Monday, April 21, 2014

Color Tattoo - Shiny Shiny Eye Makeup!

Recently, I've been starting to experiment with makeup. It's a long road, but I thought maybe I'd document my progress along the way. Because I harbor a deep, secret love for the shinier things, those are what I started with.

This time, I decided to put a few eyeshadows to the test. This post is for the those who love Maybelline, and are interested in the Maybelline Color Tattoo Loose Powder shadows.

First, I have really fair skin that is pink tinted- so I used a concealer to create a 'base'. It's a bit paler than what I actually am, but provides a nice matte background so you can see the colors.

I tried four different colors of these loose powder shadows: Barely Brazen, Buff & Tuff, Breaking Bronze, and Improper Copper.

For consistency, these powders are fantastic- they have that sparkle, oh, so very much- but they are so fine and soft, and easy to apply. As I may have said already (or will say later), a little bit goes a longer way than you think, so exercise a little bit of caution. The lines below, I made with my fingers, NOT any brush.

I also accidentally purchased one of the 24 hour shadows, which is a cream, not a powder, so I tested that as well. It's called Bold Gold.
(Sorry for the crappy picture quality, I did the best I could!)



The first, Barely Brazen, is a very cool color- it's almost a pearl. I would use this for right under my brow- (sparingly, mind you- a little goes a longer way than you think) I have deep set eyes and dark circles (thank you, life) so this is a great highlight for right there.

Buff & Tuff is (although it may not show in the photo) just as glittery as the others. I had a hard time with this shadow because it seems rather 'Meh' to me- I know I'm a newbie, but I'm not sure how it best could be used. Perhaps on the lid with a little highlighter on the brow bone, for a simpler but more sparkly look? I'll be trying that out sometime in the very near future. But enough of that, onward!

Breaking Bronze is actually what led to my purchase of the rest of the color tattoo series (err..mini series, as it were). I bought it first, and fell in love, so I thought I'd expand my color palette. It doesn't disappoint- it POPS- I love it for a glamorous, drop dead gorgeous eye makeup look. It really makes my blue eyes pop!

The Improper Copper was a surprise; I bought it because occasionally, you need a bit of darker color. It looked a bit flat in the picture- I shouldn't have worried, however, as it is a rich, earthy, warm tinted deep copper brown that I have come to adore.

Finally, the Bold Gold 24Hour shadow was- interesting. It's light, smooth, and doesn't feel cakey when you wear it- but the gold can go funny in certain light, or when paired with other colors. Still, if gold is your thing, give it a go- I admit, I did a field test on this one. I applied some on the inside of my forearm (about halfway between my wrist and my elbow) and went about my day. I, of course, forgot all about it, so I wore my jacket for school, my sweatshirt for working out, etc. Imagine my surprise when I stripped down to shower the next morning and there it was, not smeared or cracked, or smudged from its original place. Sure, it was a bit better 'blended', but that's the look you try to achieve with a blending brush, anyway, isn't it? Those soft edges?

Anywho, that's the skinny on the earth tones of the Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo Loose Powder collection (wow, that's a long title!).

I'd go into a more formal review, but that'll come later when I compare shadow qualities for staying power, blendability, etc.

Cheers!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Art! (And prints) - Raving about ProDPI

Eight months ago, I posted a simple digital painting on a Facebook page depicting the popular kitten from that page. It wasn't great- definitely not my best work- but it caught the notice of a very nice woman who was also the fan of that page.

The woman contacted me, asking me to do a commission for her- a painting of her cat; and offered to pay me for it.

Let me be clear. I've never been paid for my art. Never. My jewelry, yes. My art, no, and I've been drawing for much longer than I've been making jewelry. Was I ecstatic? Yes! Was I excited? Hell yes! But it was more than that.

I. Was. Terrified.

I accepted the commission, received the photos that the woman sent me, and set to work. I almost immediately ran into a wall. The woman's cat, Lola, was lovely- but her coloring was so distinctive that I couldn't do a picture of her in the same style I'd done one of the other cat.

I've gotten ahead of myself, as usual.

My art work of late has been drawn using the stylus and an artist program on my Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet. Last May, I'd had the tablet for perhaps 3 months. I drew this back then.

This is super simplistic, as I mentioned before. I wasn't trying very hard- my goal was more to provide a passably cute token for the kitties new parents. Fortunately for me, the kitty is a tuxedo- simple yet elegant.


Anyway, back to Lola. Lola is gorgeous and distinctive in the way that many of us are distinctive- in very tiny ways. Some people/animals have one specific trait that stands out and makes them distinctive (i.e. Lil Bub, who is a cutie, and a superhero imho, and an inspiration). For Lola, this wasn't the case- what made her Lola was a combination- her pretty eyes, her two colored nose, the little spot of stripes on the left side of her face, the color of her back and paws- they worked together to make her Lola.

And a big part of that was color. I couldn't condense or simplify her color too much, or she wouldn't look like her anymore.

So, as I stared down at my barely started piece, I choked. I tried off and on to work on her over the next months, and the woman who commissioned me, bless her, was so patient- she never pressured me once.

A few weeks ago, I was inspired(guilted by my conscience) to take up Lola again, and try to get her finished before I sent in my partially broken tablet for maintenance. I knew I'd made a promise to the woman, and I wanted to deliver, even though I knew it'd been way too long.

Lo and behold, I finished Lola. I sent an excited note to the woman 'surprise, here's the thing I owed you months ago!' and attached the file.

The woman was ecstatic. 'How much for the print?' She asked.

A wall loomed up head of me. I managed to stop this time.
Crap.
Printing. Hell, I did digital art now. I needed a printer.

And off to Google I went.
I looked at the popular sites, but so many were SO expensive, and without the recommendation of anyone I actually know, I wasn't willing to take such a costly chance.

Then, I found ProDPI.

ProDPI has a mixed reputation on the internet- there are horrible reviews, and a few great ones. The bad ones talked about how the prints got there extremely late, or how horrible the customer service was. The great ones complimented everything. All of them were old.
After looking at the prices, and the sizes, including shipping and turnaround, and I thought, with prices that low, it'd honestly probably be crap.

At the same time, it was worth a shot.

So I bit the bullet and ordered a 10x13 of the lovely Lola, sat back, and waited.

It arrived today, and I am so pleased. Not only did it arrive in a timely manner, it was a good quality that I am 99% sure that the woman will love.

So for those of you looking for a printer, I encourage you to check out ProDPI. It's got a lot of options, is a great price (in my opinion) and the images come out very well. Visit their website to find out more.

By the way, here is the painting I did the print of.

The print looks exactly the same :).