Day One: Ice Princess
Inspiration: The weathermen have been promising a snow-pocalypse all week, but I woke up this morning to slush. If I don’t get a winter wonderland outside, I might as well make it snow on my face.
I Dared Myself: I concealed blemishes with Clinique Super-Balanced Makeup in Alabaster then started on the eyes with Maybelline Vanilla Soft Pearl eyeshadow all over the eyelid. I worked light blue Jane eyeshadow into the crease and lined the lower lid with a white liner pencil. I defined the top lash line with Almay Liquid Eyeliner in Black Pearl and dusted Sephora glitter over the white eyeshadow above and below the eyes. I gave the cheekbones a “just came in from the cold” blush with NARS Rivera blush stick and highlighted the cheekbones with shimmer powder. It might be an unconventional beauty choice, but I finished the look with Burt’s Bees Lifeguard’s Choice sunscreen lip balm for a frosted lip.
Where I Dared: I took my snowy look to drop off my hiking backpack at an outdoorsy repair store. The irony of my snow bunny look in that setting was lost on the boots-and-parkas-clad staff, but not on me. I teach yoga in the evenings, and I’ll admit that I toned the look down for class. Something about a face full of glitter and inner peace doesn’t mix.
Day Two: Pin-Up
Inspiration: I’ve always wanted to do a retro pin-up look, especially the seductively full and arched eyebrows. A lot of rockabilly ladies in Portland (where I live) wear this look, so I’ll probably fit right in.
I Dared Myself: I evened out my skin with bareMinerals foundation in Fairly Light. Before getting started on my eye makeup, I applied fake lashes first (a must for retro looks) so that I wouldn’t mess up everything with the glue. Then I covered the whole eyelid in Clinique butter pecan shadow and worked Lancome mochacinno eyeshadow into the crease. I drew on a thin cat eye with Sephora blackest black liquid eyeliner and gave my already dark brows a very dramatic shape with Revlon brown black liquid eyeliner. I swept Lancome rose ivoire blush onto the apples of my cheeks and rounded my lips with a cherry red Amor Amor lip gloss.
Where I Dared: I swear this fifties makeup went to my head—I borrowed some cinnamon from the family next door to bake chocolate chip peanut butter banana bread, making me feel more I Love Lucy than Bettie Paige. Their kids seemed pretty fascinated by my fake lashes.
Day Three: Dark Lip
Inspiration: Remember those girls in high school who wore their angst on their lips? I was so jealous of the fact they were brave enough to snarl through the halls in black lipstick. I’m considering this my last chance to try a vampy dark lip, but I’m going to make it a bit softer to take the topic out of this hot look.
I Dared Myself: Starting with a moisturized and blemish-controled face, I kept the foundation light (I didn’t want it to be too harsh against the dark lips.) I created a delicate look on the eyes, applying Revlon Iced Spice wet/dry eyeshadow to the whole lid and creating some depth with Girlactik eyeshadow in Penny. I gave the eyes a glossy look by dusting some Hollywood Lights King Midas loose pearl powder into the inner corners of my eyes and on the brow bone. I can’t afford an awesome dark lipstick like Tom Ford Black Orchid, so I mixed an old Manic Panic black lipstick with brownish, pink, and red lipsticks to achieve this rich merlot.
Where I Dared: I was so much more into this look than I thought I’d be—I spent an embarassing amount of time vogueing in the mirror until my mom said I looked like a zombie and my boyfriend said I looked like Klaus Nomi. Whatever, I felt cooler than I ever did in high school when I wore this look out to a bar. I’m surprised they even let a tough customer like me through the door…
Day Four: Smoky Eye
Inspiration: In all of my time as a makeup-wearer, I have never even attempted the smoky eye. I guess I’ve seen too many women with racoon eyes. Oh well, this challenge is called Be Daring for a reason…
I Dared Myself: I started by applying Lancome Mochacinno matte eyeshadow on the eyelid up to the crease. I smudged bareMinerals liner shadow in Retro from the lash shine in a gradient almost up to the crease, and smudged a little underneath the eye. I used a black Revlon eyeliner pencil to define the eyes above and in the water line, then applied a million coats of mascara to my lashes. I kept the lips nude with just a sheer pink lip gloss from Gap.
Where I Dared: I have so much more respect for the ladies I see wearing a smoky eye on a regular basis—when I was finally done blending and smudging, I ended up with as much eyeshadow all over my face as I would normally wear on my eyes. It was worth it, though—I credit this high-drama look for giving me the boost I needed to perform Lil’ Kim karaoke with my friends.
Day Five: Golden Girl
Inspiration: Today I’m entering a pie bake-off. I’m nervous because the crust is behaving badly and I took some risks on the berry filling, so I’m wearing a gold eye makeup look in the hopes it will inspire the judges to give me the first place trophy.
I Dared Myself: I applied bright yellow MAC eyeshadow up to the crease to intensify the gold color. Over that I blended Ben Nye Gold pearl sheen powder and Hollywood Lights King Midas loose powder. I used MAC All That Glitters bronze eyeshadow on the outer V to make the gold pop and dusted Ben Nye blush in Persimmon on my cheeks. I finished the look with MAC Petting Pink tinted lip balm.
Where I Dared: So, I didn’t win the contest. Not even runner-up. But this bright and shiny look wasn’t all for naught, because as I was leaving the competition (empty-handed but full-stomached) the sun came out from behind the clouds and there was actually a blue sky!
