color and character edition

it's a snow day here at the apartment and i imagine that we're not alone in being unwilling to venture out into the wind.  there is something about being "stuck" in the house that makes the catching up on neglected tasks more tolerable.  see: vacuuming and dishes for us.  even coco's upping her snow day nap game.   we love popie so much. head over heels in love with everything she does, including poop on her mat in the house when it's too cold to go out.

as promised, i have swatch photos to enhance last week's makeup post. this includes all of the new colourpop, pacifica, and nyx lip products i've got. 

the pretty artsy shot with the light just right, my tea lights and the chakra pyramids.

from left to right (top row), leather, dalia, lbb, bichette, i <3 this, clique, yasmin, fancy, and lumiere - all are from colourpop and all but fancy (the pink/peach shade) are matte.  my favorites are lbb, clique, and fancy.

the two in the bottom row are the nyx intense butterglosses that i have, which i'm in love with.  the first is spice cake and the second is toasted marshmallow.  these will be getting a lot of wear for me since they're not drying in the least.

the strange irony with the lower half of my arm is that most of these colors look very similar, and they really are.

bottom three are nyx soft matte lip cremes in copenhagen, morocco (which is actually val's) and milan. if you lips have not been exfoliated and aren't moist, the lip creme may look a bit rough.  aside from solid pigmentation, you'll enjoy the baked-good smell that these have.

middle three are the nyx high voltage lipsticks in wine and dine, free spirit, and pink lady. out of the bunch the first two impressed me most.  pink lady is way too light and patchy on my lips.  i didn't even swatch playdate (a light lavendar color) because it grayed me out immensely.  super fun for halloween or theme parties, but not for my everyday wear.

top three are the pacifica devocean lipsticks in rebel sol (shimmery light coral) and firebird (shimmery orange red) and the too faced melted lipstick in velvet.  the pacifica colors are all vegan and mineral-based, so these will need definite building.  the melted velvet is super rich and glossy, but you don't need super primed lips to wear this well.

i guess the important thing to remember when choosing lipsticks is that your arm is usually not the same shade as you lips and face, especially if you use sunscreen appropriately.  after enough swatches you'll figure out which color families you like (pinks/reds/corals/berries/browns or taupes) and which look good on you because of your undertones, as well.  this might lead to getting a few dupes intentionally or not.  bottom line: wear whatever you want, but you may notice that certain colors are more flattering on you than others.

best for...

budget:  nyx and colourpop

color choice and range of finishes:  colourpop, followed by nyx

natural/vegan makeup: pacifica

high end splurge:  too faced

onto the other bits.

as i prep - err, maybe that's too strong a word - for rescheduled novel-writing week in the spring, i'm checking this site for ideas.  now that my desktop command center is set up (thanks, babe and steve!)  i can settle into late nights of music and musing with more regularity. that's usually when i find the most inspiration. 

a person's favorite quote tells you a lot about them and what they value, or so i think.  so i've saved a lot quotes in hopes that i'll find one that speaks to my characters. my favorite quote is either directly from hemingway or paraphrased, though i'm not the biggest fan of his world view otherwise.  "courage is grace under pressure."  when things were really, really tough for me, i found myself saying this to myself, even printed the words out and hung the quote over my desk in college.  i like to think i'm pretty courageous.

i've got a sense of one of my characters.  catherine bakes for stress relief. i feel like making a pretty pie crust is a skillset that she's got in her arsenal.

another idea i've got, though it might be too tropey, is to pull concepts from mythology and philosophy and pack them into a character's arc. 

when it comes to showing and not telling how a character's feeling, i struggle a bit.  years of writing explanatory essays will do that to you.  i'll be leaning on this cheatsheet and editing like a mofo.

ultimately, whether or not i let the road blocks and self-doubt steer me into "crushed" or "smashed" territory has yet to be seen, but this infographic on the struggle to get anything done is pretty spot-on.

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enjoy the week <3

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the coloring book

so ready for this post!

some of you know that i made significant additions to my makeup collection in december. fresh off the self-esteem power-up, i was able to actually look myself in the eye and feel like a real human being again.  purchasing and applying makeup has been an excellent boost for me.  in the weeks before placing the orders, i could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror.  i felt like i was was disappearing, or that “i” didn’t exist at all.  worse than feeling gross or unworthy.  just… didn’t feel like a person.  but we’re getting back on track now, which means i’ve got a lot to share.

quick blurb on my makeup history:

my mother wore a simple lip, eye liner, and mascara for most of her life.  i don’t really remember a time when she wasn’t applying her typically burgundy or wine-y lipstick favorites before leaving the house for a family gathering. val started experimenting with eyeshadow and liner way before i took makeup seriously.  a friend picked out two lipsticks for me in a target once and that kicked off my love affair with a decent lip product.   i’ve always been partial to lipstick since my lips aren’t naturally very pigmented - but otherwise, i’m an eyeliner and mascara-type girl. lately, i’ve been super adventurous with choosing new lip colors but have yet to wear the purples and oranges out in public with any regularity. some day soon probs because summer is coming!

speaking of lip shades, i’m posting swatches of the shades and future makeup blurbs in a new section on the site, time permitting this weekend.  there is waaaaay too much ranting i can do on the main page and it’d be rad for everything to have its right place.  check out this week's sundayish for the swatches and myhonestopinion on the brands i’ve tried and would recommend. 

onto week twenty-six, sorta.  this week’s project revolved around creating 5 basic makeup looks for a week of work and play.  mutd post!

superbowl sunday: i went bold with the lbb lippie stick from colourpop, intense black eyeliner pen from stila, and pacifica’s aquarian gaze mascara in abyss.  the latter two are staples in my daily routine.  below all of that everyday, i’m using jason’s efa hand and body lotion to moisturize mixed with pacifica’s ultra cc cream in warm/light and their dreamlit undereye brightener in light.  i need to use a liquid foundation because my skin has dry patches and some redness as well as dark circles under my eyes unless i’m getting 9+ hours of sleep which, let’s face it, isn't typical.  this routine takes 2 minutes, tops.

tuesday: back to work-face!  during the week i’m not as loud with my makeup.  teddy berry by too faced is a good my-lips-but-better (mlbb) shade for me and is super hydrating.  you don’t need as much chapstick before application, which helps when i’m in a rush to get out the door.  i’m also wearing the eyeliner and mascara combo from sunday but in a much less pronounced way. thin little wing is enough with a bit of mascara on the top lashes only and particularly towards the outer corners of my eye to make them look bigger. surprised face because i finally caught some natural light. total time: 2 minutes.

thursday:  since i took a break from makeup on wednesday, i tried something completely different. my pacifica mystical eye palette has been staring up at me since i bought it in target last month; i used the highlighter shade once but hadn’t really utilized the other colors for the complete look. my blue eyes really pop with it but blending is a learned skill, for sure. featured lipstick is too faced’s la creme in cinnamon kiss, which has since been “discontinued” (aka discounted online but not always available).  probably the lip color i’ve worn most in my life. total time for this look: 5-7 minutes.

friday:  i woke up feeling a little gray and blah so i thought i’d try something new.  just a little touch of the eighties with the eye makeup. /no shame.

i used ulta automatic eyeliner in grape under my lower lash line with the typical top combo.  lip is lumiere from colourpop, which is the collab color from kathleenlights. i wound up wiping it off during the day. loved the idea of the dusty mauve on paper but it really washes me out every time.  still, at $5 it was worth the gamble. total time for this look: 3 minutes.

later that day, i decided to swap lip colors for leather by colourpop. never thought i’d like a vampy/modern purple so much, but i do. i don’t know that i’d wear it out to the mall, for example, but maybe for a night in with a group of friends it wouldn’t be too jarring. all in all, the eyes and lip make a definite look. leather is one of those colors that makes you feel awesome and powerful, or maybe a little bit creepy. or like lorde, ya ya ya.

 saturday:  so i went to the gym! new boundaries being pushed there because sweating around other people is not within my comfort zone. we got home and i promptly put on some red lipstick - melted velvet from too faced. time: 30 seconds.

so this is definitely a start to good habit.  i’m not interested in spending more than 5-10 minutes on my face on a weekday morning and though i might be inclined to futz around with colors on the weekend, i think i'm happier without a full face. pretty, yeah, but not necessarily like me.

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this week: annyeong, re-learn-some-hangul (Korean) week!

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