Simple Smoky Taupe Tutorial

Good morning!  Hope you're all having a fab Saturday so far! :D  I'm especially gleeful because this is my one Saturday morning off work this month and I got to sleep in...woke up about 15 minutes ago, lol.  Anywho, as you all know, I just wrapped up finals and have been spending the last two evenings celebrating.  Despite being on break, I still have work, however, so I didn't have a lot of time to get ready to go out last night.  Therefore I decided to grab my new ELF Studio Pigment Eyeshadow in Naturally Nude, and created a quick and easy smoky look for the evening:

To start, I applied Naturally Nude to my primed upper and lower eyelids:

As  I had with my previous loose shadows, I tossed the included sifter.

Be warned, Naturally Nude is not really nude.  It looks nothing like the swatch shown on the website, actually.  It's more of a deep, shimmery taupe with an antique-gold cast.

 
I applied it with a medium, flat eyeshadow brush and then blended with my finger to soften the edges.  Next, using black pencil eyeliner, I traced the outer corners of my upper and lower lash lines:

Then I smudged the pencil with my finger to create a smoky effect:

To increase the smoky effect, I layered matte black eyeshadow over the smudged liner:

Using black cream eyeliner, I created a modest wing along my top lash line and traced the outer corner of my bottom lash line:

To wrap it up, I curled my lashes and applied mascara:

I later thought it would be fun to add a little extra glam, so I applied a pair of glittery Daiso false eyelashes:

Makes a difference!  I got a nice compliment about my eyes last night.  That's always a confidence booster!  Hope you all found this tutorial useful and enjoy the rest of your Saturday! :D

Hugs,
Cat

Nothing but the Half Truth

Hello everyone!  I just thought I'd do a super-duper simple look today, using only ONE color from my Urban Decay 15th Anniversary palette.

Our star color of the day is Half Truth:

Half Truth is a shimmery hybrid between gunmetal and purple.  It's so pretty that it can stand alone, as you can see, but I'm also excited to blend it with other colors in the future.  Here's how I got the look:

STEP 1:

After applying eyeshadow primer, sweep Half Truth onto your eyelids, blending upward so that it begins to fade as it reaches the hollow of your brow bone, creating a gradient from dark to light.  Apply along the bottom lash line as well.

STEP 2:

Using black cream/gel eyeliner, apply a winged line to the top lash line.  Then lightly sketch any leftover product along your lower lash line to create a softer look.

STEP 3:

Curl lashes, apply mascara, and you're done!

Now I have a soft, smoky eye that stands out, yet is subtle enough to wear during the day.  Which I did, by the way.  I went to class like this this morning.  Only 3 steps!  Anyone can do this! :D

:: Eyes ::

UD Primer Potion in Eden

UD Eyeshadow in Half Truth

Wet N Wild Cream Eyeliner in Black

Maybelline Full N Soft Mascar in Black

:: Cheeks ::

ELF Studio Blush in Fuchsia Fusion

:: Lips ::

ELF Studio Lipliner and Blending Brush in Nude Pink

ELF Studio Conditioning Lip Balm in Peaceful Pink

Alrighty, back to hitting the books!  I have a presentation AND a midterm tomorrow.  Wish me luck!