Costume Creations: Princess for a Day

Sometimes, you just need to feel like a princess. Example: this morning, I woke up sick as a dog. My sinuses have exploded (thanks, weather change), and the last thing I wanted to do was drag my carcass out of bed. As incentive, I promised myself I could play dress-up for the blog before my trip to the grocery store. My Halloween costume this year is Belle (of course it is), so I did a dry run of the makeup look I want to go with it. Actually, it's based off the makeup I wore as the bookish beauty while on tour, but with a few tweaks, it could pass for pretty much any storybook princess.

Hey! I'm almost rockin' Ariel hair! (Almost...)

I started this look by using a stippling brush to apply a full coverage cream foundation all over the face, ears, and neck. The stippling brush buffs the foundation into the skin, so it covers well, but doesn't look too heavy or cakey. Next, I applied a white base to just the lid areas of my eyes, blended out the edges with my finger, and set it with a bright white shadow. Then, I took a dark chocolate brown shadow, and applied it just above my crease, from inner corner to outer. Finally, I took a vanilla eyeshadow and applied it from the top edge of that brown, all the way up to the brow. Once all the shadow was applied, I used a fluffy brush to barely blend out the edges, then filled in my brows with a brown brow powder.

The liner is the key to this look. Storybook (okay, Disney...who am I kidding, here) princesses always have those wide, slightly rounded-off eyes. To acheive that, I used a pencil liner (I prefer it to a harsher liquid) to draw from the inner corner of the top lashline all the way to a winged edge. Then, I drew from the inner corner of the bottom lashline STRAIGHT across to the outer edge. Think of making a box, rather than following  your eye's natural curve. The outer edge should be much thicker than the inner corner. Then, connect that edge to your wing. Then, use a white pencil to line your lower waterline and the innermost corner of your eye. You don't want the black to connect to itself on that innermost corner. See the photo below for reference if I've completely lost you, here. Lastly, coat your lashes, top and bottom, with a healthy dose of mascara. If you want, you can add falsies, but I didn't see the need.

I just did my brows, so why do they look so awful? Ugh...carry on!

On to the face! Grab the lightest concealer you can comfortably wear, and apply it in a V shape from your inner eye corner, down alongside your nose, and back up to the outer corner of your eye, then blend out the edges. This will give you that Kim Kardashian highlight that looks so pretty in photos. Use the same concealer down the bridge of your nose, on your browbones, on the center of your forehead, and on your chin. This will help you glow without using any shimmer, for a naturally luminous look. Then, use a dark cream to contour your cheekbones. I also used a little on the sides of my nose to slim the bridge and shorten the length. Once you're done, set it all with a pressed transluscent powder.

There's very minimal color to this look, and it's pretty much all pink. I applied a baby doll pink blush to the apples of my cheeks and blended upward to the temples. Then, I brushed on a rosy pink lipstick to the entire lip area, then used a deeper pink on the outer corners and edges, so the lighter center would look look pouty. I finished the look by polishing the edges with a pink lipliner.

There is absolutely no shimmer to any of this makeup, but you still end up with a magical glow. I hope this helped!

Seriously, I think every princess makes this face at least once per movie. OH! There are dwarves in this cottage! I just saw Sebastian on a dinner plate! A teacup and a clock just talked to me! Maybe I should have ignored the Drink Me sign! The list goes on and on...

Viciously Vixenish: E.L.F. Disney Villains Palette Review

Saturday, I drove to five Walgreen's while Thomas called four more. Sunday, we took a mini-road trip to the next town, and then the NEXT town over, and finally found a store that stocked these limited-edition palettes. Folks, that was with the help of the E.L.F. store locator. I'm not sure if it's off, or if the stores just didn't get their shipments in time for the launch, or what the deal is. All I know is that these suckers are hard to find. 

Honestly, by the time I actually got my hands on one, it was less a matter of wanting the darn thing, and more just the principle. (And no, I didn't just drive that far for a cheap makeup palette. We made a day of it.)

Anyhoo, I picked up two: Maleficent's Sinister Smoky Eyes for me, and The Evil Queen's Daringly Dramatic Eyes for my best friend, Genna. Obviously, I can't swatch hers, so we're just going to focus on the Maleficent palette for the purposes of this review. Just so you know, there's also a Cruella DeVille palette, but it's all neutral colors, and I need more of those about as badly as I need a third eye. 

This is long and picture heavy, so be ye warned. Let's take a look!

The outer packaging is much nicer than I expected. It feels like a hard-bound book, and has a matte finish with a glossy picture of the inside and foil accents. It does scratch easily (as you can see in the photo), but the artwork is beautiful, and the overall look is every bit what you should expect from Disney.

When you open the palette, you'll find a decent-sized mirror on the left, and all of your products on the right. Please pardon the glare coming from the protective film. While I do appreciate the plastic covering, I am more than a little annoyed that it doesn't come off. It's built into the palette and flips off of the products and onto the mirror side, but it doesn't lay flat. You have to weigh it down with something to keep from having it snap back while you're working with the shadows, and it's a royal pain in the you-know-what. Now, the mirror is a really cute touch, but I'm probably not going to use it very much, if at all, expecially because of the plastic sheeting factor. What is cool, and one of my favorite features, actually, is behind the magic mirror...

...Get the Look instructions! There are how-to's for two looks--one day, one night--with a neat little transluscent Maleficent sporting each style.

See! It flips! It also makes me hate that little bit of plastic sheeting even more, because you have to weigh it down ON TOP of this, which makes following the instructions a bit of adventure in juggling. I think I'm going to take some scissors to that bad boy when I get a second. It's just really bugging the heck out of me (can you tell?).

And now: (drumroll, please) THE PRODUCTS!! Here's an overview of what you get for your ten bucks:

False lashes and glue

"Day Evil" shadow colors, eye primer, and lip & cheek color pencil

"Night Villain" shadow colors, liquid eyeliner, and lip & cheek color pencil

Swatches: Left to Right--Primer , Day Evil Lip & Cheek, Liquid Liner, Night Villain Lip & Cheek

I'm not reviewing the lashes because I haven't tried them. If they're like the other E.L.F. strip lashes, they're perfectly fine lashes. I am a little bummed that they're not as pointy in person as they are in the publicity photo, but they're still very interesting-looking, and I'm anxious to see how they look on. The glue has never been my favorite, though. I prefer Duo or Ardell, and neither is terribly expensive.



Day Evil Shadows: Left to Right--Spindle, Scepter, Fog of Doom, Fauna

 I am pleasantly surprised by the quality of these shadows. No, I'm not going to sit here and tell you that they're the end-all-be-all of shadows, and Urban Decay and MAC need to watch their backs, 'cause here comes E.L.F.! That would be lying, and lying is wrong. What I am going to say is that E.L.F. has stepped up their game a bit. I'd rate the pigmentation on all of these at Fair to Good with a couple of standout shades. There is some fallout, particularly on the glittery shadows, so make sure you take precautions.


Night Villain Shadows: Left to Right--Misfortune, Forest of Thorns, Deep Sleep, Diablo

 Misfortune and Diablo appear to be the most pigmented of the bunch; Fog of Doom, Fauna, and Deep Sleep, the least, but still workable and still pretty. Here's the color breakdown:

Spindle: Pale satin wheat. Comes off as slightly darker than flesh-toned on me, and I'm an NW15.
Scepter: Shimmery bronzed gold.
Fog of Doom: Bluish-purple satin.
Fauna: Emeral satin with multi-colored micro-glitter.

Misfortune: Silvery-gray shimmer.
Forest of Thorns: Dark charcoal gray with fine holographic glitter. Gorgeous smoky color.
Deep Sleep: Wine satin.
Diablo: Reddish-black shimmer with micro glitter. Reminds me of MAC Beauty Marked.

This is the Day Evil look, as instructed. Spindle on the browbone, Scepter at the inner corner, Fog of Doom on lid, Fauna in crease. I added Fog of Doom as a lower liner, and used black pencil and mascara to finish the look. It was quick and dirty. Please don't judge.

This is the Night Villain look, as instructed. Misfortune on the brow and inner corner, Forest of Thorns on the lid, Deep Sleep in the crease, and Diablo to deepen the crease. Finish with liquid liner on top lash line. I added Deep Sleep and Diablo on the lower lash line, and black mascara to complete. You can see the glitter fallout, so be careful. Again, quick and dirty. I just wanted to see how these performed. i actually did both eyes simultaneously. It was a look, let me tell you.

I feel like the shadows perform well enough, and the colors are lovely and work well together. Obviously, the clear liner is more of a glitter accent than a means of defining, but I like it a lot. None of this is professional quality, but it's more than adequate for personal use. And it's a heck of a lot of fun.

Top Lip: Day Evil Lip & Cheek Color. Bottom Lip: Night Villain Lip & Cheek Color.

Speaking of a look, top and bottom--two different colors! Woohoo! I really wanted to see how these looked and felt. Honestly...they're lip liners, and pretty hard ones, at that. They do a decent job at lining, and an okay job filling in, but I'm not about to try to put these on my cheeks. I had a hard enough time smudging the swatch. I can't even imagine trying to blend either of these out as a blush. The colors are a pinky-red and a brighter magenta.

As I said, those looks above were thrown together to test performance and shades. To really test these products, I put them to the all-day, heat and humidity challenge. On my eyes, the Day Evil look, with Fog of Doom and Fauna smudged on the lower lash line, and added black liner and mascara. I lined my lips with the Day Evil lip pencil, then went over with peachy nude shimmery lipstick. Peachy pink cream blush and filled in brows complete the look. I've been wearing this for a few hours now, and everything's holding up. The lipstick could stand a top off, and I need a blotting paper, but the colors haven't faded or smudged.

Final Verdict: 7 out of 10. If you can get your hands on one, pick it up. It's not a life-changer, but it's darn good, and fun for the Halloween season.

Villainous Vanity: Disney and E.L.F. Villain Palettes

Once Upon a Time, the good fairies at Disney and the pretty pixies at MAC concocted a delightfully wicked collection of villainous cosmetics, and there was much rejoicing. Some time later, the good Disney fairies decided to create their own brand of magnificently malevolent makeups, and there was, um, less rejoicing. Now, the fairies have opted to bring on board the happy elves at, well, E.L.F. to magick up a new line of palettes for beautiful baddies, and I, for one, am ridiculously excited.

Available for a limited time at select Walgreen's, beginning September 15th (mark your calendars, guys!), will be three E.L.F. palettes, based upon Snow White's Evil Queen, Sleeping Beauty's Melificent, and 101 Dalmatians' Cruella DeVille. The palettes each contain colors themed to their specific villain, and each focuses on a different style of makeup. The Evil Queen's "Daringly Dramatic Eyes" palette is plummy overall. Melificent's "Sinister Smoky Eyes" are gorgeously green, and Cruella's "Evil Everyday Eyes" boasts a neutral, natural color scheme.

Photo Credit: Musings of a Muse

An Instagram photo was released on Friday, giving an up-close view of the Melificent palette. It appears to hold a set of false eyelashes and glue, eight eye shadows, an eyelid primer, two lip pencils, and what could be either an eyeliner or lipgloss (the pictures aren't the greatest in the world). Palettes will retail for $9.99.

Photo Credit: Instagram

I'm beyond thrilled at the prospect of bringing these home. The packaging is beautiful (I love the mirror!), and E.L.F. has some wonderful products. The brand has a tendency to be hit or miss, but when they get it right, they knock it out of the park. From these photos, it looks like they've gotten it right.

Skin As White As Snow...Check!

Oh, I'm so excited! Tonight, I'm going to the sneak preview of Snow White & the Huntsman, and it looks like it's going to be amazeballs. I have no idea why, but I have been completely stoked to see this movie since I first heard about it. I guess it's because the princess part of me loves a good fairy tale, and the feminist part of me really digs it when the heroine kicks some serious butt. Anyway, I've been all over this one, and even managed to score a cooler-than-usual promotional t-shirt that I'm wearing today. It's a super-soft gray burnout v-neck with silhouettes of birds making up the shape of a tree printed on the hip. Honestly, it just looks like a fashion tee, with the only giveaway that it's a promo being the movie's logo printed on one sleeve. I didn't notice it for quite a while, and I was studying the shirt pretty hard. Anyhoo, it seems that nifty t-shirts weren't the only tie-in for this movie, and there are actually a couple of impressive beauty sets (which makes sense) on the market. 

Photo Credit: Benefit

If you're a Benefit fan, there's the gorgeous Rare Beauty set. It includes a full-sized POREfessional balm, full-sized BADgal mascara, deluxe sample of Benetint cheek and lip stain, and deluxe sample of High Beam highlighter, all housed in an absolutely lovely lavender and pearl train case. The set goes for $45, which seems a little high until you remember that POREfessional runs $29, and BADgal is another $19...so you'll end up saving $3 right off the bat, and that's not even taking into account the deluxe samples or the case. If you use those two products, snap this up. Me? Well, I like POREfessional very much, and use my sample size underneath mineral makeup. Unfortunately, BADgal isn't for me. It's a good mascara--don't get me wrong! It's just not my personal favorite. I'm more into Buxom and Tarte. I do like the High Beam highlighter a lot, but I'm currently in love with a cream highlight from Urban Decay (discontinued, wouldn't you know), and I've found that, pretty as Benetint is, I can't use it. I'm probably the only person on the planet to have a reaction to it, but I'm sort of allergic. Who knew? In other words, it's a wonderful set for somebody, just not me. I do encourage you to check it out, though. 

Photo Credit: Beauty.com

The other set is the much more affordable, twenty-five dollar Deborah Lippmann Snow White & the Huntsman nail polish duo. It contains two polishes, one each in Prelude To a Kiss (a pale, almost eggshell pink) and Dark Side Of the Moon (dark, blue-based blood red). I have zero experience with these polishes, but the colors look beautiful in the box.

For giggles, I thought I'd try a Snow White-inspired look to wear to the movie. I knew that cheeks and lips would be the main focus, so for the eyes, I did a sugar-sparkle shadow (snow sparkles, right?) in a barely-there shade. Of course, Kristen Stewart is known for her smoky eye, but that wouldn't be appropriate with the strong lips and cheeks, so I tried a toned-down version to keep the look natural and pretty. Other than that, I worked a lot on making the skin look dewy and flawless (ha! I am so broken out, it's ridiculous). What do you guys think?


Products used:

TooFaced Beauty Balm in Vanilla Glow

Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in Light

E.L.F. Mineral Foundation in Warm

E.L.F. Brow Kit in Medium

NYX HD Eye Primer (works GREAT for glitter shadows!)

Eyes: Urban Decay Stardust in Space Cowboy--All Over

         Satin-Finish Camel from NYX Dark Shadows Palette--Crease

         Matte Charcoal Brown from NYX Dark Shadows Palette--Lower Lash 

         Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero--Upper Lash

         Urban Decay 24/7 Shadow Pencil in Sin--Inner Corner

Maybelline Falsies Mascara in Black--Upper and Lower

NYX Matte Red Blush from the Dark Shadows Palette (I knew I could find a way to wear it!)

MAC Mineralize Blush Duo in Moon River as Highlighter (discontinued, but I'm working to find a dupe!)

Revlon Lip Butter in Cherry Tart