when i was in middle school nickelodeon on directv broke and it froze on the same frame for five hours. which would not have been so bad, except it was during the episode of spongebob where he goes to live with the jellyfish. specifically the scene where he’s naked and covered in sea urchins and flopping all over the place trying to get them off. and it froze on the frame where spongebob was facedown on the ground, naked. so he was laying there like that in complete silence for five hours. we would change the channel back every so often to see if he’d gotten up, but he was still like that when we went to bed. none of my friends had directv so when i asked them the next day they hadn’t seen it, but my brother and i were pretty convinced that spongebob was dead.
Aesthetic of the Day: Depthcore / Metalheart / Trendwhore (~1998-2004)
Thought I’d start doing some posts on various aesthetics I’ve been studying since starting my exploration of Y2K four years ago. Metalheart, named for the 2001 book of the same name cataloging the work of Swedish designers Andreas Lindholm and Anders F. Ronnblom, is a visually complex and heavily digital aesthetic popular in the very late 90s and early 2000s. Its precursors include experimental deconstructivist works of designers like Zaha Hadid, the loud and expressive graphics used in rave flyers of the era, and designs by firms ATTIK and Me Company.
The style further developed in online communities like DeviantArt, Customize.org, and Depthcore, becoming more elaborate and complex as time went on. The hallmarks of this aesthetic included intricately-crafted, abstract, chaotic, and dramatic digital compositions, futuristic ‘tech’ interfaces with superfluous type, extensive overlays and effects, short (sometimes cryptic or poetic) phrases, and mainly dark/cyberpunk titles like ‘Deterioration, Injektion, Overdose, Biohazard, Brokenfaith’ to name a few. Since the popularity of this style was concurrent with an era of intensive user customization, it manifested in a variety of forum signatures, wallpapers, UIs, and skins for mp3/media programs.
As the style started to become dominant and over-saturated in these communities, it gained the more derisive title of ‘Trendwhore’.
This look eventually morphed together with the more vector-based, bright-colored and flowery ‘McBling’ aesthetic. Since Metalheart is relatively recent, this transition is pretty well cataloged on archived sites still accessible today.
Recently the style has re-emerged through the work of artists like Virtual Self(Porter Robinson). If you’re further interested, we have both a Facebook group and Discord dedicated to investigating and expanding our understanding of this oft-forgotten aesthetic.
Over time I’ve had numerous requests to give people a run down of my basic make-up routine. So finally I decided to would be best to write my routine out here on tumblr to share with anyone who might find it useful.
This routine will only go over beard cover, foundation and some very basic bits on contouring (still learning this one). I may in future go over more on eye shadow, etc however, I just want to get basic starting routine in here.
I would like to point out that this routine is my own and is very much a work-in-progress. It is not necessarily the best routine or one that will work for you. However, after reading and watching countless tutorials and doing lots of my own experimenting it is where I currently am in my own development. There will certainly be future revisions and changes as I learn and find out more.
Hopefully though there maybe something in here you find useful and will help you get started on your own make-up routine.
1. Get to know your face and eye shape
Even before you get going with make-up it’s important to understand your own face and eye shapes. These are important as they will dictate which make-up techniques are going to work best for you. Unfortunately our faces and eyes are all different and mean not all routines are going to work for you. However, knowing these shapes will help you look up guides and tutorials that will best suit you and allow to achieve the best possible results.
2. Shower and shaving
It may sound obvious but it is best to apply make-up to clean skin. When I shower before dressing I exfoliate to remove any dead skin and use a body moisturiser to re-hydrate my skin.
Showering also helps to soften your beard stubble which will help to achieve a cleaner shave. I will usually shave in the shower or straight after coming out. The razor you use will be of personal preference but I use a new razor blade when shaving before dressing.
Shaving and stubble is one of the biggest problem areas I have, I will shave first with the gain of the stubble, then across and finally against the grain. However, as yet I still am left with stubble breaking the surface of my skin and my make-up, so this is still an area I need to work on.
I have heard of others using an epilator (not something I would recommend) or plucking all the hairs out. Personally I don’t feel these are an option but it may be something you could do some research into.
Finally I apply a moisturiser to my face to cool off my skin and re-hydrate. As I have sensitive skin I will generally shower and shave half an hour to an hour before I dress. I will then wash my face again to clean any shaving nicks and re-moisturise my face.
3. The routine!
Okay this is part of the post we all came to see ;) I’ve included the products I’m currently using, these are nothing special and mostly just what I’ve picked up as cheap over the counter cosmetics at the super market.
To neutralise the blue in your stubble or if you suffer like me from dark circles under your eyes you’re going to need an orange or red concealer/lipstick. I simply apply the concealer with my finger over my beard shadow and under the eyes. I make sure I’ve rubbed the concealer well into the stubble, then fade out the concealer away from the area I want to cover.
I no longer do this this step, however, it is good if you feel you need extra cover or even possibly want to skip step 1.
Once I’ve applied the concealer I go over same area with the TV Paint Stick which is slightly lighter than my natural skin tone. I find the TV Paint Stick to be very thick so apply it with a make-up sponge. I dab the sponge over the area want to cover not too thickly allowing some of the orange concealer to show through. Essentially my beard and under eye area look light orange in colour.
I also apply the TV Paint Stick to those areas I want to highlight for contouring. In my case, this is one of those areas that may be different for you, the middle of my forehead, bridge of nose, tops of cheeks under eyes and chin.
I start by off by applying a layer of foundation over my beard shadow which is darker than my natural skin tone. I use a foundation brush to apply the foundation, I start in a dabbing and circular action to work the foundation in my stubble.
I then smooth out the foundation by brushing on a fraction more foundation over the top in short downward strokes, following the gain of my stubble.
I’ll then usually wait 10-15 min for this first layer of foundation to dry a little before applying a lighter tone over the top. If you want to hurry the drying you could use a setting powder such as
NYX - HD Finishing Powder, which I would apply with a powder puff.
This second layer of foundation is much closer to my natural skin tone and will cover not only my beard shadow but also the rest of my face and neck.
Again I apply the foundation in a dabbing and circular motion to work in the foundation before smoothing it out as I did with the darker foundation. The only exception to this is when I’m re-going over the first layer of darker foundation, here I will only smooth out the lighter foundation over the top.
Working it in will mix it too much with the darker foundation underneath and leave the beard area noticeably darker than the rest of my face. It can take a little practice but I find the double layering over my beard shadow helps to reduce the blue tones that show through.
I don’t claim to be an expert at contouring and highlighting but I’ve learnt a few tricks that help to sculpt the face.
First I start by highlighting my forehead, bridge of my nose, below my eye and along the top of my cheekbone. I just go straight ahead and brush on the concealer over those areas I want to highlight, then I use a make-up sponge in a dabbing motion to even out the concealer.
I finish what you might call the liquid stage by dabbing the sponge over my whole face and neck blending, evening out and removing a little of the excess make-up.
For this step I use two matte powders the first is a close to my skin tone and the other is light rose tinted. I apply the rose tinted powder over my beard area, as a final attempt to neutralise any of the remaining blue tones that might be coming from my stubble, using a powder puff.
Next I apply the lighter powder first over the areas I’ve highlighted and then over the rest of my face and neck, including the area I applied the rose powder. Again I use a powder puff to apply the lighter powder.
I use a rather excessive amount of matte powder, as when I come to apply my eyeshadow, if any drops off on to my face it will fall on to the excess powder and can be brushed off.
There are no real hard and fast rules to eyeshadow, it really is going to be down the look you want to create. However, my basic rules for eyeshadow are you want to work from a lighter shade/colour on the inner edge of the eye working to a medium to darker shade/colour on the outer edge. Work the dark shade/colour up and out from the outer corner of the eye to, but not reaching, the outer edge of your brow.
You then want to blend the eyeshadow together and soften the edges, generally you want to avoid hard edges.
I then apply an eyeliner along the top of my eye lid and if I am daring create a little flick for wings at the outer edge.
I really struggle with my eyes I don’t know if it age but when I look at tutorials everyone’s eyelids skin looks nice and tight. Mine is really loose and it makes applying eyeliner especially tough. The only trick I have found is to pull the outer edge of my eyelid out a little to tighten the skin.
To finish this step as mentioned already, I brush off the excess powder and any eyeshadow that has fallen on it.
As I’ve mentioned I am no contouring expert so other a bit of concealer my only other nod to contouring is applying a bronzer.
Very simply I apply bronzer using a bronzer brush, before applying the bronzer I tap the brush to remove any excess. It’s very easy to add too much bronzer and making a mess of it, so add a little at time until you’re happy with the look. I usually find one or two layers of bronzer more than enough.
I apply the bronzer in a line from the top of my ear to two finger width from the corner of my mouth, brush again with grain of my stubble so as not rub off too much foundation. Pursing your lips will give you a crease as an easy line to follow.
I also apply the bronzer on and under jaw line to soften it up a little, as well as around the edge of my face along the hair line to frame my face.
I sometimes will brush over my face the light matte powder again to blend everything together and dull off a little of the bronzer if I think I’ve layered it on a little thick.
When it comes to plucking my eyebrows I try not to over do it, while I want a nice shape for when I dress I still want my brows to look good in boy-mode too. So I simply start by removing the random hairs that don’t make up the main body of my brow. I then neaten up the edges giving the brow a little shape.
Finally I thin the outer half of the brow starting above my iris when looking straight forward, tapering the thinning as I move out along the brow. This helps to give a small arching effect to the brows without going over the top.
When it comes to colouring the brow, I use an angled brow brush to simply brush over the brow in the direction of the hair growth. When it comes to the tail of the brow I use the thin edge of the brush, to draw a line down from the top of the brow arch to the end of the tail.
Step 10 - Lips
Another area I really need to work on so my routine here is very basic once again. I simply will use a lipstick and leave it at that or apply a lip gloss in the same colour on top for a little more of a dramatic effect.
On occasion I might also use a lip liner which I’ll apply first around the edge of my lips, this is typically a darker tone of the lipstick I’m using.
It’s a competition between lashes and my brows which as to which I feel are the best part of my look. I’ve even had women tell me they’d love to have my eyebrows and lashes ;)
Enough of my smugness, lashes are fairly simple I simply curl the lashes with a curler and brush the lashes with a lashes brush. This gives the lashes great shape and adds volume even before you add mascara. When I apply the mascara I put two coats on, complete one eye then the next before returning the first again and repeating. This gives the lashes a lot of volume and body, really helping your eyes to pop.
I usually leave the lower lashes until I have applied my setting spray, as sometimes the spray can wash some of the mascara off the lashed and under the eye. Not a good look!
I’ve struggled for a long time trying to find the nack for applying false eyelashes and I’m still not there. It’s more just hoping that a silent prayer will ensure they go on correctly.
Very simple step this one, simply spray on a setting spray to fix your make-up and reduced some of the powdered caked on look.
Remember to apply mascara to your lower lashes if you haven’t already.
Step 14 - Step back and admire
We have gone through a lot of step to reach this point but hopefully it has been fun and time take is worth the results - be proud of yourself you’re beautiful :)
4. Additional tutorials
As of right now I have no plan to make a video tutorial of some of the basics to make-up, my face on video is a scary idea! However, when I first started I found these two videos very useful to help me get started #1 and #2. I also found this youtube channel had lots of helpful ideas.
Some other great general YouTube tutorial channels to follow are:
5. Wishing you all best in your make-up endeavours!
I hope this routine has been useful to you and if you are new to make-up gives you some very steps to follow using products you can cheaply and easily pick up from your local supermarket or drug-store. If there is anything else ask away but just remember, even if you can’t quite get the look you want right now keep it and most of all have fun!
Why do people never talk about the part of depression when you just don’t want anything anymore? Everybody talks about when it hurts like hell, when you cry, when you cut, when you take drugs, when you break down. But no one ever talks about when you just lay down in your room, with a hole inside of you that you don’t know how to fill, and you don’t want to do anything even the things you usually like. So you just spend your day kinda waiting for it to end. And it’s horrible because you feel empty and guilty for that at the same time.
There needs to be more awareness of this kind of depressed state. It’s often the kind that is mistaken for laziness. I call it “A” depression, and I know it personally. The symptoms are apathy and anhedonia: Apathy (lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern and anhedonia ( the inability to experience pleasure from activities usually found enjoyable).
I got a gun *loading click* no girls, girls gotta die *gunshots mix with drums*
wake up with no hhhuuueɘυυυʜʜʜ Julioioioio̸͔͛h̴͇̀h̶̰͑h̸̖̆h̷̢̎h̴̼̅ḩ̷̏
I can I can’t baby jeans. You and your pe nis inpoopments ̷̩͕̞̼̝̘̘̻̺̦̥͎̮͇̣̼̀͛́͌͐̊̏̕͘͝ ̴̡͈͚͉͈͚̰͓̼̣͇̟͓̲̣͐̍͌̋̓̂̋̇̋̃̉̒̈́̑̈́̉͘̕͘͜͝ ̵̥̠̼̐̾̎̑̀̀́̌͋̀̍̍̈́̽̀͂̏̿̔̓ ̵̨̠̹͎̣̝͙̹̦̹̝̘̯̲̮̹̳͋̿̈̃̉̋̿́̽͂̑͜ ̸̠̄̐̓͊̇̈́̀́̇̚ ̴̣͈̘̞̗͓̜̤͈͈̙̒̔̆͒͋͛̎̽̿̽͊̔̃̔̀̚͝͝͠͠ ̷̛̛͚͎͎͈̱̦͉̻̯͗̆̂̌͌̀̊̈̈́͌̓̆͆̕͜͝ ̶̡̳͚̹͖̥͇̪͐̑̈̎̽̍̃͋͆̃̊͒͑̄̀̽͗̍̃̎́̎̑̉͘̚ ̸̧̢̗̥͈͔̩͔̻͙̲͈̣̰̟̬̭̦̞̠͇̔̃͌͆̂̀͗̅̏̒͆̚͜͜͜͠ ̶̧̨̨͙̮̳͕͈̪̫͓̗̯͖̓̈́̈́̍͒ ̸̛͖̻̔̾͆͆̿͑̑̍͑̕͘̕͝ ̸̧̨̰̯͙̱͔̠̭̙̲͔̼̳̭̦̹̫͔̖̙̿̓͗̍̄̈́̉͜ͅ ̶̧̨̫̮̣̝̠͎̰̜̜̗͖̮͓͉͙̯͙͑̅̈͊͜ ̸̡̬͕͔̺͚̘́̉̿̐̅̉͊̆͋̽̈́̈́̐̓́̿̒̊̄̾͘̕͘͘͜͝͝ ̸̟͂͌̀̅̅̅ ̶̨͉̘̟͎̣̳͖̗̩̑̈́͌̌̂͌́̓ ̸̰̱͈̣̟͚̩̠͆̃͝ ̶̨̡̨̧̨̪̼̞̖̝̦͔͉̲̩̱͍̱͇͍̗̺̞̦́̑͒̀̓̀͑͑̄̀̀͂͆̀̇ ̸̢̨͙͔͇͖̠̥͕͎̖̫̗̇̽̀̂́͑͘̕͜͝
ricky-croissant
