theNotice: a beauty blog

Wow, okay, this look is really late. (I think I promised it for… Monday?)

All the same, though, here’s an easy violet smokey eye–seriously, this is super easy–eye done with the Clarins Iris Blossom Eye Quartet from the Rouge Eclat collection.

Don’t miss this post at She Said Beauty for the full tutorial!

Done first as a Valentine’s Day makeup look, this Iris Blossom-based eye creates a soft, luminous “haze” of violet around the eyes — honestly, you could do this with your fingertips. (But please don’t. Brushes are great.)

A bit of sculpting to the cheek, a neutral lip (yes, that’s Clinique Curviest Caramel!)…

Just by pulling the violet shade of the palette through the entire lid, then adding the shimmery white in the inner corner (for a little bit of texture & glow) and buffing in a tiny, tiny bit of the charcoal shade for definition, you can create an incredibly seasonal makeup look without adding any harsh lines or contours to the face.

It’s just so easy, you know? Add a flick of lengthening (not volumizing) mascara, and ta-da! you’re already done.

I’m a huge fan of really light, translucent eye looks, so (of course) I loved this one. No, it’s not the most exciting makeup you’ll ever wear, but it’s pretty hard to go wrong with something like this.

Especially when it makes you feel as ready for Spring as this look does — the Clarins Palette Eclat Face Blush & Powder smells amazing!

Shop the Look

Clarins Rouge Eclat:

• Clarins Ombre Minérale 4 Couleurs Eye Quartet Mineral Palette Long Lasting in 10 Iris Blossom ($42 USD/$42 CAD)
• Clarins Palette Eclat Face & Blush Powder ($35 USD/$40 CAD)
• Clarins Poudre Multi-Eclat Mineral Loose Powder in 01 Light ($35 USD/$47 CAD)

The dressings:

• Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in 01 Curviest Caramel ($16 USD/$19 CAD)
• Senna Voluptulash Mascara ($22 USD)
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Bold & Beautiful Kit, Vol. 1 Bold Brows ($36 USD)

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The product: Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm

↳ in 01 Curviest Caramel, 02 Chunkiest Chili, 03 Mightiest Maraschino, 04 Heftiest Hibiscus, 05 Plushest Punch, 06 Roomiest Rose, 07 Broadest Berry, and 08 Grandest Grape.

Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense: full product range (in numerical order)

The full review for these will be coming up next week, but I just had to slip them into the Week of Awesome — and understandably so, I think.

The new Chubby Stick Intenses pair everything I love about Chubby Sticks (comfort, packaging, and a scent-free formula) with everything I love about a great lipstick (wear time, colour, and intense pigment), and then adds some extra awesome (a gorgeous, smooth formula; colour that doesn’t move around; surprisingly great hydration.)

They’re… basically the best.

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense lip swatches

for reference

 01 Curviest Caramel / 02 Chunkiest Chili

03 Mightiest Maraschino / 04 Heftiest Hibiscus

05 Plushest Punch / 06 Roomiest Rose

07 Broadest Berry / 08 Grandest Grape

A few shades I think you’ll love

05 Plushest Punch

07 Broadest Berry

08 Grandest Grape

In the tubes & with the rest of a face

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in 01 Curviest Caramel (my favourite Intense — will be featured in a look next week!)

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Just a few things that caught my eye this week. The Clarins Double Serum sounds amazing (I’ll be testing it out as soon as I can find time to do so), and I’ve heard amazing things (from Café Makeup) about the NARS Light Reflecting Setting Powder, but the product I’m most excited for has to be–of course–the new Clinique Chubby Sticks.

Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes

$16 US/$19 CAD and available (here) in 12 shades, from a smokey lilac to a lush moss green, I’m curious to give them a try. As a die-hard Chubby Stick fan, they sound like they’ll be right up my alley, but I’m a little hesitant about how well they’ll hold up to my stubborn lids. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

In Canadian beauty this month…

Marcelle Cosmetics, another of my beauty loves, is coming out with a Twist Push-Up Mascara (whose wand literally twists or untwists for more or less volume) and sheer Velvety Eye Shadow + Primer this month. They’re not online yet, but should be on shelves soon!

I love playing with different textures when it comes to my makeup, but it’s not a regular thing for me — I have a set few products that I use all the time (mainly powders), and I don’t really get much of a chance to work with other methods of delivery.

My sister, though, is hugely into creme products. Like, hugely-hugely. She has this weird–and notably false–preconception that the pigments in cream products will stick around for longer, but it means that her stash is easily 80% cremes.

Anyhow. For something a little different, I borrowed a couple of her favourite creme products (the Estée Lauder  cream eyeshadow and Illamasqua blusher) and threw together a violet-eyed, neutral-cheeked look.

For the full tutorial, don’t miss this post on She Said Beauty! 

The eyes

For the eye, I started with a base of Estée Lauder Ivory Lace (the ShadowCremes are being discontinued; try something like MAC Bare Study instead), added Ellis Faas Light in E304 to the outer half of the lid, then layered Clinique Lid Smoothie in Born Freesia overtop in the centre. And it… went actually horribly, to be honest.

I’ve never tried to layer one of the Lights before; I will never try to layer one of the Lights ever again. 

(Actually, now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I’ve come to this conclusion before. Anyone else find that Ellis products are glorious only if used without a primer underneath?)

I don’t know if it was the layering or the blending, but — never; never again. Fingers or brushes didn’t matter; drying time didn’t matter… again and again, I ended up with flaky bits of fallout and an increasing amount of eye irritation.

To get around this, I actually mixed the two violets on the back of my hand & applied. It went really well, surprisingly — E304 added an intensity that Born Freesia doesn’t usually have, but the texture of the Lid Smoothie was maintained and led to a really easy, smooth application.

The escapades continue »

For all of you who still have to sort out your NYE makeup: a tradition (glitter) and a trend (oxblood).

As much as I love glitter in the eye area, I absolutely cannot stand it elsewhere — perhaps sparingly on the lips, but rarely-if-ever my cheeks or skin. So, when it comes to holidays like New Year’s, I rely on my Marcelle Lux Diamond Liquid Eyeliner in Pure Gold. I’ve raved about it before, but with great wear, zero fallout, and absolutely gorgeous glitter particles, it’s one of my (few) must-have products.

The lips in this look are easy to do, but I always encourage taking a few extra minutes to apply — if five minutes more at the mirror will translate into a few extra hours’ wear, why not, right?

Start with primed or bare lips, add a brown-undertoned red lipliner (though the entire lip), and follow up with dark brown-red lipstick. I used Paula Dorf Lip Liner in Tapestry and MAC Lipstick in Desire (last seen worn matte and reviewed), and then followed up by blotting the lip for a less-glossy finish. 

One of my go-to tricks is using paper (not tissue!) to blot the lip area, particularly for formulas with a glossy or tacky finish. That way, there’s zero chance that you’ll end up with tissue fibres stuck to your lip area, and you know it’ll be an even press — to get your cupid’s bow, hold the paper on the left and right edges and press lightly against a relaxed pout. 

Read the full tutorial here at She Said Beauty.

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