All posts filed under: Miscellaneous

Brow Maintenance: Products

Published by

To cap off the first week of this month’s Special Eye Makeup Feature, I will tackle the issue of brows! This is a very small thing you can do that I feel will enhance your overall look. Honestly, I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to brows. I just kind of shade them in (as you would a blank spot in a coloring book) and call it a day. If you are looking for some how-tos, here are some posts that I’ve enjoyed from other, more capable bloggers: — Ae from An Artechoke — Xiao from Messy Wands — Tina from What Tina Loves — Liz from Project Vanity This is just an overview of the tools I use, in order of my preference. I don’t have a tutorial because I literally just brush through my normal eyebrow shape and comb through with a spoolie. I don’t typically outline the outsides, because I find that I look very harsh in the face, especially since I have been blessed with the Bitchy Resting Face. So …

1 Quad, 6 Looks: bareMinerals’ The Happy Place

Published by

A duo’s a challenge to play around with, but a quad is a riot. One of my favorite ones is bareMinerals’ The Happy Place, which came out as part of their Supernatural Collection (I think). I saw the coral, the aubergine, the mushroom grey, and I thought, “I have to have that.” Nearly a year later, and I have no regrets! I chose this palette because it seems a bit hard to use. I know that people have been warned against pinky shades for the eyes, to avoid the inevitable pink-eye effect. However, this pink, I think, is quite special, and it comes with pretty colors that go well with it. Watch the video for the looks, and a small tutorial at the end! Let me know if this is something you are keen on seeing more of. I kind of really enjoy it, though filming is a little harder because I don’t like wasting makeup and these looks were mostly worn out of the house (the first three were taken on two separate vacations). …

Eye Basics: Get to know your eye brushes

Published by

Getting into eye makeup past eyeliner and mascara can be a little daunting, especially when picking out the brushes. There are so many brushes out in the market, so here’s a rough guide I cobbled up for you, to help you out. Remember, I’m just going by my meager brush stash, and show you how I use some of the brushes I have. Obviously, you can always use these brushes outside their specific intended function. Let’s hop to it! FLAT SHADER BRUSH — for basic eyeshadow application! Use these brushes to pat on eyeshadow to minimize fallout and get maximum pigmentation. From left to right: MAC 239, Urban Decay Double-Ended Good Karma Shadow/Crease Brush (comes with Naked 2 Palette), NARS No. 3 (from the And God Created the Woman Set), Charm Wet/Dry Shadow Brush (from Sonia Travel Pro Set) My favorite of the three is the MAC 239, followed by NARS (which provides a good wash of color instead). Both the UD and Charm brushes work in a pinch, though. The density—or the fullness of …

Basic Eye Diagram & My Go-To Eyeshadow Technique

Published by

I used to teach part-time, and I find that it makes more sense to talk about history first. However, I haven’t exactly finished writing that post. Heh. So, for this day of this September Special, I wanted to share a basic “eye diagram” to sort of help you follow tutorials if you find them a little hard to do. I’m also going to post about my go-to technique for eyeshadow application, which was what I basically used when I was still exploring eye makeup. I just used to interchange the colors. 🙂 BASIC EYE DIAGRAM Obviously, there may be some differences with how each person refers to these “parts” of the eye, but this is how I usually follow tutorials and explain eye makeup to people. — Brow bone: protrusion just under your eyebrow. Usually enhanced by a light eyeshadow. — Mobile lid: part of the eyelid that “moves” when you blink. The part under your crease. — Crease: the fold of the eye. — Upper lash line: where your eyelashes grow on the upper …

September’s Softly Special: All About the Eyes

Published by

Hey everyone! For the month of September, which is my birth month, I wanted to do something special. While I like reviewing products for you guys, I do also enjoy challenges and series, just because I think that these things help make a blog more interesting. I’ve done challenges, like Mineral Madness, as well as a few series(es?), like Nosy Beauty and Made-Up History, but I wanted to do something on a bigger scale for September. I figured that since I loved doing my eyes the best, I’d talk a bit more about eye makeup! I was very tempted to do a pure eyeshadow month, but then I thought that that might be a bit too much for everyone, so I expanded it to eye makeup in general with a favorable slant to eyeshadow, light of my life, fire of my loins. So, just to kick things off, let me start by talking a bit about the little duo that started it all, bareMinerals’ The Scenic Route: I remember buying this from a Sephora at …

September’s Softly Special: All About the Eyes (Master List of Posts)

Published by

Here is a master list of eye posts made in September 2013, during Softly Sometimes’ special eye makeup month. This will be updated as the posts go up, so do check back every so often. 🙂 WEEK ONE 1: Introduction 2: Basic Eye Diagram & My Go-To Eyeshadow Technique 3: Eye Basics: Get to Know Your Eye Brushes 4: REVIEW: Maybelline Eye Studio LuminEyes in Grey & Khaki 5: 1 Quad, 6 Looks feat. bareMinerals READY 4.0 in “The Happy Place” 6: Brow Maintenance: Products 7: Top 5 Eyeshadow Brands (Cruelty-Free)

Empties No. 1

Published by

Hello everyone! This is my first empties post, and it’s quite sizeable. It’s mostly skin care and bath stuff, though, so if you are looking for makeup empties, feel free to skip on this! — Maybelline The Falsies Mascara: It was time to throw it out as I stretched it to 6 months, like a Josie Gross-y. I really liked this mascara, but I won’t be repurchasing as it’s not cruelty-free. — Etude House Proof 10 Eye Primer: Throwing it out because it has become too tacky for me to work with. I won’t be repurchasing as I prefer other eye primers.