Wigging Out: How To Make Your Halloween Costume Wig Look Less Terrible

With Halloween rapidly approaching (and Christmas rapidly attacking, but don't get me started on that. We'll save that for another rant.), I'm sure at least a few of you are planning costumes, and that some of those costumes are going to need wigs...

...and that Halloween wigs suck.

I'm sorry, but they do. I'd imagine it has a lot to do with the fact that they're shoved in flat plastic bags (and that they tend to be poorly made to begin with...), but they never look anywhere remotely close to what's pictured on the model. Of course, when the price is low, I'm not going to expect too much, and I'm certainly not going to complain. The higher-priced ones irk me, but, again, that's another rant for another time.

Anyhoo, the point of this post is to give you some tips on styling your own cruddy party-store wig into something you'd actually be okay instagramming at a party. These are not "pro tips", but are some things you can do without having to buy (too much) special equipment. Heck, I'm not an expert. I wouldn't even know where to begin styling a high-quality wig. I have, on the other hand, had plenty of experience dealing with cheap synthetics.

So, a few weeks back, Thomas and I filmed a short about goofy supervillains. One of our actresses was supposed to be very glamorous in a retro-sixties way, and while she's gorgeous, I had no idea what I was going to do with her hair. It's absolutely lovely--don't get me wrong, this girl is stunning--but Thomas wanted a very specific look that would require extensions and pieces and about an hour longer than I had. I lost sleep over this, guys. Then, the heavens opened and the angels sang, and this appeared in the Halloween aisle at Target:

Yeah...it sucks. But it was eight bucks, and I could take as long as I needed to style it. You know, as long as "as long as I needed" was less than about 14 hours. I didn't find it until the day before the shoot.

To start, I pulled the wig out of the bag and surveyed the damage. It was...rough. I tried it on, and the bangs were completely uneven and reached my chin, with longer strands dangling lower. The waves and curls were practically non-existent, and what was there was scraggly. That said, the construction of the wig wasn't terrible. The layers were ugly, but they were even, and the color was beautiful. This was definitely a workable situation. I grabbed a hairbrush and started trying to unsnarl the knots.

Now, they do make wig combs for styling, but on a cheapie wig like this, I don't see the point in spending the extra money. I used a regular brush on my hair pieces for theatre, and those were worn and re-styled a lot. I never had any trouble with them, other than some shedding. As it was, this wig came out of the bag shedding. I worked in sections from the bottom up, brushed gently, and did not try to brush directly from root to end. Sure, I did end up with a tribble's worth of fake red hair in my brush in the end, but the hair didn't come out in clumps, or anything like that. In other words, use your own judgement. If you'd feel better using the pro brush, go for it. I just, personally, didn't see a need.

Once the knots were untangled, I set to work styling. First, I grabbed a wig head (mine was from Hobby Lobby, and I think around $10) and pinned the wig in place using big straight pins with colorful ball tips. I wanted to be able to find them easily when time came to put the wig on the actress. Then, I just started styling the hair as if on a real person.

The thing to remember is that this is not real hair. Synthetic hair is plastic and rather thick. It'll hold its shape pretty well without gel or mousse, or anything like that. Also curling irons and hot rollers (and heat implements, in general) will melt the strands. You can tease the hair to a certain extent, and you can roll it by misting sections with water, rolling on foam curlers, and allowing to dry. You can pin it, you can braid it, you can manipulate it into whatever style you choose, just don't use heat or products. Here's a picture of mine on the stand, rollers still in place: 

For this look, I kept the existing middle part and divided three sections off of it. These were clipped out of the way while I teased the crown into a bouffant. I wrapped the middle divided section over the teased portion and pinned the ends under to create the pouf. Then, I pinned the front sections around that, hiding all pins as I went. The ends were misted with water, then twisted and rolled on satin-covered foam rollers (from Sally Beauty Supply) to create waves, and then the bangs were trimmed to a more reasonable length, with the intention of finishing the trim once the wig was on the actress (and we all know about good intentions...). I added the headband the actress would wear to make sure the placement was about what I wanted.

As luck would have it, I wasn't even in the same building as the actress when the wig went on, and wasn't able to even see it in place until shooting had already started and it was too late to trim the bangs any further. Here is a really lousy, heavily cropped, way too dark shot of the actress wearing the wig:

Why yes, that is a clown on her left and a gorilla on her right. Why do you ask?

And here's the promo photo from the short. They're channeling The Breakfast Club. I think the wig looks particularly nice here:

Should anyone else need to wear this, I can wash it. I would have to be very careful with the pouf, since I really don't want to have to do that again, and it would definitely have to be re-curled, but washing these kinds of wigs is not a problem. Just use cool water and a very mild soap, like baby shampoo. Again, there are special wig shampoos out there, and you can use those if you want, of course, but the baby shampoo will work just as well, and it's a little more readily available.

So, in conclusion, here are the basic tips again:

• If you use a regular hairbrush, start at the ends and work your way up. Avoid putting any stress on the roots. You can also use a professional wig comb, available at Sally Beauty and any number of online retailers for fairly cheap.
• Do not use hair products. A little finishing hairspray is okay, but nothing else is necessary. It'll hold on its own.
• DO NOT USE HEAT! EVER! THE HAIR WILL MELT!
• Curl the wig by misting with water and rolling on foam curlers. Allow to air dry.
• You can cut the wig, if necessary.
• You can wash the wig with cool water and baby shampoo. Allow to air-dry, then re-style.

I hope this helped! Have a great Halloween, and be sure to share any cool wig pics in the comments.

All I Want For Halloween Is a Costume That Fits: Rant and Audience Participation

Why can't I buy a freaking Halloween costume?

Let me rephrase that: Why can't I walk into a store, try on, and then buy a freaking Halloween costume? You almost have to order online. My local Party City isn't sure they're even getting in some of the costumes they have on their Wall O' Stuff because the warehouse has already sold out online. If you go to the Spirit Halloween website, you can scroll through pages before you find anything that isn't "online only". Walmart has only a handful of adult costumes, and Target isn't stocking any in stores. I don't want to have to order a costume online!!

And why not, you ask? Because it's a crap-shoot, that's why. Back when we did The Night Shift, I needed to order a few costumes for our zombies and ghosties. Everyone was measured, and I used those measurements to choose sizes based on the provided size charts. Of those costumes, only one was usable out of the bag. Barely. And only because it was stretchy. Everything else was either waaaaay too big or waaaaay too little, or bore, in no way, any resemblance to the picture on the website. At least two costumes had to be scrapped entirely, one was altered and dyed, and we were able to salvage the accessories from another. Frankly, it was pitiful.

Of course, that was three years ago. Surely, the size charts would be improved by now, you say. Let's fast-forward to last year. I decided to be Belle. I researched, read reviews, studied Google Images, and decided on a very sweet costume. Again, I chose my size based on my measurements and their size chart. Again, my online costume arrived in a size that was nowhere near close, and the entire dress was sewn lopsided! Now, I don't expect a Halloween costume to be of the highest--or even decent--quality, but I do expect the sleeve openings to be sort of close to the same size. I wore the costume. It wasn't pretty, and it certainly wasn't flattering, but I wore it. Had I had the opportunity to try it on, I never would have purchased it. I would have found another one that was sewn a bit more symmetrically, and in the proper size.

So, we skip ahead to this year. Having been burned several times in the past, I decide not to buy online. Unfortunately, that means I'm left with only a meager selection of skanky cops, slutty red riding hoods, and store-bought zombies (and there's nothing sadder than a store-bought zombie. Seriously, just rip up something from the thrift store--it'll have more personality). A few generic sequinned slips and satiny catsuits (cause those are flattering) dot the aisles, but very little else. For fun, I tried on a random costume, based on what the online size chart recommended. I grabbed a sexy Robin (Yes, Batman's sidekick) in a size Large, and headed for the dressing rooms. It was entirely too big. Like, I would have to take it up several inches in the waist. In addition, it looked absolutely nothing like the costume pictured on the package. I'm not going to lie, it was cute, but it didn't fit and it wasn't what was advertised. Had I plunked down fifty bucks to order it off the website, I'd have been royally miffed.

Most likely, I won't buy a costume this year. Maybe, if I can find a good enough coupon, I might get a superhero corset and tutu (cause that's all they've got) and modify it to be trick-or-treater friendly. At least I can make sure that each piece fits. The thing is, as much as I complain, poor Thomas has it even worse. There are even fewer guy options, and almost all of them come with a horrible, stiff muscle chest. Let me tell you, those things hurt, and they really limit your range of motion. He won't order online, either, because of the sizing issue. He's a tall guy, and doesn't want to waste a fair amount of money on something that may very well be too short.

(And yes, we know we can return costumes, but rarely have we received them in time to do so. Either we won't have time to receive the new size, or the costume will have sold out, or it's not the size that's the problem, and we don't want to keep ordering and returning until we find something workable. Also, I really think that the order should be right to begin with. That's really the issue.)

So, I ask you: What do you think? Have any of you run into this problem, or is it more of a local thing? I'm just curious. We're heading to Florida soon, and may try to run in some Halloween stores down there. Is it worth the time and effort, or are we just going to run into the same selection? Does anyone have any tips for ordering online? Maybe I'm just doing it wrong. Anyway, leave a comment and help a girl out. Thanks!

Attack of the Deadly Spider-Lashes!!: KISS False Eyelash Review

Well, Halloween happened, and I think the neighborhood kids enjoyed Mom's spooky front-yard cemetery. A very confident little Harry Potter made the low-lying fog "expelliarmus", and at least one mom thought Thomas' Batman was "sexy". Me? I fought my false eyelashes all night.

Note to self: Do NOT try something new on a day when you will NOT be able to do anything about it if it sucks. 

Okay, so a couple of weeks back, I received the Beauty Blogger Influenster VoxBox, which was filled with products for me to play with and report back to you on. For the most part, I've been impressed with the items, and even gave some mini-reviews on my box opening post. However, I decided to save the KISS false eyelash kit to use on Halloween...'cause I'm an idiot. 

I should have known better than to wait until the day of to try out a foreign object that must be attached to my eyes with glue. I mean, seriously, there are way too many things that can go wrong! Yeah...idiot...

Luckily, for me, the glue did not irritate my eyes. It's actually a very nice glue. There was a slight odor, but, as I said, no irritation, and the stuff really held. I wore these lashes for twelve hours straight, with no worries of the lashes coming off. That said, they did remove easily, and the glue wisked away with a little makeup remover. My only complaint with the glue is that it took ages to dry enough to apply, but I can deal with that. 

The applicator was a nice idea. It didn't work as well as a pair of tweezers, and I ended up just using my fingers, anyway, but it was helpful for clamping the lashes to my natural lashes. 

The lashes, however, were terrible. They looked fine when worn, but the strips were ridiculously stiff. Normally, I flex my strips a few times to help them contour to my eyes, but these wouldn't flex. I had to bend them in half--so that there was a crease and a point--before I could attempt to apply them. On top of that, I still couldn't get the inner corners to lay flat. I tried bending, I tried trimming, I tried yelling obscenities at them (that probably worked the best, believe it or not), but nothing did the trick. I spent the next twelve hours checking, clamping, re-checking, and re-clamping. On top of that, they were so heavy that they weighed down my natural lashes and impaired my vision. I had to close my eyes, from time to time, just to have a rest from the weight! Let me tell you, it sucked. When the last trick-or-treater exited the graveyard, those furry little spider lashes went straight into the trash can. I'll reuse the glue, and I'll hang on to the applicator, but I'm not bothering with any more of those strip lashes. 

Final Verdict: 5 out of 10. You can make 'em work...just don't plan to wear them too long. 

They look fine, but they just don't feel good. 

In unrelated news, I'm starting a challenge Monday! It's self-imposed! 'Cause I don't have enough on me, already! 

It's, ready or not, the Holiday season. I know a lot of you will be looking for makeup gifts to either give or put on your own lists, and I thought this might help you out. Last year, my "had to have" item was the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. I didn't do a review on it because it seemed unnecessary. We all knew that the shadows were fantastic quality, the packaging was amazing, and the brush was pretty darn good for a freebie. The colors, themselves, were completely open to debate, but it all boils down to personal preference. Me? I love it, and use it a lot. Other bloggers...not so much. The main complaint I run into is that it's not versatile. I haven't really run into that, but that could just be me. So, as a public service, I am going to wear and photograph a different eyeshadow look, made exclusively with shadows from the palette, every day for a week. God, help me. Then, you can judge for yourself if you think that the palette is versatile enough for you or your loved one. I know it's still a very popular, wished-for item, but it's also a fairly pricey item. I'd hate for anyone to spend the money on it, only to be disappointed. Conversely, I'd hate for anyone to miss out on something that would really enhance their routine. After all, 'tis the season for coupons and sales. 

Costume Creations: Doctor Who's Amy Pond

Hoo boy, I do not look like Karen Gillan. Not even slightly. Of course, like every other female Doctor Who fan in the world, that doesn't stop me from absolutely coveting her hair, makeup, and clothes on the show. Amy Pond is entirely gorgeous, but in that accessible, girl-next-door kind of way. I know that some of you out there might be considering an Amy costume for Halloween, or possibly as cosplay for a convention (I'm getting excited for the New Orleans Comic-Con, myself). To help out, I recreated the look Karen Gillan is wearing in this photo. I can't find where it was taken, but it looks like a press junket. This, out of all the photos I found online, struck me as the most typical "Amy" look (which is odd, since she's not in character in this shot, but whatevs):


Photo Credit

And here's the recreation. You have no idea how badly I want her photographer and lighting and hairstylist and retouching program and genes...

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out! The colors are pretty close, and I finally figured out how to do the "Amy Pond Eye". So, here's what we're doing:

First, prime your face, then apply a medium to full coverage foundation. I used Tarte Clean Slate and Urban Decay Naked Skin. You can use whatever you want, of course. If you're doing this for a con, where you're going to be walking around and getting sweaty, but will still be photographed out the ears, Ben Nye cream foundations look amazing and were built for that kind of wear (see the princess tutorial from a couple of days ago, because that's what I used. Heck, see it anyway, 'cause we're going to be reusing a lot of those techniques, here).

Next, prime your eyes from lid to brow with a flesh colored base. I used Urban Decay Primer Potion in Eden, but NYX or E.L.F. would work well, too. After I primed, I went into my NYX Crimson Amulet palette and used the matte pink eyeshadow all over the lid and on up to the brow. Next, I took the lilac satin finish and applied it at the crease, then went over it with the purplish-blue color. The white shimmer went just at the brow bone. To line the eyes in that distinct Amy Pond fashion, I used a black gel pencil (Buxom's Insider Eyeliner in Black Onyx) on the top lashline, then brought it down to the bottom lashline, and ran it halfway across. It doesn't wing, but the two lines do connect. Then, I grabbed a waterproof black liner (UD 24/7 in Zero) and used it on the waterline, but only in the very outer corner. I cleaned up by lashlines by running black shadow on a flat brush across them. A white liner (NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk) went on the rest of the waterline and in the inner corner. The look's not difficult, but there are more steps than I ever thought for. Finish up the eyes by filling in your brows and applying copious amounts of black mascara to your top and bottom lashes.

The Eye. Thrilling...

Back to the skin! Grab your concealer (one shade lighter than your foundation, please), and draw a V shape from the inner corner of your eye, down the side of your nose, and back up to the outer corner of your eye. Fill it in and blend it out. This will create that cool "Kim Kardashian" highlight, and it's the same technique we used on the princess look. In fact, go ahead and highlight the center of your nose, your chin, and your forehead while you're at it. I'll wait...

Alrighty. Now, if you're not totally sleep deprived, like I was, this is when you'd want to set everything with a transluscent powder. If you're me, you'll remember that after you have a pain of a time applying your blush. Going back to the NYX Crimson Amulet palette, use the matte pink blush only on my outer cheekbone. The apples are left bare. Then, take the matte red blush and go over the pink, to create a berry color. After that, use a light bronzer to contour the cheekbones and nose. Then (even if you set with a transluscent powder earlier), grab your HD powder and give the whole look a good once over.

Next, take a berry lipliner (mine was the Night Villain color from the E.L.F. Maleficent palette) and line your lips, bringing the color in on the outer corners. Then, fill in with a berry lipstick. I used Buxom's Lip Tarnish in Scandal, but MAC Chic works well, too. Finally, if you're me, and just feel like being sparkly, grab the pretty highlighter out of the NYX palette and go over the already highlighted areas. I don't recommend it, since it photographs weird, but I was on allergy meds and punchy, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't.

In person, you are going to look like you have on more makeup than a Norma Desmond-wannabe, but it photographs really well. Have fun exploring time and space!!!

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...

Costume Creations/Frugal Friday: Frankie Stein from Monster High

My little niece, Tempest, is big into Monster High. It's my fault, too. I got her a Frankie Stein rag doll for Christmas one year, and that was it. To her mother, I apologize.

Last year, Temp went as Frankie Stein for Halloween, and was so darn cute it hurt. In her honor, I thought I'd do a costume look for Frankie Stein, and I wanted to try to do it with all drugstore products. This is not intended to "transform" you into Frankie, nor is it meant to be a "going out" look. This is just to show that you don't need to buy the overpriced makeup kit that is sold alongside the costume to get a Frankie Stein look for trick-or-treating. If you want to see me do a Frankie Stein-inspired "going out" look for adults (since those costumes apparently exist. Who knew?), let me know in the comments, and that can totally be arranged. This one is more "stage makeup" inspired, and intended for ten to twelve year-olds.

For the uninitiated, this is Frankie:

Frankie Stein (Credit)

And here's what I came up with:

I know, the stitches go on the other cheek. Whoops. You'll also want to do your neck and ears, but this was for demonstration purposes only. I love you guys, but Supernatural was coming on. I have priorities. Jensen Ackles is cute.

I'm not a tween, nor am I a model, so this looks silly as heck. Plus, I blinked every darn time Thomas took a picture. As a stage actor, I can tell you that this--every bit as much as the whole "the actors could get distracted, fall, and die" aspect--is the reason they tell you not to take flash photos at theatrical productions. It's because we're unaccustomed to the flashes and make stupid faces. THIS is the picture I look the least stoned in, so here you go. 

Alrighty, I (not being a twelve year-old with perfect skin) started out by applying a moisturizer, then used Maybelline Age Rewind concealer to cover any blemishes and dark circles. Then, I used a NYX jumbo pencil in Milk to prime my eyelids, all the way up to the brow. The white base will help keep the L.A. Colors mineral shadow in a purple color nice and vibrant. Next, I mapped out the shape I wanted for the eyeshadow, then filled in the entire area with purple,including under the lower lashline. After that, I took the pink shadow from the L'Oreal HiP duo "Reckless" and defined the crease area. Then, I grabbed my NYX liquid liner (though a black pencil would work if you're not comfortable with liquid) and created a winged cat eye on the top lashes, then lined the lower lashline, as well. We'll come back to the eyes a little bit later.

For the skin, I used a small, dense powder brush to apply the green side of the L'Oreal HiP duo "Perky" all over my face. This will take you a thousand forevers, but it's a sheerer effect than greasepaint, and easier to find in a close-to-accurate shade. If you have trouble keeping the brush out of the dark navy shadow that makes up the other half of the duo, try carefully covering that half with a little masking tape until you finish with the green. Once you have your face (and neck and ears) covered, take an even smaller brush (like a lipliner) and the same green (the smaller brush will help concentrate the color) to map out the places you want contoured, like the cheekbones and around the nose. Use the bigger brush to blend out the lines. Then, uncover the navy blue side and lightly go over those contoured areas with the bigger brush and the blue. You'll also want to go into your hairline and around your jaw. Next, take a blush brush and a hot pink blush, like E.L.F.'s Pink Passion from the Studio line, and shade the apples of your cheeks. Use the same brush to pop a bit of the purple eyeshadow over the pink, to tie the colors together. Dust a sparkly white shadow, like L.A. Colors mineral shadow, onto the cheekbones to highlight.

Back to the eyes! You're going to have to do a little clean-up, now that the green is in place. I found it easiest to do this with the NYX jumbo pencil in Milk, because it's super creamy, opaque, and you can just draw it wherever you want it. I didn't want to lose the eyeshadow shape, so I used the white pencil as a highlight for the brow, inner corner, and brought it down below the lower lashline. I also used it on the waterline. Then, I applied two coats of black mascara to upper and lower lashes. You could use false lashes, but I know a lot of kids won't sit still long enough for that, so I just went with the mascara.

To finish things up, I used a black pencil to darken my brows and to draw on her stitches. Lastly, I applied Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Romantic to my lips for her signature glossy red pout.

I hope you enjoyed this. Again, if you want to see a more grown-up version, let me know in the comments.

Glitter and Be...Batgirl, Actually: NYX Glitter Cream Palette Review

***Points to anyone who guesses the song reference in the title! Also, not a Batgirl tutorial. She doesn't wear glitter, sad to say.***

I'm going to be controversial today!! Well, as controversial as I get, anyway. (I'm generally pretty easy-going...)

NYX has a collection of glitter palettes on the market, and it seems like you either love them entirely, or you hate them with the fiery passion usually reserved for only people who hit the elderly or kick puppies. Let me preface this by saying, I had no idea.

A couple of weeks back, Ulta ran a 40% off sale on NYX and a few other brands. I'd been eyeing the pretty shinies for a while, but have not been able to bring myself to spend upwards of five bucks a pop on them. I mean, it's not like I have the opportunity to wear full-on glitter every day. But...it was close to Halloween...and they were on sale...and it would almost be buy one, get one...so I bit the bullet and picked up the two that I thought I would use the most (you know, when I actually use glitter). I got Royal Violets, a variety of purples and a bright gold, and Paradise, which is sort of the "neutral" palette. It's a black, white, silver, and gold, with a hot pink thrown in for funsies. Here's a quick pic of the two.

Paradise is on top, Royal Violets on the bottom.
I have not used Royal Violets, yet, so it's still sealed. That's how it comes from the store.

I wore a Batgirl caped shirt to the Disney Halloween Party, and thought it might be fun to add a little glitter into my makeup for the occasion, so Paradise went with me to Orlando. I got to play with it a bit, and wanted to share my thoughts on the palette.

Frankly, I liked it. I can, however, see why this is so polarizing, and I'll explain.

WHY PEOPLE DON'T LIKE THESE PALETTES (taken from numerous bad reviews)
1) It's not pigmented.
2) It doesn't blend well, and it gunks up your brushes.
3) It doesn't look like it does in the pan when I put it on my eyes.

Alrighty. I get that. Every word of that is true. However, I don't think these palettes were ever meant to be pigmented, applied with brushes, packed on that heavily (though you can, and I've seen it done!), or even necessarily used around the eyes. In fact, on the back of the Paradise palette (not the Royal Violets), it flat-out states that it's not intended for use in the eye area. In other words: THIS IS NOT GLITTER EYESHADOW! It is loose glitter in a lightly tinted gel base. It's a less messy, more travel-friendly, infinitely more convenient alternative to just applying loose glitter, and if you look at it in that regard, it's a great product for the glitter-obsessed.

Close-Up of the Paradise Palette

Swatches. Left to Right: Pink Holographic, Black Multi, White Holographic, Gold Holographic, Silver Multi.

Now, I'll be honest. I used this in the eye area, because I am a rebel and I do what I want. Plus, I didn't see the warning on the back. Oops. Of course, I would never recommend that you ignore a warning and use this in the eye area. That would be irresponsible of me, and that's just not how I roll. Please forgive me for not having a picture, but I think the swatches above should tell you all you need to know about how this looks on. There's no difference. It's just glitter, and I used my fingers to mix the glitter with the gel, then place it over a finished eyeshadow look and onto my cheeks. Obviously, the eye area is the most common place for glitter to be used, and it strikes me as silly that this isn't eye-safe. That said, I think there are some ways you can use this to accentuate an eye look without placing it directly in the area. The white and silver make beautiful brow highlights, and you could probably take it down to the crease area without too much trouble. I would be extremely careful about going onto the lid, though. The extreme inner corner is pretty much out, but you could keep it mostly around the bridge of the nose and under the eye. Do not use this as a liner! I didn't have any trouble with fallout or sliding around, and the glitter came off fairly easily with a makeup remover wipe. The only irritation I had came the next day when a couple of errant pieces I missed with the wipe ended up on my right eye's waterline, and I had to try to gently remove them. I also used the pink as a cheek highlight, and it looked really nice.

The Good:
Beautiful colors, easy to apply, travel-friendly, convenient, inexpensive, no fall-out, long-lasting

The Bad:
Not a lot of product in the pan

The Ugly:
Not all are eye-safe

I really like this product for what it is. It's when you try to make it into something that it's not that you run into disappointment, but isn't that true of most things?

Final Verdict: 8.2 out of 10. Bear in mind it's not an eyeshadow palette and shine on!

Costume Creations: The Walking Dead

Last night was the third season premier of one of my favorite shows, The Walking Dead. I'll be honest; I'm not a fan of gore. I know, that's probably a shocker to most of you, since the movies I'm involved with tend to be in the horror genre, and I have a kickin' recipe for fake blood, but frankly, gore doesn't do it for me. It's not scary. It's just icky. The idea of the zombie, though, is terrifying. Just think about it: you're bee-bopping along, enjoying life with all of your loved ones and BAM! Zombie outbreak! Suddenly, there's the very real possibility that--at any moment--you could be bitten and killed, only to come back to terrorize your own family. Worse, yet, you could lose one of your loved ones, and not only have to deal with the pain of their death, but then have to put them down when they come back. No, thank you. That's horrifying! If you've never seen the show, that's really what The Walking Dead deals with. The real story lies with the survivors. Their fear, resolve, and guilt make for some of the best writing on television today, and the actors are more than up to the task.

That said, the zombies do look pretty darn cool.

I was supposed to go to a pre-show Zombie Walk yesterday, but the after-vacation crud got me, and I had to stay home (we just got back from Orlando, and the land of no-internet-access, in case you were wondering where I was last week). I'm a little puffy from being sick, but figured, what the hey, I'll do my zombie makeup, anyway, and share it with you guys. The walk wasn't necessarily Walking Dead themed, but I decided to go with that look and color scheme, anyway. To keep it simple, I went for a fresh "Walker" look, so I could skip out on prosthetics or latex scarring. I wanted this to be cool, but super-easy and able to be copied with stuff from the local party or Halloween store. In fact, some of this came from E.L.F., and may already be in your stash. Here you go!

(Yay for having Thomas take the pictures with a real camera!!!)

So, these are the before shots...

Okay, kidding. Slightly. I started off by using a stippling brush to cover all areas that would not be covered by clothing (which I then forgot to put on over my tank top...oops. I said I was sick...) with the lightest cream foundation I could find. Don't forget your ears! Then, I used a flat concealer brush to pat a light grayish-blue cream makeup (mine came from the Ben Nye death wheel, which is actually really cheap and accessible online, but there are great options from party stores and Halloween pop-up shops) in the hollows of my eyes. Then, I cleaned off that brush and used it to pat a brownish-burgundy cream in the same areas, blending the two colors together to simulate bruising. Don't worry about definition, yet. Next, I went back into the blue with a foundation brush, and used that to contour my face, like I normally would with a bronzer: around the hairline, temples, cheekbones, and jawline. I also brought it down onto the neck to accentuate the natural hollows. Then, I cleaned off that brush and did the same thing with the burgundy cream and blended. To add a little color to the look and get that signature Walking Dead greenish-yellow cast, I used the foundation brush to blend a little Spring green cream makeup just onto the cheeks, almost like a blush, and also patted a little onto the eyelids. I used an Easter yellow to highlight the tops of cheekbones, forehead, nose, and chin. Basically, I made sure that every inch of skin had at least two colors blended together--the original foundation, and another color. I followed that up by grabbing a stippling sponge and dotting blue and burgundy onto random areas to simulate mottled skin. To add definition, I used a small lining brush (E.L.F.'s precision brush is fantastic for this!) to line the hollows of my eyes (and patted a little yellow on the "bags" to highlight), the eye socket, the marionette lines around my mouth, and a few expression lines on my forehead. Then, I brushed just a little more blue onto my eyebrows, the hollow over my chin, and around the marionette lines. I covered my lips with a light concealer, popped a little blue on my lower lip and pressed my lips together, then added a little burgundy to make accentuate the lines in my lips and make them appear dry and cracked. The look is set with a yellow HD powder (E.L.F., again) to keep that Walking Dead tone. For fun, I grabbed some dark, medium, and bright reds and created a wound on my neck by starting with the darkest in the center and going lighter and as I spread the colors out.

This is all about layering colors and accentuating your own lines and facial structure. If you look old, pale, and unnaturally colored, you're probably on the right track. You can add to this by using fake blood, tooth color, or prosthetic "hollows" around the eyes. Thing thing about a Walking Dead zombie that's different from, say, Night of the Living Dead, is that these "Walkers" look like real dead people. The colors aren't crazy, and the costumes are believable for the person they were. Add your own personality, but keep the look grounded in reality and you'll be fine. Happy Halloween!!

Smoky, Spooky, Vamp Eyes: Featuring E.L.F. Maleficent Palette

I know a lot of you were interested in the E.L.F. Disney Villains palettes, so I decided to put together a Halloween eye look incorporating the Maleficent palette products with some others I had lying around. Okay, truth be told, I did this accidentally. Today was actually "Favorite Sports Team" day at work, so I needed something with University of Alabama crimson. As I started putting on my makeup, I realized that this would work really well with a Devil or Vampire costume. You could go more dramatic than I did, but honestly, I like it just the way it is. I paired it with a nude lip for a 60s mod vibe, but a blood red lip would look amazing. (I didn't take pictures of the whole look, since it wasn't really Halloweeny.)

If you would like to see the full , more dramaticVampire/Devil look, please let me know in the comments. I'm working on a few costume looks, and appreciate suggestions. Now, does anyone know how to make time stop so I can take a break and do them?

Here 'tis:

I hate cameras. In person, that crimson is CRIMSON. Oh well, it's still pretty.

Alrighty! I started by priming all over the lid, up to the brow. Then I used a fluffy shader brush to wash the "Misfortune" shade (silver) from the Maleficent palette all over the lid and in the crease. Then, for the crimson, I dipped a denser, shorter shader brush into "Cranberry" by MAC*. It's a permanent color, and just a gorgeous almost metallic rusty berry. It just screams Fall. I placed the color from the outer corner just to the edge of my eyeball. Then, I dipped the same brush into "Forest of Thorns" (dark charcoal with multicolored micro-glitter) from the Maleficent palette, and, holding a tissue from the corner of my eye to the end of my brows, created a sharp angle at the outer corner and blended it in. Then, I used a blending brush to blur all my edges for a smoky look.

We're just doing eyes, so you can ignore the lip and cheek color.
We'll be using the first two shades from the left, as well as the liquid eyeliner. It's sparkly!

Next, I grabbed the liquid liner from the NYX Dark Shadows palette (Crimson Amulet...whatever you want to call it) and created a medium-thick, slightly winged line on my upper lashline. I used a tiny, flat liner brush to run "Forest of Thorns" over the liquid line, then from outer corner of the lower lashline to about halfway in, then used the same brush to place "Misfortune" in the inner corner and run it under the lashes to about halfway in, meeting "Forest of Thorns" in the middle, and overlapping slightly. I finished the look by running the glitter liquid liner from the Maleficent palette over the upper lashline, then adding black mascara to top and bottom lashes, and dusting a little of the highlighter from the NYX palette onto the brow bone.

Basically, the key to this is precise edges, but no harsh lines. False eyelashes would look amazing with this, as would either a nude or blood red lip.

I hope you've enjoyed this! Again, if you would like to see this amped up a bit (vamped up a bit?) as a full-on costume look, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

*MAC shows it as darn near purple, and classifies it as a plum, but mine (bought from the store, so definitely not a fake) doesn't even come close to fitting that description. (Pixiwoo did a stunning tutorial with Cranberry, and theirs didn't look purple, either, if that makes any sense. In other words: IGNORE THE DESCRIPTION ON THE MAC SITE!)

September Favorites and Halloween Must-Haves!

Hi Guys! I thought I might do the September favorites a little differently. Sure, I'll list a few things that I thought were just stellar this month, but then I'm going to also attach a list of things I whole-heartedly recommend for Halloween. Hope it's helpful!

SEPTEMBER FAVES!

Face
MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation
Medium coverage and a light, non-greasy feel. Finish is dewy and photographs beautifully. Plus, you can apply it with your fingers if necessary.

Hair
It's a 10! Miracle Leave-In
If I haven't mentioned this before, I have been remiss. It's a simple spray-in conditioner that detangles, adds shine, and makes my hair baby soft. It's a little pricey, but well worth it. Available at Ulta and Target.

Nails
China Glaze in Foie Gras (Hunger Games)
Check your clearance aisles for this one! It's discontinued, but I've seen it at Sally's and Ulta in the past few weeks. It's a plummy brown that I've mentioned before in favorites, but after receiving numerous compliments on an Instagram photo, I felt it deserved another turn on the list.

The Instagram Photo.
Thomas and I were at a fundraiser for the local arts council, and this was their signature cocktail.
I have no clue what was in it, but it was awesome.

Okay, enought of that. Now, onto the fun stuff...

HALLOWEEN MUST-HAVES!

Alrighty! These are some basics that I suggest you keep on hand, just in case you find yourself on your way to an impromptu Halloween party. IT COULD HAPPEN! I just found out about a zombie walk, and have zero time to put anything together. Of course, you don't have to be a zombie! These are staples that will work for several different costume ideas. Here we go:

Silver Metallic Hairspray
Spray it in, wash it out. You can buy this in a multitude of colors, but if I could have only one color, it'd be silver. Actually, I have only one color, and it is silver. Interesting. Works for zombies (duh), Bride of Frankenstein, ghosts, fairies, old age.

Glow in the Dark Hair and Body Glitter
Need a costume in the next five minutes? Toss on a white dress, a little body glitter, and be a ghost. Or fallen angel (no wings). Or wear a mini-dress and bring back disco. Have a gorgeous costume, but worry you might get lost in the dark? Pop this on and glow! And yes, it really does glow. Gel form for ease in application. For me, this is a yearly must-have.

Ben Nye Professional Makeup Death Wheel
You don't need to be a pro, and you don't need to want to look dead. For my money, this wheel has the most versatile colors in it of any, and the quality is so much better than what you'll pay the same amount (or more) for at the local party store. Need a bruise? It can do that. Need a deathly pallor? Covered. Want cheekbones like Angelina Jolie? Um...it can help you fake them. Sure, you can use this for zombies, but you can also use it for vampires (classic and Twilight), boxers, Frankenstein's monster, aliens, old age, or contouring and highlighting for any character.

Ben Nye Clear Latex
Dab a little on, add a piece of one-ply tissue, cover with another layer of latex, and let dry. Instant scar! Tear it a bit and add some fake blood for an easy wound. This a great little number to keep around at Halloween, because you never know when you'll need to look undead.

Edible Blood
Personally, I prefer making my own blood, but it's by no means anything I'd like to put in my mouth. It's washable, but I'm not fond of the taste of soap. Maybe we're just weird, but Thomas and I keep a bottle of fake edible blood around, just in case. Don't you?

Happy Halloween Month, Everybody!!