Attempt #1: Using UD Vegan Palette for the First Time

When one suddenly finds oneself without a job, one also finds oneself with a lot of time to do things one didn't bother to before. Like spending more than 5 minutes putting on makeup every morning. ("Morning.")

Now, I don't know if experimenting with eye makeup is a great trade for a steady job, but I did learn a few things in attempting to make this makeup post.

One, taking good makeup pictures is hard. Like, really really hard. 

And two, taking makeup pictures is a-w-k-w-a-r-d!! Especially when you move beyond taking them and start trying to edit them. All those isolated eyes together... how to keep from being creeeeepy TT_TT

Anyway, in the end it's all about fun, right? Even if you can't quite call something a success. I tried out three to four of the colors from the palette (minx, urb, gunmetal + half baked), and in the end they all sort of melded together into this olive smoky eye. That's probably because I'm a finger makeup painter - maybe to pack on the color you really need to use brushes?

Used the top three and bottom right shades.

Used NYX Noir Liquid Black Liner
for top lid line.

on mah face.

I've also learned that there's a reason successful makeup bloggers usually post around holiday themes or celebrity imitation looks. They give you a real goal to aim for and they're usually stronger in style and colors, making for better photos. (Plus, you kind of have an excuse for looking a little outrageous. Blame the holiday/pop culture reference!)

In the end, this ended up being just as much an experiment in taking makeup pictures and putting together a makeup blog post as it was in actually putting on the makeup. At least now I know that the Vegan Palette colors blend very well together, and I have a recipe for an everyday subtle smoky eye. 

Another thing to note, which you may have heard of already, is that most Urban Decay colors tend to have some glitter in them. This added a pearlescent sheen which highlights wherever it hits the eye, usually toward the center. It's not a bad thing, but it did make me realize how glittery most cosmetics are. I also have and used this marbled blush from the Body Shop and these cream highlighting pots from Korea, all are shimmery!


Anyway, I felt it was kind of a waste to just leave all those other eyeball pictures at the wayside. So I constructed a little something.

...Ready to be kind of freaked out? Don't say I didn't warn you.

I present to you the Outtake Tree!