Inspiration: Naked Palette - Black and Blue

Main Products Used:

• Urban Decay - Naked Palette:
  - Gunmetal (lid)
  - Creep (outer V)
  - Sin (brow bone highlight and under eye)
  - Buck (filled eyebrows)
• Urban Decay e/l in Zero

Ask and you shall receive!  I've had several requests for looks using the Naked Palette, so here we are!  :) This is a very dramatic dark black and blue look.

I know many palettes came with the double ended liners, so that's the only liner I used.  Also, as you can see I filled my brows with Buck to keep with the Naked Palette products.  :)

Inspiration: Purple and Gold

Hello!

It's a super gloomy day in Texas today.  So, what better thing to do than blog?!  I did this look a few weeks ago, but I figured I'd post it up and get it out of the way.  I have a lot of posts ready to go with some looks I'm excited to show you all!


If you're having a lazy day where you live too, you might also want to check out my friend's blog, The Kitchen Pirate, a food blog (as the name suggests...lol).  She's in her beginning stages of blogging and I'm sure she'd be thrilled if you all would follow her and support her kitchen endeavors!  :)  Plus, who doesn't love looking at delicious food?! 

Oh man, I rushed through this (trying to get the natural light) and I didn't do so great.  BUT! This is something I really want to do, so I'll probably attempt again one day.  lol  I like the way gold and purple look together.  It's only a matter of time!  I figured I'd show my pictures anyways!

Main Products Used:

• Estee Lauder e/s duo in Sage (only used the yellow)
• Beauty From The Earth minerals
  - Grape
  - 24kt Gold
  - Purple Iris
• MAC e/s in Carbon
• L'Oreal HIP cream liner in Black
• Smashbox e/s in Hope (purple)
• Urban Decay e/l in Zero

DIY: Water Marbling Your Nails

These are some left over ASP French White nail tips I have that don't fit my fingers, so I thought I'd practice water marbling on them!

I had heard of water marbling before, but the other night I decided to YouTube a video before bed (on my phone...lol!).  I came across SimpleLittlePleasures, and she's a genius basically!  If water marbling is something you're interested in, please check her out!  And no, I don't know her and am not affiliated with her.  She's just GREAT at this and she's very inspiring!  :)

Anyway!  Water marbling, in short, is dropping several drops of nail polish in a cup of water and then dragging your finger nail through it.  Again, check out that YouTuber listed above to see exactly how it's done!

From my SUPER limited experience, I've discovered that the China Glaze neons DO NOT work very well.  They dry super fast or something.  I did my nails this morning (black/white/neon pink) and it didn't look anything like the videos I had seen!  It just looked like a big, globby mess!  I was super disappointed!  Anyway, I broke out my extra tips and I started playing around and I'm happy to see I can do it!

Also, this is a pretty wasteful method of painting your nails (if you care about that).  Normally, it probably takes 1 drop of polish per coat?  With this method, you could easily use 10 drops of polish to paint only one nail.  Maybe don't use your super expensive polishes?  :P

ALSO (again), this is super messy.  But it's fun!  :)

 The third nail above was an attempt to marble China Glaze Red Pearl and China Glaze Ruby Pumps together, but I don't like the results.  It wasn't like I thought it would be.  Live and learn!

For the top right nail, I was hoping to get a blue-zebra print look.  Not sure I did, but I still like it!  :)

The bottom left nail is an example of the marbling of neons.  Those three colors are from the China Glaze Pool Side Collection from last summer.  That huge white gap is a "bald spot" from trying to marble.  :(

And lastly, an up close shot of my two favorites!  :)

**If you're wondering, all the little white squares at the bottoms of the nails are from where I was holding them with tweezers (just a cheapie pair, don't worry!).

FOTD: February 5, 2011

I know I did this look SO long ago now.  But better late than ever!  :P 


I cannot find the card where I wrote down the products I used.  :(

I'm 99% sure the majority of the eye makeup is done using the Bobbi Brown Nude on Nude Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow Palette.

Also, it looks like I've smudged out MAC e/l in Smoulder on my lash line, and no doubt used it to tight line.

On the lips I KNOW I'm wearing L'Oreal Infallible l/g in Azalea.

 I thought this was cute!  It's the screen on my window casting a shadow.  :)

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As you all might have noticed, my "Upcoming Posts" list is getting quite filled up again!  And I'm super excited about everything I have to show y'all!!  Just thought I'd throw that out there!  :)

If you all have a favorite Grammy look that is not currently listed in my "Upcoming Post" section, please comment and I'll check it out and maybe try to recreate it!

Going to go resize some pictures now!

Inspiration: Purple/Pink Lips

This was just some messing around I was doing.  My BFTE products are "multi use" so I thought I'd try them on my lips.  They were super drying!  lol  But here's the photos anyway!

Main Products Used:

• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese
• Beauty From The Earth multi use minerals:
  - Grape
  - Raspberry
  - Whisper

Later after these pictures, I tried putting some Vaseline over top with a lip brush to combat the dryness, but not a good idea!  Thank goodness I took these pictures beforehand!

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I'd like to say hello to all my new subscribers over the last couple days!  :)  I'm always super excited when people subscribe!  So thank you!

I've got this week off of work, so I plan on getting a lot of blog posts done.  I always do the look (or whatever I'm posting about), resize the pics, write the post, and then save it as a draft so I can publish it whenever.  It's also a lot less stressful that way! I like to have about 10 posts ready to go at a time. 

I've got a few more that I'm working on, including a Jennifer Lopez and Katy Perry look! 

I know I got a request about looks with the Naked Palette, so I'll get busy on that.  

If any of you have a request, please let me know!  I love to get new ideas!  :)  Especially the recreation of celebrity looks.  If you want to email me celebrity makeup pictures for my reference, you can do so at dropdeadgorgeousblog@gmail.com

Oh, by the way, I know I don't reply in comments very often (mainly because I'm not a fan of the platform blogger uses) but I do read all the comments and I love them!  I get a notification on my phone for every comment!  :)

Thanks for reading! :)

Swatches: LORAC - Private Affair Palette

This is the LORAC Private Affair Palette.

You can find more info about it on Sephora.

So, for $38 you get the 6 shadows, an eye primer, and a double ended brush.

BRUSH:  I can't speak too much about the brush because pretty much as soon as I got the palette I gave it to my sister.  I'm not a huge fan of double ended brushes because they can't go in my brush holders.

PRIMER:  This is a decent primer, but far from my favorite.  The full sized primer (this set includes a smaller version) is $20, and with the Urban Decay PP being only $18, I'd suggest save your $2 and get that one!  Anyway!  I like the packaging.  It's just a basic squeeze tube which is better than the UDPP packaging.  However, I find the primer to be very chalky.  Also, I feel like the staying power is not as good as other primers I have used.  It does crease after several hours (maybe a full day).

SHADOWS:  The shadows are gorgeous colors!  I particularly love the 4th color in the palette (the taupe color).  ALL of the shadows are shimmery, which isn't my favorite.  I don't like to use ONLY shimmery shadows on my eyes all the time.  In terms of traveling, I wouldn't bring only this because I like to have mattes too.  These shadows are also super powdery.  They give a lot of fallout and they take a bit of work to build up, but once they're built up they're lovely!

OVERALL PACKAGING:  The packaging is convenient because it's got the drawer underneath the shadows which hold the brush and the primer.  The palette feels like it's good quality.  It's got a plastic, purple alligator skin design everywhere on the outside of the palette which is easy to keep clean.  There's a mirror in the lid of the palette.  However, the material around the shadows is fabric, so I've been super crazy about trying not to make a mess when I use the shadows.

My overall rating:  3.5/5

Here's some random looks:

This first look is done using only the first 3 colors in the palette.

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This next look is done using the last 3 colors in the palette.

Inspiration: Sunset

I think I've done a similar look to this, long ago, and my skills have improved since then I think!  So I played around again and this is what happened!

Main Products Used:

• Beauty From The Earth minerals:
  - Grape
  - Purple Iris
  - Crush
  - Lemon
  - Tangerine
  - Raspberry
  - Karma
• L'Oreal HIP cream liner in Black
• MAC kohl liner in Smoulder
• NYX lashes in #118 

Inspiration: Dramatic Cut Crease w/ Rhinestones

This is just a random look I did while playing around.  There was no particular plan and this is just what happened!  :)

My giant list of products... lol

Main Products Used:

• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese
• Sephora e/s in Aspen Summit
• NYX e/s in Wild Flower and White
• Urban Decay e/s in Buck
• Bobbi Brown e/s in Mahogany
• MAC e/s in Dark Devotion (brows)
• L'Oreal HIP Cream liner in Black
• MAC e/l in Smoulder
• Rhinestones (from a phone bling kit applied with lash glue)
• Ardell Lashes in Gisele

On the lips, I used Estee Lauder l/l in Mocha Writer with MAC lustreglass in Love Nectar.

Nothing on the cheeks!  

Fashion FaceOff Challenge - Tiamo Dutchess Satin Dress

Again, my entry for the current Fashion FaceOff Challenge on MakeUpTalk. 

The outfits are created using Polyvore and for this challenge, every outfit must include this pink satin dress.

I would love to see all you guys enter over there! :)

DIY: Reviving Dried Out Products

This was a concept EnKore came up with and this is how I did it myself!

Today (actually, this was done weeks ago!), we're reviving two products: L'Oreal HIP cream liner and a MAC Shadestick in Beige-ing.

First, the liner...

Mine wasn't SUPER dried out, but dry enough that I couldn't use it anymore.

What you need:

1. The liner
2. A face primer with silicone (I used my Smashbox, didn't end up needing the other).
3. Glycerin (MAC Fix+)
4. Microwave (or hairdryer, as Enkore uses)

Giveaway Winner!

 

My FIRST EVER giveaway ended on February 6th!  It was really exciting, considering I didn't think anyone would enter at all... lol.  

 

This was the third winner choice because the first two didn't leave the correct info in their post (the blog post link/email).  

So, third times a charm!

Congratulations to Vixie, Vivacious Vixen V, for winning the loot from my first giveaway!  

I hope you enjoy it!

Thank you all for entering and I hope I can do another giveaway in the near future!

NOTD: Valentine's Day Mani!

This is my Valentine's Day mani, as the title suggests!  :P  It's cliche, but very cute and I love it!

It's 2 coats of OPI - Indi-a Mood for Love with one coat of OPI - Pink-ing of You on top.  I tried to make the light pink polish look streaky, but for some reason I was having trouble (usually it's hard to NOT make polish look streaky! lol).

This is topped off with a konad "love" stamp from plate M2 on each ring finger.

Hope you all enjoyed!

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If any of y'all have makeup related requests, I'd be happy to hear them!  You can leave it in the comments or email me! :)

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The winner of my contest has been notified!  She has until February 17th to reply before a new winner is choosen.  :)

Inspiration: Valentine's Day Part 2

When I did this eye makeup look, I thought "What would I wear if I was going out with Ty?"  Unfortunately, I won't be seeing him for Valentine's Day (he lives 6 hours away to go to school...) but that's beside the point!  Lol!

Anyway, the eye has a slight tint of pink in it which didn't photograph super well.  I thought the obvious choice for this eye would be to do a red lip, so I opted for hot pink instead! :P

Main Products Used:

• Urban Decay e/s in Naked (all over)
• Estee Lauder e/s duo in Ginger (used both: chocolate -crease; pink - brow bone/inner corner)
• MAC e/s in Swish (lid)
• NYX e/s in Wild Flower (brow bone)
• L'Oreal HIP cream liner in Black
• MAC kohl in Smoulder

On the cheeks I used L'Oreal True Match Blush in Rosy Outlook.

On the lips I used OCC Lip Tar in Memento and Smashbox l/g in Crystal.

 (Yay for my plaid pajamas!)

And one last picture to see how goofy I look when I only do half my face!

Happy Valentine's Day!


If you have any requests or something, please ask!  It's nice to have ideas for looks!

Also, my giveaway winner will be announced soon enough!