Archive for the EYELINER Category

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[Makeup Trend Focus] – Indigo/Teal Eye Makeup with Pastel Accents

Posted in BLUSH, EYE MAKEUP, EYELINER, FACE, FALSE EYE LASHES, FOUNDATION, LIPS, MAC MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP, MAKEUP TREND FOCUS, PRODUCTS I LOVE, SMOKEY EYE with tags , , , on July 16, 2012 by stylebymeli

 

I just wore this look over the weekend for my parents’ anniversary party.  Being it was for an event, I strayed away from my basic neutrals and wanted something a little more dramatic.

-  With the eyes, I started off with a light shimmery lid and then smoked out the corners with an indigo blue eye shadow.  Specifically, I’m using MAC’s “Plumage” in the corners which is the only dark blue eye shadow I even attempt wearing.  It is a warm indigo blue and compliments my skin very nicely.  As a bottom liner, I layered a thick black pencil in the lash line followed by a liquid teal liner.  I LOVE colored eye liner on the bottom, it visually makes the eyes look lighter than they really are!  

-  I wanted soft, warm cheeks and picked a pastel coral.  The coral also contrasts with the blue tinted eye makeup being that orange and blue are opposite colors on the color wheel.

-  For the lips, I never like anything too light unless there is a hint of brightness which is why I went for a light, bright baby pastel pink color.  It adds a subtle brightness to my face but not too light to the point where it washes me out.

I’m wearing my new Ardell Double Up eyelashes in the #203 style. (WOW, do they make a difference or what?!)

[Your thoughts?]

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A Look Inside My Makeup Kit – What Products I Use and What’s Most Essential

Posted in EYE MAKEUP, EYELINER, FACE, FACE PRIMER, FALSE EYE LASHES, FOUNDATION, LIPGLOSSES, LIPS, LIPS - LIPSTICKS, MAC MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP BRUSHES, MAKEUP BRUSHES, POWDERS, PRODUCTS I LOVE, SHOPPING, SKIN HIGHLIGHTING, SKINCARE, TINTED MOISTURIZERS on June 17, 2012 by stylebymeli

Here is a photo I took of my kit after setting it up from this past weekend. As you can see, I’m set and ready to go!

So I realize it may seem that I have taken an extended leave of absence from my blog and I’m going to try to make up for it as much as I can from now until the end of the month!  I thought it would be nice to share some information regarding my professional makeup kit and what I stock it with.

Skincare - I always like to emphasize that skincare is a necessity as it will make or break the foundation application.  I keep a handful of moisturizers depending on a person’s skin type (normal, dry, oily) including tinted moisturizers from MAC and Korres.  I also have a full range of foundation primers and not loyal to any brand in particular.  Other good skincare products to have are eye creams to decrease puffiness underneath and for brightening.

Face - In terms of foundations, I currently carry MAC and Face Atelier.  I carry every shade that MAC offers so I’m not left having to mix shades (unless of course I can’t find a true match).

With powders, I carry all of MAC’s mineralize skinfinishes.  I also carry some of MAC’s studio careblend powders which I’m also a huge fan of and in time would like to get every shade.  I also have blot powders, both pressed and loose.

With concealers and color correctors, I have MAC, Bobbi Brown, Cinema Secrets, and Shiseido.

With blushes, I mainly carry MAC blush palettes, but also have some loose ones from NARS and MAC’s mineralize blushes.

With bronzers and highlighters, I’m using MAC and NARS mainly.

Eyes - In terms of eye shadows, I ONLY carry MAC as they offer an extensive color range with different textures and beautiful pigmentation.  I have over 150 colors in my kit!

With eyeliners, I carry liquid, gel, and pencils from MAC and Korres.

With eyeshadow bases, I only carry MAC’s paint pots.  I’ve tried many others including Urban Decay’s primer potient, but still find myself incredibly faithful to MAC.

With brow products, I mainly use eye shadows to fill in the brows but also carry brow powder kits from Urban Decay and Anastasia, which are truly great.

With mascara, I don’t have any brand loyalty.  Currently, I am carrying Clinique, Mabelline, and MAC.

With false eyelashes, I’m actually a fan of Revlon, Kiss, and Salon Perfect’s demi wisps are fabulous!

Lips - I carry a ton of lip liners which I like to use for coloring the lip for staying power along with double-ended long-wearing lip products such as MAC’s Pro Longwear (I’ve been obsessed with these for myself for years), but also finding other brands that carry similiar products such as Lorac and Covergirl.  I also have a handful of MAC lipsticks and lip palettes.

With lipglosses, I carry pretty much any brand.  I’m not loyal to one specific brand because to me, a lipgloss is a lipgloss.  Plus, I just like keeping a variety for my clients to choose from.

Besides makeup, what’s most essential in one’s makeup kit are the tools. It’s really important to find the best brushes and ones you feel most comfortable with. Personally, I absolutely cannot blend eyeshadows without a MAC #217 (seriously!), so it is for this reason that I carry a few of these in my brush belt.  

[Do you have any kit essentials?]

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[Makeup Trend Focus] – Soft Smokey Eyes with Bright Cheeks and Nude Lip

Posted in BLUSH, EYE MAKEUP, EYELINER, FALSE EYE LASHES, LIPGLOSSES, LIPS, LIPS - LIPSTICKS, MAC MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP, MAKEUP TREND FOCUS, SKIN HIGHLIGHTING, SMOKEY EYE on May 20, 2012 by stylebymeli

I wanted to share a soft smokey look I created with shimmery greys and a touch of lavender.  I added some brightness to the cheeks and finished the look off with a nude lip color.        

How to wear this trend:

-  By default, I almost always wear heavy black eye liner and false eyelashes (even with a soft daytime look), but with a smokey eye, it’s also essential to go heavy with the eyeliner and add drama to the lashes (which can also be done with a good mascara if you’re not into false eyelashes).  With the choice of eye shadows, I like to build a smokey eye with a dark color on the lid mixed with a lighter inner crease and dark (black typically) outer crease.  It creates a nice hybrid when you have two contrasting crease colors (light and dark) that meet in the middle.  I also like a strong, bright highlighter under the brows to contrast the overall smokey effect.

[Beauty Confession] - I am truly not a fan of a nude lip (on myself) the majority of the time, but I do like to step out of my beauty comfort zone and wear a light lip every so often.  Ironically, I own a lot of nude lipsticks but rarely wear them because I don’t feel like I can carry it off so effortlessly being that my skin is so fair.  It requires lip liner for definition (or else it just blends in with my face) and lots of gloss for add dimension and shine.

-  In terms of the cheek color, I always make sure the cheek is bright to add balance to the nude lip.  Personally, I won’t wear a light lip unless there is emphasis on both the eyes and the cheeks at the same time!

I’m using MAC’s “Nude” cream color base on the lips as my lip color and also on the tops of my cheekbones as a cheek highlighter. It’s great to find a product that serves multi-purposes and it’s very rare that I find myself doing that. MAC’s “Nude” CCB is one of my favorite light lip colors!  It’s creamy and also long-wearing.

[Does anyone have some favorite products they like to share for creating a smokey eye and/or nude lip?]

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[Makeup Trend Focus] – Mint Green Bottom Eyeliner

Posted in BLUSH, EYE MAKEUP, EYELINER, FACE, LIPS, LIPS - LIPSTICKS, LOOK AT MELI'S MAKEUP, MAC MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP, MAKEUP TREND FOCUS, PRODUCTS I LOVE, SMOKEY EYE with tags , on April 30, 2012 by stylebymeli

Although I pretty much live in black eye liner, I also really love to experiment with colored eye liners, specifically on the bottom.  In this look, I was using a mint green pencil eye liner on the bottom.     

How to wear this trend:

-  First, I rimmed the bottom with MAC’s “Minted” kohl pencil and then intensified it a little more but adding MAC “Graphblack” technakohl pencil.  With a smokey look, I still want there to be black liner, but in this case wanted to throw in an accent color.

[Beauty Confession] - I almost always pair green eye makeup with pink lips, but wanted to be more experimental, so I choose a light bright peach color.  I definitely like the outcome because the lips are fairly neutral to contrast the darker eye makeup, but it still pops.

-  In terms of the cheek color, I also chose to stick with the peachy/coral family.  I used MAC’s “My Highland Honey” which I have to say is my all time favorite MAC blush that came out from a previous holiday collection (hence discontinued).  I use this blush quite frequently because it brightens up my face and warms up my skin beautifully!

A closer look at the actual eye makeup. It's a smokey look with a shimmery deep green to compliment the mint green liner.

[Does anyone experiment with colored eye liners, if so, what are your favorites?]

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[My Thoughts on...] – False Eyelash Glue: Black or Clear? Does it Truly Make a Difference?

Posted in EYE MAKEUP, EYELINER, FALSE EYE LASHES, MAKE-UP, MAKE-UP QUESTIONS, MAKEUP REMOVER, MELI'S THOUGHTS ON..., PRODUCTS I LOVE with tags , , on April 12, 2012 by stylebymeli

As a beauty blogger, I really try to discuss topics that there is limited information on and makeup questions that I’m sure people wonder about themselves.  People don’t realize that there is so much involved with makeup application, hence why I never run out of things to write about!  ;)

Moving forward to the subject of false eyelashes, I’m sure most people that are familiar with its application process know that it is applied specifically with a lash glue.  This can be purchased pretty much at any drugstore, supermarket, beauty supply store, etc.  The most famous brand is Duo, which is a safe latex adhesive and that is also waterproof.  I want to take a moment to emphasize the WATERPROOF aspect of the glue.  (To be further explained later…)

Duo false eyelash adhesive comes in both clear or black. Which is better?

Now what most people may not realize is that there are TWO variations of the false eyelash glue.  They come in both CLEAR (the most common form) and BLACK.  What this is referring to is how they dry.  Although the clear looks white when squeezed out of the tube, it will dry clear.  The black will actually look slightly grey when wet before drying black.

I have actually asked a handful of other artists for their personal opinion and it’s truly a toss-up.  Some strongly are in favor of the black glue because once dried, it looks more like a black eye liner, while others still prefer the original clear version.

MY VERDICT:  If you are given the choice, choose the CLEAR false eyelash glue.

The clear eyelash glue is MUCH BETTER in my opinion because if happen to mess up the application or the glue transfers onto the eyelid at all during the drying process, the clear will dry clear so you won’t see the mishap.

On the other hand, if you do have the same beauty mishap with the black eyelash glue, now you are stuck with a black spot and being that the product is WATERPROOF, you better believe it does more damage than good and that simply trying to wipe it with your finger, is NOT going to remove it AT ALL.  It’s pretty much stuck there unless you apply an oil based makeup remover (REMINDER: oil based makeup removers remove ALL waterproof products!  Specifically, I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY MAC CLEANSE OFF OIL, I actually carry the travel size in my purse EVERYDAY…it’s been a lifesaver!!!)

[Beauty Confession]:  I know from experience that the black can be a hassle to deal with because recently I decided to try the black eyelash glue again.  I had it awhile ago, but never really fell in love with it.  Recently, I saw it at a drugstore and figured, let me give this a go again.  Initially, I was liking it.  Being that the black dries black, it definitely makes the black liner look more like a sharp black line.  (Whereas with the clear glue, I like to still apply black liquid liner OVER it after it has completely dried to conceal that there is even a thin layer of glue to begin with).

One day, I noticed that the glue dried black, but a tiny spot transferred onto my inner top lid.  I was wearing a light eye shadow, so you could TOTALLY see the spot and trust me, it was NOT going anywhere!  I tried to rub it off, but it was NOT moving since it was completely dried at that point.  Totally stuck.  The only way I could have removed it is with an oil, but at that rate, that would mean I would have to re-do my eye makeup.  (Talk about a real beauty bummer, no?)

If as a makeup artist this happened to me one time, I’m sure this could truly happen to anyone.  The ONLY time, I would say it’s okay to go for the black eyelash glue is if you are wearing a DARK eyeshadow lid color.  This way if the glue happens to smudge, you don’t even notice a contrast and the black will blend in more easily and won’t nearly be as noticeable.

[Do you have a preference: black or clear?]

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