Nablopomo post no. 19: Playing around with make-up

 It has literally been years since I've worn make-up. It was a part of my LARPing stuff and going out to be social. Yesterday, I went through all of my make-up and nail polish. I discovered in there some funky lip gloss. It is from L'Oreal (I think) and it is called Adrenalyn. It's this really dark navy blue with a tiny bit of gold sparkles in it. 

It transfers to cups really easy and is difficult to get off unless you are using baby wipes. (I swear those things can get everything clean if you are gentle and patient enough. They're magic.)

Still, I have decided I am going to start wearing make-up on a regular basis. I just have the lip gloss on in the picture above. I thought it was kinda cool that it sorta color coordinates with Eeyore. This make up stuff is hard for me because I'm not that great at it. I learned a lot from my late friend R. She encouraged me to be extravagant and spectacular with my make-up. At that time, I was still a bit nervous about that. So she decided to give me a make over. When I saw what she had done, I finally understood the purpose of make-up. It was to accentuate your features and to have fun.

For a really long time, my relationship with make-up was pretty rocky. I could to a passable job of applying lipstick and subtle tones to highlight my face. But I always worried that I did something wrong or that my color choices were all wrong for my skin tone. Growing up, I was mocked horribly by peers and my immediate family for wearing make-up. When I started going out on dates, my mom insisted on doing my make up for me because she decided that I was going to be leaving the house looking like a clown left to my own devices. Instead of looking like a clown, mom's heavy handed application and choices made me look like a cheap whore. It was awful and made me swear off of wearing make up for a few years.

It was hard to trust R. to give me that make over. But the end result was entirely different from what mom did. Yes, the lipstick was dramatic. Everything was tastefully dramatic (which fit the character I was playing to a t.) and I felt beautiful. I hadn't expected that. R. gave me tips and pointers on how to recreate the experience. It helped that she had gone to cosmetology school. (My mother did not.)

So, as I am doing the goth thing, I'm realizing I can have lots of fun with my make up just on a daily basis. Because it all washes off at the end of the day. I'm not brave enough to do eye liner yet, but some day, I'll get there.

Mom's Carrot Salad

Today's recipe is a family favorite. My husband enjoys it so much that he asks that I make it every Monday. (Monday's are burger night and this always goes really well.) It takes a bit of work to make it but it is well worth the results. The quantities that I'm going to give will make enough for five people with some left over. It keeps relatively well when it is in a covered container in the fridge. If you manage not to eat it all the day you make it, it keeps for about five days in the fridge.

Take 5 lbs of carrots. Wash them, peel, and grate fine. In a medium bowl, place the grated carrots, a 1/4 cup of raisins, 1/4 cup of peanut butter, and 1/2 cup of whipped dressing. Mix together until all parts are coated with the peanut butter-whipped topping mixture. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes and serve cool.

You can use chunky or smooth peanut butter. I haven't tried it but I know this would work with a different kind of nut butter or sunflower butter.

Momma's a man!

So, I get myself all dressed up for my turn out at the LARP Beloved and I play in. My eldest looked at me and said loudly (and with a giggle), "Momma's a man!" Apparently wearing a suit turns you into a man. Who knew!

Dear readers, I give you the Malkavian Cathy. One of her quirks is she dresses in men's clothes and always has a hat. It is a bit of a break from wearing scarves, though I feel a bit silly wearing hats. Even though I didn't get to enjoy game (because I came down with the stomach virus that laid the kids low last week), I got many compliments on my suit.

The most amusing thing was the number of people who told me that the flag pin was upside down. It was a subtle point that rankled several folks. At first people wanted to correct it, then I told them that it was intentional. It was, in short, quite the annoyance to others and a source of entertainment for myself.

Oh, my thrift shopping friends- all elements of this outfit, except for the jewlery, hat, and boots came from the thrift store. Total cost (sans mentioned items) $5.00! The suit consists of a blazer, slacks, and a vest in similar material. The most entertaining facet of this ensemble is the fact that the constituent parts were found in different sections and technically do not match. The vest does not button, but rather has a zipper. The tie, however, hides that quite nicely. (Thank you Beloved for lending and picking out the tie for this outfit!) The jacket and the shirt are a tad short in the sleeve, but it fits well enough that you can't really tell.

Aside from this suit, I also plan on wearing male business casual attire. Thus, I will be posting future pictures that go along with this character.

New hat!

I'm going to blog a bit about the costuming I do for my LARP characters. I have one that is a madwoman. She has a few quirks. One of them is that she dresses in men's clothes. I'm not talking about just jeans and a sweater (though it is an option). I have a black suit that looks much like Beloved's. I'm planning on wearing that suit, a button down shirt, a tie (borrowed from Beloved), my leather long coat, and a hat.

Last month, I didn't have the suit. I was just doing the jeans and man's sweater. I had my leather long coat and my leather cowboy hat. As I was out grocery shopping last weekend, I snagged a plastic, velour covered top hat. My plan is to wear it next session with the suit and everything. I'm not going to be making it to January's session for the game, but that's ok. It gives me the time to get everything I need together.

If I can manage it, I'm going to borrow Beloved's tie tack and cufflinks. If not, that's ok. I'll still find away to make it work.

Here's my new hat! If I can manage it, I'll locate a real hat in this style at a second hand shop or something in a size smaller. Either way, this is going to be part of my rotation for this character. I also have my velvet fedora as an option. Who knows, maybe I'll manage to find some other awesome hats for dirt cheap. This thing only cost one buck.