Witchy Poo

The art of dress and ornament. A preparation for beautifying. Skilled in adornment or arrangement.

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Charade (1963).

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Mansur Gavriel S/S 2016 BTS

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Beautiful India.

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Gratuitous selfie.

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Amazing manicure from NailSalon Avarice in Tokyo.

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Missing my sweetheart.

[lumieredelondres-blog]

Benefits of Patchouli Oil

What are the benefits of Patchouli Oil?

Patchouli essential oil has an exotic, heavy, musky scent that is frequently used in perfumes, potpourri, incense and massage oils.

Patchouli oil benefits include skincare, medicinal uses, treating stress and anxiety, etc. It has antibacterial, anti fungal, antiseptic and antiviral properties.

Patchouli oil can be used in a variety of ways including the well-being of your mind, body and spirit.

This is a really versatile oil that has many uses and benefits:

It works as an antidepressant. It helps to relieve stress and controls depression and anxiety. To help enhance your mood you could burn a few drops of the oil in an aromatherapy burner or adding no more than ten drops to a warm bath.

It has an amazing fragrance. Patchouli blends well with other essential oils like sandalwood, rose, jasmine, myrrh and citrus.

The oil is used in massage as well. It is a perfect base oil in aromatherapy. Using this oil for massage can help ease depression and relieve problems like dermatitis.

The oil has anti-aging properties. It is a great skin care product that helps control aging of your skin, keeping it young and healthy. It helps in healing wounds, prevents acne and scars. It is a perfect skin care product for dry skin and wrinkles.

It is beneficial in curing general health problems like cough, nausea, colds, headaches, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. This oil treats the infection causing fever. It helps increase appetite, boosts our immune system and fights infections.

There are many diverse essential oils out there and we will be exploring more of them and their uses in the near future.

[witchypoobeauty]

Kylie Jenner (no, I am not comfortable starting any sentence that way) has defended herself against claims of plastic surgery saying that she "loves lip liner" and also overdrawing her lips. 

When I read this, I called "lies!" No matter how skilled you are with lip liner, you cannot go from lips that thin to full on trout pout. To further prove my point, I dug through the epic makeup box and found the MAC liner I bought years ago, used 5 times, then relegated to the bottom of the box. 

The conclusion I came to? I love lip liner and overdrawing my lips, too. I wouldn't call the results Kylie level - I am still suspicious of that one, but this is a lot of lip! 

Lip Liner: Barely Bold by MAC

Lipstick: Chelsea Girls by Nars 

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Mod Princess

Smoked out eyes with a dusting of MAC’s Archie Collection loose pigment in Black Poodle. Cheeks pop with 2 layers of Stainiac in Beauty Queen. Milky, glossy peach lips care of Sephora for Disney’s Cinderella Collection Moonlit Kiss lipstick in Pumpkin, layered with Dior Addict Gloss in Diablotine.

I just want to plant some shimmery Royal kisses!

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Hoochie mama.

(in the spirit of Halloween, I'm having some fun with different looks)

Drawn on brows and overdone brown glossy lips. I whited out my arches with liquid white liner and lots of matte shadow, then drew in excessively dramatic pencil arches with Ofra Eyebrow pencil in Universal. Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in Facade brushed on beyond my natural lip line for some excessively dramatic pouty lips.

By no means my go to or everyday look, but this 2001 creation is ridiculous fun. xx

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Little ghost. Getting into deep dark eyes and lips! Very much trying for a creepy haunted look here, kind of think I hit the mark! Product run down to come. xx

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Side eye noir queen.

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I think this candlelight might have been a bit too dim! I've had a very...intense couple of weeks: multiple large projects at work, family visiting, moving, beloved family pet passing away, 25th birthday, and making one positive (personal) step forward in my life. That has caused a bit of a delay in posts, but once I have a chance to come up for air, I have a review of favorite cruelty free products coming, among other things. In the meantime, here is a blurry, candlelit birthday selfie in my birthday present dress and necklace! Happy Sunday night and good luck this week everyone!

[againstidlenessandmischief]

Taxi cab selfie. Side swept, red lips, and ruby earrings.

[witchypoobeauty]

No Animal Testing

I'm starting to switch all of my products over so that I am only using things that are cruelty free (something I will talk about a bit more in-depth in my next post). 

This weekend I needed to re-stock some important items: day and night face lotions, BB Cream, Eyeliner. For eyeliner, I just restocked on my Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Perversion (Urban Decay is cruelty free, and even has some vegan products!). 

For face lotions, I have been using Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizer for day, and still was looking for that perfect night cream. Clinique is a big time animal tester, turns out, so I have switched to the (much more expensive but so worth it) Photo Plasma by Perricone MD. The pink cream has a soufflé texture and a mineral-based SPF 30, plus some amazing anti-aging power as it is packed with antioxidants. Living in NYC, I need something on my face to help block out the pollutants, and this guy 'protects against the 10 most common skin aggressors: sun exposure, dehydration, pollution, harsh wind, excessive heat, extreme cold, heavy metals, smoke, stress and chemical irritants.' I'm loving the light texture of the oil free formula, and yes, $69 might sound a bit pricey, but given the small amount you need, I think this jar will last me quite some time. 

For night, I picked up Fresh's Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream. It smells a bit like cacik, so I kind of want to nibble on it. Products that don't smell like a cesspool of perfumes and chemicals are always a plus. This cream allows me to use such a small amount as it is incredibly hydrating, blends easily, and absorbs quickly. It feels almost cooling on the skin. The cream promises to boost radiance, improv health, and strengthen elasticity. I've only used it for two nights now, so I can't fully speak for how well it does these things, but I do think my skin feels a bit softer and is looking pretty healthy thanks to my new creams! 

For BB cream, I was debating between a Perricone MD formula and one from Dr. Jart+. I ended up getting the Dr. Jart+ formula mainly because it was significantly cheaper, but also because the brand offers a full line of BB Creams that focus on specific concerns - be it aging, moisture, breakouts, etc. My skin has been breaking out a bit off and on, which I have no patience for, so I chose the Black Label Detox BB Cream which comes in only one 'universal' shade. I think that is my only complaint about the product, because though it does blend nicely into my skin, I really just do not believe in a universal shade for face makeup. Skin comes in a rainbow, people. Otherwise, I like this BB much more than my previous Boscia cream, which I think had a very fine hint of shimmer to it (and also was not cruelty-free). This one seems a tiny bit thicker with no added shimmer, and it feels like it's doing something when I put it on - it feels like it's nourishing. This specific formula is meant to fight blemishes, but not like that terrible Neutrogena stuff with all the chemicals in it - this is designed for sensitive skin and has a calming effect. With an SPF of 25 and a promise to protect against pollutants, I think my face is fully shielded from NYC toxins. 

I will need to give all three of these products a bit of time to really shine (or fail miserably, but I am optimistic), but I must say, it feels pretty good to know that these products are all cruelty free. We can still have beautiful, luxurious skincare without blood on our hands, and that's totally worth every penny I spent. 

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Old Hollywood glamour has always been a source of beauty inspiration for me. The products in their artfully constructed packaging, the intensity of Marilyn's blonde or Bette's lashes - 70 years later and we're still in awe of Veronica Lake's sweeping side part. And it all took time, effort, and a lot of hard work. Today, we have so many beauty innovations which allow us to glam up quickly and get out the door, because most of us are too busy to do anything else. Just the thought of setting hot rollers in the morning gets me anxious that I'll be late for work. 

However, back at the age of 12, my obsession had reached full hilt and my daily pressures were fairly low, so every night I went to sleep in a vintage Christian Dior nightgown, a silk sleeping mask over my eyes, and a full set of sponge curlers in my hair**. 'Beauty Sleep' was more than a saying to me, as it was when I went to dreamland that I became glamorous. 

It's been quite some time since I was 12, but recently I bought a set of sponge rollers on a whim and decided it was time to break out the Dior. Sleeping with curlers in my hair was something I could handle - no getting up early, no extra hour spent on hair. Remembering the tricks of how to properly roll my hair to prevent waking up looking like Bozo the Clown proved more difficult than I imagined it would. Using only 12 rollers, I managed to get all of my (fine, thin, and fairly short) hair rolled up on my head, making sure it was a little damp still, but not soaking wet or else it will never dry in the night. I used a small dab of Alterna Haircare's Caviar CC Cream to keep the frizz down to a minimum, then got to sleep. 

When I awoke, I unrolled, and lo and behold I looked like I had maybe touched an electrical outlet with a fork. This was not glamour, this was a disaster. However, muscle memory came back to me and without knowing exactly what I was doing, there was a nylon-bristled brush in hand picking at the curls and fluffing my hair out into a cotton-candy corkscrew-do. I sprayed L'Oréal Elnett Hairspray liberally, and pinned my bangs back under a large curl. I had accidentally created a look that I kind of loved. It was unkempt but, to me, beautiful. I wore my fluff with pride and a Chanel skirt and the overall result was compliments left and right. Ok, so I didn't exactly look like a movie star, but I felt damn good, and looked it too, if I do say so myself.  

**It should be noted that while in this getup, I would occasionally sleepwalk to my sister's room, just stand in the doorway, and then leave. 

[witchypoobeauty]

Lady Lips

As a girl who grew up idolizing Audrey, Edie, and Bridgette, I always dreamed of having a day to day makeup look with thickly lined eyes and baby pink lips. Unfortunately for me, pink lipstick does not want to be my friend. I try and try with various light shades and every time I wind up making my teeth look yellowed, my skin sallow - I've tried warmer, cooler, opaque, glossy. There's just nothing good about the look. 

When it comes to lip color, I've tended in recent years to go for really punchy colors: bright reds and oranges, hot pinks, deep dark purples. I need the stark contrast for it to look good. Some of my favorite shades include

Bite's Luminous Creme lipstick in Tannin:

OCC's Lip Tar in Psycho:

Kat Von D's Painted Love Lipstick in Homegirl:

and a brand new addition care of Birchbox is Pixi's Shea Butter Lip Balm in Coral Crush:   

I might have steered my look slightly away from the wide-eyed Mod, but figuring out what works for you is a continual experiment. Creating on your face a picture that makes you feel good is what makeup is all about.