Long time no see, dear ones! In the spirit of K.I.S.S. I haven't been wearing much interesting (or indeed unsmeared) makeup so far this sweltering Asian summer, but the ladies of Femme Boulevard have administered a kick up the arse in the form of this month's vamp challenge, so, swapping one four-letter word for another....
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Both my newly grown hair and my old and enduring fondness for the S-of-stupidity mean that Louise Brooks is my achingly obvious inspiration for this one. If you haven't read her witty and waspish and wry essay collection, Lulu in Hollywood, I highly recommend it (and skipping Tynan's decidedly.... let'sjustcallit 'gushy' intro. oh em gee, ken, yr id is showing, put it away now kthx'). Available as a free ebook at the Open Library (with a short waiting list), so no excuses <3
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black: Shiseido BK912 Caviar (my second! Staple starlit off-black cream); KATE brow pencil BK-1 (a gift from a pal, this is darker than my hair so black as my soul...); Suqqu brow pen01 Moss Green ; Guerlain Cils D'Enfer Maxi Lash WP (to which I did succumb after last month's glorious sample)
white: Shiseido WT907 Paperwhite (an even finer-milled satin off-white than my beloved, recently-panned-thus-too-fragile-to-pack Shiseido High Beam White highlighter) and 3CE Lip Pigment in Modern White
sticks: Guerlain Greta mixed with MAC Pro Paintstick in Rich Purple for a deepened red lip; Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick Alabaster (which, as my original review guessed, is working much better for my summer-tanned skin in the heat&humidity of E and SE Asia)
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Key aspects of this look are pretty well-illustrated by that Lulu in Hollywood cover :P Even with such a handy colouring-in guide the hardest thing for me was to stop my fingers from employing their usual prettifying tricks; 1920s makeup appeals to me precisely because it is so scrappy and slapdash and defiant, but it takes actually applying it to bring home how many unspoken rules of contemporary makeup flattery it breaks.
Brows, eyes and lips downturned, thinned and shortened. I skipped curling my lashes for only about the fifth time since I turned 13, to help 'drop' the eye and place even more emphasis on the heavily mascara-ed lower lashes and thickened outer lower lashline. Triangular placement of Shiseido Caviar.
Spoolied some 3CE Modern White through the brows I wanted to 'erase' (mostly at the inner corner and at my fairly-high natural arch), then sponged on a coat of BB foundation, before sketching in the straight, short, slightly down-tilted Brooks brows with the black KATE pencil, cross hatching with the Suqqu pen between my natural hair and the drawn-on ones.
Closeup of the eye and brow -- look howmessy period-appropriate it is >:C
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Lips were outlined quite heavily with BB foundation, blended inwards, to thin them down. Lengthened top lip slightly over lower corners for a downward tilt. I played with a bit of reverse contouring with the 3CE modern white pigment to achieve that '20s rounded cheek&jaw, and blended everything with a good dusting of Shiseido Paperwhite. Because despite MINUTES, MINUTES I TELL YOU of straightening, my hair's never going to retain Brooksian deco sleekness in this humidity, tending more towards the Colleen Moore anyway....
Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Be sure to check out my fiendish fellow femmes Lily and Lilit and their vamp looks.
The products, consisting of black, white and, er... sticks:
white: Shiseido WT907 Paperwhite (an even finer-milled satin off-white than my beloved, recently-panned-thus-too-fragile-to-pack Shiseido High Beam White highlighter) and 3CE Lip Pigment in Modern White
sticks: Guerlain Greta mixed with MAC Pro Paintstick in Rich Purple for a deepened red lip; Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation Stick Alabaster (which, as my original review guessed, is working much better for my summer-tanned skin in the heat&humidity of E and SE Asia)
Key aspects of this look are pretty well-illustrated by that Lulu in Hollywood cover :P Even with such a handy colouring-in guide the hardest thing for me was to stop my fingers from employing their usual prettifying tricks; 1920s makeup appeals to me precisely because it is so scrappy and slapdash and defiant, but it takes actually applying it to bring home how many unspoken rules of contemporary makeup flattery it breaks.
Brows, eyes and lips downturned, thinned and shortened. I skipped curling my lashes for only about the fifth time since I turned 13, to help 'drop' the eye and place even more emphasis on the heavily mascara-ed lower lashes and thickened outer lower lashline. Triangular placement of Shiseido Caviar.
Spoolied some 3CE Modern White through the brows I wanted to 'erase' (mostly at the inner corner and at my fairly-high natural arch), then sponged on a coat of BB foundation, before sketching in the straight, short, slightly down-tilted Brooks brows with the black KATE pencil, cross hatching with the Suqqu pen between my natural hair and the drawn-on ones.
Closeup of the eye and brow -- look how
Lips were outlined quite heavily with BB foundation, blended inwards, to thin them down. Lengthened top lip slightly over lower corners for a downward tilt. I played with a bit of reverse contouring with the 3CE modern white pigment to achieve that '20s rounded cheek&jaw, and blended everything with a good dusting of Shiseido Paperwhite. Because despite MINUTES, MINUTES I TELL YOU of straightening, my hair's never going to retain Brooksian deco sleekness in this humidity, tending more towards the Colleen Moore anyway....
Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Be sure to check out my fiendish fellow femmes Lily and Lilit and their vamp looks.