Venice Beach

It's 2 in the morning as I type from a hotel room in West Virginia. It's also about 90% humidity outside and I've been procrastinating typing up this post for at least a week now because I am lazy. I'm on my way back to North Carolina for the school year (sob), and have been traveling for a little less than a week now, having stopped in Indiana to visit with my dad's side of the family, and I'll be back in my apartment on Thursday! Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about getting back into the swing of things and having a space to myself again.

Anyways, I promised this look a while back, and I actually photographed this look on the same day that I wrote my review on the Wet n Wild Venice Beach palettes, which are the palettes I used to create this look.

In order to ensure the richest color payoff, I started out with my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in "Milk." I applied this base in a thin layer, keeping below my crease. Then, with a fluffy brush, I used Milani Bella Eyes Gel Shadow in "Bella Caffe," and buffed it gently into the crease, to help assist in blending later on. I used a small paddle brush and patted the vibrant yellow (from either the "Hemporary Solutions" or "Boardwalk Boozing" palettes -- they're the exact same color) along the inner corner of my eye. On the center of the lid, I used the bright pink shade (again, from either palette). To blend the yellow and pink seamlessly together, I took a mix of the yellow and the vibrant red-orange from "Hemporary Solutions" and used a sideways patting motion to blend the shades together. On the outer corner, I first started out using the vibrant cobalt blue shade from the "Boardwalk Boozing" palette. I patted that all along the outer third of the eye. Then, deciding that I wanted to deepen up the outer corner, I added in some of the vibrant shimmery purple, using a pencil brush, carefully sweeping this into the crease as well. To help further blend the crease, I went back in with a clean blending brush and continued blending until I reached the desired effect. For my brow highlight, I used the matte white shade from "Hemporary Solutions."

Along the lower lashline, I wanted a bronze base to pair with the aqua color from the "Hemporary Solutions" palette, so I used my Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeshadow Pencil in "Juju" on my lower waterline and lower lash line. They no longer sell these shadow pencils, but they're basically just the chubby stick version of the Urban Decay 24/7 Eye Pencils, and this specific one is very similar to "Hustle," or, if you're on a budget, you can get a similar shadow pencil from Milani, in the shade "Brown Deluxe." After laying down the shadow pencil, I used the aqua color out the outer half of the lower lash line and smudged it out. On my upper lash line, I did a simple winged liner, using the Sephora 24 HR Waterproof Liquid Liner. Apparently I'm the worst though because I didn't realize that this specific shade has been discontinued as well! This particular shade is almost identical to Urban Decay's "Retrograde" liquid liner. To help hide the band of my false lashes, I used the Lorac Front of the Line PRO liquid liner just along the base of my upper lashes, which were the Andrea Lashes #53.

For my cheeks, I decided to go with a subtle bit of color and a high shine highlight. As a subtle contour, I used the Anastasia Contour shade in "Fawn." For blush, I used my trusty Maybelline Fit Me Blush in "Light Rose," and for my highlight, I used the Makeup Geek shadow in "Shimma Shimma."

On my lips, I chose to go with a soft, neutral pink. I first laid down the NARS Lip Pencil in "Rikugien," then topped it off with the Burts Bees Lip Shine in "Blush."

That's it for this look! This look was a lot easier than it looks, especially since these Wet n Wild palettes are so creamy and blendable. Don't forget to check out the review I did on them a few weeks ago!

- D.