[Becka]

I use natural skin color all over first before my main colors, use a good brush to blend the crease color, but I cannot seem to blend it out enough. I have this rigid line of color that I can't get rid of no matter how much I blend. I think I have a bit of darker skin up there too which only shows up after putting on makeup, and it is contributing to the problem. I don't yet use a color to highlight the brow at the end as I haven't figured out what I should be using for my skin tone (NC45). I do think I use good brushes to apply and blend so I'm at a loss as to what to do next.

Any hints on how I can get that crease color to blend out, or any other steps/tricks I am missing?

[Becka]

Hi Maph, this darker skin thing in the crease only just started when I started up with e/s last year! I'm not complaining tho, as long as I can figure it out how to work with/cover it .. small price to pay for the new found benefits i get from wearing e/s LOL

Trisha, thanks so much for your suggestion. I will try a smaller brush tonight .. see how it goes before visiting MAC tomorrow. BTW read your purple tutorial last night and OMG that look you did is spectacular!! I tried it last night, lets just say I need a little more help, I've bookmarked that tutorial so I can keep practising it.

one more thing - the paints ... do they take long to dry before i can apply my overall color?

[VenusGoddess]

Originally Posted by becka110

one more thing - the paints ... do they take long to dry before i can apply my overall color?

Paints dry very fast...and you want to make sure you use a thin layer. Otherwise it feels weird (heavy, thick?). Paints are also good for helping the "disappering" e/s stay in place...so if you put the paint on, while it's still wet, gently dab on the color culprit.

When you say that your e/s creases, is that something that happens immediately or something that happens when you've been wearing it for a while? Have you tried using a powder base?

[MACGoddess]

I would second Trisha's suggestion of using a Paint to lighten your lid and crease area. Plus it keeps your e/s on without fading, migrating or creasing...

Also, I would suggest to either use a smaller blending brush, or a slightly more firm one (but still nice and full).

[kellibeen]

I was reading this makeup book by Sonia Kashuk that I got on a discount table at Indigo and she uses face powder to blend out the edges of her e/s colours. Another tip she says is to use the powder between colours as well to help the blending. I haven't tried it myself yet, I usually can blend pretty well by building up colour rather than putting it on dark and trying to take away.

~k

[Becka]

Thank you, ALL of you!

Hopefully I can sort this out by tomorrow w/ a visit to MAC. Got some great new e/s for xmas but its so depressing not having any of them work out for me right now coz I can't blend them properly.

Which brings me to this whole e/s thing in general. The more I am playing around the more I am looking like, well ... is this going to get easier?? I swear I am looking worse than Mimi on Drew Carey some evenings that I am sampling colors. I think I've been trying too hard, maybe I should go back to the beginning, stick with one color, really learn how to blend it properly, get it to go on and then add in more colors. Strange things are happening, sometimes they way I put it on I make my eyes look tired or droopy.

Ok thanks for listening ladies. I wish I would've tried e/s at 24, not 34!!
BTW, something's going well: pink - seem to have perfected that color only. Don't know why, but its very, very forgiving w/ my dark skintone. Can't wear pink e/s every day tho LOL

[VenusGoddess]

Hey, if you don't experiment, you'll never learn!

I've been experimenting on my make-up for about 15 years, now (I'm 31). And, there are still times when I put some combo, new look on, and I stand back and look at myself expecting to hear circus music starting at any second and wonder what the heck I was thinking!! It comes with the territory!

[devinjhans]

Hi Becka I am also NC45 I usually use 224 to blend and you can apply the color lightly with something like the 217 brush and apply more color as needed, the 222 brush is a good brush and i like stila #7 when i am trying to define a smaller area in the crease. charcoal brown is a good crease color and ricepaper, nylon and shroom are good h/l colors. i like to apply amber lights lightly over the h/l color, it looks really pretty. HTH!

[Becka]

Venusgoddess ... that makes me feel better

Devin thanks for the tips. In e/s I've been wearing pinks, swish and some really pale shade, plums - satin taupe, nocturnal, antiqued, gold and some copper/bronze shade a fair bit... do you have a recommendation of one brow highlight color you think I'd get most use out of, right now to go with my e/s fav's. Right now I should really only get one highlight color tomorrow, more can come later.

[FeistyFemme]

I agree with Leila's rec for a firmer brush.

I also wanted to say that I've been wearing makeup now for a good 5 years, and sometimes I still will wind up looking like a clown when I experiment. That's the beauty of makeup though - you can wash it off and start again.

[Liz]

what you want to do is apply the e/s in a smaller section and then blend outwards from that area.
what i also do is use a "buffer" e/s. it's something that matches my skin tone but a tad bit darker. so i use Soba e/s. i apply right under my brow highlight in my crease area. then i put whatever darker shade i'm using below it in the outer V area and i blend into my "buffer" shade. that way you don't have the dark e/s going all the way to your brow high light.

[devinjhans]

i really like vex and ricepaper.

Originally Posted by becka110

Venusgoddess ... that makes me feel better

Devin thanks for the tips. In e/s I've been wearing pinks, swish and some really pale shade, plums - satin taupe, nocturnal, antiqued, gold and some copper/bronze shade a fair bit... do you have a recommendation of one brow highlight color you think I'd get most use out of, right now to go with my e/s fav's. Right now I should really only get one highlight color tomorrow, more can come later.

[bluebird26]

Originally Posted by maph

I'd love to help you with this becka110 but I have the same problem as you and I think my skin tone is NC45 too. I have darker skin on my eyelid cuz I used to tan with my mu on. Also I have heard it said that after years of wearing eyeshadow you tend to get this dark skin there. So I hope someone can answer your questions cuz it will help me too.

You are NC45???? You don't look like it!

[Becka]

I'm not as dark as some of the other members, but I do use Studio fix in NC45, goes on an exact match to my skin tone. Maybe I'm not NC45 in some of the heavier products, I don't know.

I just wanted to thank all of you here for the help earlier, you gals're the BEST !!!

I was at the MAC counter first thing today when they opened!! Bought paint in Sublime Nature and Shroom e/s. YAAAAAAY !! The MUA gave me some great tips and techniques and of course I took the opportunity to have her do my eyes " ). In all honesty I wasn't even applying it properly to begin with. Anywhoo, after a day of power (mostly window) shopping I've washed it all off and redone it myself and WHAT ???? whoa, hang onto your seats here ...... no problem blending! Thin layer of paint, then shroom, then color. I also switched to a smaller brush for blending, but I really have to get a better one next week. I could perhaps switch shroom to something a little darker, I'll play around with it this week.

No more hard line of color at the crease - I am soooooo happy!!