Today I’m digging up serious 90’s nostalgia and creating
a makeup tutorial of one the most iconic artists of the decade: Shania Twain.
The first CD I ever bought (yes, you read that right, CD)
was Shania Twain’s Come On Over.
I was probably six or seven when I saw the music video
for her mega popular hit Man! I Feel Like a Woman.
Its nod to Robert
Palmer’s music videos wasn’t lost on me, but was greatly overshadowed by
Shania’s incredible makeup; full-on smoky eyes, over the top contour.
Maybe
this was when my love for makeup was born. Who knows. But what I do know is
that the makeup look for that video will forever be a classic for makeup
lovers.
I’ve wanted to recreate this makeup for quite a while,
but have actually been a little nervous to attempt it because I really wanted
to do it justice.
The Essentials to Recreate Shania Twain’s Man! I Feel Like a Women Makeup
A Blending Brush
Since a black smoky eye is the anchor of this look a good
blending brush is absolutely essential.
There are a lot of blending brushes on the market. Some
are really decent.
What you want to look for in a blending brush is for it to
be firm enough to buff the eyeshadow or liner, but also soft and fluffy enough
to smudge and diffuse harsh lines.
Not all blending brushes are created equal.
My go-to blending brush is MAC Cosmetics 217 brush. If
you watch any of my videos you will notice that I use it in nearly
every one. It is that perfect balance of textures.
Retailing at $29 it sounds pretty pricy, and it is. But
if you take care of it and clean it regularly this brush will last you for a
very long time.
I’ve had the one I used in this video since I think 2014 and it
is just as fantastic as the day I bought it.
Expert Tip: Start with a clean blending brush, especially
for this smoky eye, you will get way better results.
Matte Black Eyeshadow
There is no question that black eyeshadow is necessary
for this smoky look. Shania was wearing matte black eyeshadow so that’s what I
went with too.
Not just any black eyeshadow will do. Often they are
powdery or patchy.
You want one with buildable coverage and a good level opacity.
I went with another MAC product. No, I am not affiliated with MAC nor do I get any
incentive for recommending them. The products needed for this look are products
that MAC does well.
I used MAC’s Carbon eyeshadow. It is very buildable and
perfectly blendable, ideal for a smoky eye. Pairs perfectly with their 217
blending brush.
Concealer
A big part of this smoky eye look is clean up.
Even the best of powder eyeshadows have a small amount of fall out - little specks of shadow that fall under the eyes.
But, that's no reasons to shy away from using it. Most fallout can be easily cleaned up with a liquid concealer in a shade close to your skin tone.
The key is to keep wiping your brush (or finger) after each swipe on a tissue so you don't spread the shadow flecks all over your under eye area.
Another benefit of using concealer for this look is you can achieve the sharpest smoked wing by swiping it up around you eye (see video for demonstration).
I used Maybelline's Fit Me Concealer in Ivory. A very affordable concealer that works wonders for covering under eye circles, cleaning up fall out, and camouflaging blemishes.
Contour
Shania has a seriously strong matte contour in the video on the jaw bone, cheek, hairline, and nose.
It is buffed out a bit with the blush and accentuated by the highlighter.
The sharp angles add to the overall fierceness of this look.
I used one of the shades from NYX Highlight & Contour Pro Palette (I also used the highlighter shades in there).
This relatively inexpensive palette gives you four pressed powder contour shades and four pressed powder highlighters so you can perfect any look you could possibly want to create.
A little goes a long way with these colors so you will have this palette for quite a while.
Muted Peach Lipstick
Finding the right shade of lipstick to match the one Shania wore in the video drove me crazy.
I looked through all of my lip colors and nothing was right.
I even tried mixing some shades together but still couldn't match it perfectly.
Finally, I broke down and went to Ulta Beauty. They had NYX Smooth Whip Lip Cream in Kitty Belly, which turned out to be an ALMOST perfect shade for this look.
One major difference is that the finish is matte. Shania's had a slight glossiness to it.
But it was easy enough to add a clear gloss as a top coat.
Now that we've nailed down the essential products to recreate Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman! makeup here is a step-by-step breakdown of how I went about it.
Place and packet the black eyeshadow on to the eyelid using a short shading brush.
Concentrate the color mainly on the lid at this point.
2. Blend + Build & Blend + Build:
With a blending brush start buffing out the black shadow up into the crease and out of the eye to begin a smoky wing.
The next bit takes some patience as it consists of adding color and then blending it to get a diffused smoky effect in the shape that we want. See my video for a more detailed look.
3. Black & White Liner and More Black Eyeshadow:
Run a thin strip of black liquid liner just along the lash line to intensify lashes. Wing it out just a tiny bit.
Use a black pencil liner in the lower water line of the eyes to enhance the dramatic eye look.
On a small angled brush trace the same black shadow across the lower lash line and give it a small wing leaving a tiny gap between it and the liner on the upper lash line.
Take a white liquid liner and create a small flick of color right between the two black lines.
4. Mascara & Concealer Clean Up:
The lashes are probably the most natural part of this makeup look. She doesn't appear to be wearing false lashes so I just swiped on a volumizing mascara on the top & bottom lashes.
Next comes the clean up. Dot concealer all over under eyes and around the nose. As you sweep and blend the concealer to remove fall out, take it up higher and create a sharp wing out of the smoked out eyeshadow.
5. Matte Contour, Highlighter & Blush:
Go big and bold with the contour working it between the cheek and jaw bone starting near the middle of the ear down to around the apples of the cheeks. Work it under the jaw bone, into the hairline, and down the slope of the nose.
Hit the spaces in between the contour color with highlighter.
Use a neutral toned rose blush on the apples of the cheeks and blend it into the contour shade.
Use a pure white shimmer highlighter (one of the only not-matte products) on a small brush and gently tap it on top of the blush on the apples of the cheeks.
6. Peach Lipstick, Gloss & Setting Foundation:
Optional: I used a sienna shade lip liner but that isn't a must.
Sometimes she appears to be wearing a lip liner, sometimes she doesn't. It depends on the scene in the music video.
Pop a muted peach liquid lipstick on the lips.
The one I used was matte so I added a clear gloss as a topper.
To set everything in place I pressed a matte powder foundation onto my face.
And finally we have reached the end of our tutorial!
Products I Used:
Almay: Truly Lasting Color Liquid Makeup in Ivory
Urban Decay: Eyeshadow Primer Potion
MAC: Carbon Eyeshadow
MAC: 239 Shader Brush
MAC: 217 Blending Brush
Eyeko: Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner Travel Size
Sugar Cosmetics: Kohl of Honour
Intense Kajal in Black Out
Beau Gâchis: Eyebrow Brush
Urban Decay: Thirteen Eyeshadow
Complex Culture: Precision Eyelid Brush
Colourpop: bff liquid liner in Graceland
MAC: M·A·Cstack Mascara in Superstack Mega Brush
Maybelline: Fit Me Concealer in Ivory
NYX: Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
Luxie Beauty: Rose Gold Large Angled Face Brush 504
Real Techniques: Pointed Foundation Brush
Beau Gâchis: Concealer Perfecting Brush
Real Techniques: Contour Brush
Pixi Beauty: Fresh Face Blush in Beach Rose
Luxie Beauty: Dreamcatcher Precision Foundation Brush 660
NYX: Smooth Whip Blurring Matte Lip Cream in Kitty Belly
Fluide: Lip Gloss in Elsewhere
MAC: Studio Fix Powder in NW10
Our finished Shania Twain Man! I Feel Like a Woman! inspired makeup look!
Maybe not a perfect replica but it is very similar.
I could've blended out the contour a bit more, especially on my right.
Shania and I also look noting alike, so there's that too 😅
I'd love to do a side-by-side photo with a screenshot from Shania's music video, but I'm fairly certain that could be construed as copyright infringement (none intended).
Check out her video!
The dramatic smoky eye is really the cornerstone of this look.
I could've darked the shadow one more time to better match the intensity of the video look, but I think the shape and idea is pretty similar.
I don't own the top hat, the veil, or the trench coat but I still had a lot of fun recreating the makeup look of one of my favorite artists!
Again you can see my video tutorial of Shania Twain's Man! I Feel Like a Woman! music video makeup here
Thank you for checking out my blog post!
If you like tutorials and reviews don't forget to subscribe so you will be the first to know when a new post drops 😁
Thanks again!
XOXO
Ultima Beauty
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Today I’m reviewing Too Faced’s Better Than Chocolate
Eyeshadow Palette for you.
And I have a tasty tutorial to go along with it! 🍫
So read on for delicious details about this candy
inspired palette and how you can create a sweet eyeshadow look.
You can check out my video review and tutorial here
Review
Too Faced has had many chocolate inspired palettes over
the years each with their own special eyeshadow finishes/textures (see my
review of the Chocolate Gold palette, heavy on the metallic shadow finish,
here).
Better Than Chocolate has a fun mix of finishes from
mattes to shimmers to metallics.
There are also some fun pops of color among the chocolatey neutral shades.
As with its chocolate predecessors the Better Than Chocolate palette is infused with real cocoa powder.
It claims to have the scent of "molten chocolate cake".
To me, it has a light chocolate scent, which I prefer because it isn't overwhelming or too strong.
The Better Than Chocolate shadows are housed in a tin palette in the shape of a large rectangular chocolate bar with a nice sized mirror for easy application on the go.
The palette itself seems durable enough to withstand being shuffled around in a makeup bag and will likely protect the shadows from damage (probably not from a drop though).
It contains 18 eyeshadow shades.
Eight mattes, Five shimmers, and Five metallics.
Each pan contains about 4 ounces of pressed powder eyeshadow.
A stunning line up of shades.
There are several beautiful eyeshadows in this palette.
There are also a few that are a bit lacking.
Most of the metallics glide on beautifully and leave a gorgeous foil effect.
But one is a bit patchy and has some fallout (see shade breakdown below).
A majority of the matte shades are buttery soft and effortlessly blendable.
One is a little chalky and require extra work to use.
Most of the shimmers are highly pigmented and have minimal fallout.
A couple of the shimmers are powdery and need to be layered significantly to achieve pan shade.
Pros: Velvety soft and extremely blendable, most of these shadows are easy to work with to create eye looks.
There is a nice range of colors and finishes for a more neutral, subtle effect or a more dramatic and intense party look.
The long-lasting nature of these shadows makes them perfect for a long day at work, a party, or anytime you want your shadow to last without a touch up (umm... All the time).
Just enough of a light cocoa scent to live up to its name without being overpowering.
Cons: The real cons are only for a few individual shadows not the whole palette.
One of the mattes is chalky and needs more work to to blend or build color.
One of the metallics is patchy and requires a lot of shadow to reach a saturated foil appearance.
A couple of the shimmers are powdery and need layering to reach their full potential.
There is a little bit of fallout with some of the shimmer and metallic shades.
Swatches
Heavy on the "chocolate" inspired shades, but there is a nice mix of some other colors to balance out the palette that give many options for eye looks (keep scrolling to see some)
Milk It - Snow white with silver & pink shimmer
(A bit powdery)
Buttercream - Terracotta with a matte finish
Gold Digger - Yellow gold with a metallic finish
Skinny Dipped - Sienna brown with a metallic finish
Ooey Gooey - Light copper with rose gold shimmer
Midnight Snack - Dark plum with a matte finish
Reality Choc - Raw umber with a metallic finish
(very patchy, hard to build color)
Bitter Half - Tawny brown with a matte finish
I'm the Dessert - Rust with a metallic finish
Sugar Rush - Lilac with light blue shimmer
Cake My Day - Deep ginger with a matte finish
Bite Me - Cameo brown with a matte finish
Lick the Bowl - Tan with a matte finish
Bless Your Tart - Cobalt Blue with silver shimmer
(powdery and has some fallout)
Nice Buns - Light persimmon with a matte finish
What the Fudge? - Light chestnut brown with a metallic finish
Brownie Points - Chocolate brown with a matte finish
Texts & Candy - Khaki green with gold shimmer
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⋆ (4 out of 5)
Would I Re-Purchase: Yes
Final Thoughts: Out of the 18 shades in this palette only two or three are little harder to work with.
Overall the eyeshadows are very lovely, give beautiful color and texture, and last all day long.
It is heavy on the brown shades, but what else would you expect from a "chocolate" titled palette?
I'm happy with my purchase and have been able to create many different eyeshadow looks.
Tutorial
Here is one of the looks I created using Too Faced's Better Than Chocolate palette.
1. Cake My Day & Buttercream: Run "Cake My Day" (deep ginger shade) all the way through the crease of the eye. Then use a blending brush to soften and diffuse.
Next brush "Buttercream" all over the eyelid for a nice base.
2. I'm the Dessert + a Flat Brush: On a flat brush take "I'm the Dessert" (Rust shade) and press it onto the eyelid focusing on the center. Try to leave the inner and outer third of the lid clean.
3. Sugar Rush + Shading Brush: Using a short shading brush dust "Sugar Rush" (lilac shade) onto to the inner corners of the eyes and on the inner 1/3 of the lid up to "I'm the Dessert" in the center.
4. Bless Your Tart + a Small Eyeshadow Brush: Take "Bless Your Tart" (cobalt blue shade) on a small eyeshadow brush and work it onto the outer 1/3 of the eye, building up color intensity and meeting "I'm the Dessert" shade on the lid.
5. Black Eyeliner & Bitter Half: Take a liquid liner pen and run it across the top lash line just to get a little more definition, not making it the star of the show.
Next, glide a black eye pencil along the lower water line to add even more depth.
Then take "Bitter Half" (tawny brown shade) and run it along the lower lash line to tie our chocolate shades together.
6. Mascara + Concealer: Coat top and bottom lashes with a lengthening/volumizing mascara.
Then use a concealer under the eyes to clean up any fallout from the shimmer shades.
7. Contour, Highlight, Blush, Lip Gloss & Set: Use powder contour, highlight, and blush shades to lightly sculpt the face and a nude lip gloss to complete the look.
Set face makeup with a powder foundation.
Put all of these together and what do we get?
Our finished Too Faced Better Than Chocolate eyeshadow look!
I didn't go too over the top with the additional eye and makeup products. I wanted to showcase the eyeshadows from the Better Than Chocolate palette.
The shape I created with the blue shade ("Bless Your Tart") works as a mild wing effect so I didn't need to over do it with the liquid liner.
Products I used to create this Better Than Chocolate makeup look:
Too Faced: Better Than Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in Cake
My Day
Vasanti: Contour Eyeshadow Brush 4
MAC: 217 Blending Brush
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in Buttercream
Slmissglam: SS57 Blender Brush
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in I’m
the Dessert
Beau Gâchis: Concealer Brush
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in Sugar Rush
F.A.R.A.H: Short Shading Brush 45 E Rose Gold Collection
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in Bless Your Tart
Sonia Kashuk: Small Eyeshadow Brush No.7
Girlactik: Precise Marker Liner in Black Noir
Lottie London: AM to PM Eyeliner Pencil in Black
Too Faced: Eyeshadow in Bitter Half
Luxie Beauty: Rose Gold Flat Definer Brush 221
Too Faced: Mascara
Winky Lux: Peeper Perfect Under-Eye Concealer in Fair
NYX: Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
Beaute Basics: C405 Contour Blush Brush
Beau Gâchis: Illuminator (Highlighting Brush)
L'Oréal: True Match Super Blendable Blush Baby Blossom
That pretty much wraps up my review and tutorial of Too Faced's Better Than Chocolate Eyeshadow palette.
I really like the palette and if you are in the market for a fairly versatile palette I would recommend checking this one out.
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