It's a diary of sort @once-in-my-dream - Tumblr Blog

here is a master list of great art tools that can make your workflow easier! 👇 (updating, please consider supporting me on kofi or check out my other works)

factual-fantasy

danidarkarts

@factual-fantasy

fynori

i'd like to add that the shadow color isnt necessarily dictated entirely by the primary light source, but the bounce light! so for the example of a sunny environment, the reason the shadows are blue are because of the light from the blue sky reflects across the environment; but, if the character were to be under tree cover, the bounce light would be coming from the leaves and thus the shadow would look greener.

danidarkarts

Yee yee!!! You got it right on the nose!

Bounce light is something I didn't cover but I adore it!

Gotta work on my bounce light 💪

labrador-entity

My good friends this is called using a

Gamut Mask

(image via )

James Gurney is an absolute master and gives really good clarity on colour techniques. Yes, it is traditional paint focused, but the principles are the same. Yes it is informed by the environmental colour but as a painting technique it is achieved this way!

I would also suggest that in digital processing, rather than apply a regular colour layer at a mid opacity, try out the different types of layers, Eg. Screen or Multiply. This can give you at least a starting point to help direct your colour palette.

technecat-scratchings

Layer Blend Modes are so so so important to working in digital art. There's a ton of math that goes into figuring out how the layers should blend together, which is why some of the modes you can pick are literally called Multiply, Add, Divide, and Difference (that's subtraction). The graphics software takes the color values of your base and blend layers and runs a calculation to get your resulting layer appearance. The ones that don't have specifically mathematical sounding names are still doing calculations, but they're more complicated (think linear Algebra and higher). Some of them, like dodge and burn, are named for actual photo editing techniques.

While it's not super important to know about the mathematical side of blend modes, I think it's worth knowing at least enough about how each of the categories of blend modes works and why they do what they do; if for no other reason than having a starting point when you start experimenting with them in your work.

An overview of the basic blend modes and how they work from Genevieve's Design Studio: Accessible with minimal color knowledge; practical and illustration focused. https://youtu.be/kMc87hQrJd0?si=TWCB365pKSfWS8p0. (16 minutes) This creator also has a ton of free resources you can download, including a Blend Modes cheatsheet, but fair warning: you have to create an account to get them!

Want to learn even more about the math-y stuff? It has great film visuals! A video from FilmmakerIQ: You need some basic knowledge of RGB color models, understanding of values/luma, and at least a tenuous understanding of Algebraic formulas. (26 minutes) https://youtu.be/F7_kaTP7_W4?si=x0urqXZ8f51nQVKl

zips-quips

Omg these art tips are actually so good, thank you for helping the art community 🙌

adarkrainbow

We all know that in "Hansel and Gretel" the witch is supposed to be the double of the step-mother/mother. But when Lisbeth Zwerger did her own illustrations of the fairytale, she did something I have never truly seen elsewhere...

The witch in this version (beyond being uniquely clad in white instead of the traditional black) is still a "supernatural double" of one of the parents, but not of the mother...

... she is a double of the father.

princesssarisa

I'd love to read an interview with Lisbeth Zwerger and learn just why she did this.

One of the earlier reblog makes a valid suggestion that the father is "the real villain" because he abandons his own biological children, however reluctantly. But maybe another possibility is that, like the loving father, the Witch seems to be the opposite of the cruel stepmother at first. Where the latter feeds them only small crusts of bread and leaves them in the woods to die, the Witch gives them shelter in a cozy house and indulges them with food. But of course, it all turns out to be a sham: all she wants is to fatten them up. Arguably, the father's kindness has a deadly flip side too, since he's weak and unable to stand up to his cruel wife. Maybe what Hansel and Gretel discover is a happy medium: in the face of danger, they stay good-hearted and loyal to each other, yet they learn to be strong and cunning to protect themselves and each other too, even if it means ruthlessly burning the Witch to death.

adarkrainbow

I also think that making the Witch "father like" is meant to explain why she comes of as more welcoming and loveable at first sight, bringing the whole "comforting" feeling of a familiar silhouette ; while also foreshadowing her true nature since the father JUST tried his kids into their death twice already...

adarkrainbow

On the subject of easily-missed details in Perrault's text of "Cinderella," I once heard someone point out that Perrault never says that Cinderella lost her slipper by accident. He says she "let [it] fall." Might this imply that she lost it on purpose, to give the Prince a way to find her?

That's me! X) I'm the person you heard it from as I posted about it before :p

Indeed, despite the common popular idea that Cinderella simply lost her shoe because she was in a hurry (which is something that happens with the Grimm Cinderella if I am not wrong, as well with alternate Cinderellas like madame d'Aulnoy Cunning Cinders), Perrault's text has an ambiguous phrasing.

"Le prince la suivit, mais il ne put l'attraper ; elle laissa tomber une de ses pantoufles de verre" [...] "rien ne lui étant resté de toute sa magnificence qu'une de ses petites pantoufles, la pareille de celle qu'elle avait laissée tomber".

The expression used is "laisser tomber". Figuratively and commonly, it just means "dropping" something - literaly however it means to "let fall" or "let go" of something. And it has all the ambiguities that a word like "dropping". You can read it in the figurative sense, she just lost her shoe while in a hurry, but you can also read it literaly "she let the shoes fall while the prince was pursuing her".

Now people might think "It is quite a stretch", but Perrault's Cinderella is definitively shown as someone who is clever enough to manipulate others. I mean, I know it clashes with the whole idea of this naive and kind Cinderella just coming up to her sister as the ball and chatting with them while peeling oranges as the stepsisters go "Who the heck is this person and why is she talking to us like best friends?. But remember that when her stepsisters go back from the ball, Cinderella pretends to yawn and rubs her eyes to pretend she had been sleeping all this time. Constance Cagnat did talk about this in the analysis post I sent before - and she pointed out other details like how when asked to find a pumpkin, just any pumpkin, Cinderella purposefully chooses the "most beautiful of them all" ; and how she also carries the other glass slipper in her pocket when the trying of the shoe occurs.

All sorts of little details that play on the ambiguity of how much naive and simple Cinderella is, and how much of it all she prepared in advance. As several analysist of the fairytale highlighted, Cinderella's enduring the mockeries and abuse of her step-family is talked about in the story in terms of her being a good and virtuous person who won't do bad things to her family even if they are not good to her... But it also presents this vision of a girl who knows when to await the right occasion, who knows how to "put up a face", of a young woman who is clever enough to realize lashing out won't do her no good and is bidding her time, cleverly submitting until she can get back at them in one way or another...

As such you can place Cinderella in this long row of ambiguously cunning women of Perrault's fairytales - from the good sister of "Diamonds and Toads" to the last wife of "Bluebeard". Characters that seem just like kind sweet little girls at first glance, but when you start looking more into the text proper, you start realizing maybe they knew what they doing, and were more careful than what one thinks...

princesssarisa

I definitely think Perrault's Cinderella is more cunning than she gets credit for and than adaptations often portray her, whether the slipper is lost accidentally or on purpose

Just look at how the slipper-fitting scene plays out. It's not like in most adaptations, where she's simply discovered in some out-of-the-way spot, and either the prince (if he's there, which he's not in Perrault) or the gentleman from the court insists on letting her try the slipper, without her needing to say a word. Not only does she directly ask to try on the slipper, but she's clever enough to pass it off as a joke: "laughing," she says "Let me see if it will not fit me." The stepsisters (again, unlike in adaptations) don't even object: they just "burst out laughing" and "banter with her."

I don't know if the French text gives off this vibe exactly. But based on the English translations, it seems that Cinderella pretends to ask to try on the slipper just for laughs, because she's "obviously" just a dirty servant girl, and the stepsisters laughingly allow it, because they don't think she even attended the ball. But of course she knows all along that the slipper will fit her, and she has the other slipper hidden in her pocket to confirm her identity.

The adaptations never play the scene this way. I'd like to see it done.

adarkrainbow

Indeed - though with one nuance. In the original French texts the stepsisters are explicitely said to mock Cinderella for her demand, that's the literal verb used "Ses soeurs se mirent à rire et à se moquer d'elle". The way it is written, it seems it is only because the man in charge of the "slippers trials" decides that she is allowed to try the shoe that she ultimately ends up actually putting it on (might be why she had the other slipper in her pocket, in case she was refused the access to the first shoe).

adarkrainbow

Hello! I've always been fascinated with fairy and folk tales, but I've mostly only read online analyses (and The Book of Lost Things with the commentary at the end). Do you have any beginner book recommendations on fairy tale analysis? I can read in French or in English.

Hello! Well given when it came to truly studying fairytales I did it in the context of French literary fairytales, I will give you some stuff about French literary fairytales... and in French Xp For the rest I don't have any specific reference per se...

But already I can tell you, you can find a lot of academic works online for free - which is truly a life-saver! Maybe you already know of those but I will profit of this ask to talk about it again - there's the Féeries academical review, which is an official publication for thorough and scholarly articles about various literary fairytales of France, from the 17th to the 20th century. And it is fully ENTIRELY online on OpenEditions. Each issue has its own theme, from the Oriental Fairytale , to the humor in fairytales, passing by the intertextual references of the Grimm fairytales and fairytales in cinema.

However Féeries does not explore "folk fairytales" and doesn't have a folkloric approach to fairytales, only a literary one... In general when you go around the Internet, a lot of articles about fairytales are on Persée or on Fabula.org. Like a LOT a lot. Just Google any fairytale within these websites and you have a shit ton of things.

All of that being said, when it comes to books per se... I always recommend starting with a good version of the text with good annotations and nice commentary. When it comes to French literary fairytales, the best ones are the Honoré Champion editions of Charles Perrault's Contes (commented by Tony Gheeraert, who has an entire blog about his analysis of French literary fairytales) and of madame d'Aulnoy's own Contes (commented by Nadine Jasmin). Now, recently an absolute ultimate edition of ALL the French literary fairytales of the "Golden Age" with extended academic commentary was released by Honoré Champion "La Bibliothèque des Génies et des Fées", but it costs a FREAKIN HELL LOT OF MONEY... So the "standard" Honoré Champion editions are quite fine.

Nadine Jasmin also wrote THE big complete academic analysis book about madame d'Aulnoy's fairytales (she is considered the current expert on the domain) - "Naissance du conte féminin. Mots et merveilles: les contes de fées de Mme d'Aulnoy" (again, Honoré Champion.

There's more books I can advise you to check out but I am running a tad bit of time now so I'll add this in a reblog

dragonflea

AHHH MERCI 🙏🙏

I am bookmarking all of those links.

As a child I had a collection of Perrault's fairy tales with the illustrations by Gustave Doré, and have often regretted losing it, but an annotated one would be even better.

adarkrainbow

Well, the annotated version of Perrault's Contes by Honoré Champion (annotated and commentated by Tony Gheeraert) doesn't have the Gustave Doré illustrations... but it has the ORIGINAL illustrations for the print of the stories back in Perrault's time! Which... isn't much aesthetically speaking, but is very interesting if you want to study the original product back in its context.

Also I checked - Honoré Champion's Contes edition (basic format, with the blue cover was just 16 euros, so it is a bargain. I mention this because here are some classics, basic of books about fairytales, on a scholarly French/academic Francophonic basic (I am notably using the bibliographies of the Honoré Champion annotated editions), and... the problem with these books is that often they are either out of print or massively costly, so better get a library card someplace they have them :p

Outside of the Nadine Jasmin book I talked about above, and outside of the Delarue-Tenèze "Le Conte populaire français" (our French catalogue of fairytale types with commentary - though there's an online version of it being builded), you have...

1968's Les Contes de Perrault. Culture savante et tradition populaire, by Marc Soriano

1972's La Mode des contes de fées, by Mary-Elizabeth Storer

1972's Le Dossier Charles Perrault, by Marc Soriano

1975's Le Conte merveilleux français de 1690 à 1790. Cent ans de féerie et de poésie ignorées de l'histoire littéraire, by Jacques Barchilon

1983's Les Contes de fées et l'art de la subversion, by Jack Zipes

1985's Perrault's Morals for Moderns, by Jeanne-Morgan Zarucchi

1998's Tricentenaire Charles Perrault. Les grands contes du XVIIe siècle et leur fortune littéraire.

1998's Les Contes de fées et les nouvelles de Madame d'Aulnoy. L'imaginaire féminin à rebours de la tradition, by Anne Defrance.

2001's Madame d'Aulnoy et le rire des fées: essai sur la subversion féeriue et le merveilleux comique sous l'Ancien Régime, Jean Mainil

2002's Le Conte de fées littéraire en France de la fin du XVIIe à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, by Raymonde Robert

2004's Enquête sur les Contes de Perrault, by Gérard Gélinas

2004's L'Ecriture de l'enchantement: Magie et magiciens dans la littérature française du XVIIe siècle, Noémie Courtès

1993's Les Perversions du merveilleux, by Jean De Palacio

There's also some reference books about "la littérature de colportage", peddler's literature, aka the very process that had the literary fairytales become "popular" and "folk" and "oral" again:

Le Grand Livre des secrets. Le colportage en France aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, by Lise Andriès

La Bibliothèque bleue. Littérature de colportage, by Lise Andriès

La Bible bleue. Anthologie d'une littérature "populaire" by Geneviève Bollème

And there's these books that sound cool but I can't confirm anything about them because I never read or met them:

La Poétique du conte. Essai sur le conte de tradition orale, by Nicole Belmont (1999)

La Pensée des contes, by François Flahault

Les Deux Traditions: le conte populaire chez les Franco-Terreneuviens, by Gerald Thomas

Du Sang et du sexe dans les contes de Perrault, by Jean-Pierre Mothe (1999)

Sur les traces du Petit Chaperon Rouge. Un itinéraire dans la forêt des contes, by Pierre Erny.

Out of the woods. The origins of the literary fairy tale in Italy and France, by Christine Noille-Clauzade.

dragonflea

OOOH I will definitely be buying Honoré Champion's Contes then, that is definitely a bargain in this day and age. The rest I'll look up and maybe add to my wishlist for later.

I started reading Féeries, the first article I came across (which was the latest I think) was very academic to the point where I had trouble understanding it 😅 I'll have to work my way up to it or read it with a dictionary I think. English is my first language even though I've spent more of my life speaking French, so this will be an opportunity to widen my vocabulary. (Also I just noticed the "(II) in the title so maybe there's a part one I should be reading first).

I'm also completely unfamiliar with d'Aulnoy's tales so I read Gracieuse et Percinet last night - it's a lot longer than I remember Perrault's or Grimm's being. I wondered if it's for older audiences?

This is turning into a proper hyperfixation 😂

adarkrainbow

Mind you it was 16 euros when I bought it YEARS ago... maybe with all that happened recently the price went up who knew

Oh yeah Féeries can get VERY academical... And the article you have isn't actually an article but an introduction to the issue "A la croisée des genres II", which is the second issue dealing with the motif of "when fairytale crosses over with other genres"... A la croisée des genres II is the most recent issue, from 2024, whereas the original A la croisée des genres was published in 2015. But yeah this is VERY very academical and not for someone who just randomly stumbles in with no prior knowledge, unfortunately...

If you are surprised by madame d'Aulnoy's story length I need to prepare you then... It is not that it was for older audiences. D'Aulnoy tales have the same audience as Perrault's. It is just that Perrault's story format is an unusual one.

So, to break it down... Classical literary fairytales in France, fairytales "proper" were following the format of madame d'Aulnoy. They were specifically literary because they were basically mini-novellas. You need long descriptions, convoluted plans, many adventures, plot twists, characters with a lot of individuality... When people expand traditional folktales into full novels? That's just how fairytales used to work back then. Because, something EVERYBODY forgets, fairytales were originally for ADULTS (literary ones at least). Not for children. Literary fairytales played purposefully on being "for children" when in fact not being AT ALL for children. It was part of the aesthetic, of the conventions of the genre.

As a result, despite Perrault's Contes becoming the most famous, popular and defining French literary fairytales ever... They are in truth the most unusual and out-of-the-ordinary ones as unlike what the tradition of fairytales was in French 17th century court (derived from the romans of the time, full merveilleux novellas) Perrault decided to fully mimick and imitate the style of the oral, folktales, the "contes de nourrices", the "tales of the common folks", by having short, succinct, hyper-focused and synthetized tales (he also drew more from La Fontaine's Fables). It is the same aesthetic that later the Grimms popularized, in their effort to "recreate" and "reproduce" the "folk-poetry" and offer a sort of "authenticity" of Hessian folklore... And which opposed the more "literary" previous "märchen" by Romantic authors and the like, who were more flowery and descriptive and literary.

With the main difference also being that Perrault's tales were always intended for adult audiences (just playing on it being "for kids" as a joke, as a meta-reference) and only became for children by accident, as it was mass-produced and reproduced through France and the meta-nature of the "Oh yeah it's for kids of course haha" got lost as people took it first degree that Perrault's story were for kids (it didn't help that Leprince de Beaumont popularized the idea of making fairytales for kids, she's also to blame). Meanwhile for the Grimms, while the first edition of their märchen was originally an academical work for other scholars and enjoyers of folklore, they very quickly realized how popular their book was among parents and families, and promptly re-focused their stories for a child audience (it explains a lot of the edits and cuts they made throughout the editions).

But yeah if you are curious about madame d'Aulnoy's story, strap in for long, oniric, extravagant, burlesque comical fairytale-fantasy adventures

[If you are familiar with the two versions of La Belle et la Bête, it explains the huge size difference between the two - Leprince de Beaumont was the one who decided fairytales were for children, and so wrote a short story, but the other one is massively long because it simply continued the tradition of literary fairytales for adults as had been done by madame d'Aulnoy and mademoiselle L'Héritier and mademoiselle de La Force and basically every fairytale storyteller of the time outside of Perrault. Perrault was an exception, truly]

dragonflea

This is fascinating. I just finished La Belle aux cheveux d'or and there's actually a lot in common with mythology - the three animals Avenant saves and the three trials. It's interesting that of those animals, two were birds that would have been feared back then - a crow and an owl. ( I don't know about the carp, but it does specify that he was still hungry and could very well have eaten it instead.) I had forgotten that fairy tales were originally for adults, but yeah that makes sense.

I'll try another article from Féeries I think, but yeah I'm definitely going to be a bit lost at first. Worth it though....

adarkrainbow

Yes, the Féeries articles, due to being academical, range from "a delight to read" to "What the heck were they trying to say? WHAT IS THIS LANGUAGE?". If not you can always try Gheeraert's siècle des merveilles blog which will probably be a tad bit more readable (it was created at first because the agrégation subject was Perrault, d'Aulnoy and the literary fairytales of the 17th-18th centuries).

And yes, Greco-Roman mythology is very very VERY big in French literary fairytales! Because Greco-Roman mythology was the main thing in fiction at the time. When it came to merveilleux and magic, it was the by-default setting. A bit like how Tolkien became an "obvious" reference or a "basic" set in fantasy today. As a result the fairytales of d'Aulnoy, just like those of Perrault, draw a lot from mythology and build their fairytale world as mythology-adjacent. Why does Perrault has a fairy godmother ride a dragon-pulled chariot? Because Medea! Why does madame d'Aulnoy describes her ogres as one-eyed giants? Because Polyphemus! Why does madame d'Aulnoy uses griffins and centaurs as her fairytale monsters? Because that was the basic monster educated people were aware of at the time. Heck, Cupid even makes various appearances everywhere...

In fact, while today the mythological elements seem "new" and "unique" to - they were the comforting classic and the safe move, compared to the REAL novelty and "invention" , that was the reuse of these French folktales and other "fairytales" never heard of before in the world of Les Grandes Lettres...

balis77

You know, I've been kinda thinking a little bit about modernizations of Fairy Tales/Fables and how they reinterpret characters in a more serious or gothic light. The whole Grimmification trope and how it gets used in regards to individual fables, and I kinda realized there's one famous one in particular that really kinda gets the short stick: Snow White. A lot of dark Snow White versions kinda go for pretty surface level takes: "Oh what if Snow White was a vampire" or "Oh what if Snow White/The Dwarves/The Prince were evil" or "Oh what if she was a badass" and god knows how many deconstructions of the whole true love's kiss bit (rightfully deserved btw). But something I feel gets ignored is that like, the base story of Snow White herself is actually kinda sad without really needing to change too much.

Like, Snow White is a child. A literal child, 7 years old in the original story, who gets forced to flee away from her home and more or less any civilization for reasons she does not/cannot understand. There's some versions of the story where she's so terrified when the huntsman initially comes for her that she straight up begs him to let her live even if it means she has to never go home again. And again, she is a literal child when this happens. Then, after she meets the dwarves and everything, she's still a child. A stranger offers her a present and she takes it not because she's just gullible or foolish, but because she's a kid who's receiving a gift for possibly the first time since she's left home.

Honestly I feel it might actually be more interesting to look into how that kind of experience would impact someone, instead of the usual playing with the setting and character aspects. What being a kid who's thrust into fearing for her life and fleeing everything she knows because of some random cruelty would do to someone's psyche over time. Like, there's a lot of metaphors you can make out of someone being forced to leave their life behind at such a young age for reasons completely beyond their control (Refugees, LGBT+ people being cast out after coming out, victims of racism, etc) for one. And on a character level, having the dwarves/the prince/whatever help her deal with the resulting emotional baggage and trauma would be really fucking interesting and hold a lot of potential that hasn't really been explored in a lot of adaptations, at least to my knowledge.

Just something that's been on my mind recently.

adarkrainbow

Since I am on the topic of these people that get a lot of criticism for their take on fairytales but still deserve to be kept around due to their influence, I want to briefly evoke Bruno Bettelheim's book "The Uses of Enchantment", known in France as "Psychanalysis of fairytales".

Note that I will not speak of the book itself or the reception of the book in English-speaking countries, but I want to talk about its reception in France and an impact it had on France. Today, numerous elements of the book have been debunked or criticized, coupled with many people misunderstanding the intentions of Bettelheim or misinforming about the context of the book or how it had to be read. As a result, today there is a tendency to crap on this book or laugh about it when we talk about fairytales analysis. However this book had a great importance in France when it came to "save" fairytales.

Before going into the general, as a brief piece of personal experience - which isn't exclusive to me, as others also shared this. This book actually was what got me into the analysis and study of fairytale. Or rather, when I read it as a pre-teen, it made me discover that... fairytales could have depths. Fairytales could have hidden meanings behind being simple children stories. It made me consider how these stories could be taken and reinterpreted as so many allegories and metaphors, it opened my eyes to a certain visceral, psychic, social aspect of these tales, and without this book I certainly would not have been into fairytales as I am today.

Not that this book is the ultimate resource of fairytale analysis - and the entire process of a psychological reading of fairytales is someting that exists but should not be taken into account when trying to explain them (fairytales being the produce of the encounter between literature and folklore). However, this book stayed a door-opening key for me, outdated maybe, overthinking stuff I guess, but that at least allowed me to glimpse into the "great beyond" behind these stories.

And now for my actual point... How Bettelheim's book saved fairytales in France. This is something I learned when studying the life and work of Pierre Gripari - in a book called "Pierre Gripari, un passeur d'écritures" by Inna Saranovska.

When Bettelheim's book reached France in the late 70s, fairytales were in a bad spot when it came to cultural authorities. Already fairytales had been reduced in people's mind to simple, naive children stories only good for making American cartoons (cough cough, Disney). But those of Perrault were still evoked and studied in schools (little schools for little children) because it was part of the heritage of France, of French culture, and the evolution of French literatue...

However what happened in the 70s? The very serious project of just burying fairytales was brought forward. The talks by politics and school authorities were simple: let us stop teaching fairytales to children in school, let's remove fairytales from school libraries, we do not have any use for them anymore, let them be forgotten. On one side, as I said, there was a discredit due to them being seen as silly children story, and thus no real pedagogic or "useful" chilren literature. But on the other side, there were very concrete and serious political business involved - fairytales were seen as antithetic, and opposed, to the principles of the modern Republic of France. Fairytales were seen as backward antiquities that went against what a great democratic nation should be. For example, people really did took issue in the fact that fairytales depicted monarchies, with kings as absolute authorities, and where a happy ending meant to end up prince or princess. For them, it was literaly teaching children to favor and idealize monarchy when they should rather learn about democracies and republics, and while it might seem silly today, it was serious back then and what almost led to the complete erasure of fairytales from school programs.

But then came Bettelheim's book. A book which proved to these folks that fairytales could be of a deep, psychological, social use to children. A book which taught these authorities to see beyond the "silliness" of these children stories or the "backward social message", and which told them how these stories could contain and express the deep fears, the secret desires of children, and help them grow up and deal with familial, social relationships. The book was a best-seller in France, and it completely changed the higher-ups opinion, and convinced tem fairytales should indeed be maintained in school - because fairytales were now "serious" due to being part of the very serious and praised domains of psychology and psychanalysis (which was all the fad and rage in the second half of the 20th century France).

And as such - no matter what you might say about the book's uality today - it can still be thanked for actually "saving" fairytales in France.

wordedarchive

It's July and I have hope in who I am becoming.

Charlotte Eriksson via wordedarchive

disease

primulaceas

The Doubling of Self: An Interview with Richard Siken by Peter Mishler

lucidloving

@roach-works // Melissa Broder, "Problem Area" // Mary Oliver, "The Return" // @annavonsyfert // Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer // Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance // David Levithan, How They Met and Other Stories // Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

leiko-in-love-deactivated202602

How I was taught to do my everyday feminine makeup.

My older sister was kind enough to teach me how she does her feminine makeup looks the last time we saw each other and I’ve been putting the work in to try to recreate the look she did on me. Yakker and I have two very different faces and two very different builds but she managed to make me look absolutely amazing and I’m not surprised as Ayako has been known to work wonders with a makeup brush when she’s in a decent mood. I’ve been doing this makeup frequently and I’ve had a hell of a time getting the right products and then applying them in the right way but everything has been so fun and I’m happy to say that I’ve got it down now.

Let’s get into the products.

Shiseido ‘White Lucent’ Brightening Gel Cream.

Shiseido ‘Synchro Skin’ Soft Blurring Primer.

Shiseido ‘Synchro Skin’ Radiant Lifting Foundation.

Shiseido ‘Synchro Skin’ Self-Refreshing Concealer.

Shiseido ‘Radiant Invisible’ Silk Loose Powder.

Shiseido ‘InnerGlow’ Powder in Inner Light.

Shiseido ‘InnerGlow’ Cheek Powder in Medusa Pink.

I listed the products in order of how I apply them and I think they work well. I don’t use bronzer and I stick to the products from the list that she gave me because I find it’s easiest to replicate her results that way. One of the best parts of a feminine male I look is the fact that you can overdo your blush and really lay into your tube of concealer and that’s exactly what I do when I know that looking my best isn’t an option; it’s required of me.

Next up are the eyes.

Shu Uemura ‘Hard Formula’ Eyebrow Pencil.

Shiseido ’Integrated Triple Recipe’ Eyeshadow.

Inglot ‘Eye Essentials’ Eyeliner Kit.

TonyMoly ‘Lovely Beam’ Glitter Liner in White Gold.

Fenty Beauty ‘Diamond Bomb’ in How Many Carats?!

Shiseido ‘ControlledChaos’ Jet Black MascaraInk.

i-Envy by Kiss ‘Super Strong Hold’ Eyelash Adhesive.

Miche Bloomin’ False Lashes in Girly Innocent.

The eyes are the windows to the soul and Ayako taught me to never ever use dark shadow when I want a good makeup moment. She uses browns and champagnes, she does a medium thick eyeliner wing, and she always wears false lashes. She does use a white and silver shimmer on her waterline and I got her into using the one product from Fenty Beauty that I enjoy on her lips and her eyes and she was kind enough to teach me the way that she does her mascara and her monolid wing.

And finally we have the lips.

Rimmel ‘Moisture Renew’ Lip Liner.

Benefit ‘Benetint’ Cheek, Lip, and Nipple Stain.

Too Faced ‘Lip Injection Maximum Plump’ Lip Gloss.

Ruby Kisses ‘Pink Lemonade’ Crystal Gloss.

One/Size ‘On Til Dawn’ Mattifying Setting Spray.

Shu Uemura ‘Unlimited Lasting’ Makeup Fix Mist.

The key to pulling off the lips is using literally the tiniest amount of Benetint to tint your lips a natural light pink and then using gloss and glimmer to perfect them and make them look huge and plump. It took me ages to get the technique down using different products but I did and I couldn’t be happier. Ayako doesn’t use lip liner and she uses a traditional Japanese lip tint but I’m the silly younger sister and I like my way so I do it just how I want. The one thing I also do differently is use two different kinds of setting spray to keep my face on all day and a liquid liner to add my beauty mark and I love my results once my makeup has had time to sit.

And that’s all there is to it.

daphnedauphinoise-deactivated20

Makeup Help 101

How to find your makeup style

What is your face visual weight ?

How to dress for your body type

Sculpting your face with makeup

How to improve your posture

The glow-up blueprint

How to choose the best eyelashes for your eye shape

Choosing the best glasses for your face shape

Choosing the right earrings for your face shape

Blush application 101

Nose contour 201

Daphne xoxo

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any interesting outfits planned? ♥️

I’ve got the one planned out and I’m excited for my date!

I’m going out for a night out this Friday and I could not be more excited. It’ll be my first time seeing the Man of the Century since I left the States for Japan and I can’t wait to be reunited with him and have a fun time out. We’re just getting dinner and going out with his work colleagues and their girlfriends but it’ll be fun, it’ll be a great time and I cannot wait to have one of our nights out. I’m expecting to dance at some point during the night and I’m also expecting to end up at his place for drinks so I’m dressing for success and I’m preparing to have to wear one of the bummy outfits I keep at his house for our inevitable trip to Target, Whole Foods, and Eataly on Saturday morning. I know where this weekend is going and how it’ll end up and I’m actually pretty excited to just get to it and have a nice time, I miss him endlessly and it’s been so nice to be away because I just miss him more and I love seeing him.

Very Simple Makeup.

I’ve been copying Alexandra Daddario’s makeup lately and it’s been doing wonders for me and for my face. I’ve been into more natural looks lately and using a lot of blush, stacking my lashes, staying minimal with the foundation but using concealer, choosing a natural pink gloss, and doing babydoll eyeshadow and eyeliner has made my life so much easier and my face looks so much nicer. I’m still into doing heavy makeup and I still enjoy wearing makeup but makeup applied with a light hand also suits me. I’ve been avoiding wearing hella makeup and I’ve been taking the time to work on the shape of my face and use blush to give me a more flushed and feminine look. I have a whole routine that I’ve videoed and I really enjoy it, it works very well for me and it saves me around 45 minutes of time getting ready to go out, I don’t have to worry about so many of the useless things anymore and I love doing my face.

The Andamane Ruched Waist Mini Dress in Red.

I love a little red dress and I bought this one because it was on sale when I bought it and I thought it was beautiful. I love the colour red, I think it suits me well and I also think it does wonders for me when I’m in the right situation. It’s finally autumn and the leaves have fallen, it’s beautiful out, the trees look like they’re on fire and the landscape is gorgeous, and I think that this dress is going to be perfect. I love to make jokes about how I’m a Woman in Red and the neckline of this dress is just low enough for it to work, the dress fits me perfectly and I only had to tailor it minimally, and I think it works perfectly for the vibe I’m trying to go for. It’s not immodest but it works well for me and I think that it’ll make me look wonderful for my night out, I’m excited to wear it and I’m excited to see the reaction of the man of the century when I step out in the dress.

Rene Caovilla ‘Cleo’ Crystal-Embellished Wrap Sandals in Red.

I love a pair of heels and I love a pair of glimmering heels, I’ve worn these ones out a few times and I think they’re great. They have just enough spare to work, they’re perfectly made and I don’t think that they’re low quality at all, they’re comfortable to wear for hours on end and they never hurt my feet, and I think that they work with nearly everything I own. I love a pair of high quality heels and one of the best ways to pull off a pair of heels is making sure that they’re easy to walk in and they’re made in a way that supports your feet and ankles whilst you’re walking. I’ve bought multiple pair of Rene Caovilla heels and I’d highly recommend them, they’re comfortable and they hold up pretty damn well.

Rene Caovilla ‘Kamila’ Crystal Clutch Bag in Red.

I bought this clutch the other night because I needed a little bag to match my heels and I was planning, I knew I couldn’t step out with no drip and I knew that buying my heels and my clutch from the same company would help ensure that they’d be the same colour. I’m a picky woman and I love it when my accessories match, I’ll go out of my way to sit and look for accessories and go into store to match my colours. The Man of the Century loves it when I’m matching and he loves it when I have a nice outfit put together and he was the one who asked me to be in red, he loves a good red outfit and I think red is a nice and saucy colour and it gives me the opportunity to play with what I’m wearing and plan things out. I’m a fashion girl at heart and I love having the chance to plan out an entirely new outfit and play with my closet just to make more opportunities for myself and make my style more fun.

Classic Light Pink Nails.

I’d never pair red nails with a red outfit and so I’m all for very light pink neutral nails with a natural shape and without too much length. I have my nail appointment later on today because I want my nails to be fresh as can be and I love it when my feet are nice and moisturised. I don’t have much else to say but shape and technique matter, I’m very picky when it comes to my nails and I’m very picky when it come to choosing colours, getting the shape just right, and making sure that they’re glossy enough and look perfect. I’m all for taking the time to get things right and taking the time to make sure that my cuticles have been pushed back to perfection and haven’t been flooded with gel polish, my nails have been trimmed down as short as they can go, and everything is looking nice and even. I’m hard to please but I have a routine down and it works very well for me and I do enjoy the time I spend at the nail salon.

Bouncy Blownout Hair.

I don’t have the time to sit and do my hair so I just do a bouncy blowout and go from there, I don’t like to set it and wait around these days. I use a good serum on my slightly greasy hair and go in with my Dyson Airwrap to get the look I want. I also had layers cut into my hair, I have bangs that really suit me now, and I have a hair colour that I really love so I’ve been working on styling my hair, curling my bangs, and really taking care of it so that I continue to love it. I do usually use a few hot rollers and I do throw my bangs up just so that they hold a curl and have the bounce and volume that I like. I’ve also learned how to tease my crown in a way that gives me volume and doesn’t look gaudy. It’s been a little bit of a journey to learn how to do my hair but it’s worked out well for me and I really enjoy this new development. It’s been a change to how I style myself but I do love my hair now and I love how easy it is to pin my hair up and make it look nice for an evening out.

Tiffany & Co. ‘Fleur de Lis Key Bar’ Earrings and Necklace in 18-karat Gold.

I bought these earrings and this necklace for Sveta and, like the best friend I am, I’m borrowing them. I’ve not seen her not wear them since I first gave them to her but I’m putting an end to that and taking them out for a spin. I usually wouldn’t wear gold, it doesn’t really suit me and it doesn’t go with my skin colour when I’m pale but I’ve been tanning and my skin is glowy so it’ll suit me this time. It’s a one time thing, Sveta would never let me take any of her special things out twice and I know how she can get when I ask her to let me wear her treasured possessions. I wanted a cute little gold set to match the red and I’m looking forward to seeing how the colours go together, I do really love accessorising and it took me hours to pick these out for Sveta. If I love the way this set looks, I’m of half a mind to go back to Tiff’s and pick up a set of my own.

MiN NYC ‘Momento’ Unisex Eau de Parfum.

This is a new perfume for me and it’s unisex. I normally wouldn’t use a unisex perfume but this one smelled amazing and I loved the way that it highlighted my natural scent and had a sweetness to it, it wasn’t just spicy. It’s a heavier scent and it’s also meant for men so I think that it makes sense that it’s heavier, I use very little of it and I think that a sample size could do the trick as well because I don’t see myself going through the entire bottle. I didn’t know about this perfume company before I was gifted the full bottle and the Man of the Century loves it on me, I don’t think he knows what to call it but he and I both suit it well and it sets him off. I’m not one for applying too much of a scent and so I apply it minimally and dab it behind my knees, around my ears, on my throat right where it flutters, and right on my wrists. It works well for me but one or two sprays is more than enough, it becomes overpowering and makes my eyes water otherwise and people have told me to take it easy with the perfume.

Ligeia.

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Do you think that having a wealth appearance (ie. designer bags/jewelry) makes it easier to get a sponsor than if one were to just dress well but have a very middle class look. (i.e.MK or coach bag)?

I’m making over my wardrobe and trying to choose between buying reps or some unbranded structured bags

It matters where you are.

If you live in a small city, I would recommend structured and nice unbranded bags over MK and Coach, I hate all logos and I think that logos scream that you're trying too hard. It's nicer and more affordable to have brandless but beautiful bags and it makes sense. As long as your bags are nice and put together, structured, and they look good, you'll be good to go. Designer jewellery doesn't matter either, I'm firmly of the opinion that designer jewellery is just an overpriced scam and I constantly tell people to just buy replicas and save their coins unless they're actually devoted to owning an authentic piece of luxury jewellery. You can buy cubic zirconia and other really nice pieces on a budget and that's what I'd recommend and what I do because I'm constantly losing shit and I don't want the pressure of authentic.

If you live in a large city and designer bags are the norm, I would highly recommend buying a few classic replicas to add to your closet and your rotation. I've always lived in or around huge cities and so I'm used to seeing women with designer purses so I bought my replicas to blend in with the crowd. It's almost expected of women to have a few designer and luxury pieces and when I got into the circles that I run in and started meeting people, I realised that my reps were an asset because I looked like I belonged and they helped me, I always openly admitted that they were replicas and I helped people buy their own but they helped me blend in and look more out together and established. Same with my replica jewellery, it helped me fit in and look like I was part of the group, I liked that it made me someone who I wasn't until I was able to become that girl who I wanted to be, but then I started using it as a crutch and so I went back to wearing what I loved to wear.

Either way, men aren't going to notice the brand of purse you have as long as it matches your outfit, they're not going to notice your jewellery, and what you need to be doing is saving your money and being relatively frugal so that you can have an emergency fund in case things go wrong. I'm of the opinion that a man should be the one in charge of funding your luxury purchases and that's how I've bought all of my authentic pieces. You just need to look nice, you don't need to be dripping in diamonds, you don't need a million replicas, you don't need to look like you're some sort of knockoff Blair Waldorf. You can look like you're the highest of high class girls and still have an issue finding a sponsor and you can be right in the middle of middle class and also have issues. The fact of the matter is that looks aren't what's truly important and aren't what matters, they shouldn't be focused on too much because they're the first thing that men look at, yes, but they aren't the dealbreaker.

Ligeia.

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your favourite budget work outfit?

A Scrunchie Ponytail.

I’ve been a bum with my hair lately and I’ve been into pulling it back, throwing a scrunchie onto the base of my ponytail, and going from there. It’s literally one of the most simple things in the world and the look I end up with is always one of the best styles I could dream up. I’m a ponytail girl at heart and I love doing a simple ponytail with a little bit of pop to it, I don’t have to budget as much time as I normally would for getting ready in the mornings, I’m able to lessen the stress and tension on my hairline, I can avoid using too much heat in my hair, and my hair looks good even when it’s greasy or whatever. I just use a little bit of mousse, I curl the ends of my ponytail and then brush through the curls, and then I’m done after I throw the scrunchie on. It’s a simple look with minimal work involved and it’s easy to wear it to work and then take it down before I go out, it keeps my hair out of my face and it doesn’t strain my hairline, and it’s not hard to keep my hair off of my neck and out of my lipgloss throughout the day.

Nordstrom ‘4ct tw’ Cubic Zirconia Stud Earrings.

I constantly recommend these earrings because they’re my lazy earrings, they’re comfortable and easy to wear and pair with things, they look like authentic diamond studs to the untrained eye, they aren’t heavy or uncomfortable, the setting is perfect and sturdy as well, and they’re simple and nice. I recommend these earrings all the time and I wear them all the time, I’m wearing them as I type this our, and I always bring them along with me when I travel because they look like the real thing but they’re affordable and easy to replace. The one thing that I don’t love is that they aren’t screwback earrings but they’re comfortable and sturdy enough to make them worth buying and I think that the fact that they’re balanced perfectly does a lot to offset any of the inconvenience of being plain back earrings. They’re a great buy and they’re definitely worth the cost, I own several pairs and Target sells a dupe for around half the price but I do prefer the original platinum stud earrings from Nordstrom.

Express ‘Body Contour’ Matte Mock Neck Cropped Tank in White.

I love Express, I’ve spoken about how Express is one of my go to shops for more affordable work clothes, and I just about this top and I’m in love with it. I love cute mock neck tops and I love that this is a tank top, I’m a huge fan of going out after work and this top is appropriate for work and it makes transitioning to after work activities easy as well. It’s a simple bright white top but the fabric is nice and thick so it doesn’t show my bra lines or my nipples, it’s easy to wash and to keep bright white, it doesn’t wrinkle and it’s easy to iron and hang up, it’s not a body suit but it doesn’t ride up so that’s really nice, and I just think that there are so many positive things about this top. I own it in both black and white and I bought multiples of the white top just so that I could customise it on my own and that was a great choice, I haven’t had to crop it for my height, and it’s easy to wear and pair with a variety of things but both in and out of work, it’s business casual.

Express ‘Editor’ High Waisted Pencil Skirt in Pitch Black.

This is just your average every day pencil skirt and I love it, I did decide to shorten it on my own and I did have to take it in just a little but because it does seem to run half a size too large but it’s lovely. I love a good work skirt and I’ve come to realise that a lot of the skirts that I own from M.M. La Fleur and other expensive brands don’t really rival this one in terms of both affordability and wearability. One of the things that I love most about this skirt is that it just works well, you don’t have to work hard to make it work for your body, it’s a true jet black colour, it’s affordable and long lasting, you can pair it with a variety of things and use it in both work and casual situations, and it’s just a nice skirt. I always wear skirts and dresses to work and this has been one of my favourites lately because it works so well for me and it’s comfortable, I don’t feel like I have to worry about it riding up or wrinkling, and it’s a great piece for corporate girls who are budgeting.

Veja ‘V-10’ Sneakers in Extra White + Black.

I’ve repeatedly brought this sneakers up because they’re my favourites but I’ve been wearing them more and more often. I’m working in the archives now and I’m walking between 15,000 and 20,000 steps every day at work alone and so I feel like it’s more practical to do my job on my feet and move from there. I’ve been wearing these sneakers all the time lately and they do their job, they hold up, they’re extremely comfortable and I can walk in them without limping or having ankle pain, and they match my vibe perfectly these days. I’m a casual day girl at heart, I love wearing a cute pair of sneakers and I’m able to wear these with stockings and make them look classy, I used to hate wearing casual shoes to work and I have a collection of stilettos that I’ve been wearing for ages but the fact of the matter is that my ankle pain got a lot worse when I was trying to keep myself in 5 inch heels. These Vejas have been one of my best buys over the years and I own them in multiple colours, they’re always going to be an immediate rebuy for me, and they’re as comfortable as any sneaker but they’re just a bit nicer so I’m able to dress them up for work and down for stepping out.

Longchamp Small ‘Le Pliage’ Shoulder Bag in Black.

I love a classic bag and I’ve owned this bag for years, used it religiously, and it barely shows any wear or tear. It’s a great bag and it’s waterproof, it carries all of the things I need and it doesn’t ever feel too heavy, it’s not too big but it’s easy to keep organised and it keeps everything I need in order, and it does what I need it to do. I’m a Longchamp girl and I have been for years, the bags are high quality and long lasting, they’re a classic bag, they’re easy to wipe down and keep clean, they’re comfortable and they manage to never be too heavy, and they match everything. I exclusively use this bag for work and I love it, it’s classy and it’s casual enough to bring from work to dinner, it works with the vibe of my workplace, and I have no issues carrying it around. I also love that it’s not super designer or loudly branded, I’m much more comfortable carrying it around when I go outside during work or go out walking after dinner.

Simple Makeup.

I’m into simple makeup lately and I don’t like to wear a lot of makeup to work, the most I wear these days is lip colour and then eye makeup, I sometimes use a little bit of concealer and contour but I’m not as into doing complicated full faces because I have nothing to prove to anyone and I’ve been really into seeing my face lately, my lack of complex makeup looks lately is probably because I refuse to wake up any earlier than I have to but wearing less makeup has been suiting me well lately and I’ve loved some of the simpler looks I’ve been able to pull off. I follow this Bella Hadid makeup tutorial that I love and wear my favourite sheer lip colour (Black Honey), I use my cream contour kit, I use minimal eye makeup and make a little bit go a long way, I use my nice false lashes and lots of mascara, and I use a lot of setting spray to finish off my look. It’s simple and it takes me around 20 minutes to do, it’s a very easy look and suits work and then drinks after.

Simple Nails.

I basically just do simple French nails these days, I don’t have the time or patience to do colours and I like to be able to match with all of the things that I wear. I’ve yet to find a good nail tech in my new city and so I’m doing my own nails, it takes me around 2 hours to do both my fingers and my toes and I do both sets every Sunday, I do a nearly clear pale pink overlay and white tips instead of hand painting my nails, and I keep an oval shape. It’s not hard to do my nails at home but I do have to do a lot of filing and a lot of shaping to get the look I want and that does take me a while. The one issue that I do have is with how long I can do between fills, I don’t do acrylics now, I do hard gels and I hate having nails that don’t look fresh and new. I’d recommend switching over to doing your own nails if you have the time and the desire to learn how to do so.

Ligeia.

July notes

1. Astrologically speaking ( https://www.sallykirkman.com/capricorn-horoscope-july-2022/ )

- First 5 days: power clash because of Mars

- The Full Moon on the 13th is likely to be a pivotal moment regarding my one-to-ones, whether personal or professional. This month’s Full Moon falls in my star sign Capricorn, so trust my intuition and listen to my emotions. Pluto is once again involved. Therefore, the Full Moon could coincide with an ending or a door closing. One way or another it’s an ideal time to make a key decision about a relationship situation.

- The New Moon on the 28th falls in Leo and is a great date to set intentions around money, launch a project or start something new. A New Moon is a symbol of new beginnings -> make a comeback on my Youtube channel, and plan ahead Instagram feed. Start taking pictures!

2. Fashion talk

- Bought my first pairs of biker shorts. Gotta try to figure out a good set of outfits from this.

3. Workout plan

- Pamela Rief’s “give me abs” workout.Need to survive this at any costs and see the real results.

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