Mind Swimming: Autumn Forest

The days are getting cooler, the sun is setting earlier, sweaters, jackets, and boots are coming out, and hot cocoa lingers on our lips. You know what that means don't you? Oh yea...fall is in the air!!! I absolutely love fall and the colors that come with it. For the past week I've been brainstorming a look full of deep reds, oranges, yellow, golds, and even a hint of purple. Today I finally brought them all together for one amazing look...Autumn Forest. I have to say, that there is something about this look that I have fallen head over heels for. I'd have to say that if I had to choose my 3 favorite looks I've ever done, this one would be in there somewhere. Ok ok ok, enough chit chat...on to the details and fun so you, too, can create this look at home. As always - remember our favorite word....BLEND! :)

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1. NAKEY FACE!

(From now on, when you see the words "Nakey Face", know that it means that I've already applied foundation, concealer, and powder. Oh, and also brows most of the time!)

2. Prime the entire lid & under the eye with either some sort of white liner or eye primer. Right now I use a simple white liner by NYC. I've seen rave reviews over NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, so I'm hoping to get & try that soon!

3. Using the red (II-8 - palettes below!) from 88 Coastal Scents Ultra-Shimmer palette & and a thin angled brush (#3), outline the center of the eye where you can feel the top of your eye socket. I then winged it out a bit knowing I was going to use red there as well, and also about 1/3 the way under my eye.

4. Using the same thin angled brush, I just smooshed the color up a little fading it into the white. Nothing fancy. Then took a fluffy brush (#5) and just went over the area over and over until it began to fade seamlessly. I didn't make it super perfect here because I knew I'd be going over it with other colors soon!

5. I then took from the 88 CS palette (non-shimmer), a peachy orange (I2), and blended it into the inner crease of red. I blended it until it faded up towards the eyebrow leaving a bit of white showing. After that I used the same orange, but in the shimmer palette (II2) and went over that to give it the shine. Also use this under the eye in the center.

6. From the 88 CS palette I used a mustard yellow (a bit of both B3 & 4), and swept it above the red in the outter corner and into the orange making sure to blend it well where it met the orange, and blend it well up into the white below the brow. I followed it up doing the same with the shimmery match in the 88 Ultra Shimmer palette (BB-3). Do the same under the eye on the inner 1/3 area.

7. Going back to the original red from step #3, I used a fluffy brush (started with #6 for applying then went to #5 for blending) and darkened up the outter corners, blending into both the orange and yellow, as well as under the eye (outter 1/3).

8. Adding some depth, I used a combo of a deep brown/burgundy (shimmer palette color KK-7) & a deep purple (shimmer HH-7). I used a short crease brush (#4) to add the color kinda in the middle of the red. Basically covering it, but leaving some red peaking out around the edges.

9. Here I used the crease brush and used a white by ELF (AAA-1). I applied it under the brows by pressing the color there instead of brushing it. Then used a vertical sweep to lightly make the transition from the white into the color seamless. After that I used gold (shimmer palette BB-5), on the eye lid from the lash line to the crease using a sponge tip applicator. Then BACK to the crease brush and applied the shimmer yellow from above to the inner corners of the eye.

10. Use any black liner of your choosing and keep it super close to the lash line with maybe a smidge of winging if you like. I also used it in the water line.

11. Curl & Mascara!!

12. For the lips I used a Burt's Bees tinted balm. It's a cranberry color, and very sheer, so I went over it with a random deep purplish color I had and went over it again with the Burt's Bees to get a cranberry-ish color.