Smokey Peacock Formal: A Makeup Tutorial

I began this look as another Plenilune look, but basically it turned into something I'll just label the Smokey Peacock Formal and leave you free to apply it however you choose. It would be a lovely look for some sort of gala event, while it is still simple enough to wear for a work day if you were going to switch from one to the other without time to change makeup.

//The Eyes//

I began by dabbing a little concealer under my eyelids and swiping primer on the top of the lids. I'm not fancy with my primer: it came in an NYC makeup set and is sitting there right beside the shadows and a little pan of highlighter. Primer is, however, really helpful for "setting" a look, especially when it is smokey and might sort of peter out halfway through the evening without a little help. For this look, I started in the inner corners of the eyes with silver, then worked my way across the lid in lilac, dark grey, and cranberry, finishing the deepest part of the creases with a dark purplish brown. (All of these colors came from an all-purpose smokey-eye palette, plus a Smokey For Green Eyes palette from NYC) I lined my eyes all the way around with black (including the very inner corners), and underlined the bottom lid with silver to brighten the look. I filled in my brows a little with some brown eye-shadow too. You can't see terribly well in these photos, but at the far corners of the eyes, I brushed some peacock blue to shock some light back into the dark. Just a little, just enough to make it a playful rather than high-drama look.

I have never tried an entirely black smokey eye because I have heard that such a thing makes green eyed women look washed out. I'm not certain this is true, but then again, I've never been a major fan of the Abigail Chase Meets Raccoon look. I'm quite content with a reddish or purple palette. Works for me. :)

//The Face & Lips//

A quick puff of Mama's blush along my cheek-bones and the face was done. God has blessed me with a generally pretty clear complexion so I don't worry too much about doing anything with powders and foundations and things. For my lips, I used Laqa & Company Lip Lube in Purple. I either needed to go nude with the lip color, or something Not Pink. Purple? Perfect.

//The Hair//

For a bit of drama, I finger-combed my hair to the opposite side of where I usually have it, and pinned it into a haphazard coil into which I stabbed a gold dogwood flower. 

And there you have it! An interesting, beautiful look for your daytime-to-evening wear. Tra!

Plenilune Looks: Woodbird Swan Neck

The woman turned her head inward; the light caught her eye and made it spark yellow. In the shadow cast by the black velvet, the spark was very uncanny indeed.

"Commatissa Woodbird of Thrasymene."

"Thrasymene." Margaret smiled lightly, triumphantly. "I have heard of you."

-Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag

Sarah has golden eyes and because of this, when I went to play with her makeup, I immediately wanted to do a look based off of one of Jenny's warring characters, Woodbird Swan Neck. Woodbird is one of those people who claims your favorite man for herself, makes herself rather scarce, and leaves you feeling that you like her, but you're not really sure why you like her. I guess she's just wonderful and you can't help but like her even after not really knowing all that much about who she is or from whence she came.

//The Eyes//

I worked mostly in a palette of whites and gold. I highlit the inner corners of her eyes with white and worked from white into silver, from silver into cream, from cream into gold, and ended with a bit of brown in the creases. After this, I dragged my applicator covered in gold under bottom eyelid, then outlined the whole eye with black eye-shadow and a bit of black eyeliner leftover from last month's Birchbox. I wanted the look to be less precise than mine, more smudged and hectic and striking, so I showcased the gold of Sarah's eyes with dark rims and purple-brown eyebrows. Right underneath the brow bone, I put gold sparkles for drama.

//The Face & Lips//

Sarah's complexion is already quite olive and tanned at this time of year and Woodbird isn't a delicately-colored woman, I don't imagine. I brushed some cranberry-colored eye-shadow over Sarah's cheekbones and put one pass of blush over this to bring the pink back in. For her lips, I colored Sarah's lips with a dark pink liner and dabbed on a bit of my Revlon "Fire and Ice" lipstick. Over this, I dabbed some random, pale yellow lipgloss and in the very center of her lips, dabbed  a few more of the gold sparkles

Jenny, I hope you properly appreciate the fact that she has a token scratch on her cheek.

My sister is a beautiful person, isn't she?

"Up went the swan's head. Fiercely flashed the owlish eye. But the lips, which struck Margaret then as being very red, smiled genuinely."

-Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag

Adventura 2 {Romania}

Romania.

Wow.

It is always hard to know how much to say, how much to leave unsaid, how much my friends and family want to know and how much had rather stay in my travel journal to be remembered only by those of us who went on the trip.

I want, first of all, to thank those of you who contributed financially to the trip as well as everyone who prayed for us. We felt the effects of your prayers in a beautiful way and several things came through that made me realize just how important your prayers for us and our ministry were.

The main question I got on the trip as well as coming home, was how it compared to last year. Was it more fun? Less fun? More enjoyable? Less enjoyable? For me, that's a super hard question to answer. Last year was the first time I had ever left the country, my first time working with a translator, my first time meeting all the friends I found so hard to leave. Emotions ran high and I experienced some of the greatest and hardest and most wonderful things I've ever gone through as an adult during and after those two weeks. This year, I was returning to a place familiar to me, and if you've never known the sensation of reaching a foreign country and being home, you'll not understand the wonder in it. This year, I returned to friends, not strangers, and the relationships therefore were deeper and far more wonderful than I had even hoped.

Cristi's wife Alina? We adored her and she (thank heaven) liked us rather a lot too. We were thrilled when we heard that she had taken a week off of work to be able to travel with us around the country. Alina is equal parts sweet, sassy, and smart; she proved an invaluable asset to those of us trying to learn Romanian and we in turn helped her perfect her already wonderful English. Language lessons while road-tripping: so much fun.

The first week was spent in visiting churches with testimonies and music. The second week we spent road-tripping across Romania, seeing all the places near to our hosts' hearts. Romania is the third most beautiful country in Europe, right behind Switzerland and Austria. We saw view after view that appeared photoshopped and even though I had only my tablet camera with which to capture the beauty, it was undeniable.

Among the many beautiful places through which we passed, we were able to take a cruise on the Danube River and practically touch Serbia. In the photo below, Serbia is on the left, Romania on the right, and we had to be sure to stay in our half of the river. Cristi says it counts and that we should be able to claim having set foot in Serbia. No matter whether we have bragging rights in that respect, the views were absolutely gorgeous as we zoomed down the river with granite cliffs on either side.

I caught a cough from the hot springs at Baile Herculane. They were hot springs which have been in use since the ancient Romans and we stayed in a cabin up on the beautiful mountains. We chose to walk down to the little family-run outdoor bistro that night: a 7 kilometre (around 5 miles) round trip, so we were good and hungry by the time we came back. Thankfully, we had snacks. The cabins were the perfect size for "Shorty":

Not too fabulous for Oliver (or "Watermelon Boy" as he came to be called):

The Lord gave us such a great team this year just like last year and prepared each person for the work required of them during our trip. One example of His grace was Elissa's willingness to take her mother's "herbal pharmacy" along, even though she doubted she'd need any of the things. Well, Elissa didn't need them, but I came down with a cough and sore throat and Alaina got the same thing plus a fever and headache. If it wasn't for Elissa's pharmacy, I doubt we'd be feeling half as well as we were by the day we left. I so much enjoyed getting to know Oliver and Stephanie as the two people who were "new" to my closer circles of friends.

Their fun-loving personalities, ping-pong prowess, testimonies, and high spirits endeared them to me and they soon became integral parts of the machine that was the 2014 Missions Team. I hope we'll be able to continue these awesome and new relationships even though Stephanie (AHEM) is moving off to Texas for her summer internship after graduating Liberty U with A's. <3

Over and over, God put us right where we needed to be. Sometimes it felt that we were doing nothing but singing and telling easy-to-tell testimonies in the churches. Surely there was something more we should be doing? But Cristi told us that in Romania, this sort of ministry is needed terribly and already he had received phone calls from members of the various churches telling him how much the body of Christ was blessed in that village by our hour and a half in the church. In our very weaknesses, He is strong. After the first couple of nights, Cristi urged us not to use notes but to pray before we stood up that God would give us the words we ought to speak. The night I began to heed this advice was one of the finest nights of the trip. We can never prepare enough compared to asking God for His words. 

There were stresses (Cristi and Pastor John had a pretty crummy two weeks with family in the hospital, church members dying, weddings and funerals to conduct, etc.) and there were blessings. God worked some in the ways we'd hoped and some in ways that were completely unexpected and delightful. We had adventure upon adventure and I wrote more pages in this year's travel journal than I had last time. I visited two real live castles, darlings! I will obviously tell more about the trip in detail in subsequent posts but I wanted to give you a brief over-view for now and to let you know that our time was blessed and your thoughts and prayers were cherished.

I have so many stories to tell and pictures to share and things to laugh over with you so please stay tuned to this blog! I'll be posting Romania posts for the next while with Plenilune makeup posts scattered through, so keep a weather eye out! For now, drum bun! (droom boon) This expression means "good road" and is basically a sort of "bon boyage and have a safe journey" saying. Till next time, darlings!

Matthew gets credit for this photo. ;)

Swallows and Twilight: A Plenilune-Inspired Face

There's a Law of Travel that states that no matter how much fun you are having away, there will be fun things happening at home without you. While I was in Romania (home in one piece and more about that next time), Katie, Jenny, and Mirriam  all put together dramatic makeup looks inspired by Jenny's Plenilune. Me being me, I wished fervently that I was present with my little pots of paints to join in the fun. Well. Jenny said it wasn't too late and because this is my jet-lag day and I had some odd time, I painted up myself, Sarah, and Leah in various facial stages of Plenilune Magic. (Sorry that we are entirely sans jewelry, hairstyles, and fantastic clothing. This is a makeup look.) Hope you enjoy this fun departure from the usual fashion posts!

Plenilune is an equally warring, agrarian, and rich world. Everyone, even the lords and ladies, are closely connected to the ground upon with they live. My look was not inspired by any particular character (Jenny, I've got Sarah as Woodbird for you, so THERE), but rather by the swallows that swoop and glide  at twilight over the fields of Plenilune. I can imagine any of the ladies of the realm wearing something similar to an evening meal and thinking of those swallows and the twilight together. It's a high summer look. I enjoyed doing it. :)

//The Eyes//

I went with a palette of greens and violets to compliment my eye color and give the general impression of twilit-meadows. Work with me, here. I lined my eyes with black eye-shadow to make sure they were defined, then went to work with a black liquid eyeliner for the double-wings on the ends of my eyes. On my bottom lash, I underlined the under-liner with purple to continue the theme. My eyebrows, I darkened with eye-shadow to provide a bold stroke for the top of this dramatic look.

//The Lips and Face//

Because I traveled for 30 hours, slept for 10, and decided to play makeup artist, I used some concealer under my eyes and on a couple spots on my face. Then I used a little bit of Mama's blush, but not much. My lips are outlined with a dark pink liner and filled in with Rimmel Stayglossy in "Timeless Allure". Raspberry lips flatter my complexion best of all, I've found.

Ain't no De la Mares  gon' mess with diss chick.

//Home is behind the road ahead

and there are many paths to tread

through shadows to the edge of night,

until the stars are all alight.

Mist and shadow, cloud and shade,

all shall fade, all shall fade.//

Travel Fashion: My Minimalist Wardrobe

Hi. Yes, that's my "I leave the country in ten days!!!!" face. It's part trepidation and part a hunky load of excitement. I am sorry I haven't been blogging recently! My new job as Mary Poppins has been going wonderfully well, but I'm learning that all those people who complained that work left little time in which to blog were 100% correct. My days off are filled with the pressing business attending my days on and I'm still learning how to juggle it all. It's fun though. The girls and I get along so well, and their parents are fabulosity itself. But I decided to drop the news that I'm leaving the country again for a 17-day missions trip to Romania with a huge fat post full of the topic about which I've been dropping broad hints. This topic? 

A "minimalist" travel wardrobe

 In Romania last year, I packed far too many clothes. I was still under the 50 lb. limit for the checked bag, but along with that bag, I was toting my huge Baccini and Thomas (Barrow), my utterly confused carry-on suitcase. Somehow I made my way through two weeks of lugging around far too much luggage. This year when I knew I would be going back, I wanted to take far less. It's going to be summer so I wouldn't need gobs of clothing. We will be traveling in the mountains, but the most I will need in Romania in May would be a light jacket and jeans. With this in mind, I started thinking about packing. Pinterest can be a huge time-waster, I know. But far oftener than not, I find it a beautiful cause of inspiration. Sometime in the fall, I came across the idea of minimalist packing and I was hooked. This pin is the inspiration for my insanity:

8 items of clothing to make 22 outfits? Seriously? Could that even work? The closer I scrutinized the system, the more I thought it looked like something I wanted to do. When I heard that we will be traveling within the country with limited luggage space, I was decided. I looked at some of the items and colors I already had in my closet and settled on a palette of coral, cream, navy and sage:

Because I felt crafty that night, I made a cute little thingamajig to help me shop. It was more fun than it was useful, but it made the whole thing feel legitimate, which was lovely. Haha. I am a sucker for lists, doodles, and artistic bents on tasks. By God's provision through my job, I was actually able to shop for quite a few things; Shrinkage has been going well which means that I have lost weight and instead of being an 18, I'm a pretty solid 14 (and I got one skirt and some shorts that were 12s!). Most of my summer clothes from last year are way too big, so I needed new stuff. I shopped sales and thrift-stores, bought a couple of full-price (but still reasonable) things, and put together my wardrobe for Romania.

My minimalist travel wardrobe consists of:

• 2 maxi skirts
• 1 pair of cargo capris
• 1 pair of  dark-wash jeans
• 4 blouses
• 2 pull-over/shrug things
• 1 scarf
• 1 belt
• 2 camis
• 1 pair of sandals
• 1 pair each flip-flops and walking shoes (not pictured)

Plus, your average set of pajamas, underclothes, and a light-weight jacket. As a list, it looks like a lot, but in practice, as you shall see, it's fabulously tiny. Could I really make that many outfits out of these items? Yes, I can. I had assumed I'd be able to make enough to carry me through the seventeen-day trip with only a couple repeats, but I hadn't tried making outfits till today. Apparently this whole "Choose colors that coordinate infinitely" thing works pretty darn well. Observe:

My four tops and four bottoms

My "accessories": navy shrug, cream-lace shrug, belt, scarf

All of it (sans camis and shoes) laid out on the floor

 This? Really? All of this could carry me through the entire trip? I was loving the size of this pile--so dinky!--but would it really serve me for both church outfits and casual travel/hanging-out clothes? I started working outfits. Wouldn't they at least start looking identical? I can't even wear jewelry while in the Romanian churches, so how would I shake up the looks? See for yourself: (and while you're at it, pardon the sometimes-foggy mirror-selfies. It's harder than it looks. XD)

No. 1

I started casual, with my jeans.

No. 2

These are the most comfortable sandals! Got them from Payless and though I paid $24, they are worth it.

 No. 3

 No. 4

Switched to sage cargo-capris after 3 options ...

 No. 5

We get tired of making the same faces, preciousss

 No. 6

Switched to my striped navy maxi skirt ... 

No. 7

Love this sage Henley I found at the Salvation Army for $1.50!

 No. 8

 No. 9

This anchor-top is my favorite ever! Bought it on clearance at Belk for $10 (had been $37)

 No. 10

Switched to my blush maxi skirt.

 No. 11

Funny face and hair-shot. I don't think I've showed my new glasses or haircut here, so voila! I love both. ^.^

 No. 12

A dozen outfits, and I am nowhere near to having made all the combinations I could think of! (I just got tired of posing and taking clothes on and off! ;) Packing a minimal amount of clothing (eight main items, four accessories) takes a load off your mind when preparing for a trip.

This stack? Yeah, it includes pajamas (sweatpants and two t-shirts), the camis, and a slip. The only thing missing is my jacket and undergarments. And you do realize I will be wearing some of this to the airport? So the packed stack will be even shorter.

I am in love with packing this way, though I know that I had a little leeway because I was able to purchase some items I needed to pull it off this well. I know that whatever I bring will match with whatever else I bring so I could quite literally pull any top and any bottom out of my bag and wear it with pride. I am so glad I ran across this tactic on Pinterest, and that my friend, Jill, had led me toward something like this too. Not only will I have enough variety for my trip, but I'll also have a couple dozen styles to mix and match all summer long. Thanks to travel bloggers everywhere who gave me inspiration to try mini-luggage, I shan't have any trouble fitting my bags on a plane, a car, or a train at any point in the journey. <3