e.l.f. Makeup Remover Pen

This handy little pen is quickly becoming my favorite quick-fix tool for makeup mistakes. Previously I used those little q-tips with the makeup remover in them, but they had the problem of not being very precise and sometimes smudging things instead of neatly removing them. But I've used the e.l.f. Makeup Remover Pen on eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick/lip tar with great results!

 Let's pretend my hand is my eye, and I'm just adding this black gel eye liner to this neon green eye shadow and OOPS! I sneezed! Now there's an annoying dash of eye liner going down my face. Uuuugh, I don't want to clean that off and start over.

Makeup Remover Pen to the rescue! Just a couple seconds of swiping and cleaning up the edges, and it's good as new! Depending on how gentle my hand is and how stubborn the product being removed is, I might even be deft enough to not remove the makeup underneath the offending stain. It's especially handy for cleaning up lip lines, as the point is fine enough that you can tidy up the edges without smearing it around. I also like it for mascara drops on the lower lash line, as I can easily get in under my lashes for a quick fix.

At only $3, this is a great investment. In fact, you might want to have one for home and one for your gig bag at that price!

Naked, Nude, Neutral, Naaaaah

Ok, I'm just going to get this off my chest: I'm really bored and maybe even a little frustrated by the current trend towards neutral and naked makeups. I mean, Urban Decay, a company which was founded to provide high-quality cosmetics in crazy colors, built their whole Spring launch around their Naked line. How boring!

Don't get me wrong, I know that neutral colors have their place. I've even been buying and working with them myself, both for day wear and for the possibility of having a nice, neutral smokey eye to go with some costumes where I want a more sophisticated look. But really, how many beige palettes does one need? How many sheer nude lip glosses can one woman feasibly use? How many does one company need to make when swatches show that they look almost completely identical when worn?

And it's not just Urban Decay. It seems like nearly every company has to have their own answer to the Naked palette, and that's fine if you have a certain sense of brand loyalty or really prefer a certain eye shadow formula or something. But then I see Zoya nail polish do an entire line of pale, neutral pinks instead of the awesome greens and metallics I love to buy from them, and I start to worry. Is this the way of the future? Is the pendulum going to swing back towards a more natural look in cosmetics? Is it going to be difficult for me to find green nail polish and ridiculous sparkly glitter eyeliner and incredibly saturated eye shadow colors? Will I have to carefully hoard my current products?

I'm hoping that this is just a blip as Urban Decay looks to diversify their product line and reach a broader audience and all of their competitors release similar products to try to get a piece of the pie, and that soon they'll go back to focusing on the sort of things I really like... but I might have to go hug my old school purple velvet palette until I feel better.

(Product reviews return next week)

Shimmer Waves

 On a recent trip to The Body Shop I picked up this "Shimmer Waves" in Blush because I thought it might be a nice blush to use with the rose-gold eye looks that are so in right now. Plus I had been looking for a blush that had a range of colors I could swipe through for a more gradated look.

After a few uses, I've decided that while I like this product, it is definitely more of a daytime blush than a stage blush. It adds a light shimmer and flush to my cheeks but isn't noticeable from any sort of distance. It might work better as a highlighter than an actual blush, or for adding a touch of shimmer over a less-sparkly product.

However, I noticed that it also had an eye symbol, so I decided hey, why not try it as an eyeshadow? And I am pretty happy with the results. These colors make nice neutrals for daytime looks or for building a bigger look around. I wore them twice, once just for dinner and a second time for a day of running errands and such. After 12 hours, during which I got a little sweaty, I didn't notice any color loss. And that was with just applying them over primer and not using a setting spray.

Photo taken at the end of the day. Oh boy, I look so glamorous!

For the most part I don't think this product is really well-suited for stage use, but it is nice for when you want a simple, polished look for day-to-day life. And the plastic compact it comes in seems pretty sturdy, so you could definitely throw it into your purse or makeup bag and take it with you for touch-ups.

Edited to add: The wonderful Becka Bomb used to work at The Body Shop and had some additional insights to add on this product "My fav is the bronze although I have these as well but they are more for shimmer than a blush. I am hoping they did not sell them to you as a blush, I like to take this color and use it as a nice shimmery highlight. The one thing I will warn about on this product is that as you work your way into a bare spot from usage they can have breakage. They also are not the best to travel with unless wrapped because they will break. I worked at TBS for years I loved this product when it first came out but over the years the product itself seems to have become more fragile." So with that knowledge, I retract my recommendation to throw it into your purse and take it with you. Thank you Becka, you are the best!

Beauty Blogging Break

Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers is on a short hiatus again! Unless I suddenly find myself with some extra time to test cosmetics, there won't be a new review until January 31st. Regular dance-related blogging will continue during this time, although it may be a bit sporadic. I have a house guest coming and I'm not really sure what my schedule is going to be like.

Thank you for your patience! I have a few products I am really looking forward to reviewing soon.

Stila Smudge Sticks

 I love Stila's current line of packaging that's all art-supply themed. I don't know why I'm so into it, because I'm not an artist (well, not a paint and colored pencils sort of artist, obviously dance is art), I just think it's really cute and clever. I resisted for as long as I could, but Ulta had a special on this Smudge Stick set last month and it was a really nice selection of colors, so I decided to treat myself. Turns out it's on sale again, so if you like what you read about it, now's a good time to buy!

 The included colors are Stingray (basic black), Lionfish (sparkly medium brown), Aubergine (shimmery medium orchid), Navy (basic navy blue), and Emerald (bright and shimmery Color of the Year emerald). They come in this cute tin, but if you want to keep them with the rest of your makeup it feels like the plastic insert would be easy to remove and then you could use the tin for something else.

I wore Stingray last night, but foolishly forgot to get a good close-up so you can see it. Anyway, it was easy to apply and gave a pretty good fine line which I was then able to smudge out a bit. It wore well. Above, you can see all of the colors swatched in the order I listed them. They all look pretty nice.

I'm disappointed to say that my Navy stick was broken off at the tip so it's completely flat. This is the sort of liner where the product is inside the plastic and you twist to bring more up and it makes a small fine tip. I don't know how I'm supposed to sharpen this flattened liner? At least it's the color I'm least likely to wear, and since I got it on sale for $15 for the set that makes it $3, but if I had paid full price or it had been a color I really wanted, I'd be really annoyed.

Over all, I feel like if you're already pretty happy with your current selection of liners, there's probably no reason to also get this one. But if you're in the market for some good go-tos, this would be a good investment (especially while it's on sale!). Stingray and Navy are good classic basics, Lionfish would look great with the rose golds that are hot right now or with my favorite olive greens, and Aubergine will come in handy for looks inspired by the 2014 Color of the Year Radiant Orchid. I think most people will find Emerald hard to use. Even as a green lover, I don't know how often I'll use it as I usually go towards dark instead of bright. I am tempted to wear it for day makeup just because I think it's a fun color, but I don't know if I will use it for performance makeup very often.

Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers Year-End Top Ten!

 Since I started Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers in January 2013, it seems only fitting that the last Friday of the year should be a retrospective of a few of my favorite products, ending with a couple that I haven't reviewed yet! Now, I'm not really good at ranking the things I love, so don't think of this as a "Top 10 Best Products" but more of a "the first ten things I thought of that I love and happen to have pictures of."

#1. Urban Decay Build-your-Own Palettes. While it's true that the colors in the palette I featured above had a "meh" pay-off, I really like the 6-pan build your own palette box they came in, and I also love my 4-pan with "Rock" in it. I also like that more and more companies are developing their own build-your own, because anything that makes it easier for me to take all my favorite colors in one easy package is OK with me.

 #2. BLAST FLIPSTICK! It is possible that I included these just because I love the name, but honestly, I do get a ton of use out of the berry-hued one.

#3. Lip Tar by Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. I can't get enough of this stuff and I recommend it to everyone, I've even got my mom and my mother-in-law wearing it.

#4. Shiny, iridescent, color-shifting nail polish colors. This one is part of Maybelline's Color Show line but I like other brands, too.

#5. THE WONDER PENCIL! Another product where I love the name, but this unassuming, affordable product really does come in handy and I use it all the time. 

#6. Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book. I haven't used this as much as I would like but I am really in love with the colors.

#7. Imperialis Facial Moisturizer by Lush Cosmetics. I LOVE this stuff. It makes my face smell like orange blossoms. It's a light, creamy moisturizer which keeps my skin from drying out in the desert air.

#8 and #9. Zoya brand nail polish and Jamberry nail wraps. I love Zoya for their unusual colors which tend to hold up well. Here I'm wearing Seraphina with a Black Friday exclusive Winter Morning nail wrap for a lovely, wintery nail look. Jamberry lets me have the fancy nail designs I'd never be able to master myself, without having to carve out time to go to the salon.

#10. e.l.f Lashes. They're affordable. They're available in a variety of styles. They're easy to buy at Target. And while I've been told the glue isn't great, it is latex-free. I honestly don't know why I've never reviewed these, as they're definitely perfect for bellydancers. I mean, at this price, you can even occasionally wear them for date-night or a party and not feel guilty.

Sally Hansen + Jamberry = LOVE

 Today I'm performing at a holiday party, wearing a bright green skirt and a black bra/belt set. I wanted my nails to be festive but not Christmas-y, because I'm not a Christmas-y person, so I felt like green nails with black accents would be pretty slick. I combined Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "In Record Lime" and a Jamberry wrap in Belle du Jour from my friend Kiss My Tips.

I love this combination! The Belle du Jour wrap adds a touch of elegance to my choice of almost obnoxious pea green. My nails are exciting without being too distracting, and the damask-like pattern will be the perfect compliment to the floral appliques on my bra and belt.

As for the nail polish, I am pretty impressed by the Insta-Dri line. Look at that brush! Why doesn't every nail polish have a brush with a rounded tip like that? It gets down perfectly into my cuticle without making a mess everywhere. Seriously, the smoothest application ever. In a $5 drug store nail polish! And I got that intense color from just one coat. Of course, I can't find "In Record Lime" on Sally Hansen's website so it must have been a limited edition, but there are plenty of other awesome colors to try, with or without a cool clear patterned Jamberry wrap layered over them (I vote for with).

I'm really excited about my nails right now and I can't wait to take them from gigs to socializing to dance class all weekend long.

Pop Beauty Palette

 A few months ago I saw this palette from Pop Beauty at Ulta and was impressed by how pigmented the colors seemed to be, so I decided to wait until I had a coupon and pick it up. This "Bright Delight" set would add some much needed vibrancy to an eye shadow collection that is largely dominated by darker, more subdued colors.

The packaging makes it seem a little cheap, almost like a kids or teens brand, even though Ulta keeps it in the prestige cosmetics section of the store (which meant I had to wait for the rare coupon that wasn't limited to drug store brands). This palette especially reminds me of those cheap water color sets you'd always get as a kid. On the other hand, the big round pans really show the colors well and are quite generous. The brights are really pleasing to the eye.

 I started doing a green look for Open Stage last week and while I was impressed by the level of pigment and I really liked the colors, I realized this was going to be too light for the dimly-lit Sky Bar so I covered it in glitter instead. These greens could serve as good accent colors for a more intense green, or use them for a daytime performance where you want a brighter, friendlier look. I used the lighter yellow on my brow bone and it makes for a nice neutral there.

Last night I decided to give the palette another try and stress-test it at class. I was really impressed by the intense teal. This was a dry application, so the color must be insane when it's applied wet! I added the pewter color to make it a smoky look, then topped it off with some glitter liner because I felt like it. 2 hours of dance class including a cardio warm-up and it held well. I had a little color loss in the crease which is typical for me, but otherwise it looked pretty good at the end of the night.

At only $24 for a generous palette with a decent double-ended brush, this is a really good deal. The colors give good pay-off and have a really nice texture, going on smoothly. The case latches really securely, so you can throw it in your makeup bag and know it's going to hold up, making it ideal for travel. For the beginning dancer especially, this is a reasonable way to add some good, vibrant colors to your existing makeup collection as you learn how to do performance makeup. I'm happy with my purchase and look forward to making good use of this palette.

It's INVISIBLE!

If this post seems a little short on pictures, it's because the whole point of this product is that you don't see it working. This is the Line & Define Lip Primer from Bite Beauty. I picked it up at Sephora earlier this week on the advice of my makeup shopping buddy Liora, who was also buying it. I used it last night for Open Stage and I was pleased with the results!

So, what does this attractively sleek pencil do? It not only lines and primes your lips, but you can use it to clean up the edges of your lips after the fact. This is especially handy for me as sometimes I slip when doing my Lip Tar and if I try to remove it with a swab, it just smears all over the place and then I have to cover it with concealer... This has happened more times than I'd really like to admit.

So last night I lined my lips with this product, and I sort of primed them, but I feel like the fine tip of the pencil makes this a little time-consuming so I'll probably stick with a different product for priming. As I was applying my Lip Tar, it felt like I was hitting a tiny, sticky barrier around my lips that would halt the product. Perfect! There was one little spot on my lower lip where I messed up, and I used this pencil and it cleaned right up. I suspect that it will also help keep creamy lipsticks from feathering out over the course of the night.

This product also has some mint in it to plump your lips, so it has a pleasant tingle. Other featured include that you can twist for more product, and there's a tiny sharpener that pops out of the end, which I did not know until I looked it up on the website. Handy!

Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book

Are you guys ready to meet my new favorite palette? I am so in love with this thing. I love the colors, I love the cover art, I love the concept, I love how big it is and how much eyeshadow there is in it. It's the Kat Von D Spellbinding Eyeshadow Book! It's also sold out on Sephora's website, so I can't link you to it. If you want to get your hands on this gorgeous baby, I suggest you call your local Sephora and see if they've got it in stock, because this is a whole lotta eyeshadow for $55.

 Look at all of those colors! There's a great mix of brights, darks and neutrals, so you can basically get any sort of look you want out of one palette. Notice how they're all paired up? Each pair of colors looks great together, and you can layer them over each other for cool color-shift looks. Of course you can mix and match, too, but I think this is a great concept for helping people who are new to makeup or stuck in a rut and need some inspiration for how to punch up their look. It's also good when you're in a hurry. No more deciding "Which colors do I combine today?" just flip open this bad girl and pick the pair that you're feeling that day.

For Desert Shakedown I combined Bird Cage and Gunner for this beautiful green look. All I added was a bit of ivory shadow under my brows, then some black and green eye liner. It was so easy! For another show, I did Holy Bible and Oddfellow, which looked great with my black troupe costume. Anyway, Gunner is my new favorite eye shadow because it's a lovely true green with lots of glitter. It looks like dragonscales or something equally magical.

So far, the colors have really good pigmentation and are easy to blend and layer, and I didn't get much glitter fallout. However, I did notice that they seemed to have worn off in a couple of spots at the end of the night. Both times that I applied them I was in a bit of a hurry, and I didn't use makeup setting spray, so I'm going to experiment to see if I can make them last longer.

Would you like to see more of the colors from this palette? Comment with which pair you'd like me to try next! I'll do the most popular request next week, and maybe others too if I have the time. I'll even provide hand-swatches, which I forgot to do today.

Formula X: Sephora's New Nail Line

 A few months ago Sephora cleared out all of their Sephora by OPI brand nail polishes, which left me pretty curious about what they were going to replace them with. Well, the answer is here: Formula X for Sephora. The name makes me think of car racing or comic books (I read a lot of X-Men as a teen, OK?), but I guess it's pretty good for nail polish too.

Anyway, because I am such a good and dedicated beauty blogger, I broke my "no new nail polish" rule and picked up "The System" which is a set that includes a nail cleanser, a base coat/primer, your choice of nail color and a top coat. Breaking away from my normal trend of all green nail polish, all the time, I decided to nab "Cosmic" which is an awesome shiny purple (the website describes it as "plum pearl").

At first I was a little disappointed in this polish, because it started wearing away at the tips within a day. However, after that initial wearing I didn't get any chips until almost a week of wear. I feel like if I take a little more care with coating my tips next time, this polish could wear really well. Also, I got a nice, even application with just one coat, although it looked a little thin in sunlight so I might go with two coats next time.

This photo was taken after a week of wear! Not bad, not bad.

 The base coat not only created a good surface to apply the polish to, but it also protected my nails from being stained by the dark polish, so that's a plus. I found this color pretty easy to remove.

A word about the packaging: I think that the rectangular bottles show the color pretty well, and mean they'll nestle together nicely when being stored. The squared caps have to be removed to open the bottle and seem superficial, unless they allow for stacking in storage. I will have to test this idea.

Although this polish is pretty good, I feel like $10.50 a bottle is a bit much, especially since a lot of the colors are well, pretty boring. They do have some amazing options in the Effects lines, but those are $12.50 a bottle. I have a feeling I'll slowly but surely invest in the Effects, but mainly use "The System" with other, more affordable nail polishes sandwiched between the good base and top coats.

More Lip Tar!

 Last night I did some really quick and dirty skeleton makeup for my dance class costume, and since I didn't have the supplies or time to draw teeth over my lips, I instead decided to give myself bloody red lips as if I had just feasted on some mortal flesh. I achieved this gory color with some Black Dahlia lip tar from the new Sephora Exclusive All-Star Mini set of OCC Lip Tars which I picked up in NY.

For a full review of OCC Lip Tar, see this post. Today I'm just going to look at the mini set and also talk about clear lip tar.

 This picture is upside down because Blogger is dumb. Anyway, the set comes in a zipper pouch similar in design to what the full-size tars come in, but with little pockets for each color and a pocket for the brush, which is slightly smaller than the usual brush. I checked and there is enough room in the pouch to squeeze in a full-sized tube as well, so if you want to carry your clear with the colors, you can! You could also put in some extra brushes, or maybe a tiny lip liner pencil. The pouch feels sturdy enough to hold up to a bit of wear and tear, and the tubes themselves should hold enough product to last a while, given how little you use for each application. This would either make a great starter set, a good way to try a few colors, or a good travel set. at $20, it's a great deal, only a little more than one full-size tube!

The included colors are Memento (pink/plum neutral), NSFW (true, balanced red), Anime (vibrant neon pink), and Black Dahlia (blackened red). A pretty good range for a performer to have at hand. You've got your neutral look, your femme fatale red, your playful pink and your gothy wine. So far Black Dahlia is the only one I've worn on my lips, as shown in the skeleton photo. I really like how dark and luscious it is! I did notice some color bleed-out at the edges after dance class, so I think you should definitely line your lips when you wear this one.

As for the clear, I've worn it a couple of times under dark lip tar colors (I recently wore Black Metal Dahlia which is similar to plain ol' Black Dahlia but with the addition of glitter), and it does stop the color from collecting in little nooks and crannies much like a normal primer. It also comes with a brush, which you don't need since you apply it with your finger, so you'll have an extra brush for your colors.

Urban Decay Black Market Pencil Set

When I saw this new Black Market 24/7 Pencil Set from Urban Decay, I knew I had to have it! I have no lack of eye liners, but this set of mini pencils has some really stylish Autumn colors that would fill some gaps in my collection.

The colors include West (sparkly brown), Desperation (matte grey), Black Market (sparkly black), Riot (sparkly purple), Apathy (sparkly olive) and Ink (sparkly blue). They're the standard UD mini pencil size, which means you can throw all of them into a travel bag easily, or put your favorite in the pencil slot of a palette.

Oh hey, did I mention that I'm in NY and it is COLD out here? So here's my eye look for NYC, using West and Apathy and a few colors from the NYC themed Book of Shadows, plus a warm, fuzzy scarf.

 Eyes closed. Not my best blending job, I only had a few minutes to do my face.

Swatch! Displayed on my arm in the same order they're packaged in. You can see that it's a nice range of dark neutrals and pops of color that will carry you through fall and winter.

I use 24/7 pencils in various colors for dance makeup all the time, and they hold up well. Not quite as bold a line as a good gel liner, but I also don't have to worry about waiting for them to dry, or having the entire pot dry out before I can use it because I live in a desert. Plus they're really portable and it's easy to take a bunch of colors on a trip with you. You can smudge them if you want or leave them as-is. The travel-sized pencils will last you a good long while, I haven't even used up half of my basic black Zero pencil and it's one of my go-to products.

NYX Wonder Pencil

 On a recent dance troupe trip to Ulta, I picked up the NYX Wonder Pencil, along with a couple other NYX products that I'll be reviewing soon. They have a reputation for producing relatively high-quality products at a great price, including a lot of dupes of more expensive products.

The Wonder Pencil (shown here in "Light" because I am incredibly pale) is a multi-purpose concealer pencil. it has a fine tip like a liner pencil, which makes it ideal for lining your lips, covering small blemishes, or brightening your waterline. I use it a lot for that last one, including in the top image here. It helps make your eyes look larger and more alert, but it's very subtle so you can easily use it for daytime or "natural" looks.

I don't use it for covering the circles under my eyes, because I still feel like my Urban Decay concealer pencil is better for that, as the thicker pencil makes for a quicker application.

The Wonder Pencil has a really smooth, easy application and seems to hold up well to being worn for dance. It keeps creamy lipstick from wandering when used as a liner. It's really affordable, really versatile, and easy to throw in your dance bag for quick touch-ups. I'd call this one a win!

Jamberry Nail Wraps

 Recently a friend of mine started her own Jamberry nail wrap business, Kiss My Tips, and when she offered to send out some samples, I jumped at the chance to try a new nail product and review it here on my blog.

In case you're not familiar with nail wraps, they're sort of like stickers for your nails. You can use them for an entire manicure, or pick a cute patterned one to use as an accent nail, as I did for my space-themed nail look here. For new, skeptical customers they suggest that you pit Jamberry against traditional nail polish for one week, by wearing your favorite color and some wraps for one week and seeing which looks better at the end of the challenge. Well, instead of using a favorite color I picked a random color from my stash that looked good with the galaxy-patterned wraps. This proved to be a mistake as the nail polish was old and from a random brand and didn't go on well and didn't last long even with a base and top coat. I was ready to remove my manicure after only about 4-5 days but I stuck it out for the full seven and this was the result:

The wrap on my left nail is in perfect shape! The one on my right looks pretty good but it was peeling away/fraying at the tip. I think when I applied them I didn't seal that edge well enough because it started peeling at the corner almost immediately, whereas the left one pretty much stayed in place.

Application and removal were pretty easy. You apply them with a bit of heat and pressure -- I used my space heater and it worked perfectly. I feel like it would take a little practice to line them up perfectly, because they went on a little crooked so I had blank space on one side, but you could only tell if you were really examining my nails. To remove, just heat them back up again and peel. They left some sticky residue on my nails, but I slathered on some cuticle cream and the oils broke up the adhesive. Easy-peasy.

I have really long nails, as you see, and by cutting a strip in half I was able to do two nails and have excess on the ends. During the week that I wore them, I did all the sorts of things that would abuse a manicure... Lots of handwashing and showers, including using using some body scrub, plenty of crafting, playing with pets, dance classes and performances, I even had to replace a split ring on my keys which did a number on my traditional nail polish. If they can hold up to my lifestyle, they're pretty sturdy. I'd definitely recommend them for my fellow dancers who lead a busy life and want to still have fabulous nails for class and gigs.

Although I still like traditional nail polish and enjoy taking the time to give myself a manicure, since Jamberry wraps come in a lot of fancy designs (patterns, ombre fades, even sports team logos), they're ideal for when you want one of those cool nail art manicures without stressing about how quickly it's going to chip! I've also heard that they come in glitter colors which don't leave sparkles all over your nails after removal, so I'm pretty intrigued by that. Oh yes, and you can of course use them on your toes, too.

FTC disclaimer: These wraps were provided for free for testing purposes. I chose to blog them of my own volition.

30 Day Makeup Challenge!

So, today I had to go to the MAC store to buy some more black gel eyeliner, because my current jar has dried out. As I was walking back to the car, I was thinking about how frustrating it was that I was going to have to throw out about 2/3 of the jar, and how that's not the first product I've had that problem with, and that maybe I should do my makeup more often so I can use my products before they expire.

The thing is, although I love makeup and I love looking at makeup and buying makeup, I don't usually do my makeup unless I'm performing or testing a product for this blog. As such, when it is time to put the pretty on, I tend to fall back on the same rotation of products and the same basic look. After all, I spend most of my time either at home or sweating it up in the dance studio, so there's not a lot of call for makeup, right?

Well, for the next 30 days I'm going to break that trend. Even if my plan for the day is to sit around in my PJs writing blog posts and doing laundry all day, I'll do it with style. 30 days of makeup! 30 days of trying new products (and old ones that are just hanging out in my train case) and new looks. 30 days of fabulosity!

Every day I'll post a picture on my Sophia Ravenna FB page showing my look and the products I used. If you're curious about any of the products, just ask and I'll include them in a future Beauty Blogging for Bellydancers post.

One of my favorite eyeshadows!

 This may come as a huge surprise to most of you, but I actually have a favorite eyeshadow color that isn't green! In fact, I probably wear this shade more often than any other color in my collection, because it's such a good versatile neutral. It's Legendary Black from MAC's Pro Longwear eye shadow line, and the website describes it as a "warm almost black" which is a pretty good description but fails to mention the lovely golden sheen.

This is my go-to shade when I want to do a smoky eye. I like it because it's softer than a true black and the warm tones pair well with the olivey greens colors that I use so often. It's also easy to build it from a light color to a really deep blackish shade, depending on how intense I want to be. I've worn it numerous times for all sorts of dance events and it's held up perfectly.

 Not the most impressive hand swatch, my skin is pretty dry and I literally misplaced my primer potion (as in I took it out of my train case and 5 minutes later I had no idea where it was), but it gives you the general idea.

By the way, if you have the Urban Decay Book of Shadows Volume IV, "Cobra" is pretty similar to this shade and actually looks better as a hand swatch (it's on the left in the above image), so I might give it a try the next time I do a smoky eye.

You can see how versatile Legendary Black is in these two photos. In the top image I've used it lightly to add just a touch of smoke to this woodlands-faerie inspired look for my photo shoot with Liora K. Whereas in the second image, I went really dark for my performance at the LVBDI. These images show just two of the many, many times I've used this great color, so it was about time I reviewed it!