Shadow Wardrobe - Nudes and Neutrals

Seasons come, seasons go, but some colours stay all year round. Like most people my go-to day looks are based on more neutral tones on the eyes, that is, on the days I wear shadow. Most days it's just liner and mascara. The thing is, daylight is harsh and unforgiving, even more so in autumn/winter, so I've been reaching for my old fail-safes more than I have been in the last few months.

My number one eye colour, Benefit Creaseless Cream shadow in Birthday Suit (a lovely pewter -champagne hybrid) has unfortunately gone missing otherwise it would be here and I would probably have hit the bottom of the pot by now. The fact that I mourn it's loss every time I need to swipe something quick and pretty on my lids is testament to its performance and versatility. Nothing has quite replaced it and I will be buying this again as soon as I can find it

From top, clockwise: Sleek Storm palette, Chanel Nymphea quad, Jemma Kidd Eye Wardrobe (Brown), MAC Creamy Bisque, Body Shop 09 (now discontinued)

Anyhow, here are my other neutral beauties which by some miracle I haven't managed to lose.... yet.

Sleek Storm Palette

This is my desert island palette. Every colour is uber pigmented, smooth and just beautiful. The quality far outshines it's modest price tag (I think these palettes are about £5.99 / €8.50) and every woman should have one. My most used shades are the matte browns (3rd top row, 5th bottom row) and the golds. The black is also matte and can be used as a liner too.
The dark blue (4th bottom row) has suffered as a result of me dropping this on the floor on numerous occasions. Oops.

Nymphea (love that name) is my first and only Chanel quad. It's probably pushing about 8 years old now and it's still going strong. The beige shade is almost at the pan. These are very easy to use as they are not that pigmented. Anyone, no matter how cackhanded can put a wash of these colours on the lid and look more than fine. These are very flattering shades and the green and peach just give the other colours a bit of 'lift', plus they are so sheer that they can be considered almost nude. Pigment isn't everything though, and I do believe there is a place for sheerer eyeshadows as not everyone can cope with pigment-rich products. These are the European baked version whilst the Chanel quads in the US are pressed shadows and I've heard these are smoother with more pigment. If I go to the US again then I'll pick up another quad there for comparison. Sacrifices, huh?

This unassuming little quad is Jemma Kidd Eye Wardrobe in Brown. It was sent to me when I was a tester for the Beauty Bible a few years ago and I fell in love with it. It would be the perfect bridal make-up palette. The colours are satin and matte and there is a unique 'dirty' gold shade which gives this palette a lovely twist on the usual brown-nude combo. These shadows can be a little dusty in texture, especially the white one, but as you can see that hasn't stopped me from using it. I've always had compliments when I wear this. I really like the colour combinations of the other quads so they are definitely worth checking out. Available at lookfantastic.com . £24

Jemma Kidd Eye Wardrobe in Brown

MAC Creamy Bisque

This was a recent purchase on a quick visit to MAC a few weeks back and it's my favourite MAC shadow so far. This is so versatile and can be used all over the lid or as an inner-corner highlight. It makes my eyes look so fresh. Just this and a slick of brown liner has been my most worn look this month and definitely Mr P's favourite. It's basically a warm, pale cream-beige with a touch of shimmer. During the day it brightens the eye, and at night the shimmer comes to life and sparkles very subtly. Beautiful....

Very old Body Shop shadow ( 09)

Not very exciting, I know. But this old dull looking shadow has garnered more compliments than any other shadow I have! Everyone asks me what I have on my eyes when I wear this. It's a warm taupe with a subtle duochrome effect which leans lilac. Wierd I know, and I should probably have swatched it for you, but my camera is being pants and just to photograph this lot took me 15 minutes and wrangled my nerves completely so just believe me when I says it's really, really purrrrty. :)

What are your favourite neutrals? Has anyone got the Storm palette and the Urban Decay Naked palette..... how do they compare?

Rhubarb Rubacuori

Possibly a contender for the most bizarre blog-post on the entire world-wide web, but bear with me on this....

Tis the season for rhubarb. Today I picked up a massive bunch of the stuff at the supermarket, so enchanted was I by its glorious pinky corally reddish hue.
What is that? asked Mr P, grimacing somewhat.
It's rhubarb!
What are you going to do with it?
I don't know, probably make a crumble. But really,  I don't care what I do with it,  I love the colour so much, I just want it!

So ok, this isn't a foodie blog but I can't stop being inspired by food, and somehow that inspiration seems to lead me to make-up on a very conscious level. Hence Blossoms and Brownies. 
After all, nature produces some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring colours, so why not?
As I chopped up the magical pink batons it occurred to me that the colour reminded me of something I had in my make-up box. At the time I couldn't think what it was.
Later on I went to get myself ready for going out, and it hit me. My blush (MAC Springsheen) was the exact same colour as the magic rhubarb. I was filled with joy, simple creature that I am. I applied it liberally to the upper part of my cheeks and worked it into the skin to give me a healthy peachy (or rhubarby) flush. To complete the look I used gold and bronzey brown eyeshadows  from my beloved Sleek Storm palette and my Jemma Kidd "Bridgetown" lipstick, my current favourite nude colour. I didn't want to go all pinky rhubarb all over, the cheeks were enough.
I came downstairs, and pouted at Mr P.

What do you think of my make-up?
Nice... you look like Ruby Rubacuori!

Cue a little paranoia. Had my pouting gone too far? Had I indeed transformed myself into Berlusconi's "stealer of hearts" herself?

What on earth do I do with all that rhubarb?!

Well no, not exactly. But the pouty nude lip look is one that Ruby often sports (as well as other 'nude' looks, but we won't go there...). Men can be very observant!
Still, never in a million years did I think that the pure and simple inspiration I took from the humble rhubarb would lead to a comparison like this. I'm just thankful I don't have the Italian prime minister on speed dial.
What started out as a look based on pretty pink innocent flushed cheeks had ended up being about a sexy fleshpot pout. No bad thing I guess. But couldn't Mr P have said Angelina Jolie instead???

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...