Blue Morpho 'Halo' Eyes

I was inspired to create this look by a gorgeous piece of jewelry I bought at Peters Valley Craft Center over the summer. They have amazing handmade gifts of every sort, from photography to ceramics to jewelry. Definitely check out their online gallery & store if you are looking for a unique gift this holiday season!

The artist of this piece is Neile Cooper and she hand crafts beautiful jewelry using real butterflies encased in glass. Mine is a Blue Morpho butterfly but she makes pieces with everything from swallowtails to luna moths and also makes custom pieces.
Visit her Facebook page here and her Etsy site here.

Eyes
1. Prime the eyes to ensure longwear, crease proof shadow application. I used my Mac paint pot in 'Painterly'.
2. Blend a medium brown shadow into the crease and outer corner to act as a guide for the bright colors. Blend this up to towards the brow to help transition to the blue shades, I used the warm browns from the Smashbox Full Exposure Palette.
3. Place a dark blue shimmery shadow along the outer third of the eye, making sure to keep all of the edges rounded. I used Illamasqua's Pure Pigment in 'Alluvium'. This shadow will create the outer edge of the silver 'halo'.
4. Take a bright blue shadow and pat it onto the inner third of the eye making sure to keep the edges rounded, this color will create the inner edge of the silver halo. I used my Inglot eyeshadow in #33.
5. Run a white, shimmery pencil on the center of the eyelid, blending the pencil lines into the blue shadows on either side. Make sure to keep the shape rounded for the halo effect. Then top the pencil with an iridescent silver/white/lavender shadow. I used Sephora's Contour eye pencil in 'Blonde Ambition' and Nars Dual Intensity eyeshadow in 'Cassiopeia'. This shade will create the center of the halo.
6. Place some reflective glitter onto the lid within the halo part of your eye to add dimension and luminosity like that of a butterfly's wing. I used Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish shadow in 'Pixie Dust'.
7. With a small brush, pat a liquid shimmer onto the inner corners of your eyes and onto the center of your lid within the halo. I used Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre in 'Diamond'. I recommend using a liquid shimmer so that it stays exactly where you place it and doesn't get all over your face throughout the evening.
8. Re-blend the eyeshadow edges with a clean brush and make sure all of the colors stand out. Repeat all the steps for the bottom lashline and add multiple coats of mascara since we won't be adding liner or false lashes.
9. Finish the look by filling in the brows, I used my Too Faced Bulletproof Brows in 'Universal Brunette' topped with my Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel in 'Caramel'.

Face
Primer: Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Primer
Foundation: Nars Sheer Glow
Concealer: Mac Pro-Longwear
Powder: Hourglass Ambient Lighting in 'Ethereal' + 'Diffused'
Bronzer: Nars 'Laguna'
Blush: Nars 'Orgasm' + Becca Pressed Shimmering Skin Perfector 'Rose Gold'
Highlight: Laura Mercier 'Highlight 01'

Lips
Lipliner: Palladio Herbal Lipliner in 'Nearly Nude'
Lipstick: Buxom Full Bodied Lipstick in 'Nudist'
Lipgloss: Laura Mercier Lip Glace in 'Sparkling'

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Butterflies have a significance to me because they were very special to my grandmother, and I feel like she is with me when I wear them. Do you have a favorite or especially significant piece of jewelry?