night-out eyes

The holidays are slowly winding down and I thought I'd share my go-to night-out eye look. More often than not this is what I would go for; a few variations here and there, but the mascara, taupe-y purples, that MAC Paint Pot, and shimmer (of some sort) remained consistent. 

1. MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Frozen Violet

I already did a bit of a review about this when I first got it here, and what I said pretty much remains the same; it's a bit too dark to be part of my daytime look but serves as a perfect base for dark evening looks. I still love this taupey-purple colour, and it's been my go-to look in winter.

2. Bare Minerals Eyecolour in Nude Beach

This has been part of my make-up bag for quite a while now, and was mentioned briefly here. Considering how much I use this shade, it's still got a surprising amount of product left in the pot, but then again, a little goes a long way. It's a very shimmery glitterbug shade that has a pink twinge but still silvery enough to blend with almost any eyeshadow. It also glides on beautifully and gives any look that extra bit of sparkly oomph.

3. Nars Eyeshadow Duo in Brousse

This is one of my most well-loved Nars Eyeshadow Duos -- the taupe shade acts as a lovely eyeliner for daytime looks, and both tend to be slapped on haphazardly for give my evening looks a bit more depth. Both shades are fairly pigmented but easily buildable and I find myself reaching for this duo quite often when preparing myself for an evening out.

4. Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero

I've been a big fan of these eyeliners for a while now, I started off with Bourbon and branched out into a fair few shades. You can never go wrong with a plain black eyeliner and this is one of my favourites for the waterline and smudging along the lash line to give my look a bit more depth.

5. Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips Gel Creamliner for Brown Eyes

When I feel like adding even more drama to the look, I sometimes try to add a cat-eye with an angled brush. More often than not it fails and I end up smudging it out to create a more smoky look, but once in a while it'll work out. This is a 'gel creamliner' and I don't really know what that means but I've had it for a while and it hasn't dried out yet so yay I guess. 

6. Shiseido Eyelash Curler

I've tried the Shu Uemura eyelash curlers before but never bothered investing in one since this seems to do the job perfectly well. The squishy bit needs to be replaced soon, I think this is going to be the second time I've replaced mine but the curlers seem to be a good shape and work quite well on my eyes.

7. Maybelline Volum'Express the HyperCurl

If you've been reading my blog you'll know that this is a much loved mascara of mine (it's been mentioned here, here, and I carry it around in my purse as can be seen here). I'm not going to say any more about this other than this is some good stuff.

summer to autumn: eyes

1. MAC Paint Pot in Indianwood

I've already confessed my love for this product here, but it really is the best. Nine times out of ten this is my eye shadow base of choice and it has never, ever, ever disappointed me.

2. Urban Decay NAKED Palette

When I first got this palette, I really didn't use it much as I would lean towards my army of NARS eye shadows most of the time, but over the last month or so, I've found myself reaching for this almost every day. My favourite shade of the moment has been Half-Baked, a shimmery gold, swept over the entire lid (on top of Indianwood). When I'm going for a more matte look , I'll dab Buck into the outer corner and edges, but when I feel like being extra shimmery, I'll use Smog instead. Transitioning into night adventures, I'll add an extra bit of Darkhorse along my upper and lower lash lines to intensify everything a bit. This palette is awesome: 12 buttery soft, extremely pigmented, every day neutral shades that take you from day to night.

3. Rimmel Scandaleyes Shadow Stick in Bad Girl Bronze

This is probably one of my favourite products of the moment: a fantastic bronze-y brown cream formula in the shape of a stick. It lasts excellently on my oily eyelids and the fact that it is a cream stick makes it easy to apply and smudge along the lash line as sort of an eyeliner replacement. I will be adding various shades to my collection in the near future.

4. Maybelline Volum'Express the Hypercurl

Like Indianwood, this product has been part of my make up routine for years; I have already professed my undying love for it here and here, and in the last month, it's made it back into my daily routine.

5. BrowMousse by Tweezerman

Nothing particularly amazing, this has been my brow groomer for the last few years (yes I still haven't gotten through this tube and it's been a very long time). It seems to work well enough at keeping my messy eyebrows in place for most of the day but it does sometimes leave a white cast on my dark hair.