Category Archives: Extras

Soft spring look with Urban Decay Vice 4 

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Well, spring has sprung in the Southern US.  Which means my allergies are going crazy!  I got some Flonase, but boy am I suffering!  Meanwhile, I hope my Covergirl Clump Crusher “water resistant” version really is water resistant.  I guess we’ll find out!  ANYHOO.  I just felt like doing some softer spring makeup today with a shimmery eye and a matte face/nude lip.  I think most folks think Urban Decay Vice 4 looks have to be crazy – not so!  You can definitely create soft looks with this palette.  (Product breakdown below!)

  
(Gosh, why so serious, Rachel?)

  
BREAKDOWN:

Face: MAC Prep and Prime Skin Base (interesting sample, not sure this is a necessary step?), NYX HD Concealer in green around nose, Revlon Colorstay 110 Ivory mixed with L’oreal Magic Lumi Primer and NYX white foundation mixer, NYX HD Concealer in yellow under NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly, Inglot HD Powder to set face, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Celebrated, no contour or highlight today.  Honestly, I don’t think I got my foundation mix quite right, which sucks because it’s usually awesome!

EYES:  Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, MAC Vanilla eyeshadow to highlight, Urban Decay Vice 4 shadows Discreet (crease), Robbery (lid/crease), Deadbeat (outer V/lower lashline), Physicians Formula Lash Booster liquid liner black, Covergirl Clump Crusher water resistant mascara black, Milani Brow Shaping Clear Wax pencil, NYX Micro Brow Pencil Black 

LIPS: L’oreal Lipstick in Nude Lust, Smashbox Lip Enhancing Gloss in Radiant 

Spring look of the day with MAC and Tarte 

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Yesterday, we had my sister and brother in law over for dinner and I got dressed in a casual spring outfit with this great floral skirt that she had actually given me!  I did a little coordinated makeup with a corally pink lipstick.  

  
I did eventually put on some great ballet flats, heh!

Closer look!  
Base is the usual stuff, eyes feature some matte neutral shadows by Inglot, MAC Aquadisiac shadow on the lid and lower lashline, Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Fearless, and MAC Amplified Creme Lipstick in Chatterbox.

I got the great sterling and bloodstone pendant from EBay.

What have you been wearing this spring? 

DIY Hair? Sure, bring a friend!

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It’s relatively well known that I tend to have hair that is crazy, fun, weird, brightly colored, fake, or whatever else. What a lot of people don’t know is that I do my own hair. Dye, cuts, extensions, shaving, all of it. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when I can get to a stylist and let them go nuts with it, but I’ll be honest: I’m lazy.  

 My hair is a hot mess here. Pay attention, I’m about to talk about the gentleman on the right.
Well, I have been getting tired of my one-length, growing out, shapeless hair mass. So I enlisted the help of my BFF Kurt, (pictured above laking a very serious face for some reason ¯\(°_o)/¯)  and said “shave some of it off.”

…actually, hold up. Let me tell you about Kurt for a second because his hair is way better than mine.

 These are but a few of the incarnations of Kurt.

Kurt is a mythical creature with great hair and weird jokes. When I was 19 and had just discovered Information Society, my main goal in life became “Have hair as cool as Kurt’s.” Fast forward a bunch of years, anyway, and as a weird and wonderful twist of fate he’s my BFF and I trust him to use his completely nonexistent hairstyling training to make my hair look weird as hell. 

   
 

I had him shave off the sides and leave d everything long, well, long. It worked. Now I have a mane of long hair and the lame hair on the sides that was all kinds of different lengths is gone. 

 (Unplugged headphones were because I had not yet plugged them in, not as some sort of choad fashion accessory)



Thanks Kurt! ❤️

Do you cut your own hair? Would you let a non-hairstylist friend do it for you?

Makeup of the day – Daytime smoky eye with MAC 

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So, from time to time, I find myself pining for the Urban Decay Smokey palette.  I always talk myself out of it, because I HAVE THOSE COLORS (repeat to self 500 times).  I’m a sucker for packaging and I have the other 3 Naked palettes and will probably keep pining, though…even with my psychology degree, I’m a marketer’s dream come true!  Regardless, here’s a smoky look today I put together with some MAC shadows – enjoy!

  
  
  
Eye look was done with Bobbi Brown Cream Eyeshadow in Bone as a base, then I used MAC Copperplate eyeshadow as a transition shade in the crease and MAC Howzat shadow (LE, but substitute any deep frosty grey you like) in the crease below the transition shade and all over the lid.  I used MAC Electra eyeshadow to highlight the center of the lid. I blended Blanc Type on the brow bone as a highlight and used Howzat below the eye with a pencil brush.  I then used MAC Nehru on a 266 angled eyeliner brush for a soft smoky eyeliner…no liquid liner today!

You can take this look even smokier with black or grey liner on the waterline, but spring allergies dictate that I’m not doing this today – LOL! 

Blush is NYX Ombre Blush in Mauve Me and Lipstick is Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Lovecraft.

What are you wearing today? 

Get up, dress up, and show up 

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So, I have been sick all week!  However, the NC primary was Tuesday.  I felt like I had to do my duty and vote no matter what, so I spritzed some Alterna dry shampoo and put on some slap!  Here’s my “I have to go adult” face:

  
But hey, Urban Decay Naked 2 eyeshadows, amirite?  

We’ll be back at the blogging momentarily! 

Makeup of the Day – Spring Brights

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Ok, let’s face it.  Here in the mountains, it’s definitely still winter at the beginning of March.  But it’s in the 70s today and everyone is outside going spring crazy.  (Unfortunately, we’ll get at LEAST one more snow when nobody expects it!) I simply could not resist getting out some bright makeup since it’s so sunny out. 

  
The stars of my look today are Sephora Countour waterproof eyeliner in Summer Cruise, MAC Pink Swoon blush, and MAC Girl About Town Amplified Creme Lipstick.

What are you wearing today? 

Makeup of the Day

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I bet you didn’t know my hair was this long. I’ve had it short since 2001, the longest it ever gets is about this length. When I dyed it recently, I couldn’t get all of the black out, but due to some stroke of luck I got enough out that it dyes burgundy when I hit it with the fuchsia dye I use (SpecialFX Virgin Rose).

Eyes: Stila eyeshadows in Porcelain, Coffee and Bronze, Rimmel Soft Kohl eyeliner in Stormy Grey, City Color Be Bold mascara in Black

Lips: MAC lipliner in Spice, NYX lipstick in Thalia

Face: Wet n Wild Fergie Centerstage Mattifying Powder in Pedestal

Fragrance: Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs “Nemesis”

Makeup of the Day

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I went out to see one of my fave bands tonight so I got a dressed up.

Eyes: Urban Decay eyeshadows in Kinky, Mushroom, Asphalt and Blackout, NYX grey pencil eyeliner, Urban Decay Perversion mascara

Lips: Rimmel Provocalips lip paint in Little Minx

Face:  MAC StudioFix powder NW10

Fragrance: Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs Voodoo

  
Then, I met their lead singer and fangirled him about his day job. Like one does.

Makeup of the Day

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Eyeshadows: NYX eyeshadows in Rock, Lime Juice and Bright Green, MAC eyeshadow in Nylon, NYX glitter eyeliner in Green, (name has rubbed off) sparkly liquid eyeliner in Green, Almay liquid eyeliner in Black, Urban Decay Perversion mascara; eyebrows are Rimmel Provocalips lip paint in Little Minx (yup, for my eyebrows)

Lips: Covergirl Outlast lip paint in Moonlight Mauve

Fragrance: Dolce & Gabanna Pour Femme

I’m not going anywhere. In fact, I’m in my pajamas! I just felt like playing around.

Drugstore Makeup for Pale Skin!

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Hallooooo!  If you have truly pale skin (and no, I don’t mean the drug store’s orangey-beige version of “Ivory”), you have probably done countless online searches trying to come up with foundation, concealer, and powder options, both high end and drug store.  Drug store options seem to be the most impossible, but after loads of searching, I’ve found a few options.  Actually, my entire face today is drugstore, and I’ll post a list of what I’m wearing below! 

For reference, in MAC terms, I would be around an N10, shade wise.  I usually settle for NW10 since I lean more cool, but honestly I would prefer a perfectly neutral base.  Studio Fix Fluid in NW10 works fine for me.  Cover FX does have an N10 shade that is fairly perfect for me, but both these lines are pretty pricey and I wanted another option!

What I have on today is Rimmel Match Perfection in 010 Light Porcelain.  Unfortunately, if you’re in the United Stares, you’ll have to order this shade online, as it’s only available in the UK.  American Match Perfection starts at an ivory shade that is rather dark and super pink!  The Light Porcelain is beautifully neutral.  This is a sheer to medium buildable foundation with a satin finish.  This shade is also available in the UK in a few other formulas such as Lasting Finish, which is a heavier coverage, but sadly breaks me out.  I have no issues with this one.  I got this on Amazon for around $10 USD. 

The concealer I’ve used today is a new one to me and I’m praying it won’t break me out, because it looks pretty nice!  This is NYX Gotcha Covered in Ivory.  I saw a Youtuber say this was “really light” and had to try it for $6 USD.  It’s a full coverage cream concealer in a tube.  What a I like about this for under eyes is it has a bit of a peachy-salmon tone, great for correcting dark circles!  I’ve yet to determine if this creases or causes breakouts, so watch this space.  I set this with powder immediately today and it looked bomb.  Which brings me to…

Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Pressed Powder in Translucent 100!  This is a wonderful, finely milled pressed powder that mattifies oil and sets foundation like nobodies business.  Don’t let the white color fool you – this is basically invisible on the skin, at least if you’re fair like me!  It has a nice sponge and a mirror so it’s good on the go.  Don’t want to shell out for MAC Blot?  Don’t have to!  This product is around $6 at the drug store. 

Here’s my finished look.  You like? 

  
I also have on Wet N Wild’s Comfort Zone palette and I used Rimmel’s “Tower of Mauve” lipstick on the lips and as a cream blush!

Do you have any drug store favorites?