Special Attractions (Brown Smokey)

I'm calling it now! The more I post, the more you readers (if anyone's out there lol) will realize I LOVE SMOKEY EYES!! Whether colorful, black, grey, whatever, I think it always looks classy and sophisticated. I've marveled at Kim K's and Kelly Rowland's, and so many other celebs staple smokeys for forever and simply can't get enough of it! I think it's timeless and classy, while remaining sexy and sophisticated. Now, I'm not one of those people who can pull off a black smokey eye on a day-to-day basis, so I opt for something a little more subtle---brown smokey eyes! YES! I said brown. Now for all of us women of color, it may seem a little strange to think of smoking out brown eyeshadows. I thought the same as well! For us brown girls, colors may match our skin, making it seem as if we having nothing on. I've learned that it's all about how the eyelid is prepped and how the makeup is applied. I decided to share with you all how I achieve the "Olisa Signature Smokey Eye." Whenever I decided to do this look, I get so many compliments. I must admit, I think it's a little much for everyday wear, but sometimes I want to be fancy with it. This simple look usually takes about 10 minutes to achieve, and has me looking fierce! I can't reiterate how much I love this look.

Take a look at how I do mine :-)


Here's a list of all the products I used!

Face:
MUFE HD Liquid Foundation (#178)
MAC Studio Finish Concealer (NW45)
MAC Mineralized Skinfinish (Deep Dark)
MAC Sweet As Cocoa Blush

Eyes:
UDPP (Sin)
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil (Dark Brown)
Jordana e/s (Your Majesty)
Jordana e/s (Cocoa)
Flasies Mascara
Red Cherry Lashes (#82)
L'Oreal Super Liner

Lips:
MAC Fresh Brew Lipstick
MAC Spirit & Soul Lipgloss

The Heart of the Matter

WOW! I swore to myself I wouldn't hop on the "You blog?--hey me too!" bandwagon, but I've finally given in. You see, this little situation I've decided to partake in didn't develop overnight. I suppose you can say this process has been churning in my mind for a few years now....

I can remember a crisp Saturday morning in October 2006, I was on my cheap, hand-me-down laptop at my high school in little 'ol Staunton, VA (yes...I went to boarding school) just browsing the internet. I was searching for ways I could re-create this silver and black smokey eye Beyonce sported in an Essence magazine photo shoot that I thought looked beautiful on her. Back then, there weren't many places to get step by step makeup instructions, so when I came across Christine at temptalia.com I was so pumped LOL. She posted this look to her website (http://www.temptalia.com/tutorial-smokey-eye) and I was hooked! I HAD to try it. I begged my dorm parent to take me to the local Wal*Mart to pick up what I thought I needed to complete this look. When I arrived back on dorm, I had a Covergirl eyeshadow in Starry Night and a basic black eyeshadow from them as well. Using these shanty little sponge tip applicators, I took off and just started going IN on my eyelids. The end result---a hot sizzlin' mess! I seriously looked like someone had just beaten me up, stole my NorthFace, and then pointed and laughed. It was the worst thing I'd ever seen in my life. I wish I had pictures to show just how bad it was. You would've died! Luckily, I've since made significant progress in my makeup game, and can now boast being able to bang out a sexy-ass smokey eye :-)

How does this have any significance to my decision to start blogging? Well, several reasons! For one, it's instances like that that's helped me get to the way I view the whole beauty world now. I made it a point to educate myself on what I know and what I'd love to know more about. All to often, people are shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit in a chair, and watch someone else's techniques just to call themselves a guru (and to them I gave the sassiest *side eye* ever). That is absurd to me. It's 2010. Get out there and do your own research! The countless numbers of resources out there ranging from hair, to makeup, to skincare, fashion, health, etc. is nothing short of amazing (and free!). Utilize them! Reason two. I've discovered so many different beauty bloggers that have taught me so much and for that I am so grateful. These men and women are all so different, offer various points of views, and all add their own niche to the beauty world. I absolutely love that!! I believe that all things beauty is a personification of the inner self. It's all up to one's interpretation! It's an art. It's FABULOUS!! Reason three. If I could haul off and spend every dime I have (and will ever have) and creating a beauty loft/lounge (think Dumbo, Brooklyn meets 'disiac Lounge in Hell's Kitchen) I swear I would. A place where people could come, discuss, teach and learn about everything from the best pore reducing facial primers, to how to get tweezers sharp enough to cute through diamonds. But since I can't (yet atleast--hey! I dream big lol) This blog will have to do.

Down to the heart of the matter. I would be more than happy if I get one reader that benefits from this blog. It's not going to be restricted to makeup. It's beauty (what ever you define and find beauty in) holistically. There's going to be discussion on makeup, skincare, hair, fashion, art, culture, music, photography, poetry, travel, and all things in between.

So to you, my brave beauty birds (hence the name. one of my all time favorite Goapele songs), I dedicate this blog. Grab a chai tea (masala chai from Amanzi tea in TriBeCa is my fav), and enjoy my random, yet thought out blog :-)

Olisa