Year: 2013

Made-Up History: Gustave Courbet’s “The Desperate Man (Self-Portrait),” 1845

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For this week’s installment of Made-Up History, I have one of my favorite works by Gustave Courbet. It is a self-portrait done in 1845. I have no idea how the heck he did this in 1845. I have a hard enough time painting from several static and unmoving reference pictures. And the pose and expression! He was just so good, if a little full of himself. Courbet was AWESOME. He took no shit from anyone and was often referred to as a savage. He valued freedom (liberté!) above all else, and was of the belief that artists should paint from their life, thus catapulting Realism as an art movement. Also, he looked remarkably like Johnny Depp and Elijah Wood’s baby. For my look, I did: For the eyes, I used a combination of the white shadow from the bareMinerals READY 2.0 in The Scenic Route (“Breathtaking”), the NARS Duo in Paramaribo, and Galapagos and Night Clubbing from the NARS And God Created the Woman Palette. I made my brows thicker and more unruly than usual. …

VIDEO: What Did I Pack for Vietnam?

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Here’s a “What did I pack?” video for the trip I’m currently on, aka Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam! My cousin lives there right now and we figured that now’s as good a time as any to visit them and the country. I made a “packing light” post before, outlining a makeup bag (read it here) but it was for a trip to Japan, which is much colder than Vietnam. (At least, in my head.) I actually ended up switching out a bunch of items in there, predictably, but I think I’m pretty set on this. I’ll edit this post if I ended up changing anything. PRODUCTS MENTIONED: — The Body Shop Brow & Liner Kit (02) — Nichido Clear Mascara — MAC Paint Pot (Bare Study) — bareMinerals READY 4.0 (The Happy Place) — Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Pencil (Lola) — Maybelline Hypercurl Mascara — NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer (Alaska) — Physician’s Formula Youthful Wear Cosmeceutical Youth-Boosting Powder (Matte, Translucent) — ADDICTION Cheek Stick (Tea Rose) — Korres Lip Butter (Jasmine) — Maybelline …

Nosy Beauty Vol. 3: Isa

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For this installment of Nosy Beauty, I’ve asked the co-founder of The Better Story Project to share her makeup bay’s contents with me. Isa is a teacher, a lover of words, and she’s also my best friend! We’ve known each other since the second grade, but it was not fraaandship at first sight. Now, we get along swimmingly. “Let me be honest: I don’t know much about makeup. But the rule of thumb that I try to follow is: keep it simple and keep it real. If the discrepancy between your real face and your made up face is too great, maybe you’re doing it wrong. Personally, I use makeup to enhance my better features and hide what I feel self-conscious about.” “The current makeup bag I use is messy (!), sorry. It’s an aztec print bag from Forever 21 that I got on sale. :)” When I asked her to participate in Nosy Beauty, Isa divided her products by brand and then by function for the friendless single products from random brands. She started …

Quickie: MAC Lustre Lipstick in Plumful

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Here’s a quick review of Plumful, a Lustre lipstick from MAC. This is one of my favorite MAC lipsticks, and predictably so! I’m very much into plum and grape shades, especially if they are sheer. One of my first lipstick loves was NARS’ Sheer Lipstick in Vendanges, which I featured on Day 2 of Lipstick Week, in which I picked out my Most-Loved Lipsticks. Another similar color is Revlon’s Lip Butter in Sugar Plum. There is a very juicy feel to these lipsticks that I think is similar to MAC’s Plumful. On the right is one pass of Plumful, and on the left are several passes. Since it’s a “lustre” lipstick, the color comes off very sheer even though it looks fairly dark in the tube. I’m wearing it here! While it is technically buildable, its opacity isn’t really very solid and the finish is somewhat shiny. Since it is sheer and a little glossy, it is a bit more forgiving on the lips than other finishes like creamsheen (the worst, in my opinion) or …

Of a Kind Haul

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I have a love/hate relationship with hauls. On the one hand, I really, really like being nosy and looking at what other people bought. On the other hand, I’m kind of iffy about sharing what I bought. In this case, though, I’m super excited! This is also my way of trying to inject “style” back into this blog. I have a very basic “style,” if you could even call it that. I mean, I really try, but it can be a little off. I’ve gained a bit of weight in the past two years and I’m not really used to my body being this big. But that’s not even the point of this post, because I only bought 1 piece of clothing. So, LOL. Enough about that! Of a Kind was formed in NYC by two ladies, and they basically release “editions” of items that they invite designers of all kinds to create for Of a Kind. There are x “of a kind” of each item, so they are all limited edition, technically. I forgot …

So You Want to Build a MAC Quad? Part II

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This is part two of my “MAC Quad” series. I don’t know if I’ll be doing a third, but if I think of more, I probably will! If you’re new to my blog, this “series” is a way to help you build your MAC eyeshadow collection by suggesting four shades you can play around with/get the most use out of. I tried including “fun” and unusual colors into the mix, which I hope you appreciate. You can check the first post here. Without further ado, here’s what I have for you today! Pinky Promise — All That Glitters, Da Bling, Satin Taupe, Sketch Here’s a quad that’s a little airy-fairy light, but can be built up to a substantial smokiness, or just a bit of drama. I forgot to number these, so (Your) Left Look:, All That Glitters all over the lid, with Satin Taupe at the outer ‘v’. Crease deepened with Sketch. Outer third of lower lash line smudged with Sketch, which blended into Da Bling. (Your) Right Look: Da Bling on the center …

Mineral Madness: Loose Eyeshadow Application Tips

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Hello everyone! The first week of Mineral Madness has come to a close. From reading the comments, I’ve gathered that a lot of you had been interested in mineral makeup, but kind of apprehensive about the messiness of it all. I don’t blame you. Mineral makeup is not for the clumsy or rush-out-the-door types. It really requires most people to sit down and take their time. Here’s a quick post on how to use and apply mineral eyeshadow, if you want to venture out into that world anyway. 1. Use a primer or a sticky base. For my Mineral Madness looks posts, I mainly used Benefit Lemon Aid, which I am trying to use up. Similar things you can use are tacky bases like cream shadows or cream pencils, or even primer. Make sure to pick something that is somewhat sticky or tacky, or just “wet.” This helps the loose pigments and shadows to stick to your lid. L-R: Benefit Lemon Aid, NARS Pro Prime Smudgeproof Base, NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk, Urban Decay Primer …