Bad Outfit #15: Oh Beautiful for Spangled Skulls

I'm officially kicking myself for not getting the t-shirt version of this tank-top. I LOVE this tank-top! It looks awesome, the size small shrunk down just right, and it feels soft and luxorious and I want to wear it with everything and gaaaaah! Maybe when I go back to TJ Maxx, I'll luck out, and there will be, like, 50. Because I just wanna fill my wardrobe with this stuff.

TANK TOP: The Class-Ic, found at TJ Maxx/Marshall's

LEGGINGS: Steve Madden

EARRINGS: Hot Topic; Jolliffe Jewelry

BOOTS: Dr. Marten's 1460



I also decided to test out MAC Candy Yum Yum today. It's truly neon, which means my family hates it and I want to bathe in it. The popular discourse is certainly true, though: the brightness can make it difficult for people who aren't at my level of crazy to wear, and it will accentuate every flake and line on your lips. I actually exfoliated, moisturized, and primed my lips before I applied it, and there are STILL a few flakies. But whatevs. I'll bear with that for a neon lipstick.

BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + White, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx02, Skindinavia Setting Spray

EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Maybelline The Falsies mascara, La Femme brow pencil in Taupe, Anastasia Clear Brow Gel, Wet n' Wild cream liner in Black, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Sellout

CHEEKS: MAC Matte blush in The Perfect Cheek, Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Pearl

LIPS: Elizabeth Arden Lip Fix, MAC Matte lipstick in Candy Yum Yum

Bad Outfits #9 and #10: Keeping the Essentials

I knew it was going to be a rainy, icky day, so I wanted to brighten it up by wearing...um, lots of black. But hey, I love black, I love fishnet, and I love Doc Martens, so it's a winning combination, right? I assumed I was going to go for a short walk and yoinked this on:

But then I realized it was still kind of Pennsylvania-warm-and-humid-and-sticky outside, and I was probably wearing a bit too much. (No, really!) I also decided that I really wanted to wear a dress and I really didn't want to deal with my hair. So I kept the essentials--black, Docs, fishnet--and switched out the rest. I'm actually surprised that this $5 dress went so well with that fishnet top; you can't even tell it's a separate piece!

Then I got back in to my pajamas to do work, only to find out that my services aren't exactly needed today. Ah, well. Such is life!

FISHNET: Hot Topic fishnet shirt

BOOTS: Dr. Marten's 1B60

CROP TOP: Body Central

MILITARY CAP: thrifty find

JEANS: Forever 21 skinny jeans

DRESS: thrifty find

EARRINGS: Jolliffe Jewelry

 BASE: Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Primer, Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in Sx02, Skindinavia setting spray

EYES: La Femme brow pencil in Taupe, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, false lashes by Darkness (style WZO?), Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, Milani Liquif-Eye eyeliner pencil in Black, Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans, Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone palette

 

CHEEKS: NYC Blushable Cream Stick in Plaza Pink [D/C]

LIPS: Sue Devitt lipgloss in Coral Sands

And a kind-of important note! I'm actually going to be in North Carolina for the next 10 days or so, so I won't be able to send out blogsale items and may be a bit delayed when it comes to responding to comments. I have a few posts queued up for when I'm gone, so the blog shouldn't be entirely blah and dead in my pseudo-absence. :)

Bad Outfit #8: Colorguard Crasher

My very dear friend invited me to check out his new group of colorguard girls, then dress up and mock Sarah Palin. Hey, I'm game! This wrap dress is from one of my favorite lines, Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten collection, which is unfortunately defunct (though you can still find a lot of Bitten pieces on eBay). It breaks my heart, because it's hard to find petite-friendly clothing that is also curve-friendly; most petite cuts assume you're very very thin or very very heavy. Bitten clothes were some of the first clothes to fit my short-but-curvy body. Better yet, they were affordable. I will beg Sarah Jessica Parker to bring this line back at another retailer until I'm blue in the face!

For the record, you can definitely class-up a wrap dress. If I wasn't going to stand for almost an hour in the sticky Pennsylvania air, I would've worn a pair of strappy sandals with a bit of a heel and a more neutral purse. But hey, I wanted comfort!

WRAP DRESS: Sarah Jessica Parker Bitten wrap dress, can sometimes be found on eBay

BOOTS: Dr. Marten's 1B60

PURSE: Nicole Lee USA

EARRINGS: Jolliffe Jewelry

FACE: Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Fresh Melon, MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl, unknown MAC lipstick (possibly Fanfare), Essence gel liner in London Baby

Special thanks for taking my picture goes to this lovely creature:

Who later practiced his Sarah Palin impersonation, much to my abject horror:

And of course, a huge thanks to the lovely ColorGuard gals who let me crash their very first show! :)

 Just a final note before I close this post: Blogger seems to be having trouble posting my comments. I get notifications in my e-mail, but when I check the appropriate blog post to reply, nothing shows up. :/ So I'm not deleting your comments or ignoring you; I just literally can't see them! Hopefully I'll be able to figure out and solve the issue over the next few days.

See you in September!

Bad Outfit #7: Granny Shoes + NOMMAGE!

This lurvely picture was posted on MakeupAlley and really inspired me. Obviously, if I'd wanted to stay true to this look, I would've used JUST the Free Love eyeshadow across the lid and a glossy red lip, but it's inspiration, not copying, right? I also wore my "granny shoes" today: chunky-heeled lace-up booties. Not my usual style and not something I'd normally buy--I actually got them for a funeral--but I can't deny that they're comfortable as all get-out, and I wanted to give my Docs a rest. :)

TOP: thrifty find
SHORTS: Mossimo jean shorts (removed the belt it came with)
SHOES: Connie leather top slip-ons
EARRINGS: Jolliffe Jewelry

 BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + Missha Perfect Cover BB cream in #13, Clinique Airbrush concealer in 001 Fair, Skindinavia setting spray

EYES: La Femme brow pencil in Taupe, Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Jordana Best Lash Extreme Volumizing mascara, Urban Decay eyeshadow in X, Urban Decay eyeshadow in Freelove, Wet n' Wild eyeshadow in Brulee, Jordana Fabu-liner in Black

CHEEKS: Kevyn Aucoin Celestial powder in Candlelight

LIPS: NYX Long lip pencil in Pinky, Sleek True Colour lipstick in Amped, C.O. Bigelow Rosebud Salve

I also made one of my all-time favorite breakfast-and-snack foods: banana bread! Mmmmm. Here's the recipe I use for my banana bread, with some potential modifications to suit your tastes. :)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon (or to taste)
1 tablespoon of nutmeg (or to taste)
a pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups mashed overripe banana (roughly 6 bananas)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter

TOOLS:
3 bowls
2 loaf pans
spoon
oven

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans.
2. Mash your bananas. Set aside for now.
2. In a seperate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar. Add your eggs, mixing well, then slowly add your bananas. Mix until blended, but don't smooth out all of the banana chunks!
4. Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry. Blend until fully moistened.
5. Split the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes or until a knife/toothpick inserted into the center of the loaves comes out clean.

ADDITIONS/ALTERATIONS
1. These loaves come out a little "short." If you prefer a "regular-sized" loaf, pour all of the batter in to one loaf pan. You can also add a 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to make the loaves rise a bit more.
2. Walnuts are a truly awesome addition to banana bread! The only reason I didn't use any here is because we were all out. :(
3. You can make the recipe healthier by using 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour, substituting egg whites or Egg Beaters for whole eggs, etc.
4. I love spice, so I sometimes use less cinnamon and nutmeg and add a tablespoon of ground cloves, ginger, or allspice for more "bite." If you want the bread sweeter, try adding a dash of vanilla.
5. You can also use this recipe to make banana muffins! Bake for 24-28 minutes instead. I like to add dark chocolate chunks when I do this. ;)

Favorites: Top 5 Cream Eyeshadows + new jewelry

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a big eyeshadow person. It's sort of strange, because the above pictures prove that I was mega in to eyeshadows when I was first getting in to makeup; actually, the first "real" piece of makeup I owned was a teal Max Factor eyeshadow that my mom gave me. But I think that, as I've gotten older and blinder, I've come to focus less on my eyes and more on my lips. When I do play up my eyes, it's usually via my lashes or my brows. Yet as the years have gone by, I've come to realize that I have a deep fondness for cream shadows: they're multi-faceted and pigmented, which are big things for me with most makeup, but they're also quick, easy, and surprisingly modern. Here, then, are my five favorite cream eyeshadows--all of which are permanent shades!

#5: Estee Lauder DoubleWear Stay-In-Place Creme in Antique Gold

If I was judging these based on formula alone, this underrated cream shadow would easily get first place. It's smooth and creamy, and it's stayed that way for well over a year. It also lasts for absolute AGES on me, even without a primer. The downfall, for me, is the shade range: Estee Lauder's shades aren't quite as complex as some of the others on this list. That being said, they're great for days when you're rushed, and my favorite way to use Antique Gold is as a base under gold eyeshadows. It makes them absolutely BLAZE! The LE shades they come out with are also often very, very beautiful.
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Antique Gold used as a base under Urban Decay Baked and Twice Baked powder eyeshadows.

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#4: Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Illusoire

I've done a review on the Chanel IdOs in the past, which you can read about here. But the reason why I love Illusoire in particular is because of it's sheer versatility. It reads primarily purple to me, but it also has tones of blue, silver, and black, so I can blend in just about any other shadow for an accent and get a brand new look. A lot of people have reported that Illusoire creases on their eyes more often than other IdOs, but I personally have never had that problem--it performs like all of my other shades. This is an especially lovely shade to pair with the Mirifique Illusion d'Ombre or with Essence gel liner in London Baby.
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Illusoire on the inner half of the lid and bottom lash line; Chanel Mirifique is on the outer half of the lid.

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#3: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in Skinny Jeans

I'm normally not a sucker for products hyped by YouTube gurus, but when I kept noticing this cream shadow on Srivinya's eyes, I had to bite, and I haven't look back sense. Easily the must unique and versatile CCS, Skinny Jeans is a difficult-to-describe mixture of khaki green, taupe, and pewter gray that changes  at every angle. It can easily be worn on its own by applying a sheer layer on the lids and a little more in the outer v and crease for depth, but I personally prefer to wear it underneath gold, taupe, and khaki powder eyeshadows to really make them pop, especially the taupe shade from Wet n' Wild's Night Elf palette.
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Worn as a base under shades from the Wet n' Wild Comfort Zone and Night Elf palettes.

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#2: Benefit Creaseless Cream Shadow in RSVP

Another CCS makes the list, and with just cause: it's obviously a shade I use on a super-regular basis. A seemingly simple, but nevertheless beautiful, golden champagne color, this is my go-to cream shadow on a cat-eyes-and-bright-lips day. I also use this as a base under gold eyeshadows for ladies who don't like a super-bold look, like my friend Laurel (who actually got married today--congratulations!). Unfortunately, my little pot of Heaven has reached its drying point; I've microwaved it for about 10 seconds to restore some of its creaminess, but the fix only works for a week or two. :( I'll be sure to buy a new pot of this bad boy as soon as I have a job and cash to spare.

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RSVP with thick winged liner.

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#1: Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Long-Wear Luminous Eyeshadow in Epatant


I was initially hesitant to make Epatant my number one, as I was under the impression that I used Benefit RSVP more often and in more ways. Turns out...that's not the fact at all. Okay, Epatant is in no way a "go to for winged liner," but it's the cream shadow I reach for when I want a quick but super-eyecatching shade, provided the green tones in it won't clash with the rest of my makeup. It's surprisingly versatile--I've even mixed it with lavenders, baby pinks, and taupes--and I'm infamous for spotting it on Chanel sales associates.
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Chanel Epatant: so gorgeous, I don't even care if my images won't rotate properly.

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Swatched, from left to right: Antique Gold, Illusoire, Skinny Jeans, RSVP, and Epatant.

Also, here are a few of my new babies: an antique brooch from a local antique store and some adorable owl earrings from Jolliffe Jewelry!

Bad Outfit #4(.5), FOTD, Empties, and a Mini-Absence

I find it difficult to use products up. It's not that I don't love my stuff and use it often, but rather, that I use so little of a product at one time that they just kind of...last a while. I have, however, checked up on my stash and plucked out a few items that I've managed to finish, or almost finish, over the past month. Obviously, I've gone through several jars of the Avon Nurtura face cream, which is my HG night cream; my current jar is the one I used to keep at Jessica's apartment and is already 2/3 of the way finished. My mini-Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour hand cream has been a favorite of mine and will probably be empty by the end of the week.

The eye cream sample was a sweet gift from an MUAer, but unfortunately, this particular product didn't impress me. The same goes for the rest of the products in this bunch...the Nivea Kiss of Moisture lip balm was probably my biggest disappointment, since people rave about it. It's not bad, just...not amazing. I've been keeping it on my desk and will def have it completely finished by the end of the month. I can't bring myself to use any more of the MAC Studio Tech foundation or the Korres lip butter in Jasmine, so I'm Back 2 MAC-ing the foundation and RAOKing the lip butter. And while I've never cared for most MAC Lustre lipsticks or glittery products, I DID manage to finish the MAC Stroke of Lust lipstick by using it as a lip, cheek, and brow highlight at guard and drag shows.

Not pictured, but worth mentioning, are my Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara and Jordana Fabu-liner, which dried up last month after long and faithful service. Don't worry, they've been replaced. ;)

Now for my outfit and FOTD from this past weekend. As you can probably tell, I traipsed in to my brother's room and asked him to take a picture of "my entire outfit"...he only photographed the top half. T_T Luckily, the bottom half isn't anything new; this is actually a mid-calf dress I got from Forever 21, and I paired it with plain black leggings and my beloved Doc Marten 1B60 knee-high boots. Maybe you can't see the whole outfit, but you can see my stupid faces! :D

And for the face: my sister yoinked back her point-and-shoot for a night out, so I quickly took some webcam shots before heading out to see The Dark Knight Rises.

 BASE: MAC Face & Body foundation in N1 + White, Clinique Airbrush concealer in 01 Fair, Skindinavia setting spray

EYES: Too Faced Shadow Insurance, Jordana Fabu-liner in Black, DiorShow Maximizer lash primer, Prestige My Biggest Lashes mascara, CoverGirl Eye Enhancers in Mink, CoverGirl Eye Enhancers in Tapestry Taupe, La Femme brow pencil in Taupe, Anastasia clear brow gel

CHEEKS: Revlon PhotoReady cream blush in Coral Reef, Kevyn Aucoin Candlelight

LIPS: Revlon ColorBurst lip butter in Candy Apple

NAILS: Orly Ancient Jade

CLOCK RING: Laure Leonard designs

CLOCK EARRINGS (not visible here): Jolliffe Jewelry


And now for a quick bit of news: I'll actually be absent from blogging for most of the next 2 weeks. My boyfriend is flying in from North Dakota to visit, and I'm going to be a bit preoccupied showing him the sights and sounds. :) If I can find the time, I'll do a blog post about it!

Bad Outfit #3: Summer Viewing

When I say "summer viewing," I don't mean viewing art or nature. Unfortunately, I'm referring to a funeral viewing. Beyond being a bad outfit that does nothing for my munchkin figure (and I'm aware of that, I promise, and I love it regardless, no lies), it may also strike some as a very odd outfit for a funeral. Where I'm from, however, it is not unusual to wear business casual types of clothing to viewings, especially in the hot, humid summer months, though of course, you always dress up for the actual funeral. I also wore this skirt and these boots with a more "flattering" taupe tank top and fitted jean jacket for my friend Laurel's birthday, but dear God, I was NOT gonna wear the jacket today.

TOP & SKIRT: thrift store finds
BOOTS: Dr. Marten's 1914 Triumph, Brown Massai
JEWELRY: none in the pictures, but I put on a necklace from Jolliffe Jewelry before leaving.

My makeup was essentially my standard "no makeup makeup" with some minor changes: I added more (but still subtle) color with the Revlon Just Bitten balm stain in Honey and the ELF Essential liquid eyeliner in Ash, and I used the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in Pearl instead of MAC Pearl CCB.