This was a look that was obviously inspired by some new clothes I got. I really love this teal silk blouse and long purple cardigan combo. I know lots of people think matching eyeshadow to clothes is a faux pas, but I actually LOVE to do it. I think it can make your whole look pop.

For this shadow blend, I used NYX purple, wild fire, and opal for the highlight. Lips were a warm coral shade... I think it was J. Lynne smooth color lip cream in Rosalind. This was a bit of a backwards way of applying the shadow but I am pretty happy with how it turned out since you can really see both main colors when my eyes are open. Just some experimental fun I guess! (I apologize for the red eyes ahead of time. I've been very tired lately.)




Also, I really love arts and crafts. As a designer, I really enjoy working with my hands and that includes painting. I found blank white (no eyes, white hair, white face, white body) My Little Ponies on the Hasbro website and I was totally excited to custom paint ponies for my closest girl friends. I wanted to post these earlier but as they were Christmas presents, I had to hold off.

Here they are! Hand-painted using acrylic paints with rhinestone eyes. "M" has gold leaf on the legs and "H" has nail-art jewels on her side. I also gave them eyeshadow because these are fancy ponies!




I also wanted to mention that I'm thinking about selling eyelid tapes. Would you guys be interested in buying? I've had a lot of queries from girls who can't find tapes in their area and I'd be willing to ship worldwide. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Love you guys!

Here's a couple of very different looks I've sported lately. I recently had a commenter accuse me of always using the same technique with different colors. Not that this is really in defense of that (since I took the photos before the comment was made) but I suppose it is proof that, no, I don't always do my makeup and shadows in the exact same way! I do love to experiment and that includes two of my favorites, the sweet look and the smokey look.

First off is a look I call "Sugar Plum" as it is a mix of pinks, purples, and a hint of innocent sparkle.

Eyes:
NYX trio in Team Spirit - Lilac color
NYX Purple single shadow
NYX cherry (with a very light hand)
NYX Vanilla Sky for highlight
Revlon colorstay eyeliner in Vixen (plum)
NYX jumbo eye pencil in cottage cheese

Lips:
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in a nude/clear color
Revlon Sugar Sugar Lip Topping in Snowflake

Face:
NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlighter

Sorry, but I can't seem to remember what blush I was wearing! Possibly NYX Powder Blush in Pinky.





My second look is a sultrier Smokey Evergreen eye. I used Revlon Bedroom Eyes powder liner in Jaded as the basis for this look and I really love how it turned out. It's actually really simple to do and a little sexy but still appropriate for daytime.

Other than highlighter I really only used that one color using what I'd call an "almond eye" technique. I didn't really shape the shadow other than to follow the curve of my lid. If you have an almond on its side, the highest curve would be where the shadow hits highest, 3/4 out from your lid. This look emphasizes the crease (or tucked eyelid for monolidders) and lets the smokey eye peek out when you blink. Apply the green shadow and highlight under the brow.

The most important part is to take a good blending brush and blend the green shadow up so that it looks soft. Use the same green shadow to line the bottom lash line softly. Fill in your brows to balance the dark eye, add black liner and mascara and you are done!





Oh, for this look I also definitely used J. Lynne mineral foundation, blush (Crush), and lipgloss (lip glaze in Julianne). Here are some swatches.




Also, Jennifer lip glaze pic. Fun coral pink color which I love not just because it has my namesake!

I'm loving my Jennifer lipgloss! Weeee!


Dang this is a long post, but I also wanted to add my Solotica Hidrocharme Branca (Ice) since it's been so long. This is with the Smokey Evergreen look.


From afar...


Hope you aren't too freezing where you are. It's 8 degrees Fahrenheit here right now! RIDICULOUS!

xoxo

I recently got the opportunity to try out a few makeup products from an awesome mineral makeup company, J. Lynne Cosmetics. The very sweet founder of the company, Jess, has a passion for making cosmetics that are all-natural and eco-friendly. I think that is so awesome! Nothing better than a product making you look and feel beautiful while not irritating your skin or the environment right?

I usually only wear mineral foundation since I'm pretty paranoid about breakouts and I have to say that I didn't have a problem with this foundation at all. It was just as good (if not better) than Everyday Minerals and a huge part of that has to do with the tons of shades available and the system used to know what each shade looks like. The website has a grid of shades from cool to warm and porcelain to deep.

I ended up receiving shades Light Neutral 2.3, Light Warm 2.4, Medium Neutral 3.3, and Medium Warm 3.4 and I can go Light Warm 2.4 or Medium Neutral 3.3 depending on how I'm feeling that day. It's pretty spot on though! Either shade looks totally natural and I'm floored at how easy it was to find the right color the first time. For reference, I am between MAC NC 25 and 30 and and use Everyday Minerals in a mix of Fairly Light Neutral and Golden Medium. I also use 2 colors because I have summer and winter shades and I mix the color in between. The weight is similar to EDM's intensive foundation, which I like. I don't feel like a shimmer ball with this stuff but it is still very natural. 



Here are the blushes. I absolutely love these colors! I don't even know if I can choose a favorite. These photos came out a little darker than in real life. Sweetness kinda reminds me of EDM Apple blush and Crush is a gorgeous warm pink with a slight shimmer.

Soft Silk Mineral Blush