Bowie Baby

As I get older, I have come to realize that some of my favorite people, will pass on. This is surely the case with the one, the only, David Bowie. A true square peg in a round hole, Bowie's success was due largely in part to doing what he wanted, despite odd looks and harsh criticism. Since this is a makeup blog, I want to talk about his most recognizable makeup look, Ziggy Stardust. Surprisingly, he never thought of himself as a rockstar, but more as someone "playing a part". Ziggy Stardust was truly the beginning of the many characters he would go on to play. So who is Ziggy? Below I have given a breakdown of the birth of this unforgettable creation.

• Ziggy Stardust personae was created in 1972.
• Look was comprised of rusty red hair and face makeup
• Best described as avant-garde
• Androgynous and gender bending for its time
• Bowie's love of acting is to thank for Ziggy 
• Ziggy was an alien posing as a rockstar messenger for extraterrestrials (yes, exactly that)

Time to Play.......

I normally reserve bold and theatrical makeup for Halloween, but I really wanted to embrace all things Bowie this week and step out of my comfort zone. So I hopped on Pinterest and pinned a lot of Ziggy looks. I decided on the Ziggy look with the signature gold circle (pictured above). The "lightning bolt" Ziggy look is also popular, but a bit over done. Like Bowie, I simply can not jump on the bandwagon and went for a look that is, well, overlooked. Below are the steps I used as well as products.

1. POREfessional by Benefit to fill in pores and mattify my skin
2. To get the spacing right, I used scotch tape to help create a border between where I would be using the face paint vs. the rest of my face. 
3. I then used my Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk  on my eye lids and in the space between the tape. The white base helps in making the bright colors stand out. I also used this to "cancel out" my eyebrows, since Ziggy didn't have brows either!
4. Red and orange shadows from my BH Cosmetics 120 Eyeshadow Palette were used to create the bright triangles. I kept layering until I got the desired color I was looking for.
5. With an NYC Liquid Eyeliner, I drew a circle on my forehead, simple as that! Liquid liner pens are great for face makeup because they are easy to control.
6. Makeup Forever Flash Color Palette  gold color was used to fill in the circle. I also used this color on my lips! Flash Palette is wonderful for crazy makeup looks! I highly recommend it. 
7. Lastly, I used Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black to line my upper and lower lash line.

My experience: I noticed that mixing bright colors is very relaxing. It was fun creating a gradient look with the red and orange shadows, which are colors I do not normally use. I also realized that with theatrical makeup, there is more wiggle room for mistakes. The look was so bold that I could continue packing on colors if I happened to have a hiccup along the way. I also LOVED "cancelling out" my eyebrows. My brows are very precious to me, so shaving them off would never be an option, but not having them for this look was incredibly liberating. 

Andddd the aftermath🙀🙀🙀

If you aren't familiar with Bowie, it's never too late to check him out, you never know what version of him you might get, but all are wonderful in their own way. 

P.S. walking around your apartment with Ziggy Stardust makeup is a must and a total mood booster. 

With Love,
Gogogabz

Follow me on Ig! @gogogabz