One of the wonderful things to come out of this is the practice of "frankening"--taking a product you are less than thrilled with and mixing into it other elements (base, additional shades, etc.) to create something both beautiful and useful. This can result in a collection of "franken-polishes" (MMU shades mixed with clear nail polish--especially helpful in using up product discovered to be not eye or lip-safe), "franken-glosses" (mixing shades with clear or tinted lip glosses), and "franken-shadows."
I have to say there is something about frankening that I just adore--not the reasons that necessitate it, of course, but "cooking up" something unique and special from disappointing product takes me right back to my early days playing in my mother's makeup...and lotions...shampoo...you get the picture ;)
I've long been on the hunt for a pretty coral pink shade to wear on the eyes but alas, I have found nothing that I liked enough to buy. A few weeks ago, I decided to try cooking up my own shade of shimmery, sparkly, slightly smoky coral: "Coral Choker."
I loved the color once I was done mixing, swatching, adjusting, re-swatching...but still didn't feel the texture was quite right. A big mahalo goes out to fellow frankener Kris D., who suggested adding in a good eyeshadow base to improve qualities like opacity, adhesion, and texture. On her recommendation, I placed an order today for a good base from MMU supplier TKB Trading (right here in CA, how awesome is that??) but this of course will take a while to get here and I wanted to use the shades in a look requested by fan Karen M. on my Facebook page. So for today, I added a touch of mineral veil and illuminizer to "Coral Choker" and fell in love!
The swatch below was done over primer; foiled on left and dry on right ;)
 |
| Natural light (outside in the washed-out afternoon sunlight as filtered through oncoming storm clouds--eek!) |
 |
| Indoor lighting (my bathroom); not the greatest but shows off some of the sparkle ;) |
Next I decided on frankening a shade I wasn't so fond of to make a gorgeous rocker-chic metal violet:
"Frankie's Girl" is swatched over primer also; dry on the left and foiled on the right.
 |
| Natural light (indoor under one of the skylights in my retreat, again late in the afternoon); I'm amazed at how much of the sparkle came out here! |
 |
| Indoor lighting (my bathroom); again not the best but shows off some of the metallic shimmer and smokiness... |
And here is the look requested by Karen--hope you like it sweetie!!
 |
| View of today's look with eyes (mostly) closed, showing off "Frankie's Girl" foiled as liner |
Would you believe I also frankened my foundation for this look? LOL, it's true, and probably not very uncommon--I've heard of many folks mixing foundation shades to find the perfect color and coverage match for their skin. I blended a touch of barely tinted mineral veil (non-vegan, as it contains silk + pearl powder) with two shades of foundation (Bliss and Almond from Pink Quartz Minerals) for a glowy look that required no additional highlighter! I think the effect turned out beautifully!!
 |
| Tell me the truth: is this my "good side"?? |
I began the look with clean skin, moisturized using my new fav: a wax-free, vegan face cream handmade by...ME!! Yes, I whipped up (literally, over an ice water bath) a buttercream frosting-like confection for the face out of extra-virgin and fractionated coconut oils, shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, tamanu oil, and rose water. This stuff rocks my world, I LOVES it!!!
The rest of the goods are as follows:
On the eyes--
Franken-shade Coral Choker on lids
Franken-shade Frankie's Girl in crease/outer corner and foiled as liner on upper + lower lash line
white shimmer eyeshadow on inner corners/brow bone and inner lower lid
Gunsmoke by Mixology underlining Frankie's Girl on upper lash line
Indy by Mixology in brows
Aveda Mosscara in Black
e.l.f. Mineral Eye Liner in Black on lower waterlines
Face--
mineral veil (all over face primer)
Franken-foundation
Cheeks--Ingenue blush by Mixology
Lips--Coral Choker mixed with MAC Dazzleglass in Love Alert
I do like how the franken-shadows turned out, especially once I added the "base" elements; they had a lovely semi-matte, satiny finish, creamy texture, and went on silky-smooth and blendable. This is a lovely springtime look, what do you think, my dear readers? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences with frankening!
MKA,
Lizzy
Disclaimer: All content is my own opinion only and should in no way be construed as a paid endorsement or representation of any companies named. I receive no compensation whatsoever from any makeup or other companies named/linked to in my posts for my looks or reviews. I just like to have fun with all the pretty pretty colors...
