The Makeup Box

Weekend Eye: Soft, Simple Brown Winged Liner

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Applying liner is one of the quickest ways to look polished without wearing a whole lot of makeup. If black is too strong a look for you (especially if you have very fair hair or light eyes), try brown gel liner instead of black.

I used Maybelline Lasting Drama Gel Liner in Brown and a fine liner brush for the above.

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Tips:

• To make both eyes even, make sure your liner is parallel to the angle of your lower lash line where it curves up to meet your upper lash line.
• Set your brush down (tip pointing outwards) to make a light stroke on outer ends of both eyes, and check the angle. This is where you make any corrections with a Q-tip.
• Once you have the angle about right, you can start to thicken the line by drawing from the outside point inwards to the center of your lid. The thicker and straighter the line, the more Sophia Loren the look.

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Other products used for the look:

• Skin: Dior Nude Foundation #21 for a luminous matte glow
• MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC25 and NC30
• Setting Powder:  Make Up For Ever HD powder
• Brows: Maybelline Eyestudio Brow Pencil (taupe brown shade)
• Socket: MAC Patina, a light frosted taupe for soft contouring, and traced along the lower lash line as well
• Lid: MAC Melon in a very light wash just to brighten theh  eyes
• Lashes: Bourjois Volumizer Mascara
• Cheek: NYX Cinnamon Blush, a matte vermillion-orange, very lightly dusted on cheeks
• Lips: Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Born With It, a light nude pink

Baby Pink, Bronze and Wine Eye Look (feat. MAC Da Bling Shadow)

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I was doing a spot of shopping at MAC (small haul post to come) and a combination of swatches on the back of my hand really caught my attention.

These 3 shades were:

• MAC Da Bling
• MAC Patina
• MAC Cranberry

It looked so soft and warm, but still interesting because of that wine-red twist. So needless to say, Da Bling was one of my purchases for the night, and I’ve put together an actual eye look featuring those three colors. (You don’t have to use MAC products as long as you have similar shades.)—-Step 1: Sweep Da Bling or any light, pearlescent pink along 3/4 of the lids from inner corners outwards. 

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Step 2: Fill in the rest of your lid at the outer ends with a soft taupe-bronze shade like MAC Patina.

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Step 3: Finish by adding some contrast and contour using a cranberry-red shadow right at the outer corners of the eyes. I used a random russet-colored shadow, but you can get MAC Cranberry if you like.

Step 4: Finish by applying a metallic brown pencil along the upper and lower lash lines. Then sweep on lots of black mascara. 

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Other products shown in top image:

Cheeks: NYX Pinky Blush topped with Porcelain Pink Mineralize Skinfinish as highlighter

EOTD: Simple Neutral Wash

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- 88 Original Palette (matte pale beige in inner corners)

- MAC Patina (lid wash)

- MAC Brass pigment (outer corners)

- Bourjois Volume Glamour Max

- Bourjois Liner Pinceau 16 Hr

Not shown:

- NYX Blush in Pinky

- NYX Black Label Lipstick in Natural

EOTD: The “Runner-Up” Bronze and Silver Wash

Bronze and Silver wash: POP Beauty Smoked Out Silver (2nd palest silver in palette) on inner half, and MAC Patina shadow on outer half of lids.

I enjoy pairing cool and warm colors, but for work, sometimes it’s not the best idea to throw dramatic pairings together. This look is a subtle contrast between neutrals. A soft silvery-grey (POP Beauty) and a smoky bronze (MAC Patina).

I’m not sure why it’s not paired together more often, as people tend to pair bronze with warm shades like gold, copper and brown.  

To get this look, the steps are EXTREMELY simple:

1. Apply a good primer base  on lids so color goes on strong and true.
2. Pack a soft bronze from center of lids outwards.
3. Pack a soft silver-grey (not too pale or intense) from the center of  lids inwards.
4. Apply a swatch of black shadow along the lash line like a liner.
5. Apply black liquid liner within that smoky black line to intensify the roots. If you want, apply carefully to the inside of the upper lash line as well.
6. Apply black mascara after curling lashes.

The coolest thing? This look goes with pretty much any lip shade because it’s smoky but soft, and straddles cool, warm, and neutral.

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Products Used:

• MAC Patina
• POP Beauty Smoked Out Silver Palette (2nd lightest silver shimmer)
• Wet n Wild Coloricon in Greed (black shade)
• Bourjois Liner Pinceau 16 Hr
• NYX Pinky blush (not shown)
• NYX Black Label Lipstick in Dusty Rose (not shown)