Life Hacks: How to charm people in 8 easy steps

I'm fascinated by body language and mirroring* techniques, because they make it so simple to manipulate your actions so you can create quick connections with other people (and possibly become wildly popular, if you aim for that). The basic principle is that people are attracted to what they find familiar, and similar to themselves.

An example: You are at a party, and you don't know anyone there. You see a few groups of people. One group is all dressed in athletic uniforms/clothes. One group is all tattooed and pierced, sporting "Spencer's" garb. One group is dressed in mostly show tees (like theatre) and shirts with music references. There are many other groups like these, dressed in clothes typical to their interests. Who do you pick to hang out with? The group most like you, of course.

*"Mirroring" is a technique that involves subtley immitating a person in certain ways so they feel like you are "one of their kind." It's a simple, proven way to make people like you, even if they don't know why. It can be used in any social situation, from making a good first impression to connecting with someone you don't know very well or want to get to know (read: attractive guys/girls). Combining mirroring with body language that indicates openness and interest is a spectacular social weapon. I like to call it "People Snagging".

Here are a few ways to practice "People Snagging" when talking to someone:

1. Sit in the same position she is sitting in (or standing).
By doing this, you are creating a similarity between the two of you, creating a little, subconcious bond. If she changes position, wait a minute or so, then change position to match (try not to be obvious).

Nice jackets.

2. Indicate openness and interest with your body language.
Turn your palms outward, exposing the vulnerable inside of your arms/wrist. Exposing a vulnerable area indicates openness, honesty and trust. Also, lean forward slightly towards the him, as if you're hanging on to every word he says.

3. Use her "favorite" words.
If she says "totally" and "pleased" and "intense" a lot, find a way to incorporate them into your sentences. Using words that the other person frequently uses creates a subconcious similarity/bond with the other person, making them feel more connected to you.

4. Paraphrase what he said. Like this.
"I like banana splits with hot sauce."
"So you enjoy a little zip with your tropical fruits?"
It shows you're not only listening, but you're rather interested and you want him to elaborate.

5. Ask her questions about herself.
People LOVE to talk about themselves. An easy way to keep a converstaion going and make her feel affinity towards you is to ask her questions. "How do you feel about ___?" "Have you ever ___?" "What was it like when you ___?" She will feel like you really care about what she has to say and what she's been up to. MAJOR score for lady slaying (Brad, take note).

6. Know when he is losing interest, and change the subject to him.
There are many different ways he may indicate disinterest, but always remember that the body will always face the way he wants to go. If he is sitting with his knees facing the door, and his eyes are flitting towards the door, too, he wants to leave. If he has his arms crossed (indicating closedness) or is leaning away from you, he's not interested in what you have to say. Also, if he is propping up his head with his hand, he's bored. This is the time to make a quick save by asking him about himself (something he will LOVE to talk about) and thus re-capture his interest.

Turned away, arms crossed. Even if she were looking at him, it'd  be obvious she's bored.

7. Maintain eye contact.
The longer you keep eye contact, the closer two people will feel. You know how in romantic movies, the couple gaze into each other's eyes? It makes them feel closer. Holding eye contact with a person for 4-6 seconds before you look away creates a feeling of friendship and intense interest. Blinking away for a second helps break the contact so it doesn't seem to long, but return right back to the eye contact after you glance away.

8. Imitate her facial expressions.
Does she crack a little sideways Hermione smile at your joke? Crack one just like it. Does she bite her lip when she's thinking? Bite your lip when you're thinking. Again, the subconcious similarity ploy. Also, be sure to be subtle (i.e. don't copy her every expression, or copy them in an exaggerated way); she's not likely to notice, no matter how odd you feel.

Now get out there and make people like you!

Additional reading:
http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/nlp/nlp-mirroring-and-matching-techniques.html
http://www.nlp-secrets.com/nlp-technique-mirroring.php
http://sales.about.com/od/glossaryofsalesterms/g/What-Is-Mirroring.htm
http://www.bodylanguageproject.com/getting-started/
The Definitive Book of Body Language by Barbara and Allan Pease

TBT: Bop It!

“Bop it!” What? I think. Why is this thing talking to me? Is it a steering wheel? A spaceship? A tunnel system for pixies? My friend Ben grabs it from my confuzzled hands and demonstrates. “Like THIS!” he exclaims, giving a solid whack to the center.  I flinch. Why is he trying to break it? “You do what it tells you as fast as you can!” Weird. Let me try!


What the crap am I looking at?

 This weird little toy was released by Hasbro in 1996. And guess what—it’s STILL around! Wikipedia says that some studies accredit its success to its “ability to mimic social behavior”... I’m not entirely sure how hitting, flicking, and twisting an inanimate object is terribly social... Crazy scientists. 

What does "XT" stand for? X-tra tomatoes? X-cess tomagotchis?

Did you ever have a Bop It? Did you ever want a Bop It? Did you have Bop It envy? Well, I’m about to ruin your childhood right here and now, in only 6 seconds. Click. Go.

  http://tinyurl.com/kcjamesbopitmalfunction

 Do you remember Bop Its? Do you have any TBT requests? Comment below!

Blue Eyeshadow Isn't All Bad

Ah, stigmas. Here are actual quotes from actual people I actually know:

"I never use blue eyeshadow; I don't want to look like Barbie."

You should see her Zebra dress...

"When I think of blue eyeshadow, all I can see is Mimi from The Drew Carry Show."

"You four-eyed butt weasel!"

"Blue eyeshadow? Oh god-- I don't want to look like the Genie."

"How 'bout alittle more baklava-ah-ah-ah?"

Blue eyeshadow has gotten a bad rap in the world of cosmetics-- why? Because it is so extreme, it's incredibly easy to misuse. Thus, it has gotten a reputation for being the choice color of circus performers, Barbie dolls, and certain, erm, professions.

The key to wearing blue is to be conservative with it. In my "Meadow Sprite" tutorial, a brighter blue is used on less than half of the lid, and a much lighter shade is used to highlight the inner corners. In my "Summer Sunrise" tutorial, the darker sky blue doesn't extend past the browbone and the very pale blue that extends up to the eyebrow is very light and gets lighter as it goes upward, being almost just a faint shimmer once it reaches the brow. In my "Beach Surf" tutorial, the blue is used only as a liner.

Blue can be striking (in a good way) when used properly. Here are some tips for wearing blue:

1. NEVER* cover your entire lid in blue. Do you want to look like Barbie? Probably not.

2. Wear blue as eyeliner. Blue looks expecially good as a liner with blue or chocolate brown eyes (if you have green or hazel eyes, greens and golds tend to be more flattering).

3. Unless you're playing the Genie, keep anything brighter than a super-pale blue (like this one) below your browbone. I'm guessing you're not going for a Mimi look (see above).

4. Wear blue in your crease to add depth. "She's got blue eyes deep like the sea, that roll back when she's laughing at me. She rises up like the tide the moment her lips meet mine." "Sea" all that ocean imagery? The Plain White Tees know that the stuff [sea] stars are made of rolls in with the tide. (These puns are awful.)

5. Subsitute blue mascara for black. Great Lash's Royal Blue mascara (easy to find at Walmart for cheap!) dries halfway between cobalt and navy, so it's a subtle difference that adds a little more spunk to your look.

*Ammendment: dark blues (navy shades, shades labeled 'denim' or the like) can often look good covering an entire lid (if paired with a color-corresponding outfit--dark blues are extreme and need to be tied in with matching clothing items). It's sky blues and turquoisey blues like Barbie's and Mimi's that you have to watch out for. Also, if you have green or hazel eyes, some dark blues may not work for you, either. It's best to try a blue at home before you take it out in public. :>P

If you wanna see how I've used blue, check out my makeup tutorials (I can't get enough of blue eye makeup). Now get out there and show the world how blue can look cool. ;>)

TBT: View-Masters

Bear in the Big Blue House! Elmo and Big Bird at the zoo! A humoungous mountain with a dragon on top! I felt like the coolest kid in town because I could see all those things –whenever I wanted—just by pulling down a little lever. *Ka-chung!* And I didn’t even care that it looked like I had a spaceship on my face. I could see inside a fancy-freakin’-Barbie ballroom. I was pretty hip, sporting my View-Master. Can’t touch this.

I had the supah-cool oval one on the left.

I always thought of these funky devices were from the 80s/90s, but View-Masters were actually invented in 1939. Gruber-Sawyer Film, Inc. created the first View-Masters with photos of tourist attractions and travel views. View-Masters didn’t start having kid-geared views until 1966, and then they took off in the toy industry, peaking in popularity in the 80s. The plants were closed in 2001 when investigators found the toxic chemical trichloroethylene present; a chemical that when exposed to, can make a person feel/act severely drunk or even have heart arrythmias. Nice. Then the plants were re-opened in 2008, but the toys had lost much popularity.

View-Master tips:
*Aim your View-Master towards a light source. Your views will be more vibrant and easier to see.

*Pretend you're a voyeur. "I'm spying on you, Big Bird. I know what you did last summer..."

*Replace the pictures in the reels with slides of your crush/stalking victim. "I'm watching you, Wasowski-- always watching..."

*Fill the reels with angry messages and leave View-Master and reel on the doorstep of your enemy. "John Smith, don't you DARE touch my cat again, or you'll awake one morning as a giant cockroach."

*Fill the reels with pictures of your enemy (or crush, either works) doing their daily routine (sleeping, getting dressed, making breakfast, etc.) and leave View-Master and reel on their doorstep with either a frightening or a lovey note. "I spent $300 on a pair of binoculars because I (love/hate) you."

Did you ever have View-Master? Want one? Any TBT suggestions? Comment below!

Life Hacks: Guitar Picks

Has THIS ever happened to you?

Jam sesh? Hellz yes! *digs in pocket* $%&@! I could've sworn I had a pick a minute ago! *looks sheepish* Anyone have a classical guitar? *strum strum*

Or maybe THIS?

I'm playing gee-tar in the caaaaarrr (or on the couch)... $%&@ WHO INVENTED CRACKS BETWEEN THE SEATS?!

Or perhaps THIS?

Mushroom... MUSHROOM... *looks angrily at cat* Spit. Out. My. Pick.       Now.

Then YOU need to make your own picks! Pronto! Aaaaand if you're like me and drool over the $25 guitar pick punch from ThinkGeek but can't bear to fork over that much for a glorified paper hole-puncher (that looks weirdly like a stapler, I may add), look no further-- here's the answer. And the answer is...

You can cut through credit cards and gift cards with ordinary scissors. Kid scissors, even. Observe.

 

 

 

 

 

Et voila! You, my dear friend, have got yourself an endless supply of guitar picks. *bows deeply* ;>P



Makeup Tutorial: "Beach Surf"

Ahhh, summer-- something that I don't have this year, being stuck in an office and whatnot. But hey! Who's saying I can't look summery (minus the tan)?  That's right--no one! Time to swish my hair and flaunt summer-colors on my face!

Breezy surfer-girl or 90's boyband heartthrob?

When I saw this palette at Biglots, I was like "DUUUUUDE IT HAS FREAKING ORANGE!" and so, orange being my favorite color (and also a color NEVER found in eyeshadow palettes) I had to get it (duh).

J'aime l'orange beaucoup!

And, being a person who tends to bend the traditional rules of makeup, I couldn't just follow the rules of  *in a montone* "this color goes on your lid, this in your crease and this on your brow bone. yay" so I put my thinking cap on and mixed things up a little, per usual. And thus "Beach Surf" was born.



Sha-ZAM!

This look goes well with really any shorts-and-tee combo that either has red, blue or yellow in it somewhere. These colors are just kind of awesome, and they look cool (orange and blue aren't called "complimentary colors" for nothing ;>).

What I used: Wet'n'Wild's "A Regular at the Factory" palette (above), and Great Lash mascara in Royal Blue.

Step 1: Cover your lid in yellow.

Step 2: Apply orange to your entire crease (from one corner to the other). Then, apply orange to the outer corners, leaving the center yellow. The orange in the corners adds dimension (not to mention that orange is freaking awesome).

Orange outside the lines :>P

Step 3: Apply the yellow to your browbone (above the orange crease) and blend up to your eyebrow, using either a brush or your (clean) finger.

I got ahead of myself and did the eyeliner first when I took these pics-- whoops. We'll get to it.



Step 4: Dampen* (very slightly) either a tiny eyeshadow bristle brush or  the tip of a foam applicator (see below) with water, and apply the blue as eyeliner to the top lid.*Dampening the shadow increases the intensity and the staying power, so it acts like liner.* Also apply liner to the outer corner of the bottom, lining just the beginning of the bottom lash line.

 

Step 5: Apply blue (or black, but I prefer blue) mascara to top and bottom lashes (bottom optional).

 

TIP! Wiggle/zigzag the brush from root to tip to apply more mascara and create more volume.

Et voila! "Beach Surf"; breezy summer eyes for any occasion, designed by yours truly. *buffs nails on shirt* 



 

TBT: Water Snakes (or Shoobeedoo-lang-langs)

My friend Meagan always has the coolest toys. And they weren't those dumb "trendy" toys, either-- they were things that came in a Hearthsong catalog, like wooden dollhouses and toy dinosaurs and marionettes. One day when I was little I was raiding her toys, reaching up to a shelf that was a leetle too high for me when my face was assaulted by a flying tube of pink lemonade.Or at least that's what I thought it was. And when I tried to pick it up off the floor? It jumped! Like, JUMPED. THIS INANIMATE OBJECT FREAKING LEAPT FROM MY FINGERS. And thus, I had my first experience with the infamous "water snake".

Whoa, dude-- bags of glitter-koolaid!

Many years later, in the April of my junior year of high school I encountered these little devils anew, having thought they were all but extinct. But when my friend Avery showed up on the tour bus (Windham Chamber Singers spring tour-- google it) I was confronted yet again by my nemesis. Or best friend. They were so fun to play with and yet so incredibly aggravating. (perhaps "frenemy" is the right word...?) He named it the "Shoobeedoo-lang-lang" after an awful song we sung backup for earlier that year, and the name stuck. Here's a picture that's pretty close to what he had:

Shoo-bee-do-lang-lang... *facepalm*

Aaaand when it sprug a leak, what was the only thing left to do? Chop it in half with a sashimi knife and have it explode all over the hotel room, duh!

No, really, guys-- it looked just like this. Seriously.

Fun, aggravating, or distrubing? What do you think about water snakes? And why on Earth are these little plastic sleeves filled with water and glitter and fish and whatnot still in existence? I couldn't seem to find who invented them-- I bet he paid people to keep his name off the internet. :>P

Interpret this how you will...

Buy your own, you weirdos: http://www.amazon.com/Rhode-Island-Novelty-SMILE-WATER/dp/B004USLSU4/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1406294020&sr=1-8&keywords=water+snake+toy

"How was your day?" "Punny Story, Actually..."

Enjoy this punny story by yours truly... :>P

It was a drizzly Punday, and I was on my weigh to my grandfather’s house, scaling the urban landscape. Although I was feeling a little under the weather (my allergies had me in a fog), I was clambering along the curbs having fun. I stopped with a start when a woman tried to parkour car and I had to jump away.The last time my grandfather called me to come over, he had sworn his house was wrought with paranormal activity, but his brain sometimes messed with him,  and it turned out to be only paranomasia.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the Dormouse who let me in the squeaky front door. My grandfather was sitting in his recliner with his nose in a book about anitgravity. When he heard me he looked up and said “This book is impossible to put down!” Until his retirement, my grandfather, William, never read much. As a young man he was in the military, but he quit after developing anxiety from hearing “Fire at Will!” so often. His next pursuit was banking, because he wanted to get rich. He lost interest, though, and became a baseball coach instead. One day he was in the outfield, watching a baseball soar through the air, when it hit him—he would open a bakery. After a suspicious arson attempt that cooked his pastry oven, his business was toast. His next pursuit was stand-up comedy (despite his crutches), but when the audience realized his jokes were tearable they ripped him a new one and tore him apart. By that time he decided to retire, and since his age was catching up he began running marathons. Now he was a bookworm. I didn’t lend him my crossword books any longer because they’d often be returned riddled with puzzling bitemarks.

My grandfather motioned for me to sit down, and he asked the Dormouse, Moses, for tea. Moses is proud of his loose-leaf tea; Hebrews it himself. Once we were drinking our tea, my grandfather asked Moses to head to Jerry’s Deli for some sandwich supplies, but Moses refused, saying that he’d head to the other deli because Jerry’s decor was far to cheesy (Moses is a tasteful Dormouse, you see). Just then, the doorbell rang, and Mr. Spyder, a web designer, let himself in. My grandfather wanted to write about fishing, and Mr. Spyder insisted that the internet was the best place to catch readers.  But today’s meeting was not about web sites; we didn’t have a good location yet anyway. No, today’s meeting was unoffishal business.

My grandfather told us wanted to sell his paintings to bring in some extra Monet, but, as his paintings were offal, we thought it best to butcher this plan ASAP. He was so desperate to get rich, we thought maybe he needed it for drugs, despite the “keep off the grass” signs in his yard. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he would not see my point of view. Finally, Mr. Spyder caught on to what my grandfather wanted to do with this money. He pointed out the window and exclaimed,

“He’s not into drugs! He just wants enough Monet to buy Degas to make his Van Gogh!”

Makeup Tutorial: "Summer Sunrise"

Hi guys! I was Google-Imaging-it-up the other day, looking for a sunrise picture to be my wallpaper (I just love the gradiant from pink to purple to blue, with fluffy cotton-candy clouds) and I had inspiration. That's it! Summer sunrise eyes! Et voila!
(As always, you can click on the pics to see them fullscreen :>)

"Summer Sunrise"
This is a good daytime look, because it's entirely shimmery pastels. It looks especially stunning on blue eyes, but since pinks and blues compliment brown nicely, brown-eyed girls can pull it off as well.

What I used:
Oh, gosh. Unfortunately, the pinks and blues in this are really crummy. I'm going to look for a better quality brand of these colors, but I really wanted to make this, so I made do. The L.A. Colors is awful quality, but the purple I used from the Revlon palette is good. Here are the pics so you can see what shades I used and get them in a better brand (haha):

Step 1: Using either a brush or your (clean) finger, cover your lid in pink.



 

 



Step 2:  Using a brush, fill your crease with the darker (sky) blue.

 



 

 Step 3: Starting at the center of your lid, blend the lavender (from the Revlon palette) to the outer corner of your lid. Don't worry if you get purple on your blue crease.

 

  Step 4: Starting at your blue crease, blend the light blue up to your brow bone, getting lighter as you go higher.

 



 Step 5: Apply (thin) black or navy eyeliner and mascara to the upper lid/lashes. Bottom mascara is optional, though I found doing black on top and blue on bottom helps to open the eyes more.

 

Finished! Enjoy your "Summer Sunrise" eyes-- designed for you by yours truly. Comment your thoughts or suggestions below. :>)

 

 

Life Hacks: The Great Google Amusement Compilation

Do I like Google? Yes, who doesn't? Do I have a strange addiction to finding the weirdest things to do with it/to it? Yes. Is that odd? Perhaps. But it's amusment. So, here's a compilation of all the, erm, unconventional things you can do with Google.
*note: these things can mostly only be done on a computer

1. IT'S A ROULETTE! (Google Doodle Magic)
Yes, you can make Google buttons do weird things without even clicking on them. Whoa! Go to google.com and hold your mouse over the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Don't click. Watch it spin  and land on something random. Then, click on it. It directs you to different Google Doodles, like if you click it when it says "I'm Feeling Stellar" it'll bring you to the Hubble Telescope doodle. Groovy.

2. Get rid of stupid search results.
I’m searching “Harry Potter” and keep getting results about pottery classes (jk, something as famous as him doesn’t typically yield unrelated search results, but it happens with many other topics) but here’s how to get the results you want.

*Put a minus (-) before a word to eliminate results about it. (i.e. I search “harry potter –pottery”)
*Put a search term in quotes to get results w/the exact phrase instead of results w/the words disconnected. This is good for searching son lyrics. (i.e. I type“harry potter”)
*Can’t think of synonyms but need them to broaden your search? Type ~ before the word to get results with related words (i.e. search ~college to get results for the words “college, university, school, etc.)
More search tips: http://imgur.com/V7fh4bC 

3. Sit, Google. Now lie down. Good Google.
Not only can you ask google things, but you can tell it to do fun stuff, too!

*Go to google. Type "do a barrel roll." Observe and smile.
*Type "tip calculator". Use accordingly.
*Type "recursion". It'll ask you "did you mean 'recursion'?". Click on it. Fall into a dangerous loop.
*Type "anagram". It'll ask you "did you mean *insert anagram for 'anagram' here(such as "nag a ram")*?". Do you love Google yet?
*Type "zerg rush" and search. Watch the zergs destroy your search results. And if you're feeling competitive, click on as many zergs as you can to save your results and get a score. Sha-zam.

4. Mess up song lyrics. A LOT.
Go to google translate, copy and paste song lyrics, translate them through multiple laguages, and then translate back to English. Here's a prime example of lyrics from the song "Take Me for What I Am" from RENT (brought to you by Matt Scala):
Original
Take me for what I am
Who I was meant to be
And if you give a damn
Take me baby
Or leave me
Translated a few times
Take me, for I the Lord Christ what
And if you
get me out
Therefore a man or a

5. Make Google Translate do freaky things.
Google Translate is kind of like Apple autocorrect-- with some of the things it does (like corrrecting 'WTHeck!" to "Washburn!") it MUST have some people messing with it for fun. Here are some of the odd things I found I can make it say.

*Set the language on the left to Spanish and the language on the right to English. Type "dentr" in the left box. Observe the translation (I found out this one while tryin to look up a word for homework).
(With the same settings, type "hombr" in the left box. Observe.) WTH?
*Car engine: Set the left box to German. Set the right box to Croatian. Type "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" in the left box, hit translate, and hit "listen" (the button in the right box).
*Weird beat: Set the left language to German, the right to Latin. Type "tttttttttttttttttt". The Latin speaker's emphasis is weird, so you get a "tee-TEE-tee tee-TEE-tee" or "one-TWO-three one-TWO-three" beat.

6. Mix it up a little.
Get a fresh new Google search engine.

*Mirror: Go to the address "elgoog.im".
*Upside down: Go to "elgoog.info"
*Search "elgoog" in the regular Google search bar to see more versions of Google, like "Google Pac Man" and "Google Gravity".
*Your own favorite color: Go to "thepinksearch.com". It's a pink search engine powered by Google, and there are other color options underneath the search bar that you can choose.
*Emo: searchemo.com
*Never get the right result again: wackosearch.com
*Epic Google: toobigtouse.com
*Weenie Google: toosmalltouse.com
*Annoying Google: hate it when you accidentally put capitals and lowercase in the wrong place? ThEn dOn'T Go hERe. donttypelikethis.com

7. Get Useful Directions.
How do you get to Mordor?
*Go to Google Maps. Choose method of transportation as "walking" and make point A be "the shire" and point B be "mordor". Hit "get directions", and read the caution in the yellow box.

8. Get educated.
Parents didn't give you "the talk"? Ask Google.
*Type into the search bar "how can u" and observe what people are asking. That "u" versus "an individual" (try searching "how can an individual" instead) makes a difference. Makes you wonder who's typing in these questions...

9. Find the Meaning of Life.
Search "what is the answer to life the universe and everything". We knew Google was a genius, but this is just... astounding.

Other Google amusements:
http://www.businessinsider.com/best-google-search-results-ever-2013-4?op=1
http://googletricks.com/top-25-fun-google-tricks/

TBT: HitClips

I’m 6 years old, sitting on the window ledge in the kitchen of my Memere and Poppa’s house when my cousin Peyton runs in and says “Kyah! Kyah! Look what I got! It plays music IN YOUR EARS!” Hence, my first experience with the HitClip Player.



So tiny!

Do you remember those tiny little players about the size of a Listerine Breath Strip pack? I wasn’t one of the children lucky enough to get one in their Happy Meal, but quickly these little gadgets took off and any kid who wanted to listen to 60 seconds of Brittany Spears or *NSYNC or any other 90s/early 2000s pop star could grab one at Toys’R’Us. I never possessed my own (I was a kid born into 80s rock and James Taylor--ha) but I enjoyed playing with my cousin’s, marvelling at the fact that something so tiny could make music. And those bitty earbuds? Now THAT was supah-cool.

 Whoa-h-ho! A BOOMBOX! WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?

A little history:

These little buggers were invented in 1999 by Tiger Electronics. They were first released into the world via Happy Meal and then into stores. Then the MP3 player came along and crushed them. The end. Seriously, though, these things lasted only until 2002, when iPods and Zunes and Sandisks and all those high-tech thingamajiggers bumped them off the market.

Here’s to a 3-year reign in the tween toy/music industry. *clinks glass*

 Who still wishes HitClips were on the market (hint: hit up eBay)? Oh, and Aaron Carter has a few HitClip Chips (say that three times fast). Now who wants a HitClip?



Hellllloooo ;>)

Did YOU ever have a HitClip? What do you think? Any TBT requests?  Leave feedback in the comments below!



Makeup Tutorial: "Meadow Sprite" (Inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream)

Hi guys! As a hardcore thespian and an on-the-side artist, I enjoy using my easily-accessible face as a canvas for makeup design experiments. In the future, I will be posting tutorials with actual photographs, but since I am doing this in retrospect, I'll whip out my magic "paint" skills. Here goes:

"Meadow Sprite":
I dreamed up this look a while ago, when I was in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (I got to play Hermia-- eep!:>). The sprites'/faeries' makeup inspired this flowery, colorful design.This look is a great spring/summer look to wear with a floral sundress and bare feet while flouncing through daisied meadows in the sparkling sunshine. Aaaaand if you don't live inside a movie, you can use this to dress up any simple summer outfit with a similar color scheme (to the eyeshadow).
(Click on the pics to seem them full-screen!)

What I used:
"I'm Seeing Triples!" eyeshadow palette and "A Regular at the Factory" eyeshadow palette by Wet'n'Wild (surprising staying power, I may add), any black eyeliner and mascara (blue mascara works as well).

Step 1: With your eye closed and using whatever tool you like (preferably an eyshadow brush, but sometimes I just use what comes with the palette), apply pink to the inner half of your lid, and swish down all the way along your lash line. The shape is hard to describe, but should look like this:

Step 2: Fill the empty teardrop shape left on your lid with the blueberry blue from the "I'm Seeing Triples!" palette (it's the darker of the two blues on the two palettes).

 

 

 

 

Step 3: Apply the green, starting just behind where the blue begins, from where you lid ends just up to your brow bone.

 



 

Step 4: Apply the light pool-blue from the "Regular at the Factory" palette to the inner corner or your eye, blending so it goes slightly under your eye, almost like eyeliner on just the bottom inner corner.

 

 

 

Step 5: Highlight the remainign area, all the way up to your browbone, with the pale yellow. Blend well-- it should brighten your eyes subtley, and not look obviously yellow.

 

 

 

Step 6: Add (thin) black or dark blue liner and black or blue mascara.

 

Voila! "Meadow Sprite", a fresh, springy/summery look (designed by yours truly)!

 

I hope you enjoyed this makeup tutorial/my makeup designs! Keep watch for more!