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Face of the Day (FOTD)

An Olivia Wilde-Inspired Chanel Face of the Day

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I’ve been counting down the days ‘til the release of Cowboys & Aliens, and the invasion is almost here (July 29)! Just gimme a bucket of salty popcorn, a story about angry aliens and 90 uninterrupted minutes with hottie-bo-bottie Daniel Craig, and I’m good to go.

Sure, the movie looks cheesy (potentially very cheesy), but I’m keeping my fingers crossed because, after all, you never know, right? It’s high time someone pitted gunslingers against extra terrestrials, and maybe it’ll work out as well as other unusual pairings like chicken and waffles, salt and caramel, and Brigitte Nielsen and Flavor Flav. 🙂

I’m also looking forward to seeing the lovely Olivia Wilde, whom I’m currently girl crushing on BIG TIME right now.

She looked all sorts of amazing on the red carpet last weekend at the Cowboys & Aliens premiere, sporting this black lace dress with her hair in a loose updo, and for her makeup, which was pure Chanel, she went with a soft smokey eye, pink lips and pinkish nude cheeks.

I liked the look so much that today I thought I’d give something like it a try. Most of the products I used here are from Chanel, with a few bits and bobs from MAC and NARS, but you could surely do something similar with other products you might have around.

I read in a press release that Olivia’s makeup for the evening involved Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Eyeshadow in Mirifique ($36), Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir ($30) and Chanel Intense Eye Pencil in Noir ($28). I used the same products for my eye look, along with the others mentioned below.


Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Eyeshadow in Mirifique, Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir and Chanel Intense Eye Pencil in Noir


Swatches from the left with the flash: Chanel Intense Eye Pencil in Noir, Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wear Eyeshadow in Mirifique and Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara in Noir


Without the flash

Eye see you! 🙂

Olivia Wilde-inspired smokey eyes
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Today My Eyes Wanna Be Blue, and They Can with the Benefit Eye Wanna! Kit

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benefit eye wanna the maggie collection fotd

Some people keep their favorite book on their bed stand, others a bottle of holy water (My mom totally does! It’s in a bottle shaped like the Virgin Mary!). Me? — I have a space dedicated to whichever piece of makeup I’m currently crushing on. That way, it’s one of the first things I see when I get up in the morning. 🙂 Nerdy, I know, but it’s also true.

benefit eye wanna the maggie collection

Right now the space is reserved for the new Eye Wanna! kit from Benefit, which, last night, slept right beside my lamp. Perfect, because when my eyelids fluttered open this morning and my eyes adjusted to the light, the cute kit was there to greet me.

As I lay in bed contemplating the artwork on the packaging, I felt a familiar rustling under the covers and pulled them back to confirm my suspicions.

Tabs immediatlely grumbled a hello, raising his head. “Mrow.”

“Oh, good morning,” I said. “How did you sleep?”

He flashed me his usual disinterested stare.

“You think I should do a look today inspired by the artwork on this beautiful palette?”

He issued a purr-chirp in reply, which I usually take to mean, “I don’t care, woman. Get up and feed me some gravy, already!” But today’s I interpreted as a resounding “Yes.”

I chose this blue, taupe, pink and plum eye — a little out of my comfort zone, but I thought it might be fun to wear to the farmer’s market tonight.

benefit eye wanna the maggie collection fotd eye

benefit eye wanna the maggie collection fotd
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Makeup in Aisle 3: An Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary Palette Face of the Day

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I’d forgotten I was out of contact lens solution when I got the urge to play with the new Urban Decay 15-Year Anniversary Palette last night, and I remembered just about the time I finished this look with blue, green, brown and gold.

So I went to Target, LOL! I felt a little crazy town cruising the store with gold glitter on my lower lash line — it’s probably a better look for da club than eye care on aisle three — and I’m pretty sure I startled the cashier, but whatcha gonna do? Sometimes you just need contact lens solution AND glitter. 🙂

urban decay 15-year anniversary eyeshadow collection


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Tarte Glow Your Way to Gorgeous Helped Me Face My Day

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tarte glow your way to gorgeous

Well, hello, glow! How nice of you to visit. 🙂 Waking up was tough this morning, and I got up feeling frazzled and a little run down.

I decided that some shimmer was in order because it usually picks me up, but since I hadn’t had any coffee yet and wasn’t firing on all cylinders, I knew I should stick to something simple. I reached for Tarte’s new Glow Your Way to Gorgeous Kit ($55, available now exclusively on QVC.com), an eight-piece set with makeup for eyes, lips and cheeks in shades of pink, peach and plum. In addition to makeup, it comes with a couple of brushes and a full-coverage concealer — handy, by the way, when you stay up too late watching brainless reality TV (The Challenge: Rivals on MTV, anyone?) and get up the next morning with KILLER dark circles.

tarte glow your way to gorgeous


Amazonian Clay Blush in Peaceful
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Urban Decay Fall 2011: Swatches, Pics and a Fun Tuesday Face of the Day

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urban decay fall 2011

YOWZA! I could not wait to meet the 15 new eyeshadow colors in the Urban Decay Fall 2011 collection. 🙂

Here are pics and swatches of them and the other products in the release, along with a quick breakdown of the look I wore this afternoon, which, I should say, was inspired by the teal and purple look worn by the model for UD’s Fall 2011 campaign, and NOT by that embarrassing incident with the hot fireman last year.

urban decay fall 2011

Urban Decay Fall 2011 Product Pictures

urban decay 15-year anniversary eyeshadow collection
15-Year Anniversary Eyeshadow Collection ($55)

urban decay 15-year anniversary eyeshadow collection
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MAC Colourizations Collection: This Dramatic Double Feature Stars a Teal and Brown Eye

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MAC Colourizations Double Feature 3

Okay, so you how when you’re in the mood to do a dramatic eyeshadow look, and you start with just a few colors, but the next thing you know you’ve got, like, 10 different shades all up on your lids?

Welcome to my world, chica.

MAC Colourizations Double Feature 3

I don’t know what it is, but when I see all of those lonely pans looking up at me hopefully, I can’t help myself. A little bit of this one here, a tiny bit of that one there. OOH! A dash of this one to accentuate everything else. 🙂

Sometimes I wonder if I have some kind of medical makeup condition that compels me to use four different browns in the crease.

While it’s fun to get carried away doing complicated eye looks while completely ignoring the clock, I think it’s also fun (and usually more practical) to see what drama can be had with one or two shades, tops. The funky colors in the new MAC Eye Shadow X 2 Duos ($25 each) from the upcoming Colourizations collection are here to help.

Today I took Double Feature 3’s matte teal and chocolate satin out for a spin…

mac colourizations double feature 3

MAC Colourizations Double Feature 3
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A Mid-Week Date Night Look with Chanel, MAC and NARS

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When it started to look like cereal for dinner, El Hub and I decided at the last minute to go on a mid-week date last night (fish and chips, and beer… romantic, I know!). I went with this quick, sparkly look using a mix of new pieces from NARS, Chanel and MAC (and very little blending) and sprinkled it with some permanent products from Jouer, Hourglass, Buxom and Urban Decay.

Here’s a product breakdown of the look…

EYES
CHEEKS
LIPS


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My MAC Thursday Surf Baby Face of the Day

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mac surf baby

If you’d asked me 15 years ago (back when I was deep into my brown/pink eyeshadow phase) if I’d wear a yellow shadow like Sun Blonde, I probably would have said, “OH, HELL NAW!”

I was pretty conservative with my makeup back then and almost never ventured out of my comfort zone. That slowly changed over time. Now, when it comes to wearing bold eye makeup, I’m still not a Rainbow Brite girl, but I am more adventurous than I was.

When I find a color I really like, I’ll try to figure out ways to wear it that I know I’ll feel comfortable in — sometimes it’s a bright pop on the lids, a subtle wash in the crease or a sweep along my lower lash lines.

I also like to balance my brights with neutrals, and for my makeup today I played with the yellow and teal shades from MAC Surf Baby, pairing them with browns and beige.


MAC Surf Baby products used for this look, clockwise from the lipgloss in the lower left: Lipglass in Krazy Kahuna, Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Blue Noon, Studio Careblend Pressed in Gold-Go-Lightly, Eyeshadow in Short Shorts, Eyeshadow in Surf USA and Eyeshadow in Sun Blonde

Hibiscus, one of the Surf Baby makeup looks on the MAC website, gave me the overall idea, and using a mix of limited edition Surf Baby products and MAC permanent collection sweets, I ended up with a look featuring teal, yellow, brown, coral and beige.


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