Introducing: Secrets of a Swing Dancer!

I'd like to share with you one of my newest projects, which I have named "Secrets of a Swing Dancer"! Secrets of a Swing Dancer will be a series featuring makeup products under my ultimate stress test- hours of furious lindy hopping.

For your viewing pleasure, here's a lindy video. It's a bit long- about 10 minutes- but I suggest you watch at least the first 4 minutes so you can see some of my favorite teachers in action. Have I mentioned  how excited I am to take classes from several of them at Lindy on the Rocks this year?! They taught me so much last year.

And let me tell you, lindy hopping and I are a sweaty, hardworking, go big or go home kind of team. Maybe it's from my years of serious ballet training, but I give it my all on the dance floor. I love it. As you can imagine, a handful of hours spent lindy hopping tests the limits of my cosmetics. They have to be sweatproof, rub-proof, and make me look like a lindy hop champ. The last thing I want to be worrying about while dancing is if my makeup has dripped down to my knees. (Sexy, right?)

So, I'll be sharing with you products that I know have my lindy seal of approval, and testing some new ones and telling you how they hold up. If there are any products you're interested in having me test out in this fashion, please let me know in the comments! I'll do my best to get as many tested as possible.

Dancing and makeup, two of my favorite things.

NYX Primer, I didn't want a bad fake tan.

You know the NYX eyeshadow base in "Skin Tone" I told you to skip?
Well, now I'm really telling you to skip it.
Even after much scrubbing and makeup remover, my arm is still orange. The primer has stained my skin an awful fake tan color. So now I have a giant rectangle of orange on my arm. Yay.

NYX Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, you're officially on my bad list.

Sorry NYX, this Catwalk Romance has left me lust-less

Before the giant mess that was the NYX anniversary sale, I don't believe I had any experience with the brand. I decided that, for $1.20 apiece I would go out on a limb and try some of their palettes, a flesh-toned eyeshadow base, and a few other products. I've only used three of the things I ordered so far, and am unimpressed with those products. 

First we have the Eyeshadow Base in Skin Tone, which is $6.99 at Ulta. 

I purchased this in hopes that it would work for swatching purposes in place of my beloved Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Upon opening the jar, I was hit by a strong perfumed scent. To me, it smells like the floral perfume of a ninety-year-old woman. Not really what I want my primer to smell like. Also, the color is far too dark and orange to blend into my skin. You'll see what I mean in the swatches.

The jar simply states, "To hold, intensify, and last longer".

I can't tell you how well it works in action because I just couldn't deal with perfumed, orange eyelids. However, in swatching it definitely does intensify shadows as compared to without a primer.

Next are the 10 Color Eyeshadow Palettes in Catwalk and Romance.

 Catwalk

Romance

I'm glad I only paid $1.20 each for these.

That being said, they're not bad. They're just not something I think I'll be getting a lot of use out of. The pigmentation with a primer is good (with most shades). I found the frostier shades to be much smoother in application, with lighter and more matte shades being more difficult to apply. Some shades were chalky, especially the white in Romance. Compared to the buttery smoothness of the loose shadows I typically use from indie companies, the texture of these shadows did not impress me. I purchased these palettes thinking they would be good for travel and might help me in my quest for the perfect neutral look. For the former, they are useful. The packaging is sleek and I won't be heartbroken if they get broken or lost in travel. For the latter, I'm doubtful. 

 Catwalk swatches

 Romance swatches

My arm is not orange because of a bad fake tan- it's the primer.

Overall thoughts:

Primer: Skip it.

Palettes: If you're looking for a budget-friendly travel palette and don't mind if the shadows aren't especially smooth, this may be worth a shot. 

New Piercing

Hello! I haven't worn makeup the past week or so, so I don't have any makeup photos to share today. I'll try to get some swatches and a look done tomorrow, since the bakery is closed for vacation. Today, I went and got a new piercing! My only other piercing previously was about 17 years ago in the mall, when I got my ears pierced. Today, I went to the piercing shop my mother uses (she has three more piercings than I do, the most recent one was done in December) and got a second piercing in my left ear.

I took this picture about 15 minutes after I got it pierced, so it's fairly red. I'm completely in love with this piercing! I originally thought I wanted a very small stud, but this one caught my eye. The piercer held it up to my ear for me to see how it would look, and I realized that this look was much better suited for me. I love it so much- I keep looking at it in the mirror. For now, I'm thinking of putting in some basic studs or small hoops in my older piercings so that I'm not messing with my ear by changing the earrings in the older piercings every day. What do you think would look best alongside this new earring? I'm going to go look in the mirror now. Again. It's just so shiny and new and pretty!

21st birthday photos!

First of all, thanks for the lovely birthday wishes! My birthday was wonderful, and my friends and family put together a very fun evening. I was running errands in the afternoon, and when I got back to the house (planning on then getting ready to leave for the mystery reservation my family told me about), the house was filled with many lovely people, food, and libations. The family from the cupcake shop I've worked in whenever I'm in this town for a while also was there, and made this cake:

Each tier was three layers- vanilla cake with pink champagne buttercream between each layer. Yum!

They informed me that they decided to go with a "Housewives of New Jersey" theme, which is far from my usual personality/aesthetic, but I loved it!

Now for the look I did that day. I just now realized that my eyeshadow mildly matches the cake- pink and green! Completely unplanned, as I did my makeup that morning long before I knew about the cake.

I used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue
Raindrops on Roses- Hi-Fi
Blarney- Brazen
Shenanigans- Brazen (as a liner)
Giant Shiny Leaf Mascara- Physicians Formula

I initially did not use the TFSI Glitter Glue, but once the look was completed over the regular TFSI alone, I decided I wanted the glitter in Raindrops on roses to be more visible. I then applied TFSI Glitter Glue on top of where I already had Raindrops on Roses and patted another layer of the shadow on top of it.

Pinks and greens seem to be my default shadow choices lately, what kinds of colors/color combinations would you like to see me try next?

Getting back to blogging!

Hello!
I don't know what to say here today, so we'll keep it short. I have a look to share from a few weeks ago. (All photos in natural light)

I used:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Sakura- Darling Girl Cosmetics
Miss Independent- Brazen Cosmetics
Shenanigans- Brazen Cosmetics
Giant Shiny Leaf Mascara- Physicians Formula

I love Shenanigans! It's such a beautiful, deep color.

Today is my birthday, I'm turning the grand 21! I'm still pondering what to do for today's makeup, especially since my family and friends refuse to tell me what has been planned. All I know is that I have to be ready to go somewhere at 5pm.