this is a look i wore to dinner tonight, at the same time testing out some products received recently for review.

initially it was just subtle brown smokey eyes. i thought it looked plain and decided to add some colors to the bottom lashlines to spice up the look. since i've been used blues in some previous posts i decided to try purple to see how it goes. what do you think of this color combination?

products used on the eyes:

• urban decay primer potion
• arbonne eyeliner in toffee * - draw a thick eyeliner on top lashline and a line the lower lashline and lightly blended the lines
• arbonne eyeshadow in chocolate * - all over the lid from lashline to a bit above the crease, and on the brows
• arbonne eyeshadow in sand * - from crease to brow bone
• nyx jumbo pencil in yoghurt - inner corner
• essence gel liner in london baby - line top and bottom lashline, blended out slightly with leftover chocolate eyeshadow from the brush
• l'oreal color riche eyeshadow quad in disco smoking * - use the purple on lower lashline

i'm continuing skipping mascara. the lashes have finally grown and filled up the gap but i'm still trying to keep them product free for a while. even though... it dosn't make much difference!

christian dior slim lipsticks.

i don't own many dior lipsticks. mainly because i didn't like the design. i'm refering to the old packaging here. i thought it looked old fashioned. but it's something that you flash out of lipstick case to reapply your lipsticks and people instantly know, it's dior!

this is a lipstick set purchased from duty free. probably about 8 years ago. most lipstick sets you find from duty free shops are made up of colors i thought were for 'older women'. it's quite rare that you find a set where all of them look wearable.

i don't know the name or number of these colors because they're not printed anywhere on the lipstick tubes. they're probably printed on the package but i already threw it away.

the colors are 'very safe' and i like that they are all very wearable. 

the texture is quite creamy and smooth to apply. 

the staying power is long enough until you start to drink or have food.

these were at one stage my regular lipsticks rotated at regular intervals. it's really quite rare that i'd use all lipsticks in a single set.

it's another sad goodbyes to these ones. 

if you think this looks familiar, yes, it's a remake of the same look i did a few weeks ago. i wasn't too happy that the blue didn't stand out in the previous look. it does look brighter and more intense this time but unfortunately it wasn't picked up by the camera.

i used the same eyeshadow quads from previous look, both l'oreal paris' color riche quads - absolute taupe and emerald conquest.

to make the colors more dramatic and intense, i did more works for the base.

on my lids a did a few layers of color riche le smoky pencil in brown fusion - pencil in and blend, pencil in and blend. i tried not to blend it out too much yet the color still faded to light brown, which didn't achieve the dark brown base i wanted. with absolute taupe quad, as before, i divided the eyes into 3 parts - 2nd lightest color at inner 1/3, mid tone in the center and darkest color at outer corner.

on lower lashline, the same pencil used above was used at outer 1/2 of lashline, smudged out with the darkest color from above quad. i also added a white with color riche le kohl in immaculate snow to inner 1/2 of lashline. this did intense the brightest blue from emerald conquest quad.

it was a bad choice using the same brown pencil to line my eyes. it disappears into the eyeshadow. maybe i should've used gel liner or something black to make my eyes stand out more.

still trying to keep my lashes product free until they're fully grown.

products used on the eyes:

• urban decay primer potion
• l'oreal color riche le smoky pencil eyeliner and smudger in #204 brown fusion *
• l'oreal color riche le kohl eye pencil in immaculate snow *
• a brown eyeshadow on the the brows with tip of eyeshadow brush
• l'oreal color riche le sourcil brow pencil in dark brown * - to define and shape the brows
• l'oreal color riche quads in absolute taupe and emerald conquest * - see description above

emerald is 2013 pantone color of the year. described as lively, radiant lush green. with a stash of 200+ eyeshadows (did the counting during my last makeup re-organization) i have different shades of greens but nothing comes close to emerald. /le sigh...

this is probably one of the closest. since i'm working on reviewing l'oreal paris' eyeshadow quads that i received recently for review, i decided to play with this set. its name is close - emerald conquest.

you probably remember seeing this. i love that biggest patch of bright blue in the quad.

i tried to use all colors in the quad this time. darkest color on the brows and to set the brown eyeliner. 2nd darkest color along the lashline up to the fold of my eyes. the bright blue overlaying the color from lashline and all the way above the crease, so that you can still see the color when my eyes are opened. the lightest color, which is more of glitter than color, at inner corner and lower lashline.

it probably wasn't a good idea using the darkest color on the brow. my brows ended up looking like a bad tattoo job... :/ i tried to toned it down by brushing it out and added brown to it.

products used on the eyes

• urban decay primer potion - 2 layers
• laura mercier kohl eye pencil in black turqoise - along the lashline as base color
• l'oreal color riche quad in emerald conquest * - as described above
• l'oreal color riche le sourcil brow pencil in deep brown * - on the brows in strokes
• physicians formula flat liner pencil in dark brown * - along top lashline and set with darkest color from the quad
• essence gel eyeliner in london baby - center of top lashline

essence i love rock gloss eye pencil. rrp aud$2.55.

i'm always in search of a good black eye pencil that stays and doesn't smudge on me. i had to try this because of the price.

what the product says:

essence i love rock gloss eye pencil is a deep black gloss eye pencil with a long-lasting glossy finish.

it does look really black.

1 swipe on the left and 2 swipe on the right. you can get very good result with just 1 swipe.

the color is very glossy and pigmented as described.

it's gives one of the smoothest and creamiest application. it glides easily on and does not drag skin around the eyes. a lot of eye pencils seem very smooth when tested at the back of the hands but become a different story when you tried it on the eyes.

does it live with 'long-lasting' in the description?