Eye Love Eyeliner <3

I'm a big fan of eyeliner - all colors, styles, and application techniques. They can be used to make that sexy, smudgy, smokey eye or the old Hollywood cat eye, and no matter what, they all make your lashes look super thick. Here are a few of my favorites and some tips on how to use them.

For the dark smokey eye, I recommend using a pencil that comes with a sponge tip on the opposite end to use for smudging. I like Dior's Crayon Eyeliner ($26) because it's waterproof, which means it's going to hold through hell and high water. It glides on precise, but with the sponge on the end, you can softly blend it out. I like to use Trinidad Black, which is a jet black. To get the smokey look, you just line from the outer corner to the inner corner on the top lash line. As far as the bottom lash line goes, it's a matter of preference as to whether you want to go from the outer corner halfway in or all the way in to the inner corner (if you have small eyes, only go halfway because if you go all the way, it will just make your eyes look that much smaller). Then, before the liner sets as all waterproof liners do, you take the sponge on the end and just blend softly in small strokes until it's just smudged enough to not be a precise line. Then, with a stiff-bristle brush, smudge a dark charcoal grey or black eyeshadow along the eyeliner and a little bit out past it. I like Urban Decay's Matte Eyeshadow in Perversion, which is a matte black.

When you do a dramatic, smokey eye like this, I recommend sticking with natural makeup everywhere else, with just a touch of blush and a soft, natural lip. This way, it doesn't look too overwhelming.

I also like when people do the smokey eye with different colors, like deep purples, blues, or greens. Here are some examples.

I'm also a big fan of the old Hollywood, super glamorous cat-eye with a precise, black line. Most of the time, liquid eye liners or brush-on ones in a cream or gel form are the best kinds to get this look. Stila Smudge Pots ($20) are gels that can actually be used as eyeliner or even a cream eyeshadow. If you use a small, stiff brush similar to a lip brush, it will glide on perfectly smooth and precise. I pull out the corner of the eye with one hand, while brushing on the eyeliner with the other. This takes some practice and you have to angle the wing on the end differently depending on your eye shape, so just keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it.

I've mentioned before another liquid liner that I really like - Lancome's Artliner ($28) which has a long, pointy, felt tip that's incredibly easy to apply and stays on all day without flaking.

I like dramatic looks with the black liquid eyeliner, too, that are a little more fresh and modern, a little less Hollywood glamour.

I love bright colors, too. Makeup Forever's Aqua Eyes ($17) are incredible eyeliner-eyeshadow hybrids that come in a ton of different colors and can be matte or shimmery. They're waterproof, so they stay on incredibly long and look super awesome.

My Favorite Eyeshadows

My number one favorite type of eyeshadow is Lancome's Color Design Eyeshadow ($16.50). They come in dozens of different colors and can be matte, sheen, shimmery, metallic, or intense. They give great color payoff and hold incredibly well throughout the day.

Volcano, which is a shimmery taupey-gray color is one of my favorites. When paired with warm neutrals, it looks more brown, but when paired with cool colors like blacks and silvers, it looks more gray. I love having that option of transition.

The New Black is a metallic true black packed with tons of silver glitter. I love to use this all over the lower eyelid for a very dramatic look, or blended in at the lashline for a soft, smoky look.

Filigree is a pale, shimmery cream color that can be used with literally just about anything. It's perfect as an all-over starting color, as a highlighter up on the brow bone, or just smudged a little in the inner corner of the eye (doing this brightens the whole eye area).

Personal Style (left) is a shimmery pale aqua that looks amazing with The New Black for a dramatic eye. Fashion Forward (right) looks especially pretty with pale pink in the spring for a candy colored look.

The Fall 2009 Declaring Indigo Color Collection brought us the Indigo Charm color quad. This one was hard to find once it launched because of unbelievable popularity. It has two shades of indigo, both intense, one with gold glitter in it and one with it. The other two shades in the quad are a lighter metallic gold and a darker, almost dirty gold that's also metallic. Paired with red lips, this look was innovative, fresh, and unique.

A few last shades I love are Makeover (a pale shimmery pink), Impress (a metallic chocolate brown), Statuesque (a matte true black), Faux Pas (a matte medium brown), and Designer (a metallic olive green).

This one is Makeover.

This one is Faux Pas.

This is Designer.

Another brand of eyeshadows I love are MAKEUP FOREVER's Singles ($19). They come in matte, semi-matte, and iridescent and have an extensive range of colors. They're soft and easy to blend, but not crumbly.

My favorites are Lavender 9 (a vibrant matte lavender), Neon Pink 75 (a bright matte fuchsia), and Rust Orange 36 (a matte apricot-orange). These are pictured in order below.

MAC's Eyeshadow Singles ($14.50) some of my favorites, too. They are smooth, fine powders that apply evenly and blend easily. I particularly love Chrome Yellow (a matte, vibrant yellow), Beauty Marked (a deep burgundy-ish black with sparkle), and Plumage (a deep, matte teal).

Sephora's Sephora Brand Colorful Eyeshadows ($10-$12) are available in a matte finish, pearl finish, chrome finish, and their newest mono finish that has more intense, bold color. These definitely deserve a mention because they are oustanding - they have a wide range of colors, they're pressed and don't break up easily, and they all blend well. Another honorable mention as far as drugstore brands go would be Cover Girl's Eye Enhancers line ($3.14-$4.84) - they have recently come out with fantastic shades in singles, duos, trios, and even quads, and the quality is really great. The JK Jemma Kidd line (sold exclusively at Target) also has fantastic eyeshadows, running from $16-$29.

I love eyeshadow, and I love lots of bold color. All of these brands I've mentioned have a long list of colors to choose from, and they're all great quality products and I wouldn't recommend them otherwise. Have fun with color - try it in new ways, try out shades you wouldn't normally dare to, and wear it confidently!

Pale Pink Lips? Not Just For Spring

How amazing does Katy Perry look here? Her pale pink lips are a perfectly soft, girly balance to her dramatic dark eyeliner. Usually we wait until spring to pull out the pale pinks but I think this is a fresh way to brighten up your look this winter. Here's some tips on how to get Katy's pretty, ladylike look. Start with a good base, concealer, and powder of course. Katy has a perfectly matte finish to her skin, something that can be achieved with MAKEUP FOREVER Duo Mat Powder Foundation ($32), a pressed powder that provides a full, shine-free coverage.

A sheer pink blush brushed below the cheekbones angled back toward the ear contours the face perfectly. I like Lorac Blush in Desire ($19) which is a slightly shimmery pink.

Now, for the eyes. After applying whichever eyeshadow base you prefer, you'll want to put a pale pinky-skintone color all over. Urban Decay's Eyeshadow in Chopper ($16) is the perfect shade for this.

Then, from the lashline up into the crease and even just a tiny bit above the crease, you'll want to put a deep plum shade that's either faintly shimmery or matte. If it's too glittery, it will blow the whole look out of proportion and make it childlike instead of grown-up girly. Smashbox's Single Eyeshadow in Cabernet ($16) is a deep burgundy with a soft shimmer to it that works perfect for this look.

For the eyeliner, you'll want to either use a liquid or brush on gel or cream form. I'm picky about liquids, I really only like them if they have a felt tip applicator. The brush on eyeliners give that same liquid liner look but I find the brush is often easier the handle than most liquid liners. Smashbox's Cream Eyeliner ($22) is great because once it sets, it's completely smudgeproof. For this look, I'd go with that in Caviar, a true black.

If you're more of a fan of traditional liquid eyeliners, I'd recommend Lancome's Artliner in Noir ($28) because it is easily applied with the felt tip. It dries quickly and doesn't flake like some other liquid liners.

Katy's lashes are super thick and dark, making the eyes perfectly dramatic. If your lashes are particularly sparse, you may want to try fakes - MAKEUP FOREVER has an AMAZING line of false eyelashes, ranging from natural-looking ones to rhinestoned and feathered ones. If you want to skip that and go straight for mascara, I recommend Dior's DiorShow Mascara ($24). It comes in waterproof and non-waterproof and doesn't flake or clump up like many thickening mascaras do. Apply it over Lancome's Oscillation Powerbooster Lash Primer ($39) for the fullest, longest lashes. An added bonus: Oscillation Powerbooster conditions and treats your lashes so they grow in longer, thicker, and healthier all around. Since starting to use it in July, I've noticed my eyelashes don't fall out nearly as much!

Finally, we come to the whole purpose of this post - the pretty pink lips! Start out by lining the lips with DuWop's Reverse Lipliner ($19). This is my FAVORITE lip liner of all time. It's a colorless, matte liner that you can literally use with absolutely any lipcolor. You apply it just on the outside edge of the lip, where it will fill in any fine lines to hold your lipcolor in place and keep it from bleeding out around the lips.

Next, you'll want to fill in your lips with a pretty pink lipstick. I love Lancome's Color Fever Lipstick in S.O.S. Pink ($25) - it's a shiny, creamy pink that doesn't have any sparkle or shimmer, which keeps the bubblegum pink color from looking too childish.

Yves Saint Laurent's Pure Lipstick in Pink Celebration ($30) and Shiseido's Perfect Rouge Lipstick in Ariel ($25) are a couple of other great options.

On a side note - my hair cut/color turned out great! I'll be proud to post some pictures as soon as I get a chance!

The Look I'm Obsessed with RIGHT NOW

Dark lips! I can't get enough of it! There's something totally alluring, mysterious, and vixenish about them. To me, dark lips show a little edginess. You've got to be brave to try rocking them, and you've got to have confidence to pull it off. Whether it's a deep berry, purple, or even black, I'm in love with this look.

MAC's Satin Lipstick in Cyber ($14) is an intense blackish-purple that I'm completely obsessed with. I found it online, and told Kim, the other beauty advisor at my counter about it and she got it for me for Christmas - what a sweetheart! We're both pretty crazy about it.

MAC also has Black Knight in their Satin Lipstick ($14) that's a creamy, true black. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but it looks pretty amazing!

MAC's really on a roll with the great dark stuff, because one other dark lipcolor they have that impresses me is their Mattene Lipstick in Midnight Media ($14.50). While the other two are creamier and have some shine to them, Midnight Media is a dense, matte black lipstick.

For someone who wants to do the dark lip thing but doesn't want to go quite so goth, Urban Decay's Lipstick in Confession ($22) is a great option because it's a sheerer, deep burgundy. They also have Apocalypse, which is a blackberry shade. Both aren't quite as opaque as the three MAC lipcolors.

You can also get a great dark lip look by adding a black gloss over any lipstick. Lancome's Color Fever Gloss in Piha Black ($25) was part of their Spring 2009 Pink Irreverence color collection but can still be found in some stores. It's a sheer, sparkly black gloss that simply deepens any shade of lipstick you already have on. It's particularly pretty over bold pink and red shades, adding depth and shine.

Now, you're probably wondering what to do with the rest of your face if you're going to wear a dark lipcolor. I love how Megan Fox looks with natural, glowing skin and minimalist eyes paired up with her deep berry lips. Her brows are groomed perfectly (ladies, do your brows - it pulls everything together!) and her eyes have just a little smudging of dark shadow at the lashline and lusciously long lashes. This is how I would recommend doing the dark lips for day because it's not so terrifyingly dramatic.

MAKEUP FOREVER does dark lips with smooth, matte skin and dramatic eyes to match. It's kind of a goth-chic look I don't necessarily recommend for everyone, but I think it looks absolutely amazing!

Kate Walsh proves that redheads can get in on the dark berry lip look and pull it off flawlessly, too! I love how she has a little touch of soft green shadow at the lashline on the outer corner of the eye - it really makes her eyes pop and surprisingly doesn't class with her burgundy lips.

This look doesn't exclude blondes, either. Model Agyness Deyn goes dark with very natural makeup otherwise and looks amazing (aside from her hair that I think could lose a little of its pouf).

And we can't forget about Lady GaGa. In the video for her new single, "Bad Romance", she wears dark lips with dramatic eyes and bold blush. Obviously, this isn't a look just anyone (or maybe even anyone other than Lady GaGa) can pull off without looking like either a complete clown or a drag queen. But I personally think she looks pretty fabulous!

Well, I think that's about it for now. Get some dark lipstick and be daring and confident with it! You might just love it.