Maryam Maquillage: "Rebel Valentine" Nail Art & Makeup

Thursday, January 24, 2013

"Rebel Valentine" Nail Art & Makeup

Bonjour mes belles! C'est moi Maryam, and today I'm up close and personal featuring a daring Valentine's makeup & nails look for the rebel girls. Is that you? I love the idea of a smokey eye using unconventional colors -- in this case red -- so I'm pairing it with a set of badass studded nails, inspired by talismans of protection and soft baby pink lips for a dose of innocence. How's that sound?

Read more for details

I rebel for I repel...

THE LOVE CONCEPT: In creating this nail design, I wanted to focus on the aspects from my previous nail art and show you how easy it is to get creative with hearts and rhinestones / studs if you know how to paint and apply them, respectively. The creative possibilities are endless and this design is just one of my ideas for Valentine's Day. After all, love doesn't always have to be represented as pink and sweet -- real love is so strong and sacred, it must be protected and shielded. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about :))

So, to protect my notion of love, I was inspired by a lot of shielding objects and talismans that ward off evil: medieval Knight's armor and shield, "roses-n-thorns" tattoos, ancient amulets from the Middle Ages, and many others. I kept my nails long and pointy to add to the concept and repel anything that comes in the way of my love... hisssssss...

For this NAIL ART, I used:

China Glaze Magnetix Magnet -- this magnet and the following polishes are $5 at HBwigs.com
China Glaze Nail Lacquer -- Magnetix II Collection -- Gold Fusion -- China Glaze's Magnetix II Collection contains iron powder which is attracted to the magnetic design.
China Glaze Nail Lacquer -- Tranzitions Collection -- Altered Reality -- China Glaze Tranzitions feature transformational colors that reveal a new shade by adding a clear top coat.
Any crystal clear top coat will change the color of Tranzitions. Therefore, when you use a top coat to create nail art, you should not add an additional top coat, as it will change the entire nail color. Tranzitions is designed as a durable lacquer that dries with a satin finish without the application of a top coat, similar to that of a matte lacquer.
China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat -- $6 at HBwigs.com
China Glaze Nail Lacquer -- Holiday Joy Collection -- Red Satin -- beautiful red creme, $5
Born Pretty Store 2 mm gold Rhinestone Studs (10% OFF Coupon: MARYAM5W21)

Born Pretty Store Dotting Tools (10% OFF Coupon: MARYAM5W21) -- not pictured

Nail Art How-To: Painting Hearts & Applying Studs

On To The MAQUILLAGE!

Products Used (Skin):

Missha M Perfect BB Cream #27 Honey Beige -- this is my secret to flawless-looking skin. Nothing photographs better and looks more natural in person than this cult-favorite BB cream by Missha. I wear this product when my skin is fairly good and doesn't need much concealing, though Missha provides excellent medium to full coverage.
Benefit Erase Paste Concealer - medium 02 -- great for brightening the under-eye area. I don't particulary suffer from dark circles, but I like to lighten the area when I'm wearing heavy smokey eyes, especially given my chosen color :)

Products Used (EYES):

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Makeup Geek eyeshadows -- I am really impressed with the quality and consistency of MUG shadows and highly recommend them to everyone. In my opinion, these eyeshadows surpass a lot of popular brands and deliver the type of finish that even some high-end products can't top. (::coughs:: MAC -- there, I said it)

Razzleberry (raspberry red with gold glitter) -- lid
Bitten (matte maroon red) -- outer "V"
Cocoa Bear (matte reddish brown) -- crease
Goddess (metallic copper) -- inner crease
Shimma Shimma (metallic champagne) -- inner corner & highlight under brow
Bleached Blonde (shimmery pale gold) -- inner corner
Peach Smoothie (matte peach beige) -- transition between crease & highlight

Makeup Geek gel liner in Mobster (deep chocolate brown) -- another amazing product with incredible color payoff.
Red Cherry Lashes #1 -- This is my favorite pair of lashes to go with a smokey eye. The density of the hairs amplifies the smokey effect and the spikiness of the lashes gives a nice separation to the transition. I really love Red Cherry lashes for their flexible bands and the variety of flattering styles to choose from. Get this pair and many more for just under $2 from HBwigs.com

RED Eyeshadow Smokey Eye Tips (If you Dare!):

Use brown liner instead of black to soften the overall effect
Keep the crease shadows matte and transition shadows close to your skin tone in terms of color
Make sure the rim the entire eye with liner to avoid looking "all cried out"
Avoid bright blush and keep the skin as neutral as possible
RED eyeshadow brightens the face and counteracts redness and spottiness in the skin

For the final touch, I added a pink nude lipstick:

Makeup Geek lipstick in Innocent -- described as a warm nude peach, but looks more pinky-nude on me. You guys already know how I feel about this lipstick -- I've spammed you with my raves on IG & FB -- but heck, third time's the charm:

I'm loving this! MUG lipstick in Innocent isn't the most pigmented lipstick you'll find, however, it feels light on the lips, is quite buildable and hydrating, plus, it lasts for hours. I am really impressed and am eager to try more MUG lipsticks. For $8 a pop -- it's a steal!