New Gallery

Okay, so I thought I would try to organize some of my swatch photos and in the process, I am redoing a lot of them to try and get better photos. I am going to be adding a tab at the top for a gallery. What this is going to do is link to a Tumblr account and also in the tab, I will be including tabs for various brands, colors, and cosmetic types that are tags for Tumblr so it will make it easier for you to find swatches of various colors.

This reorganization will take a while because I'd also eventually like to include my reviews in links but that will be the next step after uploading and cataloging the photos. I just thought I would leave a note here so that folks know what's going on.

The main gallery is at: http://beammeupbeautiful.tumblr.com/

A New Year: State of the Blog

First of all, I would like to apologize for the radio silence all throughout January. I've been traveling to 2 conventions as well as trying to gather information and plan things that I would like to write for the new year.

The next thing I would like to announce is that I am changing the name of the blog. Today, inspiration struck me and I had always been planning to change the name once I figured out what I wanted to write about and where time took me as I blogged. I found that I want to blog about more than just makeup but still keep a focus there. Once I design a new header and figure out the new layout, the blog will henceforth be known as Beam Me Up, Beautiful. Although I will not be changing the address so that it is easy to find.

I feel that this name encourges geekiness in all areas and is something that allows me to stray some from the topic of beauty without going against the expectations of my readers. It also still references that it stated off as a beauty blog and that those posts and reviews will still be an integral part of what I do here. Some of the items you might see in addition to make up are:

• Video Game Reviews
• Movie Reviews
• Convention Reports
• Cosplay Tutorials
• Book Reviews
• Anime
• TV Shows (Particularly shows that are genre such as Game of Thrones, Alcatraz, Once Upon a Time, Touch, and Face Off)
• Interviews

I hope you all will stay with me through this as it is an adventure for me to explore everything geeky. As I gather a list of events I'll be at, even as an attendee, I will post it here.

You Will Be Missed, Dragonlady of Pern

So I wanted to take a moment to post about Anne McCaffrey. Some people know and some do not that I am a huge fan of the Dragonriders of Pern and have been for over half of my life. I've written my own characters in the universe and this was my first foray into doing so. On top of it all, one of the main reasons I keep returning to DragonCon in Atlanta, GA is because of my conversations with Todd, one of Anne's sons.

Over the next few weeks, I am going to be taking a look at what I consider some of the essential cosmetics for looks inspired by the people and dragons of Pern. I'm not sure if I can include photos but I will try and link to swatches if I can even if they are not my own.

The first books I read were the Harper Hall trilogy and I had the hugest crush on the Harper Sebell. Later, Masterharper Robinton became one of my most loved characters and my favorite Pern book to date is The Masterharper of Pern. I have a print of Robin Wood's depiction of F'lar, Weyrleader of Benden Weyr on my wall and I continue to look on it in admiration.

I was very blessed to meet Anne at DragonCon and learn a bit more about the world she had created. It only strengthened my love for the series.

So I wanted to say,

Rest in Peace
Anne McCaffrey
April 1st, 1926 - November 21st, 2011

Image Heavy: Weekend of AWESOME

So there's a lot that happened this past weekend on the geeky front that I thought I would share with you, my readers. I went to MatsuriCon on Friday without a badge and a total stranger was nice enough to buy me a badge for Saturday! It made my night/day and I had an amazing time.

First of all, my cosplay:

That's me on the left as Pichu from Pokemon. In my 12 years of costuming, this was by far one of my most popular for others wanting to take photos of me. It makes me proud to have done something that so many people want photos of no matter what the reasoning. This was my Friday costume.

As you can see, there was an amazing showing of Pokemon fans. This may have been in part of Veronica Taylor (Ash Ketchum) and Eric Stuart (Brock and James) being guests of the con but it was so much fun to see the creativity that ran rampant.

Saturday was kind of a last minute thing and me just having fun. The other guests of the con were voice actors from Hetalia: Axis Powers. So the more I thought about things, the more I thought that nowadays, Italy as portrayed in Hetalia would be hitting up the con scene and geeking out. So this is my Modern Italy cosplay from Saturday.

Sunday involved some Steampunk adventure with the crew of the Airship Archon. A lot of the members had never been to COSI before so I proposed that we go there and start off in the Adventure exhibit as it's something I knew was right up their alley. We went to most of the exhibits and I hadn't been back to COSI since I volunteered so it was a nice bit of nostalgia for me. I need to work on retranslating some of the writings and redoing my notes.

Another Update... Today's Makeup and Updated To-Do

Y HALO THAR!

Okay so I know I already posted a to-do list recently but a few details have been revealed and I won another contest! So I thought I would update everyone on that. I also got my nails done in Planks a Lot from the OPI Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides collection.

To-Do:

• I found out that due to winning a prize in the Geek Chic Cosmetics fan favorite poll, I have 4 samples of the Game of Thrones inspired Win or Die set coming my way! So that means I will be reviewing and swatching 6 out of the 8 colors!
• I also won ToxidLotus' Axolotl eye shadow set giveaway! The set is made by Marin from Linnaeus Cosmetics. You have no idea how excited I am to get this. These colors are unlike any I currently own so this will just add to my collection.

This is the manicure I got today. The color is Planks a Lot. This turned out a lot deeper on my nail than it was in the bottle but it looks amazing against my pale skin. I will definitely be trying to hunt down a bottle.

My makeup as pictured at the top of this entry is pretty neutral.

For the Eyes:

• Wet n' Wild Mega Liner - Black
• Geek Chic Cosmetics - Eyes of the Werewolf

For the Lips:

• Tokidoki Lip Stain Balm - Pink Martini

And that's it. I blended Eyes of the Werewolf to my brow and then just lined thickly from edge to edge thinning it out on the inner lid.

Guest Post: The Geekery - Growing Up With Asperger's

Hey all!

I just wanted to let you know that my first guest post has been published! It's just a little bit of my story about growing up with Asperger's and the lessons I've learned.

Read it here - http://geekeryonline.com/geeklife/diversity-a-positive-perspective-on-aspergers-syndrome-guest-author-rachel-steiner-aka-shinkenred/

What's Coming Soon from Geeky Nails

Hey everyone!

I thought I would throw up things that are coming soon from me. I have a couple of packages on the way from some wonderful people so my swatch and review list will be filling up:

• A former co-worker of mine from Walt Disney World, Jeff, recently reconnected with me and purchased Across the Narrow Sea and Born in Fire from Geek Chic Cosmetics' brand new set Win or Die that was just released yesterday.
• I also won the 2nd fan favorite prize in Geek Chic's EotD contest with my look inspired by Cortana from Halo! Chantel and Deb will be contacting me later today with the details of the prize but you can bet I will post about the products here.
• I just recently got 4 tokidoki products. Lip Balm Stain, Lip Gloss, Glitter Eye Liner, and a metal Compact Mirror. I can tell you that at least one of these is my first ever Holy Grail product.
• I am working on some looks inspired by some of my original characters in White Wolf's World of Darkness RPGs. I play a lot of the settings and I LARP so makeup is an integral part for me to get in character.
• I have a poll as stated previously on my Facebook Fan Page so be sure to check it out! The page is under Geeky Nails and Beauty! If you can't use the poll on Facebook, I will be reposting some of my ideas as well and feel free to comment on the post to cast your vote.
• Despite being a part of my Halloween poll, I am thinking I will do a week of The Women of Indiana Jones looks. It's been one of my long time fandoms and it's something I haven't seen done before.

If you have anything else you want to see or any ideas, then let me know! While I reserve the right not to use ideas, who knows? They may spark something else in me.

Warning Rant Ahead

Okay, I wasn't originally going to post about this in my blog as it's just drama llama-ing, but after some recent blog posts that took edited screenshots from a Closed Facebook Group as well as Private E-mails, I finally felt the need to pipe up. I fully support Indie Cosmetics as an industry. Sure, there are some companies that for some reason or another I won't support but that's judging them on an individual basis and not condemning the entire industry for another company's blunders (whether in business practice or personal behavior).

I joined the infamous Facebook group not because I was affected directly by the person in question but because I saw people around me who were hurt. This is both a strength and a weakness of mine because I like to be there and support people in times of extreme emotional stress like people have been there for me. Did I take part in any of the questionable activities? Not any of the ones brought up directly in blog posts. I was purely there to distract from the negative and throw a little positive in their direction and that usually involved subjects entirely unrelated to the drama.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, just because anyone will get approval to join a Closed Facebook Group doesn't give anyone else the right to post information publicly where it can be archived on the web. I don't care how bad you were slighted, this is poor form as well. Do I condone the behavior that went on? Not at all. However when I did join, from what I saw things were already trending toward the better. Not only is this group a place where you can share complaints but also where you can share hauls and items you've found. It's also a place where people can chime in on their experiences with a product whether good or bad.

I see a lot more productive discussion going on there right now than any of the bloggers who have posted about the bad behavior are giving the group credit for. Humanity in general has a tendency to latch on to the negative and bore it into the ground. For those of you who are Ohio State Buckeye fans, you know of the mistake that Coach Jim Tressel made and he is paying for that mistake however, don't forget all of the good that he has done for the Ohio State University football program.

I have learned so much about cosmetics formulation from this group that I've seen my reviews improving. One company worked with me on cutting shipping costs if I ordered only one or two full size jars of eye shadow and the rest were samples. This is an indie company I'm talking about.

I know I am personally helping to perpetuate drama but I also hope that this puts a positive spin on things and shows the improvement and community that the FB Group has become. Yes, we still ask questions about etiquette and shipping and company complaints but lately, it's been so that people can get a better perspective on what action they should take.

So let's think about what the group has become. Although we can't hide the ugly past, we can work to improve the atmosphere to stop further drama like this from happening. We're human. Our emotions blur lines even more when they are negative. I've been there and really, if you haven't then I'd probably call shenanigans. You may not have fallen victim to it, but I am sure you experienced a time when those lines were so blurred you thought about it.

Now shall we celebrate the death of the negativity with this song of AWESOME?

Image Heavy Update: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition still recruiting volunteers!

Okay everyone, I know... I know this isn't a beauty related post at all but just as much as I am into discussing makeup and sharing my adventures with it, I love volunteering. I am very lucky that Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is in my hometown of Columbus next week and they are still looking for volunteers and some materials! You can also donate to the builder and family funds for this build. I am already signed up to volunteer and I've spoken with some of the behind-the-scenes folks and it's amazing at how receptive they are to ideas from the community. They are genuinely dedicated to making this a community project.

I will be volunteering on the build site Thursday, August 4th, Tuesday, August 7th, and Wednesday, August 8th. I've also spoken with a few people and will be taking photos while I'm in upstate New York for my cousin's wedding that weekend.

There are a few urgent needs that if you are in Central Ohio and you can donate some of these items, then head over to http://www.joinextreme.com/ohio and let them know!

They need an outdoor rod iron stairway, framed mirrors (can't be cracked but otherwise any will do), and some skilled volunteers. More information is at the link above.

Also, I wanted to share some of my photos from the pep rally for the build that was held last night. I donated blood to the American Red Cross in honor of the show and the build as well as I had mentioned before, shared my ideas with some of the design folks.

The Ohio State University cheerleaders were on hand to get everybody geared up for the build next week. It was my first time really seeing them cheer as I've never been to an OSU football game before.

I now know part of the reason why Earle Bruce is such a respected coach in Ohio State history. He spoke about banding together as a community and a little bit of his experiences as a football coach. I was honored to be able to hear him speak.

Milan Vasic, Senior Producer and all around great guy, showing us what Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is really about and also sharing some facts that not many people know about the process and how this show even came about in the first place.

Although I can't blog about any details of the contents of the house or room, you can expect some updates for while I'm on the build site and also calls for any submissions. You can also keep checking http://www.joinextreme.com/ohio for more updates as well.

Blog Name Change?

So I am thinking I need a better name for this blog. I still want to focus on all things geek in lifestyle and beauty but not sure of the title. Any ideas?

Thank You to Everyone

I wanted to post a quick thank you to everyone who wished me well over the past week. I really appreciate the support I've gotten and this is one of the reasons why I like sharing my adventures with all of you. I am relatively new to blogging in this manner but the support I've gotten already has bowled me over so thank you!

Coming This Week:
* EotD: Bellatrix Lestrange
* EotD: Tonks
* EotD: Cunning and Wit
* EotD: Brave and True
* EotD: Lily Evans
* Review and Swatches: Geek Chic Cosmetics Fang Banger's Quartet
* Review: Geeky Clean - Portal Soap

I am also working on a few things for some events coming up so expect some in progress costume updates as well as some makeup ideas. I am hoping to do a very makeup intensive costume which will debut at Dragon*Con this year. I know there are a lot of tutorials out there for her makeup but I am looking at things and seeing which is the most viable for me and will make the most impact.

Hopefully soon I will get right back into regular posting.

Thank you again.

Death in the Family

Hey all,

There will be no updates this week due to a death in the family. To those of you who visit from the Blog Hop please leave a comment on the blog hop entry and I will give you a follow back ASAP. To everyone else, thank you so much for your support. Next week will be a week of Harry Potter inspired looks in honor of the newest and final movie.

Small Update

As most of you can see, I am trying to work on some custom graphics for a layout for my blog. This way, I'm not just using another template. Please stay tuned while I tweak a bit and hopefully we should be up and running in full awesomeness.

In the meantime, please check out our fan page on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Geeky-Nails-and-Beauty/103847393043107?sk=wall