Ekimura is having a contest over at http://ekimura.blogspot.com/ for an anime-style cosplay look and people following my blog know that I happened to already do a look and shoot with my Japanese horror/innocent girl post, so I thought I would submit an entry. ^^

Here is the photo I am sumbitting for the contest. Theme is "Broken Doll".



:) You guys should enter! I just saw, and the deadline is 6-14 at the end of the night! Thanks Ekimura for the contest (and for being a sweet commenter so I could find your awesome blog!)

For items I used for this look and a video tutorial on how to get this look, click here:
--->Dolly Eyes Tutorial<---

Please visit ekimura's blog and vote in the poll!

I mentioned that I went horseback riding a couple weeks ago, and although I am terribly behind on posts (I have so many reviews to share!! AURGHHH!) I found it absolutely necessary to post these photos. After all, this IS a beauty blog and what is more beautiful than animals and nature?

I looooove animals and that includes horses. I don't get to go horseback riding all that often, but it is so much fun and is worth all of the butt-soreness afterward. My in-laws are blessed with owning two horses so I tagged along with my mother-in-law on a beautiful day out to the country.

Here is Shiloh. He's a very good horse who follows direction well and enjoys trotting with the slightest heel-squeeze. Oh, and I am the silly scrub sitting on his back.


It's an interesting thing trying to take a self-portrait, horse included, while riding. But I gave my best shot to show how it was from my perspective. :)


Our ridiculously gorgeous view. In a weird way, it feels a little like laying on the beach. Warm, carefree, and blue skies.


After we got back, we took the saddles off the horses and one hilarious gent decided to roll in the dirt.


My boy Shiloh and a few others.


A unicorn? Nope, just 2-year old Masai. Gorgeous light blue eyes! We couldn't ride him because he hasn't been broken yet, since he is so young, but he definitely had a lot of spirit. He likes to RUN!


Did I mention how much personality these guys have? Each is so different. You can even tell in the photos!


And just for funsies, here is a little red tractor that was inside the stable. :D



Ahhh, hopefully looking at these photos will stave me from being rone'ry now that the husband is out of town until Sunday night. The next best thing is playing Sims 3. Le sigh. (shoutout to the hubs, I miss you!)

Anyone else like going horseback riding? What is your favorite animal? Tell in the comments!

It seems like many of you were interested in the leather jacket I mentioned a couple posts ago. Well, one of my favorite things to do is mix styles and a leather jacket fits perfectly with this FOTD. I wanted to do something that was a mixture of edgy punk and cute, bright colors so I thought a copper eye with sharp eyeliner would work well.

My current favorite warm copper has been NYX single shadow in Almond, which works really well with medium skintones because the color really pops off the skin. Apply Almond to the lid, and a second, heavier layer on the outer V. Also apply it along the bottom lashline on the outer half. I used NYX Vanilla Sky on the brow bone. Don't use too bright of a highlight color with this look because you want the focus to be right around the ring around your eyes.

Next, I took MAC Fluidline in blacktrack and made a sharp, thick, winged line on the upper lashline. Make the top edge a straight line and create a connecting line from the outer corner of your eye to the end of the top line. Then, you can fill in the space in between. Use the remaining fluidline on the brush to line the bottom lashline. To finish, I added Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Yeyo to the tear ducts, curled lashes, and applied Covergirl Exact Eyelights Waterproof Mascara in Black Pearl to top and bottom lashes.


Fill in brows and apply a coral blush or bronzer to cheeks (I used MAC Fun & Games from the Hello Kitty collection) and leave the lips a nude or neutral color. I also added a purple hair extension clip for fun. Who ever said the rock look needs to be all black? :)


Face.


Yay for fun extensions. :)


Sup, I'm rockin.


This is my "I'm being lazy today hair pouf."


Obligatory "V"



And here is the outfit: Leather Motorcycle Jacket - Express, Hoodie - Cobra Starship printed on American Apparel, T-shirt - Threadless.com, Jeans - Pacsun


Well, I guess you still can't see the jacket super well but rest assured I wear this thing ALL the time so it is bound to show up a few more times. :)



I need to post up my photos from my horseback riding adventure last weekend soon, and I got my color-changing Del Sol polishes in which are crazy cool, so you guys have that to look forward to. By the way, anyone else super excited about Sims 3? I used to have dreams about people with green crystals over their heads after playing Sims 2, no lie. I am such a big nerd.

XOXO

Hey everyone! I have been keeping these swatches from you guys for a while now so I thought it's about time I post up my haul from urbandecay.com. Now, can I just say that visually, the Urban Decay brand has got it right? From the website, to the display stands in Sephora and Ulta, to the packaging on each product, they really put some time and effort into making makeup that looks good and performs well. Just wicked. I love it.

One of the most highly rated and talked about items that Urban Decay has are their 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils. What with the 30% off code a while back, I went a little crazy and bought both of the mini-pencil travel sets. I couldn't help it! The colors were so gorgeous and I NEEDED Yeyo. And I can totally say for certain that I don't regret it at all. They are just the best pencil liners I have ever tried, bar none. Silky smooth, highly pigmented, and once they set, they are SET. Definitely a holy grail product.

Here is the VIP set (zero, lucky, covet, electric, lust):



And Velvet Rope (yeyo, 1999, zero, bourbon, stash):



My goodness. I love that accordion-fold packaging. Too clever.

And here are my swatches:



My favorites have got to be Yeyo for highlighting tear ducts, and surprisingly Lucky for how light and bright it is. It's just the perfect color for lining the lower lashes during the day without the harshness of black liner. Electric is pretty awesome to add a pop to neutral looks too.

I also had to take advantage of the sale and get an absolute staple of mine, Urban Decay Primer Potion. This time, I bought the jumbo version which is both taller and wider than the original. Since my old tube broke, I am comparing the size to a bottle of China Glaze nail polish. Hopefully the wider bottle will also help to get more product out without depotting it!



My final purchase was something I had been lemming for for a long time. The Deluxe Shadow Box conveniently has 9 of Urban Decay's line of highly pigmented Deluxe Shadows and I have been DYING to try out Fishnet and Graffiti. Whooooboy this palette did NOT disappoint! I used it as the makeup artist for a photoshoot on 3 different girls with very different looks and it was beautiful on each one. I think my pictures are a little washed out from the light but trust me, these are pretty pigmented. Like the eyeliners, these shadows are rich and creamy.

The packaging: Purple velvet exterior with metal mesh and a mini UDPP



Inside: A mirror, and eyeshadow sponge applicators I will likely never use



A close-up of the colors



And the pretty swatches (oops, mislabeled the green "graffiti" as bourbon)



Ransom has this awesome bluish glow and Fishnet is the perfect pinky-purple with a blue flash. I almost completely forget about the bottom row of neutral shadows because the colored ones are so awesome, but I'm sure many of you would really appreciate them and use them alot since they are pretty neutrals. I'll likely try out Scratch as a highlight color, or the other two on someone with fairer skin than me.

I also got a free mini lipstick in Sellout with my order. It's adorably packaged in purple metallic. It's kind of a warm burnt berry color on me. Not for everyday, but might be nice with a peachy-coral look.



Hope this review and these swatches are helpful for any of you interested in buying Urban Decay stuff. It's been one of my favorite hauls ever, so of course I highly recommend it. A little pricey, but really quality products! Anyone else tried any of these? Or have an Urban Decay product they recommend? Let me know in the comments what your favorites are.