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Make-up tutorial by Vanity Kills.
What’s the next best thing to an authentic South Seas adventure? Playing make believe mermaid whilst decking out your eyelids in ocean inspired metallic aqua and lush purples that conjure up images of tropical flowers.

Even if the only umbrella you'll be lounging under is the paper one in your Mai Tai at your local Tiki Bar, one thing is for certain- your exotic inspired gaze might have some side effects. Such as but not limited to free drinks, phone numbers from hot boys and a dropped jaw or two. I'll drink to that!
Cheers ;)

Prep Work:
First and foremost, cleanse and moisturize your face 10 minutes before you even think of putting that foundation brush anywhere near your skin. This is non negotiable.

Base makeup has a nasty habit of going on uneven and patchy if the surface of your skin has any dirt or oil on it. If you fail to moisturize, it will begin to flake which will look even worse.

After you're all done cleansing and moisturizing, feel free to further prep your skin with a primer whose function is to minimize redness, fill in fine lines and ensure longer lasting makeup (Smashbox Photo-finish is universally favored by make up divas everywhere).

Primer is best applied under a bright light where complexion flaws such as wrinkles and discoloration are the easiest to seek & destroy! Combat unsightly breakouts, undereye circles and other skin imperfections by spot treating them with concealer (I like Clinique's Line Smoothing Concealer in Light).
Pat concealer on your problem areas lightly using your ring finger. Apply a liquid foundation that best matches your skin tone to your face and neck with a sponge applicator or a foundation brush. Start by applying small dots in the center of your face and then moving outward (Makeup Forever Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation in no. 25 Warm Ivory came highly recommended to me).

Set everything in place by finishing off with a thin coat of translucent powder (Clinique Blended Face Powder in Transparency is a staple in my makeup bag). Either a powder puff or a powder brush will work just fine.

Posted by Alt Fashion Magazine • Published 29th April 2010 • See Alt Fashion Magazine's 4 projects »

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Step 1
Prep your brows by filling them in with a pencil and softening the lines with a small brush or drawing them in if you don‘t have them. If you’re eyebrowless like me, be sure to use a pencil that matches your hair color. Yours truly used a vivid red (Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in 024 Red Diva) which compliments my cherry coloured tresses.

Now is a good time to prep your lids with eyeshadow primer, whose job is to neutralize the colour of your lids which in turn makes for brighter more vibrant shadow. It also prevents said shadow from creasing, something that we all collectively dread. I totally dig Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion which rocks as eyeshadow base and comes in a cool bottle!
Step 2
Using your metallic aqua liquid eyeliner draw a thin line starting at the inner corner of your eye all the way to your outer corner. Try to keep the lines as close to your lashes as possible. This will take a steady hand, but don't fret too much if you mess up.

Blunders are easily fixed with a q-tip that has been slightly wetted with makeup remover. Upon reaching the outer corner of your eye, wing the liner up and out.

Now my preferred metallic aqua liquid eyeliner of choice is usually MAC Liquidlast Liner in Aqualine, but I ran out right before I wrote this piece. I substituted cheap drugstore liner in this instance, but I really do prefer the MAC. Barry M also has some very good choices!
Step 3
Starting directly above the thin line of metallic aqua liquid eyeliner that you’ve just oh so meticulously applied, fill in your entire eyelid with a bright purple eye pencil.

Colour in the entire surface of the lid right up to your crease.

Applying eyeliner as a base for eyeshadows in the same colour family adds depth.
Step 4
Using a blending brush (If you read any of my previous tutorials you'll know that I favor the 217 brush by MAC) add some rich purple eye-
shadow (I used MAC Jeweltone) to the outer crease of your eye and bring it down to on the outer corner of your eyelid.

Stop right above the thin line of metallic aqua liquid eyeliner. The rich purple shadow you just added should be in the shape of the letter "V". If you shave and draw your brows on you can extend the shadow past your crease and onto the lower part of your browbone Since you obviously have more room to work with.
Step 5
Clean your blending brush. Starting at the inner corner of your eye, directly over the thin line of metallic aqua liquid eyeliner swipe some pink-ish violet eyeshadow (I used MAC Creme de Violet) outward toward the “V” of rich purple shadow you applied in Step 4.

If you're devoid of eyebrows, feel free to extend the shadow past your crease and onto the lower part of your browbone just like you did in Step 4.

When you're done, the outer part of your crease (and some of your browbone if you're eyebrowless) should be a rich purple shade, while the inner part should be a pink-ish violet.

Blend both shades into each other at their meeting point which should lie somewhere at the halfway point in the crease of your eye.
Step 6
Clean that blending brush again and after you've done so, highlight your browbone with a healthy dose of pearly white eyeshadow (such as MAC Crystal Avalanche), which should be placed directly under your eyebrows (regardless if they're fake or natural).

Blend the pearly white eyeshadow into the two colors that you've blended into your crease in Step 5, the rich purple and the pink-ish violet.

Light shimmery shadows placed directly under the eyebrow's arch really make the eyes appear more bright and dynamic.
Step 7
Chances are that if you're ready a publication called Alt Fashion you already have a favorite brand of black eyeliner, so it's time to grab your trusty black kohl and line your bottom lid starting from the outer corner of your eye, slowly making your way toward the inner corner. Personally, I prefer to put on eyeliner after eyeshadow and before mascara. Curl your eyelashes with an eyelash curler and top off with 2 coats of black mascara (I used Barry M Extreme Black Waterproof Mascara).
Step 8
And now you shall learn how to contour your cheekbones.

First of all, you must locate them. You can do so by sucking your cheeks in ever so slightly.

Dip your blush brush into some pressed bronzer and starting mid cheek, going towards your ear apply the bronzer into the hollows of your cheeks.

Darker shades will give the illusion of the hollows of your cheeks receding. Now using the same technique add a light pink blush to the apples of your cheeks, which will cause them to pop.

Use translucent powder to blend between the two colors in order to avoid obvious lines. The effect is meant to be subtle, not streaky. I like using Sephora’s Blush Me Twice in Hot Pink/Bronze duo of cheek color and bronzer for this purpose.
Step 9
A dusty rose shade of lipliner will add a slight hint of color to the lips without being too overpowering.

Matching vivid eyes with loud lip colors can sometimes make one look like a tranny clown. Unless you’re an actual tranny clown, you’ll probably want to stick to more subtle lip shades when going for all out eye drama. Fill in your lips starting at the center of your natural lip line and moving toward the outer corners. Filling in your entire lip area will not only make an excellent base for color but will also anchor your lip stick/gloss in place. I used Revlon's Timeliner For Lips in Plumwine.
Step 10
I finished off my tropical inspired look by adding a coat of soft shimmering bronze lipgloss to the center of my bottom lip. It gave me just the right amount of shine and pigment that I craved without going into the aforementioned scary tranny clown territory I used Lancome Juicy Tubes Smoothie in Sun Bronze.
Step 11
You're done. Now go pose seductively with some tikis.