Tag Archives: easy makeup

Makeup Looks: A soft approach to 80′s color

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I was meeting the little bro for margaritas and business (yes, we find it easier to assist each other with our respective work challenges over a frozen cocktail. So shoot me). In the stifling early evening heat, I threw on a black eyelet mini dress and my Frye boots. My hair was straight and flowing loosely from having been bound in a topknot all afternoon. My GOD, did I look like the 70′s! So, I decided to skip the obvious (brown shadow, pale lipgloss, and go) and try a fun take on an 80′s inspired makeup look to vamp up the outfit for night.

I wanted to keep the look soft and pretty but with an unexpected punch, so I decided on bold purple eye shadow and pink lips. First, I prepped my combination skin with Clinique acne solutions makeup, which is a Godsend for anyone who gets the occasional tough pimple. Then I colored in and brushed my brows with the Brow Power (I LOVE this product… it looks so natural). In order to define the arch even more, I applied the mally shadow primer all the way up to the base of my brows. This product helps to keep your shadow in place all night.

Then I applied a heavy dose of the MAC shadow with my finger tip. After lining the eyes and before applying mascara to top and bottom lashes, I took a wet q-tip to clean up wherever this opaque shadow was uneven or too bold. I finished off the look using all three colors (warm brown, shimmery bronze, and cool pink) in the it Cosmetics bronzing palette, and smeared on a healthy few layers of the Cover Girl bright pink lipstick. Ta-da!

The tool kit:

Clockwise from bottom left: MAC eye shadow in Shock – a – Holic, it Cosmetics Brow Power pencil, Rimmel London Scandaleyes mascara, Cover Girl lipstick in Temptress, Clinique acne solutions makeup in shade 2, Wet n’ Wild Mega Eyes liquid liner, it Cosmetics makeup brush, mally for QVC shadow primer, it Cosmetics bronzing palette.

The look:

Notice how the purple shadow is soft and not super-dramatic like true 80′s makeup? There is a time and a place for intense color, but I thought that a more subtle application worked well for this look. The bright pink lips certainly helped too– when you’re wearing black, you need a little color on the face. I also really suggest taking your time to apply mascara evenly while extending the lash length. My lower lashes pop here, making the eyes appear bigger and eliminating the need to line the lower lids.

The late night shot:

Okay, I am not even kidding but this photo was taken four hours and two drinks after I left the apartment… and the lipstick was left over from the initial application. $7.99 on soap.com, girls. Get yourself a stick today!

Easy tip: Make Your Lashes Last

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For the wedding we attended Friday evening, Mama treated Pookie and me to professional eye makeup. It had sadly been a while since I’d had someone else do my makeup, and I was thrilled. After delivering lovely, demure smoky eyes to my mom and Pook, Rachel at R.J. West in Huntington asked me what direction I’d like her to take with my eyes. I told her not to hold back–the bigger the drama, the better.

What Rachel delivered was an absolutely gorgeous, shimmering pink-and-purple-and-gold smoky eye with false lashes in three different lengths that made my peepers look at once glamorous and ultra-sexy. Josh was swooning. Rachel warned me not to pull on the falsies and added that, if I took extra-special care of them, they could last up to a week. I decided to put her to the test. I’d never attempted to keep a temporary lash going longer than one night, so it’s been trial-and-error since Friday. Here’s what I found:

Rule #1: Leave your lashes alone!

The night of, I went home and washed the lower half of my face as usual. For the forehead, I utilized a gentle dabbing method so as not to have a river of water and soap running down towards my eyes. On me, shadow tends to melt away by the end of an evening, so to remove the rest was easy. I simply took a Q-tip and dabbed it in water-based eye makeup remover, applying it as you would an eraser to the remaining makeup left on my eyes. Basta!

Rule #2: Be a sleeping beauty

I tend to sleep on my stomach for two reasons–first, if I’m on my back the snoring keeps Josh up all night. Second, it’s more comfy than the side. But if you fall asleep on your stomach with false lashes on, you will wake up looking incredibly wonky. Try to fall asleep on your back. If you need to be on your side, move your pretty little face to the very edge of the pillow so that you can blink without feeling any lashes brush against anything more than air. Rest easy knowing your lashes will bounce back in the morning beautifully.

Rule #3: Shower with care

Steam from hot water can melt lash glue, leaving you with missing chunks. Yikes! I took a cool shower in the morning and kept my face away from the stream of water the entire time. Wait till after your shower to wash your face, so you can repeat the method detailed above.

Rule #4: Chill with the makeup

First, heavy liner atop false lashes is too much for day (even for this makeup buff). Second, the more makeup you apply, the more you’ll have to remove, which is risky when trying to keep your falsies intact. I left my top lids entirely alone, adding only some black pencil smudged along my bottom lid line, bronzer all around, and a smear of pink gloss. Perfect for day! If you must doll up in the evening, use a narrow line of black liquid liner on your top lid, and let it flake off naturally rather than using makeup remover at the end of the evening.

Rule #5: No tears! Crying will melt your lash glue and also lends to rubbing, blotting, and other non-lash-friendly gestures. It might sound vain, but when a family member made me so angry on Saturday I felt I might cry, I looked up toward the sky to keep the tears at bay and then focused on other things in the hope of keeping my lashes intact. It worked!

That’s about it! I’m on Day Four and going strong. Hope these easy tips work for you too! Have fun dolls.

Easy tip: Fake a Rested Eye

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Just a few easy steps and your eyes can look natural yet awake

It’s a miserable Monday morning in Manhattan and everywhere around you, people are yawning, dozing, and grumpily making their way to work. A weekend spent indulging in food and alcohol, staying up late, getting too much sun, and generally enjoying yourself can lead to tired Monday-morning eyes. So, how to not look like a total mess when your boss “stops by” your cubicle? Fake it!

The Night Before:

I like to take all my eye makeup off with a gentle removing cleanser like Clinique’s “Take the Day Off” (Clinique.com, $18). Let your eyes rest for a while, and then just before bed, apply a rich and soothing eye cream like Laboratoire Remede hydra therapy eye cream (Remede.com, $110). It’s an investment, but should last a long time. You only need a tiny dab for each eye; work in gentle circles on undereye bags and top lids, out towards the tip of your brows. Now, try and get some sleep!

The Morning Of:

After waking, wash your face with cool water. This tightens the skin everywhere, including around the eyes. Cold water also helps you to feel more awake. Then, follow these easy steps to brighten and awaken your eyes.

1. Start by building a concealing base under the eyes. Take a decent-sized dollop of drugstore brand eye cream and match with the same amount of creamy foundation like Clinique Even Better makeup (Clinique.com, $24.50). Blend with your finger tips or a small makeup brush and apply to the entire eye area as you would an eye cream. Let dry.

2. Five minutes later, double-up on your coverage by adding a no-nonsense undereye concealer like DiorSkin Nude (dior.com, $30). You only need a dot per eye so this product will last you for months. Once you’ve applied and allowed the concealer to dry, avoid fine line caking by dotting some of your Remede eye cream on top of the polished look.

3. A daytime-appropriate smoky eye will brighten things right up. You can be in and out in five minutes or less if you pick your palette appropriately. I like the elf Essentials Brightening Eye Color palette in “Drama,” eyeslipsface.com, $1. It could not be more user-friendly. Sweep the lightest color over the entire eye, then smudge a bit of the second-lightest color into the tear duct area. Follow by taking that cool dove gray and applying to the top lid, up to the crease. Then, take your finest eye makeup brush and apply the black hue like you would eye liner along the top and bottom lash lines. Follow with two coats of CARGO TexasLash mascara (Ulta.com, $20) and you’re out the door!