New Nail colors and Now... PRESSED SHADOWS!

Hey there, Everyone!
 I know it's been a while, but I am very busy with making new colors and now, I am offering Custom color Pressed eyeshadow compacts!
I'm SO excited about it! The colors are bright, non staining on skin, wear long, and all but one single pigment I offer is vegan!

Here are some pictures of what I have been working on :)

This is my first custom pressed powder compact!
Developed the colors for the customer, I only have so many empty compacts in stock so get them while they are in stock, and get your perfect colors!

Here is the Colors Above, ONE swipe, with my finger, NO PRIMER OR BASE.

LOVE THEM!

Here are a couple of new Glitter /Top-coat Nail polishes I have formulated and listed for sale.
This is Blind Melon.
1 single coat, over natural nail. ( i have this color on right now, and it looks REALLY good over natural nails.)

All my polishes dry CRAZY fast. and almost all cover in one coat. I try to make that my goal!

this is All that Glitters!
 one coat, over natural nail.

I've also been working on new Matte colors!

Here is a Deep green made for a local customer

This is without flash , and this is 2 coats, but two THIN coats. and they dry in about a minute and a half to two minutes.

this is with flash

And this is ME!
Wearing 4 colors I made for myself! Freya is the green, The others don't have names yet :)

and of course, I brightened up my .... less than amazing pictures of my Spectraflair and Holo topcoats :)

Well, That's some of the stuff I have been working on!
I hope to have more time to do stuff soon, but right now, it's nose to the grindstone!

Thanks for taking a look, if you have questions , or want a custom color of shadow or polish  you can request a custom Item on my Etsy or Facebook pages. Both will be answered within a 24 hour period:)


Carpe Noctem Cosmetics - My shop

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics Facebook- The facebook, it has the most updates and pictures :)

Thanks for sticking with me!
Until next time
-Emily

My Cosmetic Shop!

Carpe Noctem Cosmetics is officially open on Etsy, and has a FB page as well.

If you just happen to pass by this blog and red, please link these pages for me, or at least just take a peek.
You might just be pleasantly surprised!!
This is my FB for the Shop.

https://www.facebook.com/Carpenoctemcosmetics

and this is the shop itself!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/CarpeNoctemCosmetics

Thank you in advance for all your support.
I appreciate it more than you know.


More information is coming soon, AS I would like to use my blog for polish reviews and customer appreciation as well!

Till next time
 -Emily

The opening of Carpe Noctem Cosmetics!

Hey everyone!
As you recall, my last entry was all about opening a small storefront online to sell my eyeshadows/ pigments and NAILCOLORS!

Well , here it is everyone, Carpe Noctem!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/CarpeNoctemCosmetics

There are a few listings as of right now, but I am available and can be contacted through here, on my Facebook, or onmy Etsy shop itself to make any custom color you would like!

Can I match your shoes to your nails and eyeshadow?
Why yes I can!!!!

Can I BLOW YOUR MIND with intense holographic nails?

YES.
I.
CAN.

Can I blow your mind with Neon nails and Matte colors?

Why , Yes. Yes I can do that as well!

All of these are hand mixed and made to order.
I really really enjoy doing it, so if you have ny questions, or just want to try it out, I can work with you.

Thanks for taking a look , and  I hope to make a big post about this in the very near future. After all, my testers need to write their reviews :)

Until next time <3

Starting to make Cosmetics

Now, thats a BIG phrase.
Huge, even. But here's the gist of what I am trying to do.

    I have an ENORMOUS list of hobbies, Things I know about, enjoy doing, or just TRY to do. I am a person who thirsts for daily knowledge. I used to do some theatrical makeup for a number of years, helping out at small to mid size stage shows. I adored  it. I mean, I had a moving and working canvas, something that I had full freedom over!.....Well, a few guidelines of course.

Then one day I fell in love( this was even before the makeup counter days, this was around 2002) a company called Urban decay. Just the name... and the colors! OH! the colors! Deep jewel tones and dark painted liners, I was hooked.
I was already a in-between goth/alternative kid anyway. My parents had rules though, I got in trouble if my whole wardrobe was black, couldn't dye my hair colors ( I did anyway), and Easy on the makeup! ( psssssht.... please)


Later on I worked at many places, but for a couple of stints, I worked at cosmetic counters in , mostly small, department stores. I loved that too. But everyone wanted the same thing, nudes, smoky eye, tones down colors. I never really liked that.
So, job wise, I went toward my second love. Cooking. And I DO cook... A LOT. I still enjoy cooking, but that's not my point.

I used to loathe not being able to even TRY to look good for my jobs, unless It was my stints at managing. And even then... "Emily, tone it down a bit"

Well, world... NO MORE!

I want bright colors on my eyes and nails, and the colors I couldn't ever find...... are now ALL mine!

I have found various companies, that sell every possible thing needed for cosmetics. Its just a matter of having the funds to get everything together, and create any custom color you want!
The startup costs are quite large, and I am doing some consumer testing with myself and friends at the moment.

Within the next two months I would like to be making custom colors for nails and eyes for any occasion!

Want to match your wedding dress? SURE! I can do that! almost every pigment and mica I use , as well as skin adhesion bases are 100% Vegan.
I have 3 colors right now that are not vegan, and I have over 100 mica pigments, and 20 Matte tones.

Right now I am concentrating more on polishes . I'll include swathes of colors I have made over the last 2 weeks.

Note: the 6 nails of bright sparkly pinks had pigment clumping, that product is not final, as well as the yellow.

The blue has been labeled T.A.R.D.I.S. Blue by the testers <3 Thanks guys! I'm honored! the sparkle next to the blue  is the  topcoat that is on the 2 nails under the pinks at the topover T.A.R.D.I.S. blue.

And a nude color I made for one of the testers!

With custom nails, will come more of my custom shadows!
In process of testing those as well!

Here is a teaser!

L to R : With Fyrinnae's pixie Epoxy, bare skin, with regular base primer

Custom color for one shadow tester.



And here are the colors she requested Together  over  Pixie Epoxy!

Anyway, Enough picture posting!
I am really really loving doing this, so if anyone out there wants to test shadows for me, I need TWO more!
Yes , you will have to pay for the product and shipping, but it is cheap , obviously for the testing portion. I will provide the eyeshadows at 2$ a piece for up to TWO. you will receive two shadows for 4 dollars, I will make the colors custom for you, but you need to provide me with  feedback . I need some reviews, and what you love or hate about it.

Polish reviews will be up after the testing packs go out and get used!

Whoo! Excited!

Until next time!
-Emily

Gardening

Hey everyone! It's been far too long, and I have been FAR too busy!

Thanks for stickin' with me, This should get easier once my husband returns home and I'm not playing single mommy over here!

Ok so this last week we had MAJOR flooding in the area I live in. While I happen to be on high ground , many people have lost homes, jobs, cars, ...Everything. It's been UNBELIEVABLE. I never imagined seeing things I see every day be 10 feet under water.

I'm going to include a before and after picture of Downtown Grand Rapids , Michigan.
Photo is not by me, it is by David Guthrie of Grand Rapids Press.

The top one is from December, and the bottom is from April 21st.

My heart is with those directly affected. I am not able to go help, bet your butt I would if I could.

Well, down to regular everyday things I suppose!

Since all this rain and Temp. increase, I knew I had to get my gardens tilled , planted , fenced, and mulched for the year SOON.  So,  I asked for the help of a very good friend, and he came up from Kalamazoo for the weekend to help me knock out all the work while taking care of the kiddo

First we went and tilled the plots, Luckily I had done all that by hand last year, and mulched it all. The beds were nice and wet and it worked easily. The other lucky thing , My friend also brought up a little Mantis Tiller, Helped out BIG TIME!

After tilling it , we raked it, decided where to put what seeds and how much sun it would likely get. I planted all the seeds, and we raked the soil loosely over the top, patted softly and added Much straw.It has some tack in it , so when it gets wet, it stays put and doesn't blow all over.


First I'll show you my Front plot. The bush in the center is my Burning Bush.

on the right hand side I have 4 kinds of Cucumber, Lemon Cuke, Mexican Sour Gherkin, Little Potato, and Nippon Sanjaku Kiuri. ( Note: all seeds this year were gotten from local stores , but mostly from Seed Savers Exchange) In front on the right side I have Rhubarb springing up as well. On the left hand side in the front we have Rainbow carrots, Helios Radish, and Parisian Romaine Lettuce.  Behind the lettuce and radish, we have sugar snap Peas , and Asparagus peas. That's why the trellises are up. To help have the peas have something to grow on!


Ok , onto my morning glories!

These are the new areas for my flowers this year. I had dug them last year, but not lined or mulched.  They look great to me! I planted Picotee blue morning glories, Clark's Heavenly Blue morning Glories, and red, white, and pink Cypress vine.
Last year it looked Beautiful!

Moving on,we have the side patch, I  am also going to be adding a tomato plant to this area.

Teaspoon tomatoes, to be exact..... if I can get them to freakin grow! I've been having the worst luck with those in particular! right now it has Fennel. 3 large bulbs that i planted last year. they will be growing this year.



Then!! Tomato garden!

This little guy boasts 10 types of heirloom tomato varieties! from left to right, Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Roman Stripe, Evergreen stripe, Stupice, Pineapple, Big rainbow, Black Cherry, Chocolate, and Brandywine (Note: Brandywine, and Black cherry were sent to me from my friend, Shawna Eddy, Thank you!!!)


Now to the Big guy! This was hand dug by me last year, its roughly 15x15'

In LOVE with my big garden. We are trying to go fenceless this year. Natural repellents. Im going with tobasco and water at the moment. I will see how it goes when sprouts start coming up!
In the boxed off area we have my strawberries,  and down towards the bottom front I also have Asparagus ( mary washington type) Those are the two things that will just grow for me without planting.
The rest here is a long list!!
on the back wall of it I put my Burgundy Okra seeds
Okra has beautiful flowers, and i am partial to eating the veggies raw myself. But they also grow VERY tall, so to not block out any sun, I put them against the back.
In the front of the garden , Joe Bober( my good friend who helped me garden, The Bobes, as we call him) dug hills for me to plant the squash types.

So in front we have Honeydew, and Sugar baby watermelon, then Blue Moon pumpkin and Sugar pie pumpkin, then we have Spaghetti Squash and zucchini.

For the rows we have ( left to right)

Beets - Chiogga and Burpee's Golden(Seed Saver's Exchange)
Swiss chard- Five color Silverbeet ( Seed Saver's Exchange)
Peppers - Ancient Giant Red Sweets, Chile Negra, Chocolate Paprika (Local Farmer's market, collected 2012)
Broccoli- Broccoli Raab ( Seed Saver's Exchange)
Beans- Kentucky Wonder, Burgundy, Asian yard long  ( Seed Saver's Exchange)
Ground Cherries - Heirloom number 23, Aunt Molly's ( Seed Saver's Exchange) and Pineapple Express (thanks again to Shawna!)
Carrots- Rainbow  ( Seed Saver's Exchange)
Peppers- Rainbow bell, Carnival variety ( Burpee's)

We also have Purple passion and White michigan potatoes. As well as a lemon verbena bush, and Blueberries and Raspberries.

This was what my last 5 days has been like. and now its watering 2x a day!

Thanks for sticking around with me, More to come!

Going to be posting updates of other things as well soon, My husband will be home the 3rd week in may, Can't wait!

Until next time!
- Emily

My apologies!

I am working on MANY things, and since I returned home from seeing my husband graduate Basic Training, life has been very hectic!

I have updates for both the Terrariums and Time lord construction, but haven't had time to put the tutorials and posts together.

I have also finally gotten all my makeup together , so every now and them I can do a tutorial for certain looks, or even just tips on keeping skin healthy.

I'm organizing things the rest of this week to hopefully have at least one of my updates posted this weekend.
Again, apologies for being such a slacker, but hey, life happens!

-Emily

Making your own enclosed Terrarium

Hooray!!!
Another How-To / Tutorial post!!!

So I'm sorry that I have been slacking off again, but I'm sure everyone can understand when someone is busy, and busy I am! ( Note : The pictures for this are quite shaky. My apologies. I was having a day where I couldn't keep my hands steady. I tried!)

But today we are here to talk about making your own little world in a little jar!, I love the fact that , after you enclose these guys, you don't have to open then again! ( unless you want to of course!)

Ok, let's start out with our list!

-First off you need a Glass container with a sealable lid. It can be a screw on lid or a locking one like this, the Idea is, that it is fully enclosed.

-You need a rocky / chunky material for drainage at the bottom of your container. I chose those pretty little flattened glass marble thing that you can get anywhere for pretty cheap. I'd say I put in about an inch worth.

 -Then of course you will need your substrate! I chose this one because it has Peat, coconut fibers, and regular potting soil. It will hold water and eventually break down into a rich soil. but right now, this is a great one for holding water.  You are going to want to put some in a container and kinda soak it. Stir warm water into it like you would a brownie mix. You want a decently wet mixture, but not water with dirt floating in it.

-You also want to have some seeds, Now you can look into all sorts of kinda of plants to put in , but I went and chose some random flower seeds. I really want to see the outcome , and see if the flowers I chose Grow! ( in the ecosystem pictures , I put cold and white Alyssum, Foxglove, and forget me nots.)

-You also want to shoose either some trinkets to put inside, or maybe already living plants. Maybe even think about sculpting a mini landscape, or putting in a rock or two. Whatever strikes your fancy. In all actuality, I am SO excited to make more of these with really cool trinkets inside! For this particular one, I chose some Dice  ( randoms, I'm an old school tabletop gamer, I used to buy dice in bulk) and a pewter miniature necromancer. Mostly cause I'm awesome... plus Necromancer...flowers?...dice??? Awesome.

Ok!!
Now that you have the list of everything, and you have your Rocky mixture in the bottom of your clean, sealable glass jar/container, we can make it purdy!

Basically , take your soaked dirt/substrate and put in at least 2 inches worth on top of your rocky mixture. Its not a complicated process, and it can get messy :)
'landscape' how you see fit with it, but remember that you haven't planted your seeds yet!

I made the back left corner a bit higher, to put my necromancer there. I wanted to create kind of a mini forest to valley scenario.
Make sure your soil is nice and soaked, and add your desired seeds where you would like them!

On the back half  I did the Yellow Alyssum, and in the lower area , I planted the white. I planted mixed fox glove in all the corners but the raised one, and around my necromancer, I planted forget-me-nots.

After you do this remember to put in about another 1/2" of soil to cover your seeds and water, before you add your trinkets!

There is my necromancer and the random dice!!

So really, all you have to do is set up your trinkets, Seal your jar, and leave in a window that gets plenty of light ,but not too hot.

It starts growing incredibly fast!
I will post pictures after I get back from my husband's Basic Training Graduation!

Until next time, Thanks for reading!