Askmewhats Version: Majestic Smokey Eyes

Happy Monday everyone!!! A lot of you are home, sleeping in, resting!!! It's a Philippine Holiday today and I'm going to be at work! :( So I'm creating a look for a reader who requested for this way back!

Dear Nikki,

I've been wanting to do a smokey look for myself but I am scared of making my eyes look too dark and dramatic! I wanted a smokey look that doesn't look too scary. HELP!
A.

A., this look is dedicated for you and to the rest of the population, like me, who aren't comfortable with smokey eyes as well. SHOCKER right? Well people who knew me knows that I'm into neutral and natural look rather than dramatic. But it doesn't hurt to shock the hell out of the people you meet right? Once in awhile..once in awhile :)

Here's my Majestic Smokey Eyes
inspired by Majestic mineral e/s from Joppa

AMW Diagram

Step 1:

Apply a dark base, in my case MAC's Shadestick in Sharkskin on the crease area going a bit beyond. Doesn't have to be perfect and blend it well with a taklon brush or your fingers.

Using a flat shader brush, pat on Matte Black E/S just above the Sharkskin base. I am using Jessie Glova's 28pcs neutral palette with my MAC's 242 brush. Patting motion.

Step 2:

Flipping the same brush on the other side, pat on Joppa's Majestic mineral e/s (or any loose e/s that looks like yellowish gold dust) on the crease area only. Again, using patting motion!

Step 3:

Using a blending brush, brush on a matte neutral color a bit lighter than your skin tone on the browbone area gently blending on the inner corner of the eyes.

Using a big fluffy brush, start to gently blend the harsh lines from the black e/s going beyond the crease area. Do this gently so you won't make your e/s fall out. Blend until there's no more harsh line!

Step 4:

Tightline with Urban Decay's 24/7 eye pencil in Zero (black), include upper and lower lashline.

Step 5:

Apply Urban Decay's 24/7 eye pencil in Yeyo (white) on the inner sides of the eyes to create a nice pop.

Step 6:

Using any liner brush or pencil brush, smudge the black eyeliner with a matte e/s to "set" the liner.

Do not forget to fill in your brows with your favorite eyebrow pencil, curl your lashes and apply 2 coats of mascara. I am using Clinique's High Impact Mascara

Here's a dark smokey eyes that has
a nice pop of sunshine! :)

And what's on the rest of my face?



For the face:

Ellana Intensive Mineral Foundation in French Vanilla Latte
using EDM's Flat Top Brush



For the cheeks:

Maybelline Clear Smooth Minerals Blush in Gentle Pink
using Charm Blush Brush from the Charm Travel Case

For the lips:

Kiehl's Lip Blam #1
NYX Round Lipstick in Tea Rose

Smile your week away!

Thanks for the request, I do take some time due to cropping and taking of photos! But I am seriously loving it and it's great to share some ideas yourself!!! What's the best smokey eyes that doesn't look too "wham! bam! boom!" for you?

Keep smilin'
Stay happy!

Askmewhats Version: "Valentines Day" Look

A reader requested for a "Valentine's Day" look, I hope you like this :)

Valentine's Day...ahhh...Romance! I am actually a very romantic person, when I was 10yrs old, I read my first book "On Becoming a Woman" lol and I've read those Sweet Dreams pocketbooks and imagine my "knight in shining armor"... don't even say I'm corny, I'm sure everyone out there has their fair share of imagination! lol Admit it! :P

Anyways, I'm sure a lot of you have your own version of Valentine's Day look, I still have a lot on mind but hot pinks really should be part of the look! lol And colored lippie for that sexy pucker! :P

Here's my final look!

My Askmewhats Diagram :D
(I tried making it as simple as possible)

Step 1:

Apply any base you want, UDPP/TFSI/MAC paintpots etc.. In this look, I used MAC Soft Ochre as base. Using a smaller e/s brush and my 78pcs Digital Angel palette LOL, pat on the "hottest pink" color you want on your lid going a little above the crease.

Step 2:

Deepen outer crease and create a V using a blending/crease brush. I used Milani Dark Chocolate e/s color. Blend well. Add the color as you go on.

Continuation of Step 2:

If you feel the color is too dark on your outer V, blend in with MAC Amber Lights to create a bit of gold-brown look.

Step 3:

Highlight the brow bone and inner corner of the eye with any highlighting powder that's 2 colors lighter than your skin.

Step 4 & 5:

Apply 4U2 Glitz liquid eyeliner on the lash line, going for your desired thickness. Since I cannot use liquid liner on my waterline, I applied Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Bourbon (almost same color as the liquid liner) on the waterline.

Coat your lashes with P&J Curly Mascara in 02 Brown after you curl your lashes with an eyelash curler.

Final eye look :)
Single or not, you can definitely rock this look!

Both eyes
Who says only boys make you happy?
Make-up can! hahaha



And here are other products I've used
on the rest of my face!



Skin79 VIP Gold Collection BB Cream
Ellana Intensive Foundation in French Vanillausing my ultimate fave EDM Flat Top Brush




Arezia blush in Pink
(I am honestly using the 2nd layer of the palette more, love the blush colors!
The mosaic highlighter and the pressed powder)


Apply moisturizer all over lips, I use Kiehl's No. 1 Lip balm
Top with 4U2 Instinct Matte Lipstick in 05


Flirt and you'll have your Valentine date :P
If you have special someone
Flirt ONLY to him lol!

Have a great Valentine's Day!
I personally think Valentine's should NOT only be the day of flowers and chocolates!
Make everyday a sweet romantic day ok?
Stay sweet, stay happy, stay loved!

Askmewhats Reviews: EDM Flat Top Brush

*singing* When I fall in love, it will be Forever.... *sigh*

It's a ONE week love affair
I have a feeling this will be a long term relationship...
Check out her vital statistics....

The Size
Approximately 4inches

The Hair
Never out of shape
Perfect Hair cut

The Style - FlatTop
Well Conditioned Hair - very soft

EDM New Flat Top Brush says ---

Unbelievably soft and incredibly dense, this flat top brush is the ultimate multi-tasker. From foundation to finishing powder, its plush and luxurious synthetic fibers provide the perfect coverage, resulting in a flawless finish every time

Askmewhats Says ---

Pros

• very handy
• lightweight
• hair is soft
• no shedding, I've washed it 3x since I bought it, did not shed even ONE single hair!
• easy to use , can reach all areas of my face
• does it's job in "grabbing" MMU foundation
  

Cons

• NADA!
  

Overall

I have ordered this way before I learned about other "similar" brushes, so I'm sure to some of you who doesn't have the chance to order online and find the shipping quite expensive, I am sure there are other alternatives out there :)


Tips

• always keep your brushes in cool dry place
  
• wash your brushes regularly as you use this to apply your foundation, you wouldn't want to rub germs all over your face right?
• if you are not an MMU user, it's fine, you can use this instead of the regular sponge from powdered compacts, I use this brush even if I use my P&J Powder Foundation, the coverage looks more natural and better!
  

Will I repurchase?
YES!

Where to purchase and how much?
www.everydayminerals.com for $10.00 plus $3.80 shipping fee to the Philippines


Flat Top Brush,
You are the reason I am enjoying MMU application nowadays!
Please be loyal to me and never let me down :D
I'll love you forever!

Another Everyday Minerals Haul

I've had my first samples of EDM (Everyday Minerals) arrived last month as seen on the post here

To be honest, I cannot LOVE or HATE the EDM minerals because all the colors of their foundation are quite similar, meaning, I have been using all of the samples randomly each day and they all works well on my skin! Weird huh? Its good and bad at the same time. But I don't mind, I love the coverage and I love the way the foundation stayed on my skin.

I wanted the Flat Top Brush for the longest time since Digital Angel talks so fondly of them. I've seen Lurve bought 3 of them in one order too!!! So this brush should be wonderful right? Anyways, if you buy anything from EDM, you better get their samples anyways because it's free, all you have to do is pay for the shipping :)

I ordered October 1st and I got it roughly 2 weeks after or less!

And here's the package that I got!
I love it that EDM never fails to ship on time!

Here's how it looks like inside,
They pack it really nicely AND the good news is,
they changed their sample jars!!!
It's BIGGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's what I ordered ---

New Flat Top Brush ($10.00)
Free Sample Makeup Kit ($0.00)
Shipping and Handling Fee ($5.30)
----------------------------------------
Coupon Discount (5%) less $0.50
Total : $14.80

Here's a side by side comparison on the first sample I got and the new jar they used! Of course the original sample jars are way cuter BUT the bigger jars have more products inside, it's not that hard to choose right?

I've always thought the Flat Top Brush is big!
Here's how big it is on my hand!
(and sad to say, my hands are small)



Comparison against MAC 187



The lovely samples!
Buff - Fair Neutral Intensive
Golden Fair Intensive
Golden Fawn Intensive
Lavender Color Corrector
Corner Office Blush



Swatches for you!

It all came out like it looks wrong right?
But if I rub it a bit you'll get my point :)



It does blend into the skin and I think the closest color would be Golden Fawn. Golden Fair would be ok too! Fair Neutral looks too light on my skin



I've had the Mint Color Corrector (for redness)
And this time, I ordered the Lavender Color Corrector (for sallowness)
Together with Corner Office Blush

I wasn't happy with my first blush sample order which is Matte called Weekend Getaway. Weekend Getaway just disappears and won't stay on my skin. So I ordered a different finish called Sheen, sheen has satin iridescence and it looks so pretty on swatch. I hope it works as nicely on my face!

Can't wait to use my MMU foundation with my New flat top brush!
What do you think about the foundation colors?
Which one would work for me?
Golden Fair? Golden Fawn?

My EDM Samples

My first MMU foundation is my Bare Escentuals' (BE) MMU foundation which I got in full size. I would say it didn't or did work for me. It's didn't do anything super bad to my skin like cause irritations or breakouts, my only concern is it darkens my skin after a couple of hours and I am not acidic at all!

Anyways, after BE, I lost my interest on MMU foundation because I don't want to order online because I really have a hard time choosing my color. Digital Angel, sent me a sample of an Everyday Minerals Foundation (EDM) which she and her sister loved so much! Though it looks a little bit light on me, I used it and I fell in love with the coverage and it's lasting power.

I have to clarify though that I am not saying goodbye to my pressed powders, liquid foundation, but I've been leaning onto using MMU foundation the past few days, because...well...it depends on my mood :D

So, I went online, checked out the EDM website and decided to order their 5 mini sampler as it's free, I only have to pay for their shipping which is quite reasonable amount of $4.55 (approx Php214.00)

The good thing about ordering NOW is I do have a "sample" color on hand. With the Fair Light Intensive sample from Digital Angel, I chose a shade one step darker and everything got easier afterwards!

I paid via Paypal last August 31, 2008 and I received my EDM samples a little bit over 2 weeks! (not bad) and since it was packed in a smaller package, I do not need to go to the Postal office to pay for taxes as it was delivered straight to my home!

This greeted me one morning!

I love that their samples all came in small pots instead of resealable bags Definitely GENEROUS amount

(Note: I've read their site recently that the temp jars will be used till September 15th, so I'm not really sure how they would pack their samples after the 15th of September)

In this pack you have the freedom to choose ---

3 foundations - you can choose their finishes as well (original glo, semi-matte, matte and intensive)
1 Blush/Face Color
1 Concealer

And here's what I got --- Foundation (color and their finishes)

• Golden Light (intensive)
• Buff-Fairly Light Neutral (intensive)
• Buff Ivory (Matte)
  

Blush

• Weekend Getaway
  

Concealer

• Mint Color Corrector

And of course, let me show you some swatches.
I am an NC30 for MAC Studio Fix Foundation
Paul & Joe Foundation No. 30

1. Golden Light Intensive
2. Buff - Fairly Light Neutral Intensive (my color)
3. Buff - Ivory Matte
4. Fair Light Intensive (From Digital Angel - thanks enabler LOL)

Left - Mint Color Corrector
Right - Weekend Getaway blush

Askmewhats Reviews (EDM Foundation) ---

The finish and the coverage is great that's why I gave in ordering samples. It lasts more than half a day before I need to do touch-ups. Considering the weather here in the Philippines, not bad at all!

After more than 4-5 hours, the areas I need to retouch are: the side of my nose and forehead, the rest looks ok. Since I applied EDM with a Kabuki brush, more intensive coverage = lesser pores!

Askmewhats Reviews (Mint Color Corrector) ---

Green concealer works best to hide redness. I don't have a lot of redness the past few days (knocks on wood) and I don't plan to have any redness, LOL so I can't really say a lot about the product, for now.

Askmewhats Reviews (Weekend Getaway) ---

This is a nice peachy pink color matte. It looks really pretty if swatched but I find the color doesn't show up on my skin.

How to order samples online (for Philippine readers) ---

1. Register if you don't have an account
   
2. Click on Make-Up on the upper left hand side of the site
   
3. Click Custom Kits
4. Scroll own and you will find Free Sample Makeup Kit -- FREE!
5. Click Add to Cart (you have to do this before you choose your foundation shades, blush and concealer)
   
6. Next comes the tricky part, on the right hand side of the site, you will see that you already have the Free Sample Makeup Kit in your cart but you haven't had the chance to choose any shades yet, don't fret! lol
7. Go back to Make-up, this time click on foundation you will find computerized foundation colors, choose foundation shade you want and drag to cart and it will automatically be added to the sample kit
8. Repeat steps for the next 2 foundation, blush/face color and concealer
9. Choose your payment method and wait for email confirmation!
10. Voila free EDM samples!

P.S. I am not paid for doing this lol Just helping some of you who are interested but had a hard time with their site, it is quite tricky and it took me some time to figure this out too! LOL

I hope this is helpful for you gals who are interested with EDM.
I wouldn't say EDM is my HG MMU foundation because I haven't used much!
I may give other MMU foundations a try!