This is it!

Okay, I know it is not the best quality picture you will see today but see the bridesmaid leaning against the column? That's me. And see the blur? That's my friend's cousin dancing at her wedding.

This is it. A picture of the actual moment I decided to start bellydancing. It's not the moment I became a bellydancer, that is another story.

I am happy that Maryam decided to get nostalgic and post some wedding photos so I could share this moment with everyone.

Review: Coastal Scents Cosmetics

So thanks to Google Readers new "Send To" Feature rather than putting up a link and hoping my readers click and read, I can pull across the whole post. So read this! What a great make-up for performances. Also, read one or more of Manolo's Blogs. I got started with Manolo for the Bride and am now committed to Manolo for the Big Girl (where the following post is from).


Review Revue: Coastal Scents Cosmetics (ZOMG an actual positive review!): "

Until a few weeks ago, I’d never heard of Coastal Scents, a small cosmetics company based in Florida, and when I visited their site on a whim I wasn’t especially impressed. The site was a no-frills online store, the photographs weren’t professional beauty shots and the menus less than intuitive. But I was intrigued.

Coastal Scents, unlike traditional mascara slingers, caters to a combination of mad-scientists and professionals; make-up artists, resellers and people who want to make their own custom blends. They don’t just sell makeup, they sell makeup components, including pure pigment.

I am constantly on the hunt for intensely pigmented matte colors.

MAC is great and I heartily recommend them, but I have a hard time justifying dropping $15 for a shadow pot I might use once or twice a year. As far as drug store brands go, I’ve had good luck with the L’Oreal HiP line and Milani, which is marketed towards women with darker skin tones and generally contains more pigment, but they’re almost always too sparkly and their lasting power leaves a good deal to be desired. Plus I can’t use their cream-based products because of my eyelash extensions.

Coastal Scents sells their pigments by the half-teaspoon, teaspoon, ounce and pound. I ordered teaspoons of several oxides and micas (at a dollar each!) which is what they call “sample size”. Sample size it may be, but for the recreational user, a teaspoon of pigment is a LOT of makeup. They arrived packaged neatly in teensy zipper bags. Each bag was labeled with the color, approved uses –eyes, lips, face, nails etc.– and the ingredients.

I popped each pigment into its own five gram jar ($3.49 for 10) and started experimenting.

Using their excellent 13 piece brush set ($16.95 including roll) which is by far the best brush set for the money I’ve ever come across, I began monkeying around with applications. First I applied some pigment with a very wet brush and got a lovely, even wash of color. Then I added a drop of fixative (I think mine came from a N.Y.C. loose powder kit) for a full-on intense look. The color payoff was tremendous as good or better as anything I’ve used including the MAC pro colors. It blended like a dream and although there was a good deal of fallout on the dry applications, that’s to be expected with any highly pigmented powder, especially since I forgot to use a primer the first time.

Using a primer is always a good idea with powders, especially if you’ve got deep set or oily eyelids, because powders as a species tend to “travel”.

Primer gives the powder something to grip, making your application last longer and stay where you damn well put it. The nice folks a Make Up Forever sent me a sample of their HD Microperfecting primer in Neutral the other day which is what I’ve been using and I highly recommend it, but historically my trusty old Rimmel Fix and Perfect primer has never steered me wrong and would probably work almost as well.

My only complaint with the Coastal Scents pigments was they don’t offer a really screaming yellow, which I’ve needed for a particular look for ages. I finally caved and bought Make Up Forever’s Pure Pigment #2, which is good, but not the Holy Grail yellow I’d been searching for, especially not for $20, which was nearly as much as I paid for the entire Coastal Scents 42 Color Double Stack Matte Palette ($24.95).

I am way, WAY gun shy about inexpensive palettes. Too many years of cheap Christmas sets with chalky colors meant for little girls playing dress up have left me with a fear and loathing of the multicolor pack, so I can’t tell you why I ordered this.

Maybe it was because the colors were matte –once you’re past the glitter and gloss stage, mattes are a much cooler look than shimmers which tend to look cheap even if they’re not–or maybe I was hoping for that Holy Grail Yellow (close but not quote) but I wasn’t expecting much.

I’m glad I was wrong.

This is by far the best big palette I’ve seen for under $100. It’s a great combination of neutrals and brights, plus some killer blushes and bronzers. The browns are almost exact duplicates of MAC mushroom and bark, which are great browns I use for eyebrow powders (apply it with an angled brush) and the pressed colors have the same ease of blending and almost the same intesity as the wonderful pure pigments.

Next week I’ll have a review of their mineral foundations and veils, plus I’ll reveal The Greatest Cosmetic Brush Ever. Stay tuned!

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Race for the Cure Haikus

As mentioned previously, I am team captain for our Race for the Cure team, Bellydancers Shimmy for the Cure. For the past 3 years our troupe has performed at this event as well. At our last rehearsal we were discussing the staging of our number and someone said the groups were 5, 7 and 5. Oh, like a haiku!
So of course we had to write some. Here they are in no particular order.

walk, run, dance, do it
I cannot breathe through this veil
Time to go one, NOW!
(me)

five k or short walk
ok if we're stinky? ick
we will do our best
(Angelique)

hipscarves will be on
raqs africa is the bomb
shimmy for a cure
(Jessica)

Fierce flair warriors
African dance moves, double
head rolls, my neck hurts
(Laura)

United we dance
to entertain and support
where is my lipstick??
(Kelley)

We sparkle and shine
With a shimmy and a shake
Have another Crunk!!!
(Shanendora)

we, many will dance,
from the heart for others' lives.
we will not quiet.
(Jaia)

Seventeen dancers,
Stage is collapsing - OH NO!
Hey Y'all Look at us
(Sally)

And a bonus in Iambic Pentameter

To dance on stage with friends, it is a gift
Until the underpinnings start to shift
We'll arabesque and spin and pop and lock
And show the crowd how fun it is to rak
(Sally)

Please submit your own in the comments

Sometimes we have to admit defeat

Remember the costume I was working on? I worked on it a lot and you know what? It didn't fit.

The belt and skirt fit like a dream. The bra was too little. I knew it was but thought it was the sort of too little I could fix. Alas, it was not. I thought about hiding it in the back of my closet until a time when I became a couture genius or got a magic lamp but that would get me nothing.

I listed it on Bhuz. I am hoping I can recoup most of my money and then get a not as expensive costume to replace it.

A Special Request

I am captain of the Bellydancers Shimmy for the Cure team in the Komen Knoxville Race for the Cure. It would mean the world to me if you gave a donation. Even if it is only the cost of Venti Light Caramel Frappuccino ($5).

Pardon my dust

Just ignore me, I am playing with my blog. Will be done in 24 hours...I hope.

Book Review: Dancing, The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement

Dancing The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement by Gerald Jonas

I found this book at my local used book store. I make it a habit of quickly browsing the dance books and looking for anything that references Middle Eastern Dance.

This book is a really great primer on the evolution of dance. It starts with the Europeans discovery of dance in Polynesia, India and Greece. There are some very detailed sections on dance in Africa and Asia. A chapter called Lord of the Dance is an introduction to dance and religion including some of the very first dance stage shows depicting Salome (great photos). I especially liked the sections on dance and religion.

The largest section on Middle Eastern Dance is in the chapter on social dance. It is interesting to see how social dance differs from culture to culture. This chapter also details how MED was introduced to Europe and the Western World. In the chapter on modernizing dance, I loved the section on Ruth St. Denis. She is someone I would like to read more about.

Ruth St. Denis in 1904

In no way is this book just about ethnic dance, there are sections on modern dance and contemporaries such as Jerome Robbins and Twyla Tharp.

I am really glad I found this book. The pictures are incredible and it would make a good coffee table book just for photo flipping. I recommend this book to anyone with any interest in dance.

The very last photo in the whole book is Michael Jackson

from the Smooth Criminal video

Fun Photo

Somebody posted this on Bhuz. I love it too much not to share.

Costume Storage & Cleaning

How do you store your costumes?

Some things like skirts that hang are pretty easy. But want bout bedlahs, coin scarfs, errant choli tops and all those bits that get tied on to a Ghawazhee coat?

My house lacks closet space. My next house will have a walk in closet as opposed to my current walk in and back out closet. The closet in our home office is the sliding door type and my costumes share their space with our formal wear and random crafting supplies.

Everything that can hang does. I have a crate on the floor full of all my bits. Hip scarves, cholies, tie on scarves, tummy covers and a few other odds and ends. I would like to keep it organized but it stays a pile because I am always digging through it. I dug last night for a worn black bra I wear under my black dress costume.

As for bedlahs, I store them in a hanging shoe rack like this.

Each compartment holds one bra or belt. I can get both in one space if it is like my orange and pink one that really has no fringe or coins. I also shove my turquoise Lycra beledi dress into a compartment. The dress is stretchy and heavy and if I hang it up, it grows in length. I don't want anything else to get hooked on it so I fold it up nicely and push it into a compartment. This system is nice because you can keep the accessories with each costume. To keep them smelling fresh I fill an old sock with baking soda and place it in the back of each compartment.

And speaking of smelling fresh... How do you clean your costumes?

When I get home I make sure everything is hung up on the door and I lay bras and belts out on my sewing table on an old towel. I use vodka in a spray bottle to give things a refresher. It evaporates quickly and works like Febreze type fresheners without leaving a scent or residue. I am wondering what other methods dancers use on costumes that are not conducive to being laundered.

What about polishing dull coins? I am going to do a test on my American Icon to see if vinegar will shine up the coins.

Costume Alterations

So why haven't I been blogging? or reading the book I am writing my next review on? Because I have been sewing. Blech.

I know my profile says I love sewing, and I do. I like to make pillow, little crafty dodads, I make this rice bags that you can microwave and lay on your face for a sinus headache. I do not like costume alterations. Mostly because it stresses me out and I hunch my shoulders and then I have a headache.

But it is unavoidable. In my off the rack purchases, I have had one dress need nothing, one need shortening and two bedlahs that needed a small extension in the belt. I could custom order every costume. I admit my custom coin bedlah from Dahlal fit perfectly. There is just something about buying from a vendor. Touching it, seeing it, trying it on. I bought an awesome costume from Sadiia of Memphis.

It has a chiffon panel skirt alternating black and turquoise and the top (belt area) is ruched lycra. It is very flattering on my shape. I am usually a bedlah girl because skirt costumes accentuate my belly.
The skirt fits perfectly except for needing to be shortened which is part of life when you are 5'4" and I don't even count that as an alteration anymore.

Here is the bra laid out on my "work table".
The bra needed some work. The cups are a tad too small and need to be reoriented. I first decided I would attached a stretch black Turkish vest. I like my back covered. I used simplicity pattern 4484. I laid the pattern out on brown craft paper, traced it in pencil and then altered it to be more like what I wanted. I made it smaller because I intended it to stretch and I cut it shorter because I only wanted an inch below the bra. I made the vest. It was still too big. I cut down the pattern again. I made the vest. The fit was great but the arm holes were too big. I recut the pattern with smaller armholes. I made the vest. It fit!

I removed the halter strap from the bra and used it to trim the bottom of the back of the vest. I put it on and....I didn't like it. The vest is super cute! but not with this costume.

So, I sewed the halter strap to the underarm side of the cups. I always have side boob issues. I also pulled the cups together. I did this by cutting a piece of lining and sewing it to both cups so they fell in the angle I wanted, now the point on the cups where the strap is attached is directly up. Doing this also changes the angle the sides come out and get rid of the side boob problem. I am pleased with this. All thats left is to add and "upper wire". I am going to put a piece of wire similar to the under wire across the tops of the cups to form them to round shape. Otherwise they flatten and I get a boob roll.

Once I got my vision down (i.e. stopped making the vest over and over), I did all this in a few hours. I still need to add the wire and then start on the skirt. It will be easy but tedious. The fringe is sewn between the ruched belt and the chiffon. In order to take the chiffon off and shorten it I have to first go through and sew the fringe on to the belt so I can cut the stitching. This is not complicated to me because hand sewing it my thing. I will post some pictures when I get started so you can see what I mean.

For more tips and tricks see Carrara Nour's post here.

And finally I leave you with my favorite picture ever. This is my cat Snoopy aka Fat Boogas reading the directions on my pattern to make sure I am doing it right. Cats make excellent Quality Assurance Consultants.