Face of the Moment: Honolulu City Nights

Picture this: a perfect early Fall evening in downtown Honolulu, as close to the seaside at the harbor as possible. Winds are crisp, the lights are twinkling, and everywhere you go you're reminded that you're only one week away from Thanksgiving, one step away from the full-on holiday season.

A perfect night to go out with one's friends... and have a pint of seasonal ale at an Irish pub.

So this is what I looked like that night:

The stars of this look are three of the most tenacious eye makeup products that I have ever used in my life, seen here in combination.

EYES (done first to avoid errors)

- Base: MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, applied with a Taklon eyeshadow brush. This locks in any and all eyeshadows that will be used during this time. Best base evarrr.

- Eyeliner: L'Oreal HIP Color Truth Cream Eyeliner in Black - using the brush that came with the package, I drew a thick cat's eye line on top lid and a thin line underneath. Believe me when I say that not only did this stuff dry quickly, but it also did not budge or flake all night.

- Shadows: All of the eyeshadows are from Stila. Using a modification of this smoky eye technique (credit goes to Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog and Gordon Espinet of MAC) I powdered over the eyeshadow with Barefoot Contessa eye shadow, then a matte grey shadow in the crease (try Kalahoo as an alternative), and finally Wheat on the brow bone.

- Lashes: Cover Girl Lash Blast in Very Black. Again, yet another tenacious product in my arsenal. Usually I'm pretty bad with mascara - usually stuff like this runs on me after a few minutes, leaving me with unfortunate dark circles - but Lash Blast keeps my lashes lush and dark all night, even when I get a little teary-eyed. The only downside: I still needed a more emollient makeup remover.

FACE

- Foundation: L'Oreal Bare Naturale Mineral Makeup in Sun Beige
- Blush: Bare Escentuals BareMinerals Face Color in Warmth

LIPS:

I started out using Cover Girl's TruShine lipcolor in Cinnamon Shine, which turned out into a pretty sheer nude shade on me. Unfortunately, the sheerness meant that the lip color did not last as long as the eye makeup... but when you're knocking back a burger with blue cheese, who's there to complain?

THE REST:

- Fragrance: Chanel Chance
- Hair: Washed and banana-clipped into a bun while wet, then brushed out and air-dried
- Top: The jacket from Nepal (not belted) on top of a pink Fruit of the Loom tank
- Bottom: Old Navy jeans, re-tailored at the waist so they won't fall off
- Shoes: Madeline Stuart patent mary-jane flats (purchased at Ross for $6.99)