Time for frivolity.

[sofiaviolet]

I have decided I like red lipstick:

Its texture helps remind me not to bite my lips all the time (much like the slickness of nail polish helps remind me not to bite my nails).

Red lipstick + pale skin + dark hair = seems not inappropriate when my clothes required any degree of effort above "jeans and t-shirt." Not necessarily always the "right" choice, but probably not egregiously "wrong."

On the other hand, I'm not sure how well it goes with purple. (I am always purple, thanks to the hair. But so is a lot of my clothes, and most of the eye makeup I own.)

At any rate, the possibility that my mouth clashes with my hair shall not stop me from testing ALL THE RED LIPSTICKS at Sephora tomorrow before the munch.

My eye makeup skills are still subpar. I can kindasorta apply eyeliner now (I never thought I'd learn that skill! *excited*), but I still can't get it nice enough to wear in public. More practice needed. Eyeshadow... I can apply one color to my entire eyelid, that's about it.

Comments

[alpheratz]

Red and purple are beautiful together. I love red lipstick and go through very brief phases of wearing it. I have L'Oreal Infallible in Beyonce Red right now - it's lovely and hard-wearing and a really true red.

Eyeliner skills really do improve. Are you using pencil? You might get nicer lines with liquid! I find it a lot easier to apple.

[sofiaviolet]

So far I can do smudgy soft pencils and creams/gels applied with a flat or angled brush (but not a skinny brush). With liquids, I am still getting a visible gap between the line and my eyelashes.

I should add that I have never managed to do anything productive with harder pencils, and have removed them from my optimistic Sephora splurges as a result.

[alpheratz]

I get that gap too. It's hard to get rid of it - but once you've drawn your initial line, you can fill in the gap without worrying about your line being even. But it all depends on what kind of look you want/are comfortable with.

Harder pencils are terrible. They're just not compatible with soft eyelids. If you roll them between your fingers a bit, they should warm up and soften some, but they'll still be hard to get a nice defined line with.

[cxcvi]

I think red and purple go together well. I have a scarf that's red, purple, and black, and it looks really good.

[sara]

I totally learned how to apply eyeliner this year from watching how-to videos on YouTube. I also feel quite achievey about the whole thing. I mean, I don't remember to put it on every day, but now I can do eyeliner and lipstick and kinda-sorta look like a real adult person who sorta gives a shit.

Mind you, it totally helps that New Assistant is also makeup-impaired and helps remind me to reapply the lipstick before meetings. I ♥ New Assistant.

[cupcake_goth]

There are a bunch of very good how-to videos on YouTube for applying eyeliner. One technique I've been told works well for liquid liner is to put dots of liner down, then play connect the dots. I have no idea how well this works, as I've been applying liquid liner for decades, and it's now all ingrained muscle memory for me.

Red and purple are a wonderful color combination!

[sara]

Hee, I am working against a persistent hand tremor; I don't think liquid liner will ever be my friend.

[amryfal]

interestingly enough, i prefer the harder pencils, because i can sharpen them to a point and then run them under hot water for a couple of seconds to soften them. i am a disaster with liquid eyeliner or even the soft pencils.

[amryfal]

maybe a darker, purply red? though i agree with those who have said that red is unlikely to clash with purple.

i have been having a makeup moment lately. generally i don't bother at all, but sometimes i love it. i still need to find red lipstick (that wears and doesn't clash with the red streak in my hair) so i'm eyeing the l'oreal that was mentioned :)

i also went on a quest for red eyeshadow recently. it's impossible to find. i was finally directed to sephora, which might be my new favorite place ever. eyeshadow can be tricky, but once you get the blending and the general shapes that compliment your style, it's quick and easy. i love the smokey eyes look - i have black and red eyeshadow, and use a light touch and skin-toned shadow to keep it from looking theatrical and over-applied.

it's fun to practice and play around with different looks. i'll also second the youtube idea. great place to learn new makeup techniques.

[sofiaviolet]

Fortunately for me, I no longer own any hard pencils, just softer, semi-smudgy ones.

I did not realize filling in was an option.

[sofiaviolet]

Whee! Of course, having made my Sephora trip, I still have about a dozen options even after eliminating a bunch. It may take a while before I make my final choice.

[sofiaviolet]

New Assistant! Alas, I don't have one of those. Right now, I'm dependent on the physical novelty of makeup to remind myself to check and make sure it's not all fucked up.

I have not yet tried Youtube.

[sofiaviolet]

I think Make Up For Ever is my favorite Sephora-carried brand for omgwtf colors. :) No red eyeshadow for me, but I do own bright pink.

I hear food things about reds with slightly blue undertones to them; apparently they have a tooth-whitening optical illusion going on? I think I might eventually wind up with one bright red and one darker/richer red. But I really shouldn't need more than that.

What sort of red is your streak? I'm not all that sure about getting makeup that doesn't clash with hair that's the same-ish color (for the eyeshadow, I just go with purples I like and don't worry about it, but I wear glasses which cuts down a bit on the noticeablility of eye makeup).

[amryfal]

i use manic panic's rock 'n' roll red, which looks darker than it ends up being once i put it over the bleached-out bangs (i don't use a toner so the brassy offsets the blue tone). it comes out bright scarlet, about a shade lighter than fake blood :)

i don't worry too much about the eyeshadow clashing, because i don't put it on thick enough to be OMG RED ON MY EYELIDS...it's mostly noticeable in the creases of my eyelids when i blink. lipstick, though, i would have to be careful with, i think...the red frames my face. and red is so picky. i wouldn't worry so much about matching the exact color, as long as i was in the ballpark with the shade. cool red+warm red = clash. but then, i'm really OCD about shades of red.

and then the stupid red fades about once a week until it looks pink around the edges. *sigh* i'm almost ready to give it up. not quite yet, though.

[sara]

I had to go through multiple months of trouble to get mine, and have already said that if she quits, I will hide under the table and cry and then quit. At which point Remaining Subordinate said that if I quit, she will quit, too, and then the three of us agreed that if anyone needs to quit we will just all do it simultaneously.

YouTube was pretty helpful.