Makeup: Bronzed Goddess Tutorial

On Friday I attended a surprise party for one of my friends. It was an outdoor, end of summer type of dinner with a fire pit and s'mores. I decided that I would go with a neutral smoky eye for this occasion. I used mainly bronze colors. It was a cute night time look, but not too much for a BBQ style dinner. I finished the look off with a sheer berry gloss. For a step-by-step explanation of what I did to achieve the final look (pictures on the bottom) keep reading.
I apologize for some of the pictures. They turned out a little discolored. The final pictures are true to color, however!

Products I Used:

• Physicians Formula Mineral Wear powder in Natural Beige
• Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Fast Fix concealer in Medium
• Elf blush/bronzer duo in St. Lucia
• Bronzer does not show up muddy or orangy on the skin
• Blush is a pretty peachy coral color with subtle gold shimmer
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in 05 Too Cool
• Smashbox Eye Wish Palette
• Came out as a limited edition palette for the 2010 holiday season.
• For this look I used to bronzey/golden shades. They are numbered so in the step-by-step description, I will be referring to the numbers that I used to make things a little easier.
• Wild & Crazy Eyeliner in Coco Brown
• Eyelash curler
• Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara in Very Black
• Stila Lip Glaze Stick in Berry.

Steps:

1. First do your face makeup as you normally would. I covered up any blemishes with my concealer first and then applied a light layer of powder foundation all over my face. I like this in the summer because it is light and absorbs any oils and perspiration on your face so you won't look shiny.

2. Contour your face using the bronzer side of your Elf duo. Focus this product in the hollows of yours cheeks (make a fish face if you have a hard time identifying your hollows), your temples and hair line, your jaw line, and a little down your neck.

3. Smile and apply the blush color to the apples of your cheeks. Blend out towards your temples.

4. Apply a thin, even layer of the Color Tattoo all over your lid as a primer. This is a white base so it will make your eyeshadow pop and be more vibrant. (You could use a bronze shade to make the lid more intense if you'd like.)

5. Using a fluffy angled shadow brush, brush on a non-shimmery color a little lighter than your skin tone (I used number 3 in the palette) to your brow bone.

6. Pack a bronze color onto a flat shader brush (I used number 5). Sweep this all over your lid over the area where you applied the Color Tattoo.

7. Dip a creese brush into a darker bronze shade (I used number 9) and put it into your outer corner. Bring it into your creese about half way. Start off with a little and then add more. It is easier to add more than to take it away.

8. Using a clean blending brush, blend out any harsh edges.

9. Pick up a gold shade (I used number 1) with the tip of your flat shader brush and dab it into the inner corner of your eyes for a highlight and to brighten that area up.

10.  Using a brown liner (you can use black, but I thought that brown wouldn't be as harsh and would go better with these shadow colors) line your upper and lower waterlines.

11. Curl your lashes and apply a coat of mascara to your upper and lower lashes.

12. Finish the look off with applying the glaze to your lips.

Here is what the finished eye look should look like:

This look does not require you to use a lot of colors and it did not take me much time to accomplish this. You will look put together and it is a nice way to work with neutrals. I tend to reach for these colors a lot all year round!

If you have any requests for specific looks/colors, leave a comment and I will be glad to come up with one for you!

- Michelle

August Favorites

Hellooo! Yes, we are a few days into September, but I thought that I would write a post on my August favorites! This is my first "favorites" post so I'll explain what they will usually include: beauty, hair, nail, and random products normally in no particular order. Let's get into them!

Beauty:

• eos lip balm in summer fruit. This smells AMAZING! It is so fruity and I literally want to eat it. It is also good at making my lips feel nice and soft.
• Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti. First off, the product is aaamazing. It is so creamy and moisturizing to the lips and the colors that I have tried out are all really pretty and pigmented, especially for a lip butter. This shade has been my favorite this month because it is a bright orange and perfect for summer and into the fall even. They aren't super long lasting (middle ground between a lipstick and a gloss), but I don't mind it at all.
• Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Loose Powder in Natural Beige. I don't like wearing a lot of makeup on my face ever, but especially in the summer. I only wore this when I went out this month and it evened out my face and looked natural. It absorbed any oils or sweat which is a plus.
• Elf Contouring Blush & Bronzer Powder in St. Lucia. They used to only have this in one color, but they recently added 2 new shades so the original one is now called St. Lucia. I love both of these colors and this is the only blush and bronzer that I used this month. The bronzer is neither orangey or muddy. Great for contouring. The blush gives your cheeks a nice peachy golden flush.
• Urban Decay 24/7 Electric eyeliner set. This came out in the later months of 2011 and was limited edition. I did buy this set around June or July in my local Nordstrom Rack and I recently saw that they still have them so yours might as well! My favorite colors this month have been Woodstock (hot pink), Ransom (purple), and Radium (aqua). I have been wearing these on my upper lash line for a pop of color. Check out my Daytime Colored Eyeliner tutorial to see how I like to wear them.
• Maybelline Color Tattoo in Too Cool. This is a frosty white color that I use all over my eyelid as a base to brighten up shadows. Stays on all day without creasing.

Hair:

• In the summer I mainly only scrunch my hair. This month I have been using Suave Mousse Max Hold. It defines my curls without making them crunchy. It gets the job done and I like how it makes my hair look.

Nails:

• Sadly, I do not know the name of this nail polish, but it is an electric blue color from Forever 21. It came in a 4-pack with the blue, a purple, a red, and a hot pink, but the individual colors did not have names and I don't think that the pack is sold anymore. That color has been my favorite this month, though. Looks great on the toes.

Random:

• Archer Farms Simply Balanced Freeze Dried Strawberries are delicious. I have been eating them all month either out of the bag or I put it into my cereal. Healthy, yummy snack.
• Lay's Kettle Cooked Jalapeno chips. I love spicy foods and these are sooooo good! I am not big on chips, but I can't resist these once in a while especially when they sell them at work. :/
• Keurig <3 My parents bought one a few weeks ago and lets just say that I am addicted to it. I am saving so much money by not buying coffee at work anymore which is a MAJOR plus. The coffee is also delicious and I can mix up the flavors and brands and everyone can make a cup of whatever coffee, tea, etc they want one after another. I have become a huge fan!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite products and I hope that you comment and let me know if any of these are also your favorites. Also, let me know some of your favorite. I love discovering new products!

- Michelle