Madd Style Cosmetics: Maleficent Inspired

This month I put forward the idea that the Madd Style Cosmetics Models do Disney themed looks! Of course, the Models hopped on board! The reason I wanted to do this theme is because I'm in the process of watching all of the Disney movies in chronological order and recently watched Sleeping Beauty (my most favorite Disney movie). Maleficent's makeup was just too good NOT to inspire a Madd Style Cosmetics tutorial!

In case you aren't familiar with Maleficent, in all of her evil glory, here is a picture:

(Isn't she great?!)

Her cut-crease look with purple in the crease was the direction that I wanted to head. But I wanted to make it a bit more special by pulling in some green--which appears in the movie when Maleficent uses a green fiery magic ball to lure the Princess Aurora up the secret stairs (and then to prick her finger, etc.). :)

Here are the supplies I used:

(Left to Right, top to bottom: MTCoffinz "Under the Rainbow" eye primer; NYX Eyeshadow Base in "White"; Barry M Intense Black Mascara 3 in 1; Madd Style Cosmetics Pigments (clockwise from the top left green): Ecto Cooler, Bitch Slap, Tweaker, Birfday Suit, Glitter and Doom, and Snot Face; Inglot Gel Liner in "77"; Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Pencils in "Yeyo" (White) and "Zero" (Black); Paddle-style Eyeshadow Brush; Pointed Crease Brush; Pencil Brush; Slanted Brush; Angled Eyeliner Brush.)

To begin...start with a clean eye (on the left)! Then apply your primer and base (pictured on the right). (I explain in detail how to do the priming and base step here.)


To finish getting your eye ready for colour, take a white eyeliner pencil (I use Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on pencil in "Yeyo") and line your your lash line from the duct, all the way to the outer corner of your eye.



Grabbing a paddle-style eyeshadow brush, dip it into Ecto Cooler (a shimmery intense lime, as described by MSC). After you have the pigment on your brush, push it into the bristles by pressing the brush into the inside of the lid. This will help to distribute the colour evenly and will help you prevent fall-out (or as EnKore (from youtube says): "fall-offs"). Then, pat this colour (pat, don't swipe! Patting will help to make the colour intense and will prevent fall-out) over your entire lid.

Next, using the same brush, dip it into Snot Face (an electric yellow-toned green with lots of primary green and silver glitter). Snot Face is part of MSC's fabulous Drop Dead Fred inspired collection (which you can purchase here)--but if you don't have it, you could substitute with MSC's Acid Bath (a sheer chartreuse with an obscene amount of aqua glitter). Doing the same technique where you press the colour into to bristles of your brush (using the inside of the lid), pat this colour into the center of the lid only.


Then, using that paddle-brush, gently pat the Ecto Cooler toward the Snot Face (and vice versa) until you achieve a blended look like this:


Now you're ready to add some purple!! Switching your brush to a pointed crease brush, dip it into Bitch Slap (a primary purple with a bitchin' amount of green glitter). Distribute the pigment into your brush by swirling the brush in the inside of the lid. Then, place the brush at the outer corner of your eye.


Carefully move the brush from the outer part of your eyelid, up into the crease, and then down towards the duct area. You can see in the picture on the left that my brush is pressed right up against my ocular bone (I think it's called the ocular bone...)--I traced that shape with the purple and try not to get the purple too high up toward the eyebrow area.


Then, taking a bit more Bitch Slap on your brush pat it on the outer corner of your eye over a bit of the Ecto Cooler. This will help for some blending/colour variant that is coming up next!


Changing to a pencil brush, dip it into Glitter and Doom (a deep and mysterious purple with rainbow shimmer and copious amounts of green glitter). Make sure to swirl it around in the lid of your jar to get the colour nice and packed into the bristles. Then, starting at the outside corner of your eye, put this colour into the "deepest" part of your crease (or where the green and purple are meeting). This will create added depth to the overall look.


Then, while you have your pencil brush out--do your lower lash line. Dipping back into the colours in reverse order (Glitter and Doom, then Bitch Slap, and then Snot Face), press these colours into the white liner you had put on earlier. I put the Glitter and Doom all the way to the outside of my iris--I put Bitch Slap under my entire iris, and then put Snot Face in the inner most part of my lower lash line. Blend these colours together ever so slightly by patting between one colour into the next colour (so Bitch Slap into Glitter and Doom, and Snot Face into Bitch Slap).


For a duct highlight I used Tweaker (an awesome white with green shimmer)--but sadly Tweaker is discontinued. Fear not--you can use any MSC white for this purpose! With that same pencil brush I patted Tweaker on to the duct area. I also blended it up slightly into the Snot Face on the inside of the lid.


For a brow highlight, as always, I used my trusty Birfday Suit (a light matte brown) and applied it with my favorite slanted brush right underneath my eyebrow. I also used this brush to blend out the Bitch Slap just a bit. The brush is so wide that it does that on its own.


So far you'll have something like this:


All that's left is mascara and eyeliner (if you so choose)! I did a winged liner (with my new magical product: Inglot's Gel liner in "77"--which I applied with a very thin angled liner brush) and because of this (and because any Maleficent inspired look wouldn't be complete without a bit of black), I lined my waterline with Urban Decay's 24/7 Glide-on pencil in Zero to really pull the whole look together. And there you have it!!


I hope you all enjoyed this tutorial!! As always, please let me know if you have any questions or would like something explained in more depth. And as usual--if you haven't checked out Madd Style Cosmetics, you should--because they're awesome (and vegan!!!).

Fun fact about me: In two weeks I'm going to be visiting Florida for the first time!! We're going to Disneyworld and I'm soooooooooooo excited. I have been to Disneyland once, but I have it in my head that the "world" must be so much more grand than the "land"! If *you* have been to Disneyworld, I'd love to hear a story about your favorite part!!! :)

MTCoffinz: Second Package Review

After my first wonderful experience with MTCoffinz I knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before I had to put in my second order! That time has came and went! Oh, has it ever! A few weeks ago a 20% sale was announced, I think it was for the 4th of July (U.S. holidays don't really stick in my mind--makeup sales, however, those stick like crazy glue!!). I decided I had to pick up a few more of their colours--especially the brighter ones as my first order only had the white (Gossip), black (Nocturne) and two of the darkest colours (Fallen and Veruca). I had intended to purchase four colours, but then I couldn't decide between Wormwood and Nemesis. The easiest decision to make: just to buy BOTH OF THEM. And I'm happy that I did, as you will see!!

The MTCoffinz colours I have so far are all vegan (of course), hypoallergenic, paraben-free, fragrance-free and gluten-free--as is explained on the MTCoffinz website. It's always good to have more awesome vegan cosmetics options around, if I do say so myself. :)

My package arrived promptly (seriously, MTCoffinz shipping astounds me!) and was very well (and securely) packaged. The little "Thank you" note was awesome and piiiiiink! I also really appreciated that this box fits in my mailbox--yay for tiny boxes! It meant I didn't have to go to the post office to get it! Win!

(All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

I ordered five colours. Clockwise from the pink (on the left): Charisma (described as a rosy pink with purple toned pearl and hot pink shimmer), Wormwood (a teal with grassy green undertones and holographic shimmer), Bad Influence (a soft lilac with pink and purple pearl and bright purple shimmer), Afterburner (a reddish coral with red and orange shimmer) and Nemesis (a soft turquoise with green and hologram shimmers). I really love the packaging of these. Again, I forgot to take a picture of the little brush that is hidden within the bottom of the snap-closure type...jar? I actually have no idea how to describe these things! Anyways, there is a hidden little sponge brush within each shadow. I'm sure it would come in really handy for on the go touch ups!


Here's a picture with the lids flipped open.


And one with flash (because it helps to show the sparkle and shimmery factor!)!

(Here you can really see how Bad Influence (the purple) has that pink sheen to it. And if Charisma (the bottom pink) had been in better focus you'd be able to see the neat purple/blue-ish shimmer that it has.)

And here they are on my fingers! The texture of these is really really nice. They're silky, smooth, evenly pigmented. Just gorgeous.

Here they are swatched on my arm (over the MTCoffinz "Under the Rainbow" eye primer). Aren't they just so pretty?!! Bad Influence, again, with it's amazing pink sheen. Wormwood is such an intense great greenish teal!!


Since Charisma and Bad Influence impressed me the most when I first received my package, they were the first two I put together in a look. I applied Gossip (MTCoffinz's white) in the duct and then applied Charisma all over the lid and on the first half of my lower lash line. Then I applied Bad Influence on the outer eyelid and into the crease.


The day (or so) after receiving my package I decided to play with all of the other colours (except for Afterburner, I still haven't thought up an awesome plan with that--I'll probably have it play with Charisma. I think any colour could play nice with Charisma!).

Here is a look I did with Gossip in the duct, Nemesis on the lid, Bad Influence on the lower lash line, and Nocturne (MTCoffinz's black) as a dry winged liner. I was really happy with how Nocturne applied dry! It's a soft version of liner, but I think it's quite pretty. If I used it wet (or with a wet brush, rather), it'd have been much stronger of a black.


In similar style I did a look with Gossip in the duct, Wormwood on the lid, Charisma on the lower lash line, and Nocturne as the liner.


Hopefully these pictures demonstrate even a tenth of the awesomeness that is MTCoffinz pressed shadows. A few new colours are going to be released soon, but I know that of the current colours, I will neeeeeed to get Calamity next! Check out their facebook where Jinx (the mastermind behind MTCoffinz) usually posts sneak peeks of new colours and all of that jazz!! There is also a colour of the week that is offered for 20% off--so you can slowly build up your collection of these pretty spectacular colours--and if you "like" them on FB, you'll be able to keep track of which colours are on special that week!

If you have any questions or want to see particular colours in action with different colours, let me know! I'd be more than happy to play around. :)

Madd Style Cosmetics: Turning Pigments into Liquid Liner + A Tutorial on Winged Liner

Hi Everyone! Here is something a little different--me--moving and talking and stuff! Heh! As I say at the very start, I've had many people ask me about how I do my liner. This video will explain it! (Or at least it mostly explains it?) As always, I'm using Madd Style Cosmetics pigments and if you want to check them out (which you should, if you haven't), go here (to their new Artfire page!).

A couple of things I forgot to mention:

1) Don't mind the loud chopping noises--my spouse was making dinner!

2) The reason why water doesn't work quite as well as an actual liner maker is that the water will sometimes (when dried) cause your liner to flake off. That isn't cute, trust me. Using a medium like Make Up Forever's Eye Seal will turn your pigment into a smooth liquid and when it dries, it's pretty much waterproof! Win!

3) After you're finished with your liner, wipe out your lid with a kleenex!

4) If you have any questions that I didn't really address, let me know and I'll edit more numbers on to this list!

I do hope you found this video useful!

Thing you didn't know about me:

Orange juice is my most favorite of all of the juices! I can literally drink it by the liter! :) I don't like orange flavoured things though--it needs to be PURE orange or I'll pretty much reject it.

PS: I don't understand why the audio is not synced properly to the visual on my video. :( When I upload the video directly to Facebook, the audio is fine--but uploading it to blogger causes this weird lag with the audio. -sigh- I tried re-uploading the video, but I still have the same problems.

Brazen Cosmetics: A Review

A while ago I was convinced by my friend Krissi to try out this company called Brazen Cosmetics (they're on Etsy and Artfire). Krissi wasn't actively trying to convince me, actually--she just mentioned that they had some vegan stuff and since I hadn't tried them out yet...I bought a few things right away--I call that "Krissi convincing me". (I really didn't need much "convincing.") Anyways. The point is, I put in an order for two of their Passion Pots (their version of a lip gloss) and two pots of their shadows to see what they were all about.

I ordered through their Etsy page and my experience was pretty good. I had a momentary panic after choosing my two shadow colours because I thought that one of the ones I picked wasn't vegan. I messaged the seller, Sandi, right away and she got back to me the next day to reassure me that the colour I picked out was, indeed, vegan. I found the listings a bit tricky to wade through as I was looking strictly for the vegan products--Sandi did inform me that she was going through the listings to make sure the veganness was highlighted right in the product title. I appreciate that greatly, of course. :)

Shipping wouldn't have been an issue if Canada Post hadn't decided to strike while my package was in the mail!! Sandi, once again, was great and communicated a couple of times to me about the package and wondered/questioned when I would receive it. I finally received it yesterday, woo!!

On to the pictures!

My package arrived in a regular flat envelope (with some cute pink tape on it) and the insides were packaged very nicely. Bubble wrap protected the goods very nicely and an invoice was included--always nice when that happens--especially when a personalized note is also on it!


Brazen Cosmetics is soon about to open their own website. I didn't realize at the time when I made my order, but a little contest is happening (I'm not sure when it runs from or to) where with your order you get tickets and Sandi draws numbers and if you have a winning ticket, then you win! (Winning is fun!)


The inside of the bubble wrap was nicely contained with pink tissue paper. And an adorable little sticker.


On top of what I ordered (two passion pots and two shadows):



I received a couple of samples. This is "Music Box"--a lovely blue shade (the lighting here was messed up--it was getting dark out, but I was snapping pictures anyways!).


And here it is swatched!



As well as a sample of a finishing powder. I don't actually wear face makeup, most of the time, so I'm not exactly sure what to do with this. I imagine I apply it over my foundation with a big fluffy brush for a flawless look. We'll see if I find an excuse to try it out!


Back to the products I ordered. The pots are all labeled with ingredient listings. This is something I've come to expect and I was obviously not disappointed!


Each pot had been heat sealed with a plastic wrap. Nice and sanitary. It also prevented the product from getting out of the pots. Always a good thing not to lose any product!


The shadow pots have very nice matte black lids. I'm used to the shiny lids and these matte lids make the whole thing feel a lot "fancier"--which I thought was a nice touch. Since, as you can see, the shadows also have a seal on the inside of the lid--I think they could stand to NOT be shrink wrapped on top of it--wasting plastic packaging isn't one of my favorite things to do. But the Passion Pots, on the other hand--as you notice from the picture above--don't have any kind of sifter (of course, because you need to use your fingers or a brush to apply it) and so the shrink wrap seal is definitely needed for them. Back to the shadows though--I really *do* like the type of plastic seal Brazen Cosmetics uses. That little white tab (you can see it in the below section of the below picture) made the seals VERY easy to take off. Yay for ease!

(Ethereal on the left. Mayhem on the right.)

And up close, the two shadow colours look like this:


And swatched.

Ethereal. A pretty pink with gold glitter.

Mayhem. A neat grey/black with pink shimmer.

I threw together a quick look with these too colours to test them out on the eye. They both have a lovely texture and applied quite easily. I had to really pack Ethereal on to get it to show up how I wanted it to, but if you're a fan of the softer pinks--you would probably really like it! Mayhem's pink shimmer showed up nicely on the eye--I was happy to see that!


The item I am most excited about though--the Passion Pots.

Hype. Described as a "melon shimmer with pink shift."

Breathless. Described as a "frosty pink silver."

Both Passion Pots are a thick and kind of "sticky" (but NOT unpleasantly so!) lipgloss. I wish both of them were scented with some kind of oil--because as I mentioned before--I *really really* love the mint oil in Breathless. I find it kind of odd to put on Hype and not really "taste" anything, but maybe that is because I am just not used to wearing things on my lips that are unscented/unflavored. If you're looking for something neutral to put on your mouth that doesn't have a scent--you'll probably LOVE the ones with no mint oil in them. These things, though, are HARD to get a swatch picture of...I tried...


Swatch pictures aside, though, I will *definitely* be picking up more of the mint scented ones!! The staying power of these lip glosses is absolutely INSANE. I put on Hype before work this morning and I imagined that after eating lunch it would disappear. No, it sure did not. It stuck around until I got home!! How does Sandi do it?! I have no idea. But I just hope she comes out with more and more of them. Maybe even ones that are slightly vanilla scented?! Or cinnamon?! That would be a dream come true! The other awesome thing about this product--not only do they come in beautiful colours and have excellent staying power--but they're incredibly moisturizing for your lips (because of the jojoba oil, meadow foam oil and vitamin E). It's a win win win situation!

Here's a picture where I'm trying to convey the awesome texture that these Passion Pots have:


Do I recommend Brazen Cosmetics? Yep, I sure do. Especially if you're a vegan looking for some rocking lip glosses that pack a long lasting punch! I need to order Make Out NOW. And so do you!