the muses....

 these badass-beauties were in my head... this morning at the barber shop in nah trang, vietnam.....

micah gianneli

sinead o'connor

natalie portman

that good old reinvention

i have been talking so much about the changes in my life, lately. basically everything has changed.... i fitness routine.... my make-up. 

for some reason i have found myself getting little feelings of disappointment about being so different than i was.... for not putting as much effort into the same things (like doing my make-up for three hours before i when out, for example). and often when people see old pictures, i hear "that's not you!" but it was... at one point. even though i have changed so much in the last year, and even more in the last months, i do still love who i was, and i still love what i used to love. (ok... some looks were a bit.... i don't really know...... like that time i bleached my eyebrows... but it sure was fun!)

super randomly i listened to christina aguilera, yesterday. (who i used to looooove.... i still love her,but i used to literally ooooonly listen to her stripped album). i watched the interview on there bionic album, where she also talkes about how she (her look, her music, her attitude) changes with each album. and yes, maybe i liked her stripped-phase the most, but i will always be christina-fan... one of the reasons iiiis her reinventing herself ......and i can tell you, this reinvention is fun! (just ask madonna)

since this blog started some of my make-up looks have not made it to their own post.... so here is a little throwback moment for you....... (man, i used to wear a lot of make-up..... and it sure was fun

 

don't be scared to reinvent yourself and love every version of yourself.

soft feline....

a classic cat-eye-and-red-lips look with softer more natural colors.

eyes: for the base that supplied a nude shimmer and natural sculpting i generously swept bare escentuals, bare minerals, eye color in bare skin on both lids. to deepen my eye socket very supply i added a matte very light light-brown eye shadow (in my crease) and vanilla sugar (also by bare escentials) (on my tear duct and centre of my movable lid). for the soft winged-eyeliner (that is crucial for the cat-eye) i first used a matte chocolate-brown swiss with a small eye shadow brush and then a dark brown, with an eye liner brush along the top lash row only. as far as my eye lashes.... i made sure to give them a nice eye-opening lift, by slowly closing my eyes at the same time as carefully pulling my lash architect wand, from the roots to the tips.

lips: instead of the classic-50s-red i chose craving, a soft berry tone by mac cosmetics, after lining my lips a matching lip liner.

have fun

the ultimate beauty secret

i have told you before about my girl-crushes / muses..... there are ones that i have short affairs with and some that will always inspire me and motivate me to boost my fabulous-ness.

one of them is michelle violy harper. if you know who i am talking about you might have recognized her influence on my make-up looks, from time to time. for everyone else.... here is a shreen-shot from a little instagram-conversation i had with here a whiiiile ago (that i was totally shiiiiiitting myself over, by there way)

anyway, why am i telling you about this, now? i was just on garance dores blog, and her last  post is a beauty minute with michelle..... where she says: 

"the most important things for beauty, aside from products is your happiness because that is what shows in your face. you can use as many products and as much makeup, but if you’re a miserable person, nothing is going to work. the other thing is stress......" 

and not i love michelle even more! because, that's exactly what i believe with all my "smile!" and "have fun!" stuff......

all i need...

have you ever asked yourself: if you could only eat one thing (not a meal) for the rest of your life... what would it be? well i have...... my answer is pretzels... bavarian pretzels (i am after all guilty of a hashtaaag-pretzel on instagram....... more than once.... or twice) 

as far as make-up gowes..... this is my answer (keeping in mind that this could will change): 

skin:  revlon's photoready bb cream, skin perfecter with spy 30

eyes: bronze eyeliner that i roughly frame my eyes with and smudge with my fingers before adding black eyeliner on my upper waterline and (of course) mascara.

and the lip color that i have literally been wearing almost every day...... stila's liquid lipstick in aria (and even though i have told you about it, about a million times before) it is my unbeaten champion. no-fuss, no-smudge, co crease.... and best non-classic-red color. the other day i wore this lipstick... and after a good-old midnight snack (at ottos's tacos) my friend says to me "what is that lipstick!? i have to buy it! it made it through tacos aaaand guac!!!". there you have it.

but no matter how many beauty products you neeeeed, or want.... have fun!

bare minimum

i am back in shanghai after my two week vaycay in new york, that was absolutely incredible. (you got a liiiittle idea about that here) i'm not gonna lie.... i had so much fun that it was maaaaybe (but not really) good when it was time to leave... or i might have died... of sleep deprivation. but actually more likely... a bagel-overdose..... i kid you not.  maaaan do i still have stories to tell photos to show you. 

 my trip also involved breaking my mac powder foundation, multiple fingernails, my roommates' friends' cup (i reimbursed her for it, don't worry) and maaaaybe also a heart (no reimbursing possible.....) jk..... i hope.

anyway, when i travel i do like to travel light... also when it comes to my make-up. (you might have came across this topic before...... like here or here). i still found myself not using most of the little pots of color i brought with me. if you have been checking out this little blog of mine for a while (so probably my direct family.... jk) you will have noticed that i have definitely been doing less complicated and time-intensive make-up looks lately. but for the past few weeks my routine has been reduced to the bare minimum..... not because of time or laziness, though. i actually really just like it more.

revlon, photoready bb cream, skin perfecter with spf 30 (here i first introduced you to it). i am not even using any powder over it and really like the dewy finish. okok a little concealer for those little friends that i can't travel without.... breakouts. then of course mascara (sometimes also just on the top row) you are about to ask "what mascara do you use?" the answer is "lash architect, baby!" my one and only.  after filling my brows lightly and throwing  mac's lip conditioner (tube) in my bag, i am out the door.

when i want a little more i only add a touch of blush with mac, mineralize skinfinsh, in soft and gentle on my cheek bone and brow bone aaaand any sort of lip color i was in the mood for.

so ladies... how bare can youuuu go?

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?

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

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.

new version.....

my summer make-up has still been very more or less simple and usually with focus on the lips. i have been doing versions of this. 

even though i just changed two small thing it gave me a completely different look. 

this time i used a frosted pink eyeshadow color on the crease over mac, paints in stilife and lipstick in media (with my vino lip pencil).

have fun

a bit of drama

lately my make-up has been very minimal…. so the other day i was in the mood for a little bit more dramatic look.

just remember: "all drama must remain on stage!"

skin: for  a more intense make-up look like this i like the skin to be very even too. that means revlon, photoready bb cream, skin perfecter with spy 30 under bare essentials, bare minerals, original foundation broad spectrum and for that extra little drama-factor benefit, 10, bronzing and highlighting duo

eyes: once again i used all that glitters by mac as the base. with a medium eyeshadow brush i placed a silvery-purple (unfortunately it was a special edition) pigment by mac on the movable lids. and incase you think that i ooonly use name-brand make-up…… i'll prove you wrong. the eye liner i used is by a total drugstore-cosmetics line… p2. i really like their fantastic chrome kajal eyeliners though and this one is 060 black granite. i pulled it generous along both lash lines and then smudged it with my fingers, before coating my eye lashes with mascara. (was having a bad-lash-day……..)

lips: i filled my entire lips with mac's lip pencil in night moth and then painted lipstick in media over it. 

and i guess the bitch-face just came with the look…. jk. 

good-hair-and-skin-day

like good-hair-days, good-skin-days come out of nowhere… but if they do it is aaaawesom. and the other day i was having both. the saaame day.

in those cases you don't want to mess around too much......

for my mane i used a little of osis, dust it on my roots and baxter of california, clay pomade in the lengths of my hair. 

i didn't use foundation on my skin, but just sculpted it lightly with benefit, 10, bronzing and highlighting duo. 

my eye-make-up i also kept quite simple.... with mac, paints in stilife as the base and all that glitters eye shadow in the crease. after pulling a delicate line along the upper lash row, with liquid liner i coated the lashes with mascara, while leaving the bottom bare. 

the eye shadow colors i am using lately are mac's embarc and deep damson. 

and once again....... stila, stay all day liquid lipstick in aria. because, if you have a product that you get compliments on basically every time you wear it why not wear it..... all the time?

now all you have to do is throw on a cute outfit and you can take on the world (or you know..... something that comes close to that.) i had a lovely dinner with friends... met new people and went on a two hour midnight stroll across manhattan bridge.

so ladies and gents, when your next good-hair/skin-day comes along make the best of it and have fun!

new-blonde... part II

i did not forget a bout my friend anna.... here is part II


so just so you know... i have the biggest girl-crush on this lady ....totally not trying and still so bad-ass.

very bare eyes and stained red-brown lips. it is not easy to go soooo bare on the eyes.... this was me having a go at something similar. and then there was also this look, (peeeersonally (on meeee) i like it much more...) that you could see pre-mascara-application on instagram.

 

 

 and of course blondes can totally pull off a good classic smoky-eye... usually with a natural or nude lip... but you know it is all bout what-the-hell-you-wanna-do and what makes you feel like the-badest-bitch-that-ever-walked-this earth

 

 

smoky-eyes come in any kind of variation... soft...or  matte... or brown...... even blue and sparkly.

what i love abut this look is the extra attention that was paid to the skin... to make it very even but not giving it a mask-look, but rather a healthy dewy finish.
 

 

when i go for something like that i use the products i listed in this post.

 

 

aaaah, this look is just so nice and fresh and spring-licious..... natural eyes, matte skin, coral cheeks and lips

 

 

unfortunately i do not have a lovely matte-bright-coral lip color, like the one cara is wearing.... (i am still in love with both the nars, velvet matte lip pencel and the stila, liquid lipstick that i have been pondering over what color to get next, anyway.) maybe i need to make a stop at sephora on my way home and give this one or this one a try?

 

the spring looks i haaaave been doing lately are more with subtle colors on the eyes.

but blondies, feel free to go even more colorful!
 

 

apparently i looooove purple eye-shadow. looking back through my make-up post i see it quite a bit..... like way back in this post from september, and my instagram in october (when i kinda looked like a getto-fabulous mechanic) and of course (still one of my go-tos) that melting pigment thaaang. even a purple cat-eye..... oh! and lets not for get that time i channeled cynthia.

 

geeeez i was not aware that i had this problem.... jk. the funny thing is that in all of these looks i used one of the oldest products on my make-up table.... this eye shadow pen that (at least in this form) sephora does not even carry anymore.

 

 

and finally, i can tell you one thing..... red lips neeeeever fail!

 

these two have really been saving me a loooot lately..... because i am priiiitey much doing this ....like every day.

 

 

 

i feel like i should end this post with a blond-joke..... would be so nice and 90s. funnily enough someone just told me one the other day, that (of course) i can't think of it now.... but i am sure you all have one in mind. go tell it the next person you come across and make them smile....

new and old love....

you know how people say that being in love inspires and makes you glow and all that? well i agree. because i have a new love and it's making me freakin excited and energized. i am talking about my newest girl-crush.....

 

i have been crushing on debbie harry and reeeeally hard on charlotte carey (can't believe i haven't told you about her before....) for a while now. so that's kind of how this look came about that i have been rocking lately.....

 

 

this week i found someone new to add to my bad-ass-beauties lineup..... buuuuuut for the purpose of suspence aaaand so i can have some more time to stalk her.... i will have to introduce her to you later.


and just incase you were wondering.... i am wearing marc jacobs sunglasses, an old army jacket (that my mom hates) ans my make-up was basically this. my hair is a mix of yoga-sweat (don't judge, i looove my post workout hair) and baxter of California, caly pomade.

new-blonde..... part I

 remember my friend anna i told you about, who is a new-blonde and asked me for some make-up ideas to go with her new mane? here are some looks that iiii would play with if i were currently blond....

i always like strong (on the verge of clumpy) lashes and bright lips. it is not an a-looot-of-make-up look but the blond hair will make it look more bold (...and bold is goooood).

 

apart from the lashes, the eye make-up is rather natural... which reminded me of what i did here. the simplicity of it also is similar to my plain and simple post (that i still do aaaaall the time). to do the bright pink lips... instead of dragon girl (the perfect-red color i was wearing) you could go with 413 BLKR fuchsia (an online exclusive (why???) color of nars, velvet matt lip pencil)

 

 

 mary-kate olsen has a really nice look going on here....
darker brows, dark brown eye shadow (only on the movable lids), full eye lashes, natural skin and matte red lips
 

 

the lack of heavy foundation (a little sheer powder to fight the shine without covering the gorgeous freckles will do) and stained lips (i would try revlon, just bitten, lip stain + blam in forbidden)   keep this look natural. the dark-brown eye shadow is only spread on the movable lid and goes beautifully with the un-bleached eye brows and full lashes.

 

 

cameron diaz goes a little more glam with gold shimmer on the eyes and a good-classic-red lipstick.

 

 

even though i am sure a lot of you have worn red lips before, it is not so easy to get it this perfectly... the way they would wear it in the 50s (lets not forget our blond-muse marilyn)so here is a good-little-post with my classic-red-lip tutorial. for the eyes i would go with some sort of cream-shadow and rim the waterlines with dark brown eyeliner. for a more... lets call it..... complicated approach to the golden-y eye thaaaang you can have a look at what i did here.

 

 

oooor, beautiful-blond-ladies do a natural look... without being make-up-less or boring

 

 

for some similar looks i have done click here, here or here...

 

 

aaaaall about the lashes and lips....

 

 

 

this look (one of my favorites... by the way) reminded me that i should do this or this more often. sooo... seductive don't you think?

 

 

have fun playing with these ideas... even if you are not blonde. i will! ....can't let the blondes have all the fun, right? but if your were not feeling any of these looks... don't worry... i have moooooore. but four now i wish you a wooonderful summer-thursday and (if you don't get to see your beautiful faces, before) a fuuuuuuuun fourth!



matte smoke

i like doing a stronger look on fridays so i am ready for... whatever..... (or i'll have my little helpers with me...) and haven't done a good-old smoky eye in a while. for this look i only used matte colors. the eye shadows are all by mac... in quarry for the base. deep damson to deepen the crease and carbon at the outer v and along the lashes. my other favorite matte products are golden gate blush by bare escentuals and revlon just bitten lipstain + balm.

 

don't forget the lips

it is easy to forget the lips when doing an eye-make-up look.....

lips: mac, lipstick, twig. i got his product in a mac goody-bag. and i have to say that this is a color i would usually not purchase, because i would think "oh, this is so close to my natural lip color anyway... why bother? i'd rather spend my money on a more noticeable shade (like craving or my newest lip pencil nightmoth)". but (after using it) that is actually why i like it so much... it doesn't overpower the stronger eye make-up, but with it's matte flesh-color it subtly completes my make-up look (as oppose to bare lips).

eyes: with a larger eye shadow brush i placed aquadisiac, by mac on the general aria of both of my lids. since the shimmery turquoise is not exactly a close-to-skin-color color, i placed all that glitters from my crease to the edge of the already painted aquadisiac. i used a smaller brush for bare escentuals, soiree along the rim of my eyes. for sculpting i dusted a frosted pink on the centre of my movable lid, before drawing a taupe colored eye liner at the outer half of my eyelashes. the finishing touch was a gold eye liner on the bottom tear duct. i didn't use toooo much mascara, in order to keep my lashes soft and full.

brows: mac eye shadows in swiss chocolate and embark finished with browgel

skin: revlon, bb cream and bare escentuals, blush in golden gate


have fun

soft spring

i haven't been doing a lot of heavy make-up looks lately. must be a spring thing..... but i do feel like fun colors…..

eyes: i used vanilla sugar (by bare escentuals) on the entire lid. in the natural indentation of my crease i painted mac's all that glitters in a c-motion. with a small flat shadow brush i placed purple along the lashes of my upper lid as well as at the outer corner of my crease. the bottom lashes got some lovin with a turquois eyeliner. with an angled eyeliner brush i drew plumage (a dark blue eye shadow color, by mac) along both lash rows and at the very outer corner to connect the purple and the turquois pigments.

lips: maybelline, color whisper, rose of attraction

nightmoth

i don't know why but the dark-lip look just makes me feel super cool bad-ass……

i have been trying to decide for a while now, which lipstick i should get to fulfill this need (without coming too close to my favorite dar-but-not-too-dark lipstick, media). and because (last time at the mac store) i still couldn't decide between the dark side and all the other bad-ass shades, the high-girl-crush-potentional sales woman had the genius suggestion to just layer a different lip pencil under my media….

e voila! nightmoth lip pencil under media

yeah…. the lips have to be well pre-moisturized (like for all lipstick-days) but then the pencil really holds on to the pigments of the lipstick.

have fun!