Cee Me

Wicked Lovely

CCee — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 00:44:35 -0700

When Smashbox brought out the Wicked Lovely line... I fell in love with it, and I have slowly ordered almost everything. I have 2 packages still on the way.... but I do have one of the Eyeshadow Duos already, I also have the lip pencil.

Remember that one of my first eye looks was a light eye with dark under it?
Smashbox have redone this look (I doubt it was my eye that inspired them ;) ) and you can see them talk about the line here: Smashbox on Youtube, they also show the look I went for here. I toned it down a bit and didn't do the highlighter because it was a sad day and I needed to look not overly made up, making my final eye look like this:

This was the look I had last Tuesday.

Products in this picture:

Smashbox, Hybrid 2 in 1 - Luminizing Primer
Smashbox, High Definition Healthy FX Foundation - Light L3
Smashbox, Camera Ready Concealer - 3.0
Smashbox, Concealer brush - no. 4
Make Up For Ever, Super Matte Loose Powder - no. 12
Sephora Professionnel, Mineral Powder Brush no. 45
Smashbox, Bronzer/Blush Duo in Contour/Pop
Smashbox, Lip & Lid primer
Smashbox, Cream Eyeliner - Midnight brown
Smashbox, Smudge Brush - no. 20
Smashbox, Decadence Jet Set Waterproof Eye Liner - Lust (Limited Edition)
Smashbox, Wicked Lovely Eyeshadow Duo - Sexy Demure
Smashbox, Shadow Brush - no. 26
Sephora, Eyelash curler
Dior, Diorshow - 090 Black
Smashbox, Wicked Lovely - Doubletake Lip Color - Gossamer
Unknown Brand, Brow brush

Face
To prime my face before foundation I used Hybrid 2 in 1. I followed this with the High Definition Healthy FX Foundation and Camera Ready Concealer with the Concealer brush. I followed this with Super Matte Loose Powder with the Mineral Powder Brush. I used the same brush for Contouring using Contour.

Eyes
To prime my eyes I used Lid primer. I smudged some Midnight brown with the no 20 Smudge Brush in my lower lash line, blending it down a bit. I used the same brush to place Lust on my waterlines. I chose this colour because it's less harsh then the black.

On my eye I used the lightest colour from the Sexy Demure Duo and I used the no. 26 brush for this. I used the cleaned and dried no. 20 brush to place the dark brown under my eyes over the cream eyeliner, smudging it down again.

Lastly I curled my lashes, used the Diorshow on my lashes and brushed my brows out towards my temple.

I also wanted to show you the eye in yellow light:

Lips
On my lips I used the Lip primer followed by the Doubletake Lip Color in Gossamer, but I stupidly forgot to take a picture of that.

Challenge 7 - Leighton Meester - Premiere Entourage 2008 (October 10, 2008)

CCee — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 23:09:07 -0700

Sephoragirl came up with this Leighton Meester challenge. I love watching Gossip Girl and I'm dying for Blair and Chuck to get together, the sparks that would create, wow.

Anyway, this was the look Leighton had at the Entourage premiere:

And this is my final eye:

I chose not to take a lot of in between pictures because this eye is actually really simple to do and I wasn't home this morning so no camera to take pictures with. If you want a really stripped look just use a bronze eyeliner, mascara and red lips and you're done.

Products in this picture:

Smashbox, Photo Finish Clear Foundation Primer
Smashbox, High Definition Healthy FX Foundation - Light L3
Smashbox, Photo Op - Under Eye Brightener
Smashbox, Camera Ready Concealer - 3.0
Smashbox, Concealer Brush - no. 4
Smashbox, Lip & Lid Primer
Smashbox, Eyelights - Special Effects
Smashbox, Shadow Brush - no. 26
Smashbox, Definer Brush - no. 15
Smashbox, JetSet - Bronze
Smashbox, Arced Liner Brush - no. 21
Sephora, Eyelash curler
Smashbox, Bionic Mascara (black)
Bourjois, Lipstick - no. 13
Clarins, Lipstick - no. 50

Face
I used Photo Finish Clear Foundation Primer as a base over my moisturiser to make sure the makeup wouldn't move and have a protective base. Over this I used High Definition Healthy FX Foundation, using my fingers because I wasn't at home and I had to do with the brushes and products I had with me.
I used Photo Op at this point because I have practically no under eye circles today, which I'm very happy about. Over the little dark I did have under my eyes I used a little Camera Ready Concealer placing it with the Concealer Brush which I did take with me.
I got a package from Sweden yesterday and that had the Smashbox, Lip & Lid Primer. The pictures I did take are after half a day or wear, so it did keep the eyeshadow put. I do have to say that I thought the Lip & Lid Primer was very small. Also the Lid primer was a very hard stick and the Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion is a creamlike texture. I do think the Lip & Lid Primer worked very well and it's so easy to take with you. My lipstick was freshly reapplied when I took the picture, but honestly I don't think any Lip Primer can keep Red Lipstick looking flawless for 6 hours when you have lunch and no touch ups during the day. I'll keep you guys posted on my opinion on the Smashbox Lip & Lid Primer.
I didn't use any brush, but Leighton does wear a blush on the apples of her cheeks, so keeping the Smashbox trend in mind I'd choose something like Blush Rush in Gingersnap.

Eyes
On my eyes I used another Smashbox product, the Eyelights eyeshadow kit in Special Effects. This has three shadows, a highlight, a skin tone and a brown, so I could have forgotten the JetSet and still recreated the look, but the JetSet is waterproof so that's my preference.
I used the Shadow Brush to place the peachy skin tone to my entire eye as a base, this is a very neutral colour and Leighton doesn't seem to have a defined crease so no darkening there is needed. I used the Definer Brush to place the highlighting colour on the eyelid using the most colour on the lash line and fading it up slowly.
This is my finished eye closed and within the black line (I've Photoshopped this in to show you) I placed the highlight colour.

I also used a little of the highlight colour under the lower lash line (but very sparingly).
As the eye line I used JetSet in Bronze, I was considering using the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Bourbon (brown with teeny gold glitter) that's in my new Velvet Rope Travel Set, but I needed the line to start very thinly and work up to thick and with the Arced Liner Brush I have more control for some reason. So I went with the JetSet in Bronze. I started with bronzing the waterline and going a little into the lower lash line at the and because I have more round eyes then Leighton and this will make my eyes look a little more almond shaped. Leighton really has a thin line at the corner of the eye which works up to a thick line at the end. No wing or anything, so to make the eye look a little more almond shaped, make it end a teeeeeny bit over the outer corner. Like you see here:

I used my Eyelashcurler squeezing and releasing it whilst walking up the lash. This creates a very natural curl instead of a harsh bend only at the base of the lashes. I used Bionic Mascara today, because this is a mascara that creates flutter lashes as I call it. No clumpiness, but every lash gets a little coating. You can build it up, but I used only one coat in this final picture:

Now I went a little overboard when I was bored in the train today, so I badly photoshopped my eyes brown because she has brown eyes. So here that is:

Lips
On my lips I used the Lip & Lid Primer again, using the part for lips now ;) This is a more creamy base then the LipPlump by Benefit is, also the colour didn't change the red so much, so I was happy about that.
I used my Bourjois Lipstick in no. 13 which is a fire engine red, but I'm very pale so it's a more blue tinted red then Leighton is wearing, so I used a more brown tinted colour over it to take the blue edge of but still keep it pretty on my face. I used Clarins Lipstick in no. 50 as the top colour and the end lip is this one:

I hope you guys like this. Tomorrow I'll work on the Vampire challenge and Sunday I'll to the JLo Challenge.
I'll mix up the brands again by then, but I do love my Smashbox, I can't help it.

Five minute natural-ish eye look (September 27, 2008)

CCee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:38:13 -0700

Part two for Bellaressa

When you have business meetings and lunches I'd go for a more simple professional look like this look I created for you, it's natural because of the brown, but the liner and the darker crease work well for your glasses.

This look can be done in 5 minutes flat (but let's say between 5 to 10 minutes because you might not have my speed) because you use mostly your fingers and a little brown shadow and liner.

Final eye:

When cleansing your face or doing makeup, remember to wash your hands beforehand.

Products in this picture:

Dior, Capture R60/80™ - First wrinkle smoothing eyecreme
Dior, Capture R60/80™ - First wrinkle smoothing creme
Dior, Capture R60/80™ - Finish UV - Daily UV protection 35 SPF
Bliss, Thinny Thin Chin

Preparation
Today is a foggy day, but when the fog is gone, it's supposed to be very very bright and sunny, so I'm preparing my skin already. I'm starting with a clean face (Neutrogena Cleansing Cushions) and I'm moisturizing with first of all an eye creme. Next I'm massaging the moisturizer into my skin to make my skin look more plump and up the circulation. I'm also massaging the Thinny Thin Chin on my neck and up to my jawline. Finishing the preparation with a layer of Finish UV.

Products in this picture:

Smashbox, Photo Finish - Foundation Primer SPF 15 & Dermaxyl™
Smashbox, Photo Op - Under eye brightener
Urban Decay, Eyeshadow Primer Potion
Dior, Diorskin Airflash - Spray foundation in 202
Benefit Highbrow
Smashbox, Camera Ready Concealer - 3.0

Face
My "naked" eye:

I started the face with Photo Finish - Foundation Primer SPF 15 & Dermaxyl™ because when having a long day, you want your skin to look fresh the entire day and this primer really does that. Also the extra SPF is good if you're don't have SPF in your moisturizer.

To brighten the eye-area I opted for Photo Op, placing this also on my eyelid to help with puffiness.

At this point I'm priming my eyes with Eyeshadow Primer Potion and really blending it out with my fingers to a thin base.

For a great quick flawless face I use Diorskin Airflash which is a spray foundation. This is sooo simple, to place a towel over your hairline to prevent accidentally spraying on your hair and then you spray in a Z motion and you're done. You take a Q-tip for taking the foundation of your eyebrows and voila, flawless skin.

At this point I pressed a little Highbrow under my brows with my fingers (I haven't touched a brush so far ;) ) .

I finished the face with Camera Ready Concealer to conceal minimal dark circles, again using my fingers to blend.

Products in this picture:

Mark, Eyeshadow - Whisper/Souffle
Mark, Eyeshadow - Cafe Latte
Sephora, All over shadow brush - no. 21
Mark, Eyeshadow - Espresso
Smashbox, Definer Brush - no. 15
Mark, Metalliner Eye Glam Hook Up - Bronze Edge
Dior, Diorshow - 090 Black Waterproof
Sephora, Eyelash curler
Tweezerman, Lashcomb
Smashbox, Jet Set - Bronze
Smashbox, Arced Liner Brush - no. 21
Smashbox, Lip Brilliance Palette - Perfect Pout
The Body Shop - Retractable Lipbrush

Eyes
As a matte base eyeshadow I chose Whisper/Souffle and placed this with the All Over Shadow brush all over my eyelid.

Next up I placed some Cafe Latte (also a matte eyeshadow) in my crease all the way in. For this I used again the no. 21 brush. For the placement of the brush, see this picture:

Now you can also see where I place my pinky for a more steady hand.

Next I placed Espresso with the no. 15 definer brush in a < shape (only halfway in at the crease). I also placed a little under my eye (1/3 in). After placing the < I blended the top of the hook upward.
Here are 3 pictures of this step:

Next I drew a thin line of Bronze Edge on my top lash line.

If you need a less intense eye, at this point you could curl the lashes and add mascara, but you wear glasses so I added a little JetSet in Bronze with the arced liner brush to my waterlines.
I then curled my lashes and added one coat of Diorshow cleaning the lashes with a lash comb to create more fluttery lashes.

Lips
On my lips I used Perfect Pout the, middle colour using a lip brush:

Making the lips look like:

For long days of wearing makeup, you sometimes need to freshen up the makeup or turn a day look into a night look. I always have ModelCo - Liquid Buds Eye Make Up Remover in my bag, these Q-tip like sticks are filled with eye makeup remover and smudges or mistakes can easily be removed without having a huge mess.

I hope you like this look!!
Have a great weekend everyone!

Funky spin on 60's Twiggy eye (September 25, 2008)

CCee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 07:39:47 -0700

Well, I was thinking of doing a natural eye today, and it turned out I was not feeling natural at all, so I spiced it up.

I was inspired by a look I saw on an old Vogue cover shot by Nick Knight years ago. Kate Moss was wearing this Twiggy like eye line just above her crease and it stayed in my head for years but never dared to do it, until today.

This is the picture that inspired it all:

This is the eye I created for today:

Well, as you can see I did modern it up a bit, but the essentials are still the same.

I started with a clean and moisturised face. I think you guys know how I do this by now, if you miss it, say so in the comments and then I'll add it again to future posts.

Products in this picture:

Smashbox, Hybrid 2 in 1 Luminizing Primer - Greenroom collection
Sephora, concealer palette
Smashbox, Concealer Brush - no. 4Smashbox, Photo Op - Under Eye Brightener
YSL, Touche Eclat - no. 2
Smashbox, mini Eye Shadow Trio - Headshot (curtesy of <i>MartiniLush</i>)
Smashbox, Shadow Brush - no. 26
Smashbox, Definer Brush - no. 15
L'Oreal, ColorAppeal TrioPro - 304 Beige Pink (using only the highlighter)
Smashbox, Crease Brush - no. 10
Smashbox, Cream Eye Liner Pencil - Midnight Brown
Sephora, Eyelash Curler
Dior, Diorshow - black

Face
As you can see Kate's skin is very very polished, sculpted and perfect, I didn't want that, I wanted it more real, funky and raw. I had a great skin-day today so I only used a little Hybrid 2 in 1 Luminizing Primer on my skin as a base, only adding a little mixture of the lightest skin tone and the pink of the Concealer palette under my eyes to brighten using the no. 4 concealer brush. I used a little Photo Op over this to make it more sheer and added very little (put on my finger first and then patted in) Touche Eclat on the inner corner to make it a little more "awake". I didn't sculpt my face or use anything else because I have a natural blush thanks to mother nature, if you need a blush, try a cream blush very close to your natural blush colour and really blend it well that it doesn't look like a blush you put on but a natural flush.

Eyes
Martini was sooooo incredibly sweet and she sent me a mini Eye Shadow Trio in Headshot. I was sooo happy when she sent it and she made my day!! You're amazing!!
Using the no. 26 shadow brush I placed the light yellow golden tint under my eyebrow and on the centre of my eyelid to give it a pop. I then took off the colour that was left on the brush with a towel and then packed the brush with the pink tone. I placed this everywhere else on my eye, so both corners of the eyelid, the crease and I even went over the golden tone on the inside under the brow. This creates a little depth and mixes well with the golden sheen already placed.
Using only the tip of the no. 15 definer brush I placed the darkest brown colour just above my crease where I wanted the brown line to go later, just as a little depth and as a sneaky guide for placing the brown line later.
Now as you can see I didn't smudge the line and made it thicker or darker like Kate's is. I wanted the line to be just this, a line, not a "created higher crease" or a nicely blended pretty line. I took a Cream Eye Liner Pencil in Midnight Brown to create this. I <b>didn't use an eyeshadow base</b> because I'm drawing a line here using a cream liner pencil. If you do use a shadow base your skin (which is then coated with a layer made for grabbing colour) will not let the pencil draw a line without creating an ugly line. The line over a base will be a dotted line because the pencil will not flow over the skin (I have no idea if I'm explaining this correctly, but trust me, it will not look good easily, you'd have to draw a lot of little lines and connect them and then the line will not be fluent). As you can see I drew the line above my crease so my eyelid-skin will not touch it and if I don't rub my eyes it will be fine because it's a cream liner it will not smudge quickly anyway.

Try to draw the line with your eye open and looking straight into a mirror to have the best placement.
I curled my lashes and used Diorshow in black to create fluttery lashes.

Next up was a little highlighting. I was looking at myself in the reflection of my laptop yesterday and my eye fell on the top of my cheekbone, not the part in front of the face but the side that if you draw a ( or a ) you hit your brow bone. I was thinking how people always forget that part. I also remembered it looks really good if you add a little shimmer there because you don't notice it if you stand looking straight in the mirror, it only grabs a little attention if you tilt your head or look sideways. Now consider how many people don't look at you from right in front of you, and how you always move your head whilst talking or getting things. So I thought I'd share this little secret with you, this is a perfect place to add a little highlighter (I used the highlighter from the L'Oreal, ColorAppeal TrioPro because it's shimmery but not sparkly) on this ( and ) shape using a clean blush brush (I used a crease brush because I wanted more control over the placement, but then blending is something you have to be good at).

Here is the final eye again:

I hope you like this look!
Have a great day everyone!!
:hug:

Challenge 4 - Look from the Donna Karan Spring 2009 Ready to Wear Fashion Show (September 19, 2008)

CCee — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:51:15 -0700

Hey guys,

Well, the sun set already and I'm ready for tonight...

The look that was the inspiration for tonight was created by Charlotte Tilbury for the Donna Karan Spring 2009 Ready to Wear show. As you can see the basic idea for every model was the same, but it was changed for every girls eye a little. I also noticed that almost all the women I found had blue eyes hahaha...

My view on the look:

Products in this picture:

Bliss, Sleeping Peel - cleansing cream
Bliss, Sleeping Peel - age minimizing eye gel
Biotherm, Biopur - pore minimizer

Preparation
I had a late night last night (I went out with friends) and an early morning today. So I'm really tired but I don't wish to look it so I massaged my face using the Sleeping Peel cleansing cream. My skin feels sooo much better after this and I use Sleeping Peel eye gel on my eyes to maximize the effect. As a moisturizer I used a little BioPur.

Products in this picture:

Smashbox, Hybrid 2 in 1 Liminizing Primer - Greenroom collection
Yves Saint Laurent, Teint Parfait - No 7
Too Faced, Magic Wand - Illuminizing Foundation in New York Light 2
Sephora, Concealer Palette
Smashbox, Concealer brush - no. 4
Yves Saint Laurent, Touche Eclat - Radiant Touch no. 2
Neutrogena, Lipbalm

Face
As a primer I used the Greenroom Collection's Hybrid all over my face, I was sooo tired I even absent minded put it on my eyes and just let it do it's job there. That is the reason why I skipped the Primer Potion on my eyes.
I used the Teint Parfait the way you're supposed to use it, as a colour corrector and this gave my skin it's glow back. Over this I used a lighter foundation then usually because I'm kinda pale from the little sleep. I applied this foundation using the brush where the foundation comes from, I did press the foundation a little more into my skin using my fingers though.
I used the Sephora concealer palette because I can mix the colours to match my needs for today. I used the lightest skin tone colour and the pink to create a salmon-like colour. This mixture I placed under my eyes using the no 4 Concealer Brush.
I then tilted my head forward a little and brushed some Touche Eclat on shadows from the bags under my eyes (grrr... no sleep doesn't react well on my skin). The way to maximize the effect is letting it soak in a little before blending.
I used a little lip balm on my lips at this point to moisturize them.
At this point this is how everything looks:

Products in this picture:

Mark, Eyeshadow in Nomade
Sephora Brand Professionnel, All Over Shadow Brush - No. 21
Sephora, Iridescent Cream Shadow - Silver
Smashbox, Eye Shadow Trio - Panorama (using the white colour)
Smashbox, Definer Brush - No. 15
Smashbox, Eye Shadow Quad - Supernatural (using the Golden/Bronze and Brown colours)
Sephora Brand Professionnel Platinum, Natural Dome Smudge Brush #13
L'Oreal, ColorAppeal TrioPro - Powder Duo + Highlighter in 304 Beige Pink
Sephora Brand Professionnel, Crease Brush - No. 18
Sephora Brand, Eye Lash Curler
Chanel, Inimitable Mascara - multi-dimenstionnel in black
Eyebrow brush
Christian Dior, Dior Addict - 384 Rose Scenario
Christian Dior, Ultra Gloss - 151
The Body Shop, retractable Lip Brush
Escada, Moon Sparkle - Eau de Toilette

Eyes
When I was looking at the pictures I first thought they only had the lid glimmering, but when I saw a video of it I did see a little glimmer on the brow bone, so I started my eye with a shimmering eyeshadow tester by Mark in Nomade. It was a lot more golden shimmer then I expected, but the colour is super and was a great base to work over, to create a wash of colour as a base I always go back to the All Over Shadow Brush.
The ladies all have very light inner corners on their eyes, I don't have a shimmering white, but I created my eye corner by starting with the Iridescent Cream Shadow in Silver on the corner first and blending it outward a lot. I then used the no. 15 Definer Brush to add the Panorama White in the corner only. This gave the corner a little extra kick but didn't kill the shimmer of the cream shadow.

The ladies all had very hazel brown shimmery creases that had the skin shining through. I have the perfect colour to recreate this, The Smashbox Eye Shadow Quad called Supernatural (which I got in the Glambox Volume 2 set, that's currently on sale on the Smashbox site for $51) has a Bronze/Golden colour. The colour looks more Bronze, but actually has really golden glimmers. Also the colour isn't hiding the skin colour under the eyeshadow, it's very transparent. I used the Natural Dome Smudge Brush no. 13 from Sephora for this because it's a little shorter and softer then the no. 15 definer brush. This brush blends better and I'm blending with this brush as well (if you use less pressure while blending upward, you can blend with almost any brush, but if you're new to blending or not good at blending, place with this brush and then use a crease brush to blend).

I wanted a little more depth in the centre of the crease, so I took a very glimmery palette from L'Oreal and used the brown colour from that palette on my inner crease using the tip of the Crease Brush.
To give the outer corner of the eyelid a little more of a brown kick I added the dark brown from the Quad using the Natural Dome Smudge Brush no. 13 from Sephora again. I used circular motions to buff the colour into the skin blending this colour with the grey at the middle of the eyelid. Because the silver is a cream shadow it will hold a lot of colour, soooo blend on the outside first (don't go into the crease colour, the bronze should stay the main focus here). Use an almost empty brush to place the last of the brown in the middle to blend the silver and brown.

To finish the eye I curled my lashes and took my trusting Chanel, Inimitable Mascara to create fuller lashes. The girls at the Donna Karan show are wearing false lashes and I'm not, so adding those will add more of a dark shadow at the corners of the eyes. I also added a little mascara to my lower lashes which I usually don't do because I have pretty dark lashes naturally. Using an eyebrow brush I brushed my eyebrows a little more down because these ladies have messier brows then I usually have.

I've been using a flash (fake lighting) on all these pictures.

So I went to a more yellow light and took this picture without a flash.

Using a flash again:

Products in this picture:
This is the half of a Dior Lip palette I got as a freebie once, left is without flash and right is with flash.
The colours in the palette are:

Dior Addict in 489 - 579 - 687 and 384 (the most right on the palette is the one I used)

Dior Ultra Gloss in 483 and 151 (only the 151 is shown)

Lips
I wanted to keep my lips neutral so I used Dior Addict in 384 Rose Scenario on my lips, but thought it was a little too natural with the very flashy though light eyes. So I added a little Ultra Gloss in 151 over the lipstick using a retractable Lip Brush.

Scent
As a scent I used the Escada Moonsparkle I got from a friend today.

On the pictures it looks a lot less shiny then it actually is, I do hope you guys like the look. I will enjoy wearing it tonight. I really think it's a spring look, it's very fresh, young and clean.

My mum said I look very awake (I don't feel it, but hihi, make-up is creating a great illusion).