I agree with Lily and Cupcake, black liner in a thin line(Blackheart foiled works great for this because it reflects the light!) black mascara, and using the color on the crease/outer v are usually how I pull off wearing a color that tends to not look stellar as a one color wash! Maybe something like Whipped Cream on the inner corner will brighten up the eye since that particular shade of purple doesn't for you? For what it's worth, I don't think the color looks bad on you! Could be the lighting you're seeing it in is different than it looks in the photo though.

There is one shade of purple that makes my eyes look very awake, Breathe does this, maybe that's why you can wear it? I haven't figured out exactly what quality makes that happen though...

I did find my sample of Cider and wore it yesterday. It makes my face look sunkissed! Which is nice, because my cheeks never tan, they just turn red. It looks like what I think a bronzer should look like, as opposed to what bronzers usually do on my skin--turn "sunless tanner" orange or look dull and muddy.

Let's try this purple thing again...





I forgot to carry lip balm yesterday so my lips are a bit chapped. My hair is wet from a shower- so sorry. lol

The headband- no that's not one of my headbands, it's a "buff" or "headcase"- a seamless knit tube- designed to be worn a variety of ways on the head or I mostly wear them as tube tops and sportsbras (i'm actually wearing a black one as a top in the photo, you just can't see it). You might recognize them from the show "Survivor" where they were popularized. I received my first two (in survivor prints) in high school (maybe 6 years ago). They're super breathable, multi-purpose (we know how i love multi-purpose things), fit like a second skin, and dry really fast when they get wet. I tend to spend large portions of the summer in these (i don't have a/c) and buy them on amazon for around $15 a pop from both buff headwear and mental. I love them.

Love all the summery colors on you! I just got Lime a few weeks ago but have yet to wear it...

I think that purple look is very pretty on you! I had a good friend visiting this weekend and we were talking makeup. She mentioned that she has a hard time wearing purples because they make her look like someone punched her in the eye. She has dark brown eyes so makeup counter girls advise her to wear purples, but the results are awful. The purple colors she described sounded just like the ones you have trouble with. Later on I was swatching foundation on her skin and noticed at her temple the skin is pale enough her veins show through better than they do on some others. I asked if the purples make those veins seem prominent and she started laughing and yes! The purple shades she described indeed would have played up the color of her veins in that area. So there are others out there like you!

Cross posting my latest swatches, reds:




I know cassis isn't red, i just threw it in there for fun. *Direct sunlight swatches

eta: forgot cherry crush. Also apologies for the number of dc'ed shades up there. I grabbed every red i could find and since several of the dc'ed shades are my personal favorites and might be other's favorites too, i like to put them up there next to potential replacement colors.

Rouge looks like a sheer wash of red. Is it still available on the site? Is it in the liquid formula?

Thanks for the swatches, Sam!



Rouge was discontinued a while ago. It was one of the wand glosses.

It was a liquid and is no longer available. You can still get the liquid cherry crush though (which somehow i forgot to swatch?) Bitten also creates a very similar effect to rouge, being sheer and buildable

Adding Cherry Crush to my wishlist! Thanks, Sam!

I second Bitten as a sheer red, easy to build up in intensity. It's like a sheer, cherry popsicle red, very neutral. Most reds turn pink on me, Bitten stays pretty true!

Now I'm wondering if Cherry Crush turns pink on anyone??

ETA: Oh, and Sam, just wanted to mention how much I love your lip swatches! They are very useful... I'm a bit surprised though, Cassis looks as if it is a bit lighter than Bombshell, is it that way IRL? I find Cassis to be VERY dark, but I haven't tried Bombshell so I can't compare...