lines. On top of this, it is also very good for sensitive eyes. The concealer contains micro-fluorescent particles which give the radiant (and younger :) ) look. Its tone harmoniously matches the shade of the foundation. Long lasting. Who would want more?

Teint Miracle Concealer: Rose Lumiere by Lancome

Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder by Estee Lauder
This light and luminous powder is great - it very much adds to the radiant look and what is more important, it does not dry out my skin. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued but it is still available in some online stores.

Lucidity Translucent Loose Powder No. 01 Light

2. Eyes
Pure Color 14 Enchanted Berries by Estee Lauder - great pigmentation, long lasting, anti crease and very efficient. More and less shimmery shades create quite a few dimensional, non-flat makeup.
How I use them:
#1 inner eye corner + under eyebrow arch;
#2 eyelid;
#3 crease - at first I used #4 to crease but I decided the result was not very interesting so I changed it to #3;
#4 sculpt;
#5 a thin line along the upper eyelashes line + 1/2 of lower eyelashes line (I draw the lines using a moistened/wet brush).

1. Satin, 2. Shimmer, 3. Shimmer, 4. Metallic 5. Matte

The little sponge applicators are good and work well but I prefer using eye shadow brushes, especially to draw lines on the eyelids.

Brushes: Elite Professional & by Sephora - both are good and very useful

 Kohl Eye pencil Luminelle by Yves Rocher
I moisten the tip with water and use the pencil to enhance the purple line (#5) on the upper lid - simply draw another line on the purple eye shadow line. In real, the shade of the eye pencil is a bit darker than in the picture.

Kohl pencil Bleu pacifique by Yves Rocher

Black-Brown Waterproof Mascara by Max Factor

 

I have always liked this brand, maybe because the very first foundation (which I used for some time) was by Max Factor too and it was great in every way. Anyway, the mascara has quite an interesting shade - a mix of two colors but still more black than brown. The rubber brush is flexible and allows to apply the mascara evenly, without any problems. It is waterproof which helps to avoid any makeup mishaps.

3. Lips

#310 Rose Anemone lip pencil by Lancome
Yes, I have had it quite long and have been enjoying using it. Its color goes well with most pink lipstick tones.

Michael Kors True Hollywood Lipstick by Estee Lauder 
The lipstick was part of a limited edition - a vivid and long lasting color, covers the lips with an even and moisturizing layer. Love this fuchsia shade - it looks gorgeous when, after applying the lipstick, you also add some touch of a transparent lip gloss to the lips.

4. Nails
Extreme Wear Nail Color # 320 Fuchsia Power by Sally Hansen
This long lasting and shiny polish finishes the Valentine's Day makeup.

Have a great and enjoyable Valentine's Day!

Eye Makeup: Glittery Glitter

I am a great fun of these glittery, nicely pigmented  eye shadows by Sephora. Each of them contains tiny, glittery, star like particles which add the sparkling light to the makeup. They are long lasting, paraben free and 'eye friendly' - the shimmery and pearly pigments do not irritate my eyes. What's more, they simply give a flawless and pretty look.
I have had these eye shadows for some time (I decorated them with the two flowers to cover some obvious spots which appear when an eye shadow disappears) and I have been using them in various combinations - blending all the three shades or adding another one of a different brand. The white eye shadow works great as a highlighter too.
Although Tender Pink and Tango Night are no longer available in the current Sephora Collection (and Wedding Day is marked as No. 67 now), there are still other, also similar colors, on offer.

The blue lagoon eye shadow by Clinique complements the above colors, eg. used to crease, as the shimmery factor is much lighter and more delicate than the one in the glittery shades described above. What is important, the eye shadow is suitable for very sensitive eyes. Well, I find it quite beautiful and it looks lovely when used on its own as well. The Lagoon is part of  'All About Shadow Single' collection which includes Soft Matte, Soft Shimmer and Super Shimmer colors.

3W Lagoon - Soft Shimmer - by Clinique

Another slightly glittery product is the eye and cheek luminizer by Sephora. This little thing adds some twinkling magic to the makeup when I use all mat shades. It gives sheer, almost transparent coverage so it can be applied on any matte shade or on 'naked' face/ eyelids. It is also paraben free so my skin and eyes like it too. I was hesitating whether to by this luminizer or not as it was not cheap. I am glad I finally decided to purchase it - since I use only a little while applying it, it will last long. Besides, the shade has already been discontinued.

And now the eye liner - to complete the eye makeup. It has no stardust or shimmery ingredients but the bright blue color by Oriflame defines the eye in a grand but also cute way. In my opinion, it is a good quality product - its texture allows to draw precise, thin and thicker lines, it does not smear and stays on the eyelids long.

Finally, if you feel like adding a glowing, golden touch to the eye, you can decorate the eyelashes with this Shimmer Tips mascara by Avon (after applying a regular black mascara to the entire eyelashes). I bought it some time ago, when it was available, but I do not use it very often. Actually, I have never tried it with the all glittery eyeshadow makeup. Certainly it is not a part of my everyday look but it can add some fun to the carnival or party image.

Makeup For Cooler Weather 1

When the weather gets cooler, it is time to adjust the makeup to the changing temperatures and atmospheric conditions, different from the ones we used to have in the hot and steamy summer. Especially that makeup is not only supposed to enhance our beauty but also protect the skin.
Among many products by various brands there is quite a lot to choose from. Sometimes it is difficult to decide which cosmetic is best for myself unless I try it a few times. What's more, every so often it means trying again and again before I really find what my skin/face likes best or dislikes. Here are some examples of my favorite discoveries.

1. Foundation 

Skin Illusion Natural Radiance Light Reflecting Foundation SPF 10 by Clarins (in the above picture).
The foundation contains both plant and mineral ingredients including pink algae extract and opal powder. The first one has antiseptic properties and is rich in biologically active silicon (the plant grows in France). The other one comes from Brazil. It contains silica beads which fill in fine lines and give luminous, light-reflecting effect. What I also like about the foundation is that it hydrates the face skin and is quite light - gives medium coverage.


2. Compact Powder

The Ultralucent compact powder by Estee Lauder is great: non-comedogenic, good for sensitive and dry skin. It does give smooth and mat, flawless finish. Besides, this pressed powder sets makeup really well, without any kind of cakey effect on the face.The compact is quite handy to use both at home and when on-the-go.

3. Eye Shadows

High pigmentation and intense tones. I especially like the rusty bronze but all of them remind me colors of the autumn leaves.

My recipe for the Forest Quartet look:

• Use the rusty shadow in the inner corner of the eye + to highlight the outer under eyebrow area.
• Apply the dark brown shade to the upper eyelid, avoiding coloring the above.
• Sculpt the outer corner of your eye and Crease with the green eye shadow. Blend all the shades with a brush.
• Draw a thin line along the upper lash line + along 1/3 (from the outer eye corner) lower lash line with color no. 4
• Emphasize the dark line on the upper eyelid (color 4) with the green eye liner.

4. Eye Liner

I hardly ever use black eye liners as I simply do not like the typical smokey eye look. That is why I have chosen the green, waterproof and self-sharpening eye liner by Avon. However, I would use it to draw lines on the upper eyelids  only. The tip of the liner is soft and its shade nicely defines the eye and the eyelashes line.

5. LipGloss

Simply glamorous! Shiny gloss which rather reminds a lipstick, considering nice coverage and creamy texture. The intense color lasts long on the lips and, in my opinion, is gorgeous. One of the best gloss lipsticks (two-in-1s) I have ever tried.

6. Black Mascara

Le Waterproof Mascara by Sephora which I have got happens to be a bit clumpy, but it is easy to clear the lashes, and separate them also, with the little comb (by Sephora too). The other side of this handy tool, the brush, helps me tame my eyebrows. The mascara is quite good, meaning its waterproof properties (I have not tried it in the pool though), and it is easy to wash it off with eye makeup remover.

Eye makeup: 3 in 1 Eye Pencil by Yves Rocher

08 Blanc

They eye pencil is part of the Couleurs Nature collection by Yves Rocher. It is quite handy: you can use it as kohl - to draw lines on the inner eyelids, a regular eyeliner or eyeshadow. The pencil is nicely soft - it contains Castor oil. When applied, the liner creates creamy and smooth texture which can be easily blurred with a finger.
According to the information given by the manufacturer, the eye pencil was 'tested under ophthalmological supervision'. It is 'eye-friendly' indeed. There are 11 various shades on offer. Mine is called 'White' though actually, the color is more light beige-and-pink or white-and-pink than Blanc. Yet, it is a good option to a traditional, snow white eye pencil.
The regular price of the 3-in -1 Pencil by Yves Rocher is $10. However, quite often, it is included in different special offers (check out the Yves Rocher website) and the price is much lower then.