Tick! Tock! I Must Beat The Clock Pt2

(Click here for Part 1)

As I thought about it I realised that I really did not have much of a choice, I had to reduce the time spent on my eyeshadow.

At first I tried only Steps 1 and 2 and added a brow highlight.  The brow highlight looked amazing but the skintone eyeshadow required to much effort for something that is basically invisible.

Skintone Eyeshadow and my natural brows (http://instagram.com/beautifulandunspoilt)

Skintone Eyeshadow (http://instagram.com/beautifulandunspoilt)

The only thing left to do was to leave out the eyeshadow all together. Never in a million years would I have anticipated this.  I didn't think that I could do it because I love eyeshadow so much.

To compensate for my loss of colour I decided to add some drama. I started lining my eyes with black eyeliner and I started wearing mascara and blush. I haven't looked back since and surprisingly, I don't regret it.

My 'new' look received raving reviews and created alot of fuss. I was shocked at the response.  I never thought I would say this, but strangely enough I don't even miss the eyeshadow.  Don't get me wrong, if time was on my side I would be rocking my eyeshadow.

No Eyeshadow (http://instagram.com/beautifulandunspoilt)

The icing on the cake was when I used concealer to even out my brows.  My natural brows are uneven,  so I fill them with a brow pencil to enhance them.  I prefer my brows to look identical, I'm even willing to settle for similar but they must look alike.  This particular morning one brow was filled thicker than the other and my efforts to make them even by wiping with a tissue was failing miserably.

I was running out of time, and out of desperation I reached for my concealer.   The concealer worked like a dream and gave a finish out of this world.  I was so impressed and excited.  I made sure the concealer was well blended and not visible.  Visible concealer seems to be the trend right now, but that is a trend that I will not be following.  It's called concealer for a reason; you are supposed to see the effect of the concealer not the concealer itself.

Using concealer on my brows does take some time and effort but it is worth it.  The result far outweighs all of this. I had to give up something to enable me to do this, so I no longer line my eyes with black eyeliner.

I have now reached the point where I had to stop wearing foundation, mascara and blush, and I only use concealer when needed.  I think I've reach my limit - I am now down to primer, browfill, powder,setting spray and lipstick /lipgloss.  I do miss what I call the 'extras' - mascara, eyeliner and blush.  But a girl has to do what a girl has to do to leave the house on time.

Now that I don't wear my eyeshadows these days, I'll have to find more night events to attend so that I can wear them.  I'm still trying to figure out what to do with my neutral lipsticks which I would wear if my eyeshadow was bold.  Just give me some time and I'm sure I'll think of something.




"...because your make-up should always BE (Blend and Enhance)." - Nakita Squires

Tick! Tock! I Must Beat The Clock Pt1

I'm wearing less make-up products these days, not as a result of any careful planning, but through necessity.  I'm always trying to beat the clock but I usually end up losing.  Well I decided that it was time for me to win.  I have reached the point where I'm tired of running out of time when doing my make-up.  I want to complete all of my tasks before I leave home; instead of having to skip some of them.

Here is my everyday make-up routine:

Step 1  Eyeshadow
Step 2  Brows
Step 3  Foundation
Step 4  Powder
Step 5  Lots of blending
Step 6  Setting Spray
Step 7  Lipbalm, Lip Colour and Lipgloss

Seems simple enough, but Steps 1 and 2 do take quite a bit time.  By the time I finish Step 1; I have to rush through the other Steps, and then I have to rush through all of the other non-makeup tasks that need to be done.  To make a bad situation worse,  the Sleek BB Cream that I am currently using (which I love), has a better finish with foundation primer.  This means there are now 8 Steps instead of  7,  which I have to finish in the same amount of time.

The reality is my eyeshadow application requires too much effort, and the results do not equate to the time spent.  I have to apply multiple layers because the colour barely shows up on my dark skin tone. Plus I have a sizeable eyelid so a quick sweep of the brush never works for me.

Check out these shots of the make-up I wore to work.  You can't even see the eyeshadow.

From L-R
1,2 and 6 = red eyeshadow,
3 and 5 = navy blue eyeshadow
4 = purple eyeshadow

 (http://instagram.com/beautifulandunspoilt)

Here's my typical eyeshadow application process:

Step 1  Primer or base
Step 2  Two layers of skintone eyeshadow
Step 3  At least 3 layers of the eyeshadow colour for the day
Step 4  Lots of blending to make it flawless

For each layer of eyeshadow I have to swirl the brush in the eyeshadow 8 times  to get maximum colour payoff.

All of this takes time...

Too much time...

Time that I do not have to spare.

I'm a girl that loves to see colour on my eyelids, it lifts my spirits and makes me happy.  But the time/effort needed vs the final result was frustrating me. (CLICK HERE for the details)

I have tried various brands - Fash Professional 120 Palette, Sugarpill, Maybelline Colour Tattoos, but the results are the same.  I do have Naked and Makeup Doll Cosmetics eyeshadows which are vibrant, but I prefer to wear those at night. ( CLICK HERE to find out why)

I needed to find a solution to my problem and I needed to find it fast.

Click here for Part 2.


"...because your make-up should always BE (Blend and Enhance)." - Nakita Squires