The Little Mermaid Inspired Makeup

Mixed Gems Beauty Challenge, Day 2 of 27

I’m on Day 2 of my Mixed Gems beauty challenge and today’s task was to create a makeup look under the theme ‘The Little Mermaid’. When I think of mermaids I think of the colours of the ocean, so I decided to include lots of turquoise, blue and green within this look.

My first step was to colour my eyes. I used a pearly highlighter on my brow bones so that my skin had an excessive glow to it – almost a magical sheen. Then, I used a turquoise pigment along my socket line and used a lime green shade to contour my nose. I used a bright white highlighter in the corners of my eyes to brighten and widen them. The key feature to my eye makeup, however, was the glitter! Keen to capture the sparkle of a mermaid, I used a mixture of green, blue and iridescent glitters and used this as my eyeshadow across the eye lid. Wanting to keep this look super fresh and light, I mixed my lime green shadow with some sealing gel to create a waterproof liner. Mascara was kept to a minimum.

Next I wanted to give my face a really prominent glow. Mermaids are either in the water or sitting by it, meaning that soft reflections of water and sun are upon them and so their skin is always glowing. I used lots of shimmery pigments to capture this. First, I used my foundation, bronzer and blusher as normal. I chose a soft pink shade of blusher to compliment the cooler colours of my eyes. Then, using the Pear Drop pigment I highlighted my cheekbones and made a lipgloss to match by mixing it in with a clear gloss.

Kit list:

• Peaches and Cream pigments in Apple Sours and Pear Drop
• Lime Crime Magic Dust in Troubadour
• Peaches and Cream glitters in Lizzie, Lauren and Debbie
• Illamasqua powder eyeshadow in Sex
• Illamasqua sealing gel

What do you think of this look? Have any of you created mermaid inspired makeup looks of your own today? If so, post a link in my comment section or send me a tweet @RoseGallagherr.

Tomorrow’s challenge is to include acid-bright colours in your look. Maybe this canary yellow smoky eye look will give you some inspiration…

Under the Sea: Mermaid Makeup for SS12

A beautiful trend has been punctuating the catwalks of SS12 – a glistening homage to all that is under the sea. From metallic tones to embellished gowns, it seems that everyone is going crazy for the pearls of the ocean.

My favourite piece so far is this gorgeous Versace gown; the starfish detail is so on trend and yet so timeless.

Then, of course, there was that Chanel show; embracing the trend whole-heartedly, they brought the ocean to dry land with an elaborate and mesmerising set.

When contemplating beauty interpretations of this trend, one of the most striking references is Katy Perry’s latest campaign for GHD. Since signing up as a brand ambassador last year, Katy has channelled a number of alter-egos modelling her trademark brunette locks. This time, however, she has kept the candy floss colours that she has recently been keen to experiment with and unveiled a pink mane in her latest role as a mermaid.

Here’s an example of a mermaid makeup look I created a few months ago. To start, I used a turquoise MAC glitter to create a signature Peaches and Cream glittery smokey eye. Then, I took some of the blue and green pigments from my Lime Crime Magic Dust Rainbow and began to paint scales on one corner of my client’s face. As usual when using the pigments for any face-painted concepts, I mixed them with water to create a pasty consistency.

The finished result was one that looked positively Ariel-esque but still showcased all of the other elements of her makeup. If you liked this small accent you may also like this Zoo Project inspired leopard makeup I created for a friend earlier in the week.

Have fun exploring this trend… I am going to try and find a scalloped hem or two in my local vintage shops.

Happy Halloween

May I take this opportunity to wish all of my Mixed Gems readers a very Happy Halloween. Halloween is one of my favourite days of the year and I celebrated it extensively over the weekend by exposing myself to many weird and wonderful makeup concepts.

On Friday 28th October, my friends from Hot//Light//Fiesta were playing a gig in Liverpool. Keen to embrace the Halloween spirit, I gave them all a Clockwork Orange inspired makeover. We decided that it would be fun to just create makeup schemes that were on one half of their face; in accordance with how they were to be positioned on stage, we shaded a half of their face which would be initially concealed as the gig began and then unveiled as the action began to unfold! This is photograph of Tim Brennik, Hot//Light//Fiesta drummer, with his abstract face-painted makeover.

The rest of the boys decided to go for more of an unfinished makeup look. I gave each boy a dramatic eye (with enormous Peaches and Cream eyelashes!) and then used a mixture of face paint and MAC pigments to create whiteness and shading on their faces so that the look was softer, fading into nothing. Here’s the boys ready to hop into the tour bus and scare their unsuspecting audience.

The following morning, I had my first ever Peaches and Scream experience. Peaches and Scream is the name of the legendary Halloween weekend at Peaches and Cream. Ever on a student budget, I decided to attend as a zebra because I found a pretty zebra-print dress in Primark for ten pounds and I thought that it would be one of those looks that allowed the makeup to do the talking. Much to the amusement of the Peaches, I was complimented on my ‘pussycat’ look all day. As I don’t have as much theatrical makeup experience as the other girls, I was working with clients who wanted subtle Halloween touches to their normal makeup schemes. Here’s a photo of a mermaid that I did.

All of the Peaches went all out on their makeups. One of my bosses, Nicola, ordered a mask online and went as Avatar. I have never seen anything like it in my life… she looked exactly like what you would see in the film and everyone was just amazed by her all day. Lots of clients even asked her for photographs because she was so striking. Another unbelievable concoction was Kate’s makeover for Rosie - an original Peaches monster named Eyeleen. As the evening progressed with a shortage of glasses, we all enjoyed drinking a celebratory shot from an eye that Rosie had torn from her face.

 Hilarious, too, were the reactions of those eating alongside us at the local Greek restaurant after work. (That’s me at the bottom, on the left, grazing.)

All in all I have had a wonderful Halloween and so I hope you all enjoy your celebrations too!