Posts Tagged eyeliner
From the Pages of a Magazine: FOTD Inspiration
Before the online world took over, I used to be a voracious reader of magazines. First it was YM, which I only read for the ‘Say Anything’ section when I was about 11-12 years old. Then it progressed to Seventeen, then Cosmo, and then Allure – the latter which firmly entrenched my love affair with makeup eternally. Often, I would pull pages out of a magazine with pictures that evoked a certain ‘something’ – I can remember papering my walls with Calvin Klein ads for DAYS (OMG this is bringing back memories!); the models all seemed to fabulous and mysterious. As I grew up, I instead began to pull makeup looks from the pages of my favorite mags, anything that piqued my interest visually and was just begging to be attempted.
Though I don’t do this as often today (I have a subscription to only one mag now, and try to avoid buying any because – hello, internet!), I still do come across pictures in print that I clip out for future reference. I have a big photo album full of ‘em now, tied together as a collage – each page with a different theme (YES I KNOW I AM ORGANIZED/OCD/CRAZY/WHATHAVEYOU). This morning I thought of my album and pulled it out to get some ideas for the day’s look. What I decided on was this:
Every so often I go through the album and remove photos that I’m no longer ‘feeling.’ Amazingly, this actually doesn’t happen very often – even though the span of these photos is over probably 7+ years, I still love most of them and they don’t seem to become dated. The photo above is one of my oldest, and yet I think it’s still as relevant today, and I still totally love it. A flash of blue liner and a stained pout – simplicity at it’s best.
I wore this look today for the first time, and I’m pretty pleased with how it came out:
I did tone it down a bit by not bringing the blue all the way to the far inner corners; I was after all, at work today and my office isn’t terribly ‘creative’ (I know, totally not what you expect for the GOVERNMENT, right? Ha). But otherwise, I actually think I captured the look fairly well. The liner shade is exceptionally close (though I suspect she’s wearing liquid – while I used MAC’s Petrol Blue Pearlglide liner). I think I even almost got the lip stain right (MAC’s Bing Mattene lipstick), though it looks a little worn here because I reapplied and then forgot and ate some chocolate. Oops.
And an even more up-close shot:
I chose to bring the liner around to just the edge of my upper lash line, though I don’t think she has that in the photo. I liked the effect though. Overall, I liked the look – I don’t think I’ve ever worn anything like it, and it was a great way to use the MAC eye pencil as I’m trying to get rid of it (great shade, terrible wear on my eyes which tend to get smudgy at the corners). I wore an eyelid primer (NARS Smudgeproof) to prevent this from sliding down my face. I must admit, similar to my other blue look, I felt kinda badass wearing this, which is always a good thing in my books because if it gives you a little bit of a swagger, all the better 
So what do you think of the look? Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you get any benefit from these kinds of posts? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Where’s Waldo? – My (Fairly Robust!) Eyeliner Collection
Posted by Latoya in Eye Liner, Make-up, My Collections on January 23, 2013
Continuing on with my dedication to filling the gaps in my collection, let’s turn now to my eyeliner stash. This isn’t an area that I’m terribly concerned with, nor do I obsessed and stalk new eyeliners like I do blush, but it was a fairly easy task to swatch and photograph them, so I figured I’d get them out of the way.
In glancing at my stash, my first impression is that I’m not missing much of anything – however, that’s partially due to my semi-ambivalence toward eyeliner as a whole. There are shades (and formulas – I tend to favor liquid) I own that I LOVE, but overall I tend to wear eyeliner because I own it, not because I’m a fiend for it, and I purchase them infrequently (I wrote a previous post on my eyeliner collection, and since that time I’ve only accumulated …….though I literally just bought the Milani Gold eyeliner within the last hour, LOL! Hey, it was on sale!). However, it seems I still have a fair number of shades somehow (26, in fact!), so maybe I don’t know what the eff I’m talking about.
I seem to own at least two shades of most colors – grey, black, purple, etc. I don’t really wear bold-colored liners much, though it appears I like to buy them! I’m hoping to change that this year – maybe work ‘em on the lower lash liner or blend with black to darken them.
(Left to right): MAC NW25/NC30 Chromographic, Chanel Khaki Platine Precision, MUFE #21L Aqua Eyes, MUFE #14 Aqua Liner, UD Oil Slick 24/7, Wet N Wild 861 (black) Mega Liner, Tarte Starry Night, MUFE #0L Aqua Eyes, Laura Mercier Black Violet Kohl, UD Crash 24/7, UD Ransom 24/7, Illamasqua Paddle
FYI: I forgot to add in the two aqua shades when I did my swatches, oops (since they usually only get pulled out in summer and were stashed away).
(Left to right): Illamasqua Paddle, MAC Blue Petrol Pearlglide, MUFE #4K Khol, UD Covet 24/7, Smashbox On Trend Cream, Clinique Egyptian Cream Shaper, Illamasqua Wisdom Precision, Milani Gold Liquif’eye, Lise Watier Gold Eye Shine, UD Eldorado 24/7, UD Lucky 24/7, NARS Via Appia Larger Than Life, Illamasqua Havoc Precision
Below (top to bottom): Milani Aqua Liquif’eye, MUFE #5 Aqua Liner
So, I’d say within this bunch, I LOVE 1/5 of them (both my Illamasqua Precision Liners, my MUFE #14 liquid liner and #21L pencil liner, and UD’s Lucky pencil), I like half of them (but they fall short of love either because of formula – for example, love LM’s Black Violet and MAC’s Blue Petrol as shades, but they smudge/run like CRAZY – or I just don’t tend to wear them much, like MAC’s Chromographic, MUFE’s #4K, UD’s Covet & Eldorado, Milani Aqua, and NARS Via Appia), and the last few shades just DO NOT do it for me at all (UD’s Deviant is a weird shade on me, Illamasqua Paddle is kind of crap to apply, and the Smashbox On Trend is better as a shadow than a liner). Then there are about 5 pencils that are so close to being finished I can just TASTE it (UD Oil Slick, Tarte Starry Night, MUFE #0L, UD Crash, and Lise Watier Gold).
Check out what was left after I rubbed off the swatches with makeup remover:
…That would be the MUFE Aqua Liners, and the Illamasqua Precision Liners – see why I love ‘em??
Moving forward, I’m not really sure what gaps need to be filled, except the glaring one which is A BLACK LINER PENCIL. Once my Tarte and UD liners are gone (–> very soon), I will not own a plain black pencil, just the Wet N Wild liquid one. I’ve determined that I am going to see what all the fuss is about and buy Giorgio Armani’s Waterproof Eye Pencil in Granite, and I’m pretty stoked about it. Otherwise, I don’t have any other liner purchases on the horizon just now – or should I?
Can you see any glaring holes in my eyeliner collection? What shades do you tend to wear most?
Wild & Chic Best of Make Up For Ever Kit, Part Three: Aqua Eyes #0L and Aqua Cream #13
I’m still plugging away at the pieces of the Wild & Chic Kit! I’m slow as cold molasses running up a hill, I know, I know. Ahh, now there’s a saying you don’t hear to often anymore! I think I spent too much time with my Grandma (never!) growing up, I have all these old-timey phrases floating around in my head – they sound totally commonplace to me 
Anyway, on the review! First, we have one of MUFE’s Aqua Creams in #13 Warm Beige.
I feel that the name for this shade is slightly misleading. It’s beige per se, but the description online is ‘champagne shimmer’ which is totally accurate, and what they should have called the product in the first place. Just sayin’.
Aqua Creams are touted to be ‘ an ultra-pigmented, long-lasting waterproof cream,’ that should not crease or budge throughout the day. I have another one, shade #02 Steel, which is a taupe-gunmetal shade. When applied, these creams dry relatively quickly so you’ll need to work fast – though I’ve found previously if I just apply a sheer wash and build the color as I go, I have no problems. However, I do find that with Warm Beige, if I’m not fast enough it applies unevenly, which I think is more noticeable because the shade is so light and metallic (and hence, unforgiving). Particularly for my darker skintone, Warm Beige is almost too light and picks up any imperfections if I’m not careful. On someone fairer, I don’t think this would be much of an issue. For me, I’ll likely wear it as an inner eye highlight most of the time.
Aside from the shade not being the most flattering for me, the product lives up to its budge-proof claims, lasting all day – in fact, after swatching it was hard to get off my hand, and requires makeup remover to take it off.
I thought the shade looked a bit like Chanel’s Émerveillé, so I swatched them side by side just for fun:
On left, Warm Beige; On right, Émerveillé
Compared to Émerveillé, Warm Beige has more dense pigmentation, and is more metallic and shiny, which can be a good or a bad thing, depending on what look you’re going for. In reality, they’re just two completely different products!
Next up, MUFE’s popular Aqua Eyes Liner in #0L, which is described as a mat black.
These liners are supposed to be waterproof, smudgeproof, and fade-proof, and after wearing it all day long, I can support these claims. My liner looked exactly the same 10 hours later as when I had put it on (no primer). However, I tend to wear my liners extended outward for a cat-eye look, and it did fade a bit there as I tend to have watery eyes. But it didn’t run or slide down my face like a lot of pencil liners have, so I consider that a win!
The texture of the liner was different than I’ve experienced before; it was almost waxy, which makes sense if it’s going to be waterproof. It was fairly black, but I could do with an even deeper black for more intensity – it’s reminiscent of Urban Decay’s Zero, which I’ve compared below:
On left, MUFE #0L; On right, UD's Zero
While they might have their shade in common, MUFE’s Aqua Eyes is superior in terms of wear – I tried to get it off my arm after swatching, and it barely budged at all. Again, makeup remover was absolutely needed. However, due to the waxier texture of the Aqua Eyes liner (which aids in the wear time), its not as creamy as Urban Decay’s, though it’s still fairly easy to draw across the eye. If I have to sacrifice a bit of smoothness to get a longer wear time, I’m all for it!
My final thoughts on these two products are divided: while I love the Aqua Cream formulation, I was left disappointed at how Warm Beige worked with my skin tone. As for the Aqua Eyes liner, though I would LOVE to see a deeper, darker black, I’m happy with how it stays put throughout the day. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a few more of these in other shades (#12L, a metallic teal blue, is calling my name!).
*These products were provided to me for consideration by the brand/PR company.
Yeah, Baby, Yeah! Illamasqua Haul!!
Posted by Latoya in Blush, Eye Liner, Illamasqua, Make-up, Nail Polish on October 21, 2011
When Illamasqua had a 15% off sale last month, I finally had to give in a pick up a few items. At the least, I knew I wanted to get a blush and a nail polish, as they’re both so highly regarded in the beauty world and I wanted to be in on that fun! I picked up Tweak, a ‘deep hot pink’ blush with a matte finish – I’m loving bright, bold color for cheeks lately – and after looking at a few swatches of polishes online, I settled on Baptiste, a ‘deep royal purple’ polish with a fine shimmer finish. It’s not an extraordinarily unique shade, but somehow I don’t have anything like it so it seemed like a good choice. For good measure, I also bought Havoc, part of this seasons’ ‘Theatre of the Nameless‘ collection – an aubergine liquid liner that is sorta brown, sorta burgundy, and all kinds of awesome.
Oh.My.Word.
These three li’l items have TOTALLY been rocking my world the past few days. I can’t recall being this happy about a haul for a while; every piece I purchased is absolutely amazing. Let’s go through each one by one so as not to miss anything!
Illamasqua Tweak Powder Blush
Tweak is a majorly pigmented fuschia blush that leans more warm than cool, noticeably when compared to the other hot pink I have in my stash, MAC’s Madly Magenta. 
As such, it looks much more natural and flattering on me than MM (though I still dig that color too!), and packs a serious punch with very little product. The powder is soft and picks up easily on my blush brush, and a light dusting leaves me with flushed cheeks that definitely demand attention – I don’t know if I’d be comfortable wearing a whole lot of other makeup with this blush for fear of overdoing it. However, I’ve seen photos of celebs rocking the bright cheeks and smoky eyes or strong lips together, so I’m sure it can be done – it just needs to be applied correctly!
Wear of this product was beyond any other blush I own, hands down. It was still going strong after a full day at the office and an hour cat nap afterward – that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Majorly impressive. It retails for $26.50CDN.
Illamasqua Baptiste Nail Varnish
Baptiste ($22CDN for Illamasqua varnish) is a lovely violet polish with a hint of shimmer, that isn’t too apparent in regular lighting, but comes to life in the sunshine, with flecks of hot pink and blue throughout (click on the pics below to view the multicolored shimmer better). Even though I can get a tad irritated with these ‘hidden shimmers’ that a lot of polishes have lately (because ummm…we just don’t have enough sun here in Hali to showcase it properly – and also, c’mon, I work in an office!), I’m enjoying the color of Baptiste so much in this instance that I’ll be forgiving this time around.
And now, a million (give or take) photos:
And ok, the application for this polish? Pure pleasure. The two coats flowed more easily than any other polish I own, I’m fairly certain. Absolutely no issues at all – it didn’t dry so fast that it pulled or caused patchiness, but it didn’t take so long to dry that it smudged at all, despite my easily distracted brain. And note: in these photos, there is neither base nor top coat. I really wanted to put it to the test due to hearing so many rave reviews about the formula, and so far I’m extremely pleased. The most minor of tip wear after four days, and I suspect it could have gone a full week with just the same if I hadn’t gotten adventurous and done this:
As you may know, I’m not a huge fan of nail art of any kind, but I was feeling creative this week (Halifax Pop Explosion, what!?) and thought this would be appropriate for rocking out at a bunch of shows. I’m actually liking the effect quite a bit, what do you think?
One thing I will say is that after doing the half-moon, I did apply a top coat and I love the intensity of Baptiste with a glossy top coat on top – brings out its gorgeousness so much more!! Love, love, love it.
Illamasqua Havoc Precision Ink Eyeliner
New favorite liner! Perfect color – not brown, not black, more of a dark brick red – and it totally offsets my brown eyes.
It applies SO easily, slicking on with hardly an effort for a liquid liner, and DOES. NOT. BUDGE. Like, holy smokes this liner didn’t move an inch all freakin’ day (again, even after my power snooze!). Check out the proof in these photos taken after wearing the liner for almost 12 hours and after a nap:
Yowwwww. How’s THAT for staying power! Looks like I just applied it! And note – this is with absolutely no primer or anything else on my eyes to enhance the wear – what you see is the liner worn entirely by itself. It’s not at all cheap at about $27.50CDN (does it seem weird to anyone else that it’s [a tad] more than the blush??), but considering that everything else about this liner is a major pro, I think it’s extremely worth the cost.
For my first foray into the dark and sensual world of Illamasqua, it was quite the experience and (unfortunately) they have made a serious convert outta me. It’s a real problem that we can’t get the brand here in Canada, because the shipping costs and the higher price tag of the product causes it to be quite prohibitive to purchase for all of us North of the border. If you’re living in Canada (or elsewhere that doesn’t have Illamasqua), and a beauty aficionado like myself, I say give in and go for it at least once, just to check out the line – from what I’ve seen so far, it’s SO worth a temporary dent in your bank account. Otherwise, I’d say keep it on the mental backburner for now – but if you’re in the States anytime soon (or somewhere where they sell the brand, ya lucky dogs!), high-tail it to a Sephora/Selfridges/Debenhams/etc. and check it out!! You won’t be disappointed
Make Up For Ever: Green Color Flash for Fall!
*MAKE UP FOR EVER Press Release*
“Fall 2011′s hottest hues come straight from the international runways. Make up artists embraced deep jewel tone palettes to create glamorous make up looks with a subtle hint of edginess. Emerald green has emerged as one of the season’s most wearable shades, and it will surely become a make up bag staple for Fall and Winter.
From subtle to striking and smoky to shimmery, MAKE UP FOR EVER offers a wide range of eye popping green shadows, liners, and even mascara, to get you through the season in style.”
Make Up For Ever has a variety of green shades that will help you achieve this edgy look. Some to try are:
Aqua Liner #3 – an iridescent emerald green.
Smoky Lash #4 mascara, a deep green.
Khol Pencil #4, also a deep green.
Aqua Cream #22 – an emerald green shadow with a golden sheen.
I gotta say, these shades look amazing and green does tend to look good on everyone!! Whether worn subtly or bold, I think green is a fabulous shade for Fall. It seems MAKE UP FOR EVER has got this one covered 
All of these products are currently in-store at Sephora.
What do you think of green eye makeup? Have you tried it before? What are some ways you like to wear it?
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