ELF Brightening Eye Color in Luxe

This palette has been in my collection for quite a while and I did not quite know how to make use of it to create a pleasing eye look. This was because I did not know how to use the taupe color in the quad to suit my skintone. For me, one color that is difficult to work with is taupe and I dismissed this palette to the back of my drawer because of that color, which is quite unfair really. So when I was free one evening, I took this out and challenged myself to come up with a look that used all the colors - yes, even the dark greyish taupe. I must say, I was quite pleased with the results and also thought of one more way to make taupe work for me. Let me share that with you as you read....

This is Luxe (#2005) from the dollar range of products that ELF has and I bought this in a spree quite some time back! My apologies if the photo looks a little mangy....there is color dust all over the palette and I took photo's of this AFTER I had used the palette for this look.

Here is the finished look which from afar looks very wearable even for the office. Quite muted and not at all over the top. The key to this was slowly layering the colors and careful blending. I have not used this look for the office yet but will do so when I have enough time to apply, blend and keep it light and muted.

Up close, you can see the colors in the quad. Particularly I wanted to try the rosy red as this is not a common color as well as not something you would think of using to the office. In the picture, I used it in the crease to 'lift' the rest of the colors and give some definition to the eye. I topped this off by defining my brows with a spoolie and a coordinating brow color swept through to give the brows more shape. I then used a black liquid liner and finished with lashings of mascara on the lashes.

If you have this quad (or are thinking of picking something up from ELF) and have been wondering how to do justice to all the colors, I have added a guide here for you. In the picture below, I have numbered the colors. 1 - is a creamy yellowish beige with shimmer; 2 -  is a rosey burgundy color; 3 - is a shimmery taupey brown and 4 - is a dark taupe with greyish undertones.

Here is how I placed the products on my lids and they correspond to the numbering on the quad itself. I started off by priming my lids with NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skintone - ladies, if you do not use primer on your lids, do consider starting because this one step prevents creasing (which is a problem for me) and it really intensifies whatever colors you use and keeps it looking vibrant all day. I work long hours somedays and I put on my make-up at 6:30 in the morning and when I get home at 7 in the evening, I sometimes stop and stare in amazement at how brilliant and fresh my eye colors look even after 12 hours!

I placed the beige on the eyelid as you can see above and used this as my base color. I extended this color all over my eyelid concentrating on the inner part of my eye. Once that was done, I used the rosey red with burgundy undertones on the crease of my lid with a fluffy brush and blended this in until it was a light swathe of color.

I then used the light brown on the middle towards the outer corner of my eyelid to create a gradual wash of color from light to dark. Then with the darkest color, I placed this on the outer corner of my eye to give it some shading and definition. This I blended well with a clean blending brush. I took some of the light brown and used this on the top of area #2 to blend in the harsh lines of the red. Lastly, I used the lightest color as a highlight on my browbone - #1.

Remember I mentioned that I thought of another way to make the colors pop on my skin? Well, the next time I use this quad, I will use NYX jumbo pencil in Milk all over the lid so the colors look a little more brighter...perhaps the effect will be different. Promise to update you once I get the chance to do that!!

Hope you liked this....