Beauty and the Geek Go Retro…and Minsc Says Go for the Eyes, Boo!

Greetings from a band of true adventurers, fellow rogues!

Let me ask you this: what’s better than the wisdom and flair of a beauty adventurer? Why, the wisdom and flair of TWO beauty adventurers, of course! Today, I’m very excited to bring you yet another collaboration with the incomparable adventuress Melissa over at Kiss and Make-Up!

We all know it’s not a true gaming related collaboration  until you go retro, right? Well, this time, Melissa and I decided to delve into the history of videogaming for inspiration! I considered going WAY retro, but wasn’t really in the mood for a Pong-inspired look, so I jumped forward a couple decades and decided to dive into one of my favourite corners of the fantasy RPG world: Baldur’s Gate (1998). Now, this series (and Bioware games in general) have some of the most entertaining and memorable charaters out there, but there’s one that stands out from the rest, and always will: Minsc!

 

Minsc as he appears in Baldur’s Gate 2 – the picture I based my look on. Hey, Boo! (source)

Minsc is a ranger-beserker with a bald head, purple tattoo, and unshakeable attachment to his Miniature Giant Space Hamster, Boo. The combination of Minsc’s earnest consultation with Boo, and his foaming beserker rage (even if it is in pursuit of justice and good), make him an apparently (if lovably) insane member of the party. He is famous for several classic lines, which include (but are in no way limited to):

I won’t cry for the dead! I won’t! Well, maybe a little… but I will staunch the tears with righteous fury!

What? Boo is outraged! See his fury! It’s small, so look close. Trust me, it’s there.

Minsc will be free! These bonds will not hold my wrath! Butts will be liberally kicked in good measure!

Magic is impressive but now Minsc leads. Swords for everyone!

[before going berserk] Despair not! I shall inspire you by charging BLINDLY ON.

You should have given a sword, give a man a fish and he feeds himself for a day, give a man a sword and he can chow down on the meaty marrow of evil!

Go for the eyes, Boo, go for the eyes!

On that last instruction, I decided to go for an eye-centred look (especially since Minsc isn’t much of a lipstick wearer), taking into account Minsc’s tatto and his love for his hamster confidant. To that end…

 

Minsc, adjusted for the fact that I am not bald…and wanted a golden hamster coloured eye 😉

 

So! What we have here is an adjustment of Minsc’s purple tattoo (to account for the fact that I don’t have a nice bald dome to paint like Minsc does), and a golden/brown themed hamster-inspired eye! As usual with my looks (given the makeup – hah! – of my eyeshadow stash), the thing is pretty Urban Decay heavy:

Face: YSL powder compact foundation (my HG! Review here)

Eyes: Urban Decay Half Baked (opaque, rich gold) all over the lid, but especially in the centre and on the lower water- and lash line; UD Smog (slightly coppery brown) in the outer corner, crease and outer lower lash line; UD Sin (pale shimmery peach/pink) in the inner corner and for blending along the browbone). UD Demolition 24/7 liner (matte brown) in the upper waterline and very slightly on the upper lash line. Lashes curled with Chanel curlers (although any favourite curler will do!), with no mascara (not really a Minsc thing to have, I feel, although obviously you can add some if you’re just doing the eyeshadow look!).

 

Golden brown hamster coloured eyeshadow. Go for the eyes, right? I beg mercy for the finger-applied shadow (both the eye and the tattoo, to make matters worse ;-))

 

Brows: Lancome Tres Chocolat matte eyeshadow (review and brow tips here) – Minsc’s brows are not too thick, and quite straight/ horizontal. Although I tend to emphasize the rather mobile arch of my brow by default, I have darkened things more here than I usually would to match Minsc.

‘Tattoo’: UD Last Call eyeshadow (shimmery magenta with a slight brown undertone), in one thick layer, applied with fingers (can’t you tell?). Then a thick layer of UD Grifter eyeshadow (sparkly, almost iridescent pinkish lilac) applied (also with fingers), over the top. I wanted something in Grifter’s colour but matte and a little darker, but didn’t have it. I then wanted to use Grifter alone, but the depth of colour isn’t quite there, and it is pretty sheer and tends toward fallout. That sounds rather harsh, but it’s still a nice shadow – it’s just not really made for creating opaque tattoos ;-). You can vary the colour of the tattoo – there are many interpretations of ‘purple’ out there!

 

More Minsc! These photos were all originally taken in direct natural light, which washed things out a bit, so I’ve tried to correct that here – not in the others – by darkening them (in the interest of full disclosure – although I should specify that I don’t own Adobe products, so all my photo cropping and editing is done in MS Powerpoint. Yep. That’s why I don’t do much!)

 

I decided to have the ‘hole’ in the tattoo as my eye, as in the picture the tattoo covers Minsc’s whole eyelid. I wanted to do a different colour there, so I pulled the whole tattoo down the face onto the cheek. Also, I have hair where Minsc’s tattoo usually is, and I have neither access to bald caps nor the inclination to shave my head for one blog post, so you’ll have to go with me here!

And there we are! One Retro Gaming, Bladur’s Gate and Minsc/Boo inspired eye makeup look :-). Would you try an eyeshadow tattoo? What’s your favourite retro game or character? (By the way, if you’re on the lookout for retro games, give www.gog.com (Good Old Games) a look – it’s a veritable treasure hoard, and there are some good deals to be had!)

 

Melissa’s Retro Gaming Look

How retro did Melissa go? Well, my fellow adventuress chose a true icon of gaming history, Sonic the Hedgehog! To see her brilliant, blue hedgehog themed look (which even includes a nod to Tails!) click here. But you’d better do it fast! Also you should probably check your gold rings are still there. 😉

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this site, unless otherwise noted, are the property of Syl, and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I will be forced to unleash drunken bards on you. The pukey ones.

Minsc, Boo, Bladur’s Gate (1 &2), and related characters and associated trademarks etc and so forth are the property of Bioware. If you’d like more info, you’ll probably have to check the assorted wikis, since the Biware website doesn’t really have an active section for a 16 year old game (sadly)!. The Enhanced edition, however, can be found here.