Thanks for the Good Times, 2010: Our Best Posts of the Year.

2010 was a fantastic year for me and Glitter Geek. Our readership has grown so much, which I can only attribute to the huge support of Beauty Blog Link Love, the Toronto Beauty Bloggers, and of course, our fantastic and loyal readers.  Your support keeps me testing, writing, swatching, and taking countless photos for the blog.  Thank you so much, from the bottom of my sparkly heart! :)

Whether you’re a new reader or an old friend, you are definitely in for a treat!  In this post, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite posts (and yours, based on your comments) from the past year.

This Year, I Grew as an Artist.

I am not calling myself a makeup artist, but this year I improved a lot artistically.  I finally conquered my fear of bold lips, and experimented with different techniques and eyeshadow placements.  I’m not stopping now, so watch out 2011!

This Year, I Discovered Great Low and High End Products.

This Year, I Had Fun.

What Were Your Beauty Highlights of 2010?

Gryffindor Inspired Look: Because I am a Geek.

If you didn’t understand my title, sorry, it was written in geek.  Gryffindor is a house in Hogwarts — the school where Harry Potter and friends do their fun and geeky wizardry. :)  Gryffindor’s colours are gold and scarlet, which makes beautiful colour combo when it comes to makeup.  It is also a very appropriate Fall look, if you don’t care so much about Harry Potter.

I really loved how this look turned out.  The gold and burgundy worked so, so well together. :)  So, let’s get to it!

Swatches (from left): Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshadow, Golden Plum from YSL Ombre Duolumieres No. 33 Duo, LIFT Cosmetics Moon Dust Eye Shimmer, MAC Arena Eyeshadow, Illamasqua Alchemy Precision Ink Liner

Get the Look

For the eyes, start by placing a golden plum (YSL Ombre Duolumieres No. 33) into the inner and outer crease.  I used a pointed crease brush (MAC 226) to place the colour.  Blend with a fluffy blending brush (MAC 217), place more colour, and blend blend blend some more.  Once you are happy with the crease colour, pat a gold (Urban Decay Half Baked Eyeshadow) into to the middle of the lid.  Take some more plum to the crease and drag lightly into the gold to blend the two colours.  Highlight the inner corners of the eyes with a light gold (LIFT Cosmetics Moon Dust Eye Shimmer).  Highlight the brows with a shimmery light peach (MAC Arena Eyeshadow).

Line the outer third of the lower lash line with the golden plum.  Add a little bit of gold glitter (Illamasqua Alchemy Precision Ink Liner) by lining the lower lash line.    Thinly line the upper lash line and waterlines with a black gel liner (MAC Blacktrack Fluidline).  Finish off with mascara (MAC Studio Fix Lash) to the upper and lower lashes.

For the cheeks, contour the hollows with a matte dark brown (MAKE UP FOR EVER #17 Espresso Eyeshadow). Apply a matte rosy blush (Chanel Rose Temptation Joues Contraste Blush) on the apples of your cheeks. Highlight the cheekbones with a shimmery peachy pink (MAC Shell Pearl Beauty Powder).

For the lips, apply a creamy pale pink lipstick (MAC Patisserie, LE) to complement the dramatic eye.

Read on to see more pictures!

Click here to see more pictures!

Geek Chic: A Look for Ladies Who Wear Glasses.

Here is a really simple look that I wanted to do because I recently got a brand new pair of frames.  I find that I can get away with wearing more eye makeup when I’m wearing glasses.  I have smallish eyes to begin with and I think my eyes get lost behind my glasses if I’m not wearing any eye makeup.  In this look I emphasize the top lash and leave the bottom quite bare to brighten the eyes.

Swatches (from left): MAC Carbon, MAC Smoke ‘n Diamonds (LE), MAC Coquette, GOSH Bananas

Get the Look

For the eyes, thickly line the top lash line with a creamy black pencil eyeliner (Annabelle Ohmygoth!) and smudge up slightly.  Go over the eyeliner with a matte black (MAC Carbon).  Place a shimmery gray taupe (MAC Smoke ‘n Diamonds) all over the lid  and blend into the black.  Smudge more black into the lower lash line and blend into the grey. Place a medium matte taupe (MAC Coquette) into the crease, and the outer half of the lower lash line. Add light by lining the inner half of the lower lash line with a light gold (GOSH Bananas). Add lots of black mascara (Marcelle Power Volume Mascara) to the top lashes only.

For the cheeks, keep it simple with a pinky brown blush on the apples (NARS Douceur).

For the lips, finish off with a quick swipe of a neutral pink lipstick (Chanel Mademoiselle).

Read on for more pictures!

Click here to see more pictures!