lipstick-ladies

my three favorite muses and their signature lipsticks….. inspired these looks.


the lipstick-lady: catherine baba… if i can, one day, manage to just be half as fabulous as her...
her look: dirty-red matt lips with glamorous eyes

i used revlon, just bitten, lipstain + balm in forbidden with mac, lip pencil in beet

the lipstick-lady: michelle violy harper… so incredibly gorgeous and reminds me to just have fun with make-up (and fashion).
her look: pale white skin with minimal eyes, paired strong brows and lips

i used... lipstick in media and lip pencil in vino, both from mac


the lipstick-lady: marilyn monroe… my all-time favorite
her look: the classic 50s bombshell... cat-eye and red lips

i used... dior, rouge dior in ara red and mac, lip pencil in beet

have fun… with your favorite lipstick, today

powder and liquid

the look: purple in powdery and liquid form, on my eyes... with an orange lip. 

skin: i achieved very even matt skin, by using foundation, on my entire face, and dusting it with pressed powder. in addition, i only used a very light amount of blush on my cheeks.

brows: with i winged-eyeliner look, i usually like a stronger brow. 

eyes: i started out with the plum-colored loose powder, on my top lid. to soften it a little, i layered light pink on the inner corners. i also used this color to lighten the lower lid. the second purple, in form of a liquid liner, i painted along the upper lashes. with the mascara i also focused on the upper lash row and only coated the outside half of the bottom row... to emphasize the cat-eye shape more.

lips: i thought it would be nice, to combine a sheer orange lip color, to the purple on my eyes. 

have fun

this leaf on the way to work… little things that make me smile

p b (does not stand for peanut butter…. in this case)

the look: even skin, shades of purple and blue on the eyes, and natural lips.

skin: i used a light foundation and concealer, followed by face power, to give this look an even base

brows: i didn't fill them in too much, but used brow gel to make them look more defined and groomed.

eyes: i brushed mac, eye shadow, jeweled on my lids and defused the edges with a light shimmering pink, on my brow bone. then i used a purple, crayon-pen thing, from sephora (that i have had for eeeeeeever), on the lower half of my movable lid for brightness and mac, pigment color powder, in circa plum, on my crease for depth. i rimed my eyes generously with a green-blue shimmering eyeliner and also used a light blue eyeliner on my tear duct. black kohl kajal on my waterlines, and a good amount of mascara, to get that deep... dramatic look.

lips: on my lips i used a simple tinted lip balm (since this iiiiis a day look….), but first lined the top edge with a flesh colored lip tint. (because my upper lip kind of fades out, without a natural sharp edge, that totally is reason for envy, when i see girls who have that naturally….)


have fun

little effort... big impact

for days i don't feel like wearing a lot of make-up….. i use the little basics... that have big impact. 

a good(!) mascara

groomed eyebrows

tinted lip balm

skin luminator 

aaaand

a good-night-sleep…...

have fun!

colored shadow

the look: the skin is matt.  the eyes are shaded with plum, copper and blue…

skin: i evened my skin with foundation, concealer and then a dusting of pressed powder. for blush i used matte lose powder in a natural flesh tone.

brows: i felt like this look needed a stronger brow... so i used the darkest of my eyebrow colors to fill and define them.

eyes: first i painted an even layer of bare minerals, bare escentuals, passionate plum on my movable lid. with my favorite blending brush i sweapt a good amount of mac, coppering on my crease. with a bronzy-gold eyeliner, i pulled a line along the bottom lid. theeeen, i added matte dark blue eyeshadow and dark grey eyeliner, along the top lash row. the final shadow, to pull all those colors together, was a purple-grey shimmering loose powder. then, a touch a lot of mascara.

lips: on my lips, i used a lip tint that is very close to my natural lip color, to get a more defined look. and then a tinted lip blam to give them a subtle sheen.


have fun

new york details

all photos of new york's details, taken by me

bare...

i did this look at the end of last week. i was soooo tired had to get up waaaay to early. i felt like i needed some shimmer on my eyes, to brighten them up, and distract from the shadows… and swelling. putting ice cubes on them (while i was making my morning espresso) kind of took care of most of that….. (can i get a: "beauty secreeet!"?)

of course i didn't have time (after pushing snooze for an hour. not kidding…..) to do an elaborate higlight-blending-lining-shading-who-knows-what look. for moments like that, i use bare skin, bare minerals eye color by bare escentuals. (we get it…… it's bare) well. it iiiiiiis the perfect nude shimmer. really.

sculpted… lined... and stained

this title calls for amelia bedelia……...

the look: a sculpted face… lined eyes… and stained lips

skin: after foundation and powder, i sculpted my face very subtly with benefit, 10… creating shadows at the hollows of my cheeks and on the sides of the tip of my nose. the way this product is designed, (with a low- and high-lighter in one, and a flat wide brush, in order to apply both colors at once) makes is suuuper easy to sculpt the face in a very natural way. (it is very easy to go over-board with the whole face-sculpting thing…...)

brows: nicely defined brows are also an important ingredient to sculpting the face.

eyes: shimmering light pink eyeshadow generously covered both lids. with a blending blush i defined my crease by applying light brown in a c-curve motion. i then added a bonzy-gold eyeliner, along the roots of both lash rows. the waterlines got a coating of black kohl kayal. the last (but, definately not least) step iiiiiiis… you guessed it(!)… mascara.

lips: i used a mix of a lip tint, lipliner and balm… smudging the products together, with my fingers and purposely leaving them wit a more stained finish. 

sparkly pedi…. little things that make me smile

i never get pedicures….. i just don't like the feeling. it makes me break out in baaad laughing-sweat-attacks….. i do like the thought of it, though… treating yourself and stuff. (even though i have learned that, in new york at least, it is normal. which became very clear, when i told someone that i always do my own nails, and she responds: "oh, you don't touch your own feet!")

aaaanyway, every time i see my sparkly pedi (which i got specifically for halloween….), it makes me smile

what are little things that make you smile?

fiery….

i already talked about how much i love liquid lipstick from stila…. so this weekend i bought a new color…. fiery.

the look: it's all about the matt red lips….

skin: i worked foundation into my skin, and then concealer on the inside corners of my eyes.  i matted my t-zone before adding a little bit of natural-red blush.

brows: the eye brows should not be the focus, so i mainly filled in the outer half, before brushing them with clear brow gel

eyes: my top lid, up to the brow, i covered with a soft shimmering nude tone. the movable lid got a light layer of mac, eye shadow, coppering.  i bulid the shadowing above my top lash row, with a medium, and dark matt brown, before using black eye shadow, right at the roots. black eyelinder for the top, and brown for the bottom waterline. i used a sufficient ammount of marcara, for full top lashes, and only one coating for the bottom ones.

lips: and now of course… fiery on my lips and a red lipliner to perfect the edges.


have fun

my-asian-jewelry-lady (i really need to ask her for her name)…. love at first sight

i randomly walked into her store last August. it was the kind of store that i have passed a million times but never noticed. on this beautiful day i did. the window, full of jewelry, grabbed me. in the store i immediately knew that i wouldn't be able to decide between all of the gorgeous pieces. 

the lady behind the counter asks me "what do you need?" me: "maybe a ring... i just lost two of my rings during a visit at rockaway beach……." she looks at me and says "you have to organize yourself" (it was one of these days that i would leave my wallet, sunglasses, keys… all tangled in my headphone cable… in random places. not in random places in my room (everything is looks like it is in random places there...), but in public places…..) and i laugh and answered "very true." and i understood what she meant with "what do you need". i told her about how i just moved here and bla bla bla. she hands me a bracelet with jade beads. the jade should keep me healthy, safe and give me calmness, to put life into perspective and help me prioritize. she says all these things (that unfortunately I can't entirely recall…) but it is like she is looking inside of me. sounds silly i know… 

but then, she did the same with my friend, who i was in the store with. we were both totally perplexed. but whatever i say / write about her…. it just can't do her justice…….. how accurate she is with reading people... and how lovely she is... and kind... and funny

so you might think... that i am totally crazy… or that i am naive and she just wants my money. but it is not about religion, or fortune telling, or stuff like that. it is about finding someone (or something… even if it is just a gorgeous piece of jewelry) that/who makes you feel good (or better, when you are having a rough day) .....and if it involves enhancing my jewelry collection… even better! (it's cheaper than buying shoes.... or certain sunglasses 

picture of "my-asian-jewelry-lady" taken in new york, by madeau 

hashtaaagmakeup

my favorite pre-blog-instagram make-up looks…..

i feel like they deserve a post because they are a big reason why this blog exists… aaaand, not to forget... a certain mosquito, who's remains now decorate my wall so glamorously….

@madeau

silver dust

the look: bronzy glowing skin, silver dusted eyes, and wine-stained lips.

the skin: the bronzy glowing skin is an important elemtent of this look. so i started off with a base of mac, prep + prime / skin, base visage, because it evens out the skin and at the same time gives it a subtle shimmer. staring at the center of my face i worked in foundation and powdered it off lightly. i used a bronze with a subtle sparkle on the hollows of my cheeks and carefully on the sides of my nose and temples. the last touch was sweeps of mac, mineralize skinfinish, soft and gentle on my cheek bones, down my nose and above the arch of my brows.

brows: this more scruffy-brow i achieved with clear brow gel. first i brushed the hair in the wrong direction and then upward.

eyes: i covered the entire lid with a matt creme colored eyeshadow. on my crease i used a blend of a warm shimmering grey and and the same bronzer i used on my skin. the roots of my lashes got a thin lining, with black liquid liner. on the bottom lid i used prestige, let loose, shimmering shadow dust, in excite and for depth i added rimmel, scandaleyes, waterproof kohl kajal, silver on the centre. only the top lashes got a coat of mascara.

lips: honestly... these lips (that look like i just got back from wine tasting in tuscany) were kind of an accident. but i really like them! the base is a reddish lip stain and on the centre i drew on mac, lip pencil, in vino.


have fun

munich… branched out

all photos of munich, by me

pink tinge

fore some reason i felt like using pink in my make-up, today..... at the same time i wanted to do an interpretation of the (as i like to call it) pure gaga look......

the look: fresh and natural with a touch of pink

skin: tinted moisturizer for a very light coverage. i added additional glow by sweeping my cheeks, nose and cupids bow with my favorite laminator, mac, mineralize skinfinish, soft and gentle

brows: i filled them (mainly in at the outer half) with light brown eyeshadow and then brushed them with brow gel.

eyes: the color i usually use when i do a natural-eye is bare essentials, bare minerals, eye color, vanilla sugar. i dusted it on both of my lids, and defined the crease with a shimmering natural grayish eye shadow. i melted it into the base color by covering it lightly with another layer of vanilla sugar. carefully, i painted the mac, pigment color powder, magenta madness on my eyes, starting at the inner corner and working it outward, not going further than one third of my lid. the last layer was cream highlighter, on the centre of the top lash line, and on the tear duct.

lips: i didn't want them totally bare, and i didn't want to necessarily add more color (to keep the focus on the pink on my lids), so i decided on a very lightly tinted lip balm.


have fun

what do lipstick and heels have in common?

today was one of those days, that i really didn't know what i wanted to do for my make-up. part of it was feeling kinda uninspired... i guess, and not having too much time for my make-up (doe to sleeping in (which i usually neeever do…)). i had the day off… had a nice long lunch, in the sun (in november!) with my friend, and then a bit of shopping.

my point iiiis, i borrowed my friends lipstick and it totally made a look out of my meh-make-up. that's what lipstick and a pair of heels have in common….. they can make(!) a look.

the lipstick was bobbi brown, sheer lip color, pink blossom (the perfect inbetween-orange-and-pink color) with mac, lip pencil, beet.

have fun… and borrow your friends make-up

from the alps... to wayne's basement... to handing out cubes of sugar

yes i am doing it... this is a halloween post. but it's my first halloween in the states and i looove dressing up! i think i everyone should dress up more often.

yodeling in the alps...
ok. granted, me dressing up as a german is not really dressing up. but i just wanted to wear my dirndl (the traditional bavarian dress) again. and this was just my costume for the office...
the make-up: soft and feminine

party on!...
i have been looking forward to dress up as wayne campbell for months! wayne's world is one of the movies that my sis and i can recite entirely from heart. and that iiiis what happened as soon as i parted my hair down the middle and put that hat on....
the make-up: basically... none. i mean, i'm a dude, right?

absinthe ferry...
this one was totally spontaneous.... i wanted to do a costume where i could play with make-up and sparkles. (they are an instant-happy-maker!) taking my la fée verte look to the next level... with kylie minogue in moulin rouge as the inspiration.
the make-up: gold… glitter... green sparkles... red lips and lashes (yup, i put red lip gloss on my lashes. because the only red contacts i found were a huuundred dollars. no joke….)

aaaand glow-in-the dark paint (the best thing eeeever!)

have fun…. and dress up! …even if it is not halloween