Today’s looks are centered around pink eyeshadow. For me it’s hard to find a pink shadow that doesn’t make me look like I have pink-eye. These work for me because they aren’t too pink.
Look Day 5: neutral/warm pink eyeshadow with soft rose cheeks and rosey lips
Cheeks: Chanel Tweed Rose Blush Becca Angel Loose Shimmer Powder to highlight
Eyes: Laura Mercier Pink Chiffon Satinee Cream Eye Color Chanel Demure Quad Urban Decay Bourbon 24-7 Eyeliner
Lips: Trish McEvoy Bare Lipliner Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipstick Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipgloss (Nordstrom Exclusive, try LM Blush Lip Glace for a dupe)
Swatches, left to right: LM Pink Chiffon, Chanel Demure Quad, UD Bourbon, Chanel Tweed Rose, Becca Angel, Trish McEvoy Bare, Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Lipstick, Laura Mercier Pink Champagne Gloss
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Alternate 1: Cool pink with purple eyes
Cheeks: MAC Stark Naked Blush
Eyes: Dior Petal Shine Iridescent Quint MAC Deep Purple Pigment (Pro)
Today’s focus is around silvery eyes with a few alternatives in case you can’t pull off silvers. I have warmer skin with olive tones and can’t always pull off silvery eyeshadows because they make me look tired, but the Dior Smoky Crystal Quint was a surprisingly pretty on! I hope this gives you a few ideas of what types of colors you can use. These may not work for everyone, but these are looks that I’ve done that work for me.
To recap (in case you haven’t read my About Me section), I have dark black/brown hair with red highlights, medium olive/golden skin and use Chanel Shell/Beige Teint Innocence, my eyes are dark brown. Look Day 4: silvery eyeshadow with rose-pink lips/cheeks
Eyes: Shiseido Rose Tulle H11 Hydropower Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Steel Cream Eyeshadow Dior Smoky Crystal Quint MAC Feline Eyeliner
Lips: Chanel Tulip Lipliner Trish McEvoy Pink Innocent Le Metier de Beaute Cannes Lipgloss or Bobbi Brown Pink Lilac Brightening Gloss as an alternative * Note the swatches for the eyeshadows look greenish on my screen for some reason. In real life they are close to what the product photo looks like in the picture near the top.
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Alternative if you can’t pull of silvers: try champagne, a soft taupe, a sparkley silvery-gold cream shadow and a smokey black eyeshadow
Cheeks: Giorgio Armani Blush #10
Eyes: Giorgio Armani Maestro Eyeshadow #30 Bobbi Brown Galaxy Cream Eyeshadow Giorgio Armani Eyeshadow Maestro #32 Giorgio Armani Manta Ray Duo #1
* Please note that the bronzer and blush were applied with a heavy hand for swatches and do not look the same on the face, when applied with a bronzer/blush brush, these 2 mixed create a healthy soft glow
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Another combination: green/gold/brown eyes with peachy lips/cheeks
1) MAC Cash Flow Paint Pot 2) Giorgio Armani Eyeshadow Quad #3 3) Benefit Coralista 4) MAC New Vegas Mineralize Skinfinish 5) Chanel Black Jade Eyeliner 6) MAC Summerfruit Lipliner 7) MAC Shy Girl Lipstick 8) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #1 9) Giorgio Armani Lipshimmer #16
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Another combination: green eyes with pink lips/cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Rose Petale
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Ballet Pink Cream Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Ivy Shimmer Gel Liner Chanel Murano Quad
Lips: Bobbi Brown Blondie Pink Lipliner Chantecaille Camelia Lip Chic Edward Bess Bare Rose Lipgloss
Today’s color theme includes bronzey eyes and peachy lips/cheeks with three variations. (Note that Day 1 has been updated as well with a third look.) I would have to say this is my no-fail go to look. I always feel comfortable with a bronze liner and a soft peach lip (although I’ve been told that I look better in pinks and plums).
Look Day #2: bronze eyes with peachy lips & cheeks
Cheeks: Chanel Fandango Blush MAC Refined Mineralize Skin Finish
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Sandy Gold Cream Eyeshadow MAC Vanilla Pigment Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #2 Brown Copper Trish McEvoy Eye Definer Sparkling Bronze
Lips: Make Up Forever Aqua Lip Liner 1C Laura Mercier Designer Beige Shimmer Lipstick Paul & Joe Lip Lacquer #3
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Alternative with a brighter lip:
Cheeks: Trish McEvoy Liquid Face Color #1 + MAC Superduper Natural Mineralize Blush
Eyes: Bobbi Brown Flesh Eyeshadow Bobbi Brown Burnished Cream Eyeshadow Nars Cordura Eyeshadow Duo Laura Mercier Brown Copper Eye Liner Lips: Chanel Exquise Rouge Allure MAC Euro Beat Dazzleglass mixed with Paul & Joe Lip Lacuqer #8
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Alternative with a smokier eye & lighter nude-peach lip:
Cheeks: Chanel Tweed Sienna Blush Le Metier Blush/Bronze Duo Sunkissed and Echo Eyes: MAC Femme Fi Eyeshadow Trish McEvoy Eye Definer in Sparkling Bronze MAC Gilt by Association Mineralize Eyeshadow Lips: Bobbi Brown Beige Lipliner Giorgio Armani Rouge D’Armani Beige 101 Le Metier de Beaute Peche Creme
(Note you will most likely see a recurring trend with the Paul & Joe Lip Lacquers because I love them so much! For those who don’t have access to Paul & Joe, do not fear, I will include other brands too.)
When it comes to fashion and beauty trends I am not always brave enough to be a true follower. There are always styles that are cute and chic on others that I could never pull off (for example teal eyeshadow, black lipstick/gloss or leggings with boots). If you like dark nails but feel the new releases are a bit too vampy or deep, here are four softer alternatives I really like:
L to R: OPI Melody in Mocha, Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan, Urban Decay Gunmetal, Dior Lemon Balm, Chanel Noir Ceramic
* I believe the OPI and Chanel are both discontinued, but you can still find quite a few online through swap boards, ebay or discount nail e-tailers
* OPI Melody in Mocha is a complex fawn grey with slight mauve tones and gold shimmer, I was lucky to get one in a swap and love it – I think there are quite a few dupes, there’s one from China Glaze that might be similar (the flash makes it look lighter and emphasizes the silver – in real life it’s not quite as pale for the swatch at least)
* Paul & Joe #20 Manhattan is a sparkley medium-light gunmetal shimmer, it is on the sheerer side so I had to use four coats but the finished result has a lot of depth – it’s hard to explain but it looks different depending on the way the light hits the color
* Urban Decay Gunmetal is currently only available in the Apocalyptic Nail Kit, I really hope it comes out in full size, it’s a deeper gunmetal shimmer with slight brownish tones in it so it doesn’t turn blue on me like most gunmetal shades
* Dior Lemon Balm was a Nordstrom Exclusive for their last Anniversary Sale, I believe you might still be able to find it online at nordstrom.com, it’s an oddly-named color, in the container it looks more greyish, but on the nails and compared to the other greys, it definitely pulls more purple with brown shimmers
* Chanel Noir Ceramic was photographed mainly for comparison purposes, but it’s a nice black with silver shimmers which make it softer and less harsh than most blacks, a close dupe is Chanel’s Black Satin which is darker
One more view:
I’d really LOVE to hear your favorite shimmer nail polishes that are medium-to-dark. I’m always looking for more colors by recommendations to check out. I tend to feel overwhelmed when I shop at Ulta or Sephora for nail products – too many colors to choose from and I usually end up with too many reds that look almost identical.
Quite a few fall collections have jumped on the dark-vampy-trend bandwagon and while I’m usually very excited to find new dark colors for nails, I have mixed feelings about the new polishes from the Chanel Noirs Obscurs collection after seeing them in person.
Chanel just released two new colors, Forbidden and Diabolic and repromoted Vendetta from last holiday. I ordered the two new ones sight unseen and at first glance was less than impressed. However when I swatched them on my nails, my feelings changed.
Both Forbidden 437 and Diabolic 427 are deep chocolatey-burgundy-vampy shades and are extremely similar. When swatched, the colors aren’t as dull as I expected – they have just the right amount of brown and red. You definitely don’t need both, but they are different enough from Chanel’s Vamp and Rouge Noir to justify maybe buying one.
Difference between the two:Forbidden is slightly lighter and more chocolatey, Diabolic is deeper and darker.
Here are more photos with my comparisons to similar shades:
Swatches: Thumb = Cosmic Violine 497 Index = Forbidden 437 Middle = Diabolic 427 Ring = Rouge Noir 18 Pinkie = Vamp 18
With high flash:
In natural sunlight:
Another view:
Compared to a couple other brands: MAC All Night Long and Sephora by OPI I’m With Brad:
Overall thoughts: Even though I’m a huge Chanel fan and obsessed with collecting almost every single nail color they release, Forbidden and Diabolic were just ok for me. I didn’t gasp with awe when I took them out of the box. I was hoping for something different with those complex shimmer particles that they are known for creating.
That being said, I tend to like shimmery nail polishes, perhaps I need to get more used to those creamy non-shimmery shades. As a fellow Chanel fan and I were discussing a few days ago, they seem to be more for the Chanel collector, and while they are nice to have, we wouldn’t have died if we didn’t get our hands on them.
Bottom line: They look great on the nails, but there’s no need to have both. They are different enough from Vamp/Rouge Noir to justify trying out. If you don’t mind shimmer and want a cheaper alternative, Sephora by OPI I’m With Brad is pretty close, however do note that the Chanel formulas are superior by far. With the Sephora by OPI – you can get good results, but it will require a lot more thin coats.
Here is October’s list of Ten Things I’m Loving Right now. There’s a slight twist on a few items because I simply could not pick one item in a certain category. I’d love to hear what you all are loving right now too.
1) Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill #1 Steel Black Mascara $28 – I finally found a mascara that thickens and holds curl! I have the straightest lashes ever and even after curling with my favorite Trish McEvoy Eyelash Curler, nothing holds the curl as well as this one. Doesn’t clump, smudge or flake. I’ve tried other Armani mascaras in the past and did not like them at all, luckily, I got a mini-sized version of this to try out first. My other favs are DiorShow (gives thick plush lashes), Dior Iconic (gives dramatic black lashes) and Chanel Inimitable (also great) – but Armani’s Eyes to Kill has won my heart.
* A few key tips – I recommend using only one coat and make sure it dries completely before touching up your eye makeup or removing smudges from eyeshadow fall out. Also, I use this in conjunction with an eyelash curler, I can’t say whether or not it is curling, but I will say it holds the curl very well.
2) Shu Uemura Natural Pony Brush 20 $50 – Soft and plush, this is the perfect size and shape with the right density in bristles to make this my favorite blush brush. There is an angled version 20h which is just as soft.
3) Paul & Joe Refreshing Skin Toner $33 – I was lucky to try a sample before I bought this. The Paul & Joe toner makes my skin feel refreshed and it isn’t too drying or heavy. I have sensitive skin and this seems to be gentle and effective at the same time. Love the price too!
4) Bobbi Brown Nude Shimmer Brick $38 – I own almost every Shimmer Brick from Bobbi Brown and this one is the prettiest to date and works on both eyes and cheeks. It features “five pure pearl pigments—pink, gold, bronze, beige and caramel” – I believe it is limited edition, but can still be found at various counters. See comparisons to other shades HERE.
5) Chanel Quadra Eyeshadows in Mystic Eyes $56 – This is one of the prettiest unique combination of colors I have seen. I love the silvery shade because it has some golden flecks in the shimmer. I like to wear it with NARS Oasis Blush and Stolen Kisses Lipgloss over Mitzi Lipstick.
6) MAC Viva Glam V Lipglass $14 – this is my classic no-fail neutral pink lip gloss
7) Black/Gold Olivey Colors – I really like black golds for fall which can sometimes end up looking olivey with the combination. My favorites right now are:
1. MAC Seriously Hip Nail Polish 2. MAC Gilt By Association Mineralize Eye Shadow 3. Laura Mercier Black Gold Kohl Eye Pencil 4. Clinique Egyptian Eyeliner 5. Bobbi Brown Forest Shimmer Ink Gel Liner
9) Beige Shimmer Lipglosses like MAC Bare Necessity Dazzleglass $18, Chanel Freeze Aqualumiere $27, Hourglass Ignite Extreme Sheen Gloss $28, Chantecaille Crystalline Brilliant Gloss $28, Le Metier Captiva Sheer Brilliance Gloss $32 and Laura Mercier Opal Lip Glace $22 all have this lovely complex iridescence with a neutral beigey base giving a barely-there glow to the lips.
L to R: MAC Bare Necessity, Chanel Freeze, Hourglass Ignite, Chantecaille Crystalline, Le Metier Captiva, Laura Mercier Opal
10) L’Occitane Cherry Blossom Hand Cream $10 – love this for the packaging and lightweight non-sticky texture. I keep one in my purse all the time. Also comes in the larger sizes and a few different scents/formulas.
Cheeks:
