The Makeup Box

Soft Pink and Purple Evening Look

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So many women love purples and pinks in the day, but we often forget it’s possible to get it quite dramatic for an evening out as well. The general rule of thumb is, the greater the difference between the darker and lighter shade you choose, the more dramatic it can look.

(I paired a dark bruised purple with a pale, almost-silver pink here.)

The shape of the eye is also more dramatic than usual, with a more angular and elongated wing than I would normally wear. The good news is, it’s actually very simple to do and doesn’t require many products.

All that’s left is to keep the lips and cheeks soft and complementary.

Brush suggestion:

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Step 1: Apply a deep purple to the outer 2/3 of the lower lash line, then apply it to the outer half of the upper lids. Following your socket line, extend the outer corners into a wing.

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Step 2: With a soft silvery-pink, fill in the inner half of the lids, blending the pale shade into the purple you applied earlier. 

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Step 3: The finishing touch is applying a plum metallic pencil (plum works better than pure purple because it’s a little more red/pink toned, which works with the purple and pink you applied) to the upper and lower lash lines. 

If you need, re-assess the shape and decide if you might need to extend your wing a bit more at the outer corners. 

When you’re satisfied with the shape, curl your lashes and apply lots of mascara to finish! (This look works with false lashes of course.)

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Step 4:  For the cheeks and lips, I kept it simple with a Lip and Cheek cream (MAC Casual Color in Weekend Getaway) in a soft pink. I apply it to the center of the lips with a finger first, and then distribute the remainder onto my cheeks. You need very little on the cheeks, so if you start by applying the product there, you’re likely to end up with too much.

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I Nuovi and MAC are cruelty-free brands. Visit PETA.org for more information regarding animal testing and brands.

Weekend Face: Golden-Yellow Lids with Pink Cheeks and Lips

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Yellow is such a sunny and beautiful shade, but it’s not always the easiest to wear on the face. This look uses a more wearable version; yellow-gold.

I used a`limited edition shade from Lime Crime called Goldfish, but if you don’t have the Chinadoll palette, you can very easily find similar shades from most brands. MAC Golden Lemon pigment is a brighter, more true-yellow version. You can also find at least one similar shade in the 88 shimmer, 88 Metal Mania (swatched above), 120 2nd Edition (swatched above) as well as pretty much any of the other colorful 120 palettes, I daresay.
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Step 1: Because I’m using a very bright yellow-gold, I want 4o make sure to warm it up by adding some depth beneath. I applied a brown shadow base (MAC Constructivist Paint Pot). If the gold you are using is closer to a coppery or bronze-y gold, you can use a flesh colored or clear base.

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Step 2: Using a fluffy white blender, I just packed on lots and lots of the yellow gold over y lids from lash line up to the socket line. If the shadow you are using isn’t as rich and pigmented as you’d like, use your finger to smooth it on, as this adds extra sheen.

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Step 3: The tricky step is applying liquid liner to the waterline and tightline. For this look, I wanted to make sure there was definition at the lashes, and the black to be very intense and very clean. So I used a liquid liner with a very fine brush (Lime Crime’s Quill) to do short strokes along the inner rims.

Tip: The boo-boo is applying the liner onto your eye ball, which happens, trus4s me! So you want to do it like you are applying liquid liner in a thin line right at your lash base. This allows your own lashes to be a guiding line and stencil to stop your brush from going all over the place. This will take a fair amount of practice. If you can’t bother, just use a black pencil like Milani Liquif’Eye! I just wanted something that wouldn’t smear or run.

Once done with your liner, just finish with LOTS of mascara!

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Final step: I just used my fingers to apply a warm pink (MAC “Weekend Getaway” Lip and Cheek Color) to the apples of my cheeks and lips.