Fables in Fashion

I’d have to say Coastal Scents produces some of my favourite budget friendly palettes, even though I’m fully aware companies like BH Cosmetics (which I also love and need to review), Crush Cosmetics and a ton you will find on eBay all use the same wholesaler as Coastal Scents (hence why you can find so many palettes that look like this), I still love Coastal Scents just because it was the first one I got introduced to and still seems to have the largest variety

If the blog wasn’t obvious enough, I’m a bit of a collector (dude I collect useless achievement points on World of Warcraft, it’s my thing, let it go!) and so when I heard Coastal Scents was coming out with some new 88 palettes I snapped them up! I already owned all the previous versions so buying this was a bit of a no-brainer.

Introducing the Prism palette, which contains 88 shades of mostly matte, with a few shimmer shades thrown in for good measure. Out of all the 88 palettes available, I’d be inclined to recommend this one to makeup beginners because it has such a wide range of shades. True whites all the way to true blacks, with a mixture of shimmer and matte. It’s a solid beginner kit.

I used a gold shade in the inner corner of my eyes, a dark purple over the lid and the black as liner.

The shadow quality is pretty much comparable to all the other palettes, it’s not terrible, but it’s not absolutely amazing either. You’ll get a decent amount of pigmentation for daily wear and most looks, but if you’re like me and are crazy about getting intense, eye blinding shades then you’ll either need to prime your lids with your desired cream eye shadow and dust over this shadow to “alter” the colour, or head down the pigment road.

I swatched every single colour just for you guys~~ Hope you find it useful and also hope that you see what I mean by “decent” pigmentation.

This palette goes for $19.95US from the Coastal Scents website, which sounds like a great bargain! But, for you Aussies, beware the insane shipping costs that Coastal Scents deals out. Admittedly they do really go all out to ensure the palettes arrive nicely packaged, but it’s still not 100% fool proof (one of the colours was completely smashed for the next palette I’m reviewing).

Looks don’t always have to be serious, this time I wanted to shoot for something quirky and fun! I actually didn’t design this look, I found it completely by accident on the internet, so I don’t claim credit for the design! The honour goes to some other talented individual

I’ve made a slight change to this chapter, at the request of my readers I’ve decided include a section on what tools I used to create my looks, aka brushes. Not sure if you will find it useful, let me know if you do / don’t~

I also suspect my videos will continue to experience some level of tweaking until I’ve settled into a style that suits me completely (and then I’ll probably change my mind anyways). I see my videos as organic, they will continue to evolve with me as my own abilities do, I took a lot of the feedback into consideration and will over time try and address each one where I see fit For starters I’ve added the product name in the video each time they appear (so long as it is the first time). Hopefully you will find that more handy

And I will try my best to translate the tutorials into video from now on, but please understand that making videos (especially the way I do them, excessive cutting, voice over, music etc) takes much longer than just shooting some photos so if I miss a week here or there, go easy on me Enjoy!

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation – NC15
Amazing Cosmetics Concealer – Fair
Revlon PhotoReady Translucent Finisher – 001
MAC Full Coverage Foundation – White
e.l.f High Definition Powder
Face of Australia Pressed Powder – Bronze *
NARS Blush Powder – Orgasm
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
e.l.f Eyelid Primer
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – True Red
Face of Australia Liquid Eyeliner – Black *
Maybelline Pulse Perfection – Blackest Black
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Maybelline Define a Brow Gel – Clear
DUO Lash Glue
False Lashes
MAC Lip Pencil – Cherry

_{Product marked with * were sent for consideration}

MAC 130
Sigma Kabuki Brush
MAC 109
Sigma SS168
Sigma SS194
Sigma SS209
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma E25
e.l.f Contour Brush
Lancome 17
Lancome Lip Brush
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

Last weekend I was invited to attend Circa Nocturna, Melbourne’s Alternative Fashion Parade. This particular look is to me, more about the hair than the makeup.

Cause I’m hardcore like a fox cosplayer, I decided to cut parts of my hair to get this look. I have to create the fringe and longer side strands to achieve that “rocker” feel to my hair. The makeup is pretty basic, a standard pink / purple look (that would have photographed a lot better in my home studio!).

Special thanks to Surfaced Music for taking these photos for me~

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – 4
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Prestige Eyeliner – White
Estee Lauder Eye Shadow Powder – Pink Flash
MAC Eye Shadow – Vibrant Grape
MAC Eye Shadow – Parfait Amour
MAC Eye Shadow – Hepcat
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Coastal Scents – Brow Tones
Maybelline Falsies Volume Express – Very Black
Maybelline Brow Styling Gel – Clear
DUO Lash Glue – Dark Tone
False Lashes
Lancome Color Fever Lipstick – 312

Face
Nothing new here, primer, foundation, concealer then powder. Apply pink blush to the apples of your cheeks and then a matte highlighter to all your high points.

Eyes
After primer, use a white eye liner pencil and apply to the inner corner of your eyes and brow bone. Blend with your finger. Then on top of that, apply a shimmery white powder to intensify the effect. Bring the shadow to under your lower lash line.

Then apply a medium purple shadow all over the lid and blend into the crease. Then take a darker purple to the outer corner of your eyes and blend. Apply just a tiny bit of the dark purple to the outer 1/3 of your lower lash line. Take a shimmery pink shadow and apply to the inner 2/3 of your eye lid and lightly apply just above your crease.

Apply your gel cream liner and make a thicker line than you normally would whilst winging it out at the same time.

Curl your lashes and apply two coats of mascara. Apply your false lashes.

Take a brow eye brow powder and fill in your brows, then set with a clear brow gel.

Lips
Lightly apply a fuchsia pink lip stick.

Hair
Pretty simple! Separate the majority of your hair from your fringe, and pull out a few strands for the side of your head. Tie your hair up in a ponytail. If you have short hair, you can flip your ponytail up and start pinning strands of it to the top of your head. Spray with hair spray to get the strands to stand up more and flick out.

But if you have longer hair like me, what I did was still flip my ponytail up, but created a small loop at the base of my ponytail, then tied it down with another hair tie. Next I took a few strands of hair and then pinned it over the loop to disguise it. This (hopefully) gives the illusion that I had shorter than what I really did

Sometimes I don’t know what colours work for me until I’ve seen myself in a photo wearing said colour, this is the case with this nude lipstick. I got it as a free gift with purchase and always loved it but never worn it since I figured it didn’t suit me. But now, I like it!

As for the look, I’ve always dreamed of working in a fashion house, whether for a fashion designer or fashion magazine (what beauty blogger doesn’t think this!?) and so I thought this would be a fun look to play with. I can’t remember which Korean band I saw rock eyes similar to this, but I thought it would be fun and “fierce” *flips hair*… lol

The more I stare at the photos, the more I think the two wings are not exactly the same. They probably aren’t, and honestly it’s crazy hard to get them perfectly the same too! Just gotta keep practicing!

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation – MC15
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light Medium
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer – NC15
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light
MAC Powder Blush – Margin
Canmake Highlighter – 01
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils – Zero
Milani Crystal Eyez – Lovely & Luminous
MAC Glitter – Reflects Pearl
Maybelline Falsies Volume Express – Very Black
Maybelline Brow Styling Gel – Clear
DUO Lash Glue – Dark Tone
False Lashes
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – Soft Nude
NYX Mega Shine Lip Gloss – Frosted Beige

Face
Nothing new here, primer, foundation, concealer then powder. Take a bronze to help contour your features, such as cheek hollows, sides of nose, temples and chin. Then take a beige blush to your cheeks, and finish off with a shimmery highlighter.

Eyes
After primer, I applied a silver shimmery eye shadow to the to my lids. Take a matte white eye shadow to the inner corners of your eyes and directly under your lower lash line.

Now take a black gel liner to draw the winged eye look as shown in the photos. Go slow with this, even after all my makeup experience I still had to do this step twice to get the right shape. I used the shape of my eyes as a guide, be prepare to step back and look at your face as a whole to see if they are as you want them to appear.

Then with a black pencil liner blend the colour into the silver eye shadow. Line your upper lash line and waterline. At this point you may need to take some silver shadow to blend into the black liner, just work with it till you achieve the desired result.

Take a glitter gel and apply directly to your lids, then while still wet apply pearl glitter. I tend to use glitter gel than lip gloss since it is lighter and less prone to creasing.

Curl your lashes and apply two coats of mascara. Apply your false lashes.

Take a black eyeshadow and heavily shape your eye brows. I wanted a strong look here, finally set with a clear brow gel. Then take a tiny bit and apply to your lower lash line.

Lips
Apply a nude lipstick and top with a nude lip gloss.

Another entry to MUG‘s bi-monthly competition, this time we have an Arabian look, though I reckon I came out looking a bit more Indian than Arabian

Special thanks goes out to Elias and Annie, Elias is responsible for taking these amazing photos! If you haven’t seen his work yet, you must check it out~! And Annie for being my stylist and makeup advisor~! This girl seriously needs to be at every single shoot I ever attend, she is the best stylist, makeup artist, fashion designer and photographer assistant all in one! I love these guys <3

Also shout out goes to the talented Sam <3 Who organised an amazing shoot that day which I attended to play makeup artist and graciously allowed me to borrow some space for this shoot I will post about the shoot very soon~

All my jewellery was on sale at Diva and have been altered by myself. The scarf is one of my beautiful Louis Vuitton scarves, I absolutely love it (though haven’t worn it out yet) it has a map of the entire world on it~ I confess, I’m a huge LV addict though I do my best to hide my addiction from most people

MAC Prep + Prime – Base Face Visage
Maybelline Super Stay Makeup 24hr – Nude *
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
Coastal Scents – 78 Eye Shadow and Blush Combo Palette
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Maybelline Falsies – Very Black
Maybelline Clear Brow Gel
False Lashes
DUO Eyelash Glue – Dark Tone
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Cosmos
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick – Yummy Plummy

_{Item marked with * has been sent for consideration}

Face
After primer and foundation, take a bronzing powder and contour the face to sharpen all your features. Use a matte highlighter to highlight the high points to assist with this, and finish off with a pink blush to the cheeks. This process will probably the take the longest, but do take your time because if done well it will stand out!

Eyes
Prime your lids, then dust a white eye shadow all over the brow bone, inner corner of your eyes and lower lash line. Take a gold eye shadow and apply with your finger directly on the lid. Next take a maroon shadow and apply directly into the crease, blending upwards. Don’t blend into the eye lid, we want a distinct cut look.

Next take a black gel liner and line your upper lash line, winging it out. I would next time consider either drawing a thicker liner or smudging it out a bit, I don’t think I used enough liner for my look. Draw a line just below your lower lash line, traditionally Arabian women line their water line, but for a bit of a different twist to the look I decided on this instead

Curl your lashes, apply a coat of mascara and then apply your false lashes.

Define and extend your brows with a dark brown eye shadow and set with a clear gel.

Lips
Line and fill in your lips with a dark red lip liner, then cover up with a plummy lipstick.

This season’s Shu Uemura‘s Spring 2011 catalogue had a highly inspiring makeup cover, it was tropical, it was fresh and best of all it was blue! So I knew I had to give this look a go~ I was initially a bit concerned because when I first swatched the colours for the first time they were not at all pigmented :/ But after I applied some primer, that all changed! Hope you enjoy the look

Face
MAC Prep + Prime – Base Visage
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation – NC20
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural – Light Medium
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder – Pale Yellow
Canmake Highlighter – 01
Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder – Light

Eyes
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Shu Uemura Morphorium Blue Palette *
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
MAC Fluidline Non-Conformist
Stila Kajal Eye Liner – Topaz
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil – Pure Gold
DUO Lash Glue – Dark Tone
False Lashes
Coastal Scents – Brow Tones
Maybelline Falsies Volume Express – Very Black
Shu Uemura – Lash Curler
Maybelline Brow Styling Gel – Clear

Lips
MAC Lipstick – Angel
Christian Dior Gloss Levres – Smoothie Peche

_{Items marked * were sent to me for consideration.}

Face
Prepare face as usual, and then using a bronzing powder, start contouring your face, apply it to the sides of your forehead, under your cheek bows, sides of your nose and below the jaw line. Take a candy pink blush and apply to the apples of your cheeks. Then take a shimmery highlighter and place on your forehead, cheek bones, bridge of your nose, cupids bow and chin.

Eyes
Prime your lids with a skin tone primer, then apply a shimmery yellow powder to your brows. Take a shimmery lime green shadow and apply generously to the crease so it covers part of the lid and brow bone. Next take a rich shimmery ocean blue shadow and apply to your lids, extending to the crease. Take a dark matte purple and apply to the inner 1/3 of your eyes and outer 1/3. Make sure to blend any harsh lines between all the colours, but do not over blend. We want the colours to look like they are fading into one another, not mixing them.

Take a matte pink colour and apply to the inner corner of your eyes and 1/3 of your lash line. Take the same blue and apply to the outer 2/3 of your lower lash line, then apply a thinner line of purple over the blue.

Take a purple gel liner and line your upper lash line. Curl your lashes and apply two coats of mascara. Line your waterline with a peach coloured eyeliner pencil.

Next take a pair of false eye lashes, and cut out about 3/4 of a cm. Two for your upper lash line, and two for your lower, these should be smaller than the previous two. Coat the false lashes for your upper lash line in the purple gel liner, and then coat the lower false lashes with a gold cream eye shadow. Wait for the lashes to dry, and then apply to your lash line with eye lash glue.

Fill in your brows with a dark brown powder, and define with a clear brow gel.

Lips
Apply a candy pink lipstick, then dab a touch of gloss to the centre of your bottom lips, press your lips towards to transfer and even out the shine.

Ever since I saw this look on America’s Next Top Model many years ago I knew I had to try it out one day! This look is a combination of two looks produced on the show, I just can’t remember which season (nor model)

I’m a Ventriloquist Dummy And this was the fastest shoot of all time, because once I sat down I realised… I’m a doll! I can’t change my expression, so it was literally *snap snap* and done! Enjoy

Oh man… I’m creeping myself out >_O

_{Remember, you don’t need to use the products I do~ Use whatever you’ve got handy!}

Face
MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Mineralize Satinfinish SPF 15 Foundation – NC20
MAC Pro Longwear Concealer – NC15
MAC Studio Fix – N4
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter

Cheeks
MAC Powder Blush – Apple Red

Eyes
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Coastal Scents – 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
Prestige Eyeliner – White
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
DUO Adhesive
False Lashes

Lips
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick – True Red
NYX Lipliner Pencil – 1000 Years
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Cosmos

Face
Apply your primer, foundation, concealer and a powder foundation as usual. I used a powder foundation this time because I wanted a flawless finish. Apply a shimmery highlighter to all the high points of your face, we want to that “plastic” look.

Cheeks
Take a red blush and draw circles on your cheeks, smudge out the lines just a bit.

Eyes
We’re going for a neutral eye here, only higher and heavier. So pat on a earthy brown shadow to your lids, then take a darker matte brown and place it just above your crease. This gives off the illusion that your crease is set higher. Take some of the brown to your bottom lashes. Line your water line with a white eye liner, and line the upper and lower lash line with a black liner.

Take a medium blue shadow and draw lines across each of your eyes.

Apply false lashes to your upper and lower lash line.

Lips
Line your lips with a red lip liner and then fill in with any red lipstick. Then take a brown lip liner (or eyeliner) and draw lines from the edge of your lips down to your chin. Smudge out the line towards the middle of your chin for both lines to add some dimension.