A Christmas Present from DHD

I hope you're all enjoying the holidays with your family. I know I am. I wanted to leave a little present for all of my readers. Use the code MerryChristmas at checkout and get 15% off everything in our Etsy store here: http://darkheartdesign.etsy.com/

Now, back to playing with the new presents. Enjoy!

Stencil Tutorial Part 2 - Using the Stencil

I realize this is a little overdue, but here is the second part of my stencil tutorial that will show you how to use the stencils you made in this post.

First off, you're going to want to apply the stencil sticker to your bare face. If you have any make up on under it, the adhesive will pull it off. I go ahead and finish my make up on every part of my face except for the area that I use the stencils on. I find it's easier to complete your eyeshadow before adding the design.

Now, place the trimmed stencil on the area of your face that you'd like to put the design on. I usually do this around my eyes or on my cheeks. When I'm ready to use the eye shadow for the stencil, I get a small plate or lid to dump a small amount of powder on. I then mix water into the shadow, a drop at a time until I have a thick, liquid consistancy. It's important that you do not add water to your eye shadow jar. Always get another container and dump a small amount out. If water gets into your shadow, it will cause bacteria to grow in it.

While the shadow is still wet, brush it over the main area of the stencil. Do this until you have enough shadow on there to cover the area like this:

Let the area dry for a moment and then slowly peel the stencil off. It should look something like my stars here:

The silver is a little difficult to see. If you use a darker color, it will be a more prominent design when you're finished. Now that I've finished with the stencil, I use a brush to touch up my foundation around the area & add some lip gloss.

If you use a darker color it will look more like this:

If you need to touch up your lines, use a damp brush with a fine line. I've had the designs smudge on me when I get clumsy enough to rub my face.

New item to premiere on Monday!

Image Credit

I've secretly been working on a few things in between all the orders lately. No, it's not nail polish yet, I'm sorry. It's actually a few different things that you'll see over the next few months. The first one will release on Monday around noon and just in time for last minute Christmas shopping. If you're going to be ordering gifts online, remember to do it soon! The cut off time for First Class Mail is the 20th, and Express is not cheap. I learned this the hard way. But all in all, let's not forget that it's not about the presents. It's about doing something nice for the people we love.

Image Credit

Etsy Haul Part 4 - Burning Moon Jewelery & Accessories

I know this is long overdue, but please forgive me. I've been packing up jars & sample packs for everyone. Here's my next Etsy review:

Burning Moon Hair accessories & Jewelry

Burning Moon sells jewelery, hair accessories, and a few other miscellaneous items. She has a lovely shop with really beautiful, classy items.

I received two key chain FOB's from Burning Moon. They were both very beautiful and accurately represented in her shop. My items arrived really quickly, with a nice personal note included from Luna. I would definitely purchase from her shop again. In fact, it would be a little hard to resist with all the beautiful chokers & necklaces like this one:

Holiday News

To everyone that reads this: I'm sorry for my absence. Between the holidays and my cold, I haven't had the time to update.

Shop news: Our Etsy shop is having a 30% off holiday sale. Using the code HAPPYTURKEYDAY will save you 30% off your order at our until midnight on Monday. This will be the last & biggest sale we'll be offering this year. If you'd like to try our cosmetics, you'll get the best deal now.

In other news: I've been debating on my next project.

Lipsticks, or

Nail Polish?

I've been considering on what item to add to our line next. I've had a lot of votes for nail polish, so I'm leaning in that direction. I would really like to have a line that's entirely color coordinated. I would love to be able to wear eye shadows that have matching lip stick and nail polish shades. No more searching for colors. What do you think? Should we add lip sticks or nail polishes next? Leave me a comment and let me know. I'm interested in your opinion!

Etsy Haul Part 3 - Doxy Dame Jewelery

The next addition to my trading collection is Katie's incredibly beautiful jewelry.

Doxy Dame: Wanton jewels for wenches, jezebels & other womanly varieties

Katie describes her jewelery as "Retro-era glam jewelry & accessories made with upcycled and repurposed materials. From shiny, sparkly rhinestones to grungy aged chain; there is a lot of history in my pieces that leave a modern girl wistful of the past."


I received my items in a pretty little jar with a vintage style sticker on the lid. The jewels were wrapped in lace and just a bright and beautiful as they are in her shop photos. The depth of color and feel to her items is breath taking. They instantly draw the eye. My photo doesn't even do them justice, which is why you should take a look at her shop and see why I feel in love with them.

Katie has many beautiful items and a winning personality. I feel as though I've come out of this trade with a friend. Her customer service is amazing. That alone is worth making a purchase from her shop. If you do business with Katie, you won't be let down!

Etsy Haul Part 2 - FantastiCrafts Jewelery & Accessories

Day two of my handmade highlights: I received a beautiful set of wine charms from Nicole of FantastiCrafts. FantastiCrafts carrries necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, magnets, bookmarks, & wine charms.

FantastiCrafts Jewelery & Accessories

I'd never heard of wine charms until Nicole asked me if I'd like to trade items from our shops. She has a decent sized collection of these beautiful jewelery pieces in varying themes. I chose the unicorns for mine. They came in a lovely organza bag & looked just like her shop pictures. The wine charms are open circles so that they can snap onto the wine glasses. Theu are a very elegant addition to dress up your stem ware. Below is a picture of the charms on an actual glass:

Wine charms are just the tip of the iceberg for FantastiCrafts. Nicole has a large selection of unique jewelery that I have never seen elsewhere. If you like beautiful, unusual jewelery, you should take a moment to look at her Etsy shop & the fine products that she sells.

Etsy Haul Part 1 - Old Wives' Tale Soaps

I've recently been trading a lot with other Etsy sellers. It's given me a chance to get handmade gifts for my friends & family, get to know my fellow Etsy sellers, & find some great items. In all I've really enjoyed it. I'm going to take the next few posts to go over some of the things I've got already.

Old Wives' Tale Soaps

The first person I traded with is Jessica of Old Wives' Tale Soaps. From the beginning Jessica was extremely friendly & her customer service is excellent. I traded with her for two lotion bars, which are shown in the picture above. She has a wonderful selection of scents in her shop. I chose Victorian Rose (the rose), & Aloe Rain (the other round bar).

Victorian Rose has a soft rose scent that reminds me of my grandmother. Aloe Rain is perhaps my favorite. The bars are thick and very similar to a soap bar, however, when you rub the bar on your skin it softens with your body heat. When you initially touch the bars, you might get the impression that they leave behind a greasy residue. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it does the opposite. It instantly softens your skin and leaves a pleasant scent. The bars also make incredible carpet cleaners. I dropped it once and it picked up everything within a two foot radius. Ok, so maybe that's an exaggeration. I did spend about five minutes trying to get the carpet fuzz of it. Overall, I was highly satisfied & will definitely be getting more in the near future. I seriously suggest you check her shop out.

Stencil Tutorial Part 1 - Making the Stencil

 I apologize for taking so long, but here is the first part of my stencil tutorial.

What you'll need:
Adhesive Sticker Paper (Available at most office supply store or online)
A razor knife or any other good sharp knife you might have
A piece of cardboard to avoid marring any table tops, etc. when cutting

First off, you'll want to find a design you want to use for your stencil. I've found the easiest way to do this is to look for silhouettes. The simpler the design, the easier it is to make a stencil. I picked this set:

Image Credit: Istockphoto

I used paint to isolate the shooting stars on the left middle of the image by coloring over the other designs with white.

Next you'll want to print the design on adhesive paper. Make sure that you print your design in a small size such as one inch, two inch, etc. so that it's not to big to use. The one I use here is about two inches by two inches. I've also printed a few designs so I'm not wasting paper.

Now you'll want to put your design over a piece of cardboard and cut it out carefully with a sharp knife. It's easier to cut from the outside lines towards the center to keep from tearing the paper. 

Now that you have all of the designs cut out, trim the sticker paper to fit the area that you're going to be using it on (ie. your eyes, cheek, etc.)

Your completed stencil should look similar to this. Now you're ready to use it! Here's some more advice:

*If you want to use the same design on both sides of your face, be sure that you flip/mirror the image so that you have opposites. 

*Larger designs are easier to cut out. If you have trouble try using those kind first to get some practice.

*It's best to use a razor knife or Xacto knife to cut the design & be sure that you protect the surfaces that you're cutting on.

Still having a hard time? I've been thinking about adding stencils to my shop. Comment on the blog and tell me what you think! I'd love to hear it.

I'll be adding a tutorial on how to use the stencil you've made soon. I thought it would be best to do this in two parts. Thanks for reading!

And the winner is....

The winner of the Halloween contest is Kari*!

Kari's Useless Angel look. Eyes: Twisted Metal, Purple Haze.

The prize for this contest is two full size jar of shadow and one new lip gloss. The runner up is Chani and her vampire look. Thank you all for participating!

*The contestants were voted for by a panel of judges.

Tag post from Tianne

Tianne tagged me after She posted 10 things about herself and then passed the award on to 10 other bloggers. I stumbled on Tianne's blog when she gave my make up shop a little review & I saw the reference in google analytics. Of course, I had to check it out and I'm still reading! She's so down to earth and does some incredible make up looks. Plus..she's really nice :) Who doesn't like sweet people?

Here's what I have to do:
1. Say who gave me the award
2. List 10 things I like
3. Pass it on to ten other bloggers.


1. I was tagged by Tianne

2. Ten things I like are (in no particular order):

i. My computer. I'd be so lost without it. I'm a complete nerd

ii. Animals. I love almost all of them. Even the slithery snakes. Probably because my parents had an exotic animal show before I was born & animals have always been a part of my life.

iii. Old movies, including musicals.

iv. Making eye shadows, lipglosses, etc. I absolutely love it. The only thing I love more than making make up is when people like what I've made & I have happy customers.

v. Making my own costumes, clothing, curtains, etc. I have a custom Star Wars costume, a set of hot pink and black curtains w/designs & tons of dresses and other things I've made.

vi. The carnival. Until '94 my family had an arcade and I grew up traveling with the carnival. I still love going to them and seeing my fellow carnies.

vii. Halloween. It's my favorite holiday since I live in South Georgia and it's about the only chance I get to really dress up.

viii. Orange Blossom is also a smell I like along with Tianne. Being that I spent most of my life in Florida, it's a smell that brings back a lot of memories.

ix. Music is a big fave that I just have to pick as a whole category. I love HIM, AFI, and, of course, Lady Gaga, but I really love going to concerts. I've went with my dad a few times to see some of the older bands like the Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, & what's left of the Who. It's all been an experience.

x. Sugar. I have an addiction to sweets. It's terrible, I know.

The Bloggers I am tagging are:

1. I'm tagging Sporkful Designs. She has a really lovely blog & I love lurking through it

Unfortunately I don't have many followers but some are better than none!

Tag, you're IT!

Halloween Contest Entries

This post is devoted entirely to the conclusion of our Halloween contest. Here are the entries:

Rachel's Gypsy Look. Eyes: Siren's Song, Crash Love, Frost

 Kari's Useless Angel look. Eyes: Twisted Metal, Purple Haze.

Chani's Vampire Look. Eyes: Vampire Heart. In The Dark. Frost.

Honorable Mention since she can't enter:

Jeni's Cheshire Cat Look. Eyes: Charmed and Pink Nights 

I'll be announcing a winner by Wednesday. Please let me know who your favorite is! 

The winner will receive two full sized eye shadows and one of our new lip slicks.

Contest Update

If you partied to much this weekend and haven't had a chance to upload your photos...you're safe! I'll be extending the Halloween contest another week. Here's your chance to win free dark heart design eye shadow!

Absinthe

Blog spotlight: Nutmeg Cottage crochet

 I'd like to spotlight a fellow Etsy seller, Nutmeg Cottage. She makes absolutely beautiful crochet creations ranging from doilies, to bookmarks, to decor. Here's an excerpt from her shop:

"I love to crochet and hope you will enjoy my crocheted creations, some of which are my own designs. For over 40 years, I have been crocheting with yarn and thread, finding that thread crochet is one of the best ways to bring beauty into a home. I use high quality materials and offer you a high level of workmanship. Inspired by my Mom’s beautiful hand crocheted pineapple doilies that I treasure, I love to work with new patterns, as well as some of my favorites. Doilies and other crocheted creations can be passed down from generation to generation and enjoyed for years to come."

Below is a highlight of her work from Etsy







Here are some other honorable mentions of other Etsy sellers

allurebyu

somewearintyme

BeansThings

frayedfuzzies

BurningMoon

tmeddie04

sweetgrassprints

Costume Party Pics

I attended a costume party with some friends last night and decided to post some pictures of my make up:

Wearing Rave, Killing Moon, & Frost

Since I'm not artistically inclined, I did the designs with some home made stencils. If anyone would like to know how I made the stencils, or read a tutorial on how to make them, & do the look, please comment and I'll make that my next post. I want to hear what you have to say!

Inspiration for our Halloween contest: Dangerously Dolly

Slumped with ideas for our Halloween contest? Try Dangerously Dolly! Here's an excerpt from her site:

"Dangerously Dolly is an internationally published portrait photographer that currently resides in Atlanta, GA often visiting her hometown in Miami, FL, and is available to travel for work.

With years of experience in creative retouching, digital arts, art direction, and photography, at age twenty-three she is focusing on spending most of her creative energy towards her clients and her personal projects.DD has a love for taking conceptual and vivid portraits, usually leaning on alternative and pin-up fashion, however she is always expanding and taking onto different fields of photography while implementing her twist.
DD has been a source of inspiration for other traditional artists, photographers, or even models, and absolutely loves receiving art from those who were influenced by her work."

Sweet

 

Sassy

Sophisticated

Spooky

All images in this post are copyright of http://dangerouslydolly.com. If you're in her area and would like a good photographer I'd personally suggest Janelle. You can visit her site for more ideas.

Halloween Contest Details

Mardi Gras

Jes & Ame wearing Nymph, Crash Love, & Charmed

 
Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love the excuse to dress up in crazy costumes and make up. It's the one day out of the year that you can be anything you want. A beautiful faerie princess or a gruesome ghoul. The only limit is your imagination and that includes your make up.

Faerie

Megan wearing Siren's Song, Surrender, & Rave

I encourage you all to put on your prettiest pout and your spookiest shadows so you can win some free goodies from DHD! I'll be giving away two full size shadows of your choice and one new Lip Slick gloss to the winner. The rules are simple. Use our shadows to create a look for Halloween and submit it to us. The deadline for all submissions is November 5th by 5:00 pm est. Don't have any DHD shadows? Problem solved! Message me at tina [at] darkheartdesigns.com with your address and the colors you'd like to try for free samples. Take a photo of your completed look and email it, post it on our facebook page, or upload it and link us. The entries will be judged and announced by November, 7th.

Vamp

Me wearing In The Dark, Shudder, & Vampire Heart

If I have enough entries I'll be adding other runner up goodie packs. I hope you'll all take the time to participate and win some free things from us. Some photos have the possibility of making it into our promotional materials. Please notify us if you don't want your photos used in brochures or flyers. Thanks for reading!

Good Witch

Kari wearing Starstruck, Paparazzi, Siren's Song, & Twisted Metal

Until next time...
-DHD

25% off for our Hallowed Hues sale!

Trying to find bright eye shadow colors for your Faerie costume? Looking for those haunted hues to vamp up your Halloween look? Need the perfect gift at a lower price? All shadows at Dark Heart Designs are on sale from now until midnight on All Hallow's Eve.

Not sure what you want? Request up to 10 free samples by emailing us at tina [at] darkheartdesigns.com or purchase a sample pack of all 34 DHD colors here. Remember to get your items soon in time for Halloween. We'll also be running a contest so put on your best costume face using DHD shadows and win some free goodies!

 Charmed & Pink Nights

You can purchase any of our products from our Esty store at www.etsy.com/shop/darkheartdesign and get a 25% discount.

How do you make your own make up?

Image Credit: istockphoto.com

I'm often asked how I make my own make up. The answer is simple. It's like making cookies or a cake from scratch. You purchase the ingredients, you formulate a recipe, you make it, and you try it out. Then you tweak it god knows how many times, and finally come up with a finished product that you're satisfied with. That's just the very basics. Add into that hours upon hours of research, testing different ingredients, and the failures when it doesn't go right. Then you have to find containers, make labels, open a shop, make promotional materials, and hit the streets and the social networks with it. I'm currently in the stage of getting my product out there and to do that I've sent out tons of free samples. In all it's probably cost me about $500 out of my own pocket to get started. Now the metaphorical ball is just barely starting to roll and my business is picking up.

I have no problem giving out information on how I make the products. I do, however, have a problem with giving out my supplier information and detailed descriptions of how I make my products. I have spent countless hours reading information on formulating, running a business, selling products, blogging, and tons of other things in an attempt to learn myself. With all the time and money I've invested in my business, I think it a rite of passage for anyone who wants to start their own. I do understand I will have competition no matter what I do. I just don't want to give out information that could put someone in direct competition with my business. It has taken a lot for me to get where I am and I would appreciate it if people would, respectfully, not as me those questions as I can't answer them.

There's still more to hand making cosmetics. You need a sanitary location, (I have a room specifically for my business), lots of gloves, and the intelligence to realize you're making something that people will use on their bodies and it needs to be free from any contamination. I take great pride in my work and I sincerely enjoy my customers. I hope that will show as my business continues to grow.

Pretty Packaging!

Everyone loves getting mail. Especially beautiful, well packaged mail. Most cosmetics come in pretty, fancy boxes which are then sent in lovely, decorated mailers. I won't lie. I, too, am a sucker for pretty things. My MAC brush set that I was given for Christmas came in a tasteful box that I loved. However, one of my favorites has to be Amy's packaging for her new line, Sugarpill. The boxes these products come in are miniature works of art. Unfortunately, I have no use for the empty box and it would look a little strange if I stuck it on my wall. Therefore, it ends up in the trash. How can you throw something like this away?

Image Credit

Lately, I've been doing a lot of thinking. What good is all the beautiful packaging if it ends up in your junk drawer or the trash? It eventually ends up adding to those huge, unsightly landfills that pop up all over the place. I love giving my customers nice things but I can't justify contributing to the amount of unrecycled trash we just dig a hole and bury. I want my company to be more environmentally aware and conservative. I've taken to cutting down on the amount of paper products I use. I would rather write things out by hand, giving my products a personal touch, then slapping more paper on it for the landfill. I want to take the time to personalize every order, so that my customers know that they mean something to me. They're not just dollar signs and I can let them know this, and save my planet at the same time.

I urge you all to recycle everything you can. If not for yourself, then for the people of tomorrow. Your friends, family, children. Everyone who will be effected by the actions that we take today. http://earth911.com is an excellent place to find information about recycling, including local centers. You may be just one person, but one person can change the world, a little at a time!

Faery Inspired Look

I am far from being one of the youtube or blogger make up queens. I'm a normal, average working girl with minimal make up skills. But I can still pull a few rabbits out of the hat. Thanks to my friend's demands I'm going to give a tutorial a shot.

I was browsing books and decided that I wanted to do an eye shadow blend based on Into The Wildewood. Here's a picture of the cover so you can see where I got the idea from:

First off, everyone pretty much knows how to apply foundation, blush, etc. I'm just going to cover a simple shadow blend. First off, I seriously suggest having a good set of tools. These are the brushes that I use all the time:

The first brush on the left, the pink one, came from my ingredient supplier. I absolutely love this brush. It's right up there with my MAC brushes for quality. The middle brush is MAC 224SE, which I use for blending and highlighting. The last brush on the right is a MAC 275SE, which I use to put most of my shadow on.

The colors I used for this blend are Carnival Queen, Nymph, Absinthe, and Frost. I've swatched the colors on my arm. The swatches on the left are on Urban Decay's Potion Primer, while the swatches on the right are on bare skin with no foundation, primer, etc. I've found that I can't get them to stick well without foundation. I also noted the wear of the swatches on my arm. Those that were under the primer have held up better to being rubbed from my sleeve. They also hold up better in conditions where your face will be damp or sweaty, such as concerts. Here are the swatches (minus Frost since I forgot to swatch it):

And now here's the look I went for: 

In order to achieve this look, start with Carnival Queen. Use a thin brush and pat, rather than brush, the yellow shade from the corner of your eye to the inside of your iris. Next, add Nymph to the area just over your iris. From the outside of your iris to the outside corner of your eye, apply Absinthe, blending the colors into each other as you go. Next, use a thicker brush to blend the shade onto your brow. Finally, use use the angled brush to blend Frost from your brow down to the top of your shadow blend. If you like, you can apply a thin line of Carnival Queen under your bottom lash line as I have done. Finish the look with black eyeliner and mascara. Here are some photos of the finished look:

Foundation: Mary Kay

Blush: Dark Heart Designs

Lipstick: Morgana Minerals in Margarita

Eyeshadow: Dark Heart Designs in Carnival Queen,

Nymph, Absinthe, & Frost

What's in your make up?

On the whole, I know more people who wear make up than people who don't. Even a few guys. With that being said, I think more of us should question the things we put on our face. Our skin is our biggest organ. Logically we need to be careful what we expose it to. When I started making eye shadows, I started doing a lot of ingredient research. It made me realize how much unnecessary junk we end up smearing on our face.Parabens, dibutyl phthalates, etc. Most of that is those lovely carcinogens that masquerade in the form of preservatives. So the question is, how much of your health are you willing to sacrifice to be pretty?

 Image credit

Since everyone is becoming more aware of what their using, chemicals don't have to be an issue anymore. A considerable amount of companies are starting to phase out those ingredients. All we need to is a basic knowledge of what to stay away from, and how to research the ingredients we're not familiar with.One way to do this is by searching ingredients on the cosmetics database. I'd advise comparing these ingredient results with a google search. Some items on the database have data gaps, and if it really is a dangerous ingredient, you're pretty likely to find it mentioned elsewhere.

 There are quite a few companies that make safe products. Morgana Minerals, Burt's Bees, Fyrinnae, and my company, Dark Heart Designs, all offer products that are free from parabens and safe to use. I hope after reading this you'll take your health into your own hands and be more aware of the things you're using.