Looks for 2014, week 25

Posted on Saturday, at bought • 467 views

I haven't posted one of these in a while!! I don't know that I'll have time to do it regularly. I may just start collecting my weekly photos, then do one summary post on the weekends. That takes pressure off of me to get the photos processed and posted daily, but lets me share what I've done.

This past week I felt a bit poor, so didn't really do a full face of makeup beyond foundation and sunscreen - except for Thursday. Thursday morning I woke up ahead of my alarm, got all caffeinated and showered, and decided to put on some makeup, dammit. I'd recently swatched several eyeliners, as well as the rest of Femme Fatale's Post Apocalyptic collection…and some new-to-me shadows. I pulled this together fairly ad-hoc, looking around to see what was close at hand. I'm proud of the results, and it's a nice simple look that probably anyone could replicate fairly quickly.

Looks for 2014, week 25

Photos that show how the product actually performs...! See how I create my swatches

Looks for 2014, week 25 Look: July 12 2014 (closeup)

Eyes

  • WnW Fergie primer
  • Femme Fatale's Princess Princess Princess, all over lid
  • Femme Fatale's Petrified Pumpkin, inner vee and lower outer lid
  • Sephora’s Tiramisu liner pencil, smudged on upper lash line
  • Rimmel’s Nude kohl pencil, waterline
  • CoverGirl LashBlast Length mascara, upper lashes only
  • Stila's Waterproof Smudge Crayon in Smoke, brow color

I've mentioned before how much I like Wet n Wild's Fergie eyeshadow primer. It works as well as Urban Decay's Primer Potion, and costs a lot less. I squeeze a very small amount of the primer onto my middle- or ring-fingertip, gently pat it in dots all over my eyelid, then use a brush to evenly smooth the primer across the whole lid surface. I generally spread it from lashline to halfway between orbital bone and lid-crease.

I used just one brush to apply the eyeshadow: a large oval sable brush from Crown Brush. I picked this up at IMATS 2012 because the brush style is incredibly versatile, but I didn't want to pay $16 for the BareMinerals version (full tapered shadow brush.) I patted on Princess Princess Princess, then swept across my lid using the flat of the oval sable brush. I used the end of the oval sable brush to lightly apply Petrified Pumpkin on the inner vee and lower outer lid, to get a light accent. I didn't want this to be too dark, both because it would make my eyes seem a bit too close together and because I wanted a faint accent rather than a strong color. The softer, medium-length, fairly densely packed bristles of the oval sable brush did the job very well. As a bonus, I could use the same brush for blending.

I like the Sephora liner pencils, but I like them better smudged. I applied the pencil close to the upper lash line, then used a cotton swab to smudge the liner.

I did not curl my lashes before or after applying the CoverGirl mascara.

Face

  • Neutrogena Ultra Dry Touch SPF 55, all over
  • Black Radiance complexion perfection primer, all over
  • L’Oreal studio secrets color correcting primer: chin, around nose and mouth, small bit on cheekbones
  • Missha Perfect Cover BB cream #21
  • BareMinerals’ Beauty blush

Sunscreen. Sunscreen, ALWAYS. I put it on first thing, on a clean face. Then I'll let it soak in, and then apply the rest of my makeup. (I'm actually listing this step because I think that unless it's visible, most people will forget that they need to use sunscreen...when we should all be using it every single day.)

I tried Black Radiance Complexion Perfection Primer a while ago, after hearing from Sirvinya how much she wanted to try it and then how much she loved it. It's not easy to find in drugstores near me, so I have to order it online. But I don't have to use much, and it does a great job. It doesn't even out my pores quite as well as the more costly Benefit Pore-fessional, but it works almost as well. And "almost as well" combined with "fraction of the price" means that Black Radiance is my go-to face primer. I'll use Pore-fessional on an as-needed basis.

When I began using a liquid BB cream in place of loose-powder foundation, I had to change how I used my concealer. I have redness around my nose, and sometimes on my chin and on my cheeks closest to my nose (maybe it's rosacea, maybe not, I haven't gone to have it diagnosed yet, but it appears to come and go) that is easily neutralized by green color corrector. When I wore loose-powder foundation, I could use Aromaleigh's Coquille Vert underneath my foundation to even out my face's coloring...but you can't use powder under a liquid. (Or...I didn't have good results when I tried it.) I gave L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Color Correcting Primer a shot. Rather than apply it to my entire face, I use it strategically, where I need the color correction. It costs a bit more, but it's not as expensive as others out on the market.

I fell in love with Missha's BB cream. It's an actual BB cream, not a tinted moisturizer. Missha has recently changed their pricing policy so that they no longer have the amazing semi-annual sales where things are 40% off. Instead, they lowered prices across the board, and provide an even lower price for people who spend a certain amount in a calendar year. There is no way in hell I am going to make Missha's VIP status...so I've taken to buying it from sellers on Ebay. #13 Milky Beige is my "winter" shade, and #21 Light Beige is my "summer" shade. It takes me about a year to go through one full-sized tube, if I'm using it 4-5 days a week. I tend to apply the BB cream the same way I apply my eyelid primer: squeeze a little onto my middle-finger tip, dot that across a section of my face, then use a foundation brush to spread it evenly.

Beauty is one of the "permanent" colors in BareMinerals' loose-powder blush line. It's a soft, rose-pink satin. I think it's actually a bit wrong for this particular look, and for the khaki-green top I was wearing that day. I should have chosen a blush that had just a touch more coral to it. I applied this blush with Sephora's Professionel Angled Blush Brush, and used a soft-focus face brush to blend it back and out.

Lips

  • Revlon Colorstay BalmStain, Honey

A soft neutral pink creme that is one of my "go-to" shades. I could have also used something with a tiny bit more mauve to it, like Jordana's Honey Love. But I wanted something with longer-lasting color, so I used one of Revlon's BalmStains.

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