Click on the picture to go to the original blog explaining the look. Use Ctrl + click to open the link in a new tab or Shift + click to open the link in a new window.

EYES

LOOK ON MODEL

LIPS

NAILS

Hi everyone,

I wanted to show you this amazing look I did on Nic this weekend. It's a little Monroe/Fawcett mix and we both LOVE it.

It's actually very simple makeup and hair.

Hair:
Nic has a shoulder length layered bob and I straightened it (after applying protectant) and when I came at the ends of her hair I turned the straightner a quarter at the tips to make them stand out. That's all I did, seriously!

Face:
I wanted Nic to have very matte skin but I also didn't want to lose a healthy glow, soooo I used Benefit, Firmology as a moisturizer. This product adds a radiant glow because of light reflecting pigments and also moisturizes and tones the skin. Over this I used Smashbox - Photo Finish Foundation Primer followed by Smashbox, High Definition Healthy FX Foundation in Light L3 which I applied with the travel size Smashbox Foundation brush (available now is the normal sized Foundation brush). She has no dark circles, so the only thing I placed right under her eyes is the foundation. I used my Make Up For Ever powder with my Mexx brush to take all the shine out of her face. Because it was dark outside and she wouldn't wear this in sunlight I dared to use a darker contouring colour then I would normally use on her. I used the dark bronzer from the Smashbox Blush Bronzer Duo in Cosmopolitan to contour her cheeks, nose, forehead and jawline.

Eyes:
I used the lightest colour from Dior Diorissime Palette Fall 2007 (002 Seduction Drama) all over her eyes using the Smashbox, no. 10 Crease brush. On her inner corner I used the darker shimmery brown from the same pallette with the no. 10 Crease brush again for a wash of colour. I then used the Smashbox, arched liner brush no. 21 with my black Stila Smudge Pot to line her waterlines and her eyes (giving her a flick at the outer corners). I lined her waterlines with black to make her eyes a little smaller, Nic has huge innocent eyes and I wanted her to look a little more dangerous.

Brows:
I used a L'Oreal to thicken her brows a bit and created a high brow with a more defined arch. I made them a little thicker because of the dark eyes, you need something to frame the eyes when bringing them foreward them this much.

Lips:
I knew I wanted to give her red lips, but I didn't want it to look like she just came out of a magazine, I wanted it more real. Soooo I used one of my only two MAC products, the Lip Varnish in Warning!. This red I applied with my fingers, patting it in, making the colour more of a stain then a gloss or lipstick. I didn't define the lipline or anything, I just wanted it to look a little messy.

Nails:
I forgot to take a picture of her nails... but I even chose a colour for those. The colour she was wearing was by OPI, and is called Quarter of a Cent-Cherry.

I really hope you ladies love this look, we both had a lot of fun with it. I think she looks beautiful!
Thanks Nic for modelling for me!

Click on the picture to go to the original blog explaining the look. Use Ctrl + click to open the link in a new tab or Shift + click to open the link in a new window.

EYES

LIPS

NAILS

Hi everyone,

Here I am again... multiple posts on one day... whooooooh ;) Aren't you proud of me?? :P

I did an etherial eye when I went out with Nicole last weekend. I wanted it to look pretty natural but have a shimmer to pull the viewers eyes to mine. Now I took the pictures with a flashlight and without a mirror so they're not the prettiest, but they do show you how I did the makeup.

Prep
I started with a cleansed skin. Because my skin was acting up I did the dermalogica double cleanse. I started with Precleanse which is a cleansing oil. I love how this oil really takes of sooo much dirt and makeup, also this doesn't dry out my skin and the massage you automatically give your face when applying this boosts circulation which means less wrinkles :D . My second cleanser was Ultracalming Cleanser which is sooo soft but does really clean well. It doesn't give you a tight feeling skin and my skin has really reacted sooo well to this, it's super :D . After the cleaning, I wanted my skin to look even more fresh so I used bliss triple oxygen™ - Instant energizing mask to foam my skin into a brighter version of itself.

Face As a primer I used a tester of the Smashbox - Photo finish foundation primer SPF 15 & Dermaxyl, which feels just like the normal Photo Finish but has more skincare things in it apparently. On my face I used Too Faced - Magic Wand Foundation in New York Light. I really love the way you can build up this foundation and the fact that the brush is built in, so when I'm not home (which I wasn't) this is unbelievably handy. As a concealer I used two different colours of Smashbox - Camera Ready Concealer. I used the no. 3 and no. 2. The more pink colour I used on the inner corner of my eyes and the more yellow toned colour was used to hide small blemishes and around my nose. I blended this with my fingers because I wasn't home and I didn't bring the right brush.

I used a new product I've fallen in love with for contouring. Officially it's a bronzer, but I use it for contouring, it's Chanel Bronze Universal. It's pretty expensive but you get a huge jar. I apply this with (another new brush, yes I know, I'm addicted) Sephora Brand - Professionnel Platinum Stippling Brush no. 44. This brush is meant for Stippling, but if I use this brush with my foundation I get a very thick layer. Maybe when I get a thinner foundation (like the Make Up For Ever - HD Invisible Cover Foundation it will work better. I use this brush to apply a thin layer of the Bronze Universal on my temples working in an E or 3 to under my cheekbones and then under my jawline. Remember that you have to blend contouring colours into your hairline and ears to prevent your contouring looking fake.

I used the Make Up For Ever - HD Powder to fix the makeup, buttttt I only used the powder under my eyes and on my forehead, nose and chin, using a clean Smashbox - Crease brush. I used this brush because I want to keep the sheen to my face and I only want to hide the shine on my T-zone. I have a primer under my foundation so it shouldn't move, but I have a fixing spray I use at the very end of my makeup application.

Eyes
On my eyes I used my favourite Urban Decay - Primer Potion. After this I used the light grey cream eyeliner from the Smashbox (Wicked Lovely Line) - Cream liner loose shimmer pot which is on sale now on the Smashbox website. For the application I used the brush I think I use the most, I even have 2 of this brush :oops: , it's the Smashbox - Definer brush. I blended the cream eyeliner up to and a little above the crease. I also placed this cream eyeshadow on my lower lash line with the brush side of my Smashbox - Double Ended Smudger Brush.

The colour I placed with my second Smashbox - Definer brush over the grey base is the grey from the Smashbox - Eye Shadow Trio in Shutterspeed. This grey is matte, and I wanted a shimmer, so I took the Smashbox - Crease brush that I used to apply the HD powder on my face. With this brush I used the shimmer powder that's in the Smashbox (Wicked Lovely Line) - Cream liner loose shimmer pot all over my eyes and over the grey cream liner on my bottom lash line (use only the tip for this, a slightly messy shimmery look under the eyes is sexy, a big glob of shimmer is ugly ;) if you think the brush is too big, get a smaller one for this, I picked this one because it's very fluffy so you get a very airbrushed finish).

As a mascara I used only one coat of my new (yes, another new thing... I knowwww, I was stressed and then I buy makeup) Dior - Diorshow Iconic Mascara in black. I only wanted one coat because I wanted "flutter lashes" and no huge statement. Which worked amazingly well because that night I looked natural instead of made up.

Because I didn't want my makeup to move or slip, but did want to keep the face looking the way it looked right now without adding (mattifying) powder, I used Make Up For Ever - Make Up Fixer Spray over this entire look.

Lips
On my lips I used a mini lipstick I got when I bought my Diorshow Iconic. The colour is an Dior - Addict High Shine Lipstick in Catwalk Mauve (sheer mauve plum). If you want the exact same set I got, click here. I hope you like this look!!

Hey ladies,

How is everyone doing??

Finally my skin is looking normal again, but I did this look on my best friend who was sweet enough to let me work on her, so thanks Nic!!!

I do have a few quick questions though, sometimes I do the big HUGE picture tutorials, do you girls still want those?? I started with the links to the products I used instead of the pictures, do you like this or prefer the old way? Do you have any other things you would like me to add or skip in my next posts?

Final eye:

When I did Nic's makeup I was amazed at how incredibly blue her eyes seemed afterwards, she had amazingly blue eyes, but after the gold and blue combo her eyes really popped even more.

Prep
I want Nic to look radiant and glowing, so after cleansing I used Clinique - All about eyes on her eyes and Benefit - Firmology as a moisturizer. This moisturizer is oil-free so no oily shine but it does have a luminous light-reflecting pigment that adds a healthy glow. Under her eyes I used Sephora - "Tricks of the Trade" Immediate Wrinkle Filler because I wanted a smooth base for the rest of the makeup. Also I'm adding colour under her eyes and I don't want it to creep into her fine lines making it seem like she has wrinkles.

Face
As a primer I used my favourite Smashbox - Hybrid 2 in 1 Primer, which illuminates and gives the rest of the makeup something to adhere to. Some people hate this product because it has two openings and just squeezing the tube gives you not the best mixture of product. I personally don't mind putting my finger over the first hole to get some illuminizer and then over the second hole to get the primer. I prefer this to two tubes/pumps/bottles, if you don't like this you can always get the normal Photofinish primer and Artificial light Luminizing lotion and mix them on your hand to get the same result. Back to the Hybrid, this (just as the Photofinish) makes the skin feel very soft, which made her touch her face the entire evening, just as I did when I first got into the primer.

When I checked her face for foundation shades I found out that my summer foundation colour works amazingly well on her in the winter. So I used Smashbox - High Definition Healthy FX Foundation in Light L3 placing it with a foundation brush, I heard Samantha Chapman give the advice to place your moisturizer with your foundation brush first to prevent the brush from streaking and "eating" your foundation. I thought I'd pass this tip on to you.

Now that this base is done I wanted to make her skin seem flawless to with a concealer brush and Smashbox - Camera Ready Full Coverage Concealer in 2.0 I took away the minimal darkness she had under her eyes (damn her, she has a pretty perfect skin argh ;) ). Over this I placed a product I hadn't used in a while but re-fell in love with the Smashbox - Under eye brightener. I also used this on the nose and as a highlighter under her brows and on the top of her cheeks.

I almost never use a blusher on myself, so I only have what I got in kits, but I always go to one blusher and it worked amazingly on Nic's face Smashbox - O-glow. I know you're not supposed to do blusher before contouring etc etc, but because the skin is still not powdered, the O-glow (which is a gel) looks better applied now then after powder. At this point I powdered her face with Make Up For Ever - HD Powder because the contouring products are all powder and I never go from cream/gel to powder and back. I always do the "wet" products first, then powder and then I contour. If I use a powdered blush I do apply this last, but if you know what you're doing you can switch up the application steps.

She's never contoured herself before, and I was teaching her what this could do to a face. So fun to teach someone something new which is normal for yourself but is a world of unknown possibilities for another. Because I wanted to keep her skin radiant, I bronzed her with a Givenchy - Prismissime Mat & Glow. To contour I used another product that's been discontinued, I used the bronzer from the Yves Saint Laurent - Sensation Soleil MakeUp Palette no. 1, for my skin tone it's too dark as a bronzer and for Nicole it's the same, so I contoured with it. This Palette has a twin out there, so if you do try and find it on E-bay or anywhere else, make sure you buy the one with the green and shiny nude eyeshadow shades. I contoured the sides of her face to make it seen smaller and gave her more pronounced cheekbones.

Eyes
On her eyes I used the Urban Decay - Eyeshadow Primer Potion as a base. As a base colour on her eyelids I used the gold colour from the discontinued Sephora - Paradise Island palette. I think a good replacement would be a colour like Nars' - Cream Eyeshadow in El Dorado (shimmering golden bronze). I used a cream eyeshadow as an extra base to make the gold on top pop even more and it gives the colour more dimension. I place this colour with a Sephora Brand Professionnel Large Synthetic Eyeshadow Brush no. 25, I use a synthetic brush because it's a cream eyeshadow and natural bristles would give an uneven coating of cream.

Next I do something that will look very odd when you do it, but I'll explain why, so bare with me. I now use the ocean colour from the same Sephora palette (a replacement would be a colour like Nars' - Carioca (gossamer turquoise)) under the eyes (from the outer to the inner corner) with a Sephora Brand Professionnel Small Synthetic Eyeshadow Brush no. 26. Over this blue under the eyes I place a very bright and vibrant colour named Peace - Urban Decay. This colour can be bought on it's own or in the Urban Decay DeLuxe Shadow Box. For precise placing I used the brush side of the Smashbox - Double Ended smudger brush. I do this blue under the eyes now, because I want to know how much blue I need on top, if you do it the other way around, you might need a lot more or less blue under your eyes and then you lose the balance which is very important with this look. Now I add the gold colour on top of the eyelid (up to the crease).

Because I needed a pop of gold (to bring out the blue in her eyes even more) I chose a very pigmented colour. The colour I used was Urban Decay - Honey, this is also a colour that can be bought as a single or found in the Urban Decay DeLuxe Shadow Box.

For the blue in the crease I used the Slanted brush by The body shop. To place the crease colour, look straight ahead into a mirror and place the brush with the eyeshadow just above the crease you see. I used a little bit of Urban Decay - Ransom for this another colour that can be bought alone or in the Urban Decay DeLuxe Shadow Box. I used very little because I wanted to know where I wanted to place the darkest colour of the crease. Because Nic's eyes are a little further apart, I took the Ransom up to the inner corner of the crease. On the outsides I took it up a little to give her a coloured "wing" to lift the outer eye corners.

I used Urban Decay - Adore on the outer corners of her top and bottom lash line. This colour can only be bought as a single, but you can use Ransom (purple blue) for this as well, I just happen to have all the DeLuxe shadows and wanted another more blue blue. Under the blue Ransom in the deepest part of the crease I deepened the colour using an eye pencil by Make Up For Ever - Aqua Eyes in Iridescent navy blue, at this point I added more Ransom to the crease, blending it up and out.

All that was needed to finish the eyes was mascara. She has amazingly long and curled lashes naturally so no curling was needed on her. If you do need this, do this prior to colouring the lashes. For her eyelashes we used a mascara I gave her from a Sephora Lash Stash. The mascara she's wearing in the pictures is Sephora - Atomic Volume Mascara.

Final look:

Lips
On her lips I mixed two Smashbox colours Wicked lovely line lip gloss in Sultry (now on sale on the Smashbox website and a Lip Enhancing clear gloss. The Sultry looks really scary in the tube and I remember Nic thinking I was insane putting it on her, but it's like the black lip glosses, you can mix them with other colours to create a colour you love.