Monster High Monday: Ghoul's Alive Frankie

I wanted something with contrasting colours this week and certainly got it with Frankie, combining bright red with purple! Ghoul's Alive were the launch of three dolls dressed much the same as the original versions but with their freaky traits enhanced.
Frankie is the daughter of Frankenstein, so she already comes with stitches, scars and bolts in her neck, but with the push of a button she crackles or sizzles and her face and rib-cage light up! It's pretty neat!
Anyway I ended up selling my original Frankie after never taking her out of the box and deciding I could live with the light up version alone. The makeup is similar to the original but the finish is slightly different purely because she isn't made from the same plastic as the regular dolls. It looks very matte and powdery with no shimmer or gloss at all. So from that view-point I struggled a little upon colour-matching because we all know I like a sparkle or two.
So on the face I applied Lancome Teint Miracle in 005 Beige Ivoire with Dainty Doll Concealer in 001 under the eyes and 002 on blemishes. I also applied YSL Touche Eclat in 2 under the eyes. I finished with Clarins Ever Matte Mineral Powder Compact in 00 Translucent Opal and wore a little Models Own Powder Blush in Warm Glow on my cheeks (even although Frankie wears no cheek colour).
Over Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, I applied Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in 29 Orchid winging it up and out over the crease towards the eyebrow. I tidied up the edges and I would've loved if the doll had worn some highlighting powder under the brow because the lines were quite harsh without it. I then applied Urban Decay Matte Eyeshadow in Revolver along the lower lashline. The colour match was perfect.
On my lashes is YSL Baby Doll mascara with YSL waterproof eye pencil on the lower and upper lashlines and Lancome Artliner for small flicks. 
The lips were super bright red and I knew just the lipstick for the job! I got this the other day, it's YSL Rouge Pur Couture in 01 Le Rouge. I wore it over Pout's Lip Line Definer which is a clear liner. Obviously there is a slight gloss finish, but I don't think I own any matte reds.
So there it is for another week. I liked the bright red, I would've liked to soften the eye like I mentioned, but overall it wasn't too bad. I jotted down all the dolls I've emulated so far and this is actually my 21st week, which I hadn't realised! I was starting to get muddled with who I'd already used and who hadn't, but not to worry there are still plenty of weeks to come. Do you think I got it right this week? My corresponding outfit post can be seen here at The Shoe Girl Diaries.

Halloween Nails

Happy Halloween! 'Tis a very important day for my kind (!) I actually very nearly cast a spell on a delivery man today, who had the audacity to take the mickey out of my hair, for the second time (kinda creepy that he remembered me from last time). I gave him the 'Gemma death stare' instead which we all know is far superior to any wicked spell as it's been used for at least 20 years and most definitely puts the fear in any man! Haha! Or muahahaha, I should say! Anyway, he brought me sparkly shoes, so I'll let it go this time. What are you all doing for Halloween? I don't have any parties (not because of my death stare), but I wanted to get into the spirit (haha) with some fun, freaky nail art.

I sat during X-Factor on Saturday with a pile of different colours and nail pens and just did it all free-hand. I wasn't even particularly sure of what I was going to do, but it all worked out wonderfully in the end. I was really impressed that I managed to do my right hand using my left, because normally I fail at that big-time! I did get my sister to do the spider because I wasn't sure I could do a circle! She was crapping herself she'd ruin it, after me making a good job of the other nails, poor wee thing!

At the bottom of the post there's a list of products I used for this.  I also took close-ups of each nail for you to see the detail and I mostly used either the nib or brush of the nail pens for the designs/small details with the exception of the green tips on the pumpkins and white eyes on Frankenstein where I just used a tiny bit of nail polish. The only nail I wasn't keen on was the jewelled thumb. I think I got distracted and forgot that webs taper in towards the centre and I'd already drawn my lines equally spaced (silly me!). I added a little shimmering stripe over the web using the thin brush on the Andrea Fulerton sparkly bottle you see above and stuck some nail gems (from the NPW pen) on using clear polish.

and right hand...

The goo-blob nail wasn't perfect either come to think of it, it kinda didn't work out like I'd hoped.  I love all the rest though, the skull was supposed to have quite splodgy looking eyes, but he turned out much cuter than anticipated.  Frankenstein worked brilliantly as did the pumpkins (I added little silver stripes to make it look more authentic) and I thought the mummy-zombie would be a disaster but I really like it with the flash of neon eyes.  My pinky finger ghost is providing lots of entertainment as I keep sticking it in my sisters face and saying 'wasssssuuuuppp'!  Hard to believe we're both over 30, I know!  I've generally been a little uninspired when it comes to nails and haven't had the notion to do anything fancy lately, but I admit I really enjoyed doing this and it's given me a little confidence to try funky things again.  I will say I'm impressed at the lasting power, it's Wednesday and I forgot to put top coat on and not a single nail has chipped, even with me parcelling up lots of eBay sales over the past couple of days.  So are you going to try a subtle Halloween look or go the whole hog? Pity it's a rainy day for guising.

Rings: 
Spider The Jewellery Box, bug H&M
Nails: 
Barry M Nail Paint 'NP66 Matt White'
17 Lasting Fix 'Tropical Island'
W7 Nail Polish '08 Green Dazzle'
Collection 2000 Hot Looks '36 Ninja'
and
Models Own Nail Art Pen 'Black'
Andrea Fulerton Dot & Flick pens in 'Domi' and 'Ruth'
Andrea Fulerton Stripe & Sparkle 'Brooke'
NPW 3 in 1 Nail Art Pen (used for jewels only) 'Love'

PHP's Beloved Beauty Bits (April)

I often see bloggers write monthly round-ups of the beauty products they've been loving and for some reason last month I was particularly conscious of the bits and bobs I was using. So I thought I'd create a new (hopefully monthly) feature of my Beloved Beauty Bits (BBB). Beauty bloggers tend to be pretty fickle and the product you love to pieces one month, doesn't get a look in the next. I'm always trying out new things and especially through my Lipstick Challenge, have been rediscovering old favourites, so this will tackle all those! Read on for my favourites over the last few weeks...

A lot of my beloved bits have been based around my new hair colour and style. Starting with dry shampoo. It's always been a staple of mine as my hair doesn't get washed every day (and doesn't like being washed every day), so this tides you over in between times. However since cutting my hair shorter, I've been bordering on obsessed with the powdery stuff! I've been spraying oodles into my hair each day for added oomph and considering I don't have a lot of hair and it's quite thin, it's given it mega volume without the need for backcombing. Shown here are just some of my current stash, Batiste, Percy & Reed and Touch of Silver (all of which are running out because they've been used so much)!

With the new hair colour, I've definitely been reaching for cooler toned products for my eyes, lips and cheeks. I'm usually a peachy blush lover, but this hot pink (Art Deco) powder blush from the Stila 'Striking In South Beach' collectible palette gives a beautiful pop of colour to the cheeks. I've been keeping my look very fresh most days and really almost bordering on going overboard with blush-it just makes me look so much healthier. I couldn't get decent shots of just how bright it is.

I've also been raving about the Wave eyeshadow from the same palette. When my hair was very lilac after freshly colouring it, this was an exact match. Not sure if matching your eyes to hair is naff or not, but in this case, I loved it! I haven't worn lilac eyes so many times ever in my life, but just can't get enough of this one. Again you can't really see how beautiful it is here, but it's shimmery and the perfect periwinkle blue shade.

Another beloved blush of mine has been MAC 'Fashion Frenzy' (Satin), although to be fair it's been a favourite for a year or two. It's a bright but buildable pink (again it looks much more vivid than in this pic).

Hot pink nails are another constant of mine-they always make me feel happy. My current favourite is Sophie's Pink by Models Own. It's super bright and shiny and applies well.

I've been wearing Soap & Glory's original pink fragrance to bed since I bought it. That may sound strange but it's quite light and doesn't last on me to wear during the daytime. I feel it had a calming, soothing effect on me in preparation for sleep. However it ran out a couple of weeks ago and I've been looking for a suitable replacement. Rather than buying another bottle (when I already own so many fragrances), I decided to try out one of my summery 'Sunshine Cuties' Harajuku Lovers scents (which have been neglected since purchase). After trialling them all, I fell in love with 'Love'. Not only is her bottle to die for (those huge sunglasses on her tiny little face) but the scent is extremely appealing and pleasant. It has notes of nectarine, passion fruit, lemon blossom, plumeria, osmanthus, rose petals, vanilla orchid, coconut water, sensual musk and sandalwood, phew! I'm not picking up on a particularly strong note out of any of those, just a lovely muted, flirty scent without being too sweet, fruity, musky or floral. I could kick myself for leaving this bottle untouched for so long as it's so pretty and I'll definitely be using my sisters bottle when this very small 10ml runs out!

I can't really get particularly attached to any one lipstick during my year-long Lipstick Challenge when I can only wear it for one week. The challenge is going great guns by the way. Instead of wearing the lipstick straight or applying some gloss over the top, it's forced me to mix other lipsticks together to keep changing it up and I've been coming up with all sorts of combinations I would never have tried before. One lipstick I keep going back to though is MAC 'Viva Glam Gaga' (lustre) which was my chosen colour in week 9. This past month, when I've been wearing nudes, I've been applying some Gaga into the mix to get that super cute, flirty pink shade. It looks stunning against my hair colour, so will remain a favourite for some time to come I reckon.

I love smokey eyes and wearing grey and silver shadows. One of my all-time favourites is this one by Rocket City (now discontinued) Alien Eyes Shadow Trio in 'On A Mission'. Although I wear the pale pink and sparkling black it's the silver colour that is most used. It's a deeply intense, pigmented blue toned grey-silver. It has an almost metallic feel to it and a little really does go a long way. It creates a gorgeous, moody shade worn over Pout Eyeslick in Lotus (deep plum) or is fabulous on it's own. I battle with myself to try and stop wearing it every day!

Another shadow that's been doing it for me (it seems to have been all about the eyeshadows this month), is Clinique Colour Surge Duo in Blackberry Frost. I got this free years ago and have worn it loads. The colours never fail to look flattering against my green eyes, it's my go-to, easy-eye shadows. One side is a very pale greyish lilac and the other a violet charcoal. The lighter shade has been a particular fave last month, it's super shimmery with a frost finish and worn over a darker shade, it can look much more intense.

When it comes to skincare, I haven't been able to try out as many things as I'd have liked because my skin has been a nightmare. So I've been sticking to things that work for me and one such item, that I've lost count of the amount of tubes I've gone through, is Lancome 'Baume Eclat'. I love it so much, I get panic-attacks when I'm close to finishing a tube of this cleanser, so always have a back-up at hand. At £20.50 for 125ml, some may consider it an indulgent expense (considering you just wash it off), but it's my must-have. It's a gorgeous smelling, thick, opalescent balm which when massaged into the skin changes to an oil then milk as it's washed off. It's magical and just melts makeup away with minimum fuss. I normally just use this for taking off my 'face' then use a separate remover for eye makeup. However last month I decided to test out it's powers at removing shadow, liner and mascara too. It's a little messy but so efficient, I love it! I massage it in and then remove (from the eye area) with a tissue and wash the rest of my face. It saves so much time than using a separate remover and mine have become redundant now!

Finally another product that I've been putting to new use is my Pout Airbrush, or skunk brush as it's commonly called. I've pretty much neglected this since I got it years ago, occasionally I'll use it to blend too harsh blusher but on the whole it's unused. Now I know this isn't something new, but I thought I'd try using it to buff my foundation as I'd thrown out my blending sponge and not had the chance to buy a new one.

If I'm totally honest I've never tried this because I hate the thought of using a fluffy brush with messy liquid foundation. My thinking is, brushes should be used with powder not liquid. I just couldn't see it working, rather like using cotton-wool to clean your teeth or something equally odd. However, I've had great results with this. Sometimes I apply the foundation in dots onto cheeks, chin, nose, forehead then use the brush to buff and blend. Other times I'll apply it in small doses directly to the brush. Foundation can often look too dark against my skin and I need a blending tool to make it look more natural. I can't believe I've been completely converted-I'll definitely continue to use this and it can be washed as often as you like (unlike blending sponges which need replaced every so often), so finally that's an economical buy!

How about you? Any new or old favourites? Do we share any beloved beauty bits? And do you like this new feature?