RogueGyver?! WWARD?! The (Ridiculous) Beauty Scenario Tag

Greetings from that place halfway between the shadows and the light, fellow rogues!

Today is a special day. My wonderful Wizard (husband) is submitting his (amazing! Two volume!) PhD Thesis, the bastard. ❤ ❤   😀 Since I am, as you are probably tired of hearing by now, STILL engaged in battling the Thesisbeast – albeit in the very end stages – this means that doing anything academic today has been rendered impossible because of thesis envy. MASSIVE, CRIPPLING THESIS ENVY, with inevitable accompanying feelings of hopelessness and woe. 😀

As you know, however, you can’t keep a good rogue down, and I decided to indulge in a bit of bloggy goodness. Since I am still at work, and don’t have access to all my photos to make a new review post, I am choosing to seize on an awesome tag I just saw over at EyeHeartIt. This is the stronghold of Larie, an awesome fellow scientist and makeup aficionado. She has many wonderful posts, but I’m refusing to stop hugging her at the moment for posting this one. The Internet needs more Laries, is all I’m saying.

Without further ado, then, let’s see what a rogue would do (WWARD?) in these moments of beauty crisis… 😀

Well, What would YOU do when surrounded by green-eyeshadow emitting spiders? Hmm?

1. You have to get rid of all of your foundations and only keep one high-end and one drugstore; which do you keep?

 One of the funny things about adventuring is that, in general, you spend a lot of time in area where the selection isn’t all that great. I mean, sure, your average adventuring general store will be able to hook you up with any number of morningstars and as much rope and lantern-oil as you can carry, but their selection of foundations tends to be pretty abysmal. And that’s if you’re human. Can you even IMAGINE trying to find that right shade of greyish green if you’re an orc?

With that said, the problem is sort of moot for me, as I only own high-end foundations. This is mostly because I’ve never tried any drugstore ones, because they still cost $40 a bottle here so there’s no real saving when you go through as little as I do. My current favourite foundation is still YSL’s powder foundation compact, but recently I’ve been enjoying some excellent skin days, just putting on a dusting of Chanel powder to even things out.

2. You go for an interview, and the lady interviewing you has lipstick on her teeth. Do you approach the subject or ignore it completely?

It kind of depends. If the interviewer seems like the type who might not handle a personal comment, then I won’t mention it. This is most of them, honestly. Either that or the person interviewing you is the lord/mayor/vizier/king/emperor/etc of the immediate area, and probably isn’t wearing lipstick, gender and adventure stereotypes being what they are.

3. You’re not feeling yourself and need a pick-me-up lipstick. Which do you go for?

At the moment it’s Bite Beauty’s Palomino, but really any lipstick makes me feel pretty good. ALL HAIL THE LIPSTICK. *OoOoOoOoOoOo*

Sigryin, staring down the candidates for Best Inoffensive, Battle-Appropriate Lipcolour’. Judging these sorts of things is a true beauty adventuring challenge…

4. You go back in time for a day to your teenage years; how would you do your hair or makeup differently?

Ah, the teenage rogue years. Those halcyon days of missing handholds while scaling eldritch towers because you forgot that you actually have a bust now and can’t get as close to the wall as you could before, and focusing all of your stealth and camouflage skills into your concealer wand. *sniff*

I’m pretty sure my hairstyle hasn’t changed (ponytail or bun), although the length certainly has (shoulder-length to ‘I can use it as a scarf now’). As for makeup, all I wore in my teen years was a bit of concealer here and there, and Estee Lauder Crystal Baby lipstick – if anything. Eye makeup was a completely foreign concept to this rogue, probably because all my RogueMum ever wore was lipstick, with a bit of powder for special occasions!

5. You ask your hairdresser for a shoulder length Pixie Lott haircut but they hear wrong and give you a pixie cut – what would you do?

A) Smile, say thank you, call your mum and cry hysterically
B) Cry in the chair and things get awkward
C) Complain to the manager and demand a refund

I don’t know who that is… *googles* – oh… a trim to shoulder-length and then a tub of ‘make it look wavy and messy’ wax? (Full disclosure: I don’t even know from hair products).

Anyway, here’s the thing; no-one gives a rogue a haircut they don’t want. It’s one of the benefits of the class, actually. Along with increased DEX and the ability to disappear in a cloud of smoke, you get the innate class skill ‘Hairdressers will listen EXTREMELY carefully to your wishes, and then give you the haircut you want, not the one they felt like giving you’. 😉 Let’s be honest though, why go to the hairdresser when you can, um, ‘encourage’ the wizard to learn a haircutting spell?

Chatting at the office water cooler, Ogg and Grogg suddenly realised that they had fundamentally different views on eyeliner. Their friendship was being tested to the utmost.

6. Your friend surprises you with a 4-day city break and you have one hour to pack. Which ‘Do it all’ palette do you pack in your makeup bag?

I *own* some ‘do it all’ palettes (a couple of Lancôme Absolue Voyage ones), but I don’t use them much for that purpose, actually. As much as a rogue must be economical in her kitbag-management to make sure she has room for all the hempen rope, hinge grease, lockpicks and smoke bombs as well as her makeup, I prefer to just grab a couple of essentials. Besides, pretty much every device of conveyance that I own has at least one lip balm or lipstick in it, so I’m usually covered.

Since we’re going to an actual city (much excite!) on this break, I can probably get anything I forget. Dungeons require a bit more forethought.

7. Your house has been robbed. Don’t worry, everyone is safe, but your beauty stash has been raided. What’s the product you really hope is safe?

This is a bit of a moot question, really, since obviously I caught the thief. You can’t steal from a rogue. It doesn’t happen unless we let you, and if we do that then you’d better worry INTENSIVELY about why we might have allowed you to do that and how short your life is probably going to be from now on. 🙂

Since we’re talking in hypotheticals, however, I wouldn’t mind too much if that was all they took. I have quite a small beauty stash actually, and very, very little of it is LE or discontinued. Probably the only thing I’d really aggro over at the moment is my Tom Ford Stavros!

8. Your friend borrows makeup and returns it in awful condition. Do you:

A) Pretend you haven’t noticed
B) Ask them to re-purchase it
C) Secretly do it back to their makeup

Again: no-one borrows my makeup. If anyone is using any of it, it will be something like liquid foundation/BB Cream that can be dispensed, and they will be using it in my presence. Makeup is not really the sort of stuff I share, partly for hygiene reasons and partly because it is so expensive here and each piece is, in its own way, rather hard-won on my student rogue’s budget. No to mention all the artefacts that I have to literally jump over lava/past dragons/through poison spider groves to retrieve.

With the hypotheticals though: if they messed up my makeup I would confront them about it. Not aggressively, but they need to know that such things are not OK. Knowing my friends though, if they messed up some of my makeup, I would be handed a brand new item with profuse apologies in the first place, because my friends are lovely, lovely people. It’s what I would do too!

Right, well, there we have it! Thank you all for letting me distract myself from thesis envy for an hour or so, and for putting up with my rather shadowy presence as of late! If you would like to do the tag, please feel free! Do remember to go check Larie‘s blog out though, because you can never have too much awesome. 🙂

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 and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…

Answer Me These Questions Three! – A Suitably Geeky Makeup Poll #8

Greetings from behind a mythril clipboard, fellow rogues!

Well hello there! 😀 As you may know, I’ve been mingling with the shadows at a conference for the past week, so I haven’t been able to interact with you all as much as I would like (the sheer magnificence of our conference literally broke the internet in the town it was being held in). In the interests of diving back into my beloved beauty adventuring community, let’s hear what you’ve got to say!

 

That moment when you get back from a conference and realise the undergraduate summer students have been ‘borrowing’ your desk again…

On with the questionnaire!! 😀

Questing is a serious business, and as every good adventurer knows, it’s hard to get by without a bit of help and knowledge from your fellow treasure seekers. Which is the best brand of smokebomb? How do you juggle six lockpicks while goblins are nibbling at your shins? Just how much blush *can* a half-elf wear at once?

In the spirit of such inquiry, I have devised the Rogue Approved Questionnaire for the Extraction of Secrets. Also known as ‘Answer Me These Questions Three’. The questions are simple, and you are free to answer as fully, as tersely, as logically or as fantastically as you like. Please only use blue or black ink, and consult the orc-xaminer if you require an additional answer booklet.

You can copy and paste the questions into the comment box, or just list your answers if you prefer 🙂

The Questions

• You’re presenting a keynote at the next adventuring conference. What’s your topic, and what’s your presentation outfit?

• If you could only wear ONE. SINGLE. NON-BLACK EYELINER. for the rest of your natural adventuring days, what would it be?

• Your party was all geared up for battle, but when you reached the boss demon, he challenged you to a Monkey Island-style battle of insults instead! Do you laugh in his face and dive in full-daggers, or do you take him up on it? What’s your favourite zany insult to best the Demon King?

I asked these guys what their favourite browbone highlight was, and the debate on ‘eyeshadow’ vs. ‘a good pumice polishing’ went on for HOURS. Sheesh!

 I’m looking forward to reading your answers! 🙂

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. All content on this website, including images, is the property of the owner/author (Sylirael The Painted Rogue, unless otherwise stated), and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send Beholders after you. They’re angry, because they have conjunctivitis.

The Beauty Spotlight Team Has Some Epic Loot To Share… :-D

Greetings from the treasure chamber, fellow rogues!

Loot is awesome. It’s why we quest fearlessly into the darkest sungeons and do battle with terrifying mmonsters from beyond the veil, etc etc. This time however, you can skip the risk and death part, and jump straight to the loot! How’s your LUCK stat? 😉

Aww, yeah – sweet loots up for grabs with the Beauty Spotlight Team!

The Beauty Spotlight Team has joined together to bring you an international giveaway. We are giving away the Smashbox Photo Op On the Rocks Luxe palette that contains 28 super blendable Photo Op eyeshadows. The shades range from naturally pretty to all out glam. Our giveaway is open through February 17, 2015 through the Rafflecopter!

What Rafflecopter, you may ask? Sadly, WordPress.com hosted blogs are not allowed to post the necessary Javascript code to make the widget appear, but FEAR NOT! You can visit any of the awesome blogs listed below to enter, so please do pop on over for your chance to win this awesome palette! ^_^

Please follow all of our adventuring team – that way, the tales of loot and adventure will never stop!

15 MINUTE BEAUTY

BEAUTY INFO ZONE

LOLAS SECRET BEAUTY BLOG

MOSTLY SUNNY

PAMMY BLOGS BEAUTY

PERILOUSLY PALE

PHYRRA

POLISH INSOMNIAC

PRIME BEAUTY

THE PAINTED ROGUE

Syl

Answer Me These Questions Three! – A Suitably Geeky Makeup Poll #7

Greetings from behind a mythril clipboard, fellow rogues!

Well hello there! 😀 Welcome to the first AMTQ3 of 2015! Big things happening around Rogue HQ at the moment, including the grand unveiling of this rogue’s (makeup free!) face on IG (*cough*youshouldtotallyfollowme*cough*), but I thought I’d take a little time out from my current crazy mad lipstick reviewing schedule to have a chat with you and catch up 🙂

A beautiful, peaceful bridge. Fortunately, no trolls were underneath it.

 

Right. Now that I’ve finished my usual ramble, let me hear what you’ve got to say!  As an aside, if you haven’t found out your adventuring class yet, or seen your corresponding beauty adventuring horoscope for 2015, you should check those out for a bit of Friday fun ^_^

 

The Skeletal Necromancer and ‘friends’. It’s all about the community with necromancers, really.

On with the questionnaire!! 😀

Questing is a serious business, and as every good adventurer knows, it’s hard to get by without a bit of help and knowledge from your fellow treasure seekers. Which is the best brand of smokebomb? How do you juggle six lockpicks while goblins are nibbling at your shins? Just how much blush *can* a half-elf wear at once?

In the spirit of such inquiry, I have devised the Rogue Approved Questionnaire for the Extraction of Secrets. Also known as ‘Answer Me These Questions Three’. The questions are simple, and you are free to answer as fully, as tersely, as logically or as fantastically as you like. Please only use blue or black ink, and consult the orc-xaminer if you require an additional answer booklet.

You can copy and paste the questions into the comment box, or just list your answers if you prefer 🙂

The Questions

• The sorceress is trying to decide which new summon she should invest in. Which would you rather fight alongside/unleash against the enemy: poisonous zombies, electrified skeletons, or irritable, passive aggressive customer service representatives?

• If you could only wear ONE. SINGLE. MASCARA. for the rest of your natural adventuring days, what would it be?

• It’s your birthday, and, as a present, the wizard has offered to magically re-create a long-lost/limited edition makeup item that you have mooned over for quite a while. What is it, and why do you love it so much? 🙂

I asked these guys what their favourite green eyeshadow was, and for once they kind of just agreed that (UD) Mildew was the best and most accessible look for them 😉

 I’m looking forward to reading your answers! 🙂

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. All content on this website, including images, is the property of the owner/author (Sylirael The Painted Rogue, unless otherwise stated), and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send Beholders after you. They’re angry, because they have conjunctivitis.

Consult the Unpainted Oracle! What’s Your 2015 Beauty Adventuring Horoscope? :-D

Greetings from the start of a brand new year of adventures, fellow rogues!

First of all: Happy New Year! May your 2015 be filled with adventure, laughter, loot, love and lipsticks! 😉

About this time last year, I posted a little quiz to let people find out what sort of beauty adventurer they were! Not long after that, I added one that you could take if you were curious which dungeon-dwelling monster you most resemble. 🙂 This year, I thought I’d go one step further! I hiked through the Mountains of Mystery to the Grotto of Enigmas, walked through the Archway of Portents and under the Overhang of Omens (these were all helpfully signposted, by the way). Why did I go to all this trouble friends? Why, to visit the Unpainted Oracle, and bring you back your 2015 Beauty Adventuring Horoscopes, of course! 😀

Dramatic shadows. The Unpainted Oracle is big on those…

So here’s how it works: if you already know which Beauty Adventurer you are, read on! If you need to find out, please go right ahead and take my little quiz, then pop back to find out what 2015 has in store for you ❤ If you do go take the quiz, please feel free to comment, letting me know what you got! I’m thinking of making some more such quizzes, so let me know if it tickled your fancy! ^_^

Note! If you discover that you are a multiclass individual, say a Rogue Wizard or Warrior Druid, then you get both of those horoscopes! If you have a large proportion of ‘rogue’ in your build, you will probably choose only to take what you want from each of them. Technically this is not allowed, but, well… 😉

The Rogue

2014 was a despicably busy year for you. 2015 will probably be even busier, so no rest for the wicked, hah! You will go on a long journey, and take on profitable jobs from mysterious new quest givers. Your blush stash will suddenly expand for reasons that will only become clear once you have stacked them in three equal piles and danced around them while invoking the name of Moradin and quaffing ale. Your stance on gelatinous cubes and orange lipsticks will begin to soften after one rather sudden Monday; your stance on paladins will not. Do not buy primers in March, or your face will fall off. Lucky Number: 6, Lucky Monster: Beholder.

The Warrior/Fighter

February will bring a brief period of minimal blood-saturation – enjoy it while it lasts, as it is also the ideal time to invest in new foundations. You will meet a tall, attractive stranger with a fondness for nougat. Three eyeshadows will captivate your soul in April – do not forget to ask for it back, or you’ll never see it again. You will gain a new appreciation for the colour of dungeon mould. Do not buy lipsticks in August, or your lips will fall off. Lucky Number: 9, Lucky Monster: Mindflayer (note: the Oracle had a funny smile on her face when she said this…)

The Paladin

You will continue to feel suffused with the light of irreproachable holiness. Do not let this goad you into making unwise mascara purchases. June will bring a new penchant for exaggerated browbone highlighting. You will rock it. Quests will take on a new and more (nec)romantically meaningful aspect in late September. Proceed with caution, lest you anger the Gods. Do not buy moisturiser in November – all your eyelashes and eyebrow hair will fall out. Lucky Number: 3, Lucky Monster: Gelatinous Cube.

Shalmanassar, in mid fireball.

 

The Mage/Wizard

You will find new energy in a long-term beauty quest. A potato shaped like a goblin will herald a new period of prosperity in October, so make the most of it. Three of your fellow party members will irritate you, but only one of them is doing it intentionally. Your cream eyeshadows will appear dull in mid-July. This is a good time to invest in cosmetic glitters. Do not buy blush in May – your arms will fall off. Lucky Number: 8, Lucky Monster: Orc Shaman

The Ranger

You will spend less time in the trees and more time in the mountains this year, so invest in a good moisturiser. March will make you feel optimistic, so put on a bold lipstick and take the opportunity to make your bid for leading the party. Avoid dungeons that begin with the letter Q. A close friend will tell you a secret in December. If you reveal it, all your cream blushes will curdle. Do not buy mascara in January, or your eyeballs will fall out. Lucky Number: 7, Lucky Monster: Goblin Rat Knight.

The Druid

2015 will bring many changes in your daily routine, and you will become short-tempered with your familiar. If it is an owl, it will retaliate by regurgitating rat remnants in unexpected locations. You will learn to do your makeup in under 30 seconds, with your off-hand. You will discover an incredible new cruelty-free indie lipstick producer in August, and suffer a period of temporary but enjoyable insanity. Do not buy contour/bronzer in April, or your cheekbones will collapse. Lucky Number: 9, Lucky Monster: Red Dragon (note: again with the creepy Oracle half-smile?)

That was all the Oracle gave me on that trip, adventurers! I wanted to ask about more classes, but she said she needed a cup of tea, a lie-down, and something to get the zombie chicken entrails off her dress with. I hope you’ve had a bit of fun here, and feel better prepared for your 2015 beauty quests 😉

What do you think, fellow adventurers? Which beauty adventurer are you? How was your horoscope? What are your beauty and quest plans for 2015?

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 and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…

Epic Loot Attack! <3 Goodies from the Land Across the Sea! <3

Greetings from under a mountain of miniature loot, fellow rogues!

If you follow me in Instagram (*pointed look*), you man have seen that the ballet monster and I took delivery of a very special and awesome package yesterday! Thanks to the magical wonder that is the Sorceress Jaa, I was able to take advantage of  access to Sephora, get a Christmas present for my sister, and use a couple of other coupon codes I’ve had lying around to indulge in a little bit of shopping! The parcel finally arrived in Middle Earth yesterday, and Christmas came early for this rogue – not only did Jaa tirelessly shop for me in the States, package everything up and send it to me as economically as possible, she also included some glorious extra goodies for me out of the kindness of her own boundlessly generous heart. So, on the off-chance that you haven’t yet enjoyed the brilliance of Jaa’s epic blog and photography, I strongly encourage you to head over there now, and assist me in showering her with praise. 😉

 

 

The ballet monster was in there as soon as I cut the tape. You’d be surprised how hard it is to prise her out of there…

 

This post is sort of just a HOLY BARDBANGLES! kind of deal – I have another post lined up with that fab purple lipstick I’ve been hinting at recently for tomorrow, but we shall soon get onto all this epicness. If you have preferences or suggestions for what (of this loot) you’d like to see reviewed first, or how you’d like to see it done, let me know! Here’s what we have…

 

Argh! ❤ Pardon the overexposed photo – I was using a mobile device in bad light, but I hope you can see most things until I get a chance to take a better pic!

 

Most of the stuff is in miniature, because my aim with the things I ordered was to try as many brands as possible! I ordered the Sephora Give Me More Lip Set, and with it this GWP bag they were offering. I made a little Nyx order for the lipsticks in Chambord, Trickery, Sinful and Risque, and the Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk, and a pair of Kevyn Aucoin curlers for my sister from Nordstrom (no spoilers, LOL, she knows 😉 The other goodies here were courtesy of Jaa, who is my hero. ❤

I told her she could take a couple of things to try. this is her nonchalant face while she tries to tell me that this constitutes ‘a couple’…

 

I told her she had to choose. Like all of us, she found this somewhat overwhelming…

 

So! What do you want to see first? Do you have any of these items/brands? How much do you love miniature lipsticks? How awesome is Jaa? 😀

 

Until next time, fellow rogues, don’t forget to check for loot as well as 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 and original text on this blog are the property of Syl unless otherwise noted. They may not be reproduced without permission – if you do, I’ll send demons after you. You know, the ones that mush up the testers and open new lipsticks to try them out on their warty lips. Those ones. Yyyep.

Laboratory Beauty! Makeup for Awkward Workplaces…

Greetings from the INCREDIBLE NOISE of a cleanroom, fellow rogues!

As well as a rogue, I am also a scientist. Or, at least, I play one in grad school 😉 Over the last few days I’ve been spending a large amount of time in a cleanroom, which brings with it a few unusual challenges when it comes to makeup. As I sit here waiting for a particularly recalcitrant alchemical instrument to do its job, it occurred to me that it would be neat to have a chat about laboratory beauty, and ask you guys if you have any unusual challenges that crop up in your life/workplace that necessitate tailoring your beauty routine! I’ve already had my little moan about the fragile relationship between makeup and grad school, so this is more about getting adventurous, and finding ways to make sure you still get your beauty fix in!

The many faces (well, eyes) of the academic rogue…some more wishful than others.

Just like dungeons, laboratories come in many shapes, sizes and varieties. There are also unique challenges and dangers inherent to each one, and they pretty much all force you to jiggle your beauty routine around to fit with them. The following are a few little things I’ve noticed. I should mention that this is partly joking, partly serious – I’m keen to hear if you have any similar situations or tips, so make sure you let me know in the comments! 😀

The Laser Laboratory

The main thing about laser labs is that they tend to be dark. Sure, there are lights, but you hardly ever turn them on and the places are usually in windowless basements to begin with. Just like a dungeon! ^_^ On the one hand, this is nice because you don’t have to worry if something gets smudged, or if you’re not wearing any makeup at all and it’s 3 am and the oscillator isn’t working and you look like sh*t… wait, I may have gotten sidetracked…anyway, it has its plusses. On the minus side, you’re going to want to avoid anything that could possibly have fallout. I’m talking eyeshadow, powder, mascara that you’re trying to use up even though it kind of flakes a bit… all of that has to go. Optics need to be dust-free, and when you’ve gone through the delicate process of getting everything aligned and set up, the last thing you want is to unblock the beam and smell burning as your no-longer gaussian beam bakes mascara chips onto the sapphire crystal you were trying to generate supercontinuum in. If this does happen, make sure the mascara was waterproof, so you can at least have a little cry about it.

Additionally, if your laser lab is anything like mine, the relative humidity is going to be kept at around 45%. This is, of course, for the benefit of the crystal lasing media, which tend to be hygroscopic, but it is *really* hard on the skin and lips. Make sure to hydrate well with water and use moisturiser, and keep a lip balm handy. On the plus side, it gives you an additional excuse to wear a neverending parade of fabulous hydrating lipsticks! 😉

Pros: It’s pitch black in here. No-one will see if you’re having a bad skin day, and the laser doesn’t judge. Clearer skin and an excuse to wear fabulous lipsticks!

Cons: No glitter 😦  It’s also drier than the Gobi desert in here…

 

Hydrating Dior Lip Glow with its pretty cap. Also, a freshly-captured wild mango (no eating in the lab! 😉

Despite being surrounded, Sigryn knows she’s among hydrating friends. Left to right: Revlon Lip Butters in Sweet Tart, Peach Parfait and Wild Watermelon.

The Organic Chemistry Laboratory

The big one here is that you can’t wear nail polish, and expect it to survive unscathed! Aside from the fact that you wash everything in pure acetone, there are a whole host of other organic solvents that are even more effective at removing polish – although you should be avoiding getting any of these going through your gloves, kids (not like some of them  give you a choice). Aside from that, you might also have to be a bit careful about the jaw/neck transition of your foundation. Labcoats tend to be white (so you can see when there’s something spilled on them), and the collars can be high, so makeup stains may occur! A non-transferring foundation or  keeping a bit of distance between the two should help 😉 On the same foundation note, remember that you’ll be wearing safety goggles all the time which may mess with the makeup on the bridge of your nose and cheeks, and touching your eyes will be difficult (high fives to anyone who’s ever done the classic but awkward ‘use-my-shoulder-to-rub-my-eye’ maneouvre). The plus on this is that you won’t accidentally smear your eyeliner, and you can use the time to give your nails a bit of a rest from polish if they’re getting yellow – the gloves will cover it up!

If you’re sensitive to humidity with your makeup, take note in summer if your lab has a lot of waterbaths (for rotary evaporators and the like) – they can make things pretty sticky and gross, especially when you’re stuck in a labcoat and gloves, quietly baking like a potato while the ether squeeze bottle is squirting violently of its own accord. On second thought,maybe we should all just go home… 😀

Pros: Chance for nails to recover, pristine eye makeup

Cons: Carcinogens, sweaty summers, tricky labcoat collars.

 

This manicure sparkles and glitters something fierce in the sunlight – to be enjoyed away from the lab!

 

Some nice base products – light coverage, great staying power, no transfer or obnoxious sticky feeling under those safety goggles!

The Cleanroom

This place is what started it all off, because I’d been posting lip looks recently on Instagram (where you should totally follow me for daily rogueish goodness #shamelessplug) and using the handy-dandy radial blur tool to only have my lips in focus because I wasn’t wearing any base (HELLO PORES!). The reason for me not wearing any makeup was because I was about to spend several hours fully suited up from head to toe to go and do cleanroom things. Like the laser lab, the cleanroom is a no-go for glitter or powder or fallouty stuff. I mean, you can’t even take paper in there  in case tiny particles get loose. Like the other labs, you’ll also be wearing safety goggles all the time, as well as a full hood or hair covering, so you have to do battle with lines in your foundation. On the plus side, you don’t have to worry about styling your hair, and can totally get away with it being, perhaps, a day overdue for a wash (depending on your personal regime). Like the laser lab, the humidity is low, so you have to moisturise. Unlike the laser lab (generally) the noise of the extraction vents can get really grim, which means nice fluoro orange earplugs. These are never sexy, but you could opt to exploit the lipstick angle. Perhaps a nice vibrant colour to match the earplugs? It’ll keep your lips hydrated too. 😀 Sometimes (depending on the class of your cleanroom/what you’re doing in there)you will have to wear a full face covering. In this instance, you might choose to play up your eyes with a nice waterproof, non-flaking mascara and some matte, reliably waterproof eyeliner. In this instance, you don’t even have to worry if your skin is playing up, because you’re basically a pair of eyes and nothing else at this point ^_^.

Pros: Ultra-clean air great for allergy/asthma sufferers, don’t have to style hair, fabulous lipstick.

Cons: Earplugs are never sexy, desert-like humidity. Amusing but unattractive bunny-suit and hair net/facemask. No glitter.

Glitter’s out – it’s time to get funky with lipstick instead!

Syl’s Stages of Lash Preparation: curl, then mascara. As you can see, the difference (for me) between curled lashes and curled +mascara’d lashes is small, but the mascara has gone on very cleanly, and has done noticeable things to the length.

So! What did we learn from all this? What are my Rogue’s Tips for Laboratory Beauty?

• Focus on the one feature that’s still visible – probably eyes or lips or brows – a good non-flaking mascara, a hydrating lipstick, some defined brows and an eyelash curler will help fill your lab beauty kitbag!
• Avoid glitter, dust, powder or anything that might fall out or smudge off (or be high maintenance).
• Waterproof and long-wearing are your friends – hello stains for blushes and lips, thin layers of long-wearing, non-transferring foundation and matte eyeliner!
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Then hydrate some more. NO! Not *in* the lab, jeez. Take your cup of tea outside and drink it 😉
• If makeup is a total no-go, take comfort in and enjoy the fact that you’re probably so covered up that you don’t even need to care about what your skin is doing or what your hair looks like! Bask in the liberty! 😀 Or just wear whatever you want underneath all the suiting and enjoy it in private ^_^.

I hope that’s been an amusing little roguish diversion for you 😉 What are your experiences? Do you have any tips for Biology/Medical research lab makeup (eh, Jaa? Eh, Aditi?) What about YOUR workplace or hobby – does it affect how you wear your makeup at all? Let me know! 😀

 

 

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 and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. For example, the cover/featured image of two of my fellow, spiffy scientists is the property of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and can be found here. If you nick off with any of it, watch out for the pixies that come in the night and snap your eyelids against your eyeballs while droning nursery rhymes at you.

Interrogueation! Liebster Award + A Fun Questionnaire for All! :-D

Greetings from the local tavern-based adventurer’s award ceremony, fellow rogues!

Recently, the lovely Dee over at HowDoesDeeDoIt nominated me for the Liebster Award. Dee is a true hardcore adventurer, combining beauty, brains, and an incredible physique. She even rocks a mean jewelled bikini! (<3_<3) I’m very honoured that she considers my little Bag of Holding A Rogue’s Nonsensical Ramblings (blog) worthy, and I’m happy to answer the snazzy questions she posed. Technically, I think that by having >200 followers, and already having received the award once, I may be disqualified, but what kind of rogue would I be if I let that stop me? 😉 

SHAZAM!

Right, so here’s how I’m going to do this, because I’m a rogue and I have no shame. 😀 Below are my answers to Dee’s questions, and then I’ve made up ten questions of my own that I’m putting out there for everyone who wants to to take them on! If you’d like to do it as an award on your blog, go right ahead! If you’re not blogging, but would like to answer some or all in the comments, please do! I just love hearing from all of you lovely makeup adventurers out there 🙂

The Skeletal Necromancer and ‘friends’. With friends like these, adventures are guaranteed!

My Answers to Dee’s Questions!

What made you want to start a blog?

In blunt terms: Christine of Temptalia! Hers was the very first beauty blog I ever read, when I was hunting for reviews of Urban Decay’s 24/7 eyeliners! 😀 The idea grew on me, as did the desire to have something with which to procrastinate while writing my thesis. I also decided that there weren’t nearly enough rogue voices out there in the beauty blogging community, and thus my niche was born. 😉

No actually all of the ‘MLBB’ pink lipsticks I own. Yes, I may have a problem. Zip it, you.

 

If you could change something about the beauty blogging industry right now what would it be?

Uh…it’s an ‘industry’? What?! *looks around wildly* 😛 Just kidding, adventurers! So, since I earn exactly zero $$ from my blog, I don’t really feel as though I’m *inside* the industry, as it stands. Sometimes I fantasize about making my blog into a job, but that’ll have to wait till I graduate my PhD, at least, LOL! Rambling aside, from my perspective as someone who blogs beauty, but is outside the ‘industry’ portion of it… I can’t think of much? I mean, of course I could say something about honesty in reviews/PR samples, but I just don’t read blogs that I don’t feel are up to scratch in that area. The only quibble I might make is that occasionally I see a surprising lack of photo quality in swatch/reviews even though stuff has apparently been sent by a company. I assume that the blog has professional aspirations and a following (hence accepting/being sent PR samples), and the actual text of the review might be great,  but the photos are literally dark and blurry, or taken in artificial light so yellow as to render the colours moot and the swatches nearly useless. I’m not even demanding Jaa quality here, and I don’t see it very often, but it really jolts me out of things when it does! 

 

Arnan the Barbarien, trying to decide which size bread is more appropriate for his post-skull bashing appetite. For reference, Arnan is about 30mm/1.2 inches tall.

Anyway

You have 5  seconds to choose between your favourite lipstick and your favourite eyeliner – which one do you pick?

There is no choice. O_0 *clutches lipstick to self*

…searching for the Magical Artefact of Writes My Damn Thesis For Me… 😉

 

What’s your MOST favourite lipstick  of all time?

Probably Chanel Rouge Coco in #40, Charme. It was my wedding lipstick, is a perfect MLBB pink, and makes my lips feel better after it wears off than they did before I put it on :-).

Remember this? I can even make my eyes look jewel toned and sparkly if you give me MS Powerpoint and 10 minutes!

 

You’re given 500$ to spend. You have to choose between clothes, makeup, shoes , books and a geeky gadget. What would you spend it on ?:)

Easy 😀 ~$200 goes into a pair of Gaynor Mindens (pointe shoes), and the rest goes into adventuring equipment. It’s not enough to get a dwarven-forged dagger or anything, but it’ll keep me in hinge grease and lockpicks for a few more quests.

One of the benefits (?) of natural light photography is that occasionally you don’t even need a computer to achieve arty, semioverexposed shots…

What’s your favourite vacation destination?

Anywhere adventurous, that probably involves hiking! Favourites so far have been Egypt and the mountains of Southern France, but really, I just love travel. Next on my WANT list are Nepal, and Guatemala and Peru, but for a more relaxed time I love the little hill towns in Tuscany, or the museums of Paris, Berlin and London. I should take a moment to mention here that I have a special fondness for hiking and adventuring right here in Middle Earth. After all, I can actually say with complete honesty that I have crossed the mires of Mordor and scaled the slopes of Mt Doom (Sauron was out for lunch or something). Tongariro National Park, with Ruapehu for skiing and Tongariro and Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom) for hiking, is a place near and dear to my heart, and it’s only a 4 hour drive from Rogue HQ, as opposed to 2 days of flying!^_^

Do you have special skill/talent that we don’t know about ?

I can’t remember if I mention these things, and actual ‘talent’ in all cases is debatable (I personally think they just haven’t the heart to throw me out yet) but: I have played the cello first desk in a semi-professional orchestra? Um… I can speak German fluently, French functionally and Japanese enough not to die if I went to Japan? I can read Egyptian hieroglyphs? I can get supercontinuum out of almost anything (fs pulses help, tbh)? I can waggle my eyebrows independently of each other while waggling my ears?  Is any of this even a genuine talent? ROFL! 😀

Without the name slip…feast your eyes, adventurers! Another great palette for autumn!

Would you rather be in : A pretty dress and heels / jeans  and sneakers ?

This is actually a really hard question. Obviously, the dress and heels, because I have been all about the pretty dresses since I was born. In practical terms, however, all the things I enjoy doing in life, with the possible exception of cello and ballet if we disregard the ‘heels’ part (like science, hiking, videogames, etc) is better done in the jeans and sneakers realm…

The druid, selecting lipsticks near the Spring of Suitable Presents for Sisters. Fabulously helpful place, that.

 

Are you a brand snob ?;)

Yes and no. Yes because often the ‘high end’ brands I’ve tried have genuinely given me a better result/experience, but no because it’s hard to be too ‘snobby’ in a land where your choice tends to be between (in practical terms): branded makeup that is not cheap – this includes my beloved Revlon, which will set you back $30 a lipstick here – and cheap makeup that has no brand, no ingredients list, no provenance, and there is no way I’m putting it near my body. 😉

 

DOUBLE CUDDLY SWEATER ATTACK! The fluffy one is more awesome, but the black one showed off the polish better… #rogueproblems

 

What was the last life-changing  tip that you received from someone? ( makeup or non-makeup related)

Perfection is the enemy of good enough, people. Especially when it comes to theses… 😉

 

The Ballet Monster, complete with her weapon of choice.

 

Tell us about an app that you love !( can be a game, a photo-editing app..anything!)

While I’m not the appiest person in the world (ba-dum-TISH), I do get a lot of mileage out of the Podcast app on my iPad. I am a huge fan of the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast, among others, so I use it a lot! Also Instagram. Does Instagram count? I may have gotten a little hooked…

 

And now – My Questions for YOU! Muahahahaha!

Remember, this is for everyone, both my stalwart readers and valiant fellow bloggers – answer as many or as few as you like, in the comments below or on your own adventure board!

1. It’s character selection time! Your choices: a human/elf/dwarf, who is a fighter/wizard/rogue. What do you choose for yourself, and why? What would your partner/sister/mum/dog/thesis advisor/whoever be?
   
2. Is there a colour (could be clothes, makeup, hair, whatever) that you struggle to wear, but are determined to pull off somehow?
3. What is on your lips RIGHT NOW? (can be ‘nothing’ or ‘pizza sauce’ or whatever, but we should probably keep PG, folks. LOL! 😉 )
4. Have you ever had to/tried to pick a lock? 
5. What’s the most dangerous adventure you’ve ever undertaken?
6. If you could go to university, for free, (again), with no career pressure right now, what would you study? If you’re still at uni, is there something you secretly wish you could be doing a degree in? Feel free to be serious or tailor it imaginatively (e.g. ‘Bachelor of Balancing Spoons on my Nose’). 
7. Pineapple on pizza: what’s your take on this thorny issue?
8. How many druids does it take to open a locked chest (the rogue was on leave)?
   
9. If you could be awesomely talented at any one thing (that you’re not already, of course, you fabulous adventurers, you!), what would it be?
10. Why do the skeletal undead always waste time arguing over lipsticks when they have no lips? Nostalgia? Optimism? Because lipsticks work just as well as ‘maxillomandibular sticks’?
    

 

So there we are! Thanks again to Dee for the nomination 🙂 I hope you enjoyed reading my typically rambly answers, and I hope you’ll take a stab at a few of the questions I’ve offered above!

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 and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…

Answer Me These Questions Three! – A Suitably Geeky Makeup Poll #6

Greetings from behind a mythril clipboard, fellow rogues!

Well hello there! 😀 As I’ve complained a million times before, I’m still fighting my way out of the final, stickiest part of the Gelatinous Thesis. As a result, formulating the gorgeous, photo-heavy review posts that are so near to my heart is on hiatus briefly, but I just couldn’t leave you without some roguish goodness to brighten your day/dungeon 😉

I want to thank you all for your words of encouragement, and your patience with my sporadic posting and commenting at the moment. I will  soon have vanquished the Gelatinous Thesis (or it will have consumed me, either way), so we’ll hopefuly be back to regular scheduled adventuring in December. If you’re still in the mood for daily roguishness, check me out on Instagram!

Shalmanassar, summoning that fireball. Or rocking out. It could go either way, really.

 

Right. Now that I’ve finished babbling, let me hear what you’ve got to say! (Don’t mind the fireballs and death metal. Shalmanassar has to unwind somehow).

 

The Skeletal Necromancer and ‘friends’. It’s all about the community with necromancers, really.

On with the questionnaire!! 😀

Questing is a serious business, and as every good adventurer knows, it’s hard to get by without a bit of help and knowledge from your fellow treasure seekers. Which is the best brand of hinge grease? How do you defeat an enchanted automaton before the shine even leaves your lipgloss? Just how many pies *can* a dwarf eat in one sitting?

In the spirit of such inquiry, I have devised the Rogue Approved Questionnaire for the Extraction of Secrets. Also known as ‘Answer Me These Questions Three’. The questions are simple, and you are free to answer as fully, as tersely, as logically or as fantastically as you like. Please only use blue or black ink, and consult the orc-xaminer if you require an additional answer booklet.

You can copy and paste the questions into the comment box, or just list your answers if you prefer 🙂

The Questions

• The bard always insists on strumming/humming/warbling as you make your (merry) way along the questing road. Any requests? What’s your favourite questing music, and why?

• If you could only wear ONE. SINGLE. EYESHADOW. for the rest of your natural adventuring days, what would it be?

• The ranger has been exploring the possibilities of vegetarianism, but was recently thrown off by finding a ferocious, fanged were-cabbage in one of her snares (it was an unusual forest, to say the least). She wants to know: do we eat it, befriend it, or battle it to the death?

I asked these guys what their favourite orange lipst- uh, maxillo-mandibulary adornment was, and they argued for HOURS. Jeez…

 I’m looking forward to reading your answers! 🙂

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. All content on this website, including images, is the property of the owner/author (Sylirael The Painted Rogue, unless otherwise stated), and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send Beholders after you. They’re angry, because they have conjunctivitis.

Who Do I Want on My Adventuring Team? <3 Blogs I Love, Part 2! <3

Greetings from the heart of a band of true and noble adventurers, fellow rogues!

As you know, the most important part of an adventurous quest is not the loot, all the glittering treasures you clasp to your jerkin as you outrun a dragon’s searing annoyance. It’s not the glory, the foaming tankards of ale that you  throw over your shoulder as you try to master quaffing. It’s not even the frisson of danger, the tingle that keeps you sharp in the face of hidden blade traps and disgruntled drow…  😉

Nope, it’s the band of true and noble adventurers you have at your side: the rogue who disarms the traps and pops up out of nowhere to backstab the orc trying to behead you. The berserker who rampages past, shedding goblin heads like autumn foliage as she cuts through the crowd that threatened to overwhelm you. The cleric who purges the undead from the battlefield in a burst of searing radiance just as that zombie was about to bite your face off. You get the idea – without our friends,  our fellow treasure seekers, we’re faceless, headless, and covered in goblins (no, I didn’t know how to round that off either). 😀

Every adventure is better with stalwart allies. And a birdman, obviously.

On that slightly overwrought note, let me introduce you to a few more bloggers that I absolutely adore. As you can see above, this is a ‘Part 2’,  so I’ve already mentioned three amazing adventurers here, and there are more amazing adventurers to come! I made a little list, and threw the names into a hat, and these were the second 3 that came out. This is also a valid method for putting together your quest party, but of course it helps when you only have the finest quality adventurers in the hat anyway!

There’ll be some familiar faces here, but if I manage to introduce even one reader to the magic of these bloggers, that’s treasure enough for me :-).

Click on the photo to visit the corresponding blog!

(P.S. Being a rogue, I shamelessly stole the forthcoming pictures from the blogs in question, but of course they are the property of the respective bloggers! (The one above is mine))

The Wizard(ess) Sunny (Mostly Sunny)

 

Sunny, wielding her signature Coral Lip of +1 to Flawless Fresh Elegance

 

 

Sunny is all the things, really. She’s a linguist, a beauty blogger, faultlessly elegant, and so nice it’s almost offensive to boot. Because of all this, I have hired her into the party as our wizard(ess)! You need a high intelligence stat to be a good wizard (especially specialising in linguistics), and Sunny’s is through the roof, so I figure whether we need her to identify tricky arcane artefacts of lipstick, or be the translator in some tense negotiations with the Goblin King, she’ll have us covered! In either case, you also need to visit her blog, like, yesterday. ❤

The Swashbuckler Liz (Beauty Reductionista)

 

All fabulous, all the time.

 

Swashbuckling is absolutely a class. What’s more, it’s a fabulous class. Liz is the perfect example of this, combining down to earth beauty buzz, a wicked sense of humour and unparalleled skill with a scimitar (presumably), all while rocking red lipstick. Her piratically practical charm is so unmatched, she has even compared sea salt hair sprays, so you don’t have to. Like our wizard(ess), she’s also a top notch sweetheart, just to put the doubloon on top of the sundae, so to speak. Her blog. Check it. ❤

The Well-Read Ranger of Auxiliary Beauty 

 

Navigating the jungles of grad school, lipstick by lipstick .

 

Like yours truly, Auxiliary Beauty is currently working her way through the specialised type of horrortainment jungle dungeon known as grad school. This generates a lot of fellow feeling, but I’m hiring her into our party as the ranger for more than just someone to talk #gradcore with. She’s sharp as a razor, very well read, has gorgeous green eyes and always look like she fell, perfectly imperfectly, out of the 1930s (damn her). If there’s anyone who can navigate jungles and hunt down theses/dinner/literary jokes/fabulous taupe eyeshadows, Auxiliary Beauty is it. If you’d like to bask in her wit and talent yourself, please do visit her blog. Now. ❤

 

So! Those are the second three adventurers out of my Hat of Awesome. I hope you enjoy (or are already enjoying!) their blogs as much as I do! 😀 Stay tuned for more in upcoming editions of this post…

 

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 and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, watch out for the pixies that come in the night and snap your eyelids against your eyeballs while droning nursery rhymes at you.