Convention Prep: Geeking Out about My Top 5 Makeup Must-Haves

White Queen from Alice in Wonderland

One of the things I love to do is play with makeup, and I don’t get the opportunity to geek out about it very much–so I thought I’d do it here. My recommendations are meant to be for anyone, regardless of gender, age, etc. who’s interested. To that end, I did double-check to make sure my must-haves were available in multiple skin tones, and comments are open if you want to leave specific suggestions.

Before I get to my must-haves, I wanted to mention that one of the most important things you can do is figure out your skin type. There’s a lot of advice out there that talks about what layers you need (primer, lotion, etc.) to put on your face before applying makeup, but often what you use (or how many layers you apply) depends upon your skin’s composition. For example, tons of people put on CC or BB cream; using that as a base tends to make your face slick because it has sunscreen. If your skin is naturally oily, then it will probably feel even slicker if you layer lotions, etc. beneath that. If you’re not sure what type of skin you have, it’s worth visiting a consultant at a department store or a specialty shop like Sephora or Ulta to help you get a baseline.

1. Urban Decay De-Slick Powder

I love this powder. The Urban Decay De-Slick Powder is an odorless, colorless powder that can be worn by itself or with makeup. It is designed to control shine, and it works like a charm to offset humidity, sweat, etc. perfect for long days or summer cons. Urban Decay is sold direct through their website, or you can find the line at Sephora and Ulta.

2. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

If you have issues with slick eyelids as the day goes on, this potion is magical. There are three different types that can be worn under eyeshadow or by themselves. By far, the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer has been one of the best ways to give a little coverage and prevent greasy eyelids. If that’s a concern, you can pick up the Urban Decay Lockdown Duo to help set your makeup, or you can use blotting papers instead.

3. Moodstruck Minerals Stiff Upper Lip Stain

Younique has some interesting products to try, and I’ve had good luck with their Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes and the Moodstruck Minerals Stiff Upper Lip Stain. The stain goes on like a lip gloss, but it dries out, coloring your lips for hours. I usually pair the stain with regular chapstick or clear gloss; the benefit of doing this is fantastic. I don’t have to look in the mirror to apply the gloss, and the color stays on all day. The only tip I have is that you use a lip exfoliator, like this amazing Mary Kay Satin Lips set, to make sure your skin is smooth before staining them.

4. Perfekt Undereye Concealer

Dark circles, red eyes, and puffy under eye skin are definitely a hazard if you stay up late at night. I often bring Visine with me to help with the redness, and for puffy eyes, I use Alba Botanica Green Tea Gel or All About Eyes Serum De-Puffer by Clinique. (There’s a lovely article about various methods to de-puff eyes here, if you’re interested.) For undereye concealer, I use Perfekt Skin Perfection Concealer. When applying, you only need a little bit. Its lighter-than-air, so it doesn’t cake, and if you use it in a criss-cross pattern beneath the eye stretching to the top of the cheekbone it’ll blend well.

5. Maybelline The Blushed Nudes Palette

I really enjoy playing around with eyeshadow palettes, and some like the kits from Stila, are better than others. I’ve been very surprised by the quality of Maybelline’s sets, and have been really happy with the quality. At cons, I like a variety of shades and small compacts travel well. Maybelline’s The Blushed Nudes are a great buy for the money, and the metallics aren’t grainy. There’s a ton of other Maybelline eyeshadow palettes that I haven’t tried yet, too. The nice thing is that Maybelline is available in drug stores and in specialty makeup stores, plus they’re hella affordable and portable.

Hope you enjoyed this post! I had a lot of fun writing it and geeking out about makeup.

    Mood: Naptime?
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Quite a bit.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Laundry, laundry, laundry
    In My Ears: Space heater
    Game Last Played: Final Fantasy X-2: The Last Mission
    Book Last Read: Black Unicorn
    Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Legend of the Seeker
    Latest Artistic Project: Make Art Not War 2017 Challenge and Rules
    Latest Releases: In Volo’s Wake for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Read my end-of-the-year list of releases for an overview of what I’ve put out for 2016.
    Current State of Projects: Read my latest project update. New project update coming this month!



7 Photos from Mah Phone for This Week’s Squees

Fire She-Ra Avatar

This week’s squees are dedicated to my phone. Because when Twitpic dies, you better believe I’m going to upload phone pictures to my compy.

This earring is brought to you courtesy of an Unkamen Supplies kit. The spider chainmaille eearings are part of my Halloween costume.

2014-10-20 11.59.32

THOR FLASK! THOR! (Part of my anniversary present. And yes, that is a skull cookie jar. Because skulls.)

2014-10-13 14.41.12

Because onesie design contests are fun when it’s for friends. Also: fabric crayons are teh suck. TEH SUCK! (But Star Wars is cool.)

2014-07-20 15.00.25

This is Rimmon, my black cat. I don’t know if you know this, but black cats are the least adopted because of their color. Often, there are no adoptions allowed of black cats either during the month of October. NOT COOL! BUT I LOVE RIMMON!

2013-09-20 08.04.09

The coolest effing thing I’ve ever seen at a comic book convention. A fantastic Munny. (My bad on losing said business card for fabulous artist.)

2014-04-27 15.31.55

My last Pandemic game. (GREAT GAME, by the way!)

2014-03-14 21.28.32

OSCAR WILDE WAS SAVED! We rescued Oscar this summer, and he was adopted! Huzzah!

2014-05-21 20.36.10

52/365 through 59/365

    Mood: Stress? WHAT STRESS?!?!
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: I had a lot.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Yoga
    In My Ears: On the phone. What? I can do two different things at once.
    Game Last Played: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
    Book Last Read: Work-related.
    Movie Last Viewed: Little Witches WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?!?!
    Latest Artistic Project: An origami bookmark. FAILED! FAILED!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing.
    Latest Game Release: Things Don’t Go Smooth
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work, original comics, and novels.


S-S-S-S-S-uper Macro! At Olbrich.

Took a break yesterday and went to Olbrich Gardens to see the flowers before they dried up in the heat of summer. Discovered we have a pottery workshop not to far from the house. MORE MESSES! Um… Anyway, here are some pics. (Notice I have a crush on the super macro setting on my camera.) Was lovely to see greenery before the storms today. See also: cleaning my office suxx0rs.

Confetti Flowers

I am a leaf on the wind

Photobombness

Gold Leaf Detail Redux

Squirtle the Turtle or Fred If You Like

Origami Orange

Halloween Pumpkins and (Of Course) Cats!

Here’s some pictures of our Halloween festivities. Our cats are both rescues; Rimmon is a black kitty and Zakar (We call him Zak Zak for short or whiner-butt) is a polydactal manx. No tail and ginormous paws. Statistically, black cats are the most commonly ignored, abandoned, and abused. The current superstition that black cats are evil is a mixture of Hollywood symbolism, American advertising, misplaced superstition and biology. Some cats developed their “cry” to mimic the sound of a human child, which is part of where they got their reputation for being a witch’s familiar back in the day. (Just recently in the UK, they launched a Black Cat Awareness Day to highlight the issue that so many need a home.)

Anyway, sorry I got off on a tangent there. Think it’s crazy that people don’t like an animal (and sometimes people) purely based on its coloring. Our cats definitely have their own personalities! By the way, can you tell the vampire bat was mine?





        Happy Halloween Eve!

        [Photo] The Duck of Doom Emerges

        Duck of DoomFor those of you who follow Steve Jackson Games, you may recall a certain Munchkin card called the “Duck of Doom” drawn by John Kovalic. This is a silly version of me pictured with a prototype of the duck emerging from a tentacle dice bag at ACD Games Day. (Yep, you heard me. Tentacle dice bag. And that slippery sucker can hold a lot of dice.)

        FlamesRising.com offered a sneak peek of Steve Jackson Games Fall 2011 debuts including the zombie chibithulhu. (Of which I shall be acquiring one. Got the Halloween version at GenCon!) John just nailed down the rest of the art specs for Munchkin Conan. The set’s going to be really cool.

        Anyway, thought I’d share a pic of me being silly. ‘Cause sometimes? Silly is good. Oh, I picked up the earrings from Tasty Peach Studios after E Sophia alerted me to the cuteness. It appears I’m collecting skulls now. Hmmm…

        😀

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