The Nature of Beauty

Monday, December 27, 2010

Day 30: Cranberry Latte

Disclaimer: All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies named. I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews. I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...

Day 30--Saturday, December 18, 2010

The last day of the Orglamix 30 Days/30 Ways Challenge, oh my...

For the end of the Challenge I thought I'd come full circle and go back to the beginning of my makeup-wearing days and revisiting a look I first tried under the mentorship of a Mary Kay consultant who showed me that you could wear a red shade on the eyes if done properly ;) She created the look with a maroon shade of red and two other shades: a taupe and an off-white sort of champagne beige. I wore that look for every "special occasion" that whole year lol!

Now I'm a little older, a bit wiser (hopefully), and more mindful of what I put on my face. But the colors looked great together and I received Orglamix Cranberry (on sale as the Color of the Week last week) just in time to revamp my "first makeup look ever"

In the old look, the Mary Kay consultant taught me to use the maroon/brick red shade on the outer corners of my eyes, with the off-white shade all over the lid and the taupe shade in the crease. This look is a bit "inside out," making use of the reddish shade on the lid for a holiday-tasty pop of color.

I began the look with my favorite foundation combo (Orglamix Mineral Foundation in Bocote mixed with Orglamix Self-Adjusting Foundation in Whole Grain), followed by a pinch of pixie dust (aka Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush), then prepped my eyelids with Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime. The rest of the application went on as follows:

1) Blend Orglamix Cafe au Lait over entire lid from brow to lash line

2) Pat Orglamix Cranberry onto the lid and blend slightly into crease (over the Cafe au Lait this became a lovely soft shimmery rose shade)

3) Blend Orglamix Cappuccino into crease and outer "v" of eye, then drag down across lower lid

4) Foil Cranberry and line upper lash line

5) Line lower water lines with pale pink mineral eyeshadow pencil

6) Blend matte brown shadow into brows and apply black mascara to upper + lower lashes

7) Blend Orglamix mineral blush in Allspice onto cheeks

8) Mix more Cranberry with gold microglitter gloss and apply to lips

I have to say as this challenge concludes that I have received the most benefit from the inspiration to play a little and get more creative with the makeup I wear, whether for every day, for special occasions, or for performances. I want to thank Cheri and her team at Orglamix for coming up with the Challenge and for keeping us all supplied with so many beautiful shades to choose from, as well as all my fellow Orglamix fansisters for their inspiring creativity and their unfailing and generous encouragement and support for all of us who participated in the challenge. The ideas, tips, tricks and skills I picked up during this process truly were a reward worthy of the effort!

Day 29: Wintersong

Disclaimer: All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies named. I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews. I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...

Day 29--Friday, December 17, 2010

Day 29 and almost the end of the Challenge; myself and many of my fellow Orglamix fansisters are beginning to feel the withdrawal coming: that slight sadness mixed with a bit of excitement that arrives at the end of a project that you have been working on for weeks (well a little more than a month now, actually).

To cheer myself up and make sure I had something with a little shimmer and flash for the end of the Challenge, I decided on a silvery-blue look (the sort of thing many of my fansisters have done but I had not yet tried), named after one of my fav holiday albums: Wintersong!

(holy crap this looked so much better with my big browns than I expected, hooray!!)

On my face is my new fav foundation combo: Orglamix Mineral Foundation in Bocote mixed with Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain (it's hard to see in the pics--my camera's not that great--but I think it makes me look like I'm wearing a mineral glow even though I'm not), followed as always with a sheer sweep of Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush for a lovely and flawless look! After applying Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime to my eyelids, I continued the application as follows:

1) Pat a metallic silver mineral eyeshadow onto lids

2) Mix a teal blue mineral eyeshadow with Orglamix Obsidian and blend into crease and outer "v" of the eyes, dragging this combo shade onto the outer part of the lower lid

3) Blend Orglamix Sesame onto brow bone and into upper edge of teal/Obsidian to "fog out"

4) Apply Orglamix Naughty dry as liner on upper lash line for a more smoky look

5) Line lower water lines with black gel eyeliner

6) Blend matte brown shadow into brows and apply black mascara to lashes

7) Brush Orglamix Mineral Glow in Tourmaline over cheeks

8) Apply a sparkly plum-colored gloss to lips

(a couple of close ups to show off the shimmer & sparkle ;p)

I think this has to be one of my favorite looks that I've done for the Challenge--something festive and fun that is just perfect for a holiday party (and which I might wear on New Year's Eve, who knows lol).

Day 28: Honeymoon Hottie

Disclaimer: All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies named. I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews. I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...

Day 28--Thursday, December 16, 2010

When I married the darling hubby (OMG, seven years ago!!), I made up a special scent to wear to the wedding and on our honeymoon (in a secluded little B&B on the Mendocino coast--amazing!!) out of nothing but essential oils, since I'm sensitive to synthetic fragrances. The blend made use of essential oils such as Sandalwood, Patchouli, Jasmine, and Cardamom, and smelled INCREDIBLE!! I called the stuff "Honeymoon Hottie" because my man could not keep his nose off my neck the whole week lol...

Spicy as the scent is, the look ended up being softer than I envisioned but very pretty nonetheless--what do you think?

(I swear this could have been my Pinup 2.0 look, yeah?)

This look features the Orglamix shades that correspond to the ingredients I used to create the Honeymoon Hottie scent (still one of my favs) and begins as always with clean and moisturized skin. Over this, I blended Orglamix Mineral Foundation in Bocote with Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain, followed by a sheer application of Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush. On the eyelids, I applied Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime and continued the application as follows:

1) Pat Orglamix Honeymoon Sweet onto lid and follow by blending Orglamix Jasmine on top of it

2) Mix Orglamix Patchouli and Orglamix Sandalwood and blend into crease and outer "v" of eye, drawing out into a slight wing

3) Blend more Jasmine onto the brow bone and down into upper edge of Sandalwood/Patchouli to soften; dab more Jasmine onto inner corners of eyes

4) Line upper lash line with black gel eyeliner and pat Orglamix Naughty over this to smoke it out a little (LOVE this!!)

5) Line lower water lines with black gel eyeliner

6) Blend matte brown shadow into brows and apply black mascara to lashes

7) Sweep Orglamix mineral blush in Ginger over cheeks

8) Mix Orglamix Cardamom with gold microglitter gloss and apply to lips

Very subtle, very lovely neutral look; I really like how this turned out despite my expectations having leaned toward a more dramatic look. Sometimes the accidents really are happy ones ;)

Day 27: Lady Lilliput

(seriously this turned out a lot better than I was expecting lol)

Beginning as usual with clean and moisturized skin I applied Orglamix Mineral Foundation in Bocote mixed with Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain and followed with a sweep of Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush. I then applied Orglamix Magnetism on the lids for a base and continued the application as follows:

1) Pat Orglamix Mint onto lid and blend into crease (I went somewhat heavy on the application of this color to make it more shiny/shimmery and less smoky)

2) Blend Orglamix Bordeaux into outer "v" and crease of eyes, draw it out into a "wing" shape at outer lid and drag across lower lid

3) Mix Orglamix Freesia with Orglamix Grape Hyacinth and blend onto brow bone and down into upper edge of Bordeaux to soften and "fog out"

4) Dab a bit more Freesia by itself on inner corners of eye and inner portion of lower lid

5) Line upper lash line and lower water line with black gel eyeliner

6) Blend matte brown shadow into brows and apply black mascara to lashes

7) Mix Orglamix Gingko with red sparkle gloss and apply to lips

I love how the Freesia mixed with Grape Hyacinth made a beautiful, smoky pale lavender color; perfect for softening what might have been a very dark look.

Day 26: Pretty Penny

This look has only two shades on the whole lid and debuts my newly received Orglamix Mineral Foundation in Bocote, which looked a little dark for my getting-paler-for-the-Winter self, so I mixed it with Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain. I followed this with a sheer sweep of Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush and Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime on the lids. And off we go!

1) Apply Orglamix Creamliner in Penny to lid and blend upward into crease

2) Blend Orglamix Chamomile onto brow bone and down into the upper border of Penny, then dab a bit more Chamomile into the inner corners of the eyes

3) Foil matte brown shadow and line upper lash line; blend more of this shadow into brows to shape + define

4) Apply black mascara to lashes

5) Mix Orglamix Goji with peach shimmer gloss and apply to lips

(no I most certainly did NOT give the judge this expression, but it's fun for the camera lol)

Since going to court makes me nervous (even when it has nothing to do with me personally), I decided to forego applying blush as it would just make me look too flushed (as in, maybe tipsy or otherwise under the influence)--yikes!!

Day 25: Violette at Dusk

Disclaimer: All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies named. I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews. I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...

Day 25--Monday, December 13, 2010

Well today was a super hectic day at work and I was already feeling tired from working half my weekend (one-day weekends kind of make me grumpy but on the other hand I'm blessed to have good full-time work, a decent salary, and a great supervisor and coworkers so can't complain much lol), so today's look came in the evening--hence the "twilight" (not "Twilight") theme. Also, I hadn't done much in the way of purple looks, though it's one of my favorite colors and my brown eyes look good in violet shades.

Here is Violette at Dusk:

This look makes use of a technique that is becoming something of a signature of mine (because I think it looks good on me): blending a light-medium shade of the hues I'm using on the lid onto the brow bone and slightly into the upper portion of the crease to "fog out" or soften the edges of the shades used to contour the eye.

Today's "fog out" shade is Orglamix Skyline, which I also made use of in Morning Glory (Day 8, used as a darker or contour shade) and Cleopatra (Day 13, used as a primary shade on the lid):

(can you believe this is what I used as a "highlight" shade today?? I'm still amazed at how versatile Cheri's eyeshadows are, so many of them can be used to color, contour, or highlight!!)

Having done this look after work, I of course washed my face and moisturized the skin, then came back and applied Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain and Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush to the face, followed by an application of Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime on the eyelids. The application of this look continued as follows:

1) Foil Orglamix Violette and apply to lid; let dry and apply a second coat, foiled.

2) Blend Orglamix Bordeaux into crease and outer "v" of the eye.

3) Blend Orglamix Skyline onto brow bone and into upper edge of the Bordeaux to soften this boundary

4) Line upper lash line and lower water line with Orglamix Creamliner in Venomous

5) Line outer 2/3 of lower lash line with more Violette, applied dry

6) Pat Orglamix Mineral Twinkle Effects in Purple over entire lid and dab more of it into inner corners of the eyes and across inner 1/3 of lower lash line

7) Blend matte brown shadow into brows to shape/define and apply black mascara to lashes

8) Mix a little bit each of Orglamix Bordeaux, Orglamix Patchouli, and Orglamix Mineral Twinkle Effects in Purple with red sparkle gloss and apply to lips

I'm finding that my application skills have improved over the course of this Challenge, and this look is a testament to that. Of the blue/violet looks I've done so far I'd have to say this one is a favorite for certain and I would definitely wear it again!

Day 24: Neapolitan

Makes me just want to run down to the local scoop shop for some Chocolate-Vanilla-Strawberry goodness...

On clean, moisturized skin I applied Orglamix Self-Adjusting Mineral Foundation in Whole Grain followed by a sheer application of Orglamix HD Microfinish Powder in Hush Hush; then I primed my eyelids by applying Orglamix Magnetism prep/prime. The application continued as follows:

1) Blend Orglamix The F Word onto brow bone and down into crease

2) Pat Orglamix Passionfruit onto lid and follow by blending Orglamix Strawberry over the Passionfruit

3) Blend Orglamix Mocha into crease and outer "v" of the eyes, dragging this shade down and across lower lid

4) Dab a bit of Orglamix Nice into inner corners of eyes to highlight

5) Apply black gel eyeliner to lower water lines, blend matte brown shadow into brows, and apply black mascara to lashes

6) Blend Orglamix blush in Ginger over cheeks

7) Mix Orglamix Cherry Blossom and a bit of Orglamix Cardamom with pink shimmer gloss and apply to lips

Seriously, I love this look--soft, pretty, perfect for Sunday or any day! This could definitely be an every day look for me, it's mostly neutral with just a soft pop of pink to liven it up and a little extra shimmer from the Nice shade.

Of course, you could easily switch this over to a night time look by adding black liner to the upper lash line, applying a more intense pink to the lid, and wearing a darker shade on the lips (Orglamix Saffron, for example, or Goji).

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Monday, December 27, 2010