Three reasons to love Maybelline's Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil

Maybelline's Color Drama Intense Lip Velvet Lip Pencil in Fab Orange, Pink So Chic, and Fuchsia Desire

Instead of saving the drama for your Momma, how about serving it up to your lips. After all, they do all the talking, convey the most emotion, and will stop a lover's quarrel with a kiss to end all kisses.

Maybelline's Color Drama Intense Lip Velvet Pencils pack a wallop of a punch -- color payoff, price, and longevity, all tied up with a delightful fruity scent. Sign me up, please!

The pencil (in this case) is mightier than the sword

Swatches from left to right: Fab Orange, Fuchsia Desire, and Pink So Chic

Why should you love these? Well, I'm so glad you asked!

1. Way cheaper than its counterparts. NARS, Nudestix, Bite Beauty each have insanely amazing formulas, and yet Maybelline performs just as well, and refuses to break the bank.
2. It lasts. Through cocktails, intense conversations, dinner, a little wine, people watching, singing in the back of the cab, you name it! Your lips are covered.
3. Ten shades to mull over, to wear, to get to know, to love.

Wearing Fab Orange

Wearing Fuchsia Desire

Rosa over at Lipstick 'n' Linguine is the sole enabler behind this latest purchase, and for that I thank you.

The Bagful breakdown:

Total amount for Maybelline's Color Drama Intense Velvet Lip Pencil:

• $9.95 AUS

Value for money spent (performance and quality):

• 10 out of 10 bags — it's the lippie you need in your life right now.

Would another purchase be on the horizon?:

• So snapping up Minimalist as soon as it's back in stock.

Makeup Inspiration: MAC Cosmetics for Monique Lhuillier AW15

MAC for Monique Lhuillier

Forecasting makeup trends two seasons ahead of where we are now is never an easy thing, yet I look forward to where we are heading for AW15.

Kylie Jenner's overdrawn lips are still very in - instead of nude-ish mauve, MAC opted for Lady Danger or perhaps Ruby Woo. The skin is fresh, and dewy with loads of highlighting across the bridge of the nose, atop the cheekbones, and cupid's bow. As for the eyes, they're showstoppers. Defined with an elongated outer V that refuses to extend beyond the ends of the unkempt eyebrows. Last night's mascara has shed, but in an absurd way it works here. Oily blacks and waxy browns give these eyes major impact, and mystery.

Definitely hanging out for this particular MAC face chart.

//image source

How to apply blush

Chanel's Innocence

Blush, at first glance it's fairly innocuous, but when placed in the hands of a blush newbie, things like this..

Blush headlights, a.k.a. The Kewpie Doll effect: colour is placed directly on the cheeks and not blended out very well. 

And this, can happen.

The Robert Palmer: Might as well face it, bad makeup can happen to good people. Talk about blush and lippie overload!

Choose your blush

Where to begin? Let's start with blush colour selection -- use this as a guide, and feel free to break the rules depending on the occasion, time of year or even your mood. Just be sure to tweak the rest of your makeup, so the blush doesn't become a blinding focal point (see above).

• Know your tone, e.g. fair, light, neutral, medium, olive, and dark.
• Temperature check - are you warm, cool or neutral? Don't know? Here's the best tip I learned from former L'Oreal expert, Bronwyn Fraser: hold up a blue blouse and then swap it for an orange one. Does your skin sing with blue? Well, you're cool toned. Orange? You're warm toned, babe. Look good in both, lucky you! You're as neutral as Switzerland. The same theory applies to jewellery: silver = cool; gold = warm; silver and gold = neutral.
• Cream or powder: this all depends on your skin type (dry, oily, or peachy keen normal), and chosen application method. I like to use my fingers whenever I apply a cream blush as this approach warms up the product while blending. Powder and a brush is a match made in heaven. Heck, layer powder blush over cream to prolong staying power.

Print me out: A very small sample of blush colour options based on various skin colours

Choose your brush

Once you've selected at least two hues, think day to night, etc. -- grab a brush, but please remember no two brushes were created equally.

Blush Brush rush Options

The Domed Blush Brush: Rounded head, medium in size, designed to leave a subtle touch of colour behind. 

The Pointy Domed Blush Brush: Tapered head, medium in size, which also functions similarly to the domed blush brush.

The Petite Angled Blush Brush: Angled/tapered head with dense bristles; perfect for executing a sculptured cheek, and defining the cheekbones.

The Large Angled Brush: Angled, fluffier head to shape cheeks.

I selected these four brushes as they're all great multi-taskers: highlight, contour, define, and finish.

Blush + Brush = Time to apply, but where?

The go / no go zones

Depending on the shape of your face, blush application may fall a little higher, lower, centred and farther up the cheek toward the temples. The triangle-shaped area is a rough guide for you to begin working in, however, this face chart from the blondeshell provides specific areas for blush application.

If you're uncertain where your cheeks begin and end, smile wide, and work to apply blush from the most prominent place, the peaks of your cheeks. Work in a sweeping, outward motion when applying blush. Tapping while moving the brush toward the ears is just as effective.

As for the white areas, think of them as no man's land; under no circumstances does the brush ever enter this territory. Blush creepage often leads to blush overload, thus closing in the the shape of your face.

Applied too much colour? Use your foundation brush to dial down the intensity.

More tips..

Suck in your cheeks

This method helps to pronounce the hollows of your cheeks. If your blush dips down into this area you've gone too far. To fix this simply buff the blush away in these areas with your foundation brush.

Order of Operations: Apply lipstick first (wearing NARS Annabella on my lips)

Then apply blush. By applying your makeup in this manner you can then gauge how much blush you really need.

Go forth and blush, my friends. Just don't make yourself look like a Kewpie Doll.

//image sources: Kerry Washington, Nimrat Kaur, Rashida Jones, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lopez, Amy Poehler, Christina Hendricks, and Nicole Warne.

How to achieve the million dollar eye with a handful of Benefit products

Let's mix things up a bit

I think it's safe to assume a few of you out there on Instagram enjoyed an impromptu image I posted yesterday of Benefits' The Porefessional, Fake Up, Ooh La Lift and Boi-ing!

In the name of beauty and general curiosity, let's breakdown Benefit's million dollar eye.

Swatches (from left to right): The Porefessional, Ooh La Lift, Fakeup in Medium, and Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer

Here's what you'll need (equal parts).. 

• A primer (The Porefessional) to help smooth any fine lines, and wrinkles,
• An eye brightener/highligher (Ooh La Lift) to illuminate the eye area,
• A hydrating concealer (Fakeup), and,
• An industrial strength concealer (Boi-ing!), time to bring the big guns.

Feel free to use what you already own; I swapped Boi-ing! for Laura Mercier's Secret Concealer.

Tip: Depending on how much coverage you wish to achieve or for those who are budget-conscious, skip one of the concealers. 

Using your fingers or a concealer brush, combine the products, and mix them together until they reach an even finish. Next, take a small amount of product, and draw an inverted triangle within the under eye area. The points of the base should match up evenly with the corners of your eyes, whereas the apex will hit the tops of the cheeks.

So, what's up with the upside down triangle? The inner half works to conceal, whereas the outer half lifts and highlights. I went with an equilateral triangle as my cheeks are fairly defined, but feel free to make your triangle slightly more acute to accentuate your cheekbones further. That said, I wouldn't bring the apex of the triangle down as far as the end of your nose. 

Before: no makeup

The image above is about as bad as it gets - pre-makeup, ruddy cheeks, pigmentation, blech.

If you draw your attention to the right side of the image, you'll notice I've lightly painted on the "triangle of happiness," the gateway to perked up eyes. On the left side of the image I've blended, and buffed the triangle to soften the lines.

A little makeup really goes a long way.

After

Don't feel like playing makeup bartender? Check out YSL's Touche Eclat, Maybelline's Dream Lumi Highlighting Concealer, or Bare Minerals' Stroke of Light Eye Brightener.

Now, kick those under eye circles to the curb. 

*This is not a sponsored post, however PR samples (The Porefessional) were provided –  Thoughts and ramblings written here are completely my own.