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.

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!

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.

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

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

Finally, bring on the wigs! As a cosplayer, I think last I counted I have about 25+ wigs in storage? But due to my taste in costumes, they all seem to be the same short blue colour :/ So I dug a little deeper and pulled out this cute number. It instantly reminded me of pixies, and as I’ve been meaning to do a Winter look for ages, what better combination? I kinda wish I attempted something with my eyebrows… they look a little out of place being so black.

Let me just say, two days after shooting this look I still find glitter randomly on me @_@ And yet when I look at these photos, I can’t help but think, NEEDS MOAR SPARKLE!

Products used:

Face & Neck
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF15 Foundation NC20
MAC Select Sheer / Loose NC15
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ NC20
Coastal Scents Glitter Powder Fairy Dust
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder Light
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Soft and Gentle

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NARS Highlighter Albatross

Eyes
NYX Eyeshadow Base with Pearl
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Milk
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Baby Blue
Coastal Scents Ultra Shimmer 88 Palette
Maybelline Lash Stiletto Very Black

Lips
MAC Lipstick Creme D Nude
Chanel Levres Scintillantes 96

Fine I’ll admit it, I caught a little bit of the Vampire fever too! Though I haven’t gone to see Eclipse or any of the Twilight movies in the cinemas, I’ve watched downloads from friends, does that count? Either way, I’ve always love the regal polished look of Vampires in almost any movie, whether it be Underworld, Van Helsing, Dracula etc. Plus, I’m a girl who loves love porcelain pale skin (I’m one of the few people I know who detests tanning), and that’s pretty much all there is to this look!

It’s nothing dramatic, just very simple and more an overall “feeling” than anything. I tried my best to stain my lips, instead of paint them. Attempting to get a “blood soaked” tint, not 100% happy with how that turned out, probably would have been better off using a lip stain instead (and being less neat?), and I had to end up lightening my eyes digitally Even tho my eyes are kinda light for an asian, they aren’t this light! Hopefully some new contacts will change that tho

Products used:

Face
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation NC15

Cheeks
NARS Bronzer Laguna

Eyes
NYX Eyeshadow Base with Pearl
Coastal Scents Matte 88 Palette
MAC Technakohl Liner Eye-Liner Kajal Graphblack
Covergirl Lash Blast Very Black

Lips
NYX Lipstick Snow White

So I bought these little nail stickers whilst I was in Japan earlier this year. Whilst I am a total nail polish addict, I don’t do fake nails. This is mostly since I’m a pianist, I need short neat nails at all times. But it was too cute not to buy, and a few months later I bought myself a small collection of nails to paint and this was the result! I love love the way these look, so girly! But I was pretty much an inelegant mess as I tried to set up my camera and later on remove my makeup. (Surprised I didn’t end up taking out my own eye)

Whilst I’m on the topic of inelegant messes, glitter how I love/hate you. I think this is just an area of makeup I’ll need to keep working on. A fine balance between the amount of glitter vs the amount of adhesive, plus method of application. Ah yes, a fine art indeed.

Products used:

Face
MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF15 Foundation NC20
MAC Select Sheer / Loose NC15
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ NC20

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NARS Bronzer Laguna

Eyes
Coastal Scents Glitter Powder Pinky
MAC Glitter Silver
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Milk
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Hot Pink
MAC Technakohl Liner Eye-Liner Kajal Graphblack
Covergirl Lash Blast Very Black
Coastal Scents 88 Matte Palette
MAC Pigment Vanilla

Lips
MAC Lady Gaga
Stila Rose Pinky
NARS Orgasm Lipgloss

You always want what you can’t have, and what I’d love right now is a bit of sunshine and warmth. Winter in Australia (well Melbourne at least) means no snow, but a lot of icy cold winds and rain. Whilst I love wrapping myself in lots of layers, I’ll admit that I find it hard to really move around when I’m sporting about 5 layers of clothing.

So I decided to throw together a bit of a sunset look, using no liner on my upper lid gives my eyes a much softer look. Despite the weather, the Winter sun is beautiful. Especially through my bedroom window, at around 3-4pm the sun rays pierce through the clouds and bathe my room in a beautiful rich glow.

Products used:

Face
MAC Prep + Prime Skin Base Visage
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF15 Foundation NC20
MAC Select Sheer / Loose NC15
MAC Studio Finish Concealer SPF30+ NC20

Cheeks
NARS Blush Orgasm
NARS Highlighter Albatross
NARS Bronzer Laguna

Eyes
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Lime Crime Magic Dust Siren
Lime Crime Magic Dust Cleopatra
Lime Crime Magic Dust Circus Girl
NYX Jumbo Eyeshadow Pencil Cherry
MAC Technakohl Liner Eye-Liner Kajal Graphblack
Covergirl Lash Blast Very Black

Lips
MAC Lipstick Creme D Nude
NYX Lipgloss Frosted Beige

Inspired by my Seth makeup and a doll like shoot I am currently working to put together. I quite love horror like looks, if I had the materials and skills, I would certainly try and replicate a true zombie look!

But my favourite types of horror looks are those based of girls with a beautiful delicate porcelain appearance, only to have one feature looking very out of place. In this particular look, I’ve gone for the eyes. (Though I have seen some that go for distorted / demon-like fangs, now those were very creepy!)

I decided against using powder for this look as I wanted the colours to appear more saturated, not sure that really came across in the photos though, perhaps due to lighting. I love how white my foundation appears in this shoot tho, very ghostly.

Products used:

Face
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation NC15
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Beige

Cheeks
MAC Mineralise Blush – Merrily

Eyes
NYX Trio Eyeshadow TS12
MAC Eyeshadow – Coppering & Carbon
MAC Technakohl Liner – Graphblack
Covergirl Lashblast Length
MAC Fluidline Blacktrack

Lips
MAC Dazzlegloss – Date Night