This weekend was a cold one, kids. I volunteered at a YMCA Christmas Tree Lot for a few hours on Saturday, and by the time we closed up for the day, my face was pink and windburned and my eyes were dry and bloodshot. Not my best look. My schedule was a pretty tight afterwards, so I barely had time to freshen up and have an MGD before heading out to meet friends. I needed to break out a few products that would even out my complexion and brighten my eyes without a major time commitment. So I used a little Too Faced Magic Wand Foundation here, a light dusting of Becca's Pressed Shimmer Powder in Gypsy there, but it was really the following three products that made me feel less like a Minnesota ice fisherman and more like a snow angel.
Rohto Arctic Redness Reliever Eye Drops: Nothing conveys winter misery like dry red itchy eyes. Brightening up the whites of your eyes is one of the easiest ways to make yourself appear awake, happy and healthy (models are constantly naming redness relieving eye drops as pre-photo shoot must-haves). I first purchased these eye drops at Walgreens because I liked the packaging (it's Japanese!), but I quickly became devoted to the product itself. I won't lie. It kind of stings. But after splashing in a few drops and blinking involuntarily for the requisite two minutes, my eyes feel refreshed and I have the whites of a supermodel.
Cargo EyeLighter: I used to have this irrational insecurity that my eyes were too close together, so I became a big fan of applying a smudge of white eyeshadow to the inner corners of my eyes, in order for them to appear farther apart. Well, I'm not sure that it worked (and I've also realized that my whole eyes-too-close-together fixation was less about my eyes' placement on my face and more about my own neuroses), but it became one of my favorite tricks to make my eyes appear bright and awake on cold winter mornings. Eventually I graduated from whatever shimmery pale shadow I had lying around and purchased the Cargo EyeLighter, an eye shadow wand designed specifically for the inner and outer corners of your eyes. With a rounded smudge applicator for the inner corners and a pointed applicator for the outer corners, this dual-headed wand deposits just the right amount of white shimmery shadow. It's quick, easy, and mess-proof enough that I can toss it into my purse without worrying about a potential powder explosion. A huge plus when I'm running out the door in the morning.
Philosophy Big Eyes in Bright and
Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Pure White: I'm a believer in white eyeliner. A little on the the inner rim (also known as the waterline) of the lower lid not only makes you appear more awake, it also makes your eyes look larger. But it's imperative that the liner glides on easily. Irritating the sensitive skin around your eye will just make the whole area redder, negating the entire purpose of this exercise. I'd had good luck with drugstore white liners, but a Sephora sales associate urged me to try this Philosophy Bright Eyes pencil and it was love at first application. The creamy white liner applied smoothly with zero tugging, and the color went on rich and dense. Sadly, this particularly white pencil has been discontinued, so though I'm trying to make it last as long as possible, I knew it was time to try out some other options. I ventured back into the drugstore and fortunately found a worthy successor. Rimmel's Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Pure White works almost as well as my favorite Philosophy liner. And at less than $4 a pop, this purchase is about as guilt-free as you can get.
Philosophy Big Eyes in Bright and Rimmel Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Pure White: I'm a believer in white eyeliner. A little on the the inner rim (also known as the waterline) of the lower lid not only makes you appear more awake, it also makes your eyes look larger. But it's imperative that the liner glides on easily. Irritating the sensitive skin around your eye will just make the whole area redder, negating the entire purpose of this exercise. I'd had good luck with drugstore white liners, but a Sephora sales associate urged me to try this Philosophy Bright Eyes pencil and it was love at first application. The creamy white liner applied smoothly with zero tugging, and the color went on rich and dense. Sadly, this particularly white pencil has been discontinued, so though I'm trying to make it last as long as possible, I knew it was time to try out some other options. I ventured back into the drugstore and fortunately found a worthy successor. Rimmel's Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Pencil in Pure White works almost as well as my favorite Philosophy liner. And at less than $4 a pop, this purchase is about as guilt-free as you can get.
1 comment:
Too funny- I actually have a two year old bottle of those eyedrops sitting on my vanity. I was wondering if they still even made them- they do kind of tingle a bit, but they feel reeeeally good, especially after a long night (or long day).
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