5 Things I'm Lovin' November 2013

Loved it, tried it! My first attempt at recreating a look I love!

Hello, dahlings! A couple of weeks ago, I posted the link to one of my favorite makeup blogs, The Beauty Bybel. Check it out on my new blog roll on the right side of the page. I just added it this week. (I'm starting to get the hang of of this here blogging thingy!) Carli Bel also has an extensive video collection on YouTube, where she demonstrates how to achieve certain makeup looks.  She has inspired me to come up with the segment of my blog entitled: Loved It, Tried It.  Periodically, I will try to recreate looks that I love based on pictures or videos that I see. Hopefully they will not turn out to be like the epic fails on Pinterest. You know the stuff that people try at home because Pinterest makes it look so easy, but instead it looks like this:

 

 

Let's hope I have some better luck.

 

For this week's look, I posted a link to Carli's video below. I know this is more of a look to wear in the fall, with the gold and brown, but I wanted to try it out and see if I could do this.While I did not use all the exact same products that she used, (I made due with some things I already have), I did follow her instructions step by step. I will list the products that I used below, and after that you can see my first video I have ever done, showing you the results.

View Carli's video here.

In order to recreate this look, I used the following items:

Maybelline EyeStudio Quad in Give Me Gold

MAC Eye Shadows from left to right: Black Tied, Bamboo, Nylon

Revlon Photoready Eye Primer and Brightener

Loreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara

Milani Shadow Eyez in Green Safari

Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black

First I primed my eye lid with Revlon's Photoready Eye Primer and Brightener. I sometimes wear this even when I don't wear eyeshadow, because it does brighten up around my eyes and helps hide my dark circles. Just like Carli, I used the Maybelline Eyestudio quad in Give me Gold. I used the gold color all over my lid. Following her steps, in the crease I used MAC's eye shadow in Bamboo. Then I used MAC's eye shadow, Black Tied in the outer "v" crease, instead of the black eye shadow pencil she used. I then used the bronze color from the Maybelline quad in my crease to blend. I then used MAC's Nylon eye shadow to highlight my tear duct and brow bone. I did not add any additional gold sparkle or the fake eye lashes, although I'm a huge fan of eye lashes. I think they really add drama to the eyes and I always wear them for special occasions.  Instead of the green eye shadow, I used Milani's Shadow Eyez pencil in green safari, I drew it on my lower lash line and blended it with an angled brush. Maybelline's Eyestudio Gel Eyeliner was used on my upper lids.

 

My thoughts on the outcome? I have to say, it looks much better in person than it does on my video below. I don't think you really get to see the green on my lower lids, but I think that is because of the lighting - something I'll have to work on for future videos. The look was easy to achieve, and like Carli mentions in her video, more appropriate for a night out. And I definitely need to get some glittery pigments for that extra sparkle. So check it out and let me know what you think!

See my final look here

If the eyes are the windows to your soul, at least make them look pretty! Eye liner reviews and tips.

Happy Memorial Day! This weekend, many stores are having sales, so I decided to give you a Memorial Day twofer - eye liner product reviews and a tip on how to make eye liner last.

I love eye liner - it is a staple in my everyday makeup routine. I like it because it gives your eye a pop of color and takes seconds to apply. Paired with some mascara, it gives me a look I'm comfortable wearing to work without feeling like I'm all done up with eye shadow.  I reserve eye shadow for the weekends and nights out, but that's only because applying eye shadow takes more time than I'm willing to spend primping in the morning before work (the truth is, I like to sleep until the last possible minute).

There are many different types of eye liner and different techniques to apply it. You can put it on your lower lash line, your upper lash line,  and in your water lines, which is the wet ridge where your eye and eye lid come together. Be careful when lining your water lines. Use pencil only, and do not share a pencil with someone else, as you can get an infection.

See below for my thoughts on the following liquid eye liners. I use them solely for my upper lids, to give a really defined look. This type of liner is not made for the "smudged" look; that is reserved for pencils and eye shadow.

This is Urban Decay's 24/7  Waterproof Liquid Liner. It retails for $19.00 at Sephora. This liquid liner is applied with a brush and went on nice, smooth and dark. It lasted all day long. In fact, when it was time to take it off, even after I washed my face, it was still fully on. I actually had to peel in off of my lid like plastic and it came off in one piece. The one thing that I did not like about it was that, the closer I applied it to my upper lash line, the stickier it made my eyelashes. I had a hard time applying my mascara because my eyelashes were stuck together at the base.

This is Revlon's Color Stay Liquid Eye Pen. Target sells it for $7.79. This pen has a felt tip, like a marker, and also draws on easily. This also lasts all day long, however, once you put it on, you have to let it dry a little bit before you curl your lashes. Each time I curl my lashes, it tends to get on the lash curler, and then it looks faded on my eye lid. I then have to reapply it. This comes in three colors: blackest black, black and blackened brown.

This is Maybelline's Master Duo Thin or Thick Glossy Liquid Liner. This applicator is felt and has a little ball on the end of it. Their brown color is called Bronze Shimmer, and I don't like it. It was too bronze and not enough brown for me. It went on easily,  but like the Urban Decay eye liner, it stuck to the base of my lash line causing my eyelashes to stick together. They were dry and hard when I tried to put on my mascara. This one was my least favorite. It comes in six colors, black, purple, teal, green, navy and bronze and retails for $6.94 at Target.

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner takes the cake for me. I've never worn gel liner before, but it is my new favorite. I bought it in brown and went back to the store the next day to get it in black. The liner comes in its own little pot,  and the brush is separate, with a cap for the bristles. You simply dip the tip of the brush in the gel and apply to your upper lid. This went on dark and easy and stayed on for hours. I liked this one the best because even though I tried it with dark eyeshadow on, the liner was dark enough to be visible.  This is available in four colors: black, brown, charcoal and eggplant. I bought it at CVS for $10.79.


As far as eye liner pencils go, there are so many to choose from. The following are my go-to eyeliners, and my all-time favorite.

The Wet n Wild brow and eye liner pencils are great because they come in a bunch of colors and the pencils are extremely long, so they last forever. The best part is they are only $0.99! You cannot beat the price. There is one problem with these pencils, they tend to run and smudge around your eyes, especially the bottom lid. But I have a great tip to keep that from happening. I'll get to that in a second.

This is my number one, all-time favorite eye liner in the history of the universe! This prized possession was given to me on that fateful day in Macy's at the MAC counter that I told you about last week. That darling makeup angel, whoever she was, gave me this MAC Kohl eye pencil in the color Blooz. It is a navy pencil, and it is the best navy pencil I have ever tried. I've tried a lot of pencils claiming to be navy, but they were really bright, and just not the deep navy color I was looking for. Navy is great at accentuating brown eyes and this pencil will last all day long. In fact, even after I wash my face, I usually need to get an Almay makeup eraser stick to really get it all off. This kohl pencil is $16.00 and worth every penny.


I hope these product reviews were helpful. Before I go, I'll leave you with a great tip that I found on Pinterest about how to keep your eye liner from running and smudging under your eyes. After applying your eye liner, you take a small, flat concealer brush and some pressed powder. I use Cover Girl's Oil Control Pressed Powder which is $5.94 at Target.

I run the tip of the brush against the powder and dust it under the eye liner, like I'm drawing a line of powder under the liner, but you cannot see the powder. This works wonders. For years, I came home from work at 6:00 p.m. with eye liner all around my eyes, looking like I slept twelve hours in my makeup, especially with the $0.99 eye liner. This little trick restored my confidence in throwing down those Wet n Wild eye liners at the drug store check out. I now have them in every color.

Thank you for tuning in this week. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. If you have any questions or ideas for me to try, post them. I look forward to testing out new makeup.