Jillian Dempsey's Eye Tints (Part II)

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Legendary makeup artist Jillian Dempsey has been leading the industry by translating her impossibly breezy LA cool-girl aesthetic into a covetable–and clean!–color line. It’s no secret I’m an unabashed fan of her work (as are Kirsten Dunst, Kristen Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence amongst the many others who continually request her for red carpet engagements and editorial projects).

Her fool-proof Lid Tints are a riff on the classic cream eyeshadow - finger-friendly, translucent, satin-y, and in a spectrum of shades that you’ve never seen before)—and didn’t realize you needed. (I’ve reviewed her initial launch of five shades, which you can find here.) You can be brazen with the application, they build up wonderfully and there’s no need to be perfectly precise. Packed with skin loving ingredients like Marula, Rosehip, Coconut and Jojoba Oils, Shea Butter and Vitamins A and C, these have an almost balm-like effect on the tissue thin skin around the eye area. As an exhausted working mother of three very young children, I skip the eye cream and reach for these time and again to rejuvenate and freshen up my tired eyes in the morning,

That being said, the latest launch of three shades are just as flattering as the initial iteration. However, the coolness factor is definitely kicked up a notch.

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Starting from the left is Ruby, a gleaming neutral crimson. My favorite of the pack, it gives the most modern, edgy eye when smudged with a brown eye pencil (check out her work using it on Caroline Hirons for inspiration!) or patted on the center of an otherwise bare lid before adding a flick of black liquid liner.) This is just on the rim of my comfort zone as far as color goes, which keeps things exciting. I’m often finding myself stuck in a makeup rut or burned out on the chromed out eyeshadow effects . If you’re a Sephora VIB-type with an arsenal of eyeshadows, Ruby won’t disappoint as you probably have nothing like it in your repertoire; you’ll be reaching for it time and again. Bonus: you can tap it onto lips and cheeks to get a fresh berry stain effect, making it a useful product when traveling.

Dew, top center, is a completely clear gloss. It’s definitely a product you see on editorials. Dew is the perfect name - it reflects light without looking too wet and there’s no shimmer at all. It’s fresh worn solo, but also modernizes any powder shadow texture when layered on top.

Glimmer, bottom right, is a universally flattering warm and sparkling nectarine. Tapped on the moveable part of the eyelid, it enlivens any eye color. And this shade being endlessly useful, adds a sensual post-summer tan effect to the cheeks. I can’t think of anyone this wouldn’t look amazing on and it’s a mainstay in my purse.

But again, if you’re at a loss what to pick up, make sure you get Ruby, pictured again below for good measure. And for further inspiration, check out Burberry makeup artist Wendy Rowe test driving the Lid Tints here.

Available at Jillian Dempsey’s site or Credo Beauty.

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Honest Beauty Eyeshadows

Clean skincare knocks the proverbial ball out of the park time and time again. Clean makeup, specifically eye makeup, often falters–particularly when it comes to longevity. These eye shadow palettes, however, really perform.

The pigments are high quality–meaning, the matte shades slide on smoothly with high opacity, nothing dusty about them, and the shimmering colors deliver a bold, gleaming intensity. They blend like a dream, and even when using the darkest shades with an angle liner, these shadows apply precisely where you want them. There's no irritating fall out to clean up. 

The smokey gray palette features the perfect almost-black matte liner shade, that's veers more dark coffee than charcoal, and hits the mark for daytime eyeliner.  The mid-tone matte gray-brown crease shade is the color I keep returning to, and the shimmering taupe is lovely for highlighting the inner corner. 

The shimmering dark teal and olive shades are eye brightening when worn as eyeliners or a gorgeous wash of color of the lid. I can't think of anyone these shades won't look good on, for such statement colors, they're very wearable. The lightest shade on the green palette is this exquisite grey-metallic-green-taupe that can be worn for everyday, it has to be experienced to be believed. 

The crease shade of the purple palette manages to keep the palette from being too bold, and could easily be included in a traditional Naked palette. And the warm brown palette (there's a cool one, as well, but not pictured here) is a safe one to start with. With a matte vanilla base color, a matte mid-tone buff for the crease, and a shimmering espresso liner, it's the one I grab whenever packing for a trip.

Bonus: all these palettes come with an illustrated diagram suggesting how to apply.

You can find these Honest Beauty. (Highly recommend their subscription! These palettes work out to be rough $16 a pop, and the 365 day return policy is exceedingly generous.)