The Makeup Box

Soft Velvet-Lavender (MAC Crystal and Satellite Dreams)

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After the really bright and acidic looks, it’s time for a break with a softer, more wearable option that you can throw on for work or play.

I dug out some MAC shadows that I forgot about, and the only thing you need to remember is that you can easily soften a bright color for work or school by layering it over a soft tone like I did here.

• Deep smoky brown or grey (I used BH Cosmetics MS17, a soft grey)
• A pale duochrome lavender grey (MAC Crystal) 
• A brighter medium true purple (MAC Satellite Dreams)

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Step 1: Simply ground your look with some definition and shape by applying the smoky grey to the outer 1/3 of the lids and along the lower lash line. It should blend up to the socket line only, not any further as this isn’t a dramatic shape.

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Step 2: On the rest of the lids, and the inner half of the lower lash line, apply the soft lavender grey. If you have deeper skin tones, go for a truer purple because Crystal can end up looking just pure grey on very dark skin tones. 

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Step 3: Now pick up the strongest color, the medium bright purple (Satellite Dreams for me) and just pack that down the center of the lids, over a part of the pale lilac earlier. Without this step, the look can seem almost neutral because of how soft the pale shade was. This is the step that gives the look a little oomph and a beautiful transition from light to bright to dark.

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Step 4: Finish with mascara, and that’s all there is to it. 

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!

Simple Foiled Silver Eye (How to work with gritty shadows like MAC Lustres)

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I was going through my stash of shadows the other day and rediscovered a few MAC Lustre shadows, which I seldom use because the texture is SO hard to work with. These are some of the least popular shadows from MAC (with the exception of a few shades like Tempting) because they look so gorgeous in the pan but give you TONS of fall-out.

Lustres are made up of lots of large gritty chunks of reflective pigments, very much like glitter but not as shiny. This means the little bits tend to flake or dust off, instead of sticking to your skin as well as finely-milled pigments. (Some of the MAC Mineralize shadows are also very much like these.)

So since I was such a sucker back then and snapped up a few shades before I realised how difficult they were to work with, I figure there might be others who love how they look but don’t know how to work with them. 

You can use either a flat shadow brush or a regular blending brush, but the trick is to always apply them damp. If you are using water, you can just dampen your brush (damp, not soaked!) and dip directly into the pot to pick up shadow. If you’re using Fix+ or any sealant or mixing medium, then you HAVE to pick up the shadow on your brush first, and then spray or dampen your brush before applying.

(If you use anything other than water, do not re-dip your brush back into pot.)

Your shadow will go on a lot stronger and stay on a lot longer.

NOTE: In general, most shadows should work go back to normal when dry (except for some poorer formulas so be mindful). Also, make sure your brush is really clean. Any oils or residue on it might transfer and seal over your shadows when dampened.

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Step 1: I wanted a little dimension and depth to the eye look so I applied a little rich, plum cream shadow to my lids. (Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Stiletto). I picked purple because the shadow I’m using (MAC Idol Eyes) has a slight lavender tone which I wanted to bring out.

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Step 2: Using a brush dampened with water, I picked up a generous amount of MAC Idol Eyes (silvery-lavender flakes with a soft gold highlight), and smoothed that onto the lids. If you want to get a really foiled effect like I did here, firmly brush in a single direction, then go back and repeat. Don’t rub back and forth in multiple directions. This helps the little flakes of pigments to sit lay flat and really shine.

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Step 3: For definition and a twist on the typical grey/silver eye, I am using the same purple base to line. Just use a flat synthetic brush (you can get plenty at the art store for very little money btw) to pick up a little color and then gently rub it along the lash line section by section.

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Step 4: To finish, I merely curled lashes and applied black mascara. (NARS Larger Than Life, which I happen to have on hand. Any black mascara will work.)

Silver Moss Grey-scale Tutorial

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Sometimes you want a slightly more edgy, dramatic look without too much drama and time at your makeup table.

This look is suitable for both mono-lids and double-lids, and like cut-crease looks, all it takes is the ability to “follow the hollow” (of your eye socket) when placing the darker contouring shade.
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Step 1: Apply a black kohl or pencil thickly along the lash line in the area marked out above, and smudge it out, fading upwards slightly. 

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Step 2: For the shadows, as there’s a lot of blending needed, I used a soft white blending brush similar to MAC 217. Then using a dark mossy-grey (Make Up Store Moss is a deep grey with a hint of olive tone; MAC Copperplate would do just fine as well) matte shadow, apply from inner corners to outer corners of the eyes, expanding from the thinnest line to a thick swatch that goes up to the socket line.

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Step 3: Then without picking up too much shadow, extend the shading from outer corners in, along the hollow of the socket line. A key point for the look is emphasizing the contours of the eyes, so you need to get the shading blended into the socket-line as a frame or boundary for the paler shade later.

Also run the remaining shadow on the brush along the outer parts of the lower lash line.

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Step 4: Using a shimmery metallic silver (there are many good ones on the market; L’oreal Infallible Shadow in Flashback Silver is the one I used, but The Body Shop, Bourjois, Wet n Wild, etc all make strong metallic silvers), pack from the inner corners outward into the dark moss-grey.

Keep within the boundaries of the darker grey at the socket line. You don’t want to obscure the dark color by running your silver all over it.

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Step 5: Finish with black mascara. I kept the lash line quite clean as I did not want to load the look down with a black flick, tight-lining, false lashes, etc. The emphasis is on the socket line.

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P.S. This look works with both pale and dark lips!