SDCC 2015

A week ago, the world's largest comic convention took place. If you don't know what SDCC is - It is the San Diego Comic Convention (also known as SDCC or Comic Con) and it is held annually every summer in San Diego, CA. Originally, this started out as just a convention for nerds and comic lovers, but has since turned into an all out 4 day event for cosplayers, fans, producers, writers, artists, nerds, collectors, and just about any thing you can categorize into pop culture.

I have been to quite a few conventions, but this was my first time at SDCC and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I discovered was that it is a massive city-wide event! You literally can find something to do with the convention or comics or pop culture throughout all of SDCC. The entire city puts on costumes and decorates for it. I was just really happy to be able to see my favorite collectibles there- My Little Pony, Tokidoki, Funko, and Hello Kitty! I also had the opportunity of seeing a live panel with the living cast members of Babylon 5 (yeah, I never said I didn't have a nerdy side)! As for make-up and beauty, there was plenty of beauty, but not much for me to report on make-up. In some ways that is good. I think, we all know how make-up can be both positive and negative, especially for women. There were live models being used for prosthetics and costume make-up; these models were turned into monsters, which is really not my cup of tea, but can be an interesting process to see. I personally enjoyed seeing cosplayers with little or no make-up. It's a freeing feeling to be able to feel like you can go out in public and still feel beautiful or amazing without having to "put on your face". Don't get me wrong, I love make-up and wore it at the convention, but it's nice to see that many people do not feel it is necessary. I certainly do not wear make-up every day of my life. If you pay attention to comics, most Super Heroes and females included, do not wear make-up and so it's nice to see people staying true to the characters and even better that the public embraces these women to be natural! - Women in comics and female super heroes have always been a subject of controversy, because in the past they were usually created and drawn by men, thus giving them a more desirable appearance for men and not a true or accurate account of what a female is or would want to look like. While this is changing all the time with people campaigning for women's equality and more and more women are entering the field, it's still highly debated and at times frowned upon by women, feminists, and groups who support equality. This is a completely different topic and something I may touch on later, but I feel it's something that cannot be ignored, especially when the beauty community is attacked constantly.

On a more positive note- I'd like to share my make-up looks with you for the 2015 SDCC. Enjoy! All products used are listed below.

Day 1

• Foundation: Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in "Light-Medium Neutral"
• Contour Shade: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
• Blush: MAC Cosmetics Sunset Beach Blush Ombre (Proenza Schouler collection - limited edition)
• Lipstick: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in "Queen Supreme"
• Eyeliner: Buxom Lashliner in Leatherette
• Eyeshadow: It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Volume 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette - all over Lid (Warmth), Crease & Outer V (Java), Shading & Crease (Sunset), Highlight & Inner Corner (Sheer Joy)
• Finishing Powder: bareMinerals - Mineral Veil in "Original"
• Eyebrows: Tarte Tarlette Palette in shades "Dreamer" & "Fashionista"
• Eyelashes: It Cosmetics Hello Lashes

Day 2

• Foundation: Tarte Amazonian Clay Full Coverage Airbrush Foundation in "Light-Medium Neutral"
• Contour Shade: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer
• Blush: MAC Cosmetics Ocean City Blush Ombre (Proenza Schouler collection - limited edition) & Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in "Natural Beauty"
• Lipstick: Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour Liquid Lipstick in "714"
• Eyeliner: Buxom Lashliner in Leatherette
• Eyeshadow: all over Lid - Urban Decay Electric Palette in shade "Thrash", Outter V & Crease - MAC Cosmetics "Green Room" (Moody Blooms collection - limited edition), Crease & shade color - It Cosmetics Naturally Pretty Volume 1 Matte Luxe Transforming Eyeshadow Palette in shade "Sunset"
• Finishing Powder: bareMinerals - Mineral Veil in "Original"
• Eyebrows: Tarte Tarlette Palette in shades "Dreamer" & "Fashionista"
• Eyelashes: It Cosmetics Hello Lashes

There's my SDCC looks. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below. I have at least 2 more conventions I'll be going to later this year and I'll be posting about them too! Hopefully, it will be posts of my cosplay that I am working on now!

July 2013 IPSY Bag

Am I month late with this? -YUP! Never meant to be late, but I also was not excited about this bag at all. I have yet to even try any of the products. My August IPSY bag should be here Monday or Tuesday, so I figured I would post what I received. Last months bag was one of those bags where people received different things. I was a little saddened that I did not receive any Nailtini in my bag. I have received 2 of those in my bags before and I love those polishes. I also would have liked the Benefit Benetint, but oh well.

Product List

1. POP Beauty Pouty Pop Crayon ("Fuchsia Flirt")
2. Demeter Salt Air Perfume
3. Coola Mineral Face Sunscreen (SPF 20)
4. Sexy Hair Wheather Proof Humidity Resistant Hair Spray
5. BH Cosmetics California Collection (sample palette) 

I still have not opened the POP crayon. The color looks nice, but that's about it. I am sure I will eventually open it. I did not see any parabens in the ingredients list.

The Demeter Salt Air Perfume was actually a surprise. I have another roll on from this company from another IPSY bag and liked it, but this one I would actually repurchase. This is a nice and light scent that is very fresh. I actually did enjoy this. These scents are oil based, so they stay well and they make for a good cover up if you ever need it.

I like that the Coola sunscreen is mineral and does not have any harmful things in it, but the bottle is so tiny. I've not used it yet, but I think I might get 1 use out of it. Very disappointing. A full bottle of this is like $36.

The Sexy Hair spray is just okay. I have another from last months bag. It is different. I've never used this brand and I'm thinking of trying it out, but I'm not overly thrilled about this either.

I am not a fan of BH Cosmetics makeup. Their eyeshadows have multiple parabens in them and I have no desire to use it. I also don't think the performance is any better than what you can get at the drug store and in some cases it's worse.

I did a quick swatch and feel of these shadows. The gold and brown shades did seem smooth and pigmented, however the purple shade was stiff and seemed like it would need some work to get good color payoff. I'll probably end up giving this away.

Over all, July was just okay for me. Like I said at the beginning, there were things I much would have rather had then what I received, but I did receive some new and nice things. I have been on the fence with IPSY this year. The first year I started getting these bags it was something new and exciting, but this year I haven't loved the bags. There's only been 2 that I really liked and if it hadn't been for June's bag, I would have cancelled already. The previews for August look good, so I'm sticking with it, but I'm not 100% sure that I'm going to keep with it.