Shock + Fade

AvatarWhere fashion, beauty, and random absurdity magically combine to create sheer awesomeness. This blog is coffee powered and unicorn approved!

I Have Seen Heaven...

And it is made out of marshmallows!

My boyfriend recently purchased an inexpensive electric chocolate melter and since then we have been thinking of all sorts of things to dip. But the best so far has got to be his S'morellows.

They are simply large marshmallows dipped in chocolate and then rolled around in graham cracker crumbs! They are so easy, albeit messy, to make and are sssoooo incredible! It's like an orgasm in my mouth without the *eh hem* grossness.

I don't have any pictures right now (no camera) so you'll just have to take my word for it. When you first bite into one you get the initial fluffiness of the marshmallow followed by the crunchy goodness of the graham crackers and the smoothness of the chocolate.

We also bought a package of Sara Lee pound cake to dip next. We're gonna try the graham crust around it too.

I <3 my boyfriend.

Unexpected Beauty Buys

Today we are stepping outside the box, or train case in our situation, and exploring other options in makeup tools where you would not have expected. These options can be excellent tools and should be relatively affordable.

1. Paint Brushes - You don't have to spend $30 on a makeup brush when you can get a high quality paint brush for less. Check art and craft supply stores for a wide selection of styles, shapes, and components. Dick Blick online has an excellent selection of paint brushes at much more affordable prices.

2. Paint Palettes - Pick up a plastic paint palette for spare change and use it for loose eyeshadow. I use a paint palette not only to mix colors but as a way to organize everything I want to use. Shadows in one well, water (for cleaning) or eyeliner transformer in another. The one above is only $0.75 at Nasco.

3. Pill Boxes - Multi-compartment pill boxes have many different storage uses. You can have something different in each compartment for on the go purposes; eyeshadow, lipstick, moisturizer, primer, whatever! You could grab a generic box or you can select a fancier style like this mirrored box from Nifty Gifty. But if you're looking to store things like loose powder, opt in for a box with a tight seal to prevent cross contamination. The generic 7 day boxes are good for that.

4. Mint Tins - Hinged mint tins such as Altoid tins make excellent storage boxes for small jars of makeup. The popular 5 gram sized jar fits perfectly in the tin which makes another great way to store and sort your favorite makeup. You can use it for travel purposes or just to organize. The tins pictured are $3.75 for two from Supply Pusher.

If you have any ideas, please leave a comment and I'll add it onto the list.

In Need Of Opinion

I've decide to start making my own line of mineral makeup. But I need a little help deciding on the packaging. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

1. What kind of jar lid would you like best?

A. Clear
B. Black/Silver/Gold Rimmed
C. Shiny Black
D. Matte Black

2. What kind of sample container* would you like?

A. Zip Lock Baggie (cheapest)
B. Clam Shell Snap Jar (moderate)
C. Plastic Cosmetic Jar (priciest)

*Having a jar container will result in a higher price, despite the actual size of the product sample.

3. What container size would you like for the full sized product?

A. 5 mL Jar
B. 10 mL Jar

4. What is the price range that you'd be willing to pay for mineral eyeshadow?

Thank You!

It's All In The Bag - Kawaii Edition

I'd like to introduce, "It's All In The Bag," a new column all about showing off fantastic stuff for your handbag based on a specific style.

Today's edition will be all about kawaii. So without further ado, it's all in the bag.

1. The Bag - This is the bag to start it all, the Kawaii Matryoshka Handbag by Mikishmink. It features an adorable green outer fabric with a pink and white pokadot print inside. It's very roomy inside perfect for storing all of the things listed below.

2. The Fragrance - Perfume by TokyoMilk Parfumarie Curiosite. Choose from a variety of unique fragrances such as I Want Candy, Ex Libris, Dead Sexy, and more.

3. The Makeup - Too Faced's Lip of Luxury. This cult classic cute jewel capped lip stick moisturizes your lips while simultaneously providing your lips with a wash of diamond shine. It comes in 10 shades.

4. The Wallet - The Kokashi Passport Wallet by Glass Beach. This wallet features a slots for your passport, checkbook, ID, credit cards, money, and a change purse all wrapped up in a pink kokashi print fabric design.

5. The Decor - Stick one of these Ice Cream Felt Pins by Zygomatics on your person or your bag for an added touch of yumtastic flair.

6. The Stationary - The Cat Hospital Memo Pad found at From Japan With Love. This super cute memo pad has 160 easy tear-out sheets with 8 different designs throughout the pad.

7. The Game - Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS. I love this game, I play it every day. But beware, the combination of awesomeness and cuteness will cause addiction.

8. The Accessory - Animallow's Panda Balloon Pocket Mirror is the perfect size for slipping into your bag or pocket for on-the-go mirror checks. Plus, it's a panda balloon...what else do you need?

9. The Extra - Use this Gadget Pouch by Smile Recipe to hold your phone, mp3 player, or anything else. Carry around your favorite toys with style.

Stop! Fukubukuro Time!

Can't touch this!

What? You have no clue what a "fukubukuro" is? Well, simply put it is a Japanese tradition where stores sell lucky bags filled with products for a very reasonable cost in honor of New Year's.
Unfortunately, to get a hold of these lucky bags you'll have to be in Japan at the right time. Occasionally there will be stores in other nations that participate as well, although finding them may prove rather difficult.

However, you can get a fukubukuro at Strapya now for $28 which includes $140 of merchandise. I found photos of some of the previous bags' contents via Flickr and it looks like a very nice deal.

Metamorphose, a popular gothic lolita label, also has fukubukuro that go on sale on December 23, 2008. Check the website for ordering details.

Instant Donuts

That's right. Donuts. ON DEMAND!

The Dough-Nu-Matic pumps out freshly made miniature donuts in less than a minute. Just add dough and the machine will shape, fry, and drain donuts to your pleasure!

I want one.

Gimme.

Webcomic 'R Us!

Me, my boyfriend, and his friend are thinking about starting a collaborative webcomic collection. It'll be similar to CLAMP in a sense, while we plan to work under a single name each one of us will have a different style and comic.

Mine? I'm thinking about a collection of short random stories/strips with the main character being a hamster. That's right. Hamster comic. And it will be epic.

I'm still working out the specific details although I have the general gist of what the comic will be.

I need to get a sketchbook this weekend. I can't decide if I want a spiral bound sketchbook with perforated edges or a hardbound book. The spiral one would be easier to tear designs out for scanning, but the hardbound looks so much better. Hmmm.

And yes, there will be unicorns.