Sharon den Adel Hydra Tour Inspired Makeup Look

Hello! The post I have planed for you today is of a look that I've been wanting to do for a month or so. I got the idea for this look from Sharon den Adel.

I had the privilege of seeing Within Temptation live and meeting the band in the beginning of August in Vagos Open Air, they were the head band of the first day of this summer festival and I got so inspired by the makeup she had on during the show!

For the Hydra tour she's been doing these colour pop kind of looks in shades of tealish blue and bright pink and in the Vagos Open Air concert she had the green blue look which I absolutely loved and was dying to try it on myself.

One of the things I've noticed in Sharon's makeup is the lashes she wears. She always has these spiky lashes that give her such doll eyes and I think that's one of her makeup artist's favourite set of lashes.
Borka (aka Borflor), Sharon den Adel's makeup artist, used similar lashes on Tarja for the Paradise video, in fact both Sharon and Tarja had that style of lashes as you can see in this gif.
So I went hunting for that exact set of lashes through all of the beauty supply stores in town and I found the perfect one.

I based this look on THIS photo that she posted on the day of the concert.

Products used:

Face: 
Benefit The Porefessional
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in "I'm pure 4 sure" Ivory 
Essence Stay All Day 16h Concealer in 10 Natural Beige
W7 In The City Eyeshadow Palette in Brass (contour) 
Kiko Milano Water Eyeshadow in 218 (blush)
H&M Highlight Palette in 1and 2

Eyes: 
Essence I love Stage Eyeshadow Base
Kiko Milano Long Lasting Stick in 28
Kiko Milano Infinity Eyeshadow in 264
Sleek Ultra Mattes V1 Eyeshadows in Pow! and Bolt
W7 In The City Eyeshadow Palette in Brass, Autumn and Andrea
 IDC Color Eyeshadows in 7, 28, 45 and 47
Essence Effect Eye Pencil in 03 Steel-Smurf
Lancôme Grandiôse Mascara
Eyelure Nº120 Lashes

Brows: 
Astra Italy Eyebrow Pencil in 23
W7 In The City Eyeshadow Palette in Andrea
Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara´

 Lips:
Essence Lipstick in 06 Barely There!
Essence Lip Liner in 05 Soft Berry
Kiko Milano Smart Lip Pencil in 704
Essence Stay Matt Lip Cream in 03 Soft Nude

Brushes: 
Real Techniques Regular Line and Bold Metals Line
Royal Cosmetics 
H&M Beauty Department 

This look was very fun to make, specially because there is a second part to it which is a more Halloween appropriate look. I will post the second part of it next week, hopefully!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and I will be back next week with a new one!

Love,
Anna

Tarja Turunen in Ave Maria en Plein Air Inspired Makeup Look

Hello!
Today's post is inspired by one very talented singer that I so love, Tarja Turunen.

Her makeup is usually very monotonous in shades of silver and black which suits her features beautifully but for the promo video for her upcoming Ave Maria En Plein Air album she has this bright orange eye makeup that at first I didn't particularly love because orange is not my favourite colour of eyeshadow but then I kinda fell in love with it as I was doing that same makeup on myself.

It's quite intricate the way the orange reflects pink and transitions to a dark plum shade.
She has a very peculiar eye shape that I tried to mimic by placing the plum colour in the very socket of my eye in a V shape to give me that sunken in look she has to her eyes.

This is what I came up with!

I apologize for the little white particles on top of the lashes, I applied an eyeshadow that has a rosy lust to it after I applied the false lashes and it fell on top and I only realised when I was editing the photos.

Bloopers

Products used:

Face: 
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in "I'm pure 4 sure" IvoryBenefit Boi-ing Concealer in O1 and O2
W7 In The Mood Eyeshadow Palette in Wink (contour) 
Kiko Milano Water Eyeshadow in 218 (blush)
H&M Highlighting Palette in 2

Eyes: 
Kiko Milano Long Lasting Stick in 28
Kiko Milano Infinity Eyeshadow in 206
Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 Eyeshadows in Dune, Flesh, Vilan and Noir
H&M Highlighting Palette in 2 (inner corner, outer corner, brow done) 
Kiko Milano Miami Click Slick Eyeliner in 06 Black
Ardell Lashed in 118

Brows: 
Astra Italy Eyebrow Pencil in 23
Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara´

 Lips:
H&M Lip Gloss in Nude Rose (a LOT of it over concealed lips with foundation)


With all the orange it almost looks like a fall look!

I hope you have enjoyed this look, of course it is dedicated to Rita who also took the photos.
If you want you can check the inspiration video here, I also used some reference photos which I got by cutting some frames out of that video.

Have a great week and till the next one.

Love,
Anna

Beauty and The Beast

Hi! Today I'm here with a two in one post as the title suggests.

My major inspiration for the "Beauty" part was Simone Simons, specifically this photo Tânia's father took when Epica came to Hard Club in Porto. Here's the photo I used as reference.

As you can see by the photo, Simone had a (quite dramatic) metallic shimmery blue eyeliner but other than that, the look seemed very  natural and simple. The lips are not visible on the photo but Tânia described the lip shade as a brick red.

The "Beast" part was my imagination coming to life. I had a fishnet weave cap that I didn't use at all so I decided to give it the best use.

My idea was to create some sort of mermaid'ish character but it turned out a bit darker and, therefore, I decided that it could be a siren.
A siren that was feeding on some sort of magic creature, and that would be where the glitter dripping down the sides of the mouth came from. The glitter drips aren't as visible as I would wish but they're there!

Products Used

"Beauty" 

Face: 
Benefit Boi-ing Concealer in O1 and O2
Benefit Hello Flawless Powder Foundation in "I love me" Ivory
Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation in "I'm pure 4 sure" Ivory
H&M Eyebrow Kit in Blonde (contour)
H&M Highlighting Palette in 2
Catrice Ombré Blush

Eyes: 
Sleek Au Naturel Eyeshadows in Nougat, Toast,Nubuk and Bark
Oriflame Very Me Eyeliner in Blue
Essence Crystal Eyeliner in Blue Heaven
Maybelline Colossal Go Extreme Mascara

Brows: 
Essence Eyebrow Designer in 02 Brown
Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara

 Lips:
Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 330 The Lips Are On Fire
Avon Lipstick in Mocha
MAC Lip Liner in Nightmoth

"Beast" 

Face:
Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 Eyeshadows in Orbit and Ink
IDC Color 44 Palette Eyeshadows in 8, 28, 36 and 44
Essence Holographic Effect Eyeshadow in Mint Candy
Essence Crystal Eyeliner in Rosy Rush

Eyes:
Sleek Ultra Mattes V2 Eyeshadows in Orbit and Ink
IDC Color 44 Palette Eyeshadows in 8 and 36
Oriflame Very Me Eyeliner in Blue
Essence Crystal Eyeliner in Blue Heaven
H&M Gel Eyeliner in Black
Maybelline Colossal Go Extreme Mascara
 Ardell Lashes in 115 Show Girl

Brows: 
Half pearls glued on with liquid latex

Lips: 
H&M Gel Eyeliner in Black
Essence Crystal Eyeliner in Rosy Rush
Lit Cosmetics Glitter in S3 Barbie Shops

I would like to thank Catarina for taking the photos and Tânia for that inspirational reference photo!

That's it for this post! I hope you have enjoyed it, I surely did!

Love,
Anna

FOTD: Black No. 1

This post is a celebration of my new Tumblr URL (thanks Rita!). Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All) is the title of a song by Type O Negative, one of my favorite bands. The song's a very tounge-in-cheek look at the 'gothic girl' stereotype and black #1 is the most common name for true black hair dye. As someone who's been continuosly pointed as a Black No. 1 type (without the black hair I guess) I don't find it offensive; I don't take myself too seriously, but people who do either take this song as their anthem or as an insult,completly ignoring how sarcastic it is.
But for this look I was trying to do something very goth, but more in the early 90s or traditional 80s goth range. So I did a dramatic black and white semi-cut crease and black and red lips. For the eyes I only used my Sleek Au Naturel palette and on the lips a combination of black eyeliner and two shades red lipstick. I used no reference picture because I used to do this look pretty much everyday last year.

Uma foto publicada por Tânia (@vinnishbabydoll) em Mar 24, 2015 às 9:49 PDT 

I hope you enjoyed this post!
Until next time!

LOTS OF LOVE,

Tânia

Golden Spring

Hello! Today I bring you a Spring inspired look. This is a colorful look that will certainly not be "something" for everyone but it's fun and you can always tone it down, use some neutrals to make it more wearable to suit your daily activities.

Let's get started!

I came up with the idea for this look after I saw Oriflame's spring campaign. They have this girl with gold and purple shades in her eyes and it looked delightful! It was so pretty that I decided to try it out.

I had no idea purple and gold would go so well together!

This look can be toned down by using colder shades of purple rather than warmer, as I did for this post.

The warmer the purple you use, the stronger that sunset feel will be. When blended into the gold, the purple can mix up with the yellow tones of the gold and create a beautiful gradient. 

Any type of purple will suit this makeup really, you just have to find out what kind of purple suits your complexion better.

Usually warmer purples go better with yellow/golden/olive skin undertones and cooler purples will be best for pink skin undertones because they will complement the skin better.

I used only two pigment to achieve the gold and purple gradient. Unfortunately I only have the littlest bit of these two pigments so I store them in tiny Z bags and I did not identify them so I can't identify them for you with accuracy. Instead, I'll be presenting alternatives that will help you achieve this same look.

I used a light gold pigment, that is very reflective, on the inner half of my eye. Some alternatives for this would be Makeup Geek's New Year's Eve or Sweet Dreams pigment for lighter skin colors and Makeup Geek's Afterglow pigment for darker, warmer skin colors.  The pigment I used if very very similar to New Year's Eve and it is best for pale skin tones. If you have a medium skin tone, Sweet Dreams is a great option and Afterglow is best for darker skin tones. If you're not a fan of pigments, Makeup Geek's Shimma Shimma eyeshadow, for light skin tones, and Makeup Geek's In the Spot Light foiled eyeshadow, for deeper skin tones, are also great options.

I used a very warm purple pigment on the other half of my eye, the pigment that I used has no shimmer to it so I think you'd achieve the same effect with an eyeshadow. A couple of options to this are Sugarpill's Poison Plum eyeshadow and Sugarpill's 2AM eyeshadow. Poison Plum is a darker version of 2AM, both are very warm purples tho. I would say that the pigment I used is similar to 2AM because it is lighter and a more vibrant shade of warm purple. If you want to darken up the outside corner of the eye, Poison Plum is a great option. But, if you're going for a darker look, Poison Plum is purfect too.

Both these eyeshadows are matte and shimmer-less.

I blended the gold and the purple together, achieving this sunset'ish effect. I had to darken my lashline, and for that I used black eyeshadow and I buffed it out to soften it. I also used a light beige pencil liner on the inner half of my waterline and black eyeliner on the outer part of my waterline. This gives a more elongated shape to my eye, brightening up that inner corner.

If you want a more dramatic look, go for black in all of your waterline.

Top it up with some mascara and the eye is finished!

I decided to bronze up the face a little, after contouring, and I used a pink blush that will match the eye makeup a little. I used highlighter in the highest points of my face to enhance that glow as well.

For lips I used a lipliner in a brownish color a tad darker than my skin color. A good pencil for this would be OCC'S Cosmetic Colorful Pencil in Pennyroyal for lighter skin tones and OCC'S Cosmetic Colorful Pencil in Sybil for darker skin tones.

I used this to outline my lips. Then I used O Boticário's lipgloss in 223 (which is a great dupe for Nars' Orgasm Lipgloss) all over the lips and I used a little bit of that gold pigment I had used before in the center of the lips. 

This combo gives me a fuller pout that looks effortlessly natural.

And that's it for this week's post! I hope you have enjoyed this spring look. I find that these colors are perfect for spring since they're so colorful!

Tânia told me the other day that one of the girls from her class did a frame inspired in my Valentine's Day DIY frame that I did in January and she showed me the final result and I loved it!

I love to know that someone out there that sees our blog gets inspired by what me and Tânia do, so if you recreate any of our looks or get inspired by our posts, please let us know! We'd love to receive your feedback!

I hope you have a wonderful week and I'll be back in the next one.

Love,

Anna

Cristina Scabbia Inspired Makeup Look

Hi! Today I bring you a slightly different post. Tânia did something similar to this close to the holiday season where she posted a photo from her Instagram page and identified all the products she used under in the post. This post will be something like that.

This look is inspired by Cristina Scabbia and I posted a photo of this makeup on my Instagram page, which is now private due to my sister that has been stalking me lately, so sweet of her. But anyway, this look is a recreation of that dark smokey eye Cristina loves to wear so much and the red lips that she also seems to love.
She usually goes for a full on black "panda" eye but I find that that look doesn't suit most eye shapes so I decided to highlight the inner corners instead of doing them black as well like she does.

Eyes:

Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Primer

Avon SuperSHOCK Gel Eyeliner Pencil in Black

Avon True Color Eyeshadow in Blackest Black

Catrice Absolute Eye Colour Mono Eyeshadow in 660 Ice White Open

H&M Gel Eyeliner

Avon Mega Effects Mascara in Blackest Black

Brows:

Essence Eyebrow Designer in 02 Brown

Essence Lash & Brow Gel Mascara

Essence Big Bright Eyes Jumbo Pencil in 01 Nude

Face:

Catrice Prime & Fine Face Primer

Garnier Oil Free BB Cream in Light

Catrice Camouflage Cream Concealer in 020 Light Beige

Catrice Nude Illusion Loose Powder

H&M Bronzing Powder in Gorgeous Tan

Lips:

Essence Lip Liner in 13 Transparent 

Rimmel Lasting Finish By Kate Moss Lipstick in 01

I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post.

I got very inspired by Tânia's post and I'm thinking about doing something similar next and I'll probably post it on tuesday or wednesday since I have some free time after my Portuguese test (Fernando Pessoa is killing me). I've been posting more than usual..

Anyway, I hope you have a lovely weekend.

Love, 

Anna

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