Emerald Green Eyeshadow Makeup Tutorial

In seeing off 2013, I've dedicated a eyeshadow makeup tutorial to one of my favorite colors, which also happens to be Pantone Color of the Year 2013, emerald green.

This is a great tutorial if you love to wear green and want a matching yet wearable day/night time or if you're thinking about incorporating gem-tone colors into your style. Here are the eyeshadows I used for this tutorial. Feel free to use similar colors that you own to recreate the look.

- Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette
- Lise Watier Couleur Folie Mineral Loose Powder Eyeshadow in Pomme (optional, see below)
- Laura Mercier Baked Eye Color in Black Karat

 Refer to this diagram if you're unsure which part of the eye I'm talking about.

1. I applied Two Faced's eye primer and Shu Uemura Glow On Blush P Peach 42 as a lid base. Next I chose a medium light green from Coastal Scents Original 88 Palette as a second all over lid base to help my other green eyeshadows pop. I applied the color with a medium-sized flat eyeshadow brush.

2. Then I chose a bright emerald green, also from my Coastal Scents 88 Original Palette to layer on top,  starting just off center from the lashline all the way to the top of the lid.

 3. After, I chose a dark green to line the bottom half of my upper lashline

 

 and continued to move up to shape my outer v with a small dome-shaped brush.

4. Using a flat brush, I lightly dabbed some Laura Mercier Baked Eye Color in Karat and went over my crease until the color is evenly distributed and blended with the dark green from the step above.

Option 1: You can stop after the color is blended evenly, apply eyeliner and mascara and you're ready to go. Skip to Step 8. to add some color to your lashline if you want.

Option 2: Continue reading if you want a more dramatic look for the evening.

6. If I were to wear this look for the evening and wanted to add some pazazz, I would've added some sparkles which is exactly what I did in this step. I took a large flat brush and gently dabbed it into Lise Watier's Couleur Folie Mineral Loose Powder in Pomme, tapped excess off on a tissue and began to apply the color to same area on top of my emerald green eyeshadow. It's easy to over-do these mineral loose eyeshadows so go light for your first layer. You can always apply more afterwards.

 7. Next, I went back to the same dark green from Step 3. and with my smudge brush, applied  the eyeshadow along my upper lashline.

 8. Using the same large flat brush, I applied Folie Pomme to the inner corners of the eye to open them up. Then using a firm pointed brush, apply our same dark green from above to the bottom lashline.

You're almost there!

Finally, put some eyeliner, mascara on and you're done. If you want a bit more, you could go over your lower lashline with a preferrably dark green eyeliner pencil but if you don't have one, use medium or dark brown. Be sure to line your eyeliner with the same dark green eyeshadow you've been using so it'll last longer. You can throw on your favorite pair of false lashes to top off for the evening. 

I was in a hurry to leave so took this very quickly, no smiles. I hope you'll find this tutorial inspiring and useful for creating your very own gem-toned, emerald green look!


Check here for all other eyeshadow makeup tutorials!

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Sephora VIB, Very Important Beauty Insider Year In Review

Hey guys! I hope y'all had a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I have been preoccupied with holiday-inspired makeup tutorials in the past couple of weeks which you can read here but as we near the end of 2013, here's my Year In Review on being a Sephora VIB, Very Important Beauty Insider.

During my mid-year review, I concluded that I wouldn't purposely shop at Sephora to become a VIB because my overall experience with the program was just average. There were some notable moments when they had 15% or 20% off events or that time when I received a full-sized gift for being a VIB but there were a handful of weak moments that I will take some time to go over below.

Since my mid-year review, Sephora has revamped their rewards program and added a new tier reward status, VIB Rouge. To reach VIB Rouge status, you must spend $1000 at Sephora online or in-store within a calender year. VIB status remains the same where you need to spend $350 to qualify.

Here are Sephora's latest VIB perks as seen on their website.

VIB Has All Beauty Insider Benefits:

Birthday Gift - You can visit in-store to get a cute deluxe-sample pack around your birthday. This year, I got the Sugar Lip Treatment duo pack and I enjoyed that gift a lot.

Free Beauty Classes - I have never seen these beauty classes being offered in their promotional emails this year. If they are advertised in emails, I must have missed it, but I know for sure they are far and few inbetween in my city.

Product Rewards - Every dollar spent at Sephora equals to 1 point and you can redeem deluxe-sample sized products for points. There are 100 point, 250 point (new since VIB Rouge launched) and 500 point perks available at all times for redemption. Perks change every few weeks and it's not uncommon for popular perks to run out of supplies quickly.

Seasonal Promotions - This includes every promo run this year that BI's are qualified for including double/triple point promos and the spring time 15% off purchase promotion.

VIB and VIB Rouge-specific Benefits:

First Dibs On New Products - Promotional emails are sent to notify VIBs/VIB Rouge of new products coming to Sephora. These are awesome if you've been waiting for the launch of a product but I don't recall anything fancy about these launches. By fancy I mean, get a free gift if you pre-order that week or receive double points when you purchase on the day it arrives in-store, etc.

Seasonal VIB-Only Gifts - I received one full sized gift this year when I was in-store to buy something. There was no notice via email so I got it partially by luck. The other notable gift VIBs/VIB Rouge got was a $20 coupon in December for when you make a purchase of $50 or more.

Advance Access to Sales - Cannot think of a time where there was an advanced sale. It might have been the recent 20% purchase that went out to VIBs/VIB Rouge first but I can't confirm. If you are a BI and got the 20% promo late November, please drop a note below!

Private VIB-Only Shopping Nights - None that I know of in this city.

 

Some Detailed Likes and Dislikes

- I like the birthday gift. It is a nice touch where you don't need to spend a certain amount to get it. I also enjoy the double/triple point promos, the point rewards, and 15%-20% events. I am motivated to keep reading or visit Sephora's website because of these events.

I can't say quite say the same about that full-sized product gift or $20 coupon. They are nice but I would have never gotten the gift or been able to use my coupon if I didn't buy something else. I would much prefer to get something with no strings attached. Something along the lines of - hey we appreciate that you keep coming back to our store, here's a free gift or hey, here's $10 coupon to spend however you like in-store!

- But these are minor in comparison to a more personal experience I had fall of this year. During a promotional event (available to anyone visiting the website) where you play a game to randomly generate a promo code to which afterwards can applied to an online purchase. The codes range from free deluxe samples to free shipping or 10% off purchase. At the time, I was planning to place an order online and my order total was just over $75 (qualifying for Canadian free shipping) and I had a 10% off purchase promo code. If I had used the 10% promo code, it would've brought my total before taxes down to $67.5, $7.5 short of $75 which disqualified me of free shipping. That left me with a few choices, either pay for shipping (around $8), skip the 10% discount and get my free shipping or add an item for $7.5 or more to my basket to qualify for free shippping again plus get the 10% off.

I called VIB Concerige to verify that it wasn't a system error which by the way, the concerige have reasonable wait times and the staff are generally helpful and courteous. I was however disappointed to find that the system was intentionally programmed so that your order had to be $75 or more after promo codes and before tax to qualify for that free shipping.

When I made my call, I had spent $650 to date at Sephora and there was no offer from concerige to make an exception of any kind. For the record, I didn't make a fuss or ask for anything. I just wanted to see how you're treated when you run into a situation and this confirmed for me that it simply does not matter what status you are or how much you spend at Sephora, company policies and the dollar comes first, if you expect to be pleasantly surprised out-of-the blue or when you need it without asking or maybe even demanding (?) for it, you will be disappointed.

At the time of writing, I am $180 away from VIB Rouge and cannot find any reasons to try and reach the next level. I could easily stock up $180 worth of Origins but I am not motivated.

- Sephora's store concept is pretty fabulous - you can try on pretty much whatever you like at the store without being pressured to buy and they even have stations with cotton pads, Q-tips and makeup remover to help with product testing. Their flexible return policy on these very personal items are really helpful to any shopper, free gift wrapping is also available online or in-store, and their rewards program is steps ahead of any other rewards program by a cosmetics retailer. This is all made possible with a greater markup on their products. I am OK with this. I get it. If you want more frills and services, you have to pay more for it but you don't need to be a VIB/VIB Rouge to have access to these benefits. You don't need to spend the qualifying $350 or $1000 a year to enjoy the above. They advertise added benefits for being a member but the free membership-level - Beauty Insider (BI) offers basics are just as useful and there are no qualifying purchase amounts.

Again, as I've concluded previously, unless you're all about trading in points for deluxe sample-sized products or you have limited options where you live, I just don't see enough pay off for continued customer loyalty at the VIB and VIB Rouge levels. More power to you if you've had many wonderful experiences as a VIB and I do wish I could say the same! Until I see some really worthy benefits for being a top member, I'll be looking at other rewards programs as alternatives. Shoppers Drug Mart has a straight points to cash reward system where you could find yourself redeeming over $100 worth of goods if you're a loyal shopper.

If you're on your way to be a VIB or VIB Rouge, feel free to share your experiences with us. There are a lot of people curious about these programs.

In the meantime, more makeup tutorials and reviews to follow so check back!

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Tarte's Pure Maracuja Oil Review

I've been looking for a more cost-effective product to use on my skin during the winter months here. I have combination skin where my oily T zone doesn't need more moisturizing but the rest of my face does. My regular skincare regiment consists of three, THREE Origins facial moisturizers. One of which I use up every one and half to two months and it's costing me a small fortune to maintain my routine!

Unless you have very specific and special needs, I firmly believe there is always a cheaper and equal or better alternative available. And the good news is because there is a growing demand for clean, non-toxic products, there are emerging products and companies now catering to this market and bringing into mainstream spotlight, essential oils like Tarte's Pure Maracuja Oil. The oil is almost 100% passion fruit oil, completely paraben-free, phthalate-free and basically non-toxic.

I got a hold of Tarte's Pure Maracuja first from a special deluxe sample pack. I tried the product, loved it and grabbed the full sized bottle during Sephora's VIB shopping event back in November.

The mini bottle on the right is from the deluxe sample pack.

What is it? Official Description Reads...

This nutrient-rich oil contains vitamin C and essential fatty acids to hydrate sensitive, dry, and acne prone skin, leaving skin even toned and smooth without a greasy feel. Pure maracuja oil is a hydrating treatment oil known for its anti-aging and healing properties for firmer, brighter, and smoother looking skin, and will not cause breakouts.

Ingredients

1.7 fl oz
Ingredients: Passiflora edulis seed oil, tocopherol.

formulated without parabens, formulated without mineral oil, formulated without  phthalates, formulated without sodium lauryl sulfates, formulated without gluten


Maracuja means passion fruit in Portugese. Do you think you'd be more or less interested if they called this Tarte's Pure Passion Fruit Oil? :)

I was hesitant at first to try this because it's pure oil. The last thing I want is to is clog my pores and create problems. I jumped at the chance when there was a special deluxe sample of the product where I could try the oil without committing to the full sized 1.7 oz. I found Maracuja to live up to claims of moisturizing without being greasy and use over time improves skin textures.

Tarte recommends applying 2-3 drops at night to clean skin, essentially replacing your bedtime serum or moisturizer and I did just that. I replaced my Origins Make A Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating Treatment AND Make A Difference Plus+ Rejuvenating Moisturizer and used the oil exclusively at night. There are days when the climate is extra dry here and I need to use some of my Origins moisturizer on the drier extras but the product works well on the rest of my face. I use 4-5 drops of the oil instead of the recommended 2-3. I would put it on the palm of my hand, warm it between my hands and put it on my face. I also use Maracuja in the mornings underneath my daytime moisturizer which is working out very nicely.

A few things I'd like to point out is you may not be used to how the oil feels on your face at first. The texture is completely different from serums or moisturizers where you can massage those into your skin. The oil is slick and while you should still massage it into your skin, it will feel like it's just sitting on your face for the next 15-20 minutes so you won't get that typical moisturized feeling. Rest assured though your skin is absorbing the oil. It just requires a bit more time.

The other thing I've noticed is while the oil works great for me, I've had the odd breakout in random areas that don't usually have problems which leads me to think the oil can sometimes be a tad too much some spots of my face.

The bottle and dropper is made of glass and comes in a nice box that is cushioned at the top. Should there be an accident where you drop the item, the thick cardboard around the box would absorb most of the shock.

The dropper is OK. If the oil's potency is better preserved when stored in glass, I am all for that, otherwise, I feel dropper to be cumbersome. You will find that there is excess oil dripping off the dropper when you pull it out of the bottle. To prevent waste, be sure to quickly move your hand underneath the dropper to catch the drops.

There are lots of good things to be said about Tarte's Pure Maracuja Oil but perhaps the best part is the product is suitable for a variety of skin types - dry, combination and even oily skin types. If you have very oily skin, I would first look into your daily cleansing routine before you start using oil to hydrate your face. If you have oily but dry skin, Maracuja is definitely worth a try. For those with dry, combination and sensitive skin looking for a form of natural hydration, this is a solid option to consider too. Try to put some on your hand/face at the store before you make a final decision.

Some of you might think $46 USD for 1.7 oz of passion fruit oil is expensive and to be honest, I don't know how much this is worth and how much it costs. The Amazon fruit is harvested, hand picked and extracted by Amazonian women (directly from package description) and the oil is undiluted, cold pressed before it gets to store selves. The fruit itself aside, the processing sounds like a lot of work. I hope the workers in the Amazon are being fairly compensated for their hard work. I do think however, Tarte is doing some good over in the Amazons so until I comes across similar-quality Maracuja oil at a lower markup, I will be happy to continue to buy Tarte's product.

If you want to find out more about Tarte's participation in SAP (Sustainable Amazon Partnership), you can read more about it here. 

Retails for $46

Where to buy: Tarte's online and locally at major cosmetics and department stores. 

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