Fitting on a rainy day, yes?

The stupid camera that I brought to work WITHOUT the battery. Dammit. Sorry for the fuzzy phone pics but I liked my outfit too much to leave it umentioned.

A fancier Friday here because I was off to Cirque du Soleil!

Playing around today I've got to say that I think my eye is just too round for this sort of thing. Instead of making my eye look longer I feel as if it just looks...squashed maybe? Oh well, it's not my favorite but maybe it'll work for someone else (it's inspired by this look from Jangsara).

1. I probably don't have enough Pokemon chops to start with these amazing Tim Burton-esque  illustrations from Hat Boy, but you know what? I don't care. As a Tim Burton lover and appreciator of familiar things re-done, I say this is very cool.

Hat Boy

2. Thanks to The Mary Sue and Geek with Curves for the link to Castle Corsetry (Facebook)! If I didn't have Dragon*Con coming up and thus a possibly substantial hit to my wallet I would so be ordering one of these right now. 

Etsy Shop

3.Lady Vadore reveals herself! If you're an Epbot reader like me you'll have been waiting for this for a while but PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD IN THE WORLD head over to Jen's post with details pics of her female Darth Vador costume. It's freaking amazing and I really REALLY want to see it in person at Dragon*Con.

Epbot

4. Also from Epbot's Lady Vadore post is a link to a website that I think will be taking a lot of my money pretty quickly - Corset Story. Beautiful pieces with great prices (especially in the sale section). I already feel like my outfit for Dragon*Con 2013 is gonna be great!

Corset Story

5.  Speaking of Dragon*Con...I LEAVE NEXT WEEK! I am so excited. Excited to a level I probably can't even communicate because I think this year is going to be one of the best. I'm a little stressed that almost everything I want to go to is double booked (once, twice, sometimes thrice) and I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that. Similar to last year I'm not willing to stand in a bunch of lines but...so many *things*. And people! I did a more stalker-filled post on Reading Amidst the Chaos but we're just going to have to see I think. Luckily I'm sure I won't leave with too many regrets!

My own costume! I'm finally finished and can't wait to do a trial run.

No really. I love this dress. Now to add a nude colored convertible bra to the 'must buy' list....

Sorry for the unoriginal name :-/. I'm running out of snazzy titles for these posts so...colors it is. I promise that I'll keep trying but how to do people come up with these things? Sigh.

This came together on the fly but I haven't used this Inglot shadow in while so I may have ended up being a little heavy handed with it. The liner also had a mind of its own but all in all I wouldn't call it completely day inappropriate, lol (especially if you know me). I decided to set it with some matte black eyeshadow to prevent smudging throughout the day - and it worked pretty well!

 

Funnily enough, I considered this outfit pretty low key. It was a really hot day and I didn't want to bother with the slightly more elaborate outfit I'd had in mind. But somehow to the slightly creepy men in DC this look was a hit. Fun times.

Personally this has been one of my favorite outfits lately. I love the mix of colors (even if it's not Wendy's crimson) and it has me inspired to keep working with this skirt - I may want to keep pairing it with this necklace but I'm sure it's got more life in it!

I think I may have to venture out to a DSW to decide...

It's really hard to get me excited to do makeup in this heat. I just know that even if it sticks around, the rest of my face will so disgusting it almost doesn't matter. Blech. Still, Vintage or Tacky's latest tutorial did remind me how much I love purple so I figured what the hell - I feel gross in no makeup too.




P.S. - Sorry for the slightly orange lighting :-/. I was trying to be smart and took pictures of this at around 7:30am. Which seems to mean orange light. Sigh. 

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on credit card payments. Poop. Not the most exciting, especially when it's combined with bad news from the bank. Why the world is determined to keep me beat down is beyond me, but I shall persevere!

2. Today I am thankful for my friends and my upcoming vacation. Even with the bad stuff I know Dragon*Con is there to keep me cheered up!

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was make dinner for a friend visiting from New York. Spaghetti might not be glamorous but it really hit the spot.

4. I will consider this week a success if I can manage to go to bed before 11pm.

5. The last thing I won was a was a set of three books from Michelle's Book Blog. It was a wonderfully random surprise and the books themselves didn't suck either, lol.

–
Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies.

After putting the comments through Random.org the winner of the Body Shop trio is:

I could complain about the summer heat (again) but instead I'm going to try to move this conversation into a new direction and complain about summer sweat. Fun times!

As an oily skinned girl the summer heat and humidity are really doing a number on my foundation. Not so much in terms of longevity, but with the matte finish. For the life of me I haven't found one that'll really do the trick and unfortunately my current favorite (Tarte's Amazonian Clay 12-hr Full Coverage Foundation) is not available in a shade that matches me. I'm using up last summer's 'tan' foundation (Smashbox Studio Skin 15 Hour Wear Foundation) but as I'm not completely satisfied with its finish by the end of the day I've been on the hunt for a new foundation - or a new primer to make my foundation look nicer, longer.

To that end I've tortured my local Sephora ladies and have tried out a couple high end primers - as well as a couple drugstore. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised to hear that I liked the drug store ones better, but I wanted to leave you all with a few words about the ones that I've tested:

HIGH END


Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer ($52 / 1oz) - Apparently some people have issues with this primer 'peeling' around the edges of the face (it's reacting to the moisturizer) but for me it just didn't do anything. I didn't feel like my foundation went on any smoother, looked any better, and it definitely didn't stay more matte throughout the day. Even my coworker who doesn't notice these things said I looked shinier in the face, especially around the nose.



Korres Pomegranate Mattifying Primer ($33 / 1oz) - This primer might have felt nicer on the face (it's a slightly tinted lotion) but it also didn't do a lot in the mattifying department. I'm not sure it means much for me to say that it did better than the Hourglass sample because it still didn't do what I wanted - maintain the matte finish of my foundation.





DRUGSTORE

Black Radiance Complexion Perfection-Shine Control Primer ($5.99 / .84oz) - Recommended by Nouveau Cheap, this is probably the first primer I've ever purchased that I felt actually made a difference. When I use this in the morning my foundation still looks pretty decent by the end of the day (even if I've walked around a little outside). Nouveau Cheap does a great in-depth review with a look at the ingredients for this product, but for the most part I'd say that while my skin doesn't look smoother with this primer, I can at least squeak by with less shine.



L'oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base ($10.99 / .17 oz) - I picked this one up on a recommendation from From Head to Toe's Jen and I have to say it's not bad. I wouldn't say it controls oil quite as well at the Black Radiance primer but it does a little and with this product my skin texture improves quite a bit. I woudn't say it feels sillicone-y, but a little bit glides across the skin, smoothing pores and bumps from acne. I think in the fall/winter I'll like this even more.

I loved this look for its simplicity - or at least its simplicity at the moment. I got a little surprise in from Amazon last week that I think will really make this look POP at Dragon*Con!

Can it be found at American Eagle? We shall see....

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was rent and food. BUT I have an appointment on Wednesday that I hope will mean some positive things for my financial future. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

2. Today I am thankful for things finally going as planned! On Sunday I managed to successfully send two kids off to summer camp for two weeks. THANK GOODNESS.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free thing I did last week that made me happy was paint my Power Ranger helmet for Dragon*Con. I can't wait to get everything finished!

4. I will consider this week a success if I finish my helmet headband and go to yoga on Wednesday.

5. I am trying to incorporate more vegetables in my diet. I'm just lazy and hate veering off and trying anything new. But I did end up having a turkey burger for dinner on Friday night - super yummy!

–
Weekly Money Check-Up is a weekly series on My Pretty Pennies.

There are things according to the 'fashion rules' that would tell me this outfit isn't perfect. The blousy top does make me appear heavier but it was so comfortable I just can't bring myself to care. Sometimes it's the little things that make an outfit work - even if it's just for you!

1. Geek bras I would wear with pride. And possibly have to resist flashing people to show off....

via

2. 'Adults Only' fire starters? Now I mourn not having a house (or a fireplace). Slightly inappropriate but still awesome!

via

3. Thanks go out to The Mary Sue for this one because who DOESN'T need an NES controller pillow? Now to find 1) room 2) funds. Both a little questionable when you've got a trip to Hong Kong planned...

Felt Sew Good

4. Geeky book update! July 31st was a simply awesome day for book releases and I can't help but feel that they should be highlighted here. I like to share the items that make my wallet weep whenever possible :). Plus these are just the ones I loved the most - there are plenty more out there for you to look up!


5. Anime and I, while friends, are not the best of buds. I liked it a lot in middle school and high school but didn't have the same exposure to it in college and so didn't keep up with the best of the best. This list from The Mary Sue '10 Anime You Should Watch (And That Are Easy to Find!)' is pretty spectacular in that it combines almost all of my childhood favorites while introducing me to some I've never heard of. I guess I'll accept Tenchi Muyo's absence from this list because it's not available for free streaming but I'm going to highly recommend you go see it (my pick's are the OVA and the movies - totally the best of the bunch I think).

The good news - I really liked this test. The bad news - I used a billion products I don't remember and the glitter apparently made getting a focused picture hard. Boo!

Now of the things I do a remember, a lot of them have to do with highlighting. I am majorly lazy most of the time when it comes to doing this from the base up but here I used it in two places - to perfect the bottom of the brow and also to highlight under my eyes. I did this before applying foundation and used my flat top kabuki to blend the edges into my actual skin tone. A little annoying but I like the porcelain doll effect it gives my skin so I'd probably repeat it. I only wish I had a better primer because ideally I'd want my skin to look matte-er in the last few pics; I'm not a fan of the dewy look, even though here it's more 'fresh' than 'oily as sh*t'.






**PS - yeah that's a fake mole. I was trying it out and I'm 'eh' about the whole thing. We'll see if I repeat it at Dragon*Con

This cosplaying/crafting stuff is hard work! Thank goodness my costume is coming along because I will be more than happy to stop stressing about it >.<