I went out last night for a few drinks with some friends and felt like mixing up my eye makeup a little bit. Sometimes I fall into a routine of wearing the same neutral eye colours because, well, it's easy to slap it on when you know it works for you!
I decided to go with a new Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in Violet. I don't normally wear purple eyeshadow but this eyeshadow quad really appealed to me. The clean, minimal packaging is super sleek and it comes with the usual Clarins red velvet pouch.
The top left is a gorgeous iridescent lilac and a perfect pick me up colour for medium complexions. The bottom right shade is a lovely duo-chrome purple that is perfect for adding definition in the socket-line. The bottom left colour is a deep, rich purple which is great for lashline definition and adding a more smokey look to the eye. Finally the top right shade is an iridescent white/ivory shade that can be used in the inner corners to open up the eye and also on the middle of the eyelid to add a pretty highlight.
I really like this Clarins eye palette because the graduating tones make it easy to create a really pretty eye look without too much fuss. There was minimal fall out and the duochrome effect of the mid-purple meant that the colour transformed in different lights.
Here are some swatched of the shades described above:
You guys probably know by now that I'm not one for really heavy eye makeup because I have deep-set eyes. Anything too dark makes me look tired and accentuates any under eye circles. So, here is how I wore the shades last night...
Face:
Clarins Hydra-matte Lotion + Estee Lauder Even Skintone Illuminator + Benefit POREfessional
Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation (Shell Beige)
MUFE Full Cover Concealer (under eyes)
Loreal True Match Powder (beige)
Clarins Mosaique Bronzing Compact
Sleek Contour Kit (Light)
TopShop Blush (Pop)
Dior Shimmer Powder (Amber Diamond)
Eyes:
Benefit Browzings
Maybelline Cooling Eyeshadow (Pretty Cool)
Clarins Eye Quartet Mineral Palette (Violet)
MAC Vanilla e/s (on browbone)
Illamasqua Precision Eyeliner (Havoc)
Benefit Eye Bright (on waterline)
Revlon 'Flirty' lashes
Lancome Hypnose Mascara (top lashes only)
Lips:
Stila Long Wear Liquid Lip Color (Coral)
I also really like the same Clarins eye quartet in 'Pastels'. These are great daytime shades for a really paired down look.
The pale green duo-chrome shade on the bottom right is very unique and has pale gold reflects in it. This makes for a lovely combo with the taupe shade on the left and this shade creates nice soft definition in the crease and lower lashline. The only colour I'm not keen on in this palette is the pale pink iridescent shade. I expected it to have more pigmentation and since there's already an ivory highlight shade in there, I felt like they could have added a darker/definition shad instead. At £30 a pop I would expect to get exactly what I want from a palette like this so my favourite of the two is definitely the Violet one.
This is a quick example of how the green duochrome and taupe shades look on the eyes (I'm just wearing Urban Decay 24/7 liner in zero smudged along the lashline and Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme mascara here)...
In the pics above of my makeup from last night, I mentioned the Illamasqua Precision Eyeliner in Havoc. This aubergine-coloured liquid liner was the perfect companion for the Clarins Violet eyeshadow palette because it's more interesting than plain old black.
It brought out all the purple shades in my eye makeup and was so easy to use with it's precision foam applicator. You can get a really clean, crisp line with this product and it really does stay put all night. I think this colour is a lot easier to wear than the brighter purple eyeliners I have used in the past because you could use this in the daytime without feeling too conspicuous. The colour of this liner is completely unique in my makeup collection and it's nice to have an alternative to the classic black liner.
I also mentioned the Stila Long Wear Liquid Lip Colour in Coral in my FOTN above and I have to say that I absolutely LOVE this product! I love everything about it; the colour, the formula, it's longevity. It's a gorgeous pale milky coral shade that just instantly lifts your complexion and looks great with a slight tan. As the name suggests, it initially feels very liquid on the lips, giving you enough time to ensure full coverage along your lipline. Once it's on your lips and has 'set', it stays put through eating, drinking and I even managed to kiss the hubby a few times with absolutely NO transfer onto him (he was particularly thankful for this!). It stayed on for a full 6 hours without budging annd only came off when I washed my face at the end of the night. Now THAT is impressive! This lip product definitely lives up to it's long-wear name and it's not often you find a paler lip shade that lasts that long. My lips felt comfortable wearing this product and it didn't dry my lips out at all. It sets matte so make sure you go over your lips with some vaseline and a toothbrush to make sure they are super smooth!
On a random note (as is typical of me), I can't get enough of this song at the moment! Enjoy the rest of your weekend guys!
