Makeup Monday: Peeps!

You would think I’d have done a St. Patrick’s Day look today, but no, despite having an Irish husband, I completely forgot the day was coming. Also, when you grow up in a college town, the things you associate with St. Patrick’s Day are not typically things you WANT to inspire makeup looks… Green puke! Screaming sorority girls! Passed out dudes in cheap plastic beads and vulgar t-shirts! How inspiring!

So none of that for me. You may pinch me if you want.

Today’s face is a bit tamer– I had towear it to work at the restaurant and be the hostess with the mostess. I will admit I have a bit of shame about this; I had a moment of “go big or go home!” but I already get a lot of odd comments at work, plus I wouldn’t want to put patrons off their food, so I went for “wearable daily look”. Sort of.

 I recently lightened my roots and removed more of the pink from my hair, which I think, what with my fried, fluffy locks (remember when I did that? Yeah, it’s still a thing) makes me look a bit like a baby chick, which made me think Easter, which made me think PEEPS.

Peeps are one of those cultural staples that are practically REQUIRED for Easter to happen. Welcoming of Spring? What? No, welcoming of marshmallow birds and chocolate eggs laid by dubious rabbits! Ok I talk shit, but I do love Easter. Anyway, Peeps.

So lots of yellow and glitter, OBVIOUSLY. Sadly, the glitter didn’t show up very well in the photos, which is too bad, as I promise you my eyes looked like sugar-coated diabetes-in-waiting.

I used a combination of Mehron and Lunatick Labs for the yellows and oranges, with touches of Urban Decay on the top. The eyeliner is Wet ‘n’ Wild and is, in point of fact, brown to mimic the Peeps’ chocolate eyes, but you can’t really tell in the photos. Ah well.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some green cupcakes to make, because not everyone forgot it was St. Patrick’s Day.

Makeup Monday: Away Message

It’s Jason’s birthday today and we are taking a few days away, so no new face today. Instead I present you with a few blasts from the past. I hope you enjoy them despite the terrible snapshot quality.

That time I was rocker Alice…

And went to a party that got photographed and ended up being the example picture for Wikipedia’s definition of “shag hairstyle”... in a cheap wig that is really not a shag cut at all. Irony lurks around every corner…

The time I was some sort of doll:

And had a dance with a dapper Egyptian god. 

Or the time Jason and I were animals:

And the day we were, collectively, Bowie:

And the time we were Johnny Depp:

Ok I hope you enjoyed my little memory-lane ramble.  Have a splendid week.

xo

Makeup Monday: 80’s Neon Punk, aka billybowiefrank.

Am I over my neon kick yet? Bitches, I am just getting started! I have all the markers and I won’t give them up! Nor shall I color within the lines! Rebellion!

I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired today, and my eyes are all puffy because apparently spring is here and brought me some allergies as a present. I didn’t notice this until I thought “maybe I’ll try a real cut crease look today” and then realized that the entire part of my lid I’d drawn on had been absorbed into the rest of the puffy flesh of my eye. Thus ensued a good 5 minutes of moving my chin up and down in the mirror and being hypnotically disturbed by watching my eyelids disappear within themselves. Yep, I am gross, it is true.

That was disheartening.

So to make myself feel better I pulled out my trusty Lunatick Labs AlieNEON palette, which is guaranteed to restore hope and faith in the goodness of the world by it’s sheer manic COLORFULNESS.

Seriously, how can you look at this and not feel better? It’s like pigment prozac.

So I started slapping green on my face, because I’ve been on a pink kick recently and I should try something new already.  This quickly turned into a bit of an 80’s party of punky proportions. Man, 80’s makeup kind of rules. You may see a lot more in this vein until I get over it and spiral into greyscale or something.  Ok, so for lack of a better term, this is my David-Bowie-Billy-Idol-and-Lisa-Frank-love-child (what a hot mess!) look:

For those of you who are curious, I used Lunatick’s white primer on my lids and brow area. The colors are pretty much all from the AlieNeon palette, with Urban Decay blue and purple swept over the inner and outer eyes for a little shimmer. Eyeliner is Wet-n-Wild liquid and Urban Decay pencil. False lashes would have been a good move but I am lazy and suck at applying them so too damn bad. Lips are Kryolan Aquacolor and Lunatick Labs Dr. Jekyll.

Here’s my Billy Idol moment. It’s a nice day for a neon wedding!

Oh, but David Bowie makes a comeback! Ground control to Major Neon!

And then Lisa is like “don’t forget me and my friends the rainbow dolphins and panda bears!”

And then Debbie Harry showed up and ruined everything. 

80’s color-punk forever!

So that was my day. How was yours?

 

 

 

 

 

Makeup Thursday: Lunatick Unboxing!

Sooooo no new makeup look today. Why? Because apparently watching Netflix in bed is hazardous to your health. I managed to SMASH myself in the mouth with my laptop. The upside to this was I drooled blood everywhere and got to be a pretty excellent zombie for a minute there. The downside is that my mouth is all bruised and the part where my teeth went through my lip has become a very angry canker sore  and there is no way I am putting makeup on that mess. ALSO  I am feeling a bit ugly duckling today so I have put myself in time out until I can stop dissing on the weird shape of my nose and stupid face shape and lacking chin and… see! Cut that shit out! ,

I am teetering on the brink of a rant about “pretty” culture but I will refrain. Suffice it to say I love makeup and dress-up very very much but I wish I hadn’t been so inundated with the need to be “pretty” and base so much of my worth around the idea. I wish I didn’t feel that there are so many aspects of my appearance that are checks in the “bad” box. I wish I didn’t often feel that I look pretty good for a kind of ugly girl. How does this happen to us? How do we stop it?

If I were a socially responsible blogger, I would probably now launch into a thoughtful unpacking of society and hopefully make the world a better place, but I am not. I like colors and makeup and shiny stuff and that is about all I can handle today so let us leave the deep thoughts for another day and talk about a makeup company that is doing something right. That’s right, let’s talk about Lunatick Cosmetic Labs.

I only recently discovered these lovely folks and I have to say I am kind of crushed out. Why? Well, for one, dig this excerpt from their “about us” page:

“We accept and love everybody no matter your beauty background, sexuality or race. Our cosmetics are geared for the alternative ladies & gentlemen, stage performers, makeup artists, special effects makeup artists & everybody in between. Whether you’ve been doing makeup for a week or 30 years. If your love color and are not scared to live outside the box we are for you!!!! LIVE IN COLOR. No beauty is too extreme or classic.”

Hello!

This is pretty much the mission statement for my company, but probably better worded. I love that they encourage boldness, diversity, and are not makeup snobs.  Check out their Instagram; they are very sweet and supportive of their customers. To create a community around a common interest is one of the best things a brand can do. Very welcoming. Well done.

 I also appreciate their ability to occasionally swear like sailors, which makes me feel like we are friends. Fucking friends, I say!

Secondly, they really like COLOR. LOOK AT THIS SHIT!

This is their swatch photo. All credit to the Lunaticks.

When I saw that photo I caved and decided I had to order me some. Had to be done. Couldn’t be helped. So here’s what I got:

Clearly, these are  people who love them some good packaging. I am a sucker for branding and packaging and little boxes to put things in, and their attention to detail is amazing. I thought I was pretty cool attaching baggies of glitter-crack to my tags and sending things in shiny packages, but these guys are making me want to up my game. I mean, a black-and-white striped BOX, ferchrissakes! I will admit that I have saved the box, shipping stickers and all, because it was too nice to throw away.

Here’s the inside of the treasure chest:

D’awww a handwritten note!

Everything was nicely bubble-wrapped, including, WHAT?! A freaking coffin. This is an added bonus for orders over $50. How cool is that?

 

Here are my goodies, un-bubbled.

I would like to call attention to the fact that not only is this shit double-wrapped, but there is freaking CONFETTI GLITTER in the package. Like I said, attention to detail. I loves it.

My first goodie is a vat of Kromatik Silk pigment powder in Dr. Jekyll, AKA (in my mind) Gold As Fuck.

A sifter-lid: always appreciated! Also the sticker-cover is a nice detail. No powder escaping during shipping. Also notice the stripes theme continuing. Fuck yeah package design!  Plus, there is 5g of product here. This is a serious VAT of pigment.

I swatched a little on my hand…

And then went for it and just stuck my finger in it. OOOOOHHHH.

Next we have the Prime Time $&%*#! primer. Also 5g. It feels pretty solid and waxy, but so far in my experimenting it goes on quite nicely with a brush or finger and really helps color pop and hold. So, YES to this stuff!

And finally the piece de resistance, the AlieNEON pigments!

All dressed up. These guys are really careful in their shipping. Truly appreciated. Not a pan was cracked.  Also, note that I am living on the wild side, here. The FDA has not yet tested or approved these pigments for cosmetic use– Canadian and European eyes are approved, however, so I am citing my European heritage and calling it good. Damn American eyes!

LOOKIT THIS FREAKING GORGEOUS PACKAGING!

Cute little compact size. Substantial yet adorable.

And the back.

More attention to shipping care! Each pan has a clear acrylic window holding it in/down, with bubble wrap over THAT. That is some loving care put in here.

I will admit I kept the acrylic tabs, too. I don’t know why. They were cute.

TA-DAH!

And it pulls out to reveal even more wonders. AND each pan is moveable! They are magnetized in so you can rearrange them to your heart’s content. AND there’s secret pictures under the pans. I know I keep harping on it but that is some fantastic, lovingly-made packaging. I would show you pictures of the under-pans but they are secret. Also, Lunatick shadows, or at least the AlieNEON ones, are very soft. Super pigmented but VERY soft, and I was a little concerned I’d drop one and destroy it if I moved them around. I am, after all, the person who managed to give herself a fat lip while lying in bed.

I have just started playing with these: here’s a few shots.

This one is using all the reds, oranges, yellow and purple, which I believe are called Nosebleed (red), Light Saber (orange), Sorbet Strike (lighter orange), Hi Volt (yellow), Plasma (fuschia) and Lovebotomy (pink). I used the palette’s black (Reaper, I believe it is called) on the bottom lid, and liquid liner on the top. The blue accent is Urban Decay from the Alice in Wonderland palette, and the browbone is swept with a pink and an ivory from a Pure Colors stacker. The AlieNEON pigments are quite matte, which I really like, but I also like highlighting them with one of my less-pigmented, iridescent shadows. 

This one is trying out the purples and blues in the palette: Blue Lunacy and Area 51, along with the fuschia and yellow.  I also punched up the blue under the eyes, the brow bone, and the green center lid with Urban Decay again, for some shimmer.

Here’s one using the Dr. Jekyll gold:

More pinks and oranges (I have a theme here)

And a pink/grey using silvers from the Urban Decay palette.

I’m really enjoying my new goodies! They are taking a little practice for me to figure out how to use them best; they are super-pigmented, but they do go on differently than anything I’ve used before–just a different texture than I am used to, so I am still figuring out how to work with them to their full potential. I realize I tend to SWEEP color on, and these I think, may be best applied by… what do they call it in makeup land? Dabbing? Applying in dabbing-like motions rather than sweeping brush strokes.  I am a hack, I admit it.

Primer also seems to be important, as using the pigments alone doesn’t stick to my skin  very well, but this is to be expected. With primer, they really last beautifully, and everyone is mesmerized by your face.

Moral of the story: LUNATICK RULES! I’m quite crushed out on them. It’s more than just good makeup, it’s good people. Go get some for yer face.

Makeup Thursday: Faun Face

Today (well, a month or so ago, as evidenced by my hair color) I went a little woodland. I have a pretty intense costume that goes with this look, but I can never quite settle on the face. Or maybe I just like doing it so much I make up excuses to put it on. I wish I looked like this all the time. GOATS!

Here’s the outfit that accompanies the face. Well, the pants, anyway. The headdress went to live with a very nice man.

As requested, I promise I will start trying to list what products I used for these. I generally fail at that. I use everything like paint and so end up layering  a lot of different stuff. This is probably a very unprofessional way to apply makeup, but you know what? I don’t have a makeup background– I have a painting/crafting background! I’m lucky I don’t apply the shit like Francis Bacon…. that’s kind of a fun idea though.

I have 2 big mineral pigment stacks from Pure Colors and True Colors (I believe I bought them at a mall kiosk, for which I am rather embarrassed) that I use a lot. They have a few nice bronzes and peaches, which I largely used as facial contour/blush in this look.  This one also uses Kryolan Aquacolor Interferenz in Pearl and Bronze. These pans are great on their own, but also make nice cream bases– they really make a difference when used as a primer/base. The Pearl is the highlighter for nose/cheeks/brow/eye corner. Kryolan Aquacolor Interferenz in brown is used on the nose and lips. I need to get some more matte powders– I wanted to contour the nose with matte, not metallic, but as it turns out pretty much all of my makeup is shiny. Shocker.

I really don’t have any clever captions for photos today, so I will just inundate you with goatyness.

BAHHHHH!

Makeup Monday: Purple Pony

My Little Pony, My Little Pony…. who knows the song? No, not the current version, friendship is freaking magical or what have you. Yes, it’s the hour of crotchety “PONIES WERE BETTER IN MY DAY” grumbling. Hey, I’m 32 now, I’m entitled. And get off my lawn while you’re at it.

No, no, I don’t mean to hate. I’m glad ponies have been revived (because PONIES!) but I don’t like the new look. It’s this current trend of bigger eyes=moar cuter… where does it end, people? Let’s look at the evolution of the pony, shall we?

Generation 1! This is Applejack, circa 1982 (the year of my birth. Coincidence? I think not.)

Generation 2; Late 90’s. Nobody remembers these, according to the internet. They didn’t do well. Sad pony.

Generation 3! This is Applejack with a makeover, circa 2003ish. I like this generation, I have to say.

Egads! Applejack, what did they DO to you?! Generation 4, 2011 ish

The next generation can be called My Little Eyeballs.

Anyway, ranting aside, I loves me some My Little Pony. There was a terrible MLP movie that came out in the 80’s sometime featuring some nasty-pasty witch ladies who wanted to take over Ponyland so they created this horrible living purple slime monster called the Smooze. There’s a catchy little musical interlude in which they sail on waves of Smooze in their cauldron singing “Nothing can stop the Smooze” (spoiler alert: flutter ponies can stop the Smooze. Darn.)

SO. I was thinking ponies and smooze and here’s some makeup about that.

YEAH PONIES!