Is time to fete!! A Carnival LOTD

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Yes man! We in de thick of things for Carnival!! Just a couple of weeks away and there is plenty to do! This week alone, there was Panorama Semi-Finals at the Queen’s Park Savannah (Steelband competition), and the finals of the National Stick Fighting Competition (bois! allyuh ban’ yuh belly!), the National Junior Calypso Monarch Finals. And there’s plenty, plenty bacchanal to come, like Canbouley Riots Re-enactment at the Piccadilly Greens, National Extempo Finals, Soca Monarch Finals, Kiddies Carnival, King and Queen of the Bands, Dimanche Gras, J’ouvert (shout out to Dirty Dozen J’ouvert!) and of course de Parade of the Bands!

If you ever have the chance to visit Trinidad and Tobago during the Carnival season, you should go to at least one Carnival fete.  Nowadays, these are all-inclusive events that with your admission ticket, there is unlimited access to various cuisines, drinks fuh so and performances by many of the most popular calypso/soca artistes.  Is just ah massive party!   Food and music, what more could you ask for? In the last 2 weeks before Carnival, many of the big names hold their fetes including Army Fete, Brian Lara All-Inclusive, Neon Fete, Canyaval Anya The Fete (hosted by Project Runway’s Anya Ayoung-Chee), Insomnia, and Soca Brainwash Fete.  And chances are you will be going to multiple fetes in one night, or you will start your fetin’ before dawn!

I decided to create a relatively simple makeup look that will give you a bold effect that will take you from fete to fete to fete!

Here’s the look!

A bright double winged liner!  This is look that you can have fun with and pick any colour that you like.  I chose a brilliant, intense blue colour, but this will work with purples, yellows, greens, oranges.  I also used a matte shade, but shimmers and metallics would be fine as well.  This look with get you noticed!  This can be achieved using eye pencils, cream liners, eye shadows, pigments, just use whatever you have and use your imagination! NYX Jumbo pencils are sold in Long Circular Mall and they come in a ton of colours.  And NARS has a stunning turquoise liner, Eye Paint in Solomon Islands.

Anyway, here are the details:

• Senna Cosmetics Brow Shaper Duo in Ebony Duo with Senna Cosmetics Brow 1 brush – filled in brows
• Smashbox Photo Finish Lid Primer – all over the upper eyelid using your ring finger.
• For the crease, I used M.A.C. # 217 brush or Sigma’s E25 blending brush and applied a cool, medium matte eyeshadow, like M.A.C Matte2 in Handwritten all over the crease
• To deepen the outer crease, I added a little of M.A.C Matte2 in Signed, Sealed, which is a cool, matte brown, using the same brush.
• On the lid, I applied Mally Stick Eye Shadow in Twilight, which is a cool, shimmery taupe, up to the crease.   I used the #217 to blend the edges into to crease.
• Now for the liner!  I used NARS Cosmetics Eye Paint in Black Valley, which is a matte black cream liner, using Make Up For Ever’s 1N fine eye liner brush.  I created a winged shape.
• Just above that line, using an angled brush like MAC’s 266, I used my Make Up For Ever 12 Flash Color Pan and applied the color Bright Blue 014, also in a winged shape.
• To set that blue cream and to intensify the look, I applied OCC’s Pure Pigment in Ultra Marine, which is a super intense matte blue, using the same angled brush over the line created.  It’s super bright!
• I applied mascara, Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara and then added a pair of false lashes, MAC #7.  With a bold liner, it is easy for your lashes to get a little lost. I also added some mascara to my lower lashes.
• I used this new foundation, Ardency Inn Americana Custom Coverage Concentrate in Deep Beige and mixed it to create a tinted moisturizer as I wanted minimal coverage.  I mixed it with my LaRoche-Posey Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizing Cream with Sunscreen and used the Ardency Inn Americana Ultra Lightweight Skin Perfecting Primer underneath.  I applied a little of my tinted moisturizer to clean up the shape of my eyebrows correct any mistakes with my liner.  I used the Samantha Chapman Real Techniques Expert Face Brush to apply (btw this is a great brush!)
• For contour, I used AJ Crimson’s BB+D  Cream in #8 to contour, using the Expert Face Brush.
• For some subtle colour on the cheeks, I used M.A.C. Blush in Sweet As Cocoa, using a fluffy blush brush.
• To highlight my cheekbones, I used Benefit ‘s Watt’s Up! Soft Focus Highlighter For Face (which I had a sample of).  I used my fingers for this.
• Because I used a tinted moisturizer, I had a very dewy finish.  I lightly set my T-zone using the MUFE  Pro-Finish  Multi-Use Powder Foundation in #177 and a fluffy brush.
• On the lips – I used MAC Chestnut lip liner and Ardency Inn Americana Natural Lip Color Pencil in Essex (uhm…nudes for brown girls! I will be doing a review on a few of the Ardency products soon)

And that’s it.

What fetes are you going to?