I'm not a creature
of fire and sand, that's for certain, though I sometimes dress up like
Khaleesi. For as long as I can remember,
I've always been drawn to autumn and winter, to cool temperatures and
icy, ghostly bodies of water. (This really shows up in my novel, The
Unlove Spell, dropping next June).
But no one can live
in autumn paradise all 12 months of the year, no matter how hard one
tries (and this one has tried). Sometimes it's going to be hot,
sweaty, and uncomfortable. For me especially, a person who is a
frenetic ball of energy and movement and walking and fidgeting,
things can get pretty runny in the hot months. Eyeliner smudges waaay
beyond that sexy smoky look, lipstick melts down my chin, and
foundation turns into a streaky mess. Don't even get me started on
raccoon eyes from errant mascara!
As a makeup lover,
though, and someone who finds most of my physical artistic outlet
through the color palettes of a great new trio of sparkly eye
shadows, I have put in years of searching for the elusive unicorn of
makeup-- sweat, heat, and watery-eyes resistant beauty supplies.
You can save
yourself the years of struggle, though, by checking out these tested
and proven recs:
*EYELINER
I'm not sure how to
explain how obsessed I am with this eyeliner. I bought it after
hearing good reviews and being pleased with the Kat Von D Tattoo
Concealer, but I feared that it might fall prey to the great
watery-eyes debacle, just like every other eyeliner I've tried
through the years. It's a liquid, which also made me a bit nervous at
first, since my hands aren't the most steady.
Surprise, surprise,
this eyeliner glides on smooth, it's easy to apply and, most
importantly, IT STAYS IN ITS DAMN PLACE! Listen, if you don't believe
me, check this out-- I applied this eyeliner at 8am on a hot May
morning in New York City this year, from the third floor of my
sketchy, AC-less Chinatown hotel room. I wore it through an 8 hour
queue on the blazing NYC sidewalks to see my favorite band, Muse, in a tiny
venue. I wore it from the front row of aforementioned Muse concert,
through guitar solos and space-jam-rock-goodness. I wore it later
that night with friends. I wore it even later that night when I
metMatt Bellamy, my greatest creative hero (and inspiration for a
character in another upcoming book, Dating an Alien Pop Star). I wore it through 1am drinks at a little pub that night. I
wore it on a very long, winding and surreal walk back to Chinatown.
It stayed on. This
stuff is an actual miracle. Buy three of them. I've talked at least 4
of my friends into buying the stuff, because it is the BEST LIQUID
EYELINER THERE IS. It is Matt Bellamy proof.
(Matt Bellamy proof? WOW! That's powerful! Look at those eyes!)
*MASCARA
Similar in levels of
excitement to the Kat Von D eyeliner, the Roller Lash mascara has
changed my life so much that I've stopped at least three strangers in
Sephora when I saw them eyeing mascara, and told them to get this
stuff. It is that good.
A very sweet Benefit
lady demo-d it on me and I bought it on the spot. I have short, light
lashes with no natural curl. As I mentioned before, my eyes are
watery and my tears are, apparently, made of some chemical that must
have been cooked up by the government or aliens, because it breaks
down even the strongest waterproof 'scara. Not so with Roller Lash!
To be fair, I still
curl my lashes when I wear this mascara, because there's nothing a
fancy wand can do for some of us straight/short lashed people, but
that doesn't matter. Once it's on, my lashes look long, beautiful,
and they STAY that way throughout the day. I had given up on mascara
years ago and would only wear it for very very very special
occasions, but this has converted me to the mascara revolution. I'll
be buying another one soon, because I've already almost killed this
one off.
Plus the packaging
is cute.
*CONCEALER
I know many women
have trouble finding a concealer that matches their skin tone and I
am certainly among them. I'm so pale that the beauty market seems to
think that there's no reason to make concealer/foundation for people
who are clearly dead or English, but unlike most dead and/or English
people, I still break out like a teenager even in my late 20s.
The Kat Von D
concealer comes in a variety of shades, and the lightest one actually
works for ghostly white people! I will say, there are not nearly as many choices in this line for folks with darker skin, unfortunately, but I hope they will add more shades! The coverage is
just right, and it stays put, sun and sweat be damned. I'm obsessed.
And just the tiniest dot in the world goes a very, very, very long
way.
*SPARKLY EYE SHADOW
I'm a huge fan of
glitter, to the point that I used to be called “Glitter Whore”
among internet friends, back in the good old messageboard days. I
would probably eat glitter if it was possible. (They make edible
glitter for cakes, right? Yum)
But in the summer,
eye shadow tends to crease and get yucky or make the valiant
Hobbit-worthy journey from the safety of the Shire (my upper lid) to
Sauron's backyard (below my eye). And if there's glitter in it? Good
God, call Gandalf, because you're going to need him.
Thanks to Urban
Decay, that doesn't have to be true any longer. Urban Decay makes the
most magical eye shadows on the planet, the sparkly, beautiful, and
long lasting Moondust colors. In the past, I would layer a bunch of
different eye shadows from here and there and everywhere, hoping for
the best, but Urban Decay has simplified my eye shadow process.
Between their Asphyxia, Intergalactic, and Cosmic, I have a small
arsenal of beautiful, diverse looks available at all times. They
layer great with other eye shadows, and they make sure to keep to
their designated area.
I hope that you
summer haters (and lovers) can get some useful tips from this.
Please let me know your opinions if you've tried any of these
products or have some you'd like to add to the list! Good luck in the
heat, babes, and make sure to hydrate while you're applying that
fierce liquid eyeliner for your night out at the best concert ever.
As a very pale with blue undertones in my skin, I have to be careful about wearing muddy colors on my face. The browns, golds, and bronzes I see suggested for bringing out blue eyes usually just translate badly on my skin. After years of trying and failing to find "my colors", I finally stumbled across a fabulous red color in a Sephora palette that a friend gave me. That tiny red tin became my favorite color to wear, and I knew that I'd use it up before long. Finding another suitable red shadow wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, and it led me on a journey on par with the greatest fantasy stories of all time. If you've ever been on a hunt for JUST the right shade of eye shadow, you know what I mean. After checking Ulta, Sephora, Target, NYX, and a million brands online, I was close to giving up.
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