Max Payne 3 Inspired FOTD

I only play video games sporadically, due to my tendency of taking them way too seriously, getting frustrated and not having any fun as a result.  My hubby, though, loves to play video games and I find a certain pleasure in watching him play and absorbing the visual style and story of the game (my favorite aspects anyway).  After the dark, broody nature of the original Max Payne, the third installment (yes, I skipped one) was odd in its sunny South American setting.  Here for you is a look that combines the bright, cheerful nature of yellow with a deep, melancholy green.   The colors are a bit more vivid in person; I was not able to use my nice camera today. :(

This angle shows the impact a lighter/brighter inner corner color really has on the overall shape and effect of the look.

Products Used:

Face:

• I made a foundation-like compound out of moisturizer, baby sunscreen, powder foundation and a smidge of stick concealer.  It works, so far at least, and doesn't have the nasty texture, et. al of regular liquid foundation.
• Physician's Formula mineral veil powder
• regular black mascara on brows.

Eyes:

• I used my own home made shadows like so-softly blended warm brown in the crease (Santa Barbara), yellow in the inner corner (Come On, Son), grass green on center of lid (Suck It, Gus!), dark green on outer corner, crease and lower lash line (Primeval), and sheer white sparkle under brow (Toothy).
• Generic black pencil liner to line upper lashline and upper and lower waterlines
• Almay Get Up and Grow mascara in black, two coats.

I forgot entirely to put anything on my lips...oops!

Anyway, hope you found this helpful, and have a fantastic day!

Gothic Mermaid Makeup Tutorial

My first ever tutorial!!!  It's just a slideshow, but I hope it still gets the point across.  It showcases some of the eye shadows I've been busy making.

Products Used:
Face-
generic moisturizer and sunscreen
Maybelline Cover Stick Concealer in Ivory
Meow Cosmetics Purrfect Puss powder foundation in Frisky Siamese
Eyes-
Phoenix Blood Cosmetics loose eyeshadow in Shining Armor (silver), Lady of the Lake (aqua), Gloaming (dark teal), Leviathan (dark charcoal gray), and A Very Juliet Story (light beige)
Detrivore Original eye shadow primer
Wet n Wild Fergie Take On the Day eye shadow primer
Wet n Wild non-waterproof liquid eyeliner
Almay Get Up and Grow mascara in black
Lips-
Morgana's Crypt lipstick in Absinthe

My Etsy shop for makeup can be found here, and is called Phoenix Blood.  

Have fun everyone, and have a wonderful day!

Almay One Coat Get Up and Grow Mascara Review

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds

I finally bit the bullet and decided to try mascaras that were designed to be healthy for the lashes.  You may have seen from my previous mascara review that I am addicted to having voluminous lashes.  I decided, though, that health was more important than big lashes and that I could work around a weaker, more natural looking formula.  So, I bought a tube of this Almay mascara.  I had never bought any Almay products before, and I was pleasantly surprised by this mascara.
First off, packaging.

 This mascara is not only supposed to be strengthening and moisturizing to the lashes, but also produce a lovely effect with only one coat.  Side note: this is precisely why I buy volumizing mascaras.  Not only can you produce a near-falsies effect, you only need one coat to look "done" on a lazy or busy morning.  Back to the mascara at hand, a look through the ingredients lets you know that the moisturizing ingredients are primarily silicon oils (a red flag for some) and the strengthening ingredient is protein, which can make hair rigid.  Whether your particular lashes will respond well to protein is different for everyone; but I would assume that if your head hair does not like protein-based products, your lashes won't either.

 The actual tube has a nice weight to it, and feels more expensive than in actually is.  The cap clicks softly when it is completely closed.  Simply lovely.
The brush...

 Is huge.  I expected a smaller, basic brush.  This one is wider at the ends than in the middle, which fits the contours of my prominent eyes surprisingly well.  My first impression upon seeing it, though, was something like this:

Whoa.

So, enough chatter, let's see it in action.

Naked lashes, curled.

One coat of mascara

So, I actually like the look of one coat.  It lifts the lashes and makes them wonderfully black, reasonably thick and a touch longer.  But I couldn't leave it well enough alone...I needed to see two coats.

Two coats and a bit of a comb-through

Wow!  This is the big, fluffy look I like.  For me, this rivals Maybelline's The Falsies for crazy volume.

This is the driest mascara formula I have found in the drugstore.  That may sound bad or gross, but let me explain; wet mascaras are difficult to apply.  They can be clumpy, smudgy, and either difficult to build or difficult to control in terms of how much gets glopped on.  This mascara feels like nothing while you're applying it, but has great visual impact.

I give this mascara a 9.5 out of 10.  I haven't had it long enough to know if it makes my lashes longer or stronger, but I love how it looks.  The ingredients are not for everyone; it is not organic or completely natural in origin.  I have a few more mascaras to review before I make my final choice, but this may just be a repurchase for me (mascara repurchases are extremely rare for me).  It costs about $7-$9 depending on which drugstore you purchase from.

Thanks for visiting, and have a fantastic day!

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Rainy Day FOTD

The rainy season has finally come to Arizona, relieving the heat wave and rejuvenating the earth.  For one, I also feel relieved and refreshed when the rain comes...I probably appreciate it so much because of the dryness of my home state.
Anyway, I was inspired to do my makeup in cloudy, rain-friendly colors.

Blurry photo is blurry...ick.

My hair is in desperate need of re-dying...please look away from the bad roots and humidity frizziness. :)

Inner thoughts- "Is it focused? Is it? Is it?  Oh heavens, don't blink!!!"

Eyeball closeup!



Okay, here are the materials:

Face: Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation in Frisky Siamese
Brows: Black mascara.  I still need to get actual brow stuff...
Eyes: Detrivore eye shadows in Apparatus (lid) and Abyss (crease and lower lash line)
I just finished it off with mascara and (slightly crooked) liquid liner.

Also, here is as much of my outfit today as I could photograph.  The stripey shrug (originally Forever 21), black dress (originally a slip) and fancy short necklace were all thrifted.  The rosary was originally rose scented, and came from a stall that sells Catholic and Rastafarian items in the halls of my university's dining hall.

Have a wonderful day!

Video Share-Pixiwoo Grunge

I know this sort of look is not for everyone, but I feel like certain aspects of the grunge look evoke a "tuberculosis chic" sort of feel.  In fact, though I have not tried cream eye shadow yet, I often wear brown eye shadow in the blown-out, kind of haphazard style shown in the vid.
Enjoy!

Have a wonder-filled day, everyone!

Video Share-Pixiwoo Blue

I have to admit, blue is the most difficult color for to use in my everyday cosmetics.  I have bluish-greenish eyes, which can make blue eyeshadows look dated or just all-out strange.  Someone who has no trouble with this icy color, however, is Sam from Pixiwoo, who uploaded this gem of a tutorial.  But remember, just because she used a particular palette does not mean you have to go out and buy something to achieve this look. Just use similar shades from your own collection, or tweak it a little to suit your tastes.  There are no rules-just have fun. :)

Have a wonder-filled day!

The Care and Feeding of Eye Brows

When I was younger, I was convinced that I would never trim or pluck my eyebrows-that they just didn't grow that well.  Once I reached my late teens, I realized that my eyebrows do indeed grow-they are just various shades of blonde ranging from  practically transparent to light ash.  Since I started dying my hair, I have experimented with different ways to make my brows match my hair.  I started out with heavy eye brow pencil (thankfully that was short-lived), then moved on to matte eye shadow used as brow powder.  Recently, I have discovered something that makeup artists and beauty bloggers have already known about for ages-brow mascara.  Of course, I do not have the funds to try out lots of different specialized products (at least, not yet), so my experience with brow mascara started as a weird little voice in my brain that said, "Hey.  This is mascara.  It is black.  My hair is black.  What will happen if I put this regular black mascara on my eye brows?"  And, well, it worked.  Right now I am doing my "everyday face" with just mascaraed brows, since it's faster than powdering them, and using powder for special occasions or when I feel my makeup that day really needs a strong, full brow.  So, there you go.  Eventually I'm sure I will switch to actual brow mascara, since it is suuuuuper easy to put on too much regular mascara and get weird little smudges and clumps everywhere, but for now it works just fine.
Have you ever tried brow mascara? What is your favorite brow routine (or lack of)?  Feel free to comment and have a wonder-filled day!

Iron Man III Tribute FOTD

A day or two ago I went to the movies with my hubby and mom-in-law to see Iron Man III.  It. Was. Awesome!  The Avengers is still my all-time favorite comic-movie adaptation, but IMIII was tons of fun to watch.  The day after, I had a jones to wear red and black eye shadow.  I kind of wish I had thought to wear this to the theater, but that's the way things go, I guess.


(iPad pictures aren't so great in low light-sorry, guys.)



Whenever I curl my eye lashes, they look invisible when I close my eyes...

Anyway, here is the list of
Beauty Stuffs:

Face:
Nivea Creme (my fave moisturizer-I have super-dry skin)
Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss powder foundation in Sleek Siamese

Brows:
Black brow mascara
Detrivore loose eye shadow in Abyss

Eyes:
Wet N Wild Fergie Take On the Day eye shadow primer (review coming soon)
Detrivore loose eye shadows in Vitriol (lid) and Abyss (outer V)
L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer gel liner in Blackest Black (thin line on upper lid, medium line smudged pretty far down on lower lash line, plus tight-lining)
L'Oreal Voluminous Original mascara in Blackest Black (on curled lashes)

No blush or lippie, I ran out of time!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a fantastic day!

Amethyst Butterfly FOTD

Hi there!
This look was from a day or two ago, when the weather was very soft and springlike.  I felt it was definitely time to bust out the pink eye shadow.  I named this look after a great friend of mine suggested that the extended crease gave the impression of butterfly wings.

Beauty Stuffs:

Face: Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss powder foundation in Sleek Siamese

Detrivore blush in Lascivious

Brows: Detrivore eye shadow in Fortress 

Eyes: Detrivore Original eye shadow primer

Detrivore eye shadows in Laboratory (lid), Livor Mortis (crease and lower lash line), and Apparatus (to blend)

Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies mascara in Black Drama

Lips: Revlon Color Burst lip gloss in Bordeaux

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonder-filled day!

Gloomy Blues FOTD

Hi all,
Today I was inspired by the hail and snow outside to do a look with gray and blue...it turned out a bit brighter than I expected, but I still like it.

Beauty Stuffs:

Face: Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation in Frisky Siamese
Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush in 127 Honeymoon

Brows: Detrivore loose eye shadow in Fortress

Eyes: Detrivore Original eye shadow primer
Detrivore eye shadows in Test Tube (Light blue, on lid), BSoD (Bright blue in inner crease), and Apparatus (soft gray in outer crease)
Detrivore Pallor Mortis white face powder to blend and highlight
Milani Runway Eyes eye shadow in 02 Black Out (as liner)
L'Oreal Voluminous Power Volume 24H mascara in 681 Blackest Black (review coming soon!)

Lips: Revlon Color Burst lip gloss in 008 Peony

By the way, I just finished performing in a production of Così fan tutte at NAU, and my hubby brought me some lovely orchids I just had to share.

Aren't they pretty?  Anyway, thanks for stopping by, and have a wonder-filled day!

Maybelline the Falsies Mascara Review

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.
Hello all,
I am addicted to mascara.  My eyelashes are so pale and straight that I feel quite strange leaving the house without it.  Also, I just love the look of big, black "foofy" eye lashes, and I don't have the patience yet for falsies.  So, I am always looking for the next great mascara that gives me the results I want without draining my wallet or exposing me to tons of toxins.

Today I am going to review Maybelline's Volum'Express The Falsies (the original Falsies, not the one or two new versions of it that have come out recently).  This mascara can be found at just about any drugstore or grocery store, and ranges in price from $5-$8 depending on sales and where you buy it.  You can tell it apart from the ten zillion other Maybelline Volum'Express mascaras by the lovely purple packaging. A mascara's packaging is its least important aspect, but I do have a soft spot for the color purple.
The Falsies boasts a plump traditional fiber brush with an interesting shape.  It is slightly curved, with a flatter side and a wider side.

See what I mean?  I like to use the flatter side to deposit more product at the roots of my lashes, and the longer bristles to sweep upwards and create a nice taper to the lash.  This is a fiber mascara, so the volumizing is very good, with some lengthening to boot.  The fibers don't fall out into my eye, which is always a plus.  Unfortunately, at the end of the day I do find a little bit of smudging on my lower lash line if I'm not careful to put some face powder down there to keep it nice.  

Here are my bare lashes after being curled.

Here are my lashes, curled, with two coats of the Falsies.

Fluffy!

I give this mascara a 4.9 out of 5 for efficiency, cost effectiveness, toxicity and staying power.  This mascara is listed on the Skin Deep database as a 3, which is very good for a drugstore mascara.
That's all for now-have a wonder-filled day!
All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Drugstore Makeup

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

I love researching and ogling all the beautiful independent, alternatively inclined makeup companies online.  I think the sites are cool, the color names inspired, and...well, basically I'm a teensy bit obsessed.  However, due to a domino-like succession of shipping issues with my very first indie makeup purchase, I had to visit my local drugstore cosmetics aisle to make sure I didn't have to leave the house in blonde eyebrows and eyelashes (which look extremely weird with my bottle-black hair).  Therefore, I've been researching all my fave cosmetics-geared websites (MakeupAlley, Toxid-Lotus, etc.) for the best inexpensive mascara and eyeliners.  I wanted to try gel/cream eyeliner since I have been in the rut of 99 cent Wet-n-Wild pencils for the past year or so, and Jordana, I was told, puts out a fantastically black $3 mascara.  Today at Walgreens (the only store in my area that carries Jordana) I picked up a tube of the mascara and two L'Oreal Infallible gel eyeliners, navy and black.

    

The pot I took home was literally the last black L'Oreal gel liner left in the entire store, and I got the blue because there was a buy 1 get 1 half price sale on L'Oreal things.  To sum up:  gel eyeliner is cool, the blue was still dark enough that I felt comfortable wearing it, the black was good and dark, and I will never pay $10 for a mascara again.  Seriously, it's good stuff.

Pics are from target.com and jordanacosmetics.com, respectively
All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.