Pretty in Synth

It’s New Year’s Eve but I’m not going out tonight - instead I’ll be ringing in the New Year with my boyfriend from the familiar cosiness of our own flat whilst drinking beer and watching movies.  I did pop out briefly earlier to visit a friend for some afternoon tea so I decided to do a pretty purple eye make up look.

Actually I hardly ever wear eyeliner on my lower lash line, so this look is quite dressed up for me really!  I especially love the combination of the pale shimmery eyeshadow and the glittery eyeliner.  I’ve been wearing glittery eyeliner a lot throughout December because I’ve considered it my “festive” look and I have to admit that I’ll be sorry to say goodbye to it in Jan but I just don’t think it’ll cut it in the office in the midst of all that January drudgery.

Anyway, here’s what I used to create this look. Apologies for the shocking yellow lighting but it was artificial lighting or nothing I’m afraid.

As you can see I didn’t really use that many products – just one eyeshadow and a few eyeliners then mascara to finish.  I used a navy eyepencil instead of a black because I felt it would go better with the soft lilac and purple eyeliners I had used. 

I consider the two stars of the show to be the eyeshadow which is the shade Synth by Illamasqua and the glitter eyeliner which is the Glam Crystals in Shake It Up! by Collection 2000.  Synth is a pale lilac which has a fantastic multi-tonal shimmer that gives an almost holographic effect on skin.  I tried to capture the shimmer but it’s so much more beautiful in real life.

The Glam Crystals eyeliner is mainly purple glitter but also contains particles that shimmer red and green.  It is suspended in a slightly coloured gel but I wouldn’t recommend wearing it alone simply because it slightly stained my arm when I swatched it alone the first time I tried it.  However, there’s no problem with staining if you wear it over another eyeliner and in fact I find it easier to create a sharp, defined shape by applying a normal dark liquid eyeliner first.

Swatches above

Left: Illamasqua eyeshadow in Synth

Right, top to bottom: liquid eyeliner alone, glam crystals over liquid eyeliner, glam crystals alone, navy eye pencil

And finally, here’s a fun Christmassy shot of me posing in my make-up with a tiny reindeer.  Happy New Year everyone!