Archive for June, 2010

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Oceanic Inspiration

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
After my day trip to the ruins, I’ve found that I simply cannot get Okinawa’s oceans out of my head.  After I did my makeup for today, I realized that it had made it’s way into my color choices and placement.  Here’s what I did.

And here’s my inspiration.

As I was sitting here blogging, I just noticed another oddity about my look.  I used Fyrinnae’s Shinigami eyeshadow in my look.  Shinigami in Japanese basically means “death god”.  The images that inspired me have a history of mass suicides during WWII.  Odd.

For some reason I’ve noticed that I’ve been keeping the rest of my face extremely neutral.  I wonder why that is…….and I always seem to do one eyebrow better than the other.
Eyes:
UDPP
Pixie Epoxy
Fyrinnae Anemone (inner corners)
Fyrinnae +20 Beautification (majority middle of lids)
Fyrinnae Curiouser and Curiouser! (outer 1/4 lid)
Fyrinnae Cheshire Cat Grin (above the crease)
Fyrinnae Shinigami (in the crease) 

Fyrinnae Dragon’s Wing (lower lash line)
KATE Gel Liner in Black
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
26 eyeshadow/blush combo palette e/s as eyebrow powder

Face:
Youthful Trends Caffeinated Primer
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
Fyrinnae Finishing Powder in Sunkissed
Mac Mineralize Blush in Cheek & Cheerful (highlight)
NARS Blush in Orgasm (apples of my cheeks)
26 eyeshadow/blush combo palette e/s as contour

Lips:
Aromaleigh Lip Balm in Pink Grapefruit Parfait
NARS Blush in Orgasm

Posted in FOTD, Fyrinnae, blue, inspired FOTD | No Comments »

Please enjoy my island: Okinawa (picture intensive post)

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Clicking on any image will make it larger.  Please enjoy.

What happened in Okinawa long time ago was very sad but people should not forget about it and let our children know to make sure we will never make same mistake again…  (Translated by my friend Seiko.)


(the water is really that blue).






(completely unedited, btw.)




(Gushikawa-gusuku (castle) walls)











I hope you enjoyed this post, and I hope that I didn’t wear you out :)

Posted in photography | No Comments »

Bella Sugar FOTD

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010
Hey guys!  Hello to my new readers especially :)  Thanks for deciding to follow my blog, it really does mean a lot to me.  Here is a look I did yesterday, featuring Bella Sugar Cosmetics.

I’m sorry I’ve been missing for a few days.  My husband and son are now in San Diego.  They’ve been there almost a week now.  Unfortunately, there are no answers yet.  The neurologist here in Okinawa thought that maybe my son has Hydrocephalus, but did not have the necessary knowledge to diagnose babies.  That is why my son is in San Diego.  The neurologist there has not seen my son’s MRI images yet (they have yet to be sent to SD), but he is suspecting that my son has Cerebral Palsy.
……..I don’t think my son has that.  I am being careful not to let my personal wants and feelings in the way, but it is my gut feeling that my son does NOT have CP.  I feel and know this the same way I knew my child was a boy at 10 weeks.  Ultimately though, it will be all determined once my son undergoes another MRI, and a lumbar puncture.  
Moving on to the makeup, I really like the look that I did.  When I was staring at one of the palettes to decide my FOTD, I decided to do a loose reinterpretation of a face chart from Barbie Loves Mac.  I did the look that the brunette is wearing below.

And here is the rest of my look.  Enjoy!
Eyes:
UDPP
Bella Sugar Buttercup (inner corners)
Bella Sugar Yell-Oh! (after buttercup, inner eyes)
Bella Sugar 1966 (the rest of the eyelids, blended into Yell-Oh!)
Bella Sugar Ariel (outer corners)
Bella Sugar Fabuliscious (crease and blended up)
Bella Sugar Chocolate Covered Bluberries (deep in the crease)

Bella Sugar Glow (highlight)
KATE Gel liner in black
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Face:
Youthful Trends Caffeinated Makeup Primer (review coming soon!)
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
Fyrinnae Finishing Powder in Sunkissed
Mac Mineralize blush in Cheek & Cheerful (highlight)
26 eyeshadow/blush combo palette e/s as contour

Lips:
Revlon Colorstay Lipstick in Carnation
Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Visual Kei

Posted in Bella Sugar, FOTD, pink/green look | No Comments »

All the Mad People have a rather Heartless Queen….

Friday, June 25th, 2010

Today I wanted to play with some of my new Evil Shades colors.  I apologize if my images are a little off today.  I am blogging on my computer at work (shhh….lets keep that just between us!)  Anyways, take a gander.

I’m not quite sure if I’m satisfied with this look.  I like it……..but it’s missing something.  The winged double liner…was unintentional.  I was going over a line I already drew, and missed.  So of course I had to do the same thing to the other eye.  I really like how Heartless Queen and Mad People blended together.  I just feel like the whole look is missing something.
Eyes:
TSFI
Pixie Epoxy
Evil Shades Mad People (2/3 lid)
Evil Shades Heartless Queen (outer 1/3 lid)
Evil Shades Night Shade (above the crease)
Evil Shades Chusi (in the crease)
Mac Mineralize Blush in Cheek & Cheerful (highlight and dotted on the inner corners)
KATE Gel Liner (upper lids)
Maybelline Hello Kitty Cat Eyes Mascara (Japan release)
UD 24/7 pencil in Zero (lower lashline)
Face:
CG Tinted Moisturizer
Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
NARS Concealer in Toffee
Fyrinnae Finishing Powder in Sunkissed
Mac Mineralize Blush in Cheek & Cheerful (highlight)
NARS blush in Orgasm
26 eyeshadow/blush combo palette e/s as contour
Lips:
Aromaleigh Lip Balm in Italian Blood Orange
Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in Ardour

Posted in Evil Shades, FOTD | No Comments »

The Awesomeness that is Evil Shades!

Friday, June 25th, 2010
I mean seriously.  I don’t have to tell you how cool Evil Shades is, because you already know.  If you don’t know, let me give you a few reasons:
  • Smooth soft buttery shades
  • Beautiful, pigmented, and rich shades!
  • Amazing lipsticks, and a cheap price, with unique colors
  • Buttery and nourishing lip glosses
  • One of the most amazing, knowledgeable, and HELPFUL owners I’ve seen
‘Kay, now that you know why Evil Shades is so awesome, let me show you my latest order from them.  This order also includes a sample of a custom shade that Andrea and I are working on.  (If you don’t know it, she is always taking custom shade requests.  She’s a color genius.  Ya know, ‘cuz she’s awesome like that!)  You can’t really see it from the photos, but it is basically a matte-looking red, with crazy blue sparks!  Superwoman (or Wonderwoman) comes to mind when I look at it.  It’s not quite finished though, hence no full sizes.  I’m also really happy that she sent me “Phyrra’s Fantasy” as one of my free samples.  I didn’t order it initally, because I didn’t think it would be unique to my collection.  My, was I wrong!  I’m kicking myself for not ordering this too. >_<

This is my first blush from Evil Shades, and I have to say that I’m impressed.  Just like her shadows, the blush is very smooth and buttery.  I swear, everything from her is like heaven to apply.  (FYI, they don’t normally come in the little jars.  Andrea informed me that her latest shipment of the blush containers arrived broken.  She said that she wanted to send out my order w/o delay, so she put them into two smaller containers.  She was going to send out an actual blush jar once her replacements arrived, but I told her not to worry about it. :)  I actually have about 20 empty 20gm jars just sitting around.  No sense in her sending one to me that could be used for another customer ^_^ )

Oh. Em.Ghee.  Just LOOK at those crazy freakin’ lipsticks!  I don’t quite know what I’m going to do with Evince yet, but it kept screaming at me to buy it.  Guess I’ll figure out something!  Any suggestions?  Anything you would like to snag for yourself?

Posted in Evil Shades, swatches | No Comments »

Suds N Sass: A Day at the Beach FOTD

Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Hello readers! How are you all today? I’m ok, although a little tripped out. My husband and son are officially in San Diego, and it’s weird for me. I keep feeling like my son is sleep and I need to check on him to make sure he is okay. It’s weird! Um….creepy observation time…..I totally just noticed that I can see myself in my pupil. I mean, I can see the window, what’s outside that window, and the outline of me and the camera. I don’t think I’ve ever looked that closely at my eyes, lol.  Have any of you ever noticed anything super weird about your pictures, blogging or not?  Anyways, here’s my first FOTD featuring Suds N Sass.

After getting to use these pigments, I really think that I like them!  They go on very smoothly, and blend out nicely.  They’re colorful but yet natural-ish….does that even make sense?  I just wish I could find a matte nude highlighter for my eyes that works for me!  Well, in all fairness it looks fine in real life.  It’s just that they’re always so OBVIOUS in my photos, regardless of brand.  Maybe I’m not blending out the edges well enough?  I think so, because my outer vee looks winged.  In real life, it’s not :(  Oh, and I really like the highlighters from the “A Day at the Beach” collection.

Eyes:
UDPP
Pixie Epoxy
Suds N Sass Beach Babe (inner 1/3 lid)
Suds N Sass Sea Grass (2/3 eyelid)
Suds N Sass Polka Dot Bikini (crease, outer vee)
Suds N Sass Sandcastle (highlight)
UD 24/7 Pencil in Mildew (upper/lower lash lines)
Rimmel Glam’Eyes Kohl Mascara
Face:
Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Silica Primer
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
NARS Concealer in Toffee
Fyrinnae Finishing Powder in Sunkissed
Suds N Sass highlighter in Golden Rays (highlighter)
Suds N Sass blush in Raspberry Snowcone
Suds N Sass bronzer in Bronze Goddess (contour)
Lips:
Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Meloncholoy

Posted in FOTD, Suds-N-Sass | No Comments »

Suds N Sass: A Day At The Beach

Thursday, June 24th, 2010
Recently, Suds N Sass (a bath & beauty company), released a cosmetics collection entitled “A Day At The Beach”.  This is kind of a big deal for the owner, Elizabeth.  To my understanding, she had stopped making cosmetics (or at least eyeshadows.  I’m not too sure, to be honest.)  Not too long after she started selling them again, she offered us this wonderful little collection.
Stay tuned, I have a surprise for you guys at the end~!

I hadn’t even heard of the company until a few months ago, when she started following me on Twitter.  I liked what I saw, but I can’t order too much stuff to try on my skin right now.  Then I saw that she was releasing cosmetics again, and I became very interested.  I tweeted some color ideas that I had to her, and I was waiting for those to come into existence before I placed an order.  Temptation was pulling me though, and I was starting to cave.  Then one day on twitter, she mentioned that she wanted some bloggers to review her new collection.  I LEAPT at the chance, and I’m so happy I did!  She sent samples of all the eyeshadows, 2 sample bronzers, 2 sample highlighters, and 2 sample blushes.   She also sent a sample perfume, which smelled so nice and summery!  More on that a little later.  Take a look at the swatches!

(I want to stop here and mention the fact that EVERYTHING is properly labeled.  This includes ingredients, as well as what the particular powders are safe for.  In lieu of recent events, I am very grateful for this.)
Before the swatches, let me tell you about the perfume.  Beach House is describe on the website like so: This is a total BEACH scent!  You can smell the sand and ocean mixed with suntan lotion, coconuts, and even a hint of pina colada.  To me, that is exactly what it smells like.  It’s very light and summery, and smells so nice!  I did give it away to a friend that loved it, but ONLY because my sensitive skin can’t really handle any perfumes right now :(  I will be ordering it again though, and I think I want to try it in candle/tart form (which you can totally do!).
Swatched over Pixie Epoxy (which I need to order more off, EEEK!)  Of course, clicking on it makes any picture larger.
I just had to show you another close up of Tattoo Parlor!  It is such a beautiful shade, although not quite as dark as it looks here.  It reminds me of Fyrinnae’s Glitterboi (which I LUUURRRVE), although Tattoo Shop is a little less opaque, and doesn’t really have the color-changing properties that it’s cousin has.  My favorites out of the eyeshadows are Tidal Wave, Beach Babe (sooo gorgeous), Flip Flops (which had surprising purple sparks!), Polka Dot Bikini, Seagrass (can anyone tell me if this dupes Sweet & Punchy?), and Tattoo Shop.
Next, are the face products.

Honestly, I am excited about all of the face products!  They are all so pretty.  I don’t think I will be able to contour with the bronzers, but I will try.  I will also try them as blushes too.  The highlighters are very pretty and subtle;  They have my full attention.  Mac MSF Glissade has been my go-to highlighter, but I’m a little tired of it.  Its just so sparkly.  While sometimes that’s ok, I kinda don’t want my sparkly highlights competing with my sparkly eyeshadows, ya dig?  These blushes are all very pretty.  I think Raspberry Snow Cone will work very well for me, and I think it’s actually unique to my blush collection (which is a feat).

Now for your surprise!  Elizabeth (the owner) was generous enough to offer all of my readers a discount!  from now until July 31st 2010, all of my readers can receive 15% any order of $10 or more!!  How awesome is that? Just enter the code AIJUSWHANAKNO when you place your order.  Now remember, she sells bath & body products in addition to makeup, so there’s something for everyone.  Enjoy!

*Products in this post were sent for my review.  I strive to give you my most honest opinion, 
to enable you to spend your money in a smart fashion.  What I pay (or don’t pay) will never alter my opinion of a product.*  

Posted in Suds-N-Sass, new release, review | No Comments »

Enter: Bella Sugar Cosmetics!!

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

I don’t even remember how I found this little gem of a shop.  I think I was looking around on Etsy for pressed shadows, and found Bella Sugar Cosmetics.  I liked what I saw on her shop front, but wanted to find out a little bit more about the company.  The blog for the shop was listed in the shop front, so I checked it out.  Beeaauuuutiful swatches, and they reeled me right in.  I still wanted to hear at least one persons personal experience, and that same day Painted Lady Fingers  actually posted an FOTD featuring Bella Sugar!!  Well I took that as a sign.  I went back to Bella Sugar’s blog, and there was a new post.  In celebration of her son’s birthday (I believe), Bella Sugar marked EVERYTHING in her shop down by 50%.  I took that opportunity to purchase two of the 18-color palettes.  Normally they are $36, but I was able to get two for that price.  (If you like what you see, run over to her shop!  They’re actually still on sale!)  I didn’t realize that I could customize the design on the palette, so I just told her to make it look 80′s-ish and put her company name on them.   Here’s what she did (and the freebie lip balm she included!)

Now, thanks to my big mouth, and the comments on Phyrra’s post on Bella Sugar, some of you may think that Bella Sugar is a repackager.  Let me take the time to say she is NOT a repackager.  If you do order from Bella Sugar, and you happen to own unblended pigments from another company, I suggest you send her an email and ask if it actually is that pigment.  Due to customer requests, she actually does take unblended pigments and press them for her clients.  At the time, I did not know this.  Unfortunately, I ended up with most of the TKB Pop! colors that I already own.
I did ask Bella Sugar about this, and she was very honest and forthcoming with her information.  She immediately offered me a refund (which I refused), and explained to me what she does.  This made me feel a million times better.  I suggested to her that perhaps she could mark which pigments were unblended, and which ones were dupes from other HE companies, so that her clients don’t unintentionally end up with duplicate colors like me.  Bella Sugar is in the process of providing me with a list of unblended pigments/dupes out of the 36 colors that I ordered.  I will not be marking them in this post, as I do not wish to detract from her offerings.  However, if you are interested in knowing, please send me or her an email.
When I asked Bella Sugar about repackaging and pressed pigments, this is what she had to say about it.  
“Thank you so much for your understanding! I feel so much better now. Honestly, everything I do is for my customers. Thats why I try and keep my prices reasonably low. I do not make very much profit doing this, but Im so sick of MAC and their ridiculous prices. I don’t think its fair to anyone to charge $14 for a shadow that costs $2 to produce. I actually went to school for cosmetic chemistry. I have an actual lab where I do my work, not just in my kitchen like most “mineral companies”. Theres just so much risk for cross-contamination that way. I get massive requests for colors every day. Some are TKB colors. I try to keep those to an absolute minimum. I only add them if I get a bunch of requests for that particular color. Even then I try to change them in some way to make them my own. I have gotten questions from potential clients asking if they are similar to TKB and I always tell them if the colors they would like are similar or not. I cannot stress enough to you the damgers of loose micas. Im getting ready to introduce a cream-to-powder foundation to eliminate the risks involved with the loose pigments, but still maintaining the same effectiveness. Ive even offered to friends and family to press their loose pigments for free just to get them to stop using them. Loose micas are the new-age asbestos. Once again, thank you so much for being understanding. I have so much pride in all the work that I do, and I really love it. If you ever need anything, feel free to contact me. ”

I respect Bella Sugar for being so forthcoming with information, and that’s all I ever wanted from her.  Our conversation was much longer than that snippet, but you get the idea.  I would like to add, for anyone that doesn’t know, pressing pigments is a LOT of work.  In talking to the owner of Bella Sugar, I have come to the conclusion that she is very passionate about her work, and enjoys what she does.
Well, enough with the boring stuff!  Any other questions, please don’t hesitate to email me, or the owner of Bella Sugar.  She may take a day or so to respond, but she ALWAYS does.  Following, I will describe the colors how they appear to my own eye.  All pigments are swatched on bare skin, and of course clicking on any image will make it larger.

Radium – What looks like a matte red.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much from it.  Gotta love              
                  mattes :(
OMG – Vibrant pink!
Sprinkles – This one is more of a berry pink, but still bright and light
Fabuliscious – The perfect bubblegum pink
Chocolate Covered Blueberries – Coppery brown, with a strong greenish blue duochrome
Punkinhead – this shade reminds me of Amber Lights from MAC, but more orangey.
Gaillardia – (warm) Bubblegum pink, with a gold duochrome
Bella Sugar – (cool) bubblegum pink, with silver glitter
Sweet Pea – This one looks more like a champagne pink to me
Yell-Oh! – Just like it’s name, its a yellow that shouts to you!
Buttercup – A soft fairy yellow
Sunny Sparkles – This yellow is barely there, and almost gold.  So pretty!!
Sapphire – Dark grey-ish blue, with silver sparkles
Ariel – Definitely a mermaid green, or forest if you will
Luck O’ The Irish – a great “lucky charms” green, with gold sparkles
Grassy – Just like it’s name.  Grassy.
1966 – A chartreuse green
Golden Leaf – a very gorgeous gold/green duochrome
Crimson Clover – Fiery metallic red!
Hunter Orange – an extremely sunshiney orange.  This one will definitely brighten your day.
Casey – Pink, with a blue duochrome.  Created to dupe MAC Stars N Rockets.
California Poppy – Silvery pink
Clearwater – Beautiful turquoise, reminds me of island ocean waters.
Blurple – named adequately, this is a shimmery blueish purple
Glow – This one really does glow!  Is it pink or is it gold?
Goddess – Champagne sparkle that looks slightly pink
Naked Sparkle – Honestly, that’s what it is on me!  My skintone, with sparkle
Army Gold – beautiful khaki green, with gold duochrome
Denim – Crazy bright blueberry blue
Cinderelly – Cornflower blue mixed with gold sparkle.  Extremely gorgeous.
Vanilla – looks exactly vanilla in the pan, but has a slight reddish pink glow to it
Sweetness – another matte I couldn’t get much from =(
Whisper – beautiful lavender with a slight pink glow
Mika – named for me!! Sexy dirty grape lavender.
Blue Moon – Royal blue, with a purple duotone.  
Pretty – An exactly grape shade, and very pretty just like it’s name. 

Well, what do you think?  See any colors you have to have?  I am definitely excited to follow Bella Sugar’s growth.  I would love to see something like blushes from her.  I know I’ll be returning for more!!

Posted in Bella Sugar, review | 2 Comments »

I didn’t want to blog this

Monday, June 21st, 2010

Seriously.  I didn’t.  I jacked up my left (?) eye by being in too much of a hurry and forgetting to blend.  Why was I in such a hurry this time?  My power went out RIGHT when I started to do my makeup!!! Seriously, I was getting ready for work, and it couldn’t of happened at a worse time.  Not to mention, it’s hot as H-E-double hockey sticks here.  Opening windows would’ve made it worse.  Anyways, enough bitching.  Here’s a look at my awfulness. Of course, I’m going to show you the good eye first.

Oh um, one more thing.  Isn’t it awful when grown men act like babies???  My husband had his birthday today, and chose to act like one.  I don’t mean that in a nice way.  Psch, I’ve got enough stress with the fact that him and my son are leaving in under 2 days to go across the world to California, and hoping that my son is ok.  Anyways, here’s the rest of the pictures.

(See the mistake?  If not, you can click on the picture to make it larger.  See it now?  Ok, moving on….)


Eyes:
UDPP
Pixie Epoxy
About Face High Drama (lids and into crease)
About Face Take A Mulligan (above crease)
About Face Acidic Reign (outer 1/2 crease, to blend colors)
About Face Stay On The Sunny Side (highlight)
Glamour Doll Eyes Doll House (inner vee)
L’Oreal H.I.P. Color Chrome Eyeliner in Violet (upper lash line)
UD 24/7 Pencil in Mildew (lower lash line, smudged)
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
CS 26 eyeshadow/blush combo palette e/s as eyebrow powder

Face:
CG Tinted Moisturizer
Mac Prep + Prime
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
NARS Concealer in Toffee
Mac MSF Glissade (highlight)
Mac Mineralize Blush in Style Demon
Iman Bronzing Powder in Clay (contour)
Fyrinnae Finishing Powder in Sunkissed

Lips:
Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Devil Horns’

Posted in About Face, FOTD | No Comments »

Evil Shades has a Heartless Queen

Saturday, June 19th, 2010
Evil Shades has a Heartless Queen, and she’s gorgeous!  Lol ok so I suck at making up names.  Heartless Queen, by Evil Shades, is gorgeous though.

I think that I had a not so good experience with an unknown repackager (more on that in a different post), and I was pissed.  To compensate for that, I wanted to use a company that I KNEW put honest work into their colors.  I haven’t had much chance to use my Evil Shades colors, so I chose to wear that company today.  On another note, I really suck at applying liquid liner.  I’m not used to those types of brushes.  And I got mascara dots on my eyelids.  Again.  FAIL.

Eyes:
UDPP
Pixie Epoxy
Evil Shades Twinkle Twinkle (eyelids)
Evil Shades Zombie (outer vee)
Evil Shades Neritic (inner 1/2 crease)
Evil Shades Heartless Queen (outer 1/2 crease)
Anna Sui Liquid Eyeliner #300 (red, but it turned orange on the yellow e/s)
Mac MSF Glissade (highlight)
Rimmel Glam’Eyes Lash Flirt Volume & Lift Mascara in #003 Kohl Black
Mac Corduroy e/s as eyebrow powder

Face:
CG Tinted Moisturizer
Fyrinnae Velvet-Gel Sillica Primer
Pore Putty Makeup base in clear
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Tahoe
Ben Nye Tattoo Coverall Wheel
NARS Concealer in Toffee
Mac MSF Glissade (highlight)
NARS blush in Torrid
Iman Bronzing Powder in Clay


Lips:
Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Devil Horns’


Posted in Evil Shades | No Comments »

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