Tutorial How To: My Voluminous Curls and My Signature Dark Smoky Eye

Hello Lovelies,

I though that I would share a how-to today. Here is one way to achieve my signature voluminous hair & my signature (favorite) smoky eye  ;-)

I get a lot of compliments  on my hair, especially on how I style it. Now I am sharing the three ways I get my signature style. 

Up first one way to achieve very voluminous hair with, and second without heat. 

I have VERY long, and thick hair. Although its layered, it is still very heavy. So getting volume without damaging my processed hair is tricky. 

To get this  curly look, a'la Gretchen Rossi from the RHOC. See below: 

I  typically I use a 1" Chi Iron or my Remington Velvet Hot Rollers with voluminous root spray on the roots. I typically use the CHI Volume Booster Liquid Bodifying Glaze Spray or the TIGI Catwalk Your Highness Root Spray.  Before using heat I always use a heat protectant spray since my hair is processed it is prone to burning easily (but I haven't had this happen yet thank goodness). My favorite to recommend is the CHI Heat Protect Spray or the CHI Thermal Shine Spray I have both which I alternate though.

Another technique I use is with the Velcro Rollers as it is heat free and less abrasive on my color-treated hair. The Velcro rollers come in handy especially when I am pressed for time in the morning. It allows me to get ready and then just spend a few minutes on my hair. 

In this look today I used Velcro rollers and I set them after I blow dried my hair. I sprayed each section with the 24/7 Curls By Curly sexy Hair. You can buy it on Amazon here, I purchased it at my local hair salon.

This stuff is amazing! I never curl my hair anymore without it!! 

I slept with the rollers in for about 6 hours, then I re-shaped them by brushing them out with a round brush. I then sprayed them with L'Oreal Elnet Hairspray for Colored Hair.  
And to give my hair weightless shine I use theSchwarzkopf Osis+ Sparkler Shine Spray which my stylist turned me onto.

See the photos and more after the jump!!




.....here is the before and...... after of my hair! 

Now onto my makeup... See below for all the details

       

Now a lot of people compliment my eye-makeup and I get a lot of questions on how I do my dark smoky eye. I used these series of  Web videos to reproduce my "look" because as you already know I absolutely love the show The Only Way is Essex, and the girls on that show wear a very dark, dramatic smoky eye 24/7 it seems. I love how the darkness really enhances the eyes.

Now for what I used today:

I use Urban Decay Primer Potion all over the lid and on my eyebrow.
Then I take my L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer Gel Liner as a shadow base. 
Then I use a matte or semi-matte warm brown in the crease. In this look I used MAC Swiss chocolate mixed with MAC Texture. 
Next I blend MAC Smut beneath the crease into the black gel liner. Then over the lash line and the rest of my lid I blend a matte black and in this case I used MAC Carbon. I typically "Pack" it onto the gel liner base to get the deepest darkest pigment with as little fallout as possible. 
If I am going for a "dramatic nighttime" look I will use a sparkly black, my favorite is Oil Slick by Urban Decay (from the Ammo Palette).

I then used the gel liner on the waterline and bottom line.I used MAC Blanc Type as the highlighter on the brow bone. I used the white shade in the Sephora Blinged palette  that has a goldish shimmer to highlight the inner corner.

Lastly I run MAC Carbon onto the lower lash line to "smoke" out the lower line. I also do this to prevent my liner on the waterline from running or smudging  

On my lashes I used Dior Show Mascara Primer with L'Oreal Telescopic Shocking extensions on top. I then used Ardell Lashes # 52.

Also as note, some people do their face then their eye makeup, but when I am working with really dark shadows that produce fallout, I do my eye makeup first then my face to ensure a HD, airbrushed finish. 

As for the rest of my face:
L'Oreal Youth Code Moristurizer - Night/Day Cream
Smashbox Photofinish Primer 
MAC Studio Fix Fluid with SPF 15 in NW30  mixed with MUFE HD Foundation in 160 Golden Beige
MAC Studio Fix Powder in NW30
MAC Mineralized Bronzer in Gold Deposit
Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Hot Tamale
NARS Blush/Highlighter in Albatross
MUFE HD Finishing Powder
Eyebrows:
MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Dirty Blonde (Discontinued or not available right now)
Urban Decay Brow Box in Honey Pot (Blonde)
MAC Brow Set in Clear (Mascara style one)

Lips:
MAC Lipliner in Dervish
Maybeline Color Whisper in Coral Ambition
Lip Fusion Lipfusion Plumping Lipgloss in Sweet




and last but not least I touched up my manicure from Monday to add some fierce tips! See my previous post here for all the details.

Note: The Leopard tips are Sally Hansen Salon Nail Effects polish strips.
 I have trimmed them down and shaped them to fit as tips.

Enjoy!!

-A