Fighting the Frizz! Inexpensive Frizz Fighters and a DIY Braid to Die For!

Nothing to Dislose


Remember last week when I had an entire series of post on how to fight frizzy hair? It turns out that I'm not alone in my hatred of frizzy hair! L'Oreal Paris analyzed Tweets and found that from January through the end of June, there were 171,892 total tweets related to hair care issues including frizz, dry hair, fragile/thinning hair, color-treated hair and general damage – and among this set, 43% of mentions (74K) were about frizz. That number rises to 47% when looking at the month of June alone!

L'Oreal asked Polly Blitzer, TV style expert, former InStyle beauty editor and founder of BeautyBlitz.com, to get her tips for tackling frizz head on and styling hair when the humidity hits:

Product Picks
“L’Oréal Paris Advanced Haircare Smooth Intense Frizz Taming Serum and Smooth Intense Xtreme Straight Crème work in tandem to keep your hair frizz-free for 72 hours. They polish the hair, lock in shine and give any hint of unruly hair behavior the heave-ho.”

Best Style to Fight Frizz: A Braid!
“Whether you like yours fishtail, Grecian or inverted on the hairline, you’re bound to be braided all summer long. These sizzling hot trends, from side-plaited to intricately woven, require your hair to be silky, glossy and healthy.”

One of my favorite braids this summer was on Maria Menounos (yet more reason to grow out my hair).
L’Oréal Paris Consulting Hair Expert Johnny Lavoy shared how to get the look!

1. Create a center part from the front of the head to the nape of the neck. Clip each section.

2. Create two cornrow braids down each side of the head. A cornrow braid is similar to a French braid except you braid underhand vs. overhand.

3. Once you get to the nape with each braid, leave the remaining hair unbraided and secure with elastics.

4. Using the remaining hair, create a fishtail braid by using two sections rather than three like a traditional braid. To create it, pick up a small section of hair from one side and pass it over to the opposite side and then repeat going back and forth. The hair should go OVER the left section and finish UNDER the right section.

5. Secure the fishtail with an elastic and finish the look with a spritz of Elnett Satin Hairspray.


For personalized expert advice, L’Oréal Paris encourages women to tweet your burning hair care questions to #AskHairGenius @LOrealParisUSA.

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Inspiration from the Greek Islands: A Sultry Smoky Eye

Nothing to Disclose

Today I have another amazing makeup look from Brandy Gomez-Duplessis, again from Donna Karan International Market Week. Brandy says,

"Today's makeup inspiration comes from my love of the sultry Greek Islands. Women are very sexy there and they love their bodies. Donna Karan's collection today took me to that place so I created a flawless makeup look that would take you from day to night. It's all about clean skin, shades of coral, and beach with no one thing being the main focus."

Best of all, Brandy created this amazing look with makeup that you can easily pick up with a trip to a store near you! I love that she uses a lot of non-pro products to create looks that are just so pretty. I could recreate this easily for going out to dinner and it would look great!

3

Brandy Gomez-Duplessis Shares Her Donna Karan International Market Week Look, Hint: A Trip to ULTA Will Get You Everything!

Nothing to Disclose


During Donna Karan International Market Week, Celeb Makeup Artist Brandy Gomez-Duplessis created many different looks, and when she offered to share the looks, and the products she used, with my readers I jumped at the chance! Just look at the model's makeup.... Yes, super pretty!

Brandy says that the look was inspired by her love for exotic locations like Capri. Look is simple with brown/bronze eyes and flawless skin, natural lips and you can almost feel the breeze coming off of the Mediterranean! The best part is that you can pick up all of the products with a quick trip to ULTA (except for the lip gloss. I can only find that on-line, but it is $1.25. Can't argue with that!)

A quick peek at the amazing Paul Andrew shoes backstage. I want them all!

Read on to see what Brandy used to create the look.

8

Summer Beauty Challenge: Lorac Pro Palette Day to Night Eye Shadow Looks

Product Sent for Review


So, remember recently when I shared with you what I would buy with $25 at ULTA? (Shopper Files) I wrote that post in preparation for this post. Oh yes, this is a long awaited post my friends!

The nice people over at Coupons.com gave some friends and I each $50 to spend at one of three on-line beauty stores. They were some of my favorite stores, ULTA, Sephora and Drugstore.com/Beauty.com. Our mission? Either create 2 looks or come up with some great dupes to share. Oh yes, and be sure to use one of the coupon codes, I used the ULTA Coupon Codes.

We had a lot of fun shopping, and you should have seen some of our Facebook messages showing what was in our carts! I fully admit that I went crazy and spent a lot of my own money over the $50. I got some great deals though at ULTA! I was so happy to finally pick up the LORAC Pro Palette (check out my Lorac PRO Palette Review & Swatches post). I also grabbed another L'Oreal Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner in black. I knew I'd be needing more black liner, and that's one that I haven't written about enough. I kind of love it.

Read on to see the 2 looks I created, find links to see what my friends did with their $50 and to enter a contest to win $300 to ULTA!

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Get the Look: Julianne Moore at Cannes, The Great Gatsby Premiere

Nothing to Disclose

So, I fully admit to loving Julianne Moore (how could you not?), I'd love to look look as good as she does at 52! Now that Cannes is going on (and really, the Red Carpet there is always full of very pretty looks), keep an eye out for the looks that I'm loving!

Today I'm really excited to share Julianne's look from “The Great Gatsby” gala screening. She looked so pretty in her Christian Dior dress!


Because Julianne is a spokesperson for L'Oreal, all of her makeup is from L'Oreal. (Also true when she's in the US.) However, what is interesting here is that because she's in Europe, they've used quite a few non-US products. The eye liner especially makes me want to hit a Boots store in the UK!

Here's what they've used on her, and the US products that you could use to get a very similar look.

1. Super Liner Luminizer in Brown Eye: This apparently has special light reflecting particles to really help bring out your eyes. For a similar (non-luminizing) look, try Infallible Lacquer Liner 24H in Espresso

2. Volume Million Lashes Excess Mascara, try Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara. To me the brushes look pretty similar, they both promise a lot of volume.

3. Le Blush True Match in True Rose #115, try True Match blush in Baby Blossom

4. Rouge Caresse Lipstick in Sweet Berry: I couldn't find a color that looked really close to the Sweet Berry, though I thought that Colour Caresse by Colour Riche in Rose Tafetta was the closest, L'Oreal also suggested Colour Riche Lipcolour in Mauved.




L'Oreal Paris USA

0

Teen Makeup: Great Product Picks from Cosmetically Challenged

Nothing to Disclose


Living with a skin disorder is hard, especially when it’s strategically placed on your right eye and you're married to a 6’3 250lb ex-football player! I constantly find myself saying, “Yes, everything is fine at home!” Now that I’m older I’m not as self-conscious about my skin disorder as I used to be. Before, I was all about not leaving the house without covering it up but, this period of low self esteem helped spiked my love for makeup and its amazing ability to transform you’re look with a flick of the wrist.

If you’re a teen dealing with a skin disorder and you’re looking to create a beauty kit on a budget I’ve shared with you my favorite correctors and concealers. I’ve also included some of my other favorite beauty items that will help you complete your entire look!

• Choose a corrector or a concealer. If you’re looking to cancel out redness a Green Toned Corrector works well. If you’re looking to conceal dark birthmarks or disorders try correctors or concealers that have salmon shades. Maybelline Cover Stick Corrector Concealers work great just for this! $5.49

• Choose a foundation that will give you great coverage but not be too heavy. L’oreal True Match foundation comes in a range of shades and is great for all skin types! Choose a powder in the same shades to apply over your foundation to set it. $12.99

• Milani Baked Blush gives the option of a wonderfully pigmented blush with a bit of shimmer! $7.49

• Milani Runway Eyes and Baked Eye shadows give you a great array of colors that are super intense when applied wet! $7.99

• Maybelline The Rocket Mascara will really make your lashes take off! $7.99

• My favorite go to eyeliner is the Maybelline Ultra Liner. I love it because it’s waterproof and doesn’t smear. $5.10

• Maybelline Vivids and Color Whispers lipsticks are some of the hottest shades around. Be daring and go bright with the Vivids or tone it down with the Color Whispers. $7.49

• NYX has great range of inexpensive lip liners. You can find most of these at your local beauty supply store retailing for as little as $2.00 per pencil.


These are my number one go to beauty products for creating an amazing flawless yet simple look. Remember beauty is only in the eye of the beholder. If you feel fabulous then you are!


Melody is the blogger behind Cosmetically Challenged, and one of the beauty bloggers I talk to the most! She's an amazingly sweet person who also happens to be working on her PhD, working to save the world from Malaria! Her blog is definitely worth reading daily, her pictures will make you want to buy every Maybelline Vivid Lippie. I'm not kidding.

4

A Teen Starter Makeup Kit Under $75?

Product Sent for Review, , Affiliate Links


Recently, I got this email in my inbox:

I am a 14 year old girl. I currently wear some makeup, but I would like to find some better cosmetics and wear a little more.

Unfortunately, I don't know where to start. I can't go to my mom for help, because she is one of those people that never wears makeup, but when she does it is a very minimal amount of expensive Clinique foundation. I can't get help from my friends either, because their parents buy them very high-end and expensive makeup, which I can't afford.

So I'm looking to you for help. I'm a huge fan of your blog and I think that you might me able to help me. I'm looking for some makeup that I can buy myself. It doesn't need to be super cheap, just affordable. I'm looking to be able to create a natural, everyday look, and be able to get to a full face of makeup for nicer occasions. I would really like a foundation/BB cream/Tinted moisturizer, blush, bronzer, highlight, concealer, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick/lip butter/lipgloss, and any needed tools. And maybe a few splurge-worthy items that are more expensive.

I have medium brown hair, grey-green eyes, and fair skin with an olive undertone. I also have a square face, hooded (but not Asian) eyes, and cheeks that are very round and look like they have no cheekbone. Near me, I have a Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS, and an Ulta. Farther away I have a Sephora. I would prefer to stay at about $75 or less in total, but it would be completely fine to be over that price.

I would really appreciate any products or advice you could give me. I truly am lost when it comes to makeup. I'd really appreciate it though if you could tell me an affordable eyeliner that doesn't smudge. I've had a lot of problems finding one.

Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this would mean to me.

So, I have to say that this challenge really excited me! I have this secret fantasy of helping all the girls in my life with their first makeup. I have no idea why, it just sounds like so much fun!

The author of this email (who asked to not be named, though let's just call her Karen to make it a bit easier), is right in the middle of that difficult period in which she wants to grow up and look older, but doing too much not only freaks out the parents, but it can just look...wrong. It's a really fine line to navigate, and if you go a bit overboard you'll become known as the girl that just tries too hard. That's definitely worse than having a more natural look that just accentuates your positives and makes you look pretty. Luckily Karen seems to realize that!

My ideal look for this age group is pretty minimal. You should wear as little face makeup as possible, often your skin is the envy of all the women around you, so covering it up isn't necessary and just looks too artificial. Keeping the shine down without looking like you are wearing a mask is pretty easy if you have the right products, and just adding a little color to lips and putting the emphasis on your eyes keeps your look age appropriate and pretty.

Here's a look at what my picks would be for Karen. Note that I'm just including prices (I priced things out at my local Target, but you can buy many of these items at drugstores and ULTA), not a total. I offered a few options for products in the pics, and there's more mentioned below.

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Event Hair: Tips to Make Your Up-Do a Success

Nothing to Disclose

This was my last major up-do, thank goodness! Yes, that's my wedding hair, circa May 2003. I obsessed (obsessed, really and truly obsessed) over looking for the perfect up-do. I remember spending hours (on a dial up internet connection) looking at on-line hair galleries. How much thought did I give to preparing for that up-do? Very little. But, in truth, the success of an up-do, and how long it lasts, depends a lot on how well you prepare for it.

A few things to know:
• If the up-do is for your wedding, you definitely should schedule a trial session with a stylist. If you're doing it on your own, practice before your big day. Please.
• If you're going to have a pro do the style for you, bringing in pictures of what you want will make the process much smoother.
• Have your hair color done within a week or so of the event, and if you have highlights make sure you have some around where your part will be for the up-do.

1. Day Old Hair
Yes, it is true, freshly washed hair is usually too slippery to get enough "grip" to keep your hair up and make it last all night. Washing your hair the day before an event is a better idea, though if you are a person that must wash your hair each day, don't fret! You'll need to take a few extra steps to ensure that your hair has enough texture to hold a style, but it isn't a lost cause.

To add in the texture you need, I like to turn to dry shampoo. For an up-do, my favorite is the Redken Powder Grip 03, which is almost a little sticky when applied to hair. Other options are basic texture sprays or a sea salt spray (here's a simple DIY Salt Spray Recipe).

2. Mousse Makes All Things Possible
So, you know those girls that swear their hair won't hold a curl? I used to be one of them. I no longer am, because thanks to Reagan, I now know that if I go crazy with mousse and create a hair foundation, that my hair will hold curl. It does matter which mousse I use (I do best with It&ly Hair Fashion and Aussie) for hold and making my hair not sticky. I usually use about the size of an egg, but if I really want hold, I've been known to use 2 or 3 eggs. Really, just know that with enough mousse, anyone's hair can hold curl and this creates a great foundation for an up-do.

3. Heat Protectant!
Make sure you protect your hair from heat damage while applying products. My favorite way to do this is with a multi-tasking product like L'Oreal's Total Repair 5 hair oil. It is lightweight and adds amazing shine, but also protects hair up to 450 degrees! Frying your hair while styling adds the added bonus of a fried keratin smell that definitely doesn't need to be there. Yuck.

4. Place Your Part
Whenever you do wash your hair, the day before or the morning of, make sure you put your part in the right spot. If you want a center part for your updo, put it there! By drying your part in a different location, you do make it hard to move around later. Plan ahead.



4. Use Bobby Pins Correctly
Most of us have no clue that we are using bobby pins wrong. Seriously. The little ridged side? That goes toward your scalp. Want them to really hold? Overlap them, so 2 pins criss cross. Seriously, your hair is going nowhere now. Also, the best bobby pins ever are the MetaGrip ones from Sally Beauty. They come in a couple of colors, in a big jar or a smaller packet. They're more expensive, but once you start using them you will never go back, I promise!

5. What on earth is that hair pin?
Admit it, unless you are a hair dresser, you have no idea how that hair pin actually holds anything, especially since it just looks like a bobby pin that someone pulled apart. Again, head over to Reagan's amazing hair blog to learn how to use a hair pin.

6. Spin Pins are the Bee's Knees
These pins from Goody are well worth their weight in gold. Twist them in, and let them overlap a little to "lock" them in place. They do the work of many bobby pins, and I can have a bun in place with just 2 of these babies. They come in big and small, as well as multiple colors so they can blend in to your hair.

7. Curl Your Hair
Even if the look you are creating doesn't need a curl, adding some curl to your hair will help add texture and volume to your hair. If you're a girl whose hair doesn't curl well (see #2), extra heat and letting your hair cool down while in the shape of the curl will help a lot. I've noticed that if my hair is curled with something over 390, then I'm good to go. Under that temp and I don't have much chance of holding the curl. I also do better when curling if I immediately pin my hair up or put it in a velcro roller to cool down.

8. Tease to Create Volume and Body
Believe it or not, there is actually a "right" way to tease, and chances are you've been doing it wrong! Check out The Mother Huddle's post on how to backcomb your hair correctly, and I swear it will revolutionize your (hair) life. I recommend the teasing brush above, it's definitely my favorite tool for teasing and it was only a few bucks from Sally Beauty.


9. Use a Good Hairspray
Finally, make sure you use a good hair spray! Don' just trust your up-do to one you've randomly pulled off of the drugstore shelves without testing first. My favorites are L'Oreal Elnett, Laid Brand No More Headaches (which has an adjustable nozzle so you can customize how much product you are using, genius!) and if you're in a humid environment I'd go with Living Proof Hold Hairspray.






the Italian voice via Compfight cc

2

At Home Spa Pampering: How I Cram Hours of Pampering into 90 Minutes or Less

Sample Provided For Review, I Bought This

After my recent vacation (Disney World with a 2 year old), I fully admit that I needed a little peace and relaxation. It was fun but... super exhausting! Unfortunately, I didn't have the time (or money) to head to a spa for the full treatment for a day. I did have a few hours at home alone, thanks to a day I didn't have to work and my toddler at "school". So, I took advantage and crammed as much pampering into a 90 minute period as I could! I don't remember exactly what order I did everything in, but here's the kind of multi-tasking I usually do to fill a roughly 90 minute pampering session.

I'm not really one of those girls that likes to lounge around in the tub. I'm busy and have a lot of things to do (and multitask) and they aren't really easily done in the tub. I'm usually doing one thing while another works away, like scrubbing down while a hair mask is soaking, etc.

Things I usually do:

Hair
I have some eczema or atopic derm near my ear, and a small amount of Head and Shoulders Advanced once a week is all I need to keep it at bay in the fall and spring. Something with zinc just keeps my skin happy. I also really love the Green Apple Head and Shoulders, but I just ran out last week, so I'm back to the blue bottle. I'm going to repurchase in the Green Apple after this one runs out, I love the smell of the green apple.

While the H&S is on those little areas, I wash the rest of my hair. Lately I'm really loving the L'Oreal Advanced Hair Care line! I've been using the Total Repair 5 line, and you can see the Shampoo & Conditioner here. The collection is very hydrating and seems to be really improving the condition of my damaged hair with each use. I also have the mask (which I recently repurchased, you can see it on my Instagram), it's hiding under the DermOrganic Hair Masque. So, I wash my hair with the L'Oreal, then I'm masking with the L'Oreal, and then I actually did a second mask with the DermOrganic (I was super pampering!). My hair loved this and was super soft and silky, but not at all weighed down. It still had a lot of volume.

Face
I washed my face with my First Aid Beauty Cleanser, using my Clarisonic.

Body
Obviously, in the shower you need to get yourself clean. When pampering I like to use a really yummy scented body wash, and my favorites are the Aromatic Blends from Kiehl's. They smell ah-mazing and have a nice lather. They don't overdry my skin, but aren't crazy hydrating like my usual Olay, so I don't use them a lot in the winter. I used my Beautisol Exfoliating Mitt with the body wash, so I was super soft and glowy after my shower.

I'm usually afraid to not use my typical Cetaphil cream, when I'm not super hydrated my eczema likes to flare. For about the last week or so I've been using the new Dial 7 Day Moisturizing Lotion, and it seems to be working really well! It's a slightly lighter lotion, and I love that I can just use a pump instead of having to open a tub and smear very thick cream everywhere. (That pump really is so much easier!) It has a very light scent, sinks in to my skin pretty quickly and the lotion does keep me well moisturized for a long time. I'll definitely be using this throughout the summer!

Finally, under all of those products you'll see my Solevation Shower Mat, which I'm totally in love with. I stand on it while shampooing and washing, just twisting and turning. The end result is pretty feet!

Once I'm finally out of the shower, I like to spend some time masking/doing my nails. First I should point out that the Rembrandt strips are there because I actually start those before I get in the shower (this is the Rembrandt 2 Hour Whitening System).

Next I start masking!
Kiehl's Rare Earth Mud Mask: This mask still doesn't have its own page, but it is amazing. I use it right after getting out of the shower so it can pull as much junk out of my pores as possible. It gets the job done but is very gentle, which I love!

First Aid Beauty Instant Oatmeal Mask: After masking I like to do a soothing/hydrating mask. If it makes me smell like a cookie, so much better!

Next it is time for nails. You can read more about my preferences in my 8 Pedicure Essentials post from last week, but I use a lot of the same products for my manicure. I have the Nails Inc Kensington top coat here, which dries things in about 45 seconds (though it seems to take more like 4-5 minutes for really dry enough to do stuff). I also have a hand scrub and cream from Julep, which I've really loved. They sent them to me in a free Maven box, which I've found is a great way to find new products. That hand cream is amazing!

Also, I use the 30 second cuticle remover from Sally Hansen, which I've probably bought about 30 times over the years (no joke). I'm loving the CoverGirl nail polishes, they last for a looooong time. This one reminds me of my Chanel Particuliere, but with much better wear. I swear I buy a new bottle every time I go to the grocery store.

Finally, if I'd had time, I would have probably tried to include these items as well!

The Clairol Natural Instincts Clear Shine treatment: Since going dark my hair is definitely not as shiny. I'm about to get my hair done again so I'll have my hair dresser do something, but otherwise this is already sitting in my cart on Drugstore.com!

Beautisol Self Tanner: This doesn't turn my skin orange and it doesn't smell! I don't really have time for the "full" treatment, but my plan is to get a bottle to mix in to my lotion and just use it every day. According to Beautisol's Founder, Sinead, this should work really well!

SpaSonic: Like a Clarisonic, but not. It has a head that is big enough for your body! They sent me one to test, but I haven't had a chance to take pictures yet. I won't let it in my bathroom until I do, but it's in my office, taunting me.

14

Get the Look: Lea Michelle's Makeup at the SAG Awards

Nothing to Disclose

I have to be honest here. I'm not so much a fan of Lea Michelle. I think it's because I've only seen her in a few Glee episodes, in which she was behaving badly. And she was a bit too convincing! I do think she is very talented and pretty. I guess I just don't like her Glee character! She looked fab at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards this year. Her light smoky eye, soft nude lippie and glowing cheeks were perfect to off set her bright pink Valentino gown. Her look was created by makeup artist Melanie Inglessis.

1. Melanie mixed Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation in Golden Beige 6 and Caramel 8 and applied it using a wet sponge to create a dewy finish

1. To contour Lea’s cheekbones, she applied L’Oréal Paris Visible Lift Color Lift Blush in Nude Lift under the cheekbone and Visible Lift Color Lift Blush in Peach Gold Lift on the apple of the cheek to add freshness to the look

1. Creating a soft smoky eye, she blended the lightest and darkest shades of Colour Riche Eye Shadow Quad in Cupa Joe. She used the lightest shade on the brow bone and inner corners of the eyes to highlight and placed the darkest brown shade along the lash line for definition. To finish it off, she blended the shadow to create depth

1. Melanie then used Le Kohl Pencil Smooth Defining Eyeliner in Café to define the lash line and smudged it out, on both the top and bottom lids. She finished the eye with a couple coats of Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara in Blackest Black to create long, lush lashes

1. To subtly complement Lea’s hot pink dress, she first applied a coat of Colour Caresse by Colour Riche Luminous Lipcolour in Sheer Linen and then layered Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain by Colour Riche in Eternally Nude for a bit of sheen on the nude lip.

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Get the Look: Lea Michele at the People's Choice Awards

Nothing to Disclose

Lea Michelle looked very fresh and approachable recently at the People's Choice Awards. While I don't have all of the details on her look (like that intricate braid), I can tell you what products were used!

Makeup:
• Dust Infallible 24HR Eye Shadow in Smoldering Plum onto lids
• Apply Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara to lashes
• Using fingers, smooth Visible Lift Color Lift Blush in Nude Lift onto the apples of cheeks
• Give lips a natural kiss of color with Colour Caresse Shine Stain in Eternally Nude


Hair:
• Keep braids frizz-free by prepping with Advanced Haircare Total Repair 5 Multi-Restorative Dry Oil
• Lock style in place using Elnett Satin Hairspray


L’Oréal Paris USA

2

Makeup Wars: The War of the Greens

So, remember how Pantone declared Emerald Green the "It" color of 2013? And suddenly, the color was everywhere. You can now get green everything. In the correct Pantone shade. And naturally, this includes makeup.

Obviously you shouldn't simply apply green makeup everywhere. You'll end up looking like Elphaba, and while the Wizard of Oz is "in" right now, in that variation the Wicked Witch of the West is Theodora (Mila Kunis), and she's not green.

So, for this week's Makeup Wars we've decided to share how each of us are adding a little green in to our beauty closets to stay on trend. You might see nail polishes, shadows, or even a lippie. I've decided to share my favorite way to make green more wearable, by wearing it on my eye with a little brown/metallic mixed in to tone it down.

I decided to use eye shadow cream pencils to create this look. They're quick and easy, and it really does seem that each new version that comes out is even better than the last! They're becoming better pigmented, they last longer and they are usually faster to apply than typical powder shadows. If you do want to use a powder eye shadow, my favorite green is MAC Eye Shadow in Guacamole, and not just because I love guac. It's a little bit different than the deep green that most people reach for, and with some medium brown it really is very pretty!

For this look I grabbed a few different colors, as you can see above. In the pics, the Milani Brown and Mally Beauty end up looking similar, but I can tell you that in person they are very different. I wish I'd had time to take swatch pics of them, but the Mally is a little lighter, more coppery and has a lot of metallic shimmer. It is more highly pigmented, and when blended looks amazing. The Milani is more matte and when blended works really well as a crease shadow, but doesn't have enough depth to be all over the lid and balance out the green.

I started by prepping my lid with NYX primer. It's a near perfect match for my skin tone, so I love to use it all over to take away all of my visible blood vessels. The 10 seconds I spend doing that make it all look so much better later!

Next, I used the NYX Milk over the inner half of my lid. This is a very pigmented white, and by applying it under the green it will just pop. A little blending with a finger tip and that's it.

Here's that amazing Mally Beauty Saddle Shimmer I was talking about. You can see that it isn't flat at all and has a lot of dimension. I've found that the brown and green need to be kind of sandwiched together where they will be blended. I don't know why, but it looks better that way on me. So I do it. I also add a little in the crease.

Time for greeeeeen!!! Green, green, green. You can see that with the white under it the green looks very vibrant and just pops! I pat a little to make the colors blend, but not much yet.

Now I add a little of the Saddle Shimmer back over the green. That's the sandwiching I discussed. It works better this way for me, it might not for you.

Finally, the brown Milani goes in the crease to be smudged out. I didn't do it on this day, but I will sometimes run one of the colors under my eye as well (this was a quiet day at home), the Saddle Shimmer is really pretty there, but I'll use the green (without Milk under it) if I'm feeling sassy.

Next I complete the look! I used brown liner CoverGirl (Perfect Point Plus), though I switch to black if I've put shadow under my eye or I want a more intense look. As usual, I want major lashes, so I went for Cargo's Texas Lash. The volume and length are good, though I have to admit that the Texas in the name somewhat implies insane amounts of volume. It's not quite that, but it is good!

For my face I used L'Oreal Visible Lift cream foundation in 123 and 125 (I need mostly 123 but a little 125 in the middle of my face), Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer and CoverGirl TruBlend Pressed Powder. I have Cargo's Beach Blush in Cable, and finally L'Oreal's Colour Caresse Wet Shine Stain in Eternally Nude (2 layers to intensify the color, I was afraid it wouldn't show up in the camera).

I end up with a green and brown look that has a bit of a gradient of color (most intense towards the lashes and the inner corner of my eye) and while you get the impression of green it doesn't scream "look at me! I have really green shadow on!" Which isn't a look that I am comfortable enough with to really rock.

Are you wearing green? How did you add it in to your look?

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