Thursday, September 1, 2016

How I Do My Eye Make-Up


When I use to work full time I received a lot of compliments from my customers and co-workers about my make-up, especially my eye make-up.  I remember one customer specifically who stopped me abruptly and stared straight at my face and said "I just LOVE your eye make-up!"  I was a bit embarrassed at the time and did not quite know how to handle the compliment because I wondered if I was wearing a bit too much eye-makeup;  after all shouldn't she have said "I love your eyes" and not your "eye make-up"?   Because if I really did a great job, it would be my eyes that get noticed and not my make-up.

Since then I started styling blogging and I have gotten a few questions about my eye make-up and one request for an eye make-up tutorial.  Well I don't have a tutorial for you, I tried, but the pictures of me squinting in the mirror trying to put on make-up plus the close up of my wrinkles and skin flaws, was too painful for me to look at...so I certainly don't want to put any of you through that misery.  Instead, I'm just going to share a few tips on what works for me, what products I use, and a couple of videos I found on YouTube that demonstrate these products and I think are fantastic.

Now here is my first confession.  I really, really, really don't like spending a lot of money on make-up and skin care.  I mean, the prices of that stuff is crazy isn't it?  The last time I stopped in a Sephora store I bought two itty bitty little containers of make-up:  a concealer and a eye shadow primer, and it costs me $54.00!  YIKES!  Needless to say, I haven't been back in that store since May and I hope to not have to revisit anytime soon.  That being said, if I really like a product, I will pay that, but I don't feel that all the make-up that I use has to be high end.

So here is what I use on my eyes.  First I moisturize just the under eye area and not my face.  Why?  Because I have super oily skin and if I added moisturizer I would have a zit (Yes, I still get pimples at the ripe old age of 53, can you believe it?) the very next day.  Plus, I usually use a tinted moisturizer as my foundation anyway so I do not need any extra moisturizer.  Right now I am using a Clinique moisturizer that I received free when I purchased some other Clinique products awhile back.  Even though it says it's for very dry skin, I find it a very light and airy moisturizer, and it is perfect to put under my eyes.  It isn't greasy at all.  I do give it a few minutes to dry before I add my concealer.


Next, I add my secret weapon:  an eyeshadow primer.  Up until a few years ago, I never used an eyeshadow primer on my lids.  I just put foundation on my lids thinking it was the same thing.  Then I received this trial pack from Ulta Cosmetics and I never used foundation on my lids again!  This stuff is amazing!!!!!!  My eyeshadow never creases and stays on all day long with this stuff.  I've tried all the samples in this pack, and I love them all, but currently I am using the age-defying one HERE.


After my moisturizer and primer is on, I add concealer to my under eyes.  A lot of women do not use concealer because they don't need to.  They just put foundation under their eyes.  I unfortunately inherited my under eye circles from my father and so under-eye concealer is a must for me.  I am currently using this product:
Sold HERE


It's actually a color-correcting fluid.  In all my 53 years of life, I have never been 100% sold on any concealer and I have been on a constant quest for the perfect concealer, which I have yet to find.   This product was my latest attempt.   It's o.k., but I think I bought the wrong color and I would like to try the other one next time I need to replenish it.  I bought the pink shade which is described to "Brighten dark areas" and I think I needed the peach shade which is described to "Masks circles/spots".  When I put this on, it definitely looks too light and pink for my skin, so then I put my foundation over the top of it.

Once the eyes are totally prepped, that's when the fun part begins:  I add the eye shadow.  Now I don't match my eye shadow to my clothes (that's something we used to do in the eighties!), but I do want my eye make -up to compliment what I'm wearing.  So in other words, if I'm dressed for fall or winter, I will not wear light eye shadow, but I will choose darker, smokey tones.  My absolute favorite eye shadow palette that I have ever used in my entire life is NAKED by Urban Decay.  It is very pricey, $54.00 a palette, but it will last forever (except the high lighter, but we'll talk about that later).  It comes in four different color palettes to choose from.  I currently own two palettes:  Naked 2 and Naked 3, but I would love to own Naked Smokey as well.
Sold HERE


What I love about these palettes is that there are so many choices and no choice is wrong.  You literally cannot make a mistake when applying your eye make-up for all the colors within each palette go together and blend so well together.  Just pick a light, medium, and dark shade along with a highlighter, and your good to go!

To achieve the look in this picture, I used Naked 3.  I put the "Dust" color in my inner eye to brighten and open my eye.  Then I put the "Buzz" color over the middle lid and under my eye.  Yes, you heard me right, 'under my eye'.  It really opens up and brightens the eye...especially for us middle age women.  You will see a demonstration of this in the two videos below.  Then I pick a darker color to put in the corners and crease of my eye, usually "Factory" or "Dark Side" depending on what I'm wearing.  I then use the darkest shade in the palette for a eye liner, in this case it is "Blackheart".  I finish off the look by applying the lightest shade "Strange" under my brow and again under the eye to highlight it.  I then apply mascara, and that's it.


When you watch the videos you will notice that they both use eye liner and pencils too.  I do not.  I do not like the way eye liner looks on me, plus I would feel uncomfortable wearing that much eye make-up.  I love it on everyone else, but just not me.  Plus I feel a heavy eye liner would just accentuate my dark circles.

So here is the first video.  It uses the Naked 2 palette which is what I use during the colder months of the year for it's mostly taupes and grey-beige shades.  But remember, I skip the eye liner part.  I just use the darkest shade in the palette as my eye liner.



And this video uses the Naked 3 palette, which I am wearing in the first picture in this post.  This is the palette I use during the summer months as it's mostly pinks and rose-hued neutrals.  If you like a softer eye make up look, this is the palette for you!


These are just two of my favorite YouTube videos, there are thousands more available on the YouTube site.  I picked these two because I loved the look and they were quick and easy to follow.

I honestly cannot say enough about this eye make-up.  The colors are gorgeous, the make-up lasts all day (with the primer), and it's super easy to use.  My only complaint is that there is only one highlighter in each palette.  Well, that goes super fast and you are out of it before you used up any other colors in your palette.  You can buy the "Foxy" highlighter color from Naked 2 HERE for $28.00 (which I may have to do soon), but I couldn't find the "Strange" highlighter color from Naked 3 listed.

I did read some good news recently that Urban Decay has heard our cries however and will soon be releasing a trio of highlighters!
Aren't they pretty?  I can't wait!


Well I hoped that helped even though I could not (or would not) do my own tutorial.  I'd love to hear your thoughts about what you thought of the videos and the Naked products.  And if anyone knows of a great concealer out there that doesn't cost a small fortune, I'd love your recommendations cause I'm still looking!  

Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

14 comments:

  1. Such a pretty + soft finished look, lady! I love UD's products, too. :) They're worth the price!

    -Ashley
    Le Stylo Rouge

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I agree they are pricey, but worth it!

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  2. Your makeup looks so pretty! Loving that Naked palette video, but wow, that is pricey! I agree it's hard to find a good concealer, but have to say that I am finally happy with Bare Mineral concealers. I currently have their "correcting concealer" and will buy it again once I am out. Also love their "well rested" but it's more for brightening up the top of the eye lid. Maybe you can try these at a Sephora, Ulta or Bare Minerals Boutique. (Or maybe they offer a free Bare Minerals makeover - I had one years ago and have been hooked ever since :-) I just don't really use their eye shadow, because I can't spend that much on eye shadow.

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    1. Thanks Elli! Yes, I agree the palette's are pricey, but like I said, they last forever. Mine are several years old already and other than getting low on the highlighters, the palette barely is used. I only wear make-up 2-3 times a week now, but I use to wear make-up 7 days a week when I first bought them. I will have to check out that Bare Mineral concealer. I've never tried any of their products before.

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  3. How fun was this?! I have the Naked 2 and after this I am definitely jonesing for the Naked 3 too (Thanks alot, Amy!) I have never seen a video on how to use them and each of these did a great job. I have been using the Urban Decay eye shadow primer for about 6 years. It is a game changers. Since they have chained the tube and added a wand, I am less in love with it. I liked it better when I could just squirt a bit out. Oh well. This was great!

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    1. Thanks Karen! Sorry I was an enabler, but I want more Naked palettes too! I'd have all four of them if I could! I really want Naked Smokey more than anything. That's funny what you said about the wand, I hate it too! Don't you feel like your getting less make-up out of the tube as well?

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  4. Thanks for linking up to Top of the World Style.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Urban Decay is the best! I swear by their eye primer too! You eye makeup is flawless and so pretty!

    Jill
    Doused In Pink

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    Replies
    1. Thanks so much! I had no idea their primer was so popular!

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  6. Looks great! Well done you - I struggle with eye make-up! I do try but don't always succeed. X Jacqui
    www.mummabstylish.com

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    1. Thank you! I too was never happy with my eye make-up until I used the Naked Palettes.

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  7. Hi Amy, I just started using the Naked eye makeup and I am very happy with it. Thanks for adding your style flair to the My Refined Style Linkup!

    Shellie
    www.thefabjourney.com

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    1. Thanks Shellie, glad your enjoying the Naked eye palette.

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