FOTD: Sparkly Teal Liner

This is a look I photographed awhile ago and forgot to put up on my blog. I wore this to one of the days of my conference, and I thought it was a nice balance of interesting and not drawing too much attention to itself. I got compliments on it, too!

Sparkly champagne and turquoise/teal are pretty much my two favorite eyeshadow colors, so of course I like this.

Eyes:

• Shiro Doge
• Notoriously Morbid Jupiter Rain
• Darling Girl Superstar Serum
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Tarte Blissful (I think. I didn’t write it down.)

Lips:

• Kae Q Mamey

I started by applying primer to my lids and sweeping Doge, a sparkly champagne, on top. I mixed Superstar Serum with Jupiter Rain, a sparkly teal, to make a paste and applied it with a liner brush, winging it out at the outer corners, and lightly lining the outer half of my lower lashline. I applied mascara and I did my usual face stuff. I finished the look with Mamey, an orangey coral balm that I applied with a doe foot.

I don’t have much to say about this one, except I wish I’d put on a little more concealer. Good lord I look tired.

FOTD: Low Key Pink and Grey Look

I love pink and grey together. The pairing feels soft and subtle, but still feminine. I like it. Although, to be honest I was expecting it to be more of a lavender and grey look, since that’s what Catticus Finch looked like in the bag and I hadn’t used or swatched it yet. But when it turned out to be pink, I went pink with the rest of my face too!

Snapdragon and Mucha Ado About Nothing are both colors that go with pretty much everything. But they really go with Catticus Finch.

Eyes:

• Hello Waffle Catticus Finch
• Hello Waffle Purrian Gray
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Uzi
• Benefit Stay Don’t Stray in Light/Medium
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Kae Q Snapdragon

I primed my lids and patted Purian Gray, a sparkly almost-white light grey, all over my lids. I used a fluffy angled brush to work Catticus Finch, which I thought would be lavender but was actually mauvey pink, through the entire crease. I swiped the extra across my lower lashline. I used a blending brush to blend out the upper edge of my shadow. I lined my eyes with a shimmery dark grey liner and curled my lashes. I did my usual face stuff and used Mucha Ado About Nothing, a rosy blush that goes with everything, on my cheeks. I applied Snapdragon, a lovely MLBB pink, with a doefoot applicator.

Not much to say about this look. Simple and pretty.

Mars Inspired Look for IMAM Planet Collaboration

Some of us over on r/indiemakeupandmore decided to do a collaboration based on planets. I chose Mars as my planet. Mars is obviously the red planet, and when I think of it, I think of dusty dry red/orange rocks, so I did a mostly matte look with a lot of reds and red orange. I initially did a more avant garde version sans the winged liner, but it was a bit too in your face red without anything to balance it out. So I added some winged liner to make it a touch more wearable. A close up of the eye make up, side by side with an inspiration picture I found when googling Mars. Red glasses for a red planet look! I’m really shocked by just how much the glasses tone things down. Eyes:

• Blackbird Fire Pledge
• Blanche Neige Little Mermaid
• Notoriously Morbid Boca Del Infierno
• Hello Waffle Cortexiphan
• Life’s Entropy Brow Theory in Blonde
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Sephora Collection Outrageous Curl Mascara
• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Dark Brown

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent
• Blackbird Beau

Lips:

• Kae Q Sapodilla
• Kae Q Mango

Before I did my eyes I applied foundation and set it with powder. Then I started my eye make up by applying primer to my entire eye area, including under my lashes. I patted Fire Pledge, a matte red orange, all over my lids, up past my crease. I applied it more heavily down near my lashes and more lightly as I went up. I dabbed what was left on my brush under my lower lashes. Then I used a fluffy angled brush to apply Little Mermaid, a slightly orangey red with a touch of shimmer, to my crease. I used a liner brush to apply Boca Del Infierno, a matte burgundy red, to my upper and lower lashlines. I used a small brush to apply a dot of Cortexiphan, a red satin, to my inner corners, like a highlight except red. I used a fluffy blending brush to blend around the edges of my eyeshadow. I blended out the edges a lot. I applied mascara and was going to leave it at that, but it was a bit too out there so I added brown liquid liner on both my upper and lower lashlines with a small wing at the corner. I filled in my brows as well. For my cheeks I used Beau, a sort of reddish brown matte eyeshadow, and picked a tiny bit up with my contour blush and blended it into my cheeks as a combo blush/contour. Then for my lips I started with a base of Sapodilla, my perfect nude, and dotted Mango, an orangey red, on top and blended them with my fingers.

If you’re interested in seeing what everyone else came up with, you can check out the other planetary looks here.

FOTD: Gold Eyes and Pinky Purple Lips

This is actually another face of the day from yesterday. I wanted to be extra pretty the entire day for my birthday, so this is the make up I did in the morning, and the look I posted yesterday was what I did in the evening, post-shower. I think I saw a look somewhere recently that inspired me to do this, but I don’t remember where. I just knew I wanted gold eyeshadow and pinky purple lips.

I’m almost out of my usual setting powder (MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural), so I did a little experiment to decide if I wanted to replace it or switch to an indie alternative. I did the left half of my face (the right side in the pictures) with Blackbird’s Magic Trick Super Powder, and the right side with MAC (on the left in the pictures). Then I compared the two. I had my husband inspect the two sides up close and he couldn’t tell the difference at all. I thought both sides looked equally nice, but the Blackbird feels a touch nicer on the skin and is an entire 20 dollars cheaper, so Blackbird wins. I’m gonna get a full size of it instead of another pan of the MAC powder.

Obligatory glasses pictures. I think the lip color is really fun with this pair.

Eyes:

• Shiro Perfect World
• Shiro Cake
• Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light (right half)
• Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent (left half)
• Shiro You’re Making Me [blush]

Lips:

• Kae Q Passionflower
• Fyrinnae Visual Kei

This look was pretty simple to pull off. I primed my lids and then patted Perfect World, a light gold, all over. I dotted a tiny bit of Cake, a white with a bit of reddish yellow shimmer, in the inner corner. I lined my eyes with black gel pencil liner, and smudged only the outer corners. Then I curled my lashes and applied mascara. I did my foundation and concealer, but then used two different powders to set it so I could compare them. I used a tiny bit of You’re Making Me, a magenta blush, on my cheeks, which I applied with my contour brush. I didn’t own the right pinky purple shade I wanted for my lips, so I started by applying Passionflower, a lavender, with a doefoot applicator, and then dotted Visual Kei, a bright pink, on top. I used my finger to blend them together until the color was even.

I’m super happy with this look. It was cheery and fun and pretty much exactly what I was going for.

Do you ever do your make up more than once in a day? I definitely do sometimes. Make up’s a hobby for me, so if I have an idea in the afternoon, I have no problem washing my face and doing my make up again.

FOTD: Turquoise and Champagne Birthday Look!

It’s my birthday! So I did a look using all my favorite colors. Champagne and turquoise, together at last. While I love both of them, I think this is the first time I’ve used them together in the same look.

I like it a lot. It reminds me of the gold and turquoise mermaid inspired look I did in my Jupiter Rain post, just done with more skill.

 

Smiley glasses picture! I got cold and put on my jacket and realized I’d unwittingly sort of matched it, with the turquoise and toned down magenta.

 

Eyes:

• Aromaleigh #lovenotfear
• Shiro Maiden Queen
• Hello Waffle JK Meowling
• Shiro Cake!
• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
• Marc Jacobs Highliner in Blacquer
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

• MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• Blackbird Magic Trick Super Powder in Translucent
• Tarte Flush Cheek Stain

Lips:

• Kae Q Sapodilla
• Fyrinnae Sexy Nerd

I started my priming my eyes. Then I applied #lovenotfear over the entire lid using a flat brush. I took a fluffy brush and worked Maiden Queen, a bright greenish turquoise, into the Champagne, starting at the outer corner and ending about 2/3 of the way across. I tried to blend them so there was an even gradient, from turquoise at the outer corner to champagne at the inner corner. Then I used a fluffy angled brush to put JK Meowling, another sparkly greeny turquoise, just a bit darker than Maiden Queen, in the out portion of my crease. I used a clean blending brush to even out the transitions. Then I used a teeny tiny brush to highlight my inner corner with Cake, a shimmery white with yellow and red to its sheen. I lined my upper lashline with liquid liner, winging it out at the end, and my lower lashline with pencil liner. I curled my lashes and put on my favorite mascara. I applied foundation, concealer and powder and dotted a berry cheek stain onto my cheeks and blended it in with my fingers. I highlighted the tops of my cheeks with a pinkish liquid highlighter. For my lips I started with a layer of Sapodilla, a nude that’s pretty close to my skintone. Then I dotted on Sexy Nerd, a magenta with a bit of gold shimmer, and blended them together with my finger.

So that’s it! I’m very happy with it, and I’ve been having a really good birthday so far too!

FOTD: Kae Q Lychee

Since I started wearing indies, my sense of what make up I like and looks good on me has expanded an insane amount. I feel like the make up equivalent of a toddler who claims to like only broccoli but then it turns out actually likes every vegetable ever once she tries them. I’m pretty sure every single thing I thought I didn’t like, I’ve been wrong about. On the list: warm eyeshadows (pinks, oranges, reds, yellows), smoky eyes, cool blush, bold lip colors, super pale lip colors, dark lip colors, setting powder. I feel like now I need to add brown-based lip colors. For the longest time I avoided any lip color with even the tiniest hint of brown. But I feel like this look proves me wrong. Lychee is a browny brick red. Yet I actually like it on me. Not just a little bit. I like it a lot.

 

I like pairing it with the red/orange eyeshadow and warm blush.

Also, I think this look really works with glasses. It makes the lips the focus.

Eyes:

• Backstreets Makeup Co. Nectarine Sheen
• Backstreets Makeup Co. Coraline
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Stila Smudgestick in Stingray
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Tarte Blissful

Lips:

• Kae Q Lychee

This look was pretty straightforward. I primed my lids and applied Nectarine Sheen, a soft peachy color, all over. Then I put a little bit of Coraline, a red orange with glitter, in my crease and blended it in and down towards the middle of my lid. I took what was left on my brush and applied it under my lower lashes. I lined my eyes with black pencil liner and smudged it with a brush. I did my usual face stuff, with a peachy coral blush. I finished by applying Lychee, a brownish brick red beso balm, with a doefoot applicator.

I was talking to one of my internet friends the other day, and she didn’t even realize I wear glasses. But I do! Every single day, in fact. Which it would be very reasonable for you not to know if you read my blog, because I actually take very few pictures of my make up with my glasses on. There are a couple reasons for this. One, I don’t have a very strong prescription, so I do my makeup sans glasses and take pictures before I put them back one. Two, I love eyeshadow and it’s easier to see my eye make up without my glasses. And three, I take my pictures in front of a window and a lot of the time the angles that have the best light also have glare on my lens, which is a pain. Anyways, I actually love my glasses (I’m a proud glasses wearer for sure. As a kid I longed for glasses cuz I thought they looked cool.) so it’s kind of weird that they’re almost entirely erased from my internet presence. To counteract this, I want to take more pictures of my make up while I’m wearing my glasses. I’ve also added a glasses tag, if you’re interested in finding all my glasses wearing pictures all in one place.

Do you wear glasses? Do they affect your make up choices?

FOTD: Lavender Lips

 There was a bright lips thread over at Indie Island of Misfits, so I decided to join in with today’s look. Usually when I think bright lips, I think bold reds, oranges and magentas, but I’ve gotten so much more comfortable wearing those that I decided to do something a little different and went with a bright lavender.

 The pastel base of this seemed very 60s to me, so I decided to do light eyeliner and mascara on my lower lashes ala Twiggy. Except less so, because I am not much of one for lower lash mascara.

Eyes:

• Shiro He Loves His Hammer
• Blackbird Smudge
• Hello Waffle Whale Hello There
• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Cuff
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Sephora Collection Outrageous Curl Mascara

Face:

• MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
• Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in 1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Shiro Potion
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Kae Q Passionflower
• Firebird Strawberry Tangerine lip balm

I started by priming my lids as I always do. Then I patted He Loves His Hammer, a really interesting shimmery reddish pewter, all over my lids. I deepened my crease with Smudge, a matte grey. I put some beneath my lower lashes as well. I lined my upper lids with winged black liquid liner and my lower waterline with sparkly silver pencil liner. I mascaraed both my upper and lower lashes. I finished my eyes with a touch of Whale Hello There, a light cool purple, in the inner corners. I did my foundation, concealer and powder, and put on a layer of Potion, a berry blush. It seemed too cool with the rest of the look so I layered Mucha Ado About Nothing, a warmer rose, on top of it. I started my lips with a layer of my waxiest base lip balm and used a doefoot applicator to smooth a layer of Passionflower, a bright lavender, over the top.

I think this turned out kind of retro and fun. I was a little hesitant that Passionflower wouldn’t work on me, but I actually like it. It’s never going to be an all the time color for me, but I do think it’s fun.

FOTD: The Paper Magician Inspired Look

 I just finished reading The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. I really enjoyed it, so I used it as my inspiration for this look. In the book, Magicians bond to one material, and that’s what they use to cast all of their spells. The main character, Ceony, is training to become a paper magician (a folder) so her spells are folded out of paper, like enchanted origami.

 

 I used a creamy matte white on my lids to represent paper, and a sparkly dark red for blood, which also figures prominently in the book.

Eyes:

• Blackbird Half Full
• Blackbird Modesty
• Hello Waffle Kai
• Darling Girl Superstar Serum
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Buxom Lash Mascara

Face:

• MAC Mineralize Moisture Foundation in NC20
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Kae Q Sapodilla
• Fyrinnae Glamorous Rebel

I started by priming my lids, then I blended Half Full, a matte cream, all over my lid. I worked Modesty, a matte light beige, into the crease. Then I mixed Kai, a sparkly copper red, with superstar serum to make a paste, which I applied with a liner brush. I winged it out at the end and applied a little along my lower lashline as well. I also put on mascara. I applied a different foundation than usual (MAC Mineralize Moisture, which I have a sample of but don’t love) with my usual brush, concealer and powder. I did my cheeks with Mucha Ado About Nothing, a slightly shimmery reddish rose. For my lips I mixed together two different colors. I started by applying a layer of Sapodilla, a nude balm, with a doefoot applicator. Then I put a tiny dot of Glamorous Rebel, a cool toned red, in the middle of each lip and blended it in with my finger, mixing the two colors together.

I really like this look, but I wish I’d used a thinner brush to apply the liner, since the red covers up most of the white, which I’d intended to be the centerpiece of the look. I really like the mix of Sapodilla and Glamorous Rebel, though. I suppose there are easier ways of getting pink lips, but I like this specific color.

Have you read The Paper Magician? Do you ever feel inspired to match your make up to books you like?

FOTD: Colorful Grungy Look

 This was one of those looks that sort of developed as it went. I had no plan when I sat down to do my makeup, but then the bright magenta of Red Shoes caught my eye. From there I added green and purple, but it didn’t quite work until I piled on lots of smudgy black liner. I like the way it looks very dark, but if you catch it at the right angle or see me blink, then there’s actually a lot of bright color.

Of course dark smudgy eyes call for nude lips.

Eyes:

• Hello Waffle Red Shoes
• Hello Waffle Gerda
• Hello Waffle Chinese Puzzle
• Hello Waffle JK Meowling
• Urban Decay Primer Potion
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion
• Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Mars
• Make Up Forever Smoky Extravagant Mascara

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in LIght
• Notoriously Morbid Sadist

Lips:

• Kae Q Sapodilla

I started by priming my lids and then applied Red Shoes, a bright magenta, to the inner half of my lids. I applied Gerda, a shimmery purple, to the outer half, overlapping in the middle. Then I used a fluffy angled brush to layer Chinese Puzzle, a dark green, over the purple in the outer corner. The green wasn’t showing up as much as I liked, so I patted JK Meowling, a shimmery greenish turquoise, over the top, bringing it down and in over the purple. I lined my upper lashes heavily with black pencil liner and smudged it out with a brush. I ran the brush underneath my lower lashes to transfer the liner that was left on the bristles there. I also used the liner on the brush to darken the outer corners, bringing it up slightly into the crease. Then I lined my lower waterline with a shimmery dark green liner. I applied mascara as well. I did my face with foundation, concealer and powder and applied Sadist, a magenta blush, along my cheeks with a contour blush. I blended it in with a clean blush brush. I finished the look with Sapodilla, a nude beso balm that I applied with a doefoot applicator.

I don’t wear grungy messy eyeliner often, but when I do, I always enjoy it. I like pairing it with the colorful shadow. And Sapodilla is my perfect nude lip color. I love it with dark eye looks.

FOTD: Sunshiney Look with Kae Q and Baroque

Baroque and Kae Q, two of my favorite indie brands share an anniversary. Instead of competing with each other, they decided to team up and do a joint sale. Today and tomorrow you can get 20% off at either site with the code SUNSHINE. To kind of dorkily celebrate their anniversaries, I decided to do a sunshine themed look, using Baroque and Kae Q products.

Both shops carry yellow-orange products, and if you by one in a fullsize you get a coupon for the other shop that’s good for the next month (or so? I’m not quite sure). From Baroque, it’s their Kilmt Eastwood blush, which I used on both my eyes and cheeks in this look. From Kae Q it’s Carambola, a sheer lip color.

Eyes:

• Baroque Klimt Eastwood (technically a blush)
• Baroque Walking on Air
• Baroque She Likes My SPARK
• Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner in Intense Black
• Sephora Collection Black Lace Eyeliner
• Urban Decay Primer Potion

Face:

• MAC Face and Body in N1
• Laura Mercier Secret Concealer in 1
• MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Light
• Baroque Klimt Eastwood
• Baroque Mucha Ado About Nothing

Lips:

• Kae Q Mamey

I primed my eyes like always and then I patted Klimt Eastwood, a yellow orange blush, all over my lids. I added Walking on Air, a peachy light orange, to the outer corner, blending it into the yellow and blowing it out a little. I used a liner brush to apply She Likes My SPARK, a shimmery copper orange, below my lower lashes. I used black liquid liner and winged it out for my upper lashline. I used a black pencil liner to lightly line my lower lashes. I actually forgot to apply mascara. Oops. Then I did my foundation/concealer/powder thing. I applied Mucha Ado About Nothing, a reddish rose, to my cheeks. I used a contour brush to apply Klimt Eastwood above it, kind of like a yellow highlighter on the tops of my cheeks, and blended it down to form a slight gradient. I finished off with Mamey, a muted salmon balm, which I applied with a doe foot applicator.

I’m really happy with how this turned out. It’s been grey here for weeks on end (it’s Southern Hemisphere winter, after all), so it was nice to do something cheery and warm.

This post is not in any way sponsored, although I did use a blogger discount on my order from Kae Q. I’m just genuinely a fan of both of these brands and wanted to share! Kae Q’s lip products are very creamy and easy to apply and surprisingly opaque for what’s marketed as a balm. (Although she has added some sheer balms to her summer lineup that I’m interested in trying as well.) And Baroque’s eyeshadow formula is a shimmery, easy to blend delight. Her colors can be a bit on the sheer side for some, but I like it because it makes me feel ethereal and glowy when I wear them.

Have you tried Baroque or Kae Q? Are you planning on picking anything up in either sale?