Reef-er Madness

Whilst waiting in my local after hours clinic the other day, I encountered a lovely finned friend in their gargantuan reef tank called a Royal Dottyback.  Stunning! She was definite inspiration, but I won't lie... I have a blending compulsion, and super bright colors are a challenge for me.

Isn't she lovely?

Products! MSC Jem Purple, Pop Tarte, Nana's Tea Party, and Sparkle Motion; NYX eye shadow base in White; UDPP; MSC Awesome Sauce; Kohl Liner in black; Sparkle liquid liner.

Brushes used!  I actually photographed these right after the tutorial, so as to make what I use and don't use a little more clear.  About time I had this idea, no? =P

I had already applied my UDPP for another look I was going to do, but decided to do this as a pictorial instead.  So, put on your primer, and let it dry.  Then apply the NYX White base relatively thickly.  We want those colors to jump out and hi-five your face.

See? nice and opaque.

Next you're going to grab your JEM purple.  above is my dot of awesome sauce - mix the JEM purple with that, creating an almost liquid paste.

Apply the liquipaste.  Bring it out about half-way through your pupils.

Then apply your Pop Tarte, going above the JEM Purple into the crease.  You may blend a tiny bit, but truth be told, I even blended it out too much.

Closer look.

Then lightly apply black liner.  This gives something for the next step to stick to, and acts as a guide for you.

MOAR AWESOME SAUCE!  Notice how the bead is irridescent in this?  This is because Nana's Tea Party has a multi-color shift, both a little green and pink.  GORGEOUS.  Anyway, mix this to a thick liquid, as you'll be using it for...

...Liquid liner!

Next, bring Sparkle Motion from your duct up to your orbital bone in a single, sweeping motion. Barely bring it down into the Pop Tarte.

Et Voila! Reef fish beauty!

With glasses! Forgive the lack of makeup and grumpy face - migraines suck.

Oh, okay, I'll smile just for ya'll. ;)   

Dusk at noon

So, I've been doing a lot of job hunting lately, and feeling like a total one-trick pony with my looks.  Hair down, three color gradient eyes, neutral lips.

The majority of my professional clothes are gray or black for pants, and red, purple or teal for tops.

Yesterday was a dusky purple top with dark gray pants.  What better excuse to try out a daytime smoky eye than that?

Start with a clean, dry face.  I just touched up with a baby wipe and a soft, dry cloth, as I had taken a shower a couple of hours prior.

Top to bottom: Madd Style Cosmetix Bubble Gum Crisis, Gunslinger Girl, Glitter and Doom, and UiS Dark Gray.  Brushes top to bottom: small shader, medium shader, small pencil, with large blending brush on the side.

Accent colors: MSC Birf'day suit for orbital highlight, MSC Mudd Slinger for brows.

L to R: Almay Smart Shade Anti-Aging Foundation, Korres Quercetin and Oak Anti-Aging Primer, OCC Lip Tar in NSFW, Estee Lauder High Definition Volume Mascara, MSC Pop Rock Uber Boss Lip Gloss, MSC Effin' Perfektion Powder.

NOT PICTURED: NYX Shadow Base in White, ELF Under-eye concealer, Benefit Stay Don't Stray eye primer, black kohl pencil.

Line your waterline with a black pencil of choice.

Blink hard.  The purpose of this is to spread the liner to your top waterline, eliminating the need to attempt to line it yourself.  I always poke myself in the eye when I try to do it any other way.

Li-ine eyes!

Next pat on some of your NYX base.  You want to use a heavier amount than I generally recommend, because you want the colors to pop.

Blendy blendy!  Apply Bubble Gum Crisis to your ducts.

Pat Ginslinger girl on in an almost pyramid shape.

Fill the rest of the lid in with Glitter and Doom.

Blend the purples gently with your fingers, and then using your small pencil brush, draw on your dark gray.

Blend that inward with the fluffy brush using a short, fast flicking motion. 

Blend any other spots that may need it gently with your fingers.

Touch up with a wet wipe for fall out.

All cleaned up!

Lashes, highlight and brows!

Put on the rest of your face, and you're ready to go!

The Witching Hour

I figured since the moon is full, something witchy should this way come.

I have a piece of fabric that I love love love to death.  It's a simple witch, with a dark blue dress.  The colors are inspiring, and so I figured hell... inspiration from dog coats is weird, inspiration from a piece of fabric is not.

As ALWAYS, start with a clean, dry face.

Then assemble your tools and products! UDPP, NYX base in white, MSC: Jubilee, Dark Crystal Citrine, Birf'day Suit, Mudd Slinger Unicorns and Glitter, Never Ending Summer, and Ruby. Soft brown liner for waterline, Awesome Sauce, and Physician's Formula PlentyFULL mascara in black brown.

Something I should mention... I don't always use all of the brushes I pull.  However, I never know what I'll need when I'm doing the look, so I grab a good assortment for what I  *MIGHT* use.

One eye with the NYX white base blended, the other with it NOT blended.

\

Blendy blendy!

Line your waterline with a plain dark brown liner. DO NOT USE WATERPROOF UNLESS YOU WANT BROWN EYE BOOGERS FOR DAYS.  Not that I know from experience or nuttin.

Apply Never Ending Summer to the inner half of your lid.

Then add Citrine from the Dark Crystal collection, overlapping the middle third with the NES.

You want it to look like this when you're done, before you blend.

Blend with super fluffy angle brush.  Since you're going yellow into yellow, you don't really have to worry about muddying anything up.

Pull out your Dark Crystal Ruby.  Tap some out so you can saturate your brush, but not over do it.

Use a crease brush - I used my white Sonia Kashuk - and blend from the outer corner up to the crease, and across the orbital bone with swift back and forth motions.  Use your fingers to further blend down into the Yellows.

Next up, you want to like the top AND bottom lash beds with your Jubilee, mixed with Awesome Sauce for foiling.

Like so!  Note that it's a very, very fine and thin like.  You want the main focus to be on your lids, not your lash line.

Cheese it up, baybee!!!!

Highlight with Birf'day Suit.  You can't really tell it's there, except for where it blends down into the Ruby on your orbital bone.

Ta Daaa!!!!  With glasses!  Please also ignore the roots I have goin on in my hair, there. I have since re-colored and the gray is gone! Yay!

Closed eyes!

Try this look out, and then fan the MSC page on Facebook!  Show us what you've got!

As always, loves... stay warm and STAY MADD!

Death and children

Loss is never an easy thing for adults.  Even with our ability to comprehend the frailty and fleeting beauty that is life, our grief can overwhelm us.  Not just when a fellow humanimal dies, either.  Pets, and even the loss of other living organisms (See: my deceased grandmother's tangelo tree,) can cause us mourning that must be comprehended, processed, and eventually put to rest like the person/thing we're grieving over.

How does a child translate those feelings, though?  How can we help our little people to be efficient in dealing with their grief, which can easily be misunderstood and misplaced?

Firstly, it all needs to be changed up depending on the age of the child.  This can be difficult in multi-child households, because whilst trying to deal with one's own feelings, one must deal with the unique needs of each child.  Those needs are not just age/comprehension based, either.  They are also based on the personality of the child.  Is your son a child who has his feet on the ground, often serious and thoughtful?  Is your daughter a child who already has separation issues and grows very closely attached?  Just as every child is unique and we cannot teach them all the same, we cannot expect them to all to be comforted by the same manner and technique.

It's not uncommon for a child to express their feelings in manners that are undesirable and hurtful.  Small children, say, toddler age-- may skip routine activities, regress, or fret uncontrollably while older children can do the same, in addition to acting out aggressively.

I'm going to go ahead and let you in on a child psychologist's secret as the first step towards soothing the ravaged feelings of your little dude or dudette.  Honesty.

Yep.  That's going to be the first thing a child psychologist will try with your child if you find that you cannot improve the feelings of your teacup humanimal.  Whether your child is six or sixteen, they will bring your child into a calm, serene, non-threatening environment, often with toys or art, and they will level.  They will ask concise, honest questions, and they will answer return questions honestly, with examples of their own experiences.

That brings us to point two – self expression.  Art, Legos, Tinker Toys, even Matchbox cars or Barbies can be the gateway to breaking apart the negativity that can often be expressed by a child who is in mourning.  It redirects those feelings and gives them a manner of expression that can take on any form, instead of them feeling frustrated in non-pretend situations.  Allow your child that little bit extra toy time, allow them to sing a little louder, allow more fingerpainting.  These are outlets that they can use to express emotions that have very probably been building in them like steam in a pressure cooker.

Misunderstanding is also a common feeling that the child in mourning will experience.  This again comes back to honesty.  Don't tell them that Nana took a trip or that Fluffy ran away.  Be honest.  Don't tell them more than they need to know, and don't explain over their heads, but be honest.  “I'm sorry, my darling, but Nana's body was tired.”  A similar statement can be used for beloved pets.  The objects, though, can be more difficult.  In the case of my tree, my daughter was equally as heartbroken as I was.  This was a treasured family heirloom, bringing to us physical nourishment as well as the emotional nourishment it provided by holding many happy memories.  When asked why a seemingly perfect tree needed to be cut down and hauled away, with tears in my own eyes, I explained that like Nanny, all life is fleeting in the grand scheme of things.  We are a spiritual family, so I informed her that my hope was that since all living things have spirit in them, that Nanny would be receiving the spirit of her tree in the afterlife, there for her to sit under during perpetual blossom for the scent of the flowers she loved so much.

Punishing a child who is actively grieving is a slippery slope, so generally my recommendation is DON'T DO IT.  Like the fact that they can misunderstand the loss, they can misunderstand that they're being punished for their actions, not their feelings.  Instead, uit has been my experience that sitting them down and talking out the situation and why the behavior is undesirable but the feelings are allowed is the best course of action.

For our small ones who aren't yet comprehending on that level, helping them through their mourning can be ten times as difficult.  I have found that there is a very simple first step – be there for them.  Physically, make sure to touch and hug and cuddle frequently.  Babywearing very young children, temporary co-sleeping, daily and momentary cuddling – these are all things that release the neurochemicals that are key to helping them at this stage.  (Yes, processing grief even has a biological aspect, but this blog isn't long enough for that to be explained today.)

Socially, do not stop talking about said person and thing.  On terms that they will understand, explain that life is temporary.  Don't put photos away, rather, take the time to remember out loud.  It will be good for everyone involved, as love begets love, and love begets healing.