Exquisite Nail Art Designs For Inspiration: January 2011

Makeup Mondays With Mario: Glossy Eye Makeup

Celebrity makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic is answering your burning beauty questions!!! Every Monday, he will answer a beauty/skin care question as part of a weekly column on Spoiled Pretty, Makeup Mondays with Mario.

Dear Mario,

I hope this message finds you well. I know you're super busy so I'll jump right in with my question for you. For years I've seen woman in magazines with a glossy eye makeup and I want to try this look on me but don't even know where to begin. I read once that Vaseline works over a normal shadow and when I tried it on myself it lasted all of about 10 minutes before getting into my eyes and on my lashes. Please help me with a product recommendation or one of your genius techniques so my eyes too can be glossy like the magazine models!

-Lucy

Lucy,

There are several ways to get a glossy effect on your eyelids. I've done this look many times through the years and it's gorgeous when done the right way. I have also experimented with a few techniques and products. The simplest way to get your lids looking glossy is to use an eye gloss. Here's what you do - first apply shadow primer or concealer to the lids and set with loose powder. This will even out the color of your lids and help the eye gloss to last longer by preventing your oils and the actual gloss from mixing together and eventually making a mess on your pretty eyes.

You must try the Jane Iredale Eye Gloss. It comes in a little tube with a wand applicator in several shades. Just apply it directly to your lids and that’s pretty much it! No need to add several products. This eye gloss is great because it's not overly glossy and it doesn't crease or run at all.

Thanks for visiting Makeup Mondays With Mario!

xo,
Mario

Got a question for Mario? Email your makeup and skin care queries to spoiledprettyquestions@gmail.com, and check back next Monday to read Mario's expert advice!

The Costumes of Downton Abbey

The horsey set.

Darlings, we have Downton Abbey fever. We got a tip from Mo Ryan that this show would be right up our alley, and god bless her, the girl knows us well. We immediately got sucked into this tale of a late (or post) Edwardian family and their sizable estate staff. If you liked Gosford Park (which was written by Julian Fellowes, who created DA) or Upstairs, Downstairs, then this series is right up your alley too. Inheritance drama! Scheming sisters! Gay footman! Bitchy, backstabbing housemaids! Maggie Smith!

Actually, that last point should be reason enough to watch. Dame Maggie slips into this role like it was a comfortable pair of slippers. She could play the bitchy Dowager Countess in her sleep. Fortunately, she decided to stay wide awake for this role. The entire cast is uniformly good, but Maggie's operating on a whole 'nother level. The Dowager Countess may be afraid of electricity and befuddled by swivel chairs, but the old dame's got a Facebook profile and that just tickles us.

The final episode of the first season airs tonight on PBS. If you haven't caught it before now, you can watch the previous three 90-minute episodes on the PBS site or you can check your OnDemand schedule.

Unsurprisingly, a large part of the appeal for us is the costuming. We could look at pictures of these gorgeous period clothes all day. Since you probably don't have all day, we included enough to keep your eyes entertained for the next couple of minutes. Enjoy, kittens.