Beauty Level-Up #13: Red My Lips Campaign ( + Giveaways)

March 13, 2015 Eli Heinafree stuff, giveaways, inclusivity, lipstick, Red My Lips30 Comments

It’s the second Friday the 13th in a row this year, and this is my 13th installment of this series. This delights me to an irrational extent.

image courtesy of Red My Lips

A few months back, I became aware of the Red My Lips campaign. It intrigued me because I usually save red lips for particular moods, situations, and contexts. This means that many of the people who see me in my day-to-day life don’t ever see my lips painted in red (though they might see them in more outlandish colors like violet all the time because beauty is boring and I do what I want). I’m sure at least a few of them might notice that I’d spent a whole month wearing and touching up red lip color.

What ultimately sold me 100% on Red My Lips is their awesome attitude towards people expressing concerns about potentially problematic language. Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #13: Red My Lips Campaign ( + Giveaways)” →

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Beauty Level-Up #12: Makeup Isn’t Always Worn to Look “Pretty”

March 6, 2015 Eli Heinabeauty norms, Kim Kardashian, natural makeup, no makeup look, shadows3 Comments

Last month, Kim Kardashian was featured on a cover that got less attention than her problematic “Internet-breaking” Paper one, but that I think was actually quite quite a clever, fascinating, and subtle statement on beauty, specifically the kind of beauty of which she has become something of a symbol.

Kim Kardashian on the cover of LOVE magazine — Photo credit: Steven Klein for LOVE magazine.

Do you see what she did there with the shadows? I do! Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #12: Makeup Isn’t Always Worn to Look “Pretty”” →

Beauty Level-Up #11: When People Harsh the Make-Up Mellow

January 30, 2015 Eli Heinachemicals, poison, toxicity13 Comments

While it’s true that much of mainstream Western society enforces beauty norms, including the wearing of makeup, there is a backlash against wearing visible cosmetics (and I do mean that — wear only “natural” shades well-blended into your skin and no one will say anything).

Women and people seen as women often find it hard catch a break from the body-policing that permeates so much of society. Dare to affix bold colors to your face and people may take your look as an invitation to tell you about their feelings.

Someone saying to a full face of makeup that — Warning: This gif is only the first of many.

And make no mistake: This is about their feelings and has nothing to do with the made-up person’s choice of facial attire. Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #11: When People Harsh the Make-Up Mellow” →

Beauty Level-Up #10: A Face Only a Webcam Could Love

January 24, 2015 Eli Heinaftbcon, tutorial, webcam2 Comments

FtBCon(science)3 is going on right now. I was on the ex-Muslims panel this morning, naturally, and will be on the kink panel that’s on at 1 PM PDT today as well as the poly one that is tomorrow also at 1 P PDT.

I’ve done quite a few Hangouts-on-Air-driven panels and vidcasts at this point, including FtB Con. While a full makeup routine looks great on webcam, there’s really no need to spend that much time and effort. This is especially true when the panel is at a certain time of day in order to accommodate multiple time zones. As a person of the PDT (and sometimes PST) persuasion, I often am the one obliged to wake up rather early to make it to a panel. I don’t always have the time and energy to do a full face and one isn’t really all that necessary anyway.

The results of a webcam-specific makeup routine might look silly in a selfie and even more so in the flesh, but it works for its intended purpose.

Picture-heavy tutorial below the jump.
Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #10: A Face Only a Webcam Could Love” →

Beauty Level-Up #9: Things I’d Actually Want From a Smart Mirror

January 16, 2015 Eli Heinabrogrammers, coding, Silicon Valley, Siri, tech5 Comments

Content Notice for mentions of anti sex-worker violence and body image in the first paragraph.

Health tracker apps completely disregarding AFAB needs. Voice-operated assistants that can help you find the services of a sex worker and then dispose of her murdered body later but unable to find abortion services. And now? Mirrors that tell you exactly what’s wrong with your face.

Awesome.

The future’s so blazingly misogynistic, I gotta wear shades. I suppose that’s what you get when brogrammers are running the show. Thank the Noodly Lord for The Ada Initiative and other pushes to get more non-males into tech.

Until there are more non-males in tech, here’s some free consultation from a femme non-binary AFAB. You’re welcome for the five pieces of advice, Silicon Valley. Go crush some code, bruhs! Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #9: Things I’d Actually Want From a Smart Mirror” →

Beauty Level-Up #8: How to Lip-Lock

January 9, 2015 Eli Heina4 Comments

If you want color that truly doesn’t budge and won’t need reapplication, lip stain or lip tar-type products are your best bet. They work even better when combined by layering two different types of products atop each other. However, stains can’t really match the vibrancy and opacity of a true lipstick and tars can be very fussy to use. As someone who prefers bold lip colors and has highly-pigmented natural lips that render most lip colors invisible, I absolutely adore lipstick.

It wasn’t always this way. For years, I’d faithfully raccoon-ring my eyes before leaving the house but never wore lip products. My early experiences with overly-sticky, poorly-pigmented lip glosses and stinky, gritty lipsticks with little color payoff left me scarred. Lip stains slowly brought me back around to painting colors on my mouth, since they last a long time and aren’t at all messy after initial application.

The gift of a then-limited color of MAC lipstick for my last birthday won me over; Heroine is now my signature color and I am officially a huge lipstick fan. With all apologies to lip gloss fans, I still hate color that slides around and off and must be frequently re-applied. Lipstick, however, can last a long, long time.

Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #8: How to Lip-Lock” →

Beauty Level-Up #7: A Primer on Primer

December 27, 2014 Eli Heina3 Comments

Primer is one of those newfangled products that people say they don’t need to hide the fact that they don’t really know what it is. It’s okay to admit it. I’ve pretended to not want or need things I didn’t understand, too. Bronzer was one of those things, and now it’s a contouring staple for me. Maybe primer will be something that will benefit you, and maybe it won’t, but after reading this, you’ll at least know what it is.

With all apologies for the worm I’m undoubtedly introducing into your ear, it’s all about that base.

Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #7: A Primer on Primer” →

Beauty Level-Up #6: Unnatural Lip Colors

November 29, 2014 Eli Heina7 Comments

Like many wannabe alterna-chick type people, I am absolutely obsessed with finding, hoarding, and sometimes even wearing lip colors that aren’t the usual, natural-lip-color-mimicking pink/red/coral.

Don’t get me wrong: There is something eternally classy and classic about a red lip. When I want to look just plain hot, I apply a matte red lip and try to make my eternal smirk better resemble a coy smile. However, I don’t always want to look just plain hot. I often want to look interesting, or mysterious, or weird, and I wish more cosmetic companies gave me the option to do so. Here are a few that do, including some that are on sale this weekend.

Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #6: Unnatural Lip Colors” →

Beauty Level-Up #5: An FAQ on Contouring

November 21, 2014 Eli Heinacontouring, highlights, lowlights3 Comments

Contouring is one of those things that seems really intimidating. It doesn’t help that many guides to it don’t start with the basics and launch into placement of colors. I was personally quite freaked out by contouring until very recently. Even now, I’m still exploring different ways of doing it.

Here is what I’ve learned about contouring that I learned from experience more than from what I’ve read online and heard from others, as well as some links that have helped me.

Let’s start with the basics.

What is contouring?
Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #5: An FAQ on Contouring” →

Beauty Level-Up #4: Beauty Boxes

November 15, 2014 Eli Heina3 Comments

One of the newer trends in the beauty industry is the subscription service. It usually means paying a set amount of money a month to receive a box full of goodies in the mail. Different boxes have different levels of customization and vary in price, brands sent, and so on. I have maintained a subscription to at least one at a time for the past two years or so because they’re a great way to accumulate travel-friendly items and maintain a strict beauty budget while still getting to try out new things.

As someone who loves shopping online, enjoys trying new things, loves getting packages in the mail, travels a lot (yay for trial- and travel-sizes!) and is a sucker for “try this with a coupon code!”-type Facebook ads, I’ve sampled several of the beauty box offerings out there.

Continue reading “Beauty Level-Up #4: Beauty Boxes” →

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