little miss metamorph

never too much Sparkle 'VALENTINE'S GALORE- PRO OR ANTI-VALENTINES' makeup challenge

2012-02-07T20:50:00.000Z

Another Never too Much Sparkle's challenge. I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's day as i find it a far too commercialised holiday where people who are in a relationship feel obligated to buy things for their loved one. I dont have an issue with shows of affection i just cant stand the fact that say a dozen roses triples in price a week before the 14th. (oh and dont get me started on roses that have no scent. So many so called high quality roses that look pretty have no scent. Terrible.)
Luckily my partner feels the same!

So i decided to do a very strong look using pink, which isnt a favourite colour of mine. I wanted it to be dark, sexy, gothic and a little edgy. Not soft or romantic So you could say this is an anti Valentines look!

Eyes -Morgana Cryptoria Socket To Me Primer first, then Illamasqua Succumb over eye above crease. Urban Decay Asphyxia applied to inner side of lid, then Urban Decay's Deluxe eyeshadow in Sting applied over rest of lid and blended.
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Cherry red applied in crease and under the eye, winging it out at the edges.
At the eyebrow edge Yaby Pearl Paint in First snow.
Essence Black gel liner used along the eye edge.
Eyebrows shaped using Famous Matt eyeshadow in shade 12.
Elf Studio waterproof mascara in black.

Lips - Sleek Pout Paint in Pinkini with Cloud 9 blended out from center.

News! - I'm a Ticktock model! / Avon forced to retract cruelty free statement

2012-01-31T22:00:00.001Z

Firstly i'm honoured to announce i have been made a spokes model for Tick Tock Cosmetics. I shall be exploring their collections and doing some specific looks with their products. Any LOTD with their specific products, will be categorised as such. They have a great range of products, worth checking out if i do say so myself hehe

In other news and this is fantastic news - AVON have been forced to retract their 'cruelty free' statement as many knew it was a total lie and now its been revoked. They use toxicity tests for new chemicals as they obviously prefer profits over torture it seems.
Uncaged took their statements to the Advertising standards Authority and AVON were forced to withdraw their fraudulent statement. This is good news as many people have been using AVON thinking they were being kind to animals. If you care, please pass this info along!
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/news/2012/avon.htm

Now lets see other companies do the same - I'm looking at you Estee Lauder, Revlon et al.

never too much Sparkle 'Black and White' makeup challenge

2012-01-28T18:11:00.000Z

This challenge finished on the 25th, but looking after a sick boyfriend meant ive only just had chance to sit down and type this out!

When only black and white can be used, i think graphic lines work best.

*For my eyes i used Morgana Cryptoria Socket To Me eye primer all over eye area and underneath, NYX jumbo pencil in Milk on the lid, taken out as a wing shape toward to the end of the eyebrow.
*Using Illamasqua Medium Pencil i drew a line along my eye crease, winging it out towards the eyebrow.
*Then Yaby pearl paint in First snow blended over the white, patting the powder down rather than stroking it on, so it laid flat and strong on the lid.
*I took Yaby Pearl Paint in Abyss along the pencil line keeping the lid clean of the black, but blending the black upwards towards the brow.
*I then went back to the Sophie pencil and drew a line under my eye, sweeping the line up following the same angle as the other lines towards the end of my eyebrow.
*I took a tiny amount of Fyrinnae's pixie epoxy and applied it over the pencil and then took some Aromaleigh Rock! Black Celebration and patted it onto the epoxy.
*Finally i used some Illamasqua pure pigment in Breathe and patted that on top of the eyelid and also on the brow bone, blending it with the black.
*Topping it off with Prestige Lash Matrix waterproof mascara, with eyebrows done using Famous Matt shade 12 eyeshadow.
I've recently found that Illamasqua have a technique on their website called the Sophie-i technique which is quite similar procedure to what i did, just the pencil lines are drawn differently.

Lips were a combination of Illamasqua's Sophie pencil applied all over the lips, then their Intense Lipgloss in Repulse applied over the top with a tiny bit of their Pure Pigment in Breathe patted onto the bottom center of the lip.

Lastly, my nails. I had seen this nail art done before and since i recently bought some fun nail art paints from Cherry Culture, i decided to try it myself. i started with Matt black from Models own . Then using white nail art paint i drew in the pattern adding dots each side of the white band. Then using a black nail art brush i added in the black lines to create the corset effect. Topped it all off with a shiny top coat by Jordana.

Green With Envy Makeup challenge

2012-01-17T16:56:00.000Z

Another from Never Too Much Sparkle Facebook group, this time called Green With Envy. I had thought about doing a look that made my already green eyes stand out as i know my eye colour is the rarest and people often comment on my eye colour..but i didn't know if people would get it.
So i went with some of my the green shadows i have been envious of until i owned them.
I used Fyrinnae's Arcane Magics - Dragon Magic and Electric Stardust and also from Aromaleigh's petal set - Sweetpea.
I Used Morgana Cryptoria's new eyeprimer - Socket to Me and its fantastic especially for loose shadows.

Electric stardust all over the lid, Dragonmagic applied in crease and blended outwards aswell as put underneath the eye. Sweetpea applied in inner corner and dusted over my usual Illamasqua Succumb shadow,especially in the arch of the brow. Essence Black Gel liner on upper lid with a little Dragonmagic pressed on top. It was so hard to capture how sparkly these shadows were!

On my lips i wore a 'Ultra Pigmented Lip Gloss' called Conundrum by Sweetpea & Fae which is way more than a gloss, i feel it is closer to a liquid lipstick as its very creamy and pigmented and stays on the lips far longer than a normal gloss would. I have 2 of these glosses and plan to buy more as they really are that good.

I even went all out and did my nails too, using H&M's Envy Me polish then i put a clear coat over that and dusted various green glitters on top. Glitters from ebay.

Hope you guys like this! :D

Added myself to Bloglovin

2012-01-06T00:20:00.001Z

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Superdrug Sales Bargains!

2012-01-02T20:33:00.000Z

Superdug's sale has alot of their own brand Xmas makeup palettes and gifts in it, to which i picked up some eyeshadow palettes and a vanity bag i'd been eyeing up before. I got a Colourworks 18 pan eyeshadow palette, and a Studio vanity case.(I've also included here the 3 Flutter eyeshadow sets that i bought in their 3 for 2 offer which are also in the sales now)

reviews and swatches after the cut!

Colourworks 18 pan eyeshadow palette. - £4.99

The palette is about the size of a 6X4 photo with each pan slightly smaller than a MAC pan.
This is a set of jewel toned colours that are creamy, sparkly and very pigmented. The very sparkly shadows need careful application (much like Urban Decays Midnight Cowboy shadow) but they are creamy so pat on to primer well. There are no duds in this set.

Top row - light brown high shimmer, lilac high shimmer, Petrol Blue shimmer, violet shimmer with blue duochrome, cream high shimmer, silver shimmer.
Middle row - Turquoise shimmer, sparkly mustard, white shimmer, flesh pink shimmer, sparkly dark chocolate, black shimmer.
Bottom row - emerald green shimmer, navy blue shimmer, sparkly chartreuse green, gunmetal shimmer, sparkly orange bronze, fuchsia shimmer with purple duochrome.

Studio Vanity case -

A lovely sleek, sturdy case that easily holds the above palette. The main compartment has two little pockets inside on the front and back. The case is lined in a deep rich red.

What is really good and the main reason i wanted this case. There is a thin top zipped section which i always fine is good to hold pencils or sample baggies. There is a fold down mirror that is also very useful.

Flutter eyeshadow palettes.
( i bought these in a 3 for 2 offer, so not sure what they are in the sale but full price was 2.99)
the palettes are cardboard with magnetic closures. I plan to remove all the pans and put them into an empty palette. Amelie, Celine and Fleur are the names of the palettes. All shimmer colours, all nicely pigmented, soft colours.

Amelie - cream, brass, copper, dusky rose, dark chocolate

Celine - off white, warm grey , black shimmer with silver glitter, RAF blue,plum

Fleur - warm grey, cool pink, pinky brown, pale light grey, light aqua

These are all much softer gentler shades than the colourworks palette and work well to make smokey eyes aswell as natural eyes with strong lips.

never too much Sparkle 'Winter Sunset' makeup challenge

2011-12-31T17:19:00.000Z

Facebook Group Never Too Much Sparkle's latest challenge is Winter Sunset.
I used this image for reference -

http://wallpaperblogger.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2560x1920-Fullscreen.jpg

I always think when the sun shines through in winter, the colours can be so intense, because light reflects off the white snow.
I used Venomous Cosmetics for this eye and lip look.

For the eyes i applied Nyx Jumbo pencil in Milk over TFSS, then i used Illamasqua's Succumb from crease up. Then on the lid blended up was Venomous Cosmetics pressed shadows in Rising Star, then Sunset in Tahiti blended up from Crease towards brow. A little Pheonix was blended in the crease and then a tiny amount of Streets of Tokyo in the outer edge of the crease. Under the eye was Cobalt Blue with a little Atlantis in the inner corner blended with Box jelly. Box jelly was also used under the brow.
Eyeliner was Essence Black gel eyeliner with a tiny amount of Pheonix brushed on top.
Eyebrows were Illamasqua's Eerie fine pencil, then Famous Matt Shadow number 12 over that. Mascara was ELF Studio waterproof mascara.
Skin - Missha Signature Real Complete bb cream in shade 13, Meow Minerals Himalayan Pampered Puss foundation shade 0. Nyx Taupe blusher in contour and ELF Studio Candid Coral on cheeks.
Lips - La Colors Sable with Venomous Cosmetics Paradise on top.

MUA pro palettes - Glamour Days, Glamour Nights and Poptastic

2011-12-27T17:10:00.002Z

I had Poptastic for a while but noticed i'd not swatched and reviewed it, so when i bought the two new palettes Glamour Days and Glamour Nights i added Poptastic in too, because it is an awesome palette!
These retail at £4 a pop, which is excellent value and cheaper than the Sleek I Divine, which i feel they are emulating in design and layout.

Loads of photo after the cut!

First off - Poptastic.
This palette is full of bright rich shades with a few duochromes as well as creamy semi matts. I took these photos last and with the awful natural light at the moment, its been tricky getting accurate colours in the photos so i've taken these in both natural and artificial light to show them as best i can.

Artificial light shows the purples, greens and blues better but the natural light shows the yellows and pinks better

Top row - Berry purple shimmer with pink reflection, Semi matt light blue with cream reflection, pale bright yellow with white reflection,Duochrome purple with strong blue flash, deep warm metallic gold, icey shimmery blue.
Bottom row - apple green shimmer with fine glitter, duochrome pink with purple flash, light metallic turquoise, Candy pink shimmer, Azure blue shimmer with fine glitter, dark rich blue shimmer.

There are no bad colours in this set, they all rock! The quality is high, the glitter is fine and doesnt shed. A great palette if you want to try some brighter shades.

Glamour Days -

Top row - Cream shimmer, eggshell blue with light gold shimmer, metallic russet,pinky flesh matt, coffee matt, denim blue shimmer.
bottom row - royal purple shimmer, rose pink shimmer, metallic antique gold, dark brown matt, metallic light chocolate brown, butterscotch shimmer.

Another fantastic set, the matts are pigmented and creamy, no dud shades at all.

Glamour Nights -

Top row - Sheer white matt, blackened purple shimmer, very dark semi matt petrol teal, metallic silver, matt mink, Chocolate shimmer with fine glitter.
Bottom Row - Very dark matt expresso brown, warm gold shimmer, leaf green shimmer, matt bright purple, deep fuchsia shimmer with purple reflection, pale flesh pink shimmer (almost same colour as my skin!)

Another great palette, though the white is a bit too sheer, it can lighten the darker shades with layering and reduce some of the shimmer in the shimmery and metallic shades.

These palettes are winners for me, the packaging is thinner than Sleeks, so possibly flimsier, it looks a cheaper too, although none have broken on me. For £4 you cant go wrong with the formula of the shadows. MUA's matts are fantastic in general which is hard to find at that price. I'd recommend these - 9/10!
Also - MUA now have an online store that ships internationally! - http://www.muastore.co.uk/store

previous post on other MUA palettes here - http://littlemissmetamorph.blogspot.com/2011/10/mua-dusk-till-dawn-and-starry-night.html

Xmas eve look / Never too much Sparkle's 'Your Choice' challenge

2011-12-24T22:16:00.000Z

Not really much of a challenge hehe, well that's what i thought, until you have to come up with your own idea hehe. Decided to go with a gold theme as its totally not stereotypical at all for xmas ;D
Bit of a rushed one photo wise as i was off to cinema to catch new Sherlock Holmes movie (which btw is brilliant!)

I used golds, shimmery browns and Creams from the two new MUA professional palettes Glamour Days and Glamour Nights (full review to come on those beauties!
Gold glitter eyeliner from Barry M. Mascara was ELF Studio waterproof black mascara.
Eyeliner is Essence gel eyeliner - London Baby.
Eye brows were done with Illamasqua's fine pencil in Eerie and then Famous Matt eyeshadow, shade 12.

Lips were Sleek Cherry,probably my favourite dramatic dark red.

never too much Sparkle 'Blue Winter' makeup challenge TIMES 2!

2011-12-10T01:40:00.000Z

Facebook group Never Too much Sparkle set a challenge called Blue Winter And i think i got carried away as i did 2 looks with this theme - a normal and a creative look.
I did the creative look first and when i read Blue Winter i immediately thought of an icey snow queen look.

Click below for lots more pics of this look and the other more 'normal' look -

and out of the fancy headdress and wig-

I used various Sleek I Divine blue shades from Bad Girl and Acid on the lid with more Bad Girl palette blue on the eyebrows. I used Inglot's Duraline liquid mixed with Sleek Circus Blue shade for eyeliner. Illamasqua's Imagine matt blue for the contours on the eye and face. A Stargazer loose shimmer eyeshadow in white blue used as highlighter (name or number has rubbed off pot and cant reference stargazers website as it had a virus on it!). A mixture of Illamasqua's medium pencil in Paddle,their Intense lipgloss in Gender and more stargazer loose blue white shimmer patted and blended in. There is also a sprinkle of Stargazer iridescent clear (blue reflection) glitter under the eye brow and on the cheeks, but impossible to photograph!
Contact lenses btw were from here (very good website!) - http://www.dbeautyshop.com/categories/Circle-Lenses/Blue/

My Second more everyday look (if your a goth like me hahah)

Same eye products used as above, glitter applied in inner corner. I added a little lighter shade in the middle of the upper lid over a darker blue shade, winged outwards. Same dark shade was taken under eye to middle with The Sadist matt shade applied in inner edge with white blue shimmer on inner corner. Lips are Nyx jumbo lip pencil in Fuchsia with Inglot AMC lipgloss in 543 applied on top.

Hate the 'Lightbox' photo viewer on here? Here's how to get rid of it!

2011-12-06T02:07:00.000Z

I cannot take credit for this...So here is a link to the clever person who came up with it -
http://englishjavadrinker.blogspot.com/2011/09/fixing-bloggers-mistakes.html

I followed the section option which is to place a new 'gadget' window and paste in the code ( delete the 1-10 numbers though as these will appear where you insert the gadget!)

Click save on the gadget and now your pictures in your posts will open as they always did before, in their full glory!

Own eye colour EOTD.

2011-12-05T22:38:00.000Z

I really liked this showcase idea Never Too Much Sparkle did last month, i only joined recently but wanted to give this one a go. This one was to study your eye and pick out the colours and use them in a look.
I have eyes that change colour alot between green and grey due to the mix of tones in the iris.

AHHH MY EYE!!!!! lol. But had to take this so i could pick out colours. I see sage greys, touches of light steel blue, golden brown and pale eggshell green. surrounded by a dark grey green.

see more after cut

I used for this look the Sleek I Divine palette shadows - Greens from Safari, Storm, Curious and Original and pale biscuit brown from the Safari palette. Finally the pale cream highlight is from the Graphite palette. Essence Gel eyeliner in black along the top and in the waterline. Elf Studio waterproof mascara. Sue Moxley Famous shade 12 (dark matt brown) used in combination with Illamasqua fine pencil in Eerie to shape and fill in the eyebrows.

Lips is Nyx lipliner in Prune and Nyx Round Lipstick in Medusa.

ELF cream eyeliners review -Metallic Olive, Golden and Teal Tease

2011-11-24T01:55:00.001Z

Elf recently had a fan 40% off sale and i picked up some new items along with some of my regular favourites. This post will be my review of the cream eye liners they have in their Studio range.
I bought Metallic Olive and 2 of their new shades Golden and Teal Tease.

Review after jump -

First off these cream eye liners come in sturdy plastic pots and there 47grams of product in each pot. I have found plastic pots are not great for cream eye liners as the product does tend to dry out faster than in glass My white from their range is solid and dried out completely. But the gunmetal shade i have is fine. The white i did noticed felt drier to apply to begin with so that may be the reason it dried out faster.
Anyway, onto colour reviews-

Metallic Olive - Looks brown in the pot, but when applied the green comes through more. It appears on the skin as a golden green brown shade (The colour Marilyn Monroe actually used for her eyeliner, fact fans!)
It goes on smoothly and doesnt need any layering to be opaque. This is a great shade for me as the hint of green works well with my eye colour as a soft focus colour instead of black.

Golden - looks almost Chartreuse in the pot but when applied its a really metallic gold shade but with a very faint green tint if applied broadly. As you see i found it works great as a inner corner highlight. Would look amazing in party eye makeups. Also opaque without much need for layering.

Teal Tease. This is a gorgeous shade, it really is. It isn't what i called teal, More a metallic turquoise. The problem it has is its got golden glitter in it which makes it slightly more difficult to apply smoothly. It isnt as opaque as the other two and would need a few layers to build up to a true opaque line of colour.

Longevity on all 3 shades is good though, though they are not as long lasting as the Essence gel eyeliners i adore so much.

I did a quick look with these the day i got them. the shimmery shadows i'm wearing in these photos were all from the Sleek Storm Palette over TSFI.
Photos were taken under led bulb light as its just horrible natural light here, so the photos have been altered to show you the true colour of the liners.

As you can see the Teal colour is a bit patchy where as the Golden and the Olive are solid. This quick look was done with the brushes included with each pot. The handles are far too small, but one of the brush ends was loose and fitted perfectly onto of an old brush handle i had. The actual brush head isn't bad for applying liner although i prefer a bent angle liner brush.

Game LOTD - Mass Effect

2011-11-21T22:35:00.000Z

I'd forgotten i'd done this, i think because i still feel i could do better for my favourite game series!
I wanted to base this eye look on an iconic image that runs through the games, that of the Mass Relays, huge alien devices that allow travel through the galaxy. Blue is a colour that runs through the game too as it is the colour of one of the main alien races in the game the Asari and also is the colour of Biotic powers, created by a Mass Effect (hence the game name). i used this image as a reference point -

It instantly reminded me of an eye, so that's what i went with -

I cant remember specifically what i used but i know i used Sleek, Venomous Cosmetics and Yaby pearlpaints for this.
Contact lenses btw are Lestat style lenses. ( On a side note, I use them for my Selene, Underworld costume as any lenses that go by that film name look nothing like what is worn in the film, where are the lenses here look like Selenes but nothing like Lestats!)

I also did a quick look based on one of the character's distinctive makeups. Kasumi Goto has very cool lip markings

The nude shimmer was a Nyx lip pencil in Nude Beige and the purple was Otherworldy by Morgana Cryptoria.

The two looks didnt work well together , thats why there is no full face!

purple look with Sleek and Nyx

2011-11-21T22:04:00.000Z

Been so busy with costuming and other things that i haven't had time to update this till now. This look I wore back on 16th November. I have been customising all my Sleek palettes into colours, ie all purple in one palette, all blues in another etc. It's takes some patience, a heat gun and hot glue but it can be done! I've written on the back of the palette where each colour came from palette name wise so I can still refer to their original palette names. Now this might be some form of OCD lol, but I prefer to have all similar shades together so I can just go to one palette if I want a purple look like here. My short term memory problems means I often forget that one of the palettes has a purple in it and I wont use it for ages because of that.

The natural light has been bad here in the UK, so some of these images are a little dark, although they still show the colours.

Eye primed with Two Faced Shadow Insurance.
Colours used - Medium purple from the Circus palette across eyelid to crease,'twilight shade' purple from Bad Girl palette on the crease and blended up. The darkest purple from Graphite on the lower lid. A mix of shimmery white from Graphite with far left corner aqua from Curious palette on inner corner. White also used on highest part of under eyebrow.
Eyebrows - Illamasqua Fine pencil in Eerie to mark out eyebrow shape and roughly fill in, then Famous Mono eyeshadow in brown black to fill in (using a little water to create stronger pigment).
Urban Decay 24-7 waterproof liquid liner in Retrograde along top lash line. Urban Decay 24-7 Glide On Eye pencil in Zero along lower lash and waterline. Elf waterproof mascara in black to finish

Skin -OCeight mattifying gel, Missha Signature Real bb cream shade 13, Meow Minerals Himalayan in perfect puss shade 0.

Lips - lined and filled in with NYX Mauve, then ontop and blended together with Nyx Aphrodite round lipstick.

New hairstyle and i love my new favourite salon!

2011-10-18T00:43:00.000+01:00

I'd been in a style rut for a while and my hair was just getting long. Being that it's quite thick, it gets heavy and it was beginning to give me a headache.
I'd recently become a fan of a new show on Syfy channel, called Lost Girl and there is a character on it called Kenzi, who has awesome hair and it inspired me with my new style.

I've been told the style reminds them of - Tron's Quorra, classic Cleopatra and Bettie Paige!
Anyway it's a angled bob, long at front, shorter at back with blunt fringe (Bangs for you US peeps) that sits above the eyebrows.

A big shout out to the awesome salon that did this style for me. Called Neo Hair Design They are a cool salon, which caters to all, but has an alternative vibe to the place - unusual hair colours, hair dreads and extensions, and alt culture hair styles are their speciality! Plus when i was there the background music was Rammstein, The Cure, various German Industrial tracks and the Tron Legacy soundtrack. Can you tell i love the place?
My stylist was Tracey and i showed her what i wanted via about 3 different photos and she gave me exactly what i wanted. Everyone is really laid back there too. Can't recommend the place highly enough!

MUA Dusk till Dawn and Starry Night palette swatches plus some looks with it!

2011-10-18T00:16:00.001+01:00

Heya all.
Eesh, sorry i've not been around lately. Been snowed under with my costume work, combined with a weird breakout on my face which i think could be down to a allergic reaction to a varnish.

So recently, picked up two more of Superdrug's M.U.A. palettes. This time it's Dusk till Dawn and Starry Night
Swatches and looks under the cut

First up - Dusk Till Dawn.

There are some really stand out colours in this palette, which are pigmented and creamy. There are also though, some duds, which seem to be all the glittery ones. These are chalkier and the pigmentation can be patchy.

Top row left -right > cream shimmer, cool dark brown satin, satin nude/peach, white shimmer, pinky brown shimmer and glittery peach shimmer.

Bottom row left - right > Old gold shimmer, glitter grey, jade shimmer, teal blue glitter, dark purple shimmer, black with glitter (all glitter is silver).

My favourite shades are all of the top row shades except the glittery peach. The old gold, jade green and deep purple on the bottom row. The duds are the glittery grey, glittery teal blue and glittery black. The teal blue has more pigment, but blending out can be patchy.

Next up is Starry Night -

These are all cool silvery tones,with many similar shades. Most are very shimmery, pigmented and creamy, but again there is a dud which again is the one with glitter added.

Top row left - right > Dusky pink shimmer, pale pink shimmer, gunmetal shimmer, silver with slight blue tone shimmer, denim blue shimmer, almost black shimmer.

Bottom row left - right > Glittery grey, white shimmer, light silver, pale blue shimmer, ducky purple satin, lavender shimmer.

Out of this palette i love the gunmetal grey, dusky purple, denim blue and cool silver shade.

In fact i decided instead of carrying two palettes with some shades i liked in each, id remove the ones from the Starry Night palette i liked and replace the duds from the Dusk till Dawn palette with them. End up with one very good palette! Easy to do..use a hairdryer to melt the glue holding each pan and lift them out. Use a bit of hot glue into the empty palette sections and drop pans you want into them.

And now some looks! -
First one done with the nude peach, both brown shades and the cream from dusk till dawn palette. Lips are Morgana Cryptoria Countess Bathory.

Second look is the jade green and white shimmer from Dusk till Dawn and the gunmetal grey from Starry Night - Lips are Nyx Jumbo lip pencil in Chestnut.

OOh yeah, i have a new hair style...I'll do a separate post on that

Fantastic Moon Maiden Jewellery competition

2011-10-08T02:52:00.000+01:00

Blix who runs the http://themoonmaiden-blix.blogspot.com/ makeup blog is also a talented jewellery maker ( i own some of her work and LOVE it) She's running an awesome comp on her blog to win a giftcard for anything from her store..so Enter away! (course there are rules, so check them out first)
http://themoonmaiden-blix.blogspot.com/2011/10/moon-maiden-jewelry-giveaway.html

BTW...sorry for not being around. Ive had a odd skin reaction to some varnish i was using for one of my costumes and i've not been happy enough with any photos of my makeup to share. But rash has now gone so expect more posts! :D

Sleek Pout Paints - swatches and review

2011-08-30T14:23:00.000+01:00

Sleek have come out with their version of OCC's Lip Tars. Called Pout Paints, they cost £4.99 each

These are utterly mixable, opaque lip colours that can be worn full on glossy or blotted down to a stain of colour.

I bought 8 shades (over a couple of weeks as Superdrug kept selling out of some of the colours because they had a buy2 get one free offer on)

163 Peek A Bloo / 154 Mauve Over / 159 Port / 157 Pin Up / 160 Pinkini / 155 Lava / 161 Minx / 153 Cloud Nine

The tubes contain 8ml of product, the same as OCC Lip Tars. The product is thicker than lip tars, which are very runny. This does mean you need to use more pout paint, but at the price that's not really a problem.
The Pout Paints have a fruity scent, which reminds me of pineapple. This is another thing i prefer over OCC, which have a cloying mint scent that does not fade.

Click below for swatches!

Firstly swatches of the colours straight out of the tube (photos adjusted to show true colours)-

163 Peek a Bloo -

This shade is the same as OCC's RX shade but it's more opaque and can be worn as a high fashion shade as well as mix with other colours. Although not as opaque as other shades it is thicker than the OCC version. You can see below the thinner texture of the OCC product.

OCC RX

I've seen many reviews which say that the blue darken's the other shades, which isn't quite right. If you know colour mixing, a blue will turn any pink/red shades into purple shades and it also changes a yellow toned shade into a green shade.
A true colour to darken the other shades would be a black, which Sleek really need to include as not only would it gives more winter based shades but also a true black gloss.

154 Mauve Over

A very cool toned purple pink. Very opaque.

159 Port

A deep rich pinky purple. Very opaque.

157 Pin Up

Pillar box red shade. Very opaque

Here is Pin Up compared to OCC's NSFW. Both are as opaque as each other, but i'd say Pin Up is a truer red, compared to NSFW which has slightly cooler tones.

160 Pinkini

Almost neon bubblegum pink. Very opaque

155 Lava

Bright true orange. Opaque, but not as much as the pink tones

161 Minx

Peachy pink light shade. Not as opaque as darker pinks.

153 Cloud Nine

Pure white. I know this isn't an everyday colour to wear on its own, but for make up artists a useful fashion shade, hence why i have swatched it. Not as opaque as other colours.

Of course the thing with these is that they can be mixed to make many more shades. I went mad over the weekend mixing all the colours to see what i could make (please excuse the wonky edges on some). Here are the results!

Pinks -

161/153/163

Very pale pink

154/161/153

Lilac pink

159/153/155

Candyfloss pink

154/155

Warm rose pink

157/159/153

Rich Fuchsia pink

159/155

Pinky red (pinker than Pinup)

Purples -

153/154/163 tiny amount 161

Pale lavender

163/153/154

Light blue purple

154/163

Rich blue purple

159/163

Indigo purple

157/153/163

Deep aubergine purple

163/153/157

Dark plum purple

High Fashion shades-

153/155/163

Pale mint green

163/155/153

Aqua green

Patting a shimmery pigment over pout paint can create a matt lip with interesting duochrome effect

Pinkini with pink/ blue shimmer -

added shimmery gloss -

Lastly an experiment in Ombre -

153/159/163

To recap -

Plus - Opaque,very versatile, lots of shades to to experiment with, last a good amount of time. Doesn't feather unless applied thickly. Cheaper than OCC. Lovely fruity scent that isn't cloying.

Cons - Some shades aren't as opaque or are harder to get even coverage. Range needs a black to create darker shades, like a deep red, burgundy colour, dark navy blue or dark purple.

Morgana Cryptoria Lip Balms - Best of both worlds!

2011-08-12T00:13:00.000+01:00

When i saw Morgana Cryptoria was releasing coloured lip balms i had to snap up a few to try. I picked up Galaxy, Anastasia, Countess Bathory and Nevermore. (Also bought a full size of Plumeria, my new favourite all time colour and i got Turquoise - a colour you have to ask for and only available to EU as the colour in it isnt allowed in the US, but is in the EU. She only has a few tubes of this left.)

more pictures after the cut

First off Galaxy - Violet pink with blue sheen.

The website's description was perfect. its a gorgeous shade, but the payoff isnt that great. It's hard to get a smooth application across bare lips. Takes quite a few swipes to get a good even coverage. If i put this over the top of a pink or purple lip pencil i could see the colour sitting very well and could end up my favourite colour!

Anastasia - Rose with a hint of violet sheen

The rose shade is there, but the violet sheen is hardly noticeable on camera but it is there. Colour is lovely and coverage is very good.

Countess Bathory - cool toned red with a hint of violet sheen

The violet sheen isnt strong, it really is a hint. Very good coverage, but best initially applied with lip brush as being a red it needs a clean line. As you can see by my lip swatch it is a bit blurry near the upper corners.

Nevermore - Mauve-brown with a hint of pink-violet sheen

It's a nice mauve brown, sort of a warm metallic plum. Has a cool pink sheen, but also has a slight gold shimmer to it as well. Slightly less coverage than Countess Bathory and Anastasia, but better than Galaxy.

As balms they are wonderfully moisturising, they feel fantastic on the lips and have no nasty over powering scent or taste. They fade quite well too, keeping their colour on the lips for quite a while. (except Galaxy which sadly fades patchy.)

Each balm is $7 each. They come in a standard twist up balm tube and there is a little less than a normal lipstick. Great for those who want to try an unusual colour at less cost. All together i do like these,and will buy more as they bridge the gap between caring balm and colour lipstick. I just think some of the formulas could be tweaked a little....these are very new after all!

ELF Haul primer Trio, brown gel liner and duo fibre brush review and swatches

2011-08-05T21:42:00.000+01:00

I took the offer of free postage recently and bought some items i'd been interested in with ELF
I picked up the Studio Duo fiber brush, Studio 'Coffee' cream eyeliner and the new eyeshadow primer collection from the basic range.

The Eye primer Collection

The collection includes the classic nude primer, Pearl - a white shimmer and Champagne - a warm nude shimmer.
The nude works pretty well as I've used this before in its single form. It works nearly as good as Two Faced Shadow Insurance. Pearl although isn't a heavily pigmented primer it does works well to brighten a colour or to use where you want a highlight colour. Champagne, is the harder shade to work with in terms of what you put on top. ie a cool shade will not work too well on top as the base colour dulls it slightly, but put a brown or warm shade on top and it makes it richer. Also of course matt shades don't really work on top of either shimmer shade.

In the photo above you can also see a swatch of the Coffee brown cream eyeliner.

here is examples of how different colours work on top of the primers -

a duochrome brown/green and a duchrome pink/gold

A blue and an aqua shade. See how they look horrible over the champagne primer. But The blue looks fantastic over the brown cream eyeliner as a base!

I think this set is a great option if you want to try different primers under your shadows..but i'd suggest testing what colour you want to use with the eyeshadow of your choice.

Cream Eyeliner in Coffee -
I have a few of these already and find they are pretty good at being well pigmented, long lasting and sweatproof. I bought the matt brown to use mainly as a base for dark smoky eye looks.
You can see the swatch of it in the pictures above. The little brush that comes with the product though is too small to use properly, though i keep it in my handbag for emergency touch ups.

Studio Duo Fiber brush -
I bought this before i'd bought the Borghese brush set and to be honest i wish i hadnt bothered. I cant seem to use this brush to any effect. I prefer the Elf Studio flat top brush to apply powder foundations. I'll keep practising with this brush type to see what they are good for! If you do like this type of brush, then id say it compares to the Borghese one in quality.

brown LOTD with MUA Innocence trio

2011-08-05T20:17:00.000+01:00

Been having some issues with Blogger recently. There was a javascript error and i could neither edit nor post. Seems to have now fixed itself so i can post again.
This is a look i did on Wednesday.

Eyes -
Two Faced Shadow Insurance as primer.
MUA Innocence trio - the golden brown shade was used from inner corner to middle of lid. green/brown duochrome shade was used from middle of lid to outer corner and winged out slightly. Also placed underneath eye. Cream shade used in under browbone and on inner corner.
Liner is Essence Gel eyeliner in Black.
Eyebrows shaped with Illamasqua Sealing gel and the dark brown from Sleek Storm palette.
Mascara is GOSH Amazing Length and Build in waterproof black.

Skin -
OCEight mattifying gel
Missha Signature Real Complete bb cream in shade 13.
Meow Minerals Himalayan Foundation in Pampered Puss
Barry M blusher in Terracota (very lightly hand with this blusher!)
Under eye concealer by Lacura.

Lips - Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poison in Paradise.

COSTCO - Borghese brush set review

2011-07-28T18:58:00.000+01:00

I found out via some other blogs, that Costco had a great offer for high quality brushes by Borghese. they were priced at £20 (with vat inc) and normally cost over £50 for the set.

I was lucky enough to have a family member who had a Costco membership so went with them to see if these brushes are worth buying...and yes, yes they are!

Click below for more!

This is what comes in the set, 10 brushes and a carry pouch (that wont carry the kabuki brush)

I am going to review each brush seperatly

100 Powder Kabuki brush - natural bristles

A dense soft hair brush, that works very well at buffing powder onto the skin. I prefer a flat top Kabuki brush, but this brush is good if you prefer a domed kabuki. It has a chunky handle that is comfortable to handle.

101 Angled Contour brush - natural bristles

A fluffy natural hair brush, that isnt that soft (compared to my favourite ELF studio blusher brush). Its the only one from the set with courser hair. It does pick up alot of colour though so would be good for strong contouring, but be careful not to apply to much colour!

102 Duo-fiber Blending brush - synthetic bristles

I'll admit, i'm not sold on these type of brushes. I own the ELF studio Duo fibre and this brush is identical in feel and look. Its used to apply liquid or powder face products and buff to a natural finish. I prefer the ELF studio flat top powder brush. if you do like this kind of brush, then this is an excellent one.

104 Round Foundation Brush - synthetic bristles

An interesting foundation brush this, its a tapered point, which does make pinpoint application a doddle. Very soft and applies a liquid product very well. This will be going in my costume makeup kit!

105 Concealer Brush - synthetic bristles

A very dense flat brush suitable for concealer, primer, liquid or cream eyeshadow. Thicker than other concealer brushes i have, this is a more heavy duty brush. This too will be in my costume makeup kit

200 Eye Fluff brush - natural bristles

very useful for apply highlighter or for defining areas with powder product. Soft and dense bristles.

201 Eyeshadow brush - natural bristles

Rather a big brush for eye shadow application. Suitable for large washes over the eye, but too big for precise application on the lid.

202 Angled contour brush - natural bristles

For applying and blending eyeshadow, the flat contoured brush is handy for blending along the contours of the eye.

203 Domed smudge brush - natural bristles

Another large brush for its purpose. Its meant for apply eyeshadow on the lid and for smoky looks along the lash line. I find it good for blending in the socket.

204 Angled eye/brow brush - synthetic bristles

An angled brush for applying eyebrow power or cream or powder eyeliner. Quite soft so not too good for defined line, I prefer my Essence Eyeliner brush which has stiffer bristles.

Brush pouch - i believe its synthetic ostrich leather

A ok little pouch for most of the brushes. this will not carry the large handled kabuki brush. Closes with a hidden magnetic catch.

Pros - A bargain set, with some excellent brushes. All the good ones costing close to what you'd pay for one brush from say MAC.

Cons - Some not so good brushes, some too big for their intended purpose. Some shedding with initial use. No more shedding once washed. Also to get these brushes you must have a Costco membership or know someone who does.

Overall, this was worth buying as there are some gems in the set. although some shedding let them down slightly, after washing there wasn't any more noticeable shedding.

Game Inspired - Assassin's Creed games - LOTD

2011-07-25T01:47:00.000+01:00

bare with me, this post is a big one!
I originally did one look based on iconic colours from Assassin's Creed. But then decided to do one from each of the games! SO here are 4 looks!

click below for LOADS of pictures!

Firstly Assassin's Creed.

This is the story of Altair Ibn-La'Ahad, who becomes a master assassin during the era of the crusades and fights against the dark forces of the Templar order.
This was the first look i did. I felt this game made me think of shimmering skylines and of the Animus world, and of the colours of Altair's costume - off white, dark brown and red along with metallic silver and black of his weapons. I wanted this look to be very strong and dynamic with reference to the eagle in the eyeshape and to arabic makeup.

I actually cannot remember what i used for this eye, except the red liner, which is Manic panic vampire red blush mixed with Illamasqua's Sealing Gel to create a liner. All the shadows were shimmery. I used a white, silver, black brown and Barry M White kohl and Essence Black gel eyeliner.

Lips were OCC liptar in NSFW. Gods i wish this worked on me, but again, it bled. I followed OCC's instruction on how to apply and nope, still bled (you can see on the bottom lip, this was straight after application).

Next was Assassin's Creed 2.

This time the story was set in renaissance Italy, with a new lead character Ezio Auditore De Firenze, who becomes a member of the Assassin order after his father and brothers are murdered by someone connected with the Templar order.
Ezio's costume has similar colours to Altairs but is created with all the flourishes of Renaissance Italy. I wanted this to have a more luxe look, so mainly used rich matt colours of red, white and brown with flash of metallic silver as highlights.

I used colours from the ELF 100 palette.

11A and B, 10G and J, and 7J (mixed with sealing gel) Also used essence gel eyeliner and urban decay loose eyeshadow in a silver, which was also mixed with sealing gel for liner (name rubbed off).
eyebrows were filled in with 11I from the palette.

Lips were Illamasqua's Box with a little Sophie pencil at the outer edges blended in to create depth. A tiny bit of clear gloss applied on top.

Next Assassin's Creed Brotherhood -

This time the story is set in Rome, with a lot of rich detail. The costume Ezio has, has elements of the original Altair costume, but with more Italian flare and embelishment. There is a lot of red in this look along with white, silver, black and browns and little touches of golden details.

Again, I used Elf 100 palette
same colours as with AC2, but with the added light golden beige 8E and 8F

Lip were Nyx Diamond Sparkle lipgloss in Red Sparkle.

lastly Assassin's Creed Revelations.

This is the last story with Ezio. This is a much older man and the story is set in Constantinople and surrounding area.The game also features Altair so i wanted to incorporate the arabic eye makeup again, but with a softer feel. Ezios costume is darker, with different colours and a more sombre feel. Colours of his outfit are dark blue grey, black, dark browns, silver, red and a little shimmery white.

Again i used the ELF 100 palette, blending 4G over 11F to create the blue grey, 10H and 10J together in the socket up to brow with a little white shimmer 11B under the Eyebrow arch. 7J was brushed over Illamasqua's Strumpet medium pencil which was applied under the eye. a tiny amount of silver pigment was pressed into inner corner. Essence gel Eyeliner was applied all round the eye.

Illamasqua Sophie pencil was used to line the lips then Illamasqua Box lipstick filled in lips and blended together to create the dark red lip.

I think out of the 4 looks, i like Brotherhood and Revelations looks the most. It was alot of fun, thinking up different looks for each game, including the little icons below the eye.

next up will Be Mass Effect and i think i might end up doing 2 looks for this aswell!

Questions Questions....skincare and makeup questions answered

2011-07-18T00:11:00.001+01:00

Saw these on another blog and they looked interesting to answer

Skincare
-How many times do you wash your face daily?
Normally once a day, at night to take off makeup, but depending on my face, sometimes in the morning.

-What skin type do you have? (dry,oily,combo)
Mostly Oily, though my cheeks can be oily one second, dry the next.
-What is your current facial wash?Natio 'Young; facial wash. Just discovered this brand in Debenhams. Its an Australian natural company and seems to be good to my skin.
-Do you exfoliate?
Yes, around 3 times a week, my skin clogs up fast with skin cells, I have Keritosis Pilaris on my arms and knees and i think it causes the problems with my face skin too to some point.

-What brand do you use?
I use my facial wash and an exfoliating glove. I also use a Hello Kitty branded peeling gel ( not to be confused with a peel mask, peeling gels usually have a mild glycolic acid in them and you use them on dry skin, as you apply and gently rub,blobs of dead skin start to rub off. very popular in Japan and Korea, they really cleanse the skin of dead skin without being harsh)
What moisturizer do you use?
Good Things Miracle Mattifier Moisturiser. Got it from Superdrug. It smells divine and seems to be good to my skin

-Do you have Freckles?
Eeesh yes and i hate them and try to hide or prevent them as much as possible!

-Do you use eye creams?
Sometimes. If ive worn some serious eye makeup, i have an eyecream/gel from Aldi which has aloe vera in it. It soothes the eye skin, without being overly sticky. Normally though i just use my normal moisturiser as there isnt much difference in skin creams to eye creams. It really is just beauty brand hype.

-Do you or did you have acne prone skin?
No thank goodness. i Get spots occasionally but that's different.

MAKE-UP
-What foundation do you use?

I use a BB cream by Missha called Signature Real Complete in shade 13. Its just fantastic for everyday makeup. I top that with Meow Minerals foundation Himalayan in pampered Puss. if i'm doing a photoshoot or something special for all day i'll use Illamasqua's Skin Base in Shade 2, topped with ELF HD powder.

-How about concealer?
Recently found LA Girl HD concealer which is good for natural looks. But Skin Base makes an good concealer as well as foundation.

-Do you know your undertone color?
Yep Very cool shade, with pink undertones.

-What do you think of fake eyelashes?
I like them, but hardly wear them because i have long eyelashes anyway and i dont like fake lashes hiding my eye makeup as i have hooded lids.

-Did you know that you are supposed to change your mascara every 3 months?
Yes and i usually change sooner than that anyway as im always on the hunt for my perfect mascara - Black, volumising, lengthening, waterproof, and most of all tearproof...Oh and of course cruelty free.

-What brand of mascara do you use?
AT the moment - Beauty UK waterproof. I used to love Barry M's waterproof mascara, but they discontinued it.

-Sephora or MAC?
Neither. Dont have Sephora here in UK anymore and dont touch MAC now.

-Do you have a MAC Pro-card?
No, see above. I do have an Inglot procard though.

-What makeup tools do you use in make up application?
Various Brushes, Qtips ( always need them), occasionally will use sponge applicators for pressing on eyeshadow to sticky bases. My clean fingers for bb creams.

-Do you use make-up base/primer for the eyes?
Always. Either Two Faced Skin Insurance or Elf mineral primer. I also sometimes use Sleek primer palette as a base for some eyeshadows.

-For the face?

OCEight Mattifying gel.

-What is your favorite eyeshadow (color or shade)?
Ummmm Any shadow that is duochrome..just love the play of colour in light. Colour has to be a bright purple.

-Do you use pencil or liquid eyeliner?
Iuse Gel eyeliner mostly, though i do use a gel eyeliner pencil by Urban Decay or GOSH on my waterline.

-How often do you poke your eyes with an eyeliner pencil?
Never, that would be silly!

-What do you think of pigment eyeshadows?
Ah you mean like loose shadows. I prefer the ease of pressed shadows, but love the variety of loose. So i'm slowly pressing as many of my loose eyeshadows as i can!

-Do you use mineral makeup?
Yes, foundation and eyeshadows - Meow Minerals, Fyrinae, Venomous cosmetics, Morgana Cryptoria. Ie proper Mineral makeup, not brands that call themselves mineral makeup, yet still use Talc as their main ingredient.....(Most drugstore mineral makeups)

-What is your favorite lipstick?
Impossible, so i'll give a list!

These are all 'at the moment favourites'

Fav in your face Red - Illamasqua Box

Fav gentle red - MUA 10

Fav nude - NYX Round in Champagne

Fav Purple - Inglot's gel liptick shade 65.

fav OMG shade - Morgana Cryptoria Turquoise

-How about lipgloss?

Any by Illamasqua, but i also love at the moment Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poisons and NYX lip pot in London Hip.

-What is your favorite blush to use?

Nyx Blusher in Taupe is my favourite contour colour, I have a peachy pink blush by Marks and Spencers which i use alot that has lost its colour name, but its from their essentials range.

-Do you buy your makeup on ebay?

Yes, some brands that i cant get in UK mostly either American or Oriental brands

-Do you like drugstore makeup?
Oh yes - Sleek, GOSH, Barry M, Collection 2000, Beauty UK, MUA, Prestige, Mememe,2True, I'm not a beauty snob. Plus all these brands do not test on animals.

-Do you go to CCO's? (cosmetic company outlets)
Yes when i can, usually Inglots in London, also Screenface in London. Oh also pop into Sallys beauty and hair care stores if i'm close.

-Did you ever consider taking make-up classes?
Only as a model. Its cheaper that way, you get to learn about techniques for free.

-Are you clumsy in putting on makeup?
Some days i look at the finished look and despair..then grab cleansing wipes and start again!

-Name a makeup crime that you hate?
Visible lipliner that isnt blended into lipstick colour. Too much bronzer or fake tan..Yuck.

-Do you like colourful shades of makeup (lipstick,eyeshadow) or neutral ones?
I like both! but always some colour somewhere!

-Which celebrity always has great make up?
Dont really follow celebs, but i do admire Lady Gaga for her individuality and i like Katy Perry's looks, especially in the alien video, Wow! Oh and of course Dita Von Teese always looks flawless.

-If you could leave the house using just ONE make up item,what would you use?
Mascara.

-Could you ever leave the house without any makeup on?
I could, but try not to lol

-Do you think you look good even without any makeup on?
No, i look bland, not ugly, but not amazing either.

-In your opinion, what is the BEST makeup line?
Hmmm Hard to say....not one company has EVERYTHING i could love, but Illamasqua, Urban Decay, Morgana Cryptoria, Meow Minerals, Venomous Cosmetics, GOSH and Sleek are some of the ones i go to first!

What do you think of makeup?

It enables women (and men) to create art on their skin. It acts as a mask to face the world, it can improve your emotional state and it can help let loose creativity.

More Superdrug MUA eyeshadow palettes review and swatches

2011-07-17T18:48:00.000+01:00

As i mentioned in my previous review of MUA's new eyeshadow palettes, i had bought some more.
Well they arrived yesterday (Superdrug online is very good and fast) and i've swatched them for you.

I got another two trio sets - Blue Babe and Passion plus a shadow Quad called Celebrity.

click below for swatches!

Blue Babe trio -

A Deep rich blue shimmer, Icey blue shimmer with a slight aqua tone and a pale gold white, same as in the Eden palette. I wish they could have included a different highlight colour, like a white with blue iridescence. That would have been a perfect colour to go with the two other blues.
The colours are well pigmented, but nothing i dont already own.

Passion trio -

The deep purple has a slight blue reflection, but not as much as one of the MUA's single shadows., a pale lilac with slight white iridescence and a rich cream shimmer, again same as in the Innocence palette. I'd like to have seen a white with purple iridescence or a pure white to go with the purples. I do like the pale lilac as it the white shimmer to it, gives it something special. The
Again the shadows are pigmented and smooth.

Celebrity eyeshadow Quad -

A silvery white shimmer, A pale pink that has a slight silvery base which creates an unusual shade, an odd pinky brown shade, (looks brown in the pan, goes on a metallic salmon pink and a Cadbury's Dairymilk purple shimmer.

They are pigmented and rich, but hard to pick up with a synthetic brush, they work best with a natural fibre brush or dare i say a sponge tip applicator. The colours work well together and have enough uniqueness that this palette is worth owning.

Nyx jumbo lip pencil review and swatches

2011-07-15T19:13:00.000+01:00

What i liked about these jumbo lip pencils is they do not contain mineral oil (checking the ingredients list), which i am starting to try and avoid.
http://naturalskinhealth.com/blog/mineral-oil-in-moisturizers/
This link above gives an idea of why.

I ordered a selection on Cherry Culture to try them out -

Iced Mocha, Chestnut, Iced Coffee, Fuchsia and Hera.

What Nyx say - 'It’s double or nothing with this lip liner and lipstick in one. Our masterful Jumbo Lip Pencils infuse lips with alluring, nourishing color, and help you create a precision pout. That’s line, define and color with one jumbo pencil.'
They also say " Plus the mineral oil formula does not dry our your lips and it goes on smoothly." although in the ingredients doesnt seem to include this...which is odd."

Anyway................................

I chose these based on swatches i'd seen around the net. As usual, the swatch guide on Cherry Culture is off slightly (though, those guides are from the NYX own website).

For example i chose Iced Coffee, because all the swatches i saw, the colour had a pink undertone to it, but when i got it, well, lets just say i'm disappointed as you'll see by the swatches below.

Iced Mocha -

A lovely shimmery beige with slight pink undertones. I really like this colour, it suits my skin tone alot.

Chestnut-

A pretty rose base with peachy beige shimmer. A really lovely colour that works well with my skintone and lip colour. Works well as a natural lip shade with stronger eye colours.

Iced Coffee -

A very warm toned brown shade with no shimmer, reminds me of muddy clay. Not a pleasant shade on me and very different from swatches i've seen (sometimes i wonder if what ive got is not what others have..anyone else have this pencil?)

Fuchsia -

Weird name for this one, considering its no where near a fuchsia colour. What it is, is a cool toned lip colour pink. Similar to Nyx's round Thalia and Black label Heiress, but not an exact match.

As you can see its lighter than Heiress. Noticed too, that Chestnut's base shade is same as Fuchsia

Hera-

This is more a fuchsia shade than Fuchsia! A bright fuchsia pink with shimmer and a blue flash. Gorgeous!I dont have my other lipsticks in this shade to compare, but i think this one is lighter than the round lipstick shade Pandora.

To review -

Pros - no discernible scent or taste, easy to apply, well pigmented, feels nice on the lips and lasts well.
Cons - not usable as a liner as its too soft for that. Swatch shades very off on website, lipstick itself is soft so you have to be careful when putting the lid back on, not to damage it. You need a jumbo sharpener for these.

In summery, i do like these pencils, they feel great on and last as well as any lipstick. Because they do not have the weird scent of the Round lipsticks, i prefer them, but i wish the swatches on the websites were better so i dont make bad choices.

MUA eyeshadow trios and palette review

2011-07-13T23:47:00.000+01:00

Popped into my local Superdrug and there were some new products from MUA, their bargain own brand. Among some new crackle nail polishes, primer and eyeliners were new Trio eyeshadow sets and some 12 shadow palettes.
I picked up one 12 palette called Glitter Ball and 2 trio sets called Innocence and Eden.

click below for more!

The trio sets captured my eye because of the interesting shades. Normally i dont like baked shadows (these look baked with their dome shape) but i was entranced by a colour in each set i had to give them a try.
These cost £2.50, which is more than the basic MUA £1 range. I'm not sure if these are limited editions, but there was only a few of each set left on the display. Although on display were only 4 colour options, on the website there appears to more trios available -
Passion- Purple and white, Smokescreen - a trio of metallic greys, Pink Sorbet - three pinks, Chocolate Box- the reddish brown trio and Blue babe - a blue/aqua trio.

Innocence -

Swatched over primer.

A reddish brick colour with green flash. Same colour as one of MUA single shadows and a dupe for some more expensive brands. A mushroom brown with pale gold shimmer and a shimmery cream. very creamy and blendable without muddyness.

Eden -

A deep metallic green, has a slight grey base, a sage green with yellow green shimmer and a very shimmery pale gold.
The colour that made me buy this trio is the sage green and it is a gorgeous shade. the darker green is pretty and could work well as a crease colour and would make a good smoky look. The pale yellow gold makes an interesting focus colour and highlighter.

If these trios are baked shadows (as it doesnt say if they are or not) then they are some of the better kind, as apply well with a brush well, without feeling dry and chalky.

Glitter ball 12 palette - Glitter Ball.
There were two other 12 palettes that i saw in the display, a neutral set called Heaven and Earth, which had too many warm browns for my liking and a muted colour palette called Starry Night that's meant for smoky looks. There were two other palettes, called Pretty Pastels and Dusk till Dawn but both of those had sold out. Hope to get Dusk till Dawn when i can as those shades look interesting-
superdrug website, MUA eyeshadows -
superdrug.com MUA eyeshadow options

What struck me most was the palettes similarity to the Sleek I Divines. Although the packaging is a lot thinner, the basic resemblance is there.
These palettes are £4.00 each.

The top pic shows shimmer and bottom pic underlying colour of each shade.

Top row - Black with glitter. peachy shimmer, deep green shimmer, pale blue shimmer, Aqua shimmer and cream high shimmer.
bottom row - High shimmer pale pink, Shimmery copper orange, shimmery pinky mushroom brown, Rich shimmery chocolate brown, warm silver shimmer and pale lilac shimmer.

Pros - High shimmer effects in some creates an almost wet look appearance when applied. Some shades have a lot of pigment and are very rich in tone ( orange, pale blue, aqua, pink, both browns, silver and lilac)

Cons - Some shades have little pigment (the black) and any shimmer goes when applied. The peach and cream have a gritty feel and need blending to remove the gritty look.

These new eye shadow palettes are a welcome addition to the MUA range as they contain many colours in a portable palette. Even though they are more than the base £1 range, when worked out, they actually work out cheaper than buying 3 singles separately. I also think there is close to same amount of shadow in each dome of the trios as there is in a flat single. I've already ordered two more trio sets (as well as one of their new Extreme Quads, which are not on any display in store that i could see) so i must like them!

Game Inspired - Portal - doing makeup, with Science!

2011-07-13T22:23:00.001+01:00

My second look based on a game. This time, the excellent, mind blowing Portal. This is a pretty unique game in that you have to use your brain to survive, rather than lots of firepower.

The main colours i think of with Portal are, well, the portal colours - Orange and Blue. The portals glow with a light, so the orange goes from a fiery orange though an glowy yellow to a yellow white. The azure blue pales through a turquoise to a white blue. Then of course, the portals can only go onto white walls, so i added that colour in to along with the metallic grey of GLaDOS herself and the Aperture laboratories.
Of course the blue, orange and white are also evident in the gels from Portal 2 - Conversion, Propulsion and Repulsion!

I wasn't sure how to use these colours as i don't normally mix the two. so ended up doing two looks!
This is my first look -

I used various shades from the ELF 100 palette

neutrals on brow and inner corner- 1C and 11A
Blues - 4H, 4C and 4A
Oranges - 7F
Also blended the blues over a gunmetal grey gel eyeliner (ELF Studio gel eyeliner) and used Barrym White eyeliner for the outer flick and waterline.
Lipgloss was a peachy shimmer (cant remember what one!)

Second look i did -

Again i used the ELF 100 palette-
Brow - 1C and 11A
Inner corner - 11A
Lid - 7D and 7I
Crease and under eye - 4E and 4H
Eyeshadows blended over gunmetal ELf Studio gel liner (i wanted to give the impression of the colours of a portal glowing over a metal background.
Barry M white eyeliner on waterliner and outer flick.
Lips - Illamasqua sheer lipgloss Provoke over LA Color Sable lip pencil.

Next Game look - Assassin's Creed!

Blix and morgana Cryptoria competition

2011-07-11T02:17:00.000+01:00

Blix who runs Glitter is my Crack has got a beaut of a competition. With the promotion of Morgana's new 20 themed lipstick collection and Blix's stunning modelling for it, this comp has some fantastic prizes.

I want to win.....lol

http://themoonmaiden-blix.blogspot.com/2011/07/morgana-cryptoria-makeup-and-moon.html

Illamasqua Skin Base foundation as good as BB creams? A comparison.

2011-07-01T20:35:00.001+01:00

Illamasqua recently launched a new foundation it says is based on the phenomenon in Asia for BB Creams.

The official blurb -
Inspired by the cult Asian market Beauty Balm creams, Skin Base Foundation is a brand new, refined formula unlike anything on the UK market. Easily blendable, it effortlessly creates a perfect complexion, and like the entire Illamasqua foundation range, is undetectable in a professional HD environment. Suitable for all skin types, it smoothes, softens and conditions your skin whilst providing natural, buildable coverage.

Firstly BB creams stand for Blemish Balm not Beauty Balm as they were originally created to be worn by ladies whod had skin peels and treatments. It was a makeup that would help heal their skin and still give them something to wear makeup wise. It became a trend in Korea, when many of the young celebs there started wearing them. Beauty brands caught on and started making ones related to different skin issues, like spots, dry skin, mature skin and so forth.
Its true, the UK doesnt have any brands that sell bb creams, it's a shame, as the hardest thing about choosing a bb cream is knowing what colour and formula will work.
When i have bought them online, ive searched through various blogs to show swatches of the colours. I used to use a pale shade by Etude House, but even then it was ever so slightly too dark for me. Once blended it was ok. It was excellent, though, for my oily skin as it contained ingredients that healed blemished skin.
Of course the colour problem is because they are mainly made for asian skintones. But, some companies have realised that western people are starting to like bb creams and are making paler shades.

Missha is a brand i've found that does a colour that matches my skin almost perfectly. Shade 13. This brand has probably the palest colour ive found in a bb cream.

They do that shade in two formulas -
Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 PA+++
Signature Real Complete BB Cream SPF 25 PA++

Now to compare, Illamasqua's Skin Base foundation comes in a very pale shade for cool pink tones called shade 02. They also do a white shade 01 which actually is more useful than you'd think. Its can be used for highlighting areas, where you dont want sheen, but do want to highlight areas like the top of cheekbones, above the cupid's bow and along the nose. of course it can also be used to blend out any of their other shades to make a completely custom shade.

Click below for review and swatches

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation - £25 per 10ml

http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/catalogue/products/new-skin-base-foundation/304/

Missha Perfect Cover BB cream $15 per 15mls ( although you can find it cheaper online, just buy from a reputable seller as they are fakes sold)
The links below are for the US site, as its in english.
http://www.misshaus.com/pageControl.php?page=mainProductDetail&p_code=MSMS1052&ctg=AAA

Missha Signature Real Complete BB Cream $32 for 45g (dont know why theyve used grams over mls here) You can also get a smaller tube for around $15.
http://www.misshaus.com/pageControl.php?page=mainProductDetail&p_code=MSMS1163&ctg=AAA

Good sites for the bb creams are -
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/bellogirl
http://www.koreabb.com.sg/index.php
http://www.adambeauty.com/showitem.php
http://www.sasa.com/SasaWeb/eng/sasa/home.jsp

Now Illamasqua say they didnt include an SPF in the Skin Base because they wanted customers to be able to choose the level of protection they wanted on their skin and that SPF protection can often wash out on camera. This doesnt bother me as i always use a natural sun protection via my mineral foundations, and my moisturiser also have good SPF too.
They also removed the brightening aspects of many bb creams. Now ive not used any bb creams that say they whiten skin, but i have used ones that say they brighten due to the herbs and vitamins in them and they are lovely, keeping my freckles at bay!

OK ...if you managed to read all that here are photos of the 3 i used to compare -
1 - Applied onto face (ive 'blobbed' more than i normally would so you can see the colours of the products)

2 - Slightly blended -You can see that Illamasqua's one (near my jaw) is slightly paler than my own skin, the other two have disappeared into my skin tone as they match so well. None of the products have oxidised, which is great.

3 - Blended and buffed..

The Illamasqua blended into my skin, and did give good coverage, but i can feel it on my skin ( one of the reasons i really like bb creams).
I found applying it with my fingers, the same way as bb creams works far better than applying it with a brush as recommended. Applying it the brush way, i could feel it on my skin, no matter how much i buffed it.
The 2 Missha bb creams match my skin tone really well, but aren't as covering as the Illamasqua, The Signature Real Complete though, feels fantastic on my skin and is a great base to put mineral foundation or finishing powder onto.

Here are two examples of Skin Base used on my skin. The first applying the foundation as recommended, using a brush and buffing the product on. The second photo shows it applied using clean fingers and patted, then buffed.
Both looks have had a mineral foundation buffed on top as i prefer a matt look to my skin.

Apart from different light (damn changing weather here) you can see the foundation looks a bit more caked on in the first picture, especially around the nose. This was after using a dual fibre brush to buff the hell out of the skin!

Pros - MANY shades from white to very dark skin colour, Some characteristics of bb creams, blends into skin quite well (when applied using clean fingers, rather than a brush, at least that's what i found) makes skin look flawless on camera.
Cons - Contains Mineral oil (6th ingredient so quite a bit of the product is that) which id expect a higher end cosmetic to not have. Needs to be used sparingly on the skin and built up slowly for full coverage, so not a quick application, unless you dont follow MUA advice and use your fingers!

Sooo , would i still buy Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation?
Yes, i think i would. Because its better than a normal foundation and does have some of the characteristics of bb creams, like some good ingredients and easy blending when using fingers. It does give a good coverage, and would work well when you need total cover. (like in photoshoots and when costuming...or Nights out for example)

But, it hasn't toppled my favourite bb cream, which is far better for day to day makeup.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery?

2011-06-28T03:10:00.000+01:00

Only when the originator is credited!
I just found a blog copying and pasting my blog entries as their own...with no mention of my blog. It seems this person simply finds posts from peoples blogs and copies them as their own...( i say person and they as i've no idea if its one person or many)

see for yourself -
http://s-beautifuleyelashes.blogspot.com/

I wouldnt mind if my blog was credited...but there is Nothing. if you recognise anybody else's blog posts, please let them know.

Soooo im going to have to go back and watermark every image from all my previous posts. Ugh. Lesson learnt.

so to this blogger i leave you with this -

Game inspired - Bioshock LOTD

2011-06-28T00:09:00.003+01:00

As you might have guessed from my costume makeup post, im a big gaming fan. When i was looking at references for my next costume it dawned on me to use the iconic colours from various games as inspiration for makeup looks.

My first look is based on the game Bioshock. Set in an Art Deco world under the deep blue ocean, this planned utopia had fallen and was utterly corrupt. Shining metal spires and elegant structures are now rusting and copper decorations enveloped in Verdigris.

I took this image as my main inspiration -

You can see the rich blues of the ocean with the various metal shades and the shades of the rust and verdigris.
I wanted this look to be soft with all the colours blended together , with the metal shades just peeping through the greens and browns.

Click below for more pics!

I first finished this look with Morgana Cryptoria lipstick in Turquoise and my turquoise hair extensions to represent the blue ocean.

Then for a more everyday look i swapped the colour for a pinky bronze shimmery gloss with a green reflection. It was a mix of a few products including a Collection 2000 gloss that i don't think is made any more..

I used Illamasqua Succumb from the crease upto the brow, All other shadows are Yaby Pearl Paints.
First Snow on the browbone arch and on the inner corner of the eye.
I blended Platinum from inner corner towards the middle of the lid.
Then a took Sea Turtle (an amazing green than flashes silver and gold) over the middle of the lid to outer corner.
Above the crease I used a little Baby Grass above the crease and blended out.
In the crease I used Cappuccino Dream. I also put a little of that under the eye from outer corner to middle.
I put Mermaid Blue under the eye and blended it from the silver shade through to the bronze shade.

I lined the eye with ELF Studio gel liner in gunmetal and then quickly dabbed over the liner with some Yaby PP in Antique so there was a mix of dark silver and old gold. I also dabbed over than Collection 2000 glitter liner in Dig It over the liner to give it that sparkling wet look.
The waterline was lined with Urban Decay 24-7 liner in black (forgot name!) and then whilst still gel dabbed on Yaby Antique.
Waterproof mascara in deep black by BeautyUK. Then I dabbed GOSH extreme liner in bronze on the tips of the lashes.

Blusher was a peachy colour called Maroon (?) by M&S
Skin - BB cream by Missha (perfect cover), Concealer by LA Girl (see previous post for review!) and finished with Meow Minerals foundation in O Himalayan pampered puss.

I plan to do looks based on Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect and Portal. Any other games you'd like to see looks based on? let me know in the comments!

Cherry Culture Haul June Haul 2011

2011-06-25T23:38:00.002+01:00

I bought a little bundle of items from Cherry Culture recently and the package arrived today

from NYX-
Round Lipgloss in Real Nude, Mega Shine Lipgloss in Natural, Lip Lacquer Pot in London Hip
From LA Girl -
Pro.Conceal high definition concealer in shade Classic Ivory, Color Addict nail color in Obsess
from LASplash-
Nail Splash polish in Golden Seahorse

Swatches and reviews below the cut!

First NYX

Round Lipgloss in Real Nude.

Smallish round tube packaging with small tilted doe foot wand.
Colour - Gorgeous colour - its a lip shade of natural,a cool toned pinky nude cream.
Pros - . Has a light texture and a non sticky feel. Great colour for cool toned pale skin.
Cons - Smells when first applied exactly like citrus orange washing up liquid! YUK! The scent goes but the memory of the smell remains! Contains alot of Mineral Oil, which so isn't a great ingredient to put on or in the skin.

Mega Shin Gloss in Natural

Larger than the Round gloss, squared off tube with cute bow decal on the lid and a resound click when lid is twisted close. Doe foot wand is longer than the Round and i think being slanted means easier application than normal wands.
Colour - Colour isnt as good, for my skintone at least. Its a far warmer nude cream, with orange tones appearing on my skin when i wear it and im not a fan of anything orange on my lips!
Pros - More opaque colour than the round gloss. . Longer lasting on the lips than the round too.
Cons - STRONG scent of cherry sweets (for us Brits, the scent is exactly like the cherry flavour Slush Puppy!) This scent is apparent as soon as you open the tube. Now i like the scent and it does go away when worn, but if you don't like the scent, it will put you off. Contains Mineral Oil, but not as much as the Round Gloss.

Lip Lacquer Pot in London Hip.

A sturdy plastic pot, reminds me of Inglot AMC Lip Paint. Actually in more ways than one. The feel of the gloss is very similar, very creamy and luxurious.
Colour - . Colour is a shimmery beige nude, my favourite kind of colour to work with a strong eye. Its not totally opaque but it is buildable.
Pros - No Mineral oil! A lovely creamy texture. No strong scent, in fact no scent at all that i can tell.
Cons - Its in a pot, so you need to use your finger (ew!) or a lip brush to get the product out.

Lip swatches -

My naked (flaky!) lips

Round gloss - Real Nude

Mega Shine Gloss - Natural

Lip Lacquer Pot - London Hip

Next LA Girl

Pro.Conceal high definition concealer in shade Classic Ivory

H.D. or High Definition seems to be the trend to use in makeup. Extolling the virtues of hiding all our skin sins from the cameras or in most cases, our eyes. I have to say, this actually seems to do the trick.
When i first got this i though the colour would, as usual, be too dark for my skin, but when applied it blends into my skin really well.

The tube is pliable to allow you to squeeze out the concealer onto the white nylon brush dispenser. Handy for taking with you in your handbag, but in my makeup kit i'd squeeze out what i needed onto a concealer brush, for hygiene's sake and for better, precise application.

I quickly tried a test conceal on a mole i have on my jaw. On the left is naked skin, the right concealed with the Pro Conceal.

You can see a slight colour change but this would disappear if i were wearing foundation as well. You can also see how the concealer has diffused the mole.
I really like this product and a plus is that it also doesn't contain any Mineral Oil. It's soft enough to go under the eyes and opaque enough to cover blemishes. The Classic Ivory ( why do companies give it that name when its no where near an ivory shade....) is good for pale skin tones and blends in with both warm and cool tones quite well i'd say.

Color Addict in shade - Obsess -

A gorgeous teal blue creme with rich gold shimmer. Covers in 2 coats and is very glossy.
Since i had nailpolish on i swatched the colour onto a piece of plastic (same as a fake nail).

Left is the shimmer in the bottle, right is how the polish looks on a nail. SOOOO pretty!

I'm not a fan of cremes except as a base to wear under a sheer polish, but because this has the shimmer built in, i love it. Its so unusual.

lastly LASplash

Nail Splash in Golden Seahorse.

This seems is very popular with Nail polish fantatics and i can see why. Its a Sea foam green pearl with gold glitter. Really is the polish mermaids might wear!

Like any polish with chunky glitter, it would feel smoother with a top coat, as its gritty on its own.

So not a bad haul from Cherry Culture. As usual Its often a roulette as to the shades you will get , as CC's Swatches are often off. So it usually comes to choosing a shade you like, then searching online for other people's swatches. Even then due to different people skin colours a colour you think you'll like doesn't work at all on your skin tone ( as with NYX's mega shine Natural).
As i always swatch products hygienically, i'll probably offer some of these in a blog sale i plan to hold soon.

Blix's awesome new contest with Sobe Botanicals

2011-06-14T23:01:00.000+01:00

Glitter is my Crack beauty blog by Blix is my first go to when im looking through beauty blogs and now she has a really cool contest in conjunction with Sobe Botanicals
Go enter...although please dont win as i'd really like to win it ;D

http://themoonmaiden-blix.blogspot.com/2011/06/sobe-botanicals-matte-duochrome.html

updated animal test post

2011-06-14T18:00:00.000+01:00

Thought i'd mention that i've updated my post on animal cruelty free companies, with some new companies-
Essence, Catrice and Beyond the Zone.
http://littlemissmetamorph.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-to-animal-testing-and-lies-big.html

AWOL.- costume makeup

2011-06-13T16:17:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone. Sorry, ive been a bit awol from here, I've had alot going on that has meant i havent had time to really do anything here.
Since my skin isnt behaving, i thought i'd do a post about some of my more complex costume makeups i've done as some expressed interest in seeing them.

So below the cut are many, many pictures of them!

First off, is my most recent costume. The character is Liara T'soni from the game Mass Effect2

I used Ben Nye liquid paints for the makeup and sadly they do not seem to like my skin at all, as the paint cracked off my skin very quickly.( i had used a barrier and moisturiser and sealer as recommended). I had followed a recipe to make the paint last a long time too, adding in a product called Prosaide (which is a prosthetic glue) and some Ben Nye Liquiset (which is a waterproof sealer) and neither of these changed anything....so there is a tiny bit of photoshop on these pictures, to hide the cracks around my cheeks, mouth and under eyes, as these photos were taken at the end of the day, DOH!. Everything else is real.
I used mineral eyeshadows on the eyes and cheeks.GOSH extreme art eyeliner in black over my eyebrows as Liara's eyebrows are not made from hair..they seem drawn on, as no other Asari have eyebrows! The lips were done with custom blended OCC liptars (for once not bleeding on me!). I wore Blue contacts, called Lestat lenses, as i already had them as i used them for a Selene (Underworld) costume.

I cannot take credit for the prosthetic headpiece. This was made by a friend of mine in New Zealand, the wonderfully talented Michaela DeBruce. I painted the headpiece using the same makeup paints, so the colours would match up perfectly. The headpiece comes as two parts so can be fitted to practically any size head. I made the costume.

Next costume is Asajj Ventress from Star Wars, The Clone Wars Comics.

(only photoshop is my eyes)

This gave me whole new challenges as i had to learn how to apply a baldcap. I think i did this character 6 times and each time improved on the application. This is where i got amazing advice from 2 professional makeup artists - Karl Derrick ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1389100/ ) and Neil Gorton ( http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0003929/ ) on how to apply these tricky prosthetics. I ended up preferring to use a Glatzan Plastic cap over a latex one, but its a personal choice.

( I had short hair in this photo, but i had done the costume before with long hair, that was carefully 'smooshed' against my head using copious amounts of hairgel and the length wrapped in cling film and laid down my neck, so the back of the cap would cover over it.)

makeup i used was a custom blended shade of Fardel Liquid bodypaints, which are fantastic at applying, but need frequent touchup as it is only waterbased. The 'tattoos' were done using GOSH extreme art eyeliner liquid. Lipstick was good old BarryM black. Contact lenses are called zombie lenses by Crazy eyes.
Costume made by me. Lightsabers by a very talented propmaker Neophyl (who sadly no longer does them)

Lastly, of my more complex makeups for costume is Demon Callisto, from Xena, Warrior Princess.

This was my first costume that needed prosthetics and i got some help from a few friends for different parts of it. The face pieces were by Wendy Deaton and the wings by Paul Holroyd.

As the colours for the character were natural in tone i simply used dark foundations from Sleek and stippled the colours on using sponges and stencils cut from foam.. The claws were made from an epoxy clay sculted onto fake acrylic nails.

Those i guess are the most challenging makeups to date, Although i have done bodypaint and specific makeups for characters which if you want to see pictures, you can find them on my costuming site
www.littlemissmetamorph.com

Morgana Cryptoria lip colour swatches

2011-04-24T16:21:00.002+01:00

After getting a couple of samples of Morgana Cryptoria's Lip colours I had to try more, as I found the quality of them excellent and the colours unique.

I got different packaging than last time for the samples. last time I got little screw top pots and this time, they were clamshell pots. Must admit I prefer the screw top pots, but I guess they might be more expensive to buy for Melissa.
Ah checking the site, it seems that lipstick samples are no longer available unless a new shade is released, then it will be limited to 15 samples. A shame, but I guess the cost must be too much for a small company. Hopefully these swatch samples here will help people choose some of the colours.

I got a full size Otherworldly which came in a elegant simple black lipstick case and samples of Enchanted Sapphire, Roses and Violets, Turquoise, Shifting Violet and Plumeria.
All applied smoothly and evenly except for Enchanted Sapphire, which needed a bit more work. I've yet to find a dark blue that does apply perfectly though, so I wasn't surprised as any blue has to cover and hide natural pink toned lips.

Large lip swatches after the break -

I have quite pigmented lips and all these lip colours covered and hide the colour.
First a second swatch of the amazing Otherworldy

A deep blue tone purple with a silver shimmer and blue reflection...just beautiful. Applies like a dream.

Enchanted Sapphire

A medium blue, with shimmer and a blue/purple and slight green reflection.. As I said, harder to get even, but with a little perseverance it does look good. Wonder if this would apply better with the lips covered in concealer or foundation? But then the colour might be changed...hmm.
This shade has been temporarily withdrawn as it contained a colour ingredient that isn't allowed in the US (though is allowed in the UK and EU) see this for info - http://www.morganacryptoria.com/blog.asp?id=1&action=post&draft=1

Turquoise

No problems applying this beauty though. A true rich turquoise teal colour with shimmer. This shade has also been temporarily withdrawn as it contained a colour ingredient that isn't allowed in the US (though is allowed in the UK and EU) see this for info - http://www.morganacryptoria.com/blog.asp?id=1&action=post&draft=1

Plumeria

Nom nom nom is how I'd describe this! A shimmery neutral pinky purple shade with a blue sometimes green reflection. Will be definitely ordering a full size of this baby!

Roses and Violets

An elegant light pink with a light purple sheen. This is a good work shade as it isn't too unusual, but still gives a little nod to the alternative.

Shifting Violet

A pure tone purple shimmer with blue/green and silver reflection depending on the light. This is a lighter warm toned version of Otherworldly I'd say.

I didn't find any of the colours with overbearing smells or tastes, most were quite neutral and some had a slight mint scent. I only quickly swatched these shades so i don't know how long they will last, but it certainly took some effort to take them off each time, which is a good sign!

I hope some of these colours can be fixed for US customers to be able to buy again. I know Melissa will do everything she can to provide them or a create a good alternative.

Venomous Cobalt Caribbean Cruise ( Company love look 6)

2011-04-24T15:12:00.001+01:00

Sorry i didnt post this yesterday, the day started good, but i felt rotten by the end of the day so have waited till today.

I used V.C.'s Cobalt and Caribbean Cruise pressed shadows along with Illamasqua's Succumb and Yaby First Snow.

( Yes i am a Mass effect fan as is my partner....that picture in the background was my xmas gift to my other half! hehehehe)

I made the jewellery in these shots, quite pleased with how they turned out. The pendant on the necklace was originally one of a pair of earrings...HUGE heavy earrings lol.

TFSI applied over all the eye. Illamasqua's Succumb over all the brow bone. I put the Cobalt on the outer half of the top lid upto the crease.Yaby's First Snow was placed on the inner half of the upper lid and around the tear duct. A little cobalt was placed on the low lid. Then i placed Caribbean Cruise from crease and blended upwards towards brow. More First snow applied on browbone under eyebrow and blended down. Caribbeamn Cruise was also applied under the eye.

A gel eyeliner was applied with a bent eyeliner brush close to the lash line and flicked up. A little was placed along the lower lash line. Black kohl was applied on the waterline.

The lips were a custom blend of a sheer pink nude and a little of Morgana Cryptoria's Enchanted Sapphire.

My nails matched too - Models Own Blue Lagoon with some little nail decals i got from Poundland!

Well that was my week's love of Venomous Cosmetics pressed samples that i got. Im expecting more soon and i cant wait to play with them.

Venomous rising phoenix dragon ( Company love look 5)

2011-04-23T01:13:00.002+01:00

Todays look uses Venomous Cosmetics Rising Star, Phoenix and Dragon.

Applied over TFSI and Elf studio gel white eyeliner ( just to see how it would work, its pretty good,not brilliant, but not bad either!)
Phoenix applied over all the lid and blended up towards the brow. Also applied under the eye. Rising Star applied in inner corner of lower lid. Dragon used to define the crease. Illamasqua Succumb on browbone and blended together with Phoenix.

Lips are MUA 10.

Last look with V.C. tomorrow!

Venomous Fer De Centipede. (company love look 4)

2011-04-21T21:26:00.003+01:00

Today's Venomous look comes courtesy of Fer de Lance and Centipede pressed shadows

TFSI as primer. Illamasqua Succumb over brow to crease. VC Centipede overlid and winged out. also place around inner corner. Fer De Lance from crease blended up. Also placed on lower lid and winged out to follow the green. Tesco Snow White on brow bone. Black gel eyeliner winged out to follow the line of the green and brown.
Lip gloss is Barry M Toffee.

Venomous sea chupacabra dragon (company love look 3)

2011-04-21T00:34:00.002+01:00

I did say this would be a more gothic look with Venomous Cosmetics, but this is sort of a casual goth look...as its not that extreme as i could go!

TFSI as primer, Sea urchin to inner corner, Chupacabra to outer corner blended up and winged out. Dragon taken as a line under the eye and brought out. A little dragon blended in the crease. Tesco's All About Face Snow White on browbone and tearduct.
Lips are a custom blend of Illamaqua's Intense glosses - Fierce, Fury and sheer Explode.
Nail polish is Illamasqua's Poke.

Venomous Atlantian Viper (company love look 2)

2011-04-20T00:43:00.002+01:00

My second look of the week with Venomous Cosmetics. This time using just Atlantis and Gaboon Viper.

I was also trying out to see if i should get a fringe cut. I grabbed my blunt fringe that i normally wear when i wear hair falls. So its not perfect, but gives the idea. I like the fringe, but i also like not having one. So i may invest in one of those cool clip on fringes that look natural.

Without Fringe

With Fringe

soooooo what do you think? lol

Anyway i applied all eyeshadows over TFSI. Eyebrows were defined with Illamasqua's fine pencil in Eerie.

Last shot shows the slight silvery green reflection of Gaboon Viper. Eyeliner was Collection 2000 extreme felt tip liner in black. lower lid defined with Barry M kohl in black.

Lips were lined with Stylie Style 24 hr liner in Mauve, Then Sleek Amethyst lipstick, topped with Hysteria.

Hysteria works really well with Amethyst as the latter can be quite dry, Hysteria makes it far nicer to wear and brings out the blue purple reflection.

Tomorrow a gothic look!

Meow Minerals offer.

2011-04-18T23:13:00.000+01:00

If you want a chance to try Meow Minerals VAST range of foundations or some of the sumptuous eye colours then this is your chance
There is a free shipping code( worldwide) HAIRBALL
or 10% off total with CATSHATETAXES

I love Pampered puss foundation in Himalayan 0 and Chausie 0. they are perfect colours for my cool toned pinky neutral skin.

Venomous rainbow ( company love look 1)

2011-04-18T19:26:00.003+01:00

Had my first play with my Venomous Cosmetics Yesterday and created a rainbow effect on the eyes with a pale lip. I have another look with them i did today, but ill save that for tomorrow. Think in fact ill use only VC eyeshadows all week to showcase what can be done with them.

Ive taken photos in different lights - bright sunlight, natural light and LED bulb to show the different colours these shadows produce -

( the bottom photo especially shows the slight green reflection in Rising Star and the pinky purple tones of Sea Urchin)

All shadows applied over TFSI.
Top Lid - Rising Star blended into Phoenix to create a middle orange shade. Crease blended from Pheonix into Sea Urchin. I used tescos All about face eyeshadow in Snow White for the browbone. Lined with Collection 2000 extreme felttip eyeliner in black. Mascara is Beauty UK waterproof.
Bottom lid Rising Star blended into Carribean Cruise, blended into Atlantis, blended into Cobalt Blue!
Barry M Kohl in black on lower lashes, Barry M Kohl in White on lower waterline.
Eyebrow defined with Illamasqua fine pencil in Eerie.

Skin - OC Eight mattifying gel as primer, then Etude House mineral BB cream for oily skin, then Meow Minerals Pampered Puss foundation in Himalayan. M&S Essential Colours blusher in Cinnamon.

Lips - LA Colors Lip liner in Sable, blended over lips, then Lip Poison in Paradise.

NO TO ANIMAL TESTING & THE LIES BIG COMPANIES USE TO HIDE THE TRUTH..

2011-04-18T18:47:00.013+01:00

This post will be constantly updated as i find out new information...if you want me to research a brand, let me know!

Thought id make it a statement on here that i will not buy or review any product by a company that tests its ingredients or products on animals. There's a lot of reading below, but please stick with it, as its very worthwhile.

Even though there is no need to use animals, many companies still do (because its cheap)! In fact by law (hopefully) by next year it will be illegal for cosmetic products in Europe to be tested on animals (though a company might still do so elsewhere)

I scour websites for information on companies im not sure of.

Uncaged.co.uk. BUAV, Naturewatch.org, even Wikipedia as it often gives the owner company name of brands.( I avoid PETA as i do not agree with their tactics ad some polices and their listing qualifications can be lax.)

Click below for more information and lots of writing! -

You have to be so careful finding products truly not animal tested as many companies try to get around it with clever wording -

*- "We are against animal testing or we avoid animal testing", -

They may be against it, but they still do it. Unless this statement is combined with a BUAV logo of the Leaping Bunny. Ignore it. ( make sure it is the real BUAV leaping bunny and not just a cute rabbit as this can actually mean nothing). Companies like this - Elemis, L'Oreal.

*" we dont test on animals"

No, but you are owned by a company that does - example, The Body Shop is owned by L'Oreal, one of the worst offenders. This means that the parent company profits from its 'ethical' brands, so no matter how much the 'ethical' brand protests its credentials,. the money you spend on them goes to it parent companies annual profist. This is why big name companies buy these ethical brands..to capture this growing market.

*" we never test our products on animals"

No they don't, but they do profit from ingredients bought from their suppliers who do test on animals - MAC, Smashbox, Bobby Brown, Prescriptives, Aveda, all owned by Estee Lauder ( in fact they own many more companies - see list below)

Other companies like this - Avon, Boots brands, Chanel, Clarins, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Avon, Revlon, Tresemme. ( Basically any of those companies that hype a new wonder product or ingredient, usually means that that product has animal tested ingredients). Supermarkets: Asda , Lidl, Morrisons.Wilkinsons, Netto

COMPANIES I WONT TOUCH WITH A BARGPOLE -

Estee Lauder inc - Aramis, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Bumble & Bumble, Clinique, Coach, Darphin, Donna Karen, Flirt!, Good Skin, Grass Roots, Jo Malone, Lab Series, La Mer, MAC, Michael Kors, Missoni, Mustang, Ojon, Origins, Prescriptives, Sean John, Smash Box, Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger.

http://www.elcompanies.com/our_brands/our_brands.php

Proctor and Gamble eg Aussie haircare, Max Factor, Olay, Head and Shoulders, Braun, Clairol, Covergirl, Gilette, Herbal Essences, Pantene, many perfume names inc Hugo Boss and Valentino http://www.pg.com/en_US/brands/all_brands.shtml

Beiersdorf - eg- Nivea, Labello,
http://www.beiersdorf.com/Brands_Innovations/Brands.html

Colgate -eg- http://www.colgate.co.uk/app/Colgate/UK/OralCare/ProductRecommender/Toothpaste.cvsp

Johnson & Johnson - eg- Neutrogena, Piz Buin, Ambi Skincare, Aveeno, Clean & Clear, Lubriderm, Purpose, RoC, Rogaine, http://www.jnj.com/connect/healthcare-products/consumer/

L'Oreal/Nestle - eg- Biotherm, Cacharel, Garnier, Georgio Armani, Helena Rubinstein, Keretase, Kiehls, Lancome, La Roche, Matrix, Maybelline, Mizani, Pureology, Ralph Lauren,Redken, Softsheen, Shu Uemura, The Body Shop, Vichy, Victor and Rolf
http://www.loreal.co.uk/_en/_gb/index.aspx

PZ Cussons -eg- Imperial Leather, Original Source, Sanctuary -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PZ_Cussons#Brands

Reckitt Benckiser- eg - Calgol, Airwick -
http://www.rb.com/Ourbrands/Search-RB-Brands-A-Z/A-F

Revlon - Almay, Ultima2

Unilever - eg -Dove, Origins,Ponds, Lynx(or Axe), Impulse , Lux, Sunsilk, Vaseline
http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands/

Coty - eg- Rimmel, NYC Makeup, Opi, Calvin Klien, Lancaster, many celeb perfumes inc Davidoff, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jeniffer Lopez, Kylie, Beckham, Marc Jacobs and Chloe http://www.coty.com/#/brands/browse

LVMH - Benefit Cosmetics, Dior, Gucci, Makeup For Ever, Aqua Di Parma, Fresh, Givenchy, Guerlain,Kenzo, Loewe perfumes, Sephora
http://www.lvmh.com/groupe/pg_soc_liste.asp?rub=3&srub=0

Boots Alliance - Boots, Botanics, No7, Soltan, Natural Collection

Others - Lever Faberge, SC Johnson, Virgin Vie, Yardley,FCUK, Clinique, Helena Rubinstein and Glaxosmithkline,

Many of these companies above will use clever terminology to hide what they really do, Examples are -

PG Cussons say of their brand original Source - ( L'oreal use a similar line) -

“None of our products are tested on animals. We support the development and acceptance of alternative methods which reduce or replace the use of animals in product safety evaluation.”

Notice they mention product testing but not ingredients. Many cosmetic companies also add statements about how much they support and invest in the development of alternative methods of testing - which is a ploy to distract consumers from the fact that they also still test on animals.

Clarins say - " In 1987, Clarins was the first French company to cease product testing on animals"

No mention of ingredients again.

Estee Lauder says - "We do not conduct animal testing on our products or ingredients, nor ask others to test on our behalf, except when required by law." (Avon say Similar)

They are not being completely honest because they do still buy and use 'new to the world' ingredients that have been tested on animals during their development. Any legal requirement to test on animals only arises because of the companies desire to use new chemicals in the hope of increasing their sales. Profit over compassion.

See the minefield here? Eesh. There is hope though!!

There are 2 kinds of companies, those that never have or will and those that adhere to a fixed cut off date ( FCOD). This means that the company will not buy or use ingredients that have been tested on animals by themselves or their suppliers after a set date (e.g. 1995). This is the only method by which manufacturers can send a clear message to their suppliers and the rest of the industry that the company is not prepared to profit from animal tested ingredients. There are a few other that don't fit these two. One is Lush. they do not operate a FCOD, but they only purchase ingredients from suppliers who have no connection to animal testing and do not test them selves.

there is another group who run a 5 year rolling date, ie they wait 5 years before using an new ingredient in their products. It's a bit of a minefield there, as those ingredients will have been tested on animals 5 years prior. But they don't need to test it again. Any companies i find who have this i've asterisked in the listings.

Ok, the good guys. Now firstly all indie makeup companies don't test on animals...because for one, most companies you'll find are vegetarian or vegan friendly to start with and most buy their ingredients from good wholesalers who also are cruelty free.- So yaay to Morgana Cryptoria, Fyrinnae, Venomous,Meow Minerals, and others.

I wont list all the good guy big names, but they can be found here and here ( THE BUAV site includes The Body shop but with a disclaimer saying they are owned by Loreal.)

Good Guys-

UK and European companies-

Barry M

Superdrug (own brands are BUAV approved.)

GOSH

Illamasqua

Models Own
Lush

Collection 2000*

Sleek

Beauty Without Cruelty

Famous by Sue Moxley

Kryolan

H&M

Argos own brands

Marks and Spencers

Constance Carroll*

Jerome Russell

Baptiste*

Fade Out

StarGazer

Montagne Jeuness

Daniel Field
Beauty UK
Essence
Catrice
Korres ** ( Europe only. In US they are licenced through Johnson & Johnson)
L'Occitane
Yves Rocher
Paula's Choice
Monu Skincare

Nailpolish companies -
China Glaze
Butter London nail Polish
A England nail Polish
Andrea Fulerton nail polish

Nails Inc

Spa Ritual

UK Supermarkets -
Tescos (beauty and household),
Sainsburys (beauty only),
Co-op, Aldi and Waitrose own brand products.

US Brands -

Orly

E.L.F

NYX

LA Colors

La Girl

Lasplash

Kett

Reel Creations

Temptu

Graftoban

Ben Nye

Color Club

Urban Decay

Two Faced

Carmex

Yaby

OCC

Stars Makeup Haven

Paul Mitchell

Dermalogica

Hard Candy
Beyond The Zone
Wet and Wild
Milani
Jordash
TKB Trading
Coastal Scents
Lord and Berry
Dr Dennis Gross Skincare

Australian (any help is welcome to help with this section!)
Glitter Gal

Oriental- (Its hard finding out about Asian brands as i don't read the languages, but these below do state they are animal friendly. Can anyone clarify?)-

Missha

Etude House

Baviphat

Innisfree

Tony Moly
Skinfood

( I know to avoid Laneige and Liole and now Face Shop.)

I'll update this list as i find new information so please check back often.

So there you have it. It is hard work, but i quite enjoy being the detective and finding out about companies and who actually owns them. Sometimes it can be disappointing that a company you like is actually owned by a money grabbing corporation, but other times its great when you find they are still the good guys.

Sometimes...when i contact a company it can be like getting blood from a stone for them to answer my questions. The more i have to repeat myself the less i believe the company. I always say in my initial email, the more information you can provide the more i can pass on.
I always ask these questions-

1 Do you test your ingredients and/or finished products on animals
2 If you answered no to question 1, do you get another company to test for you and do they use animals in their tests?
3 Are you owned by a parent company or is this company the sole brand?
4 Why do you not have information on animal testing on your website?
5 Why do you not say on your products that you do not test on animals?
6 Does your products have any animal ingredients?

if a company comes back to me only answering the top question...then i am suspicious and i will reply with why did you not answer my other questions....

( NOTE - I took some of my worded information from what i consider to be the strictest of websites - Uncaged.co.uk. They worded some statements far better than i could have!)

Venomous Cosmetics first order and review

2011-04-16T02:07:00.003+01:00

Venomous Cosmetics is a cool little indie makeup company from America. The owner Tracy, names nearly all her products after some of the most dangerous creatures on earth, of which she owns a few!(warning to anyone who is really scared of spiders..they feature on her website. I'm not a huge fan of arachnids, but i can appreciate their beauty in colours)

I was intrigued after i found out she sold pressed Mineral Samples! How great is that! No other company offer this. These little sample pans are the same size as the Yaby Pearl paints and are just as wonderful in both pigment and texture.

The items were all packaged really well, the eye shadows heavily wrapped in bubble wrap and tape, same with the Lip Poisons i ordered ( pigmented glosses). Then all put in a strong bubble envelope. This order was the fastest received order from any American company too. I ordered on the 7th of April and got the package today. That's way better than even the big name cosmetics websites like Cherry Culture.

Carry on after cut for swatches -

All shadows swatched on bare skin...no primer!

I got Rising Star pressed sample and Starburst loose sample as freebies with my order, thanks Tracy!

( MC - Main Collection, LC - Legendary Collection, AC - All Stars Collection, TC - Well Travelled Collection)
*Fer De Lance ( MC) - Deep chocolate brown shimmer (looks more like a purple on the website)
*Gaboon Viper ( MC) - Cool brown shimmer with slight green shift.
* Phoenix (LC) -Rich cool red shimmer
*Sea Urchin ( MC) - Pinky Lilac shimmer with light blue shift
*Rising Star (AC) -Rich buttery yellow shimmer with a slight green reflection.
*Caribbean Cruise (TC) - Aqua blue shimmer with green shift and gold sparkle
*Starburst (loose All stars) - Navy shimmer with rainbow fine glitter
*Dragon (LC) - Deep blue black with bluey purple slight shift
*Cobalt Blue (MC) - Rich blue shimmer
*Chupacabra (LC) - Light blue purple shimmer with blue shift
*Atlantis (LC) - Light blue shimmer with aqua shift and gold sparkle
*Centipede (MC) - Aqua Shimmer with slight green shift.

Only shade that was a bit disappointing was Dragon. Its supposed to be a black with pink and blue iridescence, but all i get is a blue black with no iridescence just a slight blue purple shift. Still, a nice shade, just not what i was hoping for. The other shades though, love them all. Im so glad i got Rising Star too as i dont have a yellow like that. The pressed shadows are creamy and lovely shades. The one loose powder sample i got was a nice addition and a shade i dont have.

Lip Poisons sample- come in little tubes with doe foot applicators. Perfect for the handbag!
Hysteria - Deep fushia pink with purple shimmer
Paradise - Light pink with beige shimmer

Hysteria

Paradise

Both the lip poisons remind me of good quality gloss(yes, like MAC lipglass), with lots of pigment and shimmer, moisturising, buttery and long lasting. They have a slight mint scent, but it isn't over the top.

Would i buy again from them-
OH HELL YES. As soon as i can i will.

Yaby Spectrum EOTD and my new hair

2011-04-16T01:08:00.002+01:00

Did a spectrum look with my Yaby pearl paints and Shadows to show off my new haircut!

Love my new hair, its so much easier to look after, and lighter too.

I started with a matt nude shade by Illamasqua - Succumb over the browbone to crease. Eyebrow was shaped with Illamasqua fine pencil - Eerie. Eye liner - top lid Collection 2000 extreme 24 hr felt tip liner in black and lower waterline - Barry M Kohl in black. Mascara neauty Uk waterproof.

Skin was OCEight Mattifying Gel as primer,Meow Minerals pampered puss Himalayan foundation powder. Blusher M&S peach, Contour - NYX Taupe.

Lipstick - Barry M lipgloss - Toffee.

tearsdrops keep on falling...and ruining my eyemakeup!

2011-04-15T02:47:00.000+01:00

Cant believe the time i writing this (UK 2.30am) Good ol' Insomnia! One of the many things i have to deal with having Fibromyalgia - sucky sleep patterns.

Anyhooo, why i posting as this hour?

Today i got my hair cut at a lovely Salon here in Cardiff - Eden8 if anyone cares. Ive had my hair cut to my shoulders with long layers( it was alot longer, to my bust but my hair is so damn thick it was getting heavy and a pain to blowdry). I would have a nice photo to show too, and i also had a good eyemakeup look aswell, but i didnt take any photos straight away as i had to rush out the door as i was running late. I thought, never mind ill take photos when i get back.

But alas it was not to be. As hairdressers do, when cutting the back of the hair, the front layers are pushed away and clipped. At some point the hair must have been over my eyes and somehow it triggered my right eye to water. Now it doesn't water from the inner corner where the tear duct is. No, it waters from the outer corner and wont stop..anything will trigger it once its started - breeze, sunlight, bright colours, anything. I had this really cool long winged eye line with gel eyeliner that normally withstands pretty much anything, but once that salty water flows nothing will stay on. (not even those GOSH extreme liners which are like lacquer)
Of course every time i dab away the tear i remove eye makeup so i ended up with one half naked eye and one nicely made up one.I also end up with a slightly sore outer corner of my eye as the tears irritate the skin (have ointment from doctor to help that)
Whilst i was in town i was able I had to rush into the nearest Superdrug and use some of the eyeshadow and liner testers ( i know, i know) to try to fix the issue until i got home ( and yes then i removed everything to give my skin chance to recover).

Ugh.

I just wanted to know, does anyone else suffer from this? And if so, do you know anything that stops it.

And tomorrow i shall post nice new hair cut and makeup lol.

back from the abyss

2011-04-08T23:52:00.001+01:00

Sorry been away for a while,been rather busy with one of my other hobbies, namely costuming. Lots of sewing and making stuff lol

But thought id share one of my recent looks based on a nail varnish i was wearing. Orly Galaxy Girl. A gorgeous sparkly varnish that's a plum purple with duotone glitter that flashes between aqua and pink.

Day light - the aqua is more prominent on a dark purple base. in bulb light it is far warmer plum with the aqua showing.

Anyway.....it got me thinking of combining a sparkly aqua blue with a shimmery purple.
I used Morgana Cryptoria Port Royal and Meow Minerals Zombie set - Omen and Wildchild set - Sexpot.

Hating my hair at the moment...don't know what the hell to do with it lol.

and a bit of a play in editing.....hehe

Lipstick was NYX Champagne.

Back to my costuming hobby. I often do alot of unusual makeup including prosthetics. Would you want to see any of that side of makeup?
let me know.

Noir look, inspired by Blix!

2011-03-12T21:53:00.002Z

As soon as i saw Blix's film noir makeup look, that i had to give it a go. Now of course my eyeshape is different to Blix so i had to modify it slightly, Also i used different products, but i think i got the spirit of the look.

more images below-

I used colours from the ELF 100 palette and used the Sleek primer palette and ELF mineral primer .
I've created a grid system so i can say which colours i used (also inspired by Blix!)

I used 1i on browbone to crease, 3c as the little crescent on the lid, middle of lower lid and inner corner, 10d around green, up towards brow and underneath.

I also used Morgana Cryptoria Wizardy glitter applied by patting on top of a tiny amount of Fyrinnae pixie epoxy on the green areas. highlighted under eyebrow with 11b

Lined with Visee Gel eyeliner in Black and Lacura mascara(didnt have any false eyelashes that matched so went with boldest mascara!). eyebrows were filled in using 10i matt black from elf palette.

Lips were Sleek Cherry mixed with MUA 10.

Sleek Primer, secondary review ...not as good as i'd thought.

2011-03-09T20:49:00.002Z

After i'd posted about Sleek Primer palette i diligently used the palette for a week to see whether they are as long lasting as other primers.

The main thing i learned? These primer do NOT work with Sleek eye shadows! Anyone whose used Sleek eye shadows knows the shimmery shadows are already very pigmented and creamy. When you use the primer underneath, it crease crazy after an hour!..not a good look. But there are shadows this primer palette works brilliantly with.
Click below for examples of Bad creasing....and surprising improvements!

Here we are with greens from the Sleek Safari palette - Freshly applied. You can see i have hooded eyelids, so creasing is something i don't want.
Taken in daylight -

This is an hour later - (daylight had gone..so taken in bright bulb light)

As you can see, the colour has slid everywhere and there's a big crease over my lid. Yuck.

So....as I'd used loose pigments when i first tried the primer palette i decided to try a different brand. Meow Minerals in fact. I also decided to see if using another primer underneath made any difference, so my left eye got a little TFSI first and my right got the Elf Mineral primer all over the eye area. As you can see there is already a tiny bit of creasing starting on the left eyelid.

( I used from Shattered Equinox collection- Melancholy and Violaceous. From Halloween collection- Spellbinding)

But an hour later, nothing had changed, no further creasing. So it seems these primers work well on loose shadows, grabbing hold of the loose powders and keeping them there. But you have to be careful with how much primer is put on the eyelid. I found the smallest amount is best, and just before adding powder, to very lightly dab the applied primer with your little finger.

Then i tried the 100 colour palette by ELF. These had disappointed me when i first got it, with even the shimmery shadows not giving the right amount of oomph, that say the Sleek eye shadows do.
That ALL changes when you use the primer palette first.

Here is a look i did with some of the blues in the palette . First the prep with the bright blue and white primers. The white was applied on the inner edge of the eye. The blue lightly applied over the lid and underneath to create a small wing shape.

Here is the look freshly applied - It makes the colours (hate using this word) pop!

Here are the eyes an 2 hours later - no change at all.

I tried my Claire's neutral's palette next, as this too had disappointed me, as the colours look unusual. There is a taupey brown that has an aqua flash to it, that hardly shows normally, but when applied over the primer really comes out. I used a light bright purple from NYX Velvet Rope palette for underneath the eye.

I used the beige primer on the lid, white on the inner corner and the purple underneath the eye.

An hour later - no creasing!

So..after trying various shadows, I feel that the Sleek Primers work best with lightly pigmented cheap eye shadows, the types that look bright in the pan but don't deliver on the lid. The primers bring them out.
They also work with loose powders as they help grip the powder, although blended can become a little tricky.
What the primers are not good with, are already very intensly pigmented creamy shadows, like Sleek's own and others of that quality. Simply use TFSI or another standard primer like ELF's mineral one will work fine on those kind.

Sleek Primer Palette, a rainbow of options!

2011-02-18T20:11:00.002Z

Sleek have brought out an I Divine palette with a difference. Instead of high pigment eye-shadow powders, this palette is full of high pigment primers to sit under their eye-shadows.

Packaging is a cardboard sleeve with a nice face graphic( reminds me of pro makeup face graphics) and the primer's are contained in a classic black case( shame, wish this had been in a unique colour so it would stand out in my collection) and comes with a double end brush (which I'd throw away as its rubbish- molts and is scratchy) Id suggest using a synthetic brush to apply the primers - ELF studio eye-shadow brushes are good for that.

The colours - A real full rainbow of colours, all shimmery,. except the black which is glossy. These are quite nice feeling and dry down, so not like a cream eye-shadow, more like a gel eyeliner.
The primers work with shimmery and metallic shadows but not with matt shadows. Matt shadows absorb the moisture in the primer and they become darker and hard to blend.

Top row-( All Shimmery) -White, bright azure blue, Ultraviolet purple, cool toned red, baby pink, pale silver.
Lower row (all shimmery cept black) - Deep black, beige, grass green, dark bronze, pale gold and peachy orange.

The black and white work brilliantly with any colour, the black deepening a colour and the white brightening. The colour primer intensify colours in the same family and also can bring out one of the colours of a duo-tone or multi tones

Here is a look i did with the black, blue and white primers blended along my lid (more white on brow) and then some Morgana Cryptoria blue loose shadows applied in complimentary shades. I did use TFSI underneath)

(Morgana - Davey Jones locker, Port Royal and the white is Illamasqua's Breathe pigment- which sticks wonderfully to the white primer)

I find the primers are great for creating defined lines, so a cats eye shape can be very angular, with clean lines..

Nice one Sleek! you did gooood!

EDIT - i think i may have spoken too soon, here is a link to why i think that -
http://littlemissmetamorph.blogspot.com/2011/03/after-id-posted-about-sleek-primer.html

Morgana Cryptoria review and Swatches

2011-02-15T20:24:00.004Z

http://www.morganacryptoria.com/
A lovely one woman business selling out of this world colours of lipsticks and a fantastic range of mineral shadows, glitters and skin powders. She also stocks various hairdyes and everything is vegan.

I kept seeing a colour called Otherworldly on other bloggers and it was very much a Me colour, i had to try it. I bought a sample of that along with Rose Plum and some eyeshadow colours and a few glitters. I had wanted to try her newest eyeshadow range Cleopatra, but it wasnt showing as available. I sent her a messege asking when it would be and i didnt get a reply for a while. When i did though she asked what colours id like to add to my order. I had to explain as it was too near Xmas at the time i couldn't afford to add anymore to my order and to my surprise and gratitude she included samples of the entire range!
Now due to the terrible weather we had over in the Uk over xmas, there were many delays of orders arriving. This didnt arrive till a few weeks ago, but due to many reasons i didnt get chance to swatch anything till now.

So without further adieu, here are the swatches!
The lipstick samples were in little screw top pots, with a label for the colour on the bottom.

Otherworldly is a dark purple with a blue flash to it, quite unique and an incredible colour. Its richly pigmented, smooth and creamy and applies well. has a nice scent, couldnt tell exactly what it was, although its supposed to be i think grape.

Here you can see the purple base showing on my top lip and the blue reflection on my lower lip.

Rose Plum is supposed to be a earthy rose with plum shimmer, but i see a soft red base with some rose and plum tones. Either way, a gorgeous colour!

I love these so much, ive ordered some more samples of her new shade range and a full size Otherworldly!

Glitters. After seeing some fabulous examples of the glitters on Blix's website i had to try some myself.

In daylight

Under bulb light

Mysterious is a predominatly green with blue and gold mixed in.
Wizardry is predominantly gold with silver and irridescent mixed in
Berryful is a mix of blue and pink irridescent glitter
Red Plum Jam is mostly red with blue mixed together

Cleopatra collection eye shadows-

Colour descriptions on her website are quite good for this range.!
Actium - metallic med-dark bronze
Ptolemy Auletes - orange with red shimmer and hints of green-gold
Isis - vivid green with twinkles of blue-violet and a hint of gold sheen
AspBite - blue-violet with intense violet-shifting aqua shimmer
Alexandria - intense cat eye green over medium brown.
Pharaoh's Curse - forest-black with an intense golden green sheen
Anubis - black with a deep purple sheen and subtle holographic tones
Senet - wine with a coppery-pink sheen
Selene - slightly metallic champagne beige
Pyramid Scheme - slightly metallic pale pink with gold shimmer, peachy tones.

Helios - olive-gold with gold twinkles
Sarcophagus - metallic mustard with sparks of gold

These next 4 shades are from the pirate collection-

Mutiny - A stunning dusky purple with intense color shifts of blue, green, and violet. Changes colors depending on how you view it in person. (Very true, i got purple, blue and green shifts)
Davey Jones Locker-Navy-black nearly matte with a hint of blue sparkle. Wear foiled or over primer to bring out the blue sheen.
Port Royale - Bright blue with blue, blue green, and violet color shifts. ( i didnt get any violet shift)
Arr Matey - Pink brown base with aqua shift

last 2 from medieval collection

Beowulf - This shows as a dark green to dark teal shade, not the navy to purple shade described. It does look like a green on the site though.
Gauntlet - dusky purple with a blue and silver sparkle.

In all a great mineral makeup company suitable for vegans and yet with alot of variety and complex colours.

my red lips

2011-02-15T18:56:00.001Z

Sorry ive been away for a while, got caught up in another of my hobbies - gaming. Just finished Fallout New Vegas. Its the kind of game that sucks you in and wont let you go lol

That and i seem to have lost my mojo for makeup looks. None of my looks ive felt worthy to post here yet. So instead ive swatched all my red lip colours, from the sheerest tint to full on RED.

From left to right -

lipsticks- Urban Decay Gravity, La Girl Be Mine, Sleek Cherry, La Girl Promiscuous, Illamasqua Box Urban Decay Voodoo, Arissa Lovely Dovey, MUA 10, Tescos BD Gypsy, Jordana Easy Shine Strawberry, Morgana Cryptoria Rose Plum,

Liquid lip colours - OCC Lip Tar NSFW, Stuff Tart, NYX Diamond Sparkle Red Sparkle, Urban Decay Lube in a tube Miami.

lip swatches - All done without liner or base to show true colour and application. Id say all these reds are suitable for cool toned skin.
lip swatches below cut

Urban Decay, - Gravity

A shiny lipstick. Needs to have a good base and liner used to give it its full potential, as you can see here, without it, it can slip around on lips. Deep dark berry red with shimmer.

LA Girl, - Be Mine

The bullet makes this look a brown red but it goes on a deep dark blood red. Not intensely pigmented so can slip without liner and base.

Sleek, Cherry -

Full on intense blue red. Very pigmented and long lasting. Not as drying as some other Sleek lipsticks.

LA Girl, Promiscuous

A bright cool toned red. Goes on like a dream and is quite long lasting.

Illamasqua, Box-

Bright blue toned matt red. The siren red. This is one of those reds that makes your teeth ..and skin whiter. Its my Snow White lipstick! Very long lasting, but apply a balm a few minutes before applying this as can be drying.

Urban Decay, Voodoo-

A light shimmery cool red with subtle gold flash. This is a nice gentle red lipstick. because its quite moisturising, it doesnt last as long as others, but UD's packaging makes it a joy to reapply!

Arissa, Lovely Dovey -

A bright pink red with strong gold shimmer. Very moisturising so needs reapplying. Arissa's packaging is sleek and elegant so no issues there!

MUA, 10

A gorgeous light red with gold shimmer. An everyday red (might be called a coral by some). This brand is only a £1 for each item and this lipstick is up there with Urban Decay's Voodoo for quality.

Tesco Barbara Daly Gypsy -

A light pink red, like flushed lips with clear gloss. I wondered whether to include this as it is quite pink, but it is more a red than a pink and good for those who are afraid of a true red.

Jordana Easy Shine Strawberry-

A very sheer bright red, that goes on much sheerer than the bullet colour. Smells of strawberries and is very moisturising. A good balm type lipstick.

Morgana Cryptoria, Rose Plum -

The website describes it as a 'Earthy rose with a metallic plum sheen' but when its on my lips i see a soft red with both pink and plum tones. I got this and another lipstick from this company as samples so will be giving a full review of them later. But this is a very good pigmented lip colour.

OCC Lip Tar, NSFW -

Pillarbox red. VERY pigmented. I wish i could love this, but no matter what i try it still feathers on my lips (applied with finger as recommended, applied with brush, lined lips with red liner and also with clear outside line, applied balm before..nothing stops it feathering on me. Hence why i put my tag on the middle of the picture so as not to hide the feathering) Also dries my lips alot, which it isnt supposed to do either. Something in its chemistry my lips don't get on with. Ok for photoshoots, but not for normal wear.

Stuf, Tart -

This gloss is almost identical to Urban Decay's Gash Ultraglide lipgloss. This was an Australian brand that was briefly available here in the UK. Its a shimmery deep red gloss that looks like bitten lips on its own and intensifies other red lip colours. Very gloopy texture and sweet scent. This was one coat

NYX Diamond Sparkle Gloss, Red Sparkle -

Very shimmery, sparkly red gloss with gold sparkle. Light gloss feel, quite pigmented but better over a red lipstick.

Urban Decay Lube in a tube, Miami -

bright red in the tube, barely noticeable on the lips. Gives a slight flush to your natural lip colour (you can see mine are not in best condition lol.) Has a lovely mint flavour and softens the lips.

This was the smallest colour collection i have. Next up will be the unusual shades!