Mizz Worthy's prize package!

Good evening my beauties :) I have some exciting new make-up to share that arrived in the post just today; it's the prize I received from Jen aka Mizz Worthy for the Illamasqua contest look I did some time ago!

First of all, go check Mizz Worthy's blog if you haven't already, she's the most amazing, kind and lovely person you can imagine, and I always enjoy reading her posts! Now, on to the package - here it is in all its glory, perfect and intact...

Here are the contents after I ripped it open a couple of minutes ago!

In the photo you can see my two prizes, Illamasqua pencil and eyeshadow; however, Jen very generously added a Prestige eyepencil and a Barry M dazzle dust, as she explained, to compensate for the delay in sending the package - well, in my humble opinion, it really arrived very promptly! She also sent some beautiful Illamasqua promo cards with a lovely personal note and her own blog cards; so ingenious and pretty, I am going to use them as bookmarks!

The make-up I got from Jen is just gorgeous! I am so happy for the Illamasqua prizes: after a lot of debating and advice from Jen I went for the eyeshadow in the shade Forgiveness, which is quite a neutral brown with a purpley undertone and I plan to use it to accentuate the crease. When I swatched it for the picture, I was just amazed by the texture, it really feels buttery smooth against the skin. The Medium Pencil in Ascend will be great for neutral lips, I am thinking it would look great paired with just a bit of a lipgloss.

L to R: Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Ascend (matte), Illamasqua eyeshadow in Forgiveness (matte), Prestige eyeliner in Powerful Purple (shimmer), Barry M Dazzle Dust in 98 (fine glitter)

The drugstore items Jen threw in are sooo me! I am loving purples at the moment, so the Prestige eyeliner will definitely come in handy, it's such a gorgeous, shimmery color :) Well, for all you Brits this isn't anything new, but this Dazzle Dust shade is so unique, I think I have never seen anything like it, something like a dark grey/ brown with fine glitter that under certain lights can range from green to blue to purple. Simply beautiful!

I can't say anything more about these items for now, as I haven't tried them, but I just can't wait to play with them all very soon :) Huge thanks again to Jen for hosting the contest and sending the package; I'm properly chuffed!

Hope you all have a wonderful evening xxx

Animal Instinct Contest Entry: Exotic Bird

This is my final contest entry for this month; parents arrive tomorrow and I will be really busy from then on, so here's the last one... I'm very sorry, Sarah, that I won't manage to participate in your Disney contest like I promised, but I genuinely lacked inspiration and now, well, time. Good luck with your entries though!

I got really excited when I learnt about wonderful Rebecca's (Panda Does Makeup) Animal Instinct Contest! I'd instantly started browsing Google for inspirational images, and my first idea was for a cat-like look. Not very original, I know, but I sort of wanted something to translate well into make-up; as much as I love squirrels, that wouldn't be easy to pull off. But then! I changed my mind...

and went for something fun, exotic and colorful, which is embodied by this lovely bird (don't know the species, by the way). I just love the vibrant colors of its plumage! I recently did some more wearable looks, so I wanted this one to be as crazy as possible (but no full on face paints, Rebecca!:). Here's how it turned out:

The last one's a bit scarry; it was taken in the sunlight, sorry for the uneven skin... But at least you can see these are not photoshopped ;)

List of products used:

Face

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20

CS Honey Fair 1.2 mineral foundation

CS Sheer Radiance blusher as contour/bronzer

CS Dare blusher on the apples of the cheeks

CS Light Veil

Dyed feathers from a craftstore glued on with Ardell's lash glue (hate the smell of this!)

Eyes

Revlon cream eyeshadow quad in Seashells: white shade as a base

CS 78 eyeshadow and blush palette: (from inner to outer corner) matte white, yellow, light blue, intensive turquoise, blue-based purples and more of a reddish purple, plus brownish shade to blend into the crease and matte white as a highlight

GOSH Extreme Art eyeliners in 15 (purple) and 13 (gold) to draw feather shaped lines in the outer corners

GOSH pen eyeliner in black

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara

Ardell 110 false eyelashes

Lips

Inglot Fruits in Ice Blackberry Duo (berry shade)

Hope you like it, Rebecca, and thanks for running the contest! Check out her blog (link at the beginning of the post), she's such a sweet girl and does some amazing reviews! Have a lovely evening, everyone :)

Celebrity look contest entry

I know I'm bordering on a mass production with my contest entries lately, but it's all because my parents are coming to Vancouver this Saturday for two weeks, so I won't have a chance to do much blogging then, and certainly no contests for me!

So, here's my entry for Angela's celebrity contest at Everything Superficial. I tried to recreate a smokey eye look worn by Scarlett Johansson for one of her photoshoots. She's one of my favorite actresses and from what I remember, she's also a fellow make-up addict :)

This is the inspirational photo:

And my attempt at recreating the look:

List of products used:

Face

CS Honey Fair 1.2 mineral foundation

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20

CS Sheer Radiance blush to contour/bronze

CS Dare blusher on the apples of the cheeks

Wet n' Wild Mega Glo Face Illuminator in Blushing

CS Light Veil

Eyes

CS Eye Poxy primer

Margaret Astor black kohl eyepencil as a base

CS 78 eyeshadow and blush palette: matte black and grey, matte deep brown, matte cream eyeshadows

Avon Smokey Eye quad: the darkest, shimmery grey color

Inglot highlighting eyeshadow

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara

Lips

GOSH Darling lipstick

generic clear, shimmery gloss

Well, I look nothing like Scarlett, but it was fun recreating this look! Thanks to Angela for hosting the contest, I hope you get a ton of entries (that's a bit unwise for me... whatever).

Thanks for stopping by, my lovely bloggers! xxx

Alter Ego contest entry

Following Illamasqua contest vibes, I decided to further explore my alter ego, which in practice means participating in Posey's contest (hurry up, guys, there're only 4 days left to enter!). The rules are that you have to post 2 photos, one of your true self, the other one of your hidden alter ego.

Here's my true self:  'Everygirl' who always prefers to play it safe. (Ok, my hair is a bit wild in the photo, but you get the gist...)

My alter ego: 'Stunning Siren' (heheh). Charming, mysterious and bold. No one can resist her magnetism :) Better watch your man!

The make-up was inspired by Dior Fall 2004 look I found when researching 'fashion make-up'. The colors are not that vibrant in the photos, but the lid color is pink with a hint of purple in the inner corner, eyeliner is dark green, and there's quite a bit of white under the eye, on the lower lashline. I also used a lot of bronzer and highlighter for this look.

Hope you like it! Thanks to Posey for hosting the contest; check her blog out, I think her reviews are really honest and sensible, as well as helpful, of course! Have a great one, ladies :) xxx

Barbie contest entry

As promised, I worked today on my entry for Laura's (LF Loves MU!) Barbie contest. At first, I didn't really have any inspiring idea for this contest; Barbie Loves MAC is not my sort of thing. However, I decided to google some images, hoping that I'd be able to find something appealing enough.

I came across countless sites and blogs devoted to collecting dolls, especially Barbies. It seems that Mattel releases limited edition dolls in the same manner as MAC releases limited edition lipsticks, and just as we collect make-up, there are people who collect dolls; they don't play with them, of course, they're too precious, they just want to have them in their collection and admire them from time to time.

On one of such sites I saw photos of Misaki Outsider doll from the Gothic Dream Collection, and I knew I had to recreate this look :)

Isn't it a beautiful and unique doll? Its design is inspired both by Japanese culture as well as some gothic elements, but the make-up itself reminds me a lot of the 60s. I also tried a similar hairdo, but I wasn't too successful, unfortunately. Anyhow, this is what I came up with:

Even borrowed a tie from my fiance, heheh :) I won't bore you with the foundation and so on, but this is what I used for the eyes and lips:

Revlon cream eyeshadow palette in Seashells

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Iced Mocha (inner corner and waterline)

NYX Ultra Pearl Mania eyeshadow in Nude on the lid

Margaret Astor black kohl eyeliner 

generic white and black eyeshadow

GOSH Eyeliner pen in black

Ardell Demi Wispies false eyelashes

NYX Long lipliner in Neutral

Bourjois Dr Glamour lipstick in Brun O'Petit Soins

The Body Shop shimmery lipgloss (the label has peeled off, so I don't know the exact name...)

Avon Color Trend lipstick in Cafe Au Lait

Thank you Laura for running the contest, preparing this look was so much fun! Hope you enjoy my entry :) Have a lovely evening, everyone!

Third place winner in Illamasqua contest!

Well, it's certainly my lucky week... I'm a third place winner in Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest! Check out the second and first place at Mizz Worthy's blog.

I've already chosen my prize and I will certainly show you once it arrives, which may take some time... I'm so happy that my work has been acknowledged, especially that it was my first make-up contest ever! It really boosted my confidence and I will be entering other competitions as well. I've already planned my look for Laura's Barbie contest (as promised!) and I have some ideas for other contests too, so look out for that!

Thanks again to Mizz Worthy and Krystle for running the contest and all their kind words :)

I'm a Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest finalist!

The top 6 has just been announced and I'm so happy to be one of the finalists! Jennifer and Krystle chose my Venetian masks inspired look, which you can see and read about here.

Check out other finalists' looks, they're truly amazing. I'm really honoured to be listed among such wonderful and talented ladies!

I knew it's gonna be my lucky day when I found this penny on the street and picked it up to put it in my pocket :)

Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest: Venetian masks inspired

Remember my post about Venetian masks? I think I said then that I might do a look inspired by the photos of the masks that I posted. This is exactly it, and being so dramatic that it almost looks theatrical, it makes a perfect entry for Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest.

Here's the photo that inspired the look along with the 'face chart' I drew to make the application easier.

Nowadays, Venetian masks are worn almost solely during the Carnevale, but in the past they would be used on many occasions to hide the wearer's identity. They would allow their wearer to act more freely and to flout social boundaries, as in romantic encounters. Many designs are taken from Commedia dell'arte, like the one that I was inspired by. I decided to twist the mask represented in the photo and make sort of a Columbine mask out of it, which is an intricately decorated half mask. This type of mask is said to have been designed especially for one Commedia dell'arte actress who was beautiful and didn't want to have her face covered completely. I also wanted to somehow imitate this kind of aureole that decorates the mask itself and put my hair into one-sided locks.

Well, moving on to the look I created... My favorite photo of 260 taken and two sets of photos, artistic and realistic.

If you're interested in how I achieved the look step by step, I could do a short picture tutorial.

For now, a list of products used (a really loooong one):

Face

Sephora Zero Shine base

Inglot Cream Concealer in 34

Coastal Scents Honey Fair 1.2 Flawless Finish Foundation

Coastal Scents Light Veil Flawless Finish

MAC Studio Finish concealer in NW20

Coastal Scents G Bronzer/ Blush to contour

Eyes:

Coastal Scents Eye Poxy Primer all over the lid

Revlon Illuminating Creme Eyeshadows as a base for the blue eyeshadow

Avon lipstick in Caffe Latte as a base for the golden eyeshadow

Celia (Polish brand of make-up) lipstick in 61 (red) as a base for the red eyeshadow

Coastal Scents 78 palette

Margaret Astor black eyeliner pencil

Max Factor Mechanical Eyeliner in Ice Blue 60 for sketching the line

Beautique lip liner in Dusty Rose for sketching (I don't have any golden pencil)

GOSH Extreme Art Waterproof Eyeliner in 13 (gold)

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara in Very Black

some scrapbook gems

Lips

Inglot Cream Concealer in 34

NYX Long Lip Pencil in Natural (I don't have any red)

Celia (Polish brand of make-up) lipstick in 61 (red)

Avon Colortend Chocolate Drop lip gloss in Champagne

Mizz Worthy's Illamasqua contest: Alphonse Mucha inspired look

As promised, this is my entry for Mizz Worthy's contest - hope you like it!

My inspiration for the look came from Alphonse Mucha's art and Art Nouveau movement. Alphonse Maria Mucha (1860-1939) was a a Czech painter and decorative artist, who is most famous for his lithographed posters. His works feature beautiful young women in flowing Neoclassical robes , often surrounded by lush flowers forming characteristic haloes. He used paler pastel colors than contemporary poster artists. The 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris diffused his style internationally and his art was often imitated. Towards the end of his life, Mucha rejected most of his commercial works and concentrated on the themes of his nationality as well as Czech art and Slavic peoples in general. He died of lung disease after being arrested by Nazis at the beginning of the World War II. 

Dawn

Dusk

I was mostly inspired by the colors and curved, fern-like lines of depicted women's hair and dresses. I've created something like a halo framing the left part of my face and then completed the look with pastel lids + distinct lashline and doll-like, full lips. If you browse through Mucha's posters, you can see how schematic his depiction of women is: porcelain skin, big pronounced eyes and sort of baby pout. This is my rendition:

And two collages:

The process of creation took a lot of time, effort and Q-tips soaked in make-up remover :) Just FYI, to achieve this look I curled my hair with a curling iron for the first time in my life and I put on fake lashes, also for the first time ever (is it embarassing to admit that?) . I took all the photos (170 of them, to be precise) myself, using self-timer function in my Canon PowerShot SD870 IS camera; just don't ask me how I made some of the photos look so full of light, I have no idea why some of them turned out like that.

List of products used

Face:

Sephora Zero-Shine Base

Inglot Cream Foundation in 21

Inglot Cream Concealer in 34

Coastal Scents Honey Fair 1.2 Flawless Finish Foundation

Coastal Scents Light Veil Flawless Finish

Wet n Wild MegaGlo Face Illuminator in 341 Blushing

baby pink blusher from my 78 palette

Eyes:

white, light cream, light beige and brown e/s from Coastal Scents 78 palette

shimmery navy blue e/s from CS palette

Max Factor Mechanical Eyeliner in Ice Blue 60

GOSH Eyeliner pen in Black

Covergirl Lash Blast mascara in Very Black

Ardell 110 lashes + Ardell lash glue

Lips:

Beautique Lipliner in Dusty Rose

Avon Lipstick in Christmas Spice

Inglot Blackberry Duo Lipgloss (baby pink)