Team Pink Eye

Unless you've been living under a glitter-encrusted rock, you've probably noticed October is turning pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Today I'm partnering with the wonderful Team Pink Eye Project to raise further awareness for the cause. Team Pink Eye is a great initiative, where bloggers and indie companies have come together to post looks and host giveaways throughout the month of October, with the aim of raising $1000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. If you donate a minimum of $5 to the foundation through the Team Pink Eye Page, you receive an entry into all of the giveaways for that week. Make sure to check out the TPE blog for more specifics though. I'm not hosting a giveaway today, but am bringing you a sparkly pink-themed FOTD instead :)

Products: 

• Tarte Lifted Eye Primer 
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk - as a base on the lid 
• NYX Purple Rain Lipliner - as a base on the lower lashline 
• Concrete Minerals Prude - inner lid + inner corner
• BYS Neon Palette: Neon Pink - outer lid 
• Sugarpill Magentric - crease + lower lashline 
• MAC Her Blooming Cheek Blush - to deepen the crease
• Truffle Gel Liner - upper lashline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Maybelline Pulse Perfection WP Mascara

Cheeks: 

• Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph 
• Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - highlighter 

Lips:

• MAC Prep+Prime Lip
• Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink - lipstain 
• NYX Purple Rain Lipliner 
• MAC Show Orchid Lipstick 

Almost duckface!

I can't emphasise enough how important it is to poke around and check your breasts for lumps each month. I've had a few lump and bump-related scares myself, but fortunately both were revealed to be benign. It was a scary experience and lesson though, and I've checked myself regularly ever since. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. :(

Have a gander at the other looks and giveaways for this week:
Cupcake's Quirky Corner 
g l o s t i x
Gothique
It's French For Staircase Wit
Just A Domesticated Glitter Goddess
Lacquered, Painted, Polished
My Socks Are Better Than Your Socks
Phyrra
Utopista

I have another pink look that I'd like to post before the end of October, so I may get around to that tomorrow :) 

Halloween Guest Post For Phyrra!

Just dropping in to let y'all know that I've got a guest post up on Phyrra's lovely blog! She asked me to contribute a little piece about how we celebrate Halloween in Australia (or how we don't celebrate it, rather D:) and I've done a ~sexy makeup look to go along with it. Sadly there's no duckface, but if you'd like to read a bit about our lack of Halloween celebrations and see my look, you can check that out here!

Make sure to check out the rest of Phyrra's blog while you're at it, she's awesome. <3 

OMGWTFBBQ

I did this colourful look a few weeks ago for a BBQ that I helped organise, and where I also hosted trivia. The lid and crease were vaguely inspired by this beautiful look Meredith created, but it kind of took on a life of its own! I didn't want to do a cut crease since I absolutely suck at them, and I chose more of a turquoise and light green than the beautiful deep teal and blues she used. The crease and lid turned out a bit muddier than I'd hoped, but I thought it was an interesting combo nonetheless. I think it would've been nice with an aqua lower lashline using a colour like Urban Decay Flipside, but I was craving something a little different. :) Maybe when I finish my disgusting 4am starts I'll do a more faithful recreation of the look!

Products:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion 
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid 
• Evil Shades Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet - as a base on the lower lashline 
• Sugarpill Goldilux - inner lid
• Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - outer lid 
• MAC Lucky Green - widely in the crease 
• Concrete Minerals Zealous - to deepen the crease
• Sugarpill Magentric - inner lower lashline 
• Sugarpill Hysteric - outer lower lashline 
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline 
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks: 

• Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach

Lips: 

• MAC Nymphette Lipglass

*chugs down 8 cups of coffee*

Yum Chaaaaa

Firstly, thank you for all your lovely comments on my Depression Awareness post. I was surprised by how many of you shared similar stories, and it reminded me why I love the beauty community so much. While we might initially bond over our love of sparkle, we're tethered together by much more than that. <3 Secondly, apologies for going AWOL for the entire week! I've started working at another location, which means I have to get up at 4am and am comatose by the end of the day. I'm going to kick my ass into gear and schedule posts for the rest of the week though, so even if I can't stay awake long enough to read and comment, there'll be some fresh material on my blog.

Because of the early starts I barely have enough time to slap on makeup (and I'd rather sleep on the train than put my face on), so I've been wearing bold lips and barely there neutral eyes all week. I'm going to do a couple of compilation posts with my bold lip looks, since they're far too boring to dedicate separate FOTD posts too. I'm enjoying getting use out of my lipstick stash, but it's terribly boring and I feel so restrained! Fortunately I don't work on the weekends and had planned an outing for Yum Cha yesterday, so I slapped on some bright eye makeup for the first time in what felt like ages. <3

Products: 

• Urban Decay Primer Potion 
• NYX Teal Eyeliner - as a base on the lid + inner 2/3 of the lower lashline 
• Evil Shades Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet - as a base on the outer lower lashline 
• MAC Lucky Green - inner lid + inner corner 
• Concrete Minerals Zealous - outer lid + centre lower lashline 
• MAC Dollymix Blush - widely in the crease 
• Sugarpill Poison Plum - to deepen the crease 
• Sugarpill Hysteric - outer lower lashline 
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Maybelline Pulse Perfection Waterproof Mascara 

Cheeks: 

• MAC Dollymix - blush 
• Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - highlight 

Lips: 

• Savoir Faire Cosmetics Lipstick in Miss You 

I don't even know what happened here, I assume a sneeze or cough :|

AND WTF IS UP WITH MY MIDDLE FINGER D: it doesn't look like that irl!

It was so good to put on bright eyeshadow, I felt and looked like a completely different person! Whenever I wear a bold lip I feel more mature and sophisticated, and bright eyeshadow makes me feel like the immature little yobbo I really am. ;] 

The Clio highlighter and Savoir Faire lipstick are new, and I'm going to try to do mini haul posts on those. Clio Professional is a Korean brand, and the Savoir Faire lipstick is part of this month's BellaBox, another one of those luxury sample box subscription thingos. I'll try to do a little post on what I received and think of this month's contents, but I realise I still have a bunch of posts I've promised and haven't done yet *cough* Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless dupes *cough* 

Depression Awareness Month

Everyone is aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but fewer people know that October is also dedicated to Depression Awareness. The Makeup Heroes will be doing green looks this week for the cause, as green is the colour of the Depression Awareness Ribbon and depression is a cause close to many of our hearts. Wendy and Kathy have shared some statistics on their blogs, so I just wanted to share my story of depression.  I am now 21 and have suffered from some form of depression since I was 11. I have a very strong family history of depression, with every living woman on my mother's side suffering from the disease. It's all I've ever really known, and I will likely be on some form of medication until the day I die.

I had an extremely difficult time getting a diagnosis for my disease. I sought help for self-harming when I was 15, but my doctor just recommended me to the incompetent and underqualified school counselor. She made me play with fucking pipecleaners and justify my colour choice and configuration. She was such a joke and so entirely unhelpful that I refused to go back, so I played along and pretended that I was happy and 'normal' so I didn't have to see her again. It wasn't until my first year of university that I took my chances on another doctor when I noticed that I was feeling more 'blah' than usual, perpetually exhausted and like everything was too hard. 

I finally received a diagnosis at the age of 17. I started seeing a psychologist and was prescribed anti-depressants, which was an incredible relief. I was angry that it had taken 6 years for someone to take action, but glad that I was finally on the road to getting better. The psychologist was helpful beyond belief and it felt great to have someone listen, even if I just wanted to bitch about douchebag group members at uni. Medication was a bitch to get right though. I started on Effexor, which gave me nausea and made me feel flatter than flat. I then started on Aropax which was much more effective, and the medication I still take to this day. Treatment is very much a process of trial and error, but it does get better. It was a horrible journey, but I can safely say I am now the closest I've ever been to 'balanced' and 'happy'.  

Products: 

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance 
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid 
• NYX Moss Eyeliner - as a base on the lower lashline 
• 88 Original/Matte Palette 
• Chartreuse - lid 
• Kelly green - crease
• Concrete Minerals Zealous - inner lower lashline 
• MAC Lucky Green - centre lower lashline 
• MAC Humid - outer lower lashline 
• Spell Cosmetics Citron - inner corner highlight 
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks: 

• Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel - bronzer 
• Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach - blush 

Lips: 

• MAC Shy Girl Lipstick - just a tiiiiny bit 
• Mode Cosmetics Lip Shine in Pear-fecto (light shimmery green!) - lipgloss

These days I'm finally able to smile and make duckfaces <3

I don't even need to tell you that there's a massive about of stigma around depression, especially having been witness to a vicious attack on a friend's mental health in recent weeks. Nobody deserves depression, nobody deserves to feel this way. Depression is a debilitating illness in itself, and this is just compounded when you have embarrassment, shame and perceived weakness lumped in there too. Very few of my real life friends know I have depression, and I don't discuss it with them because I feel they just don't understand. I would love to live in a world where I could be open and honest about my disease, where I don't have to worry about being judged because my serotonin levels have a mind of their own.

I know posting a picture of a pretty green makeup look isn't going to magically transform the world, but hopefully it'll make at least one person stop and think about mental health. 

Check out the other Makeup Heroes' posts for Depression Awareness: 

Wendy
Kathy
Helen
Priscilla

Robyn

Sportsgirl Highlighter Swatches

Technically this post should be titled 'Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush and Away We Glow Shimmering Body Lotion', but fuck that's a long title! This is the last of my Sportsgirl swatchfests that I created because Jade asked so nicely. ;] Today I'm showing you two products that were created for highlighting or adding colour to other body parts, but I purchased them to use specifically as cheek highlighters. These are recent acquisitions that I've only had the chance to use a handful of times, so I can't offer many thoughts or looks to show the products in action. Though I'm sure that if you keep an eye out over the next couple of months, these products will pop up a lot in my FOTD product lists.

With flash, but there was a shadow (hence why the lower half is darker)

No flash!

Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach & Rose.

Jade asked for it, so today I'm bringing you swatches of my Sportsgirl blushes! Technically they're Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers, but let's not argue about semantics ;] I'd originally intended to show another Get Cheeky product and a shimmering body lotion in this post too, but with product photos and swatches it just became too long. I've broken up the posts so that today I'm showing you 2 products I use as blushes, and tomorrow I'll showcase 2 products that I've been using as cheek highlighters. (Whether they were originally intended for that purpose is another story...) Aaaaaanyway, today I'm showing you the Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach and Rose!

Clockwise from top left: Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach, Rose and Summer Blush.
I'll show Summer Blush tomorrow or Friday! :) 

With FLAAAAAAAAAAASH. They're all obviously a touch dark in real life. 

Sportsgirl Lip Product Swatches

Since Jade asked for it, I'm sharing swatches of my lip products from Sportsgirl! Sportsgirl is a clothing chain here in Australia, and while I don't care for their clothes I love their cosmetics. They're relatively affordable by Australian standards, and are of surprisingly good quality! I will warn you that I'm absolutely rubbish at lip and blush swatches, but unfortunately all the Sportsgirl products I own fall into that category. So you'll be treated to some wonderfully amateur swatches over the next couple of days. ;] I'll also warn you that Sportsgirl discontinue their products at an alarming rate, so many of these shades are no longer available. If you're lucky, you may be able to find them in the bargain bin in your local store.

Left to right: Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours in Nudie Run, Candy Floss, Bohemian, Tutti Frutti, Fuzzy Peach and Dress Up, Sportsgirl Pucker Up Lip Crayon in Coral, and Sportsgirl Pout About It Matte Lipstick in All About You.

Rainbow Punch

(I have a migraine, pardon the uncreative title :P)

This is the sparkly sister to the brightass look I posted the other day, and oddly enough I don't like it as much! I still liked how eye-catching and bright it was, but I think it lacks contrast after looking at my mostly-matte version. There's just too much shimmer, y'know? I originally left the crease matte using the Sleek Aruba blush, but couldn't help myself and dusted some Sugarpill Magentric on top to add some sparkle. I'd blended the line between Magentric and Aruba a lot better, but I'd applied too much Magentric to the lid so I got some transfer in my crease. *sighs overdramatically* hooded lids are the bane of my existence.

Products:

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance
• NYX Bloom Lipliner - as a base on the lid 
• NYX Electric Blue Eyeliner - as a base on the outer lower lashline 
• NYX Moss Eyeliner - as a base on the inner lower lashline 
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Gold - as a base on the inner corner 
• Sugarpill Magentric - lid + dusted lightly in the crease
• Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - crease
• Sephora Collection Colourful Mono Eyeshadow in #38 Stephane - outer lower lashline 
• MAC Lucky Green - inner lower lashline 
• Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - inner corner 
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline 
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks: 

• Kit Cosmetics Duo Cheek & Lip Creme in Pretty Cheeky (pink side) - cream blush 
• Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Rose - powder blush 

Lips: 

• MAC Syrup Lipstick 

Unfortunately I forgot to powder so I was really shiny in photos. This is the only one I got where I didn't look like I'd faceplanted into a vat of chip fat. Ignore my unruly brows too, apparently they were doing whatever the fuck they wanted, haha. >__> 

Calypso

I absolutely loved this look, but it somehow got buried among my backlog of draft posts!

It was vaguely based off a FOTD Wendy did here, but I changed it so much to suit me that it doesn't really resemble the original look anymore! I knew I couldn't pull off the gold crease, as I'm sure you've heard me wail about light crease colours making me look like a mutant. I had also recently ordered the Sleek blushes in Aruba and Santorini, so I figured I'd try them as eyeshadows and substituted Aruba for the crease colour, and Santorini for a more cracked out pink on the lid. I originally went with the turquoise lower lashline but felt it paled in comparison to the brightass lid and crease, so I popped a bit of green in there too. And I still wanted a little gold in there as a tribute to the original look and to add a bit of texture, so I popped some on the inner corner. I've totally mutilated it so it barely resembles the original post, but I still love it. ^__^

Products: 

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance 
• NYX Dolly Pink Lipliner - as a base on the lid 
• NYX Electric Blue Eyeliner - as a base on the lower lashline 
• BYS Shine Stick Eye Shadow in Light Gold - as a base on the inner corner 
• Sleek Makeup Santorini Blush - lid 
• Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - crease
• Sugarpill Flamepoint - to deepen the crease 
• Sephora Collection Colourful Mono Eyeshadow in #38 Stephane - outer lower lashline 
• MAC Lucky Green - centre lower lashline 
• Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - inner corner
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline 
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks: 

• MAC Cream Colour Base in Tickle Me Pink - cream blush 
• Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph - powder blush, layered lightly on top 

Lips: 

• Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Candy Floss - lipgloss

Unfortunately I didn't get a whole lot of good eye closeups, but I hope you get the idea. I've also recreated this using Sugarpill Magentric on the lid, which is more faithful to Wendy's original look. I'll get that up soon! ^__^

*insert circus themed name here*

Here's the makeup I was wearing in my Callooh & Callay post! I wanted to do something reminiscent of the circus and for some reason this colour placement reminded me of a circus, so I rolled with it. The company's colours are more red and white with a hint of yellow/gold, but I figured white would be a bit tricky to work with. The shimmery white in the Maybelline Sapphire Siren quad would've been lovely, but I wanted to work with mostly matte textures on the lid. Matte whites either don't want to be opaque or they all look dusty and chalky on me, ageing my eyelids about 10 years. Young moonface + papery eyelids = not very attractive. :P I probably could've blended the stripe on the lid a bit more, but slightly cleaner lines made it look even brighter and more obnoxious!

Products: 

• Too Faced Shadow Insurance 
• NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk - as a base on the lid 
• BYS Kohl Pencil in Soft White - as a base on the lower lashline 
• Inglot AMC Shadow in 60 - inner + outer lid + centre lower lashline
• Inglot AMC Shadow in 50 - centre of the lid + mixed in the crease
• Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Berber - mixed in the crease + inner and outer lower lashline 
• Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - layered in the middle of the lower lashline 
• Maybelline Eye Studio Quad in Sapphire Siren 
• Shimmery white - dusted on the inner corner + inner crease
• Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline 
• Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline 
• Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
• Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara 

Cheeks: 

• NARS Laguna Bronzer - contour and blush 
• Can't remember if I was wearing any highlighter, it's probably just my greasy face...

Lips: 

• NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella - tiiiiiny bit applied and rubbed in like a stain 
• Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Candy Floss - lipgloss used to tone down the stain even more

No srs bsns or smiley faces here, my face just didn't want to photograph nicely up close! My left eye (your right) has more of a feline almond shape, so it sometimes looks mega small and squinty on camera. On this particular day my camera looked at that eye with the stripes and was like "FUCK NOOOO" *mangles face* XD

Guest Post At Makeup Zombie!

Oh harro,

Just wanted to let y'all know that I've done a guest post for Wendi of Makeup Zombie, to cover for her while she's out of town fighting crime this weekend. I recreated one of her beautiful looks, so go check it out and tell me how I did! ^__^

Yes, there is duckface. 

Check it out here and if you're not following Makeup Zombie yet, why the fuck not go follow her!