Dark Sparkly Black Smokey Eyes using MAC

Hello hello glamour girls!!

Today I'm doing yet another one of my famous smokey eyes. I always get complimented on my makeup everywhere I go. I was at the Chanel makeup counter with my mom and the SA told me she loooooved my makeup and asked if I had got it done at a nearby counter. I swear this happens to me all the time. I told her nope, don't need to, cuz I do it myself! But then they say "Oh well are you a MUA?" And I honestly wish I could say yes to that questions, but I'm just a girl trying to pursue a career in sciences. But makeup is a serious hobby for me, but nothing more, just a hobby. It's something I would like to do part-time, but it isn't a career for me. I'd like to get into it more though as a part-time job. Take a few courses and practise on people and buy a range of stuff and put out some ads. That's still a while away but it's good to hear that people like my makeup skills. I really do like this look more than the last one I did using these products. The more you blend, the nicer your look turns out. I didn't think blending a paint pot was a big deal, because I had never used one before, but it did. I have to say that I was super happy with how this look turned out and I hope you like it too.

I don't know if any of you have noticed, but I went on Sephora's site and saw that instead of VIB, I'm a "VIB Rouge". So I clicked on that to check what that is. It's a new level and it's the ultimate level you can be. There is Beauty Insider, then VIB, and lastly, VIB Rouge. To get to VIB status you had to spend 350$CAD a year and to get VIB Rouge you have to spend 1000$CAD a year. You get better perks, such as free shipping all the time (no more 75$CAD min!), free makeovers at Sephora whenever you want, free gifts, invites to exclusive events, etc. It sounds better than the crap you get as a VIB now, I just hope I actually get a free gift. I'm supposed to get a new card with coupons the next time I make a purchase at Sephora so I'll let you know what kind of coupons you get. Speaking of Sephora, I was there today and they finally got some of the new Too Faced stuff!! I saw the Pretty Rebel palette and I have to say it was nothing special. I have a lot of colors that look like dupes and similar colors. While it's great for someone that doesn't have a beauty collection or similar colors, it's not that great for the already beauty obsessed. They also had the gold glitter eyeshadow thing. Oh and they had It's Better Than Sex Mascara. That's one thing I want to try. Next time I'm around, I'll try to last the day without mascara so I can try it on! That's all they had, no Lip Injection Color Bombs :(

I also went to MAC and bought a few things. I got 3 eyeshadows: Vex, Knight Divine, and Quarry. I just got a little bit of everything to add to what I already have. I'm getting close to having what I want in my collection. I have to revamp my eyeshadow list soon. I also got an eyeliner, a Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Undercurrent, which is a beautiful green with a bit of teal to it. I honestly didn't know it was that nice until I swatched it. I can't wait to try this in a look, it looks amazing.

So about the look, I already did a look that was pretty much exactly like this. As to what extent, I have no idea, I didn't check. The reason why I wanted to do this over again was because I now know how to use Paint Pots better than how I was doing it before. Like after applying it to my lid, I made sure to blend it out in my crease so I don't get such a harsh line. I also didn't overapply, which lead to it smudging off when my eyes tear up. I did find that it lasted longer without using Too Faced Shadow Insurance, which is weird to me because I love Shadow Insurance and it works great with eyeshadows. But I guess not as well with Paint Pots, but that's okay. I definitely think that today's look is better than the one I did before. I used the MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella pressed onto my lid because holy cow, I'm obsessed with mineralize eyeshadows ever since I first "discovered" them. I used Black Tied in the crease and outer corner to make it a bit darker than the rest of the eye, but still have some sparkle. I used Carbon last time and it was too dark and black, it needed some sparkle. MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Black Swan is so so so beautiful! It's a black liner with sparkles and it's perfect for any smokey eye look. I love that liner. For the face, I chose Chanel Joues Contraste in 64 Pink Explosion because I wanted to bring some color into the face because I had a really dark eye. I thought this was the perfect choice for me to not end up so pale looking. That blush and contour using Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless really made the face beautiful. It's soft enough for the eyes to be the main focus. And for the lips, I used Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur, which is a light pink. Again, you want to go with light pinks or nudes with a smokey eye because all the focus should be on the eyes. This is a very hydrating lipstick and it looks amazing. Now read on to find out how I did the look!


Dark Sparkly Black Smokey Eyes using MAC

Start by applying a black base to the lid like MAC Paint Pot in Blackground with a large or medium shadow brush (Sephora PRO Large Shadow Brush). This is going to act as an adhesive for the eyeshadow and it will give it a darker color. Apply it all over the lid and up to the crease. Make sure you get the inner corner of your eye as well. Now take a clean blending brush (MAC 217) and blend out the crease. Blend it until there are no harsh lines. If you need to, go back in and apply more Blackground if it has been smudged off the lid. Now take MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella and push it onto the lid using a shadow brush (Sephora PRO Medium Shadow Brush). It's important to push it onto the lid so that it sticks onto the base. You don't want to sweep it on. Now take MAC Eyeshadow in Forgery and a clean blending brush (MAC 217) and blend out the black shadow just above the crease and apply it as a highlight. Now take MAC Eyeshadow in Black Tied and a crease or blending brush (Sephora PRO Crease Brush) and apply it to the crease and outer corner of the eye. Blend the crease into Cinderfella. If you need to, go back in with Forgery and blend it out. To get a nice smooth cut line on the outer sides of the eye, I take a folded piece of kleenex and some makeup remover and I wipe off the fallout and I get a nice crisp line. I rinse off the makeup remover on my face without touching the eyeshadow. Now I usually go onto the rest of the face and I come back and finish the bottom lid later. Take MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Black Swan and line your top and bottom lids. This is a really pretty sparkly black liner, it's perfect for smokey eyes! Take MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved and fill in the top and bottom waterlines. Now take MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack and apply to your top lashes and it's optional to apply to your bottom lashes as well. The last step is to fill in your brows! Using Benefit Brow Zings, fill in your eyebrows and do a dramatic arch. This will emphasize the focus on your eyes. Now you're done the eyes, let's do the rest of the face!

Start by priming your face with Too Faced Primed and Poreless. Cover your under eye circles using MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer with a concealer brush (Sephora PRO Concealer Brush) and then put on MUFE HD Foundation using a stippling brush (Sephora PRO Stippling Brush). If there are any areas of redness, or blemishes, use MAC Studio Finish Concealer to cover them up. Once you're happy with that, set your foundation and concealer using MUFE HD Powder and a kabuki brush (MUFE HD Kabuki). Contour your face with Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless using a contouring brush or a powder brush squished down into a line (Sephora Collection Powder Brush). You want to suck in your cheeks and follow the line as a guideline to contour them. Also do the perimeter of the face, temples, down the sides of the nose, and wherever else you want. Then apply Chanel Les Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 64 Pink Explosion using a blush brush (Too Faced Powder Pouf) and apply it to the apples of the cheek and sweep it outward towards the sides of your face. Make sure to blend it into the contour and blend the cheeks. Now apply a highlight, like Benefit High Beam, to the tops of your cheekbones, chin, cupid's bow, etc. The final step is to apply Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in 68 Candeur, which is a nice light pink. You're done!

Eyes:

MAC Paint Pot in Blackground
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella
MAC Eyeshadow in Black Tied
MAC Eyeshadow in Forgery
MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Black Swan
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved
MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack

Brows

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Face:

Too Faced Primed and Poreless
MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NW20
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
MUFE HD Foundation in 110
MUFE HD Powder
Benefit High Beam
Chanel Les Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 64 Pink Explosion
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Lips:

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in 68 Candeur

Products Used:

MAC Paint Pot in Blackground

MAC Paint Pot in Blackground - 22$CAD

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella

MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella - 25$CAD

MAC Eyeshadows (14.50$CAD each) in:
on the left: Forgery and Black Tied (used in this look)
on the right: Electra and Carbon

MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Black Swan - 19$CAD

MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved - 19$CAD

MAC Zoomlash in Zoomblack - 19$CAD

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Benefit Brow Zings in Light - 36$CAD

Benefit High Beam - 32$CAD

Chanel Les Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 64 Pink Explosion

Chanel Les Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 64 Pink Explosion - 48$CAD

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur - 39$CAD

From left to right:
MAC Paint Pot in Blackground
MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Cinderfella
MAC Eyeshadow in Black Tied
MAC Eyeshadow in Forgery
MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner in Black Swan
MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Engraved
Benefit High Beam
Chanel Les Joues Contraste Powder Blush in 64 Pink Explosion
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed today's post and that it wasn't too repetitive!! I really do think that I did a much better job this time around, now that I've got the hang of MAC Paint Pots and Mineralize Eyeshadows!! I thought this look was absolutely stunning. Everyone complimented me on my makeup. Smokey eyes have definitely always been my thing, ever since I was a young teenager. I'm wondering, do you think I pulled it off better this time or last time? What do you think of the look? What is your favorite MAC Paint Pot and fav MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow? I'm also wondering what your favorite MAC Pearlglide Intense Eye Liner is. I love Black Swan and I just bought Undercurrent and it's such a nice color. I'm also wondering which Chanel blush is your fav and if you liked the one I use and same thing with their Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks. I have to say that I love all the products I used and I do use them quite often. I've got a lot of new favorites.

Coming up soon:

Empties and Extras #2

Too Faced Loves Sephora Dupe List

New Haircut and How to Style It

... and plenty more!

Steph xo.

Dark Smokey Green using new MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Smokeluxe

Hey gorgeous glamsies!!

I had an awesome day today. It's hot as hell here (still 30+C) but I wanted to finally do this look for you. I have to say that Greenluxe from MAC's new Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow Collection is my favorite!!! It's not what you'd typically think of when you hear the word green. There are a lot of dark green colors. One of them is a dark olive green with a ton of sparkles and another resembles MAC's Club Eyeshadow. You get a light green color with is good for a highlight color, You get a white sparkly color, which I like to put in the inner corners of my eyes to make them look bigger. The last color is a very light neutral beige color that I use under my brow bones to accentuate them. I also own Smokeluxe and I really do prefer Greenluxe. The MUA's at MAC all told me they loved Greenluxe. They also told me that MAC made these PERMANENT!!

Last night I did my nails and I did a Matte Black French Manicure (with Glossy Tips) and it looks pretty good. It's not as amazing as the pictures that you see online. Let's be honest, I'm not the greatest at nail designs. I think I managed to do a half decent job. I'm going to have a post on my nails coming up soon, so you can see how I did them and what I used. I won't be showing off both my face and nails together because I forgot to take pictures and it's too late now because I took my makeup off.

I also went to the MAC PRO store today and woah. Just woah. I don't usually go to the Pro store because there isn't much else to see in the area. I usually just go to Ogilvy for my MAC products, because they sell palettes there and pan (refill) eyeshadows for your palettes. It's basically a step below MAC PRO and the counter at The Bay would be at the bottom of the 3 steps. So of course being at MAC PRO, I had to check out the Pro Eyeshadows. I have to say that the Pro shadows are really their own unique color. They look nothing like the rest of the shadows in their permanent collection so I don't understand why they don't sell these everywhere. Long story short, I bought 5 Pro Eyeshadows and 1 Eyeshadow that's in their permanent collection. I also picked up another Double Palette because mine's full and I got one eyeshadow insert because I'm not sure what I'll do with the other side just yet. I'll do a post on my MAC PRO haul so you can see all the awesome eyeshadows I bought.

I also went to check out our first ever Illamasqua counter! They have a counter at The Bay in their downtown store. They don't have a counter yet, per se, but they do have a tiny area right now. They don't have all the products out, but they will be having an opening event on August 8, when they get their counter. I'm excited, I can't wait to see their full range of products! Their blushes are so pigmented that I seriously have to go back and buy one. Their lipglosses and lipsticks also come in a lot of nice colors. Their nail polishes are also pretty awesome and come in all sorts of colors and finishes. Unfortunately I didn't buy anything, but that will probably be my next haul.

I also went to check out NARS and the MUA showed me the Fairy's Kiss Palette from the Fall 2013 Collection (which isn't even out yet) and oh my goodness. It's such a nice palette and it has my type of colors!! I want it so bad. I also saw the other one, I forget the name, it was nice but it wasn't my thing. But definitely check out Fairy's Kiss when it's released, it's actually amazing. The picture doesn't lie. This palette is on my wishlist, someone please buy it for me?

So now back to today's makeup look, I used all 5 eyeshadows in this look. Some more than others. I also went light on the face and lips because I really wanted the eyes to stand out.


Dark Smokey Green using new MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe

Always start by priming your eyes. I used Too Faced's Shadow Insurance. I find that you need a stickier base, so you can use a MAC Paint Pot or whatever else you have. If you want it to be dark, use MAC Paint Pot in Blackground. I'm going to refer to the shades in the MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe as numbers (ex. 1,2,etc) to make it easier, since they don't have names. Using a medium eyeshadow brush (Sephora PRO Medium Eyeshadow Brush), take #4 and press it onto the lid except for the outer corner and go up to the crease. Next take a fluffy blending brush (MAC 217) and take #5 and apply it to your crease and bring it down into your outer lid. Using a clean blending brush take #3 and blend out #5 and also apply it as a highlight, basically everywhere where there isn't color already. Then taking a small shadow brush (Sephora Collection All Over Shadow Brush), take #1 and put it under your brow bone to really highlight it. Taking a small smudge brush (Stila 28) and #2 and apply it to the inner corners of your eyes. Also apply it to the inner part of your lower lid as well. I like to do the rest of my face and come back to the bottom lid later. So for the bottom lid just take #5 on an angled brush (Sephora PRO Angled Liner Brush) and apply it on your lower lid, leaving the inner corners empty of course. Now take a black eyeliner pencil like Too Faced's Perfect Eyes in Perfect Black and do the waterlines of both your top and bottom lids. Next take MAC Fluidline in Blitz and Glitz using a thin eyeliner brush (Stila 28) and apply it to the lid. You want to put a thin line, just enough to define your lid. Take a volumizing mascara like MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash in Black and apply it to your top lashes. Now you just have to fill in your brows. I use Benefit Brow Zings in Light. Now your eyes are done, let's move on to the face!

Prep your face using Too Faced Primed and Poreless. Apply your under eye concealer, like MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer with a concealer brush (Sephora PRO Concealer Brush) and then put on your foundation like MUFE HD Foundation with a stippling brush (Sephora PRO Stippling Brush). Next cover any blemishes or redness that is still showing through using MAC Studio Finish. I use my fingers to blend it in. Now take MUFE HD Powder and a kabuki brush (MUFE HD Kabuki) and apply the powder. Next take Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless and a contour brush or a powder brush and flatten the bristles into a line (Sephora Collection Powder Brush) which helps to get the contour line. You want to suck in your cheeks and contour that line you get. You always want to bring it up into the temples as well as the perimeter of the face. You can also apply bronzer down the sides of your nose to make it look skinnier. Next take a light pink blush like Chanel Joues Contraste in 64 Pink Explosion and a blush brush (Too Faced Petite Pouf Brush) and apply the blush to the apples of your cheeks and blend it outward and into the bronzer. You want the blush and bronzer to be light because the main focus of this look is the eyes. Next take a luminizer like Benefit High Beam and apply it to the high points of the face, like the tops of your cheekbones, chin, cupid's bow, etc. I use my fingers to dab it in. Never rub it in. Now I take my kabuki brush and i lightly tap off the excess and make sure it's all blended in. Now take a light pink lipstick like Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur and apply it to your lips. Et voila! Your look is done.

Eyes:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe
Too Faced Perfect Eyes in Perfect Black
MAC Fluidline in Blitz n Glitz
MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash Mascara in Black

Brows:

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Face:

Too Faced Primed and Poreless
MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer in NW20
MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NW20
MUFE HD Foundation in 110
MUFE HD Powder
Benefit High Beam
Chanel Joues Contraste in 64 Pink Explosion
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Lips:

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in 68 Candeur

Products Used:

MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe

MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe - 48$CAD

Too Faced Perfect Eyes in Perfect Black - 25$CAD

MAC Fluidline in Blitz n Glitz

MAC Fluidline in Blitz n Glitz - 19$CAD

MAC Zoom Fast Black Lash in Black - mini shown, fullsize is 19$CAD

Benefit Brow Zings in Light

Benefit Brow Zings in Light - 36$CAD

Benefit High Beam - 32$CAD

Chanel Joues Contraste in 64 Pink Explosion

Chanel Joues Contraste in 64 Pink Explosion - 48$CAD

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless

Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless - 38$CAD

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in 68 Candeur - 39$CAD

From left to right:
MAC Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe in #1,2,3,4,5
Too Faced Perfect Eyes in Perfect Black
MAC Fluidline in Blitz n Glitz
Benefit High Beam
Chanel Joues Contraste Blush in 64 Pink Explosion
Too Faced Bronzed and Poreless
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in 68 Candeur

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this post! I'm really loving MAC's new Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadows. They look so wonderful and they're so creamy. It's definitely different than their regular line of eyeshadows. I wanted the rest of the face to be light so that the eyes could be the main focus. I love my new Chanel blush in Pink Explosion. It's baked so it goes on light but you could pack on the color if you wanted to. It's the perfect pink for me. Too Faced's Bronzed and Poreless bronzer is also amazing. I've been using it more and more lately and it's light enough for my pale skin. For medium- to dark-toned girls, it probably won't show up much, but for light girls, it's a godsend. I also really love my new Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Candeur. It's the perfect light pink color and it's so hydrating on your lips and makes them feel soft.

So I hope you enjoyed this and please tell me how you liked or did not like MAC's Veluxe Pearl Fusion Eyeshadow in Greenluxe and in Smokeluxe too, I'm curious! And also let me know what you think of Too Faced's Bronzed and Poreless and which bronzer from their line is your favorite. And if you like Chanel like me, which blush and also which Rouge Coco Shines are your favorite?

Thanks for reading and coming up tonight/tomorrow:

Matte Black French Manicure (with Glossy Tips)

and

MAC PRO Haul



Steph xo.