Don’t Be a Makeup Chicken

Just wanted to share a quick look I did on Thanksgiving Day - a bit springy for a fall holiday perhaps, but it made me happy.

MAC's Bright Sunshine and Lime Crime's Lime Criminal

Makeup doesn’t have to be complicated, see. I used the Urban Decay Primer Potion as a base, then applied MAC’s Bright Sunshine all over my lid with a brush up into the crease. Bright Sunshine looks a lot like Chrome Yellow if you’re just holdin them next to each other but where Chrome Yellow is a vivid matte shade (and is sometimes a little hard to work with), Bright Sunshine has loads of shimmer. It’s just as vivid, but with different characteristics. That’s the beauty of different finishes even when you have similar colors.

Once I had the Bright Sunshine on, I pulled out my crease brush. I use this one from Sephora.

I used the crease brush to place a bit of Lime Crime’s Lime Criminal in the crease. I blended it slightly above as well and down over some of the Bright Sunshine.

There are a lot of different brushes you can get but I definitely recommend a crease brush. Get two - they make super brushes for blending when you have all of your colors applied.

I used Digit, which is a very pale lavender frost from MAC, as a brow bone highlight; I used a clean brush to apply it but used the crease brush with the Lime Criminal on it to blend.

You know, there are a lot of really awesome makeup tutorials with looks that are really complicated. I love that stuff, but sometimes you just don’t have the time or the energy. You do not have to spend half an hour on your makeup (or more) to have a good time with it. You don’t have to do complicated looks to use bright colors, either. This took five minutes - and that included the time I spend lining my waterline with black kohl and applying a layer of Diorshow Blackout mascara. Lipstick took an extra minute but I did that in the car (I wasn’t driving!) so I’m not sure it counts. *grin*

I am thankful for makeup.

I have to tell you guys about my adventures in video software before I give you my new youtube links.

So apparently yours truly is a video software dumbass.

I also can’t figure out how to use the video function on my digital camera. So after some cursing and angry, the Man Unit found me the easiest video software ever.

Now onto the substance.

I made my first slideshow tutorial on, how to henna your hair. I have been hennaing my hair for about a year or so every 6-8 weeks and I just love it. I love how henna smells, I love the changes in my hair color, I love the mixing part. I love it.

If you have any questions, comments post em. Have a youtube account? Add me as a friend.

Next up since I got my haul of samples I am doing a blue fantasy look tutorial. Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Happy Eat Pie day for my US homies, everyone else. Go have some pie.

Video under the jump.

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Wasn’t able to actually wear any makeup last night or yesterday - almost as soon as I posted about the Lime Crime stuff arriving, I ERUPTED with hives.

Friendly tip: skin lesions of any sort and makeup do not mix. If your skin is irritated, don’t put makeup on it. Especially if it’s your eyes. The last thing you want is an eye infection. Those are srs biznes. Wearing mascara isn’t worth THAT much.

Prima Donna, Lime Criminal, and Vixen with UDPP

I ordered three colors to sample. Lime Criminal, the signature color, is a vivid lime green chartruese-ish color with shimmer. Prima Donna is an interesting warm but hot pink, also with shimmer. Vixen is a limited edition purple that is very, very matte.

First of all, the packaging is very cute. But it’s also kind of a pain in the ass. I can’t open the little five gram jars without pigment getting all over the place. This seemed like less of a problem with the Vixen. I understand that Xenia is going to start using little caps under the lids at some point but right now it’s a frustration. And, yeah, there is always going to be a certain amount of mess with pigments and loose powders, so I’m allowing for that.

Once the jars are open, the colors do tend to make the mess less of a bother. *grin* So vivid! And, over the Urban Decay Primer Potion, very very true to color when applied. None of this ridiculousness where it looks like a gorgeous shade in the container (I’m looking directly at YOU, NARS) but then applies all chalky and pale and invisible. It doesn’t take a lot of product to achieve very intense results, either. I tried layering color and didn’t really see much of a difference. I think layering will help ease blending but for regular use? A little goes a very long way. Which is very pleasing because you’re only getting a gram of product for your US$12 which makes Lime Crime Makeup a bit pricey.

Certainly pricier than the Detrivore stuff that I ordered at $5 a color (which I ordered the same day but which hasn’t arrived yet - not that I’m waiting by the mail box or anything except I totally am!) but I can’t compare color payoff yet so we’ll see.

Color swatches on my hand.

Sorry the photo is a little dark. I was sitting on my bed and I didn’t realize the dark purple sheets would have such an impact!

As you can see, these colors really ARE bright. Lime Crime outshines my four or five chartruese shades from MAC (Bitter, Sharp, Eyepopping, Sour Lemon, etc) and has a much greener tone than the chartruese pigment they sell. Though, if you aren’t in a gotta have this precise color frame of mind and we’re comparing pure amounts, the MAC is SO the better deal, price-wise. I like it a lot, and I’ll be wearing it with thick black eyeliner that swooshes out on the sides and loads of mascara. I’m sure I’ll work it into some other looks as well but a single VERY bold color is still my go-to makeup of the day.

Prima Donna surprised me with its warmth. The obvious comparison is Sushi Flower. In fact, the colors are very close to being dupes. The difference is that one pass with an eyeshadow brush loaded with Prima Donna  gives you the color intensity of several layers of Sushi Flower.

Note that this is not to say Prima Donna is BETTER than Sushi Flower - it’s all in what you’re after. One of the strengths of Sushi Flower is that you can wear it as a sheer wash of color or as a bright highlight. The strength of Prima Donna is that you don’t have to screw around with reapplying a hundred times to get BRIGHT FREAKING PINK as the dominant color in your eye makeup. *grin* It’s more reflective, too - higher shimmer quality.

Vixen…. Vixen is INTERESTING. As I said, it’s extremely matte and this does make it a little harder to rock on first application. Matte colors have to be applied evenly or it shows - areas will fade out and it will look patchy. That said, this might just be the purple eye shadow of my dreams. I love matte shades and I’ve been looking for a bluer purple. This isn’t a true violet by any means (man, if I could find a truly blue-based violet purple eye shadow I would SO be all over that) but it’s closer than I’ve found anywhere else. THIS is going to be a joy to pair with MAC’s Electric Eel (not always an easy color to wear). Oh, man, I’m excited just thinking about it!

I use the MAC wipes to remove my makeup and these eyeshadows came off my hand without any scrubbing at all. Lime Crime was the most stubborn.

All in all, I’m very pleased. The price point is a little hurty but as long as Xenia keeps coming up with colors to die for….

Oh, my chickens, excitement is getting a brand new product in the mail and loving it loving it loving it.

I’ll have swatches and photos and hopefully a very extra-bright look for you (fingers crossed I can do all of this tonight), but I just have to say two thumbs up to the Lime Crime Magic Eye Dust when it comes to color pay-off and quick delivery.

Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I break down and order, she would start stocking glitters? The review for those might have to wait (though maybe not for too long because *swoon*) but I have to say, the Eye Dust is just as bright as promised. The loose powder is easy to apply and very smooth. I’ll test durability tomorrow but, frankly, I can put just about anything over the Urban Decay Primer Potion and have it last for days.

I know my post from yesterday is going to raise some eyebrows, but I hope y’all know that I’m still learning.

And no matter what, every blogger, reader and challenger is cared about by yours truly. Because these issues really matter to me. And hey! So does my best friend.

In love and solidarity,

JT

I associate the term non-fat with generally less-nutritious, bland and unsatisfying food. It’s different, but not in a good way.

I am non-fat on this blog. My non-fat status has caused me to pause for a moment and consider my place on Makeup Chicken and also what it means to feel marginalized. Essentially, fat women feel this way most places they visit–from airplanes to clothing stores to the doctor’s offices they visit. And here I am a member of a blog that has the potential to turn that world on its axis. It has the potential to be axiomatic by marginalizing thin, here. Though, like Soul Man*, I know what it’s like to escape the confines–I simply shut down my blog.

But I am a strong ally. Marianne Kirby, one of the most intelligent and inspiring people I know, has been my friend since I was 23 years old. 10 years of ups and downs and love all around. And I’ve seen some of that struggle, even if I have witnessed it from a position of privilege.

What I would like to say is that I recognize the axiomtic nature of this blog and that I am proud to walk the walk of being an ally, of being someone who defends fatpol and likes to consider herself a part of it–even if being non-fat means I don’t get to participate in the same ways fatpol women and men do.

So, listen. I’m non-fat, but I’m here to back y’all up in any way I can. And we should totally have a contest to see who can make the best logo for allies. Can we get a widget? Can we get some recognition over here? Let’s make being an ally something the non-fat can declare everywhere–publicly, on their blogs, to others who aren’t aquainted, to trolls, to haters of all kinds and to non-advocates.

I am an ally. Are you? Got something you wanna do about it?

*Yes, the cheesy ’80s film.

And first can I just say I am a Wordpress noob? Maybe I got it right this time.

Take two.

Okay my darlings.

I had a big hair tutorial planned but, my pictures (which are essential) did not come out well at all and doing this tutorial is going to requre some help from my resident man unit.

So in lieu of that I bring you my favorite super easy, super versatile, I-have-no-goddamn-time look.

And a bonus quick shot review of a my new favorite eye shadows.

If you are just starting out with color and make up this is my favorite look to teach people.

See here.

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It’s not just for texts–it’s for everything, really, including your face. Not that your face isn’t a text, something that is read.

As you may have noticed from my photos, I am very pale..and blonde….with blue eyes. So, yeah. Pale. What this means for me, living in Ye Olde Florida, is that sun damage is a very real issue. I was never a sun worshipper, but I spent my fair share of days in the surf, hunting for shells, musing over life with my friends as I walk down the beach, getting drunk in the McDonald’s bathroom. Things most people do on the beach, right?

Consequently, I have hyperpigmentation all over my face. It sucks. It makes me look older and it complicates my foundation color choices…and so on. I’ve had it for about 6 years now.

So, when my esthetician suggested this, I figured: Why the hell not? It was not cheap–$160 for the system of 3 products. It was worth every little penny that cried as it left the warm confines of my wallet and was handed over slavishly to the receptionist.

Why? Because it is radically revising my face. Honestly, I’ve never seen results like this. I first noticed it when I looked in the mirror for my morning ritual a few days ago. My face was, indeed, brighter and then…..BAM….I noticed these two extremely pinky-healthy-pale areas on the sides of my nose, sitting there amongst the age spots. I stared at it for a moment.

It was a revelation. Seriously. I’m not overstating the issue!

I’ll write more as my face changes, but here’s a start for you, if you’re interested: http://www.resultsrx.com/

One of my favorite makeup looks is sort of a retro 1950s pin up look.  This is loosely based on my love for rockabilly girls and Eartha Kitt’s Catwoman.  I’ve put together a tutorial on how to recreate this look.

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So, I have to tell y’all about India. But first? I have to tell y’all about Radical Revision. Yep. I capitalized it because it’s PROPER.

Radical Revision is just what it sounds like. It’s when you break up and want a new haircut. Or you decide that more eyeshadow is your new approach. Maybe you decide that you’re funkier than you’ve been giving yourself credit for. And so on. And so on.

I am newly single, so here’s what I’ve done: Completely new hair and tons more eyeshadow; I’m getting up earlier and feeling better about myself in general.

Sometimes Radical Revision is what you need to change things in your life. I’ve been going back and forth about my hair, but then I settled into it and thought, “I need to keep moving forward, not backward.” And that thinking has manifested itself as a completely different look. That I’ll be keeping.

Not the best pic, but a start