Gothic Barbie Has A Birthday!

So last wk was my b-day...Oct 15 to be exact!  Another year has gone by and therefore that means I'm another yr older...which I'm actually handling pretty well esp. considering I'm in the twilight of my twenties which can be a little scary.  But personally I only find getting older hard when I'm not happy w/ where I am in my life and when I feel I'm not moving forward.  Thankfully, the last 6 mths or so have been amazing careerwise (fingers crossed it keeps up) so it makes the whole aging process a little easier to handle...it also helps that most ppl don't think I'm a day over 24 ;) lol. 

Having a trip to Europe to look forward to also makes having a b-day a lot easier to handle too lol.  I'm actually officially in Paris right now in the hostel bar using up the free WiFi...gotta love that!  Got here earlier today and arrived in London yesterday and not suffering from jet lag too bad at all...amazingly I've always been able switch my sleep and adjust to time zones really easily.  Visited my brother Steve and his wife Ania today...in fact they met me at the train station and I had a wonderful and very French lunch at their place which consisted of: Quiche, Baguette, Cheese, Chocolate, Macaroons & Wine - YUMMY!

So anyway, back to my b-day.  I had an amazing b-day this year which I celebrated w/ my amazing group of friends.  On my actual b-day I went out for a wonderful dinner w/ one special friend and it was amazing and yummy.  I didn't have my actual party on the 15th b/c I had a early morning wedding job on the 16th and definitely didn't want to be hung over on someone's special day.  So I had my big celebration w/ all my super amazing friends on the night of the 16th.  First I met up w/ Sarah my bff for dinner...unfortunately she couldn't come to the bar b/c she was running a half marathon the next day...which she did amazing in btw.  After dinner I headed to The Underground Garage - probably one of my FAV bars in the city (been going there for yrs and never ever have had a bad time).  Very low key and casual and always an amazing mix of ppl w/ great music and no pretenses...hell they have bras hanging from the ceiling lol!

So being that it was my b-day I let loose and everyone did a great job of keeping me well lubricated w/ liquor lol!  Surprisingly, I wasn't that bad the next day thankfully...probably b/c I was smart enough to get a good amount of water in me before bed.  I'm so grateful that I have such an amazing group of friends that always show their support for my gatherings and we had such a great time dancing the night away!

So being that this is a makeup blog I'll tell you about my makeup for the night lol!  I called the look "Gothic Barbie" (only an MUA would name her "makeup look" lol) and I must say I'm really taking advantage of the deep purple/red lips being in!  Love it!

"Gothic Barbie" Look

Foundation: Yaby Liquid Foundation and Powder Foundation - Buff mixed w/ Honey
Contour - Benefit Bronzer in Hula
Highlight - Face Atelier Ultra Sheer in Peach
Blush - Face Atelier in Peach Glaze
Eyes - MAC - Silver Highlight (can't remember name)
                       Gray Lid - Print
                        Black Outer Lid - Black Tie (also used for liner)
Mascara - L'Oreal Voluminous
Eyelashes - Model 21 (I think 5b or 5c but can't remember to be honest)...although I will be reviewing these lashes b/c I LOVE them!
Lips - MAC - Cunning (very deep purple...not for the timid!)

So here's some pics from the night so you can see "Gothic Barbie" in all it's Glory lol!  I know how to cut loose so enjoy lol!

Me w/ fellow Hot Blogger & Friend - Christine Estima

Myself w/ Friend & Fellow Makeup Afficiondo - Miz Ashley Readings ...Yup that's right FISH LIPS!

 Shot Time!...okay this one doesn't really show the makeup but it's fun lol!

Showing off my super sexy shoes...and of course no "Gothic Barbie" is complete w/out fishnets lol!



The Power of Red

So Fall is officially here which means I can start pulling out one of my fav. makeup trends - "The Red Lip".  Although, I hate to call it a "trend" b/c IMO a great red lip never goes out of style and always has it's place in Fashion.  It is the easiest and quickest way to bring your look from casual to glam in less then 30 seconds.  Everyone is always about the smokey eyes when they want to look done up but I really believe we have to give more credit to the Red Lip! 

With the popularity of shows like Mad Men on the rise I find a strong lip for Fall is even more popular.  I mean lipstick was an essential part of a woman's wardrobe back then and a well done lip can be a great accessory to any look! 

Nowadays, we don't put as much effort into getting ready like back then and I think that's often why lipstick is pushed aside for it's lighter, less formal counterpart lipgloss.  We often tend to look at lipstick...esp. Red Lipstick as a very formal thing that can only be worn out at night or on special occassions but I don't think that's true at all!  I frequently rock the Red Lip during the day and yes I do get a few glances...I think they are good glances ;).  But that's what it's all about.  You have to have confidence to wear a Red Lip b/c it does call attention to you but what's wrong w/ a little attention every now and then. 

One of the biggest things I hear all the time is women saying I want to find the perfect red or oh yeah it looks great on you but I CAN'T wear it!  I'm hear to say YES, you can WEAR red!  You just have to find the right red!  And in truth you just have to get use to yourself in it.  When I first started wearing Red I'm not going to lie I felt really self-conscious and uncomfortable like ppl were staring at me but now I feel empowered and in control...amazing what a little lipstick can do ;)

Yes a Red Lip is a little more high maintenance then say your usual gloss but that's not always a bad thing...on a positive note I eat and drink less b/c I don't want to mess up my lipstick lol!  Although, a great tip is to drink from a straw...I drink everything from a straw and it removes a lot less lipstick then drinking straight from a glass or gently lick  your lips before you take a sip from a glass it will help stop the transfer of
lipstick to the glass.

When rocking a Red Lip one of the most important things is to have CLEAN and EVEN lines!  You can use lipliner to help w/ this but another great tip I find is to define your lines and boundaries w/ a bit of concealer.  I use a square tip brush and take a bit of concealer and just mark my edges around my mouth a bit and blend...this cleans up any red that might bleed outwards and it allows you to achieve really sharp edges which I'm super anal about on set for shoots!  Another important thing to remember...always exfoliate your lips if they are dry and flakey before wearing Red Lipstick...dry, chapped, flakey lips NEVER look good esp. NOT w/ Red Matte Lips!  Plus this is a big prob for a lot of ppl in the Winter so something to watch out for...always moisturize you lips!

Here's some pics of me using the concealer technique.  Sorry I'm no model and the lighting wasn't great in my bathroom lol!  I also should have powdered a bit more before I started to remove the shine...but whatever lol!

Also you want to be very careful to not walk around w/ Red Lipstick on your teeth...which I unfortunately have done before :(  An easy trick to solve this is to put you finger in your mouth and pull it out.  It will remove access lipstick from your lips.

See all the excess lipstick!

So I also took a bunch of pictures of myself w/ a variety of Red Lipsticks...some flattering and some not so much lol!  I also took a picture of myself w/ no lipstick and one w/ a nude lipstick and gloss combo...another popular look in my repetoire.  I did this so that you can see the difference just a touch of colour and lipstick can bring to the face and how it changes everything about how I look.  There is nothing different about my makeup in any of the looks other then the lipstick.  Even if you look at the pics above you can see my foundation is pretty natural, just some mascara, touch of cream blush and my brows filled in (this is a necessity).  In fact I don't even really wear eyeliner anymore during the day and yet when I wear Red Lipstick everyone thinks I'm "done up"...no eyeliner or eyeshadow and I still look polished and fancy...wow that's impressive to me!

No Lipstick

Nude Lipstick/Lipgloss Combo

This is the FIRST Red Lipstick I EVER bought for myself and still my Go To Shade on MANY occasions!  It is also the Red Lipstick Featured in the first 3 pics!  I also used a lipliner in this pic.  It is a very Matte lipstick which can be a bit too dry for some.

MAC Viva Glam I

Without a Lipliner

Another Fav Red of mine and Featured in the Finger in the Mouth Pics lol!

MAC Cremesheen Party Line

Okay here's some other Reds

This ones a bit too much on the browny side for me personally but that doesn't mean it might not look FABULOUS on you!

Yaby LC025

The next one is a bit too bright for me...it's okay but I prefer my reds a bit more deep. 

Don't know the colour sorry.

Too orange IMO

Yaby LC020 Chilli Hot Hot

Here's a Really Deep Red...Doesn't Look Amazing here but I really like it actually w/ a Vampy Smokey Eye for Night's Out!

MAC Media

If you want to ease your way into Reds you can always start w/ a pinkier, lighter red

Yaby LC255

Another Great way to start wearing Reds is w/ a Lipstain...here are two of my Favs

Yaby LC267

OCC Lip Stain in Vanity (This product also works great as a blush in a pinch)

There are a million other shades of Red out there but that gives you an idea about how different Reds can look from person to person.  So experiment and find the Right Red for YOU!  It's only lipstick afterall...if you don't like it rub it off and start again!

Oh one final image of me Rocking the Red...this is out in the "Real World" at Dinner last wk not just my Bathroom lol...not the best quality sorry taken w/ a Blackberry Phone.

Kit Organizing!

So for x-mas I got a new makeup kit from my bf Alistair! Thank God b/c my other one was literally falling apart. It was actually quite embarrassing and had been ripping at the seams pretty much from the first wk I got it. It was like a Frankenkit w/ all the ghetto stitching I had sewn on it. My old kit if anyone is interested was the MUFE Professional Bag which was great b/c it was lightweight, clothe over the shoulder bag w/ lots of pockets which I like b/c I do take public transportation so I pack light but the stitching just isn't reinforced enough...apparently it's a big prob w/ the bag I found out from MUFE (they ended up giving me the bag for free b/c they didn't have any in stock when it ripped at first for me and I was leaving for Shanghai).

The new one is a bit heavier but it does seem a lot sturdier and well made but it is still an over the shoulder style bag. I have a ton of room in it and I think for a lot of simple jobs I might be able to pack light and carry a small hair kit in it too! It comes w/ trays in the bottom section but I personally took them out and I'm just putting pouches w/ stuff in there (one good thing I kept from the MUFE bag was all the removable pouches). It's from Yazmo.com if anyone is interested and they sell a ton of great makeup kits whatever your style is.

So I took a bunch of pics of kit so anyone that is interested can see how I pack for a shoot and the kinds of products I like to take w/ me. The stuff I'm showing in the pics is a lot of makeup for me and truthfully most of the time I wouldn't pack all this stuff...as mentioned before I usually like to keep it as light as possible and pack for that specific job if at all possible.

My Kit
The empty bottom where I took out the trays
One of the side pockets. If I do bring hair stuff in this kit this will be a good pocket...otherwise might use it for cellphone, water, apple etc.

Packed Kit
Inside the top of my Kit
Pouches in the Bottom Container (where trays were originally). Can you tell I like Yaby already lol. Seriously condensed my kit SOOO MUCH! I Normally wouldn't bring all the palettes in the pouch to EVERY shoot.
Brush Pouch

Big Pouch #1 - Yaby Palettes and MUFE Flash Palette - 3 Yaby Powder Foundation Palettes (Light, Med, Dark) and Highlighting Palette (Love). 1 Homemade Lip Palette (just took all my lipsticks, cut and smooshed them into empties and put them in a Yaby Freestyle Palette (many different brands). 1 Freestyle palette w/ Yaby Blush and 2 Nixie Blushes w/ a few old MAC Shadows. 3 Eyeshadow Palettes - The one on the far Right is my Neutrals Working Palette w/ cake liners and eyebrow colours too. The others are more fun. They are all a mix of Yaby shadows (pearl paint and reg) and I pressed a bunch of OCC, Face Atelier and Fyrinnae pigments into shadows...plus there's a few old MAC shadows.

Big Pouch #2 - Foundation Pouch - I have another pouch inside that one which holds my Face Atelier Foundations and my Keromask Consealers. 2 RCMA Palettes (which to be honest I don't use that much). Graftobian and Cinema Secrets Palettes and Yaby Liquid Foundations.

Side Pouch Randoms - Mixing Palette, MAC Brown Shadow Palette, Blush Palette w/ La Femme and Nixie Blushes. Benefit Leg Moisturizer (creates a nice sheen on the legs and smells nice :) ). Not shown but also carry hand towel and wipes here too.
Pouches inside the top section of the kit...and there's still more room!

Small Black Pouch - Random Tools - Eyelash Curler, Tweezers, Sharpener, Nail File, Disposables (Lip/Mascara/Spatulas), Scissors, Eyelash/Eyebrow Comb, Tide Stick, Eyebrow Razors Etc.

Bigger Black Pouch - Eye Stuff - Mascara - Black, Clear, Brown, Face Atelier Transforming Gel, Under Eye Brighteners - Benefit and Smashbox, Urban Decay Primer, DUO Eyelash Glue, MAC Matte and Glossy Gel, Fyrinnae Eye Primer and Pixie Epoxy (helps glitter stick)
Lip Pouch - Face Atelier Lip Gloss, OCC Lip Tar in Clear and OCC Lip Balm in Tarred and Feathered, MUFE Glossy Full, Random Smashbox Lip Palette, Face Atelier Lip Putty and Lip RX, 2 Graftobian Lip Palettes, MAC Lip Exfoliater and Benefit She-Laq

Med Black Mesh Pouch #1 - OCC Lip Tars - Black/White and Primary Colours, Alcone Sponges, Smashbox and Benefit Luminizers, Eyelashes, Camera Ready Cosmetics Cream Blush Wheel and Empty Bowl

Med Black Mesh Pouch #2 - Nail Polisher Remover Pads, Makeup Remover Wipes, Eye Makeup Remover, Q-Tips, Various Primers - MUFE, Fyrinnae (Cream and Powder) and Benefit, Cotton Pads, Makeup Puffs, Yaby Translucent Powder, Eyedrops, Mouth Wash, Mini Sewing Kit, Embryolisse Moisturizer, Vaseline, MAC Strobe Cream Etc.

Liquids Pouch - 99% Alcohol, Water, Toner, Glycerin, Final Seal, Brush Cleaner, Hand Sanitizer, MUFE Elixir, MAC Fix + Etc.

Okay so that's EVERYTHING in my kit...and I'm not lying there is still a lot of room in there! Plus like I said before I normally wouldn't bring ALL of this stuff to every shoot. I highly suggest everyone condense their kits...it just makes everything quicker to find and therefore you are quicker on set. I really don't even know what I would do w/ a rolling kit anymore...I don't know if I could fill it lol!