Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Gingerbread Spice - Anastasia Lavish Palette Look #2

A perfect look to wear this Thanksgiving, transition from fall into winter with this warm, spicy look I created with my Anastasia Lavish Palette. Bits of glitter, along with shades of cream and ginger remind me of a crisp, snowy night spent by the fire. If you like this look make sure to read my review on the palette and view Look #1.



























Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to ensure long lasting, intense color payoff and to prevent creasing. I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. Run 'orange soda' through the socket line from the outer corner to the inner corner, creating a shape for the darker colors to follow.
3. Blend 'rum cake' over top of the 'orange soda' to smoke out the color and add dimension.
4. Use 'sienna' on the outer corner of the lid to intensify the shape and colors in the socket.
5. Take 'cream' and place it on the roundest, center part of the lid and blend it slightly into the other shades.
6. Line the top lash line with black liquid liner and flick it out into a wing. I used my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in 'Trooper'.
7. Add glitter to the inner corners of the eye. I used my Sephora Glitter Liner & Mascara in 'VIP Gold'.
8. Place 'cream' along the bottom lash line and place a little bit of the gold glitter overtop of it.
9. Add mascara and false lashes if you choose.
10. Finish the look by filling in any sparse areas in the brows. I used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Medium Ash'.

Face
Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow
Concealer: Benefit Stay Don't Stray
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Ethereal'
Blush: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12hr blush in 'Blissful'
Bronzer: Estee Lauder 'Bronze Goddess'
Highlight: Laura Mercier in 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Lipstick: Mac 'Modesty'

***Congrats to Heather B. for being the lucky winner of my 'Thankful Giveaway' and I hope that you all have a great holiday tomorrow!***

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Fiery Fall Eyes

I know fall is coming to an end and winter is just around the corner, but it's not Thanksgiving yet, so I can throw in one more fall inspired look! I used Stila's 10 Pan Eyeshadow Palette, and I am so in love with the colors and pigmentation. Unfortunately it's discontinued from Stila and Sephora, I found mine at Nordstrom Rack (thanks Anna for telling me about N.R.) but I did find this one listed on Ebay. I would definitely recommend snatching it up if you can, it is even listed at a discounted price!



























Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to ensure long lasting, intense color and prevent creasing. I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. Take a matte, medium brown eyeshadow and run it through the socket line, blending and feathering it out to give yourself a soft guideline to follow with the brighter colors. 
3. Take a bright, yellowy-gold shade and place it onto the inner third of the eyelid, follow with a copper-orange shade on the center of the lid, and a rusty-red on the outer third.
4. Lightly blend those three shades together towards the browbone, softening the color as you go.
5. Define the crease with a dark plum color to give your eye more shape and depth.
6. Softly line the top lash line for definition. I used a Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in 'Khaki' which is brownish-green in color.
7. Line the bottom lash line with a green pencil and set it in place with a leafy green eyeshadow.
8. Add mascara or false lashes if you choose. I didn't use lashes for this tutorial because I didn't want to distract from the great colors.
9. Finish the look by filling in any sparse areas on the brows. I used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Medium Ash'.

Face
Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow
Concealer: Benefit Stay Don't Stray & Mac Pro-Longwear
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette (I set under my eyes with 'Incandescent' and my face with a mix of 'Dim' and 'Incandescent')
Blush: Nars 'Orgasm' topped with Becca Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector in 'Rose Gold'
Bronzer: Nars 'Laguna'
Highlight: Laura Mercier in 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in 'New Lover'
Mac Lipstick in 'Viva Glam IV' 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Green & Gold Eyes

My extra discount at Sephora just kicked in, so of course I had to pick up some of our new and amazing holiday goodies! I got a few palettes (I used the Too Faced 'A Few of my Favorite Things' palette for this eye look), as well as some single items which have been so fun to test out! Let me know if you want a haul or mini-reviews on what I purchased so you can have an idea what's worth it this season. And if my skin looks super glowy in these photos it's because of some of those new items! I'm completely in love with them, especially the the Hourglass Ambient powders and Rose Gold powder from Becca.



























Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to ensure long-lasting, intense color. I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. Take a light brown eyeshadow and blend it into the crease to get a soft, blown-out base to follow your other eyeshadows with.
3. Trace the light brown with a forest green eyeshadow. Blend this color into the crease, outer corner and inner corner of the eye, but don't get it onto the center of the lid.
4. Place a gold shimmery eyeshadow on the center of the lid and blend it out into the darker colors. You can layer gold glitter on top of it like I did if you want it to look more festive. I used my Sephora Glitter Liner & Mascara in 'VIP Gold'.
5. Take a deep plum shadow and blend it very lightly into the outer edge of the crease for definition.
6. Line your top lashline with black liquid liner and add mascara and false lashes if you like them.
7. Line the bottom lashline with purple liner and set it with purple shadow.
8. Highlight the browbone with a matte cream/white color to lift the eyes and break up the darkness of the rest of the shadows. 
9. Finish the look by filling in any sparse areas of the brows. I used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Medium Ash'.


Face
Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow
Concealer: Benefit Stay Don't Stray & Mac Pro-Longwear
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. I set under my eyes with 'Incandescent' and my face with a mix of 'Dim' and 'Incandescent'
Blush: Nars 'Orgasm' topped with Becca Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector in 'Rose Gold'
Bronzer: Nars 'Laguna'
Highlight: Laura Mercier in 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Nars Velvet Gloss lip pencil in 'New Lover'
Mac lipstick in 'Viva Glam IV'
Nars matte lipstick in 'Peloponnese' (limited edition)


***Make sure to enter my makeup giveaway! So far only 10 people entered correctly, so there is still a huge chance that YOU could be the winner! Only one week left! Details are in my previous post.***

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Thankful Giveaway

It is that time of year where people show their gratitude and give back to others, and I want to give back to you guys! I love getting messages from you all telling me that you loved a post or that something I said helped you out. So this is a chance for me to share with you some things that I love and use myself.

3 little things I'm thankful for
*my sweet pets
*the awesome, funny and talented girls I get to work with
*my 1 google + follower, I don't know who you are, but thank you!


















Prizes ***
Urban Decay Palette
Mini Urban Decay All-Nighter Spray
Sephora Glitter Set
Beauty Blender
Mini Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer

Rules
* Subscribe via email to my blog and save the confirmation message as proof of subscription. You will find the subscription box on the right hand sidebar of my blog underneath my instagram slideshow feed.
* Like my Facebook page and like & share the 'giveaway post' on your own page. 
* Follow me on instagram: nicolecudzilo and like the 'giveaway post' & comment to 3 of your friends. 
* Contest ends November 27th at 12:00am.

Extra Prize Opportunity!!!
If I reach 1,000 subscriptions/likes/followers on either my blog, my Facebook or my instagram by November 27th (the day before Thanksgiving) then an extra prize will be added and it will be awesome! (Think another palette!)

One winner will be picked at random and I will message that person on Facebook on November 27th to confirm the prizes and get their shipping address. Feel free to comment or message me on my Facebook page or email me with any questions or concerns.



*** all prizes were purchased with my own money

Monday, November 11, 2013

Soft Pink Eyes (Guest Artist)


A few days ago I got my makeup done by my amazing and beautiful friend Jennie. We work together at Sephora and I've always admired her makeup style. It was so much fun to be sitting in the makeup chair instead of working behind it, and the experience made me see my own features very differently. She did my makeup in a way that I never would have thought to do, which is helpful as a makeup artist because it keeps on your toes. It's so easy to slip into the same pattern or style when doing your own makeup but having it done by someone else really spices up your vision. She did my whole face with the Too Faced: A Few of my Favorite Things palette.



This palette would make an amazing holiday gift for someone 
who likes to experiment with color!












                                               



















1. Prime the eyes to ensure long lasting, intense color and prevent creasing. Jennie used the Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. She laid 'taffy' all over the lid and extended the color past the outer corners of my eye to make them more elongated.
3. She then placed 'coquet' on the roundest center part of my eyelid to highlight it. This color is amazing, neither Jennie or I can get over it! 
4. She layered 'chocolate milk', 'bluff', and 'dark chocolate' into the crease to build up intensity and definition.
5. She highlighted my browbone with 'cream colored ponies' and then blended it into the darker crease colors.
6. She lined my eyes with the Bobbi Brown's Gel Liner and extended the inner corners for a more arabic inspired look. 
7. She placed 'tinsel' along my lower lashline for some extra sparkle.
8. Finish the look by adding mascara. We used the Too Faced 'Better Than Sex' mascara that came with the palette.

Face
Foundation: Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation
Concealer: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer
Blush: Too Faced 'Raindrops on Roses' (from palette)
Bronzer: Too Faced 'Chocolate Soleil' (from palette)
Highlight: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Diffused Light'

Lips
Lipstick: Yves Saint Laurent Volupte Sheer Candy in 'Cool Guava'


***

Here are some of Jennie's past Halloween looks: 


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Anastasia Lavish Palette - Look #1

You heard from my review about how much I love this palette, so I wanted to create a few different looks with it. This is the first one using only colors from the palette along with some gold glitter on the inner corners. More Lavish tutorials to come soon!







































Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to prevent creasing and ensure long lasting and intense color. I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. Take 'orange soda' and blend it into the crease and softly up towards the brow bone on a fluffy blending brush.
3. Place 'sienna' into the deepest part of the crease to add dimension. Also blend this into the inner corners of the eye.
4. Mix 'rum cake' and 'antique' on your brush and place it onto the lid, blending it into the crease colors.
5. Place 'ballet' onto the center of the lid to highlight the roundest part of the eye.
6. Use 'cream' on the brow bone to lift the eye.
7. Add some gold glitter to the inner corner of the eye, I used my Sephora Glitter Liner & Mascara in 'VIP Gold'.
8. Trace the upper lashline with a liquid liner and add mascara. I also lined the outer corner of the bottom lid with a black pencil and then smudged 'sienna' overtop it for softness.
9. Fill in any sparse areas of the brows to finish the look. I used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Medium Ash'.

Face
Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow 
Concealer: Mac Pro-Longwear 
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder in 'Ethereal'
Blush: Nars 'Orgasm'
Bronzer: Estee Lauder 'Bronze Goddess'
Highlight: Laura Mercier baked matte in 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Lipstick: Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in 'New Lover'.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Anastasia Lavish Palette Review

In my opinion this is the perfect fall eyeshadow set! With warm hues of berry, copper, bronze, and green this palette is sure to make your eyes radiate on those chilly fall days. Now that Thanksgiving is coming and the leaves are falling in vibrant shades of orange and gold, it's time to change up your makeup and add a little bit of spice to your routine.













Anastasia Beverly Hills is the brand when it comes to eyebrows. If you haven't checked out her products you should do so immediately. I am happy to say that her eyeshadows deliver the same fantastic results as all of her eyebrow products! This is a limited edition palette that not only comes with 10 shadows, but also 1 mini eyeliner, 1 mini eyebrow pencil, a double ended eyeshadow brush, and tweezers. It comes packed up in a cute little box-style palette so you can travel with everything in one piece. It retails for $38.00 which I think is very reasonable.












The palette has a mix of matte and shimmer shades, while 'black diamond' is the only one with glitter. Its base is a true matte black but it has tiny, beautiful specks of gold glitter within it. With my Urban Decay Primer Potion as a base, these shadows are highly pigmented with barely any fallout. They are extremely smooth and blendable, and the matte shades glide on like butter, definitely the best mattes I've ever tried. The versatility is endless, you can do simple neutral looks, sultry smoky looks or just add a pop of color with the 'moss' and 'pink sapphire' shades. It would be amazing on those with green or blue eyes, but it is very flattering on brown eyes as well. This is definitely my favorite palette that I have used or purchased all year and I am very excited to try out more from the Anastasia brand. Absolutely 5 stars!

Tutorials with this palette are coming soon!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Dead Pinup Girl

Even though Halloween is over, I figured I would show you guys what I did for the night. It was a last minute idea, so I used one of my vintage sailor inspired dresses and created a pinup girl with a slightly scary twist!
















You can do this half & half gore makeup with any other style of beauty makeup, so it doesn't have to be strictly pinup inspired. Just play with it and make it your own!

















Gore Side
All you need for this look are tissues, eyelash glue, and some red and black face paint. First you want to separate your tissue by pulling it gently until in disconnects into two sheer pieces (you are not ripping the tissue in half, just sheering it out). Now you can rip it into thin jagged strips. Place the eyelash glue over the whole 'dead area' and press the tissues onto the skin creating an uneven, peeling texture. As it starts to dry, you can rip and peel up random pieces to make it look like lacerations in the skin. I would avoid placing the tissues too close to the eye because it will be a bit tedious to remove.

Now that your face has texture, mix up some red and black paint and press it onto the wound. Use brighter reds on the highest points, and deeper black/reds into the shadowy areas. You can also use this deeper color all the way around the eye socket. I used my MUFE flash palette for this, but face paint will work just as well. Make sure to cover all of the white of the tissue so it looks as realistic as possible. If you have some fake blood, add a little bit around the eye socket right at the end.














Beauty Side
Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to ensure long lasting, vibrant color. I used my Urban Decay Primer Potion.
2. Use a light, neutral eyeshadow and place it all over from the lid to the brow bone. 
3. Blend a medium grey tone into the crease, avoiding the eyelid.
4. Place a light silver shade onto the lid and blend it softly into the crease.
5. Darken the outer 'v' and edge of the crease with a matte black.
6. Add silver glitter to the inner corner and drag it slightly onto the lid. I used my Sephora Glitter Liner & Mascara in Sassy Silver.
7. Add winged liner, mascara and false lashes for drama.
8. Smudge a navy blue liner on the outer half of the lower lashline for a pop of color.
9. Finish the look by filling in any sparse areas in the brows, I used my Anastasia Brow Wiz in 'Medium Ash'.

Face
Foundation: Illamasqua Skinbase 
Concealer: Mac Pro-Longwear 
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in 'Ethereal'.
Bronzer: Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess
Blush: Mary Kay Velvet Mousse Cheek Color in 'Rosy'
Highlight: Laura Mercier Baked Powder in 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Lipliner: Illamasqua Medium Pencil in 'Severe'
Lipstick: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 'Love That Red'