#the eyeshadow doesn’t look as blended in the second photo but that’s just the lighting i’m not an amateur

[cullenruthernerds]

a little look inspired by the antivan crows

[faux-ecrivain]

Yan Crossdresser Headcannons

(First time doing headcannons, wish me luck!)

(Enjoy!)

Initially he was surprised to hear you ask him out, so surprised he couldn’t formalité a single sentence. 

Of course, you considered that a rejection and started to walk away, which snapped Crossdresser out of his daze and he yanked you back to him. 

He managed to stutter a response, a shy confirmation, and then you two set a date.

Now, the whole week he was preparing himself for this date, he went to the spa, got his nails done and then spent a few days picking out his outfit.

You said it was a simple coffee date, so he should try to go for something simple, effortless, yet cute and eye catching.

he spent the night before the date going through a full body skin care routine (that took forever).

Hours before the date he began to get ready, at first he was going to wear a cute creme dress (it fell just below his knees and he looked so cute)

But then he began to second guess himself and he didn’t quite like how to dress hugged his figure (he worried about his weight and he worried that you would find out the truth)

So, he chose to go with a nice purple dress, but he didn’t like how short it was and couldn’t find shoes to match it. 

Eventually he decided to just call you and ask what you were going to be wearing. You told him (a dark blue sweater vest, a white blouse, black fitted trousers and heeled dress shoes) and he decided to match you. 

He put on a blue sweater vest that had black checker patterns, a white blouse with flower patterns (his favorite and only white long sleeved shirt), a short black skirt with white stockings (also with flowers) and blue heels.

He then went through the process of putting on his makeup, he choose to go with a somewhat subtle look that has blue sprinkled in it. (Makeup is not my forte, so apologies if it isn’t correct) 

He choose to go with a liquid concealer, blended it in, added blush and then highlighted his cheek bones. 

He went with a dark red lipstick, then choose a light blue for the eyeshadow.

He went with a black eyeliner on his upper lashes and used a white on his lower eye lids. (You know, to give him a innocent eye look, hopefully I got that right)

Then he sprayed his makeup with a setting spray (I’m pretty sure that exists) and took a photo of his look. 

He felt quite proud of his look and even did a little victory dance!

He brushed his hair and then pinned it back with some hair clips. (He thought he looked so cute!)

He picked a few accessories, a black beret (the French kind), a blue flower necklace, white flower earrings (the kind that dangle and jingle), a few silver rings (not too many) and a blue bag.

He double checked his outfit in the mirror and then told you he was ready to be picked up.

You arrived just a few moments later (as he doesn’t live very far from you) and greeted him with a kiss on his cheek. (He giggled and embraces you in a tight hug, you had to practically drag him out of your arms)

You complimented him, telling him that he looked amazing and that he was gorgeous. (His face flushes such a bright red, you would think he was Rudolph!)

You lead him to your car, helped him get in (how polite of you!) and then got in the car yourself.

During the whole drive he couldn’t help but stare at you and he always had one hand on some part of your body.

(Well, that’s all for now. Uhm, I don’t know how to do headcannons, so I tried my best and hopefully you like it! This headcannon is for Anon Number 3, but everyone can read it.)

(MADE MONDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2023)

[instasiswetrust]

July Prompts, Day 5 - Camera

"You still kept this one?"

When Jonathan turns to look at him, Steve's holding a broken camera in his hands. It's the one he had broken after seeing the pictures Jonathan took of Nancy, cracked and missing a part of the casing.

"I figured I could get it fixed but then you guys got me a new one. Kind of forgot to get rid of it afterwards." He shrugs, going back to rifling through his cassette collection, trying to find the Motley Cure one.

"You mind if I take it?"

This time, when Jonathan turns to look at him he appears to be confused, maybe even curious. Steve just shrugs, trying for nonchalance. He's not sure how to explain why he wants to keep the camera, just knows that he feels like he needs to.

So he's relieved when, after a moment, Jonathan nods. He gives him instructions on where he can get it fixed, a few tips about taking pictures, and that's that.

Guess Steve owns a camera now. Fun times.

-*-

Bitterness.

That's what the first picture he takes makes him feel.

He had stared in the mirror, brown eyes taking in the aftermath of Billy Hargrove's anger, of two nights of restless sleep and nightmares that left the phantom taste of rot and ash on his tongue. Had stared, looking at the canvas of bruises, black and blue and purple.

Nebulae on ashen skin at 3 AM.

His fingers had been shaking, a hint of desperation in his movements, when he reached for the camera. The flash had reflected on the cracked bathroom mirror, the outcome of a previous panic attack, blinding him for a moment. The end effect had made his stomach churn when he saw it.

With his eyes scrunched closed and the bruises lit up by the light of the flash, he had looked so fragile. Vulnerable and in pain. The bags under his eyes so dark that they blended in with the bruises already there.

He hated the picture.

It was still tucked safely in between the yellowed pages of an old empty journal.

-*-

The second picture taken comes courtesy of Dustin.

He had spent a whole week locked up in his room, bitter and scared, too afraid to be alone but too tired to face the whispers that would undoubtedly follow him. Each time he closed his eyes he could see Billy's face. Twisted in anger, golden curls flying with the force of his punches, but there had been something in the depth of those blue eyes. Something like fear, like regret.

Something Steve had wanted to forget if only because he didn't think he could stand it if there was something more to Billy Hargrove than just all the fury.

On Saturday the doorbell had rung. Insistent and unrelenting, the shrill sound hadn't stopped until he had wrenched open the door, scathing words dying in his throat at the sight that greeted him.

"Mom made extra chicken pot pie because she knows it's your favorite." Dustin had said as soon as the door had opened, shouldering his way past Steve on his way to the kitchen. "And everyone's been worried about you so I figured it was about time to force you out of your self-enforced pity party."

"It's not a pity party..." He remembers himself murmuring, lips pursing into a pout as he followed the boy into the kitchen.

By the look Dustin threw him, it was obvious he saw right through his bullshit.

It had been later, stomach full for the first time in days, that the younger boy had spotted the camera he must've left on the coffee table at some point. Steve had been lazying on the couch, eyes closed and mind blessedly empty when the sudden flash of a camera had gone off, startling him.

"What the hell dingus?"

When he had opened his eyes, Dustin had been grinning wide, all boyish smugness. He had only given Steve a moment before the shutter had gone off again. And again. And again.

He had taken pictures until the camera had run out of film avoiding all attempts Steve had made to wrench the camera out of his hands. Despite the annoyance he had felt though, a smile had curled Steve's lips for the first time since they had made it out of the tunnels.

Looking back on the stack of Polaroids, most of them had ended up blurry and unfocused from the chase. Only that very first one he had kept. He had looked content faded bruises, and eyebags the only hints that not everything was okay but that maybe it was getting better.

Bitterness and Hope. Maybe he should start a collection.

-*-

The third picture doesn't even come from his camera at all.

"Wha-?"

Once the brightness of the flash cleared, Steve was turning to look at Nancy perched on the hood of Jonathan's car, his camera in her hands. She was smiling at him the same way she used to back when they had started dating, all dimpled cheeks and crinkled eyes. She was even more beautiful now but she no longer his.

His chest ached with the knowledge. A quick jolt of pain.

It still didn't explain why she had just taken a picture of him.

"You should talk to them. If you miss them, that is." He didn't understand what she meant until the photo finished developing and she handed it to him.

She'd captured his right side in the frame, his gaze seemingly lost in a random point in the distance. At least, that's what he thought at first before he spotted the outline of a couple on the opposite edge of the frame. They looked a little blurry because of the distance but it was clear Steve's gaze was fixed on them. Longing was etched deep and clear on his features.

Maybe he should have stopped assuming that nobody was paying attention to him these days.

"Why would I talk to Tommy and Carol? They are assholes." It had come out a little too quickly, a little too guarded. An obvious lie.

"So were you but you changed." She gave him a soft but knowing look. Like she could see right through him. Maybe she could, he wouldn't put it past her. "Plus, you guys were friends since childhood weren't you? Those types of bonds aren't that easy to forget."

And he knew there was truth in her words but he felt scared.

Because although Steve was fine these days with no longer being considered King Steve, it was one thing to just passively lose popularity and another one to have Tommy and Carol spouting his secrets for everybody to hear.

Thing was, they hadn't done that yet. Even with Billy in the picture, they still hadn't.

"Maybe." And for a while that had been that.

Later that week he had dropped by Tommy's house. Tommy had begrudgingly accepted to talk after Carol needled him a little. They had talked and apologized, although it would take some time and effort before things between them resembled that of old.

Bitterness. Hope. Longing. Wonder what would join his collection next.

-*-

By the time the fourth polaroid joined the others in the old journal, his room was filled with dozens of pictures of his friends --his family-- hanging on strings over his head.

"I didn't peg you for a photographer, princess."

Billy had been standing in the middle of the room, looking at the motley array of pictures that littered the room. He had one in his hand, tugging surprisingly gently on the string so he could get a better look at it.

"Well I didn't peg you for an idiot but somehow you're in my room instead of the bathroom." But the heat that normally would accompany his words hadn't been there, the corner of his lips curling into a replica of a smile.

He remembers walking further into the room until he had stood next to the blonde, not quite touching but close enough to feel the heat of his body. At the time he hadn't thought much of the heat on his cheeks, attributing it to his embarrassment when he spotted the picture in Billy's hand.

It depicted Steve and Jonathan, both of them either high or drunk. He had been draped over Jonathan's side, pressing a lipstick-covered kiss to his cheek. Dark red lipstick and black eyeshadow to match, to be exact. Probably high, that's the only way he would've allowed Nancy to put any of her makeup on him.

"Black really doesn't fit you, pretty boy." Billy had teased him, all wide smirks and tongue between his teeth.

"Oh shut the fuck up, Billy." He had scoffed, punching his arm. "I looked damn fine."

And the way Billy had laughed, loud and honest and surprisingly bright. Steve couldn't help himself. He wasn't sure why he had found it so important at the moment but it had been, so he had grabbed his camera and snapped a photo.

Billy had stopped laughing at once, but at least he hadn't tried to take the photo.

It would be two weeks later when Steve realized what it was that he had seen at that moment. Another week before he had scrawled Love at the bottom of the polaroid and tucked it safely with the others in the journal.

-*-

The fifth photo just cements Steve's resolve to never show anybody the polaroids tucked inside the old journal.

"B...B-Billy fuck... baby please. I can't- I can't. Please."

Steve bit down on his bottom lip so hard that he had tasted blood. It had been impossible to quieten his sounds and focus on rolling his hips at the same time, especially when Billy seemed intent on covering his neck with as many lovebites as he could.

"Gonna come for me, baby? Come on my cock all pretty?"

And, oh god, Steve had whined.

High, and breathy, and so fucking lewd. Billy hadn't even touched him and he had been so close already, desperately chasing an orgasm that had been denied twice already. His eyes had been closed, head thrown back as pleasure mounted, dragging him even closer.

If he had opened them, maybe he would've seen what Billy was doing.

"Come for me, baby."

He vaguely registered the flash of a camera going off at the same time tremors overtook his body, thighs shaking with the force of his orgasm.

Later, when they were curled up on the couch going through the remains of a pizza, Billy had handed him the polaroid. Lust had been scrawled at the bottom of the photo.

"For your collection." Was what he had said.

-*-

If somebody were to ask what his favorite polaroid was, Steve thinks he would have to choose number 6.

He had caught Billy looking at his chest in the mirror, where the pale white scars twisted across the expanse of his chest. After the Mind Flayer, he had taken to wearing his shirts buttoned all the way. Even in bed with Steve, it was rare that he ever took off his shirt.

The look on his boyfriend's face then had been so miserable. All the iron defenses stripped away until only the fragile vulnerability underneath remained. It had pushed him to step into the room, wrapping his arms loosely around Billy's waist.

For a second Billy had tensed up, muscles going taut, eyes widening a fraction before he relaxed into Steve's arms with a sigh. The fragility had still been there but his roughened edges had softened some.

"What's on your mind, baby?" He had whispered, pressing a kiss to a bare shoulder.

He hadn't gotten an outright answer at the time but each kiss Billy pressed against his lips had been stained with a restless kind of desperation. Like he had wanted to etch each kiss on his skin and remember them forever, just in case he were to lose it all again.

And yeah, Steve knew exactly how that felt.

"Billy, I'm not going anywhere, okay?" The words had been muttered between slow kisses, reassuring and gentle. Silently begging Billy to believe in his words. "This? Us? I want this to be forever. Even if it's hard, or we have bumps along the way, I want to stay by your side."

Steve had gotten an idea then. With a quick *I'll be back* he slipped back to his room and grabbed his camera, giving it to Billy once he was back. His boyfriend had been understandably confused.

"Um, so I know this probably sounds lame and you can say no but just- Hear me out okay." He had taken a deep breath to try and battle the blush coloring his cheeks. "I was thinking that, as a... promise or something, we could take a photo each year. Just as a reminder. Of us. If you want, I mean, it's kind of a dumb id-"

Warm lips pressed against his, effectively shutting him up.

"You're a dork, Stevie." But Billy had still pointed the camera at the cracked mirror and taken the photo before dragging Steve back to bed.

[stormtodoroki]

Until Sunrise ~ Tokoyami x Reader

4,715 words

Warnings: Swearing, Reader can be a bit of a jerk

AN: Here’s another discord server prompt.

Prompt: Spooky

Summary: An unknown host has invited Class 1A to a Halloween party, when they arrive they soon find out everything isn't as it seems to be, is Class 1A being punked by Class 1B?  Read to find out! 

I hastily searched my room for my costume, all of us in class 1-A decided to go out for Halloween and I was going as a bad to the bone bounty hunter. I decided to stop looking and fix my hair, I looked in the mirror and smiled at my reflection, my hair looked good and my horror makeup was on point.  I drew a scar from my left eyebrow down to my cheek, I blended eyeshadow on my right eye and under my chin to look like nasty bruises, I also used a cotton swab dipped in blood spray to make open wounds. I was about to continue finishing up the final touches when there was a knock at the door, glancing at the clock I was confused surely bird boy wouldn't be here yet. Would he? No…  He'd be early by 2 and a half hours.  I walked to the door and when I opened it I saw my best friend Aizawa, Beth at the door dressed in Eraserhead's attire. 

"Really? Going as our teacher? I thought you said you were going to be something scary?"

Beth gave me a look and shook her head with a scoff. "Seriously? You don't think Mr. Aizawa is scary?"

Well, I do but I wasn't going to tell Beth that, so I shook my head and walked over to my mirror so I could finish my makeup, I allowed Beth to enter and told her to close the door and lock it so none of the boys peeked in. Once I heard the lock click I turned to her. 

"Got the rest of my costume ready? I'm so ready to see what ideas the boys thought of." I smirked as I grabbed the bag from Beth  and went to change in the bathroom. This party was going to be fun and I couldn't wait to win the costume contest, well if there was one… 

An hour later I looked at myself in the mirror and was pleased with the outcome, I turned to Beth and shook my head. 

"Couldn't you at  least sleep deprived yourself to look tired so it'd look more realistic? No offense  but you look like a knock off of sensei."

Beth rolled her eyes and opened the door, "Come on they're probably waiting for us." she walked  out of the room and into the Hall. By the time I made sure I had everything I needed for the night, or may have a need for, I stepped out of my dorm and headed for the common area. 

"Woooah, nice costume. You look amazing! How long did it take you to make that?"

I gave a triumphant smile and puffed out my chest with pride. "Oh, you know how creativity takes time to escape one's mind. I'd say this took about two and a half weeks to complete." Denki looked at me and laughed before he shook his head. 

"Two and a half weeks to tear up some clothes and spray fake blood on them? Wow… how many times did you screw up (Y/N)?" He clutched his stomach as he laughed. "I wasn't even asking you, I was asking Beth. Her costume is just great, I bet she could walk around town and people would think Eraserhead was shrunken by a quirk."

"Tch… it's not even that good…  You can tell that she bought it from the store and didn't even try to make it on her own." I shook my head and walked away and decided to go outside to get some fresh air, there was no way I was gonna be upstaged by someone who didn't even make their own costume, friend or not I was gonna be the best dressed at the party. 

"Hey, what are you doing out here? Thought you'd be helping the others with their final touches before we head out to the party?"

I looked over to the voice and saw Tokoyami, he was dressed like a pirate, with Dark Shadow dressed like a parrot. It was kinda cute, I felt a bit of blush rise to my cheeks but quickly shook my head. "Nothing really that important, I just wanted to get some fresh air, it's getting kind of stuffy in there with everyone freaking out over each other's costumes. I just wanted to get away from it all."

Tokoyami merely nodded and held up his invite before pointing down the walkway.

"Did you wanna maybe get a head start and walk with me to the party? I'm sure the others will catch up when they are ready to get there."

I nodded and held up my invitation and put it away before we started to walk over to the party. 

"True. Though it's kinda strange to receive an invitation to a party and not have any idea who it's from isn't it? I mean there was no signature on it, what if it's a prank from class 1B? I mean everyone from 1A was invited…  doesn't that seem a bit weird to you Tokoyami?"

Tokoyami robbed his head in thought as we continued to walk and shrugged. "I do agree that it may seem a bit unordinary to receive an invitation without knowing our host, but it is possible they wish to remain unknown as part of the theme of the party. After all it is Halloween, our host must be playing their role without error to be more convincing."

I nodded, perhaps he was right, Halloween is a time for good scares, perhaps it was just part of a themed party, and I was overthinking everything due to the recent events that my classmates and I have gone through. 

"Hey! Wait up!"

Tokoyami and I turned around and saw four of our classmates running towards us, as they got closer I scowled internally to myself. Izuku was dressed as All Might, go figure he'd dress as his favorite hero, Uraraka had dressed up as a bunny which was actually kind of cute,I had to fight myself from squealing out loud. I looked over towards the other two who ran toward us and saw Beth with Todoroki, who dressed up as a werewolf, it was pretty convincing to say the least and appeared to be homemade. I looked between the four and turned to Izuku, Uraraka, and Todoroki and gave the trio a smile. 

"Oh hey you guys, great costumes. They look amazing, did you guys make them on your own?"

Uraraka and Izuku nodded while Todoroki shook his head, I turned to him and cocked my head to the side. But it looks so good and unprofessionally made, why'd he shake his head no? 

"I didn't want to go to this, it seems childish to go to Halloween parties. But Beth practically begged me to go until I agreed." Todoroki looked to her unamused and shook his head. "It was quite annoying actually, I only agreed to make her shut up. I didn't think I'd actually have to wear a costume  but everyone insisted, so I grabbed the first thing I found and went with it."

"Well, it looks great on you, you could have fooled me."

Uraraka, who was whispering to Izuku, turned to me before pointing to Beth. 

"Did you know that Beth actually made her costume? She even got Aizawa-sensei to let her borrow some clothes. So cool right?!"

I scoffed and turned away to begin walking, I just wanted to get to the party and avoid those four for the rest of the night.

 "Yeah, sure. He probably did it because he wanted her to leave him alone. Just like how Todoroki only agreed to the party because he wanted Beth to leave him alone."

After walking with Tokoyami, Izuku, Uraraka, Beth and Todoroki for about 15 minutes we finally made it to a rather large estate decorated as if it were old and abandoned. Windows were broken, roofing tiles were missing, the cobwebs looked like they were left unattended for months, different areas off the rain gutter were broken off and the paint was faded and chipped. 

"Wow, someone went a bit overboard with the decorations this year huh? Oh well. I think it's cute!" 

"Ura-uraraka… Y-you think it's cute?"

"Yeah, Deku. Whoever decorated was really committed to making the house look spooky. I find that determination kinda cute!"

"I-if you say so… I guess I could see what you mean… Whoever our host is they must really like Halloween…" Izuku kept muttering about the person and the possibilities for why they were able to make their house look so amazing and what may have driven them. 

"Are you sure it's decorations? This place looks like it had been abandoned for years and decided to use it for the party… if that's even allowed."

"Whatever, FreezerBurn, let's just get inside and worry about everything else later when the others arrive. It's cold out here."

The group nodded and the six of them stood at the doors where Beth knocked and they opened on their own. 

"Okay… that's not weird at all."

 We walked in and gasped at the surroundings, more cobwebs were strewn about, broken photo frames that seemed to be at least a hundred years old hung crooked on the walls, dust had settled on most the lights and furnishings. The only modern things that stood out to them were the signs pointing to an invitation box in the wall and the two long tables filled with Halloween themed drinks and treats. 

The six of them decided to eat and talk amongst themselves while waiting for the others to arrive. Izuku and Uraraka went straight to the snacks where the two marveled at how the treats looked so well done and delicious, while Beth and Todoroki went to serve themselves drinks. It was about 10 minutes later when the rest of the class arrived in small groups. 

"Hey! (Y/N)! You guys got here kinda early huh? Man, this place looks so creepy am I right?"

Since he had approached us, Tokoyami and I were stuck by the main doors talking to Denki, who was dressed as a Pokemon or something, I didn't pay attention to his words. In fact I had been zoning out until the lights started to flicker a bit, we thought it may have been part of the decorations so we didn't pay too much attention. Not until the room was sent into a darkness, there were screams, shuffling and some curses thrown about the dark room. Soon the room erupted into light and the room let out a collective sigh of relief. 

"Thank God that didn't last long, I don't like the dark."  I looked to the voice and scoffed… Denki, of course he'd be afraid of the dark… 

"Denki… your quirk is literally electricity… How?" 

After a few seconds of silence from the boy, who I assume was either ignoring me or lost in thought, I decided to find Tokoyami, after all Dark shadow gets harder to control in the dark so I wanted to make sure that he was okay. It didn't take me long to spot him over by the snacks with an agitated Bakugou, who was dressed in a dress? 

"Don't get any ideas dunce face, it's not what you think. I'm the God of War, Hades or whatever his name was."

"Like I cared about your damn costume Bedsheet Boy, I came to talk with the pirate." 

I grabbed onto Tokoyami's hand and dragged him away somewhere a little less crowded, I took a breath to ease my nerves and looked into his eyes. 

"Are you okay Tokoyami? Dark shadow didn't try to give you any trouble?" I rushed the words out but he had nonetheless nodded and gave my shoulders a pat. 

"Thank you for the concern (Y/N), I assure you everything is fine and Dark Shadow has actually been quite tame this whole evening. He's been quite fascinated by all of our classmates' costumes and he keeps trying to figure what everyone is."

That's actually cute, who knew that dark shadow could be so adorable? I gave Tokoyami a grin as I was about to open my mouth to tell him what I thought of our Classmates costumes when a furry hand gripped my shoulder, inlet outback shriek and sighed in relief when i realized it was Todoroki.

"Oh uh… Hey Todoroki, what's up?"

"Have you seen Beth? She was next to me before the power went  out.  And I haven't been able to find her."

"Oh geez, what a bummer. Are you sure she didn't just go outside?"

"No, I don't think she would have gone outside, especially that fast. The lights were only out for about a minute. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to look out there. "

Tokoyami and I watched as Todoroki walked to the front doors, he gave a tug, no luck. He tried again but they didn't move and gave no sign of opening soon. 

"Hey Half and half! Why don't you try pushing?"

"Already did Bakugou, if you were paying attention instead of eyeing Denki you'd have noticed that."

Shit… Bakugou was staring at Denki? Everyone's gaze turned from Todoroki to the hot head before  looking to a stunned and flustered Denki, who opened his mouth to say something when the room once again was pitch black. 

"Hello UA Hero Course 1A. I am your host tonight, Monsieur King. Tonight you have the honor of being a part of my game." The dark room was silent for a bit before chuckles bounced off the walls. "What game you ask? Let me just say, you have until sunrise to find your classmate I have stolen from you, if you don't you'll never see her again. Also to make things a little more interesting I have drugged you all with a powerful potion that will be taking affect any minute now. The potion has already disabled your quirks, the next step will be a painful transformation into whatever costume you have decided to wear tonight, you'll gain just about all the qualities of the costume as well. This potion can only be undone with the antidote which I have hidden somewhere in the house, if you fail to find the antidote you'll be stuck as your costume until next Halloween. Good luck young heroes, your journey starts now."

The lights turned on and everyone was silent until Mineta, Denki, and Mina began crying. I scoffed and shook my head, why was I stuck with such babies as classmates? 

"Enough! We need to have a calm and level head. We need to separate into groups and work together to find this antidote and also find Beth. As it's clear to see she's the only one missing out of us all."

Everyone turned to Todoroki who sounded worried even though he looked as calm as ever. 

"How are we gonna do that? If you haven't noticed I'm dressed as a . This isn't going to be good!"

 I looked around at my fellow classmates' costumes, Kirishima dressed as the Crimson Riot, so like Izuku he was dressed as his favorite hero. Scanning the rest of the class I noticed more and more animal costumes than heroes or villains. 

"Hey Tokoyami, does Todoroki seem a bit tense? He seems a bit agitated about this whole thing… More upset than scared, like everybody else seems to be panicking."

I looked over to Tokoyami and watched him  nod before he tapped his foot in thought. We stayed silent for a few moments before he shrugged. 

"Who knows what truly angers a man? If I had to guess, it might be because Beth was taken and now we're all going to be turned into our costumes. If he had said no to Beth he wouldn't be in this mess. It is also possible that Todoroki has feelings for her."

Ha. Right, Todoroki had feelings for Beth… like I'd believe that. I shook my head and let out a small laugh, for the next half hour or so the class separated into groups. Those who may be helpful, those who definitely weren't gonna be helpful and those who were going to need help if they gain animalistic traits. 

Sero had dressed up as a mummy so he wasn't gonna be much help if his limbs started falling apart or if he wasn't able to use his vocal cords. Mineta had dressed up as Cupid, so we decided he'd be more annoying then helpful since he would have as he put it 'The power of Love' on his side. Denki had confirmed that his costume was actually the Pokemon Teddiursa, 'cute but deadly' was his reasoning so we decided to use him as a wild card, if we needed his help we'd try, but our only fear is that he'd be unable to control himself. Mina had decided to be laid back this year, she had dressed in pink baggy clothing and told us she was gum, guess that'd be useful for getting people stuck? Jiro was dressed as a Tasmanian devil so we figured we'd need someone to hold her down, which meant Izuku would have to try his best. 

As the hour ticked to its end we all grew nervous, the potions didn't seem to have taken their toll on us besides for taking out quirks. We didn't know who was gonna turn on us and who wasn't, it felt like we were walking on eggshells. 

"I swear if this was all a prank… SOMEONE'S GOING TO DIE!" We all heard Bakugou yell, but we couldn't see him, as the lights had gone off again. Soon cries of agony and sounds of movement reverberated off the walls, as one by one each class member of 1A was transformed into something they dressed up as because they thought was going to be fun. 

 The lights turned back on, they felt brighter than before, (Y/N) reached up and rubbed her head in pain. Her hand felt sticky so she looked at her fingers and groaned. Of course she had to add injuries to her bounty hunter costume, why couldn't she have just been basic? 

Looking around she saw that her classmates all began to do the same as her. Confusion strewn about everyone's faces before the animals, well they became animals. Bunny Uraraka had to run away from the once tame Jiro and now was a raging Tasmanian devil, Izuku now All Might had swiftly pinned down side Tasmanian devil, but he was struggling. 

"G-go! Find the antidote, f-find Beth...Quickly!" Izuku struggled to keep his hold but looked at us and gave us an All Might smile before turning his attention back to Tazzy Jiro. 

"I think we should go find Beth, she's dressed as EraserHead, maybe she could use his quirk and maybe stop some of these guys from freaking out."

"Eh… Do whatever you want Todoroki, I am looking for that antidote first.Come on Tokoyami, off we find that antidote everything will go back to normal."

 Tokoyami agreed that it was better to search for the antidote, after Beth could hold her own. He and (Y/N) were practically tearing apart the house to find the antidote. Though it had been easy at first they soon saw that Jiro had gotten free and was charging at them, the two of them ran as fast as they could but came to a halt went they were met with a Teddiursa. 

"D-Denki?"

The small Pokemon let out a shrill cry and launched into attack, clawing and biting at Tokoyami, who struggled to get him off due to Dark Shadow now being a parrot and him being a pirate with a missing arm. How (Y/N) didn't notice that at first she didn't know, quickly she grabbed a nearby lamp and smashed it upon Denki's head. 

"Sorry Kaminari, but you were hurting our friend."

(Y/N) didn't see it but Tokoyami had the slightest bit of blush on his face, he urged her on seeing as they'd somehow lost Jiro. He stole glances over her way as they moved from room to room. 

"Thanks, fer yer help back der. I appreciate it Lassie."

(Y/N) simply nodded, she didn't know how to respond, especially when Tokoyami's pirate voice had given her chills. They had been searching for what felt like days, the two of them were growing tired, they leaned against a nearby wall and let out a breath. 

"Tokoyami…You're welcome. I didn't say it earlier because I heard your voice and thought I was gonna end up giggling. There's nothing wrong with it, I just wasn't expecting the pirate talk."

"Thas quite alright Lassie. Yer right it be weird. Me own voice has done crossed me."

(Y/N) looked over shyly and  let out a soft laugh before facing Tokoyami fully. 

"If you'd be alright with it, after we get through this that is. Would you perhaps like to go out on a date? I-its fine if you don't want to… I-its just I really like you Tokoyami and I enjoy spending time with you."

Tokoyami's face grew red and he grew nervous as he looked away, he mumbled a few curses  and turned back to (Y/N). 

"Ah, ye beat me to me own question Lassie. Thar be no one I'd rather chose. I accept yer date. I really like ye too Lassie."

The two stared at each other lovingly, the dim lighting in the room made it feel rather romantic around the two of them. (Y/N) and Tokoyami both slowly eased in, their lips ghosting each others. They pulled away when they heard a shout, followed by  what seemed to be explosions,  they stared at each other confused until they remembered what's been going on. 

"Stay still damn it!"

The shouts grew louder as they grew closer, making it back to the others they were surprised to see Bakugou, holding actual fire in his hands as he threw them towards Mineta. Mineta was crying countless apologies as he ran, heart shaped arrows in his hands as he tried to escape Bakugou's reign of terror. 

"What the Hell? Bakugou what's the meaning of this?"

"He thinks it's funny to try and shoot us with those damned arrows. He already hit Uraraka, which seeing as she's a literal bunny and she's been going after Al- Deku, who is holding off Jiro you can see how badly that can go. Now he's trying to hit anyone who comes past him." 

"Maybe he's learned his lesson, if not we'll hold him down and you can do whatever it is you're trying to do."

Mineta stopped running and looked between (Y/N) and Bakugou  before giving up, he threw down the bow and arrows. "Not like it worked anyways. She didn't fall in love with me, I'll just have to try something different."

"Ye think we be back to normal before Sun rests above thar trees over yonder."

(Y/N) blinked for a moment before realizing what he had asked, she frowned and shook her head. 

"I don't know Tokoyami, but I sure hope so. Sunrise is already near and we have no antidote to turn us back to normal."

"You forgot the part where we also don't have Beth. What if she's the key to finding the antidote?"

(Y/N) let out a sigh and shook her head before turning over to Bakugou. 

"I didn't forget about her, I just didn't think it was important to include her. She's a big girl she probably could have gotten out on her own, especially since she dressed up as our Sensei."

Bakugou scoffed and turned around, walking away from the group. 

"I'm going to help that half and half bastard before I have to be stuck like this with you losers until next Halloween."

Shortly after the words left his mouth screams pierced through the air… weird that kind of sounded like Beth. 

Tokoyami, Bakugou and (Y/N) ran to the screams and stood shocked, their classmate was chained to a wall and Todoroki, at least they hoped the werewolf in front of them was Todoroki, stalked around Beth. She looked like Eraser Head but still sounded like her normal self did it not work on her? But if it didn't work why didn't she just use her quirk to escape? (Y/n)'s train of thought was broken when they werewolf slashed out at Beth, Bakugou stepped forward and threw a fire of ball at him. 

"Hey! Leave her alone! Beth, where's Todoroki? Stop crying damn it! We are running out of time!"

Beth sent Bakugou a glare, she was definitely mad at the boy, but she let out a sigh before she spoke.

"Katsuki, that is Shoto. H-he was fine a few moments ago, he was trying to pick the locks when he got a headache. Next thing I knew he transformed into a werewolf."

So it is Todoroki, this may have made things a little harder but that's fine. 

The lights in the building flashed again and the sounds of applause surrounded them, as if it were coming out of the walls. 

"Well done Class 1A! You have found the antidote and your fellow classmate. Though you're running out of time, the clock is ticking better hurry up."

"Wait…  who found the antidote? Get back here and tell us more before I burn this house down."

"Easy there Mr. Bakugou, Katsuki I will explain. After you deal with your little predicament with that werewolf. He looks mighty angry, not to mention a bit hungry."

The lights powered back  on, now instead of facing Beth, werewolf Todoroki was facing us. His large teeth exposed as he snarled, he stepped closer and closer. 

"Hey guys wait up! Don't leave me all alone down there I'm sorry!"

Running in came Mineta with his bow and arrows in his arms, (Y/N) smirked and looked to him. 

"Shoot the werewolf with your arrows, now Mineta!"

"What! No! No way, what if it like I don't know, falls in love with me?"

Bakugou sent him a glare and prepared to throw more fire his way. 

"Do it or die!"

"Geesh no need to be so mean… I'll do it."

He took aim and released, the arrow zoomed past (Y/N) just barely grazing her before it hit it's mark. Werewolf Todoroki looked down and pulled the arrow out and growled before charging at the group.  He chased them out of the room and around the house, the group kept running until they crashed into someone. 

"Hey guys, where's the fire?"

"Denki!? But you were a Pokemon! What happened?"

"Well after you knocked me out (Y/N) I found a secret entrance to the basement I think, and I found a long table of food. Then I passed out and when I woke up I was back to normal." 

Denki froze up before he sparked up his hands and threw his electricity towards them, it zapped past them and hit Todoroki, knocking him down and out. 

"Uh, was that Todoroki?"

Yeah, but we need to get the antidote before we are all stuck like this till next Halloween."

After dragging the unconscious Todoroki down to the basement, each classmate took from the table, eating the antidote. They then went back upstairs to Beth and used their quirks to release her.  They then promptly left the estate and made it back to the UA dorms, where they promised to never go to another Halloween party unless they knew who their host was. 

(Y/N) and Tokoyami were sitting in the common room on the couch, (Y/N) who was leaning on Tokoyami, she looked up to him with a small smile. 

"Hey Tokoyami, when do you want to do this date? Just let's not do anything Halloween related for a while. Okay?" 

Tokoyami stared into (Y/N)'s eyes and thought to himself about how lucky he was to have her, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and held her close. 

"I couldn't agree more. Let's go to the mall this weekend, we can go see a movie."

[courtneyyharper]

“Fake tan: a pigment of my imagination”

After finally completing all my final year deadlines and binging as many tv shows as possible (MTV’s Catfish is currently playing in the background, peaking the level of trashy) I’ve finally got over the trauma that essay writing brought and can finally get back to writing here! This article is a far cry from examining the fantastical elements of multiple fiction novels in the restoration to regency period in that we are here today to talk about… fake tan.

I am by no means a tanning connoisseur, having had a few spray tans for formals etc growing up and being scared of tan in a bottle for most of my teenage years I was quite simply just a pale wee girl for the majority of my life. In terms of natural tan, my skin doesn’t know what that means. I tried a sunbed once or twice at the recommendation of a dermatologist and it left my skin pretty irritated, they just were not for me which has eventually even led to fake tanning a few times on sunny holidays, needs must.

I guess this is more my tanning journey than a reviewing process but without further ado here’s my opinions on just a small section of this over-growing market. Oh, and I guess I should throw in a photo of myself here to show my tan? I guess?

So, as I mentioned I used to be so terrified of tan as I watched my cousins and friends go a sightly shade of tangerine at 15. A true steppingstone that is right up there with the blue eyeshadow trend. After trying out a spray tan for a 6th year formal and missing the colour once it faded, I needed something much easier than travelling to a salon and stripping down in front of a stranger before making the awkward trek home a bit damp and convinced everyone is staring at you. Thus, I turned to the bottle… bottled tan that is.

At the start tans like St Moriz scared me most. Surely, they were just a rip off of the St Tropez brands but at a fifth of the price. While I no longer believe this and actually think it’s a bargain, it’s not a tan I would reach for now because of the undertones. After trying out Bondi Sands (most likely ‘light’ because I was still scared) I realised that these tans didn’t really suit my skin tone. The thing with St Moriz, St Tropez and Bondi Sands tans is that I believe they have a green undertone to them, best suited to gals or guys that are more likely to get a true tan or more olive-toned people and they just didn’t compliment my skin well but if this sounds like you then these are the tans you should lean towards.

A more red toned tan I tried out was the Primark statement, Cocoa Brown, but the thick white foam didn’t really absorb well into my skin. I was in need of a tan that had a darker guide colour in the foam to see where I could apply it to avoid streaks etc and a thinner foam consistency to allow for easier application. I know many YouTubers and influencers rep this tan as an amazing bargain but there was something in the quality lacking for me and it lay in a clutter drawer never to be reused.

Probably like most girls I started with the good ol’ Rimmell Sun Shimmer Instant Tan, which looking back I’m sure it was giving me more streaks then it was a colour and I can only cringe at the idea of me getting caught in the rain on a night out and that tan completely running off me. This tan would run off the skin if you looked at it the wrong way, of course in the title ‘Instant Tan’, unfortunately it was instantly gone too. I’m sure this is still a big hit with my mum though.

But this did later lead me to trying the Rimmell Sun Shimmer Mousse. Keyword: mousse. This was a personal favourite for years. While using this I gradually shifted from a light shade to a hesitant ‘medium’. Then eventually I was applying two layers to get a darker and deeper tan. I liked the way this tan applied, a nice dark foam which would show you the exact colour you were gonna get. So, this remained to be my tan staple for a long time.

Then one day I asked my mum to pick it up for me in the chemist and she accidentally bought me the Rimmell Sun Shimmer Tanning Lotion with Chia Oil. Of course, this was a bit frustrating, I need to stick to what I know but, on a whim, and running out of time to get ready one night I stuck a bit of it on. Oh, it smelt great. And it brought life to what tan I already had on, only glow-y and darker. Of course, I think this has been discontinued and can only be sourced on the likes of Amazon and random chemists. It was by using this slightly darker tan that I then upped my mousse colour to the ‘dark’ shade and that’s when the frustration began. I kept putting on this lovely dark shade of tan, all even and gorg, going to bed and letting it develop for 8 hours and then jumping in the shower the next day… for it all to run off. Especially my shins and chest would become significantly paler and even two layers of ‘dark’ just weren’t getting me the tan I wanted.

So, I shopped around for a new tan and came upon the bPerfect 10-second strawberry scented tan. Um, yes pls. This stuff smells so good. The colour was great. Again, another staple for so long. I would still go back to this tan happily. My only worry was that it’s supposedly Limited Edition and I was still applying two layers of this ‘medium dark’ shade and so knowing that I loved the bPerfect 10-second tan formula I reached for the mango scented ‘ultra dark’ shade and decided that the bPerfect 10-second tans, with their fruity scents, were definitely a favourite. Still to this day. I’ve even just ordered the new strawberry scented lotion in dark and I am beyond excited.

(Also, as a side note I picked up the matching bPerfect self-tan eraser and honestly this is just something I don’t believe in. All you need is to moisturise your tanned skin so it fades evenly and finally just take a nice long soak, maybe two, and some exfoliating gloves and hop out and use a towel to rub those stubborn spots! But a tanning routine is a completely different post…)

Of course, if you know me, or ever had the displeasure of seeing me hungover or straight after I’ve tanned, you’ll not be able to avoid the image of my pale face. After spending a good few months of my life on Roaccutane and finally having some semblance of acne-free skin I was not about to stick this dark brown foam all up in my pores and jeopardise it. So yeah, this means I tan up to my neck and deal with the consequences, just matching a foundation colour to resolve this but I also don’t want to constantly be wearing make-up. On the recommendation of a YouTube video I purchased the Tan-Luxe face drops that, in hindsight, were really not value for their money considering every brand now has their own cheaper and basically identical version. With these I just pipette a few drops into my daily moisturiser and… they give me a bit of a glow, I guess. They do smell amazinggg… but they don’t smell like 30 quid amazing. Plus, any tan they were giving me was fading a bit splotchy and so I went back to a time old favourite, the Dove tinted moisturiser. Oh, this smell screams 2013 summer. All I’m going to say is to remember to blend this downnn the neck, into the ears and of course up into the hairline, just to avoid any mishaps… Also, if you’re not big into an obvious fake tan or just need a topper on top of natural or fake, a tinted moisturiser is always a good shout. (Please use a brush too or at least wash your hands after use!)

Finally, the main tan that is so similar to the bPerfect is of course, Molly Mae’s Filter. Now that I’ve finally travelled to the ‘ultra dark’ shades this is what I ordered straight away. For best results I follow the bottle’s instructions and wait an hour to apply a second coat and I love the outcome. This one is kind of like a luxury tan only because you have to order it online and can’t just run to the chemist to get it unfortunately so I have to plan ahead with it. Once again, the smell is incred. I’m pretty sure it’s the green tea extract. I love the colour, the finish, the application. In conclusion, big fan.

I find the bPerfect and Filter’s ‘ultra dark’ tans both have the same vibes and I like to switch between them regularly and even use bPerfect’s strawberry scented as a wee pick me up every once and a while just because it smells great and I’m very hopeful that Filter paired with bPerfect’s new strawberry lotion as a tan topper will be my final holy grail.

Pretty sure I’ll be stuck on this hype for the foreseeable future!

[bangtann-bangdamn]

Isle of Love

<BTS x OCs>

Day One

Part One: Arrival

On this island paradise, YOU get to call the shots. Will you be happily coupled up? Or will you find yourself with a one-way ticket home?

There’s only one way to find out… Vote!

Tag list: @hoseoksdior @seokinkjin @sugakookieswithmytae @milk-mochi @annxo-universe @musiccontrolsmysoul @lilacdreams-00 @dreamcatcherjiah @mrsjeon99 @taeshuworld @lofihope @lylanie12 @joanc24 @salty-for-suga

If you want to be added to the tag list, send me an ask!

<Previous (x) Next>

~♥~

Welcome to the Isle of Love! During your stay, you can guarantee perfect weather all day long. And the icing on the cake? You might just find the love of your life! So, forget all your troubles and get ready because the summer of love is about to begin...

Ji-Ah was hot. The AC was broken, and the warm breeze was doing little to stop the sweat dripping down her back. She leant forward, peering around the passenger seat to look out the front window as the car drew closer to the villa she would be calling home.

The next few weeks were simple, Ji-Ah mused. All she had to do was stay away from civilisation. She had agreed to hand over her phone to a producer at the airport when she signed the contract for the show. She hadn’t really thought about it until this moment. Now she desperately wanted her phone to send a few photos to her sister.

Ji-Ah really wasn’t prepared for how far from civilisation the house would be. After all, the last time she had seen any other homes, or people for that matter, was an hour into their two-hour drive.

Ji-Ah gaped as the villa came into view. The house was tucked away behind a thicket of trees. She had been expecting a small, one-floor house – much like the villas she and her family had stayed in on previous holidays. But this villa was more like a mansion. Large, imposing, and incredibly beautiful. The Georgian design made it feel like it was something straight out of a fairy tale that her mother used to read to her when she was small.

The car pulled to a stop outside the building. The driver, a large middle-aged man with a kind smile, turned to her. He offered her an envelope.

“The other singletons are inside already.”

Jia-Ah made to open the envelope but the driver shook his head gently.

“That’s for when you’re inside, love.”

“‘Oh.” Ji-Ah stared down at the envelope for a second before opening the car door.

She took her time walking around to the boot and grabbing her suitcase. She had barely stepped to the side of the car when it began to drive back down the path. She waited until it was no longer in sight before turning to face the building once more.

This was it, Ji-Ah. Once she stepped inside that building, there would be no turning back. She took a deep breath, straightened her miniskirt once more, before taking her luggage and walking inside.

Instantly Ji-Ah was welcomed by the sound of voices. As she pushed open the large wooden door, she was almost blinded by how bright the inside of the villa was, light from the windows bouncing off the white walls and marble floors. Two women were talking but quickly ceased their conversation when the door opened. They turned to face Ji-Ah. The smaller of the two women squealed as she skipped over and threw her arms around Ji-Ah tightly.

“Oh, I’m so excited to meet you!” She pulled away and smiled brightly. Her pixie-like features positively glowing as she looked up at Ji-Ah. “I’m Jee.”

“Ji-Ah,” she replied softly with her own smile, hoping that she didn’t look as nervous as she felt.

Ji-Ah glanced at Jee’s outfit, worrying (not for the first time) that her minimal make-up, black miniskirt and maroon blouse was more business chic than cute. From a glance, Jee’s perfect skin seemed to be free of any foundation, given that the tiny sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheekbones were visible. Only the light gloss on her lips and the thickness of her lashes told Ji-Ah that Jee had some make-up on. She was wearing a light blue t-shirt and cream shorts that stopped mid-thigh.

Ji-Ah turned to the other woman, who was inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. Her make-up was more prominent with her darkly coloured eyeshadow that was perfectly blended out and dark purple lipstick. She smirked at them both before extending her hand towards Ji-Ah.

“Sookie,” she announced, pale blue eyes boring into Ji-Ah’s. She was wearing a Nirvana t-shirt with a strategic rip that showed off her breasts and ripped black jeans.

With the introductions out of the way, Sookie turned away once more as she scanned the foyer. Ji-Ah joined her, taking in the grand double staircase in front of her with a small counter sitting between the set of stairs where two suitcases sat in front of. Ji-Ah assumed that they belonged to Jee and Sookie. 

On either side of Ji-Ah were large double doors that led further into the house. Ji-Ah was tempted to pick a door and see where it led, but the butterflies in her stomach kept her feet firmly in place. 

“So, do either of you know what happens next?” Jee twirled a strand of her short brunette hair around her finger.

“Nope.” Sookie went back to inspecting her nails.

“Well… The driver did hand me this envelope.” Ji-Ah held out the envelope for them both to see.

Sookie snatched it from her hand and tore into it without hesitation. She was quiet as she read the page.

“Well, what does it say!” Jee clapped her hands as she tried to peer over Sookie’s shoulder.

Sookie cleared her throat.

“Please wait for further instructions. What’s that supposed to mean?” Jee glanced towards Ji-Ah and Sookie with a frown. “Can’t we just go outside and meet them already?”

“I say we go outside and get this show on the road.” Sookie placed the letter on the counter.

“Wait! What’s the rush?” Ji-Ah held her hands out in front of her for a second before lowering them slowly back to her side.

Jee looked at Sookie with a frown before looking at Ji-Ah. “Well… it is why we’re here?”

“What do you propose, Ji-Ah?” Sookie folded her pale arms across her chest and raised her brow at Ji-Ah. 

“Well...We’re going to be with each other for the next couple of weeks. Maybe we should get to know each other?” Ji-Ah said with a shrug. She looked to the floor as she waited for the girls to respond.

“OOH, you’re so right! It would be so nice to have some girl-friends to goss with!” Jee clapped her hands together as she bounced slightly on her toes. “What do you say, Sookie?”

Sookie rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. What do you want to know?”

Ji-Ah considered it for a moment before asking, “Are you looking for anything in particular?” When neither girl spoke up, Ji-Ah added: “in the guys, I mean.”

Jee tapped her index finger against her chin as she thought. “I want someone… who will sweep me off my feet – metaphorically and literally! I want him to be able to bench press me.” She giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.

“How old are you?” Sookie scrunched up her face as she looked at Jee.

Jee’s face dropped. “Nineteen.”

“Just great.” Sookie rolled her eyes as she turned slightly away from Jee.

“What about you, Sookie?” Ji-Ah asked, mostly to distract them both and break the slight tension that now filled the air. “What kind of guy are you after?”

Sookie shrugged. “I’ll let you know when I see it.”

“What about you, Ji-Ah? What’s your type?”

Ji-Ah hesitates, playing with her ring as she thought about what she’s after in a romantic partner. Her ex had been charismatic, the life of the party. He was easy to be around, and she had never once felt like things had been strained.

And then Ji-Ah had come home one evening to find him in bed with her best friend.

“I want someone who takes charge but is not an awful flirt.”

“Oh, god, yes.” Sookie smiled at Ji-Ah. “I can’t stand it when a guy doesn’t know what he wants in life, and the constant flirting? Please.”

“What’s wrong with flirting?” Jee asked, her eyes wide as she glanced between the two girls.

“Um, everything? If he flirts with anything with breasts, then it’s as good as him cheating on you.” Sookie smiled down at Jee. “But don’t worry, you’re still young. You have all of that to figure out for yourself.”

“That’s, um, that’s not actually what I mean by ‘awful flirt’.” Ji-Ah kept her voice quiet, but the two girls still heard.

Sookie frowned. “Then what did you mean?”

“I meant, I like it when they’re not, you know, an awful flirt.” Ji-Ah shrugged.

“So, you like a guy with a bit of banter!” Jee squealed. “Isn’t that the best thing, when sparks fly, and you go back and forth with the flirting?”

Sookie scoffed but didn’t say a word. Jee was about to open her mouth when a loud ding came from the counter.

“The phones!” Jee skipped towards the counter and grabbed all three phones.

Each of the phones was cased in clear plastic with their names written in an elegant font. Jee passed the phones out to the girls. Ji-Ah pressed the unlock button, but no notifications were waiting for her.

“It’s me,” Sookie announced.

“Finally.” Sookie tucked her phone into her jean’s pocket before turning on her heel and walking out of the room.

“Come on, Ji-Ah!” Jee quickly followed, skipping as she let out a little cheer.

Ji-Ah took a moment to collect herself. She knew that this was the moment that would change everything. The potential of her true love waiting outside in the garden was high, and she really wasn’t sure if she was ready to meet him. She dragged her feet as she turned left and made her way through the door and walked into the large lounge. There was no tv, only a small well-stocked bar to her left, large comfortable looking white sofas that looked ready to engulf Ji-Ah the moment she sat down on them in front of her, a grand piano tucked in the corner and large patio doors to her right. It was cosy, although Ji-Ah couldn’t help but feel like there was no character in the room, despite the beach photos adorned on the wall.

Ji-Ah took a deep breath before opening the patio doors and walking outside. The garden was smaller than she expected, but then again, she hadn’t expected it to be so close to the edge of the cliff. The infinity pool took up most of the garden, a couple of day beds stood against the house, and a small decking area was in front of a small pool house that had a fire-pit and some sofas. It was there that Ji-Ah found the group.

Jee stood and waved as Ji-Ah made her way over.

“Ji-Ah, meet the guys!”

They all rose as she stepped onto the decking. The first guy had thick brown hair, and a bright smile as he extended his hand. He wore light blue shorts with a plain white tank-top and an open blue plaid shirt.

“Hosoek. It was Ji-Ah, right?”

“Yeah.” Ji-Ah lightly shook his hand with her head bowed before turning to the next guy.

He was shorter than the first, with blonde hair that almost covered his eyes. He didn’t smile at Ji-Ah, nor did he extend his hand towards her. Instead, he bowed his head, hand running down his white shirt as if to smooth it.

“Yoongi,” he announced, his voice a lot deeper than Ji-Ah was expecting. He sat back down immediately.

The next man pulled Ji-Ah into a tight hug.

He was the shortest of the four guys, but what he lacked in height he made up for in energy. As he pulled away from her, he ran a hand through his dyed grey hair and smiled.

“I’m Jimin. It’s so nice to meet you, Ji-Ah.”

Ji-Ah bowed her head towards him. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Ji-Ah turned towards the last guy. He stood staring with wide eyes but didn’t make an effort to move. He looked younger than the other guys, but Ji-Ah couldn’t be sure about his age. He could easily be as young as Jee, with his boyish features.

“Hello.” Ji-Ah smiled, offering him a little wave.

He continued to stare until Jimin hit him in the arm.

“Oh, um… I’m uh, Jungkook.” He bowed low, and Ji-Ah had to suppress the urge to giggle.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jungkook.” She smiled.

“So now that we’re all acquainted, what happens next?” Hoseok sat back down.

"We get to know one another." Sookie smiled as she took a seat next to him, her leg brushing against his. Ji-Ah can’t help but think that Sookie had already made up her mind about who she was going to pursue when Sookie brushed her hair behind her ear and fluttered her lashes at him.

Jee stood with Jungkook and Jimin, smiling shyly as Jimin animatedly told them a story with a bright smile.

Yoongi sat on the other side of Hoseok with his eyes closed and his face turned towards the sun. Ji-Ah contemplated talking to him when the phone in her hand rung.

“I have a message!” She said quietly at first, then louder as she skimmed the text.

“Well, are you going to share with the group?” Sookie rolled her eyes.

“Free time? Sweet! Want to check out the house?” Jimin turned to Jungkook, already moving towards the door.

Jungkook grinned as he followed Jimin.

Jee clapped her hands as she skipped to catch up with them. “Don’t forget about me!”

Yoongi sighed loudly as he rose from his seat. He didn’t give any of them a second glance as he brushed past Ji-Ah and made his way towards one of the day-beds to lie down on.

Sookie quickly turned back to Hosoek on the sofa and continued to speak to him quietly.

~♥~

Voting now closed!

[doeeyeddarlingxo]

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 5

The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training - Chapter 5

AO3 | Previous | Next

Word Count: 1229

Pairing: Loki/Reader

Rating: T

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 5

It’s six o’clock in the morning when your alarm goes off. You don’t half-wake up to slam the OFF button, the way you normally do. Instead, you lie there for a few moments, staring at the ceiling. Seven days. For seven days, you’ve endured the whispers of your classmates, the stares of complete strangers any time you try to go out in public. Five lunch periods during which everyone glanced at you at one point or another, freshmen and seniors alike. Some seem to pity you. Others are jealous, as hard as that is for you to fathom. Apparently, some of your fellow classmates are delusional enough to want to play Buttercup to King Psycho’s Westley.

Or would he be Prince Humperdinck?

You sigh. Why am I spending my last five minutes of peace arguing with myself about whether or not The Princess Bride is a fitting analogy for my life?

“Sweetheart?”

Did I say five minutes? Make that five seconds. “I’m awake, Mom.” Hearing the door squeak open, you pull the covers over your head. “Mo-om, I said I’m awake.” You feel the mattress sink as she sits on the edge of the bed. When she doesn’t move, you peek out, finally shaking off your morning laziness enough to sit up. “What?”

She rubs your foot through the blanket. “I just wanted to tell you that I am incredibly proud of you. I always have been. I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing daughter - ”

“Mom - ”

She shakes her head. “Let me finish. Please. You are so beautiful, and so strong. You’ve always been strong. So feisty. And I’ve always loved that about you, even when you turned that temper against me.” She takes a deep breath, clearly fighting back tears. “I know this isn’t fair. And we’re all scared. But what scares me even more is that we don’t know what happens to the girls...to the ones who don’t win. So I just wanted to tell you, do whatever you have to do to stay alive. You hear me?” You go to answer, but she continues, “I’d rather see you married to that - that - and know you’re alive, than not.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I know. But you can be a headstrong little thing sometimes. You have pride, and morals, and that’s good, but it can also be dangerous. So if the - the king asks you something, you don’t talk back. You don’t attack any of the other girls. You play by their rules. I want nothing more than to have you back home, home and safe. I want you to have a normal life. But if it’s a choice between being executed and being the king’s plaything - ”

“I get it, Mom,” you interrupt. “Option two. Just, um, stay alive. Right?” She bites her lip, nodding. “I will. I promise.”

Her eyes flutter shut, and a single tear leaks out. “Thank you,” she whispers, brushing it aside before opening her eyes again. She grabs your hand and gives it a comforting squeeze. “Now go get dressed. We’re leaving for the train station in an hour.”

***********************************

You take time to say goodbye to your room, getting just the slightest bit overly emotional. Okay, so maybe more than a little bit; heck, even using your curling wand for the last time makes you tear up. You actually bother with makeup, for once, brushing your favorite eyeshadow over your eyelids, a light stroke of blush blended into each cheek, your eyelashes curly and clump-free. Finally, the doorbell rings, signalling the arrival of your escort. Your family climbs into the provided limo, flanked by two government officials, and you wave goodbye to the neighbor’s dog, watching her run around the yard. I'm going to miss that dog, damn it.

A crowd has formed by the time you arrive, practically your entire town, kept in check by the guards and the stanchions set up. It’s hard to say which goodbye hurts most: as you make your way to the platform, Carlie hanging from your waist, you have to stop every few seconds to blow kisses to your friends. Erik’s hug almost makes you cry, because only a month ago your biggest worry was whether or not he’d have enough time off from school to come home, and now you’re the one leaving. Mom plants a kiss on your cheek before shepherding your siblings back to the car, leaving you and Dad behind.

“So, Bean,” he says in a strangled voice. You do your best to ignore the shouts and camera flashes coming from a couple of yards away. “This is it.”

“Yeah.” He smiles. “My little patriot.”

You can’t help but chuckle at that, and give him a little salute. You were requested to dress in your country’s colors for Transport Day, and you may have gone a little overboard. With your white blouse tucked into a short blue skirt, a la Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, a blue belt, blue shoes, and a red bow in your hair, you’re a walking, talking American flag. “Thanks, I try.”

“You didn’t pick an item to bring, did you?” You shake your head; you’ve been so sick with worry for the past week, you’d completely forgotten. From behind his back, he produces a thick book, covered in black velvet. You glance at it, then look up at him, one eyebrow raised in a question. “It’s a photo album,” he clarifies. “Your mom and I put it together last night. Not sure what kind of stuff we’ll be able to send you once you're over there, so we wanted you to have this. No metal, no pointy edges, so it should get past security okay.”

You turn it over in your hands, running a thumb over one corner. “Thank you, Dad. I love it.” You force yourself to grin. Be brave.

“I’m glad.” He clears his throat. “Look, you know how I feel about this...this whole situation. I want you to get out of there as soon as humanly possible, alright? Stay low, out of...his attention. I don’t care about the money, I don’t care about the throne: first opportunity you have to come home, you take it.”

You let out a sad little laugh. “I know.”

“And if that monster lays a hand on you, you write home and you tell us and we’ll figure something out.”

“I’ll take care of myself, Dad, all right?” You lean forward, wrapping your arms around his waist, and feel him kiss the top of your head. “Love you.”

“I love you, too, Bean.”

I will not cry. I will not cry.

You take a step back, holding the photo book tightly against your stomach. “I should - I should go.”

He nods. “Be safe, Bean. Get home safe.”

“I will,” you call over your shoulder, offering a timid smile to the guard who helps you into the train car.

You watch as, all too quickly, your hometown disappears, watch as the houses and trees and streets turn into a blur of movement. You decide against checking out the photo album - right now, all you have the energy to do is place the book on the empty seat next to you. Leaning back, you close your eyes, wait for your pounding heart to steady itself, and let the gentle vibrations of the train lull you to sleep.

[thevampslyssa-blog]

Will He Make It? C19

{May 17th, 2013 Wyckoff, NJ K2+Dani's Residence Nick-20|Mel-18}

It was prom night, Melissa was beyond excited, she couldn't wait to get to the venue and dance the night away with her friends... and hopefully, Nick...

He promised her that he would make it, and he always kept his promises. She just hoped that Phil would actually listen to Nick this time and realize that he needs to be there for this... or he'd have one upset girlfriend on his hands.

Melissa was currently sitting in a high top chair, as Danielle was currently curling her hair. Denise and Cindy were sitting in the living room catching up, as both mothers had flown in for the special event and would be staying in town until her graduation in a few weeks.

"Has anyone heard from Nick?" Melissa asked, chewing on her bottom lip, it was about 5 hours from the big even starting, so she was getting more and more nervous that he wouldn't make it.

Denise smiled over at the two girls, "I just texted him, he said him and Joe and Kev are boarding the plane as we speak, they should be here in Jersey in two hours."

The young girl nodded, taking in a shaky breath, "he promised he'd be here..." she whispered, chewing on her lip as tears welled up.

"And he will be darling, I promise." Denise smiled sadly at her, "you know him, he never breaks his promises when it comes to you."

She nodded softly as Dani was turned away to grab some more bobby pins. "I know... and that is what worries me the most..." she mumbled to herself. —— An hour passed by, and her hair was done, up in a nice updo, with small curls hanging out, framing her face perfectly.

Dani smiled big at the girl, "ready for your makeup?" she questioned, grabbing the big box of makeup that was waiting for them.

Melissa nodded, and let Dani do her magic on the teenager. It took sometime to get everything to blend together and make her face light up even more then it already was. As time passed on, Melissa kept glancing to her phone that was sitting in her lap. She just wanted to see Nick's face lighting up the screen, to know that they had landed and were safe.

"I'm getting more and more nervous..." she mumbled, looking at Dani, who stood in front of her, smiling sadly at her.

"I know, but like Denise said, he will make it." she reminded her, and at that moment, there was a jiggling sound out side of the front door, and a distant, "WE MADE IT!" it sounded like Joe's voice.

"FINALLY!" Cindy and Denise exclaimed, "you guys were about to make Melissa go crazy." Denise laughed softly.

The band of brothers walked in, smiling at one of the most important girl's in their life. Nick was the last one to enter, stopping as he saw his girlfriend, "Hey baby... y-you— you look drop dead gorgeous." he stuttered out, his toothy grin coming to his face.

She blushed as her eyes landed on him. "Hey boo." she smiled, and he came over, as Dani stopped applying the eyeshadow for a second so he could kiss the teen.

Melissa hadn't let Nick see her dress for the night, just gave him the tie that matched her dress, and said to wear a black suit. She wanted him to be surprised.

The boys went and sat by the older women and they all had small talk, till Nick went to Kevin and Dani's room to put on his suit and Melissa went to the guest room to put her dress on.

The three women helped her into the dress, making sure everything was perfect before letting the teen step out to see her boyfriend who was anxiously waiting behind the door.

"Ready Nick?" Denise popped her head out to see her semi-middle son standing there looking at her nervously. He had never seen Melissa this dressed up in a very long time, so this was a big moment for the couple.

"Have been for forever." Nick smiled confidently at his mother, holding the corsage in his shaking hands.

Melissa stepped out, with the glittery floor length dress on, right when her eyes met her boyfriend's, she blushed deeply and smiled big. "How do... do I look?" she asked, her hands also shaking slightly.

"You look... w-wow—you look beyond beautiful baby... the most beautiful girl in the world." he grinned, coming up to her, and placed his hands on her waist.

"We should exchange the flowers outside. That way we can get pictures." Denise offered, as Dani ran off to go and get her camera.

Once outside, everyone was waiting to take pictures. "wow, Popstar... you look amazing." Joe said softly, his eyes not leaving her.

"Aye, watch yourself Joseph." Nick joked, pointing at his brother as he still held the corsage in hand.

"Ready you two?" Cindy asked, as everyone had their phones and cameras ready to take multiple pictures.

Nick slipped the corsage onto her wrist as the moms and Dani were taking multiple pictures. Kevin Sr. was busy putting the boutonniere on his son. As this also was Nick's first prom as well.

After about 100 pictures, and a few stolen kisses later, Melissa's friends had all shown up and a limo was pulling up in the driveway.

You didn't think the Jonases wouldn't go all out for the magical event did ya?

"You... you guys didn't have to do all this... you've done so much already." Melissa exclaimed and placed her trembling hand over her mouth.

"Of course we did sweetie, you are like a daughter to us, always have been." Denise smiled, "besides your mom chipped in a little bit as well as your father."

At the mention of her father, she looked behind them seeing him walking up, "I didn't think you'd make it!" she exclaimed, and ran up to her father that she rarely ever sees.

"I definitely didn't want to miss your one and only prom, now did I?" he asked, and after another huge round of photos everyone was climbing in the limo.

There were about 10 of them that came along with the young couple. Melissa never let go of Nick's hand for a second, cherishing this "normal" moment that she was getting with him.

The rest of the night was a dream come true for everyone, there were some girls that freaked out as they had seen the teen heartthrob, but soon everyone had gotten used to the fact that she was with him. —— {June 3rd, 2013 Wyckoff, NJ Graduation Nick-20|Mel-18}

It was the night everyone had been waiting for, the night their young "honorary" Jonas was finally graduating high school.

Melissa was so excited to get it all over with. She wanted to finally be able to put it in the past. Dani again was helping her get ready, but this time was straightening her hair instead of curling it.

"So, are you nervous?" Dani asked, as she moved the light brown hair through the straightener.

"A little bit, I'm more nervous for Nick and the boys to be able to find a safe spot for them to watch." Melissa explained, playing with the edge of the floral dress she was gonna wear under the gown.

"I know, I almost feel like we should just put them in disguises." Dani joked, shaking her head at the kind of disguise Joe would probably put himself in.

"I know Denise called the venue to see if they can put them in the section right next to the stage that way they can be blocked off." Melissa sighed, hating the fact that her boyfriend and his brothers couldn't enjoy the graduation ceremony like normal.

An hour or two later, it was time for everyone to once again come to Kevin and Dani's house before they all headed to dinner.

Melissa stood outside waiting for Nick and Joe to pull up, as Nick's car was in sight, she smiled big. As the couple had been apart all day. She missed him like crazy.

"Wow, you just keep amazing me with how beautiful you are, angel." Nick grinned as he locked the car. "how are you baby?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissed her lightly.

"Nervous, but what's new? I'm always nervous." she shrugged, she had definitely been having anxiety issues and her depression had been sparking up a lot more lately.

"You will be fine baby. I promise." he said, as Denise spoke up, "who's going in who's car?"

Soon enough everyone had gotten to restaurant, and had all ordered their food. Denise and Kevin Sr. smiled at one other, then at Cindy. "So I think it's time for presents?"

Melissa blushed and looked down at her shaking hands, "you guys didn't have to..." she said softly.

Nick reached in his back pocket, pulling out a card and a small box. "Oh yes we did, angel." he kissed her cheek as she went around the table, opening the presents.

She had gotten a wide array of things and a small amount of money. "Here's mine baby." Nick handed his gift to her, his eyes lighting up as he watched her.

Melissa slowly opened the card, reading it, and then handed the check back to him, "you make no sense baby..." she mumbled. She then opened the little box next, wondering what piece of jewelry he could've bought her next.

She let out a soft gasp as she seen the bracelet, "it's so pretty..." she mumbled, her eyes looking up at Nick.

"Only the prettiest jewelry for my leading lady." he grinned, helping her put it on as the food came.

"So, guys, we talked to her high school, they said that you could come to her all night party tonight if you'd like Nick." Cindy said, taking a bite of her food.

"Great! Cause we need someone to make sure this one doesn't fall asleep at midnight." he joked, poking his girlfriend's cheek lightly. —— The graduation ceremony was a long one, as she she graduated with 500 other seniors, half way through the ceremony though she had gotten a text from Nick saying; "I see you beautiful. I love you." the text of course made the girl blush like crazy and look around to try and find him. Once her eyes had landed on him, she grinned and blew him a kiss.

She of course was at the very end, and when she was called up to make her graduation "official", she was shaking from the nerves. After she sat back down in her seat, her phone of course vibrated again with another text from Nick; "proud of you. 💕" ———

[tdrcharmschool4]

Homework Assignment #1: Transformation Photo Album - Critiques

Check out the students' work in their first assignment of TDR Charm School 4! For this assignment, the girls had to take a photo after each step of their makeup application process. Let’s see how they did! To view their transformation photo album, click their name!

Erica Strada

Analyse: Hi, Erica! First off, I just want to say that you were maybe the most thorough in talking to Letha and myself while you were painting, and I 100% think that elevated your submission, because you were able to get that live feedback. Keep doing that and working hard, and you'll see so much growth!           Brow coverage can be tricky, and it's something that just gets better with time. I think I've shared most of my brow coverage tips/crits in your sisters' critiques, so make sure you read those, but like I said, it's just something to practice and find out what process works best for you.            Looking at where you're placing your contour, I'd definitely suggest raising it up the face quite a bit. I know we talked about this in PM, but it caused you to run into the problem that your cheek contour was so low and angled down so much that it kind of collided with your jawline contour and it wasn't clear exactly what was going on. You went back in with your highlight cream to clean up that line, which helped to clarify the intent of everything, but I think that trying a higher placement will definitely help to avoid that problem.           I think for brows, this is a good start. I like the brow on the left side of the picture a lot more, and I know sometimes the brows just don't want to match. It happens, and you just roll with the punches, but I think the left side (your right, I guess?) brow is definitely a good starting point. You might also play with some different products. Pencils are good and creamy, and personally, I'm a big fan of a gel for brows. ELF has some good gel pots for like $3 that you can use and then set with a powder. My general brow technique is that I'll kind of sketch the shape light with a pencil (using the connect-the-dots technique where you put where you want the brow to start, arch, and end, and then you connect them in a smooth line), then I go in with a gel, and then set it with powders.           I like that blush, but I think you could go super over the top with it. You said that Mimi Bobeck was inspiration for this mug (and I still think she is such a great inspo! She's basically a drag queen already lol), and you look at pictured of Kathy Kinney in that role, and they were not afraid of slatheringggg blush on her. I'd love to see you try a big dramatic wing, and maybe look into a darker liner (either a marker or a gel, if you don't want to go liquid). Normally I would say something about not taking the color all the way up to the brow, but knowing that Mimi was an inspiration for this mug, I'm not mad at it. Just make sure when you're doing a look that isn't this, you leave some white between the brows and the shadows.           Bitch, I love this lip! It's such a fun color, works well with the eyes, and looks very clean. You might play with overdrawing the bottom a bit more, but I really have no complaints for this lip. Werq. Anyways, I think this is a great first submission! Something I think that will help you as we go on is just working on getting your time down. As somebody who also likes to take my time to paint (my record during CS3 was 6 hours), I know how stressful it can be, but as you do it more, eventually your time will go down. It can also be helpful (and weirdly fun) to practice and be like "ok, I'm gonna get this done in 2 hours," and it usually turns out better than expected. For now though, feel free to take your time and really find what works for you! Congrats, and I can't wait for your test!

Letha: Hey Erica! I want to start off by commending how communicative you were with us throughout your painting process. You talked to us and you really took your time, and doing that (along with practice) will really help you to improve! Now, on to da mug! Starting with the brow coverage, I think she started off covered pretty well (a few more coats and some smoothing/pressing might not be a bad idea though), but by blending the eyeshadow too roughly on top, it disturbed the glued-down hairs underneath, so be sure to be very gentle. Using shimmery eyeshadows, as those appear to be, also won’t serve you well in trying to hide underlying texture, so you will want to stay with more matte colors, at least when working over the brows. The eyeshadows could also have more POP, you said your inspiration was Mimi and her eyeshadow basically hit you over the face, and yours isn’t quite there yet With your redrawn brows, I like the overall shape, but they’re a bit muddy/patchy in texture. I think using a more pigmented product with a very small brush would be better, whether you go for an ombre brow, a brow with hair strokes, or even a solid shape. With regards to contour, I do agree with Ana that the cheeks got a bit low and correcting them was a good idea, so good on you for doing that. The blush is a pretty color, but could be more blended up so it’s not as stripey. The forehead contour is a nice shape but I think your powder made it look a bit patchy, so I would recomend going back through with a large powder brush and dusting off excess/blending edges. The nose contour started off a bit tilted but you were able to improve it, watch out with taking foundation off the nose though, you can go back and reapply if you take it off by accident. With your lashes, I personally think they could be bigger, as well as being closer to your real lashes. If I were you, I would practice placing them (without any glue) as close to your real lashes as possible, or at least the inner corner. Some more dramatic liner/tightlining could help to hide the lash band as well. That lip color is very well done and easily my favorite part of this paint, you have that part down pat for sure! Overall, you have some points to improve on, but your willingness to learn is showing!

Kushboo

Analyse: Hello, Kushboo! I'm just going to follow along in your album and give my crits step-by-step as I see things! Brow coverage looks pretty good (until the one comes up :\ ), so good job on that and on fixing the problem when it did happen. Something that will help with that is to think of anything on top of brow coverage more as dabbing and pressing motions than swiping or side-to-side motions. It might help to use a sponge for that part to apply the foundation on top of the brow coverage.           This blending on the contour already looks so much better than what we saw in your audition, so I'm so glad to see that you're already taking all these things into account. Keep this up and you'll have an entirely new mug by the end of CS4! ALSO, I LOVE THIS BLUSH. And I'm sure you might be one of the first times in Charm School that Letha doesn't say "more blush." You might want to play with laying down some blush at the forehead contour, too. It just helps to really liven up the forehead. I'm also a big fan of just a tiny little bit of blush on the chin, but that's a personal taste thing, but try it if you want.            I think this is such a pretty color on the eyes. As Charm School goes on, I'd recommend you just try out different eye makeup shapes and techniques, because right now (even though it is a pretty color), it does just all kind of scream that one color. Add interest to the eye with different colors to make it look more dimensional, and as with most makeup things, make sure it's blended. These brows are a good starting point, and honestly my biggest issue with them is that I think that they can taper more on the outside ends. Right now, they look kind of blocky, so a more tapered end will help to soften and feminize them.            I like this lip color! I think it was a smart choice to go with a more subdued color on the lip when you had such bold colors in the eye makeup and the blush, but it's still got an interesting metallic quality. Going forward, I would make sure you work on just having very defined lines. (Also, watch out in your pictures that you don't show off the line on the lip where the lipstick stops. Your second to last picture, I think you were going for a pouty kind of look, but that was the first thing my eye went to). Overall, I think this was a good submission and already such a great improvement from your audition! It's very clear you took what Letha said in the the video and put it to use. Keep that up and you'll do very well in this competition! Letha: Heya Kushboo! So I know you had trouble with brow coverage, but I can see you have potential with keeping them down, so really make sure to flatten/press them down and be super delicate around them (applying your foundation to them in dabbing motions with a sponge might help, instead of rubbing with a pan stick). The contour is sitting pretty high on the cheeks, which can work, but it doesn’t give you as much blending room. Until you pile on ten pounds of BLUSH that is. Is that a lot of blush? Yes. Am I mad at it? Hell no. I think it helps to blend out your contour nicely. But if you’ll note, you blended the blush under the contour, which isn’t the best for restructuring the face. Where the bottom edge of your blush is, THAT’S where I would suggest drawing your contour (and blending up from there). The edges of the forehead could be a bit more blended as well. That eyeshadow color is gorgeous and matches the blush really well, but make sure to soften the edges, as they’re a bit harsh right now. Blending with a white, translucent, or even light flesh toned powder could help with those edges. The new brows aren’t bad, a bit high though, placing the front end a bit closer to your natural brow would help you get more of an arched shape. I usually do a smoky eye myself, so the Kajal on the lid isn’t a bad choice, just make sure it’s darkest right on the lid and blends into that green. I would really try getting some lashes, as they can elevate a look and add drama, as well as adjusting the exaggerated proportions that you created. That’s a gorgeous lip color, make sure your edges are crisp though (if it’s a pencil you can sketch small strokes in, if it’s a liquid lipstick, you have to really commit to the line/shape). All in all, I can already see improvement from where you started, and must say that I LOVE this color combo, so good job!

Luna

Analyse: I'm just going to kind of go through your album step-by-step and make any comments about anything I see along the way, but I want to start off by commending you for talking to me and Letha while you were working on your mug, because tbh it's so much better to get that live feedback. Not only does it help your submission look better, but it also helps you learn *how* to fix certain things and *where* they went wrong, so kudos to you for that.            Your brow coverage looks pretty good. It's a learning curve and it gets better with more practice, but my recommendation is to try different techniques and find out what works best for you and your process. Back when I had brows to cover, I was a big fan of the swirling method and then licking the glue stick to smooth them out. Some people use the back of a spoon to smooth it down. Ultimately, whatever works for you, go with that.           It's very clear that you have a good idea of where/how to lay your cheek contour, so keep doing that. We talked a little about brows in our PM, but just keep playing with shape and placement. Right now they read a little Angry Eyebrows™, but sometimes the look can call for that. For the eyes, just make sure that how blended out the shadows are is even between the eyes. You can see in your pictures that on one eye, the shadow is blended out a lot further than the other eye, and that's just a matter of going back in with a matte white and just kind of doing that back and forth until you find the right balance. Also, while we're up there on the face, be careful with your shimmery highlight placement, because putting that shimmery highlight there kind of undoes the restructuring of the face and makes your natural brow bone very prominent (and also draws attention to any texture left behind by the covered natural brow). That being said, I like the placement of your other highlights. The peach blush is very cute and reads very like, innocent natural woman to me. Letha will probably tell you more blush, and tbh I wouldn't be mad at that. Also, I'm a big fan of blush at the forehead contour too for the same reason that it adds some life back into the face. I can't really tell if you did that here which either means a) you didn't, or b) it could use some more.           Like your contour, you seem to have a good idea of what you like with your liner. As you said in your PM, you prefer a straight out dramatic liner, which is fine and can look great; just remember that Charm School is about growth and we want to see you learning and trying new things, so it might be worthwhile to step outside of your comfort zone. Your lips are a cute shape, and I like that you have multiple colors on there. Like, I recommended in PM, I think a lighter highlight shade in the middle of the lip would add more dimension (especially since you are going for a very pouty lip), because even with the cherry red, the lips do still read pretty dark.           I love that you've come up with this stippling sponge technique to do freckles, but I think the outcome of it falls a little flat for me. It kind of reads as like, maybe some fallout landed on your cheeks. I think if you want it to read more freckly, it could help to go in and make sure you have some more variation in sizes and maybe a few shades in the same range. If you look at natural freckles, they're not all the same shade and size. All in all, I think this is such a strong first submission, and I got super nitpicky with these critiques because it's clear that you already are comfortable with a lot of what you're doing makeup-wise. Congrats on a great first submission, and I look forward to your test!

Letha: Luna, this is such a cute look! Your brow coverage is pretty darn good, as well as you leaving out the front remnant to base your new brow off of, so props to ya on that. The eyeshadow on top is well blended, but does catch the light and draw some attention to hairs that are there by making them shine. Your contour placement is also overall pretty good, I would work on blending the top of the cheek contour a bit more, as well as the sides of your nose, as they read just a bit stripey at the moment. Blush is nice, as is highlight. Lashes are well placed, and I like the liner shape, it’s not a normal wing but it goes with the “cutesey” vibe you were angling toward. I would suggest putting a bit more mascara on the lower lashes, as they look pretty bare at the moment. Lastly, I’m not huge on the big freckle trend going on, but it can work depending on the look, and with the vibe you have going, it works here. Up close they’re very convincing freckles. From far away though, they look a little muddy and might just read as “texture” to someone in an audience. Just something to keep in mind. This is a well done look and you should be proud of yourself, Luna!

Marina Lumiere

Analyse: Hi, Marina! I'm just going to give my comments on your album kind of following your step-by-step process. Before that though, I just want to give you a shoutout for rolling with the punches after you lost your pictures from your first try at the homework. TBH, so much of being successful at Charm School and TDR (and drag and life, I guess) is being able to adjust and adapt, especially when things don't go as planned, so congrats on that. Now, onto makeup!           I don't know many queens that cover their brows with spirit gum, so you're braver than most. I'd be interested to know if you've experimented with other methods of covering them (like glue stick or Pros-Aide)? Either way, I think you'll be helped a lot by setting your adhesive with a powder! I think the color story you've chosen for the shadows is very nice. Be careful that you're not pulling up brow coverage when you're blending the eyeshadows. When you're going over your brow coverage, it's helpful to think more of dabbing with the brush than necessarily swiping, and that will help to not pull up that coverage and reveal the texture of your natural brows. I really like this graphic undereye, and it's very trendy. I'd just work on making it cleaner and really defining those lines. The brows are cute! You might try going in with a white underneath them to add that highlight there. It'll also really help in defining the shape of the brow.           Your contour sits very low on your face, so you might try placing that a bit higher next time. I'd also suggest you focus on blending the contour up more as well, just to really have that gradient from your contour shade to your foundation shade. You might also want to try contouring your jawline and forehead. Harper Valley talks a little about it in this makeup tutorial about faux queens not typically needing to contour the forehead as much as cismen drag queens do, but I think if you added that, it would help to make the face a more cohesive mug and make it draggier overall. Also on the topic of forehead, I would add some blush along the forehead contour if/when you do that, just to bring some life back to that part of the face as well.           I can't tell if the lips are a little fuzzy because of the picture or because of application, but just make sure that the definition of the lip shape is something you're keeping in mind. A darker liner might be something worth trying out next time. All in all, I see a lot of positive things going on here, and I'm excited to see your growth throughout Charm School! Letha: Immediately what drew me in were the eyes, specifically the bottom lash line and the eyebrows. I think those were definitely your strongest elements here and really suit your face/style. I also like the colors on the eyes, but they got a bit muddy when mixed in with your brow coverage. To help cancel that out, I would suggest using a very pigmented concealer over top to cancel with a healthy dose of bright white powder (I sometimes even use a bit of my beard cover under all of that to help cancel out the tones). Same blending over covered brow tips apply here, and I would suggest going under your NEW brow and doing a stronger brow bone highlight, then blending down to make more of a gradient and having a better contrast in color. I like the bottom lashes but I think the top also needs a good dose of lash as well, as it would pull the eye together and be more balanced. Your cheek contour could be a bit higher, as it’s a bit low at the moment, but I like the blush color. I like your natural nose shape and I think it could work, especially in the context of this look, but a light dusting of contour on the nose helps to add some more dimension to the face and not appear as “mask-like”. The lips are an okay shape, but your lines could be cleaner, so be sure to take your time, and even try going for more dimension by adding some white to the middle of the lip or darkening the outer edges. All in all, I think you have a cool look here, and one you can really work with, so keep these notes in mind and keep up the good work!            

Nikita Nox

Analyse: Hi, Nikita! I'm just gonna go through your album step-by-step and comment as I go. Brow coverage is definitely one of the things it's clear you've worked on. My only comment on that is that you can see the cooler tones of the hair a tiny little bit through the foundation. You might play with color correcting that until you can upgrade to a fuller coverage theatre-grade foundation.            I think it's great that you have ideas in your head of queens you want to emulate. As a baby queen, sometimes that can be a great way to learn certain skills. Just make sure you don't latch on to one idea of "this is what I want this to be," and give yourself the space to explore and work on other skills. For the white on the lids, I think it's great to prime to lids to make the colors pop more, but I don't quite see it in these pictures, so a different product might behoove that process. I love a good clown white. A lot of queens use the Ben Nye clown white, but I've become a disciple of the Kryolan Supracolor clown white since Gluttoni Sinn suggested it to me. It's just creamier and blends easier.           I think brow shape is definitely something you can play with. Adding a highlight underneath the brow can help to clean up the lines and make the brow look a lot sharper. You might also look into other products that will help give you a fuller brow look, because using shadows can cause them to be a bit patchy. A real cheap one is the ELF gel pots, and they have a few shades of brunettey colors. You can also look into pencils if that's more up your alley.           Wings can be so hard to do, let alone get them to match, so that's something that will just get better with time. An easy thing that I think will automatically bump up the polish of your mug is going over the liner with a black shadow. It'll make it look a lot darker and less patchy, which will add to the overall drama of the eye.           With the powder contour/blush/highlight, make sure you blend that out a little more so you don't rock that Neapolitan ice cream look. Good job cleaning up the bottom side of the contour with your cream highlight. That makes it look a lot crisper. The rounded bottom lip reads almost cartoony to me or maybe clown, and I think that's just a bit of a disconnect from the rest of the mug, so I think it's worth playing around with different shapes. I would also love to see some more dimension in the lip with more colors and highlight. For the most part though, this was a great first submission, and I look forward to seeing your growth in this competition! Letha: Hi Nikita! So immeidately what I noticed while looking through your album is that your brow coverage/foundation game are pretty strong, and that you have a good base to work off of. The contour shapes are quite good, s far as placement goes, and the blending is pretty good too. Could diffuse a bit more, but it’s a great start. The blush/contour aren’t quite melding though, ad they look like very separate creatures. One of the best keys to blending, whether on the eyes or the cheeks, is overlapping. It helps to make a gradient of color and really sell the illusion. With the eyeshadow, the colors are pretty but it all runs a touch muddy on the eye, there could be more of a defined blend/gradient, and more contrast in your color choice could add dimension. I like the liner shape, but try setting the shape with a black shadow or something more pigmented to make the black more uniformed. Love the lashes, they’re a great shape, make sure to do some tight-lining and add mascara to blend your real lashes in more (same on bottom). For the lips, I don’t mind the color, but do find it a bit sloppy. Not necessarily the shape, but the lipstick being a fairly satin finish and it being the only product you used, the only dimension there is from the lipstick catching the light, which isn’t the best idea when overdrawing. I would go in more with a lighter color to highlight and a darker one on the edges for more dimension. This is still a very solid effort though, good job girl!

Ophelia Waters

Analyse: Oh, hello, Miss Waters! I'm just going to follow along your step-by-step and jot down any comments I have along the way. Right off the bat, I can see you are IN DETAIL with your descriptions, which I love, because it helps us help you more!           You already commented on it, but try to get as close a shave as possible. The smoother the surface to work on, the easier the application is going to be. Brow coverage and color correction look good and work for you. It looks like maybe a little later you had some brow popping issues (just a little bit), which happens.            A lot of the problems that I'm seeing, you've already addressed yourself with the same solutions I would give you (like the cakey-ness and maybe not pressing as much with the powders. You want her ~beat~ and *set*, but you don't want to dig the powders in so much that more sticks than is necessary. As for the muddiness, you can always go back in with more of whatever you need and clean it up in your "wet" stages before you set it all, and I think that would've helped here.           For the eyes, you said you're using clown white (I assume good ol' Ben Nye). That's already a cream (albeit pretty thick), so I don't think you need to be mixing that to make it more liquid. I know I've mentioned this in a couple other crits as well, but the Kryolan Supracolor clown white is quite a bit creamier, spreads like butter, and blends SO easily. I swear I'm not sponsored. I just love this product (especially compared with the Ben Nye, but like, the BN clown white has it's own merits, so, do with that what you will).            Next time you paint, I'd like to see you try doing your whole foundation/contour/highlight routine first before moving on to eyes. I think it'll just help to have some whole cohesion in the look. There are some queens who don't do any contouring of the cheekbone and just roll around in blush and call it a day, and if that's the look you're going for, I think there are some things you can do to move it in that direction, but I guess I see the cheek highlight and the blush and so I expect you to be going for a cheekbone contour, but then it's not there. That was basically just a long way of saying "make sure your intentions are clear," which is a huge part of what charm school is about, so I'm excited to see the direction your face takes!           I have similar critiques for brows and lips, and it's that they can be a bit cleaner and more defined. I'm a big fan of connect-the-dots brows, but make sure that when you're doing that, it's a smooth defined line. Next time, you might try going in and cleaning that up with a white cream, and for the lips, I would love to see you work on just making sure those lines are super defined.           Overall, I enjoyed this first submission from you! I look forward to seeing which direction your mug takes as you develop and refine your techniques! Letha: Hello Ophelia! So what I first notice is the amount of product you’re using overall. It’s a lot. With makeup, even as much as we wear, you only want to use the MINIMUM amount to get the job done. This is most evident with your foundation. I would suggest dotting a little around the face, blending it in/out and adding more when you need it to get even coverage. It will make the setting process a lot easier too, as you will need less powder to set the wet foundation. The contour/highlight get a bit lost, so I would suggest amping them up next time you practice. I do see the blend though, it’s a good start. I see some blush, but it’s a bit low on the cheek. With the eye makeup, it’s very cartoony/dramatic, which I can get behind, but with that graphic style your lines/shapes need to be clean/graphic, so really take your time with a small detail brush to perfect those edges (and use less white, as too much will cause that cracking effect). Lashes and mascara are a must though, so remember them next time. The eyebrows have a good shape, just be sure to keep the shape crisper (small brush, confident brush strokes). The lips ran into some trouble, as well. I know you mentioned your shaving troubles, so work on that for next time, but also if that does happen, then paint with the grain of the hair so the stubble doesn’t mess up your line. The lips also got a bit cakey, so I would suggest taking some of that product off. Overall, you have an idea of what you want to do, but definitely keep the “less can be more” idea in mind for future paints. Keep it up!

Shillelagh

Analyse: Hey, girl! I'm just going to kind of critique along with your step-by-step, so that'll be how my thought (THOT) process is structured. As a real natural woman who use to have big ol' man brows, I understand your struggle. It's really just a trial and error game, figuring out what works for you. There are a million different techniques you can find on YouTube (and some I listed in Luna's crits). Just make sure you're getting them to lay as flat as possible and then getting powder in there to keep it that way. I've found that it's helpful to kind of go over the whole brow with a little bit of powder first and then you can really dig in with more on top of that and press it in so it's flattttt.            Set your foundation. Get that good Coty Airspun powder (there are a ton of other setting powders out there, too, but Coty is pretty readily available. Like, I get mine at Walgreen's). That will help to make the whole face look more matte and less shiny, it'll set the wet product, and will also help blending 1000%. (Also, back to brows for a hot second, if you're not pressing a powder onto the glue, that could be a HUGE contributor to why the brows are coming up). You've blended in your cream highlight pretty evenly. I would try with adding some highlight to the middle of the forehead. Contouring the forehead can definitely help with rounding it out and making it more feminine.            I know you ran into a problem with your brows popping and that kind of messes with the eye makeup, and so that will improve as you get better at covering your natural brows. Something you might want to try out is a white highlight under the brow you've painted on. It helps to define the new brow and restructure the face. I love a good wing, and I think it's cute with this look. Eyeliner is another thing that just gets better with time and practice.           The lips are a cute color! A single matte shade on the lips can be cute and can definitely be a good look, but I'd love to see you work on adding dimension and definition to the lips (especially since you're such a fierce lipsync artist and the lips are such a focal point of your performances). I understand that you run out of lash glue and stuff like that happens. In the future, it'll be helpful to do a check before you start painting to see if there's anything you might need, because nobody wants to make a 3am Walmart run with an unfinished beat. Congrats on your first submission, and I can't wait to see how you apply this feedback for your test! Letha: Hey girl! SO, overall, you’ve got a good thing going. But it literally all comes down to one problem. SET YOUR FACE. You can’t blend powders, eyeshadows, much of ANYTHING over a wet face, except other creams. Once you set, a lot of things will be easier. Setting brow coverage will make shadows go over them a lot easier, so you shouldn’t have as much disturbed hairs. It makes drawing new brows a LOT easier, since you’re not drawing precise shapes on shifting sands. It makes the cheek contour easier to reinforce with powder (though I do love the cream shape you already did, but that will wipe right off easily). That being said, I really like your liner shape and it works well for you. Get some lashes/glue and thats a good start to an eye! The lip color is really prettyyyyyy, but the shape could be cleaner on the overdraw, and more dimension could be added. So, shopping list- setting powder, highlight powder, contour powder, lash glue, lashes. Add these and you could really be on your way, so keep it up and keep practicing!           

[shakeiron43-blog]

How to Wear the Orange Blush Trend

I'm no blush expert; expertise requires wearing it regularly, and I've applied it to my face a grand total of one time. Thanks to a natural permaflush that's been attached to my face since birth (it's either a sign of good health or mild rosacea), I just haven't felt the need. The closest I ever got to making it a part of my beauty routine was when a former boss, shocked at my revelation, hurled a tiny Korres pot at me and melodramatically screeched, "You'd better wear this tomorrow!" And I did—for one day—before going back to my old, blush-free ways.

But that was until images of orange blush started permeating my feeds, and dare I say it's the first time I actually considered wearing it on my own. At face value, orange blush doesn't sound like something a beginner would dive right into—actually, it doesn't even sound like something people who wear blush on the regular might consider putting on their face. According to Pinterest's 2018 Global Beauty Report, though, blush in all shades of orange is becoming increasingly popular (searches are up 250 percent, based on their data). The fall trend has also been a mainstay on Japan's beauty scene for quite some time now.

After going down a rabbit hole of reference photos, I can definitely see the appeal; the color stands out more than red or pink, yet lends a surprisingly flattering glow to any skin tone.

Ready to confirm my conclusions, I set out to put the trend to the test with a little phone-a-friend help from celebrity makeup artist Ralph Siciliano, who has somehow mastered the ability of making every shade of the rainbow look stunningly wearable. "I just did an orange blush look minutes ago," he informed me when I texted for help. Coincidence? Or it's just that much a thing now? Either way, it was perfect timing.

Eager to dive right in, I kicked things off with the fiery 515 Tangerine HD Cream Blush from Make Up For Ever. While the name sounds subtle, the neon shade is so bright that it almost pulsates in the pan. (For a powder equivalent, I love MAC's Bright Response.)

When I asked Siciliano on advice for choosing the best orange for my skin tone, he kept it simple: "Usually, the first orange I grab is the one I’m drawn to and I just make it work." As my eyes were immediately drawn to the blush that screamed "ORANGE!" the loudest, I too was determined to make it work. I sheered it out on my cheeks using a double-ended brush from the same brand, using the densely packed contour side to pick up the cream formula and smooth it on, then flipping over to the blush brush side to blend everything out.

"Placement really depends on the look I’m going for," Siciliano says. "But for everyday, it's best to just smile and hit the apple of your cheek where you'd naturally blush." I followed his instructions with my best cheesy smile and spent the next 10 minutes admiring the results from multiple angles.

Since the cream formula had worked out so well, I decided to step things up a notch and go for a darker orange in a powder formula. Siciliano told me that the orange he gravitates toward depends on his mood at the moment, as well as the vibe he wants to create. "I often go for matte—Kevyn Aucoin makes a good all-around matte orange blush that works for most skin tones," he says. "But you can use any orange."

Taking the second part of his advice to heart, I erased my Tangerine glow with a makeup wipe and went in with Nars Taj Mahal. If you haven't tried Nars blushes before, know that they're pigmented and proceed with caution. The burnished orange powder, flecked with golden microshimmer, was the most intense of all the shades I tried—intense, but beautiful.

"The trick is to apply it with a superlight hand," Siciliano warned me. "Use very little product and pressure on the brush, and build it from there. As long as it's light, it won't look ridiculous in real life." If you're looking for something that's almost impossible to overdo, he recommends a mineralized formula: "They have less pigment usually, and they give a great dewy effect with less color payoff."

Another option keeping things subtle is to search out shades of orange that "make the cheeks look fresh and sun-kissed." On my complexion, this translated to paler peach tones with a touch of shimmer. I layered one coat of Make Up For Ever Artist Face Color in B306 Mandarin under Charlotte Tilbury Beach Stick in Moon Beach for an orange highlighter-blush hybrid that made me look incredibly dewy.

Having discovered a newfound love of blush (when it's orange), I texted Siciliano a final time to ask what he recommended pairing it with. "If you want to wear it alone, go for it," he replied. "If you want to wear it with a nude lip or a dark lip, go for it. Or go monochromatic and match it with your eyeshadow or lipstick." I ended up wearing all four shades with my usual winged liner, mascara, and brushed-out brows. The one constant that I found really made the color shine was a smooth base. While I usually can't be bothered to wear foundation, a thin layer of Nars Foundation in Vienna acted as the ideal canvas.

I loved every single shade I tried for this experiment, but there's no need to buy four new pans of blush if you'd rather work with what you already have—or want to test-drive the color before fulling committing. Lipsticks and eyeshadows can easily pull double duty; I found that Catrice's $15 Paradise Desert palette contained plenty of options that wore well as both blush and eyeshadow.

I leave you with Siciliano's most helpful piece of advice, which successfully ended my existential crisis over which orange blush to try first: "The only rules are that there are none."

Related Stories:-These Before-and-After Photos Show What a Difference Blush Can Make-This $10 Drugstore Blush Is Hiding an Awesome Secret-Call Me Crazy, but I Can't Stop Wearing Brown Blush

Source: https://www.glamour.com/story/how-to-wear-orange-blush

[snowpixie03]

June BoxyCharm Thoughts

If you haven't seen all the hype on June's Boxycharm, I don't know where you've been hiding but the hype surrounding this box was huge and overall, I have to say I think it lived up to it. I know we are half way through July and my July BoxyCharm should be here tomorrow but I post these not just to talk about whether or not I think the box is worth it but to give my review on the products too. That way, if you are only interested in certain products you can see whether or not I think they are worth a buy. So, here's my breakdown of my June BoxyCharm.

I'm going to start with my least favorite item in the box which was the Battington lashes. Now, don't get me wrong, I think these lashes are beautiful and they are exactly the type of lash I go for when I actually wear but I don't wear lashes very often. I really only wear them on special occasions because I love eyeshadow and my eyes are smaller so putting on lashes tends to take away from the work I put into my eyeshadow. I honestly haven't even worn these yet which is why I consider them my least favorite but I'm not sure I would spend $28 to buy these either even if I did love them.

The other item that I didn't wow me was the Jonteblu Eyeliner Pencil in Gray. It had good pigmentation but it did take a little more pressure than I like to get it to apply. Once it was applied and I got my desired pigmentation it lasted pretty well but it did take a lot of building up so it worked okay but it wasn’t my favorite pencil liner.  Even though this is only $5 there are other affordable eyeliners that I like better than this one so I would not purchase this myself.

Now that the okay but not great items are out of the way, I'm going to get to the awesome stuff.  

When I opened this box I was glad to see another Girlactik Matte Lip Paint because I really liked the formula of this but I didn't love the shade I got the last time this was in a box. This time I got the shade Blossom and OMG is it pretty. It's a pinky red that just screams summer and the formula is very comfortable and long-lasting. I think this may be my favorite Matte lip formula next to OFRA and the Colourpop Ultra Satin Lips. Highly recommend trying these if you are the Matte Lip type. There are $23, however, there are a lot of influencers that have a code for Girlactik so if you are interested in these you can get some $ off.

I also let a tiny squeal of happiness when I saw the 3 Luxie brushes. Of all my the brushes I own, I have to say my Luxie brushes are my favorites. I don't know what type of sorcery they use to make these but I love them. This set has a Precision Foundation Brush, Tapered Highlighting Brush, and a Duo Fiber Powder Brush.  Normally, when I get brush I don't like one of the brushes but I love all three of these. I love how the highlighting brush applies but also blends highlights so that my highlighter doesn't look like a stripe. I like using the Duo Fiber Powder for cheek colors like blush or bronzer and I've been loving the Foundation brush to set my under-eye area and some of the high points on my face. Would I purchase these myself? Hell yeah, I would so obviously, I recommend these brushes.

My second favorite item in the June box was the Sol De Janeiro Brazilian Bum Bum Cream which wasn't a surprise to me because I already knew I loved it. The smell of this is just beautiful because it is just so different and nice. I get so many compliments at work when I have this on and the feeling it gives my skin is awesome. I have gotten so many samples of this from Sephora over the years but I've never bought the full size. It's not that I don't love it, it's that it's $45 and I have a shit ton of Bath and Body Works stuff that I am trying to use up. Will I buy this for myself, at some point, absolutely but as with all fragrances, I always suggest you smell before you buy since smell is something that people's preferences are very different.

Now, last but not least, my favorite item in the June box is the Alamar Reina del Caribe Eyeshadow palette. Alamar Cosmetics is a new indie brand by makeup artist Gabriela "Gaby" Trujillo. Gaby works for BoxyCharm and is also the makeup artist that does Kathleen Lights' makeup for the KL Polish photo shoots. I was actually thinking about buying this palette before I found out that it was going to be in the June BoxyCharm. I love the shades in this palette. I feel like the colors work really well together and the mattes blend and build very well. The biggest reason I love this palette though is the metallic shades. I mean, you can use them wet or dry but I haven't needed to use them wet at all. The metallics are just so pigmented and beautiful on, they just make this palette and I would absolutely spend the $28 to repurchase this palette and I highly recommend checking it out!

Okay, so those were my thoughts on my June BoxyCharm and clearly, I think the hype was warranted. I don't know what I'll be posting next but until then.

Later weirdos,

Snow

[fabulousreviewing-blog]

Top 15 products of 2017!

Hey guys!

Happy new year!! Bringing the new year obviously means to run through my favourite products from the year. I have done this for the past 2 or 3 years and I love doing them. So lets just get into it..

1. Jeffree Star Cosmetics

First on the list is obvious if you follow my YouTube channel. Jeffree Star cosmetics has been a firm favourite with everything including the liquid lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes and skin frosts. The liquid lipstick formula is the best I’ve ever tried because its super light-weight and thin but it dries down so quickly and lasts pretty much all day. Not to mention the shade range because its huge! I love the skin frosts so much because they’re so blinding and pigmented and there is plenty of shades for pale skin which I very much appreciate. The last is the eyeshadow palettes and the Androgyny is one of my all time favourite palettes for numerous reasons. The colours are absolutely stunning and they are crazy pigmented and the blend like a dream. So Jeffree Star Cosmetics has been a firm favourite and I have A LOT of his products!

2. Kat Von D eyeshadows

Next is Kat Von D eyeshadows. The formula on her shadows are just immaculate! They have the perfect amount of pigment and they blend so well. These shadows are the perfect example of the shadows doing the majority of the work for you. Yes, they are high end but they are definitely work it. Her matte shadows are particularly amazing.

3. Maybelline Instant Eraser Eye concealers

Next is my new holy grail concealers. These are the Maybelline Eraser Eye concealers and I have 2, one in the shade Light and the other in Brightener. I know that they’re for the eyes, but I like to use the light one for my spots and redness because it matches my skin pretty much perfectly and I use the brightener one for under my eyes because it conceals my dark circles and brightens the area up. They are very high coverage and a little goes a long way. I love how it blends and I love how it looks on my skin.

4. Freedom Brow Pomade

Next is the Freedom Brow Pomade. Excuse the fact that mine looks nasty but mine dried up a little and I had to make it pigmented again. Anyway, they is so intense and its so easy to create the perfect brow and the sharp edges. They also have such a good shade range and I have the shade Medium Brown and it’s perfect for me. 

5. L’Oreal True Match foundation

This was in last years list and I’m still absolutely obsessed with this foundation. The shade matches me perfectly and it’s more of a dewy finish which is great for my extremely dry skin. The coverage is also good because it’s not too much for the day but you can build it up if you want more coverage which is nice. Not a lot I can say about it other than it’s my ride or die foundation and it’s perfection for me.

6. Makeup Revolution x Soph palette

Next is this absolute beauty! This is the Soph palette from Makeup Revolution and I am absolutely obsessed with this! This is a collab with Sophdoesnails on YouTube (one of my favourite YouTubers) and the shade range is perfection. There’s such a good mix of shimmers and mattes, transition shades and more bright mattes. This palette is Soph to a tee and I think she did amazingly well with this palette. Every time I look at this palette, I get so much inspiration for looks and the formula is really great and I love the formula so much on this!

7. New Look Glow baked highlighter

This highlighter is a firm favourite! This is the New Look Glow baked highlighter and I have the shade Pink Pearls. It’s such a subtle pink shade but it’s so great for pale skin. This is also so smooth and does not have chunky glitter, it’s just a blinding highlight which just blends into the skin perfectly. It also lasts all day and it stays blinding which I appreciate. Just note, a little goes a long way!

8. Benefit Cheek Parade palette

Next is the Benefit Cheek Parade palette. I wanted this for the Hoola bronzers and the Rocateur blush but it turns out I am obsessed with it all. Hoola Lite is such a great bronzer because it’s nice and pale but it’s not too warm and it’s not too cool which I appreciate and it warms up the skin really nice. I also love the original Hoola but I definitely have to use a light hand because it’s very pigmented. I also love all the blushes because they are totally my shade. I surprisingly love Dandelion which I didn’t think I was going to like and had no intention of buying on it’s own but I’m really glad I have it now because it’s so nice and natural. Overall, just a massive hit for me and I know why these are so hyped up.

9. I Heart Makeup Mint Chocolate palette

I gotta keep up the tradition of adding a chocolate bar palette in these roundups. My favourite that they have released this year is definitely the Mint Chocolate. The shades in here are so different and there’s such a good range of shades. I also love the nice range of mattes and shimmer shades and I love creating looks with this beautiful palette.

10. RCMA No Colour powder

I finally managed to track down this powder and I’m glad I finally got it because its so great. I use this for baking under my eyes and to brighten up my face and what I love the most about this is that it does not flash back! I use a lot of flash photography when doing my makeup photos and when I’ve used this to bake, it never shows up on camera or flashes back. It is also so smooth and it blends really well without making my skin look cakey. Plus, it’s pretty cheap for the amount of product you get!

11. Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara

This is my new ride or die mascara. Every mascara I try now always has to compare to this because it’s incredible. It’s a nice mix of volumising and lengthening without looking too clumpy. I like a bit of clump for my mascara and this is the perfect amount. I urge anyone to try this because it really is one of the best mascara’s out there.

12. Kat Von D Tattoo Liner

I had such a love-hate relationship with this when I first tried it but now I am completely obsessed. It has the smallest tip, which is actually brissles instead of a felt tip and it creates such a precise wing and line and it’s so easy to use. It’s also very black and it’s transfer proof which is a massive bonus. I have hooded eyelids and I find that during the day, other liners tend to transfer but this doesn’t and it stays in place all day. Very highly recommend. 

13. I Heart Makeup Blushing Heart triple baked blush

I think this was in last year’s list too. This is the I Heart Makeup Blushing Heart blush and this is actually my second one because my first one smashed and I love it that much that I had to get a new one ASAP. This is just such a nice, natural blush with a hint of shimmer, as it’s a baked blush. I like to mix all the shades together and I get a really nice, rose glow. It’s been my favourite for many years now and I am still obsessed with it.

14. Makeup Revolution Iconic Light and Contour Pro palette

This was also in my list last year and I cannot stop using it. This is the perfect contour palette and the shades are the perfect tone. I can’t believe I still haven’t hit pan because I use it that much. It blends perfectly and, like I said, the tone is perfect for my skin. It’s also not too pigmented but pigmented enough. It’s just so good and I can’t rave about it enough.

15. Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadow palettes

And last but not least are the Anastasia Beverly Hills palettes. I know a lot of people hated on the Subculture and the Prism but the Subculture is actually my favourite out of them all. I just found it worked for me and I love the shades so much. The Modern Rennisance is an amazing palette and the shadows are beautiful and I love the shades in the Prism palette. Just a hit with me.

--

And that’s the list for this year! I hope you enjoyed and please let me know what your favourite products of the year are! Happy new year and thanks for reading! Bye, Joanne xx

[domytriesthis]

October Ipsy Bag Alert plus Sephora In-Store Buys (and a bonus)!

First the bag. I LOVE this month’s bag!  You can't see it in this photo, but the bag has a beautiful "lace" texture on it. In the bag: the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil ($15), It Bye Bye Pores Pressed Powder ($5-10), Studio Makeup Gloss Couleur Intense ($9), Dermelect nail polish in Vernis a ongles ($16), and FAB Ultra Repair Cream ($5), for a value of around $50 without the bag itself. Even with the few things I’ve put in the ProjectBeautyShare.org box, the value is about $36 for a $10 subscription. There are so many people complaining about their bags in a group I’m in, but I’m very happy so far. Granted, second bag, but I’ll happily keep duplicates of stuff I love, and the value is knocking my socks off so far.

Let’s dig into the reviews!

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in Perversion ::  I'm not a pencil girl when it comes to eye liner, but this pencil blew me away. Smooth application without any tugging, creamy, and pigmented. I'm really impressed. This may become my go to liner, especially in this beautiful black.

It Bye Bye Pores Airbrush Silk Pressed Anti-Aging Finishing Powder ::  The powder is light, smooth, and silky. Use a light hand though, or be prepared to tap product off your brush--it picks up that easily. That being said, it didn't minimize/blur my pores (if anything, over my liquid foundation, it made my skin look more textured; I'd have to try it over my powder foundation to see if it does better, but probably won’t since I have my UD De-Slick powder). I'll probably put this in my ProjectBeautyShare.org box.

Studio Makeup Gloss Couleur Intense ::  For a shade that's supposed to be intense, it's not, at least not on me. It might work over another lipstick, but not as a solo color. It's also sticky and not transfer proof, though they claim otherwise for both. Not impressed. Also heading for my PBS box, though they may not take it.

DerMElect Nail Lacquer Polish :: This is my first polish in over 30 years, and this was the perfect color to get back into it. It's light, shimmery, and beautiful. It went on smoothly and dried fairly quickly. My only complaint is that it's a bit too translucent. I would have loved a more opaque color. But other than that, really do like it a lot!

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream :: I’ve only used this once, but that seems to have been enough to improve some stubborn dry spots on my feet and nourish my hands (especially around the cuticles, which always dry out as a result of washing dishes every night). Can’t wait to see how much the areas on my feet that my usual lotion doesn’t seem to do much to improve with long term use.

So, yea, really happy this month. And I love that quote! I may have to find a way to protect that card so I can keep it indefinitely. ;)

Next photo is from a Sephora trip I took with my middle girl. I wanted to get color matched for a winter, liquid foundation (sine skin dries out more then, making a powder foundation less a good option except for extremely oily skin), to check out the Seeing Stars and tarte Blush Bizarre, try to find a single of a color close to the shade Smolder in the UD Naked Smoky palette (will have to take the palette itself in to try to match it—seems Smoky is being taken off the shelves and possibly discontinued?), and to get some help doing wings (mine come out too low; she looked at it and said “You’re starting at the wrong point.” Really, was actually helpful!). It was a useful trip, if a bit shorter than planned because my grandson got uppity. ;)

On to the reviews!

Sephora Collection Seeing Stars Eyeshadow Palette ::  Oh, holy, wow! I don't know why this palette isn't getting more attention, because daaammnnn! Beautifully pigmented, even the nudes show up on my skin (and that's a real challenge when you're my color of brown, trust me). Very little fallout. The colors compliment each other beautifully (didn't realize there was a kitteh on the mirror until I got it home! How cute!) . Really really impressed (especially considering how hit or miss Sephora makeup can be)! These suckers, even the ones I thought would blend in, are SO THERE. In fact, one of them I had to fade a bit because it picked up so much and went on so dark. Gorgeous palette, gorgeous colors, and so VERY happy with my purchase.  Amazing quality and worth every penny.

Urban Decay Afterglow 8-Hour Powder Highlighter in Sin :: This actually came as a birthday present with a shadow single I purchased from UD, but since I used it today, I’m reviewing it.  First the packaging is gorgeous. The powder is smooth and silky, blends well, and is buildable. The champagne color is gorgeous and shimmery and gives my skin a glow that's almost golden. It's beautiful. Will it be my go to for highlight/strobing? Probably not since I have the Nyx Strobe palette that gives me more color options and looks. But it is gorgeous and will be used.

Caudalie Vinoperfect Complexion Correcting Radiance Serum :: This was an in-store birthday gift, and thank goodness for that. The price on this is insane!  Honestly I don't really see the point to serums. That being said, I did notice a nice glow when I used this for the first time. It's light and a little goes a long way (thank goodness because that price!). It absorbs quickly and is light. It did leave a slightly tacky feel to my skin, but it wasn't bad. I can't speak to long term effects atm. All that said, I'm unlikely to purchase at its current price point.

Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Sorbet ::  I was surprised at the texture of this cream: it comes out looking thick but thins out spreads more like a liquid. It's light and a little goes a long way. I don't think my skin quite felt soft, but it was nice and smooth and didn't look or turn oily. It also seemed to help my primer become more effective. I like it and may have to pick up more when it's gone. ;)

Clinique Superbalanced Silk Makeup Broad Spectrum SPF 15 in Sahara ::  I don't particularly like liquid foundations, but with winter coming, I figured it was time to get color matched and try to find a liquid to help keep me from looking too dry. Since I've recently been impressed with Clinique, and I color matched to it at Sephora, I decided to give this a try. It's light and creamy with a light to medium coverage. I applied with a brush but had to smooth it our a bit with a sponge. I also found it went on a bit lighter in color than expected, but it does darken some as it dries down, thought it's still a little light (which will work for later in winter). I don't feel it on my skin (which has been a complaint I've had with liquid foundation in the past) even where I had to layer it for more coverage, and the texture of my skin is smooth. My one complaint is that I had to use more than one layer to cover the worst of my red spots, which is why I don't see it as a medium to full coverage foundation, and that makes me worry it won't work out so well later this winter, and it seems more obvious to me that I'm wearing makeup more so than when using my powder (which may be the color, but does seem to be a bit of a texture thing as well). On the plus side (for me, anyway) the undertone is perfect and is more on the yellow side (so tired of the olive = orange of sooooo many foundations). And some of my issues with it may be because of it being a liquid and me not being used to it. All that said, after using it, I am going to be returning it. I think it’s too light and too liquidy. A cream type might be better for me, if Sephora has one in my skin tone.

Domy tried all these and is generally a very happy camper. Especially with that palette. I mean, seriously so wow.

Waiting on Cult Crushes and Play! bags, plus I have a couple more birthday things to try out and show off. After that, it’ll be catching up on some old hauls, then things should settle down for a bit and be just bag reviews. I’ve spent A LOT this past month, so now we have to settle in and buckle up a bit. I’m fine with that too. Was spoiled for my birthday and am pretty content. There are a few things I would like, but I can wait until they go on sale after the holidays. ;)

[kbbeautyblog]

Fenty Beauty have a line of Shimmer Sticks and today, I am going to be talking about, swatching and showing you face pictures of the Starstruck Shimmer Stick!!!

PHOTO GALLERY!!!

 Click image for full sized view

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Starstruck is a Shimmery Champagne Gold Shade

Starstruck Swatches

FACE PHOTO PRODUCT GALLERY!!!!!

Click image for full-sized view

The Fenty Beauty Shimmer Stick in Starstruck is a luminous highlighter in stick form. The consistency of the highlighter is extremely soft, light, thin and slightly creamy. The texture is so different than any other highlighting stick I have tried, and it feels very dry and has no wetness or stickiness to it.

The finish is described as cream to powder and you can certainly notice this because the consistency is so dry and has no wet or damp feel to it. However, I would class the formula as more of a cream and certainly NOT a powder, but it is an extremely thin and dry cream that doesn’t have the consistency you typically think of when you hear the word creamy in relation to highlighting sticks.

Starstruck has high pigmentation and a high glow/shine intensity , and it is certainly more of a bright, intense highlighter and not a sheer one. The ratio of glitter to pigment is even, meaning there is a perfect mix of colour pay-off to shimmer/glitter pay-off and unlike some of the highlighters in the Fenty range (like Trophy Wife), it doesn’t have crazy levels of glitter that far exceed the pigmentation. It is also a glitter/shimmer that is built into the actual formula, meaning you will obviously not get any visible glitter fall-out (again, this is in contrast to Trophy Wife, which has tones of visible glitter).

You can wear the Starlight shimmer stick pretty much everywhere on the face and body, making it an extremely versatile product. You can obviously apply it to the cheek area as a highlighter, but it also works extremely well on the eye area as an eyeshadow and as a lip topper, aswell as a body highlighter and probably a million other things.

In terms of application, I did notice a few things. Firstly, you need to be in good lighting when you are applying it, and you will see different results in different lighting and mirrors. When I was first using it, I noticed that it wasn’t coming up in the slightly dark, dull lighting I was applying it in. However, when I looked at my face in good, bright lighting, I noticed that I had actually put way too much on, and I had WAY too much product on my face. It was an absolute mess and ever since then I have made sure to apply this under bright lighting.

There are multiple methods and ways you can apply the highlighter. Firstly, you can swipe and/or dab the product directly onto the face, cheek or eye area using the actual stick, which is my preferred method because of how simple and easy it is. This method will not be an option for makeup artists who need to follow proper hygiene practices, and applying stick products directly to the face is considered by some as unhygienic. This is because the top of the product can hold onto things that were on the face from the previous application, but for the general consumer, I do not find a problem with applying it directly using the stick itself. What I do in order to try and keep the top layer of the product nice and relatively clean is to make sure that I swatch it on my hand/arm after I have applied it, which strips off the top layer that has just been directly on the face. Using a makeup wipe or something similar to wipe it over is also an option.

The second way you can apply Starlight is by using a makeup brush like a flat top or buffer brush. Here, you would dip into the stick and coat the brush, and then you would apply it directly to the face/eye area and build it up using the brush. Another option is to apply the product to the fingers, and then dab it wherever you want.

While all methods produce the same/similar results, applying the product straight to the face using the stick is going to give you a more pigmented finish more quickly, whereas you will have to keep going in and building it up using a brush, which will take longer. Using the fingers to apply the product is also a more quick option than using a brush, but ultimately, all methods of application will give you a high colour pay-off, the only thing that varies is the amount of time it takes to build it up.

There are also TWO ways (what I mean by ways is method) , to apply the Starlight highlighting stick -using swipping motions and dabbing/patting motions. When you swipe a product on, you are running it down ,up or across the face in one, slick move. When you dab/pat product on, you are buffing the product into the skin in little jumpy motions. Both of these methods work extremely well with the Starlight shimmer stick, but they do produce slightly different results.

If you swipe the product on the face, you get a extremely pigmented result pretty much straight away. If you dab/pat the product on, you gradually build the pigment up bit by bit. I usually use a combination of these two methods, first swiping things on to build that initial layer up, and then going back in using dabbing motions to add intensity and to blend the product out a bit.

In regards to using a brush/the fingers to further blend the product out on the face, you have two options. You can leave it as it is because when the product applies, it applies pigmented but sheer enough that it already looks blended out. If you want to diffuse the product more into the skin,  you can pick up a buffer brush and work/blend the product in more so it’s not as noticeable. It will just depend on how much colour pay-off you get on application, and sometimes you will get a harsh line and you may need to blend things out a bit more and sometimes you won’t.

The packaging of the shimmer stick’s twisty tubes is absolutely amazing. They feel so so sturdy – the actual packaging and the stick of product both feel extremely strong. You get NO resistance or tugging when you apply it to the face, it just glides onto the skin without fight and feeling like it’s going to break, which is a MASSIVE problem with highlighting sticks as most brands make them so so thin that they are very flimsy and break when faced with just the tiniest bit of resistance. This is how you do any type of cream stick, you make it strong so it doesn’t feel like it will snap, and I give massive props to Fenty for this! In terms of functionality and appearance, the sticks are magnetic so can be connected with other sticks, and they are extremely visually appealing and feature beautiful nude packaging with halographic, reflective writing.

I am extremely happy with the Starlight Shimmer Stick by Fenty Beauty!! It has a beautiful, light, non-messy formula and applies extremely easy to the face. It can be used for so many things, and I love it so much as a highlighter, as an eyeshadow and as a lip topper. It is the perfect tone and shade for me and my pale skin, and while it is certainly pigmented and very opaque, it is such a soft subtle, white/yellow shade that is extremely flattering. The packaging is extremely sturdy and the consistency of the product is not weak, meaning the sticks can handle the resistance you get when you apply it directly to the face.

All in all, I LOVE this shimmer stick by Fenty Beauty and am keen to try more shades in the Shimmer Stick range!!

[supsystic-tables id=102]

What do you think of the Fenty Beauty Shimmer Stick in Starstruck?? Let me know in the comments below babes!!!

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Huda Beauty Desert Dusk Palette Eyeshadow Looks!! x 14 different looks

Kylie Lip Kit’s- Matte Liquid Lipsticks + Lip Liners- Review + Swatches (x23 Shades)

My Beauty/Makeup Favourites September 2017

Fenty Beauty Killawatt Highlighter in Trophy Wife Review + Swatches

Beauty News End of September/Start of October 2017

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Fenty Beauty Match Stix Shimmer Skinstick in Starstruck Review, Swatches + Face Pictures Fenty Beauty have a line of Shimmer Sticks and today, I am going to be talking about, swatching and showing you face pictures of the…

[lemoncakesandlipsticks]

Bang For Your Buck or Shiz Outta Luck? No.2

It’s September. Where did the time go? This year has not been the kindest. Firstly, it’s nearly gone. I’ve not worked much so any makeup I have is given to me out of the kindness of family and my wonderful partner. I believe in being honest. The beauty community doesn’t understand when someone isn’t earning enough to buy every single product as soon as it comes out so if I am behind, I am behind.

(Isn’t this photo slightly hilarious?)

Forgive the funny photo, this was for Instagram and also had the most amount of likes I have received on a blog picture - that a small blogger that is totally unknown (like me) will have - ever.

As I was saying, it is September. The leaves are changing, soon the air will smell like crisp dried leaves and have a minor burnt tang that engulfs your nostrils when walking around at 1 am. I love it.

With Autumn will come a rather different colour spectrum. Oranges, reds, browns, taupe and purples. Expect a list of great Autumn lip colours to wrap around a Pumpkin Spice Latte soon.

The Bangs: 

Illamasqua Epic Beyond Powder

Photo: BeautyBay

This is the perfect highlighter if you want something that you can build to your desired level.��‘Isn’t that what every highlighter is about?’ Well yes, it is but we also know what it’s like to have a strip of glittery gold colour across your cheekbones that, unfortunately, is severely noticeable in natural light even though you only swiped your brush across the highlighter a few times. This is made even worse when the highlighter hasn’t blended very well with your foundation. Never think that Illamasqua Beyond Powders aren’t making an impact. It’s quietly confident, powerful when applied correctly and entirely attracted to light.

£34 from Beauty Bay

Morphe Liquid Lipsticks

Photo: BeautyBay

I actually expected less from these because the creation of lip products by companies who mostly make eyeshadows can be risque. These are actually lightweight but have a good feel and staying power. We need to be honest though. When we eat whilst wearing liquid lipsticks, there is the possibility of the food ring of death. I call it something else but I digress. Applying the second coat of liquid lipstick after eating or drinking can create a nasty, tacky feeling on the lips, can cause the lipstick to crumble or become patchy. This doesn’t happen with these. The colours to choose from are great too. Bonus - they’re only £9 from BeautyBay.

Illamasqua Lip Lure

Photo: Illamasqua

Whilst these lip lures do not contain the biggest amount of product for the £20 price tag, you can enjoy the fact that they sit like a happy thick gloss that doesn’t move easily with life and is extremely pigmented. The colours range from coral oranges to deep teal and it’s heavenly.

BH Cosmetics Brush 12 Blending Brush

Photo: BeautyBay

I have Spectrum Collections brushes, Morphe brushes, Body Shop and a few others but this is one of my favourite brushes for a mere £3! It blends well, sweeping the colour across my eyes with ease. It even makes me feel like I actually can be as good at the art of makeup as those Instagram favourites we see over and over again.

Dior Addict Lip Tattoo

Photo: Dior

Dior Addict Lip Tattoos are the cream of the lip stain crop. They have this peppermint scent and a slightly sweet taste and when you apply them, it’s more liquidy than you would think but honestly, their staying power is amazing. And boy does it stain your lips! But it’s in a nice way. I have 761 Natural Cherry and 771 Natural Berry and they’re wonderful. Natural Berry is slightly different in texture to Natural Cherry and needs a few more coats but it’s still a full 9/10. For £25, I want them all.  

The Estee Edit Flash Illuminator

Photo: Sephora

You guys, I HAVE to apologise. In the time it took for me write this, Estee Lauder stopped selling Estee Edit. Is that not a shame? It was a great daughter range that worked on its mother’s charms and pigmented ethic. Apparently, Estee Lauder is bringing the Edits back as part of the main Lauder range but it’s still sad that we have to wait. 

The Illuminator catches the light and when blended with your foundation and then applied to the face, you get such a youthful glow that it’s almost like you’re gleaming but elegantly. Not the kind of sweaty gleam you get after running a marathon.

Chanel Gabrielle Eau De Parfum

If someone had told me that I would be invited to a VIP Chanel event that would end with me making my own bouquet of flowers that included bunches of Tuberose, Jasmine and Peonies, I would have laughed in their face. And yet it happened. And it was a beautiful evening because it ended with everyone receiving a bottle of Gabrielle in 100ml Eau De Parfum.

The little scent sticks above name the scents and notes one can expect in the perfume and they’re so wonderful. It’s so light but fragrant. Floral enough to remind you of Spring but it will carry through the whole year. Remember the heady smoky notes of Autumnal and Wintery nights I mentioned above? Well, this light perfume will take you through to the evening. It is £79 for 50ml and £112 for 100ml.

Jaclyn Hill X Morphe Brushes Palette

Photo: Morphe Brushes

I spoke too soon. I really did because I rubbished this palette and didn’t want anything to do with it. I’m not a fan of blogger collaborations. I’m loathed to pay for products that are made by a blogger who hasn’t got an understanding of the scientific insight into the making of products. Anyone can pick a colour but someone with know how will know what works best.  

This palette is pigmented, blends well and I am so happy to say that all the colours work well on my skin tone. It’s $38 and I imagine it would be the same in GBP. But I had mine shipped from California and I have a stonking £18 FedEx bill that I did not know about and can’t afford. So...yeah, wait for it to arrive at BeautyBay.

Juvia’s Place Magic Palette

I love this picture. Even if I take the most amazing pictures, BeautyBay never picks them. But I don’t mind that much. Overlined lips for the win. Juvia’s Place is the black owned brand that I have been waiting for. Each shadow is so pigmented that I am tired of saying that every time I use it but it’s true. It really is. 

Imagine being a woman of colour who would sweep an eyeshadow over her lids just to watch it disappear. But with these colours, that’s not a problem because to put it simply - it doesn’t. It blends so beautifully and the shimmers really stand up and out. It’s slightly cheeky I might add that BeautyBay increased the price by £2 to £30 but seeing as EU/UK customers don’t have to pay customs fees, it’s one of those pluses. But it still feels cheeky.

Sugar Pill Pretty Poison lipstick

Shiver and Anti-Socialite along with U4EA were the three colours I picked from the BeautyBay sale. £11 down from £15, I find that these matte lipsticks are mega matte but with the drag of Ruby Woo. When I say drag, they kinda take your lips with them when you put them on but they are extremely opaque and the orange scent more than make up for that. I created a lip look with these which I paired with Kat Von D shades and it was a great winner on Instagram. For my first Sugarpill purchase, I’m very happy. Next, a Pro Palette filled with a rainbow of wonder.

L.A. Girl Pro Conceal

Toffee. Most of the names for shades and tones for women of colour are named after food. I prefer numbers. Anyway, toffee is the best shade for me and I didn’t know what to do with it at first. It’s quite thick which I found difficult to work with because who wants to spend ten minutes blending concealer. I’m not a fan of spending ten minutes blending anything that isn’t my eyeshadow. But once I got the hang of it, I did realise that it takes a damp, possibly even wet blending sponge, to really work it in and it’s perfectly fine.

It does go into my laughter lines a bit but I’m not ashamed of my laughter lines. In my darkest times of depression, anxiety and self-loathing, my family gave me the belly laughs that created these laughter lines and they’re a reminder of that. Just set it with translucent powder if you are very worried. Pro Conceal is £5 on BeautyBay.

Shiz Outta Luck:

Illamasqua purchases

Is it fair to put the fact that I received these products in this form so I can’t really comment on how they work? Is it fair that I never got a refund for the lipsticks so my partner is down £30 quid? It’s not fair to judge the products on these facts? Well so is not being able to use the products that were bought for me. To put it plainly, it’s not like I hate their products. You see the Lip Lure and highlighter feature above but it’s a shame that Harriet never got a refund when I sent the lipsticks back to their warehouse. For this, she was shiz outta luck.

-

I’m happy to say that this is the only time I was shiz outta luck this month. But hopefully next month, there won’t be any bad products.

Until next time,

Verity 

[hausofskuh-blog]

IIID Foundation Review

A few weeks ago, I received the HAC pack from Maskcara. For those of you that are wondering what the heck HAC stands for and who this Maskcara person is, let me give you the lowdown.  Her name is Cara Brook, and she is the mastermind behind the blog and the beauty.  I've also heard rumors that she's the OG of highlighting and contouring (aka, HAC!). Within the past couple years, she's created her own makeup line, starting with the IIID foundation.  By the time I heard about it, she had custom HAC palettes available, and I knew I needed to jump on that train real fast. The palette consists of a cream contour, highlighter, blush, and illuminator shade. Since it was in the middle of summer when I received my palette, I wasn't too eager to try it with the heat.  I have large pores and combination skin, so the thought of putting cream product all over my face was less than appealing.  However, now that it's not quite so hot (honestly, it's still hot, who am I kidding...), I've decided to try it.  Here is my review below, as well as information about the other products I used for the look I created with it!

    My initial thought upon opening this product was that I loved the packaging.  It's sturdy, and the compact mirror is a fair size.  All of the products are initially separate, though. This meant I had to slide the tops off of the tins and place them in the magnetic bottom of the compact.  This is a great feature, but now I also have little tin tops and no idea what to do with them...The colors that I chose for my compact are Moonlight (highlight), Walnut (contour), Dahlia (blush), and Pearl (illuminator). I'd like to take a second here to point out the differences in the language used.  To many, highlight means to apply a shimmery powder on the tops of cheekbones, brow bones, cupid's bow, and inner eye corners.  It emphasizes where the light hits our faces, and makes it pop.  For the Maskcara HAC pack, however, this is different.  The highlight shade in this palette is Moonlight, and it is meant to brighten up and sharpen the contrast to the face when combined with the contour.  The illuminator (Pearl) will create the light pop.  Cara's foundation is unique in that there are only a limited number of shades, and they can be used on multiple skin tones.  In other words, one shade will work for many, you just have to choose the one closest to your skin tone.  Her foundation is meant to be an all-in-one tool to enhance the face, while giving it the perfect glow.  I was eager to try it, especially now, because I have recently returned from vacation and I have a nice glow going on.  Unfortunately, pale people like me don't hold on to real tans forever (hooray for fake tanner!), so I knew I needed to combine this review with the bronze glow look I had been thinking up. 

  When I tested this product on my skin, I noted that the cream was pretty thick.  It seemed to have a nice consistency, but it's meant to be full coverage if you need it.  I struggle with this slightly, only because I like the cream, but it's not an exact match to my skin tone.  If I needed full coverage, I feel like it would look weird if applied too heavily.  Anyway, this is how I did my makeup: I primed my face with E.L.F.'s mineral primer (clear bottle), and took a regular foundation brush to apply the highlight portion on my face first.  Then, I took a cream contour brush, and applied Walnut.  I used my It Cosmetics foundation brush (which I love!), and began to blend out the cream highlight.  It does blend easily, but it sort of clung to a small, dry patch on my head, and settled slightly on the pores in the middle of my forehead. They may be the size of Texas, but I used primer, people!!! I also used my Beauty Blender, but made sure to add a few drops of facial oil first. The brush is more heavy duty and easier to blend with, while the sponge needed a little help with the thick cream.  Speaking of thickness, I found that it was not super easy to dip my beauty blender back into the cream highlight to get a little more.  I was also worried that my designer eye bags (they're Louis, for those of you that are wondering) would be extremely visible, but as you can see down below, they aren't too bad!  Hooray for good coverage!

  Blending the contour was simple, and definitely made my face look like I had shadows in all the right places.  And once it was all blended and baked with powder, it felt surprisingly light!  The rest of my routine was normal, and now that I've had the makeup sitting on my face for a few hours, it doesn't feel cakey or heavy at all. While I'm still not so sure about really slathering this stuff all over my face, I'm diggin' it so far.  I didn't actually use the blush or illuminator this time because it's still summer, and I wanted to use powder products for the rest of the look.  HAC palettes run for about $50, but I'd definitely recommend it to those who are looking for a solid cream palette.  It's also cruelty free, and good for your skin!  That's my full review of the product, now let's move on to the rest of the look!

  Face: For the rest of my face, I used more powder products.  I baked almost all of my face with Coty Airspun powder.  This stuff 10/10 smells like an old lady, but it definitely doesn't make you look like one! And no shame to any old ladies out there, you're still fabulous, it was a joke.  For about $8, you get a huge amount of product, too!  I felt like my nose still needed a little extra coverage, so I used my Bare Minerals powder foundation for my T-zone area. Then, I bronzed my face with my Physician's Formula Cashmere bronzer.  This is one of my favorites, because it has a few shades, including a gorgeous gold color. I like to swirl them all up and buff them into my cheeks, jawline, and forehead for a good glow.  It also helps to play into my contour without making it too stark or harsh.  I recently bought a Wet N' Wild Color Icon bronzer in the shade "Reserve Your Cabana" and let me just tell you, if you don't have it, you NEED it.  It's a pale, shimmery sand color, so it works really well for people with lighter complexions.  I even baked my eyes with it the other day, and holy glow!  I looked like I had the light of Angel Gabriel shining on me the whole day.  I applied this powder over the HAC highlight shade for an added oomph.  

Eyebrows: I used a brow pencil by Matrix, my ABH brow pencil, and my brow powder from Milani.  I don't like having super dark brows, which makes it sort of hard to fill them fully, but I don't mind if they look a lil furry. Makes me feel kinda wild and rebellious...

Lips: I used an Inglott Cosmetics liner, topped it with "Kandy K" from Kylie Cosmetics, and then layered a Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in "Sunset Peach" on top.

Eyes:  As a base, I started off with my E.L.F. Smudge Pot in "Cruisin' Chic", then buffed a copper color from my Victoria's Secret palette "Mirage" into my crease as a transition shade.  Using that same palette, I blended the warm gold color into my inner corners, and blended the rose gold shade into the center of my lid.  There is a dark brown shade in the palette too, so I smudged that into my lower lash line, and drew it upwards into my crease.  I used a large, fluffy eyeshadow brush to blend out any harsh lines.  Then I lined the outer section of my eyes with my Bare Minerals eyeliner in "Forever Brandy" and applied my Physician's Formula Organic Wear mascara.  Using a single pan shadow from Covergirl in the shade, "Emerald" I buffed that into my lower lash line.

In order to capture the glow, I took multiple photos with different lighting and angles.   This way, you can really see how the IIID foundation functions in different lighting (and how cute my bb bun is).  This look made me feel like a tanned goddess, and is still inspiring me to hang on to summer for as long as possible!