Antipodean Beauties - Glitter!

I've put my hand up to join a new makeup challenge blog hop, the brainchild of the lovely Omega from Fashion Adjacent. After my appallingly inadequate attempts to keep up with Aussie Nails Monday, I wondered if maybe this was such a good idea, but I'm really keen to stretch my boundaries with makeup as often as possible, and this seems like a good way.

I used to always wear the same makeup simply because it was all I knew how to do - but since I've started blogging and researching and really diving into this whole femme thing, I've gotten a lot more knowledge about how to make cosmetics work for me. But I still find myself wearing the same things the same way over and over, out of complacency. BORING. Enough of that, let's brush the dust off the stuff I keep in the "Maybe Later" drawer and get this challenge started!



This week's theme was "Glitter", which seemed like the perfect launching pad for me to really branch out. Because I'm right in the middle of a blue obsession right now, I wanted to do something shimmery, with silver and blue highlights, which is a colour palette that immediately makes me think of cheesy early nineties sci-fi. Something like this;

I mean, I certainly don't look like this, but that's no reason I can't have makeup like a beautiful blue alien girl in a made for TV movie!

And so, I pulled out a BUNCH of stuff to create something totally over the top - for me anyway.

I bought the Benefit Boi-ing concealer a million years ago when I was expected to wear full makeup every day for a previous job, because I'd heard excellent things about it. On the whole, it's fine, but it settles to an annoying greasy sheen on my skin, which only brings more attention to the under eye bags I'm trying to hide. For this look however, I was happy to look as shiny as possible, so I just slathered that on everywhere.

The Skin79 The Oriental BB Cream is a sample I got in an assortment ages ago, and have had sitting aside because it's RIDICULOUSLY white and shiny. I mean, I'm pale, but this stuff makes me look like a ghost, and it's PACKED with shimmery bits. It's also only gives quite light coverage, is quite runny, and comes off in the blink of an eye. Like Boi-oing, not so useful for everyday, but perfect for this alien, shiny look. I slathered this on over the Boi-oing.

Over the BB cream I dusted some Physician's Formula Mineral Glow Pearls with my kabuki brush, to matte down a little bit of the greasiness while also adding sparkle. I've tried wearing this in everyday situations, but I always end up feeling like I look overly glittery. Perhaps this is just self consciousness...but regardless, for this look I just went nuts with it. Ground that brush right into and just went NUTS.

I actually used the white end of the Covergirl ShadowBlast on my cheekbones, over the BB cream and powder. I've tried using it before as actual eyeshadow and it's RUBBISH. You have to grind the shit right in to get any kind of colour payoff whatsoever, and by then your eyelids are so sticky they stick together. It's totally useless as eyeshadow, and I do not reccomend. However, as a makeshift highlighter, it was perfectly adequate, and nice and sticky to hold the glitter on.

The tub of glitter is...well, it's not complicated. It's craft glitter, it's nothing fancy. As you can see from the sticker, it cost me all of two dollars. There are definitely more appropriate products out there (Omega actually has some gorgeous swatches of cosmetic glitters in her post for this theme) but $2 shop glitter is what I had to hand.

For the eyes, I pulled out my favourite selection of blue loose shadows. Yes, I have more than these four. No, I will not tell you how many more, hush. I started with Attercop, Attercop deep in the crease, then blended some Dreamstate over it and onto the corner of the lid. Then I blended Matriarch over the lid, and dusted a little bit of Icemist Diamond on the inner corners, the outer corners, and the very outer edge of the eyeshadow. All these eyeshadows have an absolutely beautiful consistency and fantastic colour payoff. You only have to use the tiniest amount to get rich, smooth colour.

The Napoleon Cake Eyeliner Sealer I've ranted about before, so I won't subject you to my fangirl ravings again. Suffice to say I used it to set the final layer of eyeshadow so as to get it as bright and blue as possible. I also used it mixed with Dreamstate with a little highlight of Icemist Diamond to paint my lips. While it looks cool you should NOT do, because the pigment is NOT lipsafe. So, just look at what I do, rather than do as I do. 

I think it all came together relatively well, if I do say so myself. 

You'll have to excuse the piss poor hair and t-shirt in the background - I was just bumming around at home when I did this, and it didn't occur to me until it was all done to actually put together some sort of outfit for it. Ah well, next time!

And finally, because I am absolutely obsessed with my nails, I had to do a matching manicure. This is Rainbow Honey Kawako, with the dots done in Color Club Over The Moon.

Phew, and we're done! So what do you think, dear readers of mine? Should I keep up with this challenge?

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