Goth in a Box

Hey my darling readers, sorry for the period of inactivity; university was getting very stressful with exams and assignments, but thankfully now that is all past. Thanks to everyone who wished me well! I've been on my summer break for about two weeks now, and so far things have been good, although the weather has been heating up more than I would like...

I am excited for this summer in regards to this blog, as I have lots of interesting content coming up, so stay tuned for that!

If you can remember in an older post by The Green Fairy, she mentioned having won a subscription to a beauty box. We were all pretty much unanimously wishing that there was a similar beauty box that was more suitable to darker or alternative tastes. And that got me thinking, I wonder what items I would include if I had my own Gothinabox beauty box, in a jokingly serious way; legitimately these would all be my real choices. I also don't want this to be a Just-Add-Water Insta-Goth set, but rather key items that many Goths would use regularly and consider them favourites. Of course, I'm going to have to carefully skip over the logistics of a beauty subscription box, as that is not my area of expertise, and just focus on the 'what if'...
Enjoy!

• SPF 500+ to block out any of the disastrous and icky rays of the Yellow Hurty Thing.
• Mattifying pressed powder. Because dewy, glowing, healthy 'I just spent the day at the beach' skin is not desirable.
• Liquid eyeliner in black. With a felt tip to achieve a wickedly razor sharp point.
• Blood red lip stain. To create a freshly bitten look....
• Wine coloured lip liner. To sharpen one's Cupid's Bow to a Siouxsie-approved right angle.
• Matte black eyeshadow. For smoking one's eyes and chiselling one's jaw to taut perfection.
• Extra-Strong hold Hairspray. When Regular-Strength hairspray just won't do.

Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a comment below with what you would put in your own Goth Beauty Box.

xxx Lilly

Cruelty-Free Beauty

Hello my Freaky Darlings

Here's a secret for you all. Slowly, as I refuse to waste perfectly good products, I am trying to convert my beauty, skincare and cosmetic routines into Cruelty-Free products exclusively. I have often used products that were cruelty free, but I didn't really become aware of the impact of not using cruelty free products meant for my fellow animals until recently. Now I am trying to purchase my new products cruelty free, and even better vegetarian products. (Ethically I still have some mental work ahead of me in regards to whether I want to cut carmine from my cosmetics and other similar issues.)
Disclaimer: I am not a vegetarian as I eat fowl and shellfish currently.
It's going to take time because, as I'm sure I've mentioned on this blog in the past, I have extremely sensitive and dry skin and am often allergic to products that contain ingredients such as salts, cheap fragrance, SLS and ethanol.
So far much of my routine is comprised of Lush, Kryolan, Palmers, Illamasqua and ELF products. XD

Oh, and This delightfully dark blog is my new favourite Tumblr. Please enjoy!

http://gothic-art-style.tumblr.com/post/46547824512

xxx Lilly

My Goth Maintenance

This post was inspired by Sary's post that she finished a few months ago. While I won't be listing my whole routine (of course I wash my hair regularly and face daily!), but these choices are my 'musts'. Not all are particularly spooky, mind you; The title in my opinion refers more to me rather than the routine. =)

Each morning, plus before I shower, even if I'm wearing a shower cap, and before I sleep I brush out all my hair. My hair gets very tangled and knotted during the day from general wind and if I didn't brush it regularly I would be left with a natural dreadlock. Yup, just the one. Not a nice look.

I file, and trim if needed, my nails almost every day becuase I naturaly have awful nails! They feather, tear and split constantly so I cannot ever grow nice long nails. Keeping them smooth helps to avoid any snags and keep them neat. I don't file away much! Just enough to keep them smooth. Lately I've been shaping my nails into claw-like points. However, this hasn't been working as I had planned as my nail points seem to snag on everything!

Each day before going outside I'll apply sunscreen to any exposed skin. Being as pale as I am, I tend to burn easily. Also, I hate tans and want to avoid one as much as possible. I prefer to use a light, oil free moisturiser with added sunscreen on my face and general sunscreen on my body and neck. I tend to choose products with high SPF, and sometimes I choose formulas for sensitive skin, and sweating and rubbing irritate my skin easilly.

I wear eyeliner daily. I've managed to perfect basic liquid eyeliner application to under a minute per eye, so lately I've been choosing a simple flick or winged liner with some simple shadow for uni and everyday. Mascara also is a regular staple for me, but I was blessed with naturally thick doe lashes (Moi? Vain? Perish the thought!) so this sometimes gets skipped entirely.

(Just FYI, I put this post on hold for a few days while I finished up my last exams. Just a few hours ago I finished my last exam for the year, meaning now I am 1/3 of the way through my Bachelor of Music! I really can't believe how tough this year has been, but I have learnt so much and met so many new talanted people. I can't wait for next year. XD)

Lip balms are always on hand for me. I tend to lick my lips a lot, not to mention all of the flute playing I do each day, plus the unpredictable weather we have been experiencing lately, really dries them out. I only really wear lipstick or heavier pigments when going to special ocassions or out clubbing. My favourites currently are by Burts Bees and Palmers. They are just so yummy and mosturising!

Daily I'll groom my brows. This may seem slightly daft, but naturally my eyebrows grow very dark, almost black, and rather full. The darkness makes them seem fuller, so I actually remove most of them by hand using tweezers. They also grow in odd, rather asymetrical shapes so I really have to think about how to pretend that they are slightly controlled. XD I used to be really self concious about how think and noticable they are, but keeping my hair dyed nice and black helps to really balance them out.

I also regularly dye my hair. I have a penchant for all black, but sadly due to the sheer thickness and length of my hair I always need two bottle of dye just to cover it all, and that really makes it a lot more expensive. =( Subsequently, I can only afford it the luxury ocassionally.

 Now I'll go back to my vodka and artifically-sweetened cranberry juice drink for end of year celebrations! XD

xxx Lilly

Help for sensitive skin

As a person who has suffered from excema her whole life, I can understand how frustrating, embarassing, itchy or even painful having sensitive or sensitised skin can be. These are all learnt from my own experience, so I cannot guarantee that it will work for you. Everyone's skin behaves differently.

1. Moisturise! This is so important. Use an unscented body moisturiser in the shower/ bath and whenever your skin feels tight or dry. I use Redwin's Sorbelene cream everywhere except my face, and on my face I use Neutrogena's oil free moisturiser with SPF 15+
Use sorbelene as a body wash and shave gel if you think you need to.

2. Avoid soap. Soap, for me, is Hell. I cannot use a bar of soap at all, and I have to use moisturiser after using soft soap. Of course, I am NOT saying you should avoid washing your hands, but use gloves when washing the dishes and things like that.

3. Don't wash your hair regularly, and always wash the shampoo and conditioner out with your head tipped forward so the chemicals don't run down your neck and back.

4. Use 'sensitive' laundry soap. This has made a huge difference for me because my clothes are always up against my skin (obviously). Also, don't wear itchy clothing on your worst effected clothing. My hands are my worst suffered, so I have to avoid synthetic gloves.

5. Be careful of fragrances and other chemicals. Clinique is a good brand because it is 100% fragrance free. Sure, the things won't smell as pretty, but it does make a difference, and also gives you an idea what is in the product. Perfume is also bad so use it sparingly and don't apply to any irritations, even if it wasn't the cause in the first place.

6. Avoid salt water. I cannot swim in the ocean at all, and some salt water pools affect my skin. Think red, stinging and burning...

5. If you skin is particularly bad or persistant, I'd recomend talking to you GP about it. There are some creams on the market that are prescription only, but do work. It can be expensive, and isn't that brilliant for your skin, so this should be used only when it is ruining your life.

I hope these tips can help you keep your sensitive skin under control.


xxx Lilly.

P.S thanks to everyone who has given me feedback about the new comments/ layout thing. I have finally gotten things working, and the support has been very appreciated.

DIY moisturizing sugar body scrub

Note: this needs to be used immediately because the sugar will dissolve. Also, avoid getting shower water in the container because it will dissolve.

Ingredients

Small container- plastic bowl is fine, but it helps to have a lid

Plain, unscented sorbelene - I use Redwin’s Sorbelene for everything. It is my savior.

Raw sugar

Olive oil (if you have dry skin)

Essential oils

Method

Mix a decent amount of sorbelene cream into the bowl. Only add as much as you are going to use, and use all of it. Then add 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well. Add a few drops of olive oil if desired and a few drops of essential oil.

Use in the shower to gently exfoliate your skin and leave it feeling soft and smooth. Rinse well with water.

DIY Pale lose face powder

This recipe was my own creation. Feel free to change it to suit yourself if you want.

You will need:

1 empty cleaned container (preferably small)

Plain baby powder

Scented white body powder (mine has a shimmer)

White lose shimmer mineral eye shadow (with high pigment if possible)

Translucent face powder that is close to your natural colour

Begin by pouring a small amount of baby powder into the container; approx. the amount of powder you want to make.

Add some coloured face powder so it is the colour you desire.  I cannot give you exact proportions here because the ideal shade varies from person to person.

Add a tiny amount of the scented body powder to add a nice scent and subtle shimmer

Add a generous amount of the eye shadow so the shimmer is to your liking. If you want a matte effect then use eye shadow without shimmer.

To use, moisturize and let it soak in. Then apply your usual foundation. Foundation sticks well to dry skin but powder needs something sticky so apply the pale foundation before the foundation has dried completely.

Note: This is not a long lasting powder and you will need to re apply every so often. It is best used as a natural look because it is very nice and light.

xxxx Lilly