FOTD: The Evidence of Pea Soup at the Junk Show

Hello fellow beauty lovers~

I took my sister and mother shopping at a new outlet that opened a few months ago (Paragon Outlets in Livermore if you're in the area).  My mom, who knows nothing about makeup, needed to pick up some high end makeup for gifts so I took her to the closest Cosmetic Company Store.  I may or may not have found a loophole in my beauty buying ban but more about that later.

I had plenty of time to do my makeup so I really took my time and played with some colors.  This is something I really enjoy, and I most definitely haven't had a chance to do it very often since I've moved back in with my folks.  I am super bummed that the pictures didn't showcase the makeup the way I see it when I look into the mirror.  Here are the few that are worth showing:

Face:

-Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer

-Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Foundation in Bisque 4

-Eve Pearl Dual HD Foundation in Light

-Laura Mercier Pressed Translucent Powder

-NARS Lagina Bronzer

-Illamasqua Blusher in Thrust

Eyes:

-MAC Painterly Paintpot

-MAC eyeshadow in Night Manouevres

-Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

-Spellbound by Jynx eyeshadow in Pea Soup (This eyeshadow stains....use with caution)

-Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette: Junkshow, Blackout, and Evidence

-MicaBella eyeshadow in Sunshine

-Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin

-Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliners in Zero, Covet, and Binge

-Inglot Gel Liner 77

-Too Faced eyeshadow in Heaven

-Cover Girl Waterproof Lashblast Volume Mascara

Lips:

-MAC lipstick in Syrup

I know I say this a lot, but I find that a lot of my looks are kind of mellow and boring.  I'd like to be able to wear bright fun colors everyday, but as you see from all my FOTD posts, there are certain styles and colors that I tend to gravitate back towards.  I'm doing a combination of checking out more beauty blogs and digging through my loose eyeshadow drawer for look ideas.  

What do you do when you're in a makeup rut?  Blindly reach into your eyeshadow drawer?  Call upon friends for back up?  Let me know!

FOTD: Off Day

It's been kind of a weird day for me.  I was at home alone for most of the day and it gave me a lot of time to think about some of everything, none of which were very happy thoughts.  I played with some eyeshadows in the early afternoon.  By early evening I decided to finish my makeup, curl my hair, and went out....to walk my dog.

I've always thought one of my eyes were bigger than the other.  Today, I finally realized that my right eye is hooded, and my left eye is not.  I would much rather blame myself for poor makeup application than admit my eyes are so mismatched.  I also tested a few different application techniques today, which resulted in blotchy eyeshadow.  Today is not a good day.

Eyes:
-MicaBella Cosmetics Eyeshadow Primer
-Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
-Home made mixing medium
-Spellbound eyeshadow in Hades
-Sugarpill Loose Eyeshadow in Asylum
-Fyrinnae eyeshadow in Damn Paladins
-Too Faced eyeshadow in Heaven
-Stila Smudgepot in Pomegranate
-Inglot AMC Gel liner in 77
-L'oreal Waterproof Carbon Black Mascara

Face:
-Eve Pearl HD Dual Foundation in Light
-Laura Mercier Setting Powder
-NARS Laguna Bronzer
-Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Natural Beauty

Lips:
-Lancome lipstick in Rose Tempest (D/C)

Out of the Box: Episode 1 (FOTD)

I'm starting a new series called "Out of the Box."  I tend to use the same products over and over again, leaving a lot of makeup untouched or barely used.  I think most bloggers typically relate these types of posts as "shopping your stash" but for some reason I really dislike that phrase.  Plus, that usually refers to the rediscovery of one product.

This series will be focused on creating a look with as many products that I wouldn't really reach for.  Some items, like my foundation, I can't really switch up because the only foundations I have that I don't use regularly are the ones I use for class and on clients.

Let's just hop to it, shall we?

Face: 

-Eve Pearl HD Dual Foundation in Light

-Laura Mercier Setting Powder

-NARS Laguna Bronzer

-The Balm Bronzer in Bahama Mama

-Illamasqua Blusher in Thrust

Eyes:

-MAC Paintpot in Painterly

-Spellbound Cosmetics eyeshadow in Bubble

-Black Rose Minerals eyeshadows in Earthen and Frost

-Stila eyeshadow in Black Cat

-Stila eyeliner in Stingray

-L'oreal Waterproof Carbon Black Mascara

-Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in Forest (LE)

Lips
-Inglot lipstick in 264

As I've said, I tend to stick with the same products once I find something I like.  I find this to be most convenient when I have to look presentable and don't have the time to experiment with different things, which means a risk of needing to redo my makeup.  I had the luxury of time on Friday, so I pulled out some products I have barely touched (some even unopened!) and tried to figure something out.  I ended up using a few items for the very first time.  Here are some ways I tried to step out of the box:

1. Using mineral makeup/makeup purchased from an independent company.  I own quite a few eyeshadows from independent companies, but have never really used them because it's messy, and I find that most of the pressed shadows in my collection much more pigmented.  I was VERY pleasantly surprised with Bubble, as the pigmentation was fantastic.  Earthen...not so much.

2. Using pink.  I have nothing against pink, but I'm much more attracted to richer, bolder colors.  I own so few pink eyeshadows that there have been a couple times when I decided to use pink, but could not find the shade I wanted.

3. Lashes.  Again, I have nothing against lashes.  But as a frequent glasses wearer, they tend to brush up against the lenses and it's really quite annoying.  For the purpose of this look and because I was staying at home, I threw them on anyway.  Then ripped them off after taking pictures because they're so uncomfortable.

4. Light/nude lipstick.  When I first tried this lipstick on inside one of Montreal's Inglot stores, I was horrified when I looked in the mirror.  Light lipstick is NOT my thing.  One of the makeup artists claimed that she really liked it on me, and I figured I did not own such a light lipstick anyway so I got it.  Since then, I've tried it on a couple times but never found an occasion to wear it.  I still haven't, but at least I am documenting it, haha.

5. Hair.  Totally not makeup related, but that's okay.  I don't really know how to wear my hair curly anymore now that I have short hair, so I did a test run.  I curled it with a new flat iron I got from Le Angelique, then teased and hairsprayed the crap out of it.

As for the direction I took, I really didn't have one until I applied Bubble to my lids.  It was such a beautiful, pure, shimmery pink, that I didn't want to contrast it with dark colors.  I still wanted to break the pureness of the color, so I darkened my lash line with Earthen, and applied some non-dolllike lashes. The magenta blush on my cheeks ended up more pink than I expected.  I was flirting with doing a fantasy look and actually blended the blush up to my temples, but decided not to overdo it.

I used 5 products that I have never used before, which I'm proud of.  I discovered that I really really like some of them (Maybelline gel liner, Bubble, and Thrust) so hopefully I'll use them more often now.

What are some ways that you like to step out of the box?  I'd love to know!

EOTD: Mineral Makeup Playdate

I desperately need either better lighting, a better camera, or both.  Because I am getting sick and tired of not being able to capture my makeup the way I see it.

Anyways, I have a drawer full of beautiful pigments and mineral makeup that I don't ever use because it's messy and takes too long to apply.  A couple days ago I found time to dive into this drawer and slap some colors together for a look.  I personally REALLY liked the look and was so excited to show it to y'all.  Upon taking pictures, however, I was super duper disappointed.  Here's why:

The makeup was a lot more pigmented and brighter in person.  Oh, and I also didn't have any foundation on so there are no full face photos.  All eyeshadows were applied dry.  Anybody have tips for applying pigments?  I don't know when to use them wet, what kind of base to put underneath (especially since I don't own the legendary eye pixie poxie), etc.

Eyes:
-UDPP in Sin
-Black Rose Minerals e/s in Royal Orchid on the lid
-Spellbound e/s in Lagoon on outer corner of eye
-Spellbound e/s in Shroom in inner corner of eye
-MicaBella e/s in Luck o' the Irish in crease
-Stila smudgepot in Violet
-Stila e/l in Topaz
-Milani liquifeye pencil in Black
-L'oreal Extra Collagen Mascara

More work looks!

I only worked two days this week.  I would have liked to work more but maybe this is for the best for my hands.  Working always makes my eczema go wild.

In this first look, I desperately craved some color but was too afraid to go all out for work.  I used some Spellbound Cosmetics that I had recently ordered because Jerry's review on them was just too awesome to ignore.  If you're going to make an order, make sure you type in coupon code SCREAM for 30% off!  I tend to use loose eyeshadows dry because I'm a noobasaurus and have issues applying them wet.  Just an FYI.

-MAC Painterly Paintpot

-Spellbound eyeshadows in Lagoon and Shroom

-Black Rose Mineral eyeshadow in Snow

-Too Faced eyeshadow in Heaven

-Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in Strut

-UD 24/7 Liner in Zero

-L'oreal Waterproof Carbon Black Mascara

This next look is honestly something I slapped on because I wanted to spend a bit more time chatting with my boyfriend than doing makeup.  I have been doing a shitload and a half of cleaning lately so I've been too busy to really talk to him.  It's a simple but functional look.  I know I know.  I really need some sort of lipstick cause my lips look blah.  But I really have no chance to reapply at work so I tend to lip products =/

-UDPP

-Inglot eyeshadows in 409P and AMC Shine 43

-UD 24/7 Liner in Zero and Oil Slick

-Too Faced eyeshadow in Heaven

-L'oreal Waterproof Carbon Black Mascara

I just wanted to state again that this is not going to be a permanent format for my FOTD posts.  I prefer doing one look per post, and taking pictures of the products used so you guys can actually know what to go out to look for in case you found you liked some of the products that I used.  I have to cut corners while I'm living at  my parents' place because my time and freedom here is limited despite the fact that I'm almost 23 years old.  Hurray for traditional Chinese parents.

Meanwhile, I hope the rest of you guys are doing well and having a fantastic day!