New Skin Care Regime

For years I thought my skin was oily because I have visible pores in the cheeks, nose and chin. Then, I started getting red, scaly bits around my mouth, chin, nose and eyes. Turns out my skin is dehydrated and very sensitive. Who would have thought? So, I took my dermatologist's advice (Dr. Erikson, I love you) and started only washing my face when I wore makeup, or it felt like it really needed it. In the shower I use a pea-sized amount of Vaseline to massage my face -- and it has done wonders for my skin. No more scrubs for me! No more glycolic acid either. I was one of those people who did *too* much for my skin and paid the price.

But, I am a skin care and makeup junkie, so it wasn't long before I started looking for new skin care. I used to love Origins, but the fragrance irritates my skin. So sad! I even tried Cetaphil, but the sodium laurel sulfate hates me. Then, I tried Paula's Choice. So far, I'm really liking it. The cleanser is so gentle, but removes most makeup (I need extra help with mascara), and the BHA lotion evens out my skin without irritating. Best of all, the SPF moisturizer doesn't sting when I put it on! So, if you're like me and closer to 40 than you are to 30, with dry skin that still occasionally breaks out, you may want to check out Paula's Choice. She's the same woman who wrote 'Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me.' I was iffy because she reviews her own stuff (and of course says it's good!) but I'm really pleased.

FYI -- I'm not affiliated with Paula's Choice and I wasn't asked to review their products. I simply went to them as someone who needed gentle products with no fragrance and no irritating ingredients.

Dramatic Makup

Here's my gorgeous friend Amie, who let me doodle on her face for an assignment. The goal was to pick a color scheme and do the entire face in it. As you might be able to see from the background, I used gold, black and bronze for my colors.

Amie has a lovely, warm complexion. I used Chanel Vitalumiere in 40 on the face, with a MAC NW25 concealer. I brushed her brows but didn't fill them in as I wanted the eyes and lips to be the focus.

On her eyes I used micas I purchased from TKB Trading, over a base of Urban Decay Potion Primer (original). I lined the eye with Clinique gel liner and went over it with Carbon shadow from MAC. The false eye lashes are from Ardene, and I applied L'oreal Voluminous mascara to top and lower lashes.

The cheeks, forehead and sides of the nose were dusted with a bronzer. Then, I used a bit of a black eyeliner on the lips, and followed with a touch of Tarred Lip Tar from Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics. Over that I pressed a bit of gold-bronze mica -- just to the center of the lip. Using the Lip Tar thinned down (I didn't shake the tube to disperse pigment) allowed some of her natural lip color to come through, adding a warmth to the lip, and kept it from looking too goth.

The tattoo is a temporary one from Temptu that I applied to the skin and then went over with an eyeliner pen and a little gold mica for added dimension and warmth.

I'm really pleased with how the look turned out!

Smokey Eyes and Lip Tars

My nephew accused me of having had plastic surgery when he saw this photo. I guess I should take it as a compliment. lol.

This was for a smokey eye assignment. I used mostly wines and purples. It looked much darker than this in person, but that's what happens when you use a flash.

I used Chanel Vitalumiere in 40 on my face, and MAC studio finish concealer in NW 20 mixed with a little eye cream under the eyes. Over that I applied Benefit's Powderflage.

The lip color is a mix of Lip Tars that I unfortunately don't remember.

I like how it turned out. I just wish the eyes showed up better in the photo.

Is it Spring yet?

In honor of sunny days and warm feet, I convinced my good friend M to let me try this look on her. It was the first time I ever worked on Asian features, so I'm fairly impressed with how it turned out. I managed to match her skin tone perfectly with some Kryolan cream foundation, and the false lashes really bring out her pretty eyes. Her lips are my fave, though. She's blessed with wonderfully full lips so they were easy to work with. I totally ripped the look from Petrilude (he did it quite a while back) and I love it. I used MAC 'Nightmoth' lipliner to line the lip and fill in the corners, then used OCC's Lip Tars in Katrica, Anime and Safety Orange. The blue wig and hair clip are mine, but they look so much cuter on her!

Kat Von D 'Adora' Palette

I haven't blogged in forever because of some life changing events that have taken place since November. However, I'm now enrolled in a makeup class and want to start getting more active with the blog. So, here are a couple of pictures of a casual evening look I did using the Kat Von D 'Adora' palette.

I primed my lid with Urban Decay Shadow Insurance and then smudged 'Bloodletting' from the palette over my lid and into the crease. I highlighted my brow with 'Albino' then blended 'Glock' into the crease and up the brow bone a bit. I added a little extra on the outer 'v' for a bit more depth. On the lid I used 'Holy Bible' on the lid. I lined the upper lash line with a pen black eyeliner, then put some 'Glock' under the lower lashes. I went over the top line with 'Ace of Spades' and brushed a little of that underneath as well. Then I curled my lashes and used L'oreal Voluminous mascara in black.

Here's the finished look:

I'm fairly pleased with how it turned out, though my cheeks look a little pale in this photo. I could have done a little contouring and highlighting, but I was in a hurry and it was just a casual get together with friends. I'm just pleased that my eyes don't look dark underneath as I've been having a hellacious time with dark circles as of late.

For foundation I used M.A.C. Studio Tech in NW20. I have no idea what lipstick that is -- I think it's Celebutarde by Kat Von D as well.
Notice that my eyebrows are a good match to my hair. Yay me!

Anyway, I'm totally in love with the Kat Von D eye shadows. I bought the Ludwig palette as well and they're two of my favorite kits. The shadows are very creamy and pigmented with minimal fall out. They blend like a dream! I'm also very impressed with the lipsticks from this line. I bought a limited edition collection of minis and love each color. There's not one that I wouldn't wear. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like this collection are available now, which is too bad.

Halloween

I had no idea what to be this Halloween. Actually, I did but then the wig didn't fit my fat head and I was left trying to figure things out. I wanted to play with makeup, but I knew my time would be limited as I was helping out a friend with a drag look for that evening and wanted to give him as much time as I could.

The look on the left is my before photo.

Just joking -- obviously. This look is what I ended up with. I'm not totally in love with it because it could have been better if I'd planned it. But, I'm okay with it for a home party kind of look. I could have done a better job on the stitching by the mouth, and if I'd thought ahead of time, could have used latex or other special effects to make it look more like scarring.

No one noticed I drew those arched brows on either, which makes me wonder if perhaps my natural ones aren't too pointy!

The lens came from a place in Britain and it was the first time I'd ever worn one. It was surprisingly easy, and was perhaps the best part of the costume as it really unsettled some of my friends. Anyway, it was a lot of fun!

Making Lipstick

Last week I made 8 lipsticks. Yes, 8. I was like a woman obsessed with blending color. I'm not sure if I'll even wear one of them, but it sure is a pretty color.

Now, you can make lipstick a couple of different ways. You can find a recipe online to make it from scratch, or you can buy a kit. If you're new to the DIY cosmetic thang, or if you don't want to be bothered with the extra work, buy a kit. TKB Trading actually sells a couple of them.

I bought the Melt and Pour Kit which comes with premade colors and base, along with micas and other additives. TKB has a video on their site on how to make lipstick using the kit. You can order pots from them as well. Or, if you're really adventurous, or a makeup nut like I am, you can buy a small lipstick mold so that you have professional looking sticks. And TKB sells tubes to put the lipstick in as well. So does DIY Cosmetics. Both sites sell other bases, and tons of makeup-related items. Don't blame me if you spend a fortune!

To make lipstick, you simply melt your base and color together. Or, you can melt the base and add liquid lip color while it's still warm. Liquid color is colorant suspended in castor oil. Now, if you use these colorants, you might want to add a little extra beeswax to the base as the extra castor oil will make the lipstick softer. Also, only use shimmery mica if you want a shimmer to the color, otherwise, use a matte mica or dye. Be careful with these -- make sure they're lip safe.

I'm not going to describe the whole process in detail. Check out EnKore's how-to videos for a painless demonstration on how it's done.