LOTD: Smoky and sultry

Lately, I've been loving simplistic but sexy looks. And by "looks," I am really just referring to the one look I've been wearing non-stop recently.

I've never been a "black" makeup girl - I never really wore black mascara or black shadow. I felt like it looked too unnatural on my eyeballs. And then I discovered this combo...

I even cracked this baby out for my work Christmas party - and I have to say, I am in love with this combo.

Eyes:

I primed my lids with Urban Decay's Primer Potion. I break out my NYX single eyeshadow in White and use an all-over fluffy brush to apply a light dusting of the powder under my brow bone. Then I used NYX's single eyeshadow in Black with my Quo smudger brush to apply the black shadow along my lashline, and then I fade it out in an exaggerated wing. I really buff the lines out to create a gradual fade to the wing, it allows me to have a more exaggerated wing without looking gothic and overdramatic. A new edition to my makeup routine includes curling my lashes, after which I proceed to pile on the mascara - my newest obsession is the Prestige My Blackest Lashes mascara. I finish off with a shimmery white/gold shadow in the inner corner to brighten up and draw attention to my eyes.

Face:

For my work Christmas party, I primed my face with Urban Decay Primer Potion (yes, I know it's a eyeshadow primer, but I needed something to hold my foundation in place and I was out of options...) and used my Revlon Whipped Creme Foundation with the foundation brush from Real Techniques all over my face and blended it out. I used Maybelline's Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer in Radiant (310) under my eyes to cover up my dark circles, and I set everything with Rimmel's Stay Matte Pressed Powder. For bronzer and contour, I utilized what remains of my MAC Matte Bronze Bronzing Powder, and for blush I applied a light wash of MAC's powder blush in Mocha, then a little bit of Benefit's Coralista, and finally a few dabs of Essence's Renesmee Red powder blush.

Lips:

I kept the lips quick and simple with Strawberry Parfait gloss from Bonne Bell's lipLITES line.

I feel that this look draws a lot of attention to the eyes. The intense black mascara especially draws attention to my green eyes. The smudgy black shadow creates the illusion of thicker lashes, and the winged shape creates the appearance that my eyes are more almond-shaped and lifted up towards my eyebrows. By keeping the blush and the lipgloss simple and muted, it allows all the focus to be on my beauteous green eyeballs.

Don't you wish your eyeballs were as hot as mine? Tee hee.