Goodies!

Just a quick post on a few products I've been enjoying!

I know I haven't been blogging very much lately.... hopefully with Halloween just around the corner and IMATS in a couple of months I'll have some cool looks to share with you guys.

Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Love this stuff! It's very thin and lightweight, has quite a light to medium coverage, and a really nice natural glowing finish. I'm a firm believer in a very light coverage foundation that you can build or add concealer to to get a nice no makeup makeup look. It's great for all skin types and caters to a wide variety of skin tones.
Stila Lasting Perfection Concealer I've dug this up out of my makeup collection and am happy to have rediscovered it. This is a great concealer! Oil free, nice creamy texture, and good coverage! This concealer works great in a pinch mixed with primer or moisturizer as an all over foundation as well!
Nars Multiple in Cap Vert Multiples are lightweight creams that can be used on the eyes, cheeks, and lips. This particular one was part of the limited edition bronzers that were brought out maybe a year ago. I love cream products because they melt in and match skins texture so perfectly! Lately I've been a huge fan of layering this cream bronzer under my Guerlain Terricotta Bronzer for a really dimensional glow. Look for cream bronzer alternatives in brands like 2Faced, and Laura Mercier.
Tarina Tarrantino Eyeshadow in Butterfly Black My go to eye look lately has been a smudgy black liner on the outer most half of the lashline for some definition and added thickness to the lashes. The best and quickest way is with a small brush and a deep black matte shadow. This one is discontinued but I love it because it's SO black and dense with incredible payoff! You can find great alternatives in Laura Mercier's Noir (Holts/online exclusive) and Urban Decays Blackout.

Ole Henrikson Ultimate Lift Eye Gel Roll On I really love the cool and refreshing feeling that really lasts when I use this product. I use it in the morning under makeup and at night after scrubbing off makeup when I find it very soothing. I'm a lazy daisy and really appreciate the roll on aspect and love that it's easy age prevention.

Korres Advanced Brightening Sleeping Facial Besides the fact that this smells amazing!!! It actually shows results! I genuinely notice a brighter complexion in the morning, and it feels so cushiony soft on my skin. It is packed full of good for you ingredients like jojoba, rose water, vitamin C, aloe, soybean, vitamin E, rosemary... wow! These oils are noncomedogenic so don't be scared combo skins!
Dsquared2 She Wood Golden Light Perfume I absolutely love this fragrance! It's fresh, floral, and woody with notes of orange blossom, musk, and cedar. It reminds me of sunscreen, the beach, and being in Florida when I was a kid.

xo candice
www.candicegroen.com

Glowing Purple Smokey Eye

I wore this look earlier this week to a fashion show I worked on and got loads of compliments on it so I thought I'd show you guys how I did it! And try using this technique with different colours! I think it would look great in blue and green too!

1 Apply foundation all over and concealer on any area's of concern. Leave the area under the eye clean of concealer... we'll come back to this area later in the look.

2 Sweep your matte bronzer through the back of the cheeks, (concentrating on the hollow of the cheek to further contour) on the temples, and around the hairline. Apply blush on the apples of the cheek. A light/bright pink compliments the purple eyeshadow.

3 Pat eyeshadow primer all over the lid. It's important to use a primer with this look to not only ensure a long lasting, creaseless makeup, but also because colours like this (especially ones as pigmented as Makeup Forever matte shadows!) tend to stain the lid and adding a primer will prevent staining from happening.

4 Apply your dark purple shadow all over the lid from lashline to crease and blend the edges. Apply the same colour all the way along your lower lashline and around the inner corner of the eye.

5 Lightly blend your lighter purple shadow all around the edges of the darker purple. This will not only help blend the harsh edge of the lid colour (matte colours can be trickier to blend so take your time) but it also gives that glowy ethereal look to the eyes.

6 Highlight your brow bone with a matte skin toned shadow.

7 Line the upper and lower waterline with a black pencil... and if you're comfortable press the dark purple on top of the pencil liner in the water line. This will really lock in the liner. Place a little bit of the liner on the outside edge of the upper lashline and blend so it's soft and smokey.

8 Coat the upper and lower lashes with black mascara.

9 Now go in with your under eye concealer and clean up any shadow that may have fallen under the eyes. I always leave concealer until the end when I'm doing dark smokey eyes to clean up fallen shadow, shape my shadow lines, and make the area under the eye nice and bright!

10 Apply translucent setting powder through the t-zone and under the eyes.

11 Finish with a light pinky gloss!

I love this look! It's a simple way to make a bold statement and I love how the shadow looks like it glows! As I said in the instructions, matte shadows can be a lot harder to blend out, so take your time and have plenty of blending brushes on hand. Using the lighter purple and the matte highlight really help these shadows have a softer blended edge.

I had to wear all black at the show, so I matched my shadow to my nails! I think I'll be doing this a lot in the future. I love how matching nails and shadow look! My nail polish is OPI 'Funky Dunkey' from the Shrek collection. (You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them).

Products Used:

Benefit Total Moisture Facial Cream

Nars Sheer Glow Foundation 'Santa Fe'

Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage 'SC-01'

Laura Mercier Translucent Powder

Anastasia Brow Powder 'Brunette'

Urban Decay Primer Potion

Makeup Forever Eyeshadow 'Lavender 9' (light matte purple)

Makeup Forever Eyeshadow 'Purple 92' (dark matte purple)

MAC Eyeshadow 'Brule' (matte highlight)

Urban Decay Eyeliner Pencil 'Zero' (black)

Laura Mercier Full Blown Mascara

Benefit Bronzer 'Hoola'

MAC Beauty Powder 'Oh So Fair'

Laura Mercier Lip Glace 'Baby Doll'

xo candice
www.candicegroen.com
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