FOTD: Pomegranate Punk

Greetings from the Dark Side!

This week it finally started to feel like autumn here in North California...finally. It has been so freaking, so the sudden onset of chilly days have been more than welcome. I cannot wait for it to get even colder! I am really not a summer person and I much prefer the colder weather~ Along with the autumn weather we start to see autumn trends, that including makeup trends. I wear dark makeup all throughout the year, but I wear it even more during fall and winter. Here is an easy purple/cranberry look using indie makeup and some drugstore items~ I really do need to use my indie eyeshadows more often! They are gorgeous!I hope you all like it ^_^

Top 5: Holy Grail Products

Greetings from the Dark Side!

For me, it has always been very difficult to label a product as a Holy Grail (HG). I use so many different products that it is hard to choose only a few to call my HG products. But, I thought about it and choose 5 products I can definitely label as HG. My criteria for HG products are products that 1) I really, really like; 2) that I used very often; 3) that are NOT limited edition and could easily obtain them; and 4) if I lost/finished them I would immediately repurchase them.

World of Warcraft Series: Alexstrasza

"Life is my Aspect, Dark One, and I, like all mothers, know both the pain and wonders that entails!"

Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder and Dragonqueen, is an "immense dragon...colored a deep, rich red that seems to shimmer and dance before your eyes" (source). For this look, I wanted to use red, purple, and gold as the main colors.

Not my image. Source.

World of Warcraft Series: Nozdormu

"Time is a tangled web. Try not to dwell on all the loose ends."

Here is another WoW inspired look for all of you, and another one inspired by the Dragon Aspects. This one is inspired by Nozdormu, The Timeless One. He is a "bronze dragon, with scales of a metallic golden-brown color, and can arrange sand to conform to his body, cementing into one definite form" (source). I used the artwork below for inspiration, using neutral colors (golds and browns) as well as a bright pop of blue. I am still super obsessed with using glitter so I threw some gold glitter into this as well! I hope you enjoy this tutorial :)

Source

World of Warcraft Series: Deathwing

"And all will burn beneath the shadow of my wings..."

I am quite excited to show you my Deathwing inspired look! Deathwing is one of the Dragon Aspects from World of Warcraft, the MMORPG game. Deathwing the Destroyer is described as a "massive monstrosity before you rises up like a black, crag-covered mountain of scales and hide. The head is a spade-like terror spiked with cruel red eyes that shine with a frightening malevolence. Rivulets of lava and magma are visible beneath the great wyrm’s scorched scales" (source). I wanted to use black, red, and orange for this look and I am pretty happy with the result! I hope you all like it as well!

Source

FOTD: Pastel Goth (Ft. Lime Crime)

Greetings from the Dark Side!

I was so excited when the new Lime Crime velvetines were released because there was a black shade! I bought it immediately because I just had to have a pigmented matte black lip color. I have wanted to wear it since I got it, but I have been too busy at work (and I can't really wear black lipstick to work!), but I finally had time to wear it today! I wanted to do something colorful for spring, but also include the black velvetine so I paired the black lips with pink eyeshadow! I actually really love the combination. What do you guys think? I'm still getting used to the texture of this velvetine, but overall it is the best thing to happen to people who love black lipstick!

Pressed Palettes!

Greetings from the Dark Side!

So I have recently been absolutely obsessed with pressing loose shadows. I bought one empty palette on eBay not too long ago to try out pressing and I have been hooked ever since! I just want to share the three palettes I have pressed so far! You can check out my pressing tutorial HERE.

This is the first palette I pressed. I pressed all 10 of the Shiro Cosmetics The Notebook Collection and added MAC 'Melon' pigment and Victorian Disco Cosmetics 'You're a Wizard, Harry!' eyeshadow to complete the 12 slots in the palette. They all pressed rather well~

FOTD: Mephisto

Even though it is already spring, the weather has been really dreary in my town. It has been raining and really cloudy! I can't get into spring makeup just yet, so I've been sticking to slightly darker makeup lately. I decided to break out my Fyrinnae eyeshadow called 'Mephisto', a stunningly complicated eyeshadow. I love this eyeshadow so much but it is really difficult to wear. Here I used it alone on my lid and my lower lash line and paired it with a daker lip color.

Mephisto is such a weird eyeshadow right?! It is red, gold, blue/purple, and a bit coppery too! I am still trying to find out the best way to use this eyeshadow and this is only one of many ways you could use it! I really do enjoy using my Fyrinnae eyeshadows :D

Victorian Disco Cosmetics March Subscription

After some delays from the post office, I finally got my monthly subscription from Victorian Disco Cosmetics! I wanted to quickly show everyone what came in this sub! Everything came really cutely packaged. There are two full size eyeshadows, one sample eyeshadow, one sample blush, and one sample lip gloss. I particularly love the blush and the lip gloss!

Giveaway/Contest: Victorian Disco Cosmetics $50 Gift Card

This month, I partnered up with Victorian Disco Cosmetics to bring you a slightly different giveaway. Most of you know that every month I do hold a contest (which I call the Series Challenge) in which the winner gets a $20-30 gift card from the store of their choice. This month, in addition to that $20-$30 prize, you can also win a $50 gift card from Victorian Disco Cosmetics! Now, you might be wondering if you have to join the April Series Challenge  in order to enter the $50 VDC gift card giveaway. To that the answer is NO. You can enter the Rafflecopter form and just skip over the entries that relate to the April Series Challenge. However, if you join the April Series Challenge, you will have a much higher chance of winning the $50 VDC gift certificate. Either way, you can join in!

                                                                      Rules and Information                                                     

-You must be 18+ years or have your parent's permission to enter
-You must be a follower of The Dark Side of Beauty
-This giveaway is international, so anyone can enter :)
-There will only be 1 winner
-Fill out the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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April Series Challenge/Giveaway: World of Warcraft

Greetings from the Dark Side!

For an introduction of this Series Challenge, go HERE. Otherwise, welcome to another month of my challenge series! This month's theme will be: World of Warcraft, more specifically three of the Dragon Aspects. This month will be a little different because I will be partnering up with Victorian Disco Cosmetics to bring you a little extra giveaway/contest. So by this month's Series Challenge not only can you win the usual $20-30 gift card from the store of your choice from me, but you can also win a $50 gift card to Victorian Disco Cosmetics! For weekly dates and inspiration pictures, keep reading!

In Progress: Indie Swatch Gallery

Hey guys! I wanted to let you know that I am currently doing a swatch gallery on imgur for my indie eyeshadows. Right now I only have Victorian Disco Cosmetics swatches, but now that I am done with school, I will have a lot of time to start swatching more of the brands I own. I hope to have albums for individual brands, and one folder for all the brands together. I am really new to making swatch galleries, and I am using imgur. If any of you know any other sites that would be better for this, please let me know!

I just added swatches of the VDC Sindarin collection which will hopefully be brought back in the VDC store soon! But, in the mean time, you can see colors side by side to see how they compare and how they look!

Star Wars Series: Boba Fett

Greetings from the Dark Side!

I am really excited to finally bring you another Star Wars inspired look! I should really have done lots of these by now since my blog name is inspired by Star Wars after all! Today I will be sharing my Boba Fett inspired look. Boba Fett, a Madalorian bounty hunter and the clone of Jango Fett, is one of favorite characters from Star Wars, mostly because I really like his armor. So I was very excited to try to create a look inspired by him!

Weekly Favorites #1

1. NYX Butter Glosses
My absolute favorite product of this week was the NYX Butter Glosses. These are pigmented, smooth, and not sticky. I haven't been excited by lip glosses in a looooong time, so I was pleasantly surprised by these ones. The one in the picture is 'Peaches and Creme' but I absolutely love all the shades I have. In fact, my favorite of the bunch is actually 'Creme Brulee', a nude shade. I picked up 'Creme Brulee' at the recommendation of one of my favorite Youtube vloggers Claire Marshall, aka HeyClaire. I also used one of these in my Hufflepuff look.

DIY Tutorial: Pressed Eyeshadow Palette

Greetings from the Dark Side~

Are you tired of having a bunch of loose eyeshadows? Do you want a better way to use and store all those jars and baggies of loose eyeshadows? Well you've come to the right place because today I will show you how you can turn those loose eyeshadows into some pressed eyeshadow palettes! It is not as hard as you might think and the result can be phenomenal! 

Valentine's Day Tutorial: Kickass Pinks

Hiii dark siders ♥ 

It is almost that time of the year again. That day that a lot of people dread: Valentine's Day! It's time to get out your pink eyeshadows, blushes, and lipsticks! For those of you who like bolder looks for February 14th, here is a flirty, kickass pink and purple look you can rock! Personally, I will be going out to bars for the 14th, and this is something I would totally wear for that. It's fun and colorful, but still kind of sweet and girly. 

Indie Makeup Haul: Victorian Disco Cosmetics and Brija Cosmetics

Greetings darlings!

I have tried my best to keep hauling to a minimum, but I was tempted by some pretty new indie makeup! Here is what I bought, along with some swatches of everything :D If you have any questions about the products I am showing, please let me know in the comment section!

1. Victorian Disco Cosmetics January Subscription

FOTD: The Naked Truth (Ft. Wet n Wild)

 Greetings from the Dark Side!

I promised to do a few looks with the Wet n Wild 5 pan palettes, and here I am delivering! This look is a simple neutral eye using the palette 'The Naked Truth'. I also used a few other new indie products I acquired recently :D

                                                                       Products Used                                                         

 Eyes

-Wet n Wild Take On the Day Primer

-Wet n Wild 'The Naked Truth' 5 pan palette

-Wet n Wild Fergie On Edge 'Midnight Girl' Eye Pencil

-L'oreal Infallible The Blackbuster liquid eyeliner

-L'oreal Lash Out Butterfly mascara 

-Kiss Looks So Natural lashes

Face & Lips

-Wet n Wild Coverall Foundation (as concealer)

-Dremaworld Hermetica Mineral Foundation (shade: Tiamet III; formula: Cloud)

-Everyday Minerals 'Sand Cherry' Blush 

-Brija Cosmetics 'Stolen Luxery' Highlighting Stick

-Victorian Disco Cosmetics 'Daedra' Lip Gloss (from the January Subscription)

     

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2013 Favorites: Eyeshadows

Greetings to the Dark Side~

We have arrived to the most difficult part of choosing my 2013 favorites: eyeshadows. This is a conundrum of massive proportions because I love eyeshadows so much. About 60% of my collection is made up of eyeshadows so choosing a few is too difficult, but I tried my best. Fun fact, my blog was originally going to be a nail polish blog. Yet somehow it turned out to be more focused on eyeshadows/eye looks. It's weird how things work out! Anyway, I digress. If you want to see my 2013 eyeshadow picks, keep reading!

2013 Favorites: Indie Beauty Products

Greetings from the Dark Side!

2013 was a year of many new makeup purchases, and a year in which I discovered new favorites. I love indie makeup so very much and I wanted to dedicate an entire post to my favorite indie products of this year. I tried to pick the least amount of products as I could, so don't think that these were the only indie products I loved during 2013. These are not only my favorites, but also the products I used the most during the year. Enjoy :)