My Favourite Single Eyeshadows Part 1 - Bronze, Copper and Gold

Hello darlings!! Today, I'm going to be posting all about some of my favourite single eyeshadows that are great for a single eyeshadow look. I took my inspiration for this post from emilynoel83, from a video she did I believe back in 2013, all about her favourite stand alone eyeshadows that are capable of being used for a one-eyeshadow look. 

A little warning : If you live in Trinidad and Tobago, the Avon Single Eyeshadows I'm mentioning, may not be available to you, because Avon has officially stopped selling their products to Trinidad and I believe a few other Caribbean islands.  I'm sorry for including them since they are hard to get your hands on, but you don't need to get the exact products listed here.

All of the eyeshadows that will be mentioned, are a mid-tone colour with a shimmery/metallic in finish, but when blended into the crease, they take on a softer, more satin look, creating the illusion of two separate shadows on the eye.I usually do this type of eyeshadow look when I'm strapped for time on a morning, or if I'm feeling lazy and don't want to use multiple eyeshadows for one look.

Simple, One Eyeshadow Look Using Avon Satin Taupe Single Eyeshadow

1. Bronze and Copper

Bronzes and Coppers look amazing on brown eyes, because to me they bring out the richness in the brown. I also find that these shadows bring out the warmth in my skintone. I have a warm/yellow undertone to my skin (MAC NC44/ True Match W7).

 

Top Row:

• Avon Single Eyeshadow (full review in archives)
• Copper - (true copper colour)
• Bronze Luster - (deep smokey bronze shade with some gold shimmer throughout)
• Satin Taupe - (a brown taupe shade)

Bottom Row:

• Milani Single Powder Eyeshadow - Caramel Brown (A golden bronze brown)
• L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow - Bronzed Taupe- The Infallible Eyeshadows from L'Oreal, closely resemble a pressed pigment and are best applied with the fingers.

Swatches of each of the aforementioned eyeshadows.

All of these eyeshadows are very soft and pigmented, and they don't typically need any base/primer beneath them unless you have super oily eyelids, then I will recommend using a eyeshadow primer underneath.

2. Gold

Excuse me while I rip off Goldmember from Austin Powers by saying, " I love gold!"
Gold eyeshadow on my eyelids just make me extremely happy. I have a good number of gold eyeshadows, but the following three (3), are my favourite for a single eyeshadow look.
Each of these shadows have a very warm tone but are not strong yellow golds by any means, therefore they really bring out the warmth in the skin, or at least in my skin.
Slight warning about the Prestige eyeshadow, it is super pigmented, the texture is quite similar to the L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadows, where it feels incredibly soft, but the amount of pigment is insane, so be very careful when applying it. I recommend applying onto the lid with a finger, then blending out with a fluffy brush like the CALA 311 or Ecotools Blending Brush.

 Left to Right:

• NYX Single Eyeshadow- Oro 
• Prestige Eyeshadow - Golden Retriever
• Milani Runway Eyes Baked Eyeshadow - Bronze Doll

Swatches

Part 2 of this series will go live either next Friday or this Sunday, I haven't decided on that just yet, but I didn't want to make this post too picture heavy. I've also bought some new products to test out, and I can't wait to get to work on those post. I'll post a picture of the hauled products on Instagram, so be sure to follow me over there, also I posted my May favourites on my Instagram also so feel free to check it out (@ladyjpsych).

I believe that is all for today, I hope you all have a great weekend, and a great week, and I will talk to you all again very soon.
Stay happy, positive and healthy darlings.
Bye ^_^)/

My Favourite Brushes/ Everyday Brushes

Why hello there darlings, welcome back! How was your week?
I got another temporary job, so I'm fighting my tiredness in order to get this post up to you.
Today, it's going to be all about my favourite brushes, and it just so happens that they are all inexpensive. All these brushes ranged from $20TT - $100TT, Yay! Who doesn't love saving some money, I know I do...and then I go spend it on more makeup or video games *facepalm*
Disclaimer:  All brushes mentioned where purchased by me, myself  and I.
Let's get onto the brushes!

My Fave Brushes!

First, I'm going to start off with some honourable mentions. The brushes I tend to rotate in and out of my routine, but I still reach for them ever so often.

Honourable Mentions:

Honourable Mentions

1. NYX B12 Crease Eye Shadow Brush- this brush is a bit scrathy, but it does a great job at depositing and blending out crease colours. Although it's not the greatest, I always keep it nearby on days I want more concentrated colour in my crease. 
2. CALA 317 Brow/Liner Brush - This brush makes winged liner a breeze, and I tend to reach for it when I want winged liner but I'm in a hurry. I think this brush would be great to use on the brows with some type of brow gel or pomade (I'm trying to get my hands on the NYX Brow Gel and Tame and Frame Brow Pomade). However, for an eyebrow pencil/powder girl I'm not the biggest fan of using this brush. 
3. Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush - This brush is awesome, but I love another liner brush a bit more. This is slightly thinner than the one I will mention later, so it's perfect for precise and thin liner. I love to mix up my liner looks (from thin to bold) but recently I've been loving a bolder liner look, so I haven't reached for this one as much as I used to. 
4. Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush - It's a super soft brush that blends out cream and liquid shadows with ease due to it being made of synthetic bristles, and I often times use it for blending up into my crease. However, this isn't one of my essential brushes, because I have a few brushes that can do the job just as well. 

Favourite Eye Brushes:

1.  NYX Angled Brush - This is the oldest makeup brush I have, it's not sold online or in stores, but this is my go to brow brush. It's thin and stiff bristles makes it easy to make hair like strokes, it works well to blend out brow colour. I just love it and I never want to let it go....cue melodrama - (T_T)!
2. e.l.f Professional Eyeshadow Brush - This is the best brush for packing on eyeshadow onto the lids, and it's frickin cheap. US$1 = $20TT, which is an amazing price for any eyeshadow brush. It's soft, and doesn't shed when you wash it. I will always have one of these in my collection, for the price and the quality of brush you are getting, it can't be beat!
3. Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush - Great for cream eyeshadows, great for blending out concealer or eyeshadow primer, this thing just rocks. I often use this to completely blend out my eyeshadows if I'm doing a bit more of a smokey eye look. Although it is larger than a traditional blending or crease brush, it does such a great job, and I enjoy using it. 

Even more Eye Brushes:

1.  CALA 313 Eyeshadow Brush - This brush has a similar function to the e.l.f Professional Eye Shadow Brush, however, since this brush is made with synthetic bristles, it can be used for both cream and powder products (like the Real Techniques brushes). It's very small which allows for precise placement of cream products, and since I have smaller eyes, I really enjoy getting my cream eyeshadows to go precisely where I want them to as opposed them going everywhere when I use my finger.
2. CALA 312 Shading Brush - This brush is larger, so it covers a greater surface area, which is great when you just want a single wash of colour all over the eye. I've also used this brush to apply and blend shadows into the crease and the outer corners of the eye and it does a good job at both. 
3. CALA 311 Blending Brush - Soft and fluffier than the NYX B12, this is my go to blending brush. It gives a soft and diffused look to any shadow. I absolutely love it!
4. CALA 508 Eyeliner Brush - Dramatic, bold liner with ease...yes please! I cannot sing the praises of this brush enough. It's thicker than the RT Fine Liner, it's very soft and picks up product easily and just allows it to glide onto the eye. I really should do a tutorial or something on my winged liner using this brush. 

Face Brushes: 

All these brushes are great multi-taskers and baby soft! 

1. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush - I use this mainly for foundation, but I have used it for blush and powder, but I do prefer how it works with liquid products. It blends foundation in seamlessly, leaving the skin looking flawless and airbrushed.
2. e.l.f Complexion Brush - Silky smooth and blends powder like a dream. Perfect for blending out blush (which I'm now starting to get into) and for setting your foundation. 
3. Ecotools Deluxe Fan Brush - I bought this to use with highlighter, but I find it's a bit too big for that purpose, so instead I use it to apply blush and to set my foundation. I won't lie to use sometimes I just pass it on my face because it's so damn soft!

Well that's it for this week's post. Just to mention quickly, I'm going to be attempting to post more frequently on my Instagram (@ladyjpsych). I recently posted a mini haul of some makeup and I'm also going to be posting more InstaReviews on there as well.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend, stay happy, healthy and positive and I shall see you all in my next post.
Bye-Bye (^w^)

Easy Work/Everyday Makeup Part 2.

Hello everyone,
I'm finishing off my work/everyday makeup ideas post today with part 2.
Note: Base Makeup is the same for all looks, with the exception of the Bronze Daytime Smokey Eye. For details on the base products used in all the other looks, see part 1 ( http://jsmindpalace.blogspot.com/2015/04/easy-everydaywork-makeup.html).
Now I love a good winged liner look, and for all of these looks, I had winged out eyeliner, ranging for subtle to bold, but I got away with it because I wear glasses, and my frames detract from the bold eyeliner (yay four-eyed perks!)

Work/Everyday Makeup pt.2

Look 1 - Copper Winged Liner 
I started off the week by doing subtle winged liner with an eyeliner pencil. I used the Avon Mega Impact eyeliner in Rich Copper.It gives definition to the eye without being as dramatic as a black eyeliner, and the copper colour brings out the warmth in my dark brown eyes. This liner does contain some gold glitter, which I played off of by adding Sacha Gold Rush Eyeshadow (I believe this is discontinued) in the inner corner. Some mascara and a soft neutral/nude lip (I'm rocking some lip balm here) and the look is complete.

Copper Liner with Lip Balm

Look 2 - Work and Event Look (Bronze Daytime Smokey Eye)

The next look I did was for both work and an event that I attended after. It's was bronze-y smokey eye, with winged liner and pinky lips.I used my Smashbox Full Exposure Palette for the eyeshadows, L'Oreal Lacquer Liner for my winged liner and my lip colour was Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Sultry.
My foundation was L'Oreal True Match W7 because it has a natural finish, is long-lasting and feels lightweight on the skin. I also used Milk of Magnesia as a mattifer because I knew it was going to be a long and hot day. 
Brushes used:

 *Smashbox Full Exposure Palette Double Ended Brush,
 *CALA Eyeshadow 313,  CALA Blending Brush 311 , Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette

Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm- Sultry

Look 3 - Golden Eyes

A simple, one eyeshadow look but unfortunately I cannot find this eyeshadow in stores. The eyeshadow in question is Nicka K HD Eyeshadow in 3009 (Love!). It is a beautiful golden brown shadow, that when blended out in the crease transforms into a gorgeous satin finish brown. I used the Eco-tools Full Eyeshadow Brush to apply the shadow and then I went ahead and lined my eyes with the Jordana 12HR Made To Last Eyeliner Pencil in 02 Espresso Last, and popped some of Sacha's Gold Rush Shadow into the inner corner.
Lips: Jordana Twist and Shiny - Honey Love

Sascha - Gold Rush (circular pan), Nicka K HD Eyeshadow - 3009 (rectangular pan)

Look 4 - Winged Liner on Fleek!
Ugh...I can't believe I used the term fleek but I think that maybe the only term to describe just how much I love this liner look and just how great it looks, especially if you wear large framed glasses.

Winged Liner Appreciation.

Without my glasses, it looks incredibly long and bold but with the frames on, it looks like your run of the mill, everyday wing.
I started off by priming my lid with my Smashbox Shadow Primer, then I used Milani Single Powder Eyeshadow in Caramel Brown from lash line to crease, again using my Eco-tools Full Eyeshadow Brush.

Now for the wing, I used the L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black and my CALA 508 Eyeliner Brush. The 508 is similar to the Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush, but the bristles are a tad shorter and less tapered, which makes doing the wing very easy. I just draw a line from the edge of my lower lash line, and go up towards the end of my eyebrow. I stopped where my orbital bone starts and then dragged the liner inwards towards my eye and lash line. I am considering doing a short video or pictorial on how I do my liner exactly, since it's hard to explain in just words.
Lips: NYX SN06 (I'm hooked on this stuff!)

I honestly wish I wasn't anxious about sitting in front of a camera and actually recording my eyeliner application, but I have a tendency to clam up in front of cameras (never going to be an actress ever!). I think I'm going to try and conquer that fear just to do a video on my winged liner application, although there are a lot of videos on YouTube about it.
Anywhosies, that is all for me today, and as usual I do hope you all have a fantastic weekend. Stay happy, healthy and positive and I will see you next Friday.
Bye (^_^)/

March Favourites

Hello hello beautiful people :3,
 I promised you a post today, and now I present to you my March favourites. There are actually a good bit of products this month, so let's get started!

March 2015 Favourites! 

Makeup:

Foundation : L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Foundation in W7 Caramel Beige.

Ever since I purchased the L'Oreal Magic Nude Foundation, my True Match has taken a seat to the back of the pack. However, with random colds and stomach bugs rearing their head as well as insomnia (I'm a mess, I know!), I busted this bad boy out once more because nothing can beat it's lightweight feel and kick butt coverage. I use this in conjunction with my Real Techniques Expert Face brush and I am so pleased with the results. Never cakey or heavy looking, just flawless, seamless finish that looks like skin.

Eyes:

Favourite Eye Products - March 2015

Eye Primer: Smashbox 24 hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer
As a Caribbean girl with oily skin eyeshadow primer is an absolute must have for me. I love my Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and never did I think that I would find a primer I love more than that one, man was I wrong! This eyeshadow primer from Smashbox is the heavy-weight champion of all the eyeshadow primers  I have tried. It dries quickly, and it does not budge. Not even midday Trinidad sun could get this thing to melt or budge. On Friday 13th, when I was struck with a stomach bug, I took a nap with all my eye makeup on, with this primer underneath, when I woke up from said nap 3 hours later (after a 8 hour workday + lunch run in midday sun), all my eye makeup was completely intact.
The only drawback: Smashbox is not readily available in Trinidad. It can be ordered online or if you have family or friends in the US, you will be able to get your hands on it. For now I have to use it sparingly, because I don't want it to run out without having a backup or a cheaper alternative to it in my collection.

Eyeshadow: Milani Powder Single Eyeshadow 

 Can we just swoon over this eyeshadow for a minute? Hnng! 
A golden, caramel brown that is perfect for everyday wear, whether you want to wear it alone all over the eye and blended into the crease or if you want to use it solely as an all over lid colour with another shade in the crease. It doesn't matter this shade is beautiful and enhances the deep chocolate brown tones of my eyes. I'm really happy I dug this out of my collection to use again, it truly is a beautiful eyeshadow.

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette

Smashbox Full Exposure Palette and Smashbox 24 Hour Photo Finish Shadow Primer

I have read and seen a lot of mixed reviews on this particular palette, but since I LOVE neutral eyeshadows I decided, why not give it a shot? My verdict: I absolutely love this palette. I've been using it almost every single day since the start of February, whether it be for a simple matte crease colour or for a full on smokey eye, this palette is versatile and very user/beginner friendly. The shadows are soft and easy to blend, although some of the more sparkly shades have a small amount of fallout, but it is mostly glitter, opposed to actual shadow pigment.  The main complaint people have about this palette is that it isn't pigmented enough, and personally I don't mind that it isn't one touch super pigmented. To me, it's easier to work with because it teaches you how to slowly build up colour opposed to dipping your brush into an extremely pigmented shadow and applying far too much product. The matte shadows are more pigmented than the shimmery; again I have no problem with this because it's so easy to go overboard with shimmery shades. Some may hate it, but I adore it! It hasn't left my vanity, and I'm sure it won't leave anytime soon. I just wish Smashbox products were available in Trinidad. Plz Smashbox (;-;)

Eyeliner & Brushes: L'Oreal Infallible 24HR Lacquer Liner in Blackest Black, Real Techniques Fine Liner Brush & CALA Brow/Liner Brush 317
What's as pitch black as oil, glides on like a dream and stays put all day? Did you say the L'Oreal Infallible Laquer Liner in Blackest Black, well you will be absolutely correct! (^w^)
I've own this liner for over a year and it hasn't dried out, it's still extremely creamy, and dries to an amazing matte black finish. It's great for beginners, and I've also changed the way I apply it. I use my Real Techniques Fine Liner brush to get really into my lash line, and for the wing, I use my CALA 317 brush. The 317 is super soft and has the perfect amount of give, meaning it's not too stiff but not too malleable, making it very easy to get the perfect winged out liner. Other days I create the wing with the Real Techniques fine liner brush and then dip the 317 into some eye makeup remover (which I will talk about a little later on) to clean up the wing. All in all, this trio makes winged liner an everyday affair.


Mascara: L'Oreal Voluminous Lash Out Butterfly Mascara. 
Holy Grail! I cannot and will never be without this mascara in my collection. The brush grabs on to each of my lashes, including the short, difficult ones, giving them volume and lift and separates each lash like none other.

L'Oreal Voluminous Lash-Out Butterfly Mascara Wand

I used to be all about the Maybelline Falsies, but this mascara does so much more for my lashes, that I can't see myself going back to it just yet. I would like to try more mascaras instead of being a one trick pony, but I refuse to give up my Butterfly mascara.

Eye Makeup Remover : Simple Kind To Eyes Eye Makeup Remover

I love this stuff! It is the first eye makeup remover that I've used that is purely liquid. I used to use the Avon Makeup Remover Cream or whatever you call it, but I never liked it. It was a thick lotion, that used to burn the crap out of my eyes, leaving them red and irritated...no thank you! I decide to try this on a random trip to my local drugstore and I fell in love immediately. It's strong enough to remove the most stubborn waterproof mascara or eyeliner, and can decimate a smokey eye in seconds. If you're in the market for a good, inexpensive eye makeup remover, give this one a shot!

Lips: 

Nivea Soothe and Protect Lip Balm with SPF 15
A clear, moisturizing lip balm with SPF, is perfect to keep lips protected and hydrated especially in a tropical climate. I love this lip balm so much that when I lost my first one, I ran out and repurchased it. Of course as is the case with most lip balms, the lost one magically reappeared after it had been missing for two months, so now I keep one in my handbag at all times and the other on my vanity.

Jordana Pencil Lipliner in Natural 
A beautifully soft and creamy lip pencil, it glides on like butter and it is extremely pigmented for the low price. This is my only Jordana lip pencil but I am hoping to get my hands on some more. The colour is a beautiful reddish-brown, great on its own or paired with a nude lipstick or gloss, perfect for work.

Jordana Lipliner - Natural

NYX Simply Nude Lip Cream- Sable (SN06)
I'm not even going to bother writing much about this, because I have been raving about this lip cream pencil since I first bought it. It was a favourite last month now hear it is again. I was going to leave it out, but I've been using it almost every single day so I had to put it in.


Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipstick - Touch of Spice (660)
Perfect red-brown lipstick! You can rock it with a smokey eye or on days when all you're wearing is a BB cream and some mascara, this lipstick makes a statement without being too loud or in your face. I knew this would be a favourite when I initially purchased it and it has. When I'm going for a statement lip, I reach for this rather than my usual red lipsticks. It's creamy, pigmented and doesn't dry out my lips despite it being a matte lipstick, which makes me love it even more.

Skin: Homemade Rose Water
My favourite DIY, is homemade rose water. It's a refreshing mist, that helps to keep skin hydrated during the day, and it can also help eliminate the look of powdery/cakey foundation. All I do is collected dried rose petals, toss them into a small pot of boiling water, until the water extracts the colour from the petals. However, I sometimes steep the petals in the boiling water as one would do with tea. Without adding alcohol to it, you would have to store it in the fridge, where it would keep for approximately 4 weeks. However, since I carry a small bottle with me in my makeup bag, I add about 1teaspoon of alcohol, to prevent it from going bad in the heat.

Homemade Rosewater

Nerd Faves:
In terms of video games I've only been playing Pokemon Omega Ruby, trying to finish my Pokédex via evolving and trading...so much work! I'm currently reading James Patterson's Private, which is going really good, I'm thoroughly enjoying it! Also, I'm very close to finishing off the Locke and Key series, if you like graphic novels and haven't read Locke and Key, I highly recommend it! It's art is amazing, the storyline entrapping, I've been procrastinating finishing the series because it's just so good, I don't want it to end (~_~')

We have arrived to the end of this Favourites post, let me know some of your favourites in the comments, I'm always interested to know what you've been loving this month. Thank you for being patient and waiting for this post, I've just been so exhausted and sick of being sick to have had a full post this past Friday. All of my social media links are located to the right hand side of the blog, so if you're interested you can follow me.
Until Friday, I hope you all have a wonderful and safe week ahead. Stay happy, healthy and positive!
Bye (^_^)/

February Favourites: Short and Sweet

Hey everyone. Its favourites time again and I will admit I don't have very many this month, however I do have favourites from different categories apart from makeup, yay!

Makeup

Jordana Twist and Shine Moisturizing Lip Balm Stain - 05 Honey Love
Last month, I raved over this particular product and it continued to be my go to lip product for the month of February. It's moisturising, leaves a beautiful colour on the lips. For swatches, you can check out my January Favourites post in the archives.

Maybelline Shine Free Loose Powder - Medium
This is my current go to powder for when I don't feel like wearing foundation. It is not a powder foundation, just a traditional loose powder, the coverage is very light, but it helps to keep shine at bay for a few hours, so if I'm running errands, I just dust this on over some face primer either my elf or Prestige primer (also have a blog post on those) and that's my face makeup done for almost all of February. It has a pink undertone, which is the only draw back for me since I have very yellow undertones, however on the skin, it isn't noticeable.

Makeup Tools

EcoTools Fan Brush
It's so fluffy!!!! (Cue Agnes from Despicable Me voice) I initially bought this brush for highlighter, but I fell in love with using it for applying my loose powder. It picks up just enough product and all I have to do is lightly dust it on my face. The bristles are super soft and help to distribute the powder evenly, and even better EcoTools is quite affordable. I am thinking about buying a separate fan brush for highlighter, something smaller, maybe the elf fan brush.

Cala Professional Blending Brush (311)
A synthetic bristle blending brush, that works well with both cream and powder eyeshadows. It's soft, fits into the eyesocket easily, if you have very small eyes, I would recommend this brush for blending out shadows but not necessarily for applying them into the crease.

Television

Fresh Off The Boat
Based on the book by Chef Eddie Haung, Fresh Off The Boat is the best new comedy in recent years. Constance Wu who plays the mother, Jessica is hilarious. She honestly steals the show. I highly recommend you guys check it out.

Gotham
Fish did what to herself?!?!
Alfred!!!!! *ugly crying*
Gotham has been getting better and better with each episode. The writers are doing an awesome job. Can't recommend Gotham enough.

Games

World Of Warcraft
I recently started playing on a new, US based server as a Night-Elf Druid and I've been having so much fun. Unfortunately, my prepaid game card ran out so now I can't play. However, I am planning on upgrading to Warlords of Dreanor at the end of March, so I can't wait to get back into WoW. 
 
This is really short, but I really haven't been doing much this month in terms of wearing makeup, or playing games. On Monday, I start a temporary job, which I super excited for, and I'm hoping my migraines don't ruin the experience.
Until next week loves, have a safe and fun weekend. Stay healthy, positive and happy.
Bye (^_^)/