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Vichy Dark Spot Corrector

9 Jun

I wanted to wait before writing this post because there’s nothing I hate more than hocus pocus makeup. So I’ve been trying for about a couple of months now the Vichy ProEVEN Total Dark Spot Corrector and I realized many changes to my skin.

First change is, I was always really pale… but it was a bad pale, because when the skin is uneven it seems like the pale isn’t healthy. The best part of the dark spot corrector is it works to even skin tone in a way that even unaffected parts of your skin sort of rejuvenate and brighten up. It’s as if it says “here, this is the color your skin should be.” You know and I’ve said it a million times here there is no better look than your natural one.

Also, the great thing is, you can now use less makeup, there’s less covering up. Especially now in the summer, its basically no covering up.

As for the dark spots it works fast on those smaller sun spots but on darker, larger spots you need to be patient.

ImageHow to use it:

Integrate this in your daily routine in a very simple manner. Use it once in the morning, after washing your face and before applying makeup and/or sunscreen. Then, because you’re supposed to apply it again, apply it at night after showering. I apply it before applying Latisse and avoiding the brow area, just because I don’t know the effect of mixing it up (and I don’t want to find out either).

Some people see the difference in one week – mostly because it’s also a great moisturizer. It’s only a week before your face glows =). But in any case, the Vichy website has a great tool to see the before/after estimated results.

You choose your skin type, shade, place the spots, and basically put together your complexion and watch the expected results:

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You can try it out here, just click on “see results”!

Have an amazing Saturday!!

Mavi

Caviar Manicure

6 Jun

So I was walking around Sephora when I came across the Ciaté caviar manicure and I decided I had to try it. If you don’t know what caviar manicure is, you’re in for a treat:

The three colors are these

What’s not to love right? So I decided I don’t have the skills to do it myself, and I went to the manicure to get it done. Here’s how you do it:

The kit comes with a small tray (just the plastic cover on the back does the job), a small funnel, nail polish and the caviar pearls:

The way you do it is, you apply two coats of the black nail polish, working each nail at a time. After the second one, place the tray underneath the nail and drop the caviar pearls until they cover the nail.

The excess pearls will fall on the tray so that after all the nails are done you can use the small funnel to put them back inside the flask. Economic no?

Anyways the next steps are a bit hard. What you need to do is press the pearls onto the nail polish to secure them. My lovely manicure, Xuxa, was brilliant about this, using a cuticle tool to push the pearls in the outer corner further in. After that, she applied one thin layer of top coat on the outer corners and tips to keep them secured. We tried applying on a full nail but it lost a lot of the shine and color and it looked heavy.

After that all you gotta do is clean up the excess and sit still from 15-20 minutes to ensure it dies and stays. The end result is this:

(Sorry the photos aren’t so clear, I can’t find my camera anywhere, so iPhone did most of the job, but you can click on the images for larger, higher resolution versions)

OK because we’re all about keeping it real here are some things you have to know about caviar manicure:

  • it takes a long time to get it done – its difficult, and I don’t recommend trying to do it yourself unless you have a good notion of doing your own manicure
  • it only lasts about 48 hours – with time, the little pearls fall, so pick a night to be fabulous but thats really what it’s about
  • You can do many patterns with it: just one nail in each hand, half a nail, french manicure, its pretty much up to you.
  • Its easy to remove (whatever’s left after the night out anyway) with nail polish remover.
  • You can find it at Sephora at the nail section, or online here for $25.00

That’s all lovely ones. What did you think??

Love,

Mavi

Make Ups we love: Cannes Film Festival

2 Jun

One of the greatest opportunities to put all the most beautiful and talented people together happened from the 16th to the 27th of May and we selected the most amazing looks – not fashion-wise but rather beauty-wise.

Natasha Poly: The Russian Model took advantage of her perfectly almond-y eyes to really take the black smoky eye underneath the lower lid. Because her colors are so bright and her eyes relatively small the black worked perfectly – even at daylight.

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Cheryl Cole: what I really love about her is, she found the look that works for her and she always works it. She’s the proof that yes, you should try, but also if you find what makes you stunning then, whatever, she works it every single time. Its perfect for her skin and hair tone, for her eye shape… well. We can only dare but try. The best tutorial I ever found was by (surprise surprise) Lisa Eldridge when she did Cheryl’s makeup for a magazine cover. Check it out here

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 Bianca Balti: the Italian supermodel simply stole all my love to her simple, basic makeup. The lips, the eyes… *sigh*

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Milla Jovovich: working the look “I look like this when I wake up”, I think it takes so much more to work a simple, light makeup. And she does: her eyes look much greener, fresher, she looks younger. It works with the pearls as well to give that sweet look. The pink under the brows combined with a little gold under the eyes really does light her up. Loves it.

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Diane Kruger is also the queen at downplaying makeup to make herself look younger every single time. But this year her makeup had me with how intricate it was. The dress she wore completely stole her colors because lets face it, if you wear Tiffany green you better werk it. But then her makeup deserves an award. Notice how the smoky, light brown makeup makes itself go unnoticed but yet gives the most beautiful effect. It doesn’t call attention to the point it competes with the dress, and it is so balanced with her skin tone. If you ask me, it takes the prize of best makeup this year

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Freida Pinto: I have yet to see someone who is so well taken care of as her. She simply knows what she has, they know her skin tone is more towards olive so nobody tries to stick her in the “everyone-is-wearing-it-now” makeup. Smoky brown and dark peach colors just makes her look young, the perfect build-up on tone, simple and subtle eyeliner and those eyebrows – gets it right every time. I salute you Freida Pinto.

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Well these are my favorites. What do you guys think? Anyone else made it to the top?

Love

Mavi

Coastal Scents (and the best sister in the world)

19 Jun

For my 23rd birthday my sister sent me the loveliest of gifts… Unfortunately, thanks to the most inefficient postal service in the world; the italian one, I received it just in time for the celebration of 23 years and 3 months of age. When my sister asked if I had liked her present realizing I didn’t thank her for it, I let her know nothing had arrived. She then felt it was better to tell me she had sent a total of 352 eye shadow colours by Coastal Scents (aka happiness in palettes!!!!!!!!!!!! hahah). I was anxious to finally open her gift, but days passed without any deliveries. I ran downstairs each time I had to sign for a package hoping it was my new, beautiful, lovely, darling makeup hahaha. One month passed… I called, I argued, I received importing papers, I signed importing papers, I sent importing papers, I watched my delivery move from italian city to italian city, customs here, more papers there, three delivery attempts during a holiday, and after finally being allowed to pick it up myself after three months…tan tan tan! At last the joy of coming home and opening my perfectly wrapped and intact Coastal Scents make up…

A little bit about Coastal Scents in case you haven’t heard of it yet: Coastal Scents sells make up exclusively online on their website http://www.coastalscents.com. They deliver everywhere, and are known for having very pigmented and amazing colours on their makeup palettes which have very low prices specially when compared to other brands. Another quality is the quantity of shades you buy with each palette. They have eye shadows, blush, brushes, foundations, concealers, powders and theses have all very positive feedback. The packaging is great and I rarely heard of a kit arriving with a broken shade or something out of place due to moving around during delivery. And if you think it’s too good to be true I’ll show you the perfect state and beautiful colours on the kit my sister sent me and has traveled half the world before getting to my front door hahaha:

This is the Combo 5 eye shadow kit which includes the Ultra Shimmer, Original, Warm and Metal Mania eye shadow palettes all and each including 88 shades:

The Ultra Shimmer Palette:

The Original Palette:

The Warm Palette:

The Metal Mania Palette:

Thanks Mavi for this beautiful gift :) !

Do you like and use makeup by Coastal Scents too?

I hope you enjoyed this post and I’ll write to you again soon!

Maria

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Night Makeup Looks

2 Jun

Well, tragedy has struck me – my camera is gone. I’m very sad, but most of all its a Thursday and I will not leave you without a good idea for makeup for the weekend.

I looked for my favorite black eye veeeeeery easy to do makeup so you guys don’t feel abandoned and frustrated during your weekend.

Lisa Elridge (what can I say… we love her) has some looks which I find easy to do and which you can start trying. Also, remember the technique of the 4 eyeshadows? Well, you can just use that same technique with darker colors – it works just fine.

For anyone: Quick Smokey Eyes:

 

For people with almond shaped eyes: Cheryl Cole Makeup (I don’t recommend doing this if you have round big eyes – or skip the step where you apply the makeup underneath the eyes)

 

And if you feel like working the lips rather than the eyes: Orange/Red Party Lipstick

 

Again, I know I have failed you dear readers, but all will be well. The important thing is to again realize what works with your type of beauty. If you’re confused, don’t be: just look back at our eye type guide and I will post a color guide today or tomorrow. That should make up for my shortcomings

Find your way inside Sephora – Part 2

30 May

And the saga continues…

- Sephora – Oh yeah. The confusing part that has all those brushes you can’t figure out what they do. Like I said in the post about brushes the best place in between quality and price is Sephora – my foundation brush is still alive after a long time (that’s because I wash it, but that’s besides the point)…

This collection is called the Sephora Professionel Platinum and to be honest, its a safe assumption you won’t go wrong. If you prefer brush sets already done for you, my favorite one is the Deluxe Antibacterial Brush Set (costs $60.00 but if you remember the prices of brushes by themselves, let me tell you this, its a GREAT deal). It has all the great brushes including the face ones.

All these gadgets confuse me as well, so let me give you a list of products I think you will enjoy:

  • Sephora Eyebrow Trimmer/Brush  is a great brow trimmer. Sometimes you try using those small scissors and you cant really work it, so this is a great tool – just please be careful not to be too enthusiastic because messing with your brows is not a good idea in general, reason why I love the fact this trimmer comes with a little brush – but dont try using both at the same time!!! Its easier to work it without the brush (its removable)
  • Tweezerman Tweezers - by far the best tweezers I’ve ever had. I have the pink small one and it is soooo good, lasts forever and are super easy to manage. Lovesssssssss it

  • Tweezerman ProCurl Eyelash Curler since we’re at it, I might as well give you this tip. This curler is amazing – so much so it nearly blinded me once and I still use it.

  • Tweezerman 10X magnification light up travel mirror - great for working your brows, eyeliner, little details. Magnification mirrors are a great thing to have, this one is compact and good if you’re traveling all the time (I do, and I have to carry this everywhere). Sephora isn’t the only place you can find these, they pretty much exist in every drugstore, supermarket, and beauty shops you visit.

  •  ghd Classic 1″ Styler - the love of my life. No joke. If you find yourself in dire need of a proper straightening iron. Universal voltage, quick to heat up and cool down (30 seconds), practical, great quality, gives hair AMAZING shine, doesn’t do a lot of damage ( but you know, its always good to use some sort of heat protecting product before). I fell in love with it, and in terms of price well… its a stab, but worth the money.  I never found this anywhere else except for Sephora, but you can always order it online. Apparently it also curls, but I just don’t see how – if someone finds out let me know

  • Sephora In-Cap Sharpener – this is the kind of thing you never think of buying, yet you always have an unused, useless one lying around. This is a great one, good for the average sized pencils, lip/eyes, all work just fine! Pick one up while there so you don’t have to worry about this again.

  • Strivectin SD – ok, this is something rather touchy for a lot of women. I used this product on a scar I had and it is a miracle worker. Yes people, they figured out what to do with skin marks (including stretch marks). I was so shocked this worked I borderline believe TV commercials for these things. No, but in all seriousness, miracles do happen nowadays. Use it twice a day (a little bit is good because its very concentrated), don’t mind the smell, but work it, I promise you in 6 weeks you’ll be so happy. It sounds like hocus pocus, but we don’t advertise bs in this blog!!!!!!!

  • Sunsafety Kit – It’s summer, so its time to put together all those products you don’t think you need but you do. Sephora made a great kit I think you should seriously consider if you just feel you don’t have time to do it yourself
  • Sephora by OPI nail polish – The nail polishes are absolutely amazing and OPI has a great quality, so its easy to go in there and pick any color and be happy with the quality. They have some amazing colors and more often than not they are always on top of the latest trends. So its always good to know. Also great to pick up a good top/base coating transparent nail polish, which is something we always use. Lately they created a new top coating nail polish that leaves the nails with the effect of being cracked. It’s weird and somehow interesting. They call it the Blasted Nail Colour - use it as a top coat to any nail polish (put only one coating at first, it takes a little time to see the effect) and it looks like this:

Well, turns out this little walk around Sephora has been giving me quite a lot to say. Believe it or not – I’m not done. But I have this History of China paper to write for tomorrow, so for now I will leave you with these tips, I hope you all enjoy it.
Oh, also, I have been getting some complaints (friendly complaints) that I haven’t done night makeup, we’ll get there soon people, relax, I’m just awful at multitasking!!!!! But for now, enjoy these tips, I will work harder on getting the videos here. Enjoy =]

Q&A – oily skin

26 May

So as I tweeted you guys recently, we’re starting a new Q&A. I decided I kept getting questions over and over and all I could think about is the fact I hadn’t covered your questions in the posts because there was so much written already.

Turns out we’re blessed to have followers who are simply smart creatures (you make us proud). From this question I managed to get together this little guide.

Q: I have naturally oily skin and I change foundation every couple of months. I’m using the MAC Studio Fix and it gives great coverage but my skin looks oilier than before. I have just started using the MAC primer and I thought it would help but it didn’t. Should I just change it?

Oily skins need a little more effort in terms of make up and daily treatments. Here are some products and tips that I think will help:

- A daily cleansing treatment helps a lot! There are so many products that do the trick, such as the Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Cleanser which you can find in any CVS/Walgreens/Duane Reade. Also great: Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub which has such a delicious smell or the basic Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash (I mentioned this on the skin tutorial). Wash your face before putting on makeup (especially heavy makeup) and after removing it. This is long-lasting solution that you won’t regret.

- Oil control primers: we talked about this already, but its worth mentioning it again. Bare Escentuals Prime Time Foundation Primer Oil Control, and for older skin the Korres Quercetin & Oak Antiaging & Antiwrinkle Oil-Control Treatment is a really good option, though its exclusive for Sephora so you might have to buy it online. These are the best primers, although most primers shouldn’t be too oily because they’re meant to be very light – but its that little extra help we won’t say no to.

- Foundations: the trouble here is that people with oily skin tend to have acne scars that need covering up; except the foundation for your skin has to be as light as possible and that means the coverage won’t be the best. So what’s the way around this? First, consider that taking care of your skin is something that cannot be overlooked. Just because some foundations have “better quality” it doesn’t mean they suit you best – its all about your skin. People change foundations often, but there is one thing that cannot change and that is the type of product you have. If your skin is oily, pick a lighter foundation for the day, something more fluid. Apply more layers if you must until you cover the parts you wanna cover. Don’t toss out that $30.00 foundation either – you just use it less often, say, every other night or some special occasion.

As far as tips for foundations, the best product in terms of quality is the Estee Lauder Double Matte Oil-Control Makeup SPF 15 - combine that with the Double Matte Oil-Control Pressed Powder and I can guarantee you’ll fall in love. Just make sure you pick a foundation that is light to oil-free. Different people will work with different types of foundations, but keep your skin in mind when you pick it – don’t just go for big names!

Also great: Clinique Stay-True Makeup Oil-Free Formula and the Stay-Matte Sheer Pressed Powder make a good combo.

As far as foundations go, pressed powders really help. If you just have oily skin, then what better way to control oil then by using powders? Cover FX Oil Absorbing Powder  has the color and the coverage. If, however, you just want something to control oil naturally under or on top of your foundation you can try out the Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying Powder which is an invisible pressed powder just for oil control. You can also find something similar by our beloved Laura Mercier


Other prep/finishing products: before putting on makeup, try using blotting papers! Clean & Clear has one, as well as many other brands such as Shiseido and Boscia.

And for finishing, my tip is: Urban Decay De-Slick Oil Control Makeup Setting Spray. I use the All-Nighter Setting Spray and I mentioned this before, but it’s worth emphasizing how much I love this.

And final tip: after using makeup remover wash your face thoroughly because leftover makeup won’t do your skin any favors! Even if it’s 6am and all you wanna do is crash, you will wake up feeling better and fresher if you just wait 2 extra minutes!

So this is it my lovely ladies. I hope you find this useful!! If you have any other tips send it to me and we’ll keep adding it! Send us your question either by twitter (@NotPhotoshopped) or email (imnotphotoshopped@hotmail.com), your questions may help a lot of girls like you!!

Tutorial – Eye Shadow Basic Principle

24 May

I’ve finally done it. To view it in HD click on the full screen button!

Good news: it’s pretty useful. Bad news: I’m still camera-awkward. Enjoy =]

Find your way inside Sephora – Part 1

23 May

I’ll be honest here. Once upon a time, when Sephora was only a quick stop in a long line of store-visiting during trips to Disney World it used to drive me crazy. I would go in, stare, say “I have no idea what to do with any of this” and leave. However, after my freshman 15 I had to focus on maintaining the rest of me and so I found my way around that place – and it’s my new FAO Schwartz. In the hopes you won’t feel lost in a maze of people, perfumes and eyeshadows I have devised a safe and comfortable way to get around to the good stuff without losing your mind.

I know we’re all used to one brand because it makes things soooo much easier when you just walk up to any counter and get one of each “thingy”. But there are so many different brands and so many different products, it’s worth knowing more or less what they have that’s good.

  • Bobbi Brown – must have: the concealer kit. We talked about it before, so between that and the skin products (foundations and whatnot), Bobbi Brown has some amazing deals. I also enjoy the eyeshadows, though I try not to buy shadows by themselves, its usually too much and not used too often – not gonna lie, I prefer palettes. But I digress. Also, if you’re into gel liners try out the Longwear Gel Liner ($21.00) – don’t forget the liner brushes
  • Make Up For Ever - I love so many things about this brand, its gonna sound like I’m selling it (hey, Make Up For Ever people, if you’re reading this by any chance, I’m totally available for the job – seriously, count me in). First, skin products; the whole HD line I talked about (concealer, foundation, finishing powder) and my new discovery: the HD highlighter. Now that I think about it, I guess I am kind of photoshopped after all…
That’s not all!! I’m gonna show you some other favorites of mine. The eye pencil is really good (try the dark silver liner instead of normal black and see how it gives a lighter look).
The pigments are also really beautiful. If you have hazel or brown eyes try some of the golden, brown or pink colors. They are extremely flattering, and pigments don’t need too much effect since they already have a way of capturing the light that does the trick of a good look
(so my photographic skills fail me sometimes…)
Fake eyelashes. Yes, I go there sometimes, I’m damn proud of it. Because my eyes are round, the 156 Genevieve gives them extra shading in the outer corner. The quality of these lashes is amazing, it comes with a good glue and you can use it up to 5 times (if you don’t put too much makeup on it). Oh and if anyone tries out the feathered and crazy ones, send me a picture I’m dying to see it but I don’t have the guts myself =]
  • Urban Decay – Eye shadows are beautiful…. I recently bought the Naked Palette (lucky day, they never have it), amazing colors and quality. Too bad they only had a teaser photo
The good news: in today’s world you can just buy it yourself in approximately 2 minutes here
The must-haves are the eye potions and the setting sprays (first and last steps of makeup)
  • Laura Mercier - Shadows. Bronzer. Concealer. Primer. Tinted moisturizer (for people who can…)
  • Smashbox - like I said in the skin tutorial the O-Glow blush is a great product. I also noticed they have a new HD collection for beginners, it comes with instructions and everything – practical right?
(The O Intuitive Color line is wort testing! I’m a huge fan)
 
  •  Temptu - I am not the biggest advocate for spray makeup, its no secret. However, one of these days I was speaking to a girl who told me she had acne and this product was amazing at covering it up. I was curious about the summer products they have as well! If anyone knows about it let me know!
Wanna know the second part for great tips? Stay tuned…

Eyes – how to work what you have

18 May

First, I’d like to thank everyone for not bullying me after the video. Now that my face is on youtube, I’ve pretty much lost my shyness, expect more videos soon.

I’m not gonna lie, I was kind of worried getting to this part. Eyeshadows are the most extensive subject, I’m gonna have to kind of come and go. True to form, we’re starting with the basics, then we’ll move on to more sophisticated stuff. But I have the feeling there will always be something extra to learn

I won’t be able to make another video tutorial until the weekend, but before then I hope we can cover the brushes for the eyelid.

For now let me say this: with eyeshadows you need to know very few things to pretty much go off on your own and create (what? you? yes, indeed!) anything you want. Techniques are only a matter of how the shape of your eyes can be used to your advantage. As for skin tone, colors are there for a reason. Anything (a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g) you want to pop up or conceal can be done with eyeshadows. Eyes are obviously the soul of any makeup, but once you understand what you want out of your makeup, you won’t need to worry.

Let’s first find out where you fit. (WARNING: yes, I know I keep saying we’re not celebrities or Victoria Secret’s angels, but for illustrative purposes I’m gonna use a few celebrity examples – why? Try to search “almond eyes” on google and tell me what you see…)

Eye shapes 

  • Almond/Uplifted – some eyes have a natural lift on the corner. I envy them a little (a lot) – you are free to work with liners under the eye and concentrate on the corners of the eyes. Why I envy them: any kind of makeup looks flattering. Stupid perfect eyes.

Olivia Wilde

  • Downturned/Round – yours truly. My outer corner of the eye slides a bit down, makes me have Bambi eyes. To those with downturned eyes, you concentrate the color and shading on the outer corner and use the kitten eye makeup to lift it the angle of your lower eye lid (whaat? I’ll get there eventually). A lot of makeup under the eyes tends to be unflattering and causes the eyes to look droopy – unless you’re Anne Hathaway:

  • Asian – straight uplifted small eyes. You should probably know by now if you have that kind of eye shape. I kid, it’s one of the most beautiful eye shapes – you can shade underneath and makeup for this type of eye is eyeliner and you’re ready. Take for example, Nikita star Maggie Q:

Eye Position  - it has more to do with your eyelids. Open your eyes, stare at the mirror and see how much of your eyelids can be seen when you’re looking straight. Want a better test? Put a strong color of eyeshadow on and look straight – can you see a lot of the color?
  • Average/Medium lids – people with naturally defined eyelids meaning you can see more of the eyeshadow. Lucky you, you won’t have to work so hard with eyeshadows to get any effect. You’re the creature that wakes up, puts on one eyeshadow and walks around happily. Your job is easy. Warning: as you grow older eyelids tend to show up more, so you really have to take care of your eyelids. If you don’t you’ll see the age lines whenever you put on eyeshadow. But I guess lifting is always an option, so let’s not freak out

  • Thin lids – between average and the monolid. When it comes to putting on eyeshadow you want to create depth. That’s the case for multiple layers of eyeshadows, you can get some amazing effects and maybe date Justin Bieber

  • Monolids – eyelids without a fold. This is where putting layers of eyeshadow really makes a difference. There’s so much you can do with it, but the rule of thumb is to let the lightest eyeshadow closer to the inside of the eye and go layering until the darkest layer is just on the outer corner of the eye. The great example is Lucy Liu

  • Hooded lids – happens to many women after a certain age. This is when your eyelids droop over the crease, so you don’t see that much makeup and its hard to get any sort of effect without having it covered up. The good news is that you can create depth by applying a darker color above the hooded lid and use a lighter tone underneath your brows to really highlight your eyes. It’s all about working it like Taylor Swift

  • Deep-set eyes – eyes that have natural depth, they are set farther back in the ocular bone. This causes the eyes to have more natural shadowing and sometimes they look larger and more round, so when you apply darker shadows it looks heavy. But worry not – you can still apply darker eyeshadows closer to the lash line, and lighter colors to your lids. Kim K worKs it (sorry I couldn’t resist the stupid joke)

  • Large eyes – large lid space, large eyes, large space for colors and effects. The more the merrier. Just remember to stop before you get to your brows (no clown looks, s’il vous plait). Ever wonder why Mila Kunis always has the most amazing makeup effects? Psh.

  • Close-set eyes – when the space between the eyes is smaller than the width of one eye – easy enough to solve. The best technique is to apply darker eyeshadow to the outside of the eye, it gives an impression that the eyes are wider and farther apart. A good example? Soo-ké (Anna Paquin)

So, how do you figure out what is your case? If you can’t tell, give it some thought… do you look better with darker eyeshadow on the outer eye? How much of the eyeshadow do you see? It’s all a matter of understanding your features, then we can get to work – soon.
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