Author: Davina

If you’ve been around my blog or follow me on social media, you know how much fun I have with belly dance makeup.  I’ve taken makeup challenges, recorded step-by-step video demos, and am always happy to share the products that work for me.

When I’m discussing belly dance appearance, makeup represents one of the five essential layers.  Along with hair and skin, makeup fits into layer 2, Grooming. These layers are discussed in my book “Becoming a Belly Dancer, From Student to Stage.” (Also available direct from me here)

However, if you haven’t run across this Five Layer system, it includes:

1. The Body 
2. Grooming
3. Costuming
4. Accessories 
5. Props

Take my free class: 5 Layers of Belly Dance Appearance

5 top Makeup Tips

I’ve recently been asked, “If you could only give five belly dance makeup tips, what would they be?”  I found this question helped me focus on the key essentials that allow me to transform from an ordinary person into a belly dance performer.

1. Use a Primer:  This is something that I recommend to everyone. Although I use a pore-filling, wrinkle smoothing primer by L’Oreal for my over 50 complexion, you should choose a primer suitable for your skin type. A primer will help create the illusion of perfect skin and make your makeup last longer.
2. Create one Look then Practice It: The truth is, you don’t have to be good at doing makeup for everyone, or even every style on your own face.  Instead, focus on mastering one complete look. If you focus on one set of skills to practice and perfect, you will be able to up your makeup game quickly.  For example, if you want to embrace the “smokey eye,” then make that your look until the style becomes effortless.  Then once that’s perfected, perhaps move on to a “cut crease,” or “Arabic eye.”
3. Embrace False Eyelashes: The last technique I added to my repertoire is false eyelashes. Until latex free glues were widely available, I simply couldn’t wear false lashes. Now that there are many more formulas of glue available, I have embraced the lash lifestyle. If you are new to lashes, I recommend reading Poppy Maya’s extensive eyelash tutorial in our book “Becoming a Belly Dancer.”  If you are new to lashes, you might want to start by wearing accent lashes that are easier to apply. They fit on the outer corner of the eye, and you don’t have to wrestle them over the curve of your lash line. I recommend trying this pair or this pair.
4. Layer Eyeliner: One of the things I’ve learned over the years is that dramatic eyeliner is intrinsic to the belly dancer look. I’ve personally found that using a variety of different styles of eyeliner helps me achieve the best results.  I keep a pot of gel liner, a liquid liner in pen form, and several different sharpening pencils in my makeup kit.  I use them all or in various combinations to achieve different eyeliner effects.
5. Choose the Right Red: Bright red lipstick is a classic. However, there are many to different colors and formulas to choose from. They key is to know the undertone of your skin.  Red comes in warm, neutral, and cool variations so you can select the color that works best for your complexion.  Check out the tips in this article on “Lip Cocktails” in Amabella Magazine.

 

Face Paint: The Story of Makeup

My favorite book on the history of makeup is “Face Paint: The Story of Makeup,” by Lisa Eldridge.  She is a London based professional makeup artist who has built an international reputation working in the fashion and cosmetics industries.  She makes highly informative YouTube tutorials, and most recently, has become an author and jewelry designer.

This lavishly illustrated and well-researched coffee table book is filled with intriguing images that inspire and delight.  I love just picking up this book and thumbing through it!  If you are shopping for a gift for the makeup lover in your life.

Beauty In a Jar – Documentary

From Elizabeth Arden to Max Factor, from Revlon to today’s massive makeup industry, this is a great documentary about the birth and development of the cosmetics industry. This video is about an hour and a half long, so grab a snack and beverage and enjoy this fascinating look at the makeup.

Belly Dance Makeup Playlist

Over the past two years, I took on a makeup challenge to help me share my own journey in perfecting my own belly dance makeup application technique. I am no makeup artist!  However, I’ve taken a lot of classes from makeup pros, have had dozens of “makeovers” and have enjoyed playing with cosmetics for many years.  I love the transformative properties of makeup that take nerdy egghead Dawn and turns her into the glamorous belly dance performer Davina.  If you are interested in learning more about how I put on makeup, I recommend checking out my YouTube playlist.  I’m looking forward to tackling this challenge again in 2019.

The holidays are coming up, and now is the time that big makeup brands put out holiday kits, offer deep discounts, and make it more affordable to pick up new cosmetics.

Best of luck in your makeup adventures!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
November 15, 2018

 

 

 

On a recent research trip to New York City, several people at the library noticed my custom pen quiver on my travel journal book. Earlier in the year, I became frustrated with trying to keep my pen and my journal connected. After losing my pen at the bottom of various bags or leaving it behind in coffee shops, I decided enough was enough! I had seen various different styles of pen quivers available at stationery stores and online. But I knew I could make something of my own using materials I have on hand.

As a writer, I use my journal almost daily.  Having a pen or pencil ready and at hand eliminates the frustration of not being prepared to go.  Not having to look for a writing tool saves time too. This is a small little accessory that has improved the quality of my life.

I’m working on my first novel during November’s NANOWRIMO – Read More

Because I’m in a “use it up” phase of my sewing career, I brainstormed how I could craft something from materials in my stash. I poked around my collection of materials and supplies and decided to use a left-over scrap of 1.5″ wide elastic. I spent about an hour fooling around with various ways of using this single piece of elastic to make a functional pen holder.

Tips: I keep this size elastic in my studio for waistbands and recently I’ve been buying it buy the reel from Amazon.com. I used a ballpoint needle to go through the elastic without breaking the threads. Thank you for supporting this blog by using these Amazon Affiliate links.

YouTube Instructional Video

As you may already know, I’m in the process of learning how to make instructional DIY videos.  Since this was a quick and small project, I decided to give making an instructional video a try.  So I made the video and put it on my YouTube channel.  Although I’m by no means a polished and sophisticated videographer, I think this demo gives you all the information you need to make your own pen quiver.

This simple little tool has changed the quality of my writer’s life. I no longer leave pens behind or lose them in the bottom of bags. These are easy to make, so I now have several on different notebooks.  I’ve even made a few to give as gifts. If you have a friend or family member who uses journals and notebooks, you might find this a quick and easy holiday gift. 

Happy Crafting!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
November 6, 2018

PS:  Like this idea?  Please share with your friends on your favorite social media sites.

In 2018, I’m taking on the challenge of NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month. Although I’ve written nearly 2 dozen books, hundreds of articles, and thousands of social media posts, until now, I’ve never attempted a work of fiction.

Inspirations

My mum initially challenged me to write a novel. It was a little over a year ago, and my schedule looked too tight to squeeze in yet another project. However, after much mulling about, I realized that perhaps I was just procrastinating. So, on her last visit to my house, we talked about this project again and decided that I would tackle this project during #Nanowrimo.

What is NaNoWriMo?

This challenge began many years ago, back before the turn of the century in 1999. Since then, the hosting organization has become a non-profit and includes events throughout the year. They even have challenges just for youth writers. Each year the pool of novelists grows, helping authors with support History of the NaNoWriMo challenge here.

50,000 Words

The challenge is simple, write a new 50,000-word novel in 30 days. The thought is to finish the month with a rough manuscript ready for editing. To achieve this goal, participants need to write 1, 667 words a day. The difficulty is in resisting the urge to edit as you go. People also need to stoke their creative fire to feel motivated and inspired to achieve a high level of production.

Preptober

Although I came up with the concept for this novel a year ago, it’s only in the past two weeks that I’ve focussed on getting the stage set to tell this story. Although I’ve never written a novel before, my research and organization skills have come in handy when planning this mythical event, describing the locations, and writing character profiles. The official Instagram feed from the @Nanowrimo organization featured the above right October challenge to prep before the novel writing begins.

I also found a great resource in Scotland based novelist Rachael Stephen who has a great set of prep and planning resources on her website. This year she also hosted a #Prep_toberchallenge that has simply stunning autumnal photography and thought-provoking prompts. I started in the second half of the month, but if you are interested in seeing my response to these prompts, you can check me out on Instagram.

The Adventure Begins Nov. 1

Starting on the first, I’ll be re-arranging my schedule to add an extra hour of novel writing to my morning, and another hour in the late afternoon/early evening. My personal goal is to hit 2,000 words a day to build in time off for family visits, weekend business adventures, and Thanksgiving.

If you are interested in tracking my progress on the official Nanowrimo page, my handle there is DavinaDevine. Alternately, I’ll be posting regularly in all the usual social media places. If you’re on FaceBook, you can keep an eye out for a few live feeds throughout the month where I share my experience of tackling this challenge.

Wish me luck!
Dawn Devine ~ Davina
October 23, 2018

I recently attended the recent Gaslight Expo steampunk convention as a speaker and workshop leader.  I’ve been so busy over the past two months, that I really didn’t have a lot of time to invest in a new costume to fit the theme of Tiki. I knew that I had a couple of old bowling themed aloha shirts hanging in the back of the closet.  So I excavated those old shirts, gave them a wash and contemplated all of the potential things I could do with them.

Right: Sample from my 3-D Bead Embroidery Demo/Workshop

However, I was so freaking busy the three weeks before the convention I was focussed on getting a bedlah set completed for a customer and my workshop completed for the Belly Dance Bundle 2018.

Basic Aloha Bowling Shirt

I headed south to stay with my family the week before the event, and I took along the pair of shirts, thinking I would wear them as is.  I had purchased these shirts many years ago when I was a competitive bowler. Back in the day, I was so excited to have bowling themed shirts, that I bought one in each color.

Left: Blue Bowling Aloha Shirt, before the redesign

For a red-hot second, I almost abandoned the project, figuring I could just wear the shirt as-is.  But after talking to my family, they encouraged me to take an hour and do something wonderful with it. I wasn’t feeling particularly creative, but I thought I should at least try.

Taking Two Shirts and Creating One Garment

My design mind came up with a lot of complicated things to do with this shirt. First I considered using both shirts to make a dress, disregarding the shirt-shape and treating the cloth like yardage.  I didn’t think that was a reasonable 1-hour project, so I contemplated other approaches.

The next thought was to do a parti-colored shirt or dress that was half blue and half tan. This seemed like a fast way to transform the two garments into something new and different.

Redesign Process

Once I had decided to simply combine the two shirts into one, I made a simple four-step order of construction.

1. Cut the shirts in half up the back
2. Pin the left side of one color to the right side of the other color.
3. Machine sew the back seam.
4. Swap pockets.

Cut Shirts in Half:  I carefully folded each shirt up the center back. For this project, I used my mum’s fabric shears and standard pins.  I folded the shirt in half, pinned the fold in place, and cut along the fold.  You can see what the tan shirt looked after cutting the back.

Pin the back seam:  Using standard pins, I pin the left side to the right side. For straight line sewing, I like to place my pins perpendicular to the seam.  As I sew, I pull the pins, rather than sew over them.

Machine sew the back seam: My mum let me use her machine.  This Brother is what I recommend in my sewing classes for new students.  It’s a very affordable kit that includes a lot of great tools and accessories for an amazing price. It’s nice to sew on it and remind me how nice this machine is and that I’m still glad to recommend it.

Swap Pockets:  Well, since I was chatting and socializing with my mum and brother, didn’t quite make it that far!  But this detail can happen later.  I decided to stop at this place because the shirt was wearable.

If I had started to take the pockets off, I would have been committed to finishing that step, which was much bigger than the other three.  It would require spending a lot of time with a seam ripper to remove the two pockets.  Then I would have to pin the pocket into place and then carefully top-stitching it into place. I just didn’t have the time or focus to tackle this last step.

Done is Good!

As a designer, you get to decide when a project is done.  Since I committed to working for just an hour, I stopped at a good stopping point!  Although this may not have seemed like a huge change, I had so many people ask me where I got this unusual shirt.  I’m glad my mum challenged me to do something with my old shirts!

In the fullness of time, I can swap the pockets out, or just choose to leave this restyled shirt just as it is.  Either way, I had a wonderful time wearing my old/new creation.  Are there any garments in your closet that you can use as a basis for creating a new design?

I wish you luck in all of your sewing and costuming adventures!
Davina ~ Dawn Devine
Oct. 9, 2018

 

PS: Here’s a photo of my mum’s sewing machine.  She purchased it from Amazon.com using prime for around $100.  Prices vary from moment-to-moment, but here’s a link to check it out if you are in the market for a  budget sewing machine.