Makeup Tips/How To

According to the International Association of Professional Pet Assistants (IAPPA), PAWS, or Pet Assistant Weariness Syndrome, afflicts 63% of pet assistants, myself included.

More often than not, it goes undiagnosed, and there’s also a stigma attached to it. Many people with PAWS live in fear, not wanting to be the targets of ridicule.

But admitting that you have PAWS is the first step to recovery…

When my PAWS flares up, and I’m feeling really run down, I like to take a small amount of concealer, usually in the same shade that I’ve been using lately to cover my dark circles (MAC Select Moisturecover in NW25), which is a few shades lighter than my natural skin color, and apply it along the base of my brows with a pencil brush like the MAC 219.

(SIDE NOTE: You could also use a concealer in crayon clothing, like the new Rouge Bunny Rouge Concealers, for this trick and apply it directly with the crayon.)

Applied along the base of the brow, the lighter concealer color appears to lift the arch, making the eye seem brighter and more alert.

As long as I’m careful to blend away any visible edges with a finger, the effect is so subtle that my boss rarely even realizes what I’ve done, and when I look more awake, I usually feel a little more awake, which is great for my PAWS. 🙂

But it’s not a cure. As long as my employer continues to regularly send me on midnight gravy runs, I’ll continue to suffer from PAWS…

I don’t remember saying that you could take a break.
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I don’t know… Today I feel very indifferent about my makeup, very noncommittal, like I don’t really have a strong opinion one way or another.

There’s a word for it, the way I’m feeling, but dang if I can’t recall what it is.

Neuter? No — that’s not it.

(Whoops, sorry Tabs! It had to be done.)

I think it has something to do with Switzerland in World War II?

Oh, shoot. It’s on the tip of my tongue…

LOL!

Neutral! The word is neutral. 🙂

Today I thought I’d share one of my favorite everyday eye looks, a brown, bronze and black neutral eye that I wear sometimes when I want to look polished and put-together.

Like many of my favorite looks, it’s an easy one that doesn’t require a lot of blending, and we should be able to knock it out in less than 15 minutes.

I’ll be using a mix products from MAC and L’Oréal, but you know how we roll here — feel free to use any other brands and similar colors you happen to have around.

From the left: MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood, MAC Eyeshadow in Saddle, MAC Eyeshadow in Mulch, MAC Eyeshadow in Woodwinked, MAC Eyeshadow in Print and L’Oreal Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black

What’s that you say? You noticed my watch, and now you’d like to ask me what time it is? Well…

It’s prime time!

Let’s start by applying a base for our powder eyeshadows. How about creamy bronze MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood? We’ll apply that all over our lids with a finger and buff it out with a fluffy domed brush like the MAC 217.

That should really intensify the colors of the powder eyeshadows we’re about to layer on top.

The shape of things to come

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Silly eighth-grade me, thinking I knew everything. I was so sure that eyeliner application would be one of those easy beauty skills to master. After all, I was a fairly artistic teen. I got Bs in both Calligraphy and Intro to Art. I mean really, how hard could it be?

Well…

Apparently, harder than I thought. To my surprise, the doodling I did all over my Pee-Chee folders did not adequately prepare me for proper eyeliner application, and my calligraphy class did not help me achieve flawlessly lined Elizabeth Taylor eyes.

Thank goodness this was before camera phones; otherwise, I’d probably have a folder filled with pictures of me looking like a hot mess in the forbidden purple Lancôme liner I covertly applied every day after I left the house.

The lines, so shaky… So uneven…

I wish I could go back and give 13-year-old Karen a few words of advice. If I could, I would tell her 1) to convince Mom to stop taking me to the $6 haircut place around the corner, because they could not cut wavy hair for sh*t; 2) I would also submit that triangle hair is completely unacceptable; and 3) I would end my future transmission with the following phrase: brace yo’self — not just for the onslaught of awkwardness that teenager-hood and puberty would bring, but also when you apply your eyeliner.

This might sound a little wackadoo, but hear me out. If you have trouble with shaky lines when you apply eyeliner, try bracing your body against something solid, like a table or wall.

Crisp, clean eye makeup requires some coordination, and propping my elbows on a table, or leaning against a wall, really helps to steady my hands.

It’s the same with photography.

When taking pics, even the slightest movement when you press the shutter button can introduce camera shake and blur.

Blurry pictures with photography, blurry lines with eyeliner.

Stand up for eye makeup!

Here’s another tip to try: if you usually apply your eye makeup while sitting down, give it a try standing up (or sitting down, if you usually stand up).

I’ve noticed that certain things are easier for me to apply, like liquid liner and false lashes, when I’m standing up. Weird, but true. 🙂

Welcome to Share a Tip Tuesdays! What’s a makeup or beauty tip you’d like to share? Eyeliner tips would be great, but if you have other makeup tips, I’d love to hear ’em, too!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

If you’re not ready to dive headfirst into plummy pools of mulberry wine on your eyes, no worries, boo-boo. It can some time to get accustomed to wearing bolder colors like purple.

What’s say we dip our toes into the deep end with something a little less daring, like this uncomplicated eye look guest starring khaki and gold? 🙂

Khakis are great gateway shades to ease the transition from neutrals to more colorful shadows.

In this look we’re about to do today (you’re ready, aren’t you?), you get a pinch of green — just enough to capture an onlooker’s attention. Don’t worry. We’re not talkin’ about a flashy disco shade like a kelly green or opulent emerald.

And with khakis, if you ever feel like you’ve gone overboard with color, you can always mix them with golds, bronzes and browns to tone them down, which is what we’re going to do now.

Okay now where the heck did I put my gold eyeliner…?

Aha! There it is. I’ll be using MAC Powerpoint Eye Pencil in Handforged, as well as a light khaki eyeshadow, a darker khaki eyeshadow and a black eyeliner.

Today, I thought I’d draw from Dior’s All-In-One Palette in Khaki Design ($59), which is new for fall, for the shadows and liner.

Now, it always pays to have the right tools for the job, and in this case I’ll be using a domed blending brush (the MAC 217), a tapered blending brush (the MAC 224), a flat eye shadow brush (the MAC 239) and an angled eye brush (the legendary MAC 266).

If you don’t have these exact same colors, shh…don’t tell anyone, but it doesn’t really matter. 🙂 Use something similar from your makeup bag, or heck, something different if you aren’t a big fan of khaki and bronze.

Let’s get started!

Apply a gold base on your lids

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