Man, it feels like I haven’t posted a FOTD in ages!! There hasn’t even been a point to trying to do makeup over the past few weeks, because it photographs like crap — it’s dark when I wake up and dim when I get home, boo :( As a result, my macro shots are blurry and my full-face shots have to be taken with flash and colour-corrected to no end.
But you’re not here to hear me bitch about how hard it was to get these photos to you guys! Nope, you’re here to see ’em. So: onwards!
A couple awful macro shots:
How-to (I know it’s long, but I promise the look is actually quite easy! Plus, once you’ve mastered the technique, you can use it to create a fast smokey eye of any colour.)
I started by creating a basic black and white smokey eye. Fill the inner 1/3 of your upper lid with a white cream base and blend out. Then, pat on a black base on the outer 2/3, and intensify the outer V with a black shadow. (All products used so far have been matte.)
Following this I went over the look with a vivid violet — still matte — and blended well, pulling the colour slightly out off the black base. I took it down underneath the lower lashline as well, about 2/3 of the way in. To complete this stage, I blended out the edges one more time with a shimmery low-pigment violet shadow, also popping a bit of this in the middle of the lid.
Finally, I patted shimmery pigments overtop, using a lighter one for the inner portion and a darker one on the outer portion. (Don’t forget to do this on the bottom as well as the top!) Line upper lashline and both waterlines, fill brows lightly if needed, add mascara, and keep the cheeks light. (I contoured my cheeks that morning, about nine hours prior, and wore pink blush — so, all I had to do was leave it on!)
With a nude lip: (Besamé Vanilla)
These images were taken with flash, so I have no idea how in the hell they turned out alright.
Aaaand then I was bored, and wanted to keep showing you guys the difference between a look with a nude lip and the same look with a statement lip. So I did the following with some liners to give it depth (MAC Currant, Vino, and Mauve) and topped with a dark red-burgendy balm to blend it all together (MAC’s Tinted Lip Conditioner in Plum Perfect).
Here’s the look with burgundy lips! Mother calls it the “hooker look.” (Well, that’s a lie. She cringed and said “it, um… looks like you’re going to go clubbing, Rae.” I called it the whore look, and she laughed. Not to say that it is! It’s just WAY bolder than I usually go.)
These shots were taken with flash as well, but for whatever reason look WAY WEIRDER than the others.
Stuff used for the black smokey eye:
MAC Blacktrack (black base)
NYX Milk (jumbo pencil)
Smashbox Midnight Black (black shadow)
Stuff used for to turn it into a violet smokey eye:
MUFE 92 (matte violet shadow)
Lancome Angora (shimmery, sheer lavender shadow)
MAC Vanilla and Mauvement pigments (the lighter and darker ones, respectively)
And, finally, the extremities:
Rimmel Lycra Lash Extender (mascara)
UD 24/7 in Zero (black liner for the waterline)
MAC Blacktrack (to line the upper lashline)
NARS Mata Hari (pink blush)
MAC Harmony (to contour cheeks)
Hope you liked it! I was really happy with how it turned out in real life (seeing as violet is pretty much my favourite colour!) The worst part was having to take it off eventually =(
