Silhouette Screams

Darling Girl Cosmetics Halloween & Christmas Haul

2012-01-31T19:01:00.005+10:00

Edit: Had to take this down and repost it because Photobucket was being a turd. :(

Late last year I placed a Darling Girl Cosmetics order for a combination of products from the Halloween and Christmas collections, Darling Ghoul and Darling Deer. You may recall that I'd already placed a Halloween order (swatched here), but I'd tried to be sensible and not buy every lip product in sight. As swatches began popping up on everybody's blogs, I started to regret not picking up certain shades while I had the chance. I didn't want to make the same mistake with the Christmas collection, so I waited for that to launch and just bought all the lip stuff I wanted from both collections. A little excessive? Yes. Totally worth it? You have no idea.

First up, I picked up a tub of Bye Bye Dry Lavender Infused Healing Butter. I figured this would be great to combat the disgusting dry scaly skin on my ankles and elbows, and I've also been loving it as a lip balm. My lips have been flakey as fuck for no reason lately, and this has helped smooth them over a little. It hasn't miraculously healed them, but it's making them slightly easier to cope with. I also don't find the lavender scent to be terribly offensive, and I'm not even the biggest fan of lavender.

I also picked up a Liquid Kiss in Painted Whore (which Susan has mislabelled as 'Paint Whore', much to my amusement XD), Holo-Glosses in Magic Potion and Holly Jolly, Lip Jelly in Snow Angel, and 4 near identical Kiss You Off: Color Rich Lip Balms in Cookies for Claus, Naughty or Nice, Poison Plum and Wicked Game.

L-R: Liquid Kiss in Painted Whore, Holo-Glosses in Magic Potion and Holly Jolly, and Lip Jelly in Snow Angel

Painted Whore is described as a 'super pigmented retro red' and the Liquid Kiss formula is designed to be a little thicker than other lipglosses but with a silky smooth texture. I bought this because I would love to find a perfect indie dupe of MAC Russian Red Lipglass, which is my favourite opaque red lipgloss in the entire universe.

Magic Potion is described as a 'deep earthy mauve base with holo-shimmer that shift from red, orange to yellow depending on the angle'. I agree with the earthy mauve base, but I mostly see gold and purple shimmer! :)

L-R: Liquid Kiss in Painted Whore, Holo-Glosses in Magic Potion and Holly Jolly, and Lip Jelly in Snow Angel

Holly Jolly is described as 'a pigmented true red loaded with color shifting glitter that shifts from gold, green to blue'. I just saw gold from swatching it, but I haven't had a chance to try any of these on my lips yet. The glosses were recently repackaged in click-pen form, hence the different packaging for this.

Snow Angel is 'an awesome layering gloss...with pink, holographic and color shifting natural glitter'. In the pot it almost looks mauve, but when I swatch it it's just a clear gloss packed with pink and rainbow glitter.

Snow Angel!

Then we have the Kiss You Off: Colour Rich Lip Balms. In the tubes it looks like I'm a dumbass and bought 4 identical colours, but they're a little different on the skin.

Left to Right: Cookies for Claus, Naughty or Nice, Poison Plum and Wicked Game

I definitely watch too much of The Vampire Diaries, because I keep mentally reading Cookies for Claus as Cookies for Klaus. Cookies for Claus is described as a 'wine with pink shimmer and gold reflect'. As you can see, it has much more of a reddened brown tone than the other lip balms, which lean far more purple. I definitely see the pink shimmer in this one :3

Naughty or Nice is 'a gorgeous purple loaded with purple holo-shimmer. I have been asked several times to make a lipstick version of Jar of Hearts and this is it.' I don't have Jar of Hearts so I can't compare, but mine is much more purple than the swatch photo on the website.

Same order as above: Cookies for Claus, Naughty or Nice, Poison Plum and Wicked Game.
This one should give you an idea of the base colour without the shimmer and sheen interfering!

Poison Plum was the colour that really prompted this order. I didn't think I needed it so I didn't buy it, but then everyone and their mum started gushing about how beautiful it was. Poison Plum is described as 'a deep berry base blended with loads of red and gold flash that meld together to make this gorgeous plummy wine shade. Perfect for Fall.' I mostly see a purple berry shade with gold shimmer.

Wicked Game is described as 'a gorgeous blackened royal purple with oodles of gold flake. Don't be afraid this applies a sheer violet.' To me this is like the lovechild of Poison Plum and Cookies for Claus: it's got that reddish brown base with a load of violet shimmer.

Free samples/gifts with purchase! L - R: Boy Crazy Duochrome Blush, Pixi Purple and Dragon's Breath Eyeshadows, Salmon Colour Correcting Concealer swatched lightly on the left, heavily on the right.

Boy Crazy is described as an 'earthy mauve with a hint of red duochrome that makes it a little more wearable for those afraid of earthy shades'. I'm quite adventurous with my blush, but even I don't have the stones to experiment with this colour. I'm dying to try it as an eyeshadow though!

Pixi Purple is 'a gorgeous lustrous reddish purple with subtle green iridescence'. I didn't really notice any green shimmer when I was swatching this, but my camera picked up purple shimmer like WHOA. It's got kind of a beige-y base going on too.

Dragon's Breath is described as a 'sheer black base with gold shift and green/gold diamond dust glitter'. I'm guessing Susan means the black base itself is sheer, not that the shadow is sheer! The black base is definitely softer than other blackened greens I've come across. I can also see a metric fucktonne of copper shimmer in this too. :)
Salmon Colour Correcting Concealer 'has Silica and other light reflecting minerals to help optically diffuse those dreaded under circles'. I haven't used this one yet, but my first impression of this was that it was much creamier than I expected!
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Yay for pretties! ^___^

Safe For Work

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000+10:00

So I'm almost about to start my third week at work! I'm getting settled in very slowly, but it'll be a while before I'm completely comfortable with my position and what I can wear to the office. I'm adding brighter touches everyday though, whether it be my nails, an octopus necklace, or the handbag I bring (Iron Fist have been making several appearances!) Makeup wise I'm continuing to opt for a lip focus for the time being, partly due to tiredness/laziness in the morning, partly due to my sweat/humidity eyeshadow dilemma, and partly due to overwhelming guilt over the size of my lip product collection. I'm very slowly getting through my Project 10 Pan glosses, but in the meantime I still have 93450934 barely used lipsticks staring at me! I'm trying to use a different lipstick every morning, and bring a P10P gloss with me to layer throughout the day for added moisture.

But enough whining from me, on with the lip looks!

Monday: On Monday I wore Ciccone Cosmetics Oceanus Lipstick over a light layer of Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach. In the second photo I'm also wearing MAC Dazzleglass in She-Zam, but it turned the lip colour into a light pink and was too sticky, so I removed it after these photos. On the cheeks I'm wearing Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful, with Benefit Hoola to contour and Benefit High Beam to highlight.

Tuesday: I wore a little of MAC Girl About Town Lipstick dabbed on over the top of Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink. On the cheeks I wore MAC Dollymix Blush, Benefit Hoola to contour, and Benefit High Beam again. Can you tell I was feeling really unimaginative when it came to highlighting? :P

Wednesday: In the first photo I'm wearing MAC Syrup over a little Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink, but it's looking a fair bit brighter and less purple-toned than it does in real life. In the second photo I've slicked a random hot pink gloss from Kiss My Sass on top. The label has worn off, but it's one I'm using for Project 10 Pan. I think I used a mix of MAC Dollymix Blush and Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre on the cheeks, with Benefit High Beam to highlight and probably Benefit Hoola to contour.

I had Thursday off because of Australia Day, but unfortunately I was too exhausted to put on any makeup and go attend any celebrations! D: I just bummed around the house catching up on sleep, blogs and TV shows.

Oops, didn't blend that foundation out from between my brows. >__>
Good thing my blunt fringe was covering it for the rest of the day!

Friday: When I went back to work I wore Revlon Matte Lipstick in Smoked Peach over a layer of Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach. I forgot how much I fucking love the Revlon Matte Lipsticks, they're SO creamy and never highlight the flakes in my lips like some mattes can do. I think I only wore Smoked Peach a couple of times before relegating it to the back of one of my lipstick tubs, and I really regret doing so. It brightens up the face but is still incredibly wearable - like the matte peach sister to MAC Syrup.

In the second photo I'm also wearing the Napoleon Perdis Protege Gloss from my Project 10 Pan post. This gloss is absolutely stunning over anything remotely orange-toned, and it softens the shimmer in frosty lipsticks. On the cheeks I'm wearing Benefit Hoola as a contour and MAC Springsheen Blush. The golden shimmer in Springsheen was so prominent that I didn't feel I needed an added highlight, so I didn't use one :)

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Sorry if these posts and my makeup looks are boring lately, but I hope y'all can understand that I'm adjusting to a different phase in my life right now. I don't want my blog to be boring, but things are in limbo as I get settled in. I'm going to try to add a little bit of colour to my makeup this week though :)

Baby Prostitute About Town

2012-01-27T08:00:00.001+10:00

Normally I'd throw this in one of my 5 Days of Lipstick posts, but I thought this lip combo was so pretty that it deserved its own post! I mentioned in my Recently Acquired Lipstick and Lipglosses posts that I'm loving silver lipsticks and glosses for layering right now, so here's a look I created by layering MAC Eloquent Air over MAC Girl About Town Lipstick.

I could write a sonnet about my love for Girl About Town, it's the perfect brightass hot pink that leans ever so slightly fuchsia. It brightens up the face instantly, I feel like it would be insanely flattering on a lot of skintones, and late last year I layered it under different glosses for a whole week - an insane feat given the notoriously short attention span of a beauty blogger! (I think I have those photos lying around somewhere btw, must upload them soon...) I avoided picking this up for the longest time because I thought it was too similar to colours I already had, and then I was forced to get it for my first ever Back 2 Mac, because my first choice was out of stock. Best lipstick-related thing that ever happened to me.

I think my lips look nice in this photo (albeit lighter than they were irl), but ARGH THAT STRAY HAIR >:|

Products:

Eyes are my go to Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette look. I'm really close to hitting pan on the Eyelid and Crease shades from the left side of the palette, so I'm using the crap out of it until I do! Plus I'm lazy and don't like to think too much these days, and this palette also doesn't seem to crease on me in spite of the weather-related eyeshadow fails I've been suffering from for months. I refuse to believe there's a lipstick colour that doesn't work with these eyeshadows - even if the eyes are warm and my lip colour and cheeks are cool, the contrast seems to work!

Cheeks:

Benefit Hoola - contour
MAC Dollymix - blush
Benefit High Beam - highlight

Lips:

Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink - lipstain
NYX Hot Pink Lipliner
MAC Girl About Town Lipstick
MAC Eloquent Air Lipstick - layered heavily all over the lip
Random silver Spell Cosmetics gloss I'm using for Project 10 Pan - decided to layer this on top as well for extra silver sparkle.

I didn't bother reapplying the Spell lipgloss throughout the day, because I still don't feel the texture plays well with lipsticks. Feels nice on the lips, tends to make colours shift around though.

In case you're wondering about the post title, it's partly a reference to Girl About Town, Wayne Goss and Janis Ian from Mean Girls. Wayne Goss hates frosty lipsticks and thinks they couldn't work in any situation, and I think that's utter bullshit. I feel like if he morphed with Janis Ian, he'd probably say frosty lipsticks make us all look like baby prostitutes. And if that's the case, I'll let my motherfuckin' baby prostitute flag fly ;]

Mini Swatchfest: Recently Acquired Lipglosses

2012-01-26T08:00:00.007+10:00

Okay, so it's more like recently acquired lipglosses and one lipstain and lipliner, but the title is long enough as it is. ;] Here's the last of my mini swatchfests of recently acquired shit, including the Boldly Bare Lip Liner and Deelight Cremesheen Glass from my MAC Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag, She-Zam Dazzleglass from Holiday 2011, Narcissus Cremesheen Glass from Daphne Guinness, and an Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach. Picked up the Sultry Lip Bag and She-Zam from Ebay, got Heather to CP me Narcissus, and the Etude House was a spur of the moment Ebay purpose. I'm guessing my beloved Zinopark didn't have it in stock, because I bought through some other seller for the first time. o.o

Left to Right: MAC Dazzleglass in She-Zam, Cremesheen Glasses in Deelight and Narcissus, Boldly Bare Lip Pencil, and
Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach.

I can't say I'm a fan of the Dazzleglass formula, it's so sticky that I only use it when I know I'm going to have my hair up, or conversely I tie my hair up when I know I'm going to use it. They're glorified magnets for stray hairs, but hot damn are they pretty. She-Zam is filled with silver and white shimmer that reflects pink, and it's obviously part of my layer-silver-over-EVERYTHING kick.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I bought the Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag because I thought the browned pink colours would be very work appropriate. I already knew I loved the non-sticky Cremesheen Glass formula, and was eager to try a MAC lipliner for the first time. (FYI: it's the creamiest lip pencil I own!) The same applies for Narcissus Cremesheen Glass - I knew I loved the formula, and I knew I loved magenta.

Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach was sort of an impulse buy. Sort of. Y'all have probably noticed that I use the pink version of this under ALL my pink lip looks, and I have an orange one from a different collection that I layer under bright orange lipsticks. For a long time I'd been feeling like I was lacking that in-between shade, a milky peach that didn't lean too orange and that wouldn't drastically alter the colour of any coral or peach that I layered over the top. I knew Etude House made a peach version in this formula, so one night I just bit the bullet and hunted one down on Ebay.

It doesn't really stain the lips that orange colour you see in the swatch. It leans a little pink, but it's not neon Barbie like the pink version in this formula. I'd say it's more of a coral than a milky peach, and the bottom of the swatch gives a better indication of the colour it turns on the lips. Like the pink shade though, it's a great lipstain. It gives intense colour in one layer, unlike Benefit Posie Tint which takes 3 layers to look half as bright on me. >___>

Hope you enjoyed the swatches! I'll finish the week with a couple of FOTD posts, since this week (and the end of 2011 and start of 2012 as a whole, really) have been so swatch heavy! :)

Mini Swatchfest: Recently Acquired Lipsticks

2012-01-25T08:00:00.001+10:00

Yesterday I brought you some recently acquired blushes, and today I'm bringing you some recently acquired lipsticks! As I stated in yesterday's post, these were ordered way before I embarked on Project 10 Pan, but just arrived recently. I'm not breaking my no-buy, pinkie promise! I'm showing all my pretties in the photos below (aside from Narcissus gloss, my dumbass realised I forgot it after I took these photos), but here I'll just be talking about the middle 4: Pro Longwear Lip Cremes in Goes and Goes and Warp Speed, and Lipsticks in I Love Winter and Eloquent Air.

Side note: I find it interesting that everybody talked about how cute the white packaging was for the 2011 MAC Holiday collections, but I didn't really see anyone mention how the lipsticks look like tampons. I remember people saying the same thing about Moonbathe, but not Glitter & Ice :P

Goes and Goes was another product I asked Wendy to look for at the CCO. I'd read it was similar to Go For It, which came out with In The Groove, only it applied much better. Unfortunately Goes and Goes also applies weirdly on me, I can't get it to apply evenly in the centre of my lip no matter what I do! I've tried it over liner and lip primer, with a lip brush, straight out of the tube and also patted on lightly using my fingers. If anybody has any tips on how they get it to work, pleeeeeease tell me!

I love weird coloured lipsticks and glosses for layering, so as soon as I saw that a silvery white lipstick was launching with MAC for Daphne Guinness I had to have it. I decided to get this in lieu of the silver Eloquent Air from Glitter & Ice, but when I received Warp Speed I found it was more of a shimmery white with a pink flash. It didn't satisfy my need for a silver lipstick, so naturally I turned to Ebay and got Eloquent Air too. ;]

Left to Right: Goes and Goes and Warp Speed Pro Longwear Lip Cremes, Eloquent Air and I Love Winter Lipsticks
Being classy and leaning up against my phone case ;]

My justification for buying the Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag (and therefore I Love Winter lipstick) is pretty lame. I wanted a lip bag but didn't like how some of them included a nail polish, and I already have 2 MAC Creme d'Nudes (one I use, one as a backup), so I didn't want the nude lip bag. My graduate job offer was up in the air for ages due to people being on leave and bureaucratic process, but then I was officially offered the position and was like 'OMG THIS LIP BAG WILL BE THE PERFECT WORK APPROPRIATE BROWNEY PINK OLD LADY LIP COLOUR' and I bought it XD Told you it was pathetic!

Left to Right: I Love Winter, Eloquent Air, Goes and Goes and Warp Speed.

These swatches show one swipe of I Love Winter, and 2-3 swipes of the other three shades. I Love Winter is a Cremesheen texture, so it's pigmented in one swipe with a shiny finish. I hate saying glossy finish unless it legitimately looks like a lipgloss to me, but it's got some definite shine. Eloquent Air is a Glaze finish, and it basically adds a frost and lightens the lip colour underneath.

I don't really know how to describe Goes and Goes. I've heard it described as a reddened purple, and from some angles I see that. However, in the tube and on my arm I also see some blue undertones too, but I hesitate at calling it a neutral purple. It also has a slightly muted quality to it, it's bright but it's not POW BAM WOW bright. Warp Speed is a frosty white with a very subtle pink flash - so subtle that I had to Google and see if anybody else was seeing it, or I was just on crack. I feel like this should've been promoted alongside She-Zam Dazzleglass in the holiday collection, or vice versa, since I can see a pink flash in that too. :)

Tomorrow I've got some lipgloss swatches, as well as a lipstain and lip pencil!

Mini Swatchfest: Recently Acquired Blushes

2012-01-24T08:00:00.007+10:00

As I mentioned in my Project 10 Pan post, I had a bit of makeup coming in the mail that I'd ordered before embarking on my destashing journey. Turns out I actually had a lot of makeup coming in the mail, and here it all is! Before anyone's brain explodes, I didn't purchase this all at once. Some of it was ordered at the end of 2011, and then the post promptly decided to sit on their arses for a month and a bit before giving me my pretties XD There are way too many photos for me to compile everything into one post, so I've broken it down into a series of mini swatchfests. In this post I'll be talking about and showing the cheek products I recently purchased. ~~Because I need more blushes like I need a hole in the head.~~

Clockwise from top left: MAC Cream Colour Base in Tickle Me Pink, Blush in Darkly My Dear (from Venomous Villains), and Blush Ombres in Vintage Grape and Azalea Blossom.

I've briefly shown and mentioned my DIY MAC Cream Colour Base trio on here before, featuring Madly Magenta, Tickle Me Pink and Virgin Isle. I realised that when I eventually use this trio up, I already have similar (but more subdued) magenta and coral colours that I can substitute in: Illamasqua Cream Pigments in Depravity and Androgen. Unfortunately I didn't have a dupe for the pink in my trio and Illamasqua don't make a pink cream pigment, so when Wendy was visiting a MAC CCO I asked if she could keep an eye out for Tickle Me Pink CCB. She did, they had it, and now I have a full-size backup ^__^

I also asked Wendy to keep an eye out for some products from the Venomous Villains collection, and she picked up this Darkly My Dear blush from the Cruella part of the collection. It's a reddened brown that I'll have to work at to avoid looking like I have rosacea, but it's an interesting addition to my collection. I'm also imagining this would be lovely as a crease colour in a neutral look, or even on the lid as part of a reddish brown smokey eye.

Yep, Tickle Me Pink is sweating XD

I missed out on the Blush Ombres when they initially launched with Spring Colour Forecast, but was lucky enough to receive Springshine as a gift from the lovely Kim Porter. As soon as I saw Vintage Grape and Azalea Blossom were being repromoted with MAC for Daphne Guinness, I had to get them. Or rather, get Heather to get me them. ;]

Azalea Blossom is a mix of light cool-toned pink and blue-toned lilac, and when mixed together they're like a more matte version of MAC Mineralize Blush in Hang Loose. There's some definite shimmer in the pan so this isn't matte per se, but it has much lower shimmer and sheen than Hang Loose. Vintage Grape is apparently described as a 'mid-tone violet pink' but I'm not sure I see that. In the pan it certainly looks violet, but when swatched this heavily on me it looks more like a dirty reddened berry shade. I suppose it does look more violet-y on the cheeks though.

Left to Right: Vintage Grape Blush Ombre, Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre, Darkly My Dear Blush

These are swatched very heavily. I found it immensely difficult to swatch the Blush Ombres, they almost seemed to have a hard layer that was cockblocking me, stopping me from getting to the product underneath. I haven't had any issues when I use these on my cheeks, but they did not enjoy being poked and prodded at by fingers. When I was done they even had this weird splotchy film all over them, like I'd attacked them with fingers covered in olive oil. I took a cotton pad to them and gently dusted off the film, and now they look normal. O__O

I wanted to do separate swatches of the light and dark sections and then all mixed together, but since the Blush Ombres weren't having any of it I've just swatched them all mixed together. Darkly My Dear swatched like a dream, so I just swatched it heavily for the fun of it. It makes me wish I had a darker skintone, because I'm imagining it would be absolutely stunning on one of my Indian friends. You'll notice I didn't swatch Tickle Me Pink, a) because this is a backup that I hadn't opened until now, and b) because I've swatched it on the blog before. You can see swatches here and here. :)

Swatches of the lipsticks coming tomorrow!

Secret Kisses Lipstick Swatches

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000+10:00

I recently placed an order with Secret Kisses Lipstick, after being turned onto them by the lovely Heather - who is back to blogging by the way! She originally discovered Ka'Oir Cosmetics and their bright colours, but I was turned off by their insane international shipping prices. I guess she did a bit more digging and found out that Secret Kisses Lipstick apparently use the same manufacturer, because Ka'Oir CEO Keyshia Dior was originally working on a lipstick line with Secret Kisses (not going to get into the legal drama between the two companies since I don't really understand it myself....) The Secret Kisses website is absolutely rubbish next to Ka'Oir in terms of product photos and lip swatches, but they offer free worldwide shipping so it was no contest.

Ingredients Lists. Top from bottom: Sunshine, Sky and Pure. (Hopefully I didn't mix up the boxes!)

Given how guilty I was feeling about the size of my lipstick stash at the time, I decided to order some crazy colours with the intention of mixing them with my existing collection. They had a 3 for $40 deal going on at the time, so I picked up Pure (white), Sunshine (yellow), and Sky (blue). I had a slight issue with my order status never updating from processing to shipped, so I contacted customer service about it. They got back within the hour, stating that it had shipped on x date but unfortunately since they have to purchase shipping labels (or something, don't quite remember) in person, their system doesn't update automatically with that information. My order arrived in the usual 10 days and came with a paper invoice.

Sky, Sunshine and Pure.

As you can see, there's a clear ring around the lipstick that shows you which shade it is. Kinda wish MAC had this, because my eyes don't always work too well in the morning, trying to read those tiny labels XD

Ha, just realised that all my photos have these lipsticks at different angles. Dizzy much?

I will note that my camera went a little nuts when it saw Sky, amping up the colour. In reality the tube and swatch aren't quite so baby blue as they look here, they almost have a tinge of teal or green to them irl.

This is one swipe of Sky, which has a softer creamier texture than Sunshine and Pure. Sunshine and Pure are shown with two swipes. I haven't worn these on my lips yet, so I obviously can't tell you how they wear and apply. I intend to use these for mixing, but I'll try to do straight lip swatches after Thursday (which I have off for Australia Day) or next weekend. Considering how weird Fresh Amour looked straight out of the tube, I can only imagine how horrible I'll look. ;]

The thing that really drew me to Ka'Oir and Secret Kisses was not only the crazy colours they offer, but their target market. These lipsticks were created with much darker skintones in mind, so you're not going to be buying a lipstick that looks crazy bright in the tube but applies clear on the lips. Although the Secret Kisses website is not terribly helpful or accurate, it was comforting to know that if the colours I purchased showed up wonderfully on someone with an NC40 skintone and darker, they were going to show up on my NC20-25 skin.

Now hopefully these shades work out for me, because I'd love to get some of the more 'normal' shades!

Work Week Lipstick Looks

2012-01-22T13:02:00.001+10:00

How's that for alliteration? If you read my blog last week, you'll know that it was my first week at my graduate job! It was nerve-wracking, confusing and overwhelming, but really really exciting too. I wasn't given too many tips or restrictions when it comes to attire, with my boss simply stipulating 'it would probably be best to dress how you would for a job interview', but I played it really safe my first week. The first day my makeup was incredibly neutral (and disgusting, I pretty much sweated it all off before I got there because of nerves) and I got a little more adventurous as the week went on. I took cues from the other girl who works there (there are only 2 other people on our team), since she seems to be into makeup too.

Monday: I look gross here, I won't lie. My blush was applying really blotchy, and I ended up removing all my face makeup and trying again, only for my blush to keep fighting me. I was also really sweaty and ended up sweating off most of my makeup before I got to work, and my camera didn't capture my eye makeup accurately at all - my crease looks purple here, when in reality it was a reddened brown! The lips were also more of a browny red old-lady colour, but I much prefer how they look here.

I think I went back and used Milani Baked Blush in Terra Sole after I reapplied my face, and on the eyes I used the Eyelid and Crease shades from the right column in the Wet n Wild I <3 Matte Palette. On the lips I wore the MAC Sultry Iced Delights Lip Bag from Holiday 2011, which includes a lip pencil in Boldly Bare, lipstick in I Love Winter, and Cremesheen Glass in Deelight.

Tuesday: I liked my makeup a lot more on Tuesday, but unfortunately I sweated it off yet again. :'( The funny thing is that I was wearing Revlon Colourstay on the first day, which is supposed to be indestructible. On Tuesday I was wearing MAC Matchmaster, and the same thing happened.

On the eyes I'm wearing my go-to Wet n Wild Comfort Zone look, and on the cheeks I'm wearing Benefit Dandelion. On the lips in the first photo I'm wearing Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink in the Afternoon, and then I went and added Kiss My Sass Lip Glaze in Sweet Escape, which I'm trying to use up for Project 10 Pan :)

Duckface!

Wednesday: On Wednesday I finally got my foundation sorted out! I tried Serge Louis Alvarez Vision 7 Photo Foundation with my Essence translucent pressed powder and it actually hung around! It helps that this foundation is thin like water but packs a lot of pigment, so if my foundation goes patchy I can just go over the top with some more without it going cakey. I've also found that the Essence powder can be packed on and it never looks cakey, and sometimes I can get away with just packing on more powder and it evens out my skintone/makes me look less nasty.

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone eyes again (probably going to use this combo till I hit pan and use these shades up, which I'm quite close to doing!) with Benefit Coralista on my cheeks and Darling Girl Kiss You Off Colour Rich Lip Balm in The Pumpkin Prince on ze lips. I believe I used the Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach underneath the balm as a stain, and I may have used MAC Seaside Cream Colour Base to highlight.

Thursday: This colour didn't photograph accurately at all, to the point where I racked my brains for a good half hour trying to remember what colour this was, because I didn't think I owned a pink like that! This is actually MAC Viva Glam Cyndi lipstick, which is usually an everyday red with a hint of coral on me. Though for some reason my camera was like 'I WILL MAKE THIS RED LIPSTICK LOOK PINK LALALALALA' >__> Anyway, I wore Benefit Bella Bamba on my cheeks and a touch of Benefit High Beam to highlight.

Friday: I enjoy slapping on these pigmented balms and not worrying about having a precise lip line, but it doesn't look so nice in photographs :P On the lips I wore Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #3 Peach as a stain, Darling Girl Kiss You Off Colour Rich Lip Balm in The Pumpkin King, and then went in with Napoleon Perdis Protege Gloss to diffuse the shimmer. On the cheeks I wore Benefit Coralista with Benefit Hoola to contour, and Milani Baked Blush in Rose D'Oro to highlight.

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Last week I found it really hard to adjust to the commute and long days, so it was difficult balancing blogging and work. I was able to schedule posts almost every day, but I was too exhausted when I got home to comment on everyone's blogs. I plan to move closer to work in the next few months, and hopefully I'll get used to the routine and won't need to pass out as soon as I get home!

As far as makeup goes, I'm going to slowly push the envelope to see what I can get away with at work. I know I won't be able to do my crazy drag queen-esque colourful and smokey eyes, but I don't plan to live in brown eyeshadow for the rest of my life either. ;]

Purple Nurples

2012-01-19T08:00:00.002+10:00

(Scheduled post)

Here's a quick look I wore last Thursday night when I went out for a couple of drinks with a friend. I was really feeling purple lips at the time, and my favourite cocktail is the Fruit Tingle, which also happens to be purple. I colour coordinated without knowing it! :3 I was originally going for a matte purple lip (which you can see in the second photo), but I can't get MAC Goes and Goes Pro Longwear Lip Creme to apply evenly for the life of me, so I slicked MAC Funtabulous Dazzleglass on top. That didn't really do anything to even out the colour, but I'd like to think the sparkles detracted from the overall patchiness I was experiencing XD

(Sorry no super large photos this time, my skin looks really bad blown up here)

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Bourbon - as a base on the lower lashline
Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette

Crease Shade (Left Column) - lid + swept widely in the crease + lower lashline
Definer Shade (Left Column) - to deepen the crease + lower lashline
Browbone Shade (Left Column) - inner corner highlight

Wet n Wild I <3 Matte Palette

Crease Shade (Right Column) - to tightline

Maybelline Pulse Perfection WP Mascara

Cheeks

NARS Casino Bronzer - contour
MAC Vintage Grape Blush Ombre - blush
MAC Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre - to blend out Vintage Grape
Benefit High Beam - highlight
Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - dusted on top of High Beam for added shine

Lips:

Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink - lipstain
NYX Purple Rain Lipliner
MAC Goes and Goes Prolongwear Lip Creme
MAC Funtabulous Dazzleglass

HOMG FRUIT TINGLES

I've been wearing work safe lip colours to my new job all this week, but I'm thinking I might bring a purple lip colour to touch up before a blogger event on Thursday night ;]

Project 10 Pan

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000+10:00

Okay so it's more like Project 11 Pan or Project 8000 mini lipglosses, but whatever! Recently I've been experiencing another huge bout of beauty blogger guilt, where I look at the size of my collection and feel positively sick over the amount of makeup I own that's going to waste. Consequently, when RaeRae decided she was going to do a Project 10 Pan, I decided I had to join her. Almost all of my list consists of lip products, because they're the products I feel the worst about neglecting. I'm no genius on ingredients lists, preservatives and expiry dates, but I feel like the exposure to bacteria and air would have lipglosses expiring the soonest (aside from mascara). Lipglosses are also the only products I ever tend to use up, and if I were trying to finish blush or eyeshadow I'd either a) fall off the wagon very quickly, or b) be Project 10 Pan-ing until 2015 :|

Anyway, here are the list of products I've sworn to use up before purchasing makeup again!

Product 1: Napoleon Perdis Protege Gloss. I used to be in love with this sheer orange gloss, nearly finished it, then shoved it in a drawer never to be used again :|

Product 2: MAC Cremesheen Glass in Chillin'.

Product 3: Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Candy Floss - I don't really like this colour on me, but I've somehow used most of it already.

Product 4: Random Pink Spell Cosmetics Lipgloss. I peeled the label off this ages ago and don't remember what it was called, but it was a major disappointment. This one and the orange shade next to it both looked red on my lips, and the thin greasy texture meant that they couldn't be layered because they dislodged the lipstick underneath. They feel really moisturising on the lips though, so I've been wearing them in lieu of lip balm when I'm bumming around the house.

Product 5: Random Orange Spell Cosmetics Lipgloss.

Product 6: Random Silver Spell Cosmetics Lipgloss. This one would be fantastic for layering if the texture were better, because the fine silver shimmer is gorrrrrgeous on the lips.

Products 7 & 8: These are a couple of crappy sheer glosses from Glamour Doll Eyes that I never liked, plus what I suspect might actually be a Fyrinnae Lip Lustre. The GDE glosses were basically clear on the lips and needed reapplication every 5 minutes, and I just didn't jive with the texture of the Lip Lustre. These are mini sized lipglosses, so I'm going to count each 2 as 1 finished product.

Products 9 & 10: Same deal here, but these are even smaller than my GDE glosses so I'm going to count the first 3 I finish as one product, and the remaining 4 as another. These are all glosses from Kiss My Sass Cosmetics, which smell delicious (cheesecake? NOM!) but weren't as opaque as I'd have liked.

Product 11: I really need to finish this bottle of MAC Fix+, because I also have a backup going to waste! I like spritzing it on my face before I apply my moisturiser at night, and have also been using it the past couple of days at work to refresh my skin. My foundation has apparently decided that it's going to half slide off my face before I get to work, but then look all cakey and flakey and dry throughout the work day. So gross >:(

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Anybody else out there doing Project 10 Pan or got any tips for staying strong and not breaking the no-buy? I imagine it's going to be very slow, though I'll still enjoy a few new goodies that I ordered online before I started the 'Pan. :)

Milani Baked Blush Swatches

2012-01-17T08:00:00.002+10:00

(Scheduled post while I'm off flailing at my new job!)

Y'know what I like almost as much as I like glitter? Baked things. Whether it's a cupcake or a baked blush, I like baked things in all their glorious forms. It's even better when glitter is baked into said baked things. I'm not a huge fan of baked eyeshadows as I haven't found many that just grab me, but I love me a baked blush or highlighter. Case in point: 2 of my favourite highlighters and 2 of my favourite blushes from 2011 were baked! I don't know what it is about those sparkly domes that draws me in, I just know that I want them on and around my face. I want to go to Italy to see the Colosseum and all, but I'd kill for the chance to visit a factory where they use terracotta tiles to turn cream blushes into these fabulous sparkly domed powders.

I'm sure you've seen the Milani Baked Blushes on a tonne of blogs already. I picked Corallina up a while ago, and then took advantage of a Cherry Culture sale a few months later to purchase Fantastico Mauve, Rose D'Oro and Terra Sole. I suck at life and have only used them a handful of times though, since I was hauling like crazy at the end of 2011. I figured I'd take some swatch photos though, in the hopes that I'd see how pretty they are (although not entirely what I expected.....more on that later) and bust them out.

Clockwise from Top Left: Fantastico Mauve, Rose D'Oro, Terra Sole and Corallina.

Corallina

The Milani website doesn't seem to like me because I can't find any legit product descriptions. To me, Corallina is a bright orange coral littered with fine gold, silver and copper shimmer. I don't know if these get better as you wear them down, because the very first time I swatched this my finger was covered in glitter. Not large particles of shimmer, glitter. I wore it anyway, and found that the glitter didn't look chunky or like you could mine for diamonds in my cavernous pores. Whether my perception of the shimmer has changed or the product lurking beneath is finer, I'm not sure, but I swear my Corallina is now just littered with a metric tonne of fine shimmer.

Fantastico Mauve

I was a bit disappointed when I received this one in the mail, because it just didn't look anything like the swatches seen online. I guess I was expecting something more purple, and was bummed it find it more a melange of red, purple and brown. As far as shimmer goes, I can see gold, copper and even the faintest bit of blue shimmer when I stare super closely at my arm. I'm going to have to work hard to make this suit my skintone, as even MAC Blushbaby makes me look like I have rosacea. I may love me some baked glitter, but glittery rosacea is the last thing I want.

Rose D'Oro

I was a little disappointed when I saw this shade in real life, mostly because my dumb ass didn't click that Rose D'Oro = Rose Gold. It doesn't help that the swatches I went off portrayed it to be a lot pinker, and that it looked positively rose on a certain Youtube beauty guru's cheeks. It is a beautiful shade though, and it really hits the rose gold nail on the head. It's a coppery peach with a craptonne of fine pink and gold shimmer, and I'm imagining it would be gorgeous dusted lightly on the cheeks with MAC Vegas Volt on the lips.

Terra Sole

Terra Sole is yet another shade I picked up on the quest to find the perfect pink-brown-nude blush that doesn't make me look like I have rosacea. It certainly looks like a pinky brown in the pan, but swatches more on the peachy tan/brown side. I suppose the name Terra Sole should've indicated that this would resemble terracotta, but judging by my Rose D'Oro mistake my brain cells obviously weren't working at full capacity when I placed this order. >__> While it may not satisfy my pinky brown nude blush needs, at least this one doesn't make me look like I have rosacea!

Now these aren't the best swatches in the world, I'll concede that. Still getting used to my new camera, blah blah blah. I couldn't capture half the sparkle and beauty of these blushes, so I may very well redo the swatches sometime in the future. For now, here are some heavy sparkly blush swatches on bare skin:

In sunlight. Took this swatch on a different day to the other two, so it looks a little different

With flash & slightly blurry

In the shade/overcast natural light

Bleurgh, I hope you get the general idea here. Not my best set of swatches, but I hope they stop somebody else from buying Rose D'Oro under the impression that it's pink, or Fantastico Mauve under the impression that it's......some other colour.

OMGWTF Jangsara!

2012-01-16T21:16:00.000+10:00

Thank you to everybody who tweeted or linked this to me on Facebook!

I started my graduate job today, and had an absolute shocker of a morning getting to my workplace. I was a sweaty nervous smelly pig on the train up, then my connecting bus never came and I feared that I'd make the worst impression by being late on my first day. Fortunately I did get there on time (looking a little worse for wear), and was delighted to check my phone and see a bunch of Facebook notifications and tweets linking me to a post of Jangsara recreating my Ombré Ombré Ombré makeup look!

Click to check out Jangsara's look!

Jangsara.....recreating my makeup? Is this opposite day? I've followed her blog for ages; she's ridiculously talented and quite possibly the most creative lass in the blogosphere! I can't even express how happy and flattered I am that she'd recreate one of my looks. <3 *flails*

Now go write 8000 comments on all her blog posts about how awesome she is! :D

Flash Review: Sleek Curious Palette

2012-01-15T11:00:00.008+10:00

(From Monday this week I'm starting my graduate job, so I'll be working full-time and may not initially have much time for blogging. I've scheduled a few swatch posts, looks and quick reviews in the meantime so my blog doesn't become a wasteland!)

I'm not sure whether the Sleek Curious palette is still available, but I figured these swatches may prove useful to someone. I'm sure this palette is still floating around on Ebay (albeit at an inflated price), so you may still be able to get your hands on it. If nothing else, you'll spend a few seconds staring at photos of pretties, and the world will keep spinning. ^__~ Liloo gifted me this palette to participate in her Sleek Saturday series last year and I never got around to swatching it, so here we are!

The first time I opened the Curious palette I thought it was an odd assortment of colours, with the left side of the palette screaming 'beachy summer', and the right side of the palette screaming 'smokey eye'. All these shades have a high shimmer finish, with the exception of the yellow and black. The black has a satin low shimmer finish, but it isn't quite matte. The yellow takes a leaf out of Inglot's book, being a matte littered with small shimmer particles.

With flash

Left side

Right side

On the top row from left to right, we have a bright shimmery blue, bright matte yellow with sparkle, blackened olive, pinky purple, blackened cranberry and a silver. In my swatches you'll have to keep in mind that all silvers turn blue or green on me, and this one has most definitely turned blue on me. It may not be the case for you, as my skin tone just hates anything remotely grey.

All swatches are done on bare skin with me mushing my finger into the shadow and hoping for the best:

Without flash and looking a little cool-toned

With flash

On the bottom row from left to right we have an aqua/turquoise, cornflower blue, light green-based teal, peachy pinky beige (not unlike the left column Eyelid shade in the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette!), a shimmery creamy white and a satin black.

Without flash

With flash

With the exception of the near-matte yellow and black, these shadows are just stupidly pigmented, creamy and soft to the touch. From my very limited knowledge of chemistry and ingredients lists, I think these contain mineral oil which would account for the slip. I know that many people choose to avoid products containing mineral oil, so this palette may very well not be for you.

Matte yellows are a very difficult colour for companies to 'get right' and I found I had to work a bit with this one, packing it on the lid and going over it to get even coverage. It can look a little dusty and powdery on me when used over a matte base, so I prefer to use it over a slightly shimmery base like NYX Jumbo Pencil in Cottage Cheese. I find the shimmer in the base gives the yellow a satin texture and smooths it out.

The satin black wasn't impossible to blend, it just took a little longer than the high shimmer shades owing to its texture. I have to be careful with using smokey shades in the crease, because I tend to go crazy and blend them out too much, which leaves my browbone looking muddy and shadow collecting in my stray brow hair follicles (TMI, I know!) This is no exception. It's no worse, but no better either.

I'm gonna try to use this palette a bit for some neutral looks at my new job, but for now here are some looks from last year using ze palette:
Sleek Saturday
Deadfall
Ilmatar
Remember Me?
Unintentional xsparkage Recreation

Ombré Ombré Ombré

2012-01-13T22:02:00.001+10:00

On Tuesday I went out to dinner for my friend's birthday, and I wanted to be all fancy and shit. I could've done a bright eye since the air conditioning in the restaurant would've stopped any eyeshadow melting moments, but I've been absolutely in love with purple lips this week. <3 I also had a pair of falsies lying round from my December BellaBox that I couldn't be arsed to use on either Christmas or New Years Eve, so I figured they'd be great to amp up a ~~boring~~ neutral eye. Illamasqua Depravity is looking much lighter and pinker in these photos than it did in real life, though the combination of lipstain, lipliner and lipgloss did have it looking more pink-toned than it usually does.

I really loved how the makeup turned out, so prepare yourself for 8000 gigantic photos of me camera whoring! (Hey, you guys said you liked the larger photos >:P)

Gahh my left eye (your right) always looks freakishly smaller in photos, and I guess it also makes me look all
droopy-eyed and shit when I photograph myself wearing lashes >:(

Not the most flattering full face shot, but it shows off the eye look nicely!

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Urban Decay 24/7 Liner in Bourbon - as a base on the lower lashline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Wet n Wild I Love Matte Palette

Browbone (Right Column) - all over the lid up to the brow
Crease (Right Column) - crease + lower lashline
Definer (Right Column) - upper lashline + mixed on the lower lashline
Browbone (Left Column) - to set lower waterline

Maybelline Pulse Perfection WP Mascara
Eylure Naturalites Lashes in 140

Cheeks:

NARS Casino Bronzer - to contour
MAC Vintage Grape Blush Ombre - blush
MAC Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre - teensy bit to help blend out Vintage Grape
Benefit High Beam - highlight
Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - dusted over High Beam for even more shimmer

Lips:

Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink - lipstain
NYX Purple Rain Lipliner
Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Depravity - lipstick
MAC Cremesheen Glass in Narcissus

Can't have a post with doll-like lashes without a silly doll face!

When I applied the Narcissus gloss it kind of removed a little bit of Depravity in the centre of my lips, which left me with a little of the pink lipstain underneath. It was like an unintentional ombre effect, and I quite liked it! The title of this post was inspired by the unintentional ombre effect on my lips, as well as my use of the 2 Blush Ombres from MAC. ^__~

2011 Favourites: Brands

2012-01-12T16:58:00.002+10:00

I'm starting to get all favourited-out, so this will be my last post of favourites from 2011. It's going to be short and sweet since I've gushed about and swatched products from these companies numerous times.

2011 was definitely the year I dabbled more in traditional and high-end cosmetics, but there was one indie I couldn't stop buying from: Darling Girl Cosmetics. The biggest reason why I love Darling Girl Cosmetics is their array of lip products. I decided toward the end of 2011 that I was over eyeshadow, both because it refused to work with me and I simply had too much of it. My attention shifted toward lip products, and god knows Darling Girl has enough of them!

I love absolutely everything I've received from Darling Girl, the products all feel great on the lips and offer sheer to medium pigmentation depending on the shade. The holo-glosses and lip jellies are great for layering, and the balms can be built up to an extent for a semi-sheer wash of colour. All the lip products are affordable at under $5 each, and I've received nothing but great service from Susan. Perhaps my only complaint is the turnaround time, but Susan is streamlining things to bring that down in the New Year. I've also found that my packages take around 3 weeks to get here once shipped, opposed to the usual 10 days, but I don't know what the deal is there.

From Left to Right: Sweet Cheeks Cream Blush in Just Bitten, Holo-Glosses in Going Batty and Vampire's Kiss, Discontinued lip balm in Twiggy, Kiss You Off Colour Rich Lip Balm in The Pumpkin King, Holo-Glosses in Raining Blood, Blue Suede Shoes, Bewitched and Poison Apple, Kiss You Off Colour Rich Lip Balm in Stay Beautiful (Robyn's colour!) and Lip Jelly in Ghouls Gone Wild.

I'm not going to post swatches of these because a) I took some swatch photos and they turned out ugly, and b) because I've swatched all of these products in other posts. I posted swatches of Twiggy, Raining Blood, Blue Suede Shoes and Stay Beautiful here, and all the other products are featured in my Halloween swatchfest here. I have to note that the version of The Pumpkin King featured here is my replacement tube, which applies a lot more sheer than the melted product I received in my initial Halloween haul. I also received a huge Halloween/Christmas Darling Girl haul a few days ago, so I'm going to work on swatches for that and get that up soon!

Clockwise from Bottom Left: Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Rose, Peach and Blush, Glow And Behold Illuminating Bronzer, Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours in Dress Up, Candy Floss, Forever Young, Tutti Frutti, Bohemian and Nudie Run, Pout About It! Matte Lipstick in All About You, and Brushed Up! Retractable Kabuki Brush.

Now onto my favourite traditional cosmetics company this year, which had to be Sportsgirl! (Side note: it's kinda funny that both my favourite cosmetic brands have 'girl' in the name...) I was initially turned onto Sportsgirl by Suzanne, but I had no idea how hard I would fall for the brand. Everything I've tried has been of fantastic quality, and more than affordable for Aussies. I haven't tried a single product I didn't like, and their constantly changing rotation of products means that I always find something new and fantastic each time I venture in there. I won't repeat myself because I've gushed at length about the lipglosses, and the cheek products also made their way into my blush and highlighter favourites for 2011.

I've only tried one of the lipsticks and like it, and I've also given some of the Sportsgirl lip products as gifts to friends. I've tried a shimmering body lotion as a facial highlighter, as well as a gradual self-tanner (it worked, but I'm terribly lazy with those things!) and a sunscreen which I've damn near used up. I also recently purchased the above retractable kabuki brush for powder touch-ups on the go, which is neither too dense nor too fluffy. I'm on a no-buy/Project 10 Pan right now, but when I get off that I'd like to try more of the range, including more lipsticks and some of the eye products. :)

And now for an honourable mention: Essence! Essence recently rolled out to every Target in Australia, and toward the end of 2011 I was hauling like mad. I always whinge about the downright fucking stupid prices that cosmetics companies charge in Australia, but Essence has managed to buck the trend and keep their price point incredibly low and in line with the European prices. I've loved everything I've tried, and the Sun Club bronzer even made it into my 2011 favourites!

Essence is going to be a brand that kills me during my Project 10 Pan (which I am yet to blog about...post coming soon!), because they're constantly churning out awesome limited edition collections. I've been trawling foreign blogs and have already fallen in love with a few of the pieces, so that's incentive for me to quickly finish my 10 products. Australia still has a bit of the Vampire's Love products floating around though, so I can only hope that we take ages to get the new collections. If I'm still on my no-buy and can't buy them, well.... ;___;

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What were your favourite brands from 2011? I considered also mentioning MAC due to my sickening love for their lipsticks, but I figured they were already over-represented in my lipstick favourites. ;]

Blogger Weirdness & Country Specific URL

2012-01-11T16:45:00.000+10:00

I noticed a weird discrepancy with Blogger yesterday and felt I should mention it since I noticed it's already causing confusion.

So I use Gmail, and when I get comments on my blog posts the notification emails are sent to my Gmail account. Gmail lumps it all together into one thread per blog post. Yesterday I noticed I had 2 email threads going for the same post, which I didn't understand. I clicked through both emails to reply to the comments, and noticed that the second one was redirecting to silhouettescreams.blogspot.com.au for Australian readers. Aussie readers were commenting at that version of my blog, and all other readers were commenting at my usual url.

Blogger claims here that they're trying to be all country specific and shit with blogs for legal reasons, and that blog owners and readers shouldn't notice any difference in their blogs. Unfortunately that's not the case right now. It looks to me like I have 2 different blogs: the regular one with comments, and a mirror AU one with no comments beyond the ones I received from Aussie readers yesterday. The comments aren't merging on Disqus and appear to readers like they're disappearing.

Anyway, right now it doesn't look like there's much I can do about it. I've emailed both Blogger and Disqus, and all I can do is wait for a reply. I'm hoping it's just a kink that Blogger will work out as they begin to roll out this feature to other countries, because if it's permanent I'm going to be really confused and annoyed.

So yeah, if you think your comment has been eaten or my blog is weird, blame Blogger. >:(

2011 Favourites: Eyeshadows

2012-01-11T15:59:00.003+10:00

Given my love of bright eyeshadows, you'd probably expect a longer and more exciting eyeshadow favourites post from me. Unfortunately my attitude towards eyeshadow really took a hit toward the end of 2011, so I only have a few favourites to show. Beginning in October, I started suffering severe creasing for the first time in my makeup wearing life. I'd expect some creasing during the Australian Summer due to the humidity and my epic sweatiness, but this was something else. It wasn't even Summer yet, and entire patches of eyeshadow were disappearing - almost as if someone had taken a piece of tape to my eye and lifted the colour!

It didn't matter which primer I used, so it wasn't just a case of my UDPP failing. It was really disheartening to look in the mirror 5 minutes after leaving the house to find giant holes in my eyeshadow! I'd have to remove most of my eye makeup until I was left with a colourful eyeliner, and then I'd be in a shitty mood for the rest of the day. I couldn't deal with it anymore, so when coupled with my early work starts from October to December, I decided to shift my focus to neutral eyeshadows and bright lips. I figured that if I got any bare patches in my eye look, it'd be less noticeable among a sea of brown and gold than amongst bright matte purples and greens. And if I wore a bright lip, that'd also grab the viewer's attention and detract from any eyeshadow disasters.

Now that I've shared my sad tale, I'll share some of my favourite eyeshadows during this neutral phase, as well as some of my favourite colours from when I could wear proper eyeshadow:

Clockworse from Top: Tarte for True Blood Palette, Wet n Wild I Love Matte & Comfort Zone Palettes

(Picture from when I first got the palette and it was all pristine and pretty :)

(Moar recent photo :)

I'm an absolute sucker for True Blood, but it took me a while to shell out for the Tarte for True Blood Palette. Once I did, I never looked back! This was a staple before and after my eyeshadow went to shit, with its combination of smokey and neutral shades. I went through a smokey eye phase in September, and absolutely adored shades like Moss, V, Glamour Me and Nocturnal. I also used literally half the palette to create my Upside Down Smokey Eye for The Makeup Heroes. The palette also came in handy to pull together a quick neutral eye during those early morning starts, and I particularly enjoyed using Dawn or Waitress on the lid, a mix of Dusk and Werewolf for a matte crease, and Legend to tightline.

Swatch time! Everything is swatched heavily on bare skin using my finger. My approach is just sorta mush my finger in the shadow and then hope for the best XD

L - R: The Light, Fairy, Dusk, Dawn, Werewolf, Waitress and Nocturnal

L - R: Charmer, Glamour Me, Stake, Bayou and Telepath

L - R: The True Death, Immortal, Moss, Legend and "V"

Now onto a couple of products I've been wearing almost non-stop for the past month: the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone and I Love Matte Palettes!

Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette

Wet n Wild I Love Matte/I <3 Matte Palette

There are no words to describe how much I love these palettes together. I received them as a gift from the lovely Wendy, and given the opportunity I'd probably buy 5 backups. I've been using them in sync almost non-stop for the past month, as they seem to go with every bold lip I try on. I used them every day during my Red Lips week, and they also featured in my Christmas Look from 2011!

On the lid I wear the peachy beige Eyelid shade from the left side of the Comfort Zone Palette, with the bronzey Crease shade in my crease. Sometimes I'll use the light golden Browbone shade from that column to highlight my inner corner, and other times I just use the Eyelid shade to do so. Verrrrry occasionally I'll use the Definer shade from that column to add a little depth, or to cool down the look if I'm wearing a super cool-toned lipstick.

Then I use the Browbone Shade from the right side of the I Love Matte palette to highlight my brow and clean up the edges of my crease colour. Depending on how I feel, I'll alternate between using the Crease and Definer shades from that column to tightline and line the very base of my upper lashes. I tend to use the reddened brown Crease shade when I'm wearing a yellow-toned lipstick or going for a bronzey look in general, and black when I wear cool-toned colours, particularly pinks.

L - R: Browbone, Eyelid and Crease (Comfort Zone), Browbone, Crease and Definer (I Love Matte)
I had crazy sunlight when taking these swatch photos, my camera kind of went nuts O__O

Same order as above, bit blurry and in the shade so you can see them without burning your retinas XD

And now for a couple of honourable mentions from when I could actually wear eyeshadow: Sugarpill Magentric and Hysteric. I picked these up at Supanova, a geeky convention I attended in April 2011. I was randomly perusing the different vendor stalls when I saw some Sugarpill on display at Beserk Clothing. My stomach just about fell out of my butt - Sugarpill? In person? And not ridiculously overpriced? Deep in the recesses of my brain I knew that Beserk was the Aussie online retailer for Sugarpill, but I had no idea they'd be showcasing at Supanova!

I immediately began swatching all of the Chromalusts and hastily texted/squeed to all of my makeup-loving friends who were planning on attending the convention. I can't tell you how fucking amazing it was to swatch everything and not buy blindly, as I found some shades that were hits and some that were absolute misses. A few of the shades I wanted weren't in stock or mysteriously hadn't been transported to the con with the Beserk crew, so I came away with Magentric and Hysteric.

Magentric is an awesome fuchsia with aqua sparkles, and Hysteric is purple with green sparkles. They're sparkly like a loose shadow and a glitter had a baby <3

Oh hai rubbish last minute swatches that don't show off the awesome multicoloured sparkles at all =/

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*sigh* I'm going to be consumed with jealousy over your answers since I can't wear much in the way of eyeshadow right now, but what are your favourite eyeshadows? I can't imagine how different this list would be if I hadn't suffered that horrible eyeshadow disaster >__>

2011 Favourites: Lip Products

2012-01-09T22:38:00.001+10:00

If I'd done this post a year ago, you'd be in for a lengthy read full of coral lipsticks and glosses. I wanted to own every coral lip colour in the universe, and I wore coral come rain or shine. I loved me a coral lip in Summer, I loved me a coral lip in Winter. By contrast, 2011 was definitely the year of the pink lip. I still loved a coral lip from time to time (as evidenced by the glosses featured below), but when it came to lipstick I was all about a pink pout. I don't know what it was, but I found myself wanting to own every pink lip product in the universe instead. I loved everything from the palest pink lip to the brightest retina-burning fuchsia. So when it came to picking out my favourite lipsticks, naturally I wasn't surprised to find myself with a handful of pinks.

LIPGLOSSES:

Top to Bottom: MAC Cremesheen Glass in Chillin', Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours in Bohemian, Forever
Young, Dress Up, Tutti Frutti, Candy Floss and Nudie Run.

MAC Cremesheen Glass in Chillin' was limited edition with MAC In The Groove in 2010, and it's a sheer milky blue with barely visible pink microshimmer. I love layering this one over purple lipsticks, or even over fuchsias and pinks with blue sheens. The Cremesheen Glass formula has barely any stickiness to it, so I also like using it to tone down the stickiness of other MAC lipgloss formulas. I can layer this either underneath or on top of said lipgloss, and it'll create a less sticky lip that I can actually bear to wear.

The Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours (glosses) are all basically the same in formula, so I'll just give a general overview. They're non-sticky, semi-sheer to semi-opaque depending on the shade, and somehow manage to be cream textures with a high gloss finish. They don't really have any taste, and smell faintly of something sweet and foody (caramel? vanilla?) For those who haven't heard me rave about Sportsgirl non-stop, Sportsgirl is in Australian women's clothing chain with pleasantly affordable high quality cosmetics.

Bohemian is the lovechild of Nudie Run and Tutti Frutti, and it's a wearable nude-ish orange coral. I love wearing this one with a bold blue/green/teal/yellow eye and a peachy cheek.

Forever Young is fucking amazing. Seriously, that should be the colour description on the Sportsgirl website. It's a bright ass hot pink that borders on neon, and is an absolute stunner over light, bright and dark pink lipsticks. I love this one so much that I bought 2 backups!

L - R: MAC Chillin', Sportsgirl Bohemian, Forever Young, Dress Up, Tutti Frutti, Candy Floss and Nudie Run.

Dress Up is very tame in comparison, and I can't tell if it's a pinky purple or a purpley pink.

Tutti Frutti is a bright reddened coral. It's absolutely stunning over MAC Viva Glam Cyndi and Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Coral Queen.

Candy Floss is a light white milky pink with a hint of peach. I don't really suit milky pale colours, but this is nice applied sheerly over a nude lipstick for a hint of shine.

Nudie Run is my holy grail nude lipgloss, and I also own 2 backups of this one! There aren't enough words for how much I love this lipgloss, it's my perfect peachy brown nude that goes with everything. It nudes out my natural lip colour without giving me jizz lips, and works well either on its own or over a coordinating lipliner and lipstick. It's just the perfect lipgloss: it makes sure the focus is on the eyes, but doesn't make the rest of my face look dead either.

L - R: MAC Chillin', Sportsgirl Bohemian, Forever Young, Dress Up, Tutti Frutti, Candy Floss and Nudie Run.

LIPSTICKS:

MAC Impassioned is described on the website as an 'amped up fuchsia', but it's actually a bright yellow-toned watermelon pink. It's incredibly pigmented owing to its Amplified finish, and dries to a cream finish on me.

I don't know what the official description for MAC Show Orchid is, but to me it's a hot fuchsia pink with a subtle blurple flash!

MAC Violetta is a bit of a chameleon. When I first swatched it in store during the Venomous Villains run, I never bought it because it swatched pure pink on me. Then a few months later I found myself looking at swatches online, and decided to bite the bullet and order it anyway. Turns out my non-Venomous Villains tube is the purple I'd always hoped it would be! To me, my tube is basically a magenta purple with a sheen.

If MAC Impassioned is an amped-up fuchsia, MAC Fusion Pink is an even more amped-up version of Impassioned. It leans a bit more on the reddened coral side, with a subtle pink (and possibly purple?) flash.

MAC Syrup looks really freakin' boring in comparison to the other shades, but it's a hidden gem. It's described on the website as a 'cloudy pink', which is an absolutely shite description. At first glance it looks like a boring dusty purply pink, and in one layer it's just that. But if you build it up on the lips it turns into the most beautiful bright-but-wearable purply pink, that brightens the face but isn't OMGWOWYOU'REWEARINGLIPSTICK bright.

L - R: MAC Impassioned, Show Orchid, Violetta, Fusion Pink and Syrup.

MAC Fresh Amour Mattene is a light, white blue-toned lavender that can be incredibly hard to wear. On its own it's like Nicki Minaj jizz lips, but if it's rubbed in a bit or worn with a pink lipstain/liner/gloss it's infinitely more wearable. It's also incredibly creamy and feels lovely on the lips, even though it has a matte finish.

Revlon Luxurious Living Lipstick in Orchid Beach is the brightest lipstick I have ever found at the drugstore, and I just about did a nervous pee when I first saw it. It's an almost-neon Barbie Pink with old lady Estee Lauder-esque packaging and an old school crayon lipstick scent, which I find strangely comforting. It has a very thin texture but is incredibly pigmented, and I won't even lie - sometimes I take this out just to stare at it.

Geek Chic Cosmetics Joystick in Lipstick of the Shifting Sands was a surprising hit with me. I knew from the photo and description that it'd be pretty, but when I tried it on it was one of those shades that just worked. The website describes it as a 'bright pink just loaded with silver shimmer' which doesn't even begin to describe how beautiful it is. It's bright and eye-catching without being too obnoxious, it has a sheen without being incredibly frosty, and it applies like an absolute dream.

Y'all know I love my NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned. I bought it because of True Blood, even though the NARS Facebook page states that Pam was apparently wearing Cruella (either she was holding Cruella and was actually wearing something else, or it's bullshit entirely). It's a gorgeous vampy berry shade that glides on the lips and sets to a matte finish. It's lovely worn lightly as a stain, on its own for a deep berry lip, or with a darker liner for an even vampier look.

Finally we have the Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate Lipstick in 04, the vampiest lipstick I own. This is a lovely deep blackened red-toned purple, and I enjoy playing up its undertones with different lipliners. Wear a purple lipliner or lipstain, it appears more purple. Wear a reddish or berry lipstain/lipliner, it appears more berry-toned. It can also look near black if you apply several layers, and the texture is thin but creamy. This is the deepest lipstick I've seen in the drugstore in these parts, and I have to applaud Rimmel for taking a risk with this shade!

L - R: MAC Fresh Amour Mattene, Revlon Orchid Beach, Geek Chic Shifting Sands, NARS Damned, Rimmel 04

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What are your favourite lipsticks, in terms of individual products and shades in general? Do you tend to gravitate more toward one type of colour than any other? I'm interested to see how my taste in lipstick changes over the next year, I have to wonder if 2012's favourites will see a post full of red, nude, or even brown lipsticks! A lot can happen in a year, maybe the beauty world will experience a 90's beauty revival and we'll all be walking around sporting poop-tones on our gobs ;]

2011 Favourites: Blushes

2012-01-08T19:22:00.003+10:00

WARNING: This post is very long, I couldn't restrain myself!

All throughout my teenage years I never wore blush, because I could never find a colour that suited me or a way to apply it that didn't make me look like an 80's hooker. In my first couple of years of university, I stumbled across Michelle Phan and the online beauty community whilst looking for a winged liner tutorial, and the rest is history. I purchased a 28 Blush Palette from Ebay, and found that the blushes and brushes I'd used in the past must have been rubbish, because I could suddenly apply blush without looking like I'd developed a rash on both cheeks.

I slowly accumulated blushes over the next couple of years, but it wasn't until 2011 that my love affair with blush really began. I reached a point where I became sick of eyeshadow, where I realised I had enough eyeshadow to sink a boat and that it was all starting to look the same to me. Then I started having issues with my eye makeup creasing, so even wearing eyeshadow went out the window. I swore off purchasing eyeshadow for the rest of the year, so naturally my attention (and wallet) turned to other areas. Here are some of the blushes that really got a workout in 2011.

(Apologies for no collective blush photo, they all turned out ugly D:)

It's no secret that I love Sportsgirl makeup, and it was no secret that in 2011 I loved the Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach and Rose. They're semi-sheer but easily buildable, glowy without being overtly shimmery, easy to blend, and highlight as well as adding colour to the face. The sections aren't big enough to use individually unless you're using an eyeshadow brush, but you can swirl two of the three shades together to customise your colour. They're also lovely dusted over a coordinating cream blush to amp up the vibrancy. The Peach I have here features the old (ugly) design, from what I've seen in stores it appears to have been redesigned in the same pattern as Rose.

I originally picked up MAC Dollymix on my trip to Malaysia in July 2010, and left it sitting in a drawer because I felt it was too bright for me. Then I won MAC Her Blooming Cheek from The Shades of U and finally grew a pair, because Dollymix looks positively baby pink next to that retina-burning fuchsia. Although it looks blue-toned in my product shot, on my skin Dollymix is a beautiful and buildable warm candy pink with silver shimmer.

Everyone talked about the Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy this year, but I really liked Exposed. I mentioned in my Bronzer Favourites that I've been on the hunt for a nice pinky-brown nude blush, and that's because my skintone pulls the red out of MAC Blushbaby and makes me look like I have rosacea. I've also tried NARS Douceur, and my skintone still pulls the red tones out of that, albeit to a lesser extent. Exposed was the closest I found to that HG pink-brown-nude, and I loved how the matte texture somehow added a glow to the skin too.

I've never seen anyone talk about the Physicians Formula Wet/Dry Baked Blush in Baked Berry, but this is honestly one of the most beautiful blushes I own. It's like the cool-toned berry-tinged sister of MAC Dollymix, and if I could only wear 2 blushes for the rest of my life this would be one of them. My friend and I were lemming this blush for the longest time, and I remember the day when Physicians Formula had a Buy One Get One Free offer at Priceline and we just about died of happiness. It's another blush that adds glow and colour without obvious shimmer. <3

She's looking a little worse for wear after a few months of use, but the Holika Holika Hello Holika Blush & Highlight in #1 Breeze Kitten is the coolest blush ever. IT'S A CAT! ^___^ You can focus your brush on the cat for a peachy coral cheek, or focus more on the outer sections for a lighter pastel shade. In my swatch I just mushed my finger into each section equally and hoped for the best. The only thing I don't like about this blush is that it's got a heavy baby powder perfumey scent, which might offend some noses. But when it comes down to it, OMGWTFIT'SACATBLUSH!

I'll spare you from having to stare at a bigger photo, because I know I'm already grossed out by looking at my DIY Cream Colour Base Trio through the plastic window. In 2011 I started layering my powder blushes over cream blushes for added oomph, and the MAC Cream Colour Bases in Virgin Isle, Madly Magenta and Tickle Me Pink were some of my favourites. I also liked the drier matte finish Illamasqua Cream Pigments in Depravity and Emerge, and particularly enjoyed layering Emerge under NARS Orgasm. When applied heavily Depravity is a bright magenta purple, but on cheeks it blends out to a hot berry pink. Unfortunately these haven't been touched since the weather heated up here and creams started sliding off my face, but I can't wait to get back into the habit once we hit Autumn.

I originally wanted to pick up Benefit's Powda Wowza during the Sephora Friends & Family sale, but unfortunately it sold out before the lovely Wendy could CP it for me. I didn't give up though, stalking it down on Ebay and not resting until I had it in my glitter-covered hands. I'd been wanting to try Bella Bamba and Coralista for ages, and having Hoola thrown in there too seemed like such an awesome deal. These blushes are sheer but buildable, soft and glowy. I love Bella Bamba as an everyday pink, and I find that Coralista can even be worn for a subtle peachy coral cheek with a smokey eye and nude lip.

I'm not sure if the individual boxed powders differ, but the texture of these is very odd. They're incredibly soft and creamy, and rather than kicking up powder when I smush a finger or brush in the pan, they almost seem to ball up. It hasn't hindered application at all - these blend so easily - but I found it very curious...

Everyone always touts NARS Orgasm as a universally flattering peachy pink that works on everyone and works with everything, but I personally think NARS Deep Throat fits the bill better. Sometimes NARS Orgasm reads as a pure pink with gold shimmer on me, and I think Deep Throat is more of a peachy pink. I can wear Deep Throat with a colourful or smokey eye and nude lip, and it works just as well with a neutral eye and a bold lip, or a natural eye and natural lip.

Now everything's a bit out of order here compared to the product shots, but enjoy the swatches! :D Everything is swatched heavily on bare skin using my gigantic fingers.

L - R: Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach and Rose, Holika Holika Hello Holika Cat Blush in 01, NARS Deep Throat,
MAC Dollymix, Physicians Formula Baked Berry, and Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed

L - R: Sportsgirl Peach & Rose, Holika Holika, and NARS Deep Throat

L - R: MAC Dollymix, Physicians Formula Baked Berry, Tarte Exposed

L - R: Benefit Coralista and Bella Bamba, MAC Cream Colour Bases in Tickle Me Pink, Madly Magenta & Virgin Isle,
Illamasqua Cream Pigments in Depravity and Emerge. (With flash)

My camera went a little bit crazy and amped up Madly Magenta and Depravity. They're not terribly colour inaccurate, just a bit brighter and more neon than they are in real life.

Erm yes, that's hair >__> couldn't pick it out without messing up the swatch

And I know this post is already picture heavy and a million miles long, but here are some honourable mentions (aka I forgot to include these in the main photo and swatch session but bloody hell I loved these shades) :

Kit Cosmetics Duo Cheek & Lip Creme in Pretty Cheek & MAC Mineralize Blush in Hang Loose

I picked up the Kit Cosmetics Duo Cheek & Lip Creme in Pretty Cheeky on a trip to Melbourne this year, and it was the only thing I was able to purchase during a rushed trip into Mecca Maxima in Melbourne Central. While these colours look insanely bright in the pan, they have more of a juicy jelly finish than my MAC Cream Colour Bases. Where my Cream Colour Bases look like ice cream, these look like sorbet. They apply more sheerly on the cheek and though they do work nicely under powder, I prefer to use them alone.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Hang Loose was limited edition with the In The Groove collection from 2010, and I don't think this blush got half the attention it deserved. The pan is split into a satin baby pink and a lilac shimmer, which work nicely on their own or mixed together. Sometimes I wear the pink on my cheek with the lilac to highlight, and sometimes I wear them swirled together for a blush and highlight in one. If this is ever re-released, I'm going to snap it up in a heartbeat <3

Hang Loose: pink side, lilac side, mixed together. Pretty Cheeky: pink side, orange side.

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Hoooooly crap that was a lot of blush! The smart thing to do would've been to split cream and powder blushes into separate posts, but I didn't think of that when I was swatching. Tomorrow I'll be posting my favourite lipglosses and lipsticks, but I think I can restrain myself and produce a post that's only half a mile long. ;]

Now please feed my addiction and share your favourite blushes!

2011 Favourites: Bronzers

2012-01-07T23:30:00.001+10:00

2011 may have been the year of the highlighter for me, but it was also the year of the bronzer. I started using bronzer regularly not only to add colour to my face, but also to contour my forehead, cheeks and jawline. I never used to use bronzer for fear of looking orange, and I know from time to time I may somewhat resemble an Oompa Loompa, but I've learned to embrace it ;] I went from owning 2 bronzers to several, in a variety of shades and both cream and powder textures. Here are some of my favourites from the past year:

Clockwise from Top Left: Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes - Lighter Skin, MAC Equilibrium Blush, MAC Springshine Blush Ombre, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel, and MAC To The Beach Cream
Bronzer in Weekend

Same order as above.

Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder is a fairly recent acquisition, and in an upcoming post I'll gush all about my new found love for Essence. I've been absolutely loving this bronzer recently, using it on my cheeks everyday during my Red Lips week. It's the lightest bronzer I own, so I prefer it for adding colour and warming up the face rather than contouring. It's a light warm brown with a hint of orange.

Benefit Hoola - forgive me, I forgot to include this in the first couple of photos! In the pan this looks like a boring matte yellow-tinged brown, but when swatched against my other bronzers it looks positively green! I prefer to use this one for contouring, as it's a bit dark for me to use as a blush/warm up my face. I have this in my Powda Wowza palette and individually, and it's definitely worth having the backup!

L - R: Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes - Lighter Skin, Benefit Hoola, MAC Springshine
Blush Ombre, MAC Equilibrium Blush, MAC To The Beach Cream Bronzer in Weekend, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel

MAC Springshine Blush Ombre was limited edition with Spring Colour Forecast, and was sadly overlooked by many. I received this as a gift from the lovely Kim Porter, and I've actually hit pan on it! I use the darker portion of this to contour, and the lighter portion to add colour to my face. I also use this to tone down my brow highlight when I've gone a bit overboard (read: every.single.day.) There's a bit of shimmer in the pan, but I've never noticed this translating to the face.

MAC Equilibrium Blush was limited edition too, this time with the MAC Me Over collection. I ordered this online, hoping it'd be the answer to my pinky-brown-nude-blush dreams. Unfortunately in real life it was much more brown and much less pink than I'd have liked, but it works well as both a blush and bronzer! The subtle shimmer in the pan translates to a pretty satin finish on my skin.

L - R: Essence, Benefit Hoola, MAC Springshine, MAC Equilibrium

MAC To The Beach Cream Bronzer in Weekend is looong gone, having come out with the To The Beach collection in Summer 2010. Mine is starting to dry out and I can't recall what the texture felt like originally, but these days it almost feels like a dry oil when I rub it between my fingers. I went through a phase a while back where I was obsessed with using this as a creamy base under my cheek colour. It worked nicely with peach and coral blushes, not so much with pinks. In the pan it's a deep reddish brown with a pink flash, but on the skin it's an orangey brown with pink shimmer.

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel also appears to have a green tinge in my swatches like Benefit Hoola, but I actually think of this as a cream sister to the Essence Sun Club bronzer! It's a light, slightly orangey brown which I prefer to add colour to my face, as it's not quite dark enough for me to contour with. It has a cream-meets-mousse texture, and glides on the skin like ~~buttah~~ silk. I also used this during my Red Lips week as a cream blush, and dusted the Essence bronzer over the top for a deeper bronze cheek.

L - R: MAC Equilibrium, MAC To The Beach, Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel

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Now I do also own NARS Laguna and Casino Bronzers, but they didn't make the list for different reasons. I only recently acquired the NARS Danmari Palette with Casino, and I haven't had a chance to use it in a makeup look yet. I also have NARS Laguna in my Blush/Bronzer Trio, but I never fell in love with it the way I've fallen in love with these bronzers. It's an odd colour on me, it's not quite dark enough for me to use as a contour, and it's not quite light enough for me to use to warm up my face. The shade itself doesn't work all that well with my skintone either, I find I have to really work with it to not look dirty. But who knows, maybe something will change and I'll be singing its praises next year!

What are your favourite bronzers? <3

2011 Favourites: Highlighters

2012-01-05T18:07:00.001+10:00

2011 really was the year of the highlighter for me. In the past I've wanted to love highlighters, but felt they looked too stark and obviously shimmery on me. I have no idea what happened in 2011, but suddenly I didn't care anymore! I fell in love with that shimmery glow, and even a little chunky glitter was fine every now and then. My highlighter collection has expanded exponentially over the past year, but these are a few of my select favourites from 2011. Be warned: this and my next few favourite posts are very picture heavy. I got a bit carried away photographing everything in its giant sparkly glory >:D

Clockwise from Top Left: Sportsgirl Glow & Behold Illuminating Bronzer, Prorance Sunny Glam Water Glow Skinfinish in
M13, Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink, NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush, MAC Cream Colour Bases
in Pearl and Seaside, Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush & Dior Amber Diamond in the middle.

Same order as above, but MAC Cream Colour Bases in Pearl and Seaside in the middle with Dior Amber Diamond below

Sportsgirl Glow & Behold Illuminating Bronzer was featured in this haul, and though it looks virtually untouched in the pan I've actually used it quite a bit. It's a pinky champagney bronzey thing that's nowhere near dark enough to use as a bronzer, so I tend to use it as a highlighter on bronzed or peachy cheeks. I alternate using this with MAC Seaside Cream Colour Base, since they give a similar effect on the cheek.

Prorance Sunny Glam Water Glow Skinfinish in M13 was one of the first highlighters I ever bought, if not the first. I picked this up at Sasa whilst on holiday in Malaysia in July 2010, and it sat unloved in my drawer for many a month because I thought it was too shimmery. I initially picked it up because this line reminds me of the MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes, with this one in particular reminding me of Lightscapade. In the pan we have a bunch of pastels swirled together, but when swatched and worn it's basically a shimmery white.

I cannot for the life of me get this to show up accurately on camera! This is the Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink, which I picked up after stumbling across an Asian cosmetics store in Surfers Paradise. In photos it comes across as a shimmery white, peach or tan highlighter (depending on how much it wants to fight me), but in reality it's like a softer version of Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Static. It's a light, white shimmery pink, and I love using this to highlight when I'm wearing a pink blush.

I've not had much luck getting this one to photograph well either. This is NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush from the 2011 Holiday collection, and in the pan it looks like a boring sparkly face powder. However, on the cheek (or even on the lids!) it transforms into fairy dust. The shimmer particles somehow manage to be large but not chunky, and never verge on glitter territory. The sparkles flash a multitude of different colours, including blue on me :3 Of course I couldn't capture this in my swatch, but I'm going to keep trying!

Photos of used cream products are nasty, littered with hairs and fibres, so I'll spare you from having to look at a super closeup of that. Instead, here's an overexposed shot of MAC Cream Colour Bases in Pearl and Seaside. Pearl is relatively colour-accurate, being a soft whitish gold, but Seaside is a little darker, peachier and bronzier in real life. I liked Pearl during the cooler months, and am using Seaside like crazy with bronzed cheeks this Summer. I used it practically every day in my Red Lips feature.

Ahhh, the infamous Dior Amber Diamond. I'd read and seen so many raves about this highlighter on both blogs and Youtube, but never ventured to a counter to swatch it until July this year. It was love at first swatch, but I wasn't about to pay the extortionate Aussie prices so I ventured online. I purchased it from Strawberry Net and promptly rubbed it all over my face. ^__^ I like swirling all 5 shades together or concentrating on the darker shades for a highlighter on bronzed or peachy cheeks, while the lighter shades work nicely with pink or nude-y cheeks.

Sportsgirl's Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush fell by the wayside a bit during the past month, but I was really loving it as a highlighter with pink cheeks during October and November. It's an odd silvery rose colour, and I also liked dusting it all over the cheek with a matte blush for an added glow. Bonus: it also worked to smooth out my cheek colour on days when my blush decided to apply all blotchy :D

Now for swatches! Unfortunately there wasn't much in the way of sunlight at my place today, so these shots will have to make do. Note: I can't make the first photo any bigger without it leaking into my sidebar, so click to enlarge!

L - R: Sportsgirl Glow & Behold, Sportsgirl Summer Blush, Prorance M13, Clio Professional #2 Soft Pink,
Dior Amber Diamond, NARS Miss Liberty, MAC Pearl and Seaside Cream Colour Basis.

L - R: Sportsgirl Glow & Behold, Sportsgirl Summer Blush, Prorance M13 and Clio Professional #2 Soft Pink

L - R: Dior Amber Diamond, NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush, and MAC Pearl and Seaside Cream Colour Bases

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I apologise for the rubbish flash swatches, when I'm in the swatching mood the weather doesn't want to cooperate with me :( It's hard enough to capture the beauty of a highlighter on its own, let alone with shitty weather. I hope you get the general idea though and enjoyed staring at pretties for a couple of minutes! I'm always on the hunt for more sparklies that I don't need, so what are your favourite highlighters? ;]

Beauty Blogging Resolutions

2012-01-03T15:26:00.002+10:00

I'm always skeptical of New Years resolutions, because like everyone else, I've made countless promises to myself that I've failed to keep. I'm hoping 2012 will be the year I break that cycle though, because I'll be entering a new chapter in my life. I graduated university in December, and from mid January I'll be starting work as a young professional and moving out of home soon after. I'd like to think that this year is the year I'll grow, become more independent and kick my ass into gear. So here are some beauty blogging resolutions that I'd like to achieve before the world explodes! ^__~

So attractive, amirite? ;]
Just so this isn't a giant wall of text....

1. Blog on a (more) regular basis

I know life gets in the way sometimes, and I'll be starting my graduate job soon, so I won't beat myself up if things don't go to plan. I'd like to blog every other day though, and need to show the post scheduler some more love.

2. Actually follow through with shit I say I'm going to do

I'm notoriously awful at following through with requests, or even ideas I come up with myself. I'll be able to swatch a lot more with my new, faster camera, but I need some ideas on how to motivate myself to follow through on looks and recreations!

3. Stay on top of commenting on other people's blogs

I love to give comments as much as I love to get comments, and there are days when I just can't get enough of beauty blogs. I want to read all the blogs in existence and just marvel over the amazing ideas y'all come up with. However, sometimes I log into Bloglovin' and the number of unread posts is overwhelming. I need to stay on top of it.

4. Clear out my back log of posts

This might sound at odds with Resolution #1, but at any given time I have 20 or more incomplete posts just languishing in my drafts folder. Either the look isn't special enough to warrant its own post, or I'm no longer as enthusiastic about the look/swatches/product as I once was. I need to find a way to make those posts work and get them out there!

5. Reorganise my damn Photobucket album

Right now it's an absolute mess, and I'll have to take my blog offline for about a week to sort that shit out and repair all the broken links :|

6. Do more product reviews!

I created this blog with the intention of doing product reviews and FOTD posts, but the former quickly fell by the wayside. I need to start making lists, taking notes and actually getting past the swatch stage.

7. Do more videos

I've been slacking hardcore on making videos for The Makeup Heroes, partly because I had a shit camera and partly because I could never get time alone (or time off, when I was working). I need to remedy this, yo!

And some more general beauty-related resolutions:

Use more of my damn stash

Deep-clean my brushes more often, instead of just spot cleaning every morning

Try to figure out and tame the battlefield that is my skin

Be healthier (in general)

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What are your resolutions for beauty blogging or life in general? I'm loving seeing everybody's resolutions and thinking 'hey I need to do that too!' *adds to 10 mile long mental list* If you have any ideas as to how I can better achieve my beauty blogging resolutions I'd love to hear them <3

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T13:41:00.000+10:00

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year, I had a really low-key one myself with a couple of glasses of wine and cupcakes with friends. We stayed up to see the fireworks from my friend's house, then retired very early like the grandmas we are. ;] Hopefully next year we'll do something a little crazier! Even though I was just going for drinks at a friend's house, I wanted to do my makeup like I was going to some epic fancy bash.

I decided to break out of my comfort zone and use tape to create a sharp outer wing. I never wing out my eyeshadow because I can't usually figure out the right angle for my eye shape. Some people can do their crease colour and then use makeup remover and a cotton bud to create a wing, but that doesn't work for the rounded colour placement I usually do. The tape was uncomfortable as hell but I guess I finally figured it out! I also ventured out of my comfort zone by using eyeshadows wet, which I usually try to avoid at all costs because I'm lazy as fuck XD

(Photos are a mix of my new and old cameras, because I am yet to figure out how to take a FOTD shot with my new cam without looking like I have clown cheeks. Also, do you like this gigant0r size for photos or prefer the slightly smaller size I usually use? I felt like making them super large :D)

My eye started to water something shocking so my outer corner is gone, but hey I have owl earrings!

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Platinum Gel Liner - as a base on the lid + outer lower lashline + outer wing
Darling Girl Cosmetics Glitter Glue - lid
MAC Persuasive Mineralize Eyeshadow Trio

Silver - patted on the lid and used wet with MAC Fix+ on the outer lower lashline and outer wing

Essence Mono Eyeshadow in 04 Black Goddess - crease
Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Android - mixed in the crease and used wet with MAC Fix+ on the inner lower lashline
Random light brown eyeshadow - to blend out the creae
Random pure white pigment - inner corner highlight
L'Oreal Lineur Intense Liquid Liner - upper lashline
Essence I Love Rock Gloss Eye Pencil - upper and lower waterlines
Kat Von D Lucifer Eyeshadow - to set lower waterline
Maybelline Pulse Perfection WP Mascara

Cheeks:

Benefit Hoola Bronzer - to contour
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed - blush
MAC Seaside Cream Colour Base - highlight

Lips:

NYX Natural Lipliner - to line and fill in outer corners of lips
NYX Rose Lipliner - to fill in the centre of the lips
Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Nudie Run - lipgloss

Before I'd done cheeks or lips. I look like a corpse :D

After cheeks and lips, but my eye decided to water something fierce :(
Need to figure out my new camera, it overemphasises my blush like WHOA

The last duckface of 2011!

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I've left it a little late, but I'd still like to do a Favourites of 2011 post and a little bit about my beauty blogging resolutions for the New Year. I also haven't forgotten about the gloss component of my red lip series, and hope to get that done this week. I'd like to be more consistent with blogging and actually follow through on the things I say I'm going to do, but it looks like I'm off to a shaky start already LOL. I took a metric fucktonne of swatch photos after I got my new camera though, so at the very least I have some swatches to post on a regular basis.

What did you slappers get up to for New Years Eve? :)

My Christmas Look

2011-12-28T18:25:00.000+10:00

I hope everybody had a lovely December 25th! I spent most of the day sleeping until my mum got home from work (unfortunately she's never had a Christmas off), where we then opened presents and prepared for our guests to arrive at 5pm. Surprisingly this Christmas was less awkward than in the past, and there wasn't a single incident where I wanted to punch an extended family member in the throat. I deemed it a successful Christmas! XD

Last Christmas I was all about cosmetic glitter, but this year I was forced to opt for something a little more subdued. Unfortunately I can no longer wear loose cosmetic glitter, because 9 times out of 10 it irritates the fuck out of my eyes and I can't wait to get home and wash it off. So this year I added some extra sparkle with the help of a glitter liner, sparklier-than-usual cheek highlighter and glittery red lipstick.

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette (Left Side)

Eyelid shade - all over the lid + inner lower lashline
Crease shade - crease + outer lower lashline
Definer shade - tiiiiiny bit in the crease
Browbone shade - inner corner highlight

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner in Midnight Cowboy - all over the lid + inner corner
Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Vow - lower waterline
Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

Cheeks:

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel - to bronze and contour the face
Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes - blush
NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush - highlight

Lips:

Essence Vampires Love Lipstain in 02 True Love
Revlon Colourburst Lipstick in Cherry Ice

Unfortunately you can't see how utterly beautiful and sparkly Miss Liberty is in real life, it's almost like fairy dust! The lipstick is semi-sheer and probably better for layering, but I loved how it felt on the lips and I enjoyed experimenting with a less intense red. Also I didn't realise how gappy my eyeliner looked until I edited these photos >__< I'd tightlined with a brown eyeshadow but needed a little extra intensity after I added the glitter, so I went over the top with a random dying liquid liner. Oh well!

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I'm happy to announce that I went and bought myself a new camera in the Boxing Day sales! It makes taking swatch photos so much quicker and easier, and any videos I make for The Makeup Heroes should be a lot clearer. I'll have to experiment with using it for FOTD photos though, I worry that it might make my bad skin appear even worse, hahaha.

Red Lipstick Love

2011-12-24T23:11:00.001+10:00

Yay it's finally here! I promised you a red lip post and here I am, uploading it last minute on Christmas Eve. I've just returned from looking at Christmas lights and am lounging about watching Christmas movies, enjoying the night and dreading the awkward family gathering tomorrow. If I was organised and thought about things in advance I would've put this post up much earlier in the holiday season, but better late than never right? Red lips can work at any time of year, and hey, there's always New Years Eve! ^__^

(FYI: under each lip combo I'm wearing the Essence Vampires Love Lipstain in 01 except where specified, with MAC Prep + Prime Lip and Urban Decay 24/7 Lipliner in Ozone. On the cheeks I'm wearing Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder in 01 Natural/Blondes with MAC Seaside Cream Colour Base to highlight. In some shots with deeper bronzed cheeks I'm also wearing Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel layered underneath the Essence powder bronzer. Eyes are the Eyelid and Crease shades from the left side of the Wet n Wild Comfort Zone Palette.)

This is the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella. Not much to say here other than I absolutely adore it and need to get more colours from this range. They're creamy to apply and set to a beautiful non-drying (at least on me) matte finish. <3

I look so unimpressed in this photo, but that doesn't reflect how I feel about this lip product! This is Milani Lip Flash Full Coverage Shimmer Gloss Pencil in 05 Hot Flash, a metallic candy apple/hot rod red. It's extremely soft, so if you were to press this to your lips like a normal lipstick or lipliner you'd soon have enough to cover your entire face!

This is Wet n Wild Mega Last Lip Colour in 910D Red Velvet, which appears a bit pinker on camera than it does in real life. Red Velvet is a beautiful yet odd colour, this red appears to have blue undertones but also comes across as a pinky-red, so I really don't know how to classify it! It's an absolute gem when it comes to wear though, actually looking presentable after I eat and drink. As someone who can't get lipstick to stay on for longer than an hour, I was floored. It also didn't accentuate the dry bits on my lips at all.

Ahhh the infamous Ruby Woo, aka the driest lipstick known to man. It's a gorgeous shade of red and I love me a matte finish, but Ruby Woo applies like a dry flakey crayon. I skipped using a lipstain for this one, because otherwise the lipstick just balled up on my lips and I couldn't get an even application. I couldn't get the colour to stick on the inside of my lips for shit, so you can see a bit of my natural lip colour poking through.

I prefer the colour of Ruby Woo to MAC Russian Red (pictured), but the texture and ease of application of Russian Red win out every time. Interestingly, they're both matte finishes but Russian Red feels like a goddamn lip balm next to Ruby Woo.

Bit of a dick move showing this one since it's long discontinued, but this is Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in Diabolical. It's a metallic red not unlike the Milani Lip Flash Pencil, but this one leans more on the coppery brown side and has a much thinner texture. I believe this shade was discontinued to the recall or discontinuation of a mica by the manufacturer, which is a total bummer :(

You've seen me wearing Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Lacque in one of my other 5 Days of Lipstick posts, but it's so luxurious that I couldn't resist busting it out again. It's a creamy liquid lipstick with a semi-glossy/semi-matte texture. I can't understand why Chanel would ever discontinue this beauty, but at the same time I'm too stingey to go and buy a backup. Judging by this post, I own far too many red lipsticks already :P

I am seriously regretting not having used MAC Lady Danger Lipstick before now, because I fucking love it! I'd previously thought I only suited blue-based reds, but Lady Danger is an orange red and I was surprised at how much I liked it on me! I imagine a red lipstain would emphasise the red tones in it more, but I wanted to draw out the orange tones so I used the Etude House Dear Darling Tint in 03 Orange Red.

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Holy balls, that was a lot of red lipstick! I also plan to do a small post in the next couple of days with the handful of red glosses I own, then I plan to lay off the red lipstick for a while. If there's such a thing as red lipstick fatigue, I'm suffering from it! I do have one more red lipstick that I haven't showcased here though, and it's what I'm planning to wear for my family Christmas celebrations tomorrow. ;]

Beauty Bloggers Love Pork Buns

2011-12-23T12:39:00.000+10:00

Wow, here's something you haven't seen from me in a while - an actual eye look! A few weekends ago I went to a Brisbane Beauty Bloggers Christmas dinner, where we stuffed ourselves with pork buns and did a makeup swap. It was a tonne of fun and I came away with some great goodies, including a couple of foundations that match me perfectly even though we had really low light to contend with! Unfortunately I failed at life and didn't take any photos of the event, but here's my makeup instead. I've been loving bold lips lately but wanted to bust out some bright eyeshadow, so this is what I came up with.

I look cross eyed but it's a better view of the eye makeup!

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid + outer 2/3 of lower lashline
NYX Teal Eyeliner - as a base on the inner lower lashline
Inglot AMC 60 Eyeshadow - inner lid + outer lower lashline
Inglot Double Sparkle 477 Eyeshadow - outer lid + middle lower lashline
Wet n Wild I Love Matte Color Icon Palette

Blue + green - mixed in the crease and inner lower lashline
Black - to tightline
White - lower waterline

Maybelline Pulse Perfection Mascara

Cheeks:

Benefit Hoola Bronzer - to contour
Benefit Bella Bamba - blush
NARS Miss Liberty Highlighting Blush - to highlight

Lips:

Tarte Lipsurgence Pencil in Sweet
NARS Turkish Delight Lipgloss

Bahh...ignore the spider lashes and hairs everywhere >__<
It also looks like I missed half my lip, didn't look like that irl!

I promise I'm still working on that red lipstick post! I hope to re-photograph the remaining lipsticks in a marathon session tonight and get it up tomorrow, which is Christmas Eve because I live in the future >:D Then if all goes well, I hope to do my red glosses and get that up by Christmas Eve USA time.

Make sure to check out the blogs of the lovely Brisbane Beauty Bloggers in attendance <3

Haute & Stylish

Hip n Haute

Shopping Intervention

5 Days of Lipstick Vol. IV

2011-12-19T17:59:00.003+10:00

Apologies if you were expecting this to be a red lip post, unfortunately that's on hold for a little while longer. I still have a handful of red lipsticks left to wear and photograph, and then I have to re-photograph a couple more since the pictures turned out like poo. Considering how Christmas is fast approaching and I love a red lip for the holiday season, I might put the post up on or just after Christmas. What do you think? Anyway here's another lipstick post since you've been leaving such lovely comments ^__^

This is actually a 'B-side' from my red lipstick post! This is Wet N Wild Mega Last Lip Colour in 910D Red Velvet, which is a weird blue-toned matte red that somehow manages to look pink too. It looks much more red in the photo I'll be using for the red lipstick post, but in this one it looks certifiably pink! I was actually editing photos on my computer and thought I was looking at some combo involving MAC Girl About Town!

I'm just wearing Urban Decay 24/7 Lip Liner in Ozone (clear) and an old school red Revlon Lip Stain underneath. On the cheeks I'm wearing Essence Sun Club Matt Bronzing Powder for Blondes/Lighter Skin in 01 Natural and Sportsgirl Glow & Behold Illuminating Bronzer to highlight.

Now this is MAC Girl About Town, which makes the first photo look definitively red! It's not looking as awesome and bright here as it does irl, silly camera and early morning light and all. I'll have to work at getting an accurate photo that really captures how bright and eye-catching this shade is (which reminds me, yes I'm still failing at capturing OCC Liptar in Pageant and Sportsgirl Forever Young together D:)

I'm wearing Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink as a stain, with NYX Rose Lipliner and MAC Girl About Town Lipstick on top. On the cheeks I'm wearing NARS Desire for blush, and Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink to highlight.

This is Etude House Dear Darling Tint in 03 Orange Red as a lipstain, with NYX Orange Lipliner and a random brownish orange lipstick on top. I applied NARS Laguna Illuminator on my cheeks under my foundation, then I later applied MAC Equilibrium Blush and Cream Colour Base in Seaside. Doesn't look like much here but it was a nice bronzey cheek in real life. :)

Oh god, this lipstick <3 This is Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Lipstick in 04, over Wet n Wild Color Icon Eyeliner in Amethyst and an old purple Revlon lipstain. The eyeliner was an odd choice for lipliner, but I'd tried on 2 other lip combos that morning and hated them. I grabbed the eyeliner and the lipstick and thought 'if it turns out ugly, fuck it - I'm going out with ugly lips!' On the cheeks I'm wearing the Essence Vampires Love Blush Gelee in 01 Bloody Mary with Prorance Sunny Glam Water Glow Skinfinish in M13 to highlight.

My eyes look so small and squinty here, needz moar crease definition!

I'm kinda cheating a little here, this is a look with and without gloss. In the first shot I'm wearing Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink as a lipstain, NYX Rose Lipliner and MAC Mattene in Fresh Amour. In the second shot I've layered MAC Cremesheen Glass in Chillin' over the top, which is a sheer milky blue gloss with the finest (read: near invisible) fuchsia shimmer. I believe I had Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph on the cheeks with the Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink to highlight.

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Hope you enjoyed! In other news, I can't friggin believe Christmas is next Sunday O__O

5 Days of Lipstick Vol. III

2011-12-16T19:46:00.000+10:00

Yep, another 5 Days of Lipstick. I meant to post this during my lunch breaks at work but kept getting distracted or ran out of time. I've finished work for the year though, so now I have lots of time for blogging! ^__^ I'll finally be able to get back to doing real makeup, not omg-it's-4am-it's-criminal-to-be-up-this-early rushed makeup. I'm still having a love affair with lipstick though, so I'll continue to post bold lips among looks featuring actual eye makeup. Enough talking, on with ze lipstick!

Ugh MAC Show Orchid needs to be added to the permanent line. It's a lovely brightass pink with a blue sheen and I'm convinced it could work on almost everybody. Here I'm wearing MAC Show Orchid Lipstick over NYX Hot Pink Lipliner and Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink. The cheeks are MAC Dollymix softened with the Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink.

One of my eyebrows appears to have gone rogue here :P

On the lips I'm wearing NYX Purple Rain Lipliner and OCC Liptar in Katricia. The cheeks are Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Depravity and I used Prorance Sunny Glam Water Glow Skinfinish in M13 to highlight. I always have a bit of trouble blending bright purples right to the edge of the lipliner, and I'm not really digging the eyes with the lips, but I love Katricia.

This is MAC Fusion Pink Lipstick over Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2, and I don't think I used a lipliner (purely because I don't have a coordinating one!) The cheeks are NARS Orgasm with a bit of the Prorance Sunny Glam Water Glow Skinfinish in M13 to highlight. I think this colour would suit a lot of skintones too.

Not wearing much eye makeup here, because my Sigma E35 is a scratchy motherfucker and irritated the crap out of my crease! I'm wearing Etude House LUCIDarling Fantastic Rouge Lipstick in #5 LED Lavender (what a mouthful!) over NYX Purple Rain Lipliner and you guessed it: Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink. This is my go-to lipstain to wear under pink-toned lipsticks in case you couldn't tell. :P

MAC Rebel over NYX Current Lipliner, and the old school Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain in Plum Wicked which I have now thrown out. I had bronzer on the cheeks and MAC Sable on the eyes. This super attractive shot is the only photo you get because I have the same problem with Rebel as I do with NARS Damned Velvet Lip Pencil - everytime I wear it I fuck up the application of my lips, cheeks or eyes. Stupid vampy berry lipstick curse >__<

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In other news, OMG I HAVE GRADUATED UNIVERSITY! And I've also been wearing red lips all this week, so you can expect a red lipstick compilation post next week (or whenever I actually get through all my red lipsticks). Yay? :)

Disqus

2011-12-10T16:50:00.002+10:00

Just a quick update to let y'all know that I've switched to the Disqus commenting system. I've always had reader issues with IntenseDebate and had contemplated changing to Disqus for a while. Everytime I emailed IntenseDebate with descriptions of commenting issues the response was always 'it looks fine on our end/we can't seem to replicate the issue' and therefore the issue didn't exist or they couldn't do anything to help. I had an issue installing Disqus on Friday and the Disqus tech support were the complete opposite, totally helpful and actually did most of the work for me! Anyway, that's my 2 cents on IntenseDebate and Disqus. :)

Hopefully commenting is easier from now on, but if you have any problems email me at:
silhouettescreamsblog at gmail dot com

5 Days of Lipstick Vol. II

2011-12-08T18:26:00.000+10:00

Pretty self-explanatory, yeah? Here are 5 lip looks I've worn over the past month, including some hits as well as some really horrible misses. I've got a few more of these posts coming, but I'll probably alternate them with FOTDs that focus on eye makeup so you don't get sick of seeing my multi-coloured trout pout. Unless you're keen on seeing an absolute barrage of lip looks from me, in which case let me know? :3

I received OCC Liptar in Pageant in my November Bellabox and I've been really enjoying using it. I've been having fun layering it under different glosses, but here's a shot of it without gloss. It's brighter in real life, as unfortunately lighting is not great in my house at 5am. >__<

I'm wearing Pageant over Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink and NYX Rose Lipliner. On my cheeks I'm wearing the Hello Kitty Eyeshadow in Les Grenadine with Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink to highlight.

I have this weird phobia of red lipstick, yet I can't stop collecting them. I always feel overdressed if I wear a red during the day, so I reserve them for fancy night time dinners and outings. Unfortunately those fancy night time dinners and outings rarely happen, and I realised that my Chanel Dragon Rouge Allure Laque was just going to waste.

I layered Dragon over an old school Revlon lipstain that I probably should have thrown out by now, and Designer Brands Fire Red Lipliner. I contoured and highlighted with NARS Laguna and Albatross respectively, and the blush was Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Exposed.

This was a weird combo, but experimenting is fun! I took 3 lipsticks and just smushed them on my gob to see what the result would be. First I applied a layer of MAC Up The Amp, a pinky purple. Then I applied the tiniest bit of Rimmel Kate 04, a blackened purple. Finally I applied a liberal amount of MAC Summer Shower, which looks like a minty aqua colour in the tube but just shows up as a layer of pink and blue shimmer. I think I just used a bit of bronzer on the cheeks because I didn't know what the hell to wear with that lip combo XD

My application here is not the best, so please bear with me! For lips I used Etude House Dear Darling Tint in 03 Orange Red, NYX Orange Lipliner and Milani Colour Perfect Lipstick in Orange-Gina. The cheeks were Benefit Coralista mixed with MAC Springsheen and NARS Albatross to highlight. I used MAC Sable and Amber Lights on my eyeballs. :3

LOOOOOL. MAC Fresh Amour Mattene looked so hideous on me the first time I applied it that I just had to take a photo! It was far too cool-toned and white-based, but after rubbing it in a little and leaving it for a while it seemed to adjust more to my skintone. It still made for a dramatic lilac lip, but was more Lady Gaga than jizz lips. I didn't get photos of it looking ~wearable, but shall do so soon. The cheeks were Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph mixed with Skinfood Apple Can Multi Blush in #3 Lavender.

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Since being practically forced into doing a bold lip everyday for work, I've fallen in love with lipstick so much that I continue to do bold lip looks on my days off! I could very easily go months without doing a bold eyeshadow look, but then my blog would be reallllly boring. Thankfully I have quite a few dramatic eye looks backlogged that I can post :)

Darling Girl Cosmetics Halloween Haul & Swatches

2011-12-05T16:24:00.004+10:00

Yes I realise it's wayyy past Halloween, but I ordered these late October and they only got to me a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't even going to swatch these at all, but I went to place my Christmas order and realised that most of the Halloween stuff is still available in the shop! (I totally ended up placing a combined Darling Deer Christmas and Darling Ghoul Halloween order when I saw that. I can't help myself.) You've probably seen a billion swatches for these products already, but I want to throw mine into the mix. The blogosphere could always use more pretty pictures of sparklies, right? :3

Y'all know I've been on a massive lip product kick lately. I rarely have time in the mornings to apply more than the simplest neutral eye and bold lip, and my eyeshadow stash has just gotten so large that I had to slap an eyeshadow spending ban on myself. I've consequently diverted my attention to cheek and lip products, and am particularly enjoying layering lip products to get more out of my stash. The Darling Girl Holo-Glosses are great for layering over lipsticks, and as soon as I saw the Halloween glosses I had to grab some. I also love me an orange lipstick so I had to grab The Pumpkin King, and I was curious as to how Just Bitten would compare to the Tarte for True Blood Cheek Stain.

From left to right: Darling Girl Cosmetics Lip Jelly in Ghouls Gone Wild, Petit Eyeshadow in Svenghouli (GWP), Sweet Cheeks Cream Blush in Just Bitten, Holo-Glosses in Vampire's Kiss, Going Batty, Poison Apple and Bewitched, Kiss You Off: Colour Rich Lip Balm in The Pumpkin King, and samples of Uprising Eyeshadow (GWP) and Orange You Glad To See Me? Soft Focus Blush (GWP).

As you can see, my tube of The Pumpkin King got a little melty and smushed during the trip to Australia. I emailed Susan straight away and she was quick to ship out a replacement :)

Here's an open jar shot of Ghouls Gone Wild Lip Jelly, Svenghouli Eyeshadow and Just Bitten Sweet Cheeks Cream Blush. I'm assuming Just Bitten melted a little on the way to Australia? It's still good though.

Left to Right: Ghouls Gone Wild, Poison Apple, Going Batty, Vampire's Kiss, Bewitched, The Pumpkin King,
Just Bitten, Svenghouli, Uprising and Orange You Glad to See Me?

Natural light, but not quite sunlight. It was hiding from me :(

Ghouls Gone Wild is a "sheer gloss with green and pink shift and loaded with holographic micro-glitter". The colour description for this one is accurate, but unfortunately it's nowhere near as opaque as the website swatches show.

Poison Apple is "granny smith apple green with pumpkin and iridescent holo-shimmer that shifts from gold, to green to blue". I can't see any blue myself, I just see a green gloss with red, green and possibly gold shimmer.

Going Batty is friggin awesome. No, really. The website describes it as "a sheer black loaded with green, orange, red and pink holo-shimmers". My bad, I totally thought it was a brown base! To me it looks like a brown base that's absolutely packed with red and green shimmer. I can't wait to layer this over red lipsticks for cheesy festive Christmas lip looks :3

With flash

Vampire's Kiss is "a sheer black base with loads of red and color holographic holo-shimmer. It is a must for vamping up red's and berry toned lipsticks and looks stunning all on it's own". This totally reads purple to me! It looks like a blackened purple base with purple and pink shimmer. I can't wait to layer this over Poison Plum lip balm when it comes in the mail.

Bewitched is "a bright magenta with gorgeous blue flake". This is that quintessential fuchsia gloss with blue shimmer that everyone has to have, and I also see sparks of pink and purple in there too. It reminds me a lot of Rimmel's Kiss Off! Lipgloss in Paint The Town. :3

The Pumpkin King is "a bold bright orange with gold and copper flash". Can't argue with that! I'm excited to play around with this one because most of my orange lipsticks have strong red undertones. I have one tangerine orange and a burnt brown orange, but I don't have any pumpkin oranges.

Natural light

Just Bitten is "a sheer cherry red with gold flecks" which is accurate. This is supposed to be Darling Girl's dupe of the infamous Tarte for True Blood Cheek Stain which I was massively excited about. Unfortunately that one applies weird and patchy on me, so I've never showcased it in a look before. I'm betting this one applies a lot better.

Svenghouli was a gift with purchase, and I don't even know if that's the correct name because the font's quite hard to read D: To me it looks like a light greyed green with a strong gold flash and subtle copper shimmer.

With flash

Uprising is "a gorgeous color shifting copper laid over a black base. It some lights it looks purple, in some you can really see the copper". I see this is a dark cool-toned brown with a strong purple flash. I used this over the weekend and expected it to be a deep taupe with a purple flash, but it applied so dark and smokey it took me by surprise. It'd be a nice crease colour with a dark or blackened purple on the lid, or layered in a grey smokey eye like I did.

Orange You Glad To See Me? is described as "a bright carrot orange matte" and that's 100% accurate. I'd like to try this blush out, but whether I can actually be bothered to figure out how to apply blush from the baggy is a completely different story. *is lazy and hates baggies for blush*

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*runs off to smother self in sparkles*

CQ Giveaway Goodies & Swatches

2011-12-02T21:27:00.003+10:00

A while ago I won a giveaway from the lovely Femputer for some goodies from CQ! I'd never heard of the brand beyond what I'd seen on her blog, but I liked what I saw. Sonia from Red Lips, Black Hair reassured me that they had some great quality products, and Nicole from Nightly Nails has also been showing some nice CQ nail polish swatches recently. That prompted me to post swatches of my own pretties! :3 From what I've gathered, this brand is available at Walgreens, Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid, but that's all I know. I'd wager the distribution system is about as consistent as Wet n Wild ;]

Taupe is well loved, so it's a little dusty!

Clockwise from top: Lining Impressions Eye Pencil with Applicator in 15 Emerald, Lipstick in 262 Mod, and Smooth Colour Eyeshadow in 101 Taupe.

With flash

Taupe is cooler and more silvery than it appears in my swatches. It's a medium silvery taupe with a lighter coordinating shimmer, and it's nicely pigmented but can be sheered out too. At the risk of sounding cliche, it feels buttery smooth and blends like a dream. I've been reaching for this shade a lot lately due to those early morning starts I've whined about constantly (unfortunately those don't end till the 16th of December now!) I can slap it on the lid with a darker cool-toned brown in the crease, or wear it as a crease shade with a light off-white or beige on the lid. It's also nice smudged on the lower lashline over Urban Decay's 24/7 Liner in Bourbon.

No real sunlight on this day :(

Emerald is an odd colour. Sometimes it looks like a straight emerald green with gold shimmer, and other times it looks like a teal with silver shimmer. Regardless of the colour, this pencil stays put like crazy. I used it during my stint volunteering at a convention last month, where the temperature and humidity were through the roof and I was standing in the sun for a few hours at a time. If you know me at all you know I sweat like a bitch, and this managed to hold up with only the slightest bit of transfer to my crease. I'd apply a thick line to my upper lashline and wing it out, then take the smudger-sponge-thingo and smudge that out.

Speaking of which; the smudger does the job, but hardens after a few uses due to the accumulation of product. I've been able to resuscitate it regularly with some spot cleaning using MAC Brush Cleanser though. Not entirely sure if that's kosher :P

In the shade....even though there was no sun LOL

Mod is a medium purply pink (or is it a pinky purple? :P) lipstick with a glossy finish and semi-sheer pigmentation. It's fairly opaque in one swipe, and fully opaque in a couple more. I'd describe this as a mix between MAC Syrup and Up The Amp lipsticks, but in a super glossy Lustre finish. As a result of the glossy finish it doesn't last incredibly well on me, though matte lipsticks are lucky to last an hour. :( It's a nice shade and comfortable to wear though, and I can extend the wear a little with a lipstain, lipliner and MAC Prep + Prime Lip.

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Bit of a short one today guys, I had a killer week at work and am ready to pass out with some American Horror Story and Forbrydelsen. I'll probably post my Darling Girl haul and swatches on Sunday and then get to work on the other stuff I promised I'd post. I hope you enjoyed the swatches, though I apologise for not being able to offer more information on the brand or products. And thanks to Darcey for the products! :)

Pink Haul & Swatches

2011-11-29T20:48:00.001+10:00

The overabundance of pink here was completely unintentional, it wasn't until I was photographing the products that I thought to myself, "Christ, do you have enough pink?!" I went into Brisbane CBD after work on Friday to buy a birthday present for a friend, and of course I couldn't resist buying a few pieces for myself. I'd been dying to check out the Hello Kitty collection at Priceline for quite some time, and I always enjoy popping in to see if Sportsgirl have any new products out. I ended up buying my friend some gifts from Lush, and I'd never tried any Lush myself so I decided to purchase a little something for me.

Clockwise from top right: Lush Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Forever Young,
Hello Kitty Eyeshadows in Les Grenadine (pink) and Majorelle (blue) & Sportsgirl Glow and Behold Illuminating Bronzer

With flash

You all know by now that I'm a massive fan of Sportsgirl products, and I continue to be impressed by the brand. I had a major lemming for the Glow and Behold Illuminating Bronzer after seeing Megan's wonderful post, but was devastated to learn that it was limited edition from a few years ago! As you can imagine, I just about piddled my pants in excitement when Megan gave me the heads up a few weeks ago that it was back in stores, and I crossed my fingers that it would still be there when I visited Queen St Mall.

Without flash

I find it curious that the packaging alternates between calling this product an 'illuminating bronzer' and an 'illuminating powder', since the latter is more accurate. I can't imagine this being a bronzer on even the palest, most translucent of people. It might be able to pass for a blush if you're this guy, but otherwise it sits firmly in highlighter territory. Pretty, wonderfully tacky leopard print-y highlighter territory.

Click to enlarge to read the ingredients

It also features a pull out drawer with a little brush, but it felt a little like I was rubbing steel wool on my face so I binned it :|

Now for some swatches of everything! I apologise for not taking close-up product photos of the other items but they're not terribly exciting, and the ingredients lists on the back of the Hello Kitty eyeshadows are so tiny my camera would probably explode. :( The sun was hiding when I took these swatch photos, but I hope you get a good idea of how beautiful the products are! Everything is swatched heavily to get a tidy line, but they're all nicely pigmented on their own.

In natural light/shade without flash

Left to Right: Hello Kitty Eyeshadows in Les Grenadine and Majorelle, Sportsgirl Glow and Behold Illuminating Bronzer and Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Forever Young

I can't find a website with the Hello Kitty product descriptions, but Les Grenadine is a metallic rosy pink with pink shimmer. I purchased this with the intent of using it as a blush, as I've been really into obnoxiously shimmery and glittery blushes lately. I used it over the weekend, and it doesn't look like a disco ball or a weird metallic patch when I apply it on my cheek, it just imparts a nice shimmery glow not unlike the bronzer.

Majorelle is a beautiful deep metallic blue, just a little too dark to be classified as a royal blue. It swatched nicely and I don't own anything quite like it, so it went straight in my shopping basket. Haven't had a chance to use this one, but when I can get back to real life and do actual makeup I'll be sure to post FOTDs using it :)

This was as close as I got to sunshine that day :P

The Sportsgirl Glow & Behold Illuminating Bronzer is a super fine, super shimmery pinky champagne highlighter. It has a metallic sheen and the shimmer is very finely milled. I imagine this will be nice as a highlight with pink blushes, and I can see myself using this on the cheekbone with Les Grenadine on the apples for crazily glowy cheeks.

With flash

I've talked at length about how much I love the Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour glosses. They're basically everything I love in a gloss: medium pigmentation so they can be worn alone but play nicely with lipsticks too, just the teensiest bit sticky to the point where they don't slide off my lips, and they're also affordable by Australian standards.

Forever Young is another stellar addition to the lineup, and I've already decided I'm going to purchase 2 backups. I wore it on the weekend on its own and it made for a nice juicy hot pink lip, but over a bright pink lipstick it's insane. I also wore in on the weekend over the OCC Liptar in Pageant (which isn't even that bright) and it was damn near fluoro. My camera spazzed out and couldn't capture it, but I'm going to keep doing FOTDs and working at it until I get a colour accurate photo.

My first Lush product ever! I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but Snow Fairy smells so delicious. It smells like I'm bathing in lollipops, so it's a product for those with a serious sweet tooth. There's also some blue iridescence in there which is beautiful, but I didn't notice it transferring to the skin. I've never really been into bath & body stuff and I'm hoping I don't develop an addiction, because Lush stuff is expensive! :X

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I hope you enjoyed my random little swatchfest! I have swatches of a haul from Darling Girl Cosmetics coming up, as well as a few CQ pieces I won in a giveaway a while back. I still need to swatch all those Asian cosmetics from a few months ago and do some comparisons for my Illamasqua products. I'll have an off topic geeky haul post coming up soon too. :)

October Bellabox Review

2011-11-27T14:07:00.005+10:00

Recently I subscribed to my first luxury sample box, Bellabox. I stumbled across the company through an ad on my sidebar on Facebook, and as soon as I saw Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics listed as a potential brand I signed up and paid the $15 monthly subscription fee. I've been wary of box subscriptions after reading so many negative reviews on other companies, but I still wanted to experience it for myself. I'm going to review the samples I received in October's Box and give a couple of thoughts on whether it was worth it or not. WARNING: This review is very picture heavy since it'll also be an introduction to the brand. My review for November's box won't be half as long!

Bellabox comes in a beautiful Tiffany-esque blue, lovingly scuffed up and mangled by my mailman.

Then there's a box within a box. BOXCEPTION!

Card introducing and explaining Bellabox. Click to enlarge if you're so inclined.

Another card explaining how Bellabox differs. I haven't subscribed to any other luxury sample boxes so I'm not sure

if these are really points of differentiation or not. I like that they're going to offer brands that aren't available in Australia!

Now for the important part, the products! In October's box I received samples of:

Napoleon Perdis Auto Pilot Pre-Foundation Primer
A'Kin Lavender, Geranium & Jojoba Hand and Nail Creme
Alpha-H Gentle Daily Exfoliant
Savoir Faire Lipstick in Miss You
One Skin System Daily Hydrate
Wines Wipes

Click to enlarge if you want to read the blurb on the back or the ingredients list, yo!

(I didn't bother swatching any of the creams in this post, because I personally don't find swatches of creams to be terribly useful myself. Sorry!)

This primer is a thin milky white gel that applies clear and supposedly helps foundation apply more smoothly and last longer. It did help my foundation apply a little more smoothly, but did nothing in the way of extending its longevity. It's really fucking hot in Australia right now and when I wore this I sweated my makeup off just as much usual, and it didn't smooth or shield the dry patches on my chin. When I came inside from sweating in the heat I found dry patches popping up everywhere, so it either sweated off or was just plain ineffective on me. It has a very thin texture and doesn't feel as silicone-y on the skin as I expected it to, and I feel like I would have benefited more if this were a thicker silicone primer. It's $49.50 for 50mL and I would not purchase this in full size.

Is the ingredients list long enough? O__O

It's a bit hard to get excited over hand creams but this was pretty nice! It wasn't too thin or too rich, absorbed into the skin within 30 seconds, and didn't leave my hands feeling parched or greasy. I don't really have a problem with dry cuticles per se, but they're looking pretty nice right now. I'm not the biggest fan of lavender scents and it's one of the more offensive scents they could've chosen, but I didn't find it overwhelming. It lingers for a little while and I only really notice it if I touch my face and accidentally get a whiff. This 30mL tube has lasted me over a month, but I'm a stingey bitch and I'm not sure if I would pay $17.95 for the full 75mL.

Excuse the condition of this poor sachet, he's been opened
and used a few times :P

I was really excited over seeing this in October's Bellabox, because I've been wanting to try Alpha-H but it's on the expensive side of the spectrum. It's certainly an interesting exfoliant, it claims to have papaya and pineapple enzymes but it looks more like laundry detergent powder! You add water and mix it into a paste and massage it into the skin like any other exfoliant. It feels really odd because there aren't any granules in the product - except for when I fail and don't mix it together properly - but I can feel it scrubbing away. It's not abrasive like those godawful St Ives Apricot Scrubs, but I can still feel it shifting dead skill cells and it left my skin feeling smoother and a little less dull. I managed to get 5 uses out of each of the two sachets, but I'm unsure if the effects are worth me shelling out $59.95 for the 50g fullsize.

Click to enlarge, blah blah blah

Fingerprints! >__<

For me, the highlight of October's Bellabox was the Savoir Faire Cosmetics Lipstick in Miss You. I hadn't heard of the brand prior to receiving this box, but Savoir Faire launched in late 2010 and the $48 price tag gives me the impression that this is a luxury boutique brand. The packaging is beautiful, and I feel super fancy whenever I pull this out in public. You can see the inside of the box is emblazoned with the Savoir Faire logo, and it's also engraved on the top of the lipstick cap. The lipstick itself is very weighty and feels expensive, though it appears to be mostly plastic. Unfortunately it also holds fingerprints like a mofo :(

Swatched lightly on the left, then heavily on the right.

Light lip swatch. I also wore it in this FOTD.

Swatched more heavily.

In the tube this reminds me of a cross between MAC Viva Glam V and Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink in the Afternoon, but on the lips it's sheer yet buildable neutral pink with a silver frost that appears gold in some lights. When you build it up the frost gives way to more of a glossy finish, which I like. I imagine it would also be nice for layering over brighter lipsticks to tone them down. It has a sweet vanilla-y taste and is very creamy, so like most lipsticks it doesn't last more than an hour on me. My heart leaped into my throat over the $48 price tag, so I would probably only purchase this as a treat to myself.

I've been using the One Skin System Daily Hydrate as my night-time moisturiser for the past month, and it ran out just a couple of days ago. I received a 10mL sample tube, but it's very concentrated so a little goes a long way. I don't really know what I can say about this, other than I liked it but it wasn't a miracle worker. It did just as good a job as my regular moisturiser, Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion. I have combination skin with both acne and dry patches on my chin, and this didn't exacerbate the oiliness while hydrating my dry patches.

I wasn't terribly keen on the packaging though. Germaphobes will love the syringe dispenser system, but I found it a bit cumbersome. It has two caps which you can see in the first picture: the bigger plastic one and the rubbery thingo covering the nozzle. I thought it'd be like a real syringe and I'd be able to push down and dispense an infinite amount of product, but it has a limited pump action which I found annoying. I'd rather just have a simple squeezy tube like my Aveeno moisturiser. Again, this was nice but I don't think I'd shell out $79 for 50mL when my Aveeno lotion is less than $15 for 225mL.

The only product I didn't try were the Wine Wipes, which claim to remove red wine stains from your lips and teeth. I don't drink red wine and the only person in my house who drinks red wine just got veneers, so I didn't want to force them to temporarily stain their veneers just to use these. :P They seem like an interesting idea, but I don't think they really fit with a beauty and skincare sample box.

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Phew, sorry that was such a long review! Since this was the first box I wanted to spam y'all with photos of the packaging, but November's box review won't be half as long. Overall, I enjoyed the contents of October's Bellabox and the Savoir Faire lipstick alone was worth the $15 subscription fee. I don't really see Bellabox as an opportunity to try samples in the hopes that I'll find something I like and buy a full size, I'm more into trying brands that I haven't heard of or couldn't normally afford. If I find something I adore and want to buy it in full size, that's just a bonus! This box was very skincare heavy, and I'd personally like to see more colour cosmetic items included in future editions.

I Got A Duckface Photo With Luna Lovegood!

2011-11-22T13:41:00.004+10:00

Some people go to Supanova for cosplay, I go for shopping and to ~~be a stalker~~ meet my favourite stars! They had some really great guests appearing this year, and have really stepped it up from my first Supanova in 2009. Autographs and photos with the stars aren't cheap, so I chose 2 photos and an autograph from 3 celebs I was really itching to meet. I'd avoided getting photos in April in case I ended up looking gross, because then the photo would've ended up under my bed or with my face scribbled out. This time I just bit the bullet, thinking "If I look like a sea monster, who cares. I can tell a story about the time I got a photo with Luna Lovegood and looked like Cthulhu".

*squeals* I GOT A DUCKFACE PHOTO WITH LUNA LOVEGOOD! ^___^

Evanna Lynch is so tiny, so lovely, and she speaks exactly like Luna. I went in and asked "will you take a duckface photo with me?" and she asked "what's duckface?" and I demonstrated it for her. That's my claim to fame, teaching Evanna Lynch the art of duckface XD

Oops, that's dust on the photo, not on his shirt >__<

In this one I really do look like a gigantic sea monster but who cares, it's Christopher Lloyd! I didn't ask him to take a duckface photo, instead asking him to make a silly face. After we took the photo he said "I think that was a silly face, I don't know XD"

Teryl Rothery

I'd have loved to have gotten a photo with the mother of Battlestar Galactica, Teryl Rothery, but her photo sessions just didn't work with my shift times. Instead I opted to go to her panel and then get an autograph and a hug. Most people were there to see her for her work in Stargate SG-1, but I was there because I loved her in Caprica and Eureka. She was absolutely hilarious and so tiny in person!

Draco Malfoy!

This photo is from Supanova in April and it was my second time attending the convention. I'd previously attended in 2009, and I remember there being a couple of stars from Buffy as well as Hayden Panettiere. Obviously there were probably a lot more stars there, but I'd only gone for one day to see Hayden Panettiere. Since my experience was so limited, I was floored when I saw Supanova had managed to secure Tom Felton's appearance at the con! I didn't get a photo with him for the aforementioned reasons, but now that I've seen I can take a photo with a star and not break the camera, I'm kicking myself for not doing so.

Anyway, he was lovely despite signing from morning to night for two whole days. I was wearing my Inglourious Basterds Bear Jew shirt and he was like "I thought your shirt said Super Jew and was really confused for a minute...." and then we talked a little about how great the movie was. I also bumped into a girl in the line who claimed to run Eli Roth's webstore, and she took a photo of my shirt and said she'd email it off to him. I have no idea what came of that :P

Denis O'Hare aka The Vampire King of Mississippi!
(It says "To Jerry Dazzlepants, Remember that I am your KING"

As soon as I saw the Vampire King of Mississippi was attending, I bugged my friends to buy a ticket for April's Supanova (Tom Felton was announced later on). I went to his panel and he was completely adorable and down to earth, talking about how they cut a scene because he just looked too short next to Alexander Skarsgard, how he got a pair of fangs made by the crew for his real-life True Blood-obsessed boyfriend, and how people see him roaming around his neighbourhood in New York and are speechless when they learn "The King" lives in their backyard. He also closed the panel at the request of a fan, reenacting his infamous newscaster scene by segueing to the weather XD

I'd love to see him back at the convention to talk about his work as creepy Larry in American Horror Story. I was late to the party but am now firmly on the AHS bandwagon <3

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There were so many stars from April and November's cons that I'd have loved to have got photos/autographs with, but didn't have the time or the money. I did manage to see a lot of them during their panels or while waiting in line for other star signings, including Jodelle Ferland, Dileep Rao, Katee Sackhoff, Tahmoh Penikett, Julie Benz, Georgina Leonidas, Billy Boyd, Colin Morgan and a couple of other guys from Stargate SG-1. Kicking myself over not meeting the BSG stars, but I'm sure I'll have opportunities to meet them in the future. :)

Geek Post: Supanova Brisbane November 2011

2011-11-18T14:58:00.002+10:00

(Non-makeup related and very photo heavy, so feel free to skip it!)

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of volunteering at an awesome pop culture convention, Supanova. I also attended Supanova in April as a patron, and it was nothing short of lifechanging. Being surrounded by hundreds of vendors selling everything you could ever want, and getting up close and personal with the stars of some of your favourite geeky shows and movies?! It was like being transported to a whole 'nother world for 3 days! This post is going to be about the panels I got to see, and tomorrow I'll post a few cosplay shots as well as the autographs and photos I got with Evanna Lynch, Christopher Lloyd and Teryl Rothery. I'll then do another post for my experience at Supanova in April, since I totally fail at life and never got around to doing so. Finally, I'll do a gigantic haul post on the stuff I accumulated at both events and during that time in between. ^__^

I forgot my camera on Friday, but I got to see the first of two Val Kilmer panels over the course of the event. This blurry photo is actually from the second panel, but let's pretend it's from the Friday :P The panel on Friday was an intimate event, where he spoke about his foray into directing with his new film about Mark Twain. He was absolutely hilarious, making fun of George Clooney and occasionally going off on a tangent due to jetlag and forgetting the question.

The panel on Sunday was officially Batman-themed, but he answered questions about his entire filmography. Somebody asked about his work in Willow (my childhood! <3) and he seemed to have a great relationship with Warwick Davis, talking about how he used to kick him everyday on set, and whenever he signs a photo of him and Davis he draws an arrow to Davis and writes "lifesize". He also joked about Robert Downey Jr's ~failing career doing some infomercials called "Iron.....Clad?", and how he calls him up every now and then to make him feel better. XD

There were also a couple of great events later in the day, with cosplay host John Robertson putting on an amazing stand-up comedy performance that began with "I punched a kid once". I also checked out the charity auction hosted by voice actors Neil Kaplan and Richard Horvitz (Invader Zim!)

It wasn't nearly that dark in the theatre, my camera is just rubbish!

If there was one panel I was excited about on Saturday, this was it. I'm seriously impressed with the star power Supanova was able to reel in this year, with Tom Felton also appearing at the event in April. Evanna Lynch and Georgina Leonidas were totally adorable, skipping/dancing on stage together to answer questions :3 Georgina was very giggly and sweet, and I was surprised to hear that Evanna talks very softly just like Luna - I assumed she put on the voice for the role. The highlight of the panel was Evanna mentioning she ships Dumbledore and Luna (in an entirely platonic way!) XD

Billy Boyd with host Quinny.

He totally looks Hobbit-sized here LOL

I wasn't able to get to the Christopher Lloyd panel (though I hear it was jam-packed and hilarious) so the next panel I got to was for Billy Boyd, aka Pippin from Lord of the Rings. The previous session had run overtime so I was only able to stay for 15 minutes before dashing off to another panel, and I really wish I could've stayed. I'm overusing the word "hilarious" in this post, but he bloody was. He heckled people when they left prematurely, talked about getting his tattoo to commemorate the film, and the props he legally took from set and the feet and ears that may have ~accidentally made their way into his possession ;]

The last panel I got to see on Saturday was for Teryl Rothery, and she was the funniest person I got to see all weekend. I had no idea she had such a sense of humour, she had everybody near piddling their pants with her stories! The panel was officially Stargate SG-1 themed but I was there for Caprica and Eureka (I've only watched a couple of Stargate episodes, don't stone me!) and I managed to ask her a couple of questions about both shows. She revealed she hadn't watched Battlestar Galactica yet, but that she needed to check out the ~fictional son her and Esai Morales created.

Teryl also mentioned that Colin Ferguson and Joe Morton were a tonne of fun to work with on Eureka, and was disappointed when we told her it was cancelled - she "doesn't do that internet thing" so she didn't know. Someone suggested that she appear on Sanctuary and Warehouse 13, the latter of which she hadn't heard of due to not using ze interwebz. She also told some great stories about Chris Judge duct-taping her to a chair for giving him the silent treatment, and being jokingly molested while filming the Heimdall scenes on SG-1. :)

My rubbish photo of Katie Bell from Harry Potter :)

Though I'd have loved to have gone to Evanna Lynch's individual panel on Sunday, I couldn't make it work with my shift times so I opted for Georgina Leonidas instead. She was really sweet and down to earth, mentioning how she freaked out when she bumped into Helena Bonham Carter in the makeup trailer, talking in a really nervous and high-pitched voice. Someone asked about who she ships Katie with and weird fanfiction pairings, and I had to put my 2 cents in, shouting "Snape and Dobby!" XD

Georgina lamented over not being able to keep anything from set, and shared that the props and sets are way more extensive and detailed than any of us could ever imagine. Every jar in the Potions classroom is meticulously labelled and filled with some weird magical animal or body part, even if the jar will never even make it into the background of a scene. I also learned that she comes from a family of actors, and her brother was recently in an episode of Doctor Who!

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Make sure to stick around for tomorrow's post with cosplay shots and my photos with celebrities. I have one word for you: DUCKFACE! :D

5 Days of Lipstick

2011-11-16T19:44:00.003+10:00

Despite my penchant for bright eyeshadow, I've been really loving lipstick lately! I've been getting up too early to attempt any real makeup, and I've also been having problems with my eyeshadow that have turned me off it for the time being. It's heating up something fierce in Australia so I'd expect a little bit of creasing. What I'm experiencing isn't creasing though, it's big patches of eyeshadow disappearing into nothing! My lids are slightly hooded, and as soon as I step outside and start sweating my eyeshadow just disappears from the space where my lid and crease touch. The shadow hasn't seeped into my crease, there's just a big circular patch of nothingness! They're like crop circles on my eyelids, only really unfucking cool.

I've tried changing up primers and then sticking with the same one for a while, but no dice. As a result I've taken to wearing neutrals or very little eyeshadow so that these ~crop circles aren't as noticeable when they do happen. Since I can't wear bright eyeshadow I've been relying on bright lip colours to look ~~like less of a swamp monster~~ put together, and I'm really enjoying it!

Day 1: If I attempt any eyeshadow at all lately, I've been turning to the NYX Nude On Nude and Champagne & Caviar Palettes. I used a mix of shades from the latter on the lid and lashlines, with NARS Douceur blush as a crease colour. I used the insanity that is MAC Her Blooming Cheek as blush, and softened it up with a teensy bit of the Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush. The lips are Models Prefer Professional Ultra Lipgloss Pencil in Drama Queen with a little pawpaw ointment smoothed over the top to reduce the stickiness.

Day 2: You know I loooove purple lipsticks, and MAC Violetta is my top favourite. I lined the lips with NYX Purple Rain Lipliner and topped Violetta off with Geek Chic Cosmetics Geek Gloss in Tentacle Grape. I used Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Depravity as a cream blush and highlighted with Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush. I was a little sweaty here :P

Day 3: I remember very little about what I used in this look, except that the blush was MAC Dollymix and the lipstick is Milani Color Perfect Lipstick in #07 Rose Hip over Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #02 Pink. In reality it was a deeper hot pink, but my camera makes it look closer to a Barbie pink. Note to self: use this lipstick again and take a photo that's actually colour accurate. :)

Day 4: This was my first time wearing MAC Vegas Volt lipstick and I wore it over NYX Tangerine Lipliner. I also used a little of Vegas Volt for cream blush and dusted a crapload of the Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach on top. I then used NARS Albatross to highlight. I don't know what I used on the eyes except that I have Illamasqua Medium Pencil in Vow on my waterline. I've also been using this as a reverse lipliner with every bright lip that I do.

Day 5: I suffer from what is possibly the lamest curse ever, where I fuck up my makeup every.single.time I use NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Damned. I've had it for a couple of months and wear it a lot, but the pictures never make it onto the blog because I always mess up my makeup in some way. Either my lips look really dry or the colour is badly applied; my skin looks cakey, dry or my blush is blotchy; or I screw up some aspect of my eye makeup. In this instance I botched my crease but I was thankfully able to cover it up with the glasses. I used NYX Prune Lipliner underneath and used a touch of Damned as a cream blush. I can't remember what I used to highlight, but I know I packed it on to avoid the dry skin/blotchy blush look.

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I've finished my crazy early starts for the most part, so I can get back to wearing actual makeup again! I'm wary of wearing bright eyeshadow in case the problem persists, but there's no way I'll know unless I try. I have been enjoying getting more use out of my stupidly large lipstick collection though, so I'll definitely be doing more lip-oriented looks in the future. I'm also going to focus on churning out swatches and mini reviews too. :)

Remember Me?

2011-11-14T09:14:00.000+10:00

I'm baaaaack! Thanks for all your well wishes, I finished my last exam ever on Tuesday and I absolutely smashed it! I'd been really freaked out because the lecturer has written notoriously difficult exams in the past, but this time he gave us the topics for all the questions and they weren't ~off or vague at all. I also had an amazing time volunteering at a convention last weekend where I got to meet a bunch of stars, but I'll do another post on that (and this time I'll actually follow through, unlike last time!) The rest of my time has been spent ~~on a stupidly early commute~~ working, but that's coming to an end soon. When I finish in a couple of days I'll be throwing myself into the graduate job hunt :)

For now, enjoy a mini look I did a month or two ago to check out some nighttime beachfront markets. ^__^ It's based on Wendy's beautiful look here, but I switched it up based on the shades that I have.

This is a weird angle :|

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid
NYX Teal Eyeliner - as a base on the lower lashline
Concrete Minerals Juvenile - lid + swept widely in the crease
Sleek Makeup Curious Palette

Blackened olive - to deepen the crease

Concrete Minerals Detox - inner lower lashline
Urban Decay Flipside - outer lower lashline
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Tipsy
NARS Albatross - highlighter

Lips:

Sportsgirl Pout About It Lip Colour in All About You (Matte) - lipstick

I may not have been around to read many of your posts, and my early starts have meant I haven't have time to apply much more than eyeliner and a bright lip, but that doesn't mean I haven't still been buying copious amounts of makeup! I also subscribed to my first ever luxury sample box, so you can expect a tonne of mini reviews and swatches from me in the near future.

Eeep. Update.

2011-11-01T18:58:00.000+10:00

It's pretty apparent that I've been shocking with posting lately and I didn't want to keep you in the dark, so I thought I'd pop in with an update. I'm sure you've all seen me whinge about the 4am starts for my new job, and unfortunately those will continue for another week or so. I also have the last exam of my undergraduate degree (!!!!!!!!) next Tuesday, so I'm desperately trying to fit study in between work. This weekend I'm also volunteering at a super geeky event which is pretty much my dream graduate job, so I'll be trying to network my ass off there.

What I really wanted to say is to hang in there a little longer, and I shall be back to stalk you all after the 11th! :3

Team Pink Eye

2011-10-29T10:23:00.000+10:00

Unless you've been living under a glitter-encrusted rock, you've probably noticed October is turning pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Today I'm partnering with the wonderful Team Pink Eye Project to raise further awareness for the cause. Team Pink Eye is a great initiative, where bloggers and indie companies have come together to post looks and host giveaways throughout the month of October, with the aim of raising $1000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. If you donate a minimum of $5 to the foundation through the Team Pink Eye Page, you receive an entry into all of the giveaways for that week. Make sure to check out the TPE blog for more specifics though. I'm not hosting a giveaway today, but am bringing you a sparkly pink-themed FOTD instead :)

Products:

Tarte Lifted Eye Primer
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk - as a base on the lid
NYX Purple Rain Lipliner - as a base on the lower lashline
Concrete Minerals Prude - inner lid + inner corner
BYS Neon Palette: Neon Pink - outer lid
Sugarpill Magentric - crease + lower lashline
MAC Her Blooming Cheek Blush - to deepen the crease
Truffle Gel Liner - upper lashline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Maybelline Pulse Perfection WP Mascara

Cheeks:

Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph
Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - highlighter

Lips:

MAC Prep+Prime Lip
Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink - lipstain
NYX Purple Rain Lipliner
MAC Show Orchid Lipstick

Almost duckface!

I can't emphasise enough how important it is to poke around and check your breasts for lumps each month. I've had a few lump and bump-related scares myself, but fortunately both were revealed to be benign. It was a scary experience and lesson though, and I've checked myself regularly ever since. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. :(

Have a gander at the other looks and giveaways for this week:
Cupcake's Quirky Corner
g l o s t i x
Gothique
It's French For Staircase Wit
Just A Domesticated Glitter Goddess
Lacquered, Painted, Polished
My Socks Are Better Than Your Socks
Phyrra
Utopista

I have another pink look that I'd like to post before the end of October, so I may get around to that tomorrow :)

Halloween Guest Post For Phyrra!

2011-10-27T09:13:00.000+10:00

Just dropping in to let y'all know that I've got a guest post up on Phyrra's lovely blog! She asked me to contribute a little piece about how we celebrate Halloween in Australia (or how we don't celebrate it, rather D:) and I've done a ~sexy makeup look to go along with it. Sadly there's no duckface, but if you'd like to read a bit about our lack of Halloween celebrations and see my look, you can check that out here!

Make sure to check out the rest of Phyrra's blog while you're at it, she's awesome. <3

OMGWTFBBQ

2011-10-26T09:02:00.000+10:00

I did this colourful look a few weeks ago for a BBQ that I helped organise, and where I also hosted trivia. The lid and crease were vaguely inspired by this beautiful look Meredith created, but it kind of took on a life of its own! I didn't want to do a cut crease since I absolutely suck at them, and I chose more of a turquoise and light green than the beautiful deep teal and blues she used. The crease and lid turned out a bit muddier than I'd hoped, but I thought it was an interesting combo nonetheless. I think it would've been nice with an aqua lower lashline using a colour like Urban Decay Flipside, but I was craving something a little different. :) Maybe when I finish my disgusting 4am starts I'll do a more faithful recreation of the look!

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid
Evil Shades Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet - as a base on the lower lashline
Sugarpill Goldilux - inner lid
Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - outer lid
MAC Lucky Green - widely in the crease
Concrete Minerals Zealous - to deepen the crease
Sugarpill Magentric - inner lower lashline
Sugarpill Hysteric - outer lower lashline
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach

Lips:

MAC Nymphette Lipglass

*chugs down 8 cups of coffee*

Yum Chaaaaa

2011-10-23T16:09:00.000+10:00

Firstly, thank you for all your lovely comments on my Depression Awareness post. I was surprised by how many of you shared similar stories, and it reminded me why I love the beauty community so much. While we might initially bond over our love of sparkle, we're tethered together by much more than that. <3 Secondly, apologies for going AWOL for the entire week! I've started working at another location, which means I have to get up at 4am and am comatose by the end of the day. I'm going to kick my ass into gear and schedule posts for the rest of the week though, so even if I can't stay awake long enough to read and comment, there'll be some fresh material on my blog.

Because of the early starts I barely have enough time to slap on makeup (and I'd rather sleep on the train than put my face on), so I've been wearing bold lips and barely there neutral eyes all week. I'm going to do a couple of compilation posts with my bold lip looks, since they're far too boring to dedicate separate FOTD posts too. I'm enjoying getting use out of my lipstick stash, but it's terribly boring and I feel so restrained! Fortunately I don't work on the weekends and had planned an outing for Yum Cha yesterday, so I slapped on some bright eye makeup for the first time in what felt like ages. <3

Products:

Urban Decay Primer Potion
NYX Teal Eyeliner - as a base on the lid + inner 2/3 of the lower lashline
Evil Shades Spectrum Pot in Visible Violet - as a base on the outer lower lashline
MAC Lucky Green - inner lid + inner corner
Concrete Minerals Zealous - outer lid + centre lower lashline
MAC Dollymix Blush - widely in the crease
Sugarpill Poison Plum - to deepen the crease
Sugarpill Hysteric - outer lower lashline
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Maybelline Pulse Perfection Waterproof Mascara

Cheeks:

MAC Dollymix - blush
Clio Professional Art Highlighter in #2 Soft Pink - highlight

Lips:

Savoir Faire Cosmetics Lipstick in Miss You

I don't even know what happened here, I assume a sneeze or cough :|

AND WTF IS UP WITH MY MIDDLE FINGER D: it doesn't look like that irl!

It was so good to put on bright eyeshadow, I felt and looked like a completely different person! Whenever I wear a bold lip I feel more mature and sophisticated, and bright eyeshadow makes me feel like the immature little yobbo I really am. ;]

The Clio highlighter and Savoir Faire lipstick are new, and I'm going to try to do mini haul posts on those. Clio Professional is a Korean brand, and the Savoir Faire lipstick is part of this month's BellaBox, another one of those luxury sample box subscription thingos. I'll try to do a little post on what I received and think of this month's contents, but I realise I still have a bunch of posts I've promised and haven't done yet *cough* Illamasqua Theatre of the Nameless dupes *cough*

Depression Awareness Month

2011-10-18T22:24:00.001+10:00

Everyone is aware that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but fewer people know that October is also dedicated to Depression Awareness. The Makeup Heroes will be doing green looks this week for the cause, as green is the colour of the Depression Awareness Ribbon and depression is a cause close to many of our hearts. Wendy and Kathy have shared some statistics on their blogs, so I just wanted to share my story of depression. I am now 21 and have suffered from some form of depression since I was 11. I have a very strong family history of depression, with every living woman on my mother's side suffering from the disease. It's all I've ever really known, and I will likely be on some form of medication until the day I die.

I had an extremely difficult time getting a diagnosis for my disease. I sought help for self-harming when I was 15, but my doctor just recommended me to the incompetent and underqualified school counselor. She made me play with fucking pipecleaners and justify my colour choice and configuration. She was such a joke and so entirely unhelpful that I refused to go back, so I played along and pretended that I was happy and 'normal' so I didn't have to see her again. It wasn't until my first year of university that I took my chances on another doctor when I noticed that I was feeling more 'blah' than usual, perpetually exhausted and like everything was too hard.

I finally received a diagnosis at the age of 17. I started seeing a psychologist and was prescribed anti-depressants, which was an incredible relief. I was angry that it had taken 6 years for someone to take action, but glad that I was finally on the road to getting better. The psychologist was helpful beyond belief and it felt great to have someone listen, even if I just wanted to bitch about douchebag group members at uni. Medication was a bitch to get right though. I started on Effexor, which gave me nausea and made me feel flatter than flat. I then started on Aropax which was much more effective, and the medication I still take to this day. Treatment is very much a process of trial and error, but it does get better. It was a horrible journey, but I can safely say I am now the closest I've ever been to 'balanced' and 'happy'.

Products:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Yellow - as a base on the lid
NYX Moss Eyeliner - as a base on the lower lashline
88 Original/Matte Palette

Chartreuse - lid
Kelly green - crease

Concrete Minerals Zealous - inner lower lashline
MAC Lucky Green - centre lower lashline
MAC Humid - outer lower lashline
Spell Cosmetics Citron - inner corner highlight
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

Chanel Soleil Tan de Chanel - bronzer
Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach - blush

Lips:

MAC Shy Girl Lipstick - just a tiiiiny bit
Mode Cosmetics Lip Shine in Pear-fecto (light shimmery green!) - lipgloss

These days I'm finally able to smile and make duckfaces <3

I don't even need to tell you that there's a massive about of stigma around depression, especially having been witness to a vicious attack on a friend's mental health in recent weeks. Nobody deserves depression, nobody deserves to feel this way. Depression is a debilitating illness in itself, and this is just compounded when you have embarrassment, shame and perceived weakness lumped in there too. Very few of my real life friends know I have depression, and I don't discuss it with them because I feel they just don't understand. I would love to live in a world where I could be open and honest about my disease, where I don't have to worry about being judged because my serotonin levels have a mind of their own.

I know posting a picture of a pretty green makeup look isn't going to magically transform the world, but hopefully it'll make at least one person stop and think about mental health.

Check out the other Makeup Heroes' posts for Depression Awareness:

Wendy
Kathy
Helen
Priscilla

Robyn

Sportsgirl Highlighter Swatches

2011-10-13T22:10:00.005+10:00

Technically this post should be titled 'Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Summer Blush and Away We Glow Shimmering Body Lotion', but fuck that's a long title! This is the last of my Sportsgirl swatchfests that I created because Jade asked so nicely. ;] Today I'm showing you two products that were created for highlighting or adding colour to other body parts, but I purchased them to use specifically as cheek highlighters. These are recent acquisitions that I've only had the chance to use a handful of times, so I can't offer many thoughts or looks to show the products in action. Though I'm sure that if you keep an eye out over the next couple of months, these products will pop up a lot in my FOTD product lists.

With flash, but there was a shadow (hence why the lower half is darker)

No flash!

The price sticker on the back of this actually says "Blush" but the website says "Summer Blush", so I'll roll with that. Just to recap, the Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers are multi-purpose powders, intended to add colour and shimmer to the cheeks and eyes. I personally only use them on the cheeks, either as a blush or highlighter. You get 10.4g of product for $9.95, and each one contains three sections of shimmery colour. Summer Blush features a medium candy pink, light beige and silvery beige (which just shows up as white in my swatch photo). Together, they mix to form a lovely rose with a strong overlay of silvery beige shimmer.

Left to right: candy pink, light beige, silvery beige, mixed together and swatched heavily, mixed together and blended.

I imagine this could work as a blush on extremely pale skintones, or if I layer it over a really bright or really dark cream blush as a base. Unfortunately I haven't had much time to play around with this one though, so this is all speculation! I knew from swatching Summer Blush that it would be more of a highlight shade on me, so I purchased it to specifically use with pink blushes. I figured it'd be nice to layer lightly over the whole cheek to add a controlled level of shimmer to matte pink blushes, or just as an obnoxious cheekbone highlight with shimmery or matte cheek colours. It can be built up for an almost metallic finish, or buffed out for a subtler look. I really packed it on this morning to hide the fact that my blush and eye makeup hadn't gone to plan, so if you ignore my messy brows and gross eye makeup you can see that here.

Next we have the Away We Glow Shimmering Body Lotion in Vanilla. I'm guessing Vanilla only refers to the scent, because there weren't exactly any other shades available instore! Although this is a new purchase which I've only had the chance to try twice, I can tell you that this is a thin silvery lotion packed with incredibly fine silvery white shimmer. It has quite a strong vanilla scent that lingered when I did the arm swatches, but not when I actually applied it to my face. I intend to apply it underneath my foundation for a glowy finish, and on top of my cheekbones as a highlighter. I actually applied it under my foundation and concentrated it in the cheek area this morning (same photo I linked above), but you can't exactly tell. I can tell you it's beautiful on darker skintones though, because I rubbed the tester all over the arm of my Kenyan friend. ;]

Direct sunlight

The only other liquid highlighter product I own is the NARS Illuminator in Copacabana, which is a slightly thicker silvery pink lotion with a more metallic finish. I don't have any comparison swatches (ugh, I should do that!) but Away We Glow is of a thinner consistency, densely packed with silvery white shimmer. This is $9.95 and contains 125mL of product, which I imagine could keep me going for the next 5 years!

Overcast....weird that it's more shimmery in overcast sunlight!

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Sorry this post wasn't terribly informative, but I just haven't had enough time to try these products out! I hope the swatches help some of you though, and I'll try to update with solid opinions when I finally form them. :)

I'm terribly behind with reading and commenting on your blog posts, so you can expect some late to the party comments starting next Monday. I've just started working at another location, which requires a very early wake up call and a long commute. By the time I get home I'm ready for bed, even though it's only 4pm! And providing the weather cooperates, I'll be away all weekend at Stradbroke Island and won't have access to a computer.

Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach & Rose.

2011-10-12T22:38:00.004+10:00

Jade asked for it, so today I'm bringing you swatches of my Sportsgirl blushes! Technically they're Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers, but let's not argue about semantics ;] I'd originally intended to show another Get Cheeky product and a shimmering body lotion in this post too, but with product photos and swatches it just became too long. I've broken up the posts so that today I'm showing you 2 products I use as blushes, and tomorrow I'll showcase 2 products that I've been using as cheek highlighters. (Whether they were originally intended for that purpose is another story...) Aaaaaanyway, today I'm showing you the Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach and Rose!

Clockwise from top left: Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmers in Peach, Rose and Summer Blush.
I'll show Summer Blush tomorrow or Friday! :)

With FLAAAAAAAAAAASH. They're all obviously a touch dark in real life.

As the name implies, these are a multi-purpose product that can be used on the eye or cheek, though I prefer to use these two particular shades as blushes. They cost $9.95 from Sportsgirl stores and contain 10.4g of product. They're separated into three sections of colour, all of which contain some degree of shimmer. Unless you're using an incredibly fine brush, I find the sections are too small to be used individually. On occasion I tend to swirl two of the three shades together, but you'd be hard pressed to grab that middle shade alone. I purchased these two while on holiday in July, but they were still available when I visited my local Sportsgirl store just two weeks ago. I'd wager that these two shades are permanent, or are just enjoying a leeeeengthy stay in stores.

With flash.

Without flash.

The Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Peach contains a pinky coral, orange peach and bronze. When swirled together these form a bronzey-orange-peach-wtfIdontevenknow, which is far prettier than it sounds. All three sections are shimmery, though I personally find the shimmer to be subtler than in Rose or Summer Blush. I find it imparts a beautiful glow to the skin rather than any discernible shimmer or glitter. Peach, Rose and Summer Blush are all on the sheer side, but I'll note that for some reason this one was exceptionally difficult to swatch. I mashed my finger in there but the colour just wouldn't translate to my arm! I've had no problems with applying it on the cheek though, and I'm able to build up colour easily despite using a fluffy duo fibre blush brush.

Left to right: pinky coral, orange-peach, bronze, mixed together and applied heavily, mixed together and sheered out.

I have a real problem with blush fading, but I don't find these blushes to be horrendously bad or omgamaaaaazing in terms of wear time when I wear them on their own. They do fade on me, but all blushes fade on me. They may very well wear all day on someone with ~~less fucking crazy~~ calmer body chemistry, so take my experiences with a grain of salt. To combat fading I tend to layer my powder blushes over creams for added longevity, and I've found a great combo in layering this over the top of the Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Emerge. Emerge is a soft orange-peach that is close to my skintone, with a slightly tacky texture that dries down to a matte finish over time. I find that if I layer Peach over Emerge while it's still tacky, I get great staying power (my blush is still visible when I arrive home at the end of the day!) I haven't posted the look for it yet, but you can see that in action here. I also talked about layering Emerge under another powder blush here.

With flaaaaaash.

Without flash (and looking a bit worse for wear!)

The Rose palette has a slightly different design to its Peach counterpart, but still contains three shimmery sections of colour. This time we have a mauvey pink, rosey pink and bronze with a hint of rose. The shimmer is slightly more obvious, but it still imparts a glowy sheen rather than big shimmer or glitter particles. When swatching this instore, I fully expected the bronze to turn this into a muddy brown mess. Instead, it just deepens the colour and you're left with a lovely berry pink with gold shimmer. Unfortunately the sun disappeared while swatching this one, so the gold shimmer is not terribly visible. As with the Peach, it's somewhat sheer but easily buildable. I've worn it alone very sheerly here for a hint of colour, layered over a light application of a pink cream blush here for a slightly brighter pop of colour, and over a lipstick as a cream blush here for some pretty pink clown cheeks :P

Left to right: mauvey pink, slightly rosey pink, rosey bronze, mixed and swatched heavily, mixed and sheered out.

In case you couldn't tell, I really like these. They're sheer enough that they're friendly to blush beginners, but they're also buildable if you like more of a ~~dragqueenclowncheeks~~ obvious blush look like me. They're beautifully glowy and can double as a blush and highlighter in one, and they last an average amount of time on me. They're cheap by Australian standards and you get a substantial amount of product. They're also still available in stores and are great staple colours to own. Have I made myself clear enough yet? I want you to run down to Sportsgirl and smother these all over your face ASAP. ;]

Sportsgirl Lip Product Swatches

2011-10-10T20:48:00.008+10:00

Since Jade asked for it, I'm sharing swatches of my lip products from Sportsgirl! Sportsgirl is a clothing chain here in Australia, and while I don't care for their clothes I love their cosmetics. They're relatively affordable by Australian standards, and are of surprisingly good quality! I will warn you that I'm absolutely rubbish at lip and blush swatches, but unfortunately all the Sportsgirl products I own fall into that category. So you'll be treated to some wonderfully amateur swatches over the next couple of days. ;] I'll also warn you that Sportsgirl discontinue their products at an alarming rate, so many of these shades are no longer available. If you're lucky, you may be able to find them in the bargain bin in your local store.

Left to right: Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours in Nudie Run, Candy Floss, Bohemian, Tutti Frutti, Fuzzy Peach and Dress Up, Sportsgirl Pucker Up Lip Crayon in Coral, and Sportsgirl Pout About It Matte Lipstick in All About You.

Same order as above, natural light.

Same order as above, with flash.

I absolutely love the Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colours, which is pretty obvious since I own quite a few! These are relatively non-sticky glosses that generally offer sheer-to-medium buildable coverage, and are available in a small range of cream and shimmer finishes. I personally prefer cream finishes for my lipgloss, so I haven't yet tried any of the shimmers. They're only the slightest bit sticky to where they aren't magnets for strands of hair on a windy day, but don't immediately slide off my lips either. They're technically creams in the sense that they lack shimmer, but 'jelly' is a more accurate term given their glassy finish. These are $8.95 and you get 3.1mL of product.

I'm absolutely rubbish at lip swatches and exfoliating does jack shit for my lips, so you'll have to bear with me! Here are my bare lips for reference.

Nudie Run

I am absolutely fucking kicking myself for not getting a backup of this, because it's practically my holy grail when it comes to nude lipgloss. It's a peachy nude that doesn't wash me out, and it goes perfectly with or without a lipstick underneath. I hope to hell Sportsgirl bring this back eventually, because I'm running low on my tube. :(

Candy Floss

LOL this one is absolutely hideous on me on its own. It's a light milky pink that Kim Kardashian would somehow be able to pull off, but makes me look like I have jizz lips. I can occasionally wear this very sheerly over a pinkier nude lipstick, but I generally use it to tone down brighter pink lip colours like my Etude House Fresh Cherry Tint in #2 Pink. Also no longer available, but I won't miss it when I run out.

Bohemian

Ignore the state of my lips in this one, and that random flake of dry skin. This is a midtone coral with a hint of peachy nude to it, like if NYX Smokey Look Megashine Lipgloss and Nudie Run had a baby. I don't think this one is available near me anymore, so I'm savouring the tube.

Tutti Frutti

Not sure if this one is still available, but probably not. It's a reddened coral that can be built up to almost medium coverage. This is basically the sheer lipgloss version of the Pucker Up Lip Crayon in Coral, and they look beautiful together.

Fuzzy Peach

*gasp* This one is actually available! I picked this up a couple of weeks ago in Byron Bay, so it should still be available in stores. This is another one that doesn't look too great on me alone, but looks much nicer when worn sheerly or over the top of a lipstick. In the tube it looks like an orange peach, but on the lips it's a milky peach.

Dress Up

This one is also still available! It's a beautiful purply pink, and one of the more pigmented shades in the range. I've been wearing this quite sheerly as a wearable pink lip, but it's also beautiful layered over bright pink lipsticks like Geek Chic's Lipstick of the Shifting Sands. I've been getting a lot of compliments on this one :3

Closeup of the Pucker Up Lip Crayon in Coral, Pout About It Matte Lipstick in All About You, and the applicator from the Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Dress Up. The applicators in the glosses are pretty standard, just a bit longer to account for the longer tube. I could've sharpened the crayon and not been a disgusting lady, but you'll have to deal with it. ;]

All About You, with a bit of balm underneath.

All About You, without balm.

The colour is in between both pictures, and see my top lip in the second photo for a more accurate depiction of the finish. It's a lovely everyday peachy nude, and although it's classed as a matte lipstick, I don't find it to be deathly matte like MAC Ruby Woo lipstick. It maintains the slightest bit of sheen on me, and I personally find it comfortable to wear. If you have problems with lipsticks drying out your lips or have issues with matte lipsticks in particular, you might want to add some balm or gloss when you wear this. This is $9.95 for 4g of product.

Coral (such a creative name!)

I'll warn you now that this photo is really inaccurate, I've tried so many times to photograph this and it always comes out bright neon pink on camera. The arm swatch is much more accurate, and it's a bright reddened coral that dries to a completely matte finish. It's actually what I'm wearing in my Twitter profile photo, but it looks bright pink there! As mentioned, it looks beautiful with Tutti Frutti on top. I'm not sure if this is available anymore, but it was under $10 for 2g of product.

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I realise how utterly useless this post is for both international and Aussie followers, but Jade asked for swatches so I delivered! ^__^ Hopefully it gives you an idea of the product quality here, although most of the shades I've showed are no longer available. I've been really impressed with the products I've tried thus far and can't wait to pick up more, but I wish Sportsgirl didn't discontinue their products in the blink of an eye! I'd give my left arm to pick up a few backups of Nudie Run. *sigh*

Rainbow Punch

2011-10-08T15:38:00.000+10:00

(I have a migraine, pardon the uncreative title :P)

This is the sparkly sister to the brightass look I posted the other day, and oddly enough I don't like it as much! I still liked how eye-catching and bright it was, but I think it lacks contrast after looking at my mostly-matte version. There's just too much shimmer, y'know? I originally left the crease matte using the Sleek Aruba blush, but couldn't help myself and dusted some Sugarpill Magentric on top to add some sparkle. I'd blended the line between Magentric and Aruba a lot better, but I'd applied too much Magentric to the lid so I got some transfer in my crease. *sighs overdramatically* hooded lids are the bane of my existence.

Products:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Bloom Lipliner - as a base on the lid
NYX Electric Blue Eyeliner - as a base on the outer lower lashline
NYX Moss Eyeliner - as a base on the inner lower lashline
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Gold - as a base on the inner corner
Sugarpill Magentric - lid + dusted lightly in the crease
Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - crease
Sephora Collection Colourful Mono Eyeshadow in #38 Stephane - outer lower lashline
MAC Lucky Green - inner lower lashline
Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - inner corner
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

Kit Cosmetics Duo Cheek & Lip Creme in Pretty Cheeky (pink side) - cream blush
Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer in Rose - powder blush

Lips:

MAC Syrup Lipstick

Unfortunately I forgot to powder so I was really shiny in photos. This is the only one I got where I didn't look like I'd faceplanted into a vat of chip fat. Ignore my unruly brows too, apparently they were doing whatever the fuck they wanted, haha. >__>

Calypso

2011-10-05T12:06:00.000+10:00

I absolutely loved this look, but it somehow got buried among my backlog of draft posts!

It was vaguely based off a FOTD Wendy did here, but I changed it so much to suit me that it doesn't really resemble the original look anymore! I knew I couldn't pull off the gold crease, as I'm sure you've heard me wail about light crease colours making me look like a mutant. I had also recently ordered the Sleek blushes in Aruba and Santorini, so I figured I'd try them as eyeshadows and substituted Aruba for the crease colour, and Santorini for a more cracked out pink on the lid. I originally went with the turquoise lower lashline but felt it paled in comparison to the brightass lid and crease, so I popped a bit of green in there too. And I still wanted a little gold in there as a tribute to the original look and to add a bit of texture, so I popped some on the inner corner. I've totally mutilated it so it barely resembles the original post, but I still love it. ^__^

Products:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Dolly Pink Lipliner - as a base on the lid
NYX Electric Blue Eyeliner - as a base on the lower lashline
BYS Shine Stick Eye Shadow in Light Gold - as a base on the inner corner
Sleek Makeup Santorini Blush - lid
Sleek Makeup Aruba Blush - crease
Sugarpill Flamepoint - to deepen the crease
Sephora Collection Colourful Mono Eyeshadow in #38 Stephane - outer lower lashline
MAC Lucky Green - centre lower lashline
Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - inner corner
Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Sugarpill Tako - to set lower waterline
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

MAC Cream Colour Base in Tickle Me Pink - cream blush
Illamasqua Powder Blush in Nymph - powder blush, layered lightly on top

Lips:

Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Candy Floss - lipgloss

Unfortunately I didn't get a whole lot of good eye closeups, but I hope you get the idea. I've also recreated this using Sugarpill Magentric on the lid, which is more faithful to Wendy's original look. I'll get that up soon! ^__^

insert circus themed name here

2011-10-03T21:29:00.001+10:00

Here's the makeup I was wearing in my Callooh & Callay post! I wanted to do something reminiscent of the circus and for some reason this colour placement reminded me of a circus, so I rolled with it. The company's colours are more red and white with a hint of yellow/gold, but I figured white would be a bit tricky to work with. The shimmery white in the Maybelline Sapphire Siren quad would've been lovely, but I wanted to work with mostly matte textures on the lid. Matte whites either don't want to be opaque or they all look dusty and chalky on me, ageing my eyelids about 10 years. Young moonface + papery eyelids = not very attractive. :P I probably could've blended the stripe on the lid a bit more, but slightly cleaner lines made it look even brighter and more obnoxious!

Products:

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk - as a base on the lid
BYS Kohl Pencil in Soft White - as a base on the lower lashline
Inglot AMC Shadow in 60 - inner + outer lid + centre lower lashline
Inglot AMC Shadow in 50 - centre of the lid + mixed in the crease
Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Berber - mixed in the crease + inner and outer lower lashline
Hi-Fi Cosmetics Rockstar Shadow in On Tour - layered in the middle of the lower lashline
Maybelline Eye Studio Quad in Sapphire Siren

Shimmery white - dusted on the inner corner + inner crease

Sugarpill Bulletproof - to tightline
Silk White Gel Liner - lower waterline
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes! Mascara
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara

Cheeks:

NARS Laguna Bronzer - contour and blush
Can't remember if I was wearing any highlighter, it's probably just my greasy face...

Lips:

NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella - tiiiiiny bit applied and rubbed in like a stain
Sportsgirl Give Some Lip Liquid Lip Colour in Candy Floss - lipgloss used to tone down the stain even more

No srs bsns or smiley faces here, my face just didn't want to photograph nicely up close! My left eye (your right) has more of a feline almond shape, so it sometimes looks mega small and squinty on camera. On this particular day my camera looked at that eye with the stripes and was like "FUCK NOOOO" *mangles face* XD

Guest Post At Makeup Zombie!

2011-10-02T13:32:00.000+10:00

Oh harro,

Just wanted to let y'all know that I've done a guest post for Wendi of Makeup Zombie, to cover for her while she's out of town fighting crime this weekend. I recreated one of her beautiful looks, so go check it out and tell me how I did! ^__^

Yes, there is duckface.

Check it out here and if you're not following Makeup Zombie yet, ~~why the fuck not~~ go follow her!

Callooh & Callay

2011-09-29T20:49:00.004+10:00

My friend Lillian of Funny Face's Place recently launched her own business venture, Callooh & Callay! Lillian and her partner Claire have designed some really cute and quirky acrylic jewellery inspired by carnivals, ~~Bowie's crotch~~ Labyrinth, Punch & Judy and all things cute. And if dark and spooky is more your style, they've also just released their Jewels for Ghouls Halloween Collection! I'll warn you now that this post is mostly picspam and me gushing at length about Callooh & Callay, because I'm really proud of Lillian and Claire. I've not been sponsored in any way, but Lillian is such a lovely person so I really want to see her succeed. And she's dealt with more than enough crap from a certain Melon Felon, so if anybody knows how not to run a business, it's her! :3

Immediately after Callooh & Callay opened I placed an order for this Balloon Dog Necklace in purple, which is unfortunately sold out on the website at the time of writing. I also had my eye on the Nautical Narwhal and Jareth the Owl necklaces, but had just embarked on a (now failed) no-buy at the time so I wasn't able to spend a lot. I made use of a store opening discount and shipping was $4.50. I placed my order on the 19th of September, received a shipping notice on the 21st, and it arrived here on the 27th. Not bad from the UK to Australia! My package arrived with a handwritten note and a Banana Split lollipop and I promptly gobbled that shit up. ;]

All wrapped up in a pretty black box...

Cute and consistent branding.

The back of the business card against the attractive backdrop that is my giant manhand....yeah, I totally forgot to
take a photo until I started writing this post >__>

The postal workers smushed the pretty black box. :X
FYI the little specks are just dust and smudges, not scratches

The designs are cute, shipping was fast and communication was good. The branding is wonderfully consistent, with the packaging, business card and little sticker matching the website perfectly. The website is powered by Storenvy and checkout was fairly intuitive, considering I've never used that platform before. Each piece is modelled by Lillian or Claire (with epic styling!) so you have an idea of the size of each piece and the length of the chain where applicable. Pieces from the Balloonacy collection are also available in different shades, and you can search by collection or product type: brooch, necklace, printed acrylic, engraved acrylic etc.

I do have to say that I'm a little concerned about the chain though, since it's very fine and I've had bad experiences with such fine chains in the past. I'm a cackhanded muppet as the Brits would say, and have ripped many a pendant from its chain in the past. It seems like it'd be fairly easy to swap the chain out, but I'd like to see Callooh & Callay offer thicker and/or longer chain options for fellow unco yobbos.

Now onto some forced action shots!

My disembodied chest wearing the necklace!

I failed at getting the actual jewellery piece in focus, my camera just saw the FOREHEAD OF DOOM and freaked the fuck out. Will do a breakdown of this makeup in the next few days, I tried to do something based on the Callooh & Callay colours :)

Click to enlarge if you wish :)

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to a 'fashion' post on this blog, because I have the fashion sense of a sack of potatoes. But in case you couldn't tell, I'm really proud of Lillian and Claire. I'm interested to see what other designs they come up with, as the cute circus theme offers a lot to play around with. I'd like to see some creepier designs myself, like an evil clown and owls a la Twin Peaks and The Fourth Kind.

Find Callooh & Callay:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Disclaimer: I bought this shit and am not sponsored in anyway, yo. I'm just gushing about it because I want to flail around in Bowie tights and make cupcakes with Lillian. /isnotcreepyatall

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*insert circus themed name here*

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insert circus themed name here