- 9 hours ago
Body painter Twitch streamer MCroft07 (Melissa Croft), walks us through a fun body paint design, just in time for Halloween. If you're looking for some inspo, this might be the look for you! Watch the full stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/refinery29
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ABOUT SERIES
Where gaming meets beauty, fashion, entertainment, lifestyle, and culture. Live every Thursday at 2p PT/5p ET on Twitch.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/
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Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
Follow Refinery29's Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/refinery29
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Follow Melissah Yang on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissahyang/
Follow Sara Tan Christensen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saratan/
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
Follow Somos on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29somos/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Okay, so what, like, where do we start?
00:04Okay, first of all, I'm envious of your Bright Matte palette because mine's very well-loved, as you can see,
00:10just here.
00:11But I haven't used the oranges as much, but you've got the same palette as me, which is fabulous.
00:16And we're going to start by, I'll give everyone at home a moment as well, to just go run and
00:21get some orange eyeshadow, the brightest one that you have.
00:25And so we're going to start by just figuring out where we're going to add these lines.
00:30So one of the things that's important when you're adding lines onto a face or body is you have to
00:35consider that the lines will almost help to shape something.
00:39So they'll also help to shape your face, or you can make lines almost appear like you're wider, etc.
00:47So we're just going to take a lighter eyeshadow of orange.
00:53And so what I mean by that is I actually like to start with the one above the eyebrow.
00:59And I just want to take a very small amount. I'm using very little brush pressure.
01:04What brush do we use?
01:06I'm using, sorry, I should be saying it's clear.
01:09No, you're fine.
01:09I'm using this little fluffy one.
01:11Fluffy one.
01:12Just here.
01:13And just the shadow directly on it, like no, doesn't need to be wet.
01:17Just the shadow.
01:17That's all.
01:18So this one?
01:19Yeah.
01:19I'll do a different orange.
01:21You want to do a different orange?
01:21Okay.
01:23Okay, so I'm just going to start above the eyebrow and really, really lightly.
01:27And we want it to be light just in case we mess it up, because one of the things about
01:31this is improv.
01:33Yeah.
01:33And figuring out to fix things.
01:35Yeah.
01:35So if you go really, really lightly, and then you can flick it so slightly up.
01:40Okay.
01:41Like this.
01:42As it's going through, as if it's going through the middle.
01:46And so we'll have that part there.
01:49And I like the idea that it would continue underneath the eyebrow.
01:53So I'm just going to lightly pat it down here as well.
01:59Next, I'm going to do the exact same thing on the other eyebrow.
02:01So I'm just going to keep them quite thin for now because we're just essentially basing out the shape.
02:08And we can add more to it later.
02:09But with a lot of these looks, it's always easier to add more rather than take it away.
02:15So that's one of the reasons why I want to be a bit gentle at first.
02:19Whenever I do my looks, I always sketch them out with an eyebrow pencil because I can rub it off.
02:24Yeah.
02:25And you want these lines like kind of straightish or is it okay like a little crookedness?
02:32I would go straight.
02:33If you made it a little bit crooked and you're trying not to tell me, I won't say anything.
02:38Okay.
02:38I don't think it's straight.
02:40It looks straight.
02:40Okay.
02:41They look great.
02:42Yeah.
02:43I went dark.
02:44That's okay.
02:45But you're going to do it.
02:46I'm scared of messing it up on the first try as I know.
02:49Okay.
02:50Okay.
02:50So what we're going to do next is we're going to go from the side of the mouth just here.
02:54And instead of going like a right angle, going all the way up, you can see on the photo just
03:01on the screen here.
03:03I've almost done it as if it's like a half tear drop shape.
03:07And this is kind of what I mean about like shaping parts of the face.
03:10So if we go so slightly further out, then we can almost curve it as if it is a really
03:17creepy smile.
03:18Okay.
03:19So we're going to go down as if it's a half tear drop.
03:22And again, just using the lightest amount of eye shadow possible just in case we mess
03:29it up.
03:29And it's okay if you do.
03:30It's literally a Halloween look.
03:32So it's not the worst thing in the world if you mess it up.
03:35And we're just going really lightly.
03:37I think the thing for me was when I learned about how applying the brush with a certain level
03:45of pressure was important for blending changed my life.
03:49And I realized I had essentially been like drilling it into my face every time I was trying
03:53to support my eye shadow was wrong.
03:55Yeah.
03:55Made a big difference to my eye shadow looks.
03:57And how far out is this tear going like relative to our face?
04:02I remember you talking about like it can make it wider or skinnier.
04:05I'm always like trying to make my face not as round.
04:08And that's okay.
04:09So then in this case what I'm doing is I'm just taking almost to the outer edge of my
04:13eye just across here.
04:16Okay.
04:16Got it.
04:18So wider.
04:22Okay.
04:23And then if you want to you can also kind of taper it in so it's a little bit sharper
04:29there.
04:30And then I'm lining that up with the original line that we did on the eyebrows.
04:37So it looks like it cuts through the eye.
04:39Okay.
04:41Okay.
04:41So then we're going to do exactly the same thing on the other side.
04:44Great.
04:48Mine is looking questionable guys.
04:49I'm not going to lie.
04:51I see.
04:51No, it looks good.
04:52Yeah?
04:52Yeah.
04:53Yours looks like a very straight like solid.
04:56I mean, I don't know.
04:57I'm really committing.
05:00I'm terrified right now.
05:01So I'm like, I need this.
05:03Okay.
05:03Yeah.
05:03Okay.
05:04Here.
05:09I made eye contact with Alexa.
05:12Our producer Alexa and she's kind of looking at me like.
05:17All right.
05:18There we go.
05:19Yes.
05:19Yes.
05:21That's good.
05:21Okay.
05:22Nice.
05:24So when you're pretty happy with the shape that you've got on your face and it's very,
05:28and it's keep it light at the moment, then what we can do is we can go in a little
05:33bit
05:34hardcore with the eyeshow and then really deepen the look.
05:38Oh, sorry.
05:39Really deepen it in the center.
05:40So I'm just going to go in and start blending it in small circular motions and I'm fading
05:49it out to the edges.
05:50So I'm putting more pressure into the center and more pigment in the center.
05:54And then I'm softly blending it out at the sides.
05:58And doing it in small circular motions is going to be the easiest way to achieve this.
06:05This is why it's okay if you weren't initially too happy with the shape because we're going
06:10to be blending so much of it out anyway that we just need it to be a rough guide.
06:15Yeah.
06:15I feel like this is a forgiving tutorial.
06:20Yes.
06:21Compared to like some other ones that you've done, like it doesn't need to be super precise.
06:25No.
06:26Yes, exactly.
06:27Maybe when it comes to the bats.
06:28Right.
06:28Well, the bats.
06:29The bats.
06:30But this part.
06:31We're not there yet.
06:32We'll get there.
06:33We'll get there.
06:34We'll cross that bridge when it comes to it.
06:36Yeah.
06:37And so now we're just going to be deepening the orange because we still want this orange
06:41to be really loud because the bats are going to sit on it.
06:44So we want people to understand that it's based on Pennywise's style.
06:48The blue color.
06:59It's cute.
07:01Yeah?
07:02Okay.
07:02It looks great.
07:03Yeah?
07:04Yeah, so you're doing a fabulous job.
07:08Okay.
07:10Never worn orange eyeshadow this way.
07:15Well, that's what I'm going for.
07:17There's a first for everyone.
07:25Okay, then I'm also going to take it up to the top.
07:29Now, when we go above the eyebrow, we do want it to be like an extremely elongated triangle,
07:34so we do want it to taper at the top.
07:36So just bear that in mind, and one of the things that I'm doing is I'm just flicking
07:40it up from the eyebrow, just to make sure I don't start going a little bit too hardcore
07:46where I don't want to.
07:47So I'm just going to start here and then flick the brush upwards, just to make sure I don't
07:50make it too much of a blunt edge.
07:57What time I heard for this?
07:58Okay.
08:00What if you don't have eyebrows?
08:02Then that's fine.
08:03You can go straight through them if you don't have eyebrows.
08:05True, true.
08:08I actually only have half eyebrows because I shaved half of them off so I could make my
08:12makeup looks easier.
08:13Oh.
08:15Yes.
08:15I got so sick of covering half my eyebrow.
08:19Right, right.
08:20So I just ended up shaving them off.
08:22Smart.
08:24Yeah, it saved me a lot of time.
08:25And glue.
08:28And then, of course, do the same on the other side as well.
08:33And just keep going until you're happy with the blend.
08:36I have no idea how to blend, I'm not going to lie.
08:39What do you mean?
08:41Yeah?
08:42Okay.
08:42Cool.
08:44One of the things I can say for blending is the easiest thing to do is to do it very
08:50lightly and do small circular motions.
08:53Okay.
08:53So that way you won't get your brush to skip as much.
08:59So if you just lightly do it, just keep going in small circular motions.
09:03And if there was a piece of advice somebody gave me that said if you think I've done blending,
09:08I'm not.
09:09So keep blending.
09:11That's good advice.
09:12I like that.
09:13Yeah.
09:14I remember that very well.
09:17Okay.
09:19I'm going to do the top.
09:20I forgot I have it up here, too.
09:23Oh, yeah.
09:24Yours looks great.
09:27We look like the fire emoji.
09:31I know.
09:32We're going to watch.
09:33This stream is hot, hot, hot.
09:35What team is like it?
09:37Well, the guy from Inside Out, the angry one.
09:39Yeah.
09:40I'm good.
09:42I love that movie.
09:57Okay.
09:59Now, no brush if you're still blending.
10:01That's totally fine.
10:03If you want to blend a little bit, a little bit softer, you can take a larger brush.
10:07This is a brush I cut in half with a junior hacksaw.
10:11So it would lighten some of the weight in my suitcase.
10:14But regardless, it is a fluffier brush and that's why it's so short.
10:19And you can very lightly go over this without any paper on it and softly bend out any edges.
10:26Okay.
10:30I'm starting to understand why people class me as chaotic.
10:34I mean, chaotic is not a bad thing, first of all.
10:37Sometimes it's strategic.
10:39Yeah.
10:39There's like informed chaos is not a bad thing.
10:46Not going to lie, today was a little bit like that for me.
10:48Yeah.
10:50Okay.
10:50Well, good.
10:51We're all on the same page.
10:52I'm going to show you a brush in half too.
10:55All right.
10:58Okay.
10:58Okay.
10:59Are you happy with your Pennywise smile so far?
11:02Yeah.
11:03Yes.
11:04Okay.
11:05So now we're going to start drawing some bats.
11:10Okay.
11:10I'm ready.
11:11I can do this.
11:12So I'm using the NYX Epicate Pliner.
11:15I really like this one.
11:16That's what you're using.
11:17I run through, I don't know, gosh, almost like two eyelashes a week at this point.
11:22So for me, it works really well.
11:23It's really affordable, which is why I like it.
11:26So to draw bats, one of the things that I also recommend for this look is to vary the
11:32size so that they all don't look the same.
11:34And what I'm going to start off with on this side, just on my right, and I'm going to start
11:39maybe like in the, almost like the, the center where the teardrop is, the fatter part of the teardrop.
11:46Okay.
11:47What I'm going to do is I'm going to draw almost, I don't want to say just draw a bat,
11:55because
11:57that's what those old tutorials are like.
11:59But I'm just going to almost draw one line curving upwards like this.
12:03And then I'm going to slightly taper it and right angle, and then draw it as if it goes
12:08down to a right angle.
12:10Uh-huh.
12:10Then we're going to do a little bit of a Batman moment just down here and flick that towards
12:17the inside.
12:18That's advanced.
12:19Then I'm going to repeat the same thing on the other side up here.
12:23I'm going to flick it upwards, taper it, and then bring the wing over to this side and
12:31do a little bit of a Batman moment again.
12:34I appreciate this might not be the most simple way to draw a bat, but it makes sense in my
12:38head.
12:40Maybe this helps.
12:41Okay, we can do this.
12:42We can do this.
12:43We can do this.
12:43We got this.
12:44So we're going to...
12:44Hold on.
12:45Okay.
12:46So I can do this.
12:48I like this.
12:49Just the bat.
12:49So it goes like this, this, and then this, this, this.
12:52Okay.
12:52I can do this.
12:53Okay.
12:54Okay.
12:54Okay.
12:56And then once you've done that, just draw ahead.
12:57Oh, thank you for zooming in.
12:59That's great.
13:00That's no problem.
13:01Okay.
13:04That.
13:06And then that.
13:16Let me bring it.
13:22Oh God.
13:23Oh God.
13:25Okay.
13:27That's a very skinny wing on me, but I think I got it.
13:30Okay.
13:31That's okay.
13:31There's loads of other bats.
13:33True.
13:33True.
13:34You can redeem yourself on all the other ones we've got.
13:37I'm like, what does the middle of the bat...
13:39Yeah.
13:39What do you put in the middle again now?
13:40Like what are you, what are you, how do you bring it all together?
13:43Um, in the middle here, I've just had a slight circle on the top, and then I've put like,
13:48as if there's like two little pointy ears.
13:50Got it.
13:50But it's not too, but like, I wouldn't worry too much about anything.
13:54I'm sorry, if you're referring to the bottom part of the middle, I've tapered that into
13:57like a long width down triangle.
14:01And it doesn't have to be symmetrical because these are bat silhouettes.
14:03So as far as you know, this bat's looking left.
14:07Fair.
14:07Fair.
14:15I've never been focused on something so much in my life.
14:18I'm like, I've never drawn a bat before in my life.
14:21Is that possible?
14:23I'm like...
14:23It's a bit like drawing a seagull.
14:25I'm trying to remember what a bat looks like in my mind.
14:28Yeah.
14:28Okay, okay, okay.
14:30Like, like a seagull, but with some more McDonald's arches in there.
14:34Yeah.
14:35Under the wings.
14:37Okay.
14:39Yes.
14:40Looks great.
14:43Sure.
14:44Yours is so good.
14:46Is it?
14:46Yes.
14:47I would've got a bat looks so good.
14:49But it's yours.
14:50Mine looks like a blonde.
14:51No, no, that's really good.
14:52Yours is like artistic.
14:54You have sketching going on.
14:56I was scared.
14:57I was scared.
14:58I was scared to...
14:58It was like freaking out over here.
15:00I'm like, girl, yours looks so good.
15:02I don't know.
15:03That's very kind of you.
15:04I don't know.
15:05I don't know.
15:05My bat looks like a...
15:07No, your bat's great.
15:10Okay.
15:11Yeah, it works.
15:13Okay.
15:14Now I'll just draw like 50 more.
15:17Someone's saying maybe draw one on paper to use as reference.
15:19I feel like we should've practiced sketching some bats before.
15:23Are these the biggest bats that we'll do?
15:26Yes.
15:27These will be the biggest ones.
15:28Okay.
15:28So we're gonna do another one, and when we do the other one on the other side of the face,
15:33I recommend not putting it in exactly the same spot.
15:36Yeah.
15:36So I think it looks better when it's a bit asymmetrical.
15:39Right.
15:39So for me, I'm gonna go a little bit higher, and I'm gonna go more on like the apple of
15:44the cheek.
15:45And so feel free to take whatever you think, you know, if you've painted yours a little bit
15:50higher already.
15:51I just wouldn't make it exactly symmetrical.
15:53Yes.
15:53So then on the other side, I'm going to paint a bat with its wings going downwards.
16:01So with this one, I'm just gonna start with a little circle.
16:07Nice.
16:08Okay.
16:08Circles.
16:09Just there.
16:10Sarah's Googled what a bat looks like, by the way.
16:12Just the Batman logo.
16:14You can Google bat silhouette.
16:17Yeah.
16:17Okay.
16:18Then maybe that will help.
16:19Oh yeah.
16:19This one, that's kind of like a good one.
16:21Oh yeah.
16:21That's a good one.
16:22Okay.
16:23And then I'm giving it another ear.
16:24Just there.
16:26Okay.
16:26Then I'm gonna go down with this wing.
16:32And then point it downwards again.
16:35Because they're a little bit angular, I guess.
16:38Then I'm gonna go down again.
16:40Here.
16:41And then again, because they are like little McDonald's arches.
16:45I'm gonna bring them in with these little curved lines until we go to the middle.
16:53Hmm.
16:53Like so.
16:54Oh, that looks so good.
16:56Okay.
16:57Here we go.
16:58This is a big bat.
16:59A big bat coming in.
17:14You know, I think your approach of sketching it is better.
17:18Because I'm so used to just like.
17:19Filling it in.
17:20Yeah.
17:21Here I go.
17:22Okay.
17:49This one's not nearly as good as the other one.
17:52Absolutely.
17:52This one's looking good.
17:53That's okay.
17:54It'll be just, it'll be camouflaged with all the other bats.
17:57True.
17:57So it's fine.
17:59Yeah.
18:00This one's questionable.
18:01But I feel like this one's like, this bat's interesting.
18:04This one has a character and a backstory.
18:06Yeah.
18:07It's got more.
18:08This bat's been through some things, you know?
18:11Yeah.
18:12Okay.
18:14So then the next phase is essentially just repeating what we've just done with those
18:21two bats.
18:22But if you make them a lot smaller, it's a lot more forgiving with the detail that you
18:26have to do.
18:27So where we've gone a little bit extra with maybe like the tips of the wings.
18:31We might not have to do that in the next ones.
18:32So just make them a lot smaller and range them in size until when we're going to go
18:38really small, especially at the top.
18:40So we can make a tiny one at the top.
18:42And I'm just going to draw a tapered V. So in some of them, that's how small we're
18:48going to pretend it's going to be.
18:49So we can just do a tiny V in and around them.
18:54So I'm just adding those ones at the top to remind myself that I want them to be smaller
18:59when they go up to the, when they go closer to the top.
19:01So I want them fatter at the bottom.
19:03The ones that we've done on the cheeks are the biggest ones.
19:06Exactly.
19:07Like as if they're like, you know, when they like fly out and came, it's all very beautiful.
19:12Yes.
19:13Exactly.
19:14Perfect.
19:14And there's depth and perception.
19:16Yes.
19:16Yes.
19:17Exactly.
19:19Okay.
19:19So then draws, I mean, on this, on the picture that I've shown, I have drawn
19:24quite a lot, but equally, if you look at how many tiny Vs I've also added in, there's
19:29quite a lot of those.
19:30So it gives the illusion that there's more when there isn't.
19:34Okay.
19:34So I'm just going to go in and add some more.
19:36Okay.
19:39Let's see.
19:40I think I should have made my butt bigger, but that's okay.
19:43I've made mine huge.
19:46Yours looks good.
19:47It looks like a bat though.
19:49It's like, it's got a real bat on your face.
19:52It's huge.
19:55It's giving some football vibe, not going to lie.
19:58A little bit.
20:00But it looks like a bat at least, you know?
20:02Yeah.
20:03The intention is there are people who have bad eyesight.
20:07Or from far, far away.
20:10It'll look good for this stream.
20:12Yeah.
20:12It'll look good for this stream.
20:14Exactly.
20:14I think that's another thing as well, is with a lot of looks, you can, you realize sometimes
20:20they can be quite forgiving.
20:22Yeah.
20:22So because of like, mine purely exist in photos, so sometimes I'm like, well, that won't be
20:27noticeable.
20:28So you're totally fine.
20:30I wish I could show what's on Sarah's reference right now.
20:34She has a stock image of about two dozen bats.
20:40You told me to Google.
20:41Yes.
20:41In varying shapes of their wings.
20:43Like ready to go.
20:45So she has references for each one.
20:48This one's like hanging upside down.
21:04Okay.
21:05So those of you at home who are also trying it out, I hope it's going really well for
21:10you.
21:13Okay.
21:28This one's looking cool.
21:31I think I'm getting better.
21:33You might find as well.
21:34Like it just takes like drawing a couple until you really get into the hang of it.
21:38It's like the last bat's going to either be the best bat.
21:41Or you're just like lazy at the end.
21:44You're like, well.
21:44You're just over it at that point.
21:48There you go.
21:49Oh.
21:49Nope.
21:50Uh oh.
21:51It was good till the end.
21:54Come on.
21:56So how many bats would you say are like a good amount then?
22:00How many bats?
22:02That's a good question.
22:03You know?
22:05I think, it depends on the size of the bats that you're drawing.
22:09So we've got like two massive ones and they're kind of like the showstopper bats.
22:13Yeah.
22:14Then on either side.
22:16They're the Beyonce's and the rest are the Michelle and Kelly's.
22:19Yes.
22:19Whoa.
22:20Got it.
22:21Whoa.
22:22So the backup dancer bats.
22:24Yeah.
22:25That are in the background.
22:26You can just add those ones in as and when you feel like there's a bit of space there,
22:32but there's not enough space for me to put an actual big bat so you can add the tiny little
22:36Bs in those.
22:37So the little backup dancers can go in and around and they'll just give the illusion that
22:43there's more than there are.
22:44But for the...
22:46I put one big one, which we've done, and then I probably do like three to four smaller ones
22:51and then fill the rest with the...
22:52The little one.
22:53With the dunce of that.
22:54Yeah.
22:54Makes sense.
22:55And I'm sorry, Kelly Michelle.
22:57I love you.
22:57Kelly actually is my favorite, so sorry.
23:00But in terms of just pop culture, I just mean that.
23:07I'm gonna go home and practice my baths after this thing.
23:10Well, you have a whole month now.
23:12I also have a whole other half of my face.
23:20Yeah, I think I'm getting...
23:21Okay, yeah.
23:22This is...
23:23Mine is gonna be much more abstract bat.
23:26Abstract bat.
23:27There is a haze and outlines are fuzzy.
23:31That's my problem.
23:31But if you think about it, like say you were wearing it and you went to a club,
23:35who's gonna know that your baths aren't perfect?
23:37Right.
23:38Right?
23:38It's fine.
23:38True.
23:39True.
23:39True, true, true.
23:40This is a really good last minute.
23:43Yeah.
23:44Everyone's got black eyeliner.
23:45I'm always like that though.
23:47I always never plan my Halloween costumes until the week of and by then it's too late
23:51to order something off of like Ali or all the good ones at Spirit are just gone.
23:56Yeah.
23:58That's honestly one of the reasons why I really enjoy getting into makeup because you
24:02can pull something off very quickly if you have access to makeup and you've got a little
24:08bit of practice I'll do about.
24:10But like start doing small stuff like this, which is why I really liked designing it was
24:15it felt like it was a bit of a last minute save you moment for some people to be like,
24:20hey, you know, here's an idea for a look, you know, in case.
24:23Yeah.
24:24In case you've done what a lot of people do, which is, oh, you get invited to a Halloween
24:27party last minute and you're a bit like, oh my God, what do you expect me to do?
24:31Be a stim.
24:32I still don't have time to get hung up.
24:34So I don't know what you want.
24:36So that's one of the reasons why I think makeup is really, really awesome in this regard
24:41because it can really level up a look.
24:45Oh, 100%.
24:45I mean, I think so often though, like with makeup, people kind of brush it up.
24:49And you talk about this all the time when it comes to just like even just beauty journalism,
24:53like people kind of write it off sometimes as being silly, but there's so much power in
24:57being able to control and shape how you present yourself to the world and how you feel about
25:01yourself through art.
25:03Absolutely.
25:04Yeah.
25:04I mean, and it's a form of self-expression, isn't it?
25:06So one of the things that my therapist would talk to me about was she was saying that it
25:12is a form of self-care to, you know, when you get up in the morning and you put your
25:16makeup
25:16on in a way that makes you happy.
25:18And that's just a way of like making sure that you feel good throughout the day.
25:21Like, I mean, I understand when people are like, uh, you should be happy in how you look.
25:27Yes.
25:27But also, you know, I want to look like I've got bats glued on my face and I can't do
25:30that
25:30actually.
25:31So I want to draw them on.
25:33True.
25:34It's like very therapeutic.
25:35It is therapeutic.
25:36Yours is looking great.
25:37Really?
25:37Yeah.
25:38I think all of mine are looking very kind of like almost like scratches.
25:41Cause they're all very like, I'm not angling them enough.
25:43Mine looks like I smashed a bunch of buns.
25:47Let me see.
25:48Yours looks good.
25:50It's okay.
25:51We're learning.
25:52Yes.
25:52We are learning.
25:53Um, what are you going to be for Halloween?
25:55You probably have like a whole set of looks.
25:58Yeah.
25:59So I wanted to do a bit of a series of changing the endings of Disney stories.
26:06So yesterday I just did a Aurora piece because I thought Aurora's curse was a bit boring, sleepy.
26:14So I was like, what if instead she slowly turns into like Maleficent's dragon.
26:18So I'm changing up a bunch of Disney stuff.
26:21I love.
26:23Wow.
26:24That's dark.
26:25I love it.
26:27I was really wondering what to do with Belle and I found a prosthetic that was just like,
26:31um, loads of like gear wheels on the inside of a clock.
26:34And I was like, the only thing I could think of was like, Cogsworth like knocked her out
26:38and she became the clock.
26:39And I was like, no, I feel like maybe that's not the story I'm going to go with.
26:43I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do for Belle.
26:45But I want to change some stuff out for a bunch of Disney princesses for sure.
26:50Cause I don't think I've really done a lot with Disney.
26:52Oh, that's so good.
26:57I feel like people love those kind of, um, revision stories.
27:01You know what I mean?
27:02Especially for Halloween, like a zombie version of a, but much more interesting.
27:07Yeah.
27:08Yeah.
27:08How you're doing it.
27:10Yeah.
27:11And it's also just interesting to kind of like see what it would look like, you know,
27:15and you explore it yourself, the, an alternative story.
27:21Okay.
27:21I figured out the trick of how I can draw a bat guys.
27:24What?
27:25I have to imagine a mustache, like a handlebar mustache.
27:29And then I just fill in the body.
27:31That's, that's what, this is the best, this is the best bat I've done.
27:33Like look at this.
27:34This is the best bat.
27:35That's a really good bat.
27:36Yeah.
27:36This is the best one I've done.
27:37This bottom one right here.
27:38And I'm very glad that you figured it out.
27:40Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:41Yeah.
27:41But like an easy way here.
27:43No matter what it takes.
27:44Mel's looks like incredible.
27:46Yeah.
27:46Mel's looks like amazing.
27:47You're also dyed and me and Sarah are like just starting the other side and yours,
27:53yeah, you look incredible.
27:54It's just amazing.
27:55Upside down mustache.
27:58Uh huh.
27:58Uh huh.
27:59Uh huh.
28:09Yeah.
28:10Right?
28:11I feel like that helped me understand.
28:14It cracked the code.
28:15It's like the SAT.
28:16Something just snapped in your mind and all of a sudden you just kind of get it.
28:20Figured it all out.
28:21Yep.
28:24Yeah.
28:24If I had known to reference a handlebar mustache video I sent earlier on, I really would have
28:29done that.
28:30No, you did great.
28:36Okay.
28:40And then you just said fill in the rest with like little ones, right?
28:43Yeah.
28:43Yeah, exactly.
28:44So you just kind of spaced it out as a way you feel like you need them.
29:00All right, I'm getting it going.
29:07So I feel like the body painting community on Twitch, there's like definitely a good number
29:11of people that are on there.
29:13Like do you do any collaborations?
29:16Have you met any other people?
29:18Anyone that you particularly like to watch?
29:22Um, for me it was, not anymore.
29:24I used to really watch a lot of KPI fashion because she was the person who really got me
29:28into the body painting on Twitch in the first place and I was just like mesmer.
29:32I really like the style.
29:33Um, I don't do a lot of collaborations anymore because I kind of did so many when I just used
29:38to do Instagram but I kind of got quite burnt out from a lot of them.
29:42Yeah.
29:42And the collaborations I always feel like are difficult because I never want to like let
29:46another person down and I don't know how far they're going to go with something sometimes.
29:50And what kind of ended up happening instead was I started working with collaborations with
29:54companies, um, instead.
29:56And so what I do most, so my day, my day normally actually goes more like I wake up and
30:04I like
30:04answer emails from companies who want to do some more, uh, who want to possibly have like
30:08a makeup look to go with maybe their video game launch and we'll discuss options.
30:13I'll build props for them.
30:14Um, and a lot of these, when I work on them, they're generally NDA until I can release the
30:19information that I'm going to be doing it.
30:21And then I'll be working on the props and I'll probably be like designing looks for them.
30:25So I'm doing a lot of emails and I'll be doing the photo editing, the video editing,
30:28and I'll usually be doing that most of the day until it comes to the stream.
30:33So that's my general everyday, um, schedule.
30:39So I don't really have a lot of time to add in anything extra.
30:42Yeah.
30:42So that's one of the reasons why I don't anymore.
30:44But I did do, I used to do quite a lot, but I didn't do a lot of work with
30:48companies,
30:48but I definitely got quite burnt out from a lot of them.
30:51And do you do this all from home?
30:53Is your studio from home or do you have a space elsewhere?
30:56Yeah.
30:56Wow.
30:57Yeah.
30:57I just do it all from, and I think that's the beauty of Twitch as well.
31:01You can take it anywhere.
31:02I, at one point I temporarily moved to Japan and I brought my stream with me and the,
31:09the timing was very different with my time zone, but I still did it better.
31:12And I think that's one of the most beautiful things about it is that you can't literally do this from
31:16anywhere.
31:17Yeah.
31:17So what would you recommend?
31:19Like, cause I feel for a lot of makeup artists, like they don't know about Twitch yet,
31:23or like they don't realize that this isn't happening.
31:25That there is a whole community of beauty lovers.
31:29Exactly.
31:29So like, what are some advice for you would have for someone who's thinking about wanting to start streaming some
31:35of their makeup artistry?
31:38I think the best advice I can, I can give is at first is watch some existing streams and watch
31:47quite a variety of different streams.
31:48Watch gaming streams, watch IRL streams, watch makeup streams, because you generally, you definitely want to make sure that you
31:55understand what the space is going to be.
31:57For instance, like, you understand what a raid means, you understand what bits are.
32:02Because I feel like there's, there's nothing more awkward than when a viewer is doing something very kind to you
32:07and a light pops off and you don't know what it means.
32:09Yeah.
32:09Because it's a bit like, oh, okay, cool.
32:12So definitely learn the space because it's very different.
32:16It's not the same as like YouTube.
32:18It's not the same as Instagram.
32:19It is its own.
32:20It's almost its own world.
32:22It's got its own jargon.
32:24So definitely learn that.
32:26I mean, I definitely spent probably far too long, but I spent about eight months watching a lot of Twitch
32:30before I came onto the platform.
32:32Yeah.
32:32And as well, definitely just make sure that you have your own style and do your own thing.
32:38Yeah, for sure.
32:39Because when you, I think it's obvious as well when you start imitating other people, but also when you're live
32:48streaming, you can't keep that up for a very long time.
32:51So it sounds so cliche, but truly be yourself because you might not be able to keep up this prerecorded,
33:02not persona, but if you're trying to be somebody else, you're really going to struggle keeping that up for a
33:07really long time.
33:08So it's better to just, you know, be yourself and grow a community who appreciates you for who you are,
33:15because there is nothing more beautiful, in my opinion, in this world than when you work as an influencer, as
33:22a social media content creator, and you have people who genuinely like you, being you and you end up being
33:28successful in your life.
33:29So like, no matter how you define success, for being yourself. And I think that's really beautiful. And I think
33:34that's something that everybody can definitely strive for when I think as well, for instance, if you end up doing
33:40a stream, and it's like 12 hours, yes, people get tired.
33:44But if you start acting like a completely different person, then it's very strange for a lot of people. So
33:49truly, honestly, be yourself. It's, it feels cliche, and I totally understand.
33:57But there's, there's nothing worse than trying to sell somebody that you aren't. And so I think that's really important.
34:07You know, I grow a community for people who like you for being yourself, and it's gonna make your life
34:13a lot easier as well, if you don't have to put on pretending to be somebody that you're not, every
34:18time that you log on.
34:19Because I mean, like me, like I didn't end up being I didn't anticipate that I was coming here, I
34:23did not anticipate any of this. And so it would be really hard if I ended up trying to be
34:28doing a 12 hour stream every Saturday, and doing all these streams every week, I was pretending to be somebody
34:33else, I think that would be very difficult.
34:35And one of the most beautiful things is I have one of the most kindest and most generous communities ever.
34:41And we all genuinely have a lot of fun, we have a lot of laughs, and sometimes we'll play games
34:47together as well, on my stream instead of doing makeup.
34:50And you know, like the chaos makes sense. I'm generally quite a chaotic person, apparently, I'm accident prone, but also
34:58goes and shows in my in my gaming, you know, we it's it's more fun this way. And I feel
35:03like you can really engage with a lot of people.
35:04And so definitely put some care into making sure that you truly are yourself. Yes, be the best version of
35:13yourself, you know, like, everybody, everyone has good and bad days. But yeah, make sure that you put your own
35:18spin on things, because it's obvious, I think, when somebody's being someone that they're not.
35:23Yeah, for sure. And that's just in daily life, too, right? Like, it's exhausting trying to present a version of
35:31yourself that you think people want from you. And honestly, like people love you the way you are. And it
35:38took me years to even just be comfortable in my own skin to just be myself. So I feel that
35:42100%. I think that's also why I get to bring it back to makeup. For me, like, I wear thick
35:48eyeliner. And I've been doing that for 1015 years now. And I joke about not being able to do
35:53other makeup. But like, this is what I like. And this is what I how I feel good in. And
35:57maybe part of it because I have monolids, like I don't have the double eyelid to do. Like, I have
36:01no idea how to put my eyeshadow, but it's just staying authentically me. And then I feel like just makes
36:07you feel good. And eventually, you'll be in a good place to just present yourself. Always like that. Exactly. Yeah.
36:12And there's going to be people out there who don't like you. But equally, you don't like everyone. Right. That's
36:17okay. That's fine. You know, you're never going to please everyone. So you should just stop trying to do other
36:23makeup.
36:23trying to please everyone, which is always easy said than done. I think one of the things that's is hard,
36:31I think, as a content creator, as an influencer is because you are the face of like your own self
36:36-employed business. Whenever somebody says to me, it's very personal because it's you. Like, you're the face of it. So
36:43it can become very like, oh, my God.
36:46But you have to kind of try and, you know, step away from that because, yes, people aren't going to
36:51like you, but usually you might not like everybody.
36:54Well, they're not the people you want in your life. You know what I'm saying? Like, cut them loose. No
36:58one's got time for that anymore.
36:59Exactly. So it's all going to be good. And I think that's one of the things that you kind of
37:03have to go into when you go into live streaming.
37:06Yeah.
37:06Because there's going to be people who, like, you'll get trolls when people come in and they're not, you can't
37:12let them put a dampener on your entire day.
37:15So it's definitely, I mean, that's easier said than done as well. It depends on the severity of it, of
37:19course.
37:20But obviously if somebody comes, because I've had trolls come in and be like, you're wearing too much makeup. Yes,
37:25but that's the point of the stream.
37:27Yeah.
37:28Well, no, extreme makeup act. They're like, what were you expecting? Like a natural duvy look? Like, no, that's not
37:33what you're getting from here.
37:36That's the point of it. So clearly, and it's like small things like this where you've just kind of got
37:42to learn to, you know, almost like, you've got to see it for what it is.
37:45Like, that's a really silly comment, you know, and I completely disregard from it.
37:49But truly, be yourself if you're going to go into live streaming, because you're going to have more fun that
37:54way instead of putting on this persona.
37:56Because I don't know if even actors can put on that, you know, acting as somebody else for years and
38:04years.
38:05They're all like 24-hour streams and where people do it are like 12 hours every day.
38:09So it would be really difficult. So I just think it's important, you know, do your own thing, put your
38:14own spin on things and do your own brand.
38:15For sure. And I feel like people can obviously, like, tell whether you're being authentic or not.
38:21And that's how you build your community, right?
38:25Truly. I think it especially, I think it's probably easiest, I'm not saying people do as well, but I think
38:30it would be easy to hide in, like, pre-recorded videos.
38:32Because you're a recorded version of yourself. But when you're live streaming, it's like, I've had live streams where I've
38:38knocked over tables.
38:40I've, like, just so much, like, chaotic stuff.
38:43And obviously, like, one of the things as well with live streaming is that you genuinely get a live reaction.
38:48My community will confuse the hell out of me.
38:50And the most embarrassing thing about being a live streamer is the fact that everyone can see the visible confusion
38:55on a streamer.
38:57So it's one of those things that I always feel like it adds to the stream.
39:02But I can't pretend that I know the answer to everything.
39:06Because I clearly, obviously don't.
39:08So you can see my face. I don't know what you're talking about.
39:12So it's definitely something that, you know, I know it's so cliche, but truly, truly be yourself.
39:19It's going to be a lot harder if you're not.
39:21So true. So true.
39:23Okay, so you added on black lipstick.
39:26I did, but it's totally optional, depending on what you want to do.
39:31I love black lipstick.
39:32And I always have people telling me that they wish that they could wear black lipstick.
39:35You absolutely can wear black lipstick.
39:37It's just about having the balance across the rest of the face.
39:40So if you add black lipstick and you feel like you're just, you feel like you just look like a
39:44mouth on legs, no problem.
39:46We can just darken up the eyeshadow.
39:48And so that's something that we can always do to balance the face out.
39:52Yeah, so I do have a black one.
39:54It is the NYX Liquid Suede in Alien.
39:58It's a very good lipstick.
39:59I ordered two, I promise you.
40:01I ordered two, one for me, one for Sarah, because we want to be hygienic.
40:04And I opened the package this morning.
40:06I'm going to pretend like.
40:07And there was only one.
40:08And I double checked my order form, and I ordered two.
40:11So NYX, y'all shafted me a little bit there.
40:13I'm not going to lie.
40:13You're so brave for anything I brought today.
40:16Okay.
40:17The berry will be like blood on me.
40:19Yeah, so do I just, I just put it on.
40:21I don't know why I'm doing it.
40:21I don't even, I very, don't even wear lipstick.
40:24Okay.
40:25Oh, God.
40:26Yeah.
40:27Okay.
40:28This is a very good, long-lasting liquid lipstick.
40:33You tell me this now.
40:35No, I got this.
40:36I got this.
40:40I feel like it could be fun to do like a sparkly black makeup.
40:43Yeah, yeah.
40:44Or add some like glitter on top.
40:46See, here we go.
40:47Like, you're adding things already.
40:49You've got more ideas because we started.
40:52See?
40:52Like, oh, what if all the black packs make glittery?
40:56Next time.
40:57Oh, it starts.
40:59We could add some of that gold, gold glitter gel.
41:03Yes.
41:04That would be awesome.
41:07Actually, you know when you turn upside down, I forgot you said it was a gel and I thought
41:09it was powder and you checked upside down and I was like, oh.
41:14I did it.
41:15Yes.
41:15You look incredible.
41:17Amazing.
41:18I should have worn black today and I wouldn't have much more.
41:21And it's so nice.
41:23You look great.
41:24This is so fun.
41:26Are we missing anything else?
41:28What else do we have to do?
41:29Are we good?
41:30I think it's completely optional, but something else that you can do.
41:33And this is just an idea to spruce up any makeup look that you want.
41:37So I know a lot of people say that they want to start wearing more color on their eyeshadow
41:41and they're not really sure what to do.
41:44One of the things that I like to do is I just take my finger and I pop it into
41:49the color
41:50that I'm after.
41:50And then I just pop it on the inner eye corner, just here.
41:55And you can do this with when you do like smokey eye or you can pretty much do it with
42:00any makeup look.
42:01And if you just add like a really tiny pop of color on the inside, then you can balance
42:06that out as well.
42:07And I just feel like you can add this to any look.
42:10So sometimes people are like, oh, I'd love to wear like pink eyeshadow, but I don't know
42:15how you can always add it to the inner eye corner.
42:17So that's something that I like to add in.
42:19And I feel like it adds, you know, it brings a little bit more to it.
42:22And then completely optional as well, but something that I sometimes do is I'll take either a shimmer
42:30or a highlighter.
42:31Can I ask a question?
42:34And this might be just a general makeup question, but when do you use your finger and when do
42:39you use a brush?
42:40Is this, you know, like what's, what's the difference?
42:44I don't know.
42:44I think it's a good question.
42:46No, that's a good question.
42:47I think it's like preference.
42:48Oh, okay.
42:50There you go.
42:51I love using my finger.
42:52Yeah.
42:53Because then you don't have to clean your makeup.
42:57It's a good point.
42:58It's like, it's like eating out of a takeout box instead of putting it out of a plate so
43:03you don't have to do dishes.
43:05I mean, it's like, if you, if you don't need to like blend it as much, you can just use
43:10your finger.
43:11Obviously, like she just like dabbed it lightly.
43:14Yeah.
43:14That makes sense.
43:15If you need to blend, then you should use it better.
43:17True.
43:19Good.
43:19Nice.
43:21Okay.
43:24We're ready.
43:24Ready.
43:26Spooky time.
43:26Are you guys happy with your spooky looks?
43:28Yes.
43:28Yes.
43:29This was so fun.
43:30I can't wait to like do more.
43:32I know.
43:32I know.
43:32We have to have you come back too.
43:35That would be an honor.
43:36Yes.
43:37Of course.
43:38All right.
43:38Thank you so much.
43:39That was so fun.
43:41Thank you for having me.
43:42Yeah.
43:42And I hope everybody who tried it at home as well, I hope you learned some stuff.
43:47I hope that you guys are all covered in bats all over your face.
43:50And I hope that you enjoy it.
43:51And if you do, if you do want to share it as well, then of course, like tag Refinery29.
43:56Make sure that you tag us.
43:57We'd love to see them as well.
43:58Awesome.
43:59And tag me.
44:00I'd love to share them with my socials.
44:01Yes.
44:02Yes.
44:02And make sure, please, please go follow Mel.
44:04Again, I've been obsessed with her stream since SwitchCon Amsterdam.
44:08And it's just amazing to watch her like over four or five, six hours.
44:13Just start with nothing and just create a whole top to bottom waist look, all that stuff.
44:20It's just so, so good.
44:21Yes.
44:21Mcroft.
44:22M-C-R-O-F-T-07.
44:25Please, please, please go follow her and just support her.
44:27She's amazing.
44:28Thank you so much for coming on.
44:30Thank you so much for having me.
44:32And thank you for these mega show shots.
44:33Yes.
44:34Of course.
44:35Thank you, Mel.
44:36Okay.
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