I Lay My MAC Down: Good Girl Gone Bad

I enterd my very first Makeup Challenge last week! WOOT! It was very fun. The theme was Good Girl Gone Bad and we had to do two looks (one good, one bad girl) that contrasted each other. The other ladies that entered did wonderul jobs and the winner's looks were amazing! I peeked at the polls and it looks like I got the second highest votes so I'm very honored!

Anyway, here are my looks . . . click the pics to see what products were used and such.

Good Girl- Neutral with a POP!

I never really do neutral eye looks, because I'm not good at them, lol. But, I wanted my "good girl" to look innocent and soft so I took a stab at it anyway. I also wanted it to be playful, so I added the pop on the lower lashline.

Bad Girl- Supercheetahcateyelicious

I've never warn a red lip before because I don't really have a red lipstick that I like. And also because people always condition full lipped gals like me to steer clear of bold lips (which is BULL because I think full lips look best in bold colors, but hey, that's me). I had to kind of "create" this color, you'll see what I mean if you click the pick for the product list. Also, I'm not big on eyeliner and I always have trouble doing winged liner but I decided to just go for it. It worked out SUPER well. I wanted to wear this look out that day but I knew I had to do my Good Girl look, so I had to say good bye, lol. I added the cheetah/leapard spots on the right eye to add drama.

This was tons of fun! Especially the mini photoshoot I launched into to create my entry, lol. I can't wait to see what the new challenge will be! Thanks to all that voted for me (if you read journeyed outside of BHM to read my blog, lol).

I Lay My MAC Down: St. Patty's Day Look (kinda-sorta)

So, I didn't wear green on St. Paddy's day . . . if I'd known my mother would pinch me, maybe I would have, lol. I'd planned to rock green eyeshadow but I got lazy and didn't do it.

Well, I through a bit o'green into my makeup look the next day . . .

Nothing special . . . fairly neutral except for the green. I've been in a makeup rut lately. I used to do wacky, crazy, bold looks every day last year but these days I just don't feel like experimenting. I've been lurking around Specktra.net checking out their FOTDs and tutorials, hoping to find some inspiration. Maybe spring will bring new looks for me.

Note: If you're reading this as a blog feed and not on the actual blog, then the new graphic looks a little wacky to you, lol. It's best seen on the blog w/ the black background. Just thought I'd mention it.

Bsquared86 Overload & Overhaul

OVERLOAD

In case you didn't notice, directly above the posts we have a new section called "Bsquared86 Overload." What is it? It's my twitter updates! Want to catch up to the minute MFA updates? Loc Updates? Mid-day rants? Music raves? Random Babble? Take a peek at the Bsquared86 Overload or, better yet, follow me on Twitter!

I joined Twitter at the urging of one of my friends and now I'm hooked. It's like bite-size blogging, lol. I don't always have time to blog but twitter is literally at my fingertips 24/7 (thanks to my handy dandy I-phone).

I started to just get a personal twitter account for fam and friends but I decided to make it open, using my blog screenname, because I want to hear from YOU!

Yes, you!

you, at your work desk, sneaking on to blogspot . . .
and you, in the campus computer lab lollygagging when you should be writing a paper . . .
and you, newly natural/loc'd beauty or makeup newbie searching for tips . . .
and you, aspiring MFA student that checks your email every 5 minutes and answers every strange phone number with a bright and cheery voice . . .

I want to here from all of you!

I want to talk to you . . . hear how your day is going . . . answer your questions . . . laugh at your fave youtube video . . . and stay up to date with your various projects and journeys. So come on over to Twitter and make yourself comfortable. If you're already on there, send me a message!

OVERHAUL

If you've been around this little piece of the blogosphere in the past couple of days then I'm sure you've noticed that my blog look has changed quite a bit.

I loved my old pink-zebra background and smiling title banner/thingy but it was time for it to go! The pink wasn't rocking my socks anymore and the narrow page layout made pic croppin/resizing a pain. I was also tired of looking at myself with my TWA (read:teeny-weeny afro) when I've been loc'ing for 6 months now (WOOT!). So, yeah . . . I needed a change.

First, I was in love with a turquoise background but it didn't feel crisp enough (if that makes sense) and then I settled for a white background . . . but the white was a bit too bland. So, I decided to go back to black. It's easier on the eyes (and wattage, according to Blackle) and makes me feel all sleek and chic (ok . . . that was corny . . . I'm sorry, lol).

As usual . . . the banner was created by ME and I hope that you will respectfully leave it where it is (swiper, no swiping!).

Stay tuned for a few other structural changes . . . I'm currently at work on the sidebar . . . it feels both cluttered and empty to me, lol.

How do you like the new look? Hate it? Love it? Miss the old? Good riddance? Any suggestions? Helpful HTML tips? Leave me a comment or tweet me on twitter!

Narcissism

I'm not really a narcissist . . honestly, i'm not . . . I promise *crossing fingers behind back but realizes that you can't see me and it's harder to type that way*

Okay . . . so, two of my favorite pass-times, aside from general lollygagging and random instances of tomfoolery, are fooling around with hair and makeup. I dedicate alot of time and energy into taking care of my hair and i waste-er um- invest alot of money in makeup.

To keep up with my journey in both realms I have a fotki photo album thingamajiggy
that can be found HERE.

Basically, I have seperated my hair Journey into two parts

One section that depicts my hair trials and triumphs during college, aptly titled It Really Was A Different World in honor of my other favorite pass time and (obsessively watching A Different World). It culminates, of course, with a series finale featuring my graduation but not before I throw in a "Very Special Episode" dedicated solely to me big chopping (hair lingo for cutting) my pressed ends off and deciding to wear my natural, glorious, amazing, nappy hair exclusively!

The next section is in the beginning stages, because it chronicles my journey to LOCDOM! Yes, friends, I am loc'ing my hair and I'm very excited. To keep with the trend of having albums related to my obsessions, I have titled this part iLoc in honor of my love of music (get it, iLoc . . . iPod? corny I know). I begin with a "Prelude" and move into my first track "I decided (That You Are The One For Me)" in honor of the hot Solange track.

The makeup looks I choose to keep neatly stored in an album entitled, I Lay my MAC down. There, I display the few looks that I actually capture in a decent picture. I'm getting a little better about taking pics and giving specs though.

There are a couple of other goodies in my fotki too-- like True Life:I'm A Product Junkie, where I list most of my hair products and tools, and Who is Bsquared86?, where I display some non-hair or makeup pics that just showcase both my digital manipulation (low level graphic design)and my muse (me).

Well, that was just a little look into some stuff that I like to do in my free time . . . which is usually ALL of my time these days, lol. Hope you enjoyed it!

::peace::

I'm back + Adventures in Lazytown

Okay . . . I know . . . I know . . . I totally suck at this . . . but after a 5 month absence, I'm back! Mostly I'm back because I stumbled across a few blogs that fancied my interested and I've been posting comments on them and reading them regularly so I figured . . . why couldn't this be me?

So, if anybody is reading this . . . please thank . . .

• Those That Can't Do by my good friend, Ms. Brown. She's a newbie in the blog world too, chronicling her first year as a teacher and, in my honest opinion, she's funny as hell.

• mFA Weblog by a few good folks. Where, oh where was this blog when I was slowly losing my mind trying to understand Master's of Fine Arts Programs in Creative Writing last year? I'm so happy I found it.

• Afrobella by a beautiful sista that loves hair, makeup, skin care, shopping, and entertainment. She's an incredible writer and apparently a force to be reckoned with in the blog world!

I read a grip (read:"a lot") of other blogs as well, but that list would take forever. These are my current faves and major inspiration right now.

Adventures in Lazytown

As I mentioned in my first post, I'm taking a year off between undergrad and grad school and though I am very happy about that decision I am starting to suffer from "busy envy." Most of my friends are doing things with their lives even if it's the same thing they've been doing for years. The point is that for the first time in my life, I'm not doing a dag on thing but living. I knew that the moment would come that I'd be watching my friends go to grad school and I'd think, "Man, I should have just went on ahead and went to whatever school accepted me!"-- I just didn't know that it would be this hard to fight these feelings of "loserdom." I have been utterly and unapologetically lazy this summer . . . but, my folks haven't complained (yet). I want to get a job but I need some wheels first (long story).

But, anyway, I did what was best for me . . . I honestly can say that I know more about where I want to go to school and what kind of MFA program I want to get into than I did back in the winter when application season was ending and deadlines were taunting me. So, I am ANXIOUSLY awaiting starting grad school in Fall 09 (or Summer 09). The only thing between me and grad school is these dag on applications! Arggh . . . essays and samples and recommendations, oh no! As a matter of fact, I need to be sending out very flattering and sincere emails to old professors now to beg them to write a few (or 15) glowing recommendations . . . *crosses fingers*