Christmas Eve Tutorial

Well, hello there!  After what feels like eternity, we're finally at Christmas Eve!  I'm so excited about this holiday that I feel like the only proper way to express my excitement is to flail and make strange squeaking sounds.  I just love Christmas so much, guys.  Anyway, here is the look I'll be wearing this year with my party dress!

Purple with a Pop Tutorial

Well, hello there!  The past few days where I live have been so dreary.  It's cold, raining, gray, and all I want to do is stay at home. Unfortunately, life doesn't stop moving just because the weather is the antithesis of productivity.  

I have been gravitating towards matte eyeshadows recently, probably due to the dull weather.  However, I can never completely stay away from glitter and shimmery shadows.  Unlike most of my tutorials, this look wasn't planned.  I knew I wanted to pair mauve and rose gold, so I improvised until I got a look I liked.  If you want to know how to get this look, read on after the jump!

Freaky Friday: Poison Ivy

"If you are strong enough, you will survive.  That is the law of the jungle."

Hello, my lovely roses!  Welcome to the last Freaky Friday of the season.  I thought it was only fitting to end this series with my costume reveal for this year.  Batman is, by far, my favorite super hero.  I loved the show as a kid and even watched all the cheesy movies.  One of my favorite things about Batman is the villains.  They are interesting, complex, and a joy to watch torment the city of Gotham.

My favorite villain has to be Poison Ivy.  She has the logical mind of a scientist, making her a challenging opponent for Batman.  She uses her sex appeal in the most methodical way possible, poisoning people with kisses and pheromones from plants.  She's the siren you would gladly crash your ship for just to get a little closer.

Okay... so I have a little bit of a crush on her.  Can you blame me?!

For this look I decided to do my own interpretation.  I knew I didn't want to make my whole body green and definitely did not want to replicate her look from the unbelievably bad "Batman and Robin."  I wanted this look to be just like a rose: beautiful and sharp.  If you want to find out how I got this look, read on after the jump! 

Freaky Friday: Amaterasu

"You spend all your life wishing you were special.  And then you find out you are..."

Well, hello everyone!  On this week's Freaky Friday, I decided to do one of my favorite graphic novel characters: Amaterasu!  Amaterasu is a character in The Wicked and the Divine series that is based off of the Japanese sun goddess.  I talked about the series in this post and it was hard for me to not talk about her the whole time.  I love her design and her hippie (yet not silly) personality.  I knew I had to take a stab at her 80s/David Bowie-esque vibe for this series.  So, for all my comic book and graphic novel friends, this look is dedicated to you!

Freaky Friday: Luminous Mermaid

Well, hello there and welcome to Freaky Friday #2!  This week, I give you, the Luminous Mermaid!  Last week I had fun with the intense smokey look, but I was feeling pretty girly this week.  I wanted bright shadows, a lot of shimmer, and pearls all over mah face.  I really wanted to push myself as an artist, so I decided on a design that was more abstract and artistic.  The inspiration for this came from the amazing NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadows  I picked up and some very creative pinners on Pinterest.  So, if you want to inject a bit of summer into your costume, read on to see how I did this look!

Freaky Friday: The Witch

Double, Double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble...

Well, hello there ladies and ghouls!  Happy first Friday of October!  Halloween is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year.  I love seeing all the costumes, watching scary movies, and eating copious amounts of candy.  This year I decided to share my excitement for Halloween with all of you on this blog.  So, welcome to the first installment of Freaky Friday!

Every Friday this month, along with my regular posts, I will be posting a Halloween tutorial!  I'm incredibly excited and have been preparing these looks for weeks.  I'll also be posting hints on Twitter in case you want to chat with me and have a guess or two. ;D

This week, I thought we'd start off with a pretty classic look: The Witch.  This is for all my readers who need a look in a pinch.  Everything I'm wearing, including my makeup, I already had somewhere in my house.  Keep reading if you'd like to find out how I created this beWITCHing Halloween look!

(I'm sorry about the pun.  I had to.)

Fresh Spring Makeup!

Well, hello there!  Since the warm weather is in full swing, I've been adding more color to my makeup routine.  I've been particularly obsessed with purple hues.  I think warm purple colors are a great way to incorporate spring without going over the top with color.  This purple obsession all started when I bought the Nars Duo Eyeshadow in Kuala Lumpar and it's been all downhill from there.  This is a look I have been wearing a lot this past month or so.  If you want to know how I got this look, keep on reading after the jump!

Simple Valentine's Day Makeup

Hello, everyone!  Valentine's Day is next week.  Whether you have a date with Mr. (or Ms.) Right or a night in with friends, dressing for the occasion is necessary.  Gordon and I aren't doing anything fancy this year, which I'm really happy about.  Even though we're staying in and cooking a bad ass meal, I still want to look nice on the day.  Here is a simple makeup look that I'm planning on wearing.

Base

I applied the Nars Sheer Matte Foundation to even out my skin.  I've been experiencing some increased redness, so I desperately need this to balance that out.  For concealer I used Maybelline's Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circle Treatment Concealer.  I finally picked up one of these and I'm so happy I did.  My semester started a few weeks ago, and with it came my dark circles.  This concealer does a great job of cancelling out those dark spots.  To set everything I used the Coty Airspun Loose Powder.  I added a bit of The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer to my face as well as MAC's Sea Me, Hear Me blush.  For a bit of a romantic glow, I swept a MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Soft and Gentle on the high points of my cheeks.  This stuff is amazing.  I've been on a huge highlighter kick and I use this every day.

Eyes

I kept it simple with the eyes by not using any eyeshadow.  I just used Stila's Stay All Day Liquid Liner for a nice thick cat eye.  There's something so classic and sexy about winged eyeliner!  I extended the wing a tad more than I normally would for a slightly more dramatic effect.  I curled my lashes and used Marc Jacob's O!Mega Lash Volumizing Mascara.  This mascara makes my lashes look so thick and full and ohmygosh I just love it.  For my brows I used my trusty Anastasia Brow Whiz.  I didn't do anything fancy to them since my fringe covers them (also I'm lazy), but I still wanted them to look polished.

Lips

Ahhhh, my favorite part of this look.  I used Urban Decay's 24/7 Lip Liner in 69 to line and fill in my lips.  I went over the liner with MAC's Ruby Woo.  This is the perfect matte red for my skin tone.  My mom was so sweet and got it for me as a "Congratulations on not dying your first semester of grad school."  It was the best little surprise and I have worn it constantly.

And that's it!  I hope you all like this look.  Do you have any Valentine's Day plans?  Tell me what you're getting up to, no matter how boring you think it may be, in the comments!

Until next time!

Rachel

Tutorial: Everyday Fall Look

Well, hello there, everyone!  I hope you all are having a great week so far!  I'm back today with my everyday Fall makeup routine.  I've been really into champagne eyes and pink/berry lips.  I think that combination works really well this time of year without being too intense.  If you want to see how I do my makeup on a daily basis, keep reading after the jump!

Glamorous Vampire Halloween Tutorial

Well, hello everyone!  I'm sorry about my absence; school life got crazy with the midterm season.  Now that I'm all finished with that, I thought I would bring you a tutorial in time for Halloween!  This is for anyone who wants a more glamorous look on the wonderful night of mischief.  If you want to know how to get this look, keep reading after the jump!