Randoms: EOTDs + a braid :)

I thought I would post a couple EOTDs in one post, since I've done a few recently but haven't gotten around to putting them up.  I've really been trying to experiment more with techniques and colors.  I'm having more success with neutral eye looks so far, but practice makes perfect, right?  If anyone has any tips on how to create awesome eye looks, feel free to let me know in the comments!

I'll start off with today's makeup/face, along with how I did my hair.

For my eyes, I did a very natural look using my NYC IndividualEyes palette in "Central Park".  I used the champagne color all over, and the brown/bronze on the outer 1/3rd of my lid.  This eye look was basically a trial of a tutorial I watched on Youtube last night about how to make your eyes look bigger (Found here!).  The main points are:

1) using a light color to highlight your eyes, and then a medium/darker color to add depth to the outer lid.

2) only applying eyeliner to the outer corners of your upper lash line and smudging it out

3) lining your lower lashline with the darker eyeshadow color and blending it out so it's not harsh

4) applying mascara in a fanned-out way and concentrating on the outer lashes.

I also did my hair in a slightly different way today.  I tried a "Lace braid":

I followed the tutorial on Bella Sugar, but once I finished reading it I realized it wasn't too different from a regular french braid.  You just add hair from one side instead of both.

I always take showers at night (I hate getting up any earlier to do it in the morning), but lately I've been sleeping in a french braid and then the next day, my hair is all curly like this.  Basically I towel dry my hair that night, comb volumizing mousse through it, french braid it from the very start of my hairline, and it dries overnight.  Then the next morning all I do is shake it out and pin it however I want.  Foolproof and perfect for lazy people like me!  I'm doing it mainly because it's easy, I like how it looks, and it's good for my hair to not use so much heat on it.  For awhile I was blow-drying it almost daily.

Onto a recent EOTD!

This first one is quite the smokey eye for me.  I used the E.L.F. eyeshadow quad in Drama- with the white, silvers, and black.  I wanted a relatively sharp outer edge, so I used the scotch tape technique for the first time!  I just blended it out a tiny bit so the edge wasn't TOO sharp.

I like how this one turned out.  I was going to post another one, but I just realized it looks exactly like the EOTD I did with my Lust WnW palette awhile back, lol.  That's OK!  

What kinds of eye looks have you experimented with?  Share!