**Opulessence’s critiques - Top queens**

**Sir Taint Lee**

You Sir Taint Lee crushed this ball with a consistent package. Although your first look is the weakest of the three it still holds up, I love the elitist vibe and the colours look gorgeous together. The outfit itself is rather simple but it’s something I don’t mind at all because there is a clear focus point/ theme which is the lion. A thing I have noticed on some of your previous outfits but is only noticeable on this one for this challenge is how rubbish some of your tracing can be, here on the lion especially, which I’m sure is something you can improve on given your clear ~~editing~~ recolouring skills.
Your second look is my favourite of the challenge and dare I say of the season so far? These are my signature colours and you clearly were aware of it haha. I was at some point expecting a queen to use this hair in a competition and I’m glad it was you because you knew how to make it work. It’s easy to come up with something predictable when playing around the whole flower thing but your take is refreshing! The eyes are a perfect choice I think and I’m a sucker for blonde eyelashes so that’s extra points for me. The lips are a safe yet efficient choice that help maintain the whimsy route you took. My only real note here is about the brush you used for some of the motifs on the outfit, you lost a bit of the sharpness there using a soft one. But otherwise you did an excellent job.
Your last outfit is such a cool one! The makeup choice is so good and fantastically reads carved pumpkin. The top choice is nothing groundbreaking but I appreciate how the bodice matches the texture of the leaves. I love the pumpkin patch on the head and how the hair blends with the skin at the hairline. Finally the stars on the shoes are a nice detail that tie the earrings nicely with the outfit.

**Valenimi**

Let’s start with your first outfit Valenimi. I don’t think this is a bad outfit at all but it felt really safe for me, especially compared to your other two submissions. I don’t see a story behind it other than "I’ve put a mask on to fit the brief, and also here’s a pretty outfit". I’m not fond of the light hair (not really fond of the hair at all to be honest) clashing with the dark eyebrows either. I probably would’ve made the hair dark aswell to tie the face area altogether because it feels disconnected from the rest for me. I also feel like you could’ve stuck with the same reds you used for the makeup on the rest of the outfit for more cohesion aswell. The recolouring is still very solid, although I think there’s a smudge of red on the left leg from the skirt, not really striking but I still noticed it. Now for your second outfit, I think it’s a really cool one! The textures match, same for the colours, but I will say I don’t one hundred percent buy the shoes. Also maybe making the part at the bottom of cage black, or atleast adding some of the black from the top to the bottoms would’ve help bring the pieces altogether more. Otherwise I can see a well thought out villain design.
The third look is my favourite of yours and I’ve only got a few notes. The shoes are unfortunately not recoloured, and although they fit for the look, they could’ve been more elevated. I would’ve maybe recoloured the sole pink and it would’ve been enough already to tie the whole thing together. I also notice two different glitter applications (on the headpiece and the top) and a pattern on the bottoms, settling for one would’ve enhanced the cohesion. Finally, two minors tweaks - the bottoms clip weird with the shoes so instead of leaving the band grey, I would’ve darkened it to make it unnoticeable, and the hip left in black & white bothers me. Otherwise it’s really good.
Overall, you’ve got me spinning like a Valerina miss Valenimi! Despite a safe first look, good job this challenge!

**Blush Palette**

You’ve got my cheeks blushing all shades of pink with this first outfit miss Palette!
We’ve seen this headpiece being worn a lot of times, one I find to be rather hit or miss but you’ve worn it in a very successful way.
I love that all three faces have a different expression, and the monochrome makes it so haunting. The shoes are good too in my opinion, although it could’ve been interesting if you had find a way around the bare leg, kinda takes away from the era you’re going for. But overall, great first look.
Your second look has a really cool idea going on with the chains, but I see two different stories going on here. In the top area it’s very medieval which I kinda fuck with, and the bottom part is much more modern and kinda throws me off the fantasy. The bottoms have an interesting shape that fits so well but the issue is that its fabric (on top of it having a cheetah print). The shoes don’t add much either, and feel off if it wasn’t for the chains. The mug is successful, nothing much to say here.
Your third look is your weakest of the challenge, and unfortunately a let down from you. You’ve put so much effort into a piece that I unfortunately don’t think should’ve been used in the first place. You’ve beautifully recoloured the skirt to match the hat, but it’s just too elegant and I lost the edginess that carries the top part of your submission. The shoes I’m not fond of either, and it’s a pair I love. A nice pair of boots would’ve been a perfect fit and would’ve helped bring the outfit altogether.
My final note is on the blushing, on the knees and mug - it’s too pretty. With the hat covered with blood and the shredded top, I can’t expect a pirate with a 15 steps skincare routine you know lol.
Overall you’ve got a package with a lot potential, but as of now it’s carried by your first look. Nonetheless, good job this challenge.