The Makeup Box

Smoky Lavender Silk (Requested: Lavender, Purple and Brown Tutorial)

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It was interesting to get a request for a tutorial featuring lavender, purple and brown. Now I can’t be exactly sure how deep or light each of those tones were  imagined to be so I had to do a bit of a guess. (You could have light brown, medium lavender and dark purple, or dark brown, light lavender, medium purple, etc.)

I decided to go for a smokier look with brown and purple that is deeper but sort of melded into each other, so it doesn’t stick out as 2 very separate shades. 

You will need:

• A pale lavender (I used Coastal Scents’ Ice Ballet Hot Pot)
• A deep, rich, metallic purple (MAC Grape pigment)
• A dark matte brown (Revlon Rich Sable)

As always, you don’t need to use the exact shades I used. If you have similar colors from other brands, by all means use those.

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Step 1: I first used a flat brush to pack on pale lavender from the inner corners slightly past the center of the eye. It should not extend up past the socket line.

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Step 2: Next, use the same brush to pick up a deep purple. I actually did not clean the brush because I wanted the pale lavender to soften the deep purple a little. I did not want a very harsh line between the pale and deep purples.

Run the tip of the flat brush along the socket line, 2/3 of the way from the inside out, but not reaching the outer corners. Then run the purple along the lower lash line as well.

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Step 3: Last shade; the brown. I used a small pointed brush to pack a matte, dark brown into the remaining bit of skin at the outer corners, blending up into the socket line where the deeper purple is. Keep the shape very round and avoid winging the shape outwards at the corners. 

Run the brown along the outer portions of the lower lash line as well.

When you’re done, take a look and see if the overall look is too smoky, too light, etc. If it’s too light, add more brown and purple. If it’s too dark, run the pale lavender over everything gently and use a fluffy blending brush to smoke everything out.

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Step 4: The smoky eye line. I love it because it gives the illusion of fuller, longer lashes. First, I applied black pencil along the water line. THEN I used a pointed brush to pick up some of the pencil or gel liner (just run the brush along the tip to pick up some color) and then apply that along both top and bottom lash line. This gives you a very soft smoky look which blends with the shadow and I do this. The effect is softer than when you apply the liner directly to the lid.

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Step 5: Finish with black mascara and you’re done! The final look is soft, but still sultry. If the purple or brown is too harsh, you can always go over it with a tiny bit of the pale lavender just to soften things out.

Peaches and Grapes: MAC Crushed Metallic Pigments in Rose Light and Grape

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What with all the pigment collecting I do, I figured I should break them out and use them more.

The 2 shades I’m using are Rose Light (available from the 2011 Christmas/Holiday collection, as well as the Vera collection) and Grape. If you don’t have Rose Light, something like MAC Swish would do fine.

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Step 1: Apply the dark plum-purple pigment to the outer 1/3 of the lids, and then sweep the brush up along the hollow of the socket line.

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Step 2: I used my finger to apply the soft peach-pink shade to the entire inner 2/3 of the lids, going over the purple along the socket line.

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Step 3: Apply a brown gel liner (or pencil) along the entire upper lash line and then the outer half of the lower lids only.

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Step 4: Instead of mascara, I’m putting on false lashes after curling my natural ones. Try Ardell 120 Demis or Demi Wispies.

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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.

Duo-tone Liner with a Duo-chrome Eye Shadow (How to Use Illamasqua’s Sealing Gel)

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One of the items I recently purchased from Illamasqua is their Sealing Gel, which isn’t actually a gel but a fluid, and which I’m really loving so far. This acrylate-based sealing fluid transforms any eye shadow and pigment into a water-resistant, long-wearing liquid. I used it two ways; to create a “cream shadow” and to create metallic liquid liner.

You can use eye drops or MAC Fix+, etc for a similar look, but those products will not be as long-lasting as a Sealing Gel made for liners.

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Step 1: I added a drop of Sealing Gel onto a plastic lid and mixed some Green-Brown pigment into it until I got a runny fluid. Using a soft blending brush, I applied this mixture onto the lid area in a buffing motion to get maximum sheen and a cream-like finish. This sets quickly into a long-wearing wash that does not crease on most lids.

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 Step 2: Repeating the mixing but using a deep green pigment this time (MAC Green Pigment), I increased the concentration of the pigment to get a more opaque fluid and then applied that with a liner brush from inner corners of the eye to the center.

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Step 3: Using a 3rd liner brush, I mixed a rich purple pigment into another drop of Sealing Gel (MAC Grape pigment) and applied that to the outer halves of the lids, completing the wing that I began using a green pigment. Feel free to create a longer, more dramatic wing, as the duo-tone coloring will stand out more.

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Step 4: When this is done, you should get a rather interesting dual-color wing and gleamin lids. You can follow by applying a white/beige/yellow pencil to the waterline and mascara to the lashes.