Fables in Fashion

I found a promo photo from the MAC Feline collection (released in USA, not Australia, disappointed but not surprised!), and knew I had to at least give it a shot! It would also be a good excuse to use my green eyeshadows, a group of shades I generally neglect

I wasn’t actually aiming to –look- like a cat, instead I wanted my photos to give off a “cat” like feel. You know, the sneaky, stealth like nature. I tried to achieve this through primarily via the lighting, I spent a lot of time playing around with how the lights were positioned. Again, just using my two cheapo Ikea lamps. I do these shoots completely on my own, so it involves a lot of “pose, hit the remote, check camera, rise and repeat”. Usually I’ll hook up my laptop to make it easier, but the poor thing decided to crash during this shoot >_<

How to reproduce:

Face
This was going to be a quick look, so I decided to skip the primer and go straight into Revlon’s ColorStay in Sand Beige and concealed with Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer in Beige. Skipped the powder since I wanted that creamy / dewy look. But I would certainly use powder if I was to wear this out and for longer.

Cheeks
To get my cheeks to pop, I applied Giorgio Armani’s Sheer Blush in 3 to the hollows of my cheeks, then NARS Albatross to all my high points.

Eyes
Primed my eyes with MAC’s Paint in Bare Canvas, applied MAC’s Eyeshadow in Goldmine to the inner half of my lid, then Tempting to the remaining half. Blend together. On the crease I applied Swimming, and on the outer corner I used Humid. Blending is key for this look! I dusted some NARS Albatross to my brow bone.

I lightly lined my eyes with MAC Technakohl Liner in Graphblack, curled my lashes and applied one coat of L’Oreal’s Telescopic Mascara in Black.

Next I applied my false lashes. I prefer using lashes with a clear lash line, they just appear more natural to me (though are a tad more expensive).

You’ll notice the last 2 photos are different, as I attempted to try cat like eye brows on myself. I think they ended up looking more like “waves” than anything organic, but hey! It’s a first shot lol, and learning is what the lookbooks are all about! I used Lancome’s Le Crayon in Poudre Mahogany. I know I said it last lookbook, but man I really need a darker brow liner! Just can’t seem to find any that match my shade

Lips
Lined the outside of my lips with MAC Concealer in NC20, and applied NYX’s Round Lipstick Iced Lavender direct from the tube.

Pros:

• Great pigmentation
• Easy to use elegant packaging
• Easy to obtain
• Array of wearable colours

Cons:

• Limited colours (nothing overly unique)
• Texture can vary between colours

Price: $16.95AU

Where: Priceline, Coles, Woolsworth, Chemists etc

Currently, this is my favourite non-high end lipstick, the packaging is what caught my eye initially as it reminds me of Lancome products.

That aside, the quality of this product is lovely, it may not be as creamy as say YSL’s Rouge Volupte, but given the price point, some of the formulas are pretty close. I say some because for example, Pink Sand is a more frost finish and tends to feel a tad drier than Pink Please, which is a delightfully pigmented cream matte. That said, I would still recommend applying some lip balm first.

Throughout the day (including snacking and lunch) I’d say I would need to reapply this maybe 1-2 times after the initial morning application.

As mentioned above, the texture, finish and pigmentation varies from colour to colour. My least favourite finishes are the ones with frost, as the colour pay off tends to be lighter and less consistent. I tried my best to swatch the ones I currently own to hopefully give you a better idea as to what I mean:

In general, I would definitely recommend you try these out in person and avoid buying online if you can. As you can see, there is a big difference between the swatches and actual product, so try first. These lipsticks are great for everyday / general purpose. However, if you’re a costumer / makeup “artist” (I use the term lightly because I’m not an actual makeup artist, but as you can see from my lookbooks, I like to create art with makeup), I’d be keener on a wider range of colours. So I tend to only use these for work / outings etc.

So if you’re looking for good quality non-high end lipsticks, I would highly recommend these! You won’t be disappointed (In fact I need to purposely avoid walking past a Maybelline display every time I do my weekly Priceline run else I may end up drowning in these!)

Since seeing a similar look online (but with silver diamonds), I knew I had to give this look a shot. It’s not as polished as I had hoped it would be, but I suspect that is in part due to my lack of photo shopping.

Gluing the gems on was obviously the most time consuming part. And I couldn’t eat or drink anything, so I made sure to do the lips last! The eyes were purposely left with a “soft’ smokey look, as I wanted the attention to go right to my lips. Other than that, hope you enjoy

How to reproduce:

Face
Apply some MAC Prep & Prime all over the face after washing and moisturising your face. Then I applied Revlon’s ColorStay in Sand Beige, the coverage is great! Unfortunately this particular shade is a touch too dark for me, I think I may need to mix it with a lighter foundation. (Though you probably can’t tell since my lighting is very strong). Conceal dark circles, redness and blemishes with Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Beige (this is my favourite concealer, I need to review it!). I chose not to seal with powder for a dewy look.

Cheeks
To achieve higher cheekbones, I applied MAC’s Blush in Azalea just under the apples of my cheek, then NARS Albatross on the apples of my cheeks, forehead, bridge of nose, jaw line and chin.

Eyes
Prime eyelids with MAC Studio Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ in NC20, then I used NYX’s Winter in Moscow palette to create the smokey eye look. I unfortunately don’t know the name of the colours I used, but basically I used a lighter shimmery shade for my lid, a medium shimmer for my crease and a dark matte grey for the outer corner of my eye. I used the white shadow for the inner corner of my eye and brow bone.

Lined my upper and lower lash line with MAC Technakohl Liner in Graphblack, curled my lashes and applied 1 coat of L’Oreal’s Telescopic Mascara in Black.

I extended my brows using Lancome’s Le Crayon in Poudre Mahogany. My brows are naturally very dark, so I’m thinking I may need to get a darker brow pencil for the brows to appear more seamless.

Lips
Lined and filled in my lips using Savvy by DB’s Lip Liner in Poppy. Then using DUO lash glue, and a pack of small red gems I picked up from Riot, one by one glue each gem to my lips. I started by creating an outline first, then filling them in, much time later, done!

Shimmering Slate, Illuminating Indigo, Glistening Green, Brilliant Bronze, Pearlescent Plum

Pros:

• Fantastic price
• Very pigmented
• Smooth application
• Strong staying power

Cons:

• Can flake off under warm water
• Sharpening can be messy

Price: $7.95AU

Where: Priceline

One of the problems with reading primarily American / British beauty blogs is that half the products they talk about, I can’t easily test / try out without buying it online (and even that can present it’s own set of obstacles). So when I made my weekly voyage into Priceline, I was talking to one of the SA about trying to find a creamy pencil liner that doesn’t budge. She recommended this.

Saavy by DB is a local brand, made in Germany, but distributed within Victoria (state loyalty!)

What I loved most about this liner is how it glides on my lids, absolutely no tugging at all (a personal pet peeve of mine, looking at you NYX pencil eye liners ). The colour pay off is amazing, exactly how it appears on the pencil. It goes on very creamy, and after about 20 seconds it dries and is almost impossible to budge. I wear mine to work, 14 hours later, you will notice hardly any wear.

And the best part is how cheap it is! The average MAC liner is around $30 – 35ish, so these are amazing! In fact after trying out the black, I had to go back and buy every colour, I’m a bit of a collector at heart. I also have Glitzy Gold, but unfortunately forgot to include it in the photos

My only complaint would be sharpening them, I personally haven’t done so yet (a little goes a long way), but given how soft and creamy the colour is, I think you could run into quite a bit of wastage during sharpening. Still, for $8, totally worth it

P.S: Since discovering Savvy by DB, I thought it would be cool start a Local Luxe series and include more local / Australian makeup brands on my blog So I will try my best to hunt them down, try them out and let you guys know whether they measure up Feel free to recommend brands if you know of any!

I was aiming for an innocent, sweet yet dark look for this entry. I’m… still not sure I completely hit the mark, but I think I came close. Altering the shape of my brows really pulled it all together. This is the wig I have set aside for some future Yuffie cosplay, and I love how it looks on me. Makes me ALMOST tempted to cut my hair this short, though I can see my partner freaking out already.

I’ve become so addicted to playing around with my “studio” lights (I say “studios” because all I’m really using are two $20 lamp shades from Ikea lol). See how different the feel of the four smaller photos are compared to the middle photo? and all I did was move closer to the camera by a few inches! Amazing After Manifest, I will probably get a couple more lights to see what else I can come up with

Instead of just listing the products I used, I’ve decided to turn them into tutorials instead. Hopefully people will find them to be a lot more useful

How to reproduce:

Face
Apply 2 pumps of Revlon Photo Ready in Shell all over the face, don’t forget to blend into neckline. Conceal dark circles, redness and blemishes with Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer in Beige. Then seal with a light dusting of MAC Select Sheer / Loose in NC15.

Eyes
Prime eyelids and around the eyes with NYX Eyeshadow Base in 02 (pearl white). Apply a liberal amount of NYX’s Eyeshadow in Rust all over the lid with a focus on the crease, wing out to the side and apply under the eyes as well. Apply NYX’s Eyeshadow in Prune just above your crease, blend well. Next using MAC’s Technakohl Liner Graphblack, line 2/3 of your upper and lower lash line, including your waterline. Then extend the liner to create a wing like effect. Use MAC’s Eyeshadow in Carbon to re-trace these lines and smudge it out, then use it to go over the crease with a wet brush to intensify the look. Remember to wing out your eyeshadow. Add some MAC’s Eyeshadow in White Frost to your brow bone and inner corner of your eye.

Curl your lashes, and apply two coats of Covergirl Lash Blast in Very Black.

For the brows, brush them out, then shape them using your concealer. I flatted my eyebrows by concealing the “high points”. Then extended them to align with my eyeshadow with Lancome’s Le Crayon in Poudre Mahogany. Apply a coat of clear gel if your brow hairs need to be set.

Lips
Prime my lips with any matte, non-greasy lip balm. Then outline and fill in my lips with NYX’s Jumbo Lip Pencil in Vixen. I use a lip brush for precision. Finish off with a liberal amount of Chanel’s Aqualumiere Gloss in 17.

Last cook off, after slaving in the kitchen I felt I needed a bit of a pick me up. I didn’t want to try anything too heavy, thought I’d go for a very very light smokey look (1 lid and 1 crease colour). Unfortunately right now my skin has decided to betray me and my eczema is taking over the areas around my eyes (hard to tell in the photo, much more obvious close up), which meant using liner on my upper lids was out of the question

But I saw it has an opportunity to use my individual false lashes to add a kick of glam to my look Not only do they make my lashes look longer, they fake liner too~ I’ll never get sick of using them!

Usually, I sketch out my look books before I try them out, I also plan time in my schedule to shoot them. Not this look, I came home one night and felt rather inspired to play around with my individual false lashes. Glued one by one and the look just grew from there. Very “organic”.

I think this is one of my favourite looks thus far, it’s very simple yet still quite dramatic! This look has officially gotten me addicted to individual false lashes, I promise I will have to post up a tutorial eventually

Also I wanted to note, I didn’t use any eyeliner on my upper lash line, so all that is thanks to these amazing lashes!

Products used:

Face
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 PA+ Sand
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Light Medium
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Beige

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NARS Highlighter Albatross

Eyes
MAC Paint Pot Painterly
MAC Eyeshadow Naked Lunch
MAC Eye Kohl Facinating
Ylure Individual Lashes Medium
1000 Hour Individual Lashes Short
Covergirl Lash Blast Very Black

Lips
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ NC20
MAC Lip Pencil Cherry
YSL Lip Twins 7C

Pros:

• Good way to store your brushes
• Maintains brush shape

Cons:

• Can damage brushes whilst traveling
• Brushes take longer to dry

Price: $5.50US Variety Pack

Where: The Brush Guard

I first discovered these via some popular makeup gurus on YouTube thanks to some sponsored competition / event. Nothing similar existed in the market at the time (not sure about now?), and I figured I’d give it a go.

They are definitely an interesting asset to my brush storage regime, but certainly not the HG the youtube videos made them out to be. They are certainly useful in storing brushes at home whilst not in use, or for drying. But perhaps I dry my brushes too effectively? When I store them upside down to dry, not a single drop of water appears at the bottom of my cup, which makes me think I probably could do without the brush guard and let my brushes dry on their side. I’ve been using my brushes for a couple of years now using this technique, and no issues thus far. In that sense, it’s more a nice to have, than a need.

Keep in mind, when you do dry them in this manner, especially for the thicker brushes, it can take quite a bit longer. For example, my 109 MAC brush took about 2 days to dry, as opposed to under a day / over night when on it’s side.

One thing I wouldn’t do is use them for traveling if you store your brushes in a bag. The brushes will tend to move around, and my bristles become lodged in the netting of the brush guard. After the 12 hour flight, when I pulled my brushes out I found quite a few bristles bent backwards So for travel, stick to something that doesn’t contain netting, or if you insist on using the brush guard, keep your brushes in a brush roll to stop them from moving around.

Overall I don’t regret purchasing this product, but I most likely won’t be repurchasing once mine are worn out.

Inspired by an advertisement board for Napoleon Perdis I found at my local Chemist The colours were so vibrant, it instantly reminded me of the Rosella painting I have hanging in my study room.

I’m pretty fond of the drama behind this look, if I had a wig I think it would be a pretty convincing transformation! Which is exactly what I love about cosplay and makeup And we all know I’m a sucker for strong pigmentation~ Want vibrant colours for your eye shadows? Use a wet brush, it seriously works!

Products used:

Face & Neck
MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage
Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation SPF 15 PA+ Sand
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Light Medium
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ NC20

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NARS Highlighter Albatross

Eyes
Kate Gradical Eyes
Coastal Scents Matte 88 Palette
MAC Pigment Primary Yellow
MAC Fluidline Royal Wink
MAC Fluidline Blacktrack
L’Oreal Extra-Volume Collagene Black

Lips
MAC Lip Pencil Temperature Rising
NYX Lipstick Sunflower
MAC Lipglass Clear

Lately I seem to be “hitting the pan” for many of the products I use, and you know what that mean! Time to repurchase the lot =D But it got me thinking about products I still will try to use (because unless the product is absolutely terrible, I can’t bare to throw it away, wasteful!), but will not ever be repurchasing again. Let’s start with eyeshadows, snapped below.

All of these shadows have disappointed me, which isn’t too bad if you saw how many shadows I own. Generally tho, I know in the future to stay clear of these brands. The main problem with all them are their lack of pigmentation, wear and general “pop”. They make my eyes appear dull, not what an eyeshadow should be doing in my opinion! This doesn’t mean the brands themselves are terrible, maybe just their eyeshadows?

For example, Rimmel have great Eye Soft Kohl pencils that I do use very often, and Integrate also have great pencil and liquid eye liners. (Cute note, the Integrate neutral palette to the left has 2 liners, the white and brown which are actually quite good! I intend to at least finish them up)

I wish more bloggers would talk about products they won’t be repurchasing, imagine all the dud products I could avoid (not to mention money I could save!), if you have any let me know! I have a major rant of a review coming up on a product I plan to throw away whilst still virtually full!!