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Eyeshadow 101: Today's Theme is Purple

BellaSugar — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:11:19 -0700

The makeup counters at department stores and the cosmetics aisle at Walgreens can be pretty overwhelming. It's super hard to know which colors to try and which ones go together. I thought I would try to help with this installment of Eyeshadow 101.

The goal of wearing eye make-up is to enhance/bring attention to your eyes. The rule of thumb is to wear the opposite color eye shadow of your eyes on the color wheel so that your eyes really stand out (or POP as they say in the make-up world).

So if you have blue eyes, you'd wear rust, coral, peach or grayish colors; if you have brown eyes, wear greens and bronzes, and if you have green/hazel (gold/yellowy) eyes, try wearing either greens, or deep purples, pinks, and rusty purples.

Next week we will cover product recommendations for blue eyes, to see product recommendations for greenish-hazel eyes, read more

If you have greenish-hazel eyes, I'd go with MAC's Sable eye shadow. It is an amazing muted, golden plum brown everyday color with bronze shimmer. First apply a light pink color to the base of your lids - try Trish McEvoy's Deluxe Eye Shadow in Shell, then add a touch of the sable to the crease.

Lastly, line your eyes with Mac's Sketch Colored Eye Shadow. It's the mac daddy (no pun intended) of purples. The color is an intense burgundy-plum flecked with red shimmer.

Another great idea which I've just discovered that is really simple and great for travel because it's packaged together is glowmineral's gloEye shadow trio in Amethyst.

Or Dior's 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Sweet Illusion.

Be careful when using purples, because if you go overboard, your eyes will look bloodshot. So dust some loose powder on the corners of your eye, and directly beneath your lower lash when you are finished applying your shadow.

All Aboard! The Nars 2009 Autumn Colour Collection Is Here

BellaSugarUK — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:36:00 -0700

Not only does this year mark the 15th anniversary for Nars Cosmetics, but last Monday was the highly anticipated launch of the brand new six-item Autumn 2009 Colour Collection. The inspiration behind the goodies came from none other than the young and precocious icon, Lolita. François Nars was "looking for a model who could represent the modern, independent woman, but who also had a girlish, innocence about her."

It's funny, because I thought the ad campaign doll looking model was Lily Donaldson, but it's actually a Canadian beauty named Heather Marks whose career began in 2003 with Givenchy. The photographs were taken in New York City by François Nars himself, and Heather is wearing the products from the '09 line whose names incidentally were influenced by Nars' pursuits and interests, yet they don't necessarily have any direct correlation to Lolita.

My favourite product is a nail varnish called Tokaido Express (£12.50). From a distance it looks black, but up close it's a purple shade with gold flecks that look rich, exciting and ridiculously chic. Wearing this polish is akin to wearing a fabulous cuff or statement piece.

For individual images, plus a description and the cost of each of the products, just, read more.

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Fast Ride Lipstick: (£17) is an edgy, dark mulberry (and totally intimidating lipstick) that falls somewhere between an intense stain, and a gothy purple. What I love is its that the sheen keeps it looking fashion forward and seductive.
Mekong Single Eyeshadow: (£15) is a must for those with green or hazel eyes. The black-brown shadow contains rose gold flecks that make green eyes pop!
Silk Road Duo Eyeshadow: (£23) is a new pair of powder shadows that were influenced from traditional damask fabrics. One side houses a frosty pink whilst the other side is a rosey gold with golden shimmer.
Brumes Duo Eyeshadow: (£23) is another new powder shadow duo that has a matte charcoal shade one side (great as a liner or for the ultimate smoky eye) and the other side is a sparkly sky blue hue.
Indian Summer Duo Eyeshadow: (£23) is the most fashion forward of the eyeshadow pairs. Inside there's a frosted khaki shade beside a bold, matte, mustardy colour.
Tokaido Express Nail Polish: (£12.50) is black-plum varnish enhanced with finely milled gold sparkles and is named after Japan’s famed high-speed railway. From afar you'd think it's black, if you look a little bit closer, it's far more interesting!

A Sneak Peek at The 2009 Spring Chanel Makeup Collection

BellaSugarUK — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Psst! I've just seen the new Spring 2009 Makeup Collection from Chanel and it's smoking hot. It contains 22 products that range from subtle (blush) to trendy and bold (lips and nails). If I had to choose my absolute favourite I think it would be nearly impossible, as I'm torn between the chic artsty CC Lip Palette and the deep violet nail polish in Vendetta.

Also, the Mystic Eyes shadow quad is worth raving about too. It's the perfect combo of colours that can take you from day to night with the deepening of your crease and darkening of your liner.

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To read a description of each of the products, read more.

EYES

Quadra Eyeshadow Palette in Mystic Eyes (£33) is contains plum, beige, pink and bronze powder shadows.
Soft Touch Eyeshadow in Magic Night and Liberty (£18 each) are two individual powder shadows. Magic Night is shimmery, medium plum (it looks amazing if you have hazel or green eyes) and Liberty is a soft shimmery beige.
Fluid Iridescent Eyeshadow in Delta (£19.50) is a medium gold shadow with pigment so rich that I also like to use it as a highlighter on my cheekbones.
Precision Eye Definer in Brun-Cuivre (£15) is a sexy and creamy deep brown eyeliner.
Inimitable Waterproof Mascara in Brun (£19.50) is a medium brown mascara that looks incredible in the daytime paired with any of the new shadows.

LIPS

Rouge Hydrabase Cream Lipstick (£18 each) is available in six new shades: Gipsy Scarlet (a fiery light red), Fiesta (a deep apricot), Fuego (a bold, coral-red) Beige Desire (a sexy nude), Rose Rebelle (a pale rose) and Euphoria (a bright reddish pink).
Aqualumiere Sheer Colour Lipshine in Malta and Positano (£18 each) are two translucent lip glosses that contain SPF 15. Malta is a sparkling copper and Positano is a sexy light beige shade.
Glossimer in Beige Guitare and Wild Rose (£17 each ) is a super shimmery gloss with high shine and thick consistency. Wild Rose is a sweet pink shade and Beige Guitare is a glimmering gold (this colour looks great over any of the new lipsticks).
Ultra Wear Lip Colour in Alexandrite and Opal Rose (£18 each) delivers a deeper pigment to the lips for a more intense effect. Opal Rose, is a shimmery pink and Alexandrite is a bold red.
Chanel CC Lip Palette (£36) contains shades of beige, red and pink lipstick. It comes packaged in a sleek classic black case, with a lip brush inside for easy, on-the-go application.

NAILS

Vendetta is dark violet with a hint of shimmer, and Django is an extremely pale beigey-pink (almost champagne shade) (£15 each).

FACE

Powder Blush in Fandango (£26) is a subtle brown shade with a hint of shimmer, perfect for contouring (and if your skin is pale, then it also works as a bronzer).
Natural Finished Pressed Powder in Beige (£26) is a mattifying flesh-toned, silky smooth powder.

EYESHADOW 101: The Best Hues For Your Baby Blues

BellaSugar — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 16:27:55 -0700

Welcome back to Eyeshadow 101. The first installment was all about purple shadows for hazel/green eyes. #2 is dedicated to finding the best suited eyeshadows for all of you blue eyed beauties. Whether you have more of a sky blue tone or an oceany navy-green darker eye color; men will melt when they catch a glimpse of your baby blues.

Let's begin with a short reiteration of the basics from installment #1. The goal of wearing eye make-up is to enhance/bring attention to your eyes. The rule of thumb is to wear the opposite color eye shadow of your eyes on the color wheel so that your eyes really stand out (or POP as they say in the make-up world).

If there’s one thing to remember when it comes to blue eyes it's this: Never match your eyeshadow to your clothing or your eye color! If you have blue eyes, wearing blue eyeshadow makes your eyes look duller - and complementing your clothing has been out since the 80’s. Imagine if you were wearing red or black? YIKES!

To specifically make your blue eyes traffic stoppingly bold, I suggest colors such as: browns, greys, golds, rusty peaches or plum colors. Right now the look is more of a bold eye as opposed to the old muted "Bobbi Brown" natural eye, so have fun and play with your make-up as you would with any other accessory.

To see my product recommendations and reviews read more

As we know metallics are hot right now and they are easy to use alone. Just apply them to the lid and crease. My bronze and gold pics for blue eyes are:
"Half Baked" by Urban Decay - a really rich gold,

"Amber Lights" by MAC - a shimmery golden peachy-brown (worn by model> and

"Beach"Fluid Iridescent Eyeshadow by Chanel - the perfect combination of bronze and gold.

MAC also makes an awesome eyeliner called Teddy which is a darker shimmery bronze that looks great with any of these shadows.

If you are going for the whole shebang (lid, crease and highlighter) these are my suggestions. Typically, the lightest color is applied to the entire eyelid and to the edge of the eyebrow. Select a deeper color from the same color family to do the crease and dust a highlighter just beneath the brow.

I love Done That by Make Up By Armando for the lid,

MAC's Trax (a burgundy-plum flecked with bronze shimmer) for the crease and

Smashbox's Butter a goldy yellow as a highlighter.

Don't forget to blend well; when you think you've blended enough, blend some more! The goal is not to have obvious edges of color. Remember, lighter colors highlight and darker colors recede and add depth and shading.

Eye Palettes To Enhance Your Eye Color: Hazel Eyes

BellaSugar — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 12:30:22 -0800

Welcome to my first installment of Eye Shadow Palettes To Enhance Your Eye Color. If you have light green or hazel eyes, then you know that purple shadows make them pop. I've tried at least a dozen shades recently, and what I've discovered is you really need more than just one color to make your hazel cat eyes glow. The perfect palette is hard to come by, but I've found a few that get the job done well.

Each of these include three to four shades of just the right pinks, purples and sables to perfectly enhance your eyes. The lightest shade is the accent color that should go just beneath your brow-bone, the medium color purple goes across your lid and the darkest shade should be applied to the crease. Stay tuned for more palettes later this week to suit your eye color!

Beauty Addicts Eyeshadow Palette in Motivate, $34, is a collection of four beautiful and rich colors from the purple family; they are: heather, berry, plum and pale pink. The beauty of this palette is that you can skip the darker crease color for day (just use as a liner) and then add plum for a more dramatic effect at night.

To see a couple more purple palettes, read more

gloEye Shadow Trio in Amethyst by GloMinerals, $29.50, is a three color collection of eye shadows for hazel eyes. I've been using this palette for a long time and I still can't find a sable color quite like this one (the reddish color).

This high quality brand makes shadows that last. It won't crease, the colors blend easily and the palette is small enough to carry with you anywhere.

Wet n Wild Mega Eyes in Mojave Mauves, $2.99, is an easy to use palette because the colors go in order of use. Start from the bottom and apply that shade from your lid to the crease. Next apply the darkest shadow in your crease and blend well. Lastly, apply the light pink from your crease to your brow and dab just a little bit with the applicator in the inner corners of your eye.

If you want, wet the crease color and use it as a liner, or else line your eyes (top and bottom) in black. These pretty shades are long lasting, silky smooth and they won't break the bank.

Eyeshadow 101 Cont'd: Brown Eyed Girls

BellaSugar — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 09:22:00 -0700

Welcome back to the final installment of Eyeshadow 101: Brown Eyed Girls. The first lesson was all about purple shadows for hazel/green eyes and the second lesson covered The Best Hues For Your Baby Blues. This final installment is about choosing the best shades of eyeshadow for our chocolicious brown eyed babes.

Let's do a quick recap (I know, it's old by now for you devoted readers) for those of you who are new readers:

The goal of wearing eye make-up is to enhance/bring attention to your eyes. I've taught you, that the rule of thumb is to wear the opposite color eye shadow of your eyes on the color wheel so that your eyes really stand out (or POP as they say in the make-up world). But, brown isn't all that clearly defined on the color wheel so I called in the help of some of my FABulous make up counter experts who say (and I agree), that the best eyeshadow shade for brown eyes are bronzes and greens.

This is super exciting, because as we are well aware by now, metallics are all the rage. Here are my pics for bronze and shimmery deep brown colors for brown eyes. And FYI - these colors can be simple to use alone. Just apply them to the lid and crease.

Stila Eye Shadow in Twig which you can buy here for $14, and

Lancome Color Design Eye Shadow in Click which you can buy here for $14.50

To see additional product recommendations and reviews read more

My favorite green shadows for brown eyes are:

Senna's Metallic Eye Color in De-Vine. It's more of a rich greeny gold which you can buy here for $15.

Scott Barnes Eye Ice in Goddess which you can buy here for $25.

To specifically make your brown eyes bold, you can line both the upper and the lower rims heavily using a classic black pencil as weIl as a deep brown shadow or pencil. I suggest Shu Uemura's Drawing Pencil in Metallic Brown. It's amazingly smooth and the color is FAB. Buy it here for $18.

Application recap: If you are going for the whole shebang (lid, crease and highlighter), apply the lightest color (shimmery taupe or bronze) to the entire eyelid all of the way to the edge of the eyebrow. Use a deeper color from the same color family (i.e. deep brown) to the crease and dust a highlighter (a pale, shimmery, neutral or brown) just beneath the brow.

And don't forget to blend well. Just when you think you've blended enough, blend more, more and then some more! The goal is not to have obvious edges of color. Remember, lighter colors highlight and darker colors recede and add depth and shading.

Pastel Products Part 1: Easter-Egg Eye Shadow Shades

BellaSugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 15:00:09 -0700

Spring will officially be here by week's end. This season is known for heavy pastel makeup shades, and 2008 is no exception. As we've seen in my post about Festive Floral Spring Beauty Buys, beauty brands have made pretty and pale floral products a big part of their offerings.

In my experience, the key to a winning pastel is substantial pigment. Too often I find wimpy pastels that wind up looking like a generic iridescent pink no matter if they are lilac, blue, green, or peach. This week I'll be talking more about face, cheek, and lip pastel products, but for now I've featured three of my favorite eye shadows below along with some photos of a few runner-ups.

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Givenchy Prismissime 9 Colours Face and Eyeshadow Palette ($50) is actually part of the 2006 Spring collection, but there are still plenty available online for purchase. Each of the colors can be worn alone on the eyes (the corner shades are especially notable) or they can be blended together and gently swept over the face for a radiant glow. You're destined to have fun with all of these Easter-eggy shades to play with.

Dior 5-Color Iridescent Eyeshadow ($54) contains velvety-soft powder shadows that you can mix, match, and blend to your heart's content. My personal favorite of the bunch is the shimmery peach shade since it complements each of the others so well. If you use it in the inner v of your eye, you'll get a sweet and subtle daytime twinkle. Also, the deep-purple shade can double as an eyeliner.

For one last single and pretty pastel eye shadow shade, read more.

Nars Single Eye Shadow in Night Fairy ($22) is an oldie but goodie. This golden pearly, pale-violet powder shadow looks dynamite on brown and hazel eyes. You can wear it alone, or add a taupey brown to the crease for extra depth.

Eye Shadow 101 - Today's Theme Is Purple

DearSugar — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 18:18:59 -0700

Dear Sugar
I am so completely overwhelmed when I see all of the different cosmetics counters in department stores. I like to wear light make-up. Usually just; bronzer, blush, mascara and gloss.

But, this summer I have four weddings to attend and I'd like to get more dressed up and wear eye shadow. I have greenish - hazel eyes. Can you tell me what colors to choose so I don't feel like a complete idiot when I approach one of the counters at Bloomies? Clueless About Cosmetics

Dear Clueless About Cosmetics
The goal of wearing eye make-up is to enhance/bring attention to your eyes. The rule of thumb is to wear the opposite color eye shadow of your eyes on the color wheel so that your eyes really stand out (or POP as they say in the make-up world).

For you, I'd go with MAC's Sable eye shadow It is an amazing muted, golden plum brown everyday color with bronze shimmer. First apply a light pink color to the base of your lids - try Trish McEvoy's Deluxe Eye Shadow in Shell, then add a touch of the sable to the crease.

Lastly, line your eyes with Mac's Sketch. It's the mac daddy (no pun intended) of purples. The color is an intense burgundy-plum flecked with red shimmer.

Another great idea which I've just discovered will be very simple for you because it's packaged together is glowmineral's gloEye shadow trio in Amethyst.

Or Dior's 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Sweet Illusion.

Have fun playing - just think of makeup as an expression of art! This picture of purple "smoky eyes" is a little intense, but you can tone it down significantly to get the look you want.

Trend Alert: Drawing the Line With Winged Eyeliner

BellaSugarUK — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:00:00 -0700

From Lily Allen, to Kelly Osbourne, to our current beauty obsession – Alexa Chung – normally fresh-faced girls are taking inspiration from the catwalks and winging it, eyeliner-wise.

Thick, black liquid eyeliner is a favourite – as seen here on Jessica Stam at the Karl Lagerfeld show. There's a touch of the modern-day Cleopatra about it, plus it's also an easy-peasy way of looking like you've made an effort when time is short. I like Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner, (£4.99), from Boots. You need a steady hand though and be extra careful when lining the lower lashes, so you don't look over done.

A kohl pencil is easier and can look just as effective, especially if you layer. Start with a grey, like Chanel Le Crayon Kohl in Graphite, (£14), and draw along the inner rim of the lower lashes, extending it slightly at the outer corner. Extend horizontally across, rather than flicked up, to really open up the eyes. Next use the same colour on the upper lash line. Then, dampen a dark blue or black eyeshadow, such as MAC Nehru or Deep Truth, (£10), and use a flat angled brush to draw a thin line along the upper lashes. This looks dramatic, without that slightly cheap look that thick black eyeliner can sometimes create.

Navy or granite are the 'in' colours this season. Navy looks cool on brown or hazel eyes, whilst granite makes blue eyes look extra vivid. Experiment with colours and layering though, as it's all about finding a shade that suits.

Source

Coming Soon: Flirt! Cosmetics Bright on Summer 2008 Collection

BellaSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:00:36 -0700

Every season Flirt! Cosmetics gathers a few old and a few new items to create a themed color story of the season. For Summer 2008, the look is called Bright On! This four-product combination includes a creamy eye shadow, a deep-violet mascara, a dark-purple eyeliner pencil (in my absolute favorite color, Purple Rain - it's so dark it looks almost black) and a brand-new lip balm with SPF 12 called Flirt-Tinis.

Flirt-Tinis are sheer, conditioning, limited-edition glossy balms that moisturize lips while providing a little bit of shimmer. I love that they glide on smooth without any of the tackiness of a goopy lip gloss. Including Fizzy Pink (the featured color), three additional shades will also be available in June online and in Kohl's department stores.

The inspiration for Bright On! comes from the pop color runway trend. These shades are vibrant, but they're also wearable since they can be layered to create anything from understated to bold. They also touch on the purple trend that is apparently carrying over from Fall and Spring. To read more about each of the items in the Bright On! color story, read more.

I’m Whipped Eyeshadow Mousse in Mystical ($12) is a smooth and creamy, shimmery bright-lavender shadow.
Big Flirt Thickening Mascara in Violet Vixen ($10) is a dark aubergine mascara that adds volume and length to your lashes.
Look of Love Eye Pencil in Purple Rain ($10) is a deep, rich purple creamy eyeliner pencil with a tiny bit of sparkle (it looks especially amazing on anyone with green or hazel eyes).
New Flirt-Tinis Protective Tinted Lip Balm SPF 12 in Fizzy Pink ($10) is a creamy, sheer baby-pink lip balm that comes in a pocket-sized pot that can be applied with a brush or with your fingertip.