Neutral Eyes and Not-So-Neutral Lips

I don't want to say bold lips because they're not really "bold" in the true sense of the word. They're just a little darker than what I usually wear. In the first look, I used Silk Naturals' lipstick in Bliss. I love this lippie so much that I think I have 3 tubes of this. It really brightens my face, and I also use this to touch up during the day, along with Jaybird or Birthday Suit lipglosses (which are actually colored lipbalms) from the same company. Let me say that I love all my lipglosses and lipsticks from Silk Naturals. They are never icky on the lips, have a pleasant smell/taste, and the colors really flatter my skintone. Best of all, the pricing is very reasonable. I have several of the lipsticks and glosses, but my favorite shades are the ones I mentioned above. I am actually on my third tube of Birthday Suit!

I used Buff'd mineral foundation in a 70-30 mix of Chamois and Almond. It turned a little dark because I am really straight Chamois, but tried to infuse some Almond into my look for summer. It turned pretty okay in the photos, though. Buff'd is one of the more underrated mineral makeup companies in my opinion. This is probably due to the fact that it's a Canadian brand and so people from the US get turned off from buying products that entail more shipping fees and longer turnaround times. I can vouch that the fee and waiting time are not as high/long, and the products are well worth the wait. I love the silky feel and smooth finish of this foundation. I also love the fact that they have so many shades to choose from, so much so that you can most probably find your perfect shade without need of mixing.

For the eyes, I used Valerie Beauty mineral shadows in Classy, Bootcut and Gala, and MAC White Wheat eyeshadow - fun, neutral colors that are perfect for day/office use.





In this second look, I used eyeshadows from Adorned With Grace Minerals. This is a mineral makeup company that will have a soft opening by the end of the summer, and a grand opening in October. Right now I am testing some shadows that are not allowed by the owner to be revealed as these are still in the testing stages. However, I will name some of the shadows that she sold to the public via her Yahoo group called T123 Minerals.


In this look, I used the "secret" Adorned With Grace eyeshadow on the lid, then Sugared Mulberry on the outer lid, Dutch Chocolate on the crease, and Pearl Latte to highlight. I like the quality of these shadows, because when I foil them over my Beige-ing shadestick or paint pot, they somehow give off the same low sheen and have the buttery slip as my MAC veluxe pearl eyeshadows. I used my favorite mineral liner from Bare Escentuals, Black Ruby, wetlined on the upper lashline. I used my trusty Bare Escentuals Liner/Shadow Quad compact using the amazing eyeliner brush along with it:


It's so easy to wet-line minerals using this quad. All I do is put a drop of my MAC mixing medium in the receptacle, add some minerals, mix it until it becomes a thin paste, and - voila! Amazing mineral eyeliner for you! It's so compact and travel-friendly that you can actually keep it in your purse for those weekend getaways.

I used Meow mineral foundation in a 70-30 mix of Flawless Feline in Naughty Abyssinian and Pampered Puss in Fierce Abyssinian. Again, it turned out dark because I am actually a straight Naughty Abyssinian. I don't know what got into me recently and I kept adding dark foundation to my already tried and tested shades, although the strong summer sun and the glare of the flash washed the foundation out. I also used DreamWorld cream topping in Butterscotch (silk formula). I love this to bits!!! I am so glad I already ordered full sizes of the Butterscotch and Butter cream toppings, and I can't wait to get them. This really makes everything look polished and makes my pores seem smaller. I wore my MAC blush in OtherWorldly, and for the lips, I used MAC Antiquitease lipstick from last year's pre-holiday collection, with Be-In lipglass on top.