Recreate the Look: Adele- Vogue UK 2011

Adele's makeup is always gorgeous. Dramatic cat eye, big lashes and pouty lips is her staple look. When I saw this picture of Adele on the October 2011 Vogue UK cover, I fell in love. Its her classic look, just amped up.

source: Vogue

I decided it would be fun to see if I could recreate this look, or at least the best I could. I dont know what products the makeup artist used, so I just use colors that looked similar to the photograph. All the products I used will be listed down below- but if you want to try this look for yourself, use whatever you have on hand!

 

I started off with a full coverage foundation, concealer and filled in my eyebrows as normal.

I applied a eyeshadow primer to my lids and applied a light beige shadow from my lash line to my brow bone to serve as a base. 

I then used a light brown in the crease, concentrating the color mainly in the center of the lid and extending it up towards the end of my brow and into the inner corner of the eye.

Using a dark brown shadow, I darkened the center of the crease and blended it thoroughly. 

 

 

I packed a light pink shimmery shadow all over the lid, avoiding the crease.

Now its time for liner. You can map out where you want your cat eye to go with a dark brown shadow, that way if you make a mistake its easily wiped away. The key is to make sure both eyes match in length and angle. You can achieve this by looking straight ahead into a mirror when applying your liner, then use small strokes to plan out the line. Keep checking to make sure both eyes look the same!

 

Once you have your liner mapped out, take a black shadow and complete the line around the eye, creating a thin 'v' around the tear duct.  

Continue darkening the liner by adding more shadow or by using a black eyeliner pencil. I used a black eye pencil on an angle brush. I also added the same light brown eyeshadow I used in the crease to blend the dark liner on the lower lash line.

Once I was happy with the liner, I cleaned up the edges with concealer.

In the image of Adele, there appears to be a slight hint of purple in the eye makeup. Its most likely the lighting or editing, but I wanted to add a bit of purple to add a little extra something. I applied a small amount of deep purple with a blending brush to the middle of the crease, and also applied the same purple over top of the black liner.

I added lots of mascara and a nude eyeliner to the lower waterline. 

Some false lashes and the eyes are done!

I contoured my face using a taupe brown matte eyeshadow, and then applied a small about of bronzer on my forehead and temples. I used a light pink blush towards the outer part of my cheek and blended it with my contour. I applied a champagne cream eyeshadow as my highlight along my cheekbones, brow bone and the inner corner of my eye.

Adele is wearing an extremely nude lip, which can show every bit of flacky, dry skin. So, I exfoliated my lips and made sure they were moisturized before applying foundation over the lips. Foundation creates a blank canvas by taking out any natural redness in the lip. I lined the lips with a beige lip liner, applied a creamy nude lipstick, and then added a bit of pink lip gloss just to the center of the lower lip.

Voila! The look is complete!

I hope you liked this look and try it out for yourself! If you have any requests for a look you'd like me to recreate, leave a link of a reference picture in the comments and I'll see what I can do!

Products used:

Face- Covergirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-1 Foundation in "Ivory"

Revlon Photoready Concealer in "Light"

Maybelline Mineral Power Concealer in "Fair"

Elf High Definition Powder

Elf Single Eyeshadow in "Pebble"

Avon Ideal Luminous blush in "Earthen Rose"

Revlon Matte Power Blush in "Perfectly Peach"

Maybelline 24hr Color Tattoo Cream Shadow in "Barely Beige"

Brows- Avon Glimmerstick Brow definer in "Blonde"

Elf Single Eyeshadow in "Pebble"

Eyes- Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Pur Minerals "Beauty by Numbers" palette (Skin tone)

Urban Decay "Naked" palette (Light Brown) 

 NYX Single Eyeshadow in "Dark Brown"

Wet'n'Wild Trio "Walking on Eggshells" (pink shimmer)

NYX "Smokey Eyes" palette (black)

Wet'n'Wild "Lust" palette (purple)

Avon Supershock Gel Liner in "Black"

Rimmel Scandleyes Eyeliner in "Nude"

Jordana Best Lash Extreme mascara in "Black"

Elf false lashes

Lips- NYX lip liner in "Nude Beige"

Elf Matte Lip Color in "Nearly Nude"

Hard Candy Lip Gloss (no name)

 

Quick and easy high impact makeup

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge makeup lover. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE. I love everything about makeup- from the planning of a look to the application. When I became a Mom and decided to stay at home with my daughter, I knew the freedom to express my adventurous side in makeup was going to be a bit stifled. Taking 30 minutes to create a detailed smoky eye just didn’t make sense anymore. Not only was it unnecessary for a normal day at home, but it was a frivolous waste of time when I had more important things to do. However, just because I’m a stay-at-home-mom now doesn’t mean I should give up makeup, nor does it mean I should relent to a ho-hum makeup routine. It just means I have to become a little more creative in how I apply it and save the extravagant stuff for special occasions.

So, over the past 3 months of being at home with my baby, I’ve come across some ways to get high impact looks with minimal effort and time. Some days I only grab one of these tips and focus on it, other days I grab them all. Since I’m at the mercy of my 3 month old, it really all depends on the amount of time I have. But really, you could do all of these things in under 10 minutes.

I usually start out my makeup with a BB cream, which is a super quick way to even out your skin tone. I also will put a bit of concealer under my eyes and on blemishes if need be. I'll sweep some powder over top and my base is complete!

I'm wearing Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Shadow
in 'Bad to the Bronze', black shadow on the lash
line and 1 coat of Jordana Best Lash Extreme mascara.

1. Eyes:

Cream shadows—long wear cream shadows (like Maybelline Color Tattoos) are the easiest way to get color without taking a lot of time. You can use your fingers to apply the shadow, or a brush: either way the secret is to buff the edges so there are no harsh lines. You can use bright, sheer or even dramatic colors to create quick smoky looks. Its up to you!

Using shadow as liner—Using a dark shadow color (charcoal, brown or even black)on an angled brush to darken the lash line does wonders. It is the quickest way to apply liner I know of and is one of the most forgiving. If you make a mistake, you can just buff it out with a Q-tip. If you want more drama, you can slightly dampen your brush with water or eye drops and then apply your shadow. It intensifies the shadow, making it almost the consistency of a cake or gel liner.

 Lashes—I cant stress this enough- CURL YOUR LASHES! You will be amazed at how it opens the eyes. Not to mention it will help fool people into thinking you got 8 hours of sleep instead of 3. Mascara is another must in my book. Using good black mascara will draw attention to your eyes without much effort.

2. Lips:

I'm wearing Revlon Strawberry Suede as a stain

Bright lip color—It only takes a minute to slap on lipstick. Why not pick out a fun color while you’re at it? You can easily create a stain with your lipstick if you don’t feel like dealing with the upkeep of wearing lipstick full on. Use your finger to rub the color into your lips and then blot it afterwards.

Balm or gloss in fun color—Tons of companies make sheer, bright lip colors in moisturizing formulas now. Its an easy way to use fun colors without worrying about feeling overdone. Plus, since they are sheer and moisturizing, you don’t have to worry about your lip color rubbing off onto little baby cheeks :)

                 

3. Cheeks:

Rosy flush—Blush is a tired Mommy’s best friend. Its easy to look tired and worn out when your pale as a ghost. A quick sweep of pink or coral blush is the fastest way to bring life and youth to your skin.

Bronzer—If you’re feeling especially pale, a little bronzer can go a long way. A sheer kiss over the highest points of the face (where the sun naturally hits) is all you need. 

I have on Wet'n'Wild Blusher in Pearlescent Pink

Being a Mom doesn’t mean you have to forget about having fun with your makeup. I think its important to take a little time, even just 5 minutes, to freshen yourself up before you face the day. For me, having a splash of makeup on just makes the rest of the day feel a little more pulled together- even if all I’m doing is changing poopy diapers!

Mommy thoughts: Selfishness

I’ve been a Mom for two months now. Gabe's back at work. I’m at home. Every day I wake up to a precious little baby that needs me to care for her. Every night I go to sleep knowing that I’ll wake up multiple times to feed her, to change her diaper, to make sure she’s still breathing. Its cliché, but its true- being a Mom changes everything. From the most practical things like your day to day routine to the most deep, spiritual parts that only God sees. 

I didnt realized how incredibly selfish I was until I had Emery. I think it hit me right in the throes of trying to learn to breast feed her. I wanted to give up so badly. I told myself it was because things weren’t going as planned and I felt like it was my fault. Really at the core of it, I was just being selfish because I didn’t want to keep going on.  It hurt, it was boring, and it took most of my day. I wanted that time to myself. I was mad because I was the only one who could do it, and I wanted to shove off the responsibility to my husband.  I didn’t want to take the time and effort to succeed. Even though it was the best choice for my baby and family, I didn’t see it as the best choice for ME. I’d lie awake late at night and think how must easier it would be just to use a bottle. I felt like it would mean freedom for me and the end of a constant struggle. I didn’t see how things would get better and I didn’t want to continue fighting.  I’m so grateful that God helped me push through. He reminded me time and time again that there were babies and Momma’s who didn’t have this choice and wished they did. He reminded me that my time was and is not my own- and has always belonged to Him. He showed me that it wasn’t about doing what was easy but about doing what He’s asked me to do.

I’m still selfish, and every day I battle with that selfishness. I firmly believe that one of the many blessings of having children is that they force you to love someone more then you love yourself. They're tools God uses to chisel off another layer of our sinful nature. They make you realize that all those stupid things you used to not be able to live without are nothing in the grand scheme of life.

Two months down and a life time to go.
 

 

Thank you Heather!

Its almost been 3 weeks since our beautiful baby girl Emery was born. Its been a whirlwind. Being a Mom is both the hardest and most incredible experience of my life. As sappy as it sounds, all the cliches are true. I never thought I could love someone so much.

I wish I had the time to write out all that happened when Emery was born, as it was a long 36+ hours of labor. But since I dont have a lot of time, I just wanted to use the opportunity to say a huge thank you to my amazing sister Heather. Heather has been training to become a doula, and I was her first labor and delivery after she completed her courses. I cant tell you how grateful I am that she was there. She spent hours rubbing my legs to help speed labor (which worked!), sat up all night comforting me through contractions, and when I broke down from the pain, she supported me through tough decisions. She was with me over 24 hours and she never complained. Looking back, I think she was the driving force that helped me pull through.
If there was a way to repay her, I would. But I cant think of a single thing that would show her how much I appreciate all she's done. I sincerely hope she takes this incredible gift of encouragement and support to the next level and offers her services as a doula to other women.

Life will never be the same now that baby girl is here. I'm so glad I have such an amazing family to offer their support, advice and love. I am truly a blessed women. Thank you God for all that you've given me.

Hi, my name is Katie. And I'm an introvert.

Someone once said that in Corporate America “…everyone knows it’s important to be an extrovert, and troublesome to be an introvert. So people work real hard at looking like extroverts, whether that’s comfortable or not.” I think the same can be said for the church today. The church has taken on the secular cultures idealistic personality and tweaked it into the energetic and preppy Christian stereotype. We’ve formed our church services, small groups, and ministries around people being extroverted. We don’t take time for quiet reflection in church anymore. Instead we fill every moment with loud music, preaching and shaking hands. There is a very apparent push in modern churches today to conform to a cookie cutter model. And it’s not only a shame for Christian introverts who have more to offer then an imitation of cultures ideal, but it also denies God the glory for making us all unique. If God wanted all Christians to be extroverts, the Holy Spirit would transform us at salvation. Instead, I think God’s design is to use the quiet and the loud, the introspective and outgoing, the mild and the wild if you will.

“Its imperative to understand that becoming a Christian is not tantamount with becoming an extrovert.” ~Adam S McHugh.

There is no cookie cutter ideal Christian personality. However, as an introvert I’ve been told my whole life that because I’m not outgoing, outspoken and social enough, I’m not a good Christian. Church tells me that my worth in ministry is tied to my ability to be the first to greet a new visitor or share my deepest convictions with a small group. I’ve been guilted into believing that something is wrong with me because I don’t fit into the Christian archetype. The problem with that mindset is that it not only alienates natural introverts, but it also puts guilt and shame on a personality trait that God himself designed. Asking an introvert to become an extrovert is asking them to be disingenuous. I think one of the biggest influences Christians have on culture is our vulnerability and honesty. If we plaster on a fake characteristic just to fit into the churches idea of a ‘good Christian’, then we’re living a lie.

“There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…” ~ Romans 8:1

Being reticent in today’s popular church culture can be seen as a weakness- an obstacle you must overcome on your spiritual journey. Yet the incredible thing is that God has designed each of us with specific personality traits and giftings. He created as all in his image- to reflect his characteristics. Christ exhibited both extroverted and introverted qualities. He showed us the power of being outspoken when he spoke boldly and with passion to thousands of people. He showed us the need for reflection, quiet and solitude when he spent 40 days and 40 nights alone in the desert and when he prayed alone in the garden of Gethsemane.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” ~1 Cor 12:4-6

Being Christ-like does not mean we have to fit into our cultures ideal personality type. It means that we each submit our hearts to the lordship and authority of Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to mold and make us into who He wants us to be. For an introvert, that might mean getting out of their comfort zone and sharing God’s love in a more outspoken way. For an extrovert, it might mean being quiet and allowing someone else to speak. Either way, we all have our own journeys to walk. And each of them will look different. We all have different things to offer and specific calling on our lives. We shouldn’t be held under the thumb of condemnation, no matter what our personality type is.

“… God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.” ~ 1 Cor 12:18-20

So rejoice in who God made you to be! He loves you and sees you as his spotless child. Your personality is not a mistake, and you do not have to live an unauthentic life in order to meet someone else’s expectations.  You have something to offer; and it doesn’t mean you have to be someone you’re not in order to do it. Whether you are quiet and soft spoken, or loud and outgoing, you were made in the image of the Creator.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them…” ~Genesis 1:27