Saturday, October 30, 2010

Workin' Workin' Workin' - Jack & Sally

So the last couple of costume looks I have for you guys are coming in SUPER last minute. I'm wanting to fall asleep sooo bad right now, haha. It is 10 til 3 AM and I've had to break Sally up into two videos, even though I really didn't want to do that. I've edited the first half of Sally, the second half shouldn't take as long. But I'm having to wait twenty minutes while part one publishes before I can get started on it.

I keep telling myself if I can just get these bad boys edited, then I can let them upload to youtube while I sleep some, lol.

I will admit both of these looks tonight were slightly rushed. It takes such a long time to record, upload to computer, edit, publish, then upload to youtube. It's an all day event just about... but I'm trying REAL hard to crank these out for you before the trick or treating and festivities start.

However, since they were rushed, there were some things I wasn't happy with in both videos. I would've liked to have gone back and thinned the stitch lines for Sally. I would've liked to have had my hair straight for Sally. I would've liked to have had a brighter highlight color for Jack to really make the teeth pop. I would've liked to have re-shaped his eyes a bit, too.

They're not bad videos and I think you guys can catch what I'm getting at with these anyway.

So, this picture was what I modeled my Sally after:


And this is the picture that I modeled my Jack off of:

Like I said, the videos could've been better if I'd had some more time. But, here they are anyway. Check it out!


 
Here's Part 1 of the Sally video!

Here's Part 2 of the Sally video!

And here's the Jack Skellington video!

Friday, October 29, 2010

What I've Been Up To...

I definitely have not had enough time to post ALL of the makeup tutorials I wanted to do. But, I've recorded almost two tonight that I will edit and post right away! I'm currently waiting on my camera battery to charge (because it's completely dead) so that I can finish recording the last couple seconds of this Jack Skellington look. I am so close to finished! But, I only have ONE minute and 45 seconds worth of free space on my camera to record with... so... hopefully I won't also have to wait for videos to upload off of my camera. Argh!

But, here lately, I've been to the state fair, I've been to see a movie, I've carved a pumpkin, baked pumpkin seeds (which was a miserable failure), baked DELICIOUS pumpkin spice cupcakes, saw Daniel Tosh live, went on a makeup consultation for two people, worked and went to a concert!

PHEW!

Plans for Halloween weekend? I have to do some makeup tomorrow afternoon (expect videos & pictures!), then we're headed out to watch my boyfriend's band play. I'm going in costume (so watch for pictures of that, too!)! Sunday we're heading out of town to bum around, have some wonderful food, watch a pet costume contest (how stinkin' cute is THAT?) and then we have tickets to attend a "gothic rock opera". This is the first year we aren't spending our Halloween on a ghost walk. But, you know what? I'm excited about it!

So... here's my pictures from the past couple of weeks of my own makeup looks, the State Fair, and carving a pumpkin for the very first time all by myself! (Usually at least my mom is around for the pumpkin carving... but it was just me and the pets around this year.)


My makeup look going to the fair!


Me & my boyfriend going into the fair.


Me with my boyfriend's family at the fair. Hey, remember Rhonda from the makeover?


Me & my boyfriend on the Tilt-A-Whirl.


It's Rhonda again! With her husband, me and my boyfriend at the fair!


My makeup look for work one morning.


My makeup look for work another morning.


I closed my eyes so you could see the shadow color on my lids! I blended a lime green, green-yellow, and emerald green for this one.


Carving my pumpkin.


Me & pumpkin guts!


Jack-O-Lantern! Happy Halloween!


Mixing up some scrumptious pumpkin spice cupcakes!


This is where my cat likes to sit for free rides.


Trying to get a picture of this makeup look for the concert with a nice outside background, but it was SO windy!


Windier.


I like this one, even though you can't really see the makeup, haha.


Finally, I resorted to taking a picture of the look inside.



And, for some reason my blog will not let me re-position this bad boy, but this was my pumpkin puree for my pumpkin spice cupcakes, haha. I wanted to have him up with my mixing bowls. Oh, well.

New videos up soon! REAL soon!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Sharing An Article.

Thought this was kinda neat and you guys might be interested!


10 iconic beauties (and how to get their looks) user

by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff, on Mon Oct 18, 2010 4:58pm PDT
 
Liz Taylor’s mega-lashes


Tools: false eye-lashes, manicure scissors, black eye-liner pencil, smudge tip brush, mascara



For Liz’s "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" look, it's all about the eyes, and the secret weapon here? False eye-lashes. For this extra-feminine effect, pick up a pair of false lashes along with some manicure scissors. Trim the extensions to a quarter of the size in width, cutting at the lash band. Then set aside.



Now take eyeliner and draw a thin black line on your upper lids starting with the corners, thickening the line as you move outward. With the corner of a makeup sponge, lightly smudge the liner so it will blend with the band line of the fake lashes. Next, dot the band of your faux lashes with lash glue and grip by the lash with a tweezer. Using your liner as a guide, place the glue side as close to your lash line at the outer corners as possible, smoothing onto your lid with your pinky finger. Expert tip: The lashes should start at the outside corners of your eyes and only reach about a quarter of the way into your lid. Let dry a few seconds and then finish by sweeping dark, thick mascara to the upper lids to blend in your natural lashes. Finally, dust a neutral pink or taupe color over your lids, starting from the inside corners and sweeping up to your brow line. Voila! Instant movie star!

Photo by Getty Images
 
Audrey Hepburn’s upsweep

Tools: rubber band, bobby pins, thin-toothed comb or teasing brush



Poised, elegant and flawless are all words that come to mind when describing Hepburn’s classic high bun. But easy as well? "Absolutely," says hair guru Jackie Cascarano, Creative Director of Lock & Mane, an online haircare boutique. Here's her how-to: First pull the hair into a high pony and secure with a rubber band, pulling the ends of the tail in opposite directions, until the rubber band sits close to the crown of your head. Then eliminate fly-aways with a maximum hold, high-gloss hairspray to give the look a natural sheen that doesn’t appear too product-heavy. Next tease the pony with a teasing brush or comb, combing pieces of hair in upward, quick motions until your pony is voluminous. Then section the hair into three or four pieces (depending on hair's fineness) and pin one section underneath the other with bobby pins until all the pieces are tucked under. Give your bun one last spritz to hold it in place and head to Tiffany’s for breakfast.

Image courtesy mptvimages.com via imdb.com
 
Angelina Jolie's cat eye

Tools: liquid eyeliner, light brown shadow, darker brown or grayish shadow, thickening mascara, eyebrow pencil



Though she's better known for her lush pillow-y lips, Jolie regularly rocks this sexy, classic eyeliner effect. To get it, start by sweeping a light brown shadow on the soft part of your lids. Then apply a slightly darker brown or grayish shadow closer to the brow bone, sweeping outward along the line of your brow. Use liquid liner on your lids and make sure the line is thin. Start from the inner corners of your eyes and move outwards until you reach the outer corners. Finish with a slight sweep of the liner upwards towards your temples for a cat-eye effect. Next apply a layer of thickening mascara evenly over your lashes, and a second layer just on the outer corner lashes to enhance the up-swept liner.

Photo by Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
 
Brooke Shields’ full brows

Tools: tweezers, clear mascara, eye-liner (optional)



Brooke’s unruly brows are back. In fact they never should have fallen out of favor in the first place if you ask Napoleon Perdis. “Thicker brows make you look younger,” writes the beauty maven on his Huffington Post blog. “A high arch adds a youthful, fresh look to any face."



For Brooke's thick line, you may need to grow your over-tweezed brows out first. When they're good and thick, start by plucking any unibrow traces on the bridge of your nose, working backwards until you reach the inner corners of your eyes. You may want to mark just above your brow with an eye-liner pencil (like a surgeon) so you know exactly where you should stop tweezing. As you pluck, use quick motions grabbing one hair at a time to avoid irritation and over-thinning. Don’t tweeze any hairs above your brow line. The top of your brow should always remain intact. Finish up with a clear mascara, sweeping brow hairs in an upward motion, giving extra attention to the hairs above the inner corners of your eyes.

Getty Images
 
Jennifer Lopez’s nude lips

Tools: pink-hued gloss or a natural shade lipstick, nude lip-liner, concealer, lip plumper



Just because your lip-color is barely there, doesn’t mean your lips have to be. Ask Jennifer Lopez, who has led the charge of nude-colored lips on the red carpet in the last few years. A lip plumper is the key to a full, natural pout. Apply it like a lip balm and let it sit for a few seconds before moving on to a concealer. Dot a makeup sponge with a lightweight concealer that closely matches your skin tone, and buff both top and bottom lips as if you were dotting your face with a powder. This will lock in the natural color you're about to apply.



Next, apply a nude lip-liner around the edges of your lips to create definition. Make sure the point is sharp so the line you draw is thin and exact. (You want to avoid a Kim Mathers thick liner look at all costs!) Finally, apply a nude or “natural” colored lipstick that matches the shade of your own lips. For a shinier look, choose use a clear gloss with a hint of pink.

 
Farrah Fawcett’s sun-kissed skin

Tools: powder bronzer and fluffy blush brush; or gel bronzer and makeup sponge, soft pink blush



The onetime Angel and iconic California girl always glistened like she’s just stepped off a beach in Malibu. The trick to getting her look is a good bronzer. Unlike self-tanners, bronzers shouldn't turn your skin orange or make your still-pale neck look like it belongs to another person. A good bronzer that's no more than two shades darker than your own skin tone should give your face a fresh glow and accentuate your bone structure. If you're fair, try a pink palette. If you're olive or dark-skinned, try copper or brown hues. Your complexion also plays a role in choosing the right product: a powder won't cause breakouts on oily skin, while a gel will add moisture to dry skin.



With a powder bronzer, dip your brush into the pot and blow away excess minerals. Then sweep lightly over your forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. The trick is to apply specifically to places where the sun does shine to enhance natural contours, suggests makeup artist Bobbi Brown in Prevention Magazine. If you’re using a gel bronzer, blend on a makeup sponge before applying to your face. Finish by brushing a pink, ruddy blush on the apples of your cheeks.

 
Halle Berry's cropped cut

Tools: leave-in conditioner, super-hold gel, shine serum



Halle’s locks may be cropped, but they’ve got a lot more structure than the average pixie cut. If your hair is naturally limp, a little volume can freshen the overall appearance of your face. The clumped tresses are also good for frizz-prone types who need their follicles tamed.



The recipe is simple: a dime-sized dollop (or quarter-sized depending on how dry the hair) of frizz-fighting leave-in conditioner and a dime-sized dollop of super-hold gel. Mix in your hands and then apply to towel-dried hair from roots to tip, lightly twisting clumps of locks in your fingers in different directions. This will give your hair effortless texture and lift. Finish up with a pump of shine-enhancing serum, blending in your hands and lightly running over the tips and sides of your hair to prevent fly-aways and add sheen.

Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage
 
Christina Hendricks' red-stained pout

Tools: red lip-stain, red lip-liner, lip brush



If you're looking to get as much attention from the office as Joan from "Mad Men," there’s nothing like a fade-resistant shock of red lips. The show's own makeup department head Lana Horchowski notes that Joan's chalky-textured pout is era-specific. "[We replaced] gloss and sheer or shimmer lipsticks with matte reds, bright pinks, and corals to help create a more retro look," revealed Horchowski.



Before you apply the lip stain on your own pout, start with a liner that matches your stain color. This will give you a longer-lasting look and help you color inside the lines. Next up, take your matte lipstick and dot it on the center of your upper and lower lips. Use a lip brush to spread the stain around, filling in your entire lip. Be sure to brush as close to your lip line as possible to blend the liner with the stain.

Getty Images
 
Julie Christie’s bangs

Tools: hair-cutting scissors



The "Shampoo" star has all three 'b's: Beauty, brains and killer bangs. The third, thankfully, takes the least amount of effort to acquire. “The secret is that even though they look like blunt bangs, they're actually subtly shaped and you can do it on any face shape,” says Lock & Mane's Cascarano. The trick to ensure flattering framing is all in the brow.



With your scissors, cut the bangs along the curve of your eye-brow, starting from the temples and working your way to the middle of your forehead. Be sure to cut just above the top of the brow line for a loose, but low-maintenance length. To complete the look, Cascarno suggests “adding some longer layers around the face so that the bangs don't seem so heavy.” For daily maintenance, use a little hairspray (cover your eyes and hold the spray a few inches from your face) to keep the perfectly loose bangs from becoming flyaways.

 
Beyonce’s stage-worthy legs

Tools: exfoliation scrub or sponge, body lotion with shimmer, or body lotion and shimmering loose eyeshadow



You don't need translucent nylons to get Beyonce's Grammy-grade gams. First slough off dead skin with a body polishing scrub or a loofah sponge, rubbing in circular motions up and down your leg. Once you're smooth and dry, it’s time to get your glow on. A thick moisturizer with a built-in body shimmer is all you need to sparkle. If you don't have that handy, tap a little shimmering, neutral eye-shadow or face powder into your palm and mix with body lotion. Rub the moisturizer in, from ankle to thigh, in round circles so it's evenly applied. Finally, rub a little extra on your middle and pointer fingertips and run them up either side of your calf bone to give your lower legs a sharpened contour.

Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
 


Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Build Up on the Basic Zombie Look!

In my last post I showed you guys a video for a very basic zombie look.

It's perfectly okay to stop with that look, but if you want to take it a step further, check this video out!

I used Ben Nye Rainbow Wheel and Ben Nye Bruise Wheel. You can use any cream makeup in similar colors.

I also use some liquid latex. Any brand is fine. You can usually find it in costume store. If you're in the Florence area (where I'm from in South Carolina) I found mine at Dance Etc.

And I use stage blood. Mine is from Ben Nye-it's mint flavored! And it's a nice, thick consistency and dries nicely. But any brand is fine. I've also made blood at home with chocolate syrup and karo syrup and food coloring (if you want to make your own blood you can look up a recipe for that online... it's not hard it's just time consuming and not as nice of a consistency as the stage blood. The last time I did a zombie costume I used the homemade blood to splatter my clothes with a couple days beforehand and then I used my stage blood on my skin).

Check out the video here:


And just in case you missed the basic zombie look, you can watch it here!



Hope you guys like it! New costume look coming soon (haven't decided what I'm going to do yet; it'll be a surprise for all of us, haha!)

Basic Zombie Makeup

The goal of this look was to give you a costume look that you could pull off with (hopefully) basic makeup that's already in your arsenal!

It's a base look, and you can stop here if you want, but I'll also be posting some ideas for building on top of this basic zombie look!

Now, check me out making silly zombie faces, haha.





And here's the video! Hope you guys enjoy it!


Friday, October 15, 2010

Quick Tutorial & Stuff =)

I don't know if you guys are interested or not, but I'm going to start taking pictures of my own makeup looks (the ones I wear day-to-day) to post pictures of them on here! If you're not interested, well, don't bother looking, haha.

I just always have my own face available to do makeovers on. So each time I do a blog I'll try to post a few!




Ooookie dokie! Now that's out of the way... on to more interesting things! Haha.

I recorded a basic scrape/burn makeup technique tutorial for you guys! It's an easy technique so once you know what to do, you can run with it. Try different colors and effects and layering... go crazy with it! So... here's that video!



And, I've just finished editing the next Halloween/Costume look for you guys!
Basic Zombie!
After that, I'm going to do a slightly more advanced zombie (basically just adding a couple of techniques on top of the basic zombie look). That one is already recorded! I'm going to start editing it now!
Both will be uploaded very, very soon!
Here's a little preview for both!



Saturday, October 9, 2010

Bruise or Black Eye Makeup Tutorial FINALLY!

So, I have been trying and trying and trying to get to this for the longest time and now I can finally post it!

Between wrecking my car and the recent death of a friend and million other things, this tutorial had to be postponed.

But it's here now and I hope you guys love it!

In the video I use Ben Nye's CK-4 Bruise Wheel and CL-1 White.

More coming soon!

Check out the video here!

Makeover!

Not to bombard you guys with 10 million blog posts in two days, haha, but I did want to share some photos from a makeover I did (and as soon as the bruise makeup tutorial finishes loading I'll add that to my blog as well lol)!

This is my boyfriend's sister, Rhonda!

Before


After




Little Soda Reccommendation - Because Healthy is Beautiful!

It's been about... oh... a billion years since I've drank a regular soda. I only drink a diet soda once in a while, but I do like this one! Check it out! Watch this short, little video (that was intended to be included with my healthy pizza video, but it would've been too long) to see what I'm talking about!

Diet Hansen's Soda
Creamy Root Beer

Friday, October 8, 2010

Because Healthy is Beautiful! Pizza Recipe

I will be first in line to admit that I am terrified of eating vegetables. Fruits are slightly easier... But I love my pizzas, burgers, pastas, sweets and french fries. I eat horribly unhealthy.

I've been swearing for years, "You know... I really want to eat healthy."

But, I never get around to it. Recently, my boyfriend (who as scarily close to being just as picky as I am) has started swearing the same thing.

I put a lot of work into trying to care for my hair, and skin. Why not put the same amount of care into my body?

It isn't easy, that's why. Haha. Perhaps it's just me... but when I pick up a healthy cookbook, the pictures of the foods inside look frightening to me. I go running, screaming back to my oh, so delicious, greasy cheese pizza.

So, I start trying to figure out how I can beat that irrational fear of what's great and nutritious for my body. I started looking for recipes that tweak things I already eat. I looked for recipes by typing in "How to sneak vegetables in your kids food" online, haha.

Anyway, this is the first recipe I've managed to get right. I got a wheat crust recipe from one website, had to tweak that because the recipe I found made the crust so dry and so hard to pat out and so frickin' thick I ended up eating it by scraping off the sauce and cheese and just eating that, haha. Then, I looked up what the difference was between store bought pizza sauce and plain old tomato sauce. Not much. There are only added ingredients to pizza sauce. You can cut out the mystery of what manufacturers have infused your sauce with by seasoning tomato sauce on your own. So I played around with what I had in the kitchen and found I like to add garlic powder (because garlic is good for you!), basil leaves, and oregano leaves to my sauce. One of my sneaky-recipes-for-kids-tips I found online was to add baby food whenever you can. So, I grabbed some baby food similar in color to tomato sauce (I use sweet potatoes and carrots) and added that in, too! It doesn't change the taste (especially when you add plenty of the other seasonings) and you get a few more added nutrients! There's nothing about baby food that makes it for babies only. All baby food is a pureed (I seriously doubt I spelled that right) vegetable. Or fruit. That's it. Nothing special about it. (By the way, there are baby foods that add other stuff in... make sure to get pure vegetables, mixed veggies, pure fruit, mixed fruit or something like strawberry banana baby food, etc is fine) Then you add some cheese! I found a low-fat mozerella made with 2% milk with extra calcium, a fat free chedder and a little bit of parmesan. If you want toppings, try for healthy toppings. If you just have to have pepperoni, use turkey pepperoni! So much healthier!

And viola! Healthy pizza.

In Italy, pizza started out healthy. But, we Americans got ahold of it and started adding all kinds of stuff, and infusing the crust with all kinds of crap, and our pizzas turned into greasy death traps. DELICIOUS death traps, but death traps nevertheless.

So, now you and I have a fairly healthy pizza recipe we can make at home!

This is what you're going to need:
1 Cup Warm Water
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (+extra)
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Yeast
3/4 Cup White Flour (+extra)
1 & 1/2 Cups Wheat Flour (+extra)
Cheese
Tomato Sauce
Baby Food
Basil Leaves
Garlic Powder
Minced Garlic
Oregano Leaves

Check out the video for the rest!

P.S. If your crust is too sticky, just add some more flour!

P.P.S. I apologize for the bungled measurements in the video.

P.P.P.S. (Haha) I apologize for saying "Two Teaspoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil" in the video when what I'd meant to say was "Two Tablespoons". I have no idea what happened there.


10 Things I Like!

10 Things I Like

1. Pets - I love my little babies! And anyone else's little babies. I love all animals, really. Even though the creepy crawly ones (snakes, spiders, etc) and owls give me the heebie jeebies, haha. I only wish harm to ants... I live in what used to be a field. I have to battle ants every summer. I really hate ants. If you want to see me turn into a crazy lady, let me find ants in my kitchen. Anyway! I love animals!

2. Getting to Drive Newer Model Cars - Both cars I've owned have been from 1996 and both were beat up. My Grandma has a nice Explorer that is so wonderful to drive, just because the inside is clean and newish looking haha. (It's the car we're in during my Glaminar video). I got to test drive a 2009 Toyota Prius today (a BLACK one no less... I LOVE a black car!) and I fell in love head over heels, I kid you not. It was a tad bit out of my price range, though. Still looking for a Prius! Anyone got one they wanna sell me? Haha.

3. Laughing Hard with My Two Bestest Friends, My Mommy and My Boyfriend - They're the two people out there who understand me the most and I can talk to about ANYTHING, ANYTHING, ANYTHING. Really, I'm pretty much an open book. I will lay my everything out for anyone. I don't have things to hide. But since my mom and my boyfriend understand how I operate so well we have a strong, deep, connection and I think that's where the best laughs stem from.

4. The Kind of Romance that Brings a Tear to Your Eye - I'm a hopeful romantic ('cause who wants to be hopeless???). I'm not into cheesy, typical romance... but when I see something that I think is TRULY romantic, it really warms my heart. Melts my heart, in fact! For example, I love seeing an older couple holding hands in public. How frickin' sweet is that?!

5. Melty, Cheesy Pizza - Mmm... I love it when you bite into it, and the cheese just keeps stretching and stretching and stretching!

6. Wedding Shows on TV (Even the Really Horrible Ones, Haha) - I can't resist saying "OH! That's a neat idea!" or "I would never do that!" throughout the whole thing. Like 90% of other little girls, I've always dreamed what my wedding would be like. I live vicariously through the TV Shows haha.

7. Dove Dark Chocolate - Myyyy goodness! Need I say more???

8. Anything Halloween! - And I'm not into finding the skimpiest outfit possible and hitting all the bars I can... that isn't Halloween to me. There's nothing wrong with wanting to wear a pretty costume or a girly costume, or even a sexy costume. But there is a fine line between sexy and... well, just too far, haha. I'm into scary movies, and costumes, and ghost stories, decorations and lots of candy!

9. Riding in the Car with the Windows Down and the Music Loud when  I'm Alone - So I can sing my little heart out and not have to hear myself! Ha.

10. Remembering Something Funny from My Past I Haven't Thought About in Years - And it's even better when you have someone else who remembers to share it with!

Now, TAG! You're it! Add your list to your own blog! Let it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Leave me a link to your 10 Things blog in a comment! I'd love to read them!