Kat Von D Ink Liner in Woolf

Well it's over...my week long of non stop studying is done and my exam is over.  Hopefully I passed.

To celebrate here is a little review for you guys! I'm going to be spending the next few days relaxing with my boyfriend before my lab rotation begins.  Yay!

Today I'm reviewing an eye liner that I got a little bit ago that I have seriously been loving.  Introducing Kat Von D's Ink Liner in Woolf! 

When she posted her new liquid liner swatches on Instagram I knew I had to have Woolf for two reasons.  One I love grey.  It is my brown.  I've been wanting a more muted liquid liner for quite some time. Second I wrote a 10 page paper on Virginia Woolf for AP English back in high school so she holds a special place in my heart. Haha!

In the swatch above I drew three lines, the top is the thickest I could get in one stroke, the middle is a natural line, and the bottom is the thinnest line I could do consistently.

I like this liner because it is absolutely perfect for when I am wearing light clothing and also want to do my makeup a bit lighter.  Sometimes bold black wings just don't work....so for that time I can do bold grey wings! Yay!

Now what I like about this is that it goes on smoothly, its easy to control, and I can get a super tiny point with it. The color is opaque and will go over eye shadow.  Even eye shadows that are a darker color!

What I don't like about it is that it is a bit hard to get a thick line.  The felt tip brush is so thin that coloring in thick bold wings and liner can be a bit annoying and time consuming. 

Overall I really like this liner and would have bought more if some of the other colors appealed to me a little better.  With that price tag I can't afford to be buying them willy nilly.

On my lips is Revlon Balm Stain in Honey,

Just because its a more muted liner color doesn't mean you can't have some fun with it!

Where to buy: Sephora

Price: $19

Art: Forest Pixie

Wow.  It has literally been months since I've picked up my Wacom tablet and finished a picture digitally.  The last few weeks I have been craving to do some digital work but my busy schedule made sure that didn't happen.  Finally now that the semester is over I was able to plug my tablet in, download the new driver, and get to drawing.  I decided to color a fairy that I had sketched about a week ago.

Here is the original sketch after being scanned into my computer.  I drew the upper body in like 10 minutes and then spent about 40 minutes on the legs.  I just suck so much at the lower half of bodies.  Ugh.  I also never add backgrounds to my pictures so this time I was determined to try something.  I really need to practice both legs and backgrounds more if I ever want to get any better.

And here is the finished picture, done on Photoshop 7.  I tried a different form of coloring this time.  I lined very thinly with black and then colored in the base colors.  From there I took a wet watercolor brush and did all the shading with that at varying opacities and sizes.  Overall I really like how it came out, especially considering I haven't touched my tablet in quite some time. I'm especially proud of that tree.  I literally never ever do backgrounds so I'm just really loving everything about this.  Hopefully this summer I can draw a lot more and keep improving. 

And here is the side by side sketch vs finished product comparison.  I love going back and looking at this to see just how much work I put into the picture.  

This was actually supposed to be a witch flying on a broomstick but as I started drawing the upper body I was getting more of a pixie vibe so I decided to completely scratch my initial idea and go with this.  That seems to always be how my pictures end up....completely different than what I had originally planned.

Haha oh well!

I hope you liked my first art post in a while.  I am definitely open to constructive criticism!

Black Lavender FOTD

Forgive the name.  I really had no clue what to  call this look but I rather enjoyed it, especially because of how simple it is. 

I also really like combining stereotypical spring colors with an overall darker look.  I just love the contrast! :)

I started by applying NYX Milk just because light colors like this tend to not show up very well on my skin.  After blending Milk I patted Hello Waffle Cosmetic's Catticus Finch onto my eye lid and blended up to my brow bone. I then took a tiny dab of Urban Decay's Blackout and used it to darken my outer corner. I then took my Jesse's Girl liquid liner and made a super long exaggerated wing because why not!

I love Catticus Finch so much but it photographs really crappy.  It is such a beautiful pale lavender but my camera just hates it.....:(

On my lips is Cold Hearted by NYX which I will review very soon!

White Accent Liner FOTD

I had extra time so I decided to do something interesting with my makeup today! I wanted to put my new NYX white liquid liner to better use to I did a look based around using it as an accent. I think it turned out awesome!

To do this look I started by taking my BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Palette and applying Prometheus all over my lid.  I then took my new NYX Prismatic Shadow in Punk Heart and put it in my crease.  I then used Urban Decay's Blackout to darken my crease and smudge under my eyes.  Next I used my Jesse's Girl liquid liner to do a double wing and then carefully took my white liquid liner and placed it in between the wings and also under my inner corner.  I finished by heavily contouring with my MAC blush in Crazed Imagination and my NYX Lipstick in Aphrodite.

Also I freshly dyed my bangs purple and they look so awesome in the sun <3

You can also see my contour a bit better here.  I love the interesting way the plum toned blush goes with my skin to create a natural but yet slightly unnatural contour.

Finals Day Three: NYX Simply Vamp in Bewitching

Today is a reading day so it's nothing but studying. Sigh. 

On the third day of finals my grad school gave to me an entire day of studying with a lipstick in bewitching

Lipstick aside, I looooove this eye makeup.  I feel so bad ass wearing it, especially with a dark vampy lip.  This is especially awesome for those with hooded eyes who want to show off some intense color even with their eyes open.  To get this look I applied strange from the Naked 3 palette all the way up to my brow.  I then put Limit on my lid and drew a wing with my Jesse's Girl liquid liner.  I then grabbed my handy dandy electric palette and smudged Jilted under my eye and wing.  Then I carefully took Urban and put it as close to my lower lashline as possible.  To finish this up I took the tiniest bit of Black Out (Urban Decay single) and dabbed it where the wing meets Urban.

My boyfriend loved this eye look so I'll probably do it again on Saturday when he and my family come to move me home for the semester. :)

As for my red lip of the day, I'm wearing NYX cosmetics simply vamp lipstick in Bewitching.   Its a really nice wearable dark red.  However as a word of caution, make sure your lips are well exfoliated before use as it tends to cling to dry patches.  It is also a bit drying itself....but that color <3

Only two finals and two days until the end of the semester...let's do this!

Finals Day Two: MAC Russian Red

What is finals week without my favorite red lipstick ever? Even more stressful, that's what.

So...on the second day of finals my grad school gave to me a full day of proctoring with a lipstick in Russian Red.

Yep I get to spend 6 hours today standing, walking, and staring at students to discourage them from cheating.  I decided to go with a fierce red lip and winged liner for extra intimidation. After my six hours are done, its back to studying!

So I was originally going to go with just a regular winged liner but I was listening to Kamelot on shuffle while doing my makeup and it inspired me to do something a little more intense.  How can you listen to Karma without wanting to make your eye liner a bit more dramatic? I know I can't.

So anyway, for my eyes I put Strange from Naked 3 all over my lid and brow bone,  I then very lightly dabbed Skinny Dip by NYX on my lid.  As you can see its not really noticeable, I just wanted some sort of change between my lid and brow. I then took my trusty Jesse's Girl liquid liner and drew in my wings.  I'm a little interested to see how well the bottom wing holds up after a few hours.

As for that Russian Red...gah I love it so much.  It has insane pigmentation, its beautifully matte, and it doesn't budge no matter what.  Perfect for a full day of work without any time for breaks or touch ups.  Buy this lipstick. You won't regret it.

NYX Liquid Crystal Liner in Crystal Jade

I love NYX's extreme liquid liners so during a 40% off sale I snagged one of their crystal liners as an impulse buy.  I chose the color Jade because it was just so pretty and really caught my eye. This product is basically a liquid glitter liner, sort of like Urban Decay's Heavy Metal liners but not quite as good.  However they are much much less expensive. 

Not intended for use around eye....watch out I'm about to be a first world anarchist.

I use this a lot either to enhance my regular liner or to add a bit of glam under my eye.  Since this is not fully opaque it works great over eye shadows.  I like putting green under my eye and then dabbing this on top to create a glitter effect. 

As far as comparing it to UD's version, well it stays just as long but the formula does a very strange thing.  Once it dries it gets sort of pulley...I don't know how else to describe it.  You can feel it pull on your eye lid sometimes when you blink or look to the side.  It isn't painful, just sort of annoying, especially if you are the type of person who hates to feel like they are wearing makeup.  

If you can get over the weird formula this is a great affordable alternative to the Heavy Metal liners!

Where to buy: nyxcosmetics.com, ulta, drugstores

Price: $4.50

White and Black Double Wing FOTD

I was bored one evening and decided to take some time and just mess around. I started with a pretty standard neutral eye and added a wing.  Then I reached for my Ulta liner in Halo (after some quick browsing it seems this doesn't exist anymore.  Any sparkly white liner will do however) that I haven't touched in an extremely long time and this just kind of happened. In addition to adding the wing I also brought the liner across my entire upper lash line right above the black liner and then around my inner corner.

I kind of really love it. It looks so interesting and at least in the mirror makes my eyes look huge! On my lips is NYX round lipstick in Castle again because my boyfriend told me he likes it on me so I've been wearing it quite often :P

This was so fun and easy to do, I definitely recommend giving it a try.  Its a neutral look that adds a bit more flair to your every day makeup.

<3__)~

Philadelphia Film Festival Look

My step uncle did graphic work on a Holocaust documentary that was shown today at the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival.  It was very somber, intense, and well executed. For this event I wanted to do a classy look that would go well with my white flowered dress.

I chose a classic wing and for flair added some Urban Decay Heavy Metal Liner and MAC Violetta. On my lid is Urban Decay's Sin, in my crease is NYX matte eye shadow in Haywire, and for a highlight I used Strange from Naked 3.

Here is a shot of my dress.  This was my first time wearing it and I love it so much!

Sorry its blurry but here is my friend and I at the festival waiting for the movie to start!  She is rocking NYX Macaron in Pistachio!

Check out the Holocaust documentary here!

<3__)~

Naked 3 Look for a Presentation

I had a huge final presentation for my psychobiology major.  I did it on the relationship between binge eating disorder and substance use disorder.  This is the face I wore!  I did this look entirely using my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette.

On my lid is Buzz, in my crease is Mugshot applied lightly, my highlight is Strange, and I used Blackheart as a liner.

And here is my face in natural light! On my lips is Revlon Matte Balm in Sultry.  I'm also experimenting with my brows, I really like the results :)

<3__)~

May The 4th Be With You!

I'm celebrating May the 4th with a Darth Vader inspired look paired with a galaxy shirt.  Yes, I am that cool.

To do this look I first primed with Mary Kay Eye Primer and then used L'Oréal Paris HIP Studio Secrets Professional Metallic Shadow Duo in Platinum on my lid and crease.  Then taking NYX Milk I drew a line where I wanted the red eyeliner to show up.  Then taking Aphrodite from BH Cosmetics Galaxy Chic Palette I patted it over top of Milk and drew a wing.  I finished with Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara and Revlon Lip Butter in Red Velvet.

<3__)~