Getting Your Liner to Last: Setting Your Waterline With Pigment

Howdy Guys! So, those of you that wear eyeliner on your waterline... have you found something that actually lasts? Until last week, I hadn't. I had tried everything under the sun. Nothing seemed to work for me until I discovered this simple trick: setting your waterline with a pigment or shadow. 

Now, for the tutorial, I decided to do black, but you can CERTAINLY use other colors. :)

(This is the first installment of my mini series on EYELINER. Make sure to suggest things you would like to know more about!)

For this tutorial, I used a standard eyeliner pencil and a plain, matte black pigment, and a small shadow brush. An Angled brush may work better for this, but I do not own one at the moment. 

I warn you. This is my first video, thus... not very good. >.<

I sound like a total bitch, but I promise I am not!!

Let me know what you guys think!

Eige's Organization in a nutshell.

It has been in my head a long time to write up a post on my organization and working space. I went to work on a video I shot for my mini series on eyeliner, but ended up running into issues (which should be resolved by tomorrow). In the mean time, I decided that it would be a good idea to work on this post, since it is really just a virtual tour of my workspace!

I am really curious to see/hear about your makeup work space as well, feel free to leave pictures or descriptions in the comment box!

Alright. For the most part, this is where the magic happens. Now, I have had this desk since I was really little. It started as my parents computer desk back in the 90's. Now, if you know me, I am super into the environment, and super into not throwing anything away. In the 2000's, I painted it black, since it was getting pretty beat up. now, it has paint, nail polish, burn marks, and whatever you can attach to teen-hood all over it. I recently gutted the shelves and the doors to the cabinet to make it work for make up. 

To the left we can see my tacklebox. this is my second upgrade since I really got into makeup. You can also see my brushes and stuff in the cups I got from target. :) To the right, you can see my beloved mirror, a green storage thinger, and my area for all my hair stuff (used to be the cabinets). 

Photo of my brush cup and my mascara/liner/nyx pencil cups. :)

Hiding beside my tacklebox is a Stilla Pallet I received as a gift from my best friend's mother. I don't use it as often as I should, but I still adore it. <3

I got the tacklebox for christmas of this year, but I believe it came from walmart for under $15. It has a center area with trays, a side cubby, two flip up areas on the top of the box, and actually, the creame colored part of the tacklebox opens, yielding more storage.

In each of the two flippy things on the top of the tacklebox (above), I store things by category. On the left side, I store my false lashes, and my false lash glue. My glue exploded, so I had to keep it somewhere it wouldnt leak on anything else. I also keep my pencil sharpeners here, because they get a little messy sometimes too. 

The right side is mainly home to all my loose glitter. Well, most of it. I also had shoved some random samples in this side. 

When you open the creame colored portion of the top of the tacklebox, you find an abyss of stuff I rarely use. I like to think of this area as real storage... Like a box at the top of your closet. :)

On the front of the box, there is a larger storage area with trays, and a smaller cubby whole (below). The cubby originally came with two organizational boxes, but there is additional room. 

This area fits the two boxes, my Sonia brushes, and my Urban Decay Pallet. The top left photo shows the area with the "door" closed, and the second with it open. 

The two storage boxes that came in the cubby are relatively small, and are sectioned into narrow areas. I havent really found anything to go in here, save for when i travel. So, for now, i keep Qtips and my misbehaved glitter... (tube broke... aka glitter explosion), but, as i mentioned, i am not one to throw something away!

The center part of the box has three stackable, slide-able storage trays or boxes, each that flip closed. This area also has a "door" that keeps the trays from sliding out. (if you look at the first picture of my set up, you can see!)

I store my pigments on their sides, so I can see the colors easily. The tacklebox came with little dividers to split up the isles, but i ran out of room! Here, you can see my tray for greens, blues, and yellows. I absolutely adore the set up of this case. I am actually running out of room! The other boxes are also color coordinated. Maybe I will take pictures of the individual boxes one of these days. 

Moving on... next to my tacklebox is random crap I have yet to put away. xD

Here is my next little treasure. I found this guy (the green storage container) in walmart's clearance isle for less than $2. 

It fits perfectly under where I keep my hair stuff. It has two drawers, a top area with a flip-up lid, and little cups on the top as well.

In the top part, with the flip up lid, I keep all my lip stuff. Glosses, lip bombs, etc. it all goes in there. Right now I don't have much, so it all fits with ease!

The top drawer is dedicated to my face stuff. I rarely do anything to my face, so this is all I have. I have a few this-and-thats I never use, a Concrete Minerals eye primer (review soon!), mousse concealer (that I only use on my lips, ironically enough), a bronzer, and a mineral veil. 

The bottom drawer is for whatever. lol. i have a few LA Colors pallets I collected, a few frankened bottles of nail polish (I actually keep most of my polish at the boyfriends house, oddly enough), my Salon Effects nail decals, an Ulta pressed shadow, and my beloved Polyester Bride shadow from Urban Decay. 

Here is the top part of the storage thing. Since it is under the shelf thinger, I cant really get to these things that easily. (i mean, its still easy, but i have to move the container out from under the shelf thing) I store my extra nose rings and kabuki brushes here. :)

And lastly: my hair/everything else shelf. 

Here is where I keep all my hair stuff: hair spray, serums, heat protective stuff, you name it. I also keep my deoderant, bandaids, makeup remover, scotch tape (for makeup), and perfume here, haha! I won't lose them that way. xD

Well, there you have it! You've just had a look into my morning routine... and the way my brain works! I know it may not be the prettiest vanity, but it works for me, AND it was extremely low budget! I love re-purposing old furniture and the like, and this seemed to work out perfectly. I love the design of this tackle box, because it fits all my pigments the way I want it to!

I should have my video on eyeliner up tomorrow! Its about waterlining, and a cheater way to tightline your eye. ;)

Hope you enjoyed! <3

China Glaze Crackle Polish - A Bottle of Awesome.

CLICK THIS PICTURE AND BLOW THIS PICTURE UP! <3

Alright, I just got done with midterms, got over a huge sickness, and found out that I am only one credit short of graduation (no worries, im in the process of working that out). Basically, I had a pretty bad week. My best friend Justin surprised me with a bouquet of roses and quite possibly the most thoughtful gift ever (jk): China Glaze Crackle Polish. I say that because I have been drooling over these polishes forever, since I first saw them in the Ulta catalog in the mail... hehe!

This stuff is the coolest thing since sliced bread. I put a thin/medium coat of Black Mesh over DRY Nicole's Make Mine Lime, a sparkly green. (with a touch of Zoya's Trixie [silver] on the ring finger, as seen above). I then finished off with an ORLY top coat!

Taken in natural light. This stuff is so cool. The full collection comes with 6 colors:

Black: Black Mesh

White: Lightning Bolt

Grey: Cracked Concrete

Blue: Crushed Candy

Pink: Broken Hearted

Purple: Fault Line

Overall, I love this stuff, and really really really want to get Lightning Blot (the white crackle) as well!!

It is seriously like an insta-manicure in a bottle... I am in LOVE. What do you guys think about this polish? 

My Two Cents - Sally Hanson Salon Effects Nail Decals

So, this is my "two cents" on the Sally Hanson Salon Effects Nail Decals. This is different than a review, in the sense that I will not be comparing prices and such, seeing as I have nothing to compare it to in my history. I may do a formal review in the future, but for now... you have this!

I bought the nail decals being sceptical. thinking they would be a royal pain in the ass, and frustrate the hell out of me. well, I was pleasantly surprised. I mean, its a sticker. Would it even last through washing my hair? The application wasn't as dreadful as I thought it would be, and I was finished and decal-ed up within 10 minutes. 

These were taken the day after application. 

As you can see, I totally screwed up my pointer finger's tip. This was MY fault. *embarrassed* 

This is the point that chipped the most. 

The pack comes with a ton of different nail shapes. I didnt do my ring finger so I could compare it to regular nail polish. The black is Zoya's Raven. :)

These pictures were taken after 1.5 weeks... yes. My nails grow slow. :(

I kept them on for a total of THREE WEEKS. They never really got worse than this, save for the growth by the cuticle, which I cant really help. I also have a terrible habit of picking at my nails. 

there was minimal chipping on the tips, mostly on my pointer finger which I screwed up upon application. >.<

My nail polish chipped big time around the cuticle. I would also like to point out that these things are DURABLE. These things made it through weeks of ceramics class... (clay + nail polish = disaster), work, school, a very ungraceful eige, and my nail polish picking. I was getting compliments far after the 2 week mark. 

after the THREE WEEKS I sported these decals, I finally removed them using nail polish remover. They removed about the same as regular nail polish. 

Would I buy them again?

Without a doubt. I loved how long they lasted.... SO much longer than regular nail polish. And they come in a million different colors and styles! Oh. And I friggin LOVE zebra print. They might not be the easiest to put on (though, I didnt find it that difficult), but I think the long wear is worth it. They might be a little pricey, and not that practical if you change your nails every few days... but if you are like me, I think they are worth it. 

OH! I put some of the EXTRA FAT decals on my big toenails, and painted the rest of my toe nails black. They are still on. virtually NO chipping. :O

Simple 10 minute Mardi Gras Look

Alright guys! You know what time it is here in America. Mardi Gras. Boobs, beads, and food. ^.^

I decided to do a simple madri gras themed look, since I figure the complicated one I am going to try to attempt is going to be too much for a photo tutorial. Mardi Gras most recognized colors are purple, gold, and green!

What we will need:

For this look I used my standard liquid eyeliner and mascara, NYX pearl base in Cottage Cheese, a foiling medium (I will explain later!), and your pigments. 

Gold: Since it is mardi gras, I tried to use the most VIVID gold I owned: HiFi Cosmetics' Rockstar Shadow in On Tour

Purple: I used Madd Style Cosmetics' Electric Koolaid. Any BRIGHT purple you own will work just fine!

Green: Madd Style's Frankenstein. A true green works best for the colors of Mardi Gras!

Highlight/Glitter: I used Madd Style's Xray Spex as a natural toned highlighter, and Madd Style's Dazzle Dust for extra glitz!

I used a small shadow brush for a majority of this look, and used my fine detail brush and highlighter brush for small steps. :)

Swatches of colors used!

 Let's Get Started. 

Start with a clean eyes and hands. I primed with Urban Decay's Primer Potion, and applied my NYX Cottage Cheese as my base. I decided to use this because of the shimmer factor. I felt as if this look would need as much glitz as possible, without being *too* loud. remember i said "simple?" ;) 

Apply your gold shadow using a small shadow brush to the inner half of your lid, and a little on your duct.Remember to pat your shadow on rather than dragging. This will avoid fall out and will allow for a more even application. 

How do I make sure my shadow is even in the center of my lid? I look straight forward and determine where the center of my eye, or my pupil is located. 

Next, apply the green shadow. As stated above, I used Madd Style's Frankenstein.  

Blend the color into the gold pigment. :) If your color isnt pigmented enough for your liking, build up the color for a really bright green. 

Next is the purple. I used Madd Style's Electric Koolaid. The first thing I do when applying my outer colors is to map out where I want the color to be applied. 

Once the color is mapped out, THAT is when I blend out the color into the desired gradient. 

A better look at the shape of the purple shadow. 

Next, drag a bit of the purple color under the lower lashline. For some people, an angled brush may work better. 

Add your highlight. I used Madd Style's Xray Spex. Apply this color with a puffy, soft brush as to blend the highlight into the main colors and reduce any hard lines left behind. Though it may not be the proper technique, I usually do this in a windshield wiper motion. This step will blend and soften your look. :)

As of right now, this is what your shadow should start to look like! We are done with the main colors now! yay!

Apply your liner to your liking. Using my liquid liner, I used a really extreme wing to give it a slightly "loud" feel. As I said earlier, I tried to keep this look simple enough to suit your Mardi Gras parties without going completely overboard! <3

Like everyone else, I am not perfect. Especially with liquid liner. Occasionally, my winged liner is totally uneven. I folded a makeup remover pad in half, and shaped my liner using the hard edge of the pad to fix up the wing. :)

After that fiasco, I continued the liner really tightly under my eye, and tapered it off about 3/4 way across my lower lid. 

I took a pencil and did my waterline. :)

This is how we are looking so far. :)

Add some mascara, and we are good to go! Now to the fun bits!

I wanted to add some gold accents to my look, so I wanted to foil the pigment. Foiling is the process of liquefying the pigment into a "paintable" substance. For foiling, you can use water, a foiling medium, or even eyedrops. For this look, I used Madd Style's foiling meduim: Awesomesauce. I applied a small droplet of awesomesause onto the back of my hand, and put a little of my desired pigment on my hand as well. I added more pigment to my hand after the picture... eep!

Using that small detail brush, mix the two into an even paint like substance. 

Using the brush, I added little dots, in order of size, along the border of my winged liner. Give this some time to dry!

Lastly, I added some Dazzle Dust all over to add MOAR GLITTER.

If you want to take this look to the next level, add some crazy false lashes (Mine are courtesy of the wonderful Zehn). This wont take away from the look *too* much: its still very wearable for this kick ass occasion. 

And for fun...

And of course... a really awkward shot of my face, but the one one that is focused enough to post:

WHOOOO! ENJOY GUYS & THANKS FOR READING!

What do you think of those lips? What do you do for marti gras?