Oblina

Wow.  I've been neglectful for over ten months...  Sorry!  My only excuse is that I have a job and have trouble finding time for interesting makeup and testing things out.  This weekend was a Halloween party, though, so I had to break through my tiredness and have some fun!  I decided to go as Oblina from "AAAH!  Real Monsters!" because she has been, still is, and always will be a favorite cartoon character of mine.

Love these guys

I tried to find stuffed big lips to complete the look, but apparently they are only available on Valentine's Day, so I decided to be a human version of Oblina.  After putting it all together, I realized the costume could be interpreted as several people/characters (that are all cool):  A female Beetlejuice, a deranged Harley Quinn in prison stripes, Helena Bonham Carter in any given movie role or in real life, or some degree of a goth/punk.  Still works for me.

                                  

                                      

                   

My favorite reaction to my costume was from my friend T.J,  The conversation went thusly (Almost verbatim)

T.J.:  So what are you supposed to be?
Me:  It can be interpreted different ways, but my vision was for Oblina from "AAAH!  Real Monsters!"
T.J.:  What's that?
Me:  90's Nickelodeon cartoon.  I loved it so much as a kid.
T.J.:  What else did people guess?
Me:  Oh, Beetlejuice, Harl...
T.J.:  Oh, shit!  I just realized who you were talking about.  I know the show and now remember the monster.  Damn!  That's awesome!

'Twas a fun night, my first time in forever dragging out the wild makeup and having fun with it.

Makeovers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Same as Bad)

I love a good makeover.  It can make a person feel pampered and extra glamorous for a few hours, but if handled badly, it can end up a big, self-esteem draining mess.  Today, one of my bad makeover experiences came to mind and I decided to write about it and compare it to a lovely experience so anyone who comes across this post can have an idea about what to do if they are in a not-so-ideal makeover situation.

My bad experience, no one really knows about because I destroyed the evidence, meaning right after it was done, I  bought some makeup wipes and cleared my face.  What was so wrong?  Let's start from the beginning.  The lady who was doing my makeover made no effort to ask me about my skin, if I'd cleansed/moisturized it beforehand (I always do a quick cleanse/moisturize if I'm having my makeup done outside my home), what type it was, if there was a certain foundation formula and color I liked so she could use it or something similar, and many other questions worth asking.  When I tried to take the initiative to tell her, she wandered off to get the products and didn't listen.  She came back with no skin primer (An essential for my oily skin), a foundation that better suits dry skin (very dewy in finish, but very sticky on me), and said foundation was a shade too dark and quite yellow, which on my skin, made me look sick.  The blush she picked out was very dark and I was wanting a dark lip, so this would have been overkill.  She also used bronzer.  If you know me, you know that bronzer and I do not mix.  I will give her credit, she remembered to use eye primer, but she used so much, it left a layer that creased and flaked when she applied the eye shadows.  She also tried to do a cat eye, and I thought I was horrible at the eye flick.  She didn't get anywhere near the lash line, and the "flick" was completely round.  The lips were the only part of the look I liked and I ended up buying the lipstick.

Moral of the story:  Speak the Hell up!  I was too scared to insult her by asking for skin primer or gently telling her that I have used makeup before and knew what colors and formulas worked for me.  I should have asked for a different associate because this woman had no business wielding a makeup brush for Sephora.  Like I said, before I could meet up with anyone, I bought makeup wipes  as discreetly as possible and avoiding her and scrubbed everything off my face.

The next makeover (just a few months later), I had the privilege of choosing which makeup associate at Sephora I wanted to do my makeover.  The woman from last time looked smug because she recognized me and actually thought I liked what she did!  I chose this guy named Matthew and I am so glad I did.  This guy did everything right as far as customer service.  He asked if I needed to cleanse/moisturize my face before we began, asked what products I use normally, etc.  He came back with a great selection of new-to-me products to choose from for primer, foundation, eyes, and lips.  He said they were very similar and what better way to test out new products than with a free makeover?  He respected my wishes when I asked him not to use bronzer on me because I don't like the way it looks on me at all.  The only thing that I had to fix when I left was my lips because they are weirdly-shaped.  One side of my bottom lip dips in, the other dips out.  It was a quick fix because I deal with it all the time. After the quick fix, I loved what I saw.

Take it from me, if the person performing the makeover doesn't ask you questions, take the initiative and tell them what they need to know before they make a mess of your face and let them know during the process if you like what you see or what you would want differently.  If you want to be more certain that you will get a good associate, check out the makeovers in progress so you can see how they perform.  If you find one whose techniques you like, make an acquaintance of them so they will feel more comfortable working on you and you'll be more comfortable with them as well.  School House Rock was right, knowledge is power...it is also a form of facial insurance.  

-Martha