Watermelon Eyes

Today's look brought to you by the sticky aftermath of a favorite summer treat -- watermelon. I actually had to try this look twice. I did it earlier this morning and thanks to my LOVELY head cold most of my shadow was streaked from tears. So I took a Sudafed and gave it a second go. It turned out much prettier the second time around and the Sudafed kept me from sneezing up a storm and ruining the look.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: All over lid and brow bone area.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Beige-ing (shimmery, subtle beige): all over lid.


• Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Lucious Lime (pale matte lime): inner corner of lid on top of Beige-ing. (The lighter Revlon matte shades go on easier using a dense brush. More coverage and less fall out!)


• Ulta Brand Eyeshadow single in Meadow (medium kelly green with very subtle shimmer): outer corner of lid on top of Beige-ing, blended with Lucious Lime and into the crease.


• LA Colors Palette in Eye Candy (shimmery bubblegum pink): light dusting as a brow bone highlight.


• Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Pink Innocence (matte baby pink): used over top of LA Colors pink to subdue the shimmer and mute the pink a bit.


• Bare Minerals Glimmer in Wicked (smokey green): used wet with homemade mixing medium as a top liner.


• L'Oreal HiP Eyeshadow Duo in Brazen (pink side): used wet with homemade mixing medium as a liner for lower lashline.


• Prestige Lash Matrix Mascara in Black.


• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar.


• Jane Cosmetics Blushing Blush in Petal.


• L'Oreal HiP Presso Lip Color in Swanky.

The Results:

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

I tried out this look using a look by Leesha called Chocolate Covered Strawberries. It's a matte look using pink and browns and pretty easy, if you ask me. Mine doesn't look quite as pink as hers because she used the Coastal Scents palette and I tried to create a nice pink like hers using two colors. Mine looks decent but I really like hers better. (Mine Coastal Scents palette will, hopefully, be here next week at which time I will try this look again.)

Enjoy the V-day inspired, yummy look!

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: All over lid and brow bone area.


• Revlon Matte Eyeshadow in Pink Innocence and L'Oreal HiP Shadow Duo in Brazen (pink side) mixed together: all over lid.


• Bare Escentuals Eyeshadow in Cocoa (light, matte brown; pretty much the exact color of hot cocoa mix!): blended into crease almost all the way across.


• L'Oreal HiP Shadow Duo in Brazen (chocolate brown): blended into outer-V on top of Cocoa.


• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Bourbon (brown with teeny gold glitter): liner for lid and lower lashline.


• Prestige Lash Matrix Mascara in Black.


• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar.


• Jane Cosmetics Blushing Blush in Plum.


• L'Oreal HiP Presso Lip Color in Swanky.

The Results:

Gold Digger

I'm calling this look 'Gold Digger' because I used Urban Decay's Heavy Metal Liner in Midnight Cowboy (gold) as a liner. I don't use this stuff often because I just don't find it something suitable for every day wear. It's very similar to yesterday's look because I used Roach for both looks. But, whatever.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay 'Sin' Primer Potion: All over lid and brow bone area.


• Urban Decay Half Baked (subtle, lustrous bronze): all over lid; used wet as a liner for inner half of lower lashline.


• Urban Decay Roach (brown with reddish sheen): outer corner of lid, blended into crease.


• Bare Escentuals Glimpse in Queen Phyllis (shimmery vanilla): brow bone highlight.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Gentle Lentil (shimmery medium brown): lower liner on outer half of lashline.


• Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in Midnight Cowboy (gold glitter): liner for lid.


• Prestige Lash Matrix Mascara in Black.


• Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar.


• Jane Cosmetics Blushing Blush in Petal.


• L'Oreal HiP Presso Lip Color in Fashionista.

The Results:

Light My Fire

Today's look brought to you by the warmth and glow of a flickering flame (and by The Doors). ;)

I have the beginnings of a cold so my full face pictures are not great. It's all I can do to keep makeup on my eyes with them watering the way they are. Not to mention the raging sinus headache. UGH. I really like this look. The combination of colors really makes the color of my eyes pop.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay 'Sin' Primer Potion: All over lid and brow bone area.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Corn (shimmery yellow-gold): all over lid, blended just slightly above the crease; applied to inner corner of lower lashline.


• Urban Decay Roach (brown with reddish sheen): outer corner of lid, blended into the crease.


• L'Oreal HiP Shadow Duo in Flare (shimmery orange and matte gold): orange applied to middle of lid and blended just barely over top of Roach on the crease. Matte gold applied to inner corner of lid, blended with the orange.


• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Bourbon (brown with gold micro glitter): lower liner for outer half of lower lashline; applied to waterline also.


• Bare Escentuals Glimpse in Queen Phyllis (shimmery vanilla): brow bone highlighter.


• L'Oreal HiP High Drama Volumizing Mascara in Ultimate Black.

The Results:













So apparently the year+ that I've had to practice playing with my eyeshadow has paid off. I looked at a picture of a look that was nearly identical to this one and WOW. I have certainly learned how to blend since then!

Goodbye Blue Sky

I decided to try out one of my new Revlon Matte Eyeshadows today. I think I will be advocating for this stuff! It is highly pigmented and goes on oh-so-smoothly. It's almost like a cream and not a powder; it is that silky! I must say that I am definitely not hating the 'matte' look. If only I could afford to snatch up Urban Decay's matte eyeshadow line. Instead, I am saving myself for the Coastal Scents 88 Color Palette which has a lot of matte colors in it. It's going to be my Valentine's present from The Monkey. Yay!

Okay, so enough yammering already! Today's look is called "Goodbye Blue Sky" as it's a combination of blue and white. (Plus the Pink Floyd song has been stuck in my head all day.

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: All over lid and brow bone area.


• Sally Henson ColorStick in Heavenly White (shimmery white): inner corner of lid, blended well. This acts as a base to make the matte white shadow 'pop' a bit more.


• M·A·C Paint Pot in Otherwordly (pale, matte aqua blue): outer corner of lid, blended into the Heavenly White. This too acts as a base to hold the color and create a more dramatic look. Also used as the base for the lower liner.


• Urban Decay Asphalt Trio (white shade only): applied over top of Heavenly White ColorStick; blended up into brow bone. Applied over top of Otherworldly on the lower lashline to create a very soft, muted blue.


• Revlon Matte Eyeshadow Single in Venetian Blue (bright matte aqua): applied over top of Otherwordly; blended with white and into the crease. I then blended a small amount of the white on top of the Venetian Blue to kind of 'mute' the color on the lid so the color in the crease looks more vibrant. Also applied over top of Otherwordly on the outer corner of lower lashline.


• Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner Pencil in Zero (blackest black): applied to waterline.


• Max Factor Stretch & Separate Mascara in Rich Black.


• Eyebrows: Urban Decay Brow Box in Brown Sugar


• Cheeks: Jane Cosmetics Blushing in Earth Sheer (peachy-nude with subtle gold shimmer).


• Lips: L'Oreal HiP Color Presso Lip Gloss in Snazzy (shimmery pinkish coral and matte coral).

The Results:

Cotton Candy Eyes

Sometimes pink, sometimes blue... Always sweet and delicious. This look is brought to you by a State Fair favorite -- Cotton Candy! The look I originally wanted to portray wasn't working out for me today so I came up with this look instead. So stay tuned for a Cotton Candy Eyes part Deux at some point. :)

Colors Used:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion: all over lid and brow bone area.


• M·A·C Shadestick in Beige-ing: all over lid.


• LA Colors Metallic Palette in Eye Candy (bright pink color): inner corner of lid.


• Prestige Eyeshadow Single in Love (shimmery medium pink): outer corner of lid, blended into crease.


• LA Colors Metallic Palette in Eye Candy (vanilla color): brow bone highlight.


• LA Colors Metallic Palette in Eye Candy (aqua blue color): applied wet and used as liner for inner corner -- both top and bottom.


• LA Colors Metallic Palette in Eye Candy (ocean blue color): applied wet and used as liner for outer corner -- both top and bottom.


• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black.

The Results:

an ode to Drugstore brands

This is an informative entry to let you know that you don't have to spend oodles of money to get a good product. I've seen some people on YouTube use a brand called LA Colors before. It's a Dollar Store brand. Curious, I went to our local Dollar General and, lo and behold, they carried LA Colors. Being the M·A·C / Urban Decay / L'Oreal HiP addict that I am, I was a bit skeptical. Still, the palettes I found were only a $1 so I broke into the spare change collection in my car and bought the two palettes. Both palettes contain six metallic finish shadows. The lighter colors have less of a color pay off than the deeper colors. They're not as smooth applying as, say, Urban Decay shadows but what do you want for a dollar?? I recommend using a creamy base (I used M·A·C Shadestick in Beige-ing as the base for the swatches below as the colors didn't come out quite as vibrant with UDPP alone.) If you don't want to spend $16 on a M·A·C Shadestick, Sally Hansen makes a similar product for $4.99 (ColorStick) that you can find in Rite Aid.

So here are the palettes in all their frugal glory:





The first one is called 'Eye Candy' and has an off-white/vanilla, a bright pink, an aqua blue, a deep lavender, a melon, and what I'd call an 'ocean' blue.



The second one is called "Precious" and has a nude color, a yellow-gold, a bronze color, a copper, a brown, and what I would describe as a pinkish/reddish plum. (The pinkish/reddish plum actually reminds me a LOT of Urban Decay's Last Call!)



So there you have it. Pretty colors at a 'I-don't-wear-makeup-because-I-don't-like-to-spend-money-on-it' price!