theNotice: a beauty blog

To start off The Week of Awesome: a “moody pastels” makeup look with the YSL Arty Stone (Spring 2013) collection.

This was initially designed to be a basic Spring tutorial for She Said Beauty, but after pulling out all of the products I wanted to use, I realized that if I just grabbed one or two more YSL products… it would be all YSL.

So, I mean, I had to go for it (of course)!

Getting the Eyes: Y Facettes Palette 

The eyes, for all you might expect otherwise, are actually pretty easy. Prime, then start off with YSL Waterproof Eye Pencil in 01 Black Ink and smudge it up from your waterline. Apply the smokey violet from the gorgeous Y Facettes Palette through the lid, then foil the dark blue into the outer corner and blend.

Pat the sheer pink into the inner corner, add the green to the lower lashline (the pointed rubber applicator is perfect for this!), and finish with a flick of Black Ink and YSL Shocking Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils.

(For the record, I hate Shocking. A lot. It smells amazing, but always tries to leave me with five clumpy eyelash-sticks poking aggressively from my eyes!)

Read the full tutorial here on SSB.

As I mentioned on the Y Facettes review, I copied this look onto my sister last week. And ,after she got over being horrified by her first glance at the palette (the pinks! the greens! the blues!), she loved the way it looked on her lids, too.

I swear, this palette works magic when translated onto the eyes!

hello, enormous photo of my face. (sorry.)

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This one doesn’t need too much of a write-up, but I thought I’d take a minute to talk about some of the products I used to create the look — just a couple thoughts; not full reviews. (I have photos for the full posts, but this might do the trick! Let me know if you’d like to see swatches of anything specific; the only product I know for sure will be going up on its own is the Clarins powder.)

(Because it smells like deliciousness.)

Don’t miss this post on She Said Beauty for the tutorial that goes along with the photos! 

I started with the skin; theBalm timeBalm concealer ($18), which I’ve just bought a backup of because I finally hit pan on mine. It only took… what, like, three or four years? I’ve been using it densely to cover up spots, but also blended through the undereye area and around the nose/chin, where skin tends to read a little dark.

Then, for a bit of shape, I adde the Clarins Palette Eclat Face & Blush Powder ($35) (from the Rouge Eclat collection) as a blush — this smells amazing, and the amount of pigment is fantastic, particularly from the strips of colour.

Keeping with the Clarins Rouge Eclat theme for my skin, I tried out their Clarins Poudre Multi-Eclat Mineral Loose Powder in 01 Light ($35), patted on lightly with the included puff and blended in. I know this one promises a luminous matte base, and it definitely delivers on the latter part, but I think I prefer a luminous sheen finish when it comes to glowing skin.

The Mineral Loose Powder gets points in my book for following through on matte promises, and it does wear very comfortably and smoothly, but I feel like the shimmer is just too sparse and obvious for my preferences (not to mention, my super-dry, pale skin). If you want a glow but have an oilier skin type, perhaps! 

Finally, the star of this look: Anastasia Beverly Hills Bold & Beautiful Kit ($36). I used only Vol. 1 Bold Brows (there are two palettes in the kit, the other for eyes), and I liked the slim profile and easy-to-use products.

I think the brunette shades are a little too warm for Asian hair/skintones, but I’ve been using this lightly through my brows with an added hint of grey for just the right shade. Anastasia is famous for brows, and the “why” is obvious here: the slightly-ashy powder and warmer brown mousse are very, very versatile, and I can see them working well on both warm- and cool-toned skin with dark blonde to brown hair. 

I liked that the palette (despite its small size) includes some more-than-decent mini tweezers and a dual-ended angled brow brush/spoolie, too — literally everything you’d need for your brows on a night out or a week away. 

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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 »

I took a few quick face of the day shots with Holiday’s Korres Goddess Beauty Colour Collection last month, but I had forgotten to post them in all the Christmas rush.

The set is no longer available online (though all of its component parts are!), but all the same, here are the photos. Despite the fact that it isn’t a particularly wintery look, I’m rather fond of the way these products come together — they do a great job of creating an altogether fictional glow, which I think we could all use this early in the year.

Cherry Full Color Lip Gloss in Pale Pink

Despite being such a light shade, Pale Pink sits well on the lips, if a little sheerly. The shimmer translates well into plushness, particularly on film, and the colour doesn’t settle terribly into lines (as many light pinks will do.) $22.50 and comfortable; you could do worse.

I’m not head over heels for the scent (think Maynard’s Sour Cherry Blasters), but I’m fairly certain that’s just because it gives me a massive craving for sweets.

Magic Light Face Contouring Powder Trio in Santorini

Slightly too chunky for me in real life; absolutely gorgeous in photographs. Warm without pulling orange, and easy enough to use in strips — more of the bronze to sculpt, for instance, and a blend of the pink and highlighter to lift the cheek. $36.50 CAD and beautifully packaged.

Volcanic Minerals Volumizing Mascara in Obsidian Black

A great, natural lift with a soft finish. Too much smudging for me (and the $26 CAD price tag could be better), but the lash itself is quite pretty.

I appreciated having this in the set, but perhaps wouldn’t buy it on its own — while I love a natural-looking lash, I want it to last a (ridiculous) 16 hours, because I am lazy and hate having to touch up my undereye area just because my mascara didn’t feel like sticking around.

–

How was that for three products in under 400 words? I’m a little proud, but mainly just very sleepy.

Have a great Monday, folks. 

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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