Saturday, August 31, 2013

Old Photo of the Day

Long term readers here will remember the post I made a long time ago on my blog's previous incarnatio on Piczo when I was 17 in 2010, about my first meeting with the one and only Voltaire during his epic beard stage, who remains to this day my idol and inspiration. Anyway, I didn't have a camera that day so I didn't manage to get any photos. 
BUT, recently I did find this little gem of a photo... (I know it's super derpy, but I probably wasn't even aware I was being photographed until afterwards!) It was in a small Alternative Melbourne shop called Peril Underground and was a day time underage show, since at that stage I was too young to go to bars... 

Photo by Gerard Meehan
This was taken by Gerard Meehan, the Editior in Chief of Fiend Magazine, and has been with Voltaire on all of his Australian tours (which I have been to all of so far...) and I'm assuming he also works as a tour manager or something. I'm just speculating here mind you...

Anyway, I presently getting my brain organised for an exciting make up series for this blog. Details will be soon! XD

xxx Lilly

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Extreme Make Up or Wearable Make Up?

Hi my dearies! I have just a quick post for you all. I was wondering if I could get some opinions from you? i have a few make up looks and tutorials lined up in my mind, with some trials already under way, but I was wondering if you are first interested in Extreme creative looks or more wearable, publicly acceptable looks first? Please let me know in the comment box down below!
Source: Tumblr
xxx Lilly

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Batman Chronicals

If your a follower of the Conventions scene in the USA, you may be familiar with a man by the name of Anthony Misiano.
He is an actor from America who also has a YouTube show, The Reel Butter, but he would be best known for his personification of the Joker, from Batman, known as Harley's Joker. In fact, some have attributed this man to be The Definitive Joker Cosplay.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker
Now, personally I'm not a die hard Batman fan. My boyfriend James is quite partial to the young Miss Harley Quinn in her various personifications, and because of that I've been exposed to quite a bit of Batman in our relationship. I've also played Batman Arkhamn Asylum (before my game spat the dummy and refused to work...)

Source: https://www.facebook.com/HarleysJoker

Anthony Misiano describes his costume as inspired by the classic Joker and it took 9 months to fully assemble. He also spends 3 hours doing his make up with prosthetics before his costume is complete (I've forgotten the source for that sorry. I think it was in the SDCC interviews).

Anyway, the point of all this introduction is to highlight the fact that there is a not-for-profit webseries on the way, probably in post production now, and from the teaser trailers it looks so amazing!  I believe that the series is going to be something like how Batman and Mr. J initially met.



The summary of the project can be found here.



I actually cannot wait for this!

xxx Lilly

Spotlight on Klaire De Lys

Klaire de Lys has been one of my favourite YouTubers for quite some time now, for many reasons. Firstly, as with most of the YouTubers whom I follow, her videos are always high quality, both in content and definition, and this is important for me.
Klaire's technique and skill in make up and other fine arts is incredible. Her attention to detail is wonderful and every finished video is a work of art in itself. She posts both wearable and extreme make up videos, as well as art, DIY, giveaways and reviews. Klaire also has a second channel where she publishes videos on how she makes her props, art and other similar videos.

Here are some of my favourite videos by Klaire...










Her work with prosthetic make up is very creative and artistic, too!

Honestly, I could fill up an entire blog on how incredible this artist and YouTuber is, but instead I suggest you go and check her out yourself! Her website/blog can be found here...

xxx Lilly

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Practical Make up Tips: Part One

If you're interested in taking your make up skills from newbie or beginner into an accomplished and practised person or even an artisan, there are a few things I have learnt in my experience that will help you immensely.
For the record, I'm not a professional MUA, all my skills are self taught. I think I remember telling you all about my acceptance into Swinburne University to study Special Effects Make up Artistry, but I instead chose to study at the Melbourne Conservatorium. I had my audition to the Con and my group meeting for Swinburne both on the same day, the day after I moved house and all of that was so hectic I can barely remember what it was like, but still, for a short while I was thinking of making make up artistry a part time career if I wasn't successful with my audition, but thankfully I was! No regrets as to the path I chose! So anyway, make up now is more of a hobby for me, something that I still take quite seriously.

Here are practical tips that I have learnt in my personal experiences. I could just say 'Be inspired!' but honestly, while it is true that doesn't really help anyone, so I figured that I could offer some practical advice instead.

- Invest in some brushes. Good quality brushes are preferable but there is no need to spend $90 on one Kabuki brush (I have actually seen this on sale in Myer though...! Gah it is outrageous!) , but cheap poor quality brushes are awful and a waste of money, so in general get what you can comfortably afford. Personally my brand of choice is currently EcoTools. For some reason, those little sponges are thrown into every eyeshadow quad or palette, and they're not worth using in my opinion. Don't just throw them out though, as they can be used for stippling on glitter or even nail polish, but seriously, get a set of brushes. If you one could buy say, five brushes as a start, I would suggest you start with a powder brush, an eyeshadow brush, and angled eyeliner brush, a foundation brush and blending eyeshadow brush, and then build your collection from there. Unless you mistreat your brushes or don't wash them they will last a long time before needing to be replaced, so they can be a good investment if you buy quality brushes.

Source: http://www.ecotools.com/4-piece-touch-up-set
- Put on your liquid eyeliner with *both* eyes open! Yes this is possible! I do it frequently. If you want, I could do a tutorial on how I do it if that would make things easier, but honestly, you will find that your lines are cleaner, sharper and closer to the lash line if you put your eyeliner on with your eyes open. Also, it is easier to get a tapering line (that is, thicker in the outer corner, thinnest in the inner corner) if that is a look you like. I can put on my liquid eyeliner in only a few seconds. Also, if you still haven't gotten the technique down of having eyes open, just remember to NEVER pull at your eyelids to get a straight line. the skin around your eyes is very delicate and can break easily. You could also be causing sagging and wrinkles, and while I don't have a problem with looking your age, premature wrinkles are something I like to avoid.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for this series, or if you have any questions about anything I've mentioned already! Let me know in the comment box below, or send me a message. Your feedback is always appreciated, and I try to respond to each and every comment I get on this blog! I love all my followers!

xxx Lilly

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Sardines, Life and Eyes

Hi everyone! I just wanted to inform you all that now semester is already in full swing (after only a week 2) and I'm really feeling the pressure with all of the work. Each day I come home feeling very tired and drained, and have little energy to finish my uni work, let alone write some blog posts or do anything creative other than watch TV and play Terraria. =(
That being said, I do try. Often I take about an hour after my daily game of sardines (public transport) to just drink coffee and chill. Then I'll begin my ever growing amount of work, practice and assignments.

My recent Illamasqua order arrived today, so I think I'll be doing a review on that soon enough. There are some issues I have with it that I feel I should let you all know about, but trust be it is still a great brand and the makeup is usually high quality.

That's all for today, I'm already tired and it's only eight thirty!

xxx Lilly