Look: Scorpio Rose

 A sultry and soft metallic look featuring Scorpio shades from the BH Cosmetics Zodiac palette.

I'm super excited to be posting this look today! I recently bought myself the Zodiac palette from BH Cosmetics, and right away I wanted to do a look with it. Like most people, the first color that drew my attention was the metallic copper Scorpio shade, so I had to use that one and decided to pair it with it's complementary matte for this look. (I'm not a Scorpio but my sister/best friend Becky is lol.)

Keep reading for details and please CLICK THE PICS to view full size!

Products:

Face/Cheeks:

-The Ordinary High Adherence Silicone Primer

-Wet n Wild PhotoFocus foundation in Shell Ivory, applied heavily with Real Techniques sponge

-Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Fair, mostly under eyes

-NYX Stay Matte Not Flat powder in Ivory

-NYX blush in Taupe (cheekbones)

-Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Paaarty

-white gold highlighter from palette as skin highlight

Eyes:

-Urban Decay Primer Potion original

-baked metallic copper and rust matte Scorpio shades from palette

-Wet n Wild (new) Nude Awakening eyeshadow palette, matte ivory shade and black shades

-Maybelline black gel liner

-Maybelline Push-Up Drama mascara (not a fan)

-Ardell Demi Wispies

-white gold highlighter from palette as highlight
- Brows: 

-Urban Decay Blackjack eyeshadow
Lips:

-Wet n Wild Liquid Catsuit in Rebel Rose

Once again, I didn't retouch these photos much, just a bit of skin smoothing and sharpening. I did auto-contrast in Photoshop (which I mainly use for watermarking and resizing) because the photos were actually under-exposed. All it did was brighten my skin just a touch.

This was my first official attempt at a halo eye as part of the January Inspiration we are doing in the Phyrra Facebook group. I applied the metallic copper to the middle of my lids with my finger, and patted a bit of the gold highlighter just in the centers, but I'm not sure if you can really tell. Before this I only loosely knew what a halo eye was lol; now I know I can do one! :D

I wanted this palette as soon as it came out months ago, but was broke at the time lol. However after the holidays I had some Christmas money so I decided to splurge and treat myself. I don't know why but something about this palette really attracted me; I love the packaging and the theme and the colors... I haven't bought many palettes in the past year or two but I just had to have this one.

I absolutely loved this look, and I love my Zodiac palette! I'm excited for all the looks I can do with it. I'm thinking of doing a series, like a look featuring each sign's shades from the palette. We'll see ;)

Thanks for reading!♥

Look: Neon Smoke

 A new look featuring an edgy silver halo eye, neon accents, and a bright red lip! I don't know if the name is fitting but I really couldn't think of a title for this look...

It's definitely been a while since I posted! I figure I'll just pick up where I left off, if you don't mind ;)

This look is my first foray back into blog makeup since close to a year ago. It's been a year of dramatic changes for me personally but I won't go all into it. I hope to utilize these changes and channel their energies into things like makeup, blogging, and personal/creative growth. Anyway, on to the makeup!
(Click for larger images!)

 For this particular look, I'd had an idea in my mind for a while which was a smokey silver eye and an orangey lip. I pictured kind of messy, like editorial or runway style. Well this is what came out, and it's nothing like what I pictured, but I went with it. The eyeshadow is way out of my comfort zone; I never use silver and I prefer soft blended looks, but I do like how this turned out.

 In the photos it looks like my lash strip is coming off, but it WAS actually glued on securely, lol. It wasn't at all noticeable in person.

Products:

Face/Cheeks:

-The Ordinary High Adherence Silicone Primer

-Wet n Wild PhotoFocus foundation in Shell Ivory, applied heavily with Real Techniques sponge

-Maybelline Fit Me concealer in Fair, mostly under eyes

-NYX Stay Matte Not Flat powder in Ivory

-Darling Girl Cosmetics contour powder (cheekbones)

-Hourglass Luminous Flush blush

-MAC neon pigments in Red Electric and Neo Orange

Eyes:

-Urban Decay Primer Potion original

-BFTE loose eyeshadows in Smoke, Silver, and Gun Metal
-Matte black from new WnW Nude Awakening palette
-Ardell Demi Wispies
Brows: 

-Urban Decay Crave eyeshadow
Lips:

-UD lipstick in EZ

I took these photos with my ringlight and my old Canon Rebel. I love that the background is black; this is what I always tried to achieve, but never could because I was working in tiny bedrooms. I recently moved to a new house and my bedroom is much larger, so it gives that effect. 

I'm still working on taking good eye closeups; the ones above were the best I could do for now, but it's an ongoing effort.

I'm so pleased that I barely had to edit these photos! All I did was use Aperture to soften my skin slightly to compensate for extra sharpening, crop, and use Photoshop to watermark/resize. That's it. No exposure, contrast, vibrancy, nothing. My skin has been doing better since being off dairy completely for the past year, so I didn't even need to edit out any pimples or anything. I was also sick with a cold at this time, and I was astonished that you couldn't detect the dryness around my nose from excessive tissue use, lol. This foundation really does look good in photos! Incidentally, I think Shell Ivory is a pretty spot-on match for my skintone which is awesome since I can never ever find anything that matches me. The NYX powder is a tad dark/orange, but it still works.

So there you have it! Thanks for reading! It's good to be back :)

Look: Metallurgy

 Hey! This post is for a look I did at the very beginning of the year, but it's taken me this long to post it... I tend to put off the most important things because I'm too afraid of messing them up, know what I mean? lol. Anyway, this look was so much fun to do! I wanted to do something extremely clean and androgynous; the aesthetic is sort of like a cyborg assassin in a military post-apocolyptic future. Or something.. :P

The first few photos are the first phase of the look– bold, defined brows, cheekbones, and lips, with little other makeup. There's a little neutral color on my eyes, but that's all.

Check out my clickable pics!

Close-up to show the makeup.

i will cut you!

 For the second phase, I added more cheek color, mascara, and some highlighter to make it a little more feminine:

This shot was my sister's favorite so she wanted me to include it, lol.

For me, it was strange to do an androgynous look; I don't feel that I have a very feminine face, so I usually rely on things like blush and mascara and eyeliner to make me look more feminine. However, it was fun relying less on the makeup and more on my own features... and sort of empowering, like "I can look cool with dark green lips and no lashes!" lol. Of course I do prefer the version with mascara– note how I look like I have no lashes in the first photos!

Products:

-Loreal Infallible Pro Matte foundation in lightest shade

-Darling Girl blush in Koalification* (contour)

-Darling Girl blush in Neon Trees

-bronzer

-Jesse's Girl eye primer* (I think)

- Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, Venus as highlight and Crave on brows

-Urban Decay Naked palette, Buck and Naked on eyes

-Cover Girl The Super Sizer mascara*

-Portland Black Lipstick Company lipstick in "Metallurgy"

My skin was a MESS; breakouts, redness, dryness, flakiness, the works. I really caked on the Loreal Pro Matte foundation, and was super surprised at how full-coverage it was, although my skin was way too dry to wear it properly. It was pretty flaky on my forehead, and I had so many wrinkles across my cheeks and under my eyes, but nothing a little Photoshop couldn't fix. :)

I loved wearing the Metallurgy lipstick too, although my sample is so old I probably should have tossed it long ago. Ah well. 

Anyway, THERE IT IS, YAY. I hope you enjoy this look as much as I did! I love playing with makeup and trying to take interesting photos. I'm trying to push myself a little outside my comfort zone in both areas. 

Thanks for reading!

Look: Purple Sand

 Hay thar, long time no see! I'm starting off this New Year with a brand new Diva Ring Super Nova ring light, courtesy of my awesome brother who apparently felt like spoiling his family for Christmas. I'm still getting the hang of photographing with the light and editing the photos and everything but so far I'm loving it.

I have a new look using my new ring light, plus a new Morphe palette which was also a Christmas gift from my sisters; it's the Morphe 35P, aka Plum palette and it's awesome. Keep scrolling for more pics and product info, and don't forget the pics will magically get bigger when you click them ;)

  Products:

Face/Cheeks:

- About Face Velvet Gel Primer from Darling Girl Cosmetics

-Wet n Wild Coverall Foundation and powder in lightest shade

-Darling Girl Koalification blush* for contour

-Darling Girl Aloha blush on cheeks

-Darling Girl Neon Trees blush on cheeks

-Urban Decay Venus as highlight

Eyes/Brows:

-Jesse's Girl eyeshadow primer* (from Ipsy bag)

-Morphe eyeshadow palette, 15-light peach and 29-warm brown shades in crease, 28-vibrant purple on lids

-BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadow in Whisper patted on center of lids and tearduct

-Urban Decay W.O.S. shadow from Naked Basics palette to blend out edges

-Venus as highlight on browbone and tearduct

-Wet n Wild gel eyeliner in Black

-Covergirl Super Sizer mascara*

-Halloween lashes from Five Below

-Crave eyeshadow from Naked Basics palette on brows (deepest matte brown/black)

Lips:

-Wet n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Mochalicious

-Wet n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Bare It All

-Some lip gloss, I forget what I used :P

A cell phone pic of Mochalicious lipstick; after I took pics I wiped off the combination and applied Mochalicious by itself for a darker neutral lip. Not sure which I like better?

The shadows in this palette are awesome, especially that purple, HELLO BABY! It's easily one of the best, if not THE best purple eyeshadow I've ever used. Pigmented and vibrant, I know I'll get tons of use from this in future. 

Also, I meant to do a black waterline but as usual, I forgot. ;P

That second-to-last pic makes me come to terms with the fact that my features are NOT symmetrical, lol. However, I'm trying to branch out and experiment a little with different angles and expressions. Anyway, it was nice to do a real makeup look since it's been so long. I have another I will post soon too, after I finish editing the photos. Can't wait to show you :)

Thanks for reading!

Smokey Fall Colors

 It's been a while but I managed to do a new look recently, yay! Since I've been so preoccupied with things lately my hobbies have really suffered, but I determined I was gonna take a day for myself and do this look come hell or high water, lol. 

I wanted to do a Fall type look and this is what ended up happening; metallic rose gold eyes with smokey plum liner, and muted berry lips. I like it :)

Products:

Face/Cheeks:

-Wet n Wild Coverall Foundation and powder in lightest shade

-Darling Girl Koalification blush for contour*

-Darling Girl Neon Trees blush on cheeks

-Urban Decay Venus as highlight

Eyes/Brows:

-Inglot pigment #50 on lids*

-theBalm eyeshadow in Moderato (deep plum matte from Balm Jovi palette) on outer corner, crease, and lower lashline

-Darling Girl eyeshadow in Naughty Bits (matte midtone plum brown) to blend out crease and lower lashline

-shimmery berry shadow from LA Girl Ultra Palette (just a little on lower lashline)

-Urban Decay W.O.S. shadow from Naked Basics palette to blend out edges

-Venus as highlight on browbone and tearduct

-Sugarpill Lumi on inner corner over Venus*

-Ulta gel liner in Plum

-Urban Decay pencil in Zero on waterline

-Covergirl Super Sizer mascara*

-Ardell Naturals #124 lashes

-Crave eyeshadow from Naked Basics palette on brows (deepest matte brown/black)

Lips:

-Wet n Wild Mega Last lipstick in Bordeaux Boulevard (Fall 2014)

-NYX Macaron Lippies in Earl Grey and Black Sesame

I didn't get any good eye pics, in fact I was lucky to get these... when I finished my makeup I went to take pics but it had started raining and the sky was completely overcast. It was pretty gloomy :( I had my camera settings cranked up to max so that's why they are a bit grainy. I love this plum liner from Ulta.. I'd use it every day if I could lol. I think it really makes my eye color pop or something, I dunno.. all I know is it looks good on me. :D I also like this muted berry lip; the Wet n Wild lippie is a deeper berry shade but I used the Black Sesame lippie, which is basically a grey, to mute it a bit.

What kind of Fall makeup do you enjoy? :)

Look: Classy Illusion

 Here is one of two looks I did over the weekend, just for fun. I wanted to use some specific colors from my (huge) BFTE Cosmetics stash because they are such gorgeous colors and I thought they would look pretty together. I'm terrible at using multiple lid colors but I did my best, lol. Please keep scrolling for more :)

Products:

Face/Cheeks:

-About Face Velvet Gel Primer from Darling Girl Cosmetics

-Wet N Wild Coverall Foundation and Powder in lightest shades

-Koalification* blush from Darling Girl Cosmetics (contour)

-Cameo Glo blush from mark. (Avon)

-Venus eyeshadow from Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette (highlight)

Eyes/Brows:

-Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper* primer (trying to use up)

BFTE Cosmetics eyeshadows in:

-Classy* (pressed; sparkly wine shade on inner lids)

-Illusion* (pressed; shimmering teal green on middle lids)

-Spellbound* (pressed; shimmering royal blue on outer corners)

-Secret Garden* (pressed; shimmering antique green/gold on inner corners)

-W.O.S from Naked Basics to blend out edges

-Milani pressed eyeshadow in Pitch Black (crease)

-theBalm Meete Matte palette Matte Patel (taupe gray to blend out black)

-Naked2 from Naked Basics (light warm taupe to blend out edges)

-Venus from Naked Basics (browbone and tearduct highlight)

 -Wet N Wild MegaEyes Creme Liner in black

-Prestige My Blackest Lashes mascara

-Crave from Naked Basics (darkest brown/black on brows)

Lips:

-Maybelline Color Elixir gloss in Rose Redefined*

To my frustration, the above pics were all taken before I realized I'd forgotten to line my waterline. :( This often happens; as my eyes are extremely sensitive, I usually save waterlining for the very last step, since my eyes will water uncontrollably after that. Once again I just plain forgot... I was in a hurry to photograph before I lost the light.

The below pics were taken after waterlining with Urban Decay Perversion pencil; I must say I like it so much more with the waterline... it looks more complete:

Artificial light with flash.

Artificial light with flash.

Artificial light with flash.

Artificial light with flash.

Artificial light with flash.

 I had intended to do a bold lip as well but ran out of time so I slapped on this gloss I got in my Target Beauty Box. Sort of a MLBB rose shade, pretty nice. :)

It felt good to do makeup again, even though it hurts my fibromyalgia (especially the taking pictures part, blah) but the end result is worth some pain, right?

Thanks so much for reading and stay tuned for another look coming soon, maybe later this week!