Must Haves

Have you been living your life without a "shu uemura"!?!? If so, stop now, please just stop. Why torture yourself any longer? Don't you want to be happy? :) :) :)

Buy one immediately from Sephora ($19).

I regularly read Sephora's "Best of Sephora" annual lists. That's where I found this baby and thought "Eh, what the heck..." I needed a new lash curler at the time, and had, until that point, been making the common mistake of thinking all lash curlers are created equal. Not the case, hello. I've tried two since then just for kicks but have since sworn off ALL OTHERS in the future.

It makes the perfect curl for all lashes I've ever curled and makes all the difference. Why not just love it and not leave it? That's what I'm gonna do: love it!

Assuming (and hoping) you already have another browser open on your internet with the shu uemura in your Sephora shopping bag, please note Sephora offers free shipping on purchases over $50. Also, all purchases apparently have free returns although I've never returned anything - ha!

That being said, my first thought definitely take advantage of the free shipping and spring for a Stila quad set ($40) (not necessarily the one pictured below - they have several options) ~ Also, note that while a color may look hideous in the case, it might be awesome on - see pic on the front of the case. I'm seriously about to order this thing based on that pic :) These quad sets are designed to easily achieve the smokey eye look. This is great for dressing up in the summer, going to weddings, parties and whatnot.
Okay, so I am a big fan of quads...PERIOD. The two-toned look is sooooo over. You really need at least 3 colors, preferably 4. In buying a quad, you save tons-o-cash (individual Stilas are $18), keep your makeup bag lookin' neat and tidy, AND lo and behold, they have already matched the colors up for you! Stilas quads are sweet because they have a little super short/to-the-point instructional layover over the shadows. Like it says "Liner" over the darkest color and "Lid" over the lid color. And obviously the case shows a picture, which is always a plus!

I adore Stila shadows for their awesome blending capabilities! You want to avoid harsh crease color lines against the base color. Use a soft brush to blend the colors where they meet. Then, if you want, use the darkest color as an upper lid liner (first dip your liner brush in water and lightly blot the sides on a cloth (i.e. you don't want it soaked and dripping water everywhere), then run around the edge of the darkest shadow). Line your top lid with it carefully. I hate when I mess up this part! It's an easy technique once you get used to it, really. I would then use the crease color very lightly on under your lower lashes (using a dry brush). [I personally believe dark lower lid lining is a thing of the past. It took me a long time to break myself of this bad, evil habit! I'll let you know when it comes back in (possibly this Fall). lol.]

Don't forget to use an eye shadow primer. My current fave is Laura Mercier but if you want to pick up a cheap one to get you by, by all means do so. It's mucho better than rollin' without. Tonight I am ordering the Too Faced Shadow Insurance from Sephora ($17) to try with my MAC acquisitions. I read a review about it on my fave beauty blog (see blog list) and also the reviews on Sephora are really good. I'll try and post my own review soon :) Thank you so much for visiting :)

Until next time, keep on rockin' in the free world...

xoxo,
~ann~