beauty blogging for belly dancers

Every Day is Gig Day Recap

July 22, 2016Sophia Ravenna

I had so much fun doing this challenge, I just had to sit down and write a blog post about each of my 10 looks and what I learned along the way!

Day 1 of your makeup challenge, "Indie Goddess," showcases a vibrant and well-coordinated approach by combining products from ColourPop, Makeup Geek, and Aromaleigh. It's intriguing to see your shift from a preferred green to a striking black, silver, and purple palette for this look. This mix not only highlights your adaptability but also your knowledge of cosmetic brands and their specific offerings.

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Day 2: Metallics. Again, I resisted my first urge, which was to do a mixed metals look based heavily on the KvD Monarch palette (which I heard has finally been discontinued). But I’ve done that many times before, and I felt like this challenge was a good time to experiment. So instead I did this metallic blue look using KvD, NARS and Viseart eye shadows, with some Urban Decay metallic lipstick (which was, TBH, disappointing). I also used NARS Albatross highlighter, though it doesn’t show well in the photos. This look was such a hit that I’m going to try to do a video tutorial for my eyes. Lesson learned: I look good in blue eyeshadow.

Day 3: Vintage Vixen. I don’t do the 1950s pin-up look very well and I have too much hair for 1920s. Instead I decided to work with what I’ve got and do a vintage era that’s often over-looked in makeup… the 1970s! Ok yeah, the 70s had some weird makeup trends, with all the pastel eye shadows. But they also loved a heavy liner and lashes for daaaaaays. They favored a fresh-faced, clean look for the complexion. And they rocked the long hair. Plus that’s when a lot of those classic vintage how-to belly dance books were published! I decided to go for a bit of a Bal Anat Ren Faire look. Long flowing hair, fresh face, peachy coral lip, a satiny neutral eye shadow and LOTS of liner. I wish I’d had some false lashes that had a 70s look to them, that would have completed the look. I had a lot of fun researching this one on Pinterest! Lesson learned: Swatch the eye shadow on your arm first. I picked a color impulsively and it was a little more metallic than satiny.

Things got out of hand... — Things got out of hand…

Day 4: Femme Fatale. I was going to do a dark, smoky look for a dangerous dame. But then I decided to use a little Bloodmilk from the Serpentina palette, and it went on so well I decided to add a little more… Then I had the crazy idea to use liquid liner, which I never do, because hey, experimentation, right? It got out of hand. I went from Film Noir to Hammer Horror! I honestly didn’t like this one but a lot of people on FB did. Maybe because they can’t see how poorly my eyes match. Lesson learned: No liquid liner.

Day 5: GLITTER BOMB! Becka Bomb arranged things so the glitter-themed day was on her birthday so I went extra glittery. I accented my metallic eye shadows with some Makeup Geek Sparklers, yep, I finally opened one. But then that wasn’t glittery enough so I layered some iridescent green glitter on top, which made it look really cool and dimensional up close. I used a sparkly highlighter and wore Big Bang lipstick. I would have worn Glitter Goo too, but I didn’t want to have to take a second shower before bed 😉 I did carry the glitter theme through into my whole outfit, with a sparkly headband from The Bold Oracle and my favorite Becka Bomb Buds, my crystallized tanfouk pendant from Tempest, my one of a kind green “Belly Dance, Because Glitter is a Lifestyle” tanktop, and a sparkle scarf on my hips when I practiced. Lesson learned: Smith’s Rosebud Salve makes a great base for glitter! It would probably be too goopy on the lid itself, but it was perfect for under the eye. Feels good on the skin, doesn’t irritate the eye with fumes, and it’s tacky enough to hold a lot of glitter. I’m definitely going to use it for applying lip glitter in the future.

Day 6: Tribal Drag Glam. The idea here was to go full out with your best “tribal” look. Now, I don’t really call my dance style tribal anymore, and I don’t do a lot of the tribal aesthetic, but it was a LOT of fun to revisit the sort of styles I did a few years ago with today’s makeup skills. I decided this was a great chance to finally try out that rich orange from the Viseart matte palette, and this ended up being my favorite eye look of the challenge. I used the rich orange, the earthier orange, and then some Ankh and Hieroglyph from Serpentina. Black gel liner gave me the perfect wing, and then I decided to give liquid liner another chance, just to do the dots. I can’t remember what lipstick I’m wearing, but I used the gold Prophet pigment from Serpentina on the center of my lower lip, Becka Bomb style. Oh, and this is the one day where I applied lashes and of course my lash is coming off in the picture. Lesson learned: More lash glue, and do this orange eye again.

Day 7: My Favorite Palette. I FORGOT MY PRIMER! So I was trying to do my makeup in a hurry before heading up to Seattle for MedFest. Also since I was going to be outside for a big chunk of the day, I started out with sunscreen instead of face primer. Well, usually my routine is face primer, eye primer, lip primer… So skipping the face primer threw me off and somehow I just started doing my eyes without any primer, and by the time I realized why my makeup looked terrible, it was too late to start over. Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca is still my favorite palette, but that matte teal sure needs a primer. On a pleasant note, layering my sheer coral SPF 30 lip balm over a matte marsala lip pencil looked really good. Lesson learned: Don’t rush, and be careful of throwing off your routine.

Day 8: My Favorite Color is… GREEN! Aw yeah, another excuse to wear Kale lipstick! My only regret is that I didn’t have a green-tinged highlighter or green mascara to add even more green to this look. Also, I tried applying Kale with a lip brush this time and I wasn’t super happy with it and ended up applying more from the tube. Maybe I just need a better lip brush, though.

Day 9: Drugstore Diva. I don’t have a whole lot of drugstore makeup with me right now, but I did have my NYX Avant Pop Palette, and a zillion NYX lipsticks. I ended up with a Soft Matte Lip Creme… I think this one is Abu Dhabi? I also used a few ColourPop products, because they’re an Indie brand, sure, but they have a similar price point to drug store brands. Lesson learned from this one: I really just don’t particularly like the ColourPop gel liner products. Too stiff and dry.

Day 10: Impromptu Gig — Work to Gig Makeup. Ok, so I work from home. It’s just me, my laptop, and my cat. I don’t wear makeup to work! But I did need to provide a headshot for work, so I came up with this simple, work-friendly look. I’d do something similar if I was going to have a video conference or meet a potential client IRL. It’s just brows, lashes, a bit of concealer under my eyes, and a tinted lip balm.

For switching to Gig Makeup, I decided to go for quick solutions, since it’s an “impromptu gig” and I probably don’t have a lot of time. After applying primer and foundation (careful not to disturb my brows and lashes), I swept on my favorite dark blush that gives a hint of contouring. Then I grabbed a Makeup Geek duochrome shadow, because it’s an easy way to get a dimensional eye look in a hurry. I, uh, went a little overboard and grabbed too much shadow on my brush when I wanted to blend out the edges, and ended up taking the color all over my eye area. I balanced it out by keeping the liner a little simpler. I did smudge some metallic teal liner under my lower lash line. I added a little extra mascara and a NARS lip crayon to complete the look. A few spritzes of setting spray and I was ready to take the imaginary stage… Well, actually, I went to belly dance class.

I really enjoyed this challenge. The combination of having themes every day and just working with the products I brought with me to WA led me to try colors and products I haven’t used much. It let me thoroughly test out my Serpentina Palette, which will be reviewed next week (Patreon backers, you’ll get a video review later today!). It let me try out some different techniques. And doing my makeup every day for 10 days really let me see how some of my products and brushes compare to each other. After playing with all different liners, I’ve decided once and for all that I really don’t like liquid liner, and I really do like gel liner.

Also, if I was really doing a gig, I would have added false lashes to every one of these looks, but I only have like 3 sets of lashes up here with me, two of which are my favorite NYX Fatale lashes that I have to order online, so I didn’t want to wear them out by applying and removing them every day.

If you have any questions about the products I used on any given day, just ask!

Urban Decay Vice Lipstick

July 15, 2016Sophia Ravenna

So a couple of months ago Urban Decay announced they were launching their Vice lipstick in 100 shades, plus 20 Sephora-exclusive shades. Of course, each retailer would only carry 100, so that meant Sephora would be missing 20 colors… Look, if your lipstick launch is so big that a retailer can just drop 20 shades, maybe it’s TOO big?

There are some nice, unique shades in the launch, but there’s also a lot of colors that are almost identical to each other! I really think that if you’re like “Ok, I want this one weird color” you’ll be fine, but if you’re like “I want a red lipstick” and you go to the Vice display, you’re going to get overwhelmed by choice and get decision paralysis. Do you want a creamy red? a metallic red? a matte red? Ok, ultra matte or comfort matte? It’s too much. I guess they’re counting on people to go overboard and buy too many lipsticks, but I already have too many lipsticks, so I’m not getting sucked in!

Old Revolution lipstick on the left, new Vice lipstick on the right, — Old Revolution lipstick on the left, new Vice lipstick on the right.

I did decide to buy just one, because the color Big Bang was SO SPARKLY. I’m pretty bored of the matte lip trend so when I see something glittery for the lips I get excited. I was a little worried that Big Bang would end up being a little too Malibu Barbie though…

The Vice lipsticks come in a bullet that looks like, well, a bullet. Golden bottom and gunmetal casing. Not gonna lie, I kind of like it. Apparently it’s a throwback to the old school Urban Decay packaging back when the company was all cool and grungy. The outer shell and inner casing both say Urban Decay, and the lipstick itself is a nice classic shape, as opposed to the cut at a flat angle shape of the Revolution lipsticks.

Big Bang applied pretty easily. I could feel the grit of the glitter as I was applying it, but once it was on it settled down comfortably. I would like the color to be a little more opaque and intense — I suspect it might look better if I put down a hot pink liner all over the lip first. But it sure delivers on the glitter! This is the sparkliest of the Metallicized finish from the Vice launch. If they were all this sparkly, I would buy them all.

I ordered Big Bang when I did because Sephora was running a special where you could get this sample card of 24 Vice colors. It’s a cute concept, each color is in its own little blister like a pill, which makes it really easy to try them. I tried out Conspiracy for the Metallic day for the 10 Day “Every Day is Gig Day” makeup challenge and it was easy to apply with a lip brush. I do wish they had put in a few more of the unusual colors, but I appreciate that there are a few choices from each finish.

Anyway, I’ve been wearing Big Bang for about 5 hours now, I danced a lot and I ate and drank. Most recently I just had a milkshake, so a lot of the color came off on the straw… But it’s still going strong around the edges. It hasn’t left my lips feeling dry, so I think this is a pretty good one for all-night gigs. You might have to touch it up but it won’t torture your lips.

If you want to know more about the Vice range, and see reviews for every color, Temptalia was sent the vault of all 120 colors and she reviewed every. single. one. I like her because she actually tries them all on her lips, instead of just doing arm swatches, and she tends to be pretty honest in her reviews.

Oh, and speaking of trying on lips, Urban Decay has a Vice app that you can use to try on every color, virtually. It’s a cute app, and it does a good job of knowing where your lips are and applying the color, but for both Conspiracy and Big Bang it showed the colors more intensely than they applied in real life, so I don’t think it’s completely accurate. Still, it’s a fun way to see how you would look in purple or blue lipstick, and you can save the pics and send to your friends or share on social media.

Julep Nail Wipes + A Makeup Challenge!

July 8, 2016July 8, 2016Sophia Ravenna

After the fail that was the e.l.f. nail polish remover pads, I decided I’d try Julep’s offering. I figured since it’s a higher-quality company, they’d be better, and since they were individually wrapped, they wouldn’t dry out, and maybe I would finally have the perfect travel nail polish remover solution.

You can get a 10-pack of these Clean Slate Polish Remover Pads for $14, or $11.20 if you’re a Julep Maven. That’s a bit expensive per each, but it would be worthwhile to bring on long trips to change my polish on the go. Each pad is a decent-sized rectangle of decently thick material infused with nail polish remover. You’re supposed to apply to the nail, let it soak for a couple seconds and then wipe it off. How did it go?

Yeah, I’m not very impressed. The pad seemed to dissolve the top coat, because it left my nails looking dull, but it barely removed any color, let alone the fine glitter in my polish — which, by the way, is a Julep color, so they should play nice! It started out feeling moist but quickly dried out. I figured, maybe it’s just a dud so I broke out another one…

The second one started off strong but only got through two and a half nails before drying out. I thought about seeing how many pads it would take to clean off all 10 nails, but honestly, I’ve got better things to do today!

Speaking of better things to do…

Inspired by monthly makeup photo challenges but not quite up to 31 days of makeup every day, my friends Becka Bomb, Mandy and I worked together to come up with a fun 10 day belly dance makeup challenge! Each day we’ll each do our own interpretation of the day’s challenge — and you’re welcome to play along, too! We’ll officially start on Monday, July 11th. If you can’t start on Monday, you can either hop on in the middle and play along for the duration, or choose your own start date and complete all 10 days. Just make sure you tag it #everydayisgigday so we can all see it! Let me know if you have any questions about the themes!

PS: Don’t forget that if you love my blog, you can help me out by contributing to my Patreon!

Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick

July 1, 2016Sophia Ravenna

Some months back, Bite Beauty discontinued their old lipstick line and replaced it with the new Amuse Bouche line. I wanted to try it out, but the colors I kept gravitating towards seemed pretty similar to stuff I already had and I’m trying not to have a bunch of lipstick dupes. But then they released some special limited edition colors for Summer, which included… Squid Ink and Kale.

Now, a deep navy blue and a blackened green seem like unusual choices for a summer launch, but I am not complaining. I love these colors and I just had to have them! I only wish I’d had Squid Ink last fall for my Deep One themed performance at Waking Persephone! I’m definitely going to wear these a lot in the Fall and Winter when my wardrobe gets darker.

So far I’ve only had the chance to wear Kale. What I really appreciate is that this color is fully opaque. I feel like when a green lipstick isn’t full-coverage, the underlying pinkness of the lip gives it a gross brown cast, or if the green is really sheer, it just makes you look sickly. This is a green that is not messing around.

What I don’t like is that it doesn’t apply very neatly just straight out of the bullet. I think to really wear this well, you should first put down a clear lipliner to define your lip shape and form a fence for the color, and then apply it with a brush to ensure you get nice, clean lines. Or apply from the bullet and clean up with a brush.

You may also notice that this color is a bit dark and harsh. It may seem unwearable. But let me share with you the secret for taking it from “I dunno…” to “Holy glitter this looks amazing!”

The secret is pigment! Pop a little pigment at the center of your lip to add dimension and fullness. I used Makeup Geek’s Kaleidoscope Duochrome pigment, which is a blue green purple color. But I think a soft green or a gold would look amazing, too. I was seriously amazed by how good this color looked when I put it on, and I can’t wait to try Squid Ink with a little Chameleon pigment (bue-green duochrome).

The Amuse Bouche formula has a nice satin finish… Not quite as budge-proof as a true matte, but not as drying either. I found it pretty comfortable to wear. That said, a color like Kale will make a bit of a mess. It transferred onto my retainer, and left green reside behind in my lip lines after I removed it. You’ll want a good remover and maybe even a lip exfoliator to really get rid of it!

If dark green and blue are not your jam, there are some really nice colors in the Amuse Bouche range. I also really like Whiskey and Thistle from the summer line, and hope I’ll be able to get them before they’re discontinued, because they also look great for fall.

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Viseart Chroma Palette

June 24, 2016Sophia Ravenna

Theory Palette III -- Chroma — Theory Palette III — Chroma

Hey all, bear with my on the photos here over the next few weeks… I’m still trying to figure out the lighting situation in my new apartment, and I left my cute butterfly paper backdrop in AZ.

So if you remember back in March, I reviewed a couple of the Viseart palettes and I pointed out that they were great, but expensive, and designed to be used together by professional makeup artists to create looks, so they weren’t really easy for a consumer to use to create looks from just a single palette.

Shortly thereafter, Viseart released three Theory palettes, which were smaller, more affordable, and featured coordinated shades that worked together. All three are really beautiful, but I chose the Chroma palette because the other two were more similar to colors I already had in my Paris Nudes palette, and I also wanted to have a rich matte black in the Viseart formula!

The packaging is a minimalist matte black cardboard, and small enough that you could fit it in basically any freebie cosmetics bag you have lying around, which makes it perfect for travel, or even keeping in your purse in case you have a sudden surprise gig come up.

The palette unfolds as shown above, and the one thing I don’t like is that the flap doesn’t really like to stay open! Also, there’s no mirror, which does help keep the palette small, but makes it harder to use on-the-go. Not shown in the photo is the small plastic tray that pops over the shadows for an extra layer of protection (it was too reflective in photos). One really nice feature is that the pans are held in by magnets and are designed to be easily removable — I was able to slip a fingernail under one and pop it out with no trouble or mess. This makes it really easy to put the colors in a Z-Palette, or if you buy more than one Theory palette you can mix and match the colors.

The arm swatch is in random order, because I was swatching colors as I put them on my eye, and then I figured I should go ahead and show all of them. These swatches were done with various brushes, over bare skin. You can see that the matte white is pretty much invisible on me. It’s a sheer color, well-suited for a brown bone highlight. And the palest shimmer, at the bottom, seems to be a little lighter on the skin than in the pan.

In these photos, I’m wearing the medium shimmer over most of my lid, with the medium matte (which is a bit satiny) in the crease, a touch of the matte black in the outer corner and under the lower lash line to darken it, and then the matte white under the outer third of the brow. Like the other palette, the colors are elegant and subdued, apply smoothly, and wore well for a few hours. They even survived me doing some pilates and dance practice!

These palettes break down to be more expensive per oz. than the other Viseart palettes, because you’re getting 6 pans of shadow for $45 vs. 12 pans for $80, but on the other hand, you’re getting hand-picked coordinated colors that you can use together, in the most travel-friendly palette I own. I mean this baby is so small, you could even put it in a tiny clutch evening bag. And the colors are really versatile, you can wear the lighter ones during the day and then add the darker ones for evening or performance wear. Just like the big palettes, this may be the sort of thing where you want to wait for a sale or a gift card and then splurge.

I really hope that Viseart will expand this line, I would of course love to see one in olive and gold colors, but a plummy one would also be really nice!

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My IKEA Vanity

June 17, 2016Sophia Ravenna

Of course it's green. — Of course it’s green.

If you didn’t already know, I’m spending the summer in a sublet in Tacoma. When the gal who usually lives here told me that she had her bed in the living room and the bedroom was pretty much empty, I immediately had visions in my head of a dance room! Well, it turns out the bedroom is TINY and I actually have more dance space in the living room, even with a bed, desk, and chairs in here.

But I wasn’t about to let that room go to waste! Since there was already a dresser and a mirror in there, I had visions of turning it into a vanity and dressing room. How luxurious!

This apartment is a really cute 1920s place with lots of age and character, so it would have been appropriate to comb the antique stores and flea markets to find something vintage… But vintage stuff is heavy and I live up a couple flights of stairs. Besides, I don’t know if I’ll have space for a vanity in my next few homes, so I wanted something cheap and versatile that I can either repurpose into a computer or craft desk, or give away on Craig’s List if I really don’t have space.

I gave myself a $200 budget, and $208 later I had everything I needed for my vanity room, plus some miscellaneous kitchen stuff I needed! Score! Now I’m here to tell you how you, too, can build your own IKEA vanity.

(Note, IKEA does have specific vanity tables that are pretty cute if you’d prefer something with built in mirrors and drawers, but I like my system.

The table/desk. IKEA has a lot of affordable table-desk options. I went with a table top and legs. I didn’t even get the cheapest table top, I think I could have gone $5-10 cheaper, but I wanted the white and green one, so I went with the LINNMON table top and 4 ADILS legs in silver. The table top and legs are pretty light weight so they were easy to take up the stairs, and I should be able to disassemble it when I move.
Makeup storeage. I knew I wanted the HELMER cabinet in green because I had wanted to purchase a similar one at The Container Store, but it was more expensive there and not big enough to hold all my makeup. I don’t have all my stuff here so this is more than enough room for what I do have, and once I move the rest of my makeup up here I can use this to store beads or I dunno, actual paperwork. I had seen this cabinet under this table in the store, so I knew it would fit perfectly.
Seating. Originally I was going to just roll the desk chair from the living room into the vanity when I wanted to do my face, but since my table was so cheap, I decided to get myself a cute chair. NILSERIK comes in the same white and green palette as the rest of my furniture, and it was pretty comfy and good for my posture. Plus it fits under the table when not in use. This was a little expensive and there’s a lot of more affordable stool options you could choose instead if you want to save some cash.
Lighting and mirror. The lighting in my vanity room sucks so I decided to grab the cute HARTE LED lamp, which is adjustable, comes in a few colors, and can be plugged into an AC outlet or a USB port. I might end up using it as a beading light too! The KAITUM mirror also has LED lights, and is battery powered, so I can bring it with me for gigs as well if I want to. Honestly, the lighting still sucks so I think I may need to put in another, more powerful lamp.
Accessories. The cup on the desk is actually a SKURAR candle holder but I liked the lacy pattern and figured it was perfect for collecting my used brushes as I do my makeup. I might go back for the matching candle tray to hold my perfumes and a few other objects I want to have at hand. The FNISS trash can is super cheap and just the right size for any trash I make while doing my face (q-tips, tissues, makeup packaging, whatever). The jade plant is not from IKEA, it was left here by the tenant but it looks cute on the desk!

I did my makeup for both of last weekend’s gigs at this vanity and it worked well. I had my makeup sorted into the different drawers, which made it easy to find things. There was plenty of room to work. I could have even brought my laptop in if I had wanted to follow a YouTube tutorial. Really the only thing that needs improving is the lighting situation! I’m really glad I did this because there is literally zero counterspace in the bathroom here, so this vanity is going to make my life so much easier.

NYX Plush Gel Lipstick

June 10, 2016Sophia Ravenna

You may remember seeing this product in my NorCal makeup shopping haul. When we visited the NYX store they had a few products I hadn’t seen before, like this Plush Gel Lipstick. I picked it up in Sacred Mix (cool name, right?), a lovely wine red shade.

What I like about this: The color is beautiful, nicely pigmented, and buildable. I like the slim-line packaging with the flat angled product. And I like how it feels on my lips. It has a cushiony, balm-like texture that feels smooth and slightly hydrating.

What I don’t like: This just doesn’t stay on. It’s quick to fade and transfers or wears off if you eat or drink anything!

I really can’t recommend this one for my fellow dancers, even though it’s only $7 and comes in some nice colors. There’s just no way it’s going to last for a night of performing, and it might even transfer onto your teeth. I mean, I’ll probably wear it occasionally for day-to-day stuff if I want to look cute and don’t mind reapplying every hour or two, but I’ll never wear this one on stage and I’m glad I tried it out on my vacation instead of test-driving it at a performance!

Disappointment aside…. LOOOK! LOOOKIE! I got my braces off! My teeth are freeeeeee…. well, actually, I have to wear retainers, but still. No more braces! I’m going to be rocking a lot of bold lips to show off my new mouth, so expect a lot of lippie reviews over the next couple of months.

PS: Do you enjoy my blog posts? Do you want even more blog posts? Do you have a dollar a month to spare? If so, you should check out my Patreon! I’ll blog more about it on Tuesday, but for now, this is the sort of shameless plug you’ll see at the end of my posts.

That time I played Beauty Advisor

June 3, 2016Sophia Ravenna

So it turns out that if you buy lots of makeup and blog about it on a weekly basis, your friends get the idea that you know what you’re talking about. So one of the things Sabien wanted to do while we were hanging out in CA together was pick up some more makeup, and get some input from me on how to use it. Now, I’m not an expert or a professional, just an enthusiastic and informed amateur, but I was happy to share with her what I’ve learned and some of my favorite resources for learning more (mainly Wayne Goss videos because he has a lot of short, no-nonsense tutorials and I love his accent).

It’s fun to help friends shop for makeup, because it’s almost like I’m shopping, but I don’t spend any money (except on whatever I’m picking up while I’m out with them). Also if they have different coloring or needs than I do, then I get to help them explore products that I normally pass up, and we both learn something as we go.

So I figured I’d share with you guys some of my thought process when I’m helping a friend build their belly dance makeup wardrobe.

First, you’ll notice that Sabien’s haul is a nice mix of budget-friendly brands like NYX and ColourPop, and mid-range prestige brands like Urban Decay and MUFE. I think that when you’re just starting out with makeup, it’s fun to splurge on a couple of things that you really like or that have no equivalent drug store dupe, but that when there’s a great, affordable option, you should take it — especially for things that you might want to have several colors of, like lipstick or eye liner, or things you might not wear a lot, like blue lipstick or an eye shadow you need for a specific costume that you’re only gonna wear a few times.

I really think that NYX has some of the best lip formulas on the market, especially for the price. You can see that Sabien likes lip colors, as there’s a few NYX, a ColourPop and one of those Urban Decay lippies that was half-off. She has a good mix of versatile colors for the stage, and unusual colors for a fun night out or for a special character piece. When it comes to buying lipstick, I think it’s important for dancers to choose a formula that is well-pigmented, feels good on their lips, and doesn’t move around a lot or stay tacky (because you don’t want your hair or veil getting stuck in it).

Sabien’s less eye color crazy than I am, so she stuck with making some smart purchases that went with what she already owned. A couple of eye liners, a shimmery eye shadow that coordinates with a matte palette she already owned, and my favorite Smoky Extravagant mascara, in the more affordable travel-size tube. For dancers, I like to recommend eye products that again, are well-pigmented, that have a long wear time and aren’t prone to creasing or fallout.

We looked at a few blush brands and decided on the Urban Decay. I haven’t used it myself but it has good reviews, and it looked really good on! Plus the packaging is pretty cool looking and not too bulky. For dancers, I recommend a blush that can build in intensity, depending on the lighting of your venue and how close you’ll be to the audience. It also has to have a good wear-time!

She also wanted a specific color-correcting concealer, which I’m not as familiar with, but I had seen the COVER FX one that she chose and liked how compact the packaging was. It’s part of a cool line where you can click them into a tube and have one at each end, although she only wanted the one. It worked really well for her needs, was easy to apply, blended out well and lasted all day, so if you need color correction or concealing, that’s a good brand to check out. When it comes to concealers, I look for one that does the job without being too thick, to avoid cakeyness.

One other purchase that I want to point out is the ever-handy Almay cleanup swabs. Especially when you’re learning, it’s good to have a quick and easy way to correct mistakes or remove product that you decided you don’t like after all. I’m always recommending them to dancers and makeup newbies. I love that they come in a little plastic case so it’s easy to bring them along to a show and clean up any mascara flakes or lipstick smudges that arise at the last minute, or to help out a fellow dancer whose makeup went awry.

Above all, when helping out someone who is newer to makeup or looking to branch out, I like to emphasize the fact that makeup should be fun. Swatch everything that you think you might like, and even a few things that you might not like. Then when you get home, play around with what you bought. Combine things! Try things out! Start out with a tutorial, and then branch out from there. If you don’t like it, you can just wash it off and start again.

All the way from Amsterdam…

May 27, 2016May 25, 2016Sophia Ravenna

What happens when a belly dancer from The Netherlands and a belly dancer from USA hang out together? They swap makeup, of course! I was really excited that my friend Sabien brought me this Durable Eyeshadow Mousse from Make-Up Studio, because it seemed like an interesting product and the color “Edgy Emerald” looked really stunning.

I expected this product to be like a typical cream base, but it actually has a texture like mousse, a lot lighter and softer than a cream or gel. As such I picked up more with my brush than I really needed!

Color is a bit off due to sub-optimal lighting conditions.

This product is a little tricky to apply. You have to let it dry before opening your eye, or it will crease. However, it dries pretty quickly, so you can’t really blend it out to diffuse the edges. If it does crease, you can apply more to smooth it out.

It seemed to either give my lids a weird texture, or over-emphasize the texture that was already there, so its not ideal for close-up photos. However, the color was vivid, intense and metallic. And best of all, once it is dried it does. not. budge. I wore it all day and my eyes still looked great at the end of the day. I first tried to remove it with the magic eraser cloth from Sephora and barely took any of it off. An oil-based cleaner did break it up, so you can remove it when the time comes.

I also applied it under my lower lash line and it worked great that way, so I think these would double as a liner really well.

This product seems ideal for all-day outdoor events and maybe even for mermaids who want something that can get wet. Unfortunately, you can’t currently get it in the US, but if you are traveling, you may want to look for a Make-up Studio store!

NorCal Makeup Haul

May 20, 2016Sophia Ravenna

Apparently I'm in a lippy mood. — Apparently I’m in a lippy mood.

I’m on vacation in Northern California, and my friend requested we do some makeup shopping, so of course I complied! We’ve hit Sephora, Ulta, and a NYX store, as well as the cosmetics department of Target. Here’s what I’ve picked up, some of which will be reviewed on this blog in the future.

Sun Bum lip balm. I picked this up because my usual lip balm has SPF 15 and we’ve been walking outdoors a lot, so I got a sunburn on my lips. Ouch! This untinted balm has a nice texture and wears well, but the coconut flavor is a bit too sweet and strong.
NYX Plush Gel Lipstick. I hadn’t seen this formula before so I decided to give it a try and I picked up a gorgeous red shade.
The Ulta we visited actually had a fair amount of the UD Revolution lipsticks left for 50% off, so I decided to pick one up, but when I was preparing for this photo I realized that it looks like it may have actually been used, as there is lipstick on the box and the tube. Gross. I’ll have to disinfect it before I use it.
NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Vancouver. One of the new colors they released what, earlier this year or the end of last year? There’s some good ones. This one is purple! I might eventually grab Moscow, which is blue, but I’ll wait for a sale.
NYX Extreme Shine Eye Liner. I hadn’t seen this formula either and this green is incredibly bright and shiny.
A brush belt! NYX had these for only $25 and I thought it would be cool to have one, especially when I’m doing my makeup someplace without counter space. It’s already been easier for me to find the brushes I’m looking for, too.

A pretty modest haul considering all the stores I visited, but then again, I didn’t really NEED anything.