EOTD: smokey burgundy

A while ago I saw a picture of Kristen Stewart on some beauty blog where she was wearing a beautiful smokey eye with a touch of burgundy that really made her green eyes pop. She wears burgundy eyeshadow quite a lot, but usually it's on her lids with black in the crease and all along the waterline, the classic way.

In this picture I saw, on the other hand, she had a matte black on her lids and the burgundy shade was used to diffuse the smokiness from the crease up towards the browbone. Which gave her an even more sultry look! I was amazed and tried to recreate that with sad results.

This was a while ago, today I felt inspired to try again, and this is what came out:

Products used:
MAC Soft Ochre Paint PotEstee Lauder Double Wearl Liner in Onyx (upper and lower waterline)
KIKO Eyeshadow Stick 20 (matte black on lid)
KIKO Eyeshadow 121 (pearl burgundy in crease, probably dupe for MAC Cranberry)
Clinique High Impact Mascara
Stars Makeup Haven e/s in The White Shadow (browbone)   This for me is a true smokey eye, where the darkest shade (usually black) is applied closer to the lashline and blended out into the lighter colours. LOVE!

May Photoshoot #4: retro Clizia

For this photoshoot I was asked to do a pin-up inspired make-up, which the model then interpreted with a range of different outfits. 


I researched the classic 50s look, which basically features: 
- full, defined, and rounded eyebrows
- strong winged black liner
- porcelain skin
- velvety red lips
- a beauty spot (if necessary, a fake one)
read: Dita von Teese!

Model: Clizia

Products I used: 


FACE:
MAC F&B foundation in C3+C5 (mixed)
Kiko Natural Concealer n. 03
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer
NYX Powder Blush in Raisin

EYES:
MAC Blacktrack Fluidline (to line and create the wing)
Urban decay 24/7 Liner in Zero (waterline)
MAC Blanc Type e/s (lid and browbone)
KIKO e/s 120 + Urban Decay Buck e/s (crease)
NYX Black/Brown e/s from the I Dream of St. John palette (to define brows and to line the lower lashline)
Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara
KIKO Elegant False Lashes n. 02

LIPS:
NYX Lipliner in Hot Red
Clinique Long Last Lipstick in 100% red
NYX Mega Shine Lipgloss in Plush Red

Photographer: Luca Cadamuro

Eye of the Day with Too Faced Starry Eyed Liner

Hello everyone!
I purchased this Too Faced glitter eyeliner in Stalkerazzi a while ago, but never had the chance to wear it. I love these eyeliners! Stalkerazzi is a mix of black, gold, and copper sparkles. It spices up any eye make-up in seconds! I also own another one from the line, namely Mad Mad Love (multicoloured glitter on a pink base) from a few years ago, and that one is almost completely gone since I've used it a lot.


Today I started out with some taupes and nudes but actually ended up with this:

Products I used:


- Too Faced Shadow Insurance
- Stars Makeup Haven e/s in Creme d'Nude (lid), Breathless (crease and above), The White Shadow (browbone), Charade (cut crease), Mimosa (inner corner)
- Too Faced Starry Eyed Liquid Eyeliner (upper lashline, and accidentally on some lashes too! oops)
- NYX Black e/s (outer upper lashline)
- MAC Cornflower pigment (lower lashline)
- L'Oreal Voluminous Mascara (black)
- Avon Supershock Gel Liner (waterline)

May Photoshoot #3: Biba Fever Inspired

For this photoshoot I took inspiration from the beautiful work of legendary make-up artist Lisa Eldridge. She filmed a video where she uses Biba vintage make-up items to recreate a 70s inspired look on this doll-face model. In this demo she goes freestyle with loads of pastels and brights and an artsy approach to colour application and blending. Definitely not something you would wear on the street! 

Model: Erica

You can watch the full video here, and if you can, do take a look at her other tutorials, especially the ones featuring model Lindsey Wixson, they really are masterpieces!


Please note: I tried to recreate this eclectic 70s mood on the model's face, however my work by no means claims to be an exact copy of Lisa's. She is the artist, I'm just someone who loves playing with make-up on people's faces. 

I'm not going to explain the technique step by step, which you can find in Lisa's video. Instead, here is a full list of products I used: 

FACE
OCC Skin Primer
Make Up For Ever HD Foundation 117 mixed with Mac Face&Body in C3
MAC Pro Longwear concealer NC15
Ben Nye Neutral Set Powder 
La Femme Blush in Flamingo

EYES
MAC Soft Ochre Paint Pot
Laura Mercier Silk Road Palette (lavender shade)
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Yogurt
Stars Make Up Haven e/s in Evergreen, Opal, 1492
MAC e/s Plumage
KIKO e/s 78, 162
Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara
Ardell False Eyelashes n.120


LIPS
NYX Lipliner in Hot Red
Christian Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Flash 982


Photographer: Luca Cadamuro 

Violetta in Black & White - May Photo Shoot #2

Model: Violetta

TAKE ONE: BLACK

This is the second photoshoot I did with photographer Luca Cadamuro. You can check out more of his works here! The shooting was split in two parts. In the first one, Violetta rocked a sexy black dress and I did her make-up following this look. 


After applying a base, I evened out her skin with a blend of MAC Face&Body in C3 and C5 and concealed her dark circles with KIKO Natural Concealer n. 03. 

For the eyes, I wanted to achieve a really full-on black smokey eye, so after priming I layered MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre to give our eyeshadow a good base to stick to. I applied a generous amount of a cream black shadow (KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadow n. 20) on her upper and lower lids, and used a fluffy brush to even it out and blend it upwards towards the browbone and outwards to get an elongated shape. For extra staying power, I layered some matte black shadow over it. I created the gradient by blending MAC Copperplate around the edges of the black eyeshadow, and then applied MAC Blanc Type on the browbone, and blended it into the grey colour. Then lined with MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack and applied mascara. 

But what really enhanced the whole look and gave her eyes a true diva effect were false lashes. I chose a pair with considerable length and thick volume - Paramount Lashes n. 335. These lashes were bought in NYC Alcone Store by a dear friend of mine and are widely used by professionals in the industry. You can buy them online from Alcone. 

Violetta has a beautiful bone structure, so I only added some soft contouring to complement her cat eyes. Highlighter: Sue Moxley Shimmer Brick (Light) - Bronzer: Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess - Blush: NYX Powder Blush in Raisin.

On her lips, I wanted to keep it super natural, so I lined and filled them in with MAC Cremestick Liner in Sublime Culture and applied a nude lipgloss on top (NYX Lipgloss Palette 04 - The Nudes Matte). 

 TAKE TWO: WHITE

On the second part of the shooting, we changed the make-up and the outfit and shifted towards a more romantic feel. White was predominant.

On the eyes, I layered a creamy white base (NYX Jumbo Eyepencil) to make the powder eyeshadow I would put on later pop. I added depth to the crease by mixing two brown eyeshadow, a chocolate and a dark brown one, and also smudged them along the lower lashline. Then I applied a good amount of MAC Blanc Type all over the lids and browbone and in the inner corners of the eyes. I wanted to make her eyes really stand out and look bigger, so I applied Topshop white Kohl along her lower lashline. Eyeliner was MAC Blacktrack as usual, sealed with NYX Black eyeshadow on top for added staying power.  
For this look I chose a different pair of false lashes, namely Paramount n.314. These were thicker, more spiky and longer towards the outer corners than the ones I used for the black make-up, so they worked perfectly for giving that flirty yet elegant look.

I chose to complement her neutral romantic eyes with a girly pink lipstick and matching cheeks. Therefore I used NYX Powder Blush in Pinky and MAC Lipstick in Speed Dial over NYX Lip Pencil in Rose. 

Which of the two looks would you choose to wear? Tell me in the comments!

Screenface order: Ben Nye & RCMA

Hello everyone!

Sometime ago I placed my first order on www.screenface.co.uk, a UK-based website for professional beauty supplies. I must say my experience with this company has been really good! They have a wide selection of professional brands like Ben Nye, Japonesque, Kryolan, OPI, Temptu, etc. as well as their own line of products. Since my first and only order with Camera Ready Cosmetics was unsuccessful because the customs retained my parcel, I finally decided to purchase within the EU, even though the prices in pounds aren't as convenient as those in dollars obviously.
So, I got a few products for my kit which you can see below. The shipping was fast and the items arrived well packaged in perfect conditions.


1. RCMA Screenface 18-pan Foundation Palette
This palette has a really great range of shades, mostly with neutral undertones, so they should work well on most people. I wanted to try a cream-based foundation and this particular one is supposed to photograph beautifully as well, which is one of my main concerns. So far I can't speak of the quality (I will update soon) but I will say that I was a bit disappointed of its size when I unboxed it: it literally fits the palm of my hand, so I have a feeling it won't last very long, bummer! The price tag is a little steep at £69.95 for 40g, but you get the advantage of trying out a lot of shades plus three cream blushes.

2. Ben Nye Total Cover-All Wheel SK-100
This concealer palette is mostly made of "salmon" colours, so they should work really well with undereye circles. The pan at the centre is the lightest one and it can be mixed with the other ones to lighten them up. I'd say this is a medium-toned palette, but I chose this one over the SK-200 because it looked more versatile, plus I really needed some pink/orange based concealer for undereye darkness. It was £27.95 for 28g.

Swatches:

3. Ben Nye Neutral Set - Colorless Face Powder
There isn't much to say about this one, except that it is a transparent/translucent setting powder that looks white in the bottle but actually doesn't alter the colour of your foundation. I've had the chance to try it this morning, it feels very comfortable and it's almost undetectable to the eye! It was also pretty cheap at £5.95 for 49g of product.

4. Screenface False Eyelashes n. G600 Black
These were £4.95.

Bottom note: if I had purchased these items in the US, I would have saved a lot of money. Unfortunately it is still pretty risky to order from overseas, as you have to face the possibility of paying high customs taxes that sometimes exceed the value of your parcel. :-(

May photo shoot #1: Michela

This series of close-ups is part of the first photoshoot I did with photographer Luca Cadamuro.

Model: Michela

We worked a classic yet intense smokey eye to leave more space to the model's bright hair and colourful accessorizes. Her necklace speaks for itself!


I prepped her skin with my usual MUFE HD Microperfecting Primer n.5. Although this is specifically designed to brighten and correct fair skin with redness issues like rosacea, over time I saw it working amazingly well on a variety of complexions. It does have a light blue undertone to it, but that doesn't show up at all if you use it sparingly (I believe that piling up primer isn't a good idea anyway).

Foundation was MAC Face&Body in C3, which turns out to be my most used shade! I toned down the redness on her nose with a green corrector (KIKO Natural Concealer n. 04) and evened out other minor imperfections with a blend of Natural Concealer n. 03 and MAC Pro Longwear Concealer NC15.

On her eyes I created a flawless canvas to work on with a primer (Too Faced Shadow Insurance) and layered a dark grey creamy base, namely Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans. This shade could be described as a blend of grey, taupe and green hues with a metallic finish. It truly enhances any eye colour!

I applied a duochrome eyeshadow on top of the base (MAC Club) so as to achieve a multi-dimensionality to the eye, which plain black does not give. Instead, I used a black eyeshadow (NYX Caribbean Palette I Dream of St. John) to smoke out Club in the outer corners and above the crease. I added a touch of gold eyeshadow (Urban Decay Half Baked) on the centre of the lid to make it pop even more. Eyeliner was MAC Blacktrack and mascara Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme. I filled in her eyebrows with MAC Eye Brows in Fling, an ashy blonde colour.

A soft but sexy contouring was achieved by applying MAC Cream Colour Base in Luna on the cheekbones as a highlighter, Estee Lauder bronzer on the hollows of the cheeks and MAC Blush in Blushbaby on the apples of the cheeks. I powdered everything out with my usual E.L.F. HD Powder. 

I wanted to keep lips as neutral as possible, so I lined them with a flesh-toned pencil (Subculture by MAC), and applied Clinique lipstick in Blushing Nude on top.


Love it or leave it? Say it in the comments!