Nefertiri Makeup

I've been really enjoying more artsy and less "wearable" makeup these days. The past few experiments prompted me to do another Egyptian-themed look. Many years ago, while watching The Mummy films, I was really enamored with the characters of Anck Su Namun and Nefertiri. Michelle Phan's Egyptian Queen makeup brought this to mind and I did an Egyptian royalty-inspired look very, very loosely based on this concept. This was the result:

For the eyes, I used Maybelline Color Tattoo in Edgy Emerald as well as Sugarpill eyeshadow in Midori. I used both black gel eyeliner and liquid eyeliner for the graphic eyeliner. To finish, I traced each shape out with Urban Decay liquid eyeliner in Eldorado. I also added Ardell #120 eyelashes.

For a glowing, gilded complexion, I dusted my cheeks with ELF Golden Bronzer. I used Jordana's Matte Lipstick in Berry for my lips.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday! Thanks for reading! :)

Hugs,
Cat

Disney's Sleeping Beauty-Inspired Lip Art

One of my girlfriends invited me to do a cool lip art collaboration with her. The theme was Heroes and Villains: Disney's Sleeping Beauty edition. She interpreted Maleficent while I attempted Princess Aurora.  Check out our finished product!

Original artwork by Paula Franco and Justin Turrentine

Didn't she do an amazing job?! To see more of Elle's work, check out her blog and Instagram! :)

More detail images of my Aurora lip art:

To create this look, I used LA Splash lipsticks in Romance, Vivacious and Greed, Feathered lip tar from OCC Makeup, and Urban Decay's liquid eyeliner in Eldorado. Then I embellished with nail art rhinestones for a sparkling, princess-y touch.

What do you think? Was I able to capture the essence of the Aurora in lip art? ^_^

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,
Cat

Michelle Phan's Egyptian Queen

Long time no see! Though, if you're subscribed to my Instagram, I've been pretty busy there. :) Just thought I'd share my attempt at remaking Michelle Phan's Egyptian Queen eye makeup look. Check it out!

I used Make Up For Ever's Flash Palette for the brows, setting them with matching shadow. For the eyes, I used the gold pigment from the MUFE Flash Palette, set with Half Baked from Urban Decay. For the blue parts, I used Urban Decay's eyeshadow pencil in Clash. I used Kate Super Sharp liquid eyeliner pen for the black details and Ardell #120 false lashes.

Alrighty, off to do weekend things! ^_^ TGIF, everyone, and thanks for reading!

Hugs,
Cat

Purple Ombre Fishtail Eyeshadow With Gilded Outline

Well, that was a mouthful, but I didn't know what else to call this look.

I created this look using YSL's Pure Chromatics quad in #13 and used the colors wet. Then I outlined the shape using Urban Decay's liquid eyeliner in Eldorado. Finished by adding Ardell Color Impact demi Wispies in Plum. I don't know if I'd wear this out on a normal day, but it was fun to do. I really enjoy fantasy makeup.

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday and thanks for reading!

Hugs,
Cat

Enchanted Garden Eyes with Sleek Garden of Eden

Hello there! Springy, green tutorial with my new Garden of Eden palette by Sleek.

Instructions:

• blend Paradise into crease
• apply Evergreen to inner half of eyelid
• apply Python to outer half of lid
• apply Evergreen to inner half of lower lash line
• line outer corners of upper and lower lash line with black pencil eyeliner
• darken outer corners with matte black shadow
• apply Tree of Life to outer corner of lower lash line

Finish by curling lashes, a coat of mascara, and applying Ardell Wispies.

Hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather! Thanks for reading!

Hugs,

Cat

LA Splash Limited Edition Lipsticks

A couple weeks ago, LA Splash announced a pre-sale for their limited edition lipstick collection, featuring bold, eccentric colors, undoubtedly inspired by Melt Cosmetics, an indie brand who was the first to introduce a daring collection of muted, yet noteworthy shades in addition to a few megawatt brights. The demand for Melt lipsticks were high…but so was the price tag. In response to this, LA Splash was quick to release their own collection of Melt dupes. I was able to pick up a bundle of five for the pre-sale price tag of $35, as opposed to the $19 apiece price of Melt lipsticks. I chose Envy, Vanity, Romance, Wrath, and Greed. Here are my lip swatches, straight out of the tube:

My assessment of each individual shade is as follows:

• Envy: meant to be a dupe for Melt's Blow. It's a really beautiful shade of deep teal with just a hint of metallic shimmer. Though advertised as "ultra-matte", I wouldn't consider it to be a matte lipstick. It's densely pigmented and applies evenly in a single pass. I think I could almost consider wearing it out.
• Vanity: Doesn't really resemble any shade that Melt carries, so I would consider it the most original of the bundle that I ordered in terms of color. It's a matte, radioactive purple that's very vibrant, matte, and opaque. Definitely an eye-catcher.
• Wrath: meant to be a dupe for Melt's Space Cake. A medium shade of blue-gray, it's pigmented, opaque, and truly matte. Probably the closest to resembling a Melt dupe from the bunch that I received. The color itself is gorgeously understated, but makes a huge statement when worn.
• Romance: possibly an attempt at Melt's 6six6, it looked pretty promising in the tube, but didn't really meet my expectation when worn. It's more of a fuchsia-orchid shade with a hint of purple, was only semi-opaque and was more of a satin finish, definitely not matte. It had more slip than the other four shades and took a few passes to obtain an even coat of color.
• Greed: definitely meant to be a dupe for Melt's famous DGAF. This one was the most disappointing of the bunch. It was pigmented, but didn't apply evenly or opaquely and definitely wasn't matte. I tried my best, but you can see how splotchy the color is in the image, despite my efforts. This shade of blue is extremely difficult to do, I'm sure. I have yet to own one that works successfully. My guess is that, if you want to wear this shade of blue and wear it well, you're probably best off investing in the real deal.

In a nutshell, I highly recommend Envy, Vanity, and Wrath. They are unique, densely pigmented and apply very opaque and evenly. The quality definitely exceeds the price, I feel.

To be honest, I would skip Romance and Greed. The colors are beautiful, but the formula definitely needs tweaking. I'm sure there's a perfectly good dupe for Romance somewhere out there, it's not an uncommon color. If you're considering purchasing Greed as an inexpensive dupe for Melt's DGAF, I would recommend saving your money towards actually buying DGAF.

Those are my thoughts! Hope some of you found this review helpful and thanks for reading

Hugs,

Cat

Beach-Blue Gradient Wings and Haute Pink Lips

Beach weather is upon us and I couldn't help but let my mind wander to Caribbean blues and bright, happy pinks. With that in mind, I did a cool-hued ombre winged eyeshadow paired with a neon-pink pucker.

That's Haute Pink Twist from Covergirl's Jumbo Gloss Balm collection and I created the blue ombre wing using a shimmery aqua shade from Coastal Scents' Original 88 palette as well as Deep End and Evidence by Urban Decay.

Keepin' it short and sweet tonight. Thanks for reading! <3

Hugs,

Cat