Phoenix Blood Cosmetics Review

Of course, I can't do a review of my own products; that is not ethical and usually not the kind of review people want to read.  Instead I have for you a review from a lovely lady who recently bought a bunch of samples and gave me the link to her blog.  Her name is Bobbie, and she's a sweetheart.
You can find her review here.

On another note, I am currently testing recipes for an eye shadow base to make my shadows last better.  I have tried several companies' bases, plus trying multiple  DIY remedies.  I want my base to grab onto shadows so that they show up nice and vibrant, but I also want the base to prevent creasing (my lids are dry, but in a shape that encourages creasing) and extend the life of my look.  I'll keep you posted!

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

My Favorite Lippies

Hi, all,
I thought it might be fun to take a look at my favorite lipsticks and favorite lip gloss.

Here is the stash-it consists of two Revlon lipsticks, one Revlon lipgloss, one Maybelline lipstick and one Morgana's Crypt lipstick.

Here are my bare, naked lips for reference.  They're not always this pink...I had just exfoliated a little.

1. Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in 008 Peony.  This is part of the Colorburst core collection, and the best "my lips but better" lip gloss I have ever found for my skin and lip color.  It is fairly sheer, with a medium amount of gold and peach shimmer.  This is the only lipgloss I have not only run out of, but repurchased simply because I could not find anything better.  These glosses range from $6.50-$7.50, depending on where you buy them.

2. Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in 875 Vivid Rose.  I bought this as my spring/summer bright lipstick, and it did not disappoint.  The color is very bright, but very flattering to the skin (unlike some of the more extreme colors in this collection).  The finish is somewhere between matte and cream, and the staying power is amazing.  This is due to its high tendency to stain.  I think this might be limited edition, but at the time of this posting it is still widely available.  Prices range from $5.50-$7.50.

3. Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in 477 Back Cherry.  I am, sadly, almost out of this color.  It is a slightly sheer (but buildable) blackened burgundy-red cream.  I like to think of this as the perfect Goth red, and the formula, though slightly prone to fading and shifting, is silky and fairly moisturizing.  Prices range from $5-$8.

4. Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick in 663 Va Va Violet.  This is such a rich plum-purple cream, the perfect wintry purple lip for me.  This formula does leave a little to be desired, though-it is a bit sheerer and more slippery even than its red counterpart Black Cherry.  However, I deal with it because it's inexpensive and I love the color.  It doesn't bleed or feather much, so that's a plus.  Prices range from $5-$8.

5. Last but not least is Morgana's Crypt lipstick in Licorice, which I have reviewed in a previous post.  This is still by all-time favorite black lipstick-during school, I sometimes did a quick morning look with a touch of gel eyeliner, some mascara, face powder and a slick of this...it worked very well, if I do say so myself. :)

That's it for this session-feel free to check out my other lippie and assorted makeup reviews including my Morgana's Crypt review.
Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonder-filled day!

Iron Man III Tribute FOTD

A day or two ago I went to the movies with my hubby and mom-in-law to see Iron Man III.  It. Was. Awesome!  The Avengers is still my all-time favorite comic-movie adaptation, but IMIII was tons of fun to watch.  The day after, I had a jones to wear red and black eye shadow.  I kind of wish I had thought to wear this to the theater, but that's the way things go, I guess.


(iPad pictures aren't so great in low light-sorry, guys.)



Whenever I curl my eye lashes, they look invisible when I close my eyes...

Anyway, here is the list of
Beauty Stuffs:

Face:
Nivea Creme (my fave moisturizer-I have super-dry skin)
Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss powder foundation in Sleek Siamese

Brows:
Black brow mascara
Detrivore loose eye shadow in Abyss

Eyes:
Wet N Wild Fergie Take On the Day eye shadow primer (review coming soon)
Detrivore loose eye shadows in Vitriol (lid) and Abyss (outer V)
L'Oreal Infallible Lacquer gel liner in Blackest Black (thin line on upper lid, medium line smudged pretty far down on lower lash line, plus tight-lining)
L'Oreal Voluminous Original mascara in Blackest Black (on curled lashes)

No blush or lippie, I ran out of time!
Thanks for stopping by, and have a fantastic day!

Amethyst Butterfly FOTD

Hi there!
This look was from a day or two ago, when the weather was very soft and springlike.  I felt it was definitely time to bust out the pink eye shadow.  I named this look after a great friend of mine suggested that the extended crease gave the impression of butterfly wings.

Beauty Stuffs:

Face: Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss powder foundation in Sleek Siamese

Detrivore blush in Lascivious

Brows: Detrivore eye shadow in Fortress 

Eyes: Detrivore Original eye shadow primer

Detrivore eye shadows in Laboratory (lid), Livor Mortis (crease and lower lash line), and Apparatus (to blend)

Maybelline Volum' Express The Falsies mascara in Black Drama

Lips: Revlon Color Burst lip gloss in Bordeaux

Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonder-filled day!

Maybelline the Falsies Mascara Review

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.
Hello all,
I am addicted to mascara.  My eyelashes are so pale and straight that I feel quite strange leaving the house without it.  Also, I just love the look of big, black "foofy" eye lashes, and I don't have the patience yet for falsies.  So, I am always looking for the next great mascara that gives me the results I want without draining my wallet or exposing me to tons of toxins.

Today I am going to review Maybelline's Volum'Express The Falsies (the original Falsies, not the one or two new versions of it that have come out recently).  This mascara can be found at just about any drugstore or grocery store, and ranges in price from $5-$8 depending on sales and where you buy it.  You can tell it apart from the ten zillion other Maybelline Volum'Express mascaras by the lovely purple packaging. A mascara's packaging is its least important aspect, but I do have a soft spot for the color purple.
The Falsies boasts a plump traditional fiber brush with an interesting shape.  It is slightly curved, with a flatter side and a wider side.

See what I mean?  I like to use the flatter side to deposit more product at the roots of my lashes, and the longer bristles to sweep upwards and create a nice taper to the lash.  This is a fiber mascara, so the volumizing is very good, with some lengthening to boot.  The fibers don't fall out into my eye, which is always a plus.  Unfortunately, at the end of the day I do find a little bit of smudging on my lower lash line if I'm not careful to put some face powder down there to keep it nice.  

Here are my bare lashes after being curled.

Here are my lashes, curled, with two coats of the Falsies.

Fluffy!

I give this mascara a 4.9 out of 5 for efficiency, cost effectiveness, toxicity and staying power.  This mascara is listed on the Skin Deep database as a 3, which is very good for a drugstore mascara.
That's all for now-have a wonder-filled day!
All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Red Lippie Series

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

Hello!  I have been ill with the flu recently, and have only just gotten back to participating in everyday life.  I thought I'd start with another segment of the red lip series I started a while back.
Here today is one of Revlon's Lip Butters, which were reviewed to death when they originally came out a year or so ago.  If you're not familiar with the concept, these products are supposed to be pigmented (like lipstick), but moisturizing (like lip balm).  I'm happy to say that, though my chronically dry lips will always need lip balm, this lippie is indeed both pigmented and moisturizing.

The packaging is pretty, with the cap color-coordinated to eliminate guesswork when getting ready.

Each color is named after a dessert.  Red velvet cake just happens to be one of my favorites.

As you can see, Red Velvet is a deep, cool red.  The finish is very glossy, and the color glides on like the butter is was named for.  However, it is a little sheerer than traditional lipstick, and you might need a few swipes to get the color you want.  Plus, the drawback to moisturizing formulas is that they wear off very quickly.  Eating, drinking or even talking too much will eradicate the color.  As a final note, the super-soft product will settle into any dryness you may have, so be sure to exfoliate before wearing this product.

Overall, I give this a four out of five; if you like your reds hotter, Revlon also puts out a bright, warm red Lip Butter called Candy Apple.  These retail for about $6-$8.

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Meow, meow, meow, meow...

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

Last week I received two full-size canisters of Pampered Puss powder foundation from Meow Cosmetics.  Let's take a look...

I got a jar each of Sleek Siamese and Frisky Siamese.

Not only do they hand-make all their products with no fillers or extra chemicals, Meow Cosmetics offers 85 foundation shades, with color bases being named for a cat breed (Siamese for neutral, Manx for warm, Bengal for beige, etc) and levels of lightness/darkness named for feline attributes (Sleek, Naughty, Slinky, etc.).  The website is a little unwieldy, but I think the enormous color range makes it worth it.

Each of these 85 shades comes in three foundation formulas; Purr-fect Puss (light/medium coverage), Pampered Puss (medium coverage), and Flawless Feline (full coverage).  I picked Pampered Puss because I have some acne and redness, but didn't want too heavy of a finished look.  All right, enough blabbing, picture time!

This is the unopened jar--it carries 1/4 cup of product rather than the standard 3 tsp in most mineral foundations.

Pretty lid!

This is the lighter color I chose, for my winter complexion (or whenever I feel like going pale)

This is one shade too dark for me now, but in the summer I think it will be perfect! If not, I can always use it as eye shadow or contour...

This is the two colors heavily swatched side by side. S is for Sleek, and F is for Frisky.

You can see that the Sleek Siamese looks too light for my hand, and that makes it perfect for my face.

For some reason it didn't show up on camera, but this foundation has a bit of shimmer under bright sunlight.

The shimmer doesn't bother me, as it is very subtle and helps to bring a bit of radiance to my dry skin.  Speaking of which, as long as I don't try to pile on the powder my skin is not dried out by this foundation.  I always put a layer of moisturizer and a layer of sun protection under my foundation, and the moisture from those products really helps the powder foundation both to stick effectively to my skin, and to not strip the oils from my face.

From ordering to reception, the process took about 2 1/2 weeks. Full-size jars of Pampered Puss foundation are $25.95, not counting shipping or sales tax.  Purr-fect Puss, being a lighter concentration, is $23.45, and the full-coverage Flawless Feline is $28.95 a jar.  Samples are a dollar, and each formula is also available in a travel-size Munchkin jar, which holds about a fifth as much as the full size.

Hope you found this helpful, and have a fabulous day.

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Detrivore's Mad Scientist Collection

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

My set of Distorria's latest collection has finally arrived in my mailbox, and the colors are lovely!

Distorria states on the Detrivore website that this collection, which will be later expanded, was created from the same gray base and inspired by the "doom and gloom of winter."

All the pretties at once!

Here are the colors swatched over a stripe of Detrivore Original eyeshadow primer, in alphabetical order(descriptions in quotations are from the Detrivore website).

Apparatus: "satin gray with heavy purple shimmer" On my eyes, this translates as a pale, muted periwinkle

Hypothesis: "light taupe satin with heavy golden shimmer"  I love this shade--a cool, slightly pinkish taupe.

Laboratory: "satin light pink with heavy shimmer" This is a perfect cool baby pink or cotton candy pink.  Very springlike!

Lab Rat: "dark brown satin filled with heavy gold,  silver, and copper shimmer" This is a wonderfully understated shimmery copper.  By understated, I mean that it isn't overly bronze, red or orange in tone.

Specimen: "medium purple satin with heavy shimmer" This is a gorgeous violet, directly between lavender and royal purple.

Test Tube: "light blue satin loaded with different blue, white and violet shimmer"  This powder blue shade is pigmented, not chalky, and makes me think for some reason of Marie Antoinette

From left to right: Apparatus, Hypothesis and Laboratory

Lab Rat, Specimen and Test Tube

I think the names of these colors are fascinating, even if they aren't as murky or dark as I would expect from a "gloomy" winter collection.  In terms of formula, smoothness and pigmentation, I couldn't find one dud in the bunch--just make sure you use a cream eye shadow or sticky base if you want the full impact of the colors.  The collection in its entirety is selling for $19; individual colors are $4 each.

And now, the Mad Scientist look I wore today:

Hypothesis on the lid, Lab Rat in the crease

Closed eyeballs...

For foundation I wore my Meow Cosmetics Sleek Siamese foundation (review coming soon!)  with my L'Oreal gel eyeliner, Detrivore Lascivious blush and Maybelline The Falsies mascara.

Have a wonderful day!
All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Morgana's Crypt Lipstick Review

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

Hello everyone--I hope you had a fantastic Valentine's Day, whether you like the holiday itself or just had a normal Thursday.

Well, I have finally had a chance to not only receive two lovely lipsticks from Morgana's Crypt, but also try them out and see how they perform on a day-to-day basis. I apologize for the pictures; it was late at night and I had already removed my makeup, so I didn't want to show my entire face...

For my first order I chose Licorice, a simple black (with an optional licorice scent), and Absinthe, a nearly metallic shimmery cool green.

Licorice, unlike other black lip products from brands such as Rimmel and MAC, is completely opaque in a swipe or two and very creamy without being greasy or glossy.  There is no hint of red, purple or brown-just pure black.  I hadn't originally intended to order the scented version (licorice isn't my favorite candy by a long shot), but it turned out to be a sweet,unobtrusive licorice scent which dissipated soon after application.  This lipstick is not drying, but has very good staying power.

This photo does not do justice to Absinthe; in person, it is a deeper emerald green with intense metallic shine.  It is intensely pigmented, and even more moisturizing than the Licorice (be careful about keeping this one in your pocket or any warm place--the stick can become very soft).  However, it lasts just as long as the black, perhaps longer.

Both these colors, since they are so strong, take a little makeup remover or facial cleanser to remove completely. If I don't eat lipstick-destroying food (like sandwiches) and make sure to drink through a straw, this lipstick will survive lunch needing no more than a slight touch-up towards the inner lip and outer corners.  When I wear these colors, my lips feel silky and pillowy-soft--no dry waxes or nasty mineral oils here.  Also, each lipstick is handmade and completely vegan.  I give these lipsticks a 9 out of 10; the only reason I do not give them an outright 10 is because of their price.  The website lists each lipstick (not counting lip gels, lip glosses or lip palettes, for they all have separate prices) as $12 apiece, and that doesn't account for shipping or sales tax.  I ended up paying around $30 for two lipsticks.  Therefore, even though I think the formula is simply fantastic, I will get my more "mainstream" colors from drugstore brands and   only turn to Morgana's Crypt for my more unusual colors.

Have a wonder-filled day!

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.

Soft Lilac FOTD

The other day, after painting my nails lavender (SpaRitual Thunder Road), I decided to try my Detrivore Special FX blush as an eyeshadow...and it worked!

Here it is-

Beauty Stuffs:

Face:

Maybelline CoverStick Concealer in Light (my in-between while I wait for my Meow foundation to arrive)

Detrivore Pallor Mortis Dehydrating Powder

Meow Cosmetics Lush Blush in In-cat-uation (one of my samples from them-it's simply gorgeous!)

Brows:

Detrivore Fortress (a matte gray that still makes my brows look black...I don't know why. )

Eyes:

Detrivore Special FX blush in Conquest (on lid and blended out)

Maybelline Volum'Express One By One mascara in Blackest Black

Lips:

Revlon Colorburst lip gloss in Peony

And off to class I go!  Have a wonder-filled day!

SpaRitual Goodies (Pic Heavy)

This review is not sponsored in any way.  All products were bought with my own funds.

I ordered three SpaRitual nail polishes from Amazon.com, and managed to find colors I loved for $10 each with free shipping (score!).  Here are some bottle pics in natural light and an on-nail swatch of the one I'm currently wearing.

 

This is Crystal Waters, contained in the Cool Contraltos section of the SpaRitual website.  It is a fantastic, glowy aqua shimmer which is slightly more blue than green.  It is fairly thin, but not runny, dries quickly and is opaque in 2 coats.  I tried 3 to see if the color deepened, but all it did was fill in any slightly thin areas I had missed when painting the first 2 coats.  Be warned, though--use a base coat with this or it will stain your nails and cuticles.  No bueno.

Bottle shot! Soooo pretty...

 

Street Smart is an intensely black, glossy cream listed as part of the Earthy Low Notes on SpaRitual's site.  Mine was a little thick, so I added a few drops of nail polish thinner.  This color is completely opaque in two coats, and dries nearly as fast as Crystal Waters.  I have tried many black nail polishes, and this is by far the darkest, truest black I have ever seen.  It is also glossy enough on its own that I didn't even need a top coat.  This also isn't quite as stain-prone as Crystal Waters.

This picture doesn't show just how dark this color is on the nail.

 

This is Thunder Road, a medium lavender cream, part of the Cool Contraltos.  I first heard of this color, and the SpaRitual brand in general,  via Grav3yard Girl on YouTube.  I love lavenders and purples, especially in cosmetics, and have been looking for a replacement for my Planks A Lot Pirates of the Caribbean polish from OPI.  I even made a color comparison on my polish inventory cards:

 

Thunder Road is slightly lighter and brighter than Planks A Lot, but it's close enough on the nail for me to be satisfied.  Plus, the formula is pigmented, creamy, and flows well without being runny or gooey.  And now, 2 coats of Thunder Road on my nails with Beauty Secrets base coat and Rush 60 Seconds top coat.

My fingers look a little too pink here, but this was the only lighting I could find that gave an accurate representation of the color.

To finish, I am extremely satisfied with these colors.  The only problem I have now is making sure I can restrain myself from buying a whole bunch more!  They cost about twice as much as I would normally pay for a nail polish, but they can last up to 5 or 6 days, which is amazing for me, and the vegan formula is noticeably less stinky and drying than my 'regular' polishes.  Two thumbs up!  These polishes are available at Ulta, Amazon.com, and spas/salons all over the US.

All opinions are my own, and I was not solicited to do this review.