Sucker Punch inspired look, birthday cake & thoughts.

[Happy Easter!]

Warning: Lots of pictures, many of which are eye close-ups. I hope they won't be too annoying, but I had a hard time choosing & wanted to finish this post already ;).

I haven't seen Sucker Punch & don't know whether I want to, but the make-up's beautiful. That's my excuse ^_^.

Below, I present my recreation of Baby Doll's make-up look. Let's start with the full face shots...

I tried to portray expressions seen on various graphics I found online.

(The hair, too. I never wear my hair like this: it's either loose, a messy updo or a ponytail. What do you think?)

So, if my poses look odd and/or funny to you, remember they aren't technically mine - I didn't come up with them ;).

I'd also like to apologise to any Sucker Punch fans who may think that I look like a poor parody of their favourite character. (I hope I won't!)

Next, eye close-ups...

Yes, I know.

Way too many pictures...

They do focus on her eyes in the movie though.

(I'm pretty sure it's a plot point.)

This last one is only here because it's fairly bizarre. I think I took that one by accident.

And OK, I didn't really need three nearly identical 'eyes closed' pictures...

But I've already uploaded them & it's my birthday, so here they are ;D.

The original look definitely uses false lashes. I did not ;).

Here's what I used for this look & how I did it. It's actually pretty simple.

Face: I used my Pola whitening foundation & Bourjois Mineral Radiance powder.

Eyes: I shaded my lids with the white shade from Wet & Wild Galactic Realm, used wet. Then I defined the eye with the brown (bottom middle) shade from the Let It Snow palette, going all the way into the inner & outer corners and using the shadow left on the brush (Tigi Fame - perfect for this look ;D) to apply just a hint of colour onto the lower outer corners. I lined with mascara (liquid liner could & probably should be used instead), and used my Oriflame pencil in Silver Snow on my lower waterline. To make my top lashes look like falsies, I used Lancome Definicils topped with Avon SuperShock. The bottom lashes were left bare.

Cheeks: I used the pink blush from my Sephora Sunswept palette on the centre & the lighter shade from my (smashed up but no less lovely ^_^) Sugar blush in Cupcake on the tops of my cheeks. Any similar shades of pink will do ;).

Lips: Estee Lauder Crystal Pink. It's not the best match, actually, but I really wanted to use it ^_^.

Birthday nails: OPI Russian Navy.

And here's a pic of my cake ^_^.

Number cutouts yet again ;).

Here's one last photograph. This & the very first picture are me posing as me (not Baby Doll of Sucker Punch). I took these last. I'm honestly surprised at how nice they've turned out.

Yes, I like this year's pictures. That's an improvement. It took me a year to like 2009's (I liked them in 2010), and a year to like 2010's (as predicted, I like them now), but I already like this. I suppose I'm making peace with my appearance. That was one of the reasons I started blogging.

Or maybe it's just growing up.

I have grown up. I've learned a lot & will keep learning. And I'm glad to be alive.

Thank you so much for reading my birthday post :).

Happy birthday to me ^_^.

Nail colour of the moment: yellow! (Essie Flirty Girl.)

Inspired by this post about Chanel's upcoming collection...

[Daylight, no flash.]

[Indirect daylight, close-up with flash.]



Yellow nails make me happy ^_^.

(I'm quite lucky to already own a nice yellow shade ;D.)

Thanks for looking at this short post :) - wondering what type of look to try out next...

Korres magazine gift sets photos & swatches.

Marie Claire Greece's December 2010 issue comes with a gift set featuring two full size Korres products. There are three different kinds: a lip liner & lipstick, mascara & eye liner, or eye shadow & eye liner. I ended up grabbing two shadow & liner sets.

The packaging's nice, sturdy cardboard.

My first duo consists of Smooth Cedar Wood Pencil in 12 Green White (though the Greek name for it is Light Green :-/) and Sunflower & Evening Primrose Long-Wearing Eyeshadow in 66 Pink.

The eye shadow packaging reminds me of Laura Mercier shadows, and so does the shade actually, I'll post swatches below so you can see whether you agree.

I think they packaged these randomly 'cause while both shades are lovely, I think that one would have to be fairly creative with their make-up to wear these together.

The second set consists of Soft Eyeliner Pencil in 2S White and Shimmering Eyeshadow in 46S Olive Green.

I own a lot of eye make-up, but white liner's a staple for me. Looking forward to trying out my new white pencil ;D.

Finally, here are two swatch pics.

Daylight:

Flash:

The shadows are sheeny and slightly metallic; the liners are pastel, pigmented and very pretty :).

I hope the swatches have helped and/or are nice to look at XD. Thanks for reading :).

Mixed post: Some old swaps, some sample reviews & a nail polish pic or two.

Here's a confession: I like writing sample reviews 'cause they don't require as much effort as complete ones ;).

*Tresemme Moisture Rich Conditioner sample review: The 8 ml sample was not enough for my long & thick hair. Maybe that's why the product didn't make an impression. Pretty average. Using the sample didn't make me want to try it.

*Clarins Gentle Foaming Cleanser sample review: This has tiny scrub-like particles in it, so I wouldn't recommend it (and didn't use it) as a daily face wash. When used once to twice a week, it left my skin clean and smooth without drying it out. It also made my pores invisible. I'm quite pleased with this product.

Next, a very very late Swap Update...

Since these swaps were completed back in late 2009, I can no longer remember what I'd sent out in exchange - but I doubt that anyone really cares, so I'll just skip listing that.

Swap 1 [The USA].

Pictured: Revlon Sugar Sugar Lip Topping in Lemon Drop, Pop Glitter Stix pencil in Coco, Eyeko Eye Cake in Pretty Eyes, and (probably my favourite from this lot) Mark Flip For It Fall Colour Kit in New York.



And guess what? The Mark Flip palette was an extra :D. Swapping truly makes me feel better about humanity, the people one comes across are so kind. I really should get into it again.


Swap 2 [The USA - the swapper I got my Wild & Crazy bright yellow shadow from].



Lots of Glamour Doll Eyes sample baggies (I won't list them all just now, but feel free to request if you're interested) and two eye shadow minis (Secretive and Slumber Party), two Still Glamorus eye shadows in Chic and Crybaby, NYX lipsticks in Rea and Sparkling Bronze, Elf's Candy Shop gloss tin in Coconut Craze, Mary Kay Satin Lips Lip Balm, a sample pot of LUSH Dream Cream, and a bracelet :).

I can't remember what the white thing over the Elf gloss is XD. But I'm fairly sure it's a Jane mineral face product that I got for & gave my sister ;). She also got the Elf gloss and NYX Sparkling Bronze lipstick.


Swap 3 [Scotland, the lovely lady I got my Sleek Safari palette from].



Actual swap: NYX eye shadows in Apricot Moose and Root Beer, and NYX Concealer In A Jar in Fair. Expected extra: Clinique Blended Face Powder in 20 Invisible Blend. (That's the glowing circle next to the L'Occitane sample.)

Unexpected extras: The aforementioned sample of L'Occitane Creme Tres Precieuse, a lovely Hello Kitty tin ^_^ (gave the mints to my sister ;D), mint tea, and a Space NK catalogue :D.


This swapper is brilliant with extras - she really picks them out to suit you ^_^.

Swap 4 [The USA].



Lime Crime !!!


Pompadour & Vixen. Vixen's Limited Edition. I'm so pleased about snagging these.



There'll be another Swap Update post coming up in the future, and that'd be all - until I arrange some new swaps ;).

Finishing off this somewhat erratic post with better pics of Serial Blogger.

I'm pretty sure it's discontinued :(, but I love mine and the pictures I'd posted before didn't really do it justice, and I'm wearing it now so I thought I'd retake.


And here's a close-up with flash...



Wearing two coats there.
It's even more gorgeous in real life when each bit of glitter reflects a different colour :D...

Plus, discontinued or not, I plan to eventually photograph every nail colour that I own ;).

Thanks for reading :).

Some nail pictures.

I admit that I'm posting this as an alternative to nothing at all. At this point I'm literally too busy to focus on writing here :'(, and trust me, I'd love to blog more frequently and will as soon as it's viable. And that's a promise ;).

These were taken back in 2009 when I left the blogosphere for a fair period of time...But since I never intended to quit, I took blog-related pictures anyway ;D.

NYC Big Money:

Very foil looking. A nice shade for pale complexions. But not the easiest formula to work with. Still, in my opinion the colour makes it worth it. And hey, it's a very cheap one so fair enough :-P.

Also, that nail length isn't for me. I kept scratching my face by accident when applying anything to it XD. I've gone back to short, cute & practical ^_^.

MAC Girls Will Be Girls:

Limited Edition, from Fafi. My only MAC polish & it, like NYC, is also kinda too fluid and hard to work with. But I love the unique colour. Will probably re-photograph this one to get a truer representation.

Oriflame Visions Serial Blogger:

Love the name. Love the fact that it makes a great glittery top coat for anything I care to throw it over. Its texture is like rough sugar because of the glitter bits (lol).

That's it for tonight. Thanks for reading :). Will do my best to write and comment more.

P.S. Thank you all SO much for the birthday comments :). Sending wishes of cake to all who requested it XD ^_^.

Last night's blue look, last week's blue nails, & more new stuff, including my contest prizes.

Finally, a look :-P.

(I know they're the most popular kind of post & everyone likes to see them, but I hate them - my face isn't a pleasant subject to work with in my opinion. Still, I can stand it when I have to ;D.)

This looked nicer in real life :), so I'll be wearing it again ^_^. But...

It looks exactly like a passport photograph. And that isn't a compliment.

(Hey, it's my face, so I can tell the truth :-P.)

In case you can't tell, yes, I really hate taking pictures >:-).

An angled eye close-up. I suppose I got bored of the regular ones.

(I do love that 'looking through the hair' effect. Even on me.)

Here's what I used. (Yes, many things are new.)

Skin: Jane AguaCeuticals (that's a g as seen on the pic, not my mistake :-/) Sheer Tinted Moisturiser SPF 30 in Fair Tones (the lightest shade).

You've noticed? It's not light enough for me :(, and I don't think I'll ever find a technically cheap TM as light as the Stila, but that's about the only problem I have with it. And it doesn't look unnaturally dark, so I can definitely pull it off ;). (In fact, I'm sure that most people would prefer this over my usual pale base colour.) It's a great product :). It makes my skin look (and feel) glowy, soft and healthy, and has SPF 30 :D. I've already arranged a swap for another tube & definitely recommend this to you all to try ;).

I also used my Physicians Formula loose powder (mainly because I wanted to try out the kabuki), and contoured with Bourjois powder in Miel Dore (not Apricote) - I think this one works better ;).

Eyes: I followed the technique outlined in this video. Since I don't have that quad though :-P, I used my Milani quad in Denim Blues (the colours are pretty similar ;D). Also, I made everything blue :D - so my liner & mascara for this look were Barry M Kohl Pencil in 4 and Avon Daring Curves mascara in Navy ;). And of course, I curled my lashes with my Shisem curler.

Cheeks: The Body Shop Shimmer Waves 02 (Blush). I used a mix of the darker colours on my cheeks & the lightest one (which looks white but actually reflects pink when worn) as a highlighter. Definitely recommending this product to all pale girls - it's not as shimmery as one'd expect of it, just softly glowing and very pretty :).

Lips: Estee Lauder Pure Colour Gloss in Praline. Which I thought would be brown (praline's chocolate, isn't it :-/) when I asked to swap for it - and obviously it's not >:-), but it's pretty so I don't mind ^_^.

Bonus pic: I'm watching you :-P...

Some swaps come next :). Read on for the blue nail polish pic ;), it came from a swap so :-P...

Swap 1 [The USA].

(For my depotted NYX eye shadows in Rust and Lime Green, and lots of extras ^_^.)

The Jane TM :D! (See the 'Skin' section of the tutorial for the full name, I'm lazy :-P. Or just read it on the pic ;D.) And...

Revlon Not So Blue-Berry nail polish :).

I've wanted that colour ever since I read this review, but living in Europe, I couldn't just go out and buy it :-P. (Don't get me started on that, there are so many products I wish I had direct access to :-/...)

Here's a pic...

Simply lovely. Oh, and it does smell like berries ;).

She also kindly added a Trish McEvoy Beta Hydroxy Pad and mini primer as extras :D.

Swap 2 [The USA, a different swapper].

(For two Prevage minis I had & obviously didn't need, and some extras.)

Clinique Glosswear For Lips Sheer Shimmers in Gold Sparkle. If you'd like to know what it looks like, picture Benefit California Kissin' in this colour, minus the 'freshness' effect, and it's quite sticky. Believe it or not, this looked like a cool-toned gold to me, so if you're after one, check this out ;).

She also added a La Roche-Posay eye cream sample & a face cloth as extras :).

And last but not least, here's my prize lot from Blogspot Beauty's contest :D.

This contest had a really cute concept - the prizes were minis of BB's fave products, so the winner could get to try them out for herself ;) ^_^.

The minis:

*Estee Lauder mini Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher.
*Estee Lauder mini DayWear Plus Multi Protection Antioxidant Creme SPF 15.
*Boots No7 mini tinted moisturiser in Medium.
*Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess mini bronzer.
*Estee Lauder mini MagnaScopic mascara.
*Lancome mini Definicils mascara.
*Lancome mini Juicy Tube.

And two full-size products: a Sanctuary warming detox mask and a Boots No7 Moisture Drench lipstick in Cameo.

It's a medium rose with a reflecting sort of effect. Reminds me of my Oriflame Skydiver nail polish (which I'll have to repurchase 'cause my little sister knocked it off the table >:-@, but at least I'm glad it was this & not a rare OPI one, lol) or my Barry M lipstick in 123, minus the huge chunks of glitter in that one. I think I'll take a picture 'cause I'm having a hard time describing this with words :-P.

I've swapped off the mini skincare 'cause I know they won't work for me, and the Juicy Tube. I also gave the mini TM to my (teenage) sister - and she adores it :D. (I'm always happy & a bit vindicated to see her excited about a product, 'cause she normally looks so bored when I'm all giddy about my new stuff, it's irritating >:-/. But hey, her friends are all jealous of her & say she's lucky to have a live-in Sephora XD :-P.) I've kept everything else though, and will use it often ;). Thanks again BB :).

And thank you all for reading ^_^. I know I have a few tags pending, so I'll do these soon ;D...And there's more new stuff (swapped and purchased) to share :).

P.S. Thanks to everyone who missed me. I appreciate it more than I seem to.