LOTD/ EOTD- Violette Bruises

Been doing this look a lot lately because it's simple and dramatic.

Fyrinnae Parental Advisory Old VS New

I've been meaning to compare them for ages but I am lazy...

Parental Advisory is one of my favorite Fyrinnae shadows! It's an ultra bright slightly blue based purple with pink sparks, very pretty and lovely. Unfortunately I only had a sample sized one (very small amount) and it was discontinued and gone before I realized it so I hoarded it away like a precious gem. I believe this lovely left our world due to the ingredients being discontinued by the supplier.

Luckily this one has risen from the grave with a new formula. I will now compare the two. They are almost identical and Fyrinnae did a great job recreating it.

Pet Peeves

Some of my beauty related pet peeves are...

• Eye liner pencils/ markers where the cap doesn't fit on the end! 
• Tinted moisturizers being called BB creams.
• Base makeup with a shade range that neglects very pale and dark skin.
• Eye liner pencils with cheap wood that splinters (this is so unsafe, why is it even allowed?).
• Cheap packaging that breaks and renders otherwise good product unusable.
• Nail polish with terrible brushes.

NOTD- Otherworldly Whimsy

I got inspired by this lovely mani by Top Coat It.

NOTD- Blue Blood + Pure Ice French Twist Review

Pure Ice French Twist is a beautiful blue glitter in a black jelly base. It's a blue version of Deborah Lippmann Bad Romance/ Revlon Scandalous (previously Facets of Fuchsia).

Heavy Red Vol. 2

The original "Heavy Red" look was bright red lips and dark blue eyeshadow (covered with pointed shades because the sun was trying very hard to scald my eyes to dust that day). This is a very similar look but I think it's a lot better, especially with the lips...

original

Random Pure Ice Swatches

12 swatches after the cut

LOTD- Peacock

NOTD- Rockstar

A slightly different take on my last NOTD

Blue Eyeshadow

And now back to our regularly scheduled programing!

Blue is a beautiful color, it's one of my favorites and when it comes to cosmetics I'm a lemming for blue. Did you know I used to have a fear of blue eyeshadow?

And Now For Something A Little Different...

This post is not about makeup. It is about fashion, just a little bit, but it's not going to be a fun post. Keep scrolling if you're not interested in rants.

NOTD- Fuggen Gorgeous

Man Glaze X Petites
Matte X Glitter

Urban Decay De-Slick Makeup Setting Spray Review

Urban Decay De-Slick is a setting spray for oil control that promises 16 hours of shine free face! Did it live up to its claims?

Something Noxious This Way Comes...

If you're at all familiar with the indie beauty scene you've no doubt heard about Glittersniffer Cosmetics and what you heard was probably no good, very bad and possibly down right nasty.

If you're not familiar with Glittersniffer Cosmetics please read through The Glittersniffer Complaints Blog. If you've clicked the link you'll notice the last post announces the closing of this company. Well, Lela just won't quit and the Glittersniffer Cosmetics facebook page has recent postings about making new makeup.

Glittersniffer Cosmetics is a company that made products that PHYSICALLY HARMED people. Lela Warren, owner of the company has also STOLEN money and COMMITTED MAIL FRAUD. Please keep an eye and ear out... friends don't let friends get harmed by makeup!

Throwback NOTD- Halloween 2k10

The green is Pure Ice Wild Thing, the orange is Nicole by OPI Fresh Squeezed and the purple is Essence Color & Go 26 Break Through. The sticker glows in the dark, think it's Kiss brand but not sure.

NOTD- Cauldron Bubbles

Double, double, toil and trouble
Cauldron boil and cauldron bubble...

Happy Halloween

NOTD- Spider Webs and Shattered Glass

excuse the crappy clean up job...

NOTD- Vacation Nails

Of course I would get sick just in time for my trip to NYC to see the Twins of Evil tour (which was awesome even though I thought the smoke machines were going to kill me)...

Any way, here are my nails after 1 week of wear:

middle finger nail, y u no grow?

The pink skulls are Sally Hansen appliques and the blue is two coats of Color Club Otherworldy with one coat of Kleancolor Holo Blue. There is some moderate tip wear and the cuticle area is looking a bit rough but I think it all held up quite well.

The SH appliques are easy to apply but never quite fit my nails right. They also don't stay on worth a damn unless I keep them well away from the cuticle area (hence the huge gap), they'll peel up with in hours if they're even touching the cuticle.

LOTD- Arsenic

This is a super simple gothy look. A 10 minute face for the damned.

The Mystic's Kiss REMIX

I was determined to get that vampy dark purple...

To get that color I started with Fyrinnae Diabolic Masquerade (blackened red), added a drop of Fyrinnae Fan Service (lavender) then finished it off with L'oreal The Mystic's Kiss (berry).

lip liner is a necessity with Fyrinnae Lip Lusters

A bit too much work for going out but nice none the less.

L'Oreal Project Runway The Mystic's Kiss Lipstick Review

In short, "MEH".

Yeah... not too impressed with this one. What looks like a deep purple lipstick is actually a dark hot pink on the lips. It's a nice raspberry, kind of sheer, but not at all what it looks like in the tube and not at all what I was expecting.

The formula is the standard L'Oreal lipstick, smooth and soft with a slight vanilla scent. I applies nicely and is creamy and moisturizing.

The Project Runway Collection is limited edition and includes eye shadows, nail polish, nail polish stickers/ covers/ whatever those appliques are called, lip gloss and lipstick and blush (i think). I purchased this lipstick at a mall CVS that had the entire collection available. I believe you can also purchase these at ULTA. 

with flash the berry tones and blue shimmer are more apparent

the blue shimmer doesn't really show on the lips

EOTD- Dangerous Curves

Such dreary, damp and dark weather here in the Northeast! Terrible for trying to take pictures of looks... not that I've really done any worth posting any way. Been stuck in a makeup rut out of laziness and working too damn much.

Hard as Hoof Update

Just had to sing some praise for this product again! Yesterday at work (I work in a pet store) one of the conures (a small parrot, basically a nut cracker with wings) tried to bite through one of my fingernails. The bird bit as hard as he could and only managed to chip my polish! I thought my nail was a goner but it's completely fine, there's no way I could be saying this if I had not been using Hard as Hoof.

How I Make My Nail Polish Last Longer

My job requires me to have my hands in water for the majority of the day, scrubbing away cleaning aquariums. My nails and my nail polish do not like that. If I can get past the 2 day mark at work with out chipping it's a damn miracle! My manicure typically lasts about 7 days with out chipping (possibly longer but I get itchy for a new color around the 5 day mark) with out the water and about 3 days in the water before I get some minor chips. By day 5 in the water my nails look like hell but as I previously mentioned I can't stand having the same thing on my nails much past that any way.

NOTD- Night Sky

Playing around with some striping tape, as you can see on the index finger...

Thumb and ring finger: 1 coat of Sinful Colors Blue By You, then 1 coat of Color Club Otherworldly on top and then 1 thick coat of Color Club Sexy Siren to finish it off. The result is a glittery blue with some depth.

The rest of my nails: 1 Coat of Sinful Colors Visually Slimming, 2 coats of Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor then one thin coat of Visually Slimming. Using a dotting tool I applied just a teeny bit of Color Club Sexy Siren in random places.

Blogging and Getting Paid

Lately I've been getting quite a few e-mails asking me if I would like to be paid to review or promote products and websites. Getting paid is great, I can always use more money but I don't accept payments for this purpose.

This blog is just for fun and I'm not looking to make money off it.

Thanks, but no thanks! I'm also not quite sure why I'm getting so many offers because nobody really reads this blog (at least not compared to a lot of other beauty blogs out there).

I also don't like to do reviews by request, even when the item is purchased with my own money. I'm a lazy blogger and like to work at my own snail's pace when it comes to reviews. But any way, if you feel your product or website is really something special go ahead and e-mail me. Maybe I'll check it out, maybe I'll review it.

The Only Holo Polish You'll Ever Need?

If you're like me anytime you see a holographic nail polish your brain melts and pours out your ears as you reach for your wallet. Do I really need every holo polish ever? Do you? No, and here's a reason that a nail polish junkie can actually take seriously.

I Love Autumn

Fashion-wise Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I love layering and wearing jackets and boots and thick wool tights!

I also love the feel of the crisp cool air and the crunch of the leaves under foot. I love the way the air smells of decaying leaves and ripe apples. Autumn feels magical but it also fills me with sadness... because where I live, Autumn seems to only last 3 weeks! It goes from being 80 degrees to 50 in 3 days then 3 weeks later it's 14 inches of snow that lasts until April.

Meh... I love it any way. The colors, the air, the fashion, Halloween (but of course), apple pie, I could go on and on but I won't bore you any further.

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Moroccan Sleek Oil Treatment Review

Could that product name be any longer?

This is an argan oil treatment but it also contains apricot oil and carrot oil (and a bunch of other ingredients that are not oil). It comes in a 3.75 fl oz bottle, which is perfect for storing in my purse and half of why I bought it. I need something to tame frizzies on the go because my hair hates me! LOL not really, but my scalp refuses to produce any oil of its own (probably because my forehead has enough to join OPEC) so my hair is very dry.

This product claims to be instantly absorbed and that it will condition with out leaving your hair oily. I agree with those claims, this stuff is absorbed FAST- I have to move quickly to keep my hands from soaking it all up. It also doesn't make my hair feel greasy, just smooth and shiny.

I must note however, this product has enough fragrance to down a horse and kinda smells like "old lady". The scent does fade but not as fast as I'd like it to.

My Favorite Nude Lipstick

Maybelline Colorsensational in 815 Tenacious Taupe

 It's a warm nude that's not as pink as L'oreal Sultry Raven's Pout but much warmer and a bit darker than MAC Myth and MAC Creme d'Nude.

The finish is satin, but not like MAC Myth (which in my opinion is more of a matte). This is a true satin finish.

It wears well even through eating and drinking. It's a tad drying but not obnoxiously so like MAC Myth.

One thing I do not like is the ugly packaging. The Colorsensational line comes in cheap looking square transparent plastic cases. The lid goes down the majority of the length of the tube leaving this odd square base. They are very lightweight and just feel cheap and fragile in my hand.

Holika Holika Peach Girl BB Cream Review

Finally, it's here...

Real Hair- Black Berry Juice

From about the age of 12 I wanted to dye my hair blue but my parents would never allow it. Then, around the age of 16 I wanted pink hair, but again, wasn't to be until I could move out. At 17 I enlisted in the Air Force so even though I was now out of my parent's house Uncle Sam wouldn't allow me to dye it any unnatural colors. Since then my hair has been various shades of dark red and brown and black. BORING.

Cut to last year when my enlistment ends and I'm finally free to dye my hair- or not. My other job won't allow it either! Now in addition to not being able to dye my hair anything fun I have developed an allergy to PPD. I thought I was going to be stuck with my dull brown-black hair for life.

Recently I was struck with an idea- what if the unnatural color was so dark that nobody would notice enough to say anything at work... With pink and blue out I decided to attempt a color I once tried to get from a box dye and failed (it turned candy apple red): black berry juice, purple-black!

But wait--- how was I going to get black in my hair with out PPD!? CRAP! Cue sad face. I began a search for a PPD free black that lead me down a few dead ends, everything just made my hair several shades short of black. I wasn't going to attempt henna and indigo either as a renter in a stark white apartment. Like a moron I forgot about what I knew all along- Manic Panic makes a black dye that's PPD free! 

Here's how I achieved my purple-black hair:
I started with my "virgin" abused but unbleached dry hair and applied a nice thick coat of Manic Panic Raven. I left it on for 30 minutes and then rinsed. I did not used heat or a plastic cap because I did not want my hair to become jet black.

Once my hair had dried I was please to see it was the soft black I was aiming for. *insert success meme here*

The next day I applied a nice thick coat of Manic Panic Ultra Violet, the blue based purple. I originally wanted Special Effects Deep Purple but I just grabbed Ultra Violet when I got Raven.  Any way, I left Ultra Violet on for 2 hours. I was going to apply heat but decided not to since my hair is damaged and I'm trying to avoid heat. My hair did came out the color I wanted with out using heat.

One thing I love about Manic Panic (and similar veggie dyes) is how conditioning it is. Unlike dyes that need to penetrate into the hair and thus rough up the cuticle veggie dyes are basically tints and sit on the outside of the hair. This type of dye is non damaging and really makes my hair feel soft due to the extra conditioning ingredients. One more thing I love is my hair is STRAIGHT again and I didn't need to use a flat iron. Not sure if this effect will last since the "hair gets wavy in your mid 20s" gene runs in my mom's side of the family.

My hair is just purple enough to not be boring black and hopefully not so purple that I'll get in trouble at work.

Tape Manicure Tips

Regular ol' scotch tape (and some other types of tape) can be used to create designs with nail polish. You can do simple things like this little triangle or french tips or you can cut out more complex designs.

1. Don't stick the tape to matte polish! The tape will cling to the matte texture and tear the polish off.

2. Make sure the tape edge is pushed down completely. I find satin finish scotch tape makes it really easy to see when the edge is smooth.

3. Let the polish dry completely before removing the tape.

4. Don't fold the tape down around your fingers, it will make it harder to remove. Also not pressing the tape down on the nail except at the edge you will be painting over makes removal much easier.

5. Unless you are doing a contrast between finishes apply a good top coat over the design to make it last longer.

6. Last but not least make sure the polish is completely dry before putting tape on it.

Inspiration!
Chloe's Nails
Lacquered Love
Sugar Nails
The Nail Polish Project

NOTD- Matte is Muder, Glitter is Glam

NOTD- Gun Metal Rainbow

2 coats of Wet n Wild Spoiled Black Mamba
1 coat of Hits no Olimpio Hefesto on top
2 coats of matte top coat to all but the tips

The matte areas look much shinier in the picture than they do in person. Looking at my nails with out the camera flash you can't see any hint of holographic glitter in the matte section, it looks just like a soft flecked grey.

NOTD- Pink on Pink

LOTD- Raven

This is a lovely gothy purple smokey eye...

Hard as Hoof Nail Strengthening Cream Review

I have terrible nails, they are weak, they peel, they grow really slowly and they're really thin except for on my thumbs and index fingers. I have tried just about every nail polish type strengthening treatment available at drugstores and find almost none of them do anything for me. I figured I'd try this cream product instead of another useless over glorified top coat...

Roxy "Still Sound" Bag Review

I love my Dickies Lil Dickie bag, it's given me a good run of 6 years but now it's time for change. My old bag is still in great shape all things considered but I needed something with a bit more space. Finding a new bag was a huge chore!

Initially I just wanted to get another Lil Dickie/ Yak Pak mini messenger but they don't seem to exist any more and the more I thought about it the more I wanted something different.

Neutrogena Shine Control Primer Review

I have some oily skin, particularly on my forehead and chin. My cheeks however are as normal as can be. My forehead becomes a completely disgusting oil slick to rival a deep fryer if I spend any time out of air conditioning in the summer and as you can imagine that looks really bad and drives me nuts.

Because of that I decided to give this rice powder based primer a try even though I don't usually wear primer with my BB creams. This primer feels drier than other primers and immediately gives skin a matte look. Out of the tube it's white and maybe a little bit gritty... other reviews have complained about this primer feeling really gritty and giving a heavy white cast to the skin, I haven't had these problems. Even with a tanned face I don't notice any sort of white cast.

SO... DOES IT WORK? Eh... I don't really think so. My face is just a little bit less oily but it's still shiny after 4 hours or so, not the 8 hours claimed by Neutrogena. This primer is supposed to control shine but I don't find that it does that. However, it does make my face feel a bit less oily which is a good thing.

One thing though, I apply this to my face before bed and wake up with out my face looking like I rubbed cooking oil on it. It's still shiny but feels considerably less greasy.

Any way, I guess the bottom line is this primer doesn't do much for shine but at least makes my face feel less gross. I probably won't repurchase because it's $12 for 1 oz

Crap

Despite slathering myself in SPF 50 repeatedly while on vacation, I got a tan. A horrible patchy tan no less and even my FACE tanned. This has really thrown a wrench into my Holika Holika BB cream review because I hadn't been able to take pictures before I left. It now looks utterly ridiculous on my face and my arms are too tan for swatches.

Uuuuuuuuugh, how annoying! In the meantime I'll have some other reviews.

lazy blogging

Instead of working on a Holika Holika BB cream review I'm being lazy. I'm going on vacation next week and my brain has already turned off. I'll be working on that when I get back so don't worry.

Das Haar

Want to know more about my "hair"?

EOTD- Night Wing

Decided to give Maybelline's Eyestudio gel liner a spin!

NOTD- Glitter Tips

Got inspired by Nail Blog... this look is a little bit different though. I went for a darker base color and skipped the flakes. As pretty as they are they never lay flat and catch on EVERYTHING, thus driving me nuts.

Sinful Colors News

Check out THIS POST over at Nouveau Cheap and Lisa's comment at the bottom of the page. It seems the brand may possibly be being discontinued.

Quick Review- Sally Hansen Mega Shine Top Coat

This product is actually pretty good, but not great. Here's the good, the bad and the so-so...

The good: 
It does a good preventing chipping at the tips for days.
Adds lots and lots of shine.
Dries completely in about 10-15 minutes, sets in a minute or two.
Shrinkage of the polish below is very minimal.

The bad:
Tip wear like crrrrrrazy. It seems to actually increase tip wear!
Chipping at the cuticles is a major problem after 2-3 days.

The so-so:
Doesn't keep the manicure looking fresh for much longer than most other top coats. It really only excels at preventing tip chips.

I have to say, the tip wear is actually kind of infuriating. After having my nails painted for less than 24 hrs and just doing some moderate typing I have extremely noticeable tip wear and it looks like my nails were painted 3 days ago. I have been using this top coat for about 4 weeks and about 8 different manicures and this is a consistent problem. It's worse with opaque glitter polishes like Orly Bubbly Bombshell and not as bad with just plain ol' creme finishes.

NOTD- Holographic Vinyl Record

I love holographic polishes, they're super eye catching! This NOTD is not created with a single blue holographic polish. Instead I have combined Kleancolor Holo Blue and LA Girl Vinyl Record from the Disco Brites collection.

Smelly Smells I Love to Smell!

I hate reading about perfume and scented things in general because they are so subjective but here I am blogging about perfume. I am only doing this because I friggin love this perfume and feel like I need to share how awesome it is.

I love Absinthe scented things, not sure why because Absinthe tastes like rancid Nyquil and burns the whole way down but any way... Absinthe, anise, wormwood, fennel, etc, etc, etc. It's dark and liquoricey, maybe a bit minty and woody.

My absolute all time favorite perfume is Dessert Absinthe from The Morbid The Merrier, but due to some unfortunate circumstances I can never obtain this magical fragrance again. I went in search of a replacement a little while ago because my bottle was growing emptier by the day and came across Midnight Gypsy on Etsy. After reading the description for Absinthe Sucre I knew right away that I would love it. It's not Dessert Absinthe at all but it's equally lovely in its own way.

Absinthe Sucre is heavier and spicier. It's Absinthe in all its liquoriceness with caramel and tobacco. Absinthe Sucre is a dark parlor in a Victorian mansion, where a crazy old widow sits and waits for someone that will never show while spiders spin webs above her head. I love it.

Covergirl "BB cream" LOL

Check this out! Covergirl just repacked their tinted moisturizer as a BB cream. I guess anything can be a BB cream now, buyer beware.

Thanks to American and European countries taking the name and slapping it on just about anything there are pretty much 2 kinds of BB creams now. There is the glorified tinted moisturizer with sunscreen and the Korean style beauty cream with good coverage and many different types of benefits.

Quest For BIG Hair- Not Your Mother's Girl Powder Review

My hair is thin, fine, limp, dry, frizzy and relatively lifeless in its natural state. As a result it has spent most of its life in a pony tail or bun (due to military service), but I am bored with all that. In my quest for big hair I have tried a lot of "volumizing" products and most just don't do anything for me. Volumizing shampoos and conditioner are too drying and make my hair feel like straw.

Using deep conditioner and coconut oil I have conquered the dryness and frizz for the most part. Now I need to turn my hair from limp and blah to at least normal hair volume. Today, this is where Not Your Mother's Girl Powder Volumizing Powder comes in.

LOTD- Rainbow

Decided to try my hand at rainbow eyeliner. It's such a simple yet bold look and it's really easy to do. I was able to do this whole look with just two brushes in less than 10 minutes.

Enkelini Violet Soul

Click to read the review

BB Cream VS Tinted Moisturizer

There is a big misconception in the beauty world that BB creams are just over-hyped tinted moisturizers. This may be true for Western BBs like Garnier's and Maybelline's but it's not true for the majority of Asian BBs.

I'm really not sure why Western BB creams are so sheer and so poorly representative of BB creams as a whole. Garnier's especially is an epic fail of a BB cream and really shouldn't be called one. It's a tinted moisturizer through and through and it seems like BB cream was tacked on just because it's a big buzz word at the moment.

BB creams are designed to be multi-purpose products that leave the skin with a flawless finish and are supposed to help improve the condition of skin over time. In general BB creams are supposed to take the place of moisturizer, primer, foundation and for most creams sunscreen as well. Many also provide other benefits such as lightening, brightening, blemish control and anti-aging.

Tinted moisturizers, on the other hand, are just that. Moisturizer with a hint of color. BB creams from Asian companies tend to have much more coverage, I have tried a few such as Skin Food Red Bean, Skin Food Good Afternoon Peach Green Tea, Skin79 Hot Pink and Skin79 Dream Girls. All of them have been medium to full coverage, not at all like what you would get from a TM. TMs are sheer and designed to give just a hint of color to even out skin tone. While there are some sheerer BBs, most aim to cover up flaws are reduce the need for concealer.

I used the two previously mentioned Skin Food BB creams on a near daily basis. When I use them I do not apply any moisturizer, primer, sunscreen or concealer (except on my eyelids). Red Bean is a moisturizing cream which DOES moisturize much how a TM would but it provides quite heavy coverage that makes my rosacea all but completely disappear. GAPGT is for oil control and is applied to my T-zone, an area where a tinted moisturizer certainly could not be applied. It has a matte finish and helps control shine for a few hours. I has reduced my use of blotting papers a bit. The use of these products has seemed to improve my skin just a bit, it's less dry and I have just slightly less obnoxious monthly break outs. But most of all when I wear them my face looks amazing, pores vanish and imperfections are covered up and my skin looks like skin, not a mask.

I have used tinted moisturizers in the past and they are just not for me, unfortunately I was not blessed with nice skin and need full coverage foundations.

Any way, if you have tried Western BBs and were left feeling disappointed don't write off BB creams as a whole! Get one from a Korean company and experience what these products are really supposed to be.

OOTD- blak n blu

Outfit of the day...
Tank top- Walmart
Light blue "skirt"- tube top from Walmart
Darker blue skirt- Wet Seal
Boots- Demonia Riot 20

Jewelry is all made by me. The big blue beads are from US Beadery, the spike beads are from CrushCrush on Etsy, The rest are probably all from Michael's craft store.

EOTD- blak n blu

I started this look with a base of Too Faced Shadow Insurance then a coat of NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk in the shape that I wanted to do.

I used Wet n Wild coloricon shadow in Panther (it's a matte black) to start the winged liner.

Above it I applied Hi Fi Cosmetics Super Sonic Overdrive (a bright blue that is slightly metallic when foiled).

At the outer V around the black I applied Sugarpill Afterparty (bright medium blue with low shimmer).

Above Super Sonic Overdrive I applied Meow Cosmetics Telepathy (super shimmery blue/green shift highlight).

Over the black shadow I applied Jordana Semi-Permanent Liquid Liner, and here's where it got ugly. I can not handle liquid liner. I don't know why this is but if I try to use it I will, no matter what, make a Huge. Ugly. Mess... and sure enough I did.

Any way, I continued with the look by foiling the blue shadows using Medusa's Makeup sealant. I then foiled Super Sonic Overdrive over the Jordana liner. Then I foiled Fyrinnae La Noche (metallic navy blue) over the Jordana liner and this pretty much evened it out to a point where it looked presentable.

Finished it up with a black liner on the water line and my newest love, Revlon Photoready 3D volume mascara. The formula isn't anything revolutionary, it's the brush. It has bristles on the tip of the wand! This makes it sooooooo easy to get the little lashes in the corner and to apply extra mascara at the base of the lashes for increased volume.