25 Tops: Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner

Let me get this out of the way: I've been dealing with something akin to face dysmorphic disorder. I obsess over my face, my skin, and my makeup all throughout the day; I look at myself in every mirror in the house, and I'm never satisfied. I'm not 100% sure what's going on with me, but I think it's a combination of aging changing my skin ever so slightly and general stress. Logically, I know there's nothing wrong with my skin, and there are so many people with bigger problems: painful acne, aching rosacea flare-ups, fungal infections...I'm just having a moment. So please bear with me while I try to get myself back in balance.

All of this being said, I'm currently trying to find a foundation that can replace MAC Face & Body. It's still quite beautiful on my skin, but my bottles are getting old (they're from January 2011). While I keep the bottles in the fridge, and while they seem to be functioning properly, I get a little icked out putting a 3 1/2 year old product all over my face. Before I shell out $70 to replace them, I'd like to see if I can find something with medium coverage that matches me out of the bottle.

This flash photograph provides the best representation of the colors. I don't wear Lipstick Queen Pink Sinner very often, but I think that's because I mostly wear bright lips, and if I don't, I wear something strong enough on the eye that I feel better with quite a pale lip. Pink Sinner doesn't fit that bill: it's a slightly warm, mid-tone pink that gives a distinct rosebud look. Really, I should wear it more. It's a KEEP for now! What do you guys think?

I'm going to PURGE NARS Penny Lane, however, because it's too brown for my skin. The Wet n' Wild Nude Awakening palette, I'm...not so sure about. I LOVE the super-pale shade in the top left, and there's less fallout with Nude Awakening than with other WnW palettes. But a lot of the other shades seem really sheer. Hum...that's a MAYBE. I also PURGED my Makeup Forever HD Pressed Powder recently. I'd originally bought it for my mom, but she's not wowed by it, and I never really use it.

For reference, here's the FOTD in natural light on a cloudy day (aka, a regular day in Pennsylvania), and with flash on a standard definition camera:

KEEP PILE:
1. Hourglass Muse
2. Hourglass Riviera
3. Hourglass Icon (mini-size)
4. Chanel Dragon [D/C]
5. Lancome Pale Lip
6. Bite Beauty Velvet
7. Lipstick Queen Saint Pinky Nude
8. Lipstick Queen Jean Queen
9. MAC Scarlet Ibis [LE]
10. MAC Viva Glam Nicki [LE]
11. Urban Decay Native
12. MAC Candy Yum Yum
13. Lipstick Queen Sinner Bright Rose
14. Lipstick Queen Sinner Pink

PURGE PILE:
1. MAC Neon Orange
2. MAC Sounds Like Noise [LE]
3. NARS Cruella
4. NARS Roman Holiday
5. Lipstick Queen Saint Berry
6. Bite Madeira
7. Beauty Cosmetics Flouron
9. Bite Pomegranate

MAYBE PILE:
1. MAC Impassioned
2. Elizabeth Arden Poppy Cream

NEW STUFF:
1. MAC Relentlessly Red
2. MAC Sushi Kiss

STOLEN:
1. MAC Please Me

 LEFT TO CONSIDER/TEST:
1. MAC Petals and Peacocks [LE]
2. MAC Party Parrot [LE]
3. Bite Quince
4. Bite Cranberry
5. MAC Betty Bright [LE]
6. MAC Ruby Woo
7. Lipstick Queen Rose Sinner
8. MAC Viva Glam VI Special Edition [LE]
9. Laura Mercier Mulberry lip stain
10. Maybelline Super Stay Non-Stop Red
11. MAC Lady Danger
12. Revlon Black Cherry
13. MAC Girl About Town

April 2014 Product Pileup

Beauty Sightings: RuPaul's Drag Race, Season 3

I kind of fell off the bandwagon with these Beauty Sightings, yeah? I have absolutely no idea why I've done seasons 2 and 4 of this show and not 3. Forgive me and let's move on to the beauty sightings--I could really use some brand help on this one!

But not for the drinks, which are hilariously covered up with post-it notes. Anybody else ever notice that? Coke, why don't you want a Drag Race endorsement?!

Venus D-Lite darkens her brows even when she's not in drag.

Shangela pressing on cream foundation. I've heard tell she uses Graftobian HD, but don't quote me!

There's a MAC lipstick here, but I can't see the mascara behind it super-well. There's a blush palette here, but it looks like a bunch of depots, yeah?

Loose powder. Is this Ben Nye? Kryolan? Dermablend? They're all popular drag brands.

I've been trying so hard to figure out what this palette is! Google Fu is failing me. :( Kryolan was the sponsor for this season, so my assumption is that it's one of their products.

Delta's makeup spread.

Kryolan makeup remover and a blush palette. There's also some press-on nails and false lashes.

Alexis Mateo appears to have a MAC blush palette. Also, I will forever love this season for including the definitions of busted...

...and garage doors. Flawless.

Sprays behind Manila. The gold bottle is the much-loved L'oreal Elnett spray, excellent for holding wig hairs in place.

Another shot of those blushes, plus some Ru Glue and what appears to be a MAC cream blush.

A vanity shot and Shangela holding a MAC shadow.

Another shot of that f'ing palette! They're featuring it way too much for it to NOT be Kryolan...is it maybe a version of the 18 Color Variety Palette that I haven't seen?

Manila and Stacey painting their nails with a Wet n' Wild polish.

There's a NYX jumbo pencil in the mirror, and I think the powders are a mixture of MAC and theater brands.

Ben Nye powder on the table, most likely Translucent or Neutral Set.

A shot inside some kits and bags. There's a NYX compact in the train case and a Joe Blasco product on the vanity.

I can't tell if this is setting spray or hair spray.

Gratuitous shot of Yara putting on her makeup, just because she always manages to look beautiful when she does it while the rest of us look like a bunch of morons.

Last Minute Gift Guide

The Bad Outfit, Great Lipstick Last Minute Gift Guide

I'm not usually the kind of person who gets in to "gift guides" or "stocking stuffer ideas" posts and videos. I think gifts should be personal, sentimental, and based completely on the receiver's personal interests. But a few friends have requested a list of recommendations for different "groups" of people, ideas for gifts that will please a sizable chunk of the population and fit a range of budgets. And as I'm never opposed to recommending new products or taking pictures of pretty makeup...

So here you have it: a quick and dirty list of readily available, $30-or-less stocking stuffers and Secret Santa hopefuls!

The Special Edition Sampler: Best Bite Set, $25 at Sephora

This adorable set of 4 Bite Beauty lip pencils comes in a super-cute, Christmasy-but-not-over-the-top tin that needs no extra wrapping. It includes 4 very different shades--a nude, a red, a plum, and a limited edition cranberry color--and is a great way to try a new brand. You can give one special person the entire set, or you can give 4 friends/children/aunts/whatever one pencil apiece based on their personal style.

Skincare Stocking Stuffer: Paula's Choice Lip Perfecting Gentle Scrub, $10 at PaulasChoice.com

Lip exfoliants would be way more popular if they were all as gentle and easy-to-use as this guy. The formulation is a soft, white cream with microbeads that you rub in to your lips to gentle slough off dead skin, leaving your lips supple and smooth. It's almost impossible to overdo it with this product, and you could definitely use it every day without trouble. For a little extra, you can purchase this cute set, which comes with the lip scrub and an all-over balm.

Cheap Find: Wet n' Wild Eyeshadow Palette in Comfort Zone, $5 at Walgreens.com

You don't have to empty your wallet to get a great beauty gift. The Wet n' Wild eyeshadow palettes are a fantastic budget buy, especially this collection of neutrals and greens called Comfort Zone. The shades are buttery, super-pigmented, and long-lasting. If the person you're buying for isn't into neutrals, no fears: there are several other palettes and sets, some super-bright, some soft and pastel. Be forewarned, though, that these shadows are a little delicate: don't shove them in a stocking if they'll be crushed or smacked around, because you'll end up with a powdery mess.

Great for Teens: Paula's Choice Barely There Sheer Matte Tint, $17 at PaulasChoice.com

The whole "this is great for teenagers!" line usually grates on me, because I think those tender years are best left to experimentation and personal taste. But I have to admit that most young people aren't quite used to carefully cleaning their faces--which can lead to acne and skin problems--and have a tendency to overdo it with heavy foundations and thick eyeliner. (Not that I have any experience with that...) So if you have a youngin' who is just starting to like makeup, consider a sheer, comfortable product like this tinted moisturizer. It's easy to use and to remove, and it has the added benefit of SPF30 protection.

"They'd never buy it for themselves, BUT...": Makeup Forever Uplight Gel Luminizer, $29 at Sephora

Okay, okay, so I brag on this product a LOT, and you're all sick of it. But I really do think this is one of the most underrated highlighter formulations out there. Not only do you get three different finishes--dewy, shimmery, and glittery--but you also get a lightweight, layerable formula that's easy enough for newbies to manage and sophisticated enough for highlighter addicts to appreciate. My personal favorite shades are #11, this dewy pink that flatters fair faces, and #23, a dramatic, shimmery gold that looks beautiful on deeper skintones.

For the Easy-Going Beauty Fiend: Becca Beach Tints, $25 at BeccaCosmetics.com

Not everybody is as makeup obsessed or anal retentive as I am. Some people want a product that's easy to use in a variety of situations. Becca Beach Tints definitely fit that bill. Semi-sheer and packed in to travel-friendly tubes, these little beauties are great on your bare face or over foundation. They're particularly popular with--surprise surprise--beach goers! I personally don't care for the formulation on my lips, but they are a multi-use product that can be used all over your face, which will make them even more appealing to low-maintenance friends.

Mini-Reviews: Giving It Another Go

I can be a little fickle. Sometimes, I try a product and absolutely LOVE it, but never wear it again. Then there are products that I think are "just okay" or don't much care for, but I really really REALLY want to love them, so I hang on to them. As I continue shrinking and re-evaluating my calculation, I think it's important that I give these products one last chance to impress me.

MAC Candy Yum Yum lipstick is one of those products that I totally loved when I first tried it, but never wore again. And I'm not entirely sure why. Yes, it's a bit of a drying formula, and I wouldn't call it my most flattering shade. But it's so pigmented and unique, and if I blot it down over a bit of Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream, it's an incredibly chic, work-appropriate fuchsia.

The Flower Beauty foundation is something that definitely didn't work for me. It was actually too dewy for my combination-dry skin, if you can imagine that; it didn't just fade on my oily nose, it also moved around on my dry cheeks and rubbed off of my chin if I applied a little pressure. I don't usually wear foundation without powder and/or setting spray, though, so it's rather unfair of me to judge the Flower foundation without pairing it up first. And if I set it--as I did here--it looks just fine. Not as flattering as MAC Face & Body or as super-natural as the Tarte BB cream, but certainly doable. Still, it's not GREAT on me, so I won't keep it around.

The two Wet n' Wild products should probably be removed from my collection. The ColorIcon brow pencil in Taupe is really nice, especially for the $1 price. I like to think of it as Shu Uemura Seal Brown's creamier, "heavier" cousin due to the similarity in color. I'd totally recommend it. But the Shu pencil is still my all-time favorite. And while the MegaLiner liquid liner isn't BAD, it certainly isn't a keeper. It's ok for getting a thin line just along the lashes, but it's a bit difficult to fill in my flick with the flimsy brush,  and it actually flakes on my eye area. I could use it, but why should I? I have other products I definitely prefer. Not needed. Both of these will be going away.

So the one thing that's staying is the bright lipstick. Who knew? ;) That being said, I'm REALLY trying to cut down my collection, and that includes getting rid of some of the lipsticks I've always loved. It needs to be more elite, comprised of products I'll wear regularly, and big-move-ready.

Underrated Effortless Beauty Must-Haves

The idea of "effortless beauty" used to be something of a joke to me. It always felt like an effort (albeit an enjoyable one) to blend out my foundation and concealer, comb through my lashes, fill in my brows, perfect my lipstick, and wing my eyeliner. But as I've gotten older, tried a wider variety of looks, and experienced a whole new generation of makeup textures and finishes, I've come to realize that some products really ARE effortless. The modern beauty world is inundated with natural-looking, easy-to-apply makeup, the kind of stuff you can throw on your face in five minutes without brushes or fusses. And while some of these products, like Becca Beach Tints and Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat, are cult classics, others don't seem to get the attention they deserve.

Topping my list is the Elizabeth Arden Crystal Clear Gloss ($14, ElizabethArden.com). I'm not a gloss girl in the slightest, but this one is truly special. It's sticky enough to last for hours without making your lips feel gummy, and it has an unusual "blurring" effect that seems to reduce the visibility of lip lines. It looks beautiful on its own or over any lipstick. I'm also not one to bother with fancy eyeshadow looks on most days, but even if I'm in a hurry, I can find time for the Wet n' Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer ($5, drugstores) and a slick of Lancome Pink Zinc eyeshadow ($19, Nordstrom). The Fergie primer has actually replaced my Too Faced Shadow Insurance; I might cry if they discontinue it. And yes, Pink Zinc + MAC Satin Taupe is my favorite smokey eye...but Pink Zinc is gorgeous on its own. I feel like Lancome eyeshadows get zippo love.

If there's something I do love, unequivocally, it's a bright lipstick and loads of mascara. But it's difficult to smear on a red lipstick when you're sitting on a bus at 7:30 in the morning. So I go for Lipstick Queen Jean Queen ($18, Nordstrom) instead: it's a beautiful watermelon color that's bright enough to make an impact, but also sheer and creamy enough that it can be applied without a mirror. If I need a no-mess mascara that's layerable, I turn to Estee Lauder Sumptuous ($24, EsteeLauder.com). One coat looks quite natural, three coats is lush and full, and the brush makes it a bit easier to apply than, say, CoverGirl Clump Crusher if you're prone to poking yourself in the eye. (Guilty.)

For glowy-but-natural looking skin that takes me all of 2 minutes, I turn to three specific products: the Tarte Tinted BB Treatment in Fair ($34, Sephora), Charlotte Ronson Liquid eyeshadow in Sky (sadly discontinued), and Makeup Forever Uplight #11 ($29, Sephora). The Tarte BB is supposed to be a primer, but because it has a tint and some SPF, I just use it as an on-to-go sunscreen and tinted moisturizer, sometimes topped with a smidge of powder. The Uplight and liquid eyeshadow both have incredibly unique formulas that leave my eyes and cheeks looking soft and dewy. After I slap on these three products, I can slap on some brow pencil, mascara, and multipurpose cheek/lip products for a 5 minute makeup look. All while sitting in the back of the bus!

A Week Without Foundation, Day 4; now with bonus empties!

You know, I'm starting to appreciate the "wow factor" of this whole no-foundation thing. I still wish I had some concealer on my discoloration and my horrendous undereye circles, but if you're going to do a statement lip, it's kind of...fun having nothing else to distract from it. A bit unbalanced in the eyes of some, yes, but I'd take an unbalanced Revlon Black Cherry look over something outta Showgirls any day.

Skipping foundation, concealer, and powder also makes my looks more cost-effective. Besides the $5 Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick, I also used my $4 Maybelline Great Lash Lots of Lashes mascara, a very pigmented Wet n' Wild $1 brow pencil in Taupe, and the peachy Victoria's Secret gel blush I got on sale for $3. That means this look cost all of $13...and if it wasn't meant to be completely base-free, I would've used a bit of cheap-o concealer to finish it off.

Just imagine it with concealer, friends! Imagine those dark circles awaaaay!

ANYWAY. Here are some more empties, all skincare, all much-loved. I've gone through another tub of the Avon Nurtura night cream (which I always have a back-up of), the infamous Jack Black lip balm (not sure how many of these I own now), the Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Body Treatment (which I currently can't afford a back-up of), and the L'occitane foot cream (ditto).

Recent Loves and Let-Downs

Guys, that big-ass tree outside my window is driving me BONKERS. Between that and the long, dreary storm cycle we've been undergoing, my bedroom has been a pit of doom and gloom for about a week. I seriously cannot wait for fall the begin so we can have a break from stormclouds and all of the leaves fall off that ridiculous tree. (And I can wear more makeup without it melting off of my face, but that's beside the point.)

And speaking of makeup: it's time for some product porn! These are the products that have made the darkness bearable. ORLY Ancient Jade nail polish, in particular, has added a lot of pastel green sunshine to my life; I've recently gotten back in to painting my nails and have been enjoying it, but it was only when I applied Ancient Jade that I remembered why I used to love it. Cool creams like this just rock my world.

I've unexpectedly fallen in love with two very affordable products: the Wet n' Wild Fergie eye primer and the Clinique cream liner in True Black. My tube of Too Faced Shadow Insurance is just now running out, so I grabbed the Fergie primer on a whim. So imagine my surprise when I tested it out and it looked, felt, and performed JUST like TFSI! I really hope it isn't a limited edition product, because it's a $5 steal! The Clinique liner is $15, not $5, but so far, it's performed better than any other black pot liner I've used. It's an unusually soft, liquid-esque formula with the texture of a face cream.

On the more expensive (and seemingly unavailable) end of things, there's the Dior cream eyeshadow in Undressed Beige. A friend sent this in a swap package as an extra, and after I initially swatched it, I didn't give it much thought. It seemed a bit dry and glitter-chunky. But when it's on my lids? Wow, perfect shimmery, soft golden beige! I've been wearing it with my winged eyeliner everywhere I can, including my cousin's wedding. I also wore MAC Please Me matte lipstick and Bobbi Brown Tutu gloss--my recent go-to lip combo--to said wedding. I think Bobbi Brown discontinued Tutu, which is a crying shame; it was my perfect nude pink.

I have to give mad props to some of the things that kept me going during my most recent sinus infection.  I wouldn't have been able to sleep at all if I hadn't had this bottle of nasal spray. Yes, it's only a temporary solution, but when I used it with an over-the-counter decongestant pill? That was 2 or 3 hours of sleep before my stuffy nose woke me up again. And when the whole affair was over, my beloved Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream was there to fix my rough, ragged, peeling nose. I smeared a thin layer of this stuff on the sore skin every night before bed; the area was drastically improved after the first morning and completely healed by the third. Normally, it takes my nose a week or more to heal.

I haven't been emotionally scarred by any of my recent try-it-out bouts, but I have found a number of disappointments. Perhaps my biggest disappointment was the Anthony Logistics for Men Instant Fix Oil Control primer, which I got as a Sephora 100 point perk. This product promises to mattify on contact, but when I applied it to my nose, my nose was...still shiny. My nose needed a little less blotting throughout the day, but it did still need that blotting, and there was nothing matte about it. I think this product would work better for somebody with more "uniform" skin than mine--I have a face that's 95% Sahara Desert, 5% oil slick. I had a similar reaction the Hourglass Mineral Primer: it wasn't BAD, by any means, but it didn't wow me the way I hoped it would, and it didn't do anything all that spectacular compared to other primers I've used.

I've also been having a tough time with new mascaras. I got a free sample of the Dior DiorShow mascara and was beyond excited to try it, as I haven't used it for many years now. Yet again, we're dealing with a product that isn't terrible, just lackluster. It darkened my lashes a smidge and gave me a bit of volume and length, but it tended to be clumpy and flaked on me throughout the day. I have nothing against natural mascaras, but this guy wasn't really natural, just...dull. A product that DID suck hardcore was the Maybelline The Falsies Big Eyes mascara. Sweet lord, this stuff was AWFUL! The large brush did next to nothing for my lashes except dry them out and make them look spidery, and the little brush just darkened my lower lashes a bit. I had to force myself to use this mascara twice to give it a fair shot. I was super-excited to try it out, as I tend to have good luck with Maybelline mascaras, but nope! Straight to the trash with this one.

Last, but not least, the much-loved Nivea Lip Butter in Raspberry Rose Kiss. This isn't a bad product, but it didn't do what everybody told me it would do: lighten and soften my natural lip color. It works nicely over pink lipsticks, but on my own lips, it's either completely clear or, if I add a whole lot, a bit gray. It also isn't the most comfortable or moisturizing lip butter out there; it can get a bit tacky and gummy on my lips after an hour or two.

And there you have it! My recent loves and let-downs. My two-job life starts up in a month, and I'm still prepping for that, but I hope to have a small backlog of posts prepared for weeks when I can't write as much. Viva la blog!

Painting for the Back Row

Have you ever been to a drag show? If not, you're missing out on some mega-super-fantastic SERIOUS fun! This year, I not only watched the fantastic drag show at one of my local universities, I also pitched in and helped a bit with the makeup for a truly hilarious "Gangnam Style" routine. The task was to essentially paint the back-up dancers like baby drag queens, which, hey, no problem...except there were a few more dancers than I expected: five. FIVE! But with plenty of help from lovely friends and my amazing ability to pilfer cosmetics from the collections of others, we were able to get it done.

All of these lovely ladies were kind enough to use their own foundations and concealers, except for the few ladies who didn't own foundation or concealer at all. They were all beautiful, of course, so it wasn't even really necessary.

Plenty of saturated colors were needed, so I started with Too Faced Shadow Insurance on all of their lids before applying various shades of Mehron Aqua Color in a cat-eye shape. I set the Aqua Colors with matte powder eyeshadows by Ben Nye and Wet n' Wild. The huge lashes are from Mehron and were definitely a splurge, but they were totally worth it! Several of the dancers kept their sets. Eyebrows were liberally darkened with various shades of Maybelline Define-a-Brow (which I admit I'm not a fan of--most of the shades seemed quite red, and I had to click the pencils up a zillion times) with the exception of the two blonde ladies; for them, I used my own Clinique Superfine Liner in Soft Blonde.

The cheek colors are La Femme powder blushes in various mixtures of Flamingo Pink, Coral Spice, Terracotta, Purple Passion, and Fuchsia. Three highlighters were used liberally on the cheekbones: MAC Cream Color Base in Luna for the palest ladies, MAC Glimmer Shimmer in Orange Twink over warm blushes, and Hard Candy Glow All the Way Luminzer in Doll Face over cool blushes.

Three shades of lipstick were used: NYX Strawberry Milk, NYX Louisiana, and MAC Coral Polyp. The original plan was to add MAC Clear gloss on top, but they were already quite shiny/bright, and we were running out of time. No-brainer right there.

To finish them off and give them a majorly Shellac'ed appearance, I had them close and cover their eyes (as Mehron Aqua Colors are not waterfast unless you use certain mixing mediums) while I sprayed them with liberal amounts of ELF Studio Makeup Mist & Set.

The fantastic drag king seen here, Papi Choulo, did his own makeup using Ben Nye Creme Colors.

I didn't have much time to my makeup, unfortunately, because it was a rainy day that involved lots of running around. But I did manage to slap on some MAC Party Parrot right before the show started! The two lovely gents with me are my good friends Dan (out-of-drag queen Scarlet Fairweather), who made several special appearances, and Joe, who helped organize the festivities.

And now, Miss Scarlet beats her face.

Is it any surprise that I love drag queens? Probably not, but it's probably a little surprising that a drag queen consented to do a tutorial for this blog. Meet Miss Scarlet Fairweather, who pops up on BOGL from time to time because she's A) super nice, and B) pretty damn fabulous. Even though her Poison Ivy costume was falling to bits before my eyes, she agreed to let me document her beating her face for a tutorial-type post.

Scarlet starts out by shaving and moisturizing, if necessary. ("At the very least, moisturize your lips, because you're probably going to abuse them!") Elmer's glue stick (often referred to as "Ru-Glue") was used to flatten her brows. They were then powdered down with Hard Candy Welcome Matte powder.

Scarlet uses a full-coverage concealer on her brows; she currently likes Hard Candy Glamoflauge. (NOTE: If your brows are thicker and darker like Miss Scarlet's, you may have to do the powder-and-conceal step a few times to cover them up.) While waiting for her brows to dry, she starts creating her base. Her preferred foundation is Ben Nye cream in Lite Beige, applied with a sponge wedge. Don't be shy with it--as Scarlet says, "Just dip your face in it and hope it sticks!"

Then it's time for highlighting and contouring. Scarlet used Ben Nye Character Shadow in CS3 for her contour and applied it through her temples, the top of her forehead, the hollows of her cheeks, underneath her bottom lip, and around her eyes (although she sometimes holds off on that last part if she's doing something more "natural"). She skipped contouring down the sides of her nose this time, but we both often recommend thinning out your nose for drag. Her highlight is Ben Nye Cream Highlight in Ultra Lite, applied at the tops of the brows, up the bridge of the nose and through the forehead, just above the jawline, and around (not right in) the eyes and cupid's bow--she prefers to use shadow in those tiny spots. Where you contour and highlight is going to vary based on the shape of your face and, if you're trying to do drag, which parts of your face you need to look softer or more sculpted.

Also, while it's awesome to start blending your highlight and contour in to your base, this is also a good point to leave the base makeup be for a bit so it can "cook" (a drag term for letting the makeup warm up on your skin, making it easier to blend). This is best done with theater or photography makeup, which tends to be fuller coverage and wetter in formulation; most "regular lady face" products will set.

Scarlet often uses her Character Shadow for her brows, but in this case, she was doing a character brow, so she used green shadow instead...and looked bonkers doing it. I think she was saying something to me when I snapped this picture. XD Then she lined around her eyes with NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk.

Now it's powder-down time! Scarlet beats her face with some Ben Nye Translucent loose powder, rubbed in to a big puff. I mean, she literally beats her face; I always tease her about it. Anyway, for this look she used the Fair shade, while she uses the regular Translucent shade for character looks with colored or Kabuki-style bases. This powder not only sets everything in place, but it also blends it out further, making the highlights and contours look a bit more natural. (But just a bit, cause dammit, this is drag!)

Now it's time to cake your eyes! She used the NYX eyeshadow base in White for her base, then added some shape with the Coastal Scents 28 Neutral palette. She added color with Ben Nye eyeshadows in Sun Yellow and Chartreuse, La Femme blush in Coral, iNuovi blush in Dolly, and a green Wet n' Wild liquid liner. Again, if you're using strong theater-type makeup, it's good to let it sit for a few minutes and cook before you smooth it out.

Applying falsies is rarely fun, even if you're a seasoned pro. ;)

Miss Scarlet used the La Femme blush on her cheeks before painting on some more leaves and blending everything out again. La Femme blushes are quite strong, so if you aren't a drag queen, be uber-careful with them!

MOAR LEAVES!!!1!one

Since the lips are green, you gotta use some wonky stuff, in this case a green eyeliner pencil as a lip liner. I didn't catch the name, but I'm almost positive it's by Prestige. The lipstick is Manic Panic Poison Ivy (fitting!), and a long-discontinued ELF Soothing lipgloss in a ruby red shade was blotted on top. Odd combination, surely, but the point was to get a "dead rose" sort of color.

Now it's time to tuck it all back and find your pussy! (I'm talking about cats, you perverts, GAWD.)

And speaking of kitties, let's round out the post with pictures of Miss Scarlet's evil cat Ladey and my lazy cat Simmis!

As a side note: I might invite Miss Scarlet to do a monthly advice column here on BOGL. How would we feel about that? Would any of you want to participate? As you can see, she's ready and willing to answer your questions! :)