Not just nails, but makeup hoarding too?!

*hangs head in shame* It’s true. Although, I still have more polish than makeup, but it turns out I just want all the pretty colours and glitter and shimmer. I am a  Magpie. No judging 😀 Thought I’d do a quick blog post on how I store my makeup, what I do, and a quick organisation in progress 😀

This is my makeup case, not sorted out (although I have grabbed out stuff that I am destashing to my sister, but this is a bit of a mess). I keep my foundation/blush/concealer, eyeshadow palettes, and lipsticks and glosses in here. I also use a hanging storage thingy that I bought from a second hand shop to hang my daily moisturiser, brushes, and other misc makeup weaponry.

I am absolutely wearing a baggy jersey and trackpants. Just be grateful I’m not more in the mirror 😀 And yep, the tape on the mirror is there on purpose 😀

Taking photos of it made me tidy it up, so here it is again, better organised 😀 YAY!

the mess in the middle is from a body shop brush on bronzer which spontaneously combusted one day. Gah. Everything was bronze and sparkly for AGES

I have a box on my drawers with untried eyeshadows in it – I try and use one untried and at least one tried eyeshadow at a time – spread the love around 😀 The sad thing is, I don’t wear makeup everyday and when I see all these pretties I feel like I’m a greedy cow who should be slathered in coloured powder every waking minute. Ah well.

And this is my drawer with loose eyeshadows … the indie eye shadows. I have them in little plastic food containers arranged by colour, to make it easier to find one I want.

This is them, opened 🙂 I find it pretty interesting to see what colours I gravitate towards… purple, blue and green – same as the polishes – I have more brown eyeshadows than polishes though, which makes sense with my eye colouring. The only reason I have as many blues as I do is because I adore the colour so much 😀

And finally – I have a lot of samples of shadows – in little baggies, which are awesome to test colours but a pain to store, so I’ve stashed them in these – one is a CD holder (has the cool toned colours) and a business card holder (warm toned shadows).

So many pretties – not enough face. If anyone sees me on the school run painted like an Avatar native you’ll know I’m trying to utilise more of my shadows… 😀

Have a great day!

Ami

Notoriously Morbid Eyeshadows: Swatches and Review – VERY Picture Heavy

So many pretty colours! Once again Estelle from Serenity blog let me know about something worth drooling over, in this case, makeup from Notoriously Morbid. We chatted a bit on Facebook to Carrie, the owner / creative wizard behind Notoriously Morbid, so I can say that not only is her range good value, large and awesome quality; she is also a very lovely person.

Anyway! Haul!

Full Sized eyeshadows: all swatches are the eyeshadow, dabbed on with my finger, over Dark Heart Designs primer.

Goodbye Sweetie (sniffle). Ok, the sniffle was my add-on 😀

Swatch: Shimmery pale off white, with a slight gold tone.

Snow Queen’s Return. Looks similar in the pottle to Goodbye Sweetie, however…

Completely different in swatch. This is almost a very, very pale ice lilac, with tonnes of beautiful shimmer.

Lycan’s Revenge

Gorgeous russet red. Not vegan. I’ll admit, I didn’t check, and a fair few of these contain carmine. Which I normally steer clear of, but hey, I have these now. They are beautiful. I won’t buy more with carmine in it, and I’ll note all of these which do – but the ingredients are clearly listed on her website (as I said, she’s amazing), so just read a bit more carefully then I did, if it’s a concern of yours 😀

Look Upon Me (not vegan)

Sorry Swatch is blurry, but I think the blue shimmer which shows so beautifully throughout is still visible. This is stunning.

Shadow of Things

perfect name! A gorgeous grey base with teal shimmer, which is the predominant colour on the skin. Very pigmented.

I also got one of her lipbalms, called Coffin Kissers (chortle). This one is Rotten Rainbow, which is apricot, and…. there is a scent, I can’t pick it, but it’s not your average straight apricot/fruit scent. No, not rot! 😀 A nice, deep tone. So, nice aroma, goes with the theme. And it’s one of the nicest balms I’ve tried, so silky!

You can see by the label that there was a tiny bit of leakage, but it’s High Summer here, so this is nothing. AND she’d separately bagged it,  so worse comes to worst there would be no damage to anything else. That’s thinking ahead. 😀 Also, the shape of the tube is different than normal, is a flattened oval, and the twist up dial is in the center of the base. Very stylish!

Samples now. These come in the standard little baggies with name and ingredients on the label, and have a really decent amount in them. I bought these ones 🙂

Nudist – not Vegan. This is almost matte, and darker than it looks in the baggie. This may be a prefect crease colour!

Tenorman’s Tears – very pretty, though sheer, seafoam shimmer. I bet this would also look gorgeous layered.

Melancholy One – Not Vegan. Lovely shimmery grey.

Crimson Horror – Not Vegan. Really nice vampy red

Snow’s Fury – brown base, but with a super pretty purple shimmer that changes the whole look to a blackened purple.

These samples were part of the blogger pack I also bought (I wanted the rainbow of colours, I got it! YUS!) and a couple of free samples Carrie popped in there, too. Love! 😀 I’m not sure which are which, so here they all are!

Lizard on a Window Pane: Not Vegan. Very pretty light shimmery tan with strong green shimmer. Not as sheer as the photo makes it look, that’s mostly the reflection off that shimmer 😀

Kilgharrah – doesn’t know if it’s green or brown! Brown base, deep forest green shimmer, I’d put it, but man, I’m buying a full size of this. It’s STUNNING is what it is.

More Weight – deep chocolate brown with an icy blue/green shimmer.

Spirit of All Three – looks like mustard powder in the bag, has the most beautiful gold shimmer. I’m sorry, I had to swatch this on my hand (hence the bumps, tendons!) it deserved better than that! I’ll be wearing this today, this is not your standard gold eyeshadow (though I do like gold eyeshadow, but I have plenty), this has a depth and edge that is new to me.

Pornographic Priestess: Not Vegan – pretty dusty rose with shimmer – and I LOVE the name 😀 Makes me giggle like a fiend :D:

Tempest: Not Vegan – bright pink with deeper pink shimmer. Didn’t get a good photo of the label, whoops

13 Black Rainbows – this is CRAZILY intensely pigmented! And super pretty with the multicoloured shimmer in the black base.

Close up swatch, hopefully catching some of the shimmer, though in real life it’s at least 4 times are pretty.

And there we have it! Kudos to anyone still reading 😀 I’d definitely recommend Notoriously Morbid, they are excellent quality and very good value, I got these during her last big sale, which made them ridiculously inexpensive. So, I’d say check out her website, like her Facebook page if you are so inclined, and have fun!

Have a great day

Ami

Small Fyrinnae Haul and Swatches

I bought my first ever cosmetics from Fyrinnae not too long ago! I’ve had them bookmarked for a long time, but never really got around to buying from them, and their little blurb saying how long the wait could be was a little off-putting. But clever Estelle  from Serenity blog told me it was just a worst case scenario, and she was right. I think it took a little over two weeks from order to arrival, from the other side of the planet, traversing oceans, braving our post system, and sidestepping holidays. Go, you good parcel. Go. Or rather, stay, I like you 😀

This is my haul! Pixie Epoxy: the main reason behind the purchases. With the sudden and dramatic increase in the number of amazing eyeshadows I have (thanks, Estelle, you ROCK), and the onset of the summer makeup slide, I really wanted something to hold them in place. And this DOES. It is sort of like sticky aloe vera, then sets like glue. And the eyeshadow stays right where you put it. Nice.

The shadows are, from left to right, Winter, Again – which was a free sample, which is ALWAYS exciting. Middle is Digital Faerie, and the brown is Serendipity. Estelle said Serendipity was worth getting and she, of course, was right 😀

They look pretty in the containers, but on skin (over Pixie Epoxy), they just look amazing. They look like that on the eyelid too, I haven’t taken photos but I wore Serendipity today, with Digital Faerie as a sort of eyeliner, and they are pretty. Serendipity, especially, is the best kind of neutral – one with heaps and heaps of gorgeous shimmer 😀

Winter, Again – Digital Faerie, Serendipity

Have a wonderful day

Ami

Smash Cosmetics – swatches and review

It’s probably not a surprise to anyone if I say I love indie polishes. I mean, I make some. And own lots. And sort of want them all. But I also really like indie makeup… i.e. makeup ranges that are handmade by people, rather than large businesses and machines. Easier to get the cruelty free products in all the pretty colours, and usually for a really decent price too, even including shipping it all the way here!

One night strolling through Etsy I stumbled across a range of indie makeup from Smash Cosmetics, so went looking for reviews, and found a lot of favourable reviews. And thought I’d post my own reviews – the best way to know if they are a good product or not is to Google it, so doing my best to keep that out there! I bought a few full sized products from them, and also a Bloggers Pack – eg a VERY inexpensive sample pack, the reciprocal part being that I am a blogger, and will review their product. But of course, I do that anyway, bought or sent. A review happens. 😀 So, yay, I just asked them to surprise me with the products, and didn’t specify any products 🙂

So, swatches! There are two lipglosses, Vixen and Cranberry. Both are very dense in pigment, and go on nicely. I used a lipbrush, no primer or lip liner for all of these photos.

Vixen is much brighter than I could get it to show.

It looks almost neon pink red in real life! And can I just say that I hate taking selfies, and am really bad at them, and didn’t want to primp, so this is just me, wearing a bit of lipstick. I probably should have waited for a better day. Gah.

Cranberry is a metallic berry red /maroon…

Quite pretty!

Then the lipstick I bought, this is Deptford. It looks nothing like the photos, it is hard and doesn’t transfer the pigment well AT ALL, I think I’d quite like the colour (though shimmer and I don’t get on too well), and I’ll melt this down and add a bit of cocoa butter or similar and repour it, just so I can use it.

It’s also supposed to be Vanilla flavoured… I don’t know about that, it does smell sweet, and like lipstick 😀

Then other lipsticks in the Blogger pacK:

Creamsicle: very strange light peach orange colour, fairly streaky, but very opaque… and, as you can see, doesn’t look good on me. BUT, and here’s the thing, I don’t want these colours because I think I’ll look ‘good’, I just want funky colours. Plus, you know, I LOVE making up costumes and things, and these will come in handy!

Mint: Slightly green teal, a bit more green than the photo shows. Slightly streaky and catches in the lines on my lips, but not as bad as Creamsicle.

Viola: Absolutely gorgeous. Goes on flawlessly, and has a really nice scent, floral and sweet. Also very flattering, which is really strange! I want a full sized lipstick of this one!

Another selfie, argh. I even think they’re worse than the too-close-for-comfort macro, because at least I can pretend they’re not MY lips, until I see them on my face. That’s a bit of a giveaway. Ah well. FOR SCIENCE!  (or at least, for public information) 😀

Head in the Clouds: very blue lipstick, sort of strange texture, like it has too much zinc in it? Slightly sticky, in between a lipgloss and lipstick, but a very funky colour. Again, for costumes probably 😀 Nice scent, too! More sweet, less floral than Viola.

Tweak. For a moment I thought the name was Twerk, but phew! It’s not! Dark teal blue.. this was hard to apply, didn’t want to spread out or warm up, so not as dense as the others, and took more work. Nice colour though, I like it, probably not for school and kindy drop offs though 😀

Now… the clear tube is Glitter Glue, an eye primer for glittery eyeshadows. I bought this one. 🙂 And also included in the Blogger Pack was a cream primer… I swatched the eyeshadows on my arm, and drew a line using both primers.. nothing at the top, then the cream primer, then the glitter glue towards the bottom of my arm, and just bisected those horizontal lines with the vertical primer/nothing lines.  And the verdict is, I LOVE the cream primer. I want a full size of that, too! Wow, just holds everything in place so well, pops all those colours.

Here are the eyeshadows!

From left to right:

*Ultramarine (one I bought) – put on as thickly as I could, it is also on the far right, put on in one thin line. Bit disappointed in the colour payoff, but it builds nicely on the lid 🙂

*Harlot: a nice earthenware type red / brown

*Hell: very red and sparkly

*Pulchritudinous: Although I don’t want to spell that one again, it’s my favourite of the bunch, over the cream primer especially it has an amazing copper shimmer.

*Hippopotomuses: cute name! pretty shimmery lilac/silver shadow

*Frankenstella: nice purple on the boundary of plum. Dense in the best way 🙂

Now, I’ve gone back to find the shop to post links, and everything has disappeared. I am not sure if they have taken a break, or gone forever, but I’m hoping for a break because I want the cream primer and Viola lipstick, and a full size eyeshadow or 3 from them! So, fingers crossed they’ll come back, and I’ll let you all know!

Have a colourful day

Ami 🙂

Concealer Comparison: Maybelline, Garnier, and Kleancolor

I’ve thought about doing this post for awhile, then thought hey, why not? So, here is a comparison of three different concealers I have, which I use for trying to disguise the shadows under my eyes. I have different ones for spots/blemishes/melasma (brown patches caused by sunlight) coverage, usually a stick one, MUA at the moment which works very well.

See how the label on the Kleancolor has worn off? That happened within 5 mins of trying to use it. Odd. The rest has stayed on! 😀

It’s funny, because concealer is the only makeup I will use everyday. We have Maybelline Instant Age Rewind (fair), Garnier Roll-on, and Kleancolor Morning Confession (natural). Side note to Kleancolor should any peoples from that place happen across this wee blog, please make a blush called Morning Glory. I would RUN to buy that.

Anyway! Two of these, the Garnier and Maybelline, are from companies that test on animals. This makes me sad. It’s very hard to buy concealer (affordable concealer!) from places that don’t test, and because I’m kinda addicted to the stuff when I see some on sale, I buy it. THEN I think about it, by which stage it’s too late. I’m sorry. I was super excited to see the Kleancolor version, because roller ball (which I love in the Garnier one), and they don’t test. Yay! But…

Left-Right: Kleancolor, Garnier, and Maybelline concealer swatches, no primer.

Here they are, on the back of my hand. It’s hard to get a small amount of the Maybelline out, and that tends to go chalky and cake if too much is used. A tiny bit on the inner corner of the eye is nice. The Garnier goes on beautifully, and the Kleancolor… does nawt.  The ball doesn’t roll, the make-up doesn’t come out, and when it does it’s patchy. Sigh

So, to demonstrate: here, on my forearm, I have drawn a suitcase – using eyeliner pencil. Why? Because some people have bags under their eyes,; I have suitcases. 😀

Now I popped on a smudge of the concealer: left to right: Kleancolor, Garnier, Maybelline.

Then rubbed it in a bit

left-right: Kleancolor, Garnier, Maybelline

Then a bit more.

left-right: Kleancolor, Garnier, Maybelline

I think this demonstrates how they work pretty accurately – although there was some smudging. The Maybelline worked  but left too much obvious residue behind, the Garnier is my favourite, best colour for me and hides without leaving too much behind, and the Kleancolor barely does a thing.

So, although it’s my fav, I’m not going to buy more of the Garnier Roll-on. Because my brain is working now. When I run out of it, I’ll pull that ball out and refill it with some of my foundation, which is gorgeous and not tested on animals and should work well. Shame about the Kleancolour, but I’ll get a wee brush one day and use it with that and see..

Have a bright-eyed day!

Ami 🙂

Lipstick Swatches – Revlon, Kleancolor, MUA, and Indies

I decided to do something different, and catalog some of my lipsticks (and some lipglosses) by brand.

MUA

L-R (on my arm, no primer)

• Bare – soooo pale and chalky like death on me.
• 11 -my favourite of these lipsticks, flattering on my olive-ish skin tone, not chalky, very moisturising. Doesn’t stay on long , but easy to reapply.
• 7 – looks almost like 11, but it’s more orange and patchy.
• Nectar – PEACH! wow. Sort of a strange texture, sticks around on any rough skin areas like a party overstayer. Best blended with another lipstick!
• Intense Kisses Gloss – Stolen Kisses (from Shan, thank you so much!) – I love this, a little goes a long way as it’s very pigmented, smells a bit like sweet vanilla, and the colour hangs around for longer than most glosses do.
• Out There Plumping Lipgloss – Pin Up Pink. Silly design, very long thin tube = very long thin applicator, makes putting it on tricky. Well, unless you just take the gloss off with your finger, which you have to do, because the long thin applicator is all flooopy and wobbly. Sigh. Also, the gloss smells like yucky plastic. Not my favourite gloss ever, though the colour is quite nice. Wears off almost instantly. Does it plump lips? It does not. None of them do. And yet I still try… sigh.
• Sheer Finish gloss – Some Me Time. Just like real life ‘me time’, disappears instantly. Sheer, smells generically sweet fruity, nice enough.

Kleancolor

L-R , bare arm, no primer

• 743 Pink
• 747 Soft Rose – gorgeous every day colour
• 709 Toastie Taupe
• 704 Mocha Cream – can be used to give a soft wash of colour, not just dark brown.

These are all very soft and smooth, easy to apply, and give good colour payoff. They also disappear very quickly, but reapplication is easy. They smell nice, sweet and fruity, and my eldest boy likes to eat them. sigh. Don’t leave them in the car, they melt in the heat.

Revlon

left to right, bare skin, no primer 🙂

• 230 – Super Lustrous Lipstick – Flesh Tone
• 007 – Matte Lipstick – In The Red
• 050 – Hazelnut
• 080 – Coral (it’s a very red coral!)

My sad pitiful collection of Indies..

Left to right, no primer

• Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick – Jenaveve
• Geek Chic Chrysalis
• Geek Chic Banished (gloss).

I was a bit concerned my Geek Chic‘s would be like the Evil Shades  – you know, ok, but nothing special. WRONG. The swatches don’t really show how metallic Chrysalis looks, but it does show the amazing-ness of Banished.

The thing is… I can’t, really, go around wearing these on their own to school and kindy and, you know, boring ol town. Well, if I had lips like MaSucree’s  I might, but I don’t… 😀  HOWEVER, both the lipstick and the gloss can be patted on to change other colours: I use Banished a lot to darken the light MUA lipsticks, and make them last longer. I don’t know if I could wear it on it’s own, the formula is really thick and sticky, and goes patchy. But with practice, I’m sure it’s do-able, just only use a tiny bit!

Have a great day

Ami