Archives for April 2018

Vogue Loki Makeup

April 30, 2018 by Briana Leave a Comment

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For those curious types, I thought I’d share what makeup was used on me by makeup artist Aisha Daly for my Vogue Loki shoot.

Eye Shadow – Urban Decay
Half-Baked (light)
Kush (bright green)
Cobra (dark green)
(later, black smokey eye makeup was added for the final photoshoot)

Eyeliner – Urban Decay
Stagedive – discontinued
Midnight Cowboy

Foundation – Clinique foundation in Alabaster

Lips – Urban Decay Half-Baked eyeshadow (later I added cheap Halloween store black lipstick for the shoot)

Fun fact: While my eyes look very dark brown, I discovered through closeups and lighting experiments that my eyes are actually very dark green with brown right around the pupil and dark edges.

Vogue Loki

April 27, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 3 Comments

It is here.

The moment we’ve been waiting 10 years for – the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers: Infinity War! I’m excited to see it this weekend! For the obvious reasons of course, but also because I had the pleasure of being cast as an extra for two different alien races. Apparently I was specially requested for my “chameleon face”. D’aww, shucks…though I suspect it was because I made them laugh at the stifling 2am call times.

*arrives on set a little too bouncy from early morning adrenaline*
“Ooo, Avengers facial time!” *snuggles into the chair with a dopey smile*
“She just called the next 4 hours of us putting makeup and prosthetics on her “relaxing…”
“Yeah, and?”
“Can we work with you all the time?”

With that I got to check off one of my bucket list experiences – undergoing body makeup and prosthetics on a movie or TV show. Can’t get any bigger than Avengers: Infinity War!

Alas, I didn’t have the resources to pull together an Infinity War inspired outfit in time (story of my life, eh?), so instead I thought I would do a throwback to one of the favourite villains of the MCU.

Shortly after the first Avengers film came out, a friend suggested that, in no uncertain terms, I should do a female version of the title trickster, Loki. After a few rounds of online research, I came to the conclusion that the only femme designs created at the time were cocktail dresses or short Lolita-esque frocks (not that I mind anyone wearing these sorts of things, mind you. The designs just didn’t quite jive in my head). Loki has a flair for theatrics, so I figured if everyone showed up somewhere in cocktail dresses, Loki would show up in a full-fledged gown. Why? Because she could. So I quickly sketched out a two-piece gown inspired by both the film and comic version of Loki. My representation is not as exact as I wanted to keep a high fashion element to it. Thus Vogue Loki was born.

The biggest deviation on this costume design was that I pulled from my experiences as a model and love for high fashion to craft an haute couture look. This ended up being the main influence for the photoshoot, to push it more towards looking like a magazine editorial.

COSTUME NOTES:

Hair: My own hair simply blowdryed, brushing the hair back from the face then spraying the heck out of it for sheen and staying power.

Makeup: MAC makeup artist Aisha Daly did the honours. She did a mixture of black and green eyeshadows with green glitter eyeliner on the top and gold glitter eyeliner on the bottom, complete with false eyelashes and black glossy lipstick. (We also opted to go for a “no eyebrows” look, common on high fashion, but also because that is the look Female Loki in the comic sports!)

Dress: All one piece made by Angelica of Angelly Cosplay – https://www.facebook.com/angellycosplay?fref=ts (I designed it completely, but I can’t sew to save my life, so I left that in her much more capable and talented hands). The green fabric is 100% polyester made to look like silk dupioni (we used the wrong side because it had a nicer sheen to it). The skirt has 13 panels in it to give it that wide, flowing look. The black material is actually a polyurethane psuedo-leather skirt from the 80s we hacked up for the vest-like piece. On the shoulder, we put in a brass zipper from Hobby Lobby, pulled apart with separate strands on each shoulder.

Necklace and cuff: Forever 21

Tights: DKNY

Shoes: Aldo

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Picture 1: Brownlee of RBC Image (https://www.facebook.com/RBCIMAGE)
Pictures 2-6: Kyle McLaughlin (http://www.studiokgm.com/)

Thoughts on Turning Thirty

April 24, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 1 Comment

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They say turning thirty will feel like just another day. For others, I can only assume that must be true from how many times I’ve heard it. But for me, that has not been the case. The morning of my 30th birthday came and it didn’t feel like another day.

It felt cold.

It felt foreign.

I looked outside at the storm raging outside the window. Rain was coming down so hard it was almost going sideways. The wind had picked up to the point of sending tree branches crashing into the side of the house. How symbolic…I have felt the increasing weight of adult problems to the point I feel beaten by it. The morning I turned thirty years old only seemed to intensify the fact. I spent it crying.

While I know it’s simply a societal construct that by thirty, one should have their “act together”; to be making good money at your chosen career, married with a family, own a house, all while making it look Pinterest-worthy. Those milestones still plague at my mind. I expected myself to be much farther along than I am. But I greet 30 worse for wear. The usual cycle of work problems, not having my own place, not married, still not making above the poverty line, not succeeding with my personal geek fashion business, and the physical signs of aging mixed with post-accident injuries make for a poor start to my 30s.

But wait…

Is it?

A troubled heart has a way of telling the mind convincing lies. A broken brain believes them, but it doesn’t necessarily make them true.

While I used to not have to put much effort into being positive, after the deterioration from the accident, it’s much harder for me to see the silver lining. But it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I’ve had to learn that both realities of depression and happiness exist, even at the same time. You have to learn that while feelings are valid, they are not always reality.

I may not be employed right now, but The Gifted: Season 2 starts soon and I have guaranteed employment among a beloved cast and crew.
I may not be employed right now, but I can spend my free time blessing others when there’s no one there to take them to the emergency room or for a cup of tea after a horrid breakup.
I may not have my dream career right now, but I have achieved my dream careers of years past – storyboard artist and film costumer. I DID achieve those dreams. They had their season and it’s on to new dreams.
I may not have my own home, but I have my own room larger than some people’s apartments that’s been recently renovated to my desires by my loving roommates (who are some of my closest friends).
I may not be married, but I just celebrated a year anniversary with a wonderful boyfriend who is as genuine in his love as is humanly possible.
I may not be married, but I dodged a bullet of terrible ex and am in a much better, healthier relationship with a man that my friends and family love.
I may not be making above the poverty line, but that tax return was big enough that I was able to pay off some bills and buy new furniture when I couldn’t afford it otherwise.
I may not have a successful geek fashion blog, but I still get messages every week of how my posts inspire you and help you style creatively in art, fashion, and home.
I may be seeing signs of aging that I don’t like, but others still think I’ve barely graduated highschool. (Thank you Mom for the fountain-of-youth genes!)

I may not have the success one expects with a 30 year old, but there’s still hope.

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Test shoot with DEW Photography (we were originally going for a casual black and white shoot, but a storm rolled in and we had to get artsy-fartsy with it. Who knew how appropriate it would actually be…)

Shirt: H&M (from a few seasons ago)
Pants: Pinup Girl Clothing
Shoes: Lifestride Quell flats
Bracelet: Bellabeat Leaf health tracker

Star Trek Dress

April 5, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 3 Comments

Set phasers to stunning!

In continuation with my geek chic outfit series (which I dearly hope can become a regular thing), I bring you the everyday Star Trek outfit. With its iconic color blocked sections, short skirt, and long sleeves it was too perfect of a dress to pass up. I paired it with boots to mimic the show as well as heels for those desiring a more fashion and less costume-y look. (Further still, for those who want to add another layer of modesty, black tights go well with the dress. Just think of it as continuing the long black lines of The Next Generation uniforms. 🙂 )

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved sci-fi television show. With it’s rebooted movie franchise and newly announced 2017 TV show, Star Trek is more alive than ever. This cultural phenomenon has lived on in its influences on science, modern philosophies, racial issues, role models, fashion, technology, and many more facets of our society. Very few shows can claim that sort of impact, much less the longevity! (While I admit to being more of Babylon 5/Star Wars fan myself, I have a deep appreciation for the legacy of
and many of the lessons taught in The Next Generation series (my favourite of the bunch).)

Alas, the dress was no easy thing to acquire though as it came from the hotly anticipated 2015 H&M Balmain collection. I originally had my eye on the premiere black and gold embellished dress for a Game of Thrones-inspired outfit (until I saw the price! One certainly worthy of a Lannister…). But in searching through the collection, my eye fell on this dress. My mind immediately screamed “STAR TREK!” After seeing the price was in my budget, I opted to go for it.

Alas, I didn’t anticipate how intensely people were after this collection. I moseyed on over to H&M when the doors opened on launch day only to find that I had missed out on the information that they had opened the doors early. I was a bit annoyed at my ignorance of that fact until I discovered that people were waiting overnight for the collection launch; that they practically ripped apart the store, knocking over displays to get their hands on the coveted pieces. I love clothing just as much as the next person, but my goodness…

But all was not lost. I managed to be one of the lucky ones to find this dress on eBay for near the original price (many were being sold for 2-3 times the price for those looking to hawk a profit). So keep that in mind when you’re shopping. If a popular piece is sold out, it might show up on eBay!