Peacock eyes: smokey blue look for a night out

I attended a good friend’s birthday dinner last weekend and I wore this look out. I haven’t done a smokey look in quite some time so since I was wearing a cobalt dress, I decided to do a blue smokey look. I used one of my favourite blue palettes: the L’Oreal Open Eyes Chrome Intensity in Aquadisiac, which was an Asia-exclusive.

I used UDPP as my primer, which I dusted the turquoise all over my eyelid as an all-over base. I applied the navy blue in my outer V and crease area, as well as on the outer half of my lower lash line. I then used a set angled eyeliner brush and applied the black as a liner, then used a pencil brush to blend it out. I used the white in my inner corner, along my tearduct and on the inner half of my lower lash line. I blended the navy blue and white on the lower lash line with a bit of the turquoise. I intensified the look by adding another layer of the turquoise and blending it in with the other shades.

On my cheeks, I used Chanel Joues Constraste in Rose Petale, a pretty rose shade. On my lips was Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Empire, a beautiful shimmer pink. My mascara with Helena Rubinstein and I also used Dollywink Liquid Liner to line my upper lash line, slightly winged out. Lastly, I used the white eyeshadow shade on my brow bone to highlight.

My base makeup for the day was Chanel Teint Innocence compact foundation with a light dusting of Chanel loose powder.

Please VOTE for my video! Thank you for your support!

My video submission to the L’Oreal Best Bold Eye Beauty contest” is one of the top five finalists because of you guys!! Thank you SO much to everyone who watched the video and commented, giving me feedback and support.

They’re now in the process of choosing  the winner, who wins a two-day trip to LG Fashion Week in Toronto with backstage access to one of the shows to see L’Oreal Make-up Artists in action. They’re asking for readers to vote for who they believe is the best video as part of the final decision. I would really, really appreciate if you could help vote for me. All you have to do is write a comment on the thread saying who you think should win the contest.

You can vote here.

I really appreciate everyone’s support. Thank you!!

My 1st video tutorial: how to create a bold eye look with L’Oreal Color Infallible Eyeshadows

I’ve uploaded my first ever video tutorial!! I’m super excited. I hope you will find this useful and then I can make more. I’m kind of addicted to editing videos now even though the road to getting this one published was long and hard. You can watch this in up to 1080p HD on the Youtube page.

Please share this video with your friends! Also please try to comment as much as possible or like the video to help me win a trip to LG Fashion Week in Toronto. Part of the judging is based on the number of views and comments, so I would really appreciate it if you can help me out! THANK YOU!!

You can see high resolution swatches and photos of all the ones I received here.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments through the Youtube page, please! They judge based on the number of comments/views as well as the overall quality of the video.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing your comments =)

Look breakdown + preparation: Grad photos!

I went to take my grad photos last week and this was the look I wore. It is very simple to recreate and also looks natural so you can still look like yourself in the photos.

I prepped my skin the night before by doing a thorough exfoliation with the Clarisonic Mia, toned with Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Acid Lotion, then applied some Diorsnow White Reveal Essence and layered on a sheet mask, O’slee Rosehip Whitening Mask, for extra hydration. I took the mask off after 20 minutes and massaged in the rest of the serum, and then I sealed everything in with the Nars Aqua Gel Hydrator.

The next morning, I washed my face with some warm water, applied some more Hada Labo lotion and also used the Paul & Joe Treatment Serum. Lastly, I used the Nars hydrator again for moisture. I let everything sink in for about 20-30 minutes before starting on my makeup.

Products Used:

Base - Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in shade 53, Paul & Joe Finishing Powder in shade 002.

Eyes – UDPP, Lunasol Skin Modelling Eyes in Beige Beige, Visee Blossom Eyes in GR-4, Dollywink liquid eyeliner in black, Maybelline Falsies mascara in black, Daiso false lashes, MAC Eyebrow pencil in Taupe

Cheeks – Benefit Sugarbomb, Castledew Diacut Cheek in C901

Lips – Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in 55 Confidence

I applied my foundation by warming it on in the palms of my hands and patting with on with my fingers. I layered it in certain areas where I need more coverage, in place of concealer. I set my foundation with Paul & Joe Finishing Powder and used the Sonia Kashuk powder brush. I used Benefit Sugarbomb as my blush and applied it with Dior’s blush brush. I highlighted the area above my cheekbone, underneath my eyes, the bridge of my nose, the area between my eyebrows and my chin with the Pink Platinum shade from the Castledew Diacut Cheek.

On my eyes, I primed with UDPP and I shaded in the lower 2/3 of my eyelid with shade #3 (reference here) from the Lunasol Beige Beige palette. I highlighted my inner tearduct, the inner half of my lower lashline, my browbone and my inner V with the cream shade of the Visee Blossom Eyes palette. I lined my upper lash line and tightlined with Dollywink liner, curled my lashes and applied my false lashes, then curled my lashes again to blend the two together and coated both with Maybelline Falsies mascara. Lastly with shade #4 from the Beige Beige palette, I created a false crease higher than my normal crease, and lined the outer half of my lower lash line with the same shade.

On my lips, I applied Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in 55 Confidence.

The criss-cross falsies I used from Daiso, 2 pairs for $2, and quite comfortable to wear too! I used Dollywink lash glue and it stayed on all afternoon and night even in the cold wind and heated rooms, going from dry to humid places, etc. I’m quite impressed with it (only bad side is that it takes a bit longer to dry…)

Some more photos just for fun =)

My me and my housemate, I did her makeup too XD

The final product:

How to create depth out of your monolids!

So you voted for tutorials and now you will get tutorials =) This first one is something really close to home as I have hooded monolid eyes and they can be quite irritating especially when I’m trying to do something natural because I end up having to apply a lot more product for the colour to show up on me. But no more do you have to apply makeup like you punched yourself in the eyes in order to get that effect.

This is a lot I wear really often as its simple and timeless. You can also wear this look for both day and night, all you have to do is just intensify the colours as they are very neutral, but can be layered to become more of a smokey eye.

Tools Required:
- Eye Primer (optional, but recommended to keep your makeup fresh all day – eg. Urban Decay Primer Potion or Too Faced Shadow Insurance)
- Eyeshadow shades (preferably shimmery or matte): light peach, dark coffee, taupe, gold or white highlighter shade (I just use the Guerlain 407 Bal de Minuit palette)
- Mascara of your choice
- Eyeliner: Black and cream (or white, if that is all you have)
- Brushes (optional, but preferred method of application): All-over shader brush (Eg. MAC 239), Crease brush (Eg. MAC 226), Definer brush (Eg. MAC 219)
- False lashes (optional, but recommended)

Instructions:

Step 1: Apply primer all over your eyelid up to your brow bone and a little bit on the lower lid as well. Wait until dry. With your all-over shader brush, lightly apply light peach eyeshadow until 1/3 down from your brow bone. This is going to be your base as well as your “cover-up” colour if anything goes wrong.

Tip: You don’t want to over-apply your peach colour, especially if it is shimmery, because it will make your eyes look too puffy!

Step 2: With your definer brush, apply dark coffee along the upper lash line and smudge it upwards.

Step 3: Feel the top of your eye socket and with your crease brush, apply the taupe colour along the outer rim of your eye socket. Blend slightly with the peach as well as the dark coffee.

Tip: If you have double eyelids or have deeper-set eyes (like most non-Asians), you can just follow the natural line of your crease, but because us Asian often don’t have a deep crease, the best estimate is your eye socket.

Step 4: Apply highlighter to the middle of your eyelid where your eyeball is most protruding.

Tip: This is a must-do! Because us Asians have flatter eyes, by highlighting that middle part you are creating more depth for your eyes.

Step 5: Take your highlight colour again and with your definer brush, apply it to the inner V of your eyes, stopping around the middle of your lower lid. Focus on the inner corner near your tear-ducts.

Tip: This will help to open up your eyes and make it look bigger.

Step 6: With your dark coffee and your definer brush, lightly apply it to the outer half of your lower lid. Lightly blend the two colours together near the middle.

Step 7: Apply black eyeliner to your top lid staying as close to your lashes as possible. You can wing it out a bit at the end if you like. I use Bobbi Brown Gel Liner because I have eyelids that get oily after a long day, and I find that other than liquid liner, which can be a pain to use sometimes, BB Gel Liner is the longest-staying product I’ve used. Its also very easy to apply; I use a MAC 209 brush.

Tip: If you don’t have very full lashes, a good way to make them seem thicker and darker is to tightline your eyes. Tightlining is basically when you fill in the spaces in your upper (and/or lower) lashes, creating a false impression of luscious eyelashes. I found that BB Gel Liner works great for this as its very soft and doesn’t irritate my eyes.

Step 8: Apply a cream eyeliner to your bottom waterline. This will make your eyes look bigger, brighter and less tired. I don’t recommend using a white eyeliner as much as cream because white can be too harsh and unnatural.

This is what it should look like after everything is done. I apply criss-cross false lashes to finish up the look because it makes my eyes look bigger and brighter. To compliment the look, I like to apply a darker pink blush and light pink lipgloss. Don’t forget to fill in your eyebrows =)

 

Hope this tutorial was somewhat useful for you. It might seem complicated at first, but once you do this a couple of times it will be very easy and straightforward. This is such a classic look that I do very often, its great for work and for dinner parties.

Good luck and have fun!