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Undereye Concealer

My dear ones,
This came today…

I’ve been a faithful reader of your blog for quite some time. Keep up the good work!

A while back, there was a discussion on under-eye concealer. I have recently found my own personal undereye concealer pot of gold. It has singlehandedly amended my charming undereye combination of fair skin and genetic dark circles, so I thought I’d pass it on.

I give you: Rae Concealer (http://www.raecosmetics.com/makeup.php?mineral-makeup=Concealer). I use light neutral. Although I only have the concealer and their mini eyelash curler (great for us small-eyed gals or the lashcurler phobics), I really like Rae’s stuff. They are doing my wedding makeup and I–gasp!–look like myself! Their stuff is made for active lifestyles (ie: sweat).

I’m originally from Austin but now live in NY, and I order online.

Hope this helps! Thanks for your hard work, PB! This Presby. Christian Educator loves your site…

You’re so welcome, Presby Christian Educator! And I love you right back. Thanks for the hot tip! xoxo PB

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Green Eye Shadow: A 2008 Trend That Isn’t Going Away

As spring arrives (it IS arriving, right? RIGHT?), PeaceBang notes that the green eyeshadow trend of last year is still going strong. A reader wrote today asking how to find the peacock shade worn by Emily Blunt in “The Devil Wears Prada” (MAC or Urban Decay or Smashbox ought to be able to set her right up with something she’ll love), and PB notices that several bright green shades are sold out on Sephora.com.

green-eyeshadow2 There’s no reason to get this crazy with it when a soft wash of color will do.

thandie-newton

Keep the rest of your face fairly neutral if you’re going with green eyeshadow. And please, PLEASE don’t match it to your outfit! I mean, don’t wear a lime green dress and match it all exactly to a lime green eyeshadow. And do use a light hand while applying — remember how your grandmother’s eccentric friend Lil had bright green eyeshadow all kind of caked onto her eyelids? You want to apply with a small fluffy brush (a sponge is very difficult to work with in bright colors) and blend, blend, blend. Don’t leave the inner corners all crumbly and do remember to clean up any dusting of green that winds up on your cheek. You don’t want to look like the Lucky Charms spokesgirl. “Magically delicious!”

green-eyeshadow-3

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Make-Up for Gals In Specs

Totally do not take this seriously, okay? It’s 98% for your enjoyment and about 1.5% for your edification.
I was with the lovely Michelle Phan until she started in on the third or fourth layer of eyeshadow, at which point I became skeptical. By the time she was applying huge Liza Minelli spider eyelashes to her lower lids I was in hysterics and totally in love with her. This is CRAY-ZEE but hey, some of you trendier types might appreciate it.

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Applying Mascara

So what did we learn, pigeons!?*

1. Don’t pump the mascara, twist it to get more product on the wand.

2. If necessary, dab the wand onto a tissue before applying.

3. Wiggle from the roots out. Wiggle that wand.

4. Skip the lower lashes.

5. Look how pretty you are!

Special thanks to Suzannah Raffield on video, to Sephora in Times Square for allowing us to film, and to Missa for agreeing to appear on BTFM. Click this link if the embedded vid doesn’t work for you.

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Stila Smudge Pot

Have I mentioned how much I adore this product?

It’s a gel eyeliner that goes on with a little angled brush (sold separately) and STAYS ALL DAY. It stays on through Zumba class, it stays on through preaching, it stays on through meetings, it weathers tears and naps. If you fall asleep in it, you won’t look like an escapee from the Snake Pit the next morning. You can apply a sexy cat eye, a professional everyday line, or make a crazy smudged rock-and-roll eye. I’m a huge fan of liquid eyeliner because I find it easy to apply (after years of practice) and indestructibly long-wearing, but a bit harsh in pigment intensity. This product is much less harsh, and I swear it’s easy to apply. The bronze shade is dramatic but in a low-key way, the blue is stunning and brings out the grey circle around the iris of my dark brown eyes (it looks hideous in the pot, so don’t go by that), and I just ordered the black from www.drugstore.com.

It’s a huge amount of eyeliner, too, so you can guarantee at least a year of use out of it for $18. Just make sure to close the lid tight so it doesn’t dry out.

I still use smudgy pencils and I still love my Maybelline liquid liner for traveling (who wants to have to pack a separate pot of liner AND a brush?), but Stila Smudge Pot is first in my heart. I just feel so pretty in it, and what girl doesn’t want that? I mean that and world peace, of course.