Mermaid Makeup

For my 6th (and final) Halloween makeup (yep I reaaaally forced myself to level up from my 5 Halloween makeup looks last year Dios mio sawang-sawa na ako humawak ng makeup brush), I decided to go as a mermaid. I was actually planning to do a mermaid look last year, but a good friend of mine whose name rhymes with cat told me to wait AFTER my inaanak‘s mermaid-themed, 2nd birthday party last December. I of course obliged because apparently, things like that are crucial in girl world.

Man I’m such a good friend.

What I love about the mermaid makeup look is that it seems so otherworldly, when it’s really not that difficult…if you have the right materials though. Of course, the first challenge was to find a freakin mermaid crown in Manila. Unlike flower crowns, I haven’t seen any mermaid crown that’s mass-produced so I knew I was gonna DIY this thing. 

Googling for references can be disheartening…

Where on earth are these ladies getting all of those pretty jewels and shells…and are those starfish?!!? #RhetoricalQuestion #IKnowTheyreFromTheOceanOkay

…but then I realized, why do I need to overload my mermaid crown with jewels and pretty seashells and dead starfish? IMMA GO REALISTIC ON DIS BISH. Soo:

♫ Look at this stuff, isn’t it sh*t? Wouldn’t you think my destruction’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m a girl, a girl losing everythingggg…♫

What I did:

    1. Tagay ka muna. 
      DO NOT THROW THIS VERY SPECIAL WRAPPER AWAY

      You’ll need it because the next 2 hours will be spent gluegunning a mermaid crown together, facepainting and taking selfies.

    2. For the mermaid crown: Find a thin plastic headband. Use a glue gun to attach the pendant & loose ends of a beaded necklace (I can’t remember where I got this because I’m not a huge fan of burloloys) to the headband’s center and ends. Find a house that decorated for Christmas way too early and swipe one of these glittery, coral-looking ornaments they’ve stuck to the Christmas tree. Cut into bits, stick to the center of your crown. Cover the headband with seashells (find a Filipino store that sells sungka and you’ll get your seashells). Hang the remnants of your dinner around the glittery corals of your crown–candy wrapper, ketchup sachet, plastic bag that carried your lumpia, etc. (I told you Tagay was needed and no, I didn’t eat a cotton bud, it’s for erasing makeup mishaps!)
    3.  For the face: Use a damp brush to cover your face with the Rural blue facepaint (aka Cerulean if you have to be Miranda Priestly all about it) from the Flash palette. Wear a hair net over your face before contouring scales to your forehead and cheekbones with a matte purple eyeshadow from the Coastal Scents Creative Me palette, and a shimmery purple eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Shadow Box palette.
    4. For the lips: Mix a bit of blue with two bits of pink from your Flash palette. Use your new purple facepaint as your lipstick. Dab a bit of glittery purple eyeshadow from the Urban Decay Moondust palette all over your purple lips.
    5. For the eyes: Use the same purple facepaint you mixed for your lips to draw your eyebrows, add transition shade for your smokey eye makeup, and define your lower lash line. Use a matte black eyeshadow (also from the Urban Decay Shadow Box) to cover your lids and lower lash line. Blend blend blend blend blend. Wing it with Maybelline Hypergloss black liquid eyeliner, use reaaally long falsies with Nichido eyelash glue, then set the falsies with your naturally short lashes with Benefit They’re Real black mascara.
    6. For the extra stuff: Do you remember the jewel stickers people used to stick to their Blackberry phones that’d make Paris Hilton say, “That’s hot”? Yeah, use a few pearl-looking ones and stick them to your face. Feel glad that you made a mistake the other night by mixing a batch of DIY fake blood (hair gel + a pinch of cocoa powder + food coloring) that’s way too runny and had too much blue food coloring when you were preparing for your Stranger Things makeup look so you might as well use that green blood by attaching a plastic lid to your neck with Graftobian Liquid Latex and let your green fake blood drip all over it.
    7. Borrow your housemates’ plastic fork and take a selfie.
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Reptilian Beach Barbie makeup

With all of the conspiracy theories infecting the average Filipino’s Facebook newsfeed for the past few months, I just needed to take a break and recall my favorite conspiracy theory: The Reptilians, which was popularized by British conspiracy theorist, David Icke. Basically, he claims that the world’s most powerful people are shape-shifting reptilian aliens who want to control the world and enslave us all.

At first I wondered, what the hell is this Brit mixing with his tea and will it show up in a urine test? Wala lang, a friend wants to know. But then I started to like it. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Those cold-blooded freaks probably want to avenge their cousins that are being exploited to satisfy the designer bag addiction of their human subordinates. The fact that we have our own urban legend about a mall tycoon’s supposedly reptilian son just makes it even more amusing to me. Talagang ‘di tayo nagpahuli!

So since I’ve developed a passion for using makeup to become something I’m not (gee that statement sounds so pitiful), I decided to try my hand at looking like a powerful, rich, cold-blooded reptilian Beach Barbie.

My attempt to look like a Reptilian Beach Barbie. Pwede ding “The Other Woman After A Humid Day Of Checking Out All The Husbands On The Beach”
My “Reptilian Beach Barbie” look…

It’s basically the similar process as jessFACE90’s Lizard makeup look, but I had to use Elmer’s Glue instead of liquid latex. It’s not as strong, but hey it’s not like I’m going wear that on my face for hours. (“Magtiyaga ka sa glue, ang tamad mo maghanap ng liquid latex e!” -me to myself) It doesn’t give you a very natural-looking effect either. But what do you expect from a type of children’s glue? Just be glad your photo won’t be blown up into billboard proportions soo you can still get away with Elmer’s Glue imperfections.

So these are the things I did to get this look. If you’re smart, you won’t follow every bit by heart:

  1. Find your favorite pair of sunglasses AKA the cheap one that doesn’t fall due to your nose bridge shortage. Stop obsessing about the unused pairs of fancy sunglasses you’ve received from your mother na hindi mo nga magamit kasi nahuhulog lang sila sa sahig and just get to work.
  2. Trace the rough outline of its frame using NYX Retractacle White Liner. Any color would probably work since you’re gonna cover the lines with tissue and glue anyway; I was just paranoid that they’d be visible if I chose a darker color.
  3. Slather Elmer’s Glue on the outline, before sticking thin strips of tissue on it. I think I did this twice to make sure the tissue (fake human skin) would be strong enough once I peel the “ripped” end later.
  4. Let that dry and do your foundation routine on the rest of your face. Mine’s using L’Oreal Infallible Liquid Foundation with a damp sponge and adding more coverage where it’s needed (read: your God-given period zits) by applying bareMinerals Mineral Foundation with a brush.
  5. I wasn’t sure if it was going to show (because I’m just using my 2-year-old smartphone to take my selfies) but I added a bit of bareMinerals Face Color in Luxe Radiance on my cheeks since I’m supposed to be a girly reptilian nightmare.
  6. Once the paper mache’d freak show of fake human skin around your eyes is dry, apply your liquid foundation and concealer all over it so it’d have the same shade as your real skin.
  7. Create the ripped effect by gently peeling the inner edge of your fake human skin and bending it outwards. This is why I traced the rough outline with an eyeliner—so you can stop peeling once you see your outline, making it easier for you to get that oops-I-ripped-my-fake-human-skin-because-my-sunglasses-are-that-lit effect.
  8. Fill out your snake skin with green face paint. I had to mix my green and black facepaint from my Snazaroo Facepaint Kit because I wanted it to be as green and as dark as my mind. Once I was happy, I applied that color all over the area with a wet brush. I also used the green shades from my Coastal Scents Creative Me 1 palette and Urban Decay Grafitti Eyeshadow as my setting powder and to add more greenness na din.
  9. Put fishnet stockings over your head as if you’re a desperate idiot who wants to do a prepaid card heist at 7-11 because you’re so sick of your Free Data Mode (“Nagload pa ako’t gumamit ng data, tapos hugot quote lang pala yung picture na inupload nya sa Efbee!!! Ba’t kasi nauso yung pictures ng quotes, di na lang i-status update?!”-desperate idiot turned bitter idiot) You’ll have to fill the holes of your fishnet stockings with a different color for the scales, so it’s reaaally important for you to hold it in place throughout this step. Stop yourself from hahahuhu-ing at how pathetic you look with your never-been-used fishnet stockings over your head—the same pair of stockings your very supportive mother has sent you in hopes that it can do its kinky wonders to your “quest in finding a good man”. Once you’ve gotten your sh*t together, carefully dab a brush full of gold eyeshadow (Gold from Lorac Pro 1 or Urban Decay in Honey) on top of the fishnet stockings covering your green reptilian skin.
  10. Remove your fishnet stockings carefully and throw it into your dirty laundry basket so you can give your laundrywoman something to talk about. Paint the inner side and the edges of your ripped human skin with fake blood, and the outer side with purple and brown eyeshadow for some bruising effect.
  11. Tightline your eyes with NYX Retractable Black Liner. Wing your eyes with K-Palette Real Lasting Black Eyeliner. Finish your eye makeup look by adding length and volume to your lashes with your favorite Benefit Roller Lash Mascara. Remind yourself that you’re not yet done with your Reptilian Beach Barbie look so you better stop admiring your fabulous lashes (AKA blinking slowly in front of your mirror as if you’re a narcissistic goat-snake hybrid).
  12. Use Urban Decay Big Bang Lipstick for that glittery girly pink lips. You realized you’re not happy with its shimmer, so you gently dab a finger full of eyeshadow that screams PINK GLITTERS from your Urban Decay Moondust palette all over your lips.
  13. Shake your hair until it looks like it’s full of secrets and wear giant hoop earrings just so you can look like the “liberated” hacienderang maldita of any teleserye/fantaserye. Wear your sunglasses as a useless headband just in case people don’t get why your ripped human skin is shaped that way.
  14. …pwede ring: “The Other Woman After A Humid Day Of Checking Out All The Husbands On The Beach” look.

    Feel sad that you don’t have actual snake-eye contact lenses to complete the look. Stop feeling sad when you remember that you can add fake contact lenses to your photo using the selfie app you loved to use para pagtripan ang pagmumukha ng mga kaibigan mo. Finally, use that post-processed selfie in your Instagram and hope that it’s good enough so people would want to learn more, click that link in your bio and discover your newborn blog site.

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