Candy Cane Rhythm

 

I made this dress to use as a nightgown, but I thought it was so cute and if I just wore it as PJ's no one would be able to appreciate it, I couldn't let that happen! So I wore it for International Lolita Day it's more Otome then Lolita but I didn't much feel like wearing a cupcake petticoat just to do some Christmas shopping.

• Hat: Vintage
• Necklace: Handmade by mom
• Blouse: NikiBiki Brand
• Dress: Handmade by me
• Belt: Swap Meet
• Rose Clip: LA Fashion District
• Tights: Capezio
• Shoes: An*Tai*Na

What do you think of the fro? I was so happy with my giant hair I wish I could do it more often but it's not always comfortable sleeping on foam rollers.

On my way out I threw on a scarf and gloves and I was quite warm for the day. And while shopping at Value Village a cute girl in an awesome jacket snapped my picture and gave me the link to her vintage clothing blog Vixen Vintage. It's a fabulous read with tons of pretty pictures so I definitely recommend it.

I wanted to wear my new Strawberry Shimmer lipgloss from Morgana Cryptoria so I kept my makeup fairly simple. Just Aromaleigh Corset blush and Meow eyeshadow.

Eyeshadows are Meows Santa Honey, Bliss, and Levitation.

I Was Different

 

I felt like I needed to wear some green eyeshadow, I have a lot of interesting greens and now that it's fall I feel like I can use them in better correlation with the weather. On my face I've used Aromaleighs Peaches n' Cream finishing powder, Meows Firecracker blush, and Brazens Breathless lipgloss.

Usually I pair greens with gold but I thought all different shades of green would be something different for me. I used Meow Telepathy on the inner corner, then under the waterline is Aromaleighs Glowing Luna, and then Meows Balderdash.

I used more Glowing Luna on the lid followed by Meows Comet. There's more Telepathy on the brow bone, and more Balderdash on the outer corner.

Rebellion

 

Ha ha I've been Loki'd! My first time using my Morgana Cryptorias lip gloss in Medusas Magic. Super fun! I'm also wearing Aromaleighs Cherry Bomb blush.

 

On the inner corner I used Meows Illusion, then on the middle of the lower lash line Aromaleighs Umbra. On the outer lower corner is AL's Glowing Luna with AL Cielo patted over top.

On the lid is Umbra with Cielo swooped into the crease and Glowing Luna on the outer corner. Illusion is on the brow bone as a highlight.

 

 Nice and evil!

Ohh yeah, just right for Halloween.

Crop-Circles On The Carpet

I wore this look to see Side By Side a documentary about celluloid vs. digital films by Keanu Reeves of all people. The look itself was inspired while browsing through a bunch of Tea for Teals makeup looks and swatches.

On the inner corner is Meows Crownbeard, and on the lower lash line is Black Rose Minerals Goose Egg and then Gargle Blaster.

I used Crownbeard as a highlight on my brow bone, the green shade is Meows Spruce with BRM Goose Egg and Gargle Blaster on the lid.

I'm getting excited for Fall and Winter, I love pastels but a more muted palate looks better on my complexion. Plus GOLDS! I love golds and they look fantastic in Fall.

On my cheeks is Aromaleighs Cherry Bomb blush with Meows glow powder in Past on the cheekbones. On my lips is Morgana Cryptorias Willow with Past patted on top.

Meow Swatches: Teals Present

You might recall in a previous post, Teal sent me several Meow shades and I've gotten around to swatching them for you're viewing pleasure. They're all from the Holiday Collections, which should come in handy for those of you looking forward to trying them this year.

Swatched from left to right with Pixie Epoxy on top and Aromaleigh Eye and Lip Primer below.

• Hustle: Gold toned aqua with turquoise shimmer and diamond sparkle.
• Bah Humbug: Blue with a strong turquoise shimmer.
• Office Party: Greenish blue with a green gold shimmer.
• Some Assembly Required: Periwinkle with lavender shimmer.
• Shiraz: Deep royal purple shimmer with a smack or red sparkle.
• Bustle: Dark green with a green gold shift. Similar to Office Party but more intense.
• Pinot Noir: Slightly brown plumy shade with gold and red sparkle and an INTENSE diamond shimmer over Pixie Epoxy.
• Burnt Turkey: Copper brown shimmer in a dark smoky brown base.

I'm very fond of Bustle and Pinot Noir from this grouping. Some Assembly Required is lovely but looks terrible on me, and Hustle is a bit boring.

Package From Teal

It was a big surprise when I got this package in the mail, Teal actually phoned me about it like two days before it arrived, but it wasn't like a holiday, or my birthday, so still a big super awesome surprise.

Addresses have been covered, but you can see that cute details Teal included on the outside like the pink bow and my name was written with a calligraphy pen on some artwork of girls with robot hats!

Once I opened the box I was assaulted with scents, scents galore!

The card was a just this super beautiful 3D teapot and teacup with flowers and berries. And no you all do not get to read what it said, but Teal, I totally keep all the letters from you Maura, and Rose too, and there's no way I'm getting rid of something this cute anyway.

So what smells so good? Scentsy tart warmers! All cutely wrapped and labeled! Its hard to pick a favorite since they all kinda smell like each other right now, but when I eventually melt them I'll know which one is which, right now my vote is for White Tea and Cactus, it sounds fresh and watery.

TEA!!!! These are both fantastic, Teal sent me Celestial Temple Perks, and Budda's Cup. Celestial Temple I believe is Yunnan, and Budda's Cup I think is Yunnan blended with Assam. Yunnan is hands down my favorite type of tea, it's robust with hints of cocao and holds up nicely against milk.

Last but not least Teal sent me makeup, in a cute box too! Most of these are blues from Meows holiday collections. The full size is Meows Calories, Teal bought it specifically for me, it's pretty much the perfect orange shade for my skin-tone see here and here. Swatches well be coming shortly so watch out for them.

Smelly things, tea, and makeup. Does Teal know me or what?

This is War

 

A very dark makeup look, kinda odd for the summer, but what can I say, I'm a rebel. Okay not so much, but I just kinda felt like doing something like this. Although originally I had green in mind instead of the blue, but I thought it might look too Christmas-y.

On the lower part of the lid I'm using Aromaleighs Athena, and on the upper lid is Aromaleighs Not So Silent Night. The black lining I used for it was Meows Black Friday.

As a highlight for my brow bone, the inner corner of my eye and under the lower lash line, I'm using Meows Frost Castle

On my face I used Aromaleighs Peaches n' Cream finishing powder, and their Cherry Bomb blush (now called Bittersweet on their website). On my lips is Morgana Cryptorias Nevermore.

Infrared Photoshoot

 

 My favorite shot

Actually shooting in infrared (as opposed to changing it to infrared via Photoshop) can be pretty unpredictable. How dark or light something can look depends less on color, and more on what the object is made of. It tends to smooth out skin tone, but can make you look old because it accentuates wrinkles. It edits out freckles and moles but can bring out the appearance of veins. Most photographers who use infrared choose to shoot landscapes, in that respect Michael is a bit of a rebel.

There are of course some things you can do to get the photo you want. The older the cloth is, the more likely it will shoot better  and more true to color because vintage clothing used more natural fibers where more modern stuff tends to have a blend.

Plastic tends to photograph white or clear, as you can tell from my large white faux lashes. So if you plan on wearing lashes maybe buy one that are made from real hair. Although this is kinda a neat side effect.

Lipstick will not be dark, no matter what. I'm wearing Geek Chics Kaos and it doesn't look as if I'm wearing anything. Though for whatever reason khol eyeliner always shows up black, so use that on your mouth instead.

This, believe it or not, is a black dress, it photographed light blue under infrared except for the black elastic straps, kinda fascinating don't you think? This was my last outfit, the shoes were 4 inch heels and kept sinking into the dirt as I walked around, and dress was absolutely killing me. In fact as soon as I got home I chucked it, most of the pictures wearing it I found really unflattering anyway, plus it has a tendency to get a bit twisted while moving and it's super hard to straighten out again. I really only brought it along cause the photographer asked me to, and I don't have a lot of black in my wardrobe.

I got three panoramics, one for each outfit, but like I said I didn't care for the black dress much. This was my favorite panoramic, I'm particularly fond of poses 2 and 5.

I'm in love with pose 4, I want to have a whole album of me jumping in this dress.

All these photos were taken in Portland Riverview Cemetery, which is huge and old and includes a lot of famous residents from Portland history and some large, amazing tombstones. There are also a lot of bikers who come for the quiet roads. This shot was taken just before a whole bunch of them road past shouting things like, "Looking good," and "Very pretty." It was kinda funny really.

There were a few short jokes about this shot because even standing on a bench I still wasn't tall enough to have the leaves directly behind me. The background photographed pretty though didn't it?

I did not get a color shot of my makeup that day. But I took some photos when I was practicing earlier in the month, I changed the shape a bit for the actual shoot, but these are the colors I used in the shoot with the exception of the blue eyeliner which I took out at the last minute, and I used black eyeliner on my waterline.

• Black Rose Minerals It's Electric
• Black Rose Minerals Venom
• Aromaleigh Almost Midnight
• Meow Hoar Frost
• Meow Sleet
• Meow Astral Projection
• Aromaleigh Plush Romantic
• Aromaleigh Fume

Wow that's a lot of eyeshadow.

Meow: Joys of Summer and Other

From left to right swatched over pixie epoxy on top and primer below.

Conch: Shimmery dusky pink with coral tones.
Polyhymnia: Lavender shimmer with blue shimmer.
Oddity: Pale blue shimmer with a strong lime duochrome.
Beach Bonfire: A dark burnt orange shimmer.
Firework: Bright fuchia with pink sparkle. Not as glittery as I'd hoped.
Flameing Marshmellow: Deep brown base packed with orange glints.
Iced Watermelon Blush: Swatches over PE on top, primer below and then a second swatch on bare skin. Bright pink shimmer.

Of this batch I'm fond of Conch, Oddity, and Beach Bonfire. Flaming Marshmallow was a disappointment as I'd hoped it would be more complex but I'm afraid I'm nit-picking here since it's still a good color.

Meow: Pleasures and Other

Swatched left to right over primer and Pixie Epoxy.

Bubblebath: Warm pearl with a VERY slight green/blue shimmer
Barefoot: Perfectly pale pink shimmer
French Fry Heaven: Yellow with a fried golden shimmer.
Mai-Tai: A shade warmer then French Fry Heaven, with more gold tones.
Bermuda Triangle: Stormy gray with grean and blue hints under different types of lighting.
Rainy Day: Gunmetal gray shimmer with blue tints.
Dolphin Blush: Swatched first over primer and PE and then again on bare skin. An incredibly pale peachy pink shimmer.

As you can see Dolphin is a very close match to my skin tone. You might think that means I don't care for it much but in fact I've been layering it over other blushes so they blend a bit better. My favorite eyeshadow of this batch was Bermuda Triangle with it's depth and uniqueness, they rest I'm not overly fond of. It might interest you all to know I picked up Margarita from the simple pleasures collection as well but was unimpressed so I gave it to Brenna as she liked it and it matched her skin tone better then mine.

Daily Wear: Otome Monster Mash

This was my first time getting to try Darling Girls Mommy Little Monster, Brenna got it as a free sample from the company, but she doesn't do dark colors so she gave it to me. I LOVE it! It's a dark cerulean blue with blue and purple glitter, so pretty. I decided to wear it because Brenna and I were roaming around Portland together this day. I picked up the dress at a Vintage shop while I was in Los Angeles. I ended up removing a piece of lace that was haphazardly sewn across the front bust line, looks kinda cute with my flattest petticoat underneath.

What I wore:

Boater Hat: The Village Hat Shop the band was altered by me.

Flower Accessories: My mom made it.

Necklace and Earings: Tarina Tarantino

Dress: Vintage 70's

Belt: LA Fashion District

Tights: Sock Dreams Foot Traffic Tights in Burgundy

Boots: Vintage 70's

On my eyes I used Darling Girls Mommys Little Monster, and Meows Oddity from their Carnival Collection. I also used Evil Shades Frostys Intervention as a highlight on the browbone but you can't tell. I've tried it several times and it just doesn't work well on me. And then I used some black eyeliner on my upper and lower waterline.

On my face along with my regular foundation is Aromaleighs Peaches n' Cream finishing powder and Meows Iced Watermelon blush. In the close up pictures I'm wearing Morgana Cryptorias Quark, and in the full length picture I'm wearing Morganas Galaxy gloss. I didn't end up liking either of them with this look.