Day 31 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Follower Request: Black Swan! First and foremost,HAPPY HALLOWEEN, EVERYONE! Today’s Halloween look came from a follower request:Bella asked:
“Can you do a black swan makeup tutorial?”
Yes, I can! Well, at least I can try! Using the promo photos above from Black Swan as my guide, only three products, and a good selection of brushes, I took on the challenge!
What you will need:
Instructions:
To start the base of the look, I began with a primer and then applied white cream shadow over my entire face and down my neck. If you go in full costume, you will want to follow the lines in the full-length photo above, wherein the white extends over the shoulders and chest and halfway down the arms.
The most complicated part of this look is, of course, the eyes. However, I was surprised at how truly easy the look is, and I really think anyone can do this! Using an angled brush, I began the thick black outline that surrounds the eyes with black cream shadow. Start with the outline, and make any adjustments with this first. Tip: Don’t forget to have Q-Tips on hand to clean up any stray lines or errors! I began my outline with the bottom point on the side of the nose. I worked my line up the bridge, out toward the eyebrow, along the top of the brow, and then curved upward to a flip out at the end. With all of the brush strokes in the eye look, I use a ‘flip-up’ move with the brush, essentially flicking my hand and the brush off the face. This achieved the softened ‘feathery’ edges at the end of the eye makeup by the hairline. Once I was happy with the shape of my top line, I did the same with the bottom line, angling from the bottom point to the inner corner of the eye, followed the bottom lash line, and then moved up and out to flip out at the end. I adjusted this a bit until I was happy, then I applied the black cream shadow on top of the line until I reached the desired opacity.
From there, I lined the top lash line with the black cream shadow, and then filled in the eyelid with the same. I then lined the bottom inner rim of the eye with the white cream shadow. Next, I began making feathered brush strokes with the black cream shadow over the entire eye area, moving outward. I went back and did the same with the white cream shadow, filling in any gaps left by the black cream shadow and allowing the colors to mix here and there. I kept following these feathering steps until I was happy with the look. Once there, I applied two coats of mascara to the top lashes and one to the bottom.
Finally, using my fingertip, I applied the black cream shadow to my lips. I topped it with the red cream shadow until I obtained the color I wanted.
That’s it! I know it sounds simple, and it really is. You just need good brushes and the right cream makeup. Take your time. Be patient. It will turn out great!
Have you done the Black Swan look? If so, share your makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 32 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Day 30 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Follower Request: Sexy Pumpkin?! Yes, I’m serious. This odd request came from Kat from the UK (you can follow her here), who asked:
“How about a sexy pumpkin? lol :D”
Little did Kat know, but I am completely open to challenging myself to the point of public humiliation. Clearly, that’s what resulted. Now, although Kat was joking with her request, a Google search revealed that a lot of women and men go for the pumpkin costume. Some of those costumes are even slightly sexy. So I decided to take on the challenge. After all was said and done, I wasn’t sure why I decided to do so, but, as I said before, I’m all about honesty. So here’s my unfortunately very un-‘sexy’ pumpkin…
What you will need:
Instructions:
To start my base, I once again began with a primer and then applied concealer where I needed it (for me, under-eye circles). Next, instead of applying a powder for my base, I applied a light coating of shimmery orange eyeshadow to the entire face. If I were to actually put on a full pumpkin costume, I would probably also apply this to any visible skin areas. After all, if you’re going to go for it, go all the way!
Next, I applied the same shimmery orange eyeshadow to the upper part of my eye area, from the crease to the brow bone. I followed this by applying the olive eyeshadow to the eyelids. Then, using an angled eyeshadow brush, starting in the inner corner of the eye, I applied the emerald green eyeshadow outward along the crease, following it just past the outer edge of the eye. I then angled it back to the bottom lashline, creating a triangle effect at the outer eye. I then filled it in with the emerald green eyeshadow. I lined the bottom inner rim of my eyes with the orange lip liner (I didn’t have any orange eyeliner at home), and then lined around the entire eye with the dark green eyeliner.
Now, remember my trick from the Good Fairy Challenge regarding how to white out your lashes with primer? That’s what I did again today, applying lash primer to both the top and bottom lashes until I had a complete white out. On top of that, I applied green mascara. I had decided to white out the lashes first so that the green would be more prominent. Otherwise, when applying green mascara to my dark lashes, it tends to just hint at color. I then applied orange cream shadow over and around the brows, topping it with the shimmery orange eyeshadow before it dried. Using my fingertips, I dabbed some of the emerald green eyeshadow to the brow itself. I applied the same orange cream shadow to the apples of the cheeks, working it upward along the cheekbones. Yes, there’s a lot of orange going on here, and it may not be as sexy as a pumpkin could possibly be, but I lost all hope of a sexy pumpkin long before I reached this step!
Finally, I applied an orange lipstick and topped it with a sparkly orange lip gloss.
So, there’s my HORRIBLE attempt at a sexy pumpkin. Thanks, Kat!
Has anyone else done pumpkin makeup, sexy or otherwise? If so, share your makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 31 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
(Source: scavengeinc.com)
Day 29 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Makeup - Vampyress! When I think of vampires, I usually think of the typical color palette of black and red. When considering what I would do for my vampyress (female vampire) look, I didn’t want to go the typical route. Not to say that I was going to skip the pale skin with reds and blacks. I did know I wanted to avoid the standard black smokey eye and red lip. So I got a little creative, but still made it a user-friendly look.
However, before I even get started on my vampyress look, I have something I need to say. I may offend some of you with this one, but I have to be honest. After all, this entire blog involves me being honest. So here goes: vampires should NOT be sparkly and glittery! It’s just not right! I believe in the old school of thought in which vampires involve darkness, intrigue, and a bit of sex appeal! I’m sorry if you’re into the glittery look. I don’t find the sex appeal. I don’t find that dark desire. Instead, I think it just looks sparkly like a snow globe. Now you can go this route if you want, because I know there are plenty of people out there that love it. That’s okay. That’s your look. For me, I wanted to go with what I thought a vampyress should look like. Dark. Sexy. Alluring. So here are my tips for my version of the vampyress!
What you will need:
Instructions:
Once again, I began my look today with primer. Then, to create my base I used a light concealer and gently spread across the entire face for an overall lightening effect. Of course, you can always opt to use a foundation a few shades lighter than your skin tone. I opted for the concealer as it was something I already had my tool kit! To continue with lightening my complexion, I dusted on a matte white eyeshadow to my entire face as I would with my daily powder. It’s a quick and easy way to achieve the pale vampyress skin tone.
I once again decided to focus on the eyes as my strong focal point of the look. If the eyes are the window to the soul, what would the eyes of a vampyress reveal? I began by lining the upper inner rims of my eyes in black. Then I decided to take a different route: I lined the lower inner rims in red. Since I didn’t have a red eyeliner lying around, I used a red lip pencil. I thought it gave the look a little bit of a hint of blood in the eye area without being too over-the-top.
I decided that I wanted to create some shape with the eye area, so using that red pencil, I first lined it under the bottom lash line and then extended it from the corner of the outside of the eye upwards to my outer eyebrow line. In the inner corner of the eyes, I created a line angling downward along the bridge of the nose and slightly inward. At this point, a shape began to take form, snaking from the bridge of my nose under my eye, upward and outward. This shape set my idea for the rest of the look. I didn’t initially know what I would be doing; I just let the makeup guide me. I then lined the upper lash line with the dark plum color. I then went over the red line I had created around the outer eye with the plum color, gently smudging the two colors together.
Next, I applied a dark plum shadow to the eyelid itself and into the crease, stretching it outwards to meet the line I had created. I then angled the dark plum shadow into the inner corner of the eye and downward along the line. I applied to a touch of black shadow to the eyelid only to just darken the plum color even more on that area. I then took a black liner and shaped my eyebrows. I wanted to darken the brows overall to create a more dramatic look. As I went, I decided to create a sharp line in the center of the eye, adding a bit of a point. I then gently smudged it downward along the side of the nose, angling it to meet the bottom line I had created. Using a light opalescent purple eyeshadow, I filled in the area remaining between the shape I created. This included the area underneath the brow bone and down the side of the bridge of the nose into the shape I had formed there, ending in a point. I swiped on two coats of lengthening black mascara to the top and bottom lashes to add emphasis.
For the cheeks, I knew that I just wanted something a little sharp and a little dark. A sickly effect. So I took a dark purple cream shadow and rubbed it into just the hollows of the cheeks in a diagonal line, following underneath the cheekbones. I didn’t want it to be perfect, so I didn’t smudge and blend it all the way in. I wanted more of a shadow cast.
For my lips, I applied the same dark purple cream to my lips as if it were lipstick. I kept adding more until I reached the color that I wanted. Now, of course no vampyress is complete without a bit of blood. So I took a red cream eyeshadow and first applied it to the innermost part of my lip. The effect I was going for was a hint of blood, as if I had just finished draining my victim. However, I knew that I wanted a little bit of that blood to drip out. To do so, I applied the red cream shadow to the right corner of my mouth on the upper and bottom lips. I then smudged it slightly downward from the lip itself with my fingertips, and followed that by adding a couple more droplets falling from down my chin. I didn’t want it to look perfect, but that, of course, is my preference. Some people like to actually shape drops of blood. I prefer the smudged effect.
All in all, I was very happy with this look, especially the eyes. Best of all, it’s not a complicated look to execute. Add the perfect costume and styling, and you can totally rock the vampyress look!
Try it out! Show me your best vampyress (or vampire), both past and present! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 30 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Day 25 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Makeup - Day to Night of the Living Dead! For today’s look, I decided to address a recurring theme in all of our lives: we are busy! I know I’ve partially addressed this in the past with my instructions in the Pink and Multifunctional challenge. I wanted to apply the same theory to Halloween makeup. I’m looking at it from the perspective that Halloween does fall on a weekday this year, and many people may be going to a party after work, a busy day of running errands, taking care of kids, etc. So not everyone may have time to put forth a large amount of effort into their Halloween makeup (and/or costume!). So today I’m starting with a quick and simple makeup look that you can wear throughout the day, and then I’ll follow with a 10 minute (approximately) application that you can execute quickly, get changed, and head out to your Halloween party. So, of course, I’m calling this one Day to Night of the Living Dead! In case you didn’t figure it out yet, I’m going to be doing a day look transformed into a zombie look! (And, as you can see from the photos above, I’m not afraid to get ugly for you, my followers!)
What you will need:
Instructions:
First, for the day look I wanted to do a quick five to ten minute application that would set the stage for the night look, but still look good throughout the day. Follow the steps from the Five Minute Wake-Up Makeup challenge, applying your base, contouring your cheekbones, and applying a touch of a light shimmery peach blush to the apples the cheeks. For the eyes, I used th Too Faced Naked Eye palette, which contains two corresponding, easy-to-use colors and instructions to do a quick simple naked eye effect. I applied the shimmery pink shadow on the entire eyelid and area, from the inner to outer corners and along the brown bone. I then applied the matte brown shadow to the outer corner of the eyes, into the crease, and along the very outside of the bottom lash line. I finished the eyes with a quick swipe of two coats of mascara to the top lashes and one coat to the bottom lashes. In my exploration of trying out new brown-toned lipsticks, I added Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in No. 915B, a rosey-brown lipstick, to my lips to help play up my pout.
That, quite simply, is the day look. Quick and simple to get you through your day, looking natural yet fabulous. Go out, run your errands, go to work, or, in my case, go get your hair done! When you get home, it’s time to quickly change and get your zombie on for your Halloween party!
Okay, a few things I need to talk about regarding the zombie look before I get into the instructions. First of all, I’m a huge zombie fan. I love zombie movies, and I love zombie costumes! Now, zombie looks can really go to the extreme. People who are usually zombie fans really are diehards for the look, and they put a lot of effort into it. As much as I want to show you one of those extremely detailed looks, I need to think about people who don’t have the time to put into such a look. When you really think about it, you can do a basic zombie look (clothing and accessories included) when get you home from your crazy day and get out the door in overall less than half an hour.
On a quick style note: what this probably one of the easiest ways to put together a quick, simple zombie outfit is to first grab some of your old clothes (maybe ones you don’t wear much anymore, or that you just wear around the house when you’re cleaning or working in the garage or doing something that has essentially destroyed the clothes). Get them dirty! Tear them up! Shred them! Destroy them! Basically, take the approach that these are the clothes you were wearing when you became a zombie. Maybe you were buried in them, so coming out of the ground they got dirty. Remember that in these clothes you are on the hunt; you’re out there tackling and killing; you’re creating other zombies! So for your clothes, they would naturally get ripped up, worn down, dirty, and tattered. Take a pair of pants and a shirt and just destroy them! You do that, and you’ve already got your outfit. For a quick hairstyle, all you have to do is go crazy! Muss up your hair, flip it over and mess it up with your hands! Put too much product in to purposefully make it stick up, out, down! Throw some dirt in it if you’re willing to go that extra mile! If you do this when you get home, it should only take you couple of minutes. That’s it for the styling, and now it’s all about the make up!
Forgive me, diehards, and understand that because this makeup is all about simplicity, ease, and time, it is not the most perfect zombie look! These are the quick tips on how to get the basics of the zombie look when you don’t have much time to do it! For the zombie look, the color palette calls for greens, blacks, browns, and reds. The goal is to think of a dirty, rotting look, with a hint of blood.
For my zombie base, I started by blending the olive green eyeshadow with the matte brown shadow, and applying my concoction across my face neck, over my eye,s and onto the ears. I approached this application as if I was applying my regular base powder, but extending it further to prevent harsh, awkward lines. The application does not have to be precise. The color is not supposed to be even across the entire face. The key is to shoot for a messy look, so some areas can be darker while others are lighter. After all, if you’re crawling out of the grave and you’re decomposing, your skin tone is not going to be perfect. We don’t exactly decay evenly. So add some more green to certain areas and more brown to others. Additionally, stay away from shimmery eyeshadows. Zombies aren’t shimmery!
Next, I smudged black eyeshadow around my eyes, including under the eyes and down the sides in the nose, and into the hollows of my cheekbones. Once again, you don’t have to blend it evenly. In fact, leaving streaks are even better! The whole point is to obtain a sickly, hallowed appearance. I applied the black eyeshadow until I was happy with the look, using my fingers to blend, smudge, and smear. I then swiped on another coat of mascara, but before it could dry, I let it smudge everywhere, using my fingertips for extra smudging effects.
Now, as you may recall we had applied that rosey-brown lipstick for our day look. Add another layer of it, but then smudge it around the mouth and in a downward motion, as is if it was a smear of blood and dirt. This sets the base for our recent feeding. On top of this I sneered to read my red cream eyeshadow to add more of a blood effect. Now, you have to remember that as blood dries, it actually takes on a brown tone. So the addition of the red cream eyeshadow on top of the rosey-brown lipstick gives it a more natural drying blood look. Feel free to add smudges of red around your face and neck areas, as if you have either cuts or blood from your victims.
Take a step back and look if there are any areas where you feel like you want to make any adjustments. Add any of the colors wherever you want, and I highly recommend using your hands to smudge and make it messy. In the end, the entire look should take you approximately ten minutes, and rushing through the application can even help to the messy factor that you are going for.
And that’s it! It may not be the most theatrical or best zombie makeup out there, but it works for those of us that don’t have the time in between our daily lives and getting into costume. If you have more time, go for it! Take it to the next level!
But don’t forget to share your tips and photos with me! Show me your best zombie looks, both past and present! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 26 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Apologies to all for my delay in posting the last few days of Halloween makeup for the challenge. I’ve been sick (‘tis the season!), and haven’t been up to actually getting the posts up and running. For now, I’m going to post the photos from the last few days. Tomorrow, I’ll get the corresponding text up with them, as well as get back on track to round up the week!
Day 28 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Follower Request: Fairy, Part 2 (aka The Evil Fairy)! Today’s look came from a follower request: Jamie from New Jersey wanted to see a fairy makeup look. I had decided to split Jamie’s request into two: a good fairy and an evil fairy. Yesterday, I tackled the Good Fairy Challenge. So now it’s time for the evil fairy. To be honest, I struggled a bit with creating an idea for evil fairy look. As with the good fairy look, there are so many variations to choose from. The creativity out there is amazing to me. I must be honest: I’m not always the most creative person. Go ahead - Google ‘evil fairy makeup,’ three ca and you will see that there’s a lot of talented people out there. For me today, I tried to keep it simple for my own sanity and to make the look a little more user-friendly for my followers out there who maybe aren’t as artistically talented as some of the people the Google search revealed. This is my version of evil fairy. Show me your best evil fairy! Past or present, I want to see what you’ve done! After all, I know I’m not the best at this, and we can all use some tips! So share!
What you will need:
Instructions:
For the color palette itself, I decided to go with a mixture of dark greens and black. This color combination is seen throughout a lot of Halloween costumes, including witches, wood nymphs, and zombies. Of course, once again, I decided the look was going to be all about the eyes. But to start off, I needed primer! I again used the Clear Prep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment Gel I’m trying out for the upcoming product review. For my actual base, I didn’t want to go with the overall glow that I have been doing with the last few looks. After all, I don’t think evil fairies would be soft and glowing. So instead of applying powder, I lightly dusted a minimal coat of the green eyeshadow over my entire face and into my neck to give me a slightly green skin tone.
Beginning the eyes, I lined the inner rims with a black inner rim eyeliner, and then lined the outer lash line with dark green eyeliner. I then created the beginning of my ‘mask’ (yes, another mask theme!) using the green eyeshadow. Using an angled eyeshadow brush, I created my outline by drawing a diaganol line from the inner corner of the eye upward toward the temple with the green eyeshadow. I then drew a second line from the inner corner downward towards the jaw bone. I filled the area in with the green eyeshadow, including the entire eye area.
I applied the black eyeshadow starting at the hairline and working inward, using my fingertips to smudge the shades together. Then, using the angled eyeshadow brush, I began drawing varying shapes with the black eyeshadow, creating sharp angles, and feathering them here and there with my fingertips. I let my imagination guide me with this one, adding and taking away where I felt necessary. I began to see a look that I liked. The whole point was to blend the two colors to create a slightly woodsy-evil fairy effect. Play with this a bit. Find what works best for your face shape and just what you like. I found that when I went off the page and just let my brush do the guiding for me, I liked the result even more.
For my lips, I decided to keep with my color trend. I applied a green cream eyeshadow to the entire lip in place of lipstick. For a touch of contrast, I added black cream eyeshadow to just the center of both the top and bottom lips, including the cupid’s bow.
With the right styling and costume, and maybe a bit more attention to detail in the makeup, you could really make something great from this! So show me what you can do! Show me your best evil fairy looks, both past and present! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 29 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Day 27 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Follower Request: Fairy, Part 1 (aka The Good Fairy)! Today’s look came from a follower request: Jamie from New Jersey wanted to see a fairy makeup look. I think the fairy costume is one of the greatest variations in costumes out there. There are good fairies, bad fairies, woodland fairies, scary fairies, etc., etc.! The fairy costume is one that can really just go anywhere you want it to, and the makeup is no exception. So I decided to split Jamie’s request into two. Today, I’m going to address what I consider a good fairy look. Of course, this can also widely vary, including how detailed you want the makeup to be. So this is just one of them. Let your imagination fly when doing your fairy look! Oh, and as for the second part of Jamie’s request, I’ll do my version of the evil fairy look. For now, let’s get started with today’s good fairy look!
What you will need:
Instructions:
First, I have to make a note regarding the photos above. Due to all the shine and light colors I used, the detail of the look didn’t completely come across. I promise, it looks a lot better in person! It’s definitely one tough look to shoot! Now that I’ve got that out of the way, here’s what I did:
With all of the makeup looks that I’ve discussed for Halloween, as well as your makeup for every day, I think using a primer is very important. It really does set the base for your entire look, smoothing out your skin, hiding fine lines and wrinkles and other imperfections. Today I tried a new one: Clear Prep FX Matte Foundation Primer and Anti-Acne Treatment Gel. It did glide on nicely, and provide a soft, smooth finish. I could also feel a little bit of tingling from the anti-acne properties. If you are prone to breakouts or wear a lot of makeup or you’re even just concerned about putting on this heavy application of makeup for Halloween, this primer could be a lot help. While wearing it, it didn’t dry out my skin. I don’t know the long-term benefits just yet, but I think I’ll continue to give it a try and report back during a Wednesday Product Review as to whether or not the anti-acne part really works.
Moving back to the rest of the base, after I applied the primer, I applied concealer as I did in the Angel Challenge. I knew that my based needed to have some glow to it. My vision of the good fairy involves glow, shine, and pastel colors. So when planning the look, I knew that I wanted my overall skin tone to have that glow to it as well. So instead of just applying a matte powder base, I actually dusted shimmery pale pink eyeshadow over my entire skin as if it were my powder. Yes, it is an eyeshadow, but it’s a soft shimmery shadow that served to give my skin that overall glow I was looking for. Remember to also apply it to the neck and slightly onto the earlobes, otherwise you will end up with an awkward line. Also, depending on the cut of your costume, you may want to also apply it to the tops your shoulders and along your chest line, whatever works best.
As with a lot of my Halloween looks this week, my focus was mainly around the eyes. Now, as I noted, your palette may vary depending on the look you are going for. For me, I chose a mixture of pastel pinks and purples with a few hints of gold and glitter. After I applied my “powder,” I moved on to my eyes by lining the inner lids and around the entire outer lash line with white eyeliner. This lent to the overall lightening effect I was going for. I then applied lash primer to the top and bottom lashes. In case you are not familiar with lash primer, it is a product you typically would apply before your standard mascara application. The Estee Lauder product I used not only primes the lashes, but it also moisturizes them in the process, something we rarely think about when it comes to our lashes. If you’re like me and wear mascara daily, including a lot of waterproof mascaras, you can do a lot of damage to your eyelashes. However, this lash primer today is not just for these benefits, it is serving double duty. If you’ve ever used any lash primer, you’ll notice that if you apply it a little too thickly your lashes will actually be white. That’s because a lot of the primers are actually white coming out of the bottle, and you’re supposed to apply a thin coat and then apply mascara over it. That’s not what I’m doing today. I want my lashes to white! So I applied thick coats of the primer to my top and bottom lashes until they were completely whited out. You can, of course, opt for white mascaras - they do have them out there. However, I wanted to go this route so that would get the look I was going for while actually helping my lashes become healthier! Bonus to this product? Not only did it white out my lashes, it also lengthened them nicely!
Moving on to the actual color for my eyes, I decided to create another type of ‘mask’ with eyeshadow. However, I wanted the ‘mask’ to have a slightly winged effect. Instead of just applying the color and hoping for the best, I thought that the best idea would be to map out the lines of what I wanted to create using one of the eyeshadows. This way, if I needed to change the line, it could easily be removed instead of having to scrub it off and start over. Using an angled eyeshadow brush, I outlined the outer edges of my ‘mask’ with a shimmery pink eyeshadow. Starting at the top of the bridge of the nose, I angled upward above the eyebrow and out towards the top hairline, creating the top of my version of a winged mask. Going back to where I started my line, I then angled downward, creating a bottom wing, angling underneath and across the cheekbones and out to the jawline. I then repeated the look on the other side, joining the lines at the center of the bridge of the nose.
Next, using a blush brush, I filled in the inside of the ‘mask’ I created with the pink eyeshadow, gradating to the color as I moed outward so that the outer edges were more intense in color. During this application, I went over the eye area, allowing the shade to naturally attach itself to the primer I had put on the lashes. I then gently wet the tip of the blush brush and dipped it in the purple eyeshadow, and using a sweeping motion, applied it from the outer corner of the eye upward and downward towards the hairline within the ‘mask.’ I repeated this on the other side. Using the same wet brush method, I swept the gold eyeshadow from the center point of the ‘mask’ that I created on the bridge of the nose, moving outward to meet the purple eyeshadow. I then heavily lined my eyebrows with the gold eyeliner, pushing the hair upward and outward toward the upper temple to create a feathered look. I then stippled the gold eyeshadow with the wet brush over the the brows and upward to add more color.
I then worked a glittery gold eyeliner in a starburst pattern from the outer corner of the eye. I did it without purpose, allowing the effect to not be so patterned. I didn’t want perfection, allowing the lines to be broken in places, and vary in color intensity. To add a bit more definition to the outer lines of my mask, I softly lined the edges with a iridescent mauve eyeliner. This way the line doesn’t seem as harsh and catches the light beautifully. Then, using a glittery purple eyeliner, I made random lines throughout the mask, creating contrast throughout.
Using the same glittery purple eyeliner, I filled in the entire lip area like a lipstick. To finish the look, I applied the gold eyeshadow to the very center of the bottom and top lips, including the cupid’s bow, to add a bit of contrast. With that, you have a very simple good fairy look.
Play with the design, altering and changing as you go and see fit. I had a vision in mind when I began, but I started tweaking it as I went. I added different shades here, different lines there. It ended up with a completely different look than what I had planned. I know that there will be many who criticize the simplicity of this. As with the Zombie Challenge, fairy looks have diehard fans that take a lot of time and effort to create all sorts of looks. Don’t be afraid to do that. I did a simple version that is user-friendly for most people. However use your creativity! Go crazy! Do some magic!
Now go out there and have fun! Show me your best fairy looks, both past and present! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 28 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Day 26 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Follower Request: Cleopatra! And Wednesday Product Review! Today’s Halloween makeup look came by request from Amber L. from Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, who asked to see a Cleopatra makeup look. This one is definitely a Halloween classic! However, when I started thinking about addressing this request, I knew there were many variations to consider. For me, the epitome of the Cleopatra makeup look comes from Elizabeth Taylor and her portrayal of Cleopatra in film. A lot of people only have one idea of what her Cleopatra makeup looked like, but as a watch the film, you’ll note that there are many variations. Of course, the main highlight of the Cleopatra makeup is all about the eyes, and the photo above is probably the most popular look. However, if you want a different look, watch the film or look at photos from the film. As you will see, although thick black liner continues throughout the whole film, the shade of the color on the eyes varies, as well as the shapes of the liner (including the outer corner of the eyes). You can choose any one of these looks for your Halloween application. Or you can create your own version. Be creative! Make your own Cleopatra! However, for my challenge today, I’m going to go for the classic look above. Here we go!
What you will need:
Instructions:
First and foremost, I knew I needed a warm skin tone for my Cleopatra look. To be honest, as I’ve promised I would throughout, I started my day by applying a self-tanning moisturizer to give my skin some kick. I then began my makeup look with a tinted moisturizer, and then used my combination of Sephora primers to achieve a warm glowing effect. Contouring the cheekbones was especially important to this look. After dusting of powder to set, I began contouring with Wet ‘n’ Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder in Catwalk Pink . I know I use this one a lot, but not only does it have bronzing and highlighting elements that you need for contouring, but the shades also give a nice glow, which is perfect for this look. For the apples of my cheeks, I actually skipped the standard blush application and mixed entire MegaGlo palette together, lightly dusting the mixture to the apples of my cheeks. After all, the main focus is the eyes, and I just wanted to keep the rest of my face warm and neutral.
I then lined the inner rims of the eyes with black inner rim eyeliner. I applied a shimmery white eyeshadow to the inner corners of the eyes. I followed this with a shimmery grey-blue eyeshadow to the entire eye area, including the lid all the way up to the brow bone and out past the eye to the end of the eyebrow area.
Now on the most important part of the Cleopatra look: the liner. First, let me be honest. I struggled with this one when trying to use the fat black kohl pencil from Giella. I actually put it on, removed everything, and started over THREE times! I had to walk away in utter frustration. Let this serve as my Wednesday Product Review: the Giella pencil gets a “D!” No matter what I did, the pencil would not comply. It was a complete and utter wreck. I know I’ve used this in one or two challenges before, and I also had problems. I finally determined it wasn’t the fact that it was a kohl pencil: it was the brand itself!
So after regrouping myself, I went back at it with an eyeliner from Clarins. I began by creating a thick black brow with the eyeliner, arching it sharply above my natural eyebrow to create the sharp brown look that Elizabeth Taylor rocked (see the photo above!). Once I was satisfied with the brow that I had created, I then lined around the entire eye area and extended it out past the outer corner almost to the hairline. I created an upward arch from there that reached out to meet the end of my brow line. From there, I created a triangular effect at the outer corner of my lining, drawing from the bottom line and and back towards itself, filling in the triangle I created with the black liner. I then evaluated my eyeshadow to make sure that the shimmery grey-blue eyeshadow filled in the entire area, touching up any areas as necessary. Eyelashes are important to this look, so I went with my favorite Benefit Cosmetics BADgal Waterproof Mascara to create killer lashes, applying two coats to the top lashes and one to the bottom.
With the eyes as the focal point in this look, the lips went nude with a touch of shine. For that, I applied a nude moisturizing lipstick from Sephora.
Now the entire look did take some time and adjustments (even after I started using the right eyeliner!). Keep going until you achieve the look you desire. Be patient. Take your time, and remember to use Q-tips to help clean up any stray marks. From these basic steps I’ve outlined, you can create many variations using different color eyeshadow and different techniques at the outer eye. Try make the Cleopatra look yours! Be creative! Make it fun and make it yours! Don’t be the same Cleopatra in the room as everyone else! Be yourself!
Well, Amber, I hope I gave you some tips on how to make your Cleopatra costume complete through makeup. Now go out there and have fun! Show me your best Cleopatra looks, both past and present! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, want to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 27 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
Day 23 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Halloween Angel! Over the last week, almost everyone I’ve spoken with has mentioned that they will be attending a Halloween party. Additionally, most of them have asked if I’m going to be doing any Halloween makeup on my blog. Initially, I wasn’t going to, but then I started thinking. It seems that everyone debates and plans carefully for their perfect Halloween costume, but how good is the costume without makeup? Without coordinating makeup, the costume can look disjointed or incomplete. So, starting today through Halloween (October 31st), I will do different Halloween makeup ideas based on some of the most popular costumes. With this challenge, however, I definitely need some help from you, my followers! If you have a costume that you’ll be wearing and want me to create a coordinating makeup look, write to me via reply post, ask via my Submit page above or Email Me!
For my first day of my Halloween challenge, I decided to start with an angelic look. The angel costume is a traditional favorite, whether its the super sexy or demure version. Regardless of the style of angel, most angelic costumes involve two main elements: (1) the color white; and (2) something shimmery or glittery. Using these two elements as my guidelines, I created my version of an angelic makeup look.
What you will need:
Instructions:
First and foremost, no matter what makeup you will be wearing this year for Halloween, one of the most important things you need to do is getting your skin ready. With such heavy applications of makeup that coincide with Halloween costumes, the last thing you need is to have it flake, peel, crack, etc. To prevent this, I first recommend exfoliating your skin and lips a day or two prior to your event. Second, the day of your event, I recommend opting for slightly heavier moisturizer to help prevent your skin flaking or drying out from the makeup. Third, and I think most importantly, I recommend applying a really good face primer! For today, I followed all of these recommendations. For my primer, I opted to use Sephora Perfecting Ultra-Smoothing Primer, a clear primer that glides on and smooths out your entire skins surface. I’ve used it many times in the past, and I know that it helps makeup to go on smoothly, prevents creasing and flaking, and it helps the makeup to stay put all day! I applied the primer to my entire face and neck. I applied it to the neck because a lot of costume makeup does need to extend to the neck area so that it doesn’t look like you’re floating head.
Now, when I think of what an angelic face should look like, I think of skin that is pale and glowing. Accordingly, I knew that my base for today would be very important. To start, I recommend that you apply a foundation that is one to two shades lighter than your natural skin tone, unless you already have pale skin. For me, I didn’t have any light foundations on hand, so I improvised. I actually used a light concealer that I owned and didn’t use anymore (due to the fact that I discovered the amazing power of Benefit Erase Paste). I applied the concealer over my entire face and neck, including an application over my eyebrows and lips. The entire goal was to create a ‘white-out,’ nullifying any color on my face and neck so that it was all one tone. Since the concealer was a lighter shade, it helped to immediately lighten my entire skin tone, covering the pale element of the angelic look.
For the glowing element of the look, I began by applying Sephora’s highlighting Base Sublimatrice Primer to the entire face and neck area. I topped this with a dusting of the lighter shades in the Wet ‘n’ Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder in Catwalk Pink palette. Essentially, I applied this as if it was my powder, adding to the overall glow and also setting the base. For my cheeks, I dabbed on a healthy dose of cream highlighter to the apples of the cheeks and along the cheekbones. I then added an extremely light dusting of a shimmery peach blush to just the apples of the cheeks. After all, I’m sure even angels blush.
When considering how I would design the makeup for an angelic look, I decided that the eyes should be the focal point of the look. My vision was to create a ‘mask’ using white shadow. Essentially, the goal was to apply eyeshadow in a shape à la the Zorro mask. I began by lining the inner rims of my eyes with a white eyeliner. I then applied the white eyeliner to my eyebrows as if it was a brown liner. My eyebrows are dark, so I had to apply the white eyeliner heavily. The shade of your eyebrows will dictate how much or how little white eyeliner you actually have to apply to them. The goal is to get them as white as possible. I then finished up using the white eyeliner by applying it to my lips as if it were also a lip liner.
Next came the important part: the eyeshadow. Using a shimmery white color, I swiped the eyeshadow across the entire eye area, from the inner corners across the lid and to and over the brow. I then swept the eyeshadow under the eye, from the inner corner all the way out to the temple, forming one side of my ‘mask.’ Next, I applied the eyeshadow across the bridge of the nose to the other eye, and repeated the look on the opposite side to complete the ‘mask.’ I kept applying the eyeshadow until I reached the shape and color saturation that I was looking for. Once I was satisfied, I applied a clear loose glitter eyeshadow over the entire ‘mask’ area. Additionally, I dusted a light amount of the glitter eyeshadow over the rest of my face, down my neck, and on the top of my chest. Don’t be afraid to use the glitter! After all, this is Halloween is just about the only day of the year that you are given a free pass to go makeup crazy without people thinking you’ve actually gone crazy! To complete the eye look, I decided to add two coats of mascara to the top lashes only. I found that this allowed my eyes to stand out a bit. Of course, you can opt not to apply mascara, or even to apply a white mascara. The choice is yours!
To finish my angelic look, I applied a light coat of shimmery gold lip gloss to white lined lips. On a note, I used Philosophy Lip Shine in Vanilla Birthday Cake, which not only gave the soft glow I was looking for, but it also really did taste like birthday cake!
Overall, I was quite happy with the end results of my angelic look. Throw on a set of angel wings, and you’re set!
Stay tuned for tomorrow, when I’m going to go in the opposite direction of today and take on some devilish make up. In the interim, if you have a costume or Halloween theme idea that you want me to try out this week, write to me via reply post, ask via my Submit page above or Email Me! I welcome the challenge!
Don’t forget to share your Halloween makeup photos and tips, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post, my Submit page above. or Email Me!
See you tomorrow for Day 24 of The Great Makeup Challenge!
Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, your local drug store, or through Amazon.com.
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