Almost Kate Middleton Hair..

I got one of the best compliments EVER today. A coworker came up to me and was like "Your hair looks good today. Really good. Almost Kate Middleton good." Haha hell yes. Princess hair... sweet. Anyway here's the hair.

F.A.M.E.

No, not the musical, not the Lady Gaga CD... it's an acronym for some of my favorite things... Fashion, Art, Makeup, Etc.

Fashion is probably a major interest of most people, especially most women. It's the way we express ourselves. I am in love with clothes. I have so many that my closet is overflowing into my entire bedroom. (Doesn't help that my husband has tons of clothes as well!) I love how a new outfit can make you feel like a new person and how changing one accessory can make or break your look.

I used to color coordinate my clothes, accessories and eye makeup to all match when I was younger. Then I went through a phase of HEAVY black eye makeup when I was 15-16, I'm talking.. Taylor Momsen eye makeup. I wasn't "goth".. I did wear a lot of black but mostly because black is my all time favorite color and in my opinion, it looks great on me. I think black looks good on almost everyone. After I got out of that phase, I kept my eyeliner very dark and thick, but used pale, shimmery eye shadows a lot. Gradually, I was wearing less and less eyeliner and eventually that became all I wore on my eyes. I would just have black eyeliner on my lower waterline, and that was it. It took maybe 5 minutes to et my makeup on. Black eyeliner, chapstick, bronzer and powder. Done.

I still do that on some days... usually in the summer if I'm worried of sweating off all my makeup. But now I experiment with different colors, techniques, and "looks". I love how polished I can look with the primers, concealers, foundations, various powders and all of that but.. it does take FOREVER to get ready. I'm working on finding a faster way to have that complete/semi-flawless appearance, but it will just take practice and time I suppose.

When it comes to art, I have been drawing and painting for my entire life. I've always enjoyed it. I wanted to be an interior designer and decorate homes with my paintings and other home decor items I'd design/make. That would still be an awesome job, but with this economy and in my area... I'd never be able to call it a "success". So instead, I use my free time to be crafty making gifts, or some things for sale, but mostly if I'm painting or making something, it's for me or my friends. I also screenprint T-shirts, which, takes some fine tuning and practice. I've made so many mistakes on shirts... but I've only been screenprinting for a few weeks. Before that I airbrushed shirts, and before that it was iron-on's. I guess I came full circle on T-shirts. Haha..

With jewelry, I try to make things that I can't find in stores that are super customized to a shirt, or an eyeshadow or one specific thing like that. I feel that makes the necklace/bracelet/earrings POP way more. Also, I might be guilty of making replicas of expensive jewelry I see in stores. But I can't help myself. After you learn to make jewelry, you'll never want to buy it again. I just can't bring myself to spend $40 on a necklace I could make with less than $20 and about a half an hour. I'm a thrifty shopper. I buy most everything on sale and will seriously hunt online and in stores for the best deal before spending my money. I rarely, RARELY spend more than $30 on any ONE item. I would rather go to Ross or TJ Maxx to shop than the mall department stores. If I'm spending $100, would I rather walk out with 1 pair of pants and MAYBE (if I'm lucky) 2 shirts, or come out with 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, and some shoes and a purse?? I'm a proud bargain shopper.

I feel like I'm rambling (I tend to do that...) so I'll end this post here. I just wanted to share a little more background on me and things you might see me post about!

Thanks!!

Erin

Pink Hair!

I'm wearing 4 clip-in human hair extensions in pink that I got from Sally's Beauty Supply. Just experimenting...

All About Tanning!

I'm naturally very fair skinned. But I do love to look tan. I have done it all.. from tanning beds, to self tanning lotions, to spray tans, to laying out in the sun. I know that tanning beds and laying out is not good for you. I know the dangers of skin cancer, aging, dark/sun spots, freckling, etc. But I don't pass judgement on anyone for tanning, because I tan and I know I hate being judged for it. To each their own, ya know?

With self tanning lotions, most just made me orange.. and the only one that didn't was a Jergens tanning lotion. BUT everytime I showered, or shaved my legs, I felt like it all went away. Plus it made my face splotchy and that... is a definite deal breaker.

With spray tans, I have done the at home ones (they work okay, but don't last very long) and I have gone to UltraTan (my local tanning salon) and gotten the Mystic HD tan. If I just do the Glow or Light level, I get a nice sunkissed look. Anything darker than that (medium or dark levels) and I look like a bronze statue. Ew. But the color will last for about a week. When it starts coming off though, you better scrub, scrub, scrub and get it all off or you will look like you have a patchwork tan. TIP: Don't wear white clothing or underwear when you go spray tan. It WILL get on your clothes. My advice, wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty and that are loose fitting, and wear sandals!

Laying out is so relaxing to me. And you can see some gradual results, very gradual in my case and it takes me a while to get dark. After I applied SPF, I would lay out for about 30 minutes (15 on back, 15 on stomach) then apply some tanning oil or lotion with bronzer and lay out for another 20 to 30 minutes. I feel that works best for me. If I start out with bronzer and oils, it all comes off super quick anyway. That's just me though... Also, something that works REALLY awesome if you laying out... being in a pool will help you tan faster. Even if it's just a kiddie pool that you are laying in. The rays reflect off the water and so you're getting double the exposure. If you don't want to lay in a kiddie pool, and don't have access to a regular pool... get a spray bottle, fill it with water and mist yourself while you lay out. Not only will get faster results, but that cool mist of water feels awesome when you're out in the hot sun. *Fun fact: Did you know you can burn or tan easier when it is overcast?

Last but not least.... Tanning beds!

I absolutely LOVE tanning beds. Yes, I'm aware of the fact that they can be harmful to your skin (cancer risks, aging, etc) BUT.. this is something that I enjoy doing. I love the lotions, the fast results, and the different kinds of beds you can use. I tan at UltraTan and it's just awesome. I used to tan at a salon that had only one kind of bed and one flat fee for the month, but they went out of business :( It sucks.. I got my first and best tan ever from that place. But I do love UltraTan, especially since they have so many different beds. My favorites are the stand-ups and ones with additional tanners (Shoulders, sides, facial). I like using lotions with bronzer, but not tingle. Holy crap.. tingle hurts. BAD. And you can't use it on your face so you'd probably have an uneven tan. I'm not big on hemp lotions, I don't really see results with them, but they smell really good usually. Bronzers give you a bit of a glow after tanning, and an instant sunkissed look. I've used a body blush lotion too and it was really good, worked beautifully, but they no longer sell it there and I can't find online either. Sadness. My tips for tanning in tanning beds are: (1) DO NOT WEAR MAKEUP on your face/neck. Your face is harder to tan without makeup, don't make it worse by wearing a full face to the tanning bed. I've gone straight from work multiple times and had makeup on, so I carry some makeup remover wipes in my bag and just take it off when I'm putting on my lotion. Some eye make is fine because the goggles you wear cover your eyes anyway. Which brings me to the next tip... (2) WEAR THE GOGGLES. These are here to protect your eyes and your vision, so do it. Yes you might get those little tan lines around your eyes, BUT if you enjoy being able to see, wear them. (3) TAN EXTENDERS ARE AMAZING. Use a tan extender on a daily basis, and you won't have to go tanning as often. (4)ALOE, ALOE, ALOE!! Aloe Vera is so, so good for your skin. I use aloe vera gel on my face, neck, chest, and shoulders (my peel prone areas) every day and night when I first start tanning. It keeps me from having redness, heals sunburn, and I don't peel. I just tan. After I get my base tan, I only put it on my face and neck, before bed and before makeup the next day and it keeps my skin soft and my skin stays pretty clear of blemishes. Which my skin is always clearer when I go to tanning beds anyway, but the aloe just makes it pretty damn near perfect.

These are just my own personal opinions; what works for me, may not work for you. The sun and tanning bed's UV Rays can be harmful and damaging to your skin. You do whatever you want, this is just what I do. :)

Erin

Special FX Bleeding Scars!

This was done for the band Ghost in the Machine (GITM), but they ended up not needing it. Amanda volunteered as our "cutter". A BIG thank you to my wife for getting the latex appliance to match Amanda's arm. She's way better with makeup and coloring than I am, but then again, I don't wear makeup so that makes since. *We do a lot of art/prop/merch stuff for GitM and promoting. Check 'em out!*

-B














Ghost in the Machine

Band Info:
http://www.reverbnation.com/ghostinthemachine
http://www.facebook.com/ghostinthemachinesc
http://www.myspace.com/ghostinthemachinesc
http://www.twitter.com/GitMsc

Contact:
ghostinthemachinesc@gmail.com
ghostinthemachinesc@yahoo.com

Street Team Info:
http://www.facebook.com/GITM.StreetTeam
http://www.twitter.com/GITMStreetTeam

Contact:
gitmstreet@gmail.com

Luau Hair & Makeup!

For my birthday, my friends threw me a Luau party. Granted it was indoors and completely full of cheese, but I loved it!

My makeup was a very natural, bronzed look. I used:
Physician's Formula bronzer in Medium to Dark on my face
Clinique blush in Cupid
CoverGirl Perfect Point Plus in Black Onyx on my waterline
Nivea Kiss of Shimmer Lipbalm
Revlon Custom Eyes Masacara

My hair was curled (thanks Amanda!) in big, soft curls and I had pink peek-a-boo strips clipped in (also curled). Amanda also made me a little hair clip to match my lei. :)

Excuse the shine on my face... that is sweat. It was VERY hot in there. That's August in the south for you though... hot and humid. Also, if I look a little... out of it, I was partying like it was my birthday so.. yeah. Haha.

Custom Tank Tops!

I airbrushed these tanks for me and Amanda to wear. We're on the GITM Street Team! Oh yeah!! :)

Our First Post!

For this first post, we wanted to give a little background on us and what we're hoping to accomplish with this blog. We're married. Artists. Starving artists, actually. And we're overflowing with hobbies and ideas. Probably why our office is always a mess...

Here we are, Brandon and Erin.



Brandon will not be posting as much as me (Erin), simply because he is always, ALWAYS working. He works two jobs, and works on his own projects in between. One of his jobs is with a special fx company, making props and costumes. (Pretty awesome, right?) When he's not working, Brandon can be found either sculpting, drawing, writing, casting, molding, painting, or watching special features from every DVD we own!

We'll each post our own separate blogs with a little more depth sometime soon.

I (Erin) will posting much more than my husband. I have more time to do so, and I'm the more tech savvy, blogger type of the two of us. When I'm not at work, you can find me paiting, screen printing, making jewelry, giving furniture a makeover, decorating, taking a million pictures, doing hair or (my favorite hobby) doing makeup. I love creating beauty, whether it's on a canvas, a T-shirt, a wall, or a face.

That's all for our brief little intro! We'll be back to post more soon! Thanks!

Brandon & Erin