Trendy Makeup Tutorials and a Mary Kay® Product Giveaway!

Even though we don't talk about it much on the blog, we love makeup.  We find inspiration everywhere for makeup (magazines, TV, and celebrities), but lately we've been inspired by some of the makeup techniques we've seen on Project Runway.  As you all know, we. are. obsessed. with Project Runway.  Sewing + Fashion + Makeup = Joy, so when we were given the opportunity to use Mary Kay® (who is the official makeup sponsor of Project Runway Season 13) and recreate some Project Runway-inspired looks at home, we said yes!

We got to try out two different styles.  Jessica tested out the Graphic Eye--a totally modern two-tone cat eye (in TARDIS blue!) and Hilary tried out the Emerald Smoky eye which made her green eyes pop!  We love tutorials around here, so we thought we'd show you how we created these dramatic (but still totally wearable) looks.

Plus, since we had so much fun playing with the Mary Kay® makeup, we wanted to share some with you!  Check out both of our looks and let us know in the comments which one you like best (Jessica's Graphic Eye or Hilary's Emerald Smoky Eye) for an entry into our giveaway.  One of our lucky readers will win a $100 Visa gift card plus a collection of Mary Kay® products to create one of the looks featured + some beauty essentials!

Jessica: So it may not be exactly common knowledge around here, but I like to dress up. And by "dress up" I don't mean fancy-dress-and-heels dressing up, though I do that as well. I mean the kind of dressing up that includes costumes. So I was really stoked to see this amazing Mary Kay® Blue My Mind eyeliner, (or, as Hilary mentioned above, TARDIS blue. And I'm so proud of her for knowing that). There are many events in which TARDIS colored eyeliner would be appropriate, right? And what better combo then funky blue eyeliner and an Alex Vause-style graphic 1960's cat eye. Because Alex Vause + Doctor Who seems like an obvious combo, right?

1. I started out by applying two shades of taupe on my eyelids, Mary Kay® Mineral Eyeshadow in Moonstone over my whole lid, and Driftwood on the crease and under my lower lashes.

2. Next I applied the awesome blue eyeliner in a thin line across my entire upper lash line, and followed up with a gel eyeliner in Jet Black, starting at the center of my eye and sweeping outward into a cat eye, and lining the inner part of my lower eyelid. 

3. The last step was, of course, about 12 coats of mascara. I'm kidding! It was two coats of Mary Kay® Ultimate Mascara in Very Black. Which actually didn't irritate my eyes at all the way most mascara does. I wear contacts and have horrible seasonal allergies, so most mascara is just impossible and makes my eyes red and itchy. This was great!

The final step was bronzer on and under my cheekbones, and a swipe of neutral lip gloss (I used Mary Kay® NouriShine® Plus Lip Gloss in Au Naturel). When you're doing an eye this bold it's pretty important to keep the rest of your face neutral! Otherwise you just look like Dr. Frank N. Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which actually would be fine if you're attending a midnight showing of said movie (which I have, of course! With newspapers and toast.) but if you're just hanging out seems a little overboard.

That being said, the season 8 premier of Doctor Who will be in theaters here in Boise on August 25, and the TARDIS blue may in fact get busted out then, possibly along with my DIY Circular Gallifreyan t-shirt. Fun will be had. And actually I got quite a few compliments on this look while I was just wearing it around for the day as well! 

Hilary decided to try a completely different kind of look, one that involved her favorite color, lime green (seriously, she's obsessed!)!

Hilary: I got to try out the Emerald Smoky eye which I was thrilled about.  Often I don't wear a lot of green eye shadow because green eyes + green eye makeup can be a lot, but I decided to experiment and see if the green shadow would make my green eyes stand out.

I started with Mary Kay® Cream Eye Color in Meadow Grass all over my eyelids and in a thin line under the eye as a base (1).  Then I layered Mary Kay® Mineral Eye Color in Emerald all over the lid.  I used Mineral Eye Color in Lime on the inner third of my eye lid to create a natural highlight (I always use a lighter color on my inner eyelid to make my eyes look bigger!) (2).  I lined the top line with Mary Kay® Eyeliner in Black and swiped on two coats of Mary Kay® Lash Love Lengthening Mascara in Black (3).  Sooo easy and yet totally dramatic.

I finished off my look with a light layer of Cream Blush in Cranberry and True Dimensions Lipstick in Mystic Plum.  The original look used a lipliner, but it was a little dark, so I used a light layer of the plum lipstick and I topped it off with some of the Au Naturel lip gloss Jessica used for her Graphic Eye look!  After looking at my before and after pictures, the Emerald Smoky eye TOTALLY made my green eyes look bigger and brighter!  I'm a fan, especially of that Lime Mineral Eye Color.

So what do you all think?  Which look are you wanting to try? The Graphic Eye or the Emerald Smoky eye?  Leave a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card and a collection of Mary Kay® products to create one of the looks featured + some beauty essentials.

Still confused?  You can visit Mary Kay® on Project Runway, Facebook, Youtube, and of course, their website for more ideas and information! 

Sweepstakes Rules: 

No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
1.  Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2.  Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3.  Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4.  For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2014-10/7/2014.
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