There have been days in my life when you truly do feel alone. It can be for any number of reasons, but like most people, I’ve experienced loss in my life, and it has made me question my own mortality (it was actually one of the driving factors towards starting this blog) and it makes you realise what is truly important at the end of the day.

Videos have become a way to really express the types of emotions I go through, and this video is reflective of those tougher times.

I found a very similar look online, so I take no credit behind the creativity. It’s been a concept I’ve wanted to try for ages, the initial plan was to simply powder over / airbrush actual lace on my face, but I wanted it to be a bigger challenge. I wanted to push my skills, whilst not perfect I think I was able to convey the message relatively well

I hope you enjoy the look and video as much as I did making it

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation – NC15
MAC Studio Finish Concealer Palette – Light
Face of Australia Loose Powder – Outback Translucent *
L’Oreal Blush – Rose Nude
NARS Laguna Bronzer
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
Coastal Scents 78 Eye Shadow & Blush Combo Palette
Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen – Black
Face of Australia – Liquid Eyeliner Black *
MAC Fluidline – Blacktrack
Lancome Hypnose Drama Noirs Perles Mascara – Black *
Coastal Scents Brow Tones
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara – Black
Maybelline Define-A-Brow Gel – Clear
Integrate Eyeliner – Black
Savvy by DB Luxury Liner – Shimmering Slate
Savvy by DB Lipliner – Cosmos
NYX Jumbo Lip Pencil – Narcisse

_{Product marked with * were sent for consideration}

MAC 130
Sigma Angled Top Kabuki – F84
e.l.f Contour Brush
MAC 209
Sigma SS252
Sigma SS266
Lancome 17
Lancome Lip Brush
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler

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

If you live in Australia, then hope you are enjoying your long weekend~ I figured most people will either be on holiday or at least enjoying their break away from their computer (except for me because let’s face it, I’m a bit of a nerd / geek), so I decided to bring in a pretty simple look I’ve had in mind for a while.

CLAMP are a group of talented women who have written some amazing Japanese series such as Card Captor Sakura, X/1999, Chobits and of course Magic Knight Rayearth. CLAMP’s illustration style for female eyes tend to be very similar throughout all their series. And so I wanted to present a simple tutorial with my interpretation of CLAMP female eyes.

I had actually recorded this as a video tutorial, but… I’m not 100% happy with the results, so I’ll hopefully re-shoot it again soon Enjoy!

MAC Prep + Prime – Skin Base Visage
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation – 4
Giorgio Armani Micro-Fil Loose Powder – 1
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer – Beige
Bobbi Brown Sheer Finish Loose Powder – Pale Yellow
NP Set – New Neutrals *
NARS Powder Blush – Orgasm
e.l.f Eyelid Primer – Sheer
MAc Fluidline – Blacktrack
DUO Lash Glue – Dark Tone
False Lashes
SHU Uemura – Lash Curler
NYX Mosaic Powder – Highlighter
MAC Lipglass – Cruise Control
Maybelline Brow Styling Gel – Clear
NYX Felt Tip Liner – Extreme Black
Prestige Eyeliner – White

_{Product marked with * were sent for consideration}

Face
Nothing too special here, prime, foundation, concealer and powder to set. When cosplaying, your makeup will be thicker than usual just because you will be photographed often and you want absolutely flawless skin . Apply blush to the apples of your cheeks and a white shimmering powder to highlighter.

Eyes
First prime your lids, for my Shidou Hikaru photo shoots I went with red eye shadow, but for the sake of making this tutorial more general, I went with a neutral eye. You are trying to make your eyes appear larger than they are, so the most important thing to remember is where you set the crease. Even tho my eyes are large, I tend to apply the crease colour -just- above my actual crease. It’s not clear in the photos (hence why I want to reshoot the video), but it does make a big difference.

Next would be the liner, CLAMP eyes tend to go very heavy on the liner, but the exact same you want will depend on the character you are portraying. You want to make sure your liner is thicker and less winged out for younger characters, and wing it out a great deal more for vampy characters.

Curl your lashes and apply mascara and make sure to apply a good set of false lashes. I’d go as far to say that the majority of female characters, no matter what mangaka needs to wear false lashes.

Lips
The colour of your lips will again depend on your character, Hikaru is youthful hence why I settled for a sheer pink shade. But naturally vamper characters will require a darker colour.

I will do my best to make sure my video is as comprehensive as possible, please let me know if there is anything you would like to see in it!

Pros:

• Neatens eye brows
• Holds brows
• Virtually no smell and clear

Cons:

• Tends to look murky and contaminated fast
• Doesn’t hold stray strands well

Price: $12.95AU

Rating:

Where: Priceline, most pharmacies and supermarkets

I am currently on my 3rd tube of this, I made a brief deviation over to Dior’s and MAC’s version, both which are just as great at this. In fact, they are exactly the same, but at almost double / triple the price, hence why I decided to come back to and stay with Maybelline.

The gel used is clear, and is applied with the brush supplied. It helps tame messy brows and helps keep them styled throughout the entire day (so long as you don’t touch them!!) They will make your brows feel a little hardened, but if you aren’t touching them it should be fine. Your brows won’t appear to have any product on them at all.

Unfortunately for the ultra stubborn strands this only sometimes works But the ickiest part is the level of contamination that can occur. Even if you don’t have any other makeup on your face, you are still picking up any oils on your face and dunking it back into the clear tube, which over time will turn into a murky cloudy colour. Appealing, I know

I recommend this for people who don’t need to fill in their brows, as applying this over filled in brows is likely to hasten the contamination problem. Or you could just be prepared to change out the tube more often

So tell me, do you use a clear grow gel? If so, what kind?

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.