London haulings and a few pics

Hi everyone!

So I spent last weekend (actually from Thursday to Sunday) in London with my friend celebrating my birthday and her nameday (well, we needed an excuse!). I was going to do a swatch post today but unfortunately I have the sniffles and I don't like to get germs all over my precious makeup thingies. So instead I'm posting my London makeup haul and some photos from the trip (ye been warned, the post in question be picture-heavy).

FOTD: Parcel Tongue

Hi everyone!

I got a new camera this week so I took some FOTD photos with it. Unfortunately when I was scaling the images down a bit, I managed to change something in my full face photo and then I had to change the warmth of the photo so it may look a bit off.

I also got what appears to be my last Aromaleigh order. I got some full sized products from Wonderstruck and Spells collections. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan (I prefer the books but Alan Rickman makes an excellent Severus Snape) so Spells was my cup of tea. I ordered Obliviate, Wingardium Leviosa, Serpensortia, Tarantallegra and Priori Incantate. Serpensortia and Priori Incantate really stood out for me: Serpensortia is a lovely olive green that leans to gold and has a lovely shimmer to it and Priori Incantate is this greenish golden brown shimmerbomb. If I could, I'd still order Silencio, Protego, Alohomora and Expecto Patronum.


Here's the look I created with Serpensortia and Priori Incantate:

Parcel Tongue

Face:
Aromaleigh Glissade foundation in 1CL
MAC blush in Oh So Fair
Aromaleigh Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder in Clear

Eyes:
Too Faced Shadow Insurance primer
Aromaleigh eyeshadow in Serpensortia (all over upper lid)
Aromaleigh eyeshadow in Priori Incantate (crease and outer vee)
Fyrinnae eyeshadow in Shinkirou (as a highlighter below brow)
Coastal Scents gel liner in 24kk (I think.. used as a liner)
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (upper lashline)

Lips:
Aromaleigh lipbalm in Just the Balm, Ma'am
Evil Shades Deviant lipstick in Primrose Path

Here I wonked up the settings. This looks a lot bluer than it should. The plus side is that no one can see my acne!

These pictures I managed not to eff up. As you can see, Serpensortia is hella glowy. I love it.

Argh, I wish Priori Incantate would show up more but I messed up, apparently. It's sparkly and glowy and I know a few people who'd want/need this shade...

If you follow me on Twitter (I've changed my profile private again because I've had enough of the spammers there), you probably know that I had an office Christmas party on Friday. The night didn't go so smoothly for me. I spent 1,5 hours doing my hair and makeup and started feeling sick after just an hour after the party had started. FYI I wasn't drunk, I just got a terrible headache, felt dizzy and my stomach started to turn. I suspect that my sensitive tummy didn't like the combo of 2 antibiotic tablets and alcohol. So I went home (by bus after standing in -10 centigrade weather for 10 minutes) and started throwing up. Then I went to sleep for 2-3 hours and woke up feeling relatively fine. Boyfriend was such a sweetie and went to a nearby gas station to get me some ic cream when he heard I had missed desserts.

Here's a pic of me dolled up on Friday:

As you can see, I'm suffering from acne at the moment (that's why I'm on antibiotics, my glands had swollen up due to an infection caused by the acne) and I think I might be a little tipsy...

So, how do you like the looks?

It's a Tartan Blur

Well folks,

it's the time of the year when you have sunlight in Finland only if you're extremely lucky. Now it's 12.46am and it's mostly grey.

MAC came out with a collection called Tartan Tale which really is no news anymore but I just wanted to share my haul with you. Initially, I was just going to get Courting Lilac lipstick, A Wish Come True eyeshadow and Style Clan nail polish. First I got Cut A Caper lipstick, A Wish Come True eyeshadow, Enviably Fun eyeshadow and Style Clan nail polish. I left Courting Lilac behind because it looked too murky at the MAC counter when I swatched it.

I was the second person on the counter on the morning of the release. I had a bit of a hassle because I told the MAC artist what I wanted and she checked some of the shade names except for A Wish Come True. So when I got home a few hours later, I had Semi-Precious in my bag. I had to run back and they changed the eyeshadow. By that time there were a lot more people and I was sure that A Wish Come True had sold out (we have only one MAC counter in Helsinki and they get their stock from another country so if LE stuff runs out, they don't get more of it because it takes about 3-4 weeks for them to re-stock. At least this was the case a year ago. And believe me, sometimes it seems they're out on everything).

Let me share the first blurry pics of my first haul...

The happy Tartan family reunion. Enviably Fun is the green tartan striped eyeshadow (as you can see, these are slightly bigger than regular MAC eyeshadows) and the pinkish one is A Wish Come True).

 Here's how Cut A Caper (lustre finish) looks on my chapped lips. It's a bright peachy pink lipstick but it applies pretty sheer. For me it's perfect because it really freshens and brightens up my skin tone.

Okay. I should explain this crappiness of a photo first. I tried to get a decent swatch photo of the eyeshadows (upper line without primer, lower line with TFSI+Pixie Epoxy) but I had to tweak the brightness because the photo turned out yellow without proper lighting and flash. However, you can see that these eyeshadows really do require a primer because otherwise they're really sheer. They are nice and shiny, though. The finish is very satiny and shiny. But if you want more pigmented dupes, check out Fyrinnae's Danse Macabre (lime with golden sheen) and Apparition (pink with mauve tones) as these are far more vibrant than MAC's.

I love Style Clan nail polish. You can see the flecks of copper in the poop brown base in this photo. And yeah, it looks poop brown in your nails.. but the copper flakes make it more festive! Actually, this polish is a good alternative to black nail polish in case your workplace frowns upon black nails.

So I decided to leave Courting Lilac behind. Guess what followed me home from Tallinn's Kaubamaja's MAC counter? Yep, Courting Lilac lipstick. The shade looked better there (could it've been the lighting?) and it cost a few euros less than here. Win-win, I'd say.

Courting Lilac (glaze finish) is lilac with golden sheen. It's on the sheer side like Cut A Caper. I love the gold in it, it makes the shade interesting and it changes according to light.

Here's a swatch of the both lippies on bare skin.


Somehow the two blushes of the collection didn't tempt me as much as I would've thought. Highland Honey looked too yellow on me when I swatched it and Her Blooming Cheek has nothing on some indie stuff I have.

As you can probably guess some or all of these are following me to my trip to London which is in few weeks!

Did you shop Tartan Tale? What did you get?

Sugarpill: Burning Heart Monster Palette

Happy Halloween!


A few weeks back Sugarpill had a special Halloween sale on their shop where they sold 'Monster' palettes, i.e. their regular palettes that had some minor defects in them. I ordered the Burning Heart palette on a whim and I got it on Friday.

I know that some of you were interested to see what would a monster palette look like so I took you some pics! And swatches too!

Since this post will be picture-heavy, the story continues after the jump...

Jewels enough to make a woman: Whimsy Beading

Hi there!

If you follow me at Twitter, you may know that I've got a new, more challenging job and that most of my days are spent freaking out about new stuff that I have to learn and trying to do stuff I already can do. So for these reasons I have had to ignore this blog and unfortunately you.

I assume that most of the people that read my blog are familiar with my friend's Phyrra's blog. She's almost always wearing these amazing jewellery pieces by an indie company called Whimsy Beading. After drooling over the pics of Phyrra wearing all kinds of stuff from them, I had to give in to my urge to get something for myself.

First of all, Kelly (one of the owners, the other one being her husband Joe) is a total sweetie. This became very evident the first time I contacted her. I wanted a custom colour set of earrings and necklace but I wanted them in the style she had on their Etsy store. I didn't know how much it was going to cost me or if she'd be willing/able to create what I wanted. Kelly's answers were very friendly and she was very helpful in advicing me on the colour schemes of the pieces I wanted to get from her. My first order took over a month to reach me but during that time I was in contact with Kelly and we talked about what to do if my order never reached me. It did and I got my first order. Of course that wasn't the last time I ordered from her.


All the pieces I've gotten have been beautiful and well-made. I'm allergic to nickel and the reason I usually don't buy or wear a lot of jewellery is because I'm afraid that they contain nicklel. I haven't gotten any reaction from my Whimsy Beading jewellery. One thing to remember if you buy from Whimsy Beading is that you shouldn't bathe or swim in the jewellery or wash them with water.


I assume you'd like to see some photos of some of the beauties I have?

These green earrings were custom-made for me and are my favourite pair. I asked Kelly to create olive green and gold/bronze earrings for me in their Rivoli style (meaning that there is a large crystal in the center of the earring). I just love these. The colour is amazing and I love the style immensely.

Kelly sent me a surprise gift of magenta-purple threader earrings with one of my orders. Clever woman that one to know that I'd love this colour scheme! I wear these very often, too, with my jeans and purple/pink tops. I have to admit that I'm not 100% comfortable wearing them because they're quite long and I'm afraid that they'll get stuck somewhere and tear my earlobe. No such thing has happened but I keep my hair down, just in case.

This is my first earring order from Whimsy Beading. I also have a matching necklace. The darker crystals are actually purple (some of them, as you see, have a slight teal cast to them) but I wanted to mix them with turquoise/aqua crystals. This colour scheme was suggested to me by Kelly. It was like she could read me mind because this is exactly what I wanted.

This picture was taken on our holiday in Southern Croatia (extremely beautiful place, by the way). I blew this photo a bit larger so you could see the necklace. The colour way is identical to the earrings. I had other jewellery with me but I ended up using this necklace with the earrings throughout the trip.

If you want to look at the stuff that Kelly and Joe have made, pop to their Etsy store or Whimsy Beading Facebook page (the FB page has a lot of pictures and some of the jewellery might not be on sale in Etsy but may be custom-orderable, just ask Kelly).

I have another pieces too but I didn't manage to take a decent picture of them (yes, boo for me). I'll try to take more photos or maybe do some of my future looks wearing my Whimsies. BTW, if you're a fan of Sir Terry Pratchett and his books, there are some Discworld themed jewellery sold by Whimsy Beading (I myself have a pair of Wintersmith earrings).

If you have any questions, contact Kelly (convo through Etsy or if you have a Twitter account, she's @whimsybeading).

Have you ordered from Whimsy Beading? Are you interested in doing so?

TTFN

I'll be away for a week or so because I haven't yet had a summer holiday. Don't despair if I don't answer to any comments or e-mails, I'll be back soon enough :)

Extra, extra, read all 'bout it! Blix is hosting a HUGE giveaway!

The gorgeous Blix from Glitter is my crack is hosting a huge giveaway and there will be 5 (yes, you read correctly FIVE) winners!

More information on the giveaway can be found on the official giveaway blog post. So click on the link and make sure you're in! Be also sure to check out her numerous glitter-filled posts as they are amazing.

OHWTO Lip Tint swatches

Sooo yesterday I mentioned that OHWTO makes tinted vegan lip balms. I also promised swatches so here here they are.

I have three of the shades OHWTO is offering: Caroline, Arlette and Victoria. All of the balms are very smoothing and give a nice glossy finish to the lips. These are tinted lip balms but I think their pigmentation is better than with tinted lip balms usually (unless you count Aromaleigh's tinted lip balms, there are as pigmented as they were). Also, all of these are flavored and scented. I'm very sensitive to smells but I can smell these only for a couple of seconds after applying them. However, I don't taste the flavor in these tints and I'm renowned for eating my lip products when I'm nervous (not straight from the tube, of course, because that would be silly). My lips are extremely dry and chapped but the colour doesn't get "stuck" on the flakey parts of my lips. It just glides over them and hides them.

The swatches are taken on bare lips and pphotographed inside without flash directly in front of a window (so you can see how they look in natural light). Shade descriptions are taken from OHWTO's Etsy site.

Caroline: a bright, bubbly pink with a pearlescent sheen, she's the girl everyone can't help but love. This pink is on the cool end of the spectrum but it works great with most skin tones due to the transparency of this formula. Caroline is very lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with bubble gum lip balm flavoring.

Caroline is maybe the most used of my OHWTO lip tints. It's perfect for nude looks and also grey-ish smoky looks. It's very pink and the bubble gum scent (Juicy Fruit-type) is appropriate for the shade.

Arlette: A warm sheer red, but she's not one to follow conventions. Arlette stands out from the crowd with surprising green sparkles. Arlette is lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with my Absinthe essential oil blend of anise, lemongrass, peppermint and blood orange.

Arlette is a wonderful colour for my undertones and gives a great warm glow to my lips and face. However, if you don't like the scent of anise, you might be turned off by this one. I can smell the anise and not much else and the scent lingers a bit longer (and is also more powerful) than the scents of Caroline and Victoria. The green sparkles are very subtle and I couldn't catch them on camera but they are there!

Victoria: a dark queen indeed, Victoria is a mocha plum with subtle shimmer because you would not expect to see her Royal highness unadorned with sparkly things! Victoria is very lightly flavored- but not sweetened- with black tea flavoring oil. How appropriately regal!

I expect to wear the hell out of this one during this autumn.  It's such a gorgeous colour! Again, the shimmer in this is very subtle and definitely on the elegant/regal side. A delicious, vampy shade. The scent in this one is barely noticeable compared to Caroline and Arlette.

I found these lip balms very conditioning and nicely tinted. I love the glossy finish and how they don't clump on your lips. As these are quite light and glossy, one does need to re-apply these a bit more often than a regular lip gloss or lipstick if one wants to keep the colour as vivid as possible. I love these colours and I love the formula of these tints so I'd recommend these for anyone who has chapped/dry lips and wants a nice wash of colour.

Have you tried OHWTO's lip tints? What do you think of these? Any favourites?

Review: One Hand Washes The Other (OHWTO)

Hi everyone!

I really need to get back on this blogging thing but lately I have had tons of stuff to do. Some good news: I got a new job! I've been a temp for over 2 years and I finally got a steady job in a better position. I'm starting in my new position next month so I'm really excited!

So, back to the business. One Hand Washes The Other (or OHWTO for short) is a company selling soaps, perfumes, lipbalms and other sweet smelling stuff made by the very sweet owner, Becca. Most of the stuff is vegan and ingredients are clearly marked.

I think I first heard about OHWTO in Twitter and maybe read one of Grey's reviews. My first purhase was two roll-on scents, Green Tea and Black Tea.

Green Tea: Long prized in Asian countries for its health benefits, this is a true-to-life scent.

Black Tea: smoky, sexy and sophisticated fragrance is reminiscent of roasted tea leaves with strong overtones of tobacco. With surprising top notes of Italian Bergamot, Sicilian Lemon and Southern Orange, the blend winds down with Black Tea Leaves, Star Jasmine, White Cedarwood, Amber Crystal and a rich musk. This is a bold and unusual scent sure to intrigue.

I wasn't terribly fond of Green Tea but something in Black Tea made me go to that scent more and more often.

Now I've made 4 orders from OHWTO in quite a short time.

I love that everything is made by Becca herself. The scents are very true to life and her blends are exceptional. You can find the list of the scents here. Not only are the products top-notch, her packaging is lovely.

International shipping is extremely affordable and my orders have come to me in a week after Becca has mailed me my shipping notice. Every time I've stared at the package thinking "How come it's already here?" and then of course ripped it open and sniffed everything till I've passed out.

The customer service is just amazing. Becca'll answer any questions you have. I made some questions about her scents in Twitter and I had a reply every time. She also notified me right away when she was having some trouble with Paypal.

Although I originally ordered roll-on perfume oils, I'm now partial to Becca's solid scents. They're easy to use, the scent says on the skin for hours, they don't have the greasy side smell like some solids have and they make good travelling companions (since the liquid control is still on).

Here are some of my favourite scents from OHWTO:

Ginger Ale: This one smells JUST LIKE ginger ale, and I always get thirsty when I smell it. You'll swear that there are bubble tickling your nose when you get a whiff of this one!

I love ginger ale and now I love Ginger Ale. This smells EXACTLY like my favourite organic ginger ale I treat myself to every once in a while. It really does tickle your nose. The scent is very refreshing, not overly sweet.

Twigs&Berries: The smell of a deep forest and the wild berries that grow within. A bold, somewhat masculine fragrance, it's sweet without being food-y, if that makes any sense.

This is another go-to scent. I wore this to my job interview and now it's my official feelgood scent since I got the job. It smells autumn-y with the sweet fragrance of berries.

Viva La Juicy!: After reading the descriptions of what this boutique fragrance duplicate smells like, I HAD to get it for my shop. It's fruity and floral, with the two balanced very nicely. You'll smell wild berries and mandarins, honeysuckle, gardenia, and jasmine, complimented nicely by notes of amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and praline. It sounds like there's a lot going on in this one, and there is- it reminds me of Pink Lady, in that it smells a little different every time you sniff it. This one is definitely a fun fragrance to wear.

This is a very sweet scent but I love it. It's definitely a juicy scent and it makes me think about champagne for some reason. I wear this scent when I'm wearing a short denim skirt. Don't ask.

Yuzu: Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit. This scent has wonderful sparkling overtones of grapefruit, citron, and a hint of mandarin orange.

Sweet and a bit bitter at the same time, I find this scent really refreshing.

Calaveras: Named for the sugar skulls which adorn the Day of the Dead altars, this fragrance is sweet and spicy. Cinnamon, sugar, orange, and sweet bread dressed up with a smattering of dried roses on a sandalwood altar.

 This is a bit of a food-like scent but not in a bad way. It's sweet and spicy, just like the description says. This is a Halloween limited edition scent so snatch it up if you want one!


I also have some of Becca's lip tints, which I love, so I'll try to make a separate swatch post about those!

I have nothing but praise for OHWTO so if you love scents, I'd recommend checking their stuff out.

Have you tried OHWTO? What are your favourite scents?

More Fyrinnae Lip Lustre lip swatches

Hi there! I'm home sick so I figured I'd post you some Lip Lustre swatches I took before I got sick.

I still have some shades I haven't swatched so I'll probably deal with them soon-ish. The red blotch on my lower lip is NOT herpes, it's a pimple. Also featured in the photos are black strands that obviously have come from my face towel. FAIL. But at least the Lustres are pretty! Descriptions are taken from Fyrinnae website.

All the photos have been taken in a direct sunlight without a flash.

Backstage Kisses: Light, yet vibrant peach enhanced with tiny reflective sparkles (not gritty glitter!). The sparkles are varying hues of blue and purple, changing to pink/orange in some lighting, making this a multi-dimensional shade. Similar in hue to Meloncholy, but considerably lighter and with a more "milky" appearance. (Tangerine-Vanilla scent)

I think of all the lustres with reflective sparkle (at least from my stash), this is the less-glittery one. There is some sparkle but it's not as prominent as in, let's say, Puppy Love that makes your lips glitter like crazy (and also the rest of your face too as the day goes by). I love this shade. It looks bright orange in the container but on lips it's a lovely shade of peach. The scent is nice, not too overpowering.

Ultra Phantom: Sheer aqua sparkle (not plastic or metal glitter, but soft, non-gritty sparkle!) that turns to pink in different light or angles, and sometimes almost pale orange. Looks cool worn alone, stunning over black or dark purple lipstick, or perks up a plain pink. (Dark chocolate peppermint scent)

This looks mint green in the container. On my lips (if I wear it on its own) it looks almost silvery white but the colour keeps changing according to how the light hits it. In the swatch photo you can see that in some parts of my lips it looks more greenish and on some parts it's almost pink. I hate to admit but... I hate the scent of this. I usually don't like the combination of chocolate and (pepper)mint and the scent makes me crazy! I tolerate it when I wear the colour on its own (because it looks slightly minty and smells minty) but when I wear it with another lipgloss or lipstick, I get slightly annoyed. (I know, I know! I'm crazy, no need to tell me! :) )

Mega-Hold: unfortunately this shade has been discontinued. It's a creamy beige-ish pink that looks a bit frosty. I bought it because someone had said that it looks like a low-class stripper shade on lips and then Mindy had said that it looked awesome. I'm with Mindy on this one. The scent is mocha, I think.

Candy Decadence: Looks quite green/teal, or rather forest green on purple in most light, but changes to a deep shimmering plum with pink shimmer at different angles and closer to light, or in sunlight. Looks good layered or alone especially on deeper skintones. (Candied kiwi scent)

I couldn't get this one apply evenly for the life of me! But as you can see, it looks very plummy with green cast to it. I got this one as a sample and I'm thinking about layering it with a lighter shade because on it's own it's way too dark for my complexion.

Shangri-La: Vibrant, azalea purple-pink. Much brighter than Hysteric.(Strawberry cotton candy scent)

I LOVE this colour! It's my all-time favourite of all the Lip Lustres! It makes my skin look all glowy and stuff and it's bright but not eye-searingly so. Very juicy shade, applies like a dream.

Beloved: Semi-sheer mauve-pink enhanced with tiny reflective sparkle (not gritty glitter!). The sparkles are varying hues of blue and purple, changing to pink/orange in some lighting. This shade also has a slight aqua shimmer that changes to pink in sunlight or as it's closer to light (almost a light version of Candy Decadence, but not nearly as dramatic). Gives noticable colour and sparkle, or apply lightly to enhance your own natural lipcolour. Also looks good over lipstick. (Melon scent)

This one is another favourite of mine. It's mauve (looks darker in the container) but it's not too cool for my skin tone. I think if Shangri-La and Candy Decadence had a baby, this would be the fruit of their forbidden love. I love the aqua shimmer to bits. I'll be definitely wearing this one a lot more. It's also a perfect autumn shade.

See anything you like? Have you tried any of these colours yourself?

Day at the beach avec moi

Hi everyone!

I know summer is almost over and autumn things are starting to pop up everywhere so maybe this isn't the prime time to talk about beaches. However, I haven't been on a proper holiday this summer, yet. We are going to the southern coast of Croatia with my boyfriend next month and although I'm not a beach person (you have seen how pale I look, right?), I'm actually looking forward to a beach holiday because my knee is still a bit unstable and wouldn't endure our usual tight-paced city holidays.

Since our holiday is drawing near and I'm making some confirmations with hotels and trying to figure out how to pack, I wanted to share my beach favourites.

That plaid bikini from H&M is currently my favourite one. It looks a little 50s retro on me and it actually creates some curves to my body. Also, I'd never go to the beach without SPF50. I like sun lotions that can be sprayed on because they apply more easily. That one is from Eucerin, it doesn't have perfume in (which is a must for me). That floppy white sun hat was bought yesterday when I realized that I don't have a proper sun hat. Yes, it has some sparkly rhinestones on it but I decided not to care.

I don't wear much makeup on the beach because I don't want to look like melty face so I want to wear light and shimmery products. Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation is light enough to not make you feel like you have a mask on but it does cover any unwanted blemishes. It also comes in a munchkin jar size that doesn't take much room in your bag. I wear it in Inquisitive Himalayan. Evil Shades blush in Burlesque is a lovely peach blush with a hint of pink and gold. Also, I've never gone on a holiday these last couple of years without Fyrinnae's eyeshadow in Polar Bear. Waterproof mascara is a must so my trusty Lumene Blueberry Curl waterproof mascara is coming with me. Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Lace Gloves will keep my lips moisturized and pink. I'm painting my toes with OPI Catch Me In Your Net which is a shade that morphs between blue and green and gold. On my nails I'll be wearing China Glaze Hi-Tek, a lovely rosy golden shade.





Close-up on the beach beauty products.

I'm trying to get a FOTD posted this weekend so don't give up on me yet!

A short summery NOTD and EOTD post

Hi everyone! Usually I don't post makeup looks on Sundays because of my promise to my boyfriend to keep one day without any makeup in a week. However, because I've been ill most of this week and have 3 days without makeup, I'm posting you an EOTD and a NOTD. I would've liked to post a full-face photo but I'm still all sick-looking, pasty and gross.

It's not quite that summery in Finland. It's mostly been rainy and windy for the last couple of days but I'm not giving up on summer yet. So I wanted to do a bright look to make the sun come out. Come on, you can't hide from me forever. I even bought sunscreen.

Too Faced Shadow Insurance (as a primer)
Morgana Minerals eyeshadow in Joust (inner 2/3 of the lid and inner lower lashline)
Morgana Minerals eyeshadow in Coraline (outer vee and crease and outer part of lower lashline)
Morgana Minerals eyeshadow in Alchemy (to darken the outer corner and crease)
Morgana Minerals eyeshadow in Chivalry (wetlined on upper lashline)
Lumene Blueberry Curl waterproof mascara in Rich Black

I like how this turned out, the colour are really lovely and vibrant. The colour pay-off is amazing, to be honest.


Also, I did my nails during this week. I used Essie's Lilacism (a lovely lavender creme) and then I used a nail art sticker to cover up a bit I effed up while my nails were drying. The top coat is Seche Vite which is great for people like me who don't have 1h+ to wait until the polish is completely dry.

Lilacism has to be my favourite nailpolish at the moment. I initially ordered a mini bottle but I had to get a full size right after I had first worn it.

So how was your weekend? What do you think about the makeup and the nails?

More Morgana Minerals swatches

Hi everyone!

Since today is Sunday and I have made a promise to my man not to wear any makeup on Sundays (unless it's a very special and public occasion), I only have swatches for you. Negative feedback can be directed to my boyfriend. he actually says I look cute without makeup. Weirdo.

So I got some mail from Morgana Minerals. I picked up some more Get Medieval Shades (also full sizes of the some of the ones I've already swatched here) and also some other eyeshadow shades. Once again, these are swatched on TFSI + Pixie Epoxy. Shade descriptions are taken from Morgana Minerals website .

Note: Sinister and Uninvited Presence are currently being discontinued as they were part of Halloween 2009 collection. Melissa is working on new Halloween shades for this year.

(L to R, indoors without flash) Joust, Winifred, Mordred

Joust: Bright lemon-gold with intense gold sheen
Winifred: Lilac with a blue sheen and shifts of blue-green and violet
Mordred: Deep, metallic bronze

Joust just makes me smile. I love the golden toned yellow. Usually pale yellows look like crap on me but the gold perks this one up. Winifred looks like a wallflower in the jar ("another pale lilac" etc) but the blue duochrome effect makes this very lovely and interesting. Mordred is simply gorgeous. Just check out the pic taken outdoors in direct sunlight if you have any doubts.

(L to R, indoors without flash) Sinister, Uninvited Presence, Grog Blossom

Sinister: A brilliant, lustrous green that shifts aqua, blue-violet, and purple depending on the view
Uninvited Presence: Green with intense gold tones
Grog Blossom: Soft peach-red with subtle color shifts & green sparkle. Appears peach or coppery red depending on the angle

Sinister is like blueish pine green. I'll probably use this one as a liner. Uninvited Presence is just an amazing green. Mindy should so get this one (are you reading this? You should definitely get it). The golden tones pop up in sunlight (check the outdoors photo). Grog Blossom is one of my definite favourites. Peach with green sparkle? How many times I have said it: LOVE.

(L to R, indoors without flash) Coraline, Twinkling Cherrine

Coraline: A luscious, stunning coral with a pink highlight
Twinkling Cherrine: Bright, twinkling red

Coraline is such a sweet colour. I'll probably pair it up with Grog Blossom as they seem to be close friends. Twinkling Cherrine is just stunning, firetruck red with a hint of sparkle.

Okay, here are the same shades, in the same order but now the photos are taken outdoors in direct sunlight.

Joust, Winifred, Mordred

Sinister, Uninvited Presence, Grog Blossom

Coraline, Twinkling Cherrine

Hope you liked the swatches! Anything caught your eye?

Now I'm off to for a Sunday dinner with my boyfriend's family. Hope you all had a great weekend! :)

Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge swatches and a look

Miss K from Aromaleigh sent me samples of her new collection, Victoria's Revenge, for me to swatch and review. First off, my camera freaked out by the complexity and the sparkle of these colours and is now on medication and demanding an all expenses paid holiday to Bora Bora. I tried to tell him that he's just a camera and he has no right to demand such things and how could he even handle himself on a holiday but you know cameras. Demanding little buggers.

The collection is inspired by Victoriana, steampunk and gothloli themes so the shades are all very deep, complex and edgy. As said, these are very hard to photograph or even describe accurately because so many of these colours change according to lighting or application. Colour descriptions aren't available because there's a contest going on. Bloggers, such as I, who received samples for review and customers who have ordered samples can participate to write shade descriptions. More about the contest can be found here. I've swatched all the eyeshadows on top of TFSI + Pixie Epoxy. I'd strongly recommend using a sticky base with most of these because there's so much sparkle in them.

(L to R) Infernal Chaos, Cyanide Sorrow, Oleander Vapor, Airy Ethos

(L to R) Brazen & Bitter, Perpetual Motion, Magick & Metal, Bleeding Poppy

(L to R) Scratched Scruples, Frigid Gloom, Obscura, Mayhem's Trilogy

(L to R) Private Lunacy, Freakshow, Tarnished Strychnine, Splintered

(L to R) Skeleton Key, Gaslight Tears, Mania's Locus, Mourning's Whimsy

(L to R) Apocalypse Pansy, Phantasm, Ruthless Indulgence, Poison Utopia, Nightshade


I also did a look with Oleander Vapor, Private Lunacy, Tarnished Strychnine and Splintered yesterday.

Sweet Poison

Face:

Aromaleigh Glissade foundation in ICL
Aromaleigh Pure Mineral Rouge blush in Rosette
Aromaleigh Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder in Clear

Eyes:

TFSI (as a primer)
Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge eyeshadow in Oleander Vapor (inner 3/4 of the lid)
Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge eyeshadow in Tarnished Strychnine (outer vee and crease)
Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge eyeshadow in Private Lunacy (to blend in Oleander Vapor and Tarnished Strychnine)
Aromaleigh Victoria's Revenge eyeshadow in Splintered (to darken the crease)
Aromaleigh Carolina Summer eyeshadow in Oyster (below brow to highlight)
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack
Lumene Blueberry Curl waterproof mascara in Rich Black

Lips:

Aromaleigh Botanical lipstick in Rosebud

I somehow like to combine pinks with greens and even though this is not my best attempt to pull it off, it looked really cool irl.

Here you can see that although Oleander Vapor looks bright-ish sweet pink in the swatch photos, it has that murky undertone that makes it very dramatic.

No, I haven't gotten a perm or curled my hair. This is what happens when I crunch my hair dry when I blowdry it. I wanted to look a bit more girly than usual and is this collection is so decadent and luxurious, I figured that wavy hair would only be appropriate.

I love Aromaleigh's Glissade foundation. It makes my skin look so glowy and even. BTW, what do you think about the colour of the foundation on me?

Victoria's Revenge is a really different than other collections that come out during the spring/summer season. Usually you get bronze, turquoise, peach, lime green and pink so Victoria's Revenge is really standing out. There are so many colours that have a contrasting shimmer to them (like Mania's Locus and Frigid Gloom) and black-based glitter explosions (Nightshade, Ruthless Indulgence, Poison Utopia) that it'll make any person who craves darker shades really happy.

My favourites from this collection are Infernal Chaos, Cyanide Sorrow, Perpetual Motion, Frigid Gloom, Private Lunacy, Tarnished Strychnine, Skeleton Key, Mania's Locus and Phantasm.


What do you think about this collection? BTW, if you want any swatch photos re-taken, let me know in the comments!


And now for something completely different. This is my knee today:

Storming the Castle: Shiro Cosmetics swatches and mini-review

I was approached on Twitter by Caitlin, the owner of Shiro Cosmetics, asking if I were interested in trying out and reviewing her products. I found out that she had just opened her store and that her eyeshadows were named after Pokémon which made me giggle, in a good way. I agreed to swatch her products and write a review. Since she's a new company owner, I offered to show my review before publishing it but that she couldn't alter the contents of the review or I wouldn't publish it. She agreed to this so here we are :)

Disclaimer: these products were sent to me for review by Caitlin of Shiro Cosmetics. However, this does not affect my opinion of the products nor the tone of my review.

I thought I'd be getting a few sample baggies. Instead I got this:

A LOT of products, samples AND full sizes. Everything was packed neatly in a red organza bag with business cards. The jars were secured with scotch tape to prevent any spillages. The jars have no sifter so opening them is a delicate job and there may be spills (this happens with Fyrinnae, too since they don't have sifters, either). I saw Caitlin mentioning that she would add sifters to her jars which is a good move. The jars were filled to the brim and there were no concave bottoms so no need to fear that you're getting less product than expected.

Now onto the swatchies! These colours are very intense, some more opaque than others. These are all swatched on Too Faced Shadow Insurance + Pixie Epoxy. Shade descriptions are from Shiro Cosmetics website.

(L to R): Pikachu, Charmander, Mew, S.S. Anne

Pikachu: Vivid, opaque, shimmering yellow with eye-safe red glitter sparks. Chuu!
Charmander: Soft yet bright shimmery orange, like a candle's flame, with yellow undertones and just a hint of gold.
Mew: Cheerful, bright strawberry-bubblegum pink with a slight peachy tone.
S.S. Anne: Lovely, shimmery, subtle yet rich golden brown with a peachy-copper tinge - appropriate for all ages and occasions, universally flattering, and pretty much just gorgeous. 

(L to R): Vulpix, Brock the Rock, Squirtle, Acid

Vulpix: Gorgeous shimmering coppery red-brown, soft but intense - kind of like hugging a Vulpix, I imagine.
Brock the Rock: Dark, rich, shimmery chocolate brown with red tones.
Squirtle: Bright, clear, shimmery pool blue. Apply it wet to get a gorgeous metallic effect!
Acid: Vivid, opaque, shimmery yellow-green with golden undertones and just a touch of darker green eye-safe glitter.

 

(L to R) Bulbasaur, Zubat, Team Rocket, Lance the Dragon Trainer

Bulbasaur: Bright, opaque, shimmering grassy green with a hint of a gold undertones.
Zubat: Dusky, shimmery, semi-sheer blue with a violet tinge.Team Rocket: Opaque, shimmery red-toned purple, kind of a cross between the Team Rocket uniform and Jessie's hair.Lance the Dragon Trainer: Deep, rich, shimmering indigo with golden sparks of eye-safe glitter.

(L to R): Articuno, Mewtwo, Hyper Beam

Articuno: Pale, powdery silver-blue with plenty of shimmer and sparkle.Mewtwo: Sheer, shimmery, medium purple with blue tones.
Hyper Beam: Sparkly opaque black, absolutely loaded with silver eye-safe glitter.

What I LOVE about the ingredients listings on the sample baggies is that they mention if the colour is lip-safe or not. As you can see from the photo above, Pikachu is lip-safe and Zubat is clearly marked as not lip-safe. Awesomeness for those who are like me and are too lazy to check the website.

I like the colours, my favourites are Mew, S.S. Anne, Team Rocket, Charmander, Articuno, Mewtwo and Bulbasaur.

These colours are extremely long-lasting with TFSI+Pixie Epoxy combo. I wore Mew with Team Rocket for our company's cruise to Tallinn. I sat on a sunny terrace for about 2 hours, I dragged my shopping bags... My foundation has melted a bit but my eyeshadows were intact except from the outer corners because my allergies caused my eyes to water. Other than that, these shadows lasted from 6am to 9pm and they still looked vivid when I took them off at night.

The lovely Phyrra got to check out these colours before I did and I went through the comments becasuse some people were worried about these colours being repacked TKB stuff. Here's Caitlin's reply (taken from Phyrra's blog):

Dropping in to clarify a bit: I consider the wax part of the base. I do use the C-SMAX from TKB, which is mica coated in carnauba wax, but I blend that with titanium dioxide and occasionally, depending on what I'm working with, additions like zinc oxide, magnesium myristrate, or silica. So it's a pre-mixed base within a base, I guess. I wanted to use the wax because of the finish it gives, and I thought the best way was to use the C-SMAX.

As for the colors themselves, I do get what you're saying about them not being especially unique. All of my colors have at least 3 unique colorants in them, but as you said, several are at least somewhat based on the Pop! colors. They're noticeably different when swatched side by side, though, and not just because of the inclusion of the base. That said, most of them are in fact fairly basic - I'm attempting to create higher levels of complexity as I learn more about how the colorants interact, but these 15 colors are my first attempts.

I appreciate Caitlin for her honest and friendly response and also the fact that she's admitting that she's still learning the art of making more complex colours.

I can't comment on the customer service since these were sent to me for review but Caitlin seems very friendly and is willing to answer any questions about her products and she's also taking new colour suggestions.

I'm sure I'm going to order some stuff from Shiro Cosmetics in the future. I already saw a swatch picture of a cool pink shade called Jigglypuff on Twitter and I've read some pretty interesting shade suggestions Caitlin may be working on in the future.

 Have you tried Shiro Cosmetics? What do you think about these swatches?