Happy Halloween (Fashion and FotD)

It's finally Halloween!  Time to binge on candy and horror movies!

I didn't do any unusual costume or makeup this year, but I went with a bit of a spiderweb theme for my clothes and jewelry for the day.

I just did some (what I think are) awesome smokey eyes for my makeup.

I used:
     from the Urban Decay Naked Palette--Naked (matte tan) in the crease
                                                                   Creep (sparkling dark gray) in the outer and inner corners
                                                                   Virgin (shimmery shell) under the brows
     from the Too Faced Pretty Rebel Palette -- Miss Sparkles (sparkling black) in the outer v
     Fyrinnae loose pigment in Velvet Vampire (sparkly rust red) in the center of the lid
   

I followed the same pattern as the upper lid on the lower lashline.

from left: Naked, Creep, Virgin, Velvet Vampire, Miss Sparkles

Velvet Vampire, Miss Sparkles (swatched dry 'cause that's how it used 'em)

  LORAC Front of the Line PRO Liquid Eyeliner in black along the upper lashes
  Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner in Perversion on the waterlines
  Mally Voluminizing Mascara in Black

Cheeks: BFTE Babycakes Blush

Lips: MAKE UP FOR EVER Rouge Artist Natural in N9

from left: BFTE Babycakes Blush, MUFE Rouge Artist Natural in N9

This photo makes it look like I put my blush on weird and unevenly, but it's just the lighting.  I swear.

I found some cool nail stickers (the kind that are nail polish in sticker form, so they are long-lasting).

I kinda wish I had attempted some "spiderweb" eyeliner.

Did you dress up for Halloween?

P.S. The weather here was miserable for trick or treating (37°F and rainy).  Many of the kids that visited my house were wearing mittens.

Year-Round and Seasonal Halloween Decor (Lots of Fun Pics)

Oh my goodness!  Halloween is tomorrow!

I love Halloween stuff/decor/decorations/trinkets/tchotchkes/etc., so it's rather surprising that I don't decorate a whole heckuva lot for Halloween.  Maybe it's because I have sort of Halloween-y decorations inside and outside of my house all year round:

One of the two gargoyles guarding the house

We have a cast of a skull in the living room.

We have busts of the Bride of Frankenstein and Werewolf, and mini Madame Alexander dolls of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch on a bookcase in our computer room.

The bookcase is also home to a skull that has a removable skull cap so you can use it as a candy dish, and a large tarantula (not live, thank goodness) named Lemmy.  Next to the skull is our stack of "The Walking Dead" books (volumes 1-16). (Which, I'll have you know, we read long before the tv show existed.  So there.)

On another bookcase in the computer room, we have a (tarnished) antique silver candelabra and matching vase with black roses, and an Angel of Death figurine.

My sister painted this figurine and gave it to us for Christmas one year.

On that same bookcase, we have a witch and cat figurine/windvane that my husband's sister gave us.

On a bookcase in the living room, we have a glittery severed hand that sits behind a black wooden bowl.

My mom just gave me this awesome Second Empire-style ceramic house that is kind of haunted house-y.  This is how my husband and I want our house to look.  It would require a total rebuild, though.

She also gave me this nightlight/fragrance diffuser with a "bulb" (they call it a bulb) of Cinnamon Pumpkin Spice fragrance.

In the guest bedroom, we have a set of glow-in-the-dark zombie figurines that were a wedding gift from our best man and his wife.  They know us so well.

And then we have my husband's art.  (I'm only going to show you three pieces, otherwise this would be a never ending post).

This one is a self-portrait.

This one, called "My Dad is a Werewolf", is 4 feet by 3 feet large.

Here is how it looks on the mantle.

He created series of artworks called "Totally Sweet" that is a group of portraits of well-known horror villains/monsters (mostly from films) made out of Halloween candy.  We have a framed print of the black cat portrait in the living room.

Close-up -- you can see all the different kinds of candy used.

Finally, we have some "temporary" Halloween decorations around the house:

Glittery spider for the front door!

I made this banner years ago.  It is made out of felt bats and puffy paint.  I love it!

I even added dots of red glitter paint for the eyes.

I hung up some skull lights on the mantle.

They look fitting under the werewolf painting.

Of course, we will put out our plastic light-up Jack-o'-lantern on the porch on Halloween night.

I did hang up this little dude, but maybe it's too morbid.

Do you decorate for Halloween?

P.S.   If you would like to check out more of my husband's candy monsters from his "Totally Sweet" series, go to http://www.freep.com/story/news/weird/eric-millikin/2014/09/18/eric-millikin-totally-sweet-candy-monsters-2014/15804341/.  He has 17 total so far, with more to come.  They include Leatherface from "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", Vincent Price, Lily Munster, Audrey II from "Little Shop of Horrors", and a self-portrait.

The Secrets of Blogging Tag

A bit of a different kind of post today!  (Maybe a nice break from my face?)  Tanya from Leopard Lace and Cheesecake tagged me to do the "Secrets of Blogging" tag thingy, which involves answering a few questions about, well, blogging.

1. When did you start blogging and why?  My first post was published in January 2013.  I had been reading beauty blogs for ages, and I asked my mom, sister, and husband if I should start one so that they wouldn't have to listen to me drone on about cosmetics.  They all said "absolutely!"  Actually, they're very happy listen to me ramble on about makeup because they know it's one of my hobbies, but I think they wanted to encourage me to create a blog to give me something fun to think about, and to be able to connect with like minded people.

2. How many people in "real life" know about your blog?  I think most everyone in my family knows about my blog (my mom has emailed them links to my garden posts), but I don't think they read it regularly.  None of my "real life" friends know about my blog.  Not even the ones I worked with at Sephora, which is silly, because they would probably enjoy it (you kind of have to be a cosmetic-aholic to work there).  I guess part of me doesn't want everyone to know just how into cosmetics (especially makeup) I am.

3. What are your favorite posts to read?  I have to choose?  I guess face/eye/nails of the day posts are pretty close to the top of the list, because I always find inspiration in them.  Reviews/swatches are always helpful; hauls are fun; personal posts are interesting.  I read and enjoy them all!

4. List a blog you have discovered recently  Geez, I'm constantly finding new blogs to read.  I often find new ones by googling a product, looking at the image results, and discovering that it's from a blog I would enjoy reading.  A couple that I have come across recently (even though they are established blogs) are Hello Jaa (amazing photos) and The Painted Rogue (really fun writing).

5. Which posts are you most proud of?  Hmmm.  One that comes to mind is my post about our carnivorous plant collection.  I try to do a good job on all of my posts.  Some are shorter or simpler than others, but I try to create posts that I am proud of and that I would enjoy reading if I was a reader and not the creator.

6. What advice would you give to future bloggers?  My attitude toward blogging might be different than most people's.  I'm not interested in monetizing my blog, which is why I don't have any ads on it.  At this point, I don't promote my blog in any way.  I read Twitter and Facebook everyday, but I very rarely post anything.  And it's never about my blog (see question 2).  When I feel like I'm not doing a good enough job with my blog the advice I give myself is as follows:  "Write about whatever you want.  This is your corner of the interwebz.  Don't feel pressured to post all the time, watch the numbers, or do it perfectly.  As soon as blogging becomes a chore, take a wee break from it."

So there you have it.  A little insight in to my blog, blogging, and blog reading habits!

Thank you, Tanya, for tagging me!

Mulberry Nails and Look of the Day

There are times when I like being all match-y match-y with my makeup.  But instead of doing the traditional match-y match-y thing with my lips and nails, I decided to try to match my nails to my eyeshadow.

Butter London's Queen Vic is a wonderful berry shade that seems like a rather fall friendly color to me, and it's the shade I wanted to wear on my eyes, too.

Butter London Nain Lacquer in Queen Vic (sunlight)

So, the shadow I used doesn't match the nail color perfectly, but I liked the result nonetheless.

I used: from the Sephora Color Anthology Palette
                    --- berry purple on the moving lid
                    --- warm shimmery brown in the crease
                    --- light matte peach above the crease to blend out the brown
                    --- matte cream under the brow and inner corner

       
          Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in 1999
          Physicians Formula Eye Booster liquid eyeliner in Ultra Black
          Maybelline Full 'N Soft Mascara

from left: Sephora shadows, Urban Decay 1999 24/7 liner

Cheeks: Milani Baked Powder Blush in Berry Amore

Lips: NARS Lipstick in Dolce Vita

from left: Milani Berry Amore Baked Blush, NARS Dolce Vita lipstick

And then, later in the day, I decided to put on a berry lipgloss (MAKE UP FOR EVER lipgloss that was discontinued ages ago) just for the heck of it.

I think I look paler in this photo because I'm shiny and reflective (I didn't remember to reapply powder before I took it.)

The Sephora Color Anthology Palette was available around the holidays last year, but I snagged it on sale in the spring.  I noticed that Ulta has a palette on their website (by Beauty Gems) that looks exactly like it.  I suspect it is actually the same palette but without the Sephora nameplate on the front.

Earworm of the day: Lady Gaga's "Applause" -- it's on my workout playlist, and today it just stuck afterward.