Makeup Wars: Valentine's Day Look

For this week's Makeup Wars we've decided to showcase a beauty element that we'll be incorporating into our Valentine's Day look! I've decided to show some of the makeup I'll be wearing (though probably not exactly like this, but this is the general idea). I don't have any big plans, I'm working that day and I have a 2 year old at home. But I'll probably do a few special things for my husband.

Things that I'll be incorporating into my look:
1. Curly hair: (Ok yes, you can see my new color here, more on that this afternoon!) My hubby likes when I curl my hair, and I'm still getting the hang of my new cut. This was the day after the cut, and somehow I feel kind of plastic here (and a bit like this is a DMV picture, that background is so boring!) My layers are moving a bit differently now with curls, so I'm practicing. But, I usually curl with my Beachwaver Curling Iron, and with just a little mousse and some hair oil my hair is good to go for a few days.

2. Darker Shadow: Obviously, a little smoky eye! When creating this look I just grabbed things from my stash that worked, I didn't worry about whether items were currently available (so sorry about the MAC Fafi paint pot from 2008!)

3. Pink Lips: I wanted some color, but not too dark. That middle ground seems to be something my hubby responds to.

4. Elie Saab Perfume: Whenever I wear this light and pretty floral he says he likes it. Every single time.

To create my eye look I wanted darker than usual, but I wanted to incorporate some pretty metallics and add depth. I started with my typical Urban Decay Primer Potion to make everything last all day. I then smudged a light layer of MAC Cash Flow Paint Pot (from the Fafi collection) over the lid right up to the crease. The Laura Mercier Black Gold liner gives a very similar look. I added a little Urban Decay Venus (from the Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette) above the crease. This was for the crease shadow to be blended into.

Next I patted a little of the grey/taupe shadow from the Shu Uemura Mesmerizer shadow over my entire lid. I then took Urban Decay's Mushroom shadow, which has a similar tone to the Shu Uemura but is more opaque and a bit darker, and I worked this in to my crease and a little under my outer lower lid. Everything was blended out.

Next I applied black pencil to my upper and lower lash lines, really working the liner into my upper lash line and smudging it well. Finally, I curled my lashes like crazy and layered two mascaras for amazing lashes with just mascara. I used Fresh Supernova and then the new Maybelline Rocket Volume Express.

In the final look you can see that while it's smoky, keeping the darker shades out to the outer corners kept the inner half of the eye light, so the eye is more wearable. I think the metallic kept it from being boring.

I've been spraying my face every day with the new formulation of the Urban Decay All Nighter spray to keep my makeup long lasting. A full review is coming, but I love it!