Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Red Shimmery Eyeshadows

Products in This Post Purchased By Me unless otherwise mentioned

Red Shimmery Eyeshadows

Several months back I purchased a Sugarpill eyeshadow palette from Beautylish.com.  As part of a special offer, they included the red shimmery eyeshadow called
@#$%! as a free gift with purchase. While I don't know how to pronounce the name of this limited edition shade, I do know that it is so beautiful! It's a deeply pigmented red with silver shimmer running through it.  I'm so happy that I had a chance to snag this shadow. However, it is super hard to get a hold of. If you weren't as lucky as me, I have rounded up some other red shimmery shadows that may help fill your need for the perfect crimson pigment. 

While I wouldn't call these exact dupes, they are all read shimmery shadows, and I hope swatching them side by side can help you find one you might like.

Here is a look at some of the red shimmery shadows in my collection:

@#$%! is a limited edition red eyeshadow. It is similar in color to Love+ by Sugarpill, but instead of being a matte shade, it has silver sparkles throughout. 

 

NYX 109 Sunrise is the closest dupe I could find to the Sugarpill shadow. I think it is a very close dupe. It's very pigmented and filled with silver shimmer. The Sugarpill shadow is a bit darker, and slightly more blue based.  However NYX Sunrise is equally as pigmented. In the pan, Sunrise appears to have more shimmer, but when actually applied to the lid, the amount of shimmer seems to be the same as Sugarpill's version. 





Milani Baked Eyeshadow in I Heart You leans a bit more coppery than the other two shadows I've mentioned. It can be used both wet and dry, and is intensely pigmented. If the idea of red eyeshadow scares you some, this one is a bit more wearable. 







NYX The Ultimate Pearl Shadow Copper Pearl is a great dupe for the Milani shadow just mentioned above. As the name suggests, it leans a bit more copper. The pigment and shimmer is very similar to the Milani Baked Eyeshadow and I found little difference between the two brands. 


Milani Runway Eyes Fashion Shadows 17 Primary is a palette I actually won in a contest on Twitter!  As the name suggests, this palette contains shadow strips containing primary colors that can be applied wet or dry. I really like to use these with a wet angled brush as eyeliner. The eyeshadow itself swatches exactly the same as single pan baked shadow, although it appears to be more of a true red in the pan. 




Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Medley 34121 (center lid shade) is the newest red shimmer shadow to my collection. This is part of a limited edition palette that I found on a trip to Walgreens one day.  While the palette has gotten mixed reviews from the beauty community, I rather like it. I think the colors are pretty pigmented, and definitely unexpected.  Of all the reds mentioned, this one leans the most coppery of the bunch, and is also the most shimmery. 



Here are swatches of all of the eyeshadows side by side for comparison:


Pictured above from left to right: Sugarpill @#$%!, NYX 109 Sunrise, Milani Baked Eyeshadow in I Heart You, NYX The Ultimate Pearl Shadow Copper Pearl, Milani Runway Eyes Fashion Shadows 17 Primary, Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Medley 34121 (center lid shade)
I hope you enjoyed this look at some of the red shimmery eyeshadows in my collection!  Do you have any of these? What's your favorite? 
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Monday, July 29, 2013

Stila In The Light Palette Look 2 - Inspired by Miley Cyrus

 Products in This Post Purchased By Me

Stila In The Light Palette Look 2 

This is look #2 in my Stila In The Light Palette Series. It took me some time to come up with this one, because I waited until I was truly inspired. The inspiration for this look was drawn from the makeup look Miley Cyrus wore in her "We Can't Stop" music video. I just love the bold lip and neutral eyes. While this isn't exactly the same look she wore, it is my version of it and certainly captures the spirit of the look. 
Stila In The Light was my favorite palette of 2012. It continues to be a favorite in 2013 as well, and is easily my most used pre-made palette. If you don't have it, it is certainly worth a look. It has a great mix of shimmery and matte neutral shadows that work for nearly any occasion. 

Here is how I created the look:


To begin, I primed my skin with Hourglass No. 28 Primer Serum. I applied the primer using my new flat foundation brush from IT Cosmetics that I've been testing. Then, using the same brush I applied my foundation; Physicians Formula Youthful Wear. Applying your primer with the same brush you use to  apply your foundation is a makeup artist trick that helps the foundation apply more smoothly and prevents the bristles from absorbing your foundation. 

I also applied my Nuance by Salma Hayek Rose Petal Hydrating Balm to the lips. It's very important to have well moisturized lips when applying a bold red lipstick. Applying it now, gives it time to sink into the lips while you apply the rest of your makeup.




 To make sure my foundation is well blended into the skin, I take a clean buffing brush such as the Sedona Lace Synthetic Angled Flat Top #520, and buff over the edges of the face.

 Next, I concealed any spots that needed it with Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Concealer in Light. I used a thin pointed brush by Eco Tools. One brush I don't spend a lot of money on is small concealer brushes. I find little difference in quality between the various price points for this particular type of brush. 


Now, on to the eyes!  I started, as I always do, with priming the entire eyelid area from lash line to brow. For this look I used Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper. This product is waterproof and super long lasting.

If you are not someone who has trouble with eyeshadow creasing, you can skip this step

To create a base, I used a blending brush and applied Stila's Smudge Pot in Kitten allover the lid. I then blended the edges with the same brush.





Next, I topped off Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten with Stila powder eyeshadow in Kitten, applying it with a flat shader brush. This is the first of the shadows we will use from the Stila In The Light palette for this look.


The brush I used is a flat shader brush from the Royal & Langnickel Silk Pro Green Line
Next, using the other side of the same brush, I highlighted the area just under my brow using a matte cream colored eyeshadow from the palette called Bare. This is one of my favorite under brow highlight shades. 



To define my crease, I chose Sandstone, a matte brown shade, and applied it with a duo fiber crease brush from Enkore Makeup. When you apply this shadow to the crease, be sure to keep your eyes open, and sweep the color into the natural socket of the eye.



To make sure we don't have too harsh of an edge take a clean blending brush  and buff over where your crease color and highlight color meet. I used my favorite blending brush, Bdellium Tools 776.

 
Continue adding more Sandstone with the crease brush, and blending out with the clean blending brush until you reach the desired intensity. It's important to build the color up gradually so that it looks even, and this will make sure the shadows last all day. 

The next color in the palette I used was Ebony. This is a basic matte black. Using an angled brush, apply the color close to the upper lash line as you would eyeliner. Again, don't close your eye when you do this step. Simply look down into a mirror.



To further define the lash line, and help your lashes appear longer. Tightline with your favorite black waterproof eyeliner. I used one from Too Faced here.


Continue with the waterproof black pencil along your lower waterline. Use a cotton swab with a little eye makeup remover on it to clean up any smudges.


Follow with some under eye concealer, and powder the center of the face, and any areas where you applied concealer to help it set. 


I decided to add some of the Kitten powder eyeshadow from the palette along the lower lash line as well. I applied it with a Sedona Lace Pencil Brush from their 12 pc synthetic brush set. This is one of my favorite pencil brushes because it allows you to get very close to the lash line.






To finish off the eyes, curl your lashes, and apply your favorite mascara.  Initially I was going to apply falsies, but then decided against it. However, if you'd like you can add lashes at this point.





I always comb through my lashes with a clean lash comb or spoolie. Next, apply a matte peach blush such as The Balm Frat Boy with an angled blush brush. For contour, I used a matte bronzer from IT Cosmetics, applied with my new Sedona Lace Synthetic Tapered Angle Brush #910


 Miley clearly had a health dose of highlighter in the video. I used a powder highlighter, applying it to the high points of the face using a Real Techniques brush. To smooth away any harsh lines, I took a clean finishing brush and just buffed over any lines where the contour, blush and highlighter met.



The most important step in a completed makeup look is brows. A lot of people are afraid of adding brow powder, but it is such a crucial step in makeup. I used my favorite Kelley Quan Wave Brush to apply Nuance By Salma Hayek Brow Powder, following the natural shape of my brows.

To finish the whole look, we had to go for the red lip! First, wipe off the lip balm you applied earlier, so that the lipstick doesn't slide off or shear out.  I have been just loving these new Color Statement Lipsticks from Milani. They are affordable, and come in a wonderful selection of colors. The finish is creamy and pigmented. The shade I used here is called Best Red.


Here is the final look!:



 eyes





 Milani Color Statement Lipstick in Best Red




I hope you enjoyed this Miley Cyrus inspired look using Stila's In The Light palette. I'll be thinking up my final look in this series and posting it soon. 

Here is the first look in my Stila In The Light Series

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All products in this post were purchased by me. All opinions are my own.