A makeup of the day post !

Today I have on....

Becca beach tint in "dragonfruit" on my lips and cheeks. 

Nars highlight in "Copacabana."

The random Marilyn Monroe powder from MAC that I forgot I owned.

Bésame soufflé foundation in "bisque"

Benefit Cosmetics they're real liner

Maybelline waterproof cat eyes "colossal volum' express" with Rimmel "scandeleyes" layered on top.

Anastasia brow wiz in "ash blonde," outlined with MAC studio finish NW15 concealer.

And set with my new favorite discovery for my incredibly dry skin: NYX Dewey finish setting spray ! 

My love for Becca products grows with each product I pick up. These beach tints are marvelous and a little really goes a long way. I went in to Sephora to get samples of the highlighters "moonstone" or "pearl," but after being forced into two different awkward conversations with workers, I ended up not realizing that the cashier hadn't put my samples in the bag and gave me some other weird samps instead. LIFE IS HARD. 

Anyway, I mentioned earlier a magic thing I just discovered with the NYX Dewey finish setting spray. Sooooo I don't know if this spray makes me makeup long lasting, but it DOES make me extra dry skin not be flakey and creepy. Despite how much I moisturize there is still a struggle of foundation getting flakey around my chin, but with this guy my skin looks damn good. 

Oh and this extremely fashionable crocheted headbandy thing? I made it. I am grandmas.

Hourglass Cosmetics Cream Lipstain

Although I only bleached and toned my hair this weekend rather than picking a color, I wanted to continue with my cream lipstain reviews !

So next on the list is Hourglass Cosmetics. I talk a little bit more about it in this post, but I also wanted to give it a closer look...

I purchased the color "canvas" after watching a youtube video from one of my favorite youtubers, Cami of CamilovesKiwi. It's the perfect shade of pale pink, and it really does last all day. It isn't too drying, it does stay a touch sticky rather than soft like the NYX stain, but I'm comfortable with that. The wear on this product is amazing, in addition to the fact that it basically doesn't budge. These pictures I took were after six hours of wear and jussssst a touch of crying. Also this was my first attempt at milk maid braids since I've had hair(that wasn't reallllly short, that is,) not so bad. The highlight I have on my cheeks is Watts Up by Benefit Cosmetics. 

My new go-tos and obsession with Bésame

So in my world wide search to find a lipstick that is so dark red it's almost black (with no purple undertones) I came across a brand in Portland called Bésame. And their whole product line has a vintage flair to it that of course I fell head over heels for. With them I found the color "Merlot" that is about as close as I have come to the holy grail. Until I'm able to try Melt Cosmetics 6six6, Merlot takes the lead.

...On a side note, I think I may venture into the creating of my own makeup line to satisfy these color urges and because I am so deeply impressed and inspired by brands like Portland Black Lipstick Company. I already have a name for it, but I'm going to keep that a surprise for now... 

Anyway, last weekend I made a quick trip to Southern California where I hung out with my twin, bleached my roots, and hunted down the Bésame shop in Burbank. I picked up the Crimson cheek and lip Rouge, as well as their foundation (which I think was way cheaper than 38 dollars at the shop...) and their limited edition Black Liquorice Lip that smells and tastes like black liquorice. Also pictured is the Violet Brightening face powder, and my Valentine's Day gift from my twin, the "You Suck" makeup bag! The Violet Brightening powder is a loose powder, that I'm slightly regretting purchasing as I realize I am absolutely rubbish when it comes to actively using anything I buy that is loose powder. Naturally though, when I purchased it in Portland, there wasn't a pressed version, and of course now there is..

So my basic go-to routine now includes mostly Bésame products and lighter brows. I finally found a brow product that I don't feel like eventually oxidizes and turns green. Now, that whole obnoxious green thing may have been all in my head, but here's a list of products that I thought made them a little green: dipbrow pomade in "blonde," wet n wild brow/liner pencil in "taupe," and unfortunately Make Up Forever's aqua brow. The product that I have been using, I bought from the Pinup Clothing Boutique, also in Burbank, and it is the color "Blondie" by Brett Freedman. They had an even lighter color called "Blondest" but I felt like it fell into the green brow category, which was unfortunate.

Now here's a lil' list of all the products I'm wearing in this last photo:

• Bésame "bisque" foundation. It has a delightful satin finish that you can set with powder if you are feeling the matte groove that has taken over.
• Bésame Crimson cheek and lip Rouge, on both my lips and my cheeks. Maybe it is because I work for Benefit where the Benetint cheek and lipstain revolutionized the world (obviously,) but I find it ever so flattering when ones cheeks happen to have the same flush as ones lips.
• Sephora brand liquid liner. Now this is a serious love affair that I have searched far and wide for, it ties with MAC's liquidlast liner for liquid liner's that have changed my life. It is by far the deepest black I have come across in liquid liner's, and, now this is important, it is the non waterproof version with the precision brush. Gets very precise and comes off easy. (pro-tip, precision brushes will be precise and non waterproof things will come off easy...)
• Brett Freedman's Vanity Mark Brow pencil in Blondie.
• Lash Curler I bought for two dollars at Daiso that is better than the Shiseido lash curler I bought (Shi is still a close second.)
• The Maybelline waterproof colossal lash mascara that really was a game changer for me.
• Classic BADgal lash by Benefit layered on top!

Seven products, not so bad! However that doesn't include all the moisturizers and sunblocks and eyecreams and whatnots that I certainly have on underneath it all. Benefit is coming out with a sunscreen that I am all too stoked on and so when that drops I will dedicate an entire post to my skin care routine.

Highlighters for Fair Skin

So, when I say I'm "fair," what I mean is I'm pale. Very pale. Having to mix white pigment into most foundations in order to make them work.

This post was inspired by an Instagram back and forth between one of the beautiful women I follow @cherryvixen89 and myself, where she posted a question asking about highlighters for the fairer flesh. And I proceeded to probably overwhelm her with my response, but hopefully it wasn't too overwhelming. 

I love highlighters. Since I've been employed with Benefit Cosmetics for almost three years now, this affinity has just grown. I came into this job with my favorite product, ever, being a pretty little highlighter called High Beam. So in honor  of Instagram and @cherryvixen89 and highlighter lovers everywhere, here is a post about my favorites!

On my arm(left side, with flash, right side without, and going left to right/top to bottom) I swarched Nars "Copacabana," Benefit Cosmetics "High Beam," also by Benefit (and a tie for my absolute favorite,) "Watts Up" (other tie for favorite,) Too Faced's "Candlelight Glow," one of my very first pieces of makeup ever, MAC mineralized skin finish in "Porcelain Pink," and last but not least, a forever favorite and now discontinued high-lighter, bronzer duo by Benefit "10." (Also pictured is Benefit's "One Hot Minute" loose powder bronzer)

Creamy liquid base:

Nars "Copacabana" is very similar in both texture and color to Benefit's "High Beam." Copacabana is a bit more of a liquid and High Beam a bit more of a gel with a slightly thicker texture. Both are great when you need a buffer to blend a cheek stain, my current favorite being Lollitint, into. Copacabana definitely dries more silver and High Beam more pink. 

Cream-to-powder:

Watts Up by Benefit. Cream to powder stick. A soft champagne color. Gorgeous on almost all skintones, so easy to use. Has a blendy sponge on one side if you don't feel like blending with your fingers, because that's crazy... 

Powder:

Generally, when I'm doing a full face of makeup on someone and I want to add a bit of highlight, I find powder to be the easiest to work with. You just sorta throw it on le face with a brush and you don't have to really worry about the application. Whereas with a more liquid base, you sorta have to press it on so as not to smudge off the face you just made. 

Anyway!

Two Faced, "candlelight glow" is radiant. It has a bit of a gold finish, one side is white and one side is pink, but it is nowhere near to a rosey blush. This was basically everything I was looking for. I wanted a damn powder highlighter that didn't have a bronzer attached. 

"Porcelain Pink" skinfinish by MAC was honestly one of the first makeup purchased I ever made, outside of lipsticks. I was led to this product, about ten years ago (yikes) by someone I ghost-followed on livejournal, who is still one of my favorite bloggers Keiko, who I still stalk, ten years later, on http://www.keikolynn.com if you aren't already following her, I suggest it. She's pretty famous now, but still sweet and humble. Anyway! I think the product she used was called "petticoat"(maybe?) and as I've always been more of a highlighter gal than a bronzey gal, I gravitated towards porcelain pink instead. Now, she is very very subtle, a very very soft pink that is a wonderful first piece of face makeup! It definitely has a warmer tone to it, in my professional opinion. 

And last but not least, Benefit Cosmetic's now discontinued "10." Powder soft silvery pink on one side, and a VERY VERY light bronzer on the other. To quote Benefit, "a highlighter and bronzer in one sexy swoop!" 

Next on my blog to do list is a post on bronzers and how to contour fairer skin without looking dirty! However I always just want to find a bronzer that is grey so that I may have Lilly Munster cheekbones! 

Lollitint

Thank you benefit cosmetics, you hit one out of the park with this new tint!

Lollitint is benefit cosmetics new cheek and lipstain, it happens to be that amazing color that was all over fashion week as well as Pantone's color for 2014, RADIANT ORCHID!! Yes, it was completely necessary for me to capitalize that!

So this stain is gel based, so I feel like it wears better than Benetint, however if you are wearing it on your cheeks, it is best to blend it into a highlighter so that you aren't left with casual color blotches on your cheeks. My personal favorite highlighters to blend it with are Benefit's Watts Up, a champagne colored cream to powder stick you can smear on your face (and I do love the ease of smear technique,) and Nars copacabana illuminator. The latter of which I am wearing in the photo of me. I also accidentally dyed my hair purple this week...

brows, coral, and Dita Von Teese, oh my !

A post about a few of my favorite things...

So many people may know of my wild obsession with eye brows. How I use both a pencil and a wax and powder to create them. I recently tried an Anastastia brow pencil, the perfect brows one, and it is quite special. My favorite brow thing is always going to be Benefit Cosmetics "browzings."

Well! Benefit is coming out with a tinted brow gel with fibers. Soooooooo! You are welcome for the heads up for possibly my new favorite brow thing ever. Yeee!

On another note, a fancy clothing note, I managed to talk myself into getting a couple pieces from Wheels and Dollbaby, most notably their Dita cardigan. (Cue the  shock and awe music) 

And in coral. Might I add I REALLY love coral right now. I may even add it to my classic and forever favorites of ballerina pink and black. 

So maybe that sweater was a million dollars, but I adore it to death and you can truly feel the quality. Oh and it was designed by Dita Von Teese. No big deal. 

I also decided to invest in the "le fox" angora sweater which I would swim and sleep and just live in if I could. Unfortunately it really isn't possible to wear both the dita cardi and the "le fox" at the same time, but ya never know.....      

Can I also zero in on how awesome this model's hair is. And I would like to just put it out there that I am REALLY going to TRY to grow out my hair this time.

GROWWWWW!!

Oh, also I love Pacey Witter!

TEAM PACEY!!!

(I love television)

A little serious post

Sometimes I need someone to remind me of my worth.

Most of the time I am able to detect what is really about them rather than me, but sometimes I need a little reminder of this.

It is hard to be a girl. One of the bloggers I look up to is thugxwife from her tumblr of that name (http://thugxwife.tumblr.com/) she is a wolf-goddess-mermaid who speaks honestly and eloquently. She stands by her opinions and isn't afraid to prove ignorant people wrong (and they so very often are.) I've taken a lot from her posts, mode recently her opinions on the term "girl crush" and how homophobic it really is.

Anyway, I hope to one day have the confidence that she does. And I hope to one day feel as comfortable in my body as she does. She is gorgeous and intelligent as just so very admirable.

All that aside, recently I have made a lot more jewelry (goldenhair madness designs) and people truly love it. It is hard for me to take compliments, and then post them, but they really have. 

I got more moths added to my old one, and that makes me feel more powerful.

I feel like I am more than competent in my knowledge of vintage, as I worked with it for years, as well as with my makeup skills. The latter I know I can always improve on and the former I would always love to receive formal training on. 

It is hard when someone doesn't understand what you do, and due to their misconceptions they belittle you. 

I need to work up my nerve a little more and not allow others to determine for me how much I matter. 

Your job as a surgeon does not make you any more of a human than me. My job doesn't save lives, but it allows me to embrace and even make a living off of art. Along with that, is the gratification of making another person feel more confident in themselves; more comfortable in her (and sometimes his) body. 

So yes, this is my full time job. 

And to balance things out, I'm going to post a few photos of my jewelZz. I use antique pocket watches and in the bodies I put crystals, dried flowers, occasionally feathers, and something special and/or spooky (Knuckle bones of wolves, shark teeth, assorted animal claws...)

And here are the moths 

Sister Turquoisehair

So, I'm ever so sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this blog. I'd like to say that I've been busy, but it really doesn't seem like I have. Just a whole lotta bad things, mixed with a whole lotta good things. Not a lot of in between time, and if there is, you bet your buttons you would find me napping.

All that aside, I'm here to discuss Benefit Cosmetic's new line of eyeshadows and a little more of my makeup routine, and just briefly how I've found THE ONE in regards to lipstains.

So in these photos I am wearing two of Benefit's new cream shadows: "blue my mind" and "holy smokes" and on top I am using their "magic ink" liner, which I've oddly grown very fond of. As for mascara I'm still using that leopard print one. My brows are done with Benefit's "browzings" which is my second favorite Benefit product and the one product I could probably not live without..




For my complexion I'm wearing my face armor. LORAC full coverage liquid foundation and MAC's full coverage studio fix powder.

An aside... Although my breakouts have become under control, my face is now red and blotchy from scars :( for that, I spent a million dollars on this product by Dr. Gross that has retinol in it. Which I am very pleased to say is working wonders.

As for cheeks, I've fallen in love with a product called "candlelight glow" by Two Faced. This is really something I've been looking for for a long time. A powder highlighter and blush duo. Most makeup people know that generally ALL highlighters seem to come equipped with a bronzer. And, frankly, that ain't what I want. Unless the bronzer is whatever contour Lilly Munster uses. So to find a powder highlighter of this nature has pleased me greatly. And the blush side is still mostly just a different shade of highlighter. On top of that, I throw on some Super Orgasm.

The lips are Firm Form by MAC. And NYX eyeliner used as a lipliner. I swoon over these lips.

Oh and yes, my hair is currently turquoise. And the cut (I was aiming for a blue Louise Brooks) done by my lovely friend Kris. She nailed it.

Oh and the cream lipstain that is... The one... Is the Lip Maestro by Armani..  Expect me to eventually post something entirely on how awesome that is.

What's in my makeup bag!

Now, keep in mind this is excluding lipsticks.

First I would like to give thanks to my favorite makeup bag, the 'Gabby" bag by Benefit Cosmetics. It has pockets for brushes. Pockets. For brushes. And if you've ever had the pleasure of using brushes with your makeup you will understand how lovely this addition is. And if you don't use brushes, you should probably start.




So this is being told in the order in which I put my makeup on...



(After moisturizing..)







I start with my eyes. I have MAC's "painterly" paint pot as my base.

The shadows I keep with me are MAC's  "phloof!" "copperplate" and "naked lunch." Naked Lunch is easily one of my favorite shadow colors. It is a soft nude with some shimmer... so simple and so lovely. There really is no reasoning behind the other colors I have chosen to carry with me..




  I carry around three different types of eyeliner, all very necessary. Two are by MAC: their "liquid last" liner, which stays on like nothing I have ever seen before. And my general favorite; blacktrack fluidline gel liner. And last but certainly not least, Benefit's waterproof badgal pencil liner. I love this liner because it will stay in my upper waterline. Which is quite spectacular.

Then, time for zee lashes. So I have a small confession.. In addition to my lipstick addiction, I also am a ridiculous connoisseur of mascara's. What I'm using right this minute is Maybelline's "the colossal volum' express." But I always curl my lashes with my shiseido lashcurler. Definitely my favorite lash curler, even compared to the shumemora one.

So the issue with my lashes is they tend to stick straight out. So my goal is always to find a mascara that does not weigh them down, and right now this is hands down the winner.

I also carry around some very important GLITTER. Because I freakin love glitter. Urban Decay's heavy metal called "midnight cowboy," a lovely gold liner. And LORAC's "3D liquid lustre" which is pretty much liquid glitter you can put wherever. I tend to use it as an eyeshadow but it is in a cute little bottle with a little tincture and so very very versatile.

 Onto another obsession... Eyebrowz. So my general look is blonde hair, red lips, and dark brows. So I carry around three different products solely for my brows. First ! All time favorite: Benefit's "browzings" in deep. It is a wax and powder. The wax gives the brows their shape, and allows something for the powder to adhere to. Then you throw on the powder and you've got yourself some brows! Then I have MAC's brow pencil on "stud" that I use to get a really sharp line for under my brows, this I also sometimes use to draw on a fake mole (shhhh, secretsss.) And a newby to my collection: Makeup For Ever's "waterproof eyebrow corrector" Now this is an interesting one. This is a gel for the brows. And I am still trying to get the hang of it, because it can be purrrrfect, or completely tragic. For people who actually have brows this probably wouldn't be an issue.

Now for da face! Right now I've been using Givenchy's "photo'perfexion" as my foundation, which blends beautifully but gives medium coverage. My skin is still in a state of recovery, so when I'm out of this I think I will try out this oil free foundation by "LORAC" that my coworker uses. And by that I mean we only use Benefit products all the time and stuff. Then I throw some of MAC's "studio fix" powder on top. And if I'm feeling particularly tired or broken out, I use Stila's "perfecting concealer"

Cheeky time! One of my favorite times :) I'm currently packing NARS "super orgasm" as my blush. Always a beautiful color. And constantly I have (well mini versions) of the tie for my favorite Benefit product: "high beam" and "watts up" both fantastic highlighters. Because I like to look luminous rather than bronzey, as I am the palest person in the world.

Others: I have quite the collection of mini things from Benefit: all three cheek and lipstains: cha cha (coral,) posie(pinky) and the classic benetint(rosy.) I also have "sun beam" a beautiful bronzey highlighter that looks absolutely beautiful on everyone except for me and "stay don't stray," which is a fantastic shadow primer.







And once again, keep in mind this is excluding lipsticks. Because I carry like ten hundred with me at all times. And they are all completely necessary.