Day 5 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge

Inspiration: Bombshell-extraordinaire Adriana Lima on the cover of Elle

Trying to be a Bombshell...

Adriana Lima I am not!

                 

I couldn't help but laugh at my posing...

Feeling a little more natural with dry hair!

Day 5 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Bombshell? Okay, so I’m not a Victoria’s Secret model, but I was inspired by the makeup on the October 2011 cover of Elle Magazine featuring Adriana Lima.  I may not be bombshell status, but it was fun to pretend for a while!

What you will need:

• Tinted  moisturizer (Philosphy’s The Supernatural provides me with an even complexion and a warm glow)
  
• Concealer (Still swear by Benefit’s Erase Paste)
  
• Powder (I recommend Sephora’s Mineral loose powder)
  
  
• Bronzer (I used Lancome’s Star Bronzer in Bronze Solaire)

• Blush (Today I used Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream waterproof cream color)
  
  
• Highlighter ( I used Benefit’s Girl Meets Pearl)

• Golden shimmer eyeshadow (Today was the gold color from Lancome’s Colour Focus EyeColour Quad in 4Dreaming)
  
  
• Black, black, black eyeliner (For today’s inner rims, I used Tarte’s EmphasEYES inner rim pencil in in black; and for the outer liner I used a fat black kohl pencil from Giella)
  
  
• Mascara (Today’s lashes were brought to you courtesy of Urban Decay’s Supercurl Curling Mascara)
  
  
• Pale pink lip color and gloss (Today was a combination of Wet n Wild’s long lasting lipstick in 901B with a touch of Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush lip gloss in Strawberry Fizz)
  
• A few spritzes of Victoria’s Secret Sexy Little Things scented body mist in Noir Tease (this is a Bombshell challenge, isn’t it?)

 
Instructions:

After days of being sick, I had my first break today.  I woke up feeling vaguely, well, human.  As my health changed, so did my mood, bringing a bit of sunshine with it.  To celebrate, I decided to have some fun and attempt the classic bombshell look. 

I started off with the Five Minute Wake Up Makeup base (I said I was feeling better, but so enthused as to put much more work into it!).  I followed along with the contouring steps, but I added extra emphasis on the bronzer to bring more of the sun-kissed look to my cheeks.  Benefit’s Girl Meets Pearl liquid highlighter was tapped along the length of my entire cheekbones to brighten up what could be a very dark look.  I also changed up my blush, gently tapping Make Up For Ever’s Aqua Cream waterproof cream color along the apples of my cheeks to add a peachy glow.

Next, I lined the inner rims of my eyes with Tarte’s EmphasEYES inner rim pencil in in black.  (Check out my Moody Makeup post for inner rim lining tips!) I then dusted a light coat of the shimmery gold color from Lancome’s Colour Focus EyeColour Quad in 4Dreaming from lid to brow to bring more warmth to the look.
Then I tackled my biggest challenge.  I lined all the way around my eyes with a thick, black kohl pencil.  I am not an expert at this, and the smudgeable kohl pencil took over half my face.  Tip for saving the day?  Q-tips!  These handy little buggers can help clean up any mess you make, and with great precision.  Everyone needs these in their makeup tool box!  As for kohl pencil?  Practice, practice, practice!  Don’t give up! And when you survive the lining ordeal, top off your lashes with a thickening, curling black mascara top and bottom.

Finally, I accented a natural pout with a dab of pale pink lipstick on the center of my lips (top and bottom) only, and a touch of gloss on top.  It makes the pout stand out without overwhelming the strong eyes.
Overall, it wasn’t as bad as I thought, although I have some reckoning to do with that kohl pencil….

 I know there are bombshells out there!  Show me your best, and have some fun with it!  Post your photos, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try our via reply post or Email Me!

 See you tomorrow for Day 6 of The Great Makeup Challenge!

Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, or your local drug store.

Day 4 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge

Day 4 of 365 of The Great Makeup Challenge: Moody Makeup.  As my illness (and whining) continues, so does the challenge. Today, my makeup was dictated by my mood: dark. Let’s be honest: three days of being so sick you can barely move starts to wear down on you. We all of those days, and we often reflect them in clothing choices (black, anyone?) and our outlook for the day. So today I was moody. Can you blame me?

What you will need:

• Tinted  moisturizer (I use and highly recommend Philosphy’s The Supernatural)
  
• Concealer; unless you’re one of the lucky ones who don’t need it! (The absolute best one I’ve ever used: Benefit Erase Paste)
  
• Powder (I recommend Sephora’s Mineral loose powder)
  
  
• Bronzer (I recommend Wet n Wild Ultimate Minerals Bronzer.  It is cheap, but the quality is great)
  
• Blush (Today, I used Benefit’s Coralista blush)
  

• Highlighter (for a quick powder highlighter, I recommend Wet n Wild Mega Glo Illuminating Powder)
  
  
• Light eye shadow (Today, I used Lancome’s Color Design eye shadow in Lavender Girl - Shimmer)
  
  
• Waterproof Mascara, in case your whining gets a little wet in the eyes (Today, I used Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Waterproof mascara)
  
• Dark Eyeliner (Today I used Wet n Wild’s Coloricon eyeliner in Black Black on the outer eye and Pop Beauty’s in-liner in No. 1 in Black for the inner rims)
  
  
• Dark lip color for your skin tone (I used Kat Von D’s Foiled Love Lipstick in Oh My Goth)

Instructions:

Okay, before you think I’ve gone all dark and Goth on you, let’s think about this. We all get in these modes. It may be a day, a few days, or a week. We simply don’t feel like being an outward ray of sunshine. It happens. Personally, projecting my feelings of gloom and doom onto something can be therapeutic. In this case, it’s my makeup…and my clothes. Darkness be damned, I’m letting my moody side out, and it just seems to have brought out a bit of a smile. After all, makeup can be transformative and therapeutic. We can let our makeup change our outlook and project ourselves (or that other version of ourselves) to the rest of the world. Today was my day. To start the day, I continued utilizing my quick Five Minute Wake Up Makeup base, contouring, and blush tips. Not only am I moody, I’m also feeling lazy.

Next, I decided to go with the darkness that seemed to be emanating from my sickly eyes and line, line, line in the blackest black I own. I started off with Pop Beauty’s in-liner in No. 1 in Black for the inner rims. First of all, inner rim lining can take some practice. Holding up that upper lid and not blinking is a fine art, not to mention a great challenge if you’re oddly ticklish like me. Another war can be with the watering eye that can ensue. This is where I’m making a big recommendation: buy an eyeliner meant for the inner rims! They exist, and they are meant to combat common eye irritation that can occur from regular pencils (me!), as well as running from teary eyes (me again!). I highly recommend Pop Beauty’s in-liner, which I purchased at Ulta. I’ve tried many, many brands, and this inner rim liner glides on easily and beats all the typical woes that can occur with inner-rim lining.

After darkening my inner rims, I dusted a light coat of a shimmery eyeshadow from lid to brow. I chose Lancome’s Color Design eye shadow in Lavender Girl – Shimmer, as it has a touch of lavender that will play nicely off the burgundy lipstick I had planned for the occasion. The bit of shimmer helps to keep the look from looking too, well, sad. I topped the eye look off with a line all the way around my eyes of Wet n Wild’s Coloricon eyeliner in Black Black and a coat (top and bottom lashes) of Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto Voluptuous Waterproof mascara.

Finally, to top off the look, I chose a dark lipstick, specifically, Kat Von D’s Foiled Love Lipstick in Oh My Goth. Just as the name projects, this lipstick can go very Halloween, very fast. Here’s my tip for taming a super-dark lipstick: put on a light coat, blot some off, and blend with your fingers. Using this approach, you can go with a just-bitten look, or you can keep slowly layering until you reach the darkness of your specific mood.

 Get moody, people!  I want to see your moods, good or bad!  Share with me your best and worst moods expressed through your makeup, ask any questions you may have, or share any ideas you want me to try out via reply post or Email Me!

 See you tomorrow for Day 5 of The Great Makeup Challenge!

Note: All products I recommended above are available from Sephora, Ulta, your local department store, or your local drug store.