Sunset Eyes

Per my adoring public's request, I bring to you... Sunset eyes! This look is inspired by this tutorial over at Temptalia. But, as you can see, she is using MAC colors and such, which are expensive. So, here is my version. Which I like better, anyway. Maybe because it's cheaper?

You will need: eyelid primer (or concealer), two shades of gold  shadow (one slightly lighter than the other), orange shadow (yes, orange), and two shades of pink shadow (light and dark, again). I also strongly recommend black liquid eyeliner, mascara, and a dark black (sounds redundant, I know) pencil liner.

I am in love with this palette from ELF. 5 bucks, guys!

I used my eyeshadow brush and an angled liner brush today, but sponges can still get the job done. They just eat your makeup a bit.

Here we go!


Start with a blank face, as per usual.

Now, because we will be using color, priming your lids is SUPER DUPER important. So do that. Blend it all over, all the way up to your eyebrow. ALL THE WAY.

Next, take your darker gold shadow and put it on the inner corner of your top lid, to about halfway across.

Like so.

Do not go all the way across this time, because we want the primer on the other parts of your eye free to grab other colors. Now put the light pink shadow on the other half of your eye, blending it up into the crease a little.

It's already looking great, and I've stopped here before. But not today. Today, I'm experimenting, which is where the orange comes in. Swipe it right down the middle, where the two colors meet. Blend accordingly, but make sure you see the orange-y color!

Just enough to make a difference

 

I decided I still wasn't done, and dug through my bag of tricks to find the dark pink that I suggested at the beginning. I received it as a gift. It's from avon, and it's a darker pink with gold shimmer. Perfect for this sort of look, don't you think? This shade goes on the outer corner of your eye in a kind of sideways V shape. Or a > shape if you're mathematically inclined. Blend it up into the crease, like the other colors. It probably won't stick quite as well because of the shadow below it rather than the primer.

Go back and tweak anything you want/need. I ended up blending in MORE orange, and a little more pink. I also took my lighter gold and put it at the innermost corner of my eye and along my browbone, where it was previously bare.

Now it's time for the bottom lid, which to be honest I usually ignore. Take your slanty eyeliner brush (or the pointiest part of your sponge) and get a tiny drop of water on it. You want it to be damp, not dripping. Put the damp brush into the light gold shadow, and line from your inner corners to about halfway right underneath your lashes. We're basically repeating the top lid, so orange in the middle, and then pink on the outside. I used the dark pink only on the bottom, because I thought it had more impact than the lighter shade.

Shiny!

Remember the under the lashes/above the waterline trick from last time? Do that now. After that bit is done, I decided to vamp it up a tad more. I love the look of jet black eyeliner over light colored shadows. So I took my liquid liner and worked it from the inner corner out, pressing the applicator as close to the roots of my lashes as possible. The closer to the outside of your eye the line is, the thicker it should be. It makes your eyes look bigger in the end. I winged the liner out just a tad at the end, because I'm a fan of the cat eye and old habits die hard. Obviously, you don't have to.

Look at the difference! Don't worry, I didn't stay lopsided. Next it's mascara time. You want lots of volume, so curl first, then wiggle the wand all the way up from root to tip. Then apply as many coats as desired, and comb through if you want. My mascara is running low, so this was a pain in the butt. Lightly press your mascara wand against your lower lashes to give them a little definition without looking spidery.

d'aww

Stop here if you want, it looks great already! Me? I decided that  there wasn't enough oomph yet, so I grabbed my favorite black pencil liner (pick one that gives you the darkest line) and ran it over my lower waterline a few times. Corner to corner, so you have a continuous look between top and bottom.

There's the drama I was looking for.

Et voila! Your eyes are done! Since your peepers are the main focus of this look, keep everything else low key. A swipe of peachy blush along your cheekbones keeps you from looking washed out. I tried nude lipstick, but it was weird, so I wiped that off and used a very light coat of pink lipstain. Just enough to add color, not emphasis.

And there we are! Pretty. Easy.