How to: Use Colored Mascara

Green, yellow, pink, blue, plum, red... Sounds like I’m describing a rainbow but I’m actually talking about mascara. Since my post on blue eyeshadow, it has been requested that I talk about colored mascaras, which are a huge summer trend. I love requests (hint! hint!) and fun makeup trends are one of the things that “make my world go ‘round”, so here are my tips and ticks.

Apart from the obvious way of applying colored mascara – using it as you would a regular black or brown one, coating all your lashes - there are a few more ways in which I like to wear color on my lashes. For instance, why not try to only use the colored mascara on your bottom lashes? It’s the ideal way of rocking this trend if you are just starting out on the whole colored lashes world, it can be work appropriate, and is a lot more forgiving in the sense that you can go seriously wild with you color and not looking like it’s Halloween. Speaking of wild colors, Shimmer Strips Custom Eye Enhancing Mascara Duo in Green is a really good choice if you ask me. If you like this application method, the black part can be used in you top lashes and the colored end on you lower lashes. You'll save yourself some time by not having to look for two mascara tubes in your drawers. However, if you choose to wear mascara this way remember not to coat your bottom lashes all the way to the end because you risk getting the spidery look.

Another very interesting way of using colored mascara is just coating the base if your upper lashes with color and coat the ends with your regular black mascara. This gives a particularly interesting result when you use a color that brings your eye color out. If you have green eyes, try purple or plum mascara; for blue eyes, try golden or any warm red-based tones; for brown or hazel, try pink or blue. If you use a dark shade of the color you chose, it will be a very subtle effect but people will notice your eye color standing out a lot more and they won’t really know why is that. Well, a girl has got to have her secrets, right? Take a look at Big Fatty Mascara Colored Mascara. The have some deep shades that will look very pretty.

Finally, a very popular way of using colored mascara is to only coat the tips of your upper lashes. It will give you hint of color and fun without being overwhelming. Blue will make the white of your eyes look whiter so it will cancel some traces of tiredness. Good for those nights you didn’t get much sleep (for all the right reasons, I hope). Have you ever tried BADgal Blue by Benefit? It's a true blue that leaves your lashes glossy and fun.

Sometimes colored mascaras have little color pay off. I personally suggest that you try the mascara on your arm hairs before you buy it to see if it’s worth it. However, if you bought one already and it isn’t quite what you expected it would be, try priming you lashes with a white lash primer (the ones on those double ended mascaras will work fine) and then carefully apply the colored mascara, making sure the white primer isn’t showing.

(Disclaimer: if you sell or manufacture colored mascaras, please don’t hate me for the next paragraph.) For a more DIY mascara, what you can do is purchase a transparent mascara, carefully load the wand with the product, swirl it really well in makeup eye safe pigment, apply and then clean the bush with warm water and soap. Loading your mascara wand at first is important because you won’t be able to double dip your wand if you want the mascara to remain clear for other uses. Though this technique can be a little tricky, it’s specially good if you just want to try and see how would you look with bright colored lashes and aren’t really willing to shed a lot of money for a mascara that you may never wear. If you decide colored mascara isn’t for you, you can always use the clear mascara simply as a tool to tame your lashes and help them curl or as a brow gel. Take a look at Maybelline Great Lash Clear Mascara for Lash and Brow.

Did you end up buying a brightly colored mascara and hated it? Be nice and give it to your daughter or niece so she can have super fun and bright hair highlights that will come out when she washes her hair. All she has to do (or her mom, if she's too little) is select a thin section of hair and carefully run the wand on it for a couple of times. Let it dry well and then brush to remove any lumps. Repeat if necessary. On the next day or so, when she washes her hair, no more highlights and no damaged hair. As you see, everything has a solution!

Whatever you do, have fun with your makeup! Will you be adopting a splash of color in you lashes this spring and summer or are you still uncertain? Let me know in the comments.

Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration

Micky

Micky’s Guide: Blue Eyeshadow... The Classy Way

Blue eyeshadow is a huge trend for spring this year and, sadly for some, there’s not much way around it. There are several guides and demos out there to help you use this particular color but since I still see so many “disasters”, I felt the need to write some tips.

Last Saturday I was quietly enjoying my lunch with some friends at a restaurant when, suddenly, I looked up (alright, I confess, when I stopped flirting with the guy who resembled a Greek god and happened to be sitting at the table in front of mine) and saw hell! It was a mature woman with cobalt blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows. I was temped to go to her and hand my business card but I just shook my head and kept flirting. I mean, eating – I kept eating.

When applying blue eyeshadow, here are some tips you might find useful.


1- Choose the right shades of blue for you. I wouldn’t recommend a shade that is lighter than your skin tone, just because it tends to look ashy. For all skin tones, take a look at this Eyeshadow Duo by Essence. It’s only $2.49 - so even if you hate seeing yourself in blue, you won’t break the bank. Ulta has these duos in many other combinations, if you're interested.

2- Choose a good base. Some people tend to oxidize blue pigments and after half an hour or so, the eyeshadow will look like a weird grey-is brown mess rather than blue. If you don’t have this problem, your regular primer will do just fine but if you need some extra help, use blue eyeliner (gel or pencil) as a base to color the space where you’ll want blue eyeshadow to be and only then apply your powder. If you’re using pencil, consider warming it a little before using on your lid or crease. Since the skin is so delicate in that area, you don’t want to have to press hard and risk hurting yourself to get a decent color payoff. Personally, I prefer cream eyeshadows that don't crease. This way, you have your primer and your base all in one. For $1, try Blueberry cream eyeshadow duo by E.L.F.

3- In makeup, the eye is often divided in brow bone, crease, lid and lower lash-line. Unless you are doing editorial or costume makeup of some sort, blue shouldn’t really be seen on the brow bone. Forget baby blue eyeshadow as a highlight unless it’s in the inner corner. Just, forget it!

4- Blue is best paired with neutrals for (every)day wear. For a night out, a smoky navy blue or a more colourful makeup is a good bet. But, back to the neutrals, two basic looks you can do are either use a medium blue on your lid with a warm golden brown that is 2-3 shades darker than your skin tone on the crease and black liquid eyeliner on the top lid only (use a neutral highlight, preferably matte and leave the bottom lower lash line bare. Use a couple of coats of mascara, too) or, alternatively, simply do a regular neutral look that isn’t too dark and dramatic on the upper lid and line your lower lash line with a pretty blue eyeshadow or eyeliner of your choice. Here you can use eyeliner to line your lower waterline as well. I do this often with different colours and it looks really pretty. Making a black liquid eyeliner line on your upper lash-line and doing another blue line on top of the black line while keeping the rest of your look toned down looks very classy as well. Have you tried L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in Midnight Blue?

5- Keep the rest of your face neutral. Neutral is not always nude. Go for a clear lipgloss and a peachy blush or bronzer and you’re done.

I know sometimes I sound like I hate blue eyeshadow but that’s not the case. I like it, but I think it needs moderation and some people just don’t know how to apply it in a tasteful way. Are you going to adopt blue eyeshadow for spring? Let me know in the comments!

Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration
Micky

Beauty Solution: Femme Couture Brow Couture Brow Grooming Wax

Last year’s runways were filled with models with thick brows. It was all about making them look full and perfect – after all they were the main focus of makeup trends. This year, on a lot of runways and photo shoots, you can see most models have them toned down and some don’t have them at all. As if it wasn’t enough that one season boyish haircuts are in and on the next everybody wants waist length hair, now it’s all about the eyebrows as well. Eyebrow hair is very sensitive and it’s not like any other hairs on your body – it colors much faster and once it’s gone, it might be gone for good. That’s why over plucking isn’t such a good idea!

Trends come and go, but groomed eyebrows never go out of style. Sometimes it might be fashionable to make them look more natural, and sometimes people seem to want them all brushed up and neat. No matter what the current trend is, when it comes to your eyebrows, your best friends are your tweezers (or thread) and brow wax or gel. If what you want is to maintain your eyebrows in place, I strongly advise against using gel for the simple reason that it flakes and the probability that you’ll have while flakes on your skin by mid-day is pretty high. The solution is, of course, to wear wax. Wax can be applied with a brush (that you’ll have to wash after every use to avoid developing bacteria and dried wax), you finger (which is messy and often not precise enough) or in the form of a little retractable pen such as Femme Couture Brow Couture Brow Grooming Wax. The pen form leaves out the brush and all the messiness, providing very good results.

If you fill your eyebrows, do so and then simply apply the wax in small strokes all over your brow. You can use it on top of powder or pencil or you can wear it alone. You’ll find that the wax will also soften and condition the eyebrow hairs making them less likely to fall or break, which is always good!

"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"

Micky