maybelline cream eye shadow

A giant eye shadow pallet is enough to make me want to create a new eye shadow look every. single. day.

Which is kind of what I’ve been doing for the past year, ever since I got Sephora’s giant eye shadow collection for Christmas.

One day it dawned on me how much time creating a new look adds to my morning routine, plus my day time look was heavier than it needed to be. Not to mention the fact that I had almost used up all the good shades when I could have been saving them for special use.

Enter: my resolve to pair down my every day eye makeup routine. Spring especially is a great time to do this because everything gets lighter and we’re outside more, so we want to make sure our face is conveying our natural beauty and not a strong sparkly purple shadow.

Here are the three products I used to lighten up my look and my routine…

1. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Eden: I’ve been using the primer on my lids for years, but when I went in to get some more, the girl suggested using it under my eyes as well. Whoa girl – it does an amazing job of not only brightening that area but keeping my concealer in tact (sometimes I’ll even skip concealer…shhh). This shade is perfect for pulling double duty if need be because it’s light and matte.

2. Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in “Bad to the Bronze”: I’ve written and talked about this product so much, it would take me half an hour to track down all of the other blogs I’ve mentioned it in. This shade is light, it’s shimmery but not over powering. It gives you a nice natural sheen that lasts for hours. And the fact that I can apply it simply with my finger means it goes on in seconds.

3. Hikari Blush in Tango: For over five years now I’ve been slapping on the same old boring blush thinking I was doing just fine. Then when I got this full size product in my Ipsy bag, it was as if someone turned off the black and white in my world. It’s bright, vibrant color translates perfectly on my cheeks making me look as if I just DANCED the tango and am now lit from within. A great blush, truly goes a long way to waking up your look.

Time to take a look at your everyday beauty routine – what can you improve?!

Every Wednesday I try to write about a product I’ve been using lately that I either want to marry or burn in a fiery furnace (I thought the extremes might wake you up).

To give you a hint on how I feel about this weeks product…there will be no engagement pictures, rings or Pinterest-perfect bridesmaids.

I love love my Maybelline Color Tattoo Eyeshadow in Bad to the Bronze. In fact I wear it almost everyday. Sometimes alone, sometimes layered with other colors. It gives the perfect sheen and gets me out the door very quickly.

But its evil stepsister the Cream Gel Shadow in Tough as Taupe is not so perfect.

I’m currently in the honeymoon phase of a relationship with the color taupe (all these wedding references, what’s up with that?). Seriously though, I love it. So when I found a shadow in the same color, I thought…Yes please!

Unfortunately this color comes off more ashy gray than it does creamy taupe. #Fail. Maybe it will work with your skin color, but if you’re at all the pale white with peachy undertones kind-of-gal that I am, it’s a no go.

The one thing that has saved the color from being thrown in the fiery furnace (which I don’t actually have on hand, by the way) is that it looks good when paired with Bad to the Bronze. Really I can’t think of a color Bad to the Bronze can’t help with. So go get you some of that.

A Light Spring Makeup Routine

Here are the three products I used to lighten up my look and my routine…

Eyeshadow Fail