Piper Nuelle

The other day I started a new series on my blog called ‘Makeup and Books’. Which is where I play with my makeup to create an eyeshadow look based on the front cover of a book I have read, currently reading, or one in my collection. I choose a palette based on the colours, shades and tones that is houses inside and create a look on my eyes in response.

Now this is only meant to be a little bit of fun and it mainly started because I do have a background in Makeup and Beauty but also writing and reading lol… So I thought why not combine two things I love to write about on my blog. I know it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is mine. And it is also helping me cope creatively whilst I recover from a huge surgery I had to do with my chronic illness ‘Endometriosis’.

So todays Makeup and Books participants are; The book called ‘Bad Publicity’ by Bianca Gillam and my YSL Beauty Eyeshadow Clutch palette in Paris.

I chose this particular eyeshadow palette due to its bright yellow shade. Yellow is not really a shade I have much of in my makeup collection and this palette was the only one that seemed to have the perfect shade and tone of yellow, but also a pink, pink enough to compliment the yellow and tie in with the pink on the cover. The cover obviously has a very bright and bold pink along with some bright yellow writing… But that is not all the yellow… Oh no, there is more on the free-edges of the pages.

First up I set up my base with some concealer on my eye lids to make sure that the eyeshadow stays put all day and covers any uneven skin tone, redness or even veins that may shine through. The concealer being a pale shade also makes most shades pop more and because it is a base that can still be a little tacky in feeling when applied, it means the pigment and the colour hold on for dear life.

I then took the golden shimmery shade and took it above my crease to create a summer glow look, sort of like you might get from skin glow oil or something. I then took the bright yellow shade and packed it onto my lid with my packer brush. I built it up with a few layers because I wanted the yellow to really be seen and shine. Next I grabbed the brighter of the two pink shades and I packed it into the outer corner of my eye, I then went in with my bigger fluffy brush with some of that first golden shade and blended them all in together. I then went over any yellow and pink and packed on more colour if I thought it needed it. Then I took the yellow and pink shade and went under my bottom lash line, with the yellow being applied to the inner section and the pink applied to the outer section. Next I took the silver shade and added it to the inner corner of my eye to create some highlight. Then lastly, mascara!!!

Do I feel that my look embodied the soul of the book and the cover?

Yes… And no. Yes for the cover indeed. I definitely feel that my look incorporated what I saw as the cover with the hot pink and vibrant yellow shades. The yellow tone was indeed bright, although it did turn a little orangey on my eye lids, so I packed on a lot to get the fully yellow tone. The pink was nice and bright and I felt it showed the pink in the cover well. The silver tone for my inner eye highlight represented the smoke from the plane and the plane itself. Then the golden shimmer tone… Wasn’t really on the book itself, but… I read this book on holiday in Lanzarote in the sun, with the smell and aroma of sun cream, pina coladas and salty sea water and as my teenage daughter liked to apply, some glittery body oil to embody the full tan of holiday summer sun. So, yes, for the cover I do feel my look worked well.

For the actually story? I’m not so sure… The main character was very business like and professional and I can’t see her wearing bright, party colours!!! The theme of the book is that of an author and his PR wing woman and them flying and travelling the world for his book press tour but they do not get along, therefore everything is not all rainbows and unicorns… There was a lot of travel involved in the book… Just maybe not the sunny and hot places I imagine this books cover wanted to portray. They travelled to Ireland, England and Paris and parts of Europe, most of which to me are not hot, sunny, holiday destinations, but more rainy, dreary and not a sunny, yellow and pink holiday location.

I have done a full book review on this book on my blog, if you wish to check that out here, then please do – https://pipernuelle.com/2025/07/15/book-review-bad-publicity-by-bianca-gillam/

What do I think of the YSL Beauty Clutch eyeshadow palette in Paris?

I’ve had this palette for sometime now. It was a rather expensive palette when I first purchased it, but it looked like a cute little clutch bag that secretly holds an array of muted yet colourful shimmery and glittery eyeshadows inside it. The formula of the eyeshadows is ok, they are creamy in texture and do have a nice look to them… But in all honesty, it is also not the best eyeshadow palette I have ever used. Like it is ok, it works, and there wasn’t much fall out from the pigment but the colours do need building up to really pop and make a scene. But with a brand like YSL you are paying for the name. I think the idea was to have a couple of bright shades for partying at night, some muted shades for day time looks and then neutral and natural brown / gold tones for a more every day office look. Don’t get me wrong the palette is nice with its faux leather clutch design, and the shades can be pretty, but at £80-£100 it is a lot of money!!! I personally would grab something from Colourpop Cosmetics… But, if you like designers and designer makeup YSL is ok to buy and use.

So there you have it, my little ‘Makeup and Books’ bit of fun. Basically me playing with makeup to create an eyeshadow look based on the book and the cover. I loved doing this and I do have some plans to do some more in the future, just because it is cool and super fun. I have also seen on TikTok that people do Book-Tok and sometimes makeup is involved. So I know I am not the only one that loves both Books and Makeup lol.

Hope you enjoyed todays blog post. If you did then please give me a comment.

Take care, xo Piper xo