FOTD: I Am Too A Grown-Up

I've got both a full FOTD and a review of Purely Cosmetics to post, so I decided to do the FOTD first, then the review - that way you can all see how it looks and then read why I like it. Or something along those lines.

Purely Cosmetics is a mineral make-up company run by Robyn, who is one of the reasons why I like the company so much. She's unquestionably one of the most well-informed people I've met in the MMU industry, and has always met me with outstanding customer service and great conversation. In her own words they "don't do pigmented eyeshadows" - I disagree. They may not go for the boldest shades or glitter finishes (subtle is the name of their game!), but their stuff is pigmented and lovely, and more subtle than my usual style. For this FOTD I did pretty much everything Purely Cosmetics, because their real winners are their face products, so I wanted to showcase that.

I'm not wearing their foundation, however - not because I don't like it, but because I packed my dense kabuki brush in storage, so I don't have anything to properly apply mineral foundation with at the moment.

This is one of the very rare occasions when you'll see me with my hair up, simply because I was too tired to bother straightening/doing anything with it.

I Am Too A Grown-Up - Step-by-Step

Face

• I started with moisturised skin, and brushed Purely Cosmetics' Diamond Perfect Finish over my face lightly, and particularly my nose where I have mammoth pores, using my MAC 187.
• Next, I applied my Urban Decay Pore-Perfecting primer over the top, all over my face.
• Using the 187 again, I dusted on PC's Silk & Pearl Powder primer which gives a similar sort of smooth, velvety type finish that my UD primer does.
• I applied my Bobbi Brown Corrector over my blemishes (of which there are many right now) and under my eyes.
• With my MAC 190 brush, I dabbed on Estée Lauder Doublewear foundation in Shell, over areas with blemishes/redness around my face.
• Using my MAC 187, I dubbed the liquid foundation in in quick circles. I learned this trick from a MAC MUA, and in my experience, this gets much better results using a dry 187 to buff the foundation in than trying to both apply and buff using the same brush.
• When fully blended in, I waited a minute or two, then dried off my MAC 187 and lightly buffed in the Diamond Perfect Finish powder all over my face again. I love this stuff as a finishing powder, it blurs and softens all your pores, gives you a gorgeous non-powdery matte finish, and it photographs really well.
• I forgot blush - because I'm daft, but I would've used PC's Blushing blush, which is a dupe for NARS Orgasm, and even works on my cool-toned skin which normally hates warm blushes.
• For eyebrows, I spritz my angled brow brush (Eco tools right now) with MAC Fix+ then use Illamasqua brow cake in Thunder.

Lips

• Exfoliate/condition your lips to make 'em all smooth and whatnot. Personally, I use a normal exfoliating glove (any exfoliating cloth works) with some lip balm, because I'm cheap.
• Apply a coat of Urban Decay lip primer.
• Apply MAC Mattene lipstick in Night Violet (Style Black). This is a really dark, rich colour, so is best applied with a lip brush or lipliner. I didn't bother, and it went all smudgy.
• Top it off with Illamasqua Intense Gloss in Fury, for extra purple.

Eyes

• Prime with a MAC Paint Pot in Painterly, all over the lid and along the brow-bone.
• Spritz your flat shader brush (MAC 239/GOSH Flat e/s brush) with mixing medium and foil (pat on, wet) Soft Moon all over the lid, up to the crease.
• Re-apply Soft Moon dry over the top, for extra coverage and blendability.
• With a stiff-domed brush (MAC 217/Revlon Contour Shadow brush), blend Sapphire Night into the crease and outer-corner of the lid/outer-V, shading it into Soft Moon.
  
• Darken the crease/outer-V further with Dark Amethyst for more depth, using the same brush or a pencil brush (MAC 219/GOSH Round e/s brush) and blend the crease colour up, softening it above the crease.
• With a pencil brush, apply Dark Amethyst on the lower-lashline, starting from the outer-V and stopping before the inner-corner.
• Using a pencil brush again, highlight the inner-corner (including the lower lashline) with Pearl White, bringing it up toward the brow-bone to blend out the darker shades.
• I re-highlighted under the highest point of the eyebrow arch and along the inner-corner again with Sleek's shimmery white iDivine palette colour, just for a little extra shimmer.
• Line upper lashline & waterline with black Urban Decay 24/7 pencil in Zero (I don't know why it went all mega-thick, I screwed it up a bit).
• Add mascara, as usual I'm using Urban Decay Eyelash Primer with Bourjois Liner Effect mascara.

And done. When I showed Robyn this, her reaction was "Those are all my eyeshadows?" which just goes to show, I think, that subtle colours don't stop you from doing something dramatic. Soft Moon in particular is a gorgeous, soft blue-to-silvery colour which I really like. My favourite product is the Diamond Perfect Finish powder, though, which is a daily staple for me now and will be getting its own review in short order.

I like this FOTD, even though it isn't bright green. It's the sort of eye I'd pair with a more nude coral lip and wear to a job interview, or similar scenario in which I needed to trick people into thinking I was a sensible adult.