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An Experiment in Makeup, Part 5: Bella Hadid

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Today, we continue the quest for a more polished full face of makeup. And boy oh boy, was today’s venture a QUEST. Today’s look is inspired by Bella Hadid, and guided by Snitchery.

First of all: Who is Bella Hadid?

Bella Hadid is the daughter of former model (and Real Housewife) Yolanda Hadid. She is the younger sister of Gigi Hadid. Good lucks clearly run in the family, as Yolanda, Bella, and Gigi have all found success within the world of fashion modeling. Bella initially started out as a photography student at the Parsons School of Design, but dropped out to focus on her career! Since her career has taken off, her unique, “snatched” face has been the subject of envy (not to mention much scrutiny– many say that her look is the work of a plastic surgeon, rather than the genetic powers that be).

It’s true, her form of contour is prominently across the Instagram accounts of almost every influencer. The actual look is called the “Fox Eye” look, and you are guaranteed to look like you’re on your way to kill James Bond.

This look took me about an hour and twenty minutes to complete, so let’s just jump on in, shall we?

The Materials:

Notes on the Procedure:

My lighting has improved! I purchased a ring light to provide better application of this look (and makeup looks to come). The tutorial I followed didn’t go in depth into foundation/concealer coverage, so I elected to follow my instincts in that respect, as inspired by my first trial. As well, the eyebrows portion of the tutorial calls for a brown shadow and for the ends of your natural brows to be shaved. I instead used concealer to erase the “tail” of my natural brow, and used the brown pencil attached to my brow brush wand. Penultimately, the artist points out ways to elevate the look to the next level. I will indicate these steps with a note in the procedure below; I completed all “Next Level” suggestions in this trial. Lastly, the Lip instructions called for a darker, neutral color, but I went for a bright red lip instead. I think this made the different tones pop!

The Procedure:

  1. Apply moisturizer.
  2. Spray face with Hydrating Milky Mist.
  3. Apply small amount of translucent powder with powder brush.
  4. Apply setting spray, and let dry.
  5. After setting spray dries, apply primer.
  6. Once you have finished priming, apply concealer to your discolorations.
  7. In regards to your under eyes, sweep a line of concealer up towards your hairline, almost like a wing beneath your eyes.
  8. Let concealer sit for about two minutes, then cover with foundation (do not pat or blend the concealer, just cover completely) using your makeup sponge. Take special care to sponge that wing beneath your eyes prior to foundation application.
  9. Contour: Using the flat, buffer brush, apply your bronzer (or darker shade of contour) to your forehead and across your cheekbone. Blend.
  10. With that same brush and dark color, swipe right beneath your cheekbone and down towards your jaw, like a skeleton. Blend the swipe going up and towards your hairline.
  11. Using the flat brush, add the shade lighter than your foundation on the cheek side of your face (close to your jaw and ear, as opposed to beneath your eyes). Line towards your mouth.
  12. With the same brush and light shade, sweep under the corner of your eye and out towards your hairline. Think Black Swan. Blend out, not up.
  13. Brows: Using a brown shadow, draw the bottom line of your eyebrow going up with a tail.
  14. Follow the line at the top. Finish with brow gel and adding that same light color beneath the eyebrow to clean your edges.
  15. Apply concealer gently, blending if needed with the small makeup brush, to the natural tail of your eyebrow to polish that lifted brow look.
  16. Eyes: Line your waterline with white eyeliner.
  17. Using the bronzer or darker shade from steps nine and ten on an angle brush, map out where you want your eyeliner wing to be.
  18. Once mapped, blend/dust up into the crease with a clean fluffier brush.
  19. Using your bronzer shade on the angle brush, map out your eye line towards your nose, as though you’re extending your tear duct.
  20. Go over this line with black shadow, buffing/blending as you go. Using a white color (I used my white eyeliner from step 16), follow the tear duct line on your bottom eye corner, to further extend the tear duct.
  21. Add this same white color right under your brow.
  22. Using your fluffy brush or pencil brush, add bronzer on two thirds of the outer eye and drag up into the wing effect.
  23. NEXT LEVEL: Add black after the bronzer for more dimension.
  24. Lashes: Add mascara on the outer half of the lower lash.
  25. Apply fake lashes.
  26. NEXT LEVEL: Cut a pair of lashes so it’s only about 1/3 of the width of your eye.
  27. Add layer of Mascara.
  28. Lips: Apply lip balm.
  29. Apply concealer into the corners of the mouth. Pat in with your finger.
  30. Fill in your cupid’s bow in a straight line  with a lip liner that matches your skin tone. You can go SLIGHTLY darker, but not lighter.
  31. Diffuse into your lip balm.
  32. Overline your lips with a slightly darker lip liner.
  33. Fill in with matching liquid lipstick.
  34. Blush: Add a orange blush, dusting on top your contour and slightly towards the center of your face and up to your hairline.
  35. Highlighter: Apply highlighter with your finger until it looks natural on your cheek, brow bone, cupid’s bow, tip of your nose, up the bridge, and on the chin.

The Results: 

The Person The Before The After
Eleanor Barnes, aka “Snitchery” snitcherybellabefore snitcherybellaafter
Me mebeforebella meafter1

Analysis:
Holy heckin’ bob, my face. Melania Trump called, she wants her face structure back! The contouring in this process was unreal. I also felt like the eye look was very flattering. I also impressed myself with how I pulled off the lifted brow look. It took some finessing on my end, but it’s something I would try again! I also feel like using only a third or so of a false lash is the way to go. It gives the lift I like to my eyes, without overwhelming my eyes with false lashes that don’t always stick or a lash “glue” that smudges, and stays smudged, for days after the look is wiped off my face. My main concern falls, again, to my lips. I love the lip color that I chose, but I feel as though my bottom lip looks great but my upper lip just vanishes. Eleanor has bigger natural lips than I do, but the difference isn’t massive. I feel like I need more practice to get that incredible shape that she manages to accomplish every time! The look is great on camera, but in person it is a tad much. Aaron said the overall look was nice, but he isn’t a big fan of a bright red lip as it is. When I blotted to get rid of excess color after having lunch, he much preferred that end result.

Conclusion:
This was a fun look that stayed pretty for an entire work day, with the exception of my lip color, which began smudging almost IMMEDIATELY after taking a drink or eating. I think that’s just par for the course in liquid lipstick! It is the sand of the makeup world (it gets everywhere). I will work on a lighter, more wearable version of this look that will be nice in person. I will certainly keep the lash look and contour technique in my back pocket for the future. I mean, look at my cheekbones! I could cut glass with those!

Wanderlust Bucket List, Part 2

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Last year, I wrote a post about the places I most want to see in the world. Since then, I’ve been on a honeymoon and spent hours of COVID-19 lockdown time in bed, scrolling Pinterest. With these combined efforts, I wanted to take a second stab at this list! I’m certain there will be some overlap between the two lists, and by no means do I no longer want to visit the places mentioned in the first list. That said, these places are on my radar more prominently now, and some, dare I say, top the total list!

Currently, I most want to visit:

  1. Hawaii. I feel like all the girls on Instagram who have lives I want all have this US state in common. I actually think all of them live on Kauai, specifically! Between the mountains and tropical forests to the breathtakingly beautiful beaches, I have added a very specific trip in mind: I want to go to Hawaii, for a week, by myself. I want to get an AirBnB, rent a bike, and ride my bike every day to a different beach and swim for six hours. Eat fruit out of bowls made from a coconut. That’s what I want most right now, honestly.

    napali_coast
    Taken from Pinterest. Kevin Russ on Instagram: “From the trail today on the NaPali Coast. Kauai, Hawaii.”
  2.  Japan. I’ve recently discovered a desire to make my way to this lovely island! That said, I’ve targeted a few specific places to visit. For example, there’s a mountaintop resort that rests above a sea of clouds during the day! Then there’s the big cities like Kyoto and Tokyo, hotspots like Mt. Fuji, and eat real authentic Udon. At the tippity top, I want to walk to Chiringashima Island at low tide. It seems like a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

    mtfuji
    Image from Tumblr, taken from Pinterest. Cherry Blossom and Mt.Fuji, Japan

     

  3. Portugal. Basically, I just find pretty images on Pinterest and read the caption to find out where they are. After one too many photos of Lisbon, Portugal has been added to my list. I honestly don’t know much about it, only that it looks beautiful. I’ve got more research to do here, and I’m quite looking forward to that!

    lisbonarchitecture
    Taken from “Architecture Digest” through Pinterest. Portugal: Make your 48 hours in Lisbon truly memorable. Pallavi Mehra, 3 Aug. 2019

     

  4. Netherlands. I’m pretty sure this was on my list last time! I went to Amsterdam with my mom five years ago, and had a brief layover between flights with Aaron at the end of our honeymoon. This is one of the prettiest places in the world, to me. The canals are tranquil, the local food is tasty, and everyone there seems relatively clean and happy. I think it’s the bikes! Regardless, I’ve seen the city in the spring and in the fall. I’d like to see it in the winter. I’ve added, specifically, to spend Christmas in Amsterdam once in my life. I can just tell that it’s beautiful then.

    amsterdam
    Taken from Pinterest. Uploaded by Adriana Maarleveld.

     

  5. Canada. I know that this one was on my previous list! Just goes to show you that I can be consistent sometimes. I want to go back to Quebec (the last time I went, it was for a concert. I was there for maybe four hours. I didn’t have any money with me. My friends got dinner and I just sat there. Ya hate to see it), Vancouver (I went as a kid), and see all the places I haven’t been to yet. Last year I mentioned Whistler, but I want to add Banff, Bay of Fundy, and really all of the Canadian Rockies! Sounds fun, eh?

    LakeLouise
    Lake Louise Sunrise Photograph by Pierre Leclerc. Taken from Pinterest.

     

  6. Greece. I have now been to Greece! We went to Corfu on our honeymoon, but of course, that’s merely the tiniest dent. I have a trip mentally planned with my best friends where we start in Athens, go to Crete, then go to Mykonos, Paxos, and Santorini. I foresee beautiful beaches, fresh pita, and just three girls being able to dance, jive, having the time of your life. Mamma Mia!

    paxos
    Taken from Pinterest, “Heather on her Travels.”

     

  7. The Philippines. Tropical island with turtles. I’m in! More specifically, Cebu and Apo Island, Taal Volcano Lake, and the Underground River in Puerto Princessa. I’m thankful to have Pinterest to help me find these places! But something tells me I’m going to want to get my SCUBA license first!

    coronpalawan
    From Pinterest. Coron Palawan: The most beautiful island in the world.

     

  8. Australia. I feel like my inner desire to just surf and bike around Australia has grown stronger. If I get my SCUBA license to visit the Philippines, then I better use it to get to the Great Barrier Reef (or at least, what’s left of it). Before I’m thirty five? Maybe? Hopefully?

    pinklagoon
    From Pinterest/Boredpanda.

     

  9. China. There’s so much to see! The Great Wall, the terracotta soldiers, the colorful Reed Flute Cave… anywhere I can have a scenic view with some Dim Sum is all good in my book. Step one: learn Mandarin. Step two: hope that it’s enough, through the various versions of the Chinese language, to get me across the country.

    reedflutecave
    Reed Flute Cave! Taken from Flickr/Pinterest, courtesy of Christian Ortiz.

     

  10. Washington state. They say there’s no place like home. It makes sense to therefore add a place in the continental US to my list! People in Washington have been posting TikToks of their rainy, mountainous hikes. It makes me miss Vermont, but long for something similar but different. I’m also reading a book right now that takes place primarily in Washington… Forks, Washington. More on that later.

    wallacefalls
    From Pinterest, courtesy of The Mandagies. WALLACE FALLS HIKE IN WASHINGTON IS EFFORTLESSLY ONE OF THE BEST TRAILS YOU’LL TAKE THIS WEEKEND!

    Mountains, cities, and islands… all over the world. Check back with me in five years to see where I’ve been! Hopefully, when lockdown ends, I can start planning a trip to one of these places. Or all of them. Preferably, all of them.

     

     

     

Stretches, Stands, and Strolls: My Current Workout Regimen

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My routine these days consists of only leaving my house to go to the grocery store and to pick up food from a restaurant, to protect myself from the throngs of people who are considering face mask requirements as a light suggestion! I don’t really leave the house for much else… except a workout!

My gym opened its doors again at the beginning of the summer, much to my contentment. I waited a few weeks to feel safe, but since then, I’ve been back at the free weights during the week! They have limited equipments, spacing requirements, and the standard wipes for cleaning after using machines and weights (which, let’s be real, we all should have been wiping down our equipment before this COVID nightmare!). I keep myself and others safe, keeping myself to one section of the gym for the majority, if not all, of my workout!

As I mentioned previously, I’ve also been taking walks before or after my workday. It’s a great way to have some quiet me time!

Here’s a mini-breakdown of what I’ve been up to, in terms of keeping active in 2020:

Cardio: It’s all about the step goal, baby! I’ve been shooting for 15k steps a day. That said, some days I’ll do 10k steps a day, but I’ll tack on some miles on the bike to go with it! Oh yes. I GOT A BIKE. Aaron has taken to his bike like a fish to water, going for a crazy fast ride four times a week. He goes hard on his own, but he’ll join me for my more leisurely cruises, too! I like to get about eight and a half miles on my rides. My ability to complete my cardio varies, though! As much as I love pacing my kitchen watching TikTok videos, it’s a challenge to do that for hours on end to get up to 15k steps! Let’s also not forget that Florida’s title as the “Sunshine State” is misdirecting, as it tends to rain from 3PM – 4:30, 5:30, or 6:30 at night! I do what I can with what I have.

Strength: I’m at the gym roughly four days a week! The hours at my gym are minimal during the week, and they’re only open for four hours on Saturdays and closed on Sundays. With current safety conditions, I have to reserve a space in the weight room in order to access the free weights (I have left early/skipped a day because I felt uncomfortable with the amount of people in the weight room).
Currently, I’m focusing on my upper body and core, with little focus on my lower half, since that gets enough focus on my walks and bike rides! I start out stretching before I even leave my house, just to wake my body up before I dive into the heavy stuff. I start with bicep curls and shoulder presses to complete that warm up, and I typically use ten pound weights (though I’m working up to feeling comfortable using fifteen pounders!).
After that, I’m at the big squat rack… but not squatting. I use the barbell bar to work on my upper body through elevated push-ups and pull-ups. That’s when I get my pull-up practice done! From there, I do some ab work, and despite having a round tummy, I can see some definition of abs! It makes you wonder what my body would look like without the presence of the fat on my stomach. Hm. Hello Darkness, my old friend.
I finish off my strength workout with some serious dedicated time to my handstand resolution. My day is framed based on how well I do. I basically don’t leave the gym until I have a smile on my face from my attempts.

Granted, some days are better than others. Some days I have a great workout. Some days the only exercise I get is walking from my bed to the computer to the couch and back to bed (granted, those days ARE few and far between). I push myself to work hard, and feel strong, like Wonder Woman or a Jedi (I asked myself at the gym today: does my Star Wars obsession have an end date? I don’t see one in sight).

Though there are the obvious physical benefits to the workouts I do, the real reward comes from the focus on myself. Between the feeling of accomplishment when I do well at the gym, and the quiet time I have on my walks, my mind turns inward often, where I can find little moments of zen. When I bring myself back to the real world, the sky is a perfect purple or the moon is shining on a nearby pond. This time is healing, in every sense of the word.

That said, nothing gets me out of bed and into gym clothes like a feeling of alertness from a good night’s sleep. It’s 8:42 PM, and it’s time to read and rest!

Mallory’s Monthly Reads: Two Audiobooks!

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This feels like a cop-out version, because I really only finished two books that I already started prior to this month! That said, I read what I read (and I will finish what I started).

  1. From a Certain Point of View – This is a compilation of short stories in the “Star Wars” canon. Basically, it’s the plot of Episode IV (technically the first movie, AKA not a prequel or a sequel), but told through the eyes of minor or previously unknown characters in the saga. Some of the highlights for me were “Born in the Storm,” which was the story of a stormtrooper rebelling against the Empire; “Eclipse,” which describes Alderaan in its final moments; and “Master and Apprentice;” which was from the perspective of Qui-Gon Jinn (who I don’t really consider a minor character anymore, but… for intents and purposes he is). Because I listened to the audiobook, I had an appreciation for “The Luckless Rodian” and “Added Muscle,” which were from the perspective of Greedo and Boba Fett, respectively. “The Luckless Rodian” was narrated by Neil Patrick Harris, and “Added Muscle” was narrated by Sir Jon Hamm! He’s not a real knight but he could be. I’d allow it. There’s going to be a second compilation later this year for Episode V, and I KNOW I will be enjoying that!
  2. Bygone Badass Broads – Yes. I FINALLY FINISHED this book. It took me less than thirty minutes. I already wrote a post about this book, but I’m going to share some love for Angela Morley. Born Wally Stott, Angela was a composer and conductor, becoming a household name in the UK for BBC Radio listeners. She transitioned between 1970 and 1972, and came back stronger than ever. She went on to compose and arrange music on both the stage and screen, and collaborated frequently with John Williams. That’s right, in this tiny compilation of amazing women throughout history that we may not know, I found a woman who contributed to the life-changing score of “Star Wars.” She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1976, and was the first transgender woman to receive such a nomination. Bad. Ass.

I hope I read more this month, but in the meantime, both of these books were great! I’ve actually made a list of all the books I want to read (or, ahem, finish) by the end of the year. Fingers crossed I make it!

Monthly Resolution Wrap Up – August

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August. Not my finest month.

If anything, I’m celebrating that I think this was my worst month. What a relief! I got my worst month done, and now the rest of the year can be great! Right? Right?! I’m right.

1. Read 52 books – I finished two books this month, and I’m working on two more right now! If I finish them by this weekend I’ll feature all four in a monthly reads post.

2. Do pull ups – I am excited that this resolution is slowly getting there. I’m feeling my muscles getting stronger and more capable each day. I’m steadily pushing and I think I’m going to make it by the end of the year. I really do!

3. Spend LESS. TIME. SCROLLING – I don’t think I tracked this a lot this month. I feel like it wasn’t overly bad, but I wouldn’t give myself a gold star? I should really start paying attention to my device metrics to see how much time is spent each week on certain apps (Instagram seems to be the biggest time suck. I also spend inordinate amounts of time on TikTok but allegedly that’s getting banned in the United States by the end of this month? I’m not going to blame Baby Yoda, all I’m saying is that 2020 started going south right around the time “The Mandalorian” ended).

4. Write 104 Blog Posts – Nailed it. Crushed it. Gonna keep crushing it. <- I wrote this last month. Still applies! Yahoo! <- I wrote this last month, too! Still applies! Double yahoo!

5. Romantic trip with Aaron from Dec. 26 2020 – Jan. 2 2021 – A distressing development: my mother cancelled our vacation for the end of the year. Very sad. BUT. She rebooked a beach resort vacation in the same timeframe! I will still be “of the sea” with Aaron to begin 2021. My 2021 New Years Resolution is going to include a new iteration of this resolution where he and I go all out for our two year anniversary. Hopefully by then this pandemic will be over and we’ll be back to a normal, no-fines-for-leaving-the-state society.

6. Stop engaging in schadenfreude – I think I did okay this month? I genuinely can’t remember. I know I did better than I did in July. I know I watched a few schadenfreude videos/read a few Twitter threads, but that’s it. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being better.

7. Take better care of my skin – I went to a dermatologist! I got a prescription! I still have hormonal acne on my jaw and cheek and a few bad boys on my back and I’m hoping it’ll go away in a month otherwise I’m gonna lose my marbles!

8. Go stargazing – I have yet to seriously go stargazing. Aaron doesn’t like bugs but doesn’t want me to go to a dark place at night by myself. However, twice in the past week I’ve gone on a walk early in the morning while the stars are still out and it’s just… sometimes the sky feels like I’m in a dream. I’m not saying I got this done (I told Aaron I want a date night stargazing, and now that it’s September it better start cooling down and getting less buggy it better happen), but I have taken a moment (give or take twenty minutes) to just be in awe of nature.

9. Get a new job – I have kamikaze’d my way through job applications this month. Just full on Han Solo charge, knock out ten in one day, throwing my name out and seeing what happens. Do I have a new job? No. But I have new job prospects and I remain optimistic.

10. Do a handstand – Last month I said I was doing L-handstands against the wall. I have LEFT THE WALL. I have been practicing just kicking up on my own and almost every day I get further up, and further into a better stance! Some mornings I have left the gym feeling like air punching the world because I’m so proud of myself. That’s pretty neat.

11. Go see two of my favorite performers – This is still not going to happen and I’m very very bummed. I don’t think I’m an entitled fan, but if my favorites don’t look back at 2020 and think “I owe it to the people who suffered to give them what they want: live performances at relatively decent prices,” then they should reconsider. I’m just joking! OR AM I?!

12. Lose weight – WOW. What a dumpster fire of a month for this. I felt super sad about it. I FEEL super sad about it. I’m tired of feeling this way. I’m letting myself down and that’s so not Raven. I can do better. I AM better. Oof. No.

13. Give Aaron a great 26th birthday – Mission accomplished! I wonder if I should keep mentioning this one, since it happened and I can’t go back and redo it or improve on it. Meh. It’s a part of the list and it will stay on the list.

14. Be a better friend, wife, sister, daughter and granddaughter – I hung out??? With a friend??? Yes! I did! I saw a friend in person for the first time since lockdown this month. It was just for an hour, sitting on my porch and catching up on life. It felt so good to see a friend that I might? Do it again? Another friend wanted to go to this one restaurant where they make insane milkshakes with me when I felt safe to associate with other humans. Now’s as good a time as ever!
See, you look at sentences like that and then item 12 and you gotta think “Wow, the disconnect.” I know I do.
Aaron and I have been going on walks and bike rides together. I’m so grateful to have him as my husband and my partner through the dumpster fire that is 2020. I went home earlier this month and spent time with my family, but I feel like I’ve been on a different wavelength than them since. I also haven’t spoken to my grandparents in a month. I wanted to go visit with them, since I technically could be in the same house with them/quarantine for two weeks as the law requires, but that would still be too risky. I was so ready to go be with them and yet I didn’t call or email once. What is wrong with me?

15. Be happy – It’s weird. I thought this month was my lowest month of the year, but looking at my resolutions, this was a relatively solid month. I think that the family thing, the weight loss, and the job situation all just made me feel so low that I look at the month (maybe as an extension of myself) as a failure. I can’t tell if me being hard on myself is a good thing or a bad thing. Am I disappointed, because I know I can do better? Am I setting myself up for failure by having unrealistic expectations? Either way, the sad feelings don’t really invigorate me to try harder, so maybe just being sad about it is just a waste of time (gee, this sounds familiar).

I feel good about September. These will not be famous last words!

I love you three thousand.

Staying Positive After a Tough Day

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Yesterday, I felt overwhelmed. It suddenly hit me:

  • BFF #1 – Got a new job that pays a higher salary than mine, despite working less time, and moving to a nice new apartment.
  • BFF #2 – Left the job she hated to start a new job she loves.
  • BFF #3 – Is about to get hired for a new position where she’ll be making more than twice my income.
  • BFF #4 – Just bought a new apartment
  • BFF #5 – Has discovered a new passion that is bringing him unparalleled happiness.

And then there’s me.

It was a lot to take in. I think I’ve done well emotionally with quarantine conditions, but something about this week had me taking stock in my life. One of my new year’s resolutions was to be happy. I don’t feel happy.

So, I took a minute to feel those feelings. I don’t ignore feelings, I just don’t let them weigh me down for too long. There’s no cupcakes at a pity party, and if there’s no cupcakes, what’s the point of having a party?

kellykapooreatingacupcake
“Goodbye, Michael.” The Office. 28 April 2011. NBC.

After a minute (okay, longer than that), I made the resolution to move forward and get things done. I know I will feel better when things get done. On the top of my list is my biggest roadblock: finishing “The Once and Future King” by TH White. I keep not reading this book even though I like it, and it’s keeping me from feeling like I can accomplish anything else. I woke up this morning realizing that if work is quiet, I could finish it.

Then work was not quiet. Work was stressful, and people were cranky at me, and I wanted to throw my laptop into the surface of the sun.

So I’ve made a decision. Currently, I am reading two massive books. I need to finish these two massive books before I can resume applying to jobs that will make me feel more fulfilled. To worry about books, work, and my body image is a lot to put on my head and my heart. I need to learn to slow down, and take things one day at a time. That starts today.

melissamccarthybridesmaids
Bridesmaids. Directed by Paul Feig, performances by Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and Maya Rudolph, 2011.

 

 

An Experiment in Makeup: Part 4

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In today’s section of the experiment, we have:

  1. BETTER LIGHTING
  2. BETTER RESULTS
  3. PROMISE OF A BETTER TOMORROW, TODAY!

To quote the millenial’s Walter Cronkite, “Let’s just jump into it.”

Today’s look was inspired by this Snitchery video in which she presents a “no-makeup” look. She provides the context that the makeup looks she usually put together and shares on Instagram looks great on camera when filming, but a lot of the time it looks too caked to look good in person. In this video, she explains how she does her makeup when she’s going to be with people, hanging out at home. This is her version of “Hello, I am awake.”

I would say this version of “Hello, I am awake” is a better version of what I do when I want to say “Hello, I am awake.” The purpose of this experiment/series was to elevate my “Hello, I am awake” look, without looking too caked or taking too long, so this video felt like a good way to focus in on this overall goal!

Materials:

Notes On My Procedure:

Yesterday, I was having a blissfully quiet day at work when my coworker informed me there was a Zoom (videochat) meeting in an hour. For this meeting, we were REQUIRED TO BE ON CAMERA. My bare face (complete with breakout) and messy wet hair would not do. I decided to play around with the Bella Hadid tutorial steps, since I felt it would be the most dramatic look that would translate well on camera. I put together this look looking in my webcam! It was then that I discovered that the natural lighting of my workspace and the camera of my computer were a much better environment for makeup application. My makeup looked great, so great that I almost wanted to go to dinner that night just so it wouldn’t go to waste. Naturally, of the eight people on the videochat, only half of us were on video, so it wasn’t even necessary. Hmph.

Today’s look was put together with much better lighting than usual!

Procedure: 

  1. The base: moisturizer only. No primer!
  2. The face: apply concealer/foundation only where needed (a process called “spot concealer”). Apply where there is discoloration! To conceal under eye discoloration: Just put a few dots of concealer in the bottom outer corner of your eye. Blend out and up, towards your hairline. YOU DO NOT NEED FULL TRIANGLES UNDER YOUR EYE. After blending out and up, blend into the corner of your eye. I used step 9 from part 2 of this experiment to “spot conceal” conceal my acne. Stipple in setting powder after applying foundation (as opposed to after the entire face of makeup).
  3. The brows: Go for natural, hairlike strokes! Pencils over pomade for this look. Add a bit of clear gel to keep the hairs in place.
  4. The eyes: the footage from the video was lost, but Eleanor (Snitchery’s name IRL) explained that it was a “watered down version of her Bella Hadid” eye look. I’ll go more in depth on this process in part 5 of this experiment.
  5. The lashes: fake lashes come into play in this look! The video was sponsored by Glamnetic, so she used (and praised) their lashes. I did not use Glamnetic lashes, but I don’t have the words to say how much magnetic false lashes are a GAME CHANGER.
  6. The contour: Using your fluffiest brush, stipple bronzer along the outer part of your forehead. As opposed to going all the way into the middle of your face, go gently all the way around the perimeter of your face. With a dense brush, add some light color beneath where you typically contour (think of it as inverse contour).
  7. The cheeks: Choose a blush that’s a pinky/orange version of your skin tone. Apply from the inside going up from in to “snatch” your face like Bella Hadid, or go all the way across your face (cheek and nose) to get that “e-girl” look. I applied up from in, with a dash across my nose to give me a sun-kissed glow. 
  8. The lips: Using a demi-matte lipliner, fill in your “gaps” (the space between your lips and where you overline your lips). Moisturize your lips. Add your corresponding lip color (liquid lip was used in the video, I used pencil lipstick) in two or three dots on each lip, and then pat it out with your finger.
  9. The highlighter: Choose something that isn’t very reflective. Rather than using a pointed brush, use a fluffy brush and gently fluff in circles where your highlighter needs to go.

The Results: 

The Person The Before The After
Eleanor Barnes, aka “Snitchery” snitcherynaturalface snitcherymadeupface
Me mynaturalface mymadeupface

Analysis:

Aaron mentioned multiple times that I looked pretty today! That said, I feel like this look didn’t look all that natural. I think you could tell that I put on makeup. Despite using a lot less foundation, I still look like I put on a lot of foundation. It definitely succeeds in an “elevated” version of the “I am awake” look I was going for, but I wonder if I can go even further. This was the best my lashes have looked, and I wore them for roughly ten hours today without smudging and getting the lash applicator liner on my eyelid!

Conclusion: 

I am prepared to do more with less! I am excited to keep improving my technique. I will for sure be employing false lashes on the regular. I’m comforted that I can still repair the “uneven” skin tone I have with less product. I think I’m slowly getting better at making my lips look fuller, but while my lips looked great on camera, I feel like in person I looked like Jynx from Pokemon. Overall, I’m making great progress, but I still have a long way to go.

Coming Up Next:

While out and about with Aaron today, I stopped in at Ulta and picked out a few products… chief among them being a certain makeup brush that is necessary to pull off the Bella Hadid makeup look. Oh yes. Part 5. Let’s get snatched.

 

Late Night Jam Sesh? Late Night Jam Sesh.

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It’s 10 PM on a Wednesday. Do you know where your kids are?

If you’re my mom, you do. One’s tucked into bed, falling asleep to a “Gossip Girl” rerun on the other side of the house. One’s probably brushing his teeth, or enjoying a pre-bedtime chapter-read with his girlfriend in her house in the Hamptons. And then there’s me, heading into her third hour of non-work related screentime.

I have a good defense! I’ve been applying to jobs since 8PM (and a little bit earlier than that, if you consider tackling a few during work lulls). Sometimes I wonder if everyone struggles with the same questions I do:

  • Am I qualified for this job?
  • Does everyone use this vocabulary?
  • Do they actually read cover letters?
  • Why do we need to put our resume in twice, as a resume and a profile?

“Would you fill out one form?”

“Yes. Fine. Yes. How many times are we filling out the form?”

“You’re doing it once, three times. We use all three of them.”

“But why doesn’t the pen just go through, and it’s a copy of all three of them?”

“But sometimes that doesn’t work as well. And the numbers get smudged. You would think in this day and age–”

“FINE FINE FINE FINE. TURN THE POWER BACK ON.”

–Portlandia, Season 3 ep. 11, “Blackout”

I wanted to take a minute to bask in the splendor of my productivity. I had lots of fresh fruit today, a lot of good sugar, and felt very energized to get things done. I woke up this morning for a walk, then did a strength training workout at the gym. It was a quiet day at work, so I was able to stay on task while simultaneously doing some job-hunting and other research. I actually finished my workday at 4PM and decided to take that hour to go for a nice long bike ride! It was such a nice day to get on a bike. I used to love bike riding when I was in college. It feels good to go so fast that you don’t need to pedal, you just let the wheels go and it’s almost like flying.

Aaron and I ordered dinner tonight from a local restaurant, and I had a REALLY good veggie burger. It feels good to do well.

In the spirit of that, I’m thinking I want another early morning walk tomorrow, and it’s 10:26. Time for shut-eye!