celebrity-inspired looks #3 - elizabeth henstridge at the guardians of the galaxy l.a. premiere

I swear, I'll do a celebrity look that isn't Elizabeth Henstridge. Eventually. But I had to attempt the seriously awesome smoky eye and red lip pairing she wore to this premiere--you can find pictures here. I'll take suggestions for other celebrity looks anyone wants to see!

(This is the last post I'll be making with my blonde hair! Good thing, too, since it's misbehaving a lot today.)

Okay, let's get lipstick out of the way. From what I could tell in the pictures I've seen, she was wearing more of a sheer red lipstick, though some pictures made it look more pigmented. I suggest going the sheer route especially with a strong smoky eye like this, but if you want to go full red, go for it. Lipstick Queen's most popular lipstick is a tinted treatment that fit so well. And one day, I'll have a camera that doesn't desaturate reds!

Elizabeth has some amazing eyebrows but they looked a little lighter than usual, so fill in your brows with a light hand, and set the hairs in place with a tinted brow gel. The secret to lightening your brows a bit is to run some powder through your brows while the gel isn't fully dry--translucent or tinted powder would probably work best, but I wanted to be fancy and used a gold eyeshadow.

For the eyes, take a gold shimmer to the inner corner of your eyelids, blending carefully. Next, use a deeper bronze-brown shade on the center of the lid. I added a glittery deep brown shade on top of the original colour just to give it some more dimension. Take a dark brown to the outer corners of your eyelids, and then blend all three of these together.

Blending with a brush would be ideal, but I'm a rulebreaker and just use my fingers. That won't work for everyone, so choose a method that works best for you. I suggest blending the lighter shade into the darker shade so you don't risk darkening your entire lid.

Tap a matte deep brown shade into your crease and blend that toward the inner corner of your eyelid. For your lower lid, take a bit of the gold eyeshadow and some of the dark brown shade and blend that into your lash line. Line your upper waterline and lash line with a matte black eyeliner, and your lower waterline with a brown eyeliner. (Since my eyes water a lot, I set the lower waterline with a matte brown eyeshadow. Totally optional.) Swipe on a few coats of mascara, and if you'd like, put on some false eyelashes. Elizabeth seems to have really long eyelashes and mine are stubby, so I put on some partial falsies that only cover half of my lash line. Make sure you glue these on correctly because I 100% messed mine up!

For the face, take a foundation a few shades deeper than your skin tone and blend it just underneath your cheeks for a little contouring, and then dust on a peachy-pink blush to give some colour to your cheeks. Because the eyes are so intense and you have a bit of a noticeable lip competing, you need to have a little blush on your cheeks to keep you from looking washed out.

BROWS
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade in Dark Brown
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite
Urban Decay eyeshadow in Half-Baked (bronze)

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Inner corner - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Half-Baked (bronze)
Center of lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Smog (golden brown shimmer) + Shiro Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Nic Cage Raking Leaves on a Brisk October Afternoon (coffee brown-black with gold and red sparkles)
Outer lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer)
Crease - Paula's Choice eyeshadow in Coffee, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Buck (brown matte)
Lower lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Half-Baked (bronze) + Darkhorse (bronze-plum shimmer)
Upper lash line + waterline - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)
Lower waterline -  Hello Kitty Charmmy Kohl Eyeliner in Chocolate Milk (shimmery brown) + Paula's Choice eyeshadow in Coffee
Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black
Falsies - ecotools Naturally Beautiful Lash System in Barely There

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01
Under eyes - It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector Concentrate Cream in Light + Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in Light
Contour - Maybelline Fit Me foundation stick in 235
Blush - NARS Blush in Orgasm (peachy pink with shimmer)

LIPS
Lipstick Queen Medieval Tinted Treatment (sheer red)

looks of the weekend - simple summer look + helena (bonus blonde hair!)

I wasn't even going to post anything because this is just a transition hair colour until I get the rest of the dye put in next weekend, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity, really.

First, here's what my go-to summer look has been.

Yes, I am wearing the garland I bought at the nearby Renaissance Faire the first time I went! And hello, blonde hair. My hairdresser didn't want me to be stuck in a chair for 4-5 hours getting all the dye in, so my next appointment is next weekend. This time next week, I'll have purple + pink + orange hair!

Since it's summer, I don't really bother with foundation or any sort of face product except for sunscreen. I'd rather protect my skin than try to bother covering anything up. That being said, I did use tiny dots of concealer where I really needed it. Sometimes I use an under-eye concealer, but I didn't here.

For the eyes, take a simple nude-pink shimmer eyeshadow and swipe it across your lids, and then use a liquid eyeliner to draw on a slight cat-eye. Often, I skip eye makeup entirely because it'll crease like crazy in the summer with my oily lids. Brows are a must for me, though! Lately I've been using Anastasia's Dipbrow Pomade, which has been a lifesaver.

Summer is the time for bright lips so I slapped on a long lasting liquid lipstick so I wouldn't have to worry about touch-ups. This stuff lasts through everything.

BROWS

Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade in Dark Brown

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES

Stila eyeshadow in Kitten (shimmering nude pink)

Sephora Colorful Waterproof Eyeliner 24 HR Wear in 01 Black Lace (matte black)

FACE

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair 15

LIPS

Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Bauhau5 (deep raspberry)

I know I did Helena's makeup once already, but since I have blonde hair for a brief window, I had to try it again.

The eyeshadow looks a little less red in the picture than in person, but I used a lighter hand this time. The band shirt isn't quite The Clash (sorry Sarah!) but Company of Thieves is the only band I have a shirt for, so it'll have to do.

BROWS
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade in Dark Brown
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES
Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette: Faint (warm, dusty brown matte)
It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette Vol. 1: Soulful, Sunrise, Sunset
Saucebox Cosmetics Etude palette: Biscotti, Caramel, Cream Dream
Lorac PRO To Go Eye/Cheek Palette: Café

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in Light

LIPS
NYX Cosmetics Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo (matte pure nude)
Urban Decay Revolution lipstick in Naked (nude-pink)

celebrity-inspired looks #2 - elizabeth henstridge in her popsugar interview

It's been a while!

This is a look I've been sort of wanting to do since I saw a gifset of Elizabeth Henstridge wearing what looked like pink-tinged eyeshadow.

I actually really like this look! In these photos, I look far more ghostly than I did in natural lighting, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Start with a light peach-gold eyeshadow and press it all over your lids. Next, take a slightly darker rose eyeshadow and blend it into the outer corner of your lids. For the crease, use a coral eyeshadow that leans more pink and blend it well into the other eyeshadows, and then add a matte brown eyeshadow to define the crease even more. I had to change the shape of the eyeshadow to fit my features, but if you actually have a crease in your eyelids, you'll want more of the brown than the coral, and you might want to consider going a bit cooler in shade. Perhaps more of a taupe than a brown would be best. For the eyeliner, take a black eyeliner and line your upper water line, and then use a brown cream eyeliner to line your upper lash line and your lower waterline. I went a step further and added a taupe eyeliner to my bottom lash line, but Elizabeth's eyeliner isn't as pronounced as I've made mine.

Elizabeth has amazing eyebrow game and mine need a little enhancing, so I used a brow wax, a brow powder, and a tinted brow gel. (One day I will do a tutorial about how I normally do my brows, I promise.)

For the cheeks, a simple rosy blush will suffice, swept over the apples of your cheeks and up your cheekbone toward your temples. A lip colour close to your natural lip shade is best--Revlon's lip balm stain in Honey is one of my MLBB shades and I just dabbed that on.

I wish I had a jumper like hers, but alas, I had to make do with a blouse that is more reminiscent of Jemma Simmons' style!

BROWS
Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express brow kit in Brunette
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in X (peach shimmer with gold shift)
Outer corner - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Scratch (rose gold shimmer)
Crease - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Freelove (golden vibrant peach shimmer) + Lorac eyeshadow from Get Hot palette (medium warm brown matte)
Upper water line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)
Lower lash line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Desperation (deep taupe to gray matte)
Upper lash line + lower water line - e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in Coffee (deep brown matte)
Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black
Browbone - UD 24/7 Concealer Pencil in CIA (over brow) + NYX Eyebrow Push-Up Bra Highlighter (under brow)

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Concealer in Light 16
Under eyes - It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye Corrector Concentrate Cream in Light + Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in Light
L'Oréal Paris Magic Smooth Soufflé Blush in Celestial (muted rosy pink)

LIPS
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey (medium nude mauve-pink)