Tropical Inspiration: Aqua Eyes

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Bold, turquoise green eye makeup is a perfect summer look. Tropical inspiration from ocean blues and palm frawn greens will make any eye color pop. This color family come in all sorts of textures and consistencies, choose from metallic, shimmering or pastel shades.

Aqua eyes is great look for both day or night. Start with a vibrant turquoise or shimmering green powder or cream eyeshadow and apply all over the lid. Build for more color or leave for a sheer wash. If you don’t want color on the entire lid, try a simple liner. Draw a thin or thick line on the upper or lower eyelid. For true vibrancy, first line the eye with a white pencil and go over with your favorite kohl, liquid or gel liner. This will bring the color to life.

Brighter colors tend to have more pigment and last longer on the skin – so less is more. It’s easier to build color if more is needed,  but harder to remove color if you put too much on.

Here are a few of my favorite tropical-inspired products.

Dior ~ Croisette Edition: $60.00

NARS ~ Shimmer Eyeshadow in Tropic: $24.00

Make Up For Ever ~ Aqua Eyes in 7L – Turquoise: $18.00

Urban Decay ~ 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Siren: $19.00

YSL ~ Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils Waterproof in Majorelle Blue: $30.00

MAC ~ Fluidline in Waveline: $15.00

Maybelline ~ Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Shadow in Tenacious Teal & Edgy Emerald: $6.99 (each)

Smashbox ~ Limitless 15 Hour Wear Cream Shadow: $19.00

Drugstore Find: Milani Baked Blush

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Milani Baked Blush

Milani Baked Blush is a finely-miled powder that provides a luminous glow to the cheeks. Infused with a multifold of shimmering tones, these blushers contain swirls of complexion brighteners.

Dolce Pink (pictured first), is my recommendation. The baby pink color is emphasized with bursts of gold and yellow undertones that provide an angelic glow to the skin.

These baked blushers can be comparable to MAC Mineralize Blush and Skinfinish. Both products have the same appearance with a much different price tag. The Milani products produce a glowing sheen on the skin while the MAC products tend to look more frosted and glittery. The Milani Blush also feels lighter in texture on the skin.

Milani Baked Blush is a great drugstore purchase, however, with the affordable price tag comes quality issues. There is a lot of fall-out to these products. The finely-milled powders are quite fragile and should be handled with care.