Caramel Smoky Eyes Using Too Faced Chocolate Bar Makeup Tutorial

I recently picked up Too Faced's Chocolate Bar and have been trying out different looks with it all week. I am loving this palette! It is so versatile. Here is the look I wore today. I am calling it Caramel Smoky Eyes.

Makeup I used to create this look

- Too Faced Chocolate Bar

Refer to this photo whenever you're uncertain which part of the eye I'm referring to.

Step 1

Apply your favorite eye primer and with your preferred eyeshadow brush apply White Chocolate (matte cream) all over lids and all the way up to your brow bone.

Step 2

Apply Semi-sweet (matte medium brown) forming a dome shape on both lids. I applied 3 layers until I was happy with the color deposit. You probably don't need as many layers if you have lighter skin tone. Go light with your first layer so you can add on as needed.

 Step 3

Layer Hazelnut (shimmery red-brown) on top of Semi-Sweet but leave some Semi-Sweet showing at the top of your lids. One-two layers would do. Be sure to go light with your first layer so you can judge how much to add on.

Step 5

Next, use a smudge brush and dab some Triple Fudge (dark matte brown), apply onto your lashline, working your way to your outer v until you've extended to about halfway to your crease.

Step 6

Use a crease brush to blend Triple Fudge and Hazelnut on your crease. As you blend into your crease, you will pick up Semi-Sweet that we've left unlayered with Hazelnut and work it into the other colors. This is perfect because we want a nice blend of colors on your crease.

Step 7

Using the same smudge brush from Step 5, dab lightly into Triple Fudge and line your lower lashline about halfway. Be sure to work some color into the outer corners of the eyes to avoid a disconnected look from your upper and lower lids. Feel free to layer more Triple Fudge as desired. Be sure to dab your brush onto a tissue and/or tap the brush against the counter to rid excess.

Step 8

Dab a pointed brush into Champaign Truffle and line your inner tear duct to part of your lower lashline. This is an extra step but I wanted to make sure this smoky neutral look also opens up the eyes.

Tada! This is what your eyes should look like. Apply some black or dark brown eyeliner, your favorite mascara and you're done!

Bonus

One of the reasons why I love this palette so much is I've found my holy grail nude blush tone in Salted Caramel that fits my complexion just right. It is just the way I want it. AND the extra cherry on top is if I wanted a bit more shimmer or pink on my cheeks, I have the option to fluff a little Marizpan on top of Salted Caramel. I love it.

Try these colors on your cheeks if you haven't already!

I love a simple brown smoky eye that's wearable during the day and very easy to transform into an evening look. For an evening look, line your lower waterline with brown eye pencil and pack on some more Triple Fudge onto your lashline and outer v, blend and voila! More creations from Too Faced Chocolate Bar to follow. Check back. :)

[Updated 02/19/2014] New look created with Too Faced Chocolate Bar -  Dark Plum

[Updated 02/26/2014] Too Faced Chocolate Bar In-Depth Review

Here's a full list of makeup that I used:

1. Korres Greek Yoghurt Nourshing Primer

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer - review here

3.Covermark Essence Foundation in BN20 mixed with;

4.Mary Kay Medium-Coverage Foundation

5. Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme in soft orange

6. Stila Convertible Color in Fuchsia

7.Too Faced Chocolate Bar - Salted Caramel and Marizpan as blush

8.Too Faced Chocolate Bar for eyeshadows

9. Heroine Make Kiss Me Smooth liquid Eyeliner

10. Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara - review here
  

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Coastal Scents Northern Lights Inspired Eyeshadow Makeup Tutorial

I've got another eyeshadow makeup tutorial for you! This one is inspired by the beautiful northern lights which has an endless combination of colors and shades. I didn't take the exact shades from a specific northern lights photo but interestingly, I searched the web after I finished the tutorial and found an image that had similar colors to what I did.

The northern lights as seen from the UK photographed by Jim Henderson. Photo taken from The Telegraph. See their post here.

Palettes I've used for this tutorial

- Coastal Scents 88 Original

- Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer 

 Refer back to this photo whenever you're unsure which part of the eye I am referring to.

Step 1

After Too Faced Shadow Insurance eye primer, I used Shu Uemura's Glow P Blush in Peach P all over lids. Once the prep is complete, apply a medium blue eyeshadow on your inner lids only from 88 Original Palette.

Step 2

Using the same flat brush, dab into a bright pink shadow (88 Original) and apply to only center of the lids. Feel free to add a few layers of the pink if 2-3 layers is not bright enough against your skin.

Step 3

Dab the flat brush in a dark purple (88 Original) and layer the shadow onto the outer corners of the eye. You should be following the natural curve of your eyelids (similar to a half circle) when you're applying the color.

Step 4

Once you're done with step 3, you can put aside your 88 Original palette and open up the Ultra Shimmer palette. The fun thing with the Ultra Shimmer palette is the shades are exactly the same as in 88 Original except they are shimmer versions. For this particular look, I used the same shades as I used in steps 1-3 but applied the shimmer versions to intensify and add an irridescent effect to the colors. Here I used that same medium blue, the bright pink, and dark purple to lightly lay over their matte counterparts already on my eyes.

You can think of the previous Steps 1-3 as applying a bright matte base so our shimmer shadows will stand out even more.

 Step 5

Use a different eyeshadow brush and apply a white matte shadow to the brow bone. Feel free to use any brush you'd like. It's just easier to use a clean one that hasn't been dabbed into 6 different colors.

Step 6

Apply some eyeliner. Not my best work in this photo with the eyeliner and doesn't help that these are taken so close up! Apply a kohl liner to your lower waterline and lay some black eyeshadow over it with a smudge brush so that the liner will last longer.

Step 7

Apply your favorite mascara and you are done! The color on your inner and outer corners of your eye are different but subtle. However, anyone who sees you up close in person and paying attention will see those colors are not quite the same and there is a smooth transition from blue to pink then to dark purple.

I absolutely love this look. It's easy to do and very fun especially when you blink and bam those northern light eyes! I hope this tutorial inprised you to do something colorful and fun as I have been inspired by the beauty of the northern lights phenomenon.

Here's a full list of what I used for my makeup:

1. Korres Greek Yoghurt Nourshing Primer

2. Too Faced Shadow Insurance Anti-Crease Eye Shadow Primer - review here

3.Covermark Essence Foundation in BN20 mixed with;

4.Mary Kay Medium-Coverage Foundation

5. Graftobian Hi-Def Glamour Creme in soft orange

6. Stila Convertible Color in Fuchsia

7. Shu Uemura Glow On Blush in M Pink 30

8. Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette

9. Coastal Scents 88 Ultra Shimmer Palette

10. Heroine Make Kiss Me Smooth liquid Eyeliner

11. Tarte Lights, Camera, Flashes Statement Mascara - review here

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Beauty Blender Make-Up Sponge Applicator Review

The BeautyBlender Sponge Applicator has been a hot topic amongst bloggers in the last two years and finally shot straight into many makeup junkies' makeup pouches after being widely distributed into  several retail channels. Plus, BeautyBlender topped a number of magazine "must-haves" of 2013.

I received my BeautyBlender as a gift this past summer and have used it for over 4 months since so I'd like to finally review the little miracle. 

This is BeautyBlender right out of the package. It's tear-drop shaped and made of high qualify materials that make the product light, durable, long-lasting and easy to clean. The sponge can be used with any liquid or cream products and is primiarily meant to be used as foundation and concealer applicator.

Before I continue. I want to point out contrary to popular belief, you only need the same amount as you would use on yourself if you were to use a brush or your finger. As for losing product cause the sponge absorbs it - what does that matter if you're using the same amount foundation as you've been using and getting the same but more even coverage. If you're using a brush and there's excess product on the brush after use, you won't be squeezing it back into the tube. The same applies for the sponge.

The item on the right hand side is BeautyBlender's very portable solid soap meant for traveling. You soap the sponge, circle it on the soap and rinse under water.

How to Use

• Place the sponge under warm tap water. When it's soaked through, get rid of excess water on a towel until the sponge is just thoroughly dampen.
• Apply foundation either on your face or your hand and use the rounded bottom part of the sponge to dip into the product and lightly bounce while pressing sponge against your face. This motion is important because the foundation will adhere better. You will also notice that the product goes evenly without much effort on your part. Just be sure to follow any regular good foundation application tips.
• For more coverage on an area, sponge over it again. It might not look or feel like it because the product (mixed with the water in the damp soft) feels very light but you're essentially adding more layers.
• Use the tip of the sponge to apply foundation on hard to reach areas like the lower corners of your eyes or the sides at the base of your nose. 
• I also like to use the tip to even out concealer, liquid andcream highlights.
• Clean sponge after use with gentle soap or Beauty Blender's cleanser. The frequency of cleaning depends what your skin can tolerate. I wash mine after every use but I've also used it for 3-4 times before cleaning without problems.

I call BeautyBlender a little miracle because of the fantastic results you get from using it as a foundation applicator. Using the sponge properly, you can achieve a very even and long-lasting foundation finish on your skin. The results really do rival that of airbrush makeup.

Good Stuff (the Pros)

•  No streaks, just even foundation. Your foundation could easily end up uneven when you use a foundation brush, cheap sponge or your fingers.
• Get airbush foundation finish results at a fraction of the price. Airbrush systems on average costs over $100. A BeautyBlender sponge is about $20 USD.
• Contrary to popular belief, you don't need more foundation because you're using a sponge. See above for full details.
• As mentioned above. The sponge is made of high-quality materials that will last from a few months up to 1-2 years depending on how well it's maintained.
• Good on any liquid or cream make-up products including concealer and cream blushes.
• Easy to clean. Any gentle soap will work!
• Easy to maintain. Wash and let try after cleaning.
• Reasonable to replace when sponge "falls apart".
• A warm soft sponge feels really nice on your face!

The sponge (right) does retain coloring with use no matter how well you clean it. I discovered a tear in my sponge (left) after a month of using it. It has slowly widened throughout the last couple of months. The tear doesn't affect application so I'll keep using it until it literally falls apart.

Things To Be Aware Of (including Cons)

•  $20 USD for a sponge is not exactly cheap. If you're curious about the product but unwilling to take the plunge, try one of the many BeautyBlender "inspired" sponges out there by other companies at about $4-5 a piece. I highly recommend this if you've never used a sponge to apply foundation.
• I've used Revive's Makeup Blending applicator. It's the same shape as BeautyBlender's but made from different material. I can't tell the difference in the foundation finish between Revive and BeautyBlender but BeautyBlender's sponge was a lot softer and faster to clean while Revive's was more dense and it took longer to get all the product out of it.
• However while BeautyBlender is easy to clean, it still takes a few minutes of running it under tap water to get all the soap residue out. 
• If you use BeautyBlender's cleanser, it's much faster but I prefer paraben and phthalate-free cleaning if I can help it so I've opted using gentle soap most of the time.
• Your sponge could start to tear if you clean too vigorously or even through regular use. It's a sponge afterall and it doesn't have quite the longevity as a well-made brush or airbrush gun.

After 4 months of use, I've carefully weighted the pros outweigh the cons. In the end, I still love my Beauty Blender and have added it into my Perfect 10! list which you can view here. I'd happily give these as gifts to friends or recommend them for anyone interested. Again, if you're curious but don't want to pay the full price, go for decent alternative brands.


Retails for $19.95USD
Where to buy: Beautyblender online or check on site for a list of local and online retailers.

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