Shimmery Brown Eye Look for Day

Jun 242011
 

Now we all have our few little makeup items that we use over and over again. Those two or three eye shadows that are in the ‘every-day’ kit. For me, these are shimmery brown colours and most days, my go-to look is a shimmery brown eye which I think works great for any occasion. Some people shy away from shimmer for day looks, but I love it, and I think it’s perfectly reasonable to add a bit of sparkle to every day!

So here is my look, keep reading for how I did it!

Ingredients List (also know as the make-up you need for this look!)

Base: MAC Paint Pot in Vintage Selection (Ltd. Ed – you can just use any primer or pale shimmery shadow)

Brow Bone: MAC Eyeshadow in Soft Brown (medium brown matte shade)

Corner: Urban Decay Eyeshadow in Smog (or any darker brown)

Highlight: MAC Eyeshadow in Nylon

Liner: MAC liquid line in Rich Ground

Mascara: (my fave!) CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara in Black

Brows: Any brow pencil suitable for your colouring, I used Savvy by DB eyebrow pencil in Blonde (a steal at only $4.95 from Priceline).

STEP 1: After applying your foundation (for anyone who cares to know I’m wearing NARS Sheer Matte Foundation in Mont Blanc) and filling in your brows, apply a primer or colour base to the entire eye lid up to the brow.

STEP 2: Next, work a medium brown colour across the brow bone from the outside corner edge of the eye to 3/4 of the way in, with a crease brush or similar. If you have hooded eyes be sure to apply this with your eyes open and looking forward. You may have to apply it slightly above the brow bone to see it.

STEP 3: Work a darker shade, (I’ve used UD Smog) into the outer corner of the eye lid, and blend in towards the centre of the lid. Don’t apply this too heavily, we just want a soft brownish haze here. You can darken this significantly if you are altering this look for night wear.

STEP 4: Take a highlight shade and apply it to the centre of the eyelid, just above the lash line. Be sure to keep it in the centre and don’t work it too much into either side (this will make your eyes pop more!)

STEP 5: Apply the same highlight shade just below the brows and using a fluffy brush, blend all the colours together softly so there are no harsh lines.

STEP 6: Finish by lining with a brown pencil or liquid liner. I love the shade ‘Rich Ground’ by MAC as it has a shimmery bronze finish and offers great all day wear. Give your lashes a quick lick of mascara and you’re good to go!

Tell me beauties, what is your go-to every day look?

Do you think you’d try a shimmery brown look like this one?

Have a lovely weekend!

xxxBeautyScholar

Smell like Summer in Winter!

Jun 182011
 

I love the fact that due to the reversed seasons, when the chill hits Australia, it’s heating up elsewhere (specifically the USA) so all the big beauty brands bring out their Summer collections. This could be weird, but I actually think it’s nice, we get all the bright Summery releases to perk up our colder months!

One of the loveliest examples of this is Summer fragrance releases. I already have two favourites, so I had to share them with you beauties! I hope you’ll go out and have a sniff and let me know what you think of them too.

First off the ranks is the new Beyonce fragrance ‘Heat Rush’.

As you can see from the pic above it has a pretty ordinary looking bottle, but maybe I’m just being a little judgemental because I really am not a fan of the colour orange! However what I am a total sucker for is celeb fragrances, so I tried it out and I was super impressed! Seriously this stuff just smells like, well, Summer! I’ll give you the ‘official’ description of the fragrance, despite the fact that these things never really make that much sense to me, here goes: Beyonce Heat Rush opens with top notes of passionfruit, blood orange and Brazilian cherry, then continues with yellow tiger orchid, mango blossom and orange hibiscus. The fragrance dries down with teak wood, honey amber and musk accord.

In terms that a non perfumer might be able to grasp, it’s basically a fresh and fruity concoction with a warm (yet light) woody/musky base. The mango, orchid and orange notes are the strongest for me. One spritz of this little baby and you’ll forget (at least for a minute!) that it’s chilly outside. I like it a lot, which was surprising because I think the original Heat is horrid, so if you’ve smelt that one, try this too because it really is completely different. The original Heat is a lot heavier and richer in terms of fragrance, the only thing thats pretty similar between the two is the bottle.

This is an eau de toilette however so in terms of strength and lasting power it’s not going to blow your mind. Might need freshening up during the day to keep the Summer smell a goin’.

Heat Rush can be picked up in 30ml ($49) and 100ml ($89) at major fragrance retailers and department stores.

My other fave spritz of the season (and I am WAY more in love with this one!) is the new Versace fragrance, Vanitas.

Now I’ve never been a fan of Versace fragrance offerings before, some of them are ok, but I could take them or leave them. This one however is a truly unique scent and I am totally in love! I first caught a whiff of this while I was in Myer buying some wooly winter socks for my cold feet! The sales lady came over to serve me and I was captivated by her perfume. She told me she’d just sprayed on the ‘new Versace’ so, socks in hand I waltzed straight over to the perfume section.

Vanitas is packaged in a sleek square (quite weighty) glass bottle. The design has clean lines, with that little edge of sophistication and glamour to it. Much like the fragrance actually. According to Versace this one has note of Lime, Freesia, Tiare, Tonka Bean and Cedar. Well…not having the slightest clue what a tonka bean was, or a tiare for that matter I looked them up. A tonka bean is a seed from the Kumaru tree and smells kind of sweet, think vanilla or cinnamon. Tiare is just another name for Tahitian Gardenia. So basically we have vanilla and gardenia combined with a woody scent with lime and freesia, confused yet? This actually is how this smells though. The lime comes through, then it’s slightly tropical flowery with an almost creamy soft vanilla/wood base. I love it! Have I said that already? It is seriously not like anything I have ever smelt before, it is fresh, crisp and very feminine and light at the same time.

This one is an Eau De Parfum (a lot more concentrated) and also kind of expensive..sigh! It’s available in 30ml ($85), 50ml ($120) and 100ml ($159) OUCH!! You can also pick this one up (or just sniff it!) at department stores and major perfume retailers.

If you’re interested, here is the trippy ad for the perfume starring model Lindsey Wixson who was incredibly only 16 during this shoot!

Hope you’re having a great weekend beauties, stay warm!

xxxBeautyScholar


 

 

 

Feelin’ Like a Fifties Woman

Jun 162011
 

What do you think of when you imagine a 1950s look?

Style, no doubt, is paramount. We often look back (nostalgically) on the period, embracing red lipstick and waist belts in our own era as components of pure elemental style. What is more classic than such things? Pair those red lips with pearls, long dark lashes and big hair, and the Fifties have seemingly created a look that has transcended time.

After all, this was the period which gave us Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, and of course Marilyn Monroe. All of whom are now considered style icons.

For me, the ‘Fifties’ era is a little different. Mostly because of the fact that I have, and am, studying it as part of my doctoral work. That’s how the ‘scholar’ part comes into BeautyScholar after all!

I’ve read a lot about the lives of women at the time, and how the femininity they portrayed through fashion, makeup and overall style was part and parcel of fulfilling their assigned gender roles. And for me, society determining who you have to be so intensely seems kind of icky.

But when I was invited to a party with the theme ‘dress as your dissertation’ I was more than a little excited at the possibility of creating my own 50s ensemble. What kind of hair style could I try out? Oh and I’d finally have a use for those extra long false lashes I had in one of my makeup drawers.

So…despite knowing what I do about the repression that came along with the elements of femininity projected in 1950s style, I couldn’t help but don the lippie, and the lashes, and the pearls. But I have to say, the waist belt was damn uncomfortable!

So here is my Fifties look:

What do you think, did I pull it off?

Here is a closer look at my makeup:

For this look I kept things pretty simple and focused on strong lips and accentuated eyes with a flush of colour on the cheeks.

On the apples of my cheeks I applied Australis Paparazzi Perfect HD Blush in Shoot to Thrill ($12.95) [on a side note this is an awesome blush, super pigmented - AND if you purchase $15 worth of Australis at the moment you can get your paws on 3 free nail lacquers - check out this great offer on the Australis site here)!

For my eyes I used Napoleon false strip lashes, applied with DUO lash glue and swept MAC soft brown eye shadow across the entire lid.

My super black lashes came alive with CoverGirl Lashblast [the orange one!] Volume Blasting Waterproof Mascara in Very Black ($17.95) – and seriously if you don’t own this mascara you don’t know what you’ve been missing. I’m doing a full review on a couple of the CoverGirl mascaras soon, but this one is so awesome, I’d choose it over a lot of high end mascaras any day.

For my eyeliner I used Maybelline Line Stilletto in Blackest Black ($13.95) – this, along with L’Oreal Line Intensifique are my fave liners, they have superfine tips for precision and long wearing quick drying formulas.

Finally, my lips became so lusciously red courtesy of L’Oreal Paris Infallible Lip Duo Compact in #501, Invincible Red ($33.95 – may sound a little exxy for ‘drugstore’ lippie but trust me, this is worth it, this stuff stays put through anything!)

As far as my hair goes, I used one of those nifty ‘bump-it’ hair inserts on the crown of my head and gathered and pinned the top half of my hair around it before tying the bottom half in a side pony-tail and finishing with a thick strip of black ribbon tied around my head.

So beauties what do you think? Do you like the Fifties look? How much do you know about the era and how different it was for women back then? They may have looked stylish but I’d much rather be a contemporary gal, thank you very much!

xxxBeautyScholar