Halloween Tutorials: Sexy Skulls ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Welcome to the third post in my Halloween Series! Today, I got to make the beautiful Vic and handsome John into a rad skull couple! It's honestly so easy to create this look, it just needs a bit of practice. 

After priming, I started by highlighting the entirety of their faces with Mac's Marilyn Monroe shadow in  Preferred Blonde. I used a wet angled brush (with Mac's Fix+) to apply the shimmer. You can use white face paint for this step as well, but I wanted a more shimmery look. 

Vic with just the highlight shimmer on her face !

The next step is drawing! I used two different pencils for this, Urban Decay's 24/7 Liner in Zero and a Revlon liner in Black. The shapes and lines are relatively simple, circles around the eyes, a long squiggle on each jaw, and black on the nose. I honestly just followed a photo and got great results!

A Closer Look at John....

A Closer Look at Vic....

I started by priming the eyes with Mac's Painterly, and filled in the eyes, nose, and jaw squiggles with UD's 24/7 Pencil. I then mattified the black liner with a flat shader brush and Mac's Carbon. I mixed this shade with a bit of Mac's Fix+ to make it more of a paste. (Putting the shadow over the liner will also set the black color in each area!)

And the final result.....

Don't forget to conceal and highlight the lips! I used Benefit's Erase Paste to conceal the lips with some of Mac's Preferred Blonde (just as I used on the face). I then went in with one of the black liners and created parallel stitches across both of their mouths!

We had so much fun creating this look and it's honestly an easy process that has sick results!

Happy (ALMOST!!!) Halloween!!

Many thanks to Vic and John !

"Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful."

[Measure for Measure 1.3]

Cheers! x

Halloween Tutorials: Cat ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Welcome to the second post of my mini Halloween Series! This look is a quick and adorable way to achieve the perfect, simple, cat makeup for an easy Halloween costume. Many many thanks to my other roommate, the beautiful Miss Gloria for modeling for this one!

After priming, concealing, and powdering Gloria's face, I went straight into one of the most important features of this look, the eyes! I started off with my Two Faced Shadow Insurance Eye Primer, and began placing Mac's Bare Study Paint Pot towards the inner corner of her eyes with my Mac 239 flat shader brush. I blended this out toward the center of the lid with Mac's Soft Brown and my Mac 217 brush.

I then went in with a strong hand and my Bobbi Brown Gel Liner in Black Ink. I placed tape on each side of Gloria's eyes, as what I did to Vic in my Vampire Tutorial, and formed thick black liner on each eye. 

After peeling off the tape, this was my result. I then smudged the top of the liner a bit to soften the harsh lines with Mac's Black Tied and my Mac 219 brush (any pencil brush will do)!

Time for the fun part! Start drawing the details of your cat. I went in with my Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil Liner in Zero and shaded in her nose, cupids bow, and just above her lips. I then dotted this on each side of her cheeks and created a light few whiskers with my NYX Eye/Eyebrow Pencil in White. 

To add some true highlighting, I went in on top of the whiskers with Mac's Marilyn Monroe How To Marry eyeshadow with a dome brush (a 217 will work just fine). I also used this brush to highlight her cheekbones. 

To finish off this playful look, I added a bold lip color, Mac's Rebel! I wanted to bring out the blue in her eyes and soften up all the black on her face!

And the finished product.. 

We added these adorable gold cat ears from 2020Ave, and I created a cute choker out of black ribbon for her neck! She's sporting a plain black long sleeve tee and dark pants!

Quick, easy and super cute!

"O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"

[Merchant 1.3]

Cheers, x

Halloween Tutorials: Vampire ♡ Twenty Thirteen

Halloween is around the corner, and I am so excited. If you know me well, you know that Halloween is my favorite holiday- I've loveeeed it ever since I was a little girl! For the next week, I'm going to be posting some Halloween costume ideas and tutorials! I'm starting off my series with this adorable hippie evil Vampire look [ish]. Many thanks to my beautiful roommate and model Miss Vic. Let's get started!

For her face, I didn't want to completely wash her out and make her white, so I just decided to do a lot of highlighting. I began with BareMineral's Prime Time to prime her face, and went in with Benefit's Erase Paste to conceal any red spots and circles under her eyes. I set this with Mac's Mineralized Skin Finish in Medium Plus. 

For highlighting, I used a combination of Mac's Soft and Gentle and the brightest white shadow of my Coastal Scents 88 Metal Mania Palette. I went in with a flat round brush (the one pictured above is from Urban Decay) and I focused the white on her cheekbones and temples. I also made the white shadow a bit thicker by foiling it with Mac's Fix Plus. For instructions on how to foil a shadow/pigment, click here!

Next, I went in and primed her eyes with Too Faced Shadow Insurance, and gave her darker brows than her natural color with the darker shade in my Anastasia Brow Powder Duo. I went ahead and set them with clear mascara. 

As for shadow, I started with Mac's Painterly Paint Pot as a base, and went in with a few different colors from my Coastal Scents 88 Metal Mania Palette, mainly the 3 maroon/purple shades on the bottom right of the palette. I recommend starting at the center of the lid with a lighter maroon shade, blending it nicely into Painterly towards your tear duct (so we don't have any harsh lines) and take the darker maroon and purple and blend that towards the outer corner. 

Next, I went in and put tape on each corner of Vic's eyes. I took a dome shaped brush, (a Mac 217 will do just fine) and worked Mac's Carbon (bottom right of this palette) right over the crease between her skin and tape! Remember to blend in the black really well into the maroons you used on the rest of your eye. Peel off that tape and you'll have a beautiful cat eye.

Annnddd the eyes are finished! I added mascara and false lashes, as well as a bit of smudged Carbon (Mac) on her upper lash line. Feel free to add some black eyeliner on your waterline if you prefer that as well. 

Additionally, I took a mix of a few of the maroons in my 88 Palette and Mac's Soft Brown and defined her under eye circles, to make her eyes look a bit sunken. Don't forget to clean up that fallout!

For contour, I put a strong stroke of Benefit's Hoola on each underside of her cheekbones (make a fishy face for this one!), and added some of Mac's Plum Foolery for blush. 

To further emphasis the depth of her cheeks, I took this purplish-grey shade from my 88 Palette on a small dome brush (Mac 217) and went over where I put the bronzer. This gave her cheeks a more sunken, ghoulish look.

Annnddd the part we've all been waiting for...

For her lips, I started off with Mac's Cherry Lipliner, and went in with Urban Decay's Super Saturated Lip Color in Theodora on the sides of her mouth. And then, to add a bit of depth, I went ahead with Revlon's Lip Stain in Crush and put that towards the center of her lips! I also added some of the maroon shadow I put on her eyes at the very center on her upper and lower lips. I dripped some Fake Blood around her mouth! (you can find this at any party store.. or in my case.. Duane Reade..)

And the finished product! Remember to set your makeup with Mac's Fix+ or UD's All Nighter to get that everlasting ghoulish glow... (how cheese..)

I did add a small cross on her right cheekbone as well with my Bobbi Brown Liquid Liner and Angled Brush #55 from Sephora! 

For accessories, we chose this adorable floral crown from Forever 21 and paired it with this cute maroon sweater with gold spikes from Necessary Clothing. Vic added her gorgeous rosary beads, and we decided that black leggings and dark boots finished off the look well!

Stay tuned for a few more Halloween tricks over the next week!

"How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!"

[King Lear, 1.4]

☠ Happy (almost) Halloween! ☠

Cheers, x

PS! follow the lovely Vic on Instagram: @viccccmusnick :)

Clen Gallery Opening ♡ Autumn Twenty Thirteen

Drew and I were fortunate enough to attend the Clen Gallery Opening last week, and we loved the work featured and the vibe of Rogue Space in Chelsea. I've decided to share with you guys some photos I took at the exhibit and cocktail party!

I loved the use of space in this exhibit! Every wall was balanced with bigger pieces on some and many small pieces on others (like the wall above!)

In addition to the art being displayed, jewelry was part of the exhibition as well with large necklaces sported by a few models (see above) and smaller, delicate jewelry pieces that were in glass cases (see below).

Gorgeous red jewels complimented with gold and pearl!

Ceramics also made an appearance within this collection!

The piece above was made with small metal tubes (similar to bullet casings). Placed in the center of the room, this piece was incredibly striking and quite innovating.

One of the most notable pieces in the entire room, this eery guy was probably my favorite!

 [Taken from Getty Images]

The Getty Images photographer snapped a photo of me taking a picture of Drew and this eery piece!

Finally, I loved the colors of the last work. The entire exhibit was super eclectic and we enjoyed it greatly!

Many many thanks to Florencia Bibas :) Check out her blog here !

"In time we hate that which we often fear"

[Antony and Cleopatra 1.2]

Cheers! x

Weekly Wears ♡ Autumn Twenty Thirteen

It's a gorgeous day at LC ! 

Sir Holden was captured in this one sporting a nice navy tee...

Today I'm sporting this awesome Army Air Force jacket I got at a thrift store for just ten dollars! It's a bit big for me so I just tied it at the waist and I paired it with a sheer black collared shirt underneath. I'm loving the rad texture of those patches on the army jacket and the stud detail on my collar!

I parted my hair all the way to the side and I'm also wearing a cute gold ear cuff for jewelry! I'm wearing Mac's Rebel lipstick and my black Ray Bans as well.

I paired all of this with a simple pair of black leggings from PINK and short dark boots from Forever 21.

Happy Autumn!

"There was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass"

[King Lear 3.2]

♡ Photography : Avery Bart ♡

Cheers! x