{natural} smokey eye makeup.

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Lately I’ve really been enjoying experimenting with new makeup looks. I don’t know if it’s because of the holidays or just getting bored with my normal routine, but trying new colors, brands, and makeup techniques is just so much fun!

I often go with a dramatic smokey eyes for a night out, but I recently saw this tutorial on Refinery29, and it inspired me to try a more natural take on my favorite eye makeup look.

To achieve the look was pretty simple. I used three shadows -

FOXY and FAINT from the Urban Decay NAKED Basics palette:

and the bottom, golden shade from the Almay Intense i-color Bold Nudes kit (for blue eyes):

6 steps to a natural smokey eye:

1. I started by applying a base of the Faint shade on my eyelids with a medium-sized eye shadow brush.

2. Then I used a smaller eye shadow brush to apply Faint under my eyes.
It’s trickier applying to the bottom (which is why you want to use a smaller brush) – try to keep it from going past the ends of your eyelashes to avoid looking like you have a black eye.

3. Then I went over the top and bottom with a light dusting of the gold-toned Almay shadow.

4. I applied the final, lightest shade (Foxy) right under my brow for an extra pop.

5. Eyeliner is optional. I used a light brown (Cover Girl) liner.

6. Finish the eyes with mascara. I swear by Rimmel Lash Accelerator.

To make the look complete I kept it simple with some bronzer and a nude lip.

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What’s your go-to eye makeup look?
What makeup styles/techniques have you been wanting to experiment with?

girl meets: 12.19.13.

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fun.

Why don’t I go to more concerts? I always have SO much fun! On Tuesday I saw John Mayer at Barclays Center, and it was awesome.

And yes, Katy Perry made an appearance :) Have I mentioned how much I love her?

food.

Wednesday turned out to be an unexpected great-food-fest day. I’ll take it.

First up was lunch at Penelope. I can’t go there and not get some version of their amazing chicken meatballs, so I went with it in salad form.

Later that day my parents arrived for a short visit, so I met them for dinner at Nizza. I usually get their socca, but I switched it up and got Pasta Al Pesto - fettucce with a touch of cream, crescenza cheese & pesto (and gluten free!).

For dessert we went next door to Crepe Café Joli. I only had a few bites of this bad boy because it was rich. In the best possible way, clearly.

face.

I was recently sent some new makeup products from Cargo Cosmetics to try out, and I must say it’s joining the ranks of my other favorite makeup brands.

First was their eye shadows, which came in adorable little tin containers. I also loved the shades – they were very natural and lightweight.

My favorite, though, was their TexasLiner Liquid Eye Liner. The tip was like a marker, which made for the easiest cat-eye application.

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What was the last concert you went to?
Try any good new makeup products lately?

ALMAY smart shade cc cream review + a giveaway!

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When it comes to makeup – especially any type of face makeup or foundation – I’ve always been a big believer that less is more. Even when I’m going for a bolder night time look, I’ve always upped the ante with my eyes and/or lips and tried to use as little foundation as possible.

I guess you could say my “fear” or dislike of facial makeup and foundation is for two reasons – 1) I just can’t stand the look of cake-y face makeup and 2) I’ve gotten the impression that it’s bad for your skin. And, the truth is, a lot of foundations can be. Lately, though, I’ve been hearing a lot about CC creams and how they’re actually good for your skin. So when Almay offered to send me some of their ALMAY® smart shade CC cream™ to try, I figured it was worth a shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I received the cream in shades of light, light/medium, and medium. I went with the light/medium, and I first applied it in the sunlight to get the best idea of how it looked on my skin. Right away, I loved how smoothly and lightly it applied. It didn’t feel at all thick or too cake-y.

Then I noticed that the cream blended into my skin much better than other creams or foundations. It instantly covered imperfections and corrected discoloration in my skin, which made for a more flawless overall makeup look.

But what’s great about ALMAY smart shade CC cream is that it’s not just about the instant results – it has long term effects to make my skin look and feel healthier. Over time, ALMAY smart shade CC cream brightens and evens natural skin tone while also helping prevent future damage with SPF 35.

Wearing face makeup really does make such a huge difference when it comes to the perfect “girls’ night out” look, but it’s even better to know that ALMAY smart shade CC cream is actually helping improve my skin!

I can honestly say that thanks to ALMAY smart shade CC cream I no longer fear face makeup like I used to. Instead, I’ve now embraced that there’s a product that is actually good for my skin that I can apply on a daily basis. ALMAY smart shade CC cream really is the perfect marriage of lightweight foundation + clarity enhancing care for beautiful coverage now and beautiful skin later!

How do you get your perfect Girls’ Night Out look? Leave your answer in the comments section for the chance to win a $100 Visa gift card!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods: Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this postTweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected. The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 10/23/13-11/19/13.

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