Hippidy hoppidy

Well hello humans..

I'm in a dapper mood right now because I have just jumped on the scale and have seem to have dropped about 8-9 kilos since new years :)
And I didn't even notice! The surprise was honestly something that gave me a big motivational PUSH to work even harder because I am THIS much closer to get to my goal weight :)

On another note:
I've been off the radar because I just moved houses and the packing/unpacking situation is a hella lot to deal with. Especially when you're taking care of family.
Soon enough though, I will have a break from exams and (house)work and will be able to concentrate on my actual work AND finally putting some effotr into a video tutorial.

I know I keep saying I'm going to start but in all honesty, I have no time. I barely have time for uni as it is with everything thats going on, so just hold your horses, alrighty?

That being said, I've got 14 chapters to read for an exam tomorrow and not enough caffeine in my system to do it!

Post something a little more interesting soon, promise :)

Maybe something about eyeliner ...

xxxx -S 

"Why do you wear make up?"

A common question I get from a few of my guy friends is "Why don't you leave the house with no make up on?", or, "Why don't I ever see you without any makeup?".

The answer to those questions is that I do leave the house many times without a smudge of make up on, you probably aren't there to see it though; and a majority of the time I spend at home (usually on Skype) I avoid putting any make up on because I like to give my skin a break.

This also relates to a question that I get most often: "WHY do you put makeup on?" and "Why do you like doing dramatic make up?".

I finally decided to write down an answer to that.
When I use make up or cosmetics, I'm not using it in a way to "cover up what God gave me", or any of that. What I try to achieve when doing a look, natural OR dramatic, is to make it look like my own skin (which is why I'm very picky with foundations/powder and how little I use them). I like to "enhance" features.

However, the way I see make up is not a way to "prettify" one's self. Sure, that's an added bonus, but it's not my main reason. I feel just as comfortable walking out of the house with a bare face and running errands.

I know this is going to sound corny, but the way I see make up/cosmetics is more of an art form. It's a way of expressing yourself and your ability to "paint" yourself. I love playing with colours and learning how they work off one another, blending different shades and creating shapes and concepts.

It's not about "wearing too much makeup" (of course, certain situations call for a limit), it's about how I feel that day. It could also mean that I was awake all night playing around with different looks and I just kept one on! It's the fun of discovering new ways to express yourself.

That's what got me into this whole thing. I honestly believe that if you love and appreciate art, you'd chase after it in any form possible. Just as I love to be a makeup artist, I love writing, and photography, dancing...

I'm not at all saying I'm a "trained professional" in any of the above. I trained myself and persued my "passion" for learning more about them all ever since I was a young kid.

When I say I'm a photographer for example, I don't at all want to imply that I'll be able to teach a course on the many inner workings of a DSLR camera or film camera and a dark room; nor that I've taken a course! I do know the way around it, though. I know which light suits a certain situation, what to focus on to bring out the best of a photo, how to shoot something to capture it at a precise point, etc.

On that note, I don't believe you have to be "taught" (as in, with a diploma) to be good at something.
I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I'm confident with cosmetics and how to apply it, but that's because I've been practicing for 12 years.

It's a passion, a hobby that stemmed from my love for anything and everything beautiful and unusual.

The biggest misconception I hear from people is that the idea that someone who wears a lot of make up "tries too hard". Admittedly, there are many people out there who do it for the attention. I'm not going to lie, I do post my looks on social media websites and this blog for example. 

Why? Because:

1- I want to share my ideas.

2- I want to inspire creativity. Whether it's cosmetics, or anything else. 

And to show you it's not just talk, here I am: 5AM in the morning, clean face, writing my blog.

Got the baggy eyes and everything!

Hopefully that cleared up a few things.

Lots of Love, -S xx

Heeby Jeebies!

Today's post starts on a lighter note than the previous one's.

It's almost a review, in a way. You'll get what I'm rambling about soon enough :)

Sooo, I went waltzing into a specific studio to discuss a specific project I'm designing, when I thought I'd be a little adventurous and get a piercing. 'Lo and behold! Salma, the needle-phobe actually eager to have one stuck in her?
..That sounded suggestive.
Anywhore, after careful contemplation over which "discreet" area of my body I should start this piercing brigade, I chose the tragus. Small, sweet, and a little quirky. Speaking of the piercing, I have an itch right in my ear and I can't scratch it because of the stud! GAH!

Going back; I decided upon the tragus because I wanted something a little different than your average lobe or cartilage pierce. And I don't think I'll be getting an industrial anytime soon, not yet anyway.

One thing you're probably wondering: Pain level?
I was so nervous about the needle itself that I was shocked at how little it hurt! Mainly because the tragus doesn't have many nerves or blood cells running through. The only thing I felt was a millisecond of sharp pain followed by a strange awareness that there was a long needle poking through my ear.
Honestly I was laughing at my being so nervous, it was nothing!

I also have to give props to Izza, the lovely lady who pierced me. She was so wonderful. All the equipment was fully sterilized and everything was done really professionally. 5 stars to Blackstar Studio :)

Can't wait to go back there! And just to show y'all.. It was really dim and I only had my BB camera so apologies for the dark, grainy photo :

Izza had trouble screwing the little head on the stud because "my ears are pixie small!".


On another note, I'm moving apartments next week so I'm super busy among other family obligations, but I'll try to film a video that I'll upload in a few weeks. Blog posts will come along, I promise.

In honour of my project, I'll be doing cat-eyes. Very Angie Jolie.

Lots of Love, -S xx

2012

I wasn't so sure how to start out this blog post because of recent happenings, but I'm going to just write and see what happens.
This new years was a lot tougher than quite a few of the things I've been through in 2011.
I lost a family member the night before, which is one of the reasons I won't be posting too much for a few weeks.

I know everyone has their New year's resolutions; I have mine as well, but they're more lifestyle changes than a week's to-do list (9gaggers should get that).

Right now I'm following the 11-day diet (otherwise known as the idiot-proof diet) with my sister who is joining me in the quest to lose a few; or in my case, quite a few!

If and when I get the time, I'll work on the youtube channel and some new, more creative make up looks.
But for now, enjoy the new month and the prospect of a clean slate and have a lovely beginning of 2012.

May you rest in peace Granddad Piotr Glowacki, you were very loved, and are deeply missed.

Love -S xx

Gimme gimme gimme..

As promised, I've got the pics from the EKWOS photoshoot with a BONUS!

Yes yes, Not only do I have the 2 looks from the shoot, I have the trial for my NYE makeup :)
And yes, I am still wearing the makeup, along with the dress and heels on. Who doesn't love dressing up?

For the first look:

I showed Shelby the "Monarch" look I posted in the previous blog and she loved it. But instead of doing an identical one, I put a retro twist (almost twiggy inspired) look with "Cleopatra" colours.

Super spidery lashes and black on the waterline complete the look!

Doesn't she look fantabulous?

Moving along.. The trial look I did for NYE came to me from an old look I did for a previous party.

I wanted it to be reaalllyy smokey, but sharp at the same time. And you know me, I love a dramatic eye :)

So instead of keeping it all black (as it would be too flat), I blended in the unique and rich colours of blue, purple, gold, and brown; inspired by the fantasticly festive colours you see in the New Years' fireworks.

THICK, bulky lashes and a really intense black gel liner on the waterline to pull the whole look together.

Because of the craziness of the colours on the eyes, I kept the lips natural and lipstick-free with just an almost-matte slick of balm on them.

As for the cheeks, again, I kept it simple and just a slight definition with bronzer.

Have you decided what you'll wear for NYE?

Love -S xx

Monarch

As I was trying out some different looks for tomorrow's shoot, I played around (as usual) and came up with a look that was inspired by the colours and architecture of the blue monarch butterfly. If you're curious as to what that looks like...

Although I'm only using one colour from the wings, I mixed it with some golden/warm tones to suit my complexion a bit more.

The accent on the edge of the eyebrow is meant to be part of the "wings" or the antennae. Spidery lashes for the dainty jet black legs of the butterfly, and the black liner cutting through the much brighter colours to make up the threaded wings.

It's always fun to experiment :)

As I mentioned, tomorrow I'll be holding a photoshoot in Minsk.

More details + pics will come as soon as all the editing/work is done.

Oh, one more thing...

It's snowing :)

Have a happeh (white!) xmas!!

-S

Hello hey ho

Just a quick pop in to tell y'all that I'll be holding a conceptual photoshoot tomorrow morning.

All the details will be given later :) and I'll be posting some links to my dA (deviant art account) where you can also see the rest of my older work.

Time to stretch my artistic fingers again :)

Hope you're having a lovely holiday time!

Lots of hugs and quiches xx
-S