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....

My Top Beauty Picks of 2011!

Here are some practices I started in 2010 and am continuing through 2011 and beyond. These are items which have become entrenched in my beauty routine now and I cannot do without them.

Meet my not so new friends – NYX Eye Shadow Base and Smashbox PhotoFinish Primer. These are the two additions to my beauty steps prior to applying makeup.

I love NYX Eye Shadow Base for the lasting power it gives my eye shadows and now I do not have to worry about that ugly oily crease that I get in my eye socket by midday. I used to be so self conscious about it and sometimes when I am busy at work and forget to check, I wonder how others would have felt when they had to look at the ugly light brown line on my eye where the oil had its way! Not any more…..i wonder why I did not discover this earlier, because it certainly has been a wonderful product. Initially I was skeptical as to whether this product would deliver as even though I had heard about Urban Decay’s Primer Potion, I had not come around to purchasing it due to the numerous complaints about its seemingly flawed design. There were hundreds of YouTube posts on how to depot what was in the cute bottle and that scared me a little, I must admit.

Well, the NYX ES Base indeed was a little surprise in a pot for me as the payoff was good, bright colors and most important of all, super staying power. Even when I walk out in the sunny heat for lunch, my eye does not get that oily crease-y gunk that looks terrible. I cannot say enough about how much I love this product.

When I finally got round to purchasing Urban Decay’s Primer Potion, I did not use it as much as I do my NYX. I have also (albeit, a little unfairly) not given it a spin and put it to the 12 hours and above test like my NYX. I guess I will have to get round to doing that soon and when I do, I will let you know how that went. In fact one day I am going to use UDPP on one eye and NYX ESB on the other and put it to the test that way!!

My other makeup staple now is the Photofinish Primer by Smashbox….which they have thankfully also repackaged! The old packaging was terrible and until this day I have not figured out how to get the last bit of Primer out of that damn package! I love how my face looks and remains fresh throughout the day with the Primer on and it really controls the oily shine that is so unsightly. I still need to pat my oily face with a tissue or Blotting papers after lunch everyday but even if I forget, the oil does not shine like a beacon on my face!

Another good substitute for this Primer, if you are a beauty on a budget is Monistat Chafing Gel. It is just as good as the Smashbox version only cheaper. I do use both interchangeably without preference for any one. I think Smashbox is slightly better at controlling my oiliness but just marginally so. I do not think Monistat can be purchased here in Malaysia (at least I have not seen it in the shops) but there are some online spreer’s that will be more than happy to purchase it for you.

Apart from these, I am also more aware of the need to exfoliate regularly and I use Clinique’s Exfoliating Scrub every two or three days. The grains in this gentle scrub are not abrasive and can be used often. It is 100% fragrance free and its top ingredient is water. I never realized how my pores can get clogged and thus resistant to absorbing all the good and expensive products I have bought for my skin until a recent experiment done by my favorite SA at Clinique (Pavilion). She cleansed my cheeks – one side with cleanser and the other she used the Exfoliating Scrub. She then applied my moisturizer on both cheeks and asked me to feel which side had absorbed the moisturizer best. Lo and behold it was the cheek that had been exfoliated that had completely absorbed the moisturizer! That side of my cheek felt smooth and satiny. The other side was still a little damp with my moisturizer just ‘sitting’ on my skin and after some vigorous rubbing, I then felt that the moisturizer had been absorbed. That too not as fully as the other cheek that was exfoliated.

We may sometimes think we know so much about makeup but there are still some tips and tricks we can learn that will benefit our skin greatly. It is one thing to talk about the benefits of doing something or using some product but until we experiment and see the results for ourselves, we will never know. So do try this little experiment for yourself with whatever Exfoliating Scrub you currently use and then see how well your moisturizer is absorbed. For my face, I have to exfoliate every three to four days in order for my moisturizer to properly be absorbed. The environment we work in also plays a big part in clogging our pores. A cleanser alone cannot wash away what is deeply embedded in our pores and the dust (heat and dust are our greatest enemies when it comes to clogged pores and being in the tropics, we cannot run away from these two things). So, surprise, surprise, our cleansers do clean what lies on the surface but a thorough exfoliation or even a deep clay mask will do the trick of cleansing from deep within.

What are your must haves for 2011 dear readers? Have you discovered a tip that was interesting? Do share!