FOTD: Bitfrost

Odds are you scrolled a bit to take a look at the makeup - aren't the lashes fun? That's what really made the look completely blow up so I really can't take any credit for this. These lashes are made by Elise and are available at Madame Madeline.

Now I don't want anyone to think this is some kind of tropical look. The blue shadow (appears green after blending) on the lower lid is there just to contrast but my intention was to build a look based around yellow and a smaller amount of orange. Lo and behold, that is just how this turned out!

Since I've been getting a lot of positive feedback about pushing my limits I really have to thank all of you who have done so. Not going to say "H'OMG I'M SOOOOOO ACCOMPLISSSSHED" but just looking back a few months ago really shows the massive progression I've made. Of course I have my wonderful inspiration and muse keeping me going daily but it really sweetens the deal when so many people support and encourage me further. I enjoy every second of this and I'm going to try and come back every day fro now on with some new material if possible.

More pictures and what I used after the jump!

FOTD: Electric Stardust

Greetings! Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Not going to really get into mine but if you couldn't tell, I decided to take a few days off posting and makeup in general so I could breathe. I have been extraordinarily exhausted this past week and could still use a LOT more sleep so I'm not really up for trying to do anything extreme.

Before I left for my Thanksgiving trip, my friend Joey suggested that I do a look consisting of Fyrinnae's Electric Stardust eyeshadow and purple to go with it. Since I was itching to do something with Electric Stardust to begin with, I decided it would be the first look I put together after the holidays.

Electric Stardust is really quite imaginative. In the jar, it reminded me of the color in mint chocolate chip ice cream but a little brighter in shade. When I see this shadow I think 'day glow' or like a glow stick. Of course since this is not only an Arcane Magic eye shadow but its made by Fyrinnae especially, I should expect to not trust what a eyeshadow looks like based upon what's in the jar. Under fluorescent light, this shadow looks pretty much the same as the product inside the jar. I picked up a trick from the husband about layering product consisting of applying several layers of Pixie Epoxy, then the eyeshadow and continuing the process until you achieve the intensity you desire. This is the only time I've ever done something like this and if I'm remembering correctly, I did maybe 4 layers including the finishing touches of shadow over Pixie Epoxy. At first I didn't think much of the appearance of the shadow once I finished applying it. Sure, it was very pretty and bold but I was bummed out by the color. It wasn't under I had taken off my lashes and removed my foundation that I walked into my bathroom and saw the shadow under different lighting. Holy crap, my eyes were glowing! My only overall disappointment in the end was that I didn't keep my makeup on before viewing under different light - those would have been killer pictures. The pictures I have though really do no justice to any of the eye makeup. Just another example of how makeup always looks better in person (insert *sigh* here).

What I used and more photos after the jump! My apologies if I look too shiny, I haven't been using finishing powder lately so I can conserve since I've been doing more makeup as of late than I usually do.

FOTD: Inked

I'm kind of lacking words and ideas on social commentary today so I'll just get to explaining the look. This may or may not be my last FOTD until I come home from my Thanksgiving trip but we'll just see what happens.

For this look I wanted to give some new High Voltage eyeshadows a good test run. Since many of you expressed interest in Inked and Modified when I did my swatch post found here and in Twitter conversations, I thought I would focus on those two. Overall, I was very pleased with the colors. I had a bit of fall-out but then again, what loose shadow that I use doesn't fall-out on me? I was just smart this time and did my foundation AFTER I did my eyes. Usually I'm too stubborn and want my skin done since it sets the "makeup mood" for me. The shadow on my left eye managed to get a little wonky in the tear duct area because my eye started to water but we all make mistakes, no big deal.

Another nice touch to this look is the false lashes that are made by Elise. I've been using Ardell's for months now and not to mention, I've never tried lashes that were anything different than just standard so this was a nice treat. In fact, I didn't start using false lashes until around maybe late March/early April because I couldn't stand the feeling of them - so up until that time, I would try and pull off the illusion of having long lashes. Which basically consisted of heavy liner. What a drab.

Products I used after the jump!

Quick FOTD: Kamikaze Vampire

Interesting name, eh? Just so you know, I name looks based on the shadow names - this is quite unrelated to suicide attacks made by military aviators or vampires, don't worry.

So this is a quickie (hardy har har). Last night I threw together a look that I was going to give Grey from Gothique but I wound up not liking the look very much and since I've been such a busy bee lately, I figured I could throw together more from where that came from. The red on the lid is Fyrinnae's Kamikaze shadow that was layered both dry and wet.

Products I used after the jump!

Stila's Eye for Colour Eye Shadow Palette

Just to clarify - this is NOT a full review. Most of the time I never do full reviews where I weigh pros, cons and determine if this is worth your time and money. There are many blogs who will do full reviews for you whereas I will post mainly swatches and tell you what I think of a product. Odds are if I'm taking the time to post information or pictures about a product, its something I will or have already used and like. I'm not an expert on the finer details of products - I just simply use them. I believe that with most cosmetic products, if they're decent quality, there is a use for them. Even if you do not like a product that doesn't mean it won't work for the next person. Unless there is valid reason to condemn a product or crucify a brand, I try to keep an open mind and not rule anything out.

Now that my rant is over, let's talk makeup. Today I have one of the new holiday palettes from Stila to show you. The husband nabbed me one of travel palettes in Trendsetting in Tokyo and to my surprise, I fell head-over-heels in love with it. Wanna know how much I thought it cost? $30. How much did it really cost? $10 and its supposedly a $65 value. I'm no expert but that sounds like a bit of a deal, don't you agree?

Eye for Colour Eye Shadow Palette is a 13 piece travel palette. While the shadows are smaller than what are featured in the smaller travel palettes, they're still big enough to where you won't think you'll run out of shadow in a pan within a few uses. For most of my swatches, I barely skimped off of the top of the pans and was able to get very decent swatches without making it look like I massacred the palette. Overall its a very versatile palette with many choices. There are plenty of coordinating colors for those who are only interested in everyday wear but I think all of these shadows can go together (I'll wear nearly anything and pair whatever colors I'm in the mood for). On the back of the palette, the shadows are ordered by numbers and do not have actual names; they're named by the actual color/shade they are. Which is nice since I believe its easier to remember the colors rather than whatever names they may have been given, but that's just my opinion. Each shadow is rather silky and applies fairly smoothly. Lighter shadows like Petal Pink and Porcelain really didn't show up on my skin in the swatches but I'm also very fair (obviously). On the official Stila site this is being sold for $18 so I think that's pretty fair.

Product photos and swatches after the jump. All pictures were photographed under fluorescent light with no flash and eyeshadows are swatched over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

High Voltage Swatch n' Tell!

Confession time: I'm now my mailman's official stalker. Constantly on the prowl for whatever goodies he may have for me.

My friend Jasmine, the owner of High Voltage Cosmetics, recently sent me some eyeshadow goodies to play with that I've been super excited to get my hands on! For those who are familiar with the products I use, High Voltage shadows are one of my favorites. A lot of mineral makeup is the same to me. While there are plenty of brands that have some neat choices when it comes to vivid and bold eyeshadows, I'm not a fan of subtle shadows that are loaded with shimmer and nothing else. Its nice to have, don't get me wrong, but I prefer solid eyeshadow colors that are not hard to blend and fallout is just a minor concern. Complex and unique are nice too but once again, the first colors I reach for are those that are the most pronounced.

What I've always loved about High Voltage is some of the shadows I own either apply nearly (and seemingly) opaque with a satin finish or apply evenly and can be built-up. Such shadows as Secrets & Lies, which is a royal purple/indigo eyeshadow, can be applies over various shades which can give it an extremely vivid result. Granted its all about experimentation rather than an exact science but a lot of it is worth taking a shot at.

Moving on - swatches and color breakdown after the jump! All products are photographed with no flash and under a fluorescent light. All swatches are done over Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy to enhance their appearance.

FOTD: Winter Again

We just had our first official snowfall of the season! Yes, its that time of year yet again. To be honest, it feels like winter had just ended and were going into the same cycle all over again. I didn't get a chance to enjoy winter very much last year. From around September to the beginning of February of this year I was a lot of pain (to say the least) from a leg problem I've had for years. On top of other medical problems I was dealing with, I can barely remember any events that occurred long before and sometime after my surgery. Everything was a blur. This winter especially I want to absorb as much of it as I can to make up for all the time that I feel was lost. For the first time in several years I feel completely free from any and all stress, my future is clear and bright - so all that's left is for me to bide my time, enjoy what I have here and continue building this relationship which has been presented to me. Whether or not I deserve every new and amazing positive in my life is undecided, but there's not in a chance in the world I'm going to give anything up or leave goals unrealized and unaccomplished.

Okay, emotional rant is finished, I promise! Now to get cracking on this look...

The main reason this look is called "Winter Again" is because I used a shadow with that name - the snowfall was just a coincidence. With this look I really went to town with making sure everything was fully pigmented and shadows were even layered, not going to lie. The shadow looks like it was extended too far beneath the tear duct and along the lower lash-line but rest assured, this was my intent. I did my liner along the waterline and lower lash-line like I routinely do but instead of leaving it alone, I applied Fyrinnae's Winter Again shadow over it which gave it a very pearly, deep blue effect. I even used the shadow as a cheek-bone highlight even though there really is no way of seeing in the pictures I posted.

Break-down comes after the jump!

FOTD: Warm

What do you get when you combine gold, orange and red? Apparently this.

The end results for this look turned out much differently than I had originally planned, but beggars can't be choosers. My intent was to come up with something that *looked* warm. I was wearing my fairest foundation (Smashbox HD) so I could emphasize the all the color I was wearing and in particular the orange cheek color.

The lips were interesting as well. I think it looks a little uneven but that's just how my mouth folds. I prefer to line my lips just a little bit farther than my actual lip line to make them look more full. So I just lined the outer-edges,  some of the inner portion and put on Fyrinnae's 'Mali' Lip Lustre (yes, the unnamed orange lustre has been named).

More pictures and what I used after the jump!

FOTD: Gilded Wings

I've always been fascinated with gold and silver, but did I feel like they belonged anywhere on me other than my jewelry? Nope. I always adored makeup with those colors but I liked them better on other people.

A few days ago I had a massive craving to do something gold, to say the least. I was trying to figure out how I would go about doing it since bright silver and gold appear too illuminated when trying to photograph it. Partially the reason I tend to stay away from looks that are loaded with sparkle is because I can never get a good shot of it.

But basically, this is an all-over gold look. Self-explanitory.

More pictures and what I used after the jump!

Fyrinnae Swatch n' Tell! pt. 3

You know what time it is? Fyrinnae time, that's what!

If you know me well enough and you happened to take a look at the preview picture for this post, you'll know I had one hell of a panic attack when I opened a package containing some of the most beautiful and vivid shadows  I've ever seen or owned. Of course I don't even have to say that since the swatches speak for themselves but I do love spreading the good word.

Well, let's minus the writer's commentary from here (for once). Lots of colors to cover and we wouldn't want this post to be a mile long... Unless you enjoy knowing my hands suffered greatly. I'm still improving on how I swatch products so I'm sorry if some shadows aren't even with the others.

Swatches, color walk-through and opinions after the jump! All swatches are photographed under florescent light with no flash.

FOTD: Bamboo Revolution

The husband and his legions of loving fan-girls have all been riding me to put some more green into my life - so I obliged.

Yesterday I got a TON of new Fyrinnae products that pretty much overwhelmed me. So many wild and vivid colors, I didn't know where to start. I'll have swatches tomorrow probably considering it will be one very long blog post and I'm not just going to take some pictures and throw it up - I'm going to go through and explain every color so you can savor just how beautiful they are.

So, greens. I like them but never sought out a green when I was younger and was loaded with cash to spend on outrageous products. It was all about blues when I was younger but now that I'm older, I respect and desire mainly any color now that I know what I'm doing.

With this look I basically just looked at all the new greens and picked a simple pair that wouldn't give me difficulty if the shadows themselves were complex and needed a studied hand in order the use them properly.

What I used after the jump!

FOTD: Conjuror

Before I start, something really weird has been going on with all the sites I use. Twitter has been goofing, Facebook has been goofing, YouTube has been goofing and even Blogger has been goofing; the list of blogs I follow has seemed to vanish without a trace. Hoping this is just some error with the site because it might be a challenge to try and track down all the blogs I follow all over again.

Last night I was just playing (swatching) around trying to come up with something I haven't really done before. I tried greens, pinks, gold all until my eyelids were getting raw. But before I threw in the towel, I wanted to try one more thing and I decided I wanted to test out Fyrinnae's Arcane Magic shadow in Conjuror since I haven't given it a test-run yet.

Conjuror itself is similar to MAC's Blue Brown pigment. Both have a base color of being a reddish-brown/burgundy and have seemingly massive amounts of aqua reflects. The difference is that (I believe) Conjuror is not intended to look like or be a duo-chrome and not only is the base color seemingly lighter than Blue Brown, Conjuror also has bright crimson reflects. I could be mistaken about the duo-chrome remark. I know what duo-chrome shadows look like but I have no idea what makes them up or what qualifies a product to be one. Like Blue Brown though, it takes a few tries to get used to it and without a proper base or other shadows to coordinate with the shadow, you could be looking at a reddish/murky mess as you begin to blend.

So just to sum it up, I built something revolving around Fyrinnae's Conjuror and bright aqua liner. I, myself look like a swamp-thing so please disregard the mess. What I used featured after the jump!

New Video: Pyromantic Erotica

Click HERE to watch!

I was in the mood for something unusual, what can I say? I was itching to use Fyrinnae's Pyromantic Erotica Arcane Magic shadow and I wound up building something around it!

Products I used and more pictures after the jump!

Sir Teddy & Lady GaGa

My other (better) half spoils me beyond anything I deserve.

Today I received a box (that the mail man actually DIDN'T slam down on my porch) containing two goodies. One was Sir Teddy from A Tartan Tale - the new holiday collection by MAC. All proceeds for this bear and the key-chain version of it all go to one of MAC's charities 'Kids Helping Kids'. Its one of the commendable things about MAC that I do appreciate considering there is a very long list about MAC that I do not like or appreciate. The bear itself is small but the point of it is to be a collectible. The arms and legs move, basically.

The second was the Viva Glam GaGa lipstick. Anyone who knows me is aware I think of the world of her. Not to the point where I'm literally worshiping her but out of all the mainstream artists, she is my favorite. In fact my first tattoo was inspired by the font style on 'The Fame Monster' album. So when I heard GaGa and Cyndi Lauper were doing Viva Glam this time around I got very excited. When it came time for the lipstick to get releases, however, I wasn't truly inspired by the color which is why I didn't get it. Don't get me wrong, its extremely pretty, but it just wasn't "GaGa" enough for me. I was hoping for maybe a blue or something outrageous but hey, its a pretty pink lipstick with her signature on it that's also for a good cause. It'll be well appreciated.

More Sir Teddy, product pictures of the Viva Glam GaGa lipstick as well as swatches after the jump!

FOTD @ Gothique

I did a look for Grey at Gothique! Click HERE to ch-ch-check it out! Thanks for having me, Grey!

Under Construction... Sort-of!

Just a little heads-up about a few changes - I've changed my web address to Cosmetic Viking mainly to fit my persona a little better. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware that by changing your web address you would lose all your comments due to Intense Debate software deleting all comments made on 'makeupbybriankelly' since the domain is no longer active (yes, I am insanely pissed about this).

Another change I'm going to be making is that I'm going to be setting up links to fellow bloggers. I'm unsure if I'm going to do pictures or just word links but if you're interested in getting on the list - leave me a comment or let me know because I want them in alphabetical order!

Finally, I'm going to be working on a new theme and look but that's not really news-worthy. Just thought I'd share that I changed my address which is most important.

Thank you to all of my new followers for taking an interest in my blog. My prime goal was 50 followers but I woke up this morning to 61! Such an awesome feeling, thank you so much! Of course I'm working steadily on new looks and such to post - I'm just being a bum today!

New Fyrinnae Lip Lustres!

*UPDATE - The unnamed lip lustre has been named 'Mali' and will be made available very soon!

I've been ever so fortunate enough to get two new lip lustres to add to my Fyrinnae collection!

As of right now, these two shades have not yet been made available but I do believe one of them will be at some point. These are both matte lip colors meaning they will have near-opaque coverage with no sparkle or shimmer when applied (hence 'matte'). Swatches and more info after the jump!

FOTD: Trendsetting in Tokyo

For the record, that's the name of the palette I used - I in no way support or follow supposed said "trends" made by people who just simply pick colors out of a bin and says it looks good for the season. Whoa, was that a little defensive? Hell yes, I hate fashion. Wear what looks good to you and not to someone else!

Anyways, I had a neat chance to play with some new products that I've fallen pretty hard for. On top of a surprisingly awesome travel palette from Stila, I got two new Fyrinnae Lip Lustres that to my knowledge are not yet available. Those will be featured in another blog post probably coming right after this but anyways, time for a bit of into before I break the look down.

For this look I wanted to use the Shibuya (blue) shadow featured in the palette as well as the 'Peace' (black shimmer) shadow. I'm not familiar with anything Stila so I didn't quite know what to expect but to my surprise, the four shadows are very silky and have respectable pay-off. For comparison, better than most MAC shadows, but that's my opinion. Also featured in the palette is a large cherry blossom pink product pan that is not only an option to be a lip color, but Grey at Gothique informed me via Twitter that it can also be a cheek color. Literally didn't occur to me but thanks again, Grey!

Originally I was just going to do Shibuya on my lid and 'Peace' on the crease but I try to stay away from that product arrangement if I can manage. I like to try and spread my wings a little and try different placement so I decided I would do a black/blue smokey-eye. Just so you know, smokey-eyes are the Anti-Christ to me. I've never felt I achieved that "perfect" smokey-eye. Black shadows usually spell D-O-O-M for me because to this day I struggle but fortunately, Stila makes very easy black shadows to work with.

What I used after the jump!