My Eye Game is Soo Tight!!

Hey Hey Hey,
Okay, so before I begin raving about Lola’s gorgeous wedding and all the delicious beauty moments that popped up during the weekend’s festivities, allow me to first give you a huge, messy, wet, embarrassing, too-much-tongue kiss. Why? Because, were it not for your unflagging support and chatty word-of-mouthiness, Allure magazine—aka, the Beauty Bible—would not have included SHAKE YOUR BEAUTY in their roundup of the country’s top beauty blogs (if you haven’t seen the “Beauty Junkies” article, go pick up the August issue while it’s still on stands!). Seriously, I have no one to thank for this unreasonably exciting honor but you, sweet you. And welcome to all the new readers who found their way to my little lipgloss support group through the article! Repeat after me: At SHAKE YOUR BEAUTY I am safe. Here, no one will judge my late-night brow-tweezing habit.

And now, onto the biznazz. This weekend was gorgeous! One of my oldest and dearest friends in the world, the very chic New York Times culture reporter, Miss Lola Ogunnaike (well, now she’s Mrs. Lola Solebo…don’t you just love the alliteration of all those L’s and O’s?), had just about the most perfect wedding. It took place in our hometown, Washington DC, and the ceremony and reception was just so full of love, so touching, and so RIGHT. You know when two people are so perfect for each other that they start to look alike? Yeah, well, that’s Lola and Deen. Oh, and she was such a stunning bride! Have you ever, with the big, wide, Twiggy-eyes and the pouty, nude lip? If you live in DC, please holler at her makeup artist, Liz, the manager of the MAC store in Pentagon City mall (and while I’m on the subject of DC beauty, if you’re ever needing the shiniest, bounciest hair, look no further than DC’s premier black hairstylist, Bogard at Bo26 Hair Studio —the man should have his hands BRONZED, I tell you).

Anyway, being a bridesmaid, I had two very important jobs. First, I had the near-orgasmic pleasure of doing the bridesmaid’s makeup! We were wearing the loveliest, mint-green, Grecian-inspired gowns—and, surprise, I had JUST the pallette to match. And it’s funny…the five of us ranged in skincolor from golden-tan to the deepest mahogany brown, and I swear to Kevin Aucoin, the lip, cheek, and eye colors I used worked on all of us. Want proof? Check me out, above, and then look at her sister, Harper’s Bazaar intern Nikki, (she’s so living The Hills), left. We’re wearing the exact same green eyeshadow, orange blush, and sheer bronzey lip, and we’re BOTH adorable! My second job calls for a bit of explanation. I have no breasts, and the bust of my strapless dress was quite, um, full. So there was a lot of space in there for Big Day necessities, like Lola’s lip gloss (it was MAC TINTED LIP GLASS IN SPITE over MAC Lip Pencil in Chestnut), blotting papers (see below), and AROMAFLORIA HEADACHE RELIEF INHALATION BEADS, a tiny pouch of lavender-scented beads that I constantly, frantically sniffed to ward off a champagne migraine. I got a lot of strange looks, as I spent much of the night whipping beauty products out of my breasts for Lola’s photo-ops, but it was nice feeling useful.

And now, I feel it’s only right that I fill you in on the exact products I used to make such wildly different-complected ladies all look so effin fab (I also included lower-priced alternatives, too). I know you’re like, but mint-green eyeshadow? When would I wear that? Believe me, we all decided the shimmery shadow was so flattering, that we’d rock it with just about anything (as Lola remarked, “your eye game is sooo tight!”). And it’s got tons of gold in it, so it’s more of a sexy, sheer metallic wash than Kermit-ish. I’ve decided to name the look Mojito Mama, for the obvious green associations, and because it feels appropriately sweet and tropical and sultry. Read, learn, and enjoy. And I heart you to death.

Love,
Tia

TIA’S MOJITO MAMA ESSENTIALS

1.) PAUL & JO GODDESS OF SPRING FACECOLOR POWDER IN VERT DE SENTEUR ($18, far left): Like I said, this gold-infused, shimmery pale green shadow is so delicately gorgeous, so fairy-like ethereal that I’ve been unable NOT to wear it since the wedding on Saturday. I don’t know, something about the color just really wakes up brown skin. With you finger, blend it on just the lid, from your lashes to the crease—and follow up with a pale gold highlighter on the browbone. Finally, line the top lid with a skinny black pencil, and add two coats of blackest black mascara.
OR TRY: MARK CUSTOM PICK EYESHADOW IN DRAGONFLY ($4)


2.) NARS POWDER CHEEK BLUSHER IN EXHIBIT A ($25): Have I mentioned this before? If I have, it’s for good reason. When my friend, the genius makeup artist Sam Fine, whipped out this Crayola-electric orange-colored blush at my author photo shoot, I immediately worried that he’d lost his mind. But he was like, “Trust me bitch! The brighter the orange, the more natural the flush on brown skin.” Sounds crazy, but it’s true. Really, really true. Just dip a big, fluffy brush into the powder, smile, and swirl over the apples of your cheeks. It’s SHOCKING how radiant your skin becomes.
OR TRY: NYX CREAM BLUSH IN ORANGE ($4.99)


3.) COVER GIRL QUEEN COLLECTION LIP GLOSS IN COPPER BLISS ($5.49) layered over PHILOSOPHY THE SUPERNATURAL LIP PENCIL IN CREATION ($12.50): With an eye this striking, you’ve gotta go for a neutral lip, and this combo is genius! The Cover Girl gloss is a light, almost-translucent golden-bronze that makes for the perfect nude lip when slicked over a deeper liner, like this nutmeg-y one from Philosophy. I was worried that the gloss would be too pale for the darker skin tones, but alas, it was divine. It’s all in how much pencil you lay down—it deepens the color. The best part? The gloss has this decadent, pound cake-ish smell that’ll set your world on fire.
OR TRY: BLACK RADIANCE PROFESSIONAL LIP LINER PENCIL IN BRONZE OR DEEP MAHOGANY ($1.99)


SHISEIDO PURENESS OIL-BLOTTING PAPERS ($15.50): Ohhh girls, this is one of those makeup-artist-bag staples I’m so fond of gushing over. Remember when blotting papers were covered in that gross, chalky powder? Shiseido’s sexy little tissues are treated with some magical ingredient that sops up all the oil without destroying your makeup or leaving an ashy film of powder! And the portable package fit ever-so-perfectly in my boobs.
OR TRY: CLEAN & CLEAR OIL-ABSORBING SHEETS ($4.39)