The Makeup Box

The Brushed Metal Eye Tutorial: Ridiclously straightforward!

This look was done to coordinate with a nail look I did the other day, and there isn’t really much of a step-by-step to run through because it’s so simple.

It’s a basic smoky lid without any shadow on the lower lash line, amd you can do it even if you have mono-lids or hooded eyes, as long as you bring the color up to your socket line so that it’s visible when your eyes are open.

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Smoky Eyes with a Pastel Accent: Great with any pastel blues, greens, violets, gold, etc!

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I’ve gotten quite a few questions on how to work pastels, blues and greens into a smoky look because we always end up buying so many of those pale shimmery shades and they look so nice in the pan, but quite unflattering all over the lid.

Here’s a quick way to add a dash of “pretty” without ever losing your “sultry” or looking “like a harlot” (as i-remain-nameless so hilariously put it).

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Rainbow Dreamsicle Eyeshadow Tutorial: Layering Cream Shadows!

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I wanted to try a look where I layered cream shadows over one another, instead of layering powders with them. This is more of a colorful look for fun occasions (or that fantasy themed party). 

Great for:

• Younger lids (most cream textures are shimmery and too much of it might emphasize lines around the eye corners and brow bone.
• All eye colors; any eye look that straddle a spectrum of both warm and cool shades will work on most eye colors
• All eye shapes (yes you can wear this if you have mono-lids too)
• Dry to slightly-oily lids
• Bonus: all skin tones. Cream shadows are translucent so whether you are pale or dark-skinned, they will show beautifully and not look chalky (unless you over-apply big-time)

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Absinthia: Green Fairy Eye Tutorial

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Meet 2013’s Color of the Year. Emerald.

There was a phase in my life when I wore NOTHING but green eyeshadow. I just thought it was such a sexy and flattering alternative to a neutral for smoky eyes. Some good options include MAC Humid or a discontinued pigment called Green. (I used that for this tutorial because I still have my large 7.5g jar from years ago, but use Humid or Antique Green pigment if you don’t have it.)

I also added a touch of golden lime (MAC Golden Olive pigment) and a deep emerald green glitter called Capricorn. Now, in direct light, this glitter looks like a straight dark emerald green, but when the light shifts or when you’re in the shade, it has a teal-blue shift. That’s probably my favorite glitter out of the Zodiac range from Lime Crime, but a regular green would work anyday.

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Soft ‘n’ Hazy: Soft Candy Shimmer (88 Shimmer Palette)

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Wearing a dark smoky color at the crease is a way to create a slightly smoky look without actually using a lot of dark shades around your eyes. 

Here’s a way to wear color in a “stacked” way that actually doesn’t look too over-the-top in real life. You can try this with all kinds of pastel shades, not just the ones I used.

For women with visible double lids, it will look the most subtle if you use a champagne, beige, peach, as the main lid shade. (I used pink.)

Using green, blue, violet, etc would instantly make the look more colorful and dramatic just because 

For women with mono or hooded lids, it’s the reverse, because your lids are tucked away and hidden, and the most visible section will be above your socket line. So this will look more subtle if you use a more neutral shade at the top, and more dramatic if you use blues, violets, green, etc above the crease. 

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Step 1: I used one of the many teal greens in the palette; I’m not going to point out EXACTLY which shade because you should just pick what you want and adjust according to your skin tone. This is like a lighter version of MAC’s Steamy shadow.

Using a soft blending brush, I swept the shadow on the upper side of the socket line. Make sure it’s not harsh. The color should be quite soft and subtle.

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Step 2: Using the same brush, and same side with the green shadow, dab a little yellow gold shimmer and then blend out the outer edges of the teal green and pull it outwards slightly towards the temples. The green should look like it fades into the gold.

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Step 3: Pick up a deep purple shadow on a pointy/pencil brush (you can use a flat brush as well but make sure to blend and soften the line out) and then apply the shadow along the deepest part of your socket line (“follow the hollow”), going from outside in.

The purple should be intense on the outside and fade off towards the inner corner.

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Step 4: With the soft fluffy brush and buff a soft pastel pink onto the mobile lid. Don’t muddy it up with the purple on the outside, but do overlap the purple at the inner corners, just to soften out the purple a bit more. 

If the purple is too strong, you can also use the teal to soften its edges.

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Step 5: Using the pencil brush again, run a little of the same deep purple from earlier along the lower lash line. Try to get as close to the base of the lashes as you can.

Storm Green Double-Lined Look with Bright Aqua Liner

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This is a tutorial featuring yet another Stargazer cake liner; this time the Turquoise one. It’s actually a simple look, and the important thing is just pairing complementary colors, and then double-lining the eye with black liner on the inner rims, and turquoise liner outside the lash line. 

I’m using Sephora’s Colorful Palette in Jungle Chic on the lids.

Step 1: Using a deep charcoal grey shade, I apply it in a wing in a curve around the socket line and fill in the outer corners. Run along the lower lash line as well.

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Step 2: Using the smoky aqua blue shade in the palette, fill in the main part of the lids and spread up along the socket.

Then dab the matte ochre beige shade into the inner corners of the lids and along the brow bone for some contrast.

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Step 3: Finish by using a liner brush to apply the turquoise blue liner along the upper lash line, ending in a flick, and then along the lower lash line as well. Then run black pencil along the inner rims of the eyes and finish with black mascara.