Shiro Cosmetics A Girl and A Cat Tinted Balm

I am embarrassed to admit how long I've had this lip balm and kind of forgot it existed....I recently found it again and remembered how adorable it was!  I am a bit bummed that Shiro got rid of their opaque lip products and now only offers these lip balms or glosses.  

I had to get this one as its Kiki's Delivery Service themed which is one of my all time favorite movies.  I even cosplayed as Kiki last year! How can I say no to a purple lip product with a picture of Jiji on it? I can't.

This applies very easily and definitely leaves more pigment on the lips than the hand swatch would lead one to believe.  As you can see it turns my lips a very pleasant berry shade. I think it is very flattering and is a perfect choice for days I want to add color but not deal with lip upkeep.  It will last a few hours as long as you don't eat so I generally only throw this on if I won't be eating for a bit. It is very moisturizing and feels nice on the lips. It also has a slight smell to it, the website says its vanilla, its very nice and not overpowering.

I would definitely recommend these lip balms if you like this kind of lip product finish! They are all so fun and Miyazaki themed.  I'd probably own them all if they were matte liquid lipsticks! Unfortunately tinted balms aren't my go to, but I will enjoy this one. If I ever did buy another it would probably be the Princess Mononoke themed With Eyes Unclouded deep red shade.

Where to buy: shirocosmetics.com

Price: $5

Halloween Costumes: Spooky Vampire and Darth Maul

For Halloween this year, much like last year, I did mine and my boyfriend's makeup!  Unfortunately I did not get to be as detailed with our looks as I had planned as we were accidentally running out of time during makeup application.  Regardless I still think we came out pretty adorable!

Here is us! My boyfriend is Darth Maul from Star Wars and I am a generic vampire.

My costume was pretty easy to put together. I also wore a little belt with the dress as it was baggy around the waist but I took this picture before putting it on.

Ears: Aradani Costumes High Elf Ears

Dress: Wish.com Lace Dress

Teeth: Scarecrow Vampire Fangs

I bought the teeth at least 6 years ago from Hottopic so I'm not sure if my exact type even exists anymore. I should probably get new ones....

My eye makeup was also really easy and pretty quick to do, which was good as my boyfriend's face took forever.  

On my lid I applied Urban Decay's Blackout as thick as possible.  I also blended this onto my lower lashline.  I then applied Blackbird Cosmetic's Ruca into my crease and all around my eye.  I also took a very little bit of Mary Kay's Iris and blended it between the black and red of my crease to help blend.  I drew on a wing with my Jesse's Girl liquid liner then took a small brush and drew out some faint black veins with Blackout, and then lightly went over them again with the liquid liner. 

I was going to put on some false lashes but my eyes were so dark they weren't even noticeable anyway, so I didn't bother.

 On my lips is Shiro Cosmetic's Red Wedding because it seriously looks like blood so I knew I had to wear it. As you can see here I also blended Ruca up to my temple to create a neat effect.  I patted my entire face after my usual foundation application with a matte white eyeshadow by NYX.  My contour and eye brows were also done with NYX's blush in Taupe.

This is unfortunately the only shot I have of my teeth.  the other one I took got blurry and I didn't realize it.  I forgot how big and uncomfortable these were so I ended up only really wearing these for pictures and the costume contest.

And here is one more angle of my face.

Here is my mom's costume! She did her own makeup and was just a generic ghoul, however she took some of her makeup inspiration from Sally of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

While I was doing my makeup my boyfriend was carefully covering his face with NYX's Primal Colors in Hot Red. I got this shadow just for his makeup look and it worked like a charm!  With a slightly damp sponge it applied opaque and evenly.  I am pretty impressed for a $5 product.  He covered it entire face and neck and the powder doesn't even look like it has a dent in it!

Then I went and traced the outline of the design with a black gel eyeliner that my mom had.  Unfortunately I did not look at the brand.  I then filled in with Urban Decay's Blackout.  This is when we started to run out of time so I did not get to do the black design above his lip or around his jaw.  Even without this portion his costume was very recognizable and looked really awesome from far away. I didn't get closer around his eyes with the black because his eyes don't take it well and I didn't want to risk his eyes watering and ruining the makeup.

Here is a mirror selfie of our full outfits! Even though we didn't do a matching couples costume I think we were still pretty awesome looking together.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!  Now to plan my costume for next year!

Mini Shiro Haul! Red Wedding, Maiden Queen, and a Custom Gloss!

I haven't made a purchase from Shiro in a while and after seeing how Red Wedding looked on my friend I knew it was time.  I picked up Red Wedding as well as a full size of Maiden Queen.

This gloss. Is. Amazing. I mean, just look at the swatch, it even friggin looks like blood! It wears beautifully on the lips and stays for a decent amount of time.  Its such a beautifully flattering deep red.  It is also fairly easy to apply with the doe foot applicator.

I also picked up Maiden Queen because 1. I love Margaery and 2. I love teal. I wear this under my eyes all the time.  Like basically every day I wear some sort of blueish color you can bet I'm wearing this shadow.  Its so gorgeous. As you can maybe see from the swatch it doesn't get too much more intense over NYX Milk so I generally just wear it alone and it stays pretty well.  For anyone interested on my lips is NYX round lipstick in Castle.

And lastly, this is not my own purchase but one made by my friend who agreed to let me share her lips.  She loves the Red Viper and bought two of the LE eye shadows and this custom gloss as well.  Even though it is no longer available I thought this could be a good reference for anyone looking to get a golden colored custom gloss from Shiro.  Up close it doesn't look like it covers well but from far away it looks just fine.  I also saw her wear this over Kat Von D's Poe and oh my god the gold over the dark blue looked amazing!! If you like gold I would recommend checking out Shiro's custom glosses.

I <3 Shiro

<3__)~

Shiro Haul: Mother of Dragons and Not Very Effective

My sample size of Not Very Effective getting dangerously low prompted me to buy my very first full sized eye shadow from Shiro Cosmetics.  I also picked up Mother of Dragons because I love Daenerys and Game of Thrones.

I also made sure to mention that I love pink and purple eye shadow and of course Shiro came through by giving me the perfect samples :)

So here is Mother of Dragons.  First off I love the art, not going to lie it was 70% of the reason I got the full size instead of the smaller size. The color is nice too.  When swatched it looks to be a pretty even mix of red, purple, and silver.  However when on, at least on my skin, the red is what shows up the most.  Overall I have no regrets! <3

Not Very Effective is my favorite purple crease color.  I wore the sample a lot and I'm glad to finally have the full size. I know I've swatched this before but oh well you can look at its prettiness again!

And here is a quick look I did using Mother of Dragons on my lid and Not Very Effective in my crease.

And here are swatches of the two samples I got.  Ever in Your Favor is from the Hunger Games collection and based off of the extravagant Effie Trinket.  Also it is the most beautiful pink ever.  I am seriously going to be sad when this is gone.  From what I could find I'll Move That For You is MineCraft themed, I've never played it so I don't quite understand the reference but its still pretty so I'm happy.

Here is a look I did using Ever in Your Favor on my lid, Mother of dragons in my crease, and I'll Move that For You in the outer corner.

Where to buy: Shiro Cosmetics

Price: $6 for full 2 gram jars

Oh also just because its related here is a picture I started a while ago of The Mother of Dragons that I never found time to finish. Maybe one day.

<3__)~

My Average Makeup Morning

WARNING! This post is huge! I decided to document and share my normal every day makeup routine! Enjoy!

Before we even start here is a before and after for initial comparison.  I was wearing a purple and pink themed outfit so I decided to make my eye shadow match.

Here is my no makeup face right after skincare! I kinda wish I would have done my hair before doing this instead of after.

First I apply Skin 79 BB Cream in VIP Gold all over my face.  I use this in place of a primer. It evens out my skin a bit and provides me with extra sunscreen because you can never get enough sunscreen. I buy mine on ebay for about $14.

Then I follow up with Revlon's Whipped Foundation in Ivory.  I apply it with Real Techniques Stippling Brush which I just learned how to properly use...I had no idea you were supposed to pat instead of swirl....

Then I threw on some UD Primer Potion and for this look I followed up with Urban Decay's eye shadow in Woodstock.  I applied this with Real Techniques eye shadow brush.

Then in my crease I applied Mary Kay's Mineral eye shadow in Sweet Plum.  I used Real Techniques crease brush. I apologize for my chipped nail polish.

I finished up my shadow using Shiro Cosmetic's Not Very Effective on the outer corner and lower lash line.  I pressed the loose shadow myself which is why its in a pan. I applied it using a Stila eye shadow brush.

Let's ignore the fact that I look drunk in this picture and focus on the Mary Kay eye shadow in White Lily that I used as a subtle matte highlight.  I apply my highlights with my finger, I'm not sure why.  Probably because I'm too lazy to dirty another brush.

Then I did a thin line of Ulta Gel Liner in Smoke using Real Technique's small liner brush.

After eye shadow I always finish with a powder foundation.  I used Mary Kay's Mineral Foundation in Ivory 1 and applied it with their powder foundation brush. I also applied Mary Kay's Lip Primer during this step which is why my lips suddenly became eerily white.

Then I slapped on some Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara.

Next I applied Revlon's Balm Stain in Honey.  I use this a lot because its basically my only nude lipstick. 

And as part of my wear more blush initiative I used Be a Bombshell's all purpose blush stick thing in Girl Crush.

And we are done, yay!

Hooray for my stupid winky face!

I hope you enjoyed my first ever get ready with me picture progression!

Green Eye Makeup Collection

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Because of the holiday I've decided to share swatches of all my green eye makeup. Spoiler alert...there aren't many.  Green is my second favorite color but for whatever reason I rarely incorporate it into my makeup routine.  After swatching all these I'm starting to feel bad for my lonely greens.  I've decided to make an effort to wear them more often!

First up is a Brazen cosmetics eye shadow I got in a Beauty Army box. I unfortunately have not used it yet so I can't really comment on the quality.  I've been having trouble finding something to wear a camo colored green with.  Its a deep green with gold sparkle. Suggestions are welcome!

This is Maybelline's Color Tattoo cream eye shadow in Emerald.  It is a really pretty color and goes on very nicely.  I really need to wear this more.

I have 12 Shiro eye shadows in total and this is among the ones I haven't used very much.  They come loose but I pressed them myself and I would definitely buy from her again.  I picked up a few colors from all of my favorite video game collections.  Rupee is from the Legendary collection based off of the Legend of Zelda.  I plan to do swatches of all the ones I have.

This is the green from NYX's Love In Rio Carnival Del Sol palette.  As you can see its in kind of bad shape as I depotted it and it didn't really go well.  Also this is one of the few times that NYX is a miss for me, the pigmentation just isn't that great.

This is Ulta's Glamazon eye shadow that I got on sale the first time I went to an Ulta store (I live nowhere near any sort of makeup store so I do all my shopping online).  As you can see it is a super dark greenish blue.  I have never worn it as an eye shadow but I use it wet as an eyeliner every now and then and it looks very nice.

This is Graffiti from Urban Decay's Deluxe palette.  I bought it from Ulta on sale.  As with any Urban Decay eye shadow it has great pigmentation and goes on smooth.

This is Vert from Urban Decay's Skull Shadow Box palette.  My mom bought me this palette in early high school when I wore a single color of bright eye shadow all over my lid so this green has gotten a lot of use.  I actually used to just call it "dragon scale green" because..well, it reminded me of dragon scales! Very pretty.

This is Maybelline's limited edition green mascara in Green with Envy.  It is not super intense on my dark brown lashes but it adds a hint of color so I do use this every now and again.

Here is Urban Decay's 24/7 eye liner pencil in Mildew.  My mom got me a mini pack of these in all sorts of shades back in high school.  Unfortunately this pencil has not gotten a lot of use either. :(

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And that's my green eye makeup collection.  My St. Paddy's day resolution will be to wear more green on my eyes!

In the mean time here is a simple look I did with a few of the products. Rupee is on the lid and Glamazon is in the crease. I also used the Maybelline mascara and the Urban Decay liner.