My Thanksgiving Look and Tutorial: Smokey Eyes Using Mineral Eye Shadows

Hey lovelies! How was your Thanksgiving? We had a quiet but relaxing Thanksgiving with family and friends, and here is the look that I sported for Thanksgiving dinner. I used mineral shadows to create a smokey eye look. Some people are afraid of using loose shadows because of the fallout, especially dark ones. I honestly found a way to minimize fallout, and that is to use a damp brush, and everything applies a lot easier and better. In this look, I used mostly mineral eyeshadows from Aromaleigh, but the techniques I used for this look can also be used for most loose eyeshadows.


I also used the highlighter and black shades from this Stila Smoky Eye palette for this look.


I used my favorite smokey eye eyeshadow base, Benefit's Skinny Jeans.







I used my beautiful Rock & Republic blush in Immoral. It is the most gorgeous matte bright coral. It is finely milled (jet-milled), and the pigmentation is way off the charts, so a light hand is definitely recommended. I used a fan brush for this blush to apply the slightest whisper of color on the cheeks. I used EnKore No. 1 Fan brush:



I will be making a review and post swatches of my Rock & Republic blushes soon. I have 3 R&R blushes right now and 4 others coming my way.


To add a little shimmer, I applied a tiny bit of MAC Stereo Rose mineralize skinfinish on top of Immoral blush.

Here is a step by step. All products Aromaleigh unless otherwise stated.


Apply Urban Decay in Sin primer potion all over lid and lower lashline. Using a fluffy shader brush, apply Benefit's Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans on lid.


Using the Charm Pro shader brush or a MAC 239 brush, apply Basil foiled on the lid using MAC Fix+.

Lilacs and Purple Eye Look and Tutorial Using MAC Crazy Cool and Mineral Shadows

Here is one of my favorite looks- a light lavender/lilac on the lid with deep purples on the crease and outer lid. You can add more depth to the crease with deep purples to give it more oomph, and of course keep it light when you want it more natural-looking. I used my MAC Crazy Cool eyeshadow from the Dare To Wear collection. As I had mentioned in the review, I like Crazy Cool because I love to use light lavenders on the lid, but I don't have a pressed shadow in that shade that I particularly like to use. I always use either mineral shadows or MAC pigment in Quietly to replicate the look. Now that I have Crazy Cool, it's a lot easier to apply especially during those manic mornings while preparing for work.

I also used some of my favorite loose mineral eyeshadows from Aromaleigh. They are mostly from the recent collections like Victoria's Revenge and Ciao Italia!, so this was the first time for me to try them in a look. Again, Aromaleigh didn't disappoint. Even though they are loose shadows, they are very easy to apply and blend, and they are not splotchy at all - very pigmented and glide like butter on the lids.



I also used my lovable MAC purple lipstick in Go For It.  Love the purple tones and it fully complements my Crazy Cool. I just love purple lipsticks and this one is probably one of the best I have. The cremesheen formula is a huge plus.

Here is a step-by-step. All products Aromaleigh unless otherwise stated.


Apply Urban Decay primer potion all over lid and lower lashline. Using a fluffy shader brush, apply MAC Rollickin' paint pot on lid (for some reason, I used a green paint pot for this look. It was a momentary lapse of sanity- next time, I would choose Fresco Rose). Using the 239 brush, apply MAC Crazy Cool on lid.


Using the same brush, apply Mourning's Whimsy dry on the outer lid using patting motions.

Pinks and Purples Using Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge Collection Eye Shadows

As I had mentioned in a previous entry, I received samples from Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge eyeshadow collection. I also posted some swatches which show how pigmented and unique the shadows are. Here is an eye look featuring some of the shades in the collection. I have given up on my old EOTD camera, because when I attempted to take pictures of a step-by-step eye tutorial, they were again deleted from the memory card. I know it must be the memory card that's defective, but I have been having problems with the camera anyway, so I am using my new camera for all eye looks. I took some pics of the finished eye look.



I used the Aromaleigh eyeshadows shown above for reference. The one in the jar is my favorite pink mineral eyeshadow ever, Aromaleigh Soul Mate from the Valentine 2009 collection, but this particular shade has been discontinued which is really a bummer since this is one of my favorites. Soul Mate and Satin Slippers are the only ones not belonging to the Victoria's Revenge collection.





Products used (all products Aromaleigh unless otherwise stated):

Urban Decay primer potion in Sin
MAC Fresco Rose paint pot on lid
Soul Mate applied slightly damp on lid using MAC 239 brush
Apocalypse Pansy on the outer V using the same brush.  Blend with MAC 224 brush.
Bleeding Poppy on crease using 239 brush.  Blend with the 224 brush.
Ruthless Indulgence on outer lid and crease.  Blend with the 224 brush.
Satin Slippers to highlight browbone and inner corners
Mourning Whimsy on lower lashline using the MAC 219 brush
MAC Chromagraphic pencil in NW25/NC30 on waterline
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero to tightline
L'oreal Lineur Intense liquid liner (felt tip) on upper lashline
Red Cherry false lashes in #66
mascara

Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge Collection Eye Shadow Swatches

I have been swatching some amazing new eyeshadows from Aromaleigh! I and some other bloggers got a sneak peek at some of the colors from the new collection. I am not easily impressed with eyeshadow shades because I already own a million shadows, but I am amazed at the pigmentation, unique shades and sparkling nuances in each shadow.  Not surprising because I've always been a fan of Aromaleigh; and if you browse this website, I've created a lot of looks using Aromaleigh's shadows because they are gorgeously pigmented, uniquely crafted in terms of colors and shades, and staying power is great.  The first batch of products I swatched are shown above. They were not swatched very heavily as I am saving some for my own eye looks! I actually did a couple of eye looks with step-by-step instructions using Victoria's Revenge shadows when I went to LA for Memorial day weekend, but my stupid camera's memory card ate all of them!! I was soooo pissed. As a consolation, here are some swatches. I am posting several pictures of the same eyeshadows so you can see how pretty their nuances are in different lightings and angles.

As for the first batch above, I love the first six swatches.  Ruthless Indulgence is a favorite.  It can work as a beautiful crease or outer lid shadow, and breathtaking as a liner.  Apocalype Pansy is a nice dark plum with silver highlights to my eye.  Mourning's Whimsy is a pretty shimmery lilac duochrome.  Oleandor Vapor is a nice dirty rose with some bluish silver specks.  Bleeding Poppy is another fave.  It looks like a dark reddish brown terracotta that is very pigmented.  Gaslight Tears is like a dark silverish grey with taupe undertones.  Private Lunacy is an olive green, earthy shade with silvery highlights, and Freak Show does look freakish to me because it changes colors at different angles; somewhat like a yellowish brown.









Check out the rest of the swatches after the jump