Comic-Con FAIL! Pass the Hershey's.

Right now, I'm feeling alternating bursts of anger, confusion, waves of sadness mixed with glimmers of hope, and full-on rage. No, I'm not hormonal. I'm trying to buy Comic-Con passes. Well, to be fair, Thomas is the one actually sitting in front of the computer, and has been for the past hour and a half. As it is, the preview night passes sold out at the July event, so the best we can do is a four-day, but the site's completely down right now. If nothing else, it's made for an entertaining Twitter feed, and it's given Thomas something to do while he's home sick from work. It's given him a reason to yell at the computer, mostly, but at least that's something.

Even if he gets through, he can only do the tickets one at a time, so it's entirely possible we still won't both end up with passes. If that happens, we'll try a couple of other avenues, but will most likely end up returning the single set and planning a different vacation. The thought is more than a little disappointing, but we're being realistic. Anyway, there are far worse things than missing a convention. You know, fire, flood, and famine, to name a few.

In the meantime, I feel the need to drown my sorrows in chocolate, and no, the milk chocolate Slim-Fast just isn't doing it for me. This would, though: The 16th Annual Salon du Chocolat in Paris, France. Sign me up for that! One of the chocolate convention's highlights was a fashion show--a chocolate fashion show. Designers and chocolatiers teamed up to create scrumptious cocoa couture, including a whimsical boustier dress inspired by songbirds, and sporting white chocolate wings. The convention isn't completely about decadence, though. It's also a way to get the word out about Fair Trade and the need to eliminate child labor in the chocolate trade. Now, that's sweet.

And now Comic-Con is saying that Registration is shut down, with more news to come on November 8th. They couldn't handle the traffic. Insert your own geek/tech joke here. It's too easy for me, and I'm really just not in the mood.

So, in light of the magic bag o' samples' M.I.A. status, I thought I'd go with a product review and a quick tutorial. Why not, right?

Okay, for months I've been wanting some really glittery eyeshadow. Something with some definite sparkle. I've got a short in a film festival this weekend, am shilling my CD next weekend, and then there's the whole Holiday season coming up. I thought something shiny might be kind of nice. I didn't want anything that screamed teeny-bopper, but was suitable for mature audiences.

Found it! Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadow in Space Cowboy. This stuff should be rated R. For starters, the color is a really sexy nude taupe. The shadow is soft, highly pigmented, and melts into your skin. Honestly, along with LORAC, it's tops on my shadow list, and right above MAC and Stila. Of course, the point of this shadow is sparkle, and boy, does it have it. According to Urban Decay, Stardust contains 40% more glitter than their sparkliest shadows.

To be honest, that description put me off a bit. I wanted something festive, but I didn't want something that could be detected at 100 paces, or had the possibility of making people confuse me with a drag queen. Or Kathy Griffin. As much as I love glitter, I'm neither a thirteen year-old girl, nor a Vegas showgirl. It's just not appropriate for me to go out looking like a disco ball.

I'm very happy to report that while this is supremely sparkly, it's not obnoxious. This is grown-up glitter, folks. There are no chunks, no flakes...for the most part, it's virtually undetectable. That is, until the light hits it just right, and your eyes light up like Fourth of July sparklers! I have it on from the lashes to my brows, and it's not innappropriate for my casual office. I even wore it to church yesterday with no issues--and I stand on the altar! Obviously, you can wear this to go out or for special occasions, but honestly, I'd call it acceptable for casual offices (or casual Friday), weekends, or, if you use it just on the lids, anytime.

I do have to tell you that I experienced a bit of fall-out. I layered the shadow over another one on Sunday, and ended up with a small amount of glitter on my cheeks. It wasn't much, but it existed, so I'm telling you. Today, I wore it by itself, directly on top of a primer, and have had zero fall-out. It's not something I would worry about at all with this shade, but would do a little research on before buying it in black or an ultra-bright color.

Oh, one more thing. It comes in a really cool little container that opens when you squeeze the sides. Thomas thinks it looks like a Star Trek communicator. That made me giggle a bit.

Alright, now for the tutorial. As you might have noticed by now, I tend to have my moments of brilliance completely by accident. Today was no different. Thomas is sick, so I needed to run to Target (across the street now! Yay!) to pick up some 7Up and crackers before work. I didn't have time to really do my makeup, but didn't want to risk scaring small children (Halloween is over), so I needed a quick fix. I keep a stash of neutral makeup in the bathroom, so I can grab and go without having to dig through my traincase, so all products used can fit in a small counter-top organizer. I grabbed a few items, threw them on, and ended up looking like I had the most gorgeous skin. For the record, I don't. So folks, here's how to look like you have luminous skin and zero need for makeup:

1) Start with a brightening primer (it should say brightening or luminizing on the bottle), like Benefit That Gal. 2) Apply a light foundation, like Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous foundation faker.
3) Dot an eyeshadow primer, like Benefit Stay Don't Stray, on each eyelid and blend from lash to brow.
4) Apply a shimmery shadow that matches your skin tone (or one shade darker) from lash to brow. I like Urban Decay Space Cowboy for fair skin because of the sparkles.
5) Line the upper lashes with a charcoal gray liner. I used one by LORAC that's discontinued, but any liner will do. E.L.F. Cream Eyeliner in Gunmetal is a good choice, and only $3.
6) Apply concealer under eyes and to any blemishes. I love Benefit Erase Paste for this.
7) Apply a tinted luminizing lotion, like NARS Orgasm Illuminator (I'm quickly falling in love with this stuff) to cheeks.
8) Lightly apply coordinating blush, like NARS Orgasm Blush, to set.
9) Dust powder over concealer, nose, chin, and forehead only. I like Bare Escentuals Hydrating Mineral Veil because it's hydrating and has a very slight luminence about it.
10) Apply mascara, like Buxom Lash, to top lashes.
11) Apply a nude lipstick and/or lipgloss. I like Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick in Amsterdam, with Buxom Lip Polish in Claire.

That's it. I think the whole process took about five minutes, and I swear, it took about five years off my face. It's just a simple, easy, carefree look that makes your skin glow. Can't really argue with that. Also, everything mentioned above (except the E.L.F., hence the separate link) can be found at Sephora.