look of the day - new (pink) hair!

This is a brief post in lieu of the fall favourites post I've been working on for weeks, but it's been so long since I posted (a whole month?!) that I thought I should drop by before that's finished.

This is a lot of pink--three different shades, in fact, all from Manic Panic. The bottom layer is Fuchsia Shock, the middle layer is Cleo Rose, and the two light streaks + my bangs are Cotton Candy Pink. The Cotton Candy Pink only slightly tinted my hair, which was my intention because it's supposed to show up only on platinum blonde hair and mine is definitely not. The Fuchsia Shock stained everything. My left ear is still pink over 24 hours later.

I'm not looking forward to washing this and trying to get the water to run clear.

Makeup I'm wearing: Urban Decay Naked foundation in 1.0, Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade in Dark Brown, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Haight, NYX Slide On Eye Pencil in Glitzy Gold, and Kat Von D Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Bauhau5.

look of the week - new hair!

So, remember how I was blonde for two weeks? Well, that's not the case anymore.

Here's my sunset hair! It's a little dark in this photo, but my hairdresser put in purple, pink, and orange semi-permanent dye and left one piece and my bangs blonde. This was done on Sunday, 27 July. (The only makeup I'm wearing here is Anastasia Dipbrow in Dark Brown and OCC Stained Gloss lip tar in New Wave.)

And here's the back! He curled it a bit so the colours blended more.

Two days later, I put it into a side ponytail and accidentally turned myself into a rainbow because I was wearing green eyeshadow and a blue sweater, but when I got home, I just put blue eyeliner on instead of wearing the sweater.

The makeup here is Dr. Jart+ V7 BB cream, Anastasia Dipbrow in Dark Brown, Sugarpill loose eyeshadow in Olivia (a limited edition olive-green shimmer), Urban Decay eyeliner in Flipside (a discontinued bright teal with silver-teal shimmer), a black Sephora liquid liner, and Kat Von D liquid lipstick in Bauhau5 (deep raspberry).

I washed it Tuesday night and then had the genius idea to put in a clear gloss to protect the colour. Turns out that just faded it even more quickly and I didn't even wash all the gloss out, so I almost gave myself a peroxide burn on my scalp. WHOO! So this is what my hair currently looks like:

Man, those dark circles. And that faded hair. I'm wearing some combination of Sugarpill loose eyeshadows (Magpie, Royal Sugar, Weekender, and Smitten, I think?) to invoke the deeper end of a sunset and possibly allude to what I might do with my hair later on. Additional makeup: Anastasia Dipbrow in Dark Brown and Lipstick Queen Butterfly lipstick in Float.

All I'm really saying is that I really love this hair and while I'm sad it's fading so quickly, I'm glad I get the opportunity to play with colours. Any suggestions for what to do next with my hair? I'm stocking up on Manic Panic!

Also, this weekend I should be posting a mega post about eyebrows. It might be my legacy, and it also might be approaching 4k.

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)

orphan black clones series #1 - sarah manning

Hello, hello!

Today has been surprisingly warm and sunny and spring-like, but next week it's supposed to fall back into the 40s and 50s with rain, womp. Since the weather was "nice" (and this is in quotations because if you know me well enough, you'll know that I prefer colder weather with zero sunlight since I'm a vampire), I went for a walk at the arboretum and then went to an outdoor mall to window shop.

So, Orphan Black.

Next week is the season 2 premiere (and it also happens to be my 23rd birthday!) and to celebrate, I thought I'd start a series based on the clones that we've gotten to know. I only started watching this show at the end of March, though I'd been intending to watch it since shortly after the first season premiered. I'm OBSESSED. I cannot get over this show or how amazing it is and I've been rewatching episodes like it's my job. No spoilers, but I will encourage EVERYONE to watch it.

This is based off of Sarah's look in the first episode, when she's Sarah as her punk self and not as Beth.

(Also, yes, I'm wearing a leather jacket and a black shirt that looks a bit like leather. I also happen to be wearing pajama pants in these pictures, but that would ruin the illusion.)

I probably could have gone with another side braid on the left half of my hair so it wasn't so awkwardly poofy, but hey, I couldn't be bothered and my hair is naturally parted to the side so I needed my hair to stay put. My hair was already sort of wavy after sleeping in braids last night, so that worked for me. Here, have a close-up of the clip-in on my right side!

I didn't make that wavy by braiding it, unfortunately, so it's a little off-putting with how stick-straight it is.

The eyes are very similar to one of my concert looks; take black eyeliner and rim the waterlines and lashlines of your eyes, then thickly line them before smudging the crap out of the liner. Then, top it off with some charcoal shadow. Since my makeup is fresh, it's darker and more pronounced than what Sarah seems to prefer, which is a smoky eye that looks more lived in. For this sort of effect, you can try smudging out the liner with something like an eye gloss or a thick balm-like product--Lisa Eldridge has a great video here.

Nothing on the cheeks unless you feel bare without it. Sarah doesn't strike me as the sort to wear blusher, but I probably could have done with some since I look like a ghost. Whoops!

For the lips, it sort of looks like Sarah cancelled out the colour of her lips with a layer of foundation over her mouth. Most people can't pull this off, myself very much included. I would look like a serious ghost. Instead, take the lightest nude lip colour with which you are comfortable and layer that on your mouth. A good trick to pulling off a true nude lip is to take a pinker shade and dab it right along where your lips meet so you don't look completely zombie-tastic.

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

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
bareMinerals loose eyeshadow in k.i.t. (matte medium charcoal grey)
Waterline + lashline - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)
Liner - Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil in Black Velvet (rich, smoky matte black)
Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black + Maybelline Volum' Express One-by-One waterproof mascara in Blackest Black

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Concealer in Light 16

LIPS
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cairo (matte pure nude)
Center of mouth - NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Abu Dhabi (deep rose-beige)

sephora vib rogue spring social + look of the day - GAME OF THRONES IS TOMORROW

Quick, let me write up a post about the Sephora VIB Rouge Spring Social before I forget everything! I wish I brought a camera so I could take pictures, but I left in a hurry and totally forgot.

Sunday, 30 March was the start of the VIB Rouge sale and Sephora stores across the country held a closed-door event for the most dedicated to beauty. I RSVPed at the store where my friend Erica works because it happens to be bigger than the one in my hometown's mall. It was two hours of being in a Sephora store, complete with coffee and snacks. (Neither of which I got, as I don't drink coffee and I was sort of so caught up in makeup that I forgot to pick up food. Whoops!) There were stations for facials, hairstyles, and makeup applications and all the employees were so welcoming and helpful.

I was very overwhelmed at first, but after I woke up a bit, I went to the facial station first. They had three options: anti-aging, brightening, and detox. I chose detox because my skin has been freaking out all winter. I don't remember the cleanser they used, but it smelled wonderful and didn't really irritate my skin. The woman helping me asked about how my skin has been and I told her about how my skin has been freaking out all winter--it's normally combination leaning oily everywhere except for my cheeks--how there have been a lot of dry patches for no reason and she asked about exfoliation. I have a scrub that I use occasionally, but lately I've been using my Clarisonic a little more often, and she told me that I might need to use another product on top of the Clarisonic since that only provides mild exfoliation. She used the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads for this. Next, she put a mask on (Perricone MD Chloro Plasma mask) for a minute or two, then put on a Dr. Brandt eye cream. I don't exactly know what the product was, but I'm guessing that it was the Xtend Your Youth eye cream. She finished off with some Kate Somerville Dilo Oil Restorative Treatment and Shiseido Ibuki Protective Moisturiser Broad Spectrum SPF 18.

Now, I'm a bit of a dumbass and should have asked her about the SPF before she put it on because chemical sunscreens make me peel, and that's exactly what was in this one. It was mild, but I know for a fact that octinoxate irritates my skin, but I didn't react quickly enough. Whoops!

Another big oops: I shouldn't have gotten my foundation matched right after getting my face cleaned and rubbed and all that because I got a match for something MUCH darker than I have ever used. (2R05, if that means anything to any of you. I was expecting to be 1Y03.) The foundation that they used was MUFE's Liquid Lift foundation in 1 Porcelain, which seemed to work out all right, but another match was Cover FX cream foundation in N40 which is definitely not what I tested before. N20 was a better match!

I got my makeup done by another lady using the Sephora and Pantone collaboration set focused around the colour of the year, Radiant Orchid. Katina came around and told me I looked like a rose, which was awesome, but I definitely felt a little naked without my brows done. (I didn't do my makeup before going because that would have been a WASTE.) The lipstick for this year definitely seems more pink than radiant orchid, so that was mildly disappointing. In the picture below, I'm wearing a different lipstick that seems to match the theme a lot more... And I filled in my brows. Everything else was done in store!

(Anything marked * was from the SEPHORA+PANTONE UNIVERSE The Face: Radiant Femme Artistry Set.)

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

EYES
Liquid liner*
Browbone - Liquid luminizer*

FACE
Make Up For Ever HD Micropefecting Primer in 1 Green
Make Up For Ever Liquid Lift Foundation in 1 Porcelain
Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer in Pink Porcelain 1
Cream blush*
Sephora Collection bronzer (I don't know what the shades were, sorry!)

LIPS
NYX Butter Lipstick in Hunk (blue violet)

The last station was hair and oh my goodness, let me just say that I waited for a good 15ish minutes because I really wanted my hair done and it was WORTH IT. The three options were a blowout, an evening look (someone said it was a braid of some sort?), and beachy waves and Katina immediately told me BEACHY WAVES with much enthusiasm. The woman doing everyone's hair was phenomenal. She curled my hair in about 10 minutes. Usually it takes me two hours and it wouldn't look half as awesome as it did.

Katina took that picture of my hair right after it was finished. Look at how awesome it looks.

And here's a few pictures of what I bought in store. Erica rang me up and told me that she expected me to do more damage (which I ended up doing online later on in the week...) but I thought I'd try to spread it out.

Pictured are the Urban Decay Electric Palette (OH MY GOD, BRIGHT COLOURS!), two Nest Fragrances rollerballs (Midnight Fleur and Indigo, the latter of which is possibly one of my favourite scents ever--the Nest candle was free with a $50 purchase!), and a Sephora matte eyeshadow in the shade Blueberry Muffin for when I finally decide to do my purple gradient brows.

I did a bit of a look of the day today, as well. It's sort of Game of Thrones-themed because S4 premieres tomorrow and I have something else planned for tomorrow, but I found myself wearing a GoT shirt and went a bit House Arryn.

No tutorial today because the look was basic, haphazard, and not that important, but hopefully I'll be able to write up something great for tomorrow. Also, I took a picture of the shirt but it looked really creepy and a little too propositioning, sooo...

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

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Victorian Disco Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Sailor Mercury (bright blue with a red sheen and blue sparkles)
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Binge (pearly navy blue, discontinued)

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 concealer in Light

LIPS
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Cannes (matte muted mauve)
Urban Decay Revolution Lipstick in Naked (nude-pink)

look of the day - colour of the year

Wow, it's been a while.

I started my first adult job two weeks ago, so that's my excuse for not posting. I'm a civil engineer working in Construction services and I happen to be the only girl of eight people in the trailers--yes, we work in trailers but they're not shoddy so it's okay--and my work hours are from 7AM - 3:30PM. Any time I do bother to put on makeup, I very rarely bother doing anything elaborate, partially because I'm trying to keep a low profile during my first year, and partially because doing my makeup at about 6AM is never conducive to anything creative.

All I do is wear jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater to work every day anyway, so anything colourful just looks sort of out of place.

I had planned to do something last weekend for the blog, but my sister came home from university and we ended up out of the house pretty much the entire time. My parents decided to go to some orchid show at Botanic Gardens and so I was home alone for the first time in months, so makeup time was definitely available!

I'm sure you've all heard that Pantone's colour of the year is Radiant Orchid, and if you haven't... Surprise! This look is centered on the shade. Now, I tried the eye look with two different lip colours, one of them being OCC's lip tar in Hoochie, which is slightly more purple than the colour of the year. It looked really weird to me in the photos, but I'll post one anyway.

... Yeah, I like the lip colour, but not in this look! (Also, the CC cream from Smashbox that I used was a sample in a shade that's too dark for my skin, but it was the lightest shade that wasn't noticeably pink.)

The brows might be my favourite part of this look. I used a normal brown brow powder to fill in the outer edge and arch, but using two muted purple shades from an eyeshadow palette, I filled in the front of my brows, with the lighter shade in the innermost part and the darker shade toward the arch. (Note to self: wear brows like this more often once you dye your hair purple-brown/burgundy.)

For the eyes, take a purple shade with golden shimmer and tap that into the inner corner. Then take a pigmented, mostly matte red-toned purple across the lid. Using a medium-deep brown, blend it into the outer corner and up toward the crease, and take a deep purple to smooth the transition between bright purple and brown. Taking a shimmery purple shade, press it into the crease above the lid. Use a matte, creamy shade to blend the colours toward the brow bone. Line the upper waterline and lash line with a black pencil.

Underneath the eye, gently sweep a light pink shimmer close to the lash line. Take a deep taupe pencil and line the lower waterline. Finish off the eyes with a coat or two of mascara.

This look needs a bit of blush to balance it out, even for someone like me who doesn't like to use blush too often. I actually used a cream eyeshadow for blush--it's so much fun to use makeup in unexpected ways.

For the lips, you can just use a pinky nude shade if you want to wear this out and about. (By the way, I think it's totally great for daily wear. Purples are easy to tone down to seem like neutrals.)

Any listed eyeshadow shade that doesn't have a brand name attached is from the Laura Mercier Artist's Palette. One day, I'll write a rave review about this palette because the shadows were so easy to blend and use and they managed to make a neutral palette not boring by incorporating pink tones and purples, BUT today is not that day. Not when it's evening and all I want to do is sleep because Daylight Savings Time threw me off.

BROWS
Inner corner - Plum Smoke (matte/smoky amethyst)
Inner brow - Violet Ink (matte/muted eggplant purple)
Outer brow - Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Powder Duo in Brunette (darker shade)

EYES
theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer
Inner corner - African Violet (luster/violet copper shimmer)
Lid - Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in 2AM (matte purple with slight pearl sheen)
Outer corner - Truffle (matte/deep chocolate taupe)
Crease - Kir Royal (sateen/deep aubergine) + Victorian Disco Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Water Siblings (pink-purple with bright blue shimmer)
Browbone - Vanilla Nuts (matte/light neutral champagne)
Lower lash line - Guava (sateen/peach stucco)
Lower waterline - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Desperation (deep taupe to gray matte)
Upper waterline + lash line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero (black)
Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black

FACE
Smashbox Camera Ready CC Cream in Light
Kat Von D Lock-It Tattoo Concealer in Light 16
Blush - Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal 24HR Cream Gel Shadow in 55 Inked in Pink

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmpetics lip tar in Hoochie (extreme magenta)
NYX Cosmetics Butter Lipstick in Hunk (website says "blue violet" but it's definitely a cool-toned magenta pink)