Project: Red Sonja

A year or two ago when I started going to the gym almost religiously, I named my workout plan "Project: Red Sonja". Not that I want to cosplay her, I just want a barbarian body.
That all went to hell after about 6 months when I started a job (so I had no time) and also busted my shoulder.

Now that I'm freelancing and con season is coming up, I decided to bring the "project" back.

I'll be working out at home this time, but I'm confident I'll manage.

Hygow (known as Drogo to some), my boyfriend, has already started buffing up for the con season. Eating clean and working out 3 times a week, so I felt compelled to do the same.
I've been having a (very) sedentary lifestyle that is just not ok, and I think enough is enough.

I'm not aiming for a thigh gap or unrealistic ideals. I like my body shape and I just want to properly define my muscles. Ripped abs, thick thighs, strong arms. And I know that will take a lot of time and dedication.

I've been contemplating going vegetarian (maybe vegan) to help with the process, cutting animal fats from my diet amongst other things. I'm still debating this, but eating clean is a must. No more using fats while cooking, just water.
Friday was day 1. I did a 45 minute High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout and started my clean eating plan (That kind of went to hell while working on set this past week and having pizza for dinner and kebabs for lunch though, but I'd rather not starve while on the job).

Here's some inspiration/ motivation. I worked my but off for this cosplay in 2010. I'd love it if I could at least get back to this in a few months.  

I hope to see some improvement by the end of April, when I'll be posing for my next Dr. Sketchy's session. =]

This is the workout I've been doing:

I plan on adding exercises here and there and changing it up a bit once I've got a bit more resistance.

Do any of you have tips for at home workouts or clean eating plans? =]

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

And today I bring you something I've literally wanted to do for years: Emma Frost turning into crystal.
One day I hope to do the full face + upper torso, but that will take all the rhinestones in the world... A girl can dream, right?

It's funny that a lot of people didn't recognize me when I showed them this picture. :P

I got me some new blue contacts from Pinky Paradise and I really wanted to do a makeup look to try them out! They're the Super Pinky Blue. I already own the Super Pinky Red and the Violet and I absolutely love them. They're super comfortable and have an insanely strong colour.

Here's a comparison with and without the contacts in natural light:

I really like the way they're painted as well, it looks very natural (despite the larger diameter)

I'm as blind as a bat (-3.5) so when I wear contacts, I depend on them for my eyesight.
These are amazing comfort-wise and that's why I like them so much. I'm able to wear them all day to a convention no problem. I have pretty sensitive eyes and have had a corneal ulcer before, so I'm always super careful with what I put in and around my eyes now.

As always, while wearing contacts, be sure to keep your eyes moisturised by using eye drops constantly throughout the day, and if you feel any discomfort at all, remove the contacts immediately!

On another note, If you'd like to see how I dunked my face in glitter and rhinestones (I wish it were that easy) you can check out the tutorial for this look here:

Leaves and Glitter

Last week's Style Saturday came out a little late since The Arcade was down for some fixing up, but it's up and running smoothly again. You can check it out here!

Now, I'm not going to go repeating what I said in the article, instead I'll talk a little bit about my inspirations for these looks. 

Makeup is so great because of the freedom you have to create. Don't limit yourself to what an eye makeup is "supposed" to be, the shape it "has" to have, etc. experiment with different shapes, or colours, or textures, and you might just come up with something amazing. And don't be afraid of seeking inspiration from other people, too. You might get an idea from where you least expect it. 

An artist I've loved for quite some time goes by "Lucifer Is My Dad" online. Her work is absolutely flawless and she's insanely creative, challenging what makeup "should be". 

The first time I saw her work, it was a compilation of her Batman inspired looks and they instantly stuck in my mind and haven't left since. 

Last year I was actually part of a Justice League shoot where I was Batgirl and I based myself on her Batgirl eye for my look.

And that's me looking stupidly happy. But to be fair, I had just been on a golden motorcycle... [Photo by Steve Wilson]

For my Ivy look, I found inspiration in Luciferismydad's Batwoman eye. The shape is just so different and unique, I adapted it to look like a leaf!

As for the Rainbow Dash look, my inspiration came from Lady Gaga.

I saw this and though "What if I add some clouds?... And GLITTER."
It's funny because I never use glitter, but when I do I cover my whole face with it!
But I mean c'mon... look how shiny!

A video posted by @pompberry on Mar 20, 2015 at 6:15pm PDT

Where do you like getting your inspiration from? =]

Kabuki

There's one makeup artist that to me seems to be incredibly successful and well know but incredibly unknown at the same time. Well maybe unknown might not be the best term. Out of the spot light, for sure. I've followed his work for a few years now and I'd say the peak of the general public's awareness of him was when he did Katy Perry's makeup for her video Alien.

Kabuki uses a lot of stencils and paper "appendixes" for his signature looks, most of which are very sea-creature-esque.

I've always loved his style and admired him for his uniqueness. The other day I stumbled upon his Instagram, where he posts his makeup looks as well as some of his sketches. I fell in love with this one in particular:

#kabukisketch @manisharorafashion @laurentphilippon #maccosmetics

A photo posted by @kabukinyc on Mar 5, 2015 at 5:29am PST

and couldn't resist recreating it. I thought about doing it all monochromatic as well, but decided for a little pop of colour in the end. I hope I did it justice. Also, I know the bit on the forehead was probably a headpiece he drew in as well, but I decided to go for a literal interpretation and draw that in, too.

I used:
Snazaroo black & white face paint
Sugarpill burning heart palette
Contém 1g matte lipstick in Berinjela
Kiko Cosmetics lipstick in 522
Clinique blusher in Spiced Wine
Soap and Glory Hocus Focus liquid highlighter
Tokidoki eyeshadow in Skull Donut
Contacts are G&G Shinny (known as Puffy 3 Tone) in Green. For a free mystery gift with every lens purchase, click the Pinky Paradise banner to the right and use the code "pompberry"

Damn them straight lines!

비빔밥

Yesterday my boyfriend and I celebrated 3 years and ½ together. We thought of going out to a korean restaurant for some comforting bibimbap but after a while of thinking, I decided to try and make it myself. I had had it once before and it seemed pretty straight forward and not too hard to make. I decided to look up the recipe of the bulgogi (traditional Korean beef) which seemed to me to be the hardest part of the meal, and that was pretty simple, too! So we headed to the supermarket and got the necessary ingredients. I just wish I had thought of making it earlier so that I could stop by the Asian market and grab some "extra" things like kimchi to go along with it.

Most people don't know that I actually have a degree in Gastronomy (basically, cooking school). I did it mostly because I've always loved baking, and I even had a a little cookie business from home with a friend for a while during college.

I haven't properly cooked or baked anything in SUCH a long time. Mostly because I have a tiny kitchen, so I always feel discouraged when I think about the lack of counter space I have to work with. But yesterday I thought enough was enough and got cooking!

If you like Korean food, or would like to get to know it, I really recommend watching Maangchi's videos. She's adorable and really entertaining, while preparing delicious-looking food. I just wish I could get her to cook for me every day. Aaah...
Anyhow, I used her recipe for the bulgogi and got it marinating before I did anything else. For the bibimbap itself I used a mix of a few recipes I saw online and basically what I had access to (sadly I didn't have any Asian mushrooms so I had to go with just regular Paris mushrooms instead).

I also decided to try to make some Vietnamese rice paper rolls as a starter since I had the vermicelli noodles and the rice sheets lying around, but I think the rice paper sheets were past their due date, so they weren't sticking to themselves once softened, and took a long time to soften and didn't do it evenly. So they kinda sucked.

But after a few hours and a lot of chopped vegetables...

Ta-da!

Our bowls are really tiny so it all had to be kind of smushed together, but it came out quite nice, if I do say so myself. =]

As far as Asian cuisine goes, I know Japanese cuisine pretty well and udon is my favourite go-to comfort food, but I'd love to get to know Korean food better. Do you have any favourite Korean dishes or recipes?

Bisexuality and Big Lips

As you may or may not know, I write for a few websites, one of them being The-Arcade.ie. I write fortnightly for their Style Saturday. On the other weeks, the segment has varied writers and is dedicated to fashion and style. Today was my day and I decided to honour Catwoman (more specifically Selina Kyle) since DC took a step in the right direction towards sexual diversity!

Also, if you don't already read The Arcade, then subscribe, follow, do ALL THE THINGS to get your geek news fix. You won't regret it.

And for this special article, I filmed a video on a Catwoman makeup tutorial where I also talk about the new craze of lip enhancers/ plumpers and a DIY solution to not spending $25+ on a little plastic cup that will make your lips huge.

Here's a screen grab of the before & after the lip trick.

Pretty ridiculous, isn't it?!

The lip enhancer is kind of a bonus I added to the video because I thought it would be fun to show you guys. The results are strangely immediate and effective. Have you ever tried doing it? I can't help but laugh every time I do it.

To check out the story and watch the video, click here!

Pidgin Doll

I've admired the work of Joshua David McKenney for quite a while now, since I found his Pidgin Doll one day on Instagram. And I'm so glad I did. His work is so delicate and precise. All his pieces crafted with perfection.

photo property of www.pidgindoll.com

He makes everything from ball-jointed dolls, to paper dolls, to necklaces with his doll's face as a pendant. His illustrations are equally as beautiful and they can be found on things like pillows and dresses.

photo property of www.pidgindoll.com

I don't know if I wish to be a Pidgin Doll myself, or if I'd rather live in a Pidgin-themed house... Either way, today I finally tried to recreate a Pidgin's makeup. Every time I see a new Pidgin Doll, I feel like doing its makeup, but for some reason I never have :/

This is the first of many, probably. =]

Here I tried to recreate the original image, but here's another shot I quite liked but strayed a bit from the original:

Here my eyes are green because that's the original colour of the contacts. I changed their colour in photoshop in the previous pic to match the doll's

This was my first time using the Star Crushed Minerals foundations, too! Bizarrely enough, I loved Alabaster as a contour shade more than I liked Creamy Beige as a foundation (if that makes any sense).
I tried applying the Creamy Beige foundation with about 3 different brushes (that have different densities), next time I'll try a pad applicator to see if I like that better. I like the texture the foundation gives to the skin, super velvety soft. I'm not too keen on the coverage though, I prefer a bit more coverage to my foundations, but I'll try using it in different ways until I find a result I like. =]

For the full product details, check out my picture on Instagram.

Material Memorie & Star Crushed Minerals

This week I came home to two awesome things that arrived in the mail for me while I was away.

1) Material Memorie Stickers

I wanna stick them on E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G but there aren't enough. All I know is my palettes are gonna look fiiiine. (Star Wars background for added coolness)

And one day I'll have a pair of Material Memorie sunglasses... One day! i_i
Material Memorie are actually so awesome that hey give you these stickers if you send them your address via e-mail! All they want is for you to stick em' on things and make them that bit cooler. <3

2) Star Crushed Minerals Products

Their packages come to my delight and to my boyfriend's horror with star confetti. Being the clumsy person that I am, it always gets all over the house. <3

This is my second purchase of SCM stuff, and this time I went for some foundations as well. I kind of had to trust them on this one, since I couldn't find reviews or swatches of their foundations anywhere online.
I got 10 shadows and 2 foundations.

1.Golden Peach 2.Coral Pink 3.Larkspur 4.Magenta 5.Raspberry 6.Electric Blue 7.Matte Teal 8.Sea Green 9.Moss Green 10.Forest Green 11.Alabaster 12.Creamy Beige

I went for 2 really light shades of foundation (the two that seemed to be the lightest) so I could stop using white eye shadow as a powder when I want to achieve really pale skin. Well, I got what I THOUGHT were the 2 lightest anyway...
I bought Alabaster thinking it would be well... you know... alabaster! But it's actually pretty dark (as you can tell from swatch #11). Now... I don't know if I was given a product with the wrong label on it, but I don't think that's the case. And if that's really not the case, SCM you should consider re-naming this shade! It is very misleading, since Alabaster is usually one of the lightest colours in foundation shades.
(Something that would also be helpful is displaying them on the website in order of lightness/ darkness. Just sayin'.)
I guess I'll have to use Alabaster for some light contouring now or something...

And one weird thing I noticed while swatching is a darker "halo" that appeared around the Creamy Beige foundation. I don't know what that's all about... But I have yet to test the foundations on my skin to see coverage, etc. I'll do a post just for that another day ;)

Despite my disappointment with one of the foundation shades, I'm absolutely in love with all of the eye shadows I bought.
Electric Blue really lives up to its name and is a must-have if you like insanely bright colours. You can't really tell in the picture, but Sea Green has a BEAUTIFUL iridescence to it. So does Golden Peach.

If you want to see the shimmers and glitters properly, I put up a video of the swatches on my Instagram. =]

And to finish off this post, here's the makeup I did the other day for my AMA with the League of Legends Cosplay group using my new SCM shadows!

Here I used Golden Peach in the inner corner & lid, Coral Pink & Raspberry in the socket. Contacts are Super Pinky Violet. Use my Pinky Paradise code (in banner to the right) for a free gift with every contact lens.