two posts in one day! it's a record...

Well, not really a post, but... a random, beauty-related stream of consciousness...

Do you ever get bored with makeup? Ever feel like there's no creativity coming your way? I do sometimes. Sometimes I'll fall into a rut and just use my signature look: bronzy eyeshadow, black winged liner, nude lips. Which is fine, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's good to change it up a little--you know, keep 'em guessing :)

I'm very artsy and inspired when it comes to makeup: my face is the canvas, and I do get inspired by anything and everything. See a sunset? That means a look using hot pinks, oranges, bronzes, and purples. Watch Elizabeth Taylor star in Cleopatra? Maybe rock a little double-winged black liquid liner.

So, I felt compelled to share some possible color combos just in case anyone out there is having a makeup rut day...try out one of these, try out all of these, comment with a picture or two!

• Matte upper lid, bright lower lid: Do the classic three-color look (light shade all over, medium shade from lashline to crease, darkest shade in crease) with different gradients of the same color using matte shadows only. Then use a bright, glittery/metallic version of that same color just on your bottom lashlines for an unexpected pop of color.
• Mismatched colors: The liner you use on your top lid doesn't always have to match the bottom. Use constrasting colors. Some possibilities--purple/green, navy/bronze, gold/silver, teal/gold, etc.
• Sexy neutrals: Try a shimmery taupe shadow from your lashes to crease, then blend a bronze shade in the creases. Use a dark brown on the outer corners and finish off with a pop of silver just in the center of your lids.
• Gilded Cranberries: Use a burnished gold eyeshadow on your lids, and a cranberry shade in the creases. Finish with black liner. Because cranberry shades can sometimes make you look like you have pinkeye, black liner always brings the look back to reality.
• Passive-Agressive Smoky Eye: Sometimes hardcore black is too...well, hardcore. Soften it up with a grayish-purple version: Find a shimmery grey shade and use it on your lids, and then use a greyish-purple in the creases. You can still use black...just blend it on the outer corners and underneath your lower lashes for the smoky effect. Just not so in-your-face.
• The I-Look-Like-I-Slept-For-8-Hours-But-Really-It-Was-Two: Use a pale, white-gold shimmery eyeshadow all over your lids, and on the inner corners. Use a thin brush to line your bottom lashes with the same shadow. Then line just the top lashline with metallic bronze eyeliner. Curl your eyelashes REALLY well and then add black mascara.
• Another less severe smoky eye: Find a golden-beige eyeshadow that's shimmery, and apply it all over your lids stopping at the crease. Then take a matte shadow in a dusty navy blue and apply it to the creases and lower lashes. I've tried this one, and it looks cool when the lid/crease colors are different textures (i.e. shimmery lids and matte creases, and vice versa).
• Fairy with a Dark Side: Use a silvery lavender eyeshadow on your lids. Blend a pinky-purple shadow just above your creases, and then a truer purple in the actual creases. Take some of the sugary sweetness out by adding black eyeshadow just in the outer corners.
• Not-too-girly Pink: We bring out the cranberry eyeshadow again. Only this time, it's paired with a rose-gold eyeshadow on the lids. Use the cranberry in the crease, and a plum shade on the outer corners. For extra oomph, wet an eyeshadow brush and pat pink or gold glitter just on the center of the lids (where you feel your eyeball).

That's it for now. Until next time :) Feel free to share any more color combinations!