The Summer Wing: Easy Gold, Coral and Neon-Pink Winged Eyes

This is an easy gradient winged eye and actually more flattering than you might think neon pink shadow would be.

The 3 main shades are yellow, coral, and fuchsia, but the key to the look is that I used 2 shimmers in the 88 Shimmer palette for the yellow and coral, then switched to a matte neon pink (BH Cosmetics WM20) at the outer corners. 

This creates more strength to the look, although you can also use one of the fuchsias in the shimmer palette if you want to save the trouble. A matte is just more flattering when you're wearing a neon pink on the lids, in my opinion.

The Most FABULOUS Glitter Liner In The World (Glitter Foil Liner Tutorial)

When you need a whole party on your eyelids, nothing but the most intense glitter liner will do. And what can be more intense of transfer foil?

This is much simpler than the foiled-lid look I did previously, and you can also simplify it further by using a single foil color rather than two like I did. The main item you need to pull this off is a good eyelash glue, like Eye Charm or DUO. (I prefer Eye Charm just because it's cheaper and comes with a convenient eyeliner brush.)

When choosing the foil, I would pick glitter patterns because larger patterns aren't going to show up nicely on a thin strip along your lash line. 

• I picked a bright green holographic glitter foil from Dollarnailart.com, called Lime Glitter.
• For the inner half of the lids, I used a bright yellow holographic called Aztec Gold. 

[Requested] 88 Matte Palette Smoky Brown Evening/Prom Eye (a la Bruno Mars "Just The Way You Are" Music Video)

Perfect opportunity for me to combine 2 requests; one for a dark brown prom-makeup done using the 88 Matte Palette (the Warm palette has the same shades needed), and one for the smoky eye look worn by the gorgeous model in Bruno Mars' Just The Way You Are video.

Dissecting the Look

The lighting in the video is extremely orange/yellow and the moving images aren't crisp and clear (you can click on the images for a closer look at my screen grabs). From what I can tell, she is wearing:

• a matte chocolate brown smoky eye
• a very flared and winged-out eyeshadow shape that emphasizes the outer halves of her socket line, quite similar to the classic smoky wing Pam Anderson might wear
• very defined and thick black liner but it's not a very hard and precise line (i.e. does not look like liquid liner)
• full false lashes that are a "rounded" shape, longer in the center instead of at the outsides

It's a very straightforward and flattering look as long as you can get the shadow shape correct, and it doesn't matter if you had mono-lids, hooded eyes or double lids; blue, green brown, hazel or grey eyes. But in real life, it probably works better for an evening out clubbing or at the prom than to school.

[Nails] Psychedelic Swirls: Adventures with XL Nail Stamping Plate B

If you're an expert, you probably already know everything I'm about to say.
But if you like doing your nails but haven't heard of "Konad" or "nail stamping", it's one of the easiest ways to "cheat" and create intricate designs on your nails without visiting a salon.

People who get into stamping get quite fanatic about it, because it's such an economical way to jazz up your nail look. Plates and stampers can be re-used for years, and there are so many different looks and effects you can get into. It's also not hard as long as you use the right polish and good quality plates.

Stamping Tools:

To get started, you need a

• metal stamping plate with some designs on it
• a flat scraper (some people use old gift cards or credit cards)
• a rubberized stamping tool
• stamping polish (or any existing polish that is very thick, very pigmented)

Konad is one of the best-known brands that supply metal stamping plates and all the peripheral accessories like rubber stampers and metal scrapers (you can find them on naildelights.com). They also supply stamping polishes. Now Konad stamps and polishes aren't cheap, and there are so many different designs that you often find yourself in a "gotta collect 'em all" situation.


In recent years, many manufacturers have come up with alternatives to Konad, most of which are much more affordable. "XL" stamping plates like these below can have up to 40+ designs on them and cost as low as about US$7 each on Amazon and eBay, if you buy 3 of them.

Not all work extremely well, but most are ok, and a lot depends on the stamping polish you use.

Olivia Palermo Eye makeup: Tips for women with thick lids and/or deep sockets

Olivia has got to be one of the most beautiful women in the world, in my opinion. She reminds me of Penelope Cruz, Heather Graham and Shania Twain all rolled into one.

I was VERY hesitant to do this post despite a lot of requests to do an Olivia Palermo look, because the truth is her eye makeup is quite straightforward and simple (which I can recreate and give tips for), but the end result is really largely due to her natural eye shape (which I can't recreate). 

• Very deep and defined sockets
• Huge, rounded eyes, slightly down-turned at the outer corners
• Very thick double-lids
• Medium lid space (probably the only thing I have in common with her, in that her brows are not very far or very low and close to her eyes)

Even with the same makeup I will never look anything like her, but if you have a similar eye structure (a lot of Indian and Mediterranean women do), then this is a fantastic look for you.

Butterfly Fields: Fantasy-Green Eyeshadow Look (with Paperself Lashes)

I got requests for brighter or more dramatic color, and something green, so here's one that's kinda all those rolled into one.

I whipped out my 88 Shimmer palette for this. (I always forget I love this baby. It's not dusty and the colors are beautiful.) But like most shadows, it's very important to wear a primer or some kind of base on your lid for the pigments to cling to, if you want to get the most intense effect.

For this look, I used 3 shades circled below:

• A nice bronze-brown near the top right
• A deep emerald green near the bottom left
• A saturated lime green shimmer along the same row as the emerald, 4th from top

I also used the following:

• MAC Studiofinish Concealer over the lids as a base (a lot of these solid concealers work very well as a shadow primer if you have normal or dry lids like me)
• An emerald green pencil (Catrice Khol Kajal in 060 "Don't Be Mean to Green!" 
• Black liquid liner (Heroine Make Impact Liquid Liner) and pencil (Shahnaz Husain Kajal)
• Black mascara (L'oreal Voluminous Carbon Black)

Jelly Ombre Lip and Big Doll Lashes (feat. Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited)

Huge lashes, lavender cheeks, and a berry-stained "jelly" lip!

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in WN 20 S (top), PK 70 C (bottom)

Apparently, two-toned lips are in this season. (Apparently, I've been doing them for 2 years while they were completely out of fashion; boohoo...) I don't usually use glosses to do ombre lips, because there usually isn't enough of a visual contrast. But when I saw a very dark shimmery wine shade in the Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited range, I immediately thought "stained jelly lips!"


The Lips

In the grand tradition of the great Uemura-san himself, I swopped things around and did my lips before my eyes. Uemura believed a lip color could be applied first and thereafter be the deciding factor for the eye and cheek makeup you choose.)

Step 1: I applied a soft beige pink, PK 70 C (translates to "Pink 70 Cream" for you and me) over the lips. (Try MAC's Please Me Lipglass if you can't find this in your country.)

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in PK 70 C

Step 2: Next, I applied a deep berry gloss (you need to use something quite pigmented or it won't have this level of contrast) WN 20 S (translates to "Wine 20 Shimmer"). (Try MAC's Desire or Rebel Lipglass if you can't find this.) 

Shu Uemura Gloss Unlimited in WN 20 S

*The US range seems to be slightly different from Asia (is anyone seeing a recurring pattern here???) so I listed alternatives with a similar color if not the same texture.

---

The Eyes

The modus operandi is "doll-like". Rounded, widened, with huge lashes. You can apply lower lashes if you want, but this isn't meant to be a super-dramatic look, so I skipped that.

 Step 1: To create a rounded eye shape, I used the 88 Warm Palette and mixed up a few of the medium browns just to create a warm matte tone that's about 2-3 shades darker than my skin color. This I applied to the entire lid in a rounded shape, blending upwards almost to the brow near the center.

Then on the inner corners, I applied a little pale beige.

Step 2: Line your lower eye rim with a pale yellow liner like NYX Yellow. Next, use a dark grey or charcoal pencil to create definition and emphasize a rounded shape. You want to line it such that it's thick at the center of the eye, and then tapered to a thin point at both ends.

On the lower lash line, run the charcoal pencil along the outer half of the eyes, making it thicker at the outside.

Step 3: Here's one trick to easier eyelash application. Apply the glue directly along your lash line. This can be done if you're using one of the brush-applicator lash glues, or with a liner brush if you're using regular tube glue.

Step 4: Apply long, dramatic clustered lashes (I used Red Cherry #16s) and push them up at the center of the eye for doll eye.

The Cheeks

I wanted a "glowy" sort of effect to go with the eyes and lips, so I used a lavender blush (MAC Full of Joy just on the upper areas of the apples and up long the cheekbones.

Why don't you pick a lip and then decide your makeup today? ;)