I have a new makeup brand to tell you about. The makeup itself is amazing; I just love it. But it's the woman behind the brand that's the real story. I first heard about the By Lauren Luke brand from Tammy at A Mom In Red High Heels. I read a post she did on the makeup with an interview from its creator, Lauren Luke. I was immediately taken with this charming, beautiful woman with the endearing English accent. I was even more impressed as I learned more.

Overnight Sensation

Turns out Lauren is a YoutTube sensation. She had a love of makeup and started putting video tutorials on YouTube, using herself as a model. Before long, she attracted thousands of viewers. In fact, a top talent agent spotted her and immediately signed her. From there, Lauren was able to launch her own makeup line that is sold at her website and at Sephora stores. She was recently featured in Time magazine

The Makeup

The makeup palettes are just wonderful. For only $32.50 you get a compact full of everything you need to put together a gorgeous look. I purchased My Luscious Greens and My Vintage Glams and received free shipping. Can't beat that.  Each palette contains an entire coordinating look of 3 eye shadows, 1 blush, 2 lip glosses, 1 eye liner, and two colors of eye shadow primer. For those of you who haven't used primer, I highly recomend it. In fact I talk about it in a video I did demonstrating a hooded eye look on my MomTV show, Everyday Answers. I love makeup By Lauren Luke. Everything is right there at my fingertips. I appreciate how the colors are already coordinated, and I can just pop the case in my purse for touchups on the go. The palette is a bit larger than your standard compact, but I have a big purse! The ease of application is wonderful, and everything lasts all day long, with only a few touch ups of the lip gloss.

See For Yourself

Visit Lauren's YouTube Channel to see her in action for yourself. I'd recommend buying her makeup as well. It's perfect for moms because it's compact, coordinated, and cost-effective! Gotta love that. I'll be buying more when new colors come out. Lauren told me on Twitter that she will be including some coppers in upcoming lines, which makes me very happy! Visit her on Twitter and Facebook. She's just as personable online as she is in her videos. And she's just another example of the good things that can happen when you put yourself out there!

I've had a lot of questions about the post I wrote on hooded eyes, so I decided to do a demonstration video of my own to try to break it down a bit. I had a little help with the prodction of this video from the cameraman, my talented son Noah, and my model, my darling daughter Norah. Take a look, and be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

Do you have hooded eyes, also known as "bedroom eyes"? Madonna does, and so do I. Hooded eyes refers to eyelids that are not easily seen because the upper lid "hoods" or obscures the lower part the eye lid. Applying makeup to this kind of eye shape can be tricky. Before learning the technique I'm about to share with you, it always seemed pointless to even put eye shadow on because you could hardly see it. Do you have this problem too?

I learned how to make my hooded eyes stand out as a consultant with Mary Kay, so I'll first point you to a great demonstration video on the Mary Kay website. Go on and check it out (press the blinking green play button beneath the illustration to start the video), then come back here for a little more in-depth explanation of the application technique.

Did you learn anything from the video? Basically, the main point to remember is that you want to concentrate the darkest or accent color toward the outer part of your eye lid. You'll notice that you'll use very little of the lightest or highlight color. That's because you want to maximize the darker shades of the midtone and accent colors to make the lid appear to recede. This makes your nonexistent lids appear more noticeable.

Watch the video a few times to get the hang of it, then give it a try. If you're anything like me, you'll be so excited to be able to see your pretty eye shadow that you'll want to explore with tons of new colors! Don't be afraid to play. It's exciting to see the possibilities. Let me know how this application technique works for you.