Another Quickie Eyeliner Tip

I already had this post planned for today, but one of my wonderful readers already gave the tip away in her comment to my previous post. But here it is anyways...

When lining your eyes, dot or dash the liner along your lashline to create the shape and thickness of the line. Then connect the dots/dashes to create an even, smooth line.

When using a gel or cream eyeliner, you can lightly pat or dash the brush along the lashline and then connect the dots. When using a pencil, you can create dots or dashes and then connect them. This technique allows you to ensure a smooth line that doesn't get too thick or thin on one eye, because you create the shape and thickness first, then draw the line.

Oh!! For those of you on Facebook, I created a Kajal Couture Facebook page and would love to have you follow me there and stay up to date on my latest makeup encounters! Just click here and at the top of the page, click on the "like" button next to my name Kajal Couture. Thanks for your support!

Eyeliner Week Continues - New Way to Use Pencil Eyeliner

Lately, I have been using a new technique to apply pencil eyeliner:

I take a small, angled brush that I would normally use for a cream or gel liner, 

 I swipe the bristles against the pencil to pick up the color,

Are you on Hautelook?

Are you familiar with Hautelook? It is one of those online sale websites that sells brand name merchandise at high discounts (often times 30-70% off retail). They have different sales everyday so you have to keep checking often to see what brands they have. The great thing about Hautelook is that they even sell cosmetics!! And yes, everything is real...I've ordered before and it's totally legit.

Yesterday they had an AMAZING sale on Stila Cosmetics, and if you are intersested, the sale is still going on but many products are already sold out. Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8am PST, they are having a sale on Urban Decay. I HIGHLY recommend signing up here, and checking out the sale early, because the best deals sell out quickly.

Large names like Stila and Urban Decay don't have sales too often, so I wanted to let you know about this great site. =)

Eyeliner Quickie Tip #1 - Practice Makes Perfect

We've all heard our parents, teachers, mentors....anyone who tried teaching us when we were younger....and the one thing they always said was "practice makes perfect." 

This same philosophy holds true for makeup application! 

A friend of mine long ago shared a great tip with me and I hope you all find it useful as well:

Practice eyeliner at night, right before washing your face.

Whether you are new to eyeliner, trying to get the hang of gel or cream liners, wanting to get the extended eyeliner flick just right, or just experimenting with a new look, I think this is a great tip! If you mess up, you are going to wash it all of anyways. Once you starting getting it right, then you are ready to do the look and your practice has lead to perfection!

Eyeliner Week at Kajal Couture!! Kareena Kapoor Makeup Breakdown

I have been wanting to share with you a few looks, tips, and tricks regarding eyeliner, and what better way than to spend a week talking about this one product that so many of us can't live without!

I am going to kick off with a makeup breakdown that focuses on eyeliner. I received this photograph from one of my readers and was requested to breakdown the products and method to achieve this look. This is a photo of actress Kareena Kapoor from the Bollywood movie Kurbaan. Since it is a rather natural look, I am going to keep the number of products minimal. 

FACE: 

1. Apply concealer to scars, under eye circles, and any other trouble spots. I like the Bobbi Brown creamy concealer.
2. Next, apply a loose powder that provides light coverage but also helps even out skin imperfections. A great one that helps minimize the appearance of fine lines is the Smashbox Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder. If you have rosacea or other skin concern and want more coverage, you can apply your favorite foundation before applying powder.
3. Kareena's cheeks are pretty natural, so you can either skip the blush, or apply a very neutral blush like MAC Powder Blush in Harmony. 

EYES:

1. If your natural brows are pretty well defined, I recommend leaving them alone and not adding any color. However, if you have barely-there brows or sparse spots, then I recommend filling them in using a shadow that matches your brow hair color. 
2. Apply a neutral color eye primer on the upper lid and lower lid. I like MAC Paint Pot in Painterly since it matches my skin tone. Lighter skin tones should try Bare Study and darker skin tones should try Groundwork. 
3. This is the focus of the look. Kareena is wearing a couple neutral tone shadows on her lids, but you can easily skip the shadow if you want. With a heavy liner look like this, the emphasis will be on the thick liner, so the shadow will just add a bit of depth, but is not necessary, especially if you don't have much time to do your makeup. The shadows I recommend are: a satin shadow in a color that matches your skin tone on your lid - my favorite is MAC Arena, and a warm shade a couple shades darker than your skin tone in your crease - I would use MAC Kid on myself.  
4. Draw a thick line on the top lid using a cream eyeliner and an angled liner brush. I like the Smashbox Cream Eye Liner in Lava, and the MAC 208 brush. You can start off drawing a thin line and add more to thicken the line, instead of drawing it on too thick, and having to remove it all in case you mess up. When you get to the outer corner, flick out the liner just a tad. Pretend you are tracing your lower lash line (without actually tracing it) and if you were to keep tracing 4-5 mm upwards past your eye, that is the direction and shape you want to flick your eyeliner. 
5. Kareena's lower lash liner is more subtle and not as crisp as the top liner. Thus, instead of using the cream liner, use a shadow to line the lower lash line. You can still use the same angled liner brush. The shadow I recommend is MAC Knight Divine. Again, draw a thin line with the shadow using small, feathery strokes, and thicken the line as you go along. When you get to the outer corner, make sure the lower liner meets the outer flick to create a smooth line all around the eye. If you want, you can smudge the lower lash line just a tad using a smudger brush or even your finger. 

LIPS:

1. Keep the lips simple and apply your favorite nude lipstick, that suits your skin tone but does not look so nude that your lips blend in with your face. My favorite is MAC Lipstick in Half 'n Half. 

What do you think? Will you be trying this look at home? 

Stay tuned for more eye liner posts coming soon!!!

Must Have Shadows!! - The Colors in My MAC Shadow Palette

I have received several requests to name the colors that I listed in My Honeymoon Makeup Bag post. So here it is:

My Honeymoon Makeup Bag

I recently found a couple pics on the makeup I took on my honeymoon, and realized I never posted them. For my honeymoon, I was determined to pack light, at least in terms of my cosmetics, and I am so proud of myself for actually sticking to that!! This is all I took with me:

Here is a list of the products:

New Bobbi Brown Book to be Released This Month!

I love Bobbi Brown. I love her philosophy on beauty, I love her recent use of real people insted of models (anyone catch her Pretty Powerful campaign?), I love her products, and I love her books! So it's not surprising to know that when I found out she is releasing another book, I felt a bit giddy inside.

Her latest book will be released August 25th, and is titled "Beauty Rules." It is Bobbi's second book on teenage beauty. All the girls featured in the book are real girls, not models, and the book also discusses other self-image issues that teens are facing, such as nutrition and fitness.

For more details and to read a Q&A with Bobbi about the latest addition to her publishing success, click here.

Liquid Liner in a Stick? Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner Review and Swatch

Whenever I write a post on blush, I always think to myself, "blush is my favorite product." Whenever I write a post on eyeshadow, I always think to myself, "eyeshadow is my favorite product." So naturally, when I started writing this post, I thought to myself, "eyeliner is my favorite product." I might as well admit it, there isn't a single type of product I don't love!!

So when you take a girl who loves makeup and pair her up with some amazing products, what do you get? Imagine a mob of teeny boppers squeeling with excitement at the sight of their favorite boy band. Yes, my friends, that's how I felt when I tried the new Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner:

The Stila Smudge Sticks were launched earlier this summer and Stila was on-target with that move. This liner has such great staying power that it can withstand crazy-high levels of humidity, battle the teary eyes from the summer wedding you went to, the refreshing swims on those hot summer days, and just about anything that makes most liners fade.

Current Must Have Blusher

I discovered cream blushers about 6 months ago and I have barely used a powder blush since. I love em all....cremeblend blushes, gel blushes, stick blushes....anything creamy and blendable. I even love MAC cream color bases (CCBs), and as of late, I have been using a single CCB shade on my cheeks and all my other blushers are feeling neglected:

This is the CCB in Vintage Rose. It is a MAC PRO color, so it is only available at PRO stores, but they really should make this a permanent product at all stores. I know it looks boring in the pan, but this product is one of those that you pass on in the store, but later realize how amazing and versatile it is. Vintage Rose is the perfect shade of rose, coral, taupe, and pink, all in one, and it complements ALL looks. No really, I have been using it with all types of shadow combinations, smoky eyes...neutral eyes for work...everything!


See swatches below:

New City, Hopefully New Makeup

So it's official....I live on the East Coast of America.....ahhh, still feels so crazy to say I live here! The hubby and I are temporarily staying with his dad in New Jersey until we can find a place to stay. We are going to be staying in Philadelphia, but since we aren't too familiar with the neighborhoods, we have to do some research before commiting to our new home. If any of you are familiar with Philly....any suggestions would be helpful!!

View of Philadelphia at Night

I just want to say how crazy it is to move to a completely new city and not know anyone there. We have some family members in New Jersey, but we don't know anyone in Philly, so it really is an adventure moving to a city where you don't know anyone or anything. I truly feel this is going to be such a great growing experience living in a new city, making new friends, learning to live in the cold (this is going to be especially hard for me...I carry a light sweater even on the hottest days of summer!), and learning to deal with a new environment. Since the hubby and I just got married, I feel like this really is a year of change for me, and the adventures just keep on coming!

With moving to a new city with completely different weather than what I had in California, I am going to have to change my beauty routine. New factors for me: humidity in the summer, crisp coolness in the fall, and a real winter with real rain and snow. I am used to the California winter where we wear heavy coats and scarves in 60 degree Fahrenheit weather. I am glad you all are with me on this ride and hopefully give me a tip or two on how to survive real winter weather. =)

I have several products I want to tell you all about so stay tuned for my beauty posts and to hear about life in my new city!