Playing with My Makeup, Part 1

I have to warn you, folks: All but one of these pictures have not been retouched or re-adjusted for lighting. These pictures are being brought to you as is from my webcam.

I decided to play around with the Make Up For Ever Aquarelle in Silver that I purchased a couple of days ago at Blush in Kahala Mall. I'll admit that I'm not the most sophisticated makeup artist ever - I applied the paint on my eyelids with those cotton makeup applicators, for one thing - but I like the "wet look" effect this has on my eyelids. The Aquarelle is one of those products that do stain the skin, since the water base does evaporate pretty quickly - and for once I actually thought that not using a brush was a good call on this one, because otherwise it would have been difficult for me to blend and spread thin layers of the paint on my skin, in a way that won't make me look like a backup dancer for Flight of the Conchords.

Anyway - yeah, once it dries, the Aquarelle stays on the skin for quite some time. It's rub-proof and (surprisingly) sweat-proof as well, and the effect is positively dramatic; I can totally see myself wearing this to a wedding or any semi-formal occasion. For those of you who love the look but are scared of the formula, Make Up For Ever also has a Pearly Waterproof Eyeshadow Pencil that promises similar endurance, but should be a little easier to blend and control.

Makeup colors on eyes:

• Make Up For Ever Aquarelle in #16 Silver - as a wash from lid to browbone, and layered along with crease colors; also used to highlight the inner corners of the eye around the tear duct


• NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil in #619 Rust - from lash line to crease, then layered with the Silver to tone down the ruddiness (since it's more of a maroon than a rust shade)


• Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Gunmetal - used as a liner along the upper lash line, then smudged and blended into the crease
  

I don't want to talk too much about the skin because I'm only wearing pressed powder, but the lips are another story. I paired the eyes with the Bella il Fiore lip stain in #001, which I thought at first would be too light for my skin. Guess what - this is the second time I've taken the stain out for a test drive, and it's definitely a "my lips but better" shade of peachy-pink that I now adore. The fact that the stain is contained in a Sharpie-like applicator works wonders for me, too, since it dispenses the right amount of stain without much bleeding. It's not completely "eat-proof," though - and I'd be cautious to wear this with a super-emollient lip gloss on top - but it definitely won't rub off on your glass.

Part 2 - which should be forthcoming - will focus more on the Make Up For Ever Aquarelle in Deep Blue as an eyeliner and the darker Bella il Fiore lip stain (#003) for a more retro-inspired look.