Green eyed monster

After a brief spell of good health, the plague returned in full force this week. Both Mr Pandora and I have been feeling pretty rank again, and my initial optimism that spring was just around the corner had died a brutal death. Typical. I'd just gotten used to braving the cold with a smile (courtesy of MAC Plumful) knowing in my heart that keeping up in the glamour stakes would make the remaining winter days just that bit more bearable. But no. From Glamourpuss to Bagpuss.... how the mighty have fallen.

From this...

...to this

And so it was, tucked up in my dressing gown and track pants that I decided to take action, albeit before the virus hit at full tilt. A glance at my pallid and exhausted face in the mirror convinced me that I at least had to pretend to be well, that way maybe I could trick the germs into thinking I was an impenetrable barrier of health and strength. Out came the make-up box, and the battle began. Earlier in the day when I had bravely tried to venture outside I had applied very little make-up, just enough to give a bit of definition, with a very light neutral brown in the crease of my eye and a slick of mascara. On a well woman this would be fine, but a well woman I was not, and neutrals were certainly not enough to fight the germs. There would have to be brights. And bronzer. And a lot more concealer. Delving into my eye palettes I found my secret weapon. The greens! I needed colour and green is my absolute number one choice for perking up my eyes. Ever since my first, albeit misguided, foray into green eyeshadow with Charles of the Ritz  I have forever been in love with the way green makes me feel. It sounds weird to say that a colour can alter the way you feel, but I really do believe to a certain extent in colour therapy. In the periods of my life when I used to wear head-to-toe black every day (a brief mid-90's goth faze, best forgotten) I was at my most miserable. Now I have an aversion to buying clothes in black unless it's really necessary. Slimming it may be, cheering it is not.
So anyway, I dug out a gorgeous YSL palette which was bought for me by my beloved godmother (my first ever make-up guru, about whom more will certainly be written).

YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres (Garden of Eden)

I'd used the palette before on occasion, but only wearing one, or maximum two, shades at a time. This time, my mission was to use all five...why not live dangerously?  I began with the brightest green shade (bottom left) all over the eyelid, just going above the crease line. Then I took the bronze-green shade (bottom right) onto the outer corners and slightly into the crease, blending it well into the bright green. I took the forest green shade (top left) onto the lower lashline and over the bronze-green to create more depth. The pale lime green shade (top right) I used in the inner corners of the eye, top and bottom, and the highlight shade in the middle I placed on the centre of the eyelid just to add a little sparkle. I then lined my waterline top and bottom with a black kohl pencil and applied lashings of mascara.
I was so pleased with the way it turned out. The colours blended together beautifully and the texture of the shadows was soft and satin, not too shimmery, which kept the look really chic and not garish at all. I completed the look with a generous swipe of pink coral blush (NARS Orgasm) on the cheekbones and a soft nude toned lipstick (Jemma Kidd "Bridgetown"). My beloved MAC Plumful lipstick also worked really well, as pink lips look fabulous with green eyeshadow in my opinion. 
Underneath all this cosmetic armour I was ready to do battle against the virus. I felt monstrously bad, but I was HOT. I would not be taken down, I would stare into the face of sickness with beautifully blended green eyes, and laugh those germs away.

Suffice to say, the germs had the last laugh...