TUTORIAL

Cat Eyeliner Flick Tutorial

May 14, 2012

Every girl who wears makeup would have a signature look that they tend to wear on a frequent basis. As for me I always like to wear a thin black eyeliner with a little flick (as you can see in all of my FOTDs). I have often been asked about how I do the eyeliner flick. It is not rocket science, and any girl who has the right makeup tool can do it, but the key is to make the flick work with your eye shape. Just because a feline eyeliner look is sultry on a celebrity/model, it doesn’t guarantee that it will do justice to everyone’s eyes or your facial features. So my answer to all of them was to practice and practice to work out the best shape.

I have been wearing this look for years, and I have put together some tips in this tutorial for you. To begin with, I have already drawn a line along my upper lash but without the flick.

Step 1: Define the angle of the flick

Here is a trick to define the angle of the flick – if you are like me who likes to fill out the outer third of my lower lash line, then look straight into the mirror and draw the line starting from the lower lash line first. Now extend it pass the end of your eyes following its natural curve, and stop at your desired length (see picture 1). Alternatively you can put a pen/brush from the side of your nose to the end of your eye brow and draw the flick (see picture 2). This is the most important step, and as said the angle of the flick has to complement the shape of your eyes. If your eyes are slanted, your might want to bring the angle down. On the other hand, if your eyes are droopy, you can bring the angle more upward.

Step 2: Draw the Flick

The rest is all relatively easy. Now that I have ‘marked’ the flick, I can just fill it out with a liquid eye liner and make sure it joins the top liner . Very gently pull up your eyelid so it helps to draw the line straighter and more smoothly.

Step 3: Improving the Shape of the Flick

The final step is to adjust the shape and the thickness of the flick to make it look nicer and sharper.

Before And After

This is the size of the flick I would normally do on a daily basis. In my FOTDs I normally wear it slightly more dramatic.

I personally prefer to use a liquid eye liner as it gives me better control to draw the line. Hope you found this tutorial helpful!

{ 10 comments }

Labels: TUTORIAL

How to do Eyebrows, K Palette Real Lasting Brow Liquid Pen Review

February 26, 2012

There are many posts requested by my readers that I have yet to do… so this week I am starting with how to do eyebrows. And in the meantime I might as well give a quick review on my holy grail eyebrow product – K Palette Real Lasting EyeBrows Liquid Pen which I have raved about in many of my previous posts.

I don’t mind going out with no makeup, but I would never leave the house without having my eyebrows done! I really dislike the natural shape of my eyebrow – it’s quite thin and too arched for my liking. People always say to only fill out the lower part of your eyebrow, and always follow the natural shape. Lol I am against that, and it took me years to figure out a shape that flatters the shape of my face. I have an oval face shape, and I like my eyebrows to be thick and straight (rather than thin and arched) as it creates a more approachable and youthful look. Then again it all comes down to your personal preference, and I know that many women want lifted and arched eyebrows to look more glamorous even to the extent of having Botox or eye lift surgery.

Products I am using:

K Palette Real Lasting EyeBrow Liquid Pen

Laura Mercier Brow Powder Duo in Soft Blonde: a nice ashy brown color that goes well with my complexion and hair color.

MAC Brow Set in Girl Boy

K Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow Liquid Pen Review:

Strictly speaking this is not an eyebrow product that I would use alone. It is a liquid based brow pen that I use as a base product to extend the wear time. Because I like to make my eye brows much thicker than it is, most products I used (trust me I have used a lot!) fade within hours. The K Palette liquid eyebrow pen is the only reliable product that lasts through the whole day (it truly lasts 24 hours as it claims). I am using the color light brown, and as you can see in my tutorial pictures, the color is very natural for my coloring and goes well with the rest of the products. It is also quite similar to Suqqu liquid eyebrow pen, if you don’t have the budget for Suqqu this is a great alternative! It retails for around USD$13-$15.

Tools I am using:

Stila Brush 10, MAC 219, MAC 224

My Eyebrow Tutorial

a picture of my natural eyebrow before I begin:

Step 1: I apply the K Palette eyebrow pen in short strokes to fill out the head of the brow (upper corner) and the middle area under the arch to create a more straight and thicker shape.

Step 2: Using the Stila Brush 10, gently dip it into the darker shade of Laura Mercier’s palette, then shade the natural eyebrow and also go over the same area created in step 1. I prefer to use eyebrow powder for a more natural look, but if I run out of time I would use a brow pencil for this step.

Step 3: An important step is to use a stiff blending brush – I am using the Mac 210 pencil brush. Gently dip it into the light shade of Laura Mercier’s palette, and smudge it over the head of the brow to blend the color out and soften the edge, otherwise it will look too harsh.

Step 4: By step 3 my natural brow hair still looks slightly darker than the extended area I applied. So I would use the MAC Brow Set to make my eyebrow monotone. When applying a tinted brow gel, remember to apply it against the natural direction that your hair grows then comb through for the most natural look.

Step 5: No, I am not finished yet! If you are Asian, this step 5 will be very beneficial. I like to use a soft blending brush such as the MAC 224, very gently dip it into the light shade of Laura Mercier’s palette, then blend it from the head of your eyebrow to the inner eye socket to create a “fake shadow”, that way it will make your nose bridge more prominent, and your eyes more deep set.

Viola, all done! My self-invented eyebrow routine to fake thicker eye brows which is the makeup look that’s been dominating on the runways for the last few years. I don’t follow trends blindly, I am doing this simply because it is the most flattering brow shape for my oval face.

So ladies, is shading eyebrows an important step in your makeup routine? If so, what is your preferred shape and is your routine complex?

{ 39 comments }

Labels: Eyebrow Pen • TUTORIAL

NARS Kalahari FOTD

March 13, 2011

I went to a boat party on Saturday night and this is the makeup I wore. I like to wear false eyelashes to parties just to add a touch of glamorous effect to my makeup. I normally go for neutral eye shadows to balance the dramatic effect of false eyelashes so I don’t end up looking like a drag queen.

Eye makeup details:
Eyeshadow used: my favourite Nars neutral Eyeshadow Duo in Kalahari

I used 2 pairs of false eyelashes!

More close ups of my eyes: without flash

With flash:

Other products used:

– Nars Sheer Glow Foundation

– Nars Multiple Tint in Cadaques on my cheeks

– Nars Turkish Delight on my lips

{ 4 comments }

Labels: EYESHADOW • FALSE LASHES • FOTD • NARS • TUTORIAL

Ombres Perlees de Chanel Swatch and FOTD

March 2, 2011

It is the time of the year when the new spring makeup collections are arriving in Australia. This probably is the time of the year I anticipated with excitement the most (other than public holidays!), as I LOVE spring inspired hues seen in each collection, they are beautiful to be collected yet subtle and natural enough to wear throughout all seasons.

Today I like to talk about Ombres Perlees de Chanel Palette, which has been the talk of the town amongst beauty bloggers for a while. I had this palette for a week now and I can say it totally lived up to its hype. The beauty of this palette is its versatility. These eye shadows can be worn sheer as well as dramatic due to its creamy texture that can be built to your desire.

Swatch on my hand:

Ombres Perlees de Chanel swatch - daylight

I did a subtle eye makeup with this palette today. It takes no effort to apply these cream textured eye shadows – the easiest way is to apply them with your fingers. I have yet found a brush that picks up the eyeshadow well considering I have an extensive collection of makeup brushes. Please do let me know your preferred brush.

Here are some close-up shots of my eyes:

I used:

a: pink pearl

b: a very sheer wash of the green pearl

c: black pearl on the outer corner

d: white pearl on the tear duct

e: the purple pearl along the lower lash line

Now let’s move on to the products I used on my face. My FOTD is totally inspired by the makeup worn by the model in the Chanel spring 2011 makeup campaign, so most products I used are Chanels.