Beauty crafted in the dark chambers of the heart



Monday, December 29, 2014

New Year's Eve Makeup Look

Hello! Since I missed on the christmas makeup look, I decided that I would do a New Year's Eve makeup for you. New year's eve is such a fun time to play with makeup! You're entering a new year, you can use and abuse the glitter, the sparkle, the shine and the metallic shadows, it's a celebration time and nothing better than makeup to show how excited you are for the new year that is ahead of you.


So I did this look inspired in Simone Simons' stage makeup for Epica's Utrecht show with loads of glitter and sparkle! I was scrolling down her Instagram to find a photo that she has with Fernando from Moonspell and came across this beautiful makeup that looks so festive. I instantly got a boom of inspiration and decided that today I would do this look for the post.
My version of it turned out a lot less dark but still very sparkly, I hope you enjoy it.



In Simone's Instagram photo, her eyeshadow looked pretty metallic and in a grayish blue shade. That's what I tried to mimic with this metallic teal eyeshadow that reflects gold in certain lights. Most of the eyeshadows I used are from this new palette I was given for christmas that I will show in a future post in my christmas haul.
I used this color all over my lid till the crease. In the crease I used first a matte shade a couple of shades darker than my natural skin tone as a blending color. Then I placed black in the outer V, creating a cat eye effect, just like Simone had. I blended it all out with a fluffy brush I got as christmas present, which I will also show you in a future post. On the lower lid I used black on the outer corner, connecting it to the top lid and some of that teal shade along the inner third of the lower lash line. In the inner corner of my eye I used yet another eyeshadow from that palette that is very shimmery and that highlights the eye quite a lot.



Now for the fun part, the glitter!
Simone had loads of sparkle going on and that's what I tried to do too by using gold glitter. Glitter tends to fall out a lot if it doesn't have a base to stick to. If, like me, you don't have a glitter base, here's a tip: take your clear eyebrow gel, rub your ring finger in the wand and use that gel very lightly all over the lid. While it's still wet place the glitter on top. It will stick to it like no other.
I used a gel eyeliner to line the eye. I did a line a little more dramatic than usual for this one.
I also used that same gel liner on my water line, to give the eye a bit more of depth and drama.
You can't skip lashes with this look and that's why I used quite dramatic ones from Ardell in 131 Black.
I also filled in my brows with H&M Dark Brown eyebrow pencil and used a clear brow gel to keep them in place.


I don't use foundation. I have created some sort of aversion to foundation, I hate the feeling of liquid foundation. I just don't use it in general. I only used some moisturizing cream and concealer in my problem areas and to highlight under the eyes.
I then set all of that with a translucent powder and move on to face sculpting. 
Try to go with your natural shape, only enhancing it a little bit. That's what I did by placing a little bit of bronzer on my cheeks to define them and just a dash on my temples. I then went to a pinkish blush similar to Nars' Orgasm and highlighted the tops of my cheekbones, nose, chin and cupid's bow.

For the lips I used a lipstick that is the exact same shade as my natural lip color.
Simone had a peachy pink color on that seemed very glossy and quite a big outline on those lips, but I decided to leave it a bit more subtle there.


And that's the look complete! I'm not gonna do this one on myself but I've already got requests to do it on someone else. This year I've decided not to use glitter on myself.

I want to make a little note here and say that most of the photos for this look have zero to no edition. All credits to the amazing Catarina from the blog D'une Lune and a huge thank you to this girl for the spectacular job she did today.

This is it for this week's post! I hope you have liked it and gotten inspired for some new year's looks.
I will be back this weekend with a christmas haul with all the goodies I got for christmas.

Love,
Anna

Friday, December 26, 2014

FOTD: Christmas Eve


FACE:
Essence All About Matt! Oil Control Make-Up Base
Essence Cover Stick in 01 Matt Sand
Catrice All Matt Plus Shine Control Make Up in 010 Light Beige
H&M Eyebrow Kit in Blonde
Essence Silky Touch Blush in 70 Kissable
Essence All About Matt! Fixing Compact Powder

BROWS:
H&M Eyebrow Kit in Blonde, Brown & Black
Essence Eyebrow Designer in 02 Dark Brown
Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara

EYES:
Essence I Love Stage Eye Shadow Base
H&M 5-Pack Eyeshadow in Smoky Purple
Essence I Love Extreme Volume Mascara
Essence Kajal Pencil in 01 Black

LIPS:
Essence Kajal Pencil in 08 Teddy
Gosh Velvet Touch Lipstick in 154 Burgundy

LOTS OF LOVE,
Tânia

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Last Minute DIY Christmas Present Ideas

Hi! I was supposed to do a look post this week but turns out I didn't have time for it and, as you can see, I'm a little late because I've been busy with some last minute christmas presents.

I decided to give you a couple of ideas for some last minute DIY presents that you can easily make at home without spending so much money but still being thoughtful.
Most of the ideas I'll be suggesting I have already made myself for birthday presents and such, so I believe you will be fine with these cause they're possible in fact.

Let's get started!



This idea is probably one of the quickest that I will be presenting. 
All you need is a plain mug in whichever color you would prefer, a couple of Sharpies in the colors you desire and an oven. 
Pick up a Sharpie and draw onto the mug the design that you want the mug to have. You can use as many colors as you want and draw or write whatever you want.
To make the design permanent you will want to place the mug with the design on in the oven at 230ºC for 30 minutes. You want to place the mug in the oven before you turn it on and let it heat up till the desired temperature and let it cool down inside of the oven as well. This way you don't risk breaking the mug because of the drastic temperature change.
And you're all done! Now you just have to be very careful with washing. Use a very soft sponge to clean it or you can risk erasing the design fairly quickly.



This is a fun idea for the kids and very simple as well!
All you need is a jar that has a lid, a couple of figures or toys that will fit the jar, glitter, water and glycerin.
If you want to further personalize this snow globe buy molding clay that hardens in the oven and sculpt whatever figure you want to add to your snow globe.
When you have the figure and everything you will want to decide whether you want the lid of the jar to be facing up or down. 
You want to glue the figure to the lid or to the bottom of the jar, whichever you prefer and fill the jar with lukewarm water. 
Add as much glycerin as you want to the water. The glycerin's function is to thicken the water making the fake snow fall slowly rather than quickly. All that is missing is the glitter. Choose multiple sizes of white or transparent glitter and even glitter flecks or foils to give it that wintery look.
Close the lid shut and tight, shake it and you're left with a beautiful snow globe that you can then decorate with ribbons and strings to make it even more lovely!



I have received one of these and I think they're oh so cute. Such a thoughtful gift!
It doesn't get easier than this. You just need a free CD and knowledge about the person you're giving this present to and your computer will do the job for you. Get it into a CD box and make a pretty cover for it and there you go! A simple yet perfect gift that will make anyone very happy.


Me and my mom did this one last year and everyone seemed to love it!
You put the dry ingredients of a specific cake/cookie inside of a mason jar, layer by layer, achieving this layered effect that allows the person to see what's inside. All the person has to add is the liquid/wet ingredients such as milk, water, oil, etc.
After you close the jar you want to label the jar with the name of the baked goodies that you can make with the content of the jar and also add the recipe with the amount of each wet ingredient the person has to add as well as how long and at which temperature it has to bake.
If you want you can also add a ribbon to make it a bit more pretty and you have yourself a fun gift!

These are just some ideas I wanted to share with you. They're simple yet thoughtful!
I hope it was somehow helpful!
(All images from Pinterest)
I wish you a very Merry Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever it is that you celebrate these days.

Love,
Anna

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Tânia's Christmas Wishlist

Hello! Today I thought I'd make a Christmas wishlist. I don't really celebrate Christmas, but my Catholic family does live it quite intensly so I always end up joining the holiday spirit. I enjoy giving gifts; one of the greatest pleasures I have in life is seeing people's faces when they receive something I've made or bought especially for them. And getting presents is also great, I won't lie. I decided not only to include beauty items but entertainment items aswell. I hope you enjoy it!

But before we get to the actual post, just a little very important note: For the next two weeks I'm going to post on Friday and that's because Christmas and New Years are on Thursday and I'm usually quite busy on those holidays so it will be much easier to post on a Friday.


BEAUTY


1 - Too Faced's Boudoir Eyes Shadow Palette  2 - MAC's Film Noir Lipstick  3 - MAC's Cyber Lipstick  4 - Yves Saint Laurent's Black Opium Perfume


ENTERTAINMENT

1 - The Pretty Reckless' Going To Hell  2 - Behemoth's The Satanist  3 - Elizabeth Gaskell's North & South  4 - Catherynne M. Valente's Deathless


This is a quite short wishlist but includes most things that I've been thinking of when I'm doing Christmas shopping.
I hope you enjoyed this post and I wish you a merry Christmas!

LOTS OF LOVE,
Tânia

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Festive Black

Hello! So this week I bring you a post that I loved doing.
This post is for those of us who only wear black. It seems that my parents and family in general find it somehow offensive that I wear black in these special holiday occasions because "it's a sad color". I personally think that black is a very classy colour that flatters everyone, no matter your size, your skin colour, your height.

My intention with this post is to show you some options to turn your all black look into something more festive, more appropriate for the holiday season.
I will talk you through all my choices but I want to say, in advance, that these looks I put up are a bit more on the "classy" side of the black but these are my personal choices, this is how I would put up a black look for the holiday season that I would actually wear.
With no further due, let's get started!

Nude

festive black

When I think of looks for this season, I always think of dresses.
I wear dresses and skirts most days and the holiday season is not an exception.
For this look I picked a black velvet dress with a flared skirt and a boat neckline.
This is the central part of the look. To turn the look a bit more festive I would pair it with nude shoes. Nude shoes elongate the legs and make you look much more elegant because of that fact. These Louis Vuitton Allamanda pumps would be a good option because of the silver point that give it that glamorous look. A clutch in neutral colour is something you can go for to lace up the neutral look, after all you're only using neutral colours.
For the makeup I would suggest a neutral eye with some shimmery eyeshadows to highlight and a nude lip. I chose Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. lipstick in Hepburn Honey.
Finish the look with some silver jewelry and you're done! 
A very neutral and elegant look!

Golden


festive black


If you're going to a big party, a long dress or skirt is the perfect choice!
Here I paired a lace crop top with a very full maxi skirt.
If you know me, you know that I hate crop tops but only when they're not used correctly. I selected a crop top to pair with this skirt because this skirt sits high around the waist so it doesn't show too much skin with the crop top.
The lace gives this look a more sophisticated feel and you don't need to worry about necklaces because the beauty of the lace embellishes the neckline beautifully.
Any type of black pumps would go well with this type of look, pointy or round.
Since it's such a simple look and gold compliments lace beautifully, I would go for gold simple earrings and some sort of golden clutch. I love Alexander McQueen and these clutches that have the places for the fingers are just to die for so it would be an amazing option.
Go for a neutral nude eye with a winged liner and a very bold reddish purple lipstick to finish off this outfit.

A touch of colour: Red


festive black


Now to get out of the neutral and to add a pop of colour, red is a great option. Jewel tones like red, green and blue are always good colours to match with black.
In both of these looks I mixed colours and textures.
For more girly and flirty look like the one on the left, I would use a bardot style top and a flared leather skirt. A red chunky necklace and very simple red pumps would do great as a pop of colour.
For a more bold and professional look I would go for a V neck top and a pencil leather skirt that goes a little past the knee. A bordeaux necklace and bordeaux platform boots would be a great combo.
I also picked a bordeaux overall that would go with both looks.
Simple jewelry and simple makeup, topped with either a red lipstick or a rusty pink lipstick and you're done!

A touch of colour: green

festive black

For a more casual look, go for pants and flats. Here I picked some loose black pants with a bit of detailing to them. This kind of pants can easily conceal the shape of your body, so I would go for a peplum top. I love peplum tops in general because they give you a hourglass figure even if you don't have that body shape.
Nothing is better to give that touch of colour than shoes and accessories so the shoes I picked are obviously green. I think they are beautiful, I would totally wear them, just an amazing way to make the look more fun. Use whatever jewelry you feel would go well with the look, I would obviously go for some silvers and golds and greens.
Pinks and purples go beautifully with greens so I would suggest a purple pink lipstick and nail polish to finish the look.
If you're getting out of the house, a blazer is the solution.

And that's it!
These are the suggestions I have on how to make your all black outfit a bit more festive and on how to give more of a holiday feel to it. Even if you're not the kind of person who always wears black everything I think these looks would still be a good option for the holiday season cause black is a classic.
I hope you have enjoyed this post and I hope to bring you a christmas look next week!

Love,
Anna

Thursday, December 11, 2014

The Road Trip

I decided to show you some of the pictures from this weekend. Hope you like them!














LOTS OF LOVE,
Tânia

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Doe Deere Inspired Look

Hi! As promised, today I bring you an inspired look and this time it's inspired in the biggest doll in the makeup world, Doe Deere, the CEO of Lime Crime.


Since Venus, the Grunge palette, launched, Doe has been doing a lot of warm looks with it and, although I don't have it, I decided to try to do a look inspired on it.
This look is what most makeup artists have been calling "the Grunge look" and I do like it, I just don't think it suits my face that well.

Anyway, the look is fairly simple, you just need a couple of red shadows and warm browns.


After you prime your lids, use a red shade similar to Venus, from the Venus palette, and place that all over your eyelid and up to the crease. Also apply that on your lower lid and buff it quite far down, to give the eye a round shape. 
As a blending shadow, use a shadow similar to Creation, from the Venus palette, again, and a little bit of Rebirth to further blend it.


On the outer corner, to deepen it, use a warm matte brown like Icon and place just a little bit in the corner.
Use Icon also on the lower lash line, close to the lashes, to darken it. 
I used a brown liner close to my lash line in my top lid, which I then blended out with a color similar to Icon. "The Grunge look" usually aims for a rounder eye type shape but, in the look I based this on, Doe had a very small wing with that same brown. 
I also used a warm brown pencil in my water line and loads of mascara. Focus the mascara on the center lashes of the eye to make it even rounder.
To highlight in the inner corner I used an eye shadow similar to Shell and to highlight my brow bone I used a shadow similar to Aura.


I used a foundation that would give a flawless look to the skin and then I used a full coverage concealer to erase all those little imperfections like discolorations and blemishes.
To further perfect your skin, use a powder with a little bit of coverage or even layer a powder foundation over your creamy or liquid foundation that you applied before.
If you don't have that doll shape to your face like Doe does, you will need quite a bit of contour. Use just enough to shape your cheeks and to emphasize your cheekbones.
I used a golden pink blush like Nars' Orgasm, I think it was perfect for this look.
I also highlighted the high points of my face such as the high points of my cheeks, the tip of my nose, my cupid's bow, my chin and a bit in my forehead. 


All you need to finish this look is a warm brown lipstick like Lime Crime's Salem to give you that pinch of darkness.

The day I did this look I was wearing a long black skirt so I felt like a total witch with this makeup on.
In order for this type of makeup to work for me I could never blend it so far down in the bottom lid, it just makes me look tired really.
But other than that, I think this look would suit everyone with all kinds of skin tones. You can obviously work with it to make it suit your skin tone!

I love how the matte brown lip looks so good with the eyes and all! 
The Venus palette is a palette that I've been wanting since it was announced, even before it came out, but, unfortunately, it's always sold out, so it looks like I'm gonna have to stick to the dupes... (MNY has some great ones by the way)

This is it for this week's post, I hope you liked it and I hope this autumn look has inspired you for some christmas looks!
Next week I'll be doing a christmas related post. I'll be putting up a couple of looks for the holiday season for people that, like me, only wear black. Sort of to give you tips on how to make an all black look a bit more christmasy and festive.

Love,
Anna

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Winter Wonderland

Hello! Today's post is going to be slightly different than usual. Next Monday's a holiday here in Portugal and as it just right after the weekend, my parents decided to take a little road trip. We're going to visit a village in the countryside and I'm sort of excited about the possibility of snow, which I've never seen. These are some outfits that I'm planning to wear this weekend. Hope you enjoy it!

THE ROAD TRIP
Winter Wonderland Pt. I
For the trip itself I've choosen to wear more comfortable clothes. I don't feel that much comfortable in jeans, to be honest, but I've found that it's better to wear them rather than dresses or skirts for long car rides.
This is a pretty simple outfit allied with some Winter essencials. A warm leather jacket and cozy jumper are mandatory and so is a big bag to carry all your things. Comfortable shoes, gloves and a wool hat are also elements that I thought that would be useful.

THE LOUNGE
Winter Wonderland Pt. II
Unfortunely, I'll still have to do some homework so I decided to put togheter an outfit to wear around the lodging. As I've said before I prefer skirts to pants so to make myself feel better after a whole day wearing jeans I've picked a maxi skirt. The fur blanket seemed appropriate since I'm taking my own with me.

THE TOURIST
Winter Wonderland Pt. III
This looks a lot like the first outfit. I've added a scarf and a knit jumper. These seem more appropriate to visit and explore the woods around the village I'm visiting.

And this ends this week's post. I hope you like it and that I've taken some ideas for your own Winter outfits.
Until next time!

LOTS OF LOVE,
Tânia