Barbarella Bird-Girl - loads of pics!

Hello, my little Kumquats!  

Today's tutorial is based on a character from the movie Barbarella - i can't for the life of me find any still photos of this woman but she had a shaved head with a feathered head-dress, and makeup which made her look rather bird-like.  

This sort of look fits my features perfectly, what with my very beak-like nose and penetrating (some might say "creepily intense", ahem) eyeballs...

What i tried to achieve here is that unmistakable 1960s heavy-eye and nude-lip thing with a stylized fantasy twist.  Like, y'know - Barbarella.

                                                                      Beak-like nose 

I'll go through each step in as much detail as possible and list all products used as i go along. 

Ready?  GO.

For this look, i used a combination of high-end and Indie brands i have tried and can recommend wholeheartedly for their quality, pigmentation and just general coolness factor. As an Indie perfumer myself, I highly encourage the support of Indie cosmetics companies - there are definitely a few good ones out there and i will eventually get to all my favourites on this blog.

Creepy, penetrating gaze

So to begin, the first thing i do - as always - is start with the eyes.  As i mentioned in my last post, i like to keep foundation/blush/powder as the very last step in the process, as i don't like having to clean up fallout from the eyeshadow and reapply foundation/concealer.  It's a waste of time, and creates an un-necessary step.  However, for this look i actually wanted some fallout from the browbone/highlight colour so i concealed well under and around my entire eye area, just carefully brushing off any dark shadow that fell (which was barely any) and leaving the highlight fallout alone. 

Before i apply any shadow, i prime the eyelids with my trusty Urban Decay Primer Potion.  This step is essential; it keeps the shadow and liner in place all day, as well as intensifying the pigment of your colours.   It is especially important when working with loose pigment, which i did today.  

After applying the primer, i drew in my brows - because they are so blonde and sparse as to be practically invisible.  I actually removed the pencil i used after getting all the shadow on and applied a darker shade;  because i decided impulsively that the pencil i used was too ORANGE, plus i wanted a stronger brow. So then of course i had to re-apply the under-brow highlight shade and re-conceal above my brows.  

I do not recommend this o_O.

Moving on, i used the lightest shade from the Chanel Prelude quad - but any very light, off-white shade will work - preferably with some lustre as this look is extremely high-gleam :).   

Next, i used a medium-shade of cool taupe in the crease - the third-darkest shade in the Prelude quad was used here. 

Before blending

Chanel Prelude - i used the top two shades 

To achieve the crease, use a medium dome-brush, starting at the bridge of the nose and working outward in a C-shape towards the outer corner of the eye.  Blend in with windshield-wiper motion with a large domed brush to soften. 

Then, i used Urban Decay's Maui Wowie on the lid up to the crease, patting the colour in with a medium lay down-brush.  

Blend again.  

                 Maui Wowie by Urban Decay in the NYC palette.  It's the colour underlined in red

Then, blend again.

Finally, i swept Sponge from Black Rose Minerals under the brows and above the crease - and as a highlight on the very tops of the cheekbone.   This sort of ties the whole look together - with its super-visible shine and gorgeous, almost metallic gleam.  Generally i am not a fan of loose pigment shadows because of all the fallout.  BUT. I am a big fan of her colours, and have no problem making an exception to the rule where her products are concerned.  

Plus -  they are, i believe, almost all lip-safe as well, and can be used anywhere on the face.  What's not to love about that?  And for a look like this, fallout is actually preferable from this gorgeous high-beam colour.  It adds to the sort of 1960s-version-of-futuristic thing i've got going on.

Sponge - Black Rose Minerals

                                                       1. Sponge , BRM

                                                       2. Medium-taupe from Prelude, Chanel

                                                       3. Maui Wowie, UD

I don't actually have all the shadows listed ON my eye in this photo, just the taupe - this is just a handy guide as to what i did next. 

As the last step of for the eyes, we have the liner.  Generally i'd recommend using a liquid liner for this, but i wanted to see, just for shits-and-giggles, how a cream-gel liner (in a pot, not pencil) would work.  I used MAC's Added Goodness for this.  It was definitely a bit more challenging and not as convenient as a liquid pen or brush liner, but it did the trick.

                                                      Crappy liner diagram

In this photo, you can see all the shadows at work here - check out that high-beam shine from Black Rose Minerals' Sponge!   SO MUCH 1960's futuristic goodness.  

In this diagram, i try to show you how i applied the liner.  To achieve a good wing, i began with the purple line (which of course wasn't actually purple...er), placing my brush at the very outer-corner and drawing outward.  Next, i drew the along the red line on top, again moving outward and connecting the two lines to create the V.  

On the bottom lid, i started at the inner-corner moving outward - drawing a nearly straight line under the eye so the line touches the lower lid at the centre, and leaves a bit of space at the ends.  

Now that we're done with the eyes (and i've succeeded in thoroughly confusing you with diagrams and lists), i cleaned up any unwanted fallout and applied my foundation.  For this look i used Rouge Bunny Rouge in Coconut Parfait, which is a bit on the sheer side, to give a more modern feel to the look as opposed to the typical 1960s pan-makeup thing.  This let my skin show through a bit, just diffusing out any imperfections.  

Next i applied blush,  using Lilith by Detrivore Cosmetics.  Now, Lilith might look like a scarily-bright, sparkly purple-with-silver-shimmer loose blush in the pot to some.  However, on the skin it is so sheer and pretty - more lilac-pink than purple - and it's so finely milled and beautifully pigmented that it's almost impossible to overdo it!  

                                              Lilith blush by Detrivore Cosmetics

I applied the blush to the apples of the cheek, sweeping it up and around in a C-shape to the temples to give a pretty flush.  I love the way these blushes go on - the sheerness and buildability of this colour is to die for.  

                                                        Helpful blush diagram o_O

It's really staring to come together, now!  

Lastly, we have the lips.  Now, i'm all for retro- 1960s pale lips - but on me, if i go TOO pale, i look like i have leprosy. Or something bad that you wouldn't want on your face.   Whatever.  

I DID want to keep the lips pale with just a barest touch of pink - and for that i used my Precious, Blush Nude by Tom Ford.   This colour...i just - i can't even.  

YES it's an expensive lipstick and YES i am utterly ashamed of myself.  Except i'm not.  Let's face it - ALL makeup is a non-essential item, so all of the money we spend on it is frivolous, superfluous and un-necessary.   

Unless you're a makeup-addict, in which case it's totally necessary and we must have it, have it now!  *crushes fist into palm*

                                                             The Precious

I began by blending a bit of my foundation into my lips, then lining with a light shade - Chanel Clair - which is actually the eyeliner i used on my waterline here as well (which i totally forgot to mention - shhhh).  And using this pale, peachy shade to create a bit of fullness on the lip, i committed the massive makeup faux pas of lining outside my lip-line.

*waits for fainting and gasps to subside*

Except here's a little secret for you - it's NOT a makeup no-no if you use a fleshy shade lighter than your natural lips.  This actually creates a slight highlight around the lip-line, which creates the illusion of fullness.  Combined with the Blush Nude, it looks very pretty indeed. 

                                                     Lip-liner faux pas - oh, horrors!

  and, all the pretty

So, there you have it!  I hope you enjoyed this tutorial as much as i enjoyed doing it - it was fun walking around all day in bird-girl mode, even if i only ventured as far as the refrigerator with it on.  

If you enjoyed this look, please follow/like/share what-have-you.  It gives me warm fuzzies. 

Thanks, and i'll see you soon!