Trying Something New?

For me, an important part of being an indie seller is supporting other indie sellers.  We don't have the money for huge advertising campaigns like drugstore or high-end companies, so we've got to stick together!  One of the shops I follow is Aromaleigh, which reopened a year after being forced to close.  Aromaleigh has  a giveaway contest right now for samples from their entire  "Ancient Magick" Egyptian collection which is limited edition.  If you want, click here to sign up!

We should all be supportive of each other-after all, we're just people trying to do something nice for the rest of us.
Have a lovely day!

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!

Almay One Coat Get Up and Grow Mascara Review

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

I finally bit the bullet and decided to try mascaras that were designed to be healthy for the lashes.  You may have seen from my previous mascara review that I am addicted to having voluminous lashes.  I decided, though, that health was more important than big lashes and that I could work around a weaker, more natural looking formula.  So, I bought a tube of this Almay mascara.  I had never bought any Almay products before, and I was pleasantly surprised by this mascara.
First off, packaging.

 This mascara is not only supposed to be strengthening and moisturizing to the lashes, but also produce a lovely effect with only one coat.  Side note: this is precisely why I buy volumizing mascaras.  Not only can you produce a near-falsies effect, you only need one coat to look "done" on a lazy or busy morning.  Back to the mascara at hand, a look through the ingredients lets you know that the moisturizing ingredients are primarily silicon oils (a red flag for some) and the strengthening ingredient is protein, which can make hair rigid.  Whether your particular lashes will respond well to protein is different for everyone; but I would assume that if your head hair does not like protein-based products, your lashes won't either.

 The actual tube has a nice weight to it, and feels more expensive than in actually is.  The cap clicks softly when it is completely closed.  Simply lovely.
The brush...

 Is huge.  I expected a smaller, basic brush.  This one is wider at the ends than in the middle, which fits the contours of my prominent eyes surprisingly well.  My first impression upon seeing it, though, was something like this:

Whoa.

So, enough chatter, let's see it in action.

Naked lashes, curled.

One coat of mascara

So, I actually like the look of one coat.  It lifts the lashes and makes them wonderfully black, reasonably thick and a touch longer.  But I couldn't leave it well enough alone...I needed to see two coats.

Two coats and a bit of a comb-through

Wow!  This is the big, fluffy look I like.  For me, this rivals Maybelline's The Falsies for crazy volume.

This is the driest mascara formula I have found in the drugstore.  That may sound bad or gross, but let me explain; wet mascaras are difficult to apply.  They can be clumpy, smudgy, and either difficult to build or difficult to control in terms of how much gets glopped on.  This mascara feels like nothing while you're applying it, but has great visual impact.

I give this mascara a 9.5 out of 10.  I haven't had it long enough to know if it makes my lashes longer or stronger, but I love how it looks.  The ingredients are not for everyone; it is not organic or completely natural in origin.  I have a few more mascaras to review before I make my final choice, but this may just be a repurchase for me (mascara repurchases are extremely rare for me).  It costs about $7-$9 depending on which drugstore you purchase from.

Thanks for visiting, and have a fantastic day!

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

My Vanity Setup

I am a messy person.  I get so frustrated because, regardless of how civilized I feel, I seem to leave chaos and dirty teacups in my wake.  However, I was finally able to impose some order to my perfume and personal jewelry stash.  It's so unusual for me, I thought I'd share it.

I love old-fashioned perfume misters.  I found the fleur-de-lis one at Hobby Lobby (functional!) and filled it with inexpensive but yummy body spray (EDIT: I later found that the glue in the mister had been dissolved by the perfume, and the top came off and doused me.  Do not do this.), and I found the short one with the pink bubble at Goodwill.  It doesn't work, but it's still cute.  You can tell I have eclectic tastes; my scents range from a Bulgari unisex fragrance (which I love) to a silly $1 cotton candy-scented spray.

I keep my necklaces on my closet rack because they tangle so horribly in my jewelry box; that is now reserved for rings, earrings and decorative hair clips.  

I got this cool seance card in my last Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs order.  I thought the (broken) mirror slot in the box would be a perfect frame for display.  I just taped it in.

Anyway, have a marvelous summer everyone.  Goth on!

Rosy Nude FOTD

Finally, I am sharing with you a look done with makeup I made.  I didn't make all of it-there's still store-bought mascara and pencil eyeliner.  It will probably be a while before I try to make items that ambitious.  However, here is one of the favorite eye shadow colors I've made so far.  I named it Romanza after an Andrea Bocelli CD I like (it's not Goth, but I don't care! :) )

I also used it as blush.  It's a little frostier than I like my blush to be, so I might reformulate it with less shimmer to suit my tastes better. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Rainy Day FOTD

The rainy season has finally come to Arizona, relieving the heat wave and rejuvenating the earth.  For one, I also feel relieved and refreshed when the rain comes...I probably appreciate it so much because of the dryness of my home state.
Anyway, I was inspired to do my makeup in cloudy, rain-friendly colors.

Blurry photo is blurry...ick.

My hair is in desperate need of re-dying...please look away from the bad roots and humidity frizziness. :)

Inner thoughts- "Is it focused? Is it? Is it?  Oh heavens, don't blink!!!"

Eyeball closeup!



Okay, here are the materials:

Face: Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation in Frisky Siamese
Brows: Black mascara.  I still need to get actual brow stuff...
Eyes: Detrivore eye shadows in Apparatus (lid) and Abyss (crease and lower lash line)
I just finished it off with mascara and (slightly crooked) liquid liner.

Also, here is as much of my outfit today as I could photograph.  The stripey shrug (originally Forever 21), black dress (originally a slip) and fancy short necklace were all thrifted.  The rosary was originally rose scented, and came from a stall that sells Catholic and Rastafarian items in the halls of my university's dining hall.

Have a wonderful day!

Success!!!

I am incredibly excited because...I made my very first eye shadows today!  It is so much easier than I thought it would be, though I realized that I still have so much practicing to do before I can whip out some of the colors I really want to make.  I got my supplies from TKB Trading, and so far they are performing marvelously.  Now, to be fair, I've only made two colors so far, and they aren't terribly dark or Gothic...I made one shimmery butter-yellow and one glittery nude beige.  See, not that impressive.  I'm still so pleased with them though-especially since my beige was made with dark brown, magenta and bright yellow pigments.                 I will be making some wonderful brights and darks soon, though, and I will start showing you guys what my colors look like and how they perform.  So far my mix is quite opaque, smooth, blendable and long-wearing, and that's what really matters when it comes to this sort of thing.
'Til next time, have a glorious day!

Accidental Fun-Finding

I was scrolling through the most time-wasting part of the Internet (it's depressing how well it holds my interest) and found a fascinating tutorial on how to recreate Siouxsie Sioux's trademark eye makeup.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/verymuchso/beauty-dare-siouxsie-sioux-eyeliner
Take a look and see what you think!

Covergirl Eyeshadow Quad Review-Drama Eyes and Blossoms

The other day I was at Walgreens, searching for last-minute items to add to a gift basket I was making.  Of course, I couldn't leave without visiting the makeup section, and there was a BOGO 1/2 off sale on Covergirl.  So, I came home with two quads.  I have been craving burgundy eyeshadow looks lately (no idea why) and the colors I already had just wouldn't go together the way I wanted them to. So, without further ado, let's get to what I tried.

This is Covergirl's Drama Eyes palette, number 222.  This palette has been reviewed and used in tutorials multiple times, I think because of its accessibility and the rather unusual (for the drugstore) burgundy shade on the far right.

Here are my swatches:

The bottom row is without primer, the middle row is with Detrivore Original eye shadow primer, and the top is with Wet n Wild Fergie Take On the Day primer.  The best shades in this palette are the burgundy and the silver, placed second to the right.  The black ( which has slight shimmer that basically disappears after the first swipe with a brush) is extremely sheer, but blends fairly nicely.  The white is sheer as well, but super frosty and would still make a formidable highlight.

This is one of Covergirl's newer palettes,  257 Blossoms.  I loved the mix of bright and muted pinks and purples, and knew that they could make a fantastic "bruised" smoky eye.

Here are the swatches-the primers are in exactly the same order as the Drama eyes: nothing, Detrivore, Wet n Wild.

As you can see, there is one extremely disappointing color in the mix.  The light plum second from the left is basically invisible, despite all the packing I could muster.  However, it does make a nice blending shade for black, dark brown, or purple eye shadows. The dark purple is okay, but primer really brings out its shimmer and depth of color.  The two pinks are just fine, though primer helps them a lot too.

Overall, I give these palettes a 3.5 out of 5-they are quite affordable and extremely easy to find, but they need some working with to really get your money's worth from them.  They range in price from $5-$6 or so, and are available just about anywhere that sells makeup.

Hope that this helps-now go have a fantastic day.

Video Share-Joji and Literature

Literature is the first part of the Goth scene which I was ever involved in-I still love to read and re-read my Bram Stoker and Edgar Allen Poe while finding new and exciting books to dive into.  Also, I feel it an honor to include something from Joji Grey on my blog.

So much fun, and it's always helpful to be reminded that there are other things besides computers (I can get a little caught up in them sometimes).
Happy reading!

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!

Video Share-DIY Corrective Concealer

If you have read some of my earlier posts, you know that I am a big fan of DIY fashion, beauty, and hair products.  I love to just dig in and try new things, especially since DIY usually has the advantage of being cheaper than ready-made products as well as being completely customizable to what you need.

Wayne Goss, Youtuber and makeup artist, is a proponent of corrective concealers for undereye darkness and overall issues with ashy or dull skin. In this video, he shows you how to make your own peach or pink-toned concealer to brighten the undereye area.  I haven't tried this yet, but I think I will just as soon as I can get my hands on some peach or coral lipstick.

So, what do you think of mixing your own concealer, or odd-colored correctors in general?  Comments are welcome.

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

The Care and Feeding of Eye Brows

When I was younger, I was convinced that I would never trim or pluck my eyebrows-that they just didn't grow that well.  Once I reached my late teens, I realized that my eyebrows do indeed grow-they are just various shades of blonde ranging from  practically transparent to light ash.  Since I started dying my hair, I have experimented with different ways to make my brows match my hair.  I started out with heavy eye brow pencil (thankfully that was short-lived), then moved on to matte eye shadow used as brow powder.  Recently, I have discovered something that makeup artists and beauty bloggers have already known about for ages-brow mascara.  Of course, I do not have the funds to try out lots of different specialized products (at least, not yet), so my experience with brow mascara started as a weird little voice in my brain that said, "Hey.  This is mascara.  It is black.  My hair is black.  What will happen if I put this regular black mascara on my eye brows?"  And, well, it worked.  Right now I am doing my "everyday face" with just mascaraed brows, since it's faster than powdering them, and using powder for special occasions or when I feel my makeup that day really needs a strong, full brow.  So, there you go.  Eventually I'm sure I will switch to actual brow mascara, since it is suuuuuper easy to put on too much regular mascara and get weird little smudges and clumps everywhere, but for now it works just fine.
Have you ever tried brow mascara? What is your favorite brow routine (or lack of)?  Feel free to comment and have a wonder-filled day!

Video Share-6-in-1 Laid Back Hairstyles

For the past year or so, I have been growing out the length of my hair.  I someday hope to have "fantasy hair"--for me, that's about waist-length hair.  Along the way, I have been growing out some awkward bangs and layers, and trying both to baby my hair (preventing the need for a drastic haircut) and learn new ways to style it (preventing the craving for a drastic haircut ).  Bubzbeauty, though not Goth in the least, has a knack for coming up with pretty, relaxed-looking hairstyles for layered hair.  

Today I tried the fan-shaped bun.  It turned out pretty well, but I think I will practice a bit before I show you guys how it looks on my head.
In the meantime, have a wonder-filled day!

Fake Nails-Victory or a Waste of Time?

I have been tempted lately by the ultimate quick manicure fix: glue-on false nails.  My fingernails naturally grow weak, super-flexible and prone to splitting, fraying and flaking.  I use a nail treatment regularly, but still cannot grow my nails past (most of the time even to) my fingertips.  I love the look of long, vampy, pointed nails, but I don't think I can achieve it without some artificial means.  Now, the downsides; I know from experiences by myself and friends that fake nails degrade your natural fingernails, sometimes to the point that they turn strange colors or develop bumps or warped surfaces.  Also, they are high-maintenance, often popping off at inconvenient times and clinging stubbornly when you want to remove them.
Anyway, I guess what I'm really saying is that it depends on your priorities when it comes to manicures.

What do you think? Feel free to discuss in the comments.
Have a wonder-filled day!

Antsy, antsy, antsy...

I have more things in the mail, this time crafty ones.
It wasn't intentional, but somehow hubby and I managed to dress our bed in nothing but ugly beige and gray plaid, with a side of graphic checks and hubby's beloved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  It doesn't look like a female even visits this bed, much less sleeps in it every night.  So, I decided to crochet a lovely black, lacy throw to give the bed some feminine, Gothy flair.  I decided on granny squares, because a) they are easy b) they are portable c) in one color they look fairly lacy without complicated stitch patterns d) each square is fairly small, so you get the "I'm done!" thrill many times during the course of the project.  I decided to order my yarn in huge one-pound skeins because it's less pricy that way.  Unfortunately, I accidentally ordered three of these ginormous skeins instead of two.  So, I will be making little hair bows to embellish and sell in my Etsy and Shopify shops.  I'm kind of glad to have all the extra yarn to play with, but...trust me, I'm never going to try to shop online using mobile devices again, that's for sure.

Video Share: Gothy Goodness Without Breaking the Bank

The lovely SyntheticDoll recently put out a video all about being glamorous on a budget.  Being a cheapskate, this appeals to me immensely.
Enjoy!

Have a wonder-filled, glamorous day!

Video Share! Thrift Stores and Why We Love Them

I ran across this cool video from kazlovesbats which was too fun to only put into my makeup and style list on YouTube.

Any of you who are interested in thrifting, here is a video for you!

Have a wonder-filled day, and good luck thrifting!

My Goth Journey

The first time I was at all interested in Goth culture, I was an ignorant, impressionable 12-year-old.  I loved the fashion, the dark mysteriousness, and the references to history and literature.  However, when I did an Internet search for Goth jewelry, I found some Pagan and Wiccan themes and freaked out, thinking that Christians couldn't go Goth (Silly little thing I was...).  Fast forward to my first year of college dorm life, outside of my parent's constant surveillance and expectations.  I started looking for Christian Goths, to see if they existed.  To my surprise, I found Goths of all different faiths, totally diverse but brought together by their love of beauty and darkness.  That's when I decided to go out on a limb and try things out.  It was extremely gradual at first.  Thinking back, I can't believe it took me so long to do something as simple as dye my hair black...first I tried to bleach it white (disaster), then I wore it red for about a year before finally taking the plunge about 7 months ago.  I still don't look incredibly "Gothed up" for everyday-college classes and musical performances can make it difficult sometimes.  Since I am a vocal student, I cannot use permanent modifications like facial piercings or visible tattoos to decorate myself, and there is a fairly strict clothing code as well.  However, I do what I can as content myself with the fact that I can wear whatever I like when I'm not performing (or late for class, eep!), and the outside world's visual perception of me has nothing to do with the heart and soul inside.  God doesn't hate me, and even if the world does it doesn't matter.  I have found a wonderful place to be-somewhere where fashion magazines, family customs, and TV ads have no hold on me.  I can be my own person, as fancy or laid-back as I choose.  That doesn't mean that my mother doesn't insist on giving me bright, colorful things for my birthday to entice me into wearing more color, or that strangers don't occasionally approach me and ask what on earth is wrong with me.  The difference is that it doesn't matter.

How Much is That...In the Window?

I am a window shop-a-holic.  I very rarely spend much money on clothes and accessories, but I find it almost therapeutic to research and compare prices, look up new companies, and ooh and ah over all the pretties I find.  Sometimes I like to spend some time on Polyvore, a website on which you can build up a virtual wardrobe and construct collages based on themes, colors, or whatever you feel like that day.  The only problem with this site, for me, is that all the garments listed are actually being sold by real companies.  Nothing is more disheartening than telling a girl without a sewing machine that her dream lace bustier (or skirt, or dress, or...well, you get the picture) would cost $1,500 to buy outright.
I compensate with wish lists.  Wish lists let me think that someday, I will have both the cash and the courage to buy that set of Victorian boots, or that spiky necklace.  And who knows, maybe I will.  Or, I'll drop a lot of hints around Christmas...
Either way, the dream is still alive.