Last week my friend, Diana, e-mailed me with a request to teach her how to create waves with a straightening iron.

Admittedly, this technique takes a little bit of practice, but after a few times I promise you'll be able to do this too.

Before you start, be have the following items handy:

Dry shampoo (not mentioned in video) -- if the hair framing your forehead is on the greasy side, it's always best to prep this area first.
Flat/straightening iron with a slim profile, preferably with ceramic plates as I find it leaves hair with a smoother finish.
Texturising spray to set the waves.
A comb
A few hair clips to section the hair off.

Hopefully this video gives me a good kick in the butt to start blogging again.

Urban Dacay's Naked 3 palette happens to be my most-loved and used eyeshadow palette ever and I have no qualms about recommending it to others. But what do you do whence confronted by all twelve shades; some might tuck it away, curl up in a ball and call it a day. Others, like myself, will rise to the challenge and find a way to use them all.

Mersaedes, this one's for you.

Let's get started.

Here's what you need:

Primer, preferably one without shimmer
- NARS Smudge Proof Primer - appears white, dries clear
- Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (Original) - beige in colour
- Too Faced Shadow Insurance Primer - beige in colour
A foundation brush and Q-tips for post-application clean up
Spooly brush to rid your lashes of any mascara clumps
Eyelash curler
Mascara
Brown Eyeliner - I'm in love with Marc Jacob's Highliner Gel in Ro(Cocoa)
A blending brush or you can use the double-ended brush that comes with the Naked 3 Palette. I used UD's brush to prove that it's possible to execute these looks with a mediocre brush.

Steps 1 & 2:

Grab your brown liner to tightline. I can't evenly apply eyeliner to save my soul, so I prefer to do this method as a cheat for fuller lashes.
Apply Limit on your eyelid and blend out any harsh edges just above your crease.

Steps 3 & 4:

Highlight your brow bone with Strange.
Next, apply Burnout to the outer corners.

Steps 5, 6 & 7:

Highlight the inner corners of your eyes with Dust
Apply Mascara
Clean up any fallout

Now, you can stop here or skip steps 6 and 7 to take this look a bit further.

Step 8:

Contour your outer crease with Factory to add a bit of dimension
- Be sure to blend like it's your job

Steps 9 & 10:

Lightly dab Trick on the centre of your eyelid for a pop shimmer.
Starting from the outside and working your way in, line your lower lash line with Darkside and blend into Dust.

Steps 11 & 12:

Load the smaller end of the brush with Blackheart to define the outer v.
Smoke things out some more by layering Mugshot over Blackheart and Trick

Steps 13 & 14:

Build up the shimmer factor at the centre of the eye lid by layering Buzz over Trick.
Finally, paint on a healthy helping of mascara and be sure to clean up eyeshadow spillage from the under eye area.