On Wednesdays…

I mentioned last week that fans of American Horror Story: Coven have changed a classic Mean Girls line to show their fandom.

I die over their black outfits in this picture.

On Halloween, I had absolutely no idea what to wear. But I had so much fun doing all that dark makeup the week before (black lipstick is my new favorite thing ever), that I decided to just wear black from head to toe. My wardrobe is full of color, so this is probably only one of two or three all-black outfits I have. It seemed fitting for Halloween…a bit witchy, a bit lady-in-mourning.
There’s something strangely powerful about being cloaked in black.

AHS photo via Tumblr

Festive Fingers

Now that Halloween has come to an end (sadly), I can finally share some Halloween nails I did over the last month.
I’ve been waiting to do a big photo post for these, it’s much more fun that way!

Perhaps these don’t seem to belong here, but I was largely inspired by the slime look from Elleandish’s Halloween nail tutorial. I think purple and lime green have an awesome, slimy, monster-ish effect. Mostly, though, I was super proud of the way they turned out. I had a few people ask if they were stickers, and even I couldn’t believe I did them. This was my first time doing uniform dots (starting from the middle, lining them up a certain way). Usually I’m willy-nilly. If you do it like this, everyone will think they are nail strips, trust me!

Ahhhh, the black cat nails! I actually don’t care much for cats…they are adorable, but I’m allergic…but I had to do a cat manicure! The base is one of my new favorite colors, Sally Hansen’s Complete Salon Manicure in Earl Gray (Funny enough, that’s the name of my best friend’s cat!). Again, I used an Elleandish tutorial to get the shape of the cats down, but I kept it simple with some green eyes for that eerie effect.

I was so excited to do these nails, but I know I’m going to try harder next time. I was proud of the (the base color is gorgeous and the clean up was pretty good, too!) but I wanted the bones a lot thinner and smaller. I wanted a ton of bones, like One Nail to Rule Them All, but you live and learn. I don’t think bones need to stay strictly Halloween, so I will be trying them again!

Pumpkin nails! Very necessary. I love playing with negative space, so I decided to keep my nail naked aside from the pumpkins on the tips. I used a lighter color orange to add a little dimension to the pumpkins. And then, for an accent nail, I did a Jack O’ Lantern!

This is another Elleandish look. Instead of doing stitched tips, I decided to go all Frankenstein’s monster and do a bunch of stitches. The green is another favorite, also Sally Hansen, called Loden Green. I don’t have anything else like it…it’s beautiful! The accent is meant to look like the Bride of Frankenstein’s hair! I think it came out nicely.

Despite the immense amount of time and effort put into these, I forgot about them until I glanced through my photos. SHAME ON ME!
These are sugar skulls, and I used CutePolish’s simple tutorial to achieve the look. The most time consuming part was putting the various colors around the eyes. I’m especially proud of the teeth, which were very easy to do!

My final festive look is a cemetery design, which I did using this CutePolish tutorial, and put the design on each hand. I decided to accent the ring finger with a nice full moon. I adore the dusk gradient (she recommended one purple with pink but I used two for a more drastic and blended look) and the little crosses.

There were so many more designs I wanted to do…who knows, I might still pull them out and make them appropriate, whatever I’m doing.
I had a lot of fun doing all of these…one of the best parts about nail art is celebrating holidays, special occasions, fandom, etc. on your nails!

A Top 5 List: Scary Movies

Halloween is today, and while some of you may have already celebrated, are about to, or won’t be until the weekend, it’s almost impossible to avoid it. Trick-or-treaters will be venturing the neighborhoods (make sure to turn the front light off if you’re not handing out the goods!) and party pictures will pop up on every form of social media. Scary movies can be relevant all year round (heck, they so often dominate the box office, even with no-name actors…we are a creepy country), but now is about the time you might feel like pulling some out for a marathon. I have a love-hate relationship with horror…if it’s a good movie, I’m down no matter what. But I am easily skeeved and scared, and I really hate violence, so it sort of narrows my selection. Still, I have several favorites that I thought I would share/recommend.

1. Cabin in the Woods

What I love about this movie is that it teases and praises the horror genre at the same time. We’ve all seen a movie about a bunch of young adults who head off to a secluded place in the middle of nowhere for good times. Those good times never really pan out in the end…cliché? Yes. But enjoyable? Usually. This movie turns the horror film on it’s head, and while you might laugh at parts, it’s scary in ways I didn’t expect or imagine. Co-written by Joss Whedon, you know you’re getting a sharp and witty script. I really had no idea what to expect going in…except for a group of basically doomed college students heading to a cabin in the woods. The fun is watching it all unfold, so I’ll leave the rest vague.

2. Paranormal Activity

I will always be upset that they made multiple sequels to this excellent movie. I was scared to see it…my sister had a hard time sleeping after watching it, and I have friends who STILL won’t watch it. Playing on the found-footage genre, this movie is subtlety scary…which is often the worst kind. It’s quiet and uses a lot of quick movement, shadow play, and small moments to invoke that terror. But the thing is, it didn’t just scare me. It entertained me, as well. It was an awesome idea and it made a lot of money for a reason, without needing special effects, buckets of gore, or any high-end celebrity actors. It’s no wonder that they decided to continue to make these movies. Though I’ve seen each sequel, none compare to the first. If you haven’t seen it, the first time is the best time.

3. V/H/S

Another found footage film, this movie is 6 stories in 1. The premise: A group of petty criminals are asked to steal a VHS tape from a house. When they get to the house, they find a dead body and a huge collection of video tapes. Each time they check a tape, we are introduced to a new, terrifying story. Each short has different directors, so you won’t see the same story or premise twice. One or two of the stories may be lacking, but overall it is a horrifying movie. There’s a sequel I’ve been wanting to watch but dread doing so. Again, this movie is more about fear than cringing at a bloodbath. That’s not to say there isn’t gore, but it’s much more than that.

4. Black Swan

I know about a zillion people would disagree with this being on the list…but it’s MY list so BACK OFF. Scary, to me, isn’t about the blood and guts, the masked murderer walking slowly as you run away. That’s extremely scary, of course, but something even scarier is the fragility of the human mind. Black Swan is a psychological thriller, a drama, but watching the downward spiral of Nina Sayers was one of the most frightening things I’ve ever seen. The last 20 minutes left me clutching the seat and gasping for air…something that rarely happens to me in the theaters. What is real? What is fake? What is lurking in the dark when your mind is a second away from shattering?
This movie stuck with me a long time after I saw it, still sticks with me. And yes, I did this for Halloween in 2011.
It was a brilliant movie, terrifying to me, and Natalie Portman deserved every award she got.

5. Scream

Not adding this to my list would be a travesty. I was 9 years old when this movie came out, and I wasn’t allowed (nor did I really want to) watch scary movies. But eventually, a few people in my class started talking about it and I got really interested…and of course, scared.
It ended up being the first scary movie I’d ever seen, and I’ve seen the 3 sequels (they could’ve stopped at 2, which I loved, I hated 3 and 4). I was super young and fragile and it messed me up multiple times in my life, but it is so 90s and funny and awful all at once.
You’ve seen it, though, of course you have. So you already know.

 

Again, this is my list of scary movies. Since I didn’t watch scary movies growing up (aside from Scream), I don’t have the “classics” in there. I still haven’t seen movies like Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, or Halloween (I’m too scared for that one in particular!).
But I chose the movies above not only because they creeped me out, but because they were good movies that I enjoyed watching.

Enjoy your Halloween!!!!!

Obligatory Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Fall, specifically the Halloween portion, is incomplete without a trip to a pumpkin patch.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t carved a pumpkin since I was in elementary school, but I still love being outside, taking hay rides, and looking at all the interesting gourds and pumpkins. Also, Brad is an excellent carver since he’s such a creative guy in general.
I’ve been looking forward to carving a pumpkin this year…and it looks like I might be doing it a couple of times!
Brad and I picked humongous pumpkins that we will be carving this weekend…and I just might be helping my sister tomorrow.

All photos were taken with my iPhone. I would’ve loved to have my Rebel with me, but I’m thankful the iPhone has great quality.
I also pulled out the Diana Mini for the first time in a while, but I’m worried the film wasn’t loaded properly…we shall see!

Etsy Lust List: Halloween Edition!

Hey, guys, Halloween is just about 2 weeks away! Have you picked out your costumes? Have you decorated your home? Have you purchased candy for trick-or-treaters only to find yourself eating all of it? If not, you better start!
Okay, I haven’t done any of that either. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll be dressing up/celebrating Halloween this year.
But I still love everything about it. Why not? It’s fun!

Anyway, I decided to share some Halloween-centric items from my Etsy favorites this month. The thing is, things like this are expected this time of year, but it’s perfect normal and awesome to want to get creepy at any time during the year. Live everyday like it’s Halloween.
Or some days. Life’s too short.

I have been lusting over sweater clips/sweater guards for a while now. They are just so awesome and add an unexpected charm to your outfit.
This Skeleton Key Sweater Clip is super chic with just the perfect amount of creep. I have love skeleton hand jewelry and hair pieces, and I love the pizazz these have been given. You can find them on the super-awesome Etsy store Rabbit Heart Designs.

Speaking of Rabbit Heart Designs, I follow Sara’s Instagram and I fell in love with the coffin ring she wears that you can see here.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t make those rings (it was a purchase from a long while ago) so I had to set out and see if I can find some myself. That’s when I found these from Alice, Dear. They make coffins super cute, no?

Peter Pan Collar necklaces are all over the place right now, and with great purpose. They are super cute! I was looking at a variety when this one caught my eye. I love the multi-colored skulls. It’s like creepy candy. Once again, this is something you could wear year round.
This one is available on Sultry Affair, along with other Peter Pan necklaces and lots of cool jewelry.

I have never played with a Ouija board in my life for the sheer fact that they are so frightening. Despite that, they are pretty cool-looking.
This iPhone case is quite awesome and can be found on Undead Pinups.

I couldn’t have a Halloween-centric post without a shout out to my favorite mystical (real?) creatures, vampires!
I love these decorative signs from Slippin’ Southern. You can guarantee those fangs would be up 24/7/365.

That’s all for now!
Don’t forget to click on the pics for direct links to the items!

Behind the Scenes of my “Black Swan” Costume

I am still coming down from the fun I had dressing as the Black Swan for Halloween. It is, by far, the best costume I’ve worn in my life (so far). I put way more effort into this than I ever have for pretty much anything like this before. It wasn’t from a bag. I bought separate pieces and visited craft stores (I largely dislike craft stores). I thought I’d share some pictures from the “making of” process, which involved lots of feathers, fabric and hot glues, and Brad’s ability to sew.

I can’t thank The Sorry Girls on YouTube enough. If I hadn’t found their how-to videos, this costume probably wouldn’t have had a chance. Before I found it, I was staring at a leotard and a bag of feathers, utterly overwhelmed and confused. My favorite part might be the crown, which I also learned about from their channel. Instead of settling for an (expensive) tiara I’d never use again, I got to utilize hot glue sticks I already had and it looked so much like the actual crown in the movie. Loved it.

The makeup was another favorite part. There were LOTS of tutorials on YouTube to choose from, but I found this one from Dezired Beauty to be the most helpful and beautiful. I’ve done it so many times that I don’t need to refer to the video anymore.
I so wish I could do my makeup like that everyday…le sigh.

As appreciative as I am for the YouTube videos, I couldn’t have done it without Brad.
He tolerated the feathers that ended up everywhere, the tulle wrapped around everything, the hot glue melting away on paper plates, and the fact that I have no idea how to sew at all.
Without him, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get it done without having a minor nervous breakdown.

A Weekend to (Barely) Remember…

Halloween is today, but I had to celebrate this past weekend, as “real life” takes over on Mondays. It was an excellent weekend. I dressed up both Friday and Saturday, but Saturday was the less awkward of the two. More people in costume. Yay!
Not that I cared…I loved being in costume and I wish I could do it more often. Who doesn’t like to play dress up?

Top photo taken by Robert E. Hanlon at Rodano’s.

I didn’t bring my camera and had to rely on my iPhone. But we were too busy having fun to take many photos anyways.
But let’s not forget the craziest part of the weekend, the snow. We spent most of Saturday watching the flakes fall in our pajamas until we were ready to go out. I didn’t really appreciate the cold, wintery weather (especially in terms of my costume), but it was nice to stay cozy and warm indoors and watch the huge flakes fall (I think we got about 6 inches?).

Hope everyone had an excellent weekend. Here’s to a great week! And, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Hallo-weekend!!!

I’ve been planning my Halloween costume for a while, so I am super-excited that the Halloween weekend has arrived! This is honestly the most effort I’ve put into something in a long time (maybe ever…I’m really not very crafty), but I’m so happy with it.

In case you aren’t familiar, my costume is the Black Swan, from the Darren Aronofsky film. If you may remember, I absolutely love this movie, Natalie Portman, ballet….I have been wanting to do this costume since I first saw the movie. I purchased the easy parts (ballet slippers, a tutu, tights…)over time, but it was this last week that I finally sat down and designed the top portion and my crown (huge thanks to The Sorry Girls on YouTube for their post…I was overwhelmed before I watched their videos!). What a relief to have it done!

The makeup is definitely one of the best parts of this costume. Again, as a not-so-crafty person, I was overwhelmed by the idea of doing it myself. But I sat down and watched this video on YouTube, and it seemed like a piece of cake! (Sorta…it takes a while for me…) One great thing to consider about this costume/makeup is that it’s kind of supposed to be…ugly and frightening a little. So it’s not perfect.
And I’m okay with imperfections…less pressure!

Just a couple of little details…the painted hands and, my favorite, her scratch marks with a little sprouting feather! Brad did an amazing job with my back. And he helped a lot with the costume (he can actually sew!! I can’t even sew…).

Maybe I shouldn’t be showing off already, when I’m not sure what I’ll be doing for Halloween. But I was just so darn excited!

I hope, whatever you do for Halloween, you have tons of fun and stay safe! Enjoy, everyone!

Halloween

I haven’t celebrated Halloween in years. Like…lots of years. I dressed up a couple times in college but I never took it seriously or cared. I’d throw something together last minute that was completely half-assed. But whatever. I kinda wanted to do something this year. It took a long time to settle on a costume (and now I’m dying to try/be so many things next year) and figure out what exactly we’d be doing…but it was a good weekend.

 
For starters, I read about a Zombie Walk in downtown Wilkes-Barre and got really curious. It wasn’t the biggest crowd, but I really enjoyed seeing people get in the holiday spirit (and I personally would love to do this sometime). Super cool, and way better in person.

 
I went out for a bit on Saturday, but the magic happened Sunday. As I mentioned before, my sister loves to decorate. And they went all out, like…really ALL OUT. But it was so much fun to hand out candy, drink caramel apple martinis, eat Chinese takeout, and enjoy the holiday.

I am so bummed to go back to the real world (and a 6 day work week, nonetheless). Weekend, you are so fantastic.

P.S. If you don’t know my costume, I settled on a female version of one of my favorite characters, V (from V for Vendetta).