all decked out recap

(photo from ashley in dc‘s seriously gorgeous instagram feed)

i had so much fun getting all decked out with the ladies of wink boutique in dc and the amazing crowd of local bloggers and friends who joined us. the wink girls sure do know how to throw a party! they offered up flowing champagne, yummy snacks, and a generous 25% discount. add an adorably pregnant, super sweet makeup artist and amazing beauty products provided by my favorite brands, there was no doubt that we were going to have a ball!

pittsburg chocolatier, edward marc, provided milk and chocolate dark salted caramels (i was popping them in my mouth nonstop!) and gorgeous chocolate dipped peppermint sticks for our guests to take home. these sweets were such a hit! i loved the festive feel that they added to the evening.

makeup artist, lauren ogden miller, entertained a revolving chair of girls who wanted to get touched up. she used make up for ever aqua liner in 13 (mat black) and nyx the curve liner to craft perfect cat eyes. for red lips, she chose from maybelline color sensational lipcolor in red revival, nyx matte lipstick in perfect red, and make up for ever rouge artist intense in moulin rouge. guests chose a black eyeliner and red lip set to take home, from this list of goodies, as well as tarte call of the wild amazonian clay liner and maybelline unstoppable liner in onyx.

tips from lauren on crafting your cat eye:

liquid or gel liner is best for precision, you want to drag the liner along your lash line – it’s ok to rest your hand somewhere for balance!
to get the cat effect, the line dips up up towards the edge of your brow line; lauren’s trick is to actually start from the furthest point out and draw the line in towards your eye, from there it’s easy to thicken and fill in
smudge a deeb brown or plum over top to set the look and don’t worry too much about symmetry. (it’s makeup!) it’s also ok to use a little concealer in areas where you need to lift and clean up.
accentuate the cat eye with mascara by pulling the wand at an angle, out towards the side of your face instead of straight ahead. (i love this trick!)

for the bold red lip:

line and feather your lips with a red or neutral liner (just don’t go with anything darker), you can also highlight above the cupid’s bow for extra shape
choose a true red (like fire engine or cherry) – these look great on everyone
use a lip brush to apply the color, it’s easier and more precise, but if you do a good job lining your lips, this isn’t necessary

the finished product is surprisingly subtle and perfect for the holidays. here are two of my favorite ladies (the glossarie’s own maggie on the left, and my bestie jamie on the right, plus one shot of jamie and yours truly) rocking their red lips and cat eyes a la lauren: