The Makeup Box

Jazzed-Up Classic: Charcoal and Gold Eye with Scarlet Lips

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If you’re looking at a few posh dinners or parties (as we enter the holiday season) and want something that will be noticeable but not too typical or outlandish either, it’s quite easy to just add a shot of gold to a more classic red lip look.

Instead of chunky glitter, which can look a little tacky, you want to go for something that is very fine-grained, and almost like large pigment particles. The alternatives are

• super fine micro-glitter (.04 micron and below)
• MAC Reflects pigment in Gold
• glittery gold liquid liner like Lime Crime Rhyme, which is made up of little gold flecks like MAC Reflects

Step 1: Just begin by applying the dark charcoal shade over your entire lid from lashes up to the socket line, right above your eye ball. Run a little along the outer halves of your lower lash line with a firm brush as well.

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Step 2: Apply the gold sparkle. If you’re using a loose pigment, you might want to mix a little with eye drops or some mixing medium (MAC Fix+, or liner sealant) before dabbing it on with your finger, over the inner half of the lids. 

It WILL dilute and make the charcoal shade you applied earlier a bit faded, but that’s fine since you’re creating a bit of a gradation from light to dark, inside-out anyway.

After everything sets, you might need to go back and apply a second layer of gold onto the inner corners and lower lash line just to intensify the color a bit.

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Step 3: For definition and contrast, run black liner along the inner rims of your eyes. This makes the gold really pop and look more vibrant.

Then finish by curling lashes and applying mascara or false lashes. I wouldn’t go for dramatic lashes since they’ll just detract from the whole eye look, but it’s no harm if you want to wear them.

Step 4: On the cheeks, I applied bronzer for warmth and contouring, and then topped my cheekbones and brow bones with shimmery gold. This gives a beautiful sheen when the light hits and it looks even better up close.

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Step 5: Finish by apply a scarlet lipstick. If you’re going to be eating and drinking, then make sure you blot and reapply to prolong the wear. For a super-detailed tutorial on how to apply a perfect red mouth, watch Lisa Eldridge’s video here!

“Sexy Bee”: Black-and-Yellow/Gold Banded Eye Makeup (Works for Mono-lids and Hooded Lids)

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This probably seems like the unlikeliest thing but I saw this cute honey-bee head-band and wanted to do a look for the funny, sassy girls who’d much rather be a bee than an Egyptian queen. Ironically, the color-scheme and look fits any sort of “gold-themed” Celestial or Royal outfit you might be wearing for Halloween.

You’d just need to adjust the yellow-gold shade to match your outfit. I used a matte black from BH Cosmetics and a warm yellow-gold from I Nuovi called Blonde.

Step 1: Along the hollow curve of your socket line, use a soft blending brush to sweep an arc of yellow-gold shadow.

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Step 2: Just under, and overlapping that yellow, use a smaller, firmer brush to apply an arch of matte black. 

Run the black along the outer halves of the lower lash line as well so the black makes a sort of asymmetrical “C” cupping the eye.

If the black is over-applied, simple take the first brush and a tiny bit of gold shadow and just run  it along the upper edges of the black to soften it.

Note for Mono-lids/Hooded lids: Make sure you can see the black when your eyes are open. If not, you probably applied the color a little too low. If in doubt, work with smaller brushes. The black and yellow bands might need to be thinner if you have smaller lid space, and large brushes won’t allow you to do that. Just soften any harsh lines after you’re done by brushing over with a softer brush.

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Step 3: The last bit is simply to take the yellow-gold and apply it right in the inner portions of the lid. 

Make sure to apply a tiny bit to the inner corners of the lower lash line as well, as this brightens up the eye area.

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Step 4: All that’s left is to apply a little black liner to your lash line (I prefer the inner rims but you can just do it the regular way, “outside” the lash line, if you want) and finish with lots of mascara.

Bubble-gum Gleam: Bright Pearl-pink Lips with Smoky Peach-pink lids

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I haven’t whipped out the bright sugary-pink lipsticks for awhile now, so today, I thought I’d do a SUPER-simple party look featuring black and pink.

You’ll need:

• A black shadow (I used L’oreal’s Eternal Black)
• A peachy-pink shimmer shadow (I used MAC Crushed Metallic Pigment in Rose Light, but L’oreal’s Forever Pink would work perfectly)
• Black mascara
• Soft nude-pink lip pencil (MAC Hip n Happy)
• Shimmery bubble-gum pink lipstick (NYX Jupiter is that perfect 80’s pearl pink)

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Step 1: Simply pack the black shadow all over the upper lid, not extending up past the socket line.

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Step 2: With a clean brush, gently press a shimmery pink down the center of the lid.

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Step 3: Then with that same brush which now has some pink and some black on the bristles, simply buff out the edges of the black shadow to remove any harsh lines. You won’t really need to pick up anymore shadow.

Then finish the look with black mascara on the upper and lower lashes.

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Step 4: Apply any soft pink blush.

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Step 5: Fill in your lips with a pale pink pencil like MAC Hip n Happy (if you have pale to medium skin). If you have darker skin that that, you can actually skip the pencil. It’s just there to add some color to the pearl pink and prevent it from turning into that 80’s porn-star look. 

Finish by applying a coat of the shimmery pink lipstick!

Silver Smoke: MAC Electra

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I think every makeup collector should “shop their own stash” once in awhile, as a way of rediscovering and digging out items that they have forgotten.

Electra was one of the very first shadows I ever bought from MAC (along with Vex) and my first pan has been with me years and years because I’ve worn it probably less than 10 times.

It’s a steely silver that has enough depth and sheen to still look dimensional when worn alone on the lids, while playing well with other colors. The main reason I haven’t used this much in the past is probably because it’s not exactly a subtle shade to wear on a daily basis. 

Beautiful it certainly is though.

I’m bringing out the sheen and texture by pairing it with a matte black and a darker charcoal grey. If you have any silver-grey-black palette you will be able to recreate this look. (Maybelline Charcoal Smokes and L’oreal Blackened Smokes would both work. Just avoid picking any silver that is too white/platinum unless you are extremely fair-skinned.)

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Step 1: First apply black cream shadow or base over your entire lid and along the lower lash line as well. This is a step that can help to intensify the whole look. If you don’t have black cream shadow, just use black pencil or kajal to get the same look.

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Step 2: Begin by packing the bright silver shade over the inner 2/3 of the lid, leaving just the outer corner and socket area dark.

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Step 3: Using a dark charcoal grey (if you don’t have anything this dark, mix a black with the silver you used earlier) and apply that in the outer corner and along the lower lash line where there isn’t any silver shadow.

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Step 4: Run black pencil or kajal along the inner rims of the lash line, and then use a flat angled brush to run black matte shadow along the upper lash line. This adds definition to the lash line. These 2 steps intensify the lash line without an overly-defined line that a pencil or liquid liner would give.

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Step 5: Finish by curling your lashes and applying black mascara. If your silver shadow has faded a bit by now, you can always touch up a bit more. Make sure you add a little silver to the inner corner of the lower lash line as well.

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Cheeks and Lips:

This look works fab with softer lips and cheeks like nudes or soft pinks and peaches. I’d just avoid anything overly metallic on the lips since you don’t want to distract from the strong-textured eyes.

You CAN apply a strong red lip as well for a look that’s a little more 70s/80s. Totally up to you!

Dramatic Duo-chrome Winged Eyes (MAC Green Brown and L’oreal Infallible 014 Eternal Black)

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This isn’t a complicated eye look. You actually only need 2 colors. A rich black, and a duo-chrome shade.

The duochrome shadow you can switch out for pretty much any duo-chrome you want. (MAC alone has Cornflower, Rose, Blue Brown, Club, Gorgeous Gold, etc. Just to name a few.)

The black shadow I used however, I highly recommend. This isn’t just any regular black shadow because the L’oreal Infallible formula contains a lot of binders so the texture is in between a cream and a powder, which makes it go on really intense, but also allows it to act like an eye shadow base, so other colors go on beautifully over it.

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Step 1: The wing. You just need to line your lower lashline with black. Follow the angle of your lower lashline when you reach the end, and extend straight up and out. For the inner corners, I actually had the line go straight in and down for a slightly more dramatic effect. If you don’t like it, you can always just follow your lash line all the way.

(P.S. Use a black pencil if you’re in a hurry.)

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Step 2: On the top lids, use a flat brush to pack black onto the outer half of the lids, extending out to meet the end of the black line you drew earlier. The higher the black goes, the more dramatic.

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Step 3: I used my fingers to just smooth a green brown duo-chrome pigment over the lids from inside out, blending over the black, but stopping BEFORE I cover it completely. You want the outer ends to be very dark and very black still, so leave the black alone there.

The finished look should be almost peridot-green on the inner corners, shaded to brown in the center and then to black on the outer ends.

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Step 5: Finish with just black mascara on top and bottom lashes. I added black kohl pencil to the inner rims of the lash line for extra oomph.