smashbox Photo Op Mega Palette:

I love color, but some days, neutrals totally rock!

Smashbox Photo Op Auto Focus Eye Shadow Trio

With this mauvey-rose colored top, a neutral eye, and some pink blush and a soft pink lip

No one loves bright pretty colors more than me, but with a monochromatic look based on neutrals  you can achieve such subtle effects.

This makeup look uses browns and tans flushed with pink, so even the slightest hint of a brighter shade, like the posy-pink blush, and the poppy-pink lip, really jumps out. Just a bit of contrast in color becomes a bit dramatic, especially on a look meant for daytime.

I love this mauve top. I got it down at the Terranea Resort, where they sell really beautiful yoga wear.
These flat cultured pearls are a peachy-cream color, with shades of turquoise and green in the light—those subtle shades are more visible because of the monochromatic look.

The Products: This look is almost completely out of the smashbox Photo Op Megapalette:

Cheeks: Posy Pink

Lips: Bitten gloss

Eyes:

Photo Op Auto Focus:

• Champagne: A shimmery cream, all over lid from lash line to brow bone
• Flamingo: Not well named, sorry, smashbox. Anything named 'Flamingo' ought to be bright peachy pink. This is a more conventional shimmery peach with some rose tones. I do really like this shade.  I just have this OCD issue about naming things. I put this on the lid up to the crease
• Java: A matte deep brown. This should not blend as easily as it does. Matte shades are notoriously hard to blend.  Not this little beauty. I put this along the lash line, and in a soft wedge on outer lid blended up into the crease. Seriously, the ease of blending saves so much time and stress. Did I mention I am in love with this palette?
• Midnight Brown cream eyeliner, from Photo Op Mega Palette.  I just washed this out of my bdellium angled eyeliner brush, and it is so darned pigmented. Getting it out took some doing. But I don't mind. That pigmentation means you can do a brown rather than black, and keep the look soft but still strong.
• Smashbox Full Exposure Mascara in jet black. In terms of control, lack of clumping, and coverage, this is still the best mascara I've ever owned.

Here are some money shots of the palette:

Auto Focus is in the center. Now would you call that center shade 'Flamingo?' Way too subtle for that.
I"d call it Bermuda Sand.

So, Happy Friday before a 3-day weekend, every body!

I hope this post was fun and interesting, and gives you some ideas for your own daily face. Drop me a line, let me know what you think.

Also, follow me on Twitter at @BeautyJonesToo. I post Instagram shots and little reviews when I pick up random items from the CVS and Ulta, and other cool beauty spots.So much stuff to share, makeup and beauty-wise.

Have a great day, and if you are in L.A. like I am, be careful in the rain!

Cheers!

:)BeautyJones

NYX Neutral Face with Little Black Dress

What's great about the Little Black Dress is that it goes with everything. A bright red lip? Check. A neutral face? Also good.

This Friday I gave the bright lip a bit of a rest in favor of a neutral face, which turned out to be done with almost all NYX products.  You know when you are in a hurry and you just grab what you know? NYX is the gift that keeps on giving.  How do they do it? Love them!

Here's what I used:

Face:

• Skyn Iceland Soothing Eye Pen
• Neutrogena On-The-Spot Acne cream along chin and near hair line
• Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentré
• Dr. Brandt BB Cream with Flexitone
• Coty Loose Powder
• Paula Dorf Concealer duo under eyes

Cheeks:

• NYX "Butt" Naked Palette—terra cotta shade, coral shade pale highlighter, and contour. Yes, you can use this one palette and layer these shades to get a really subtle and elegant look. Not that mine is so very special, I'm just sayin.'

NYX "Butt" Naked Eyes: I used: Top left, Middle Row 2nd from Left, Middle Row 2nd from Right, Bottom Right.
This palette invites endless play. To me it's a desert island product, if one had need for makeup on a desert island.

Eyes:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion Original
• NYX "Butt" Naked Palette: Pale cream shade all over lid, Fawn color in crease, gray color in V shape on outer edge of eyes and beneath eyes along outer third of lash line, deep purple shade along upper and lower lash line, shimmery pale taupe shade on brow bone and inner corner of eye near tear duct
• Salma Hayek Nuance Brow Pencil in Medium Blonde
• Stila Lash Visor Waterproof in Black

Lips:

• Too Faced Lip Insurance
• NYX Lipstick in Iced Honey 556

 
Results:

• Dr. Brandt's BB Cream may not be the best summer foundation option for me, since it's pretty darned moisturizing. The jury is still out.  I could really use some serious moisture.
• Did I mention I love the NYX "Butt" Naked palette?. Sorry to sound like a broken record. Have you bought one yet? I keep finding new ways to use these shades.
• NYX Lipstick in Iced Honey. What an interesting nude shade this is. It's got peachy tones, a touch of shimmer, a hint of rose, the shimmer seems to have a smattering of bluish green... Only thing is, it doesn't last as long as I'd like, even with the Too Faced Lip Insurance.

What are your favorite products for a neutral face?
What are your favorite makeup looks with your Little Black Dress?

Comment below and let me know!

:)BeautyJones