celebrity-inspired looks #1 - elizabeth henstridge at the 2014 ctv upfronts

Hello! It's been a while and somehow I logged in to find that I've gotten 70 pageviews today. You're all popping out of the woodwork, what happened?!

Anyway, so if you follow me on Tumblr, you'll notice that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is sort of taking over my life. (And by sort of taking over, I mean has 300% taken over.) I also have a habit of loving casts and their dynamic even more than the show itself, and this show is no different. The ladies of AoS are phenomenal and after I saw this picture of Elizabeth Henstridge, I knew I had to try to copy her look.

(I tried to take a picture with my teeth showing and I just looked so awkward. And yes, I'm wearing a lazy t-shirt because it was disgusting in my room and I didn't want to change!)

What made me want to try this look was the lip colour. I currently don't own anything of the sort, as slightly purple-leaning cool pinks aren't entirely my style. But it looked amazing on Elizabeth, so hey, why not?

I didn't have much of a close-up on her eye makeup, but she seems to favour neutral eyes with a bit of a flick on the eyeliner, so that's what I tried to do. Dot a shimmery, light eyeshadow in the inner corners of your eyes. (Alternatively, you can wait until the end so you can adjust the pigmentation as necessary.) Take a matte eyeshadow close to your natural skin tone and swipe it across your entire lid. This acts as more of a base than a part of the look, as it will make blending the other eyeshadows much easier. Use a gold eyeshadow and pat it onto the centers of your lids, and tap a medium-dark brown eyeshadow into the outer corner. Blend the dark eyeshadow into the lighter shades with a tapered brush.

(By the way, you should all be proud of me: I didn't finger paint my eyeshadows like I usually do!)

Take what's left on your eyeshadow brush and blend it into your lower lash line to give some definition. Use a black gel eyeliner and a small push liner brush (I used Wayne Goss' No. 8 brush, which is sort of a godsend) and press liner into the base of your lashes. Use a normal angled eyeliner brush to line your upper lash line and create a small flick at the outer corners. I completely forgot to use mascara, but you can layer some on after curling your lashes. Falsies are totally optional, but I think Lil is wearing some in that picture so I just went for it.

For the lip colour, I blended two different shades together to achieve a similar look and then added a layer of the lighter colour on top. I think the final colour looks pretty similar, although I can't say for sure as most of the pictures I've seen of her were edited.

Also, might I mention the miracle of layers? My hair is a lot longer than it looks in this picture but my front layers are noticeably shorter. Huzzah!

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

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
(All eyeshadows from the Sigma Beauty Bare palette)
Inner corner - Approach (pale, warm beige shimmer)
Entire lid - Elope (matte cool beige)
Center of lid - Command (light gold shimmer)
Outer corner - Hitch (matte medium-dark ash-brown)
Liner - Inglot Cosmetics AMC Eyeliner Gel in 77 (matte jet black)
False lashes - Ardell 109 lashes
Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in 15 Fair

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Matte Lip Tar in Pretty Boy (super-rich fuchsia) + Stained Gloss in Hedonist (neon pastel pink)

orphan black clones series #4 - cosima niehaus

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?

I have excuses that you don't care to hear for all of it, but I do have to say that I did this look before a graduation party I'm going to shortly and holy hell does it take a long time to try to finagle my hair into "dreads". And by dreads, I mean I did a few crappy twists around the top of my head and gathered the rest of my hair into a ponytail because my hair is impervious to styling unless I fry it.

Cosima has the coolest look, in my opinion, although my personal look leans more toward Sarah. (You'll see that once I link my post-Cosima makeover picture.) Obviously I don't have dreadlocks, but her eyeliner is amazing.

The dumb thing is that you can't even see my hair! Well, Cosima's makeup is actually rather straightforward. Take a liquid liner (black is the most common, of course, but if you have a navy liner, that's what the makeup artists on the show use!) and line your upper and lower lash lines. Then extend the line on the upper lid outward to create a wing, and extend the line on the lower lid toward your nose. Now, I know that for Cosima's makeup, the eyeliner on both lids is connected in both the outer and inner corners, but since my eyelids are hooded everywhere except the inner corner, where they're more monolid-like, I didn't connect the inner corners. If you don't have this issue, you can connect the lines easily.

I used a black liquid liner, so after the shape was created, I used a navy pencil liner and a thin liner brush to outline the shape and give it the correct colour. It doesn't seem like Cosima wears much other makeup, but I did use a bit of a nude lip colour to lighten up my natural lip colour. (I put on a layer of a light OCC lip tar and then dabbed on a nude/mauve Bite lipstick over that.)

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

EYES
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
bareMinerals mineral veil
Liner - Sephora Collection Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner in 01 Black (matte black) + Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Binge (pearly navy blue, discontinued)

FACE
Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream in No. 13 Bright Beige
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Interlace (palest crème peach)
Bite Beauty Lipstick in Pepper (dusty rose)

After I took my hair down and changed (and put a tiny Dutch braid where my part normally is), this is what happened. I went from Cosima to Sarah-as-Cosima!

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)

look of the day - happy valentine's day!

EDITED TO ADD 02/15/2014: The mini-tutorial has been added!

Okay, let's face it: I really don't care for Valentine's day. I loved it as a kid because you gave valentines to everyone and got them in return. As I got older, I hated the holiday for a while because I didn't like the commercialisation of holidays. (Yes, I was that teenager.) And now I just don't care for it, mostly because I don't see why we need one designated day where you're supposed to appreciate your loved ones. Aren't you supposed to do that every day?

Regardless of my feelings on the subject, there is something overly cute about doing a look based on red and pink, and since I spent most of my day trying to get bread dough to rise, I thought I'd give in.

It wouldn't be a makeup look from me if I didn't try something a little different, so there's the heart on my lip. It seems that smiling makes it a little strange, plus I probably drew it in sloppily. This isn't the most practical of looks, as if you're anything like me and smack your lips together constantly, that heart will be ruined really quickly.

Whoo, crazy hair! Here's the look with the heart blended out because I was getting sick of trying to keep my lips from being normal.

For the eyes, start with a peach-gold shade and pat that into the inner third of your lids. Blend a rosy-gold shade in the center third of your lid, and take a hot pink eyeshadow to the outer third of your lid and blend that into the crease. Finding peach-gold and rose-gold shades is probably relatively easy on both the drugstore and high-end levels--I used X and Scratch, respectively, both from Urban Decay, but drugstore brands should have similar colours. As for the hot pink eyeshadow, it can be a little more difficult to find, especially at the drugstore level. Wet n Wild and Hard Candy are good places to start! If you're not opposed to online shopping, Fyrinnae's eyeshadow in Superstar and Sugarpill's Chromalust pigment in Decora are good alternatives to the Sugarpill Smitten pigment I've used. If you want to hit up a Sephora, try Urban Decay's eyeshadow in Woodstock, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics' loose colour concentrate in Cherry Bomb, or Make Up For Ever's eyeshadow in Neon Pink 75.

Also, don't forget to consider cream formulas or even blush if you can't find a hot pink eyeshadow! You're very likely to find vibrant pink blush that can double as eyeshadow, whether it's powder or cream.

To anchor this look, line your upper waterline with a black eyeliner, curl your lashes, and add a few coats of mascara. (I hate mascara, so this was relatively monumental for me.) I also put some copper cream eyeshadow along my lower lash line, but this is optional.

The hearts were done with red and neon pink eyeshadows on a small detailer brush. All you really need to do is to create a thick v-shape for them, but if you want to get more detailed, try applying the shadows wet or with a mixing medium (i.e.: e.l.f.'s Mist & Set, MAC Fix+, Illamasqua Sealing Drops, or make your own with a ratio of 3:1 water to glycerin) and they'll not only apply more cleanly but they'll probably not fade as easily. I've also cut a little heart shape out of the sticky part of a post-it note and used that as a guide, first applying a thin layer of eyeshadow primer and then dusting eyeshadow over that. Do whatever works for you!

I took a light pink eyeshadow with a touch of glitter in it and used that as blush, but you can use any light pink blush that you have. For the lips, use a pink lipstick over your entire mouth, then take a red lipstick and a lip brush and paint in a heart on your lips. (xoVain posted an article yesterday about this and they have great pictures to follow!) If you're not into the whole high-maintenance lip thing--which, let's face it, I'm on board with you--you can just apply a pink, berry, or red lipstick and call it a day.

BROWS

Anastasia Beverly Hills Beauty Express brow kit in Brunette

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES

theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer

Inner corner - Urban Decay eyeshadow in X (peach shimmer with gold shift)

Center of lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Scratch (rose gold shimmer)

Outer lid + crease - Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Smitten (hot magenta shimmer with reflective sparkles)

Upper lash line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)

Lower lash line - LUSH Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness (sunset copper shimmer)

Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black

Decoration - Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Asylum (red shimmer) + Sugarpill ElektroCute neon pigment in Love Buzz (neon hot pink with yellow/orange/red sparkles)

FACE

Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01

Blush - Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Birthday Girl (princess pink with fuchsia sparkles)

LIPS

NYX Matte Lipstick in Tea Rose (mauve-pink)

Heart - NYX Slim Lip Liner in Plush Red (cool red) + Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Stalker (true blue-based red)

look of the day - cream + gold + green

This morning, I went to get a physical because I have a big girl job (!!!) and my arms are currently quite sore because I had to get a vaccine in each arm. I'm also piloting the Crimson Typhoon so no matter how much I try with my makeup, all of my photos make me look exceptionally ill. How is it possible for me to look any more pale?!

Now that I've given you too much information about my life, onto the look for today! My darling friend Livy requested a look with gold, green, and cream eyeshadow. I'll admit that I skipped the cream eyeshadow because every colour I had close to that was invisible on my skin, but I'll let you all know how to incorporate it into the look.

I was experimenting with overdrawing my lips here, too, so that's why my mouth looks different. (Note to self: don't try overdrawing with lip tar again.) Obviously, red lipstick is not a requirement for this look! I'm just sort of obsessed with the colour, plus Valentine's Day is coming up and even though I personally have no interest for the holiday, a red lip is suitable for any day.

Time for a mini-tutorial! After priming the lid, take a gold eyeshadow from the inner corner to about 1/3 to 1/2 across the lid. You can use a brush/sponge applicator to do this, or use your fingers like I did. I have a particular distrust of brushes for some reason, but I'm working on it. Take a medium green eyeshadow and pack it next to your gold eyeshadow, keeping the colour a bit further back from the outer corner of your eyelid. I used an olive green colour (aptly named Up All Night to Get Loki, as Livy is obsessed with Tom Hiddleston) but any green will do.

Take a black eyeliner or eye crayon and colour in the outer corner of your lid. Blend this like crazy--you're not getting a close-up of the look because I forgot to do this and it looks terrible. Whoops! After you blend this really well, take your green eyeshadow and pat it lightly onto the black base to give the shadow some depth. I happened to use a darker green eyeshadow than the Loki one, but I happened to have one on hand.

Go wild with black eyeliner. I chose to do winged liner with a liquid liner that has somehow yet to die, but you can just use a simple pencil and smudge that around your eyes. The sky is the limit! I also took a green liquid liner to my lower lash line, but that was me being ~fancy~.

You should use blush with this look so you're not washed out, especially if you do red lipstick! Somehow, even with blush I still look like Casper's ghost friend who learned how to paint her face, so um... Yeah, watch how you balance your look. I think a nude pink lipstick would look great, or if your lips are naturally quite pigmented like mine are, you can get away with some lip balm and call it a day.

If you have a cream eyeshadow and you're not a ghost like I am, you can place some in the inner corner of your eyelid to open up the eye, or blend it into the crease of your eye up to your browbone for a sick highlight.

Other possible combinations of cream + gold + green:

• Cream over the lid, gold on the outer corner + crease, green along your lash lines
• Green all over the lid with gold patted smack dab in the center of your upper lid
• Cream into the inner corner, green all over your lid, gold along the lower lash line
• Smokey eye! Green along the lash line brought up halfway on the lid, gold from there to the crease, and cream from the crease to your browbone

Since these colours are rather different from each other, make sure to blend like crazy, whatever you choose to do.

BROWS
Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Deep
Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES
theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer
Inner lid - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Half Baked (golden bronze)
Outer lid - Shiro Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Up All Night to Get Loki (olive green with gunmetal shimmer)
Outer corner - Ulta Eye Crayon in Black Tie + Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Junebug (forest green shimmer)
Upper lash line - Maybelline Line Stiletto Ultimate Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Blackest Black
Lower lash line - Stila Stay All Day® Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner in Moss (forest green)

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01
rms beauty lip2cheek in diabolique (dark burgundy)
LUSH Cream Eyeshadow in Happiness (sunset copper shimmer)

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Vintage (deep burgundy)

look of the day - tumblr inspiration (disney's frozen, sort of?)

This is a WHOLE WEEK LATE. I really wanted to post a makeup look on Lunar New Year (31 January) and I failed. I tried something but I didn't like it and then I spent the weekend visiting my sister and friends at my alma mater, and then it's been cold and snowy and I've had no motivation. I finally sucked it up even though I almost crashed the car today after skidding on ice on the road trying to drop off a third of my closet at Goodwill.

(That was terrifying, by the way. 0/10, would not recommend.)

There have been a bunch of wonderfully talented folks on Tumblr editing pictures from Frozen to make characters with different powers, and I saw this one and knew I had to try it. It was perfect for Lunar New Year, too, so why not?

This was done quite similarly to the Elsa look I posted last month, except I used red and gold instead of purple. Gold eyeshadow went into the inner half of my lid and red on the outer half. I used my beloved Sugarpill Goldilux pigment and a red loose eyeshadow with golden sparkle to blend the two colours together.

To finish off the look, I filled in my brows, used a touch of blush, and took a deep red lip tar and brushed it across my lips. Straightforward but bold!

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

EYES
theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer
Inner corner - Maybelline Color Tattoo Metal 24HR Cream Gel Shadow in 65 Gold Rush
Inner third of lid - BFTE Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Snake Oil (yellow-based metallic gold)
Center of lid - Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Goldilux (highly-reflective metallic gold)
Outer lid - BFTE Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Ruby Slippers (orange-based glittery red)
Outer corner + crease - Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Asylum (red shimmer)
Liner - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)
Lower lash line - NYX Slide On Liner in Glitzy Gold (pure gold)
False lashes - Sugarpill False Eyelashes in Hush

FACE
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in CIA
Josie Maran Coconut Watercolor Cheek Gelée in Poppy Paradise

LIPS
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Vintage (deep burgundy)

Since it's the new year, I'm pretty sure I want to chop off a good three inches of my hair and possibly dye it a dark purple. Who knows?

wicked series - elphaba, the wicked witch of the west

Still too cold to function... I got up earlier than usual (and by earlier, I mean I woke up at 9:30AM. I think I'm possibly turning into a bum) and still managed to get nothing done today except this makeup look and some cleaning. WELL OVERDUE CLEANING, BY THE WAY. I moved back home from university last May and I tried to clean when I was fully moved out of my apartment in August, but by then my allergies started kicking in and now it's the end of January and I totally had it coming. Chinese New Year is in two days and I'm supposed to have my room cleaned by then, but something tells me it'll only look clean from the surface just to reveal the same old mess underneath.

Anyway, back on-topic. Elphaba is obviously known for her verdigris, but I wasn't about to paint my face green. Not that I wouldn't do it--come on, I walk around with multi-coloured eyebrows on a regular basis--but the only face paint I have is probably close to 8 years old and I should probably throw it out. Cream makeup is really the only way to go if you want to paint your whole face (and maybe your body, too) but as I had none, I chose to do something that pays more subtle homage to the misunderstood witch.

Green eyeshadow? You betcha. The colour and placement of colour is pretty self-explanatory: a lighter green on the inner half of the lid and a darker green on the outer half and blended into the crease. But the key here is to start with your eye makeup before you do anything else because once you're done placing colour on your upper lid, you want to take a Q-tip dipped in makeup remover and create a blunt edge on the outer corner. Most people go for a pointed wing shape, but I wanted to give this look a little more originality by making the outer edge squared off.

Line the lower lash line with a green eyeshadow, take black eyeliner to the waterlines and your upper lash line, and that's all you need to do with your eyes. Mascara is optional, but if you feel naked without it, you can definitely add it here. I don't usually bother and honestly tend to forget mascara because my lashes are short and straight and the way my eyes are shaped tends to leave mascara all over my bottom lid.

I filled in my eyebrows with a slightly darker shade of brow powder and used concealer above and below my brows to highlight them and give them a clean, crisp look.

Idina Menzel has some killer cheekbones, but a lot of the other actresses who played Elphaba don't, and I decided to put a very minimal amount of contouring and highlighting around my cheekbones and temples.

I outlined my lips with lip liner and actually slightly rounded out my naturally pointed Cupid's bow. Then I filled in my lips with the Bite Beauty lip cream and I thought it was a little light, so I topped off the colour with a lip tar that leaned more toward the brown side and it darkened it just enough to my taste. If you prefer a lighter lip, stick with your usual red lipstick.

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

EYES
theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer
Inner lid - Wet n' Wild Fantasy Makers glitter palette from the Hauntingly Hip Stencil Kit - Enchanted Angel (green shade) + Sugarpill Chromalust pigment in Absinthe (lime green shimmer)
Outer lid - Saucebox Cosmetics Midnight Blossoms palette (lighter green shade)
Lower lash line - Saucebox Cosmetics Midnight Blossoms palette (darker green shade)
Waterlines + upper lash line - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Zero (black)

FACE
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentrè
MAKE UP FOR EVER HD Microperfecting Primer
Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0
Urban Decay 24/7 Concealer Pencil in CIA
Under eyes - It Cosmetics Bye Bye Under Eye concealer in Light
Highlight - Benefit high beam
Contour - Too Faced Milk Chocolate Soleil Bronzer
L'Oréal Paris Magic Smooth Soufflé Blush in Celestial (muted rosy pink)

LIPS
NYX Slim Lip Liner in Deep Red
Bite Beauty Cashmere Lip Cream in Port (deep wine)
Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Anita (browned burgundy)

hogwarts series - hufflepuff (dramatic)

I live in the Midwest, so today we got hit by that polar vortex and the high for today was -10°F with a wind chill 25 degrees below that. Our furnace stopped working for a solid hour and I couldn't feel my fingers and toes indoors, but my dad found the issue and all was well! Since I knew today was going to be super cold, I decided today I needed to do the Hufflepuff look because I had plans to curl my hair.

Curling my hair is a full on production. Because I have very thick hair and it's a bit longer than I've had it in four years, it usually takes upwards of two hours for me to get all of my hair. I have to make the sections for each curl smaller since my hair is so thick--luckily, I was using a larger barrel. I think it was a 1 1/4" barrel, but I have cheap curling irons so I don't really know. I burnt my ear once and my fingers three or four times and had to enlist my sister's help for the very back of my head, but I managed to finish my whole head in 1.5 hours! I had everything pinned for too long so my hair was massive, but now it's finally settling down.

This photo is a little blurry, but the look itself is actually quite simple. I used some foundation and a bit of highlighting/contouring to make it seem like I have cheekbones to some degree. Concealer was an absolute must, as the redness would have been very obvious given the way I did my makeup.

I nearly forgot to fill in my brows for these photos. Originally, I wanted to use a matte charcoal eyeshadow for them, but I thought it might be too severe and too in competition with the eyes.

The key here is the eyeliner. I put on a white base for the yellow eyeshadow so the colour seemed more vibrant. All you need to do is pat colour on the lid up past the crease. I used a pencil eyeliner to line my upper and lower waterline in order to thicken the appearance of my lashes. Finally, I used a liquid eyeliner to create a basic cat-eye shape before I took the brush across the lid and under the eye, too. Go crazy with the shape! Don't get too artistic on one eye before you start on the second one--you want to keep it even, so trace a little on the left eye, then the right eye, and switch back and forth.

To round off the look, use a bit of blush and a nude lip colour.

BROWS

Benefit Instant Brow Pencil in Deep

Anastasia Beverly Hills Tinted Brow Gel in Granite

EYES

theBalm Put a Lid On It! eyeshadow primer

Lid - NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk (white) + Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Buttercupcake (bright matte yellow)

Liner - Sephora Collection Long-Lasting 12HR Wear Eye Liner in 01 Black (matte black)

Waterlines - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)

Lashes - Maybelline Volum' Express the Mega Plush mascara in Blackest Black

FACE

Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0

Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01

Contour - Maybelline Fit Me foundation stick in 235

Highlight - Benefit high beam

Under eyes - Benefit Fake Up Concealer in 01 Light

L'Oréal Paris Magic Smooth Soufflé Blush in Celestial (muted rosy pink)

LIPS

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Interlace (palest crème peach)

halloween looks - inspiration from alice in wonderland

Halloween is so close! I don't have much of an occasion for an excuse to dress up, but I've decided that I'm going to be an older Wednesday Addams because that doesn't require me to buy a costume (so many old shirts and skirts in my closet!) and I don't have to cover up my undereye circles. In fact, I just have to exaggerate them, which is even better.

My friend Krystal on Tumblr asked if I could make a tutorial for this Alice in Wonderland inspired look and as soon as I saw the pictures, I knew I had to try it.

Of course, I haven't done anything with my hair because it's stubborn and I'm lazy, but if you're looking to copy something like the inspiration photos, I'd suggest curling your hair with a tighter iron, something close to 3/4" if possible, and brushing out some of the curls but not all of them. Mess up your hair with your fingers and pin it up haphazardly, or leave it down!

By the way, glasses are a huge hindrance when doing looks like this. I wasn't quite sure what I was doing with my glasses off trying to get the circle around my eye right, but it doesn't look that bad.

This photos is hilarious mostly because I look really unamused and trust me... I was. I think I might have stabbed my waterline with the wood of my black eyeliner and it still stings, so no heavy eye makeup for this girl for at least a few days until I make sure nothing serious happened. Take heed, darling readers: keep your pencils sharp so this doesn't happen to you!

This whole look is meant to look a little deconstructed and messy, so don't panic if you think you've made a huge mess. It's supposed to be haphazard and rushed!

1. Apply your foundation of choice all over your face. Ideally, you want something that's lighter than your skintone, but any foundation will work!
2. Conceal anything you need to--spots, acne, redness--but you don't need to cover any undereye circles, which is always a good thing.
3. After putting on eyeshadow primer from your lid to your browbone and down beneath your eyes (which will help your eyeshadow last longer), take a shimmery golden brown eyeshadow and start patting that on with your fingers. Start by applying it beneath your brows and then bringing it down to the crease.
4. Next, take an eyeshadow brush loaded with the same brown eyeshadow and map out the shape around your eyes. This look is not about being exact, but this is the only part that requires caution and a steady hand. The shape for which you're aiming is an oblong circle that extends up to your brows, into the bridge of your nose, and goes down toward your cheekbones. The shape will be different for every face, so don't worry if it doesn't look like any of the inspiration pictures or the ones of me!
5. Fill in the shape with the brown eyeshadow. You do not need to place any of this colour on your lid because we will be placing black cream over it.
6. Using a black cream pencil or eyeliner, fill in your lid and trace a thick line beneath your eye. This can be haphazard and messy.
7. Smudge the black as much as possible. The shape should be inexact, so don't worry too much about where the colour is going.
8. Set the pencil with a black eyeshadow.
9. Rim your waterline and lash lines with a black eyeliner.
10. Using your black pencil, sketch out a curve beneath the inside corner of your brow down the sides of your nose. Blend with your finger. (Alternately, you can use a black shadow but be sure to use the colour sparingly on a brush so it doesn't spread everywhere.)
11. Take a black eyeshadow and fill in your brows. The brow shape is meant to be slightly thin with a curved arch, not a pointed one, and the brow should extend quite far down.
12. Using a deep bronzer or the same brown eyeshadow as before and a big brush, contour beneath your cheekbones. The easiest way to do this is suck in your cheeks as though you're making a fish face and fill in the hollows. I did this quite a bit lighter than the inspiration photos because I was using my finger since the eyeshadow pan was tiny, but you can go wild with the colour as long as you blend it out.
13. Blend a deep brown-pink or plum blush onto the cheekbones and bring it up toward the hairline at the temples. You can also load the colour one far more intensely than I've done here because I was using a sparkly eyeshadow in a palette with my finger.
14. Fill in your lips with a deep burgundy lipstick. The inspiration photos have a burgundy that is far more brown than the colour I used because I unfortunately don't own any lip colours that are brown-toned.
15. Mix a light coloured lip gloss with a white eyeshadow and pat that on top of your cheekbones. This will give that radiant finish as seen in the inspiration photos.

BROWS

Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Bulletproof (deep matte black)

EYES

Around eye socket - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Smog (deep coppery bronze)

Under eyes - Oslo Cosmetics eyeshadow in Voltanis (tapped over Smog)

Lid - Ulta Eye Crayon in Black Tie + Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Bulletproof (deep matte black)

Lash lines + waterline - Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Perversion (matte blackest black)

FACE

Urban Decay Naked Skin liquid foundation in 1.0

Benefit Fake Up concealer in 01 Light

Benefit boi-ing concealer in 01 Light

Contour - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Smog (deep coppery bronze)

Blush - Urban Decay eyeshadow in Last Call (metallic sugar plum)

Highlight - Smashbox O-Gloss Gold + Urban Decay eyeshadow in Polyester Bride (white snow shimmer with silver micro-glitter)

LIPS

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Black Dahlia (blackest blackened red)

Wet N' Wild Fantasy Makers lipstick in Black