Satiny-Neutral Daily Look Tutorial: Tom Ford Nude Dip

I was requested to do a tutorial using the Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in 03 Nude Dip. 

This palette is different from all the other regular ones in terms of formula. The textures of the 4 shades are a lot more silky and pearlescent, whereas the original palettes were composed of more powdery satin and sparkle shades.

These 4 shades are highly metallic and at first look - similar to Japanese eyeshadow formulas. However, those are very sheer. The Nude Dip formula is translucent but also much more pigmented and buildable. 

You get a golden-ivory, a tawny shell-pink, a taupe, and a chocolate brown shade.

Below is a simple tutorial using all 4 shades, although I do often use just 2-3 shades for daily looks.

This is a very subtle palette and the colors all blend seamlessly together. But I would say you shouldn't expect dramatic variations in looks because the shades are all pretty soft and neutral. You will get lovely dimension and a beautiful gleam to the lids though.

If you're a fan of shimmery shades, this is a PERFECT wedding palette.

As with most of Tom Ford's formulas there is minimal fallout (there will almost always be some with most shadows but his has some of the least), and the colors and textures are flattering even for mature lids. This palette is more pearlescent though, so if you have a lot of lines on your lids, it might not be the most flattering palette for you to pick out of his range.

I still highly recommend it though. I have a few other faves in the Eye Color Quad range, but this is definitely up there with Cognac Sable and Lavender Lust among my absolutely must-haves.

This used to be a limited edition palette but good thing they've decided to make it permanent.

5 Favorite Neutral Eye Palettes: Jan - Jun 2015

I'm a huge fan of neutrals, obviously, and I have a ton, but I figured I should narrow things down and just feature 5 of my absolute favorites - the ones that are not only in permanent collections (no limited editions!) but that I would pick over the others for various reasons.

And no - there isn't a single Naked palette in here because nobody needs another post about a Naked palette!

Wet n Wild Silent Treatment Trio - Budget/Drugstore

This one I've loved for a few years now and forgot about it until I did a clean-out and rediscovered it earlier this year. Not only is it cheap as chips, the quality and color combination are absolutely outstanding. A little powdery and crumbly maybe, but that's small price to pay.
That metallic taupe is one of the most gorgeous shadows around, and I'd say the palette is worth the price just for that shade alone, although the other 2 shades are pretty good too.

Sephora Colorful 5 Pale to rich taupe palette - Mid range

With the exception of the dark matte shade, which takes a bit of effort to build up in intensity, this palette is BEAUTIFUL quality. In fact I would say the pearlescent shades are actually equal in quality to high-end Dior or Marc Jacobs palettes.

The palette isn't much to look at packaging-wise, but the product itself is great and can take you from subtle day looks to dramatic smoky or sparkly looks as well.

Dior Eye Reviver Illuminating Neutrals palette 001 - High-end

Dior has several neutral palettes, including the very beautiful Cuir Cannage which I have a deep love for. But if you have to pick just one, I believe the Eye Reviver palette gives you more options for the price because it's got a matte base shade, and a gel liner as well.
I'm not a huge fan of having cream/gel products in the same palette with powders, but even if you ignore the liner, there are 5 beautifully creamy powder shades. Definitely a worthwhile investment in my opinion.

Tom Ford Eye Color Quad in Cognac Sable - Luxe

Tom Ford quads are - in Singapore - some of the best high-end shadows to invest in considering how much product you get for the price, high though it might be. The colors are all tastefully assembled and the textures are ultra flattering even for mature eyelids. Plus, they are very silky and have minimal fall-out.

I've loved almost every single Eye Color Quad I bought but my favorite warm palette has got to be Cognac Sable. Golden Mink is pretty but in terms of versatility, it loses to Cognac Sable, because this is a palette where you can get away with putting any single shade all over your lids, and you would be able to get 4 completely different effects, from soft to sparkly to smoky to dramatic.

With Golden Mink, the differences between the shades aren't that apparent compared to Cognac Sable.

By Terry Eye Designer Palette - Luxe

I probably don't need to say too much about this 10-shade matte palette because I have a full post with swatches of every single shade right here. You definitely don't need to spend so much on a neutral palette when there are many other options around, but if you're in the market for a splurge that is as practical as it is luxurious, this is it. 

Bobbi Brown Shimmering Sands Palette Swatches, Review, and Demos (Day/Smoky Looks)

Bobbi Brown's launched their Summer collection, which includes the limited edition Shimmering Sands palette which a lot of people were very interested in when I posted images of it on Instagram. This palette is actually smaller than it might seem in pictures. My palette is a press sample, so the weight of each pan isn't printed on the bottom, but they are much smaller than a typical circular shadow so my guess is they're about 0.7g each or so, as compared to the typical 1.5g.

The good news is this is a very portable palette if you want something quite subtle and good quality, but not overloaded with too many full-size shades that you can't finish.

As you can see from the swatches above and below, there are a mix of textures, from sparkly to metallic, to satin, and matte. That said, there is only 1 truly matte shade and 2 satins that look mostly matte but contain tiny sparkles in them. A usual for Bobbi Brown shadows, I personally find the shimmers/metallics to be the smoothest and easiest to work with. The matte and satins are smooth but extremely subtle.

All the shades are pretty smooth, and pigmentation level is sheer to medium intensity. If you like Urban Decay and Make Up For Ever type intensity, you might find these quite subtle. But if you're more accustomed to MAC and Bobbi Brown shadows, then most of these are pretty good.

Both of the dark browns on the bottom right of the palette are actually those sparkly translucent creamy shadows that work better patted on over other shades. They also work alright on their own as a wash over the entire lid, but they won't work well as definer shades without eyeliner or a dark cream base, as they are too translucent and not nearly dark enough to shade and define.

Compared to the Spring Hot Nudes palette from earlier this year, I actually prefer Hot Nudes. I feel I get a bit more variety; cool, warm, matte, shimmer. While the shades in the Shimmering Sands palette are beautiful, there isn't a huge variety. You will find a single transition shade, and none of the colors are really deep enough or matte enough to make great liner/definer shades along the lash line.

But it's still versatile enough as a daily palette, and can give you some options for transitioning between day and night.

Below are 2 quick tutorials to demonstrate the possibilities to you. Do take note that the Smoky Look was done with a brown liner smudged lightly onto lids as a base. The metallic brown in the palette is nice but not as intense as this without a base.

DAY LOOK

 SMOKY LOOK

Perfect Matte Brown Cream-to-Powder Shadow: An Odd Trick

Sometimes it can be hard to find the perfect natural-looking brown cream shadow that has zero shimmer, sets and lasts, but still has a soft skin-like gleam a la Burberry makeup looks. 

Here's one of my favorite tricks for getting a soft sepia brown gleaming lid that is quite hard to duplicate with a cream shadow. 

What I use is this. A liquid foundation in the darkest shade I can find.

Sephora 10 Hr Wear Perfection Foundation in 65 Deep

In Singapore, it's EXTREMELY hard to find a shade of foundation deep enough to do this, so I was extremely happy to see that Sephora actually stocked a shade of foundation that was this dark. And because it's a long-wear foundation, it's perfect for what I want to do with it.

The color you get is a rich sepia-tone, and because it's designed to be a skin shade, when it's sheered out, it looks very natural. Smoky but still glowy.

All I do is apply a tiny pump to the back of my hand, then use a soft synthetic buffer brush to blend that onto the lids in circular motions, then along the lower lash line lightly as well.

If you need, just dab a tiny bit of soft highlight in the inner corners of the eye to add some dimension, and then apply mascara. That's all you need for a soft, subtly smoky look.

Sephora 10 Hr Wear Perfection Foundation worn on lids

Hello Gorgeous: Bobbi Brown Hot Nudes Eye Palette Swatches and Review

Bobbi Brown's Spring 2015 Hot Collection looks like an entire collection of "MVPs". In the midst of so nany beautiful things, I am guessing a lot of people would gravitate towards the Hot Nudes Eye Palette first of all. 

This is a neat 8-shade collection of neutrals (plus a pink) and the colors range from matte to satin to shimmer to outright sparkle. There's also a dual-ended applicator with a nice (but rather small) packer brush on one end, and a flat, synthetic liner brush on the other, if you want to use the darker shades for lining with. 

Colors-wise, I'm very happy to say that this palette is a winner.

I remember from some past collections that the eyeshadow palette shades tended to be inconsistent in quality. Some would be smooth and pigmented, some would be patchy and chalky. In the Hot Nudes Eye Palette however, they're all pretty smooth and easy to work with.

The only shade that might be slightly trickier to work with is Blackest Brown, the darkest shade. But in my experience, these very dark black, blue or brown matte shades contain a lot of oxide pigment, which tends to be naturally very tricky to work with. All that considered, this shade does perform pretty adequately as a definer color around the lash line or socket, although I haven't tried it full on as a smoky lid shade.

I've got a full eye, cheek, and lip makeup look done with the collection coming up, so stay posted!

My Fledgling NARS Eyeshadow Duo Obsession

NARS Alhambra and Habanera swatches

 I have a bit of an obsession with NARS eyeshadow duos. Well - not all, but several of them.
Especially the neutrals and metallics.

My most recent acquisitions are Alhambra (soft apricot-gold beiges) and Habanera (silver-sage and -charcoal-plum).

NARS Eye Shadow Duos in Alhambra (left) and Habanera (right)

Now, many people criticize them for often not being wearable together. E.g. 2 of my absolute faves are Cordura and Kalahari (below), or Isolde - another one of my faves - and the colors are close enough that if you wore them both on the lids, you might not see a huge difference.

Well, compared to typical duos which are designed to be worn together, I see NARS duos as "themed colors". They may or may not work together, but it's a theme. I.e. if you like the left shade in Kalahari, you'll probably also want to own a shade like the one on the right. So they give you both together, even if you wear them separately.

My recommendation is to see them all as single NARS shadows in a more economical format. This opens up your options. I'd pair any of the shades in Alhambra with the dark prune color in Habanera. And I'd wear the silver-sage green in Habanera with any other dark shade from any other palette.

Anyone have a similar weakness for these?

Chilli Red Lips and Soft Winged Eyes: Armani Lip Maestro 402 and NARS Cordura + Kalahari tutorial

Haven't put a tutorial on here in awhile, so here's a very quick breakdown of a go-to "dressed up" look that I often do when I'm going out. It's not all hard edges and precise dramatic lines though. In fact, it's kept deliberately soft around the edges, so that you can wear a stronger lip with a stronger eye, if you choose.

To give you options, I broke the look down into 2 parts. The eye, and the lip. You can wear them separately or together like I did. 

Products used: Shiseido Maquillage Long Stay Eyeliner N, Etude House Play 101 Pencil in 59, NARS Cordura (darker shade), and NARS Kalahari (warmer bronze shade used)

Firstly, a note about products. You absolutely do NOT have to use the exact same things I did. Most of us have black and brown liners, and many of us have a dark brown and a medium brown shadow. Just dig around and look for what you already own. Or if you absolutely LOVE one of the particular shades here, then go for it.

Step by step: Smoky winged eye

This eye look is so straightforward. There is no precision required because everything is hazy and smudged out. That's why I do it so often. It takes only a few minutes.

Now on to lips! I only discovered Lip Maestros from Armani in December last year. Very slow and late of me I know. But I fell for them in a BIG way. These things are incredible. Of all the lip creams that were launched last year, this is probably my favorite texture. They aren't as gel-like and glossy as Dior's, not as sheer as YSL's, and aren't as intense as Shu's (although these 2 brands have the closest textures). 

To me, it's like Baby Bear's bed to Goldilocks. Just right.

Lip products used: No7 Precision Lip Liner in Nude, Armani Lip Maestro in 402

I have a rather specific way of applying these.

Obviously I don't want them to bleed and smear quickly so I don't just wear them straight from the tube without liner.

BUT, I also don't want to ruin that semi-glossy texture or change the consistency and opacity by wearing a layer of liner all over my lips. 

So this is what I do.

My lip application procedure for Lip Maestros

What I end up doing is create a border that is mid-way between red and nude. It melds with the red so it doesn't look like an obvious line, and at the same time, it also protects the lipstick from bleeding quickly, AND it works as a border and helps bright colors from looking too hard and harsh against the skin.

The lip is neat, but it's not overly defined. You will never see a dark lip line when your lip color wears off after a drink or a  meal. And it's never harsh-looking or like "stick on" lips.