If you’ve been here for a while (in that case, I have nothing else to say but THANK YOU), you might remember that I was really not a lipstick girl. I thought I loved my eyeshadows too much to ever want to play my lips up and eyes down, but early autumn worked its magic and BANG, my recent favorites revolve around bold(er) lipsticks!
I wouldn’t be the first or the only person to acknowledge the importance of eyebrows. They frame your face and make your features stand out. Unfortunately, my eyebrows are really invisible because the hair is very sparse. After having overplucked my eyebrows and used products that are way too dark for my coloring, I have finally come up with a brow routine that works for me. Today I’m sharing my 5 brow essentials that give me the eyebrows I should have been born with!
Hey everybody, it’s FRIDAY! Isn’t it almost the best day of the week? What are your plans for the weekend? Do you have exciting things planned or are you going to chill?
Dr. D and I made plans to go for Thai food tonight, so in the early afternoon I proceeded to take my shower, put on some makeup, and then go work at a cafe till dinnertime. When I got out of the shower however, I saw large snowflakes falling. I heard earlier today that there was a snowstorm in the Netherlands, and I knew my foolish hope of having the weather stay freezing but sunny was over. Since I had more time to spare, I decided to follow a K-pop inspired tutorial by Jen from From Head to Toe. Hyuna’s Bubble Pop was BIG last summer when I was in Taiwan, and despite the fact that the only part I could follow is “bubble bubble bubble pop bubble bubble pop pop,” the song has stuck in my head. It’s just so bright and cheerful!
I largely followed Jen’s tutorial, replacing what I don’t have with the closest shades I have. Here is the list of products and breakdown:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 53 Light Beige
NARS Stick Concealer in Custard (swatch and review coming soon)
Tarte Smooth Operator finishing powder
Bobbi Brown Sable on eyebrows
The middle shade of NYX Rock and Roll was used in a half-moon shape (Jen used Urban Decay Underground which I don’t have, and this one is the only remotely taup-y shade I own at the moment). Darkhorse was used in the same shape closer to my lash line. With the tip of MAC 239, I put the gold shade of L’Oreal Metallic HiP duo in Gilded on my lower lash line (Jen used Urban Decay Honey, which is also a yellow gold), Half Baked in the inner corners and layered a bit on the lower lash line, and Smog to smoke out the outer half of the lower lash line.
I lined my upper lash line with Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black (Jen used a pencil liner for both her upper and lower lash line, but I knew a pencil liner doesn’t stand a chance on my upper lash line so I went with my usual gel liner), but the line doesn’t go up as what I usually do. Instead, it is just slightly extended following my natural eye shape. I was supposed to line my lower waterline with Urban Decay Zero, and then connect the outer corners with the line I created with the gel liner. However, I might have been a little over-enthusiastic with all that gold shadow earlier on, and I found it pretty difficult to line! After some struggle, I ended up with both my water AND lash line lined, and it wasn’t very neat. Oh well…
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes (review coming soon)
Tarte Blissful on cheeks (Jen didn’t use a blush, but I was testing this one out. Swatch and review coming soon)
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze on the top of my cheekbones, forehead, and down my nose bridge
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Soft Matte Bronzer to contour
Chanel Rouge Coco Mademoiselle was dabbed onto my lips, creating more natural pink lips
Here are some close-ups so you can see the eyes better:
This is how the eyes look when they are downcast. You can also play spot-the-kitten with this one 🙂
I took some pictures in the usual bathroom light, but since there was still natural light I wanted to play with that too. It washed my complexion out, and I had to switch to “snow” mode on my camera to deal with the super bright white light, but I kind of like how “surreal” these pictures turned out.
So that’s my snow day Bubble Pop FOTD for you! What do you think? Do you like my regular winged-out eyeliner better or when I follow my real lash line like in this look? I need some input here! Also, are you a fan of K-pop or celebrity-inspired looks in general?
I have recently hauled quite a bit of exciting stuff that I want to share with you, so definitely stay tuned for that! Follow me on Twitter (especially if you want to see more kitty photos) and Bloglovin’. I have plans to start a Mostly Sunny Facebook page soon, and I will keep you posted when that happens!
Have a nice weekend everyone!
Sunny xx
Hey everybody, happy Friday! Aren’t you glad you made it this far? What are your plans for the weekend?
Last night I was invited to the welcome event of the city I live in, and I thought I’d play a bit more with my Wet n’ Wild Comfort Zone palette (swatched here). It turned out to be a bit more intense than what I would usually wear, but since the event was at night I thought I could get away with it. Anyways, without further ado:
List of products and breakdown:
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation in 53 Light Beige
Tarte Smooth Operator finishing powder
Bobbi Brown Sable on eyebrows
I applied the crease shade of the right column in the outer half of my eyes, dragging the color in. I used the eyelid color for the inner half of my lids, blending the color in with the crease shade. I highlighted the inner corners with the browbone shade, and my brow bones with Bobbi Brown Bone.
I lined my upper and lower lash line (rather thickly) with Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black. I smudged the upper lash line with Creep and lower lash line with Darkhorse from the Naked Palette.
Maybelline Magnum Volum’ Express Black (waterproof)
Cargo Beachblush in Cable Beach on my cheeks (swatch and review coming soon).
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess bronzer
Top of my cheekbones and the bridge of my nose were highlighted with Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze (swatch and review coming soon)
Bobbi Brown Nougat on lips
Here are the closeup pictures of my eye:
The look turned out to be more intense because proportionally there was more crease shade than what I would normally use. The olive green eyelid shade was really intensified by the darker crease shade! I do have to warn you while the crease shade is very unique, for bigger areas it is not the easiest to work with. It is a bit patchy, and I had to take my time making it smooth. Also, excuse the fallout from Creep. I tried to smudge my upper lash line out with the tiny little eyeliner brush that came with my Maybelline gel liner, and I don’t think it is designed for powder products.
Here are some more pictures so you get a better look of my face. Do excuse the big post-acne pigmentation spot on my cheek though. I learnt a lesson of not picking at my face before going to bed at 1AM, regardless of how good the idea seems at the time!
Because I have monolids myself, I’ve been thinking what kind of advice I would give to other monolidded girls who are just getting into makeup. Besides using a gel liner, I think beginners will benefit from smudging their eyeliner out with an eyeshadow. That way it will still look good even if you can’t get a crisp line! I would say that those with monolids can get away with more black/dark colors in our eye makeup. If you don’t want to look too dramatic or dark (especially during daytime for example), just remember to limit dark colors to the part of your lids that is not visible when your eyes are open. If you feel like going all out, you can of course do so!
That’s it for today! If you also have monolids, what are your tips for eye makeup?
If you like the look, don’t forget to follow me with Bloglovin’ or Twitter! I’m just getting into Twitter and it’s lots of fun, so come join me!
Sunny xx
Psst for those who live in Belgium, I found Comfort Zone on this website if you’re interested in purchasing one! Other than that it’s pretty tricky to get anything Wet n’ Wild here!
Eek (and whee) it’s already Thursday! How is everybody doing?
If you have read my Bobbi Brown Sable story, you’ll know I have come a long way in terms of filling my brows. I said back then that I was debating whether I should review the KATE Gel Eyebrow because it is not so easily available in most countries. However, since I see this product popping up in my search engine terms from time to time, I thought I might as well share my experience.
I picked the darkest shade of BR-3 because it is recommended for people who have dark brown to black hair. Since my hair is not dyed, I thought this one would suit me better (however, I forgot to factor the fact that my hair is naturally quite a bit lighter than the average East Asian hair). I also bought the little brush that is sold separately, but it is so flimsy and small that it takes a while to fill in my brows with it.
The gel itself has a pretty hard texture. I have to dig my brush in the pot and scratch the surface a bit to get some product. You could also get little chunks that you have to smooth out. My major gripe with this product is the fact that the gel doesn’t seem to adhere to the gaps I have in my brows. For me personally, since I have very sparse eyebrows, I need a product that would cling onto all the gaps. This gel, sadly enough, doesn’t seem to do that. On top of that, it is easy to get way too much product on in one go, and afterwards it is very difficult to blend it out.
If you check my first FOTD (really not the most flattering lighting), you can see this gel in action. Compared with Bobbi Brown Sable, the color is a lot darker, and it doesn’t give the natural “fluffiness” that Sable can achieve. I used small feathery strokes with this eyebrow gel, but still my eyebrows looked rigid and drawn in.
Here is a comparison swatch of the eyebrow gel and Bobbi Brown Sable. As you can see, at least for my coloring Sable is a more sensible choice. You can also spot the chunk that would be hard to blend out once it gets on your brows.
Bottom line: Maybe I’m not using it properly, but I wouldn’t recommend this eyebrow gel because it is chunky and hard to blend out. I personally prefer the soft and fluffy look an eyeshadow can achieve.
How about you? What is your brow routine? Have you tried a similar product?
Sunny xx
MOSTLY SUNNY 