December Empties/ Project Pan Items

Hey Y’all

Grab a snack and some water it is a long one. So I started in December with a small project pan to get through some travel and deluxe sized items along with some lip products. In the over all scheme it was a bust since I only finished  one of the items. But I made some good progress on others, so here we go:

Beginning:

Here are all of the project Pan items.

Ok starting with the left moving right

First Aide Beauty Skin Rescue Deep Cleanser with Red Clay: Started with 95% and have about 5-10% left. This is going to be a full size purchase once I finish this and finish my CeraVe Creamy Face Wash (it is a full size in the shower), which I hate so I am hoping to wrap it up quickly.

Josie Maran Argan Oil: Started at about 80% full and there is about 10% left. This came from a Sephora point redemption I believe. I personally do not find it to be anything special and I still have a Tarte Marajuca Oil to finish.

Epice Purifying Exfoliant: Done. I started with being almost full. This product came in a ipsy bag, I really like the smell but it does not seems to be something that I can readily purchase in a store, so won’t be getting it again.

NYX Radiant Finishing Powder: I keep using it almost daily and there is dip but who knows how long this will take me to use.

Etude House PoreForever: Let me tell you this and almost every other product I will talk about will have a similar theme: NEVER ENDING! I had about 80% of this when I started and I am sure there is still 70% left. I have been wearing a full face daily to try and get through this so I can start on ,what is probably one of the last few animal tested products in my collection, Maybelline Baby Skin pore filler.  Oh and I would repurchase this.

NYX HD Concealer: This one is tricky, I would say I had about 50% left and I can is gaps in the product on the side but it is hard to tell really how much is left. I am continuing on trucking through this, since I am not a huge concealer wearer I am not sure on the repurchase and I am really interested in trying the Rouge Bunny Rouge highlighter that is supposedly a good dupe for the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser.

NARS Oil-Free Primer: I am about 50% through this. It lingers around because it only plays nice under my NARS foundation which until recently was not looking good on my skin tone. I am not repurchasing this once it is done and I am pretty sure I will not be repurchasing the foundation either, but not positive on that yet.

Pixi Flawless Beauty Primer: This was about 50% full and I think I have maybe three uses left. This also came an ipsy bag, I believe my first one actually. Here is my issue to me for a “drug store” brand Pixi is pretty pricey. It does have a nice texture and for the winter it seems to be working out well. But it is not something I am likely to repurchase and I am still looking for a HG primer.

UD b6 Vitamin-Infused Complexion Prep Spray: So I have one that I received this spring in a Reddit exchange and another this fall when I repurchased the Naked foundation kit. I have about 10% left of the first one and 100% on the second one. I am really not sure the purpose of this product. I do not see my makeup wear any differently when I use it versus when I do not. Not going to be a future purchase for sure.

UD All Nighter Setting Spray: This also is close to being wrapped up! It came with the prep spray in my spring exchange. I believe that I like the oil slick setting spray better but this one does its job. I am thinking of trying out the Kat Von D setting spray next but I may just stick with a single brand, still thinking on it.

Skin Food Peach Sake Finishing Powder: I really need to pull the plastic sifter out to see how much is left but seriously this is one of those never ending items. I love the way it smells and it does feel lovely on the skin but I won’t be repurchasing it. I have serious new love for Fyrinnae’s finishing powder in Fluff and Hollywood Sorcery.

Shiseido Urban Environment Oil-Free UV Protector: One is almost gone and the other is a back up, I figure about 20% left. This was my HG sunscreen until I discovered that they test on animals. I feel seriously led astray, I was told by a girl at Nordstrom that Shiseido did not test on animals. Once I found out they did I resolved to do much better research when purchasing items. I am going to finish it up because this stuff isn’t inexpensive by any means. I am still in the search fora cruelty free sunscreen that I can use on my face that will not freak my skin out.

UD Perversion: THIS IS GOING IN THE TRASH /end rant. I hate this formula more than I hate bananas and if you know me you know what I am about to type I do not type lightly, I would rather eat a banana than ever wear this mascara again. It doesn’t ever fully set on me and I am not sure if it because it is a deluxe size but so much comes out on the brush that when you go to put it back in mascara oozes out the top. I just could not keep using it and I launched it with glee in the trash last night.

UD Supercurl: On the other hand I love this one but I should let it go it is over a year old. I really can not understand how any one can use a mascara up within the appropriate amount of time. This isn’t even a full size one! I am debating about  purging this one also just due to age.

Buxom Lash Mascara: I loooove the brush on this and the formula! I actually purchased a water proof full size during the Sephora VIB sale, which is part of my reason I want to get through all these deluxe ones. This one is about 6 months old but i am going to keep using it.

Make Up For Ever: This was in my Sephora birthday gift. I like the formula, the brush is a bit bonkers and sadly they test on animals. I believe it was 2012 they decided to sell in China and they were taken off the cruelty-free list. I have been battling with myself with this and with a few lingering items, if I should just toss them since I strive to be an good advocate for animals. I am thinking it may just be that I do throw them away. It hurts my heart so much to read about what these animals go through and even though this was an item in a gift set or the items I purchased it before I went cruelty-free is it really right for me to use them. Thoughts?

Fresh Sugar Shine Lip Treatment: So along the lines of the previous product, I purchased this before I went cruelty free. I have been using it nightly of course with guilt as I put it on and look at my cats and wonder how animal testing is still allowed with all of the advances in science. I won’t continue to wax on about this, but I will be making a decision this weekend on what to do with the four products in question.

Notoriously Morbid Coffin Kisser in Terrified Mint Tango: This was completely unused at the start of December and I believe that I am about one quarter to almost halfway done. I can’t tell because it will not twist down any more, it will only twist up. If you follow my blog you know that I love Notoriously Morbid and I really love the formula of their coffin kissers. I have quite a few to get through so I am on a no buy for lip balm.

Surprise Empties (i.e. products that I wasn’t trying to finish up but did)

DryBar Detox Dry Shampoo

Bath & Body Works Morocco Orchid Travel Size Body Wash ( no longer purchasing they have recently been taken off the cruelty-free list)

Up (Target Brand) Nail Polish Remover

Fyrinnae Fluff (Sample Size)

Alright so that is it! I have my 2015 Project Pan/ Pan That Palette challenge kicking off and what I did not finish here will be for my mini January Project Pan that I participate in over on /r/makeuprehab.

2014…it was and adventure

Well 2014 is over, it has been filled with some good moments and some seriously painful ones. But 2015 is my year, it is the Year of the Sheep! Was going to post a picture of sheep that live near us but alas it seems to be lost so here is a one from the interwebz!

Photo from wikipedia.

Let us focus on the good times!

After much consternation and sleepless nights I received my Master’s Degree this May. I also got engaged this summer and started in on the fun yet highly stressful activity of wedding planning, who knew even doing such a small wedding would be this much work :D.

I found a pretty great job in the same city as my fiance, imagine that being able to live in the same place finally! The move to Utah was fairly stressful but worth it. There is real winter here plus real farm animals too!

So what is in store for 2015?!?

Well Lars and I are going to attempt to do 2015 miles during the year, if you are wondering it is about 3.5 miles a day. We will be getting married in Hawaii this May! There will also be a trip to Denver to see the Foo Fighters as a wedding gift to Lars.  I also will be focusing on my photography skills and on destashing my makeup collection and participating in a Pan That Palette challenge.

Overall 2015 seems like it is going to be pretty good!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Courtesy of PSDGraphics (located through Google image search)

Pan That Palette and Project Pan/Destash 2015…Challenge Accepted

It happened, I took a hard look at my makeup collection and realized that 2015 has to be the year of the destashing and using what I have in my collection! Also I am working being less worried about collecting new things but instead focus on streamlining many parts of my life and hoarding makeup is one of them.

So my plan will be to do the ‘Pan That Palette’ challenge along with 15 additional makeup items, which will be full size unless other wise noted, starting January 1st. I will also be participating in a no-buy for pretty much any new eyeshadow,blush, lip products and nail polish.

This is why:

THE PLAN:

I have set a budget of $500 for the whole year for anything that I have to replace which will include such items as foundation along with skin care. Things like nail polish remover etc. are not apart of that $500.

So what exactly is a ‘Pan That Palette’ challenge you may be wondering; it is where you use a palette in its entirety. Now I don’t have a lot of palette to select from which makes it both easy and challenging at the same time on which one to choose. But I finally decided  on this one:

TooFaced a’ la Mode Eyes

I have used this maybe a handful of times so it is pretty new still. While I am setting this goal for the whole year I believe that I can finish this by the summer if I stick to using it daily. Will it get monotonous using the same colors daily?? I am sure I will get a bit bored but the other part of of the plan using 15 makeup items will include some other single shadows.

15 Other Items to be Panned in 2015:

1.Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Flushed (This has been in my daily rotation for the last month but you can still see most of the decoration in the product)

2.Too Faced Sweetheart Blush in Peach Beach (used six times)

3.Buxom Lash mascara (used twice)

4.e.l.f concealer & highlighter duo (used three times)

5.Milani Face Powder in 01  (I have used this at least once a day for the last few weeks but you can still see the design so this is pretty much still new)

6.Notoriously Morbid shadow in Pale Rider (unopened)

7.Notoriously Morbid mini shadow in Lost in L.A.

8.Armoaleigh in Password Protected (unopened)

9.Nars Sheer Glow Foundation in Gobi (There is about 90% remaining, this was not working for my skin tone but after moving and not being exposed to so much sun it is matching much better.)

10.NYX Matte Lipstick in Natural this contains 0.15 oz of product, this lipstick has been used a fair amount but I estimate there is still 90% left.

11.NYX Lipstick in Thalia this contains 0.14 oz of product, this lipstick has been used a fair amount but I estimate there is still 90% left.

12.Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper (used three times)

13.Tarte Colored Clay CC primer

14. Julep in Whitney (used once)

15. HERMÈS Eau Claire Des Merveilles ( I have had this about a year an there is approximately 85% left in the bottle)

Here is a picture of all the item on the list:

I will also be doing small Project Pan’s through out the year to get through other items over on /r/MakeupRehab.

I am excited for this challenge, it is always easier to buy new things than shop my collection. So now I will be shopping what I have and will be accountable to post more about my progress.

What new projects are you planning for in 2015?

Beauty For The Win…is winning!

Hi Y’all!

Do not act supervised I haven’t posted, it is becoming a bad habit to skip for a bit and the rush to put a bunch of posts up. In my defense it gets dark way earlier up here in SLC and there has been wedding planning afoot too. But enough about that on to the amazing shadows that is Beauty for the Win, found here.

So I made my order back in October, for her blogger pack, the biggest thing that appealed to me was the fact that a portion of every purchase goes to various causes, here is the list. I mean I really can’t pick a favorite, they all support amazing things.

On to the colors which right now are some of my favorite colors, I seriously stared at my arm for awhile after swatching just in awe of the pigmentation, texture and the over all looks of these colors. The sample size is very generous as well. I will link to the site for each collection if you want to see the site swatches as well.

I apologize for the wonky lighting, you know how I mentioned that it gets dark early?  Yeah well it is also cloudy a lot so everything is in indirect light unless other wise mentioned. All shadows are over e.l.f glitter glue and I used a $1 e.l.f shadow brush.

THE GOODS! (all under daylight bulb)

 

So let us start with the Harry Potter colors from the We Are Wizards collection. Being a huge HP fan these colors just call to me.

Fawkes

This is an amazing golden orange color that practically glows from within. It is sparkly but is not a huge glitter bomb. I have no clue why but I am really into this color.

The Golden Snitch

This is the prettiest gold, it is bright and seriously amazing. I need to take a better picture of this. But it works really well in the inner corner or foiled as a liner.

Wand Chooses the Wizard

This isn’t your ordinary brown. It is  warm and rich and insanely pigmented! It has a lovely shimmering finish. I am currently testing out another brown but I am excited to add this into a daily rotation.

 

Always

 

Oh this is sparkling silver alright. I am super excited with the holidays coming up to try this out in a few looks, perhaps for Ugly Sweater Happy Hour?? I can’t see this being an every day color for me but it is lovely and I am sure would look fabulous as a liner.

Morsmordre

 

This is a dark almost black green with almost a golden undertone. I am not sure if it is the weird cloudy light but I really like it. I haven’t put this on my eyes …yet!

Prophecy

Seriously hands down my favorite color from this order. The duo-chrome is strong with this one and it just isn’t a color that even comes close to anything that I own. Paired with a matte black in the outer corner with possibly a matte or satin crease color..who know it is going to be worn this week for sure. I will put up a EOTD on my Instagram.

 

The next collection is the Fault in Our Swatches

This is a lovely coppery brown. The lower picture is blurred more than others to try and catch the pretty sparkles in this color.  The lighting really was being fussy but I went with it since I thought it looked with the streak of sunlight.

Amsterdam

I know the site mentions brick red but all I am seeing is glorious copper. I am really tempted since this is lip safe to buy some Placebo from Life’s Entropy and see what sort of gloss this would be. I am super intrigued with copper lips at the moment and I have no clue why.

Okay

Beautiful iridescent blue, this is my second favorite from this order and actually want to see what it would look like with Prophecy.

Hot Mess

Come on now be happy that I didn’t start with the pink shadow since we all know I have that, gotta catch ’em all feeling when it comes to pink shadows. This is bright fuchsia that is filled with sparkle. Dig it!

This Star

A bright iridescent green loaded with sparkles. The name sake of this color is for the charity that is sponsored by the sales of this color. I have a color that is close but not exactly like this which is always good to not have exact dupes :).

Infinities

HELLO beautiful lilac glitter! This color is just a awesome glitter bomb. I want to foil this all over my eyes!!! ❤ This is the only one that I had to do under a daylight bulb because the weather just stopped cooperating.

And last The Jane Austen Blush Club

So here I put all of them in one collage and I will say this while somewhat similar in appearance in the photo they are different shimmer wise in person.

Sorry I got cold so my arms are bumpy. Of all of these I really like Anne and Emma neither are glitter bombs but have a nice luminescence. Emma on the site says pink but my skin turns it a bit more coral. I feel like these are great summer blushes. This was taken in the last direct light I had that day.

 

 

So I recently have decided that I am going on a 3 month no buy and will be shopping my collection for posts. Also I will be doing pan that palette starting January 1st and will be working on a Project 10 Pan as well.

 

Hope everyone had a lovely Turkey day and have an amazing holiday season!!!

 

Hugs!

Volunteering to Save Them All

One of the biggest things I was excited about when I moved to Utah was being apart of the Best Friends Animal Society (BFAS). If you have never heard of this organization or of their mission please visit their site, here. BFAS was founded in Utah back in the 80’s in effort to provide a place for abandoned and abused animals.

But maybe you have heard of Best Friends and didn’t know it yet, perhaps you have heard of Dog Town? Dog Town is part of the original sanctuary in Zion and that is where the dogs from Michael Vick’s dog fighting ring were taken. But there is also a place for rabbits, cats and horses as well down in Zion. It is truly an amazing place to visit.

So here in the Salt Lake area they have partnered up with shelters to provide additional opportunities for dogs and cats to find their new forever home and working on making Utah, NKUT (No Kill Utah).

I registered of course to volunteer to help with the kitties, but you can also volunteer to help with the doggies as well. Before you can begin your volunteer time you must take a class to become familiar with the requirements, which was super fun and simple to do.

My fist volunteer time was this past Sunday, before they opened, during Cat Enrichment time. This is the time to play with the cats before the dogs come in and the center opens to the public. They have both older cats and kittens that need love and socializing, which honestly for me very rewarding. I was worried that I would want to bring them all home, ok let us be honest I really do want to bring them all home, but when leaving it wasn’t as horribly sad as I imagined because I can go back and volunteer again and again.

This horrific story, Kittens found in garbage stuck to rat trap; man arrested, happened right before I moved here but BFAS took in those kittens to care for them and find them homes. This is the kind of work that they do not just in Utah but in California and across the nation.

There is also the kitten nursery and the community cat program that I can not wait to be apart of!  So here is a quick collage of my few hours this past Sunday. Again if you are in the Salt Lake area  there are so many opportunities with BFAS but if you are not and you want to help Save Them All, please reach out, here is a link for national opportunities .

The kittens were so much fun of course. I also loved hanging out with the adult cats since they were really about the lap time.

Sherlock in stages

Hello y’all!!

Ok this is going to be kind of short because I really need to get to work on addressing save the dates and you know actual work. But I wanted to at least get this small group up of the Aromaleigh, Brilliant Deductions collection. There are 21 colors in this collection and from what I have seen so far most of these will need to be purchased in more than a sample size.

Aromaleigh has been on my radar for a few months and back in September they ran a special on the entire collection so I placed a sample order. I just have to say that Kristen of Aromaleigh is brilliant with color. I feel slightly ashamed that I have not captured the nuances and depths of these shadows but here is my attempt.

***All photos are taken outside. Bare skin on top and Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creaseless Primer bottom, unless otherwise mentioned. ***

The entire reason I even was tempted by the collection was for BRAINY IS THE NEW SEXY…can you guess..yup it is a pink shadow. It is just a fabulous as the site led me to believe it would be.

Left is direct and right is indirect light.

PASSWORD PROTECTED

I have to say in the bag it is a pretty unassuming color but like a password this color can not be easily captured. This one I tried to apply wet and failed miserably. I will buy a full size in this just to hack its color secrets and get an amazing shot.

Bottom swatch is applied wet.

FRAILTY OF GENIUS

Another deceiving color in the bag but on the skin is beautiful. I can see me using this as a crease or transition color easily. I really REALLY like this color.

HOW QUAINT

In the bag it is a simply unassuming light gray but once on it is  gorgeous with small sparkles that make it interesting but not a total glitter bomb.

Left is indirect light. Right is direct sunlight.

EXPERIMENTAL DRUG

Duo-chromie goodness right here! A fabulous red color with a bluish shift. I love duo-chrome colors especially as liners or lid colors because as the light changes so do they.

DAMAGED & DELUSIONAL

This one I had a super hard time catching and really need to re-swatch this and put in the next post. Both D&D and Experimental need a base of some sort, bare skin for these two colors simply will not work if you want to get the full effect.

 

Top is indirect light and below is direct sunlight.

 

Overall I am thrilled with the quality from Aromaleigh and the complexity of the shadows. I am excited to finish this collection and then swatch the fall/Halloween collection based upon Dante’s Inferno, Diavoli, it can be found here.

The horrors of planning a wedding desitnation style

Hey Y’all!

So recently I started a separate blog for my wedding planning shenanigans, in effort to not flood this space with non-makeup stuff. But I am going to periodically link posts in case you want to read about my slowly crumbling sanity :), so here it is. I am actually going to do a post in the coming weeks of potential wedding looks since that is at least a piece I can control and perfect. I am working on swatching some Aromaleigh colors I picked up along with some mattes from Black Bird Cosmetics with any luck that post will be up this weekend!  Oh and my ipsy FINALLY showed up so I will be reviewing that as well, I think this may be the last ipsy for a while, getting it at the end of the month is just really disappointing.

Better Late Than Never…September VC

Umm so yeah this is my September Notoriously Morbid Vanishing Cabinet (VC) review /hangs head in shame. I really thought after my grad program was done and this move completed I would be rolling around in free time..that is a big NOPE! Anyways so it is almost appropriate that I delayed.

September’s VC was a tribute to the indelible Tim Curry, who of course is famous for many things one of which is, Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now I have never seen Rocky Horror in the theater but I happened to stumble across a little theater in Ogden that is doing a run this up coming weekend and I quickly purchased two tickets.  I of course will be creating a look with the itemms that I received in my package for that evening and I will post it to my Instagram and social media outlets. Ok enough of my weekend plans ON TO THE REVIEW!!

-courtesy of http://www.notoriouslymorbid.com

All pictures were taken in natural light and over bare skin and TooFaced Shadow Insurance.

Once in a Purple Moon

If you are not aware of the movie, The Worst Witch, I am very very sorry. Hands down one of my favorite movie growing up as I totally identified with Mildred Hubble. When I first saw the name of this color I was thrilled that Carrie put in a nod to this movie. Seriously I need to find this on DVD like yesterday. Of course I love this color, it is pink and it shimmers and I previously have hinted at, I LOVE ALL the pink eye shadows.

Wadsworth

“That sounds like a confession to me. In fact the double negative has led to proof positive. I’m afraid you gave yourself away.”-Wadsworth. Ah Clue, such a fabulous film filled with so many great Tim Curry lines to choose from. This color is deceptive in the jar. It is such a lovely duochrome, that looks different depending on the lighting.

They All Float

I find it funny that I love this color. I read IT and hated clowns a bit but then I saw the movie and honestly Tim Curry made Pennywise infinitely scarier than my imagination ever could and while I can stand to see clown they make me nervous. This color by no means makes me nervous, it is fabulous!!

Solace of Shadows

Ok I may have misspoke earlier saying The Worst Witch was my favorite movie ….because tell me of a true child of the 80’s who is unaware that Tim Curry is the devil. I am not sure how many times I have watched Legend but I am positive it is over a hundred at least.

  image courtesy of http://www.denofgeek.com

This color is perfect, it is a muted purple-taupe-ish color in the jar and without direct light captures how dark the world seemed when the unicorn’s horn was taken. But under a flash of light, totally recalling Jack’s use of the large platters to filter light and defeat the Lord of Darkness. Yeah it is a spoiler, but if you have not seen this film by now you need to crawl out from under that rock, this color is beautiful.

Helluva Lover

Ok there is no lip swatches happening here, please refer to my horrible lip swatches in my Fyrianne review to see why.  So I have to say that I do not usually do red lips, I just feel like they do not look as good on me as nude or pink colors. Helluva Lover is the exception, it is a perfect berry red tone that doesn’t make me feel like I am playing dress up with my mother’s makeup. So here is an arm swatch under artificial light with no flash.

We also received a sample of Toxic Love from AFK Cosmetics, but you would have to ask my cats where that went off to, since they decided to help themselves to my makeup area and absconded with this and a few other sample bags. These three are why I can not have nice things 😉 .

I am eagerly anticipating October’s VC because Walking Dead!!!

Alkemia Perfume Review

Hi Y’all

I have today just a quick review of some fall scents from Alkemia and can be found on Etsy, here. I had Alkemia on my radar for a while as there have been a lot of good reviews on /r/indiemakeupandmore (found at reddit.com). I will mention before I post my thoughts that my skin pretty much eats all perfumes that I put on, I have a fairly unrefined nose for scents and indie perfumes are still an area that I am just beginning to explore.  Enough about me, let us get on with the scents!!

Order Details: I chose to select the five sample pack with free shipping. I selected four fragrances and asked for the fifth to be a surprise. I ordered on October 13th and received my items on October 18th. My choices were Pumpkin Strumpet, All Hallow’s Eve, Trick or Treat, Falling Stars on Winter Solstice and the surprise was Calaveras de Azucar (Sugar Skulls) and a free sample of Cidre d’Automne.

All reviews are blind and the shop notes will be listed below.

Pumpkin Strumpet

In the bottle it is cinnamon, awesome fall and cinnamon. This is still super cinnamon on my skin and does not morph into anything different. Personally I really like this but I could see how it may not be for everyone. As I mentioned in the beginning my skin eats scents so there is no throw to smell it I have to get close to my arm. It lasted about 45 mins or so. I am tempted to buy a full size of this because FALL!

“A decadent blend of rich pumpkin, caramelized sugar, Madagascar vanilla, precisely balanced with a swirl of cinnamon, ginger, & clove and a tiny drop of amber musk. In a famous study by the Smell & Taste Treatment & Research Foundation, pumpkin pie was found to be the scent most arousing to men. We are not responsible for any indecencies caused by wearing this mouth-wateringly delicious temptation.”

All Hallow’s Eve

In the bottle I smell sweet cream and want to just wrap my self in it. On the skin I did get a slight licorice smell along with a complex sweetness, like baking cookies.  Sadly the scent just disappears in about thirty minutes because my skim chemistry hates me and must absorb all the smells. This would be a maybe purchase for me, if the anise and licorice were more prominent I would be all over a large bottle.

“A scent of magic, mystery, remembrance, childhood nostalgia, and sweet blessings for darker times – bourbon vanilla, tonka, black licorice, star anise, roasted marshmallows, hazel, coriander, pale amber, cardamom, smoked benzoin, sweet myrrh, and woodsmoke whisping on autumn air.”

Trick or Treat

In the bottle I smell balsam, it reminds me of the winter candles that I love to burn all winter. On my skin I get a slight leather scent along with same balsam scent. This had the longest lasting silage on me, I could catch whiffs of it without have to get my nose into my skin. I will be buying a full size bottle of this for sure.

“A grownup confection of black licorice, mandarin orange peel, caramelized brown sugar, bourbon vanilla, candied ginger, tonka bean, blonde patchouli, cedar tips, oakmoss, and sandalwood. Utterly sexy on both men and women…”

Falling Stars at Winter Solstice

In the bottle it is winter in a snowy pine forest. I am really glad this does not morph on my skin it is fabulous. Like Trick or Treat it embodies what I always hope winter will smell like. Now that I live somewhere I have access to forestry and snow smelling this has me beyond excited for winter!

“Aromatic balsam needles, a dab of dark musk, sweet myrrh, incense resins, melted snow, and a touch of cabin woodstove smoke.”

Calaveras de Azucar (Sugar Skulls)

In the bottle it is all sugar. On my skin it is AMZAEBALLS, cotton candy and sugar with a slight musky scent and it lingers around. My skin does eat it, so it is a close smell but oh I really like this scent. I see a full size purchase of this totally happening.

“Hauntingly sweet sugar skulls nestled against a backdrop of sugared white ambers”

Cidre d’Automen

In the bottle it is fresh apples with cinnamon. On my skin all I smell is Macintosh apples with a hint of pie spice. It is so lively and light. This also is a great fall scent and totally recommend it if your are more into light scents versus heavy cinnamon ones.

“Freshly pressed varietal fall apples delicately blended with subtle autumnal spices. Sweet, crisp and exquisitely mouth-watering. “

Over all I am thrilled with my purchase from Alkemia and there are plenty more scents that I am excited to try and she makes it so easy with the free shipping. Check out Alkemia on Etsy and FB.

Fyrinnae Review

Hello Y’all!

So today we are looking at Fyrinnae. This is not my first Fyrinnae order but it is the first time swatching and reviewing it on the blog instead of slapping it in imgur and posting only to /r/indiemakeupandmore on Reddit.

So I picked up these specific items after reading a post by /u/Dorian_Gray_ that possibly the 60’s collection may be cut. Now I will say the site is a bit of a challenge to navigate and find items by collections but it was linked in the same post by a Reddit user (THANK YOU!) so here is the collection in its entirety, 60’s Retro Collection.

When I saw the entire collection I knew there were some shades I had to have. So I picked up Bollywood Babe, London Calling, Polyester Witch and the Lip Luster in It’s a Mod World. I also grabbed Fluff ,a finishing powder, which is not apart of this collection and I have to say it is great! I received Nepenthe, from the new 2014 Halloween collection, as a sample and it goes very well with the other colors I ordered. As usual TAT (Turn-Around-Time) was super fast and I had my order in about 7 days.

All swatches are over Pixie Epoxy and Tarte Clean Slate 360 crease-less primer taken indoors with natural light.

The Goods:

Polyester Witch:The picture on the site does not do this color justice! Lovely purple with blueish green undertone. More of a shimmer than a sparkle finish. I can see this color coming into some everyday rotation.

Site Description: Light violet graced with fun green sparkle. The opposite of “Oh, My Stars!” (both are not-so-subtle tributes to a 60’s sitcom witch and match her signature ensemble).

Bollywood Babe: Continuing my quest to have a truly comprehensive collection of pink eyeshadow this little gem had to come live with me and it did not disappoint in real life. I am sure at my age wearing pink eyeshadow is a huge faux pas but don’t care, I like it!  Ugh this pink it is a good one super opaque and again not sparkly but has a lovely shimmer to it.

Left is a bit tilted away from the window to see how it shifts.

Site Description: Satiny cool medium pink loaded with cheery gold sparkle. The opposite of Equal Rights Shine. Applies lighter than it appears in the jar. Different from our Sugar Skulls, as that is a warm bright pink with copper sparkle.

London Mod: I will say this blue eyeshadow usually is not my bag but the name and the actual color of the blue intrigued me. It has greenish undertone, it is more of a cornflower type blue than a Tardis blue and made me thing of pools and summer.

Site Description: Satiny light blue, a little warmer than cornflower, with filled with green sparkle, brighter than it appears here. The opposite of Space Age.

It’s A Mod World: Oh this is exactly what you imagine ladies wearing in the 60’s pearl finish lipsticks in fun colors. I apologize now for the not fabulous lip swatch. This color is very unforgiving if you have chapped lips or lips that have deep lines. Also my top lip is crooked so I did what I could. All that being said, I dig this lip luster A LOT!

First  arm swatches:

Lip Swatch:

It really doesn’t do this fun color justice. The lip luster’s are a dram to put on and awesomely pigmented. I have a few other colors that I am dying to try out.

Nepenthe: This comes across to me as a deep purple almost like a blackened fuchsia with a blue base. This color is awesome and I am sure my description is crazy.

Site Description: Vivid, metallic Byzantium purple, unlike any of our existing shades. It’s a warm bright purple, but still works on neutral or cool skintones. More striking in person. Not lip-safe.

Overall I am very happy with my order and I am still debating about grabbing the rest of the collection and hopefully it is available after the holidays. I am still getting the hang of using the Pixie Epoxy for swatching so that it does not look so patchy but on the eyelids this is like superglue, your shadow is moving nowhere!  Coming up will be September’s Notoriously Morbid VC review, better late than never 😉 , a Victorian Disco order as well and swatchfest of Aromaleigh Brillant Deductions Collection.