The Makeup Box

Face Of The Day: Smoky Brown with a trace of Ice-Blue

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Skin

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #52 (base)

MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW20 (concealer)

Clinique Redness Relief Loose Powder (setting powder)

Bourjois Little Round Pot shadow #15 (blush)

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Eyes:

Shu Uemura Hard Formula 9 #02 Seal Brown (brows)

Coastal Scents S35 (outer corners)

MAC Sable (lid)

MAC Frozen White (inner corners - this is not obvious but such a great pop of contrasting color when you turn your head and the light catches it)

Maybelline Great Lash Big mascara in Black (lashes)

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Lips

NYX 1000 Years (lip pencil)

MAC Creme Cup Cremesheen lipstick (lips)

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Nails

Essie Navigate-her (gorgeous creamy jade nail varnish. Looks fun, edgy, but still grown-up)

Dark Golden Olive

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For most women, green shadow is something they love or hate. It’s not always the easiest color to wear, but those who love it swear by its ability to be both brightening and sultry in turns.

Of the scores of greens out there, the one that is possibly the easiest for women of all skin tones to wear is a golden pistachio/olive tone that is part green, part gold, part bronze. If you want to buy just one single green shadow that you can throw on in the sheerest wash and get a beautiful, bright effect with minimal technique and skill, my suggestion would be MAC’s Golden Olive pigment. If you’re still a bit shy of green, then something a little more brown (e.g. MAC Sumptuous Olive would be better as a starter shade).

Of course, these 2 are just shade suggestions. I actually own neither. There are plenty of green shadows but as MAC is readily available in most countries I use it as a point of reference if you want to check out the kinds of colors I’m talking about.

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Step 1: I began by using an olive green base spread very sheer over the lid (MAC Moss Scape Paint Pot). A neutral or translucent shade would work just as well, but layering green over green intensifies the color a bit.

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Step 2: On the outer corners, I applied a smoky brown (I used Coastal Scents Hot Pot in Cherry Chocolate, but literally any smoky deep brown will do) and then lightly blended the color up along the socket line for definition.

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Step 3: On the rest of the lids, apply a deep, metallic olive (Coastal Scents Hot Pot in Dark Golden Olive), blending up just above the socket line. 

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Step 4: This is where I intensify the sheen and depth of the overall look. I used a very sheer, silvery lemon-lime shadow (Too Faced Eye Shadow Duo in Rich Bitch blended together) in a wash all over the eye lid to bring out the golden sheen of the look. (MAC Gorgeous Gold or Golden Olive pigment would work just as well.) Without this step, the look would still work, but be a little less dimensional.

If you want a quick ‘n’ dirty simple version, use a lighter olive green shade at Step 3, and skip Step 4.

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Step 5: To add definition back to the lash line, I applied matte black shadow to the lash line, concentrating on the outer halves.

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Step 6: Run the first smoky brown shade along the lower lash line, and then finish the look with black mascara (Bourjois Volume Glamour Max in Black -  this mascara gets better after the formula dries a little).

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Other products used:

• Foundation: Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation #52
• Concealer: Amazing Cosmetics Concealer in Fair
• Setting Powder: Silica
• Brows: Maybelline Eyestudio Brow Pencil
• Cheeks: NYX Dusty Rose blush (applied very sheer)
• Lips: Bourjois Effet 3D Max Gloss #63 Rose Eclat

On nails:

• Orly Bon Bon

Lazy Face: Easy Amber Eyes with Melon Pigment

Wanted to do a brighter eye that would be flattering on most skin tones but very easy to apply, so I settled on Melon Pigment by Mac.

It’s a bright orange-gold which is absolutely lovely on lids, and over cheekbones.

Step 1: First apply melon pigment over the entire lid from lashes to just above the socket line. If you want a dramatic look, wet it.

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Step 2: As shading or contour color, I wanted something in the same color family, but not too dark, so the contouring would be subtle. I took a lovely red-brown metallic from the 88 Warm palette (third row, near the right).

This was applied with a fine pointed crease brush so the amber-gold lid shade would not be muddied.

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Step 3: Apply natural-looking false lashes, then black gel or liquid liner to the upper lids, ending in a “doe-flick” (the flick starts only at the outer corner so your eyes stay round-looking and do not tilt up like a cat’s). Add mascara if you need.

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And that’s it!

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The best lip color to match? Sephora Reflex gloss #25 Hot Coral.