summer weekend

today was such a beautiful day in shanghai. i can’t tell you how happy i am that it is still summery and mostly warm. i hope every one had a lovely weekend, too. 

non-black liners

i have been using my non-black eyeliners sooo much (like here, here... or here and a buuuuunch more times that i didn't post) that i thought it would be time to purchase some new colors…. a quick visit to sephora (luckily they have them here in shanghai!) took care of that. 

eyes: today i used both of my new colors… purple and green (thumb down for theses un-creative names, sephora) of the base i used a purple-silver loose powder (one of my faves, but unfortunately a limited edition by mac) the purple eyeliner i used along the upper lash row and the green along the lower lashes. on the outer corner i used the little sponge (the eyeliners come with) to blend the two colors together. while making sure to get the roots really well, i coated my lashes with mascara… and that was already it! this is definitely one of those looks that looks much more complicated / time-intensive than it is.

blush: for some reason i felt like a slightly bronzed skin today, so i used the brown color in my benefit, 10 box and swept it just below the cheekbones. 

lips: after defining the edge very subtly with revlon, tint+blam in rendezvous i layered my mac lipstick in twig (that i told you about here) over it, for that i-am-totally-not-wering-lipstick-but-just-naturally-have-these-luscious-lips look.

...and having a really good-hair-day also helped this look! you know how i love those..... well, who does't?

laundry day... venice

walking the streets of shanghai i am often reminded of venice (one of my absolute favorite places... by the way). not only because of the beautiful-creepy-little alleys, but mostly because of the (often very creatively) hung-up laundry that is on full display outside of the apartments.

october 2012, venice, italy, all pictures taken by me.

can’t go wrong

with this look you just can’t go wrong...... a subtle gold shimmering eye and classic red lipstick.

eyes: into the buff by bare escentuals  is my go-to natural-gold shimmer. i used it as the first layer on my eye lids. true gold on the other hand, is veeery gold and veeerry sparkly. it is perfect for adding that extra sparkle and sculpting of the eyelids, by placing it on the centre of the movable lid and the tear duct. for a more intense look i rimmed my eyes along the lashes with a mat dark-brown eyeshadow, and between the lashes and the waterlines i drew black eye liner before finishing up with mascara. 

lips: the lipstick i used was ara red #999 by dior cosmetics, after carefully lining my lips with a red lipliner.

blush: i used my bright red mac blush, frankly scarlet.


have fun

graphic sky

even though you rarely see the sun (through the haze and smog) here in shanghai... (something i knew i was going to miss. (but i am spoiled after living in colorado which has theeeee mossssst beautiful sky / sunsets)) a look towards the sky is still worth it.

august 2014, shanghai, china, all photos by me

cat-eye-calvins

the day of this make-up i was rockin' #mycalvins (not quiiiiite pulling it off as good as marky.....) anyway, to counter balance the sports bra, i did a more feminine cat-eye-thaaang.

eyes: for the base i used one of my faves, that i haven’t used in a while because it was a special edition eyeshadow by mac, named performing art. it is just the perfect soft shimmery light grey. because (on my eyes) i don’t like doing a stronger eyeliner without sculpting the eyelid (at least a bit) i places light pink on the centre of the movable lid and on the brow bone. i also used this color to subtly highlight the bottom lid. the cat-eye line i created by pulling plumage (also mac) along the upper lashes with a short bristled brush (like this one). then i defined the outer swoosh with a short line of black liquid eyeliner, starting only from the very outer edge of my upper lid and ending in a sharp point. 

for the rest of my face (foundation, blush, brows and lips) i did this. because if you find something that works... work it!

by the way... this look is totally under the influence of my new muse that i have yet to tell you all about.

i'm baaaaack!

i’m back! sorry for the long break... but along with just discovering this new home of mine and diving into everything the chines culture / medicine has to offer..... fire-cup-sucktion-thing and all (hence the bruising on my back), it also included challenges like 4 hour sessions at various banks… finding a new yoga mat and generally being lost-in-translation...... i have also had trouble with the whole blogging-in-china thing. but, ain’t nothing i can’t handle... just took me a little while. 

anyway, i am glad to back! with soooo much material!

my friend took this picture of me during our long weekend in suzhou. (which basically made me fall in love with china. of course i took a million pictures that i can't wait to share with you!