Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Ayesha

After owning and loving the red liquid lipstick Outlaw by Kat Von D I knew I needed another one of these.  Before I even get to the color can I just say that her packaging is so perfect, its probably one of my favorites.  I love the floral design on the cap and the tube, its so elegant and beautiful, and really makes the lipstick all that more special.  

As for the lipstick itself, I unfortunately have to say that it is not as good as the Outlaw red shade I have.  The one rivals Russian Red for its ability to just not budge no matter what.  However, Ayesha has trouble lasting through a meal.  Don't get me wrong it is a gorgeous color and worth every penny I believe but it just cannot survive the eating test.  The outer lipstick stays perfectly but it suffers from heavy fading in the middle.  If you are going out for a meal, definitely bring it for reapplication.  Otherwise, if you are just sipping beverages or eating a light snack, you shouldn't have to worry!

Where to buy: Sephora

Price: $20

Kat Von D Vs Formula X Studded X: Mini Lip + Nail Polish Duo Poe

While out shopping with my friend we took a necessary stop at Sephora.  It wasn't quite December yet but I was really hoping they would give me my birthday gift and luckily they did!  While checking out I spotted these super cute Kat Von D Vs Formula X packs of a matching lipstick and nail polish duo.  I looove Kat Vond D so naturally I made an impulse buy and picked one up.  Naturally I snatched the purple one.

On the front the lipstick looks like a gorgeous deep purple.

And this assumption is confirmed on the back of the packaging.  this looks purple right? Right!?

Well I got this box home and opened it up only to find it contained Poe, a shimmery navy shade.  I wanted a deep blue lipstick anyway....but seriously? At least advertise with the correct colors. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed as I was definitely expecting a purple lipstick as shown. But live and let die, right?

Here is what you get for the $15 price tag.  the lipstick is decently sized but I was definitely expecting a larger nail polish considering last year I got two full sized Formula X polishes for $10.

In the bottle the nail polish looks very purple and shimmery and beautiful but as we will see it doesn't apply as such. I have no idea what color this is as it doesn't specify anywhere.

Even just looking inside you can see how blue it appears, not at all like the outside.

And yep its pretty darn navy.  Sometimes in the right light you can see purple shimmer but overall its a very dark blue. In a lack of light it almost looks black. Excuse the little slivers of felt...they got stuck to my nails and I didn't notice... 

I won't lie, I like this nail polish I just can't believe Kat Von D would advertise this as purple.....

Its lasted a full 24 hours so far without chipping and that is pretty long for me, as I'm really hard on nail polish.

And here's Poe!  It is definitely not purple.  Not even close.  Its a gorgeous blue but...Why Kat Von D....Why put a picture of purple lips on the box....why....

In this picture sample size Poe is next to full sized Wolfsmouth.  You get a pretty decent amount of product and the tiny size makes it much easier to apply. I wouldn't want to spend the full price on this as its a color I wouldn't wear often so I am happy I now own it in a mini size.

On the lips it is a very stunning deep blue.  Not too deep that it looks black but deep enough that it is wearable.  It has tiny specks of gold shimmer that honestly isn't too terribly noticeable.  My friend did a guest post on my blog reviewing this lipstick and she said it was very patchy and dry.  I haven't experienced this at all with Poe.  It is very possible that they have revamped their formula to be better, as she bought this lipstick a year ago. This goes on creamy, even, and opaque.  I feel its much more moisturizing than Wolfsmouth which actively cracks my lips after wearing it all day.

Overall I'm very happy with the products but a bit confused why it was decided to put blue products into a purple box.

Where to buy: Sephora

Price: $15

FOTD: More Than Just a Pop of Color

Oh my goodness I feel like I haven't done a face of the day post in FOREVER.  I get up do my makeup quick and then usually have to go do other things so I never seem to have the time to do a fun makeup look and take pictures of it.  I made it a point to do this week because this started as a makeup blog and I feel like all my latest posts have been....well not about makeup. Hopefully that will change soon. 

So I was wearing a teal tanktop with a purple sweater and felt like doing a nice colorful eye look to match. I started out with some NYX Milk on my lid to help bring out the Comet eyeshadow from BH Cosmetic's Galaxy Chic palette. Next I took Urban from Urban Decay's Electric palette and blended it into my crease and very lightly under my eye.  I deepened my outer corner with Urban Decay's Blackout and also smudged it on my lower lashline.  I then took my Jesse's Girl liquid liner and draw a regular wing, then went back in a drew another really thin one right under that, blending it in with the Blackout applied earlier.  To emphasize the space between the wings and my inner corner I dabbed on some NYX shadow in Whipped Cream.  On my lips is my favorite nude ever, NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Zurich. 

Here is an angled shot just so you can better see all my accessories.  When I match, I MATCH.

Renaissance Faire Fairy/Elf Costume

So my boyfriend and I have been planning a Renaissance Faire trip since early August but it just did not happen until October.  We were supposed to go two weeks ago but we got rained out, forcing us to reschedule and go towards the end of October.  The theme for the weekend that we went was a spooky Halloween theme so a lot of people were there in all kinds of costumes, not just time period relevant costumes.  Which meant I fit in a lot better than I would have going any other weekend.

I was orginally going to go as a fairy but since it became much too cold for my original costume my wings no longer worked out and I had to wear a lot of layers to prevent myself from freezing to death. Therefore I've been referring to my costume as an elf instead of a fairy because of the lack of wings....

So here is a close up of the makeup I did for my costume.   I wore false lashes for the first time in over a year so it was pretty interesting trying to remember how to use them. I unfortunately bought these a long time ago and do not remember the brand name, but I really wish I did as they are so pretty with a mix of black and purple lashes.  \

On my lid is Colourpop in Liberty, which I then gently covered with Shiro Cosmetic's Maiden Queen to create a beautiful shimmery metallic teal. Next I lightly applied a matte black NYX eyeshadow from a palette I have to my crease. Under my eye I smudged boxom's VIP under my eyes to bring in some purple to match my dress.  Next I took my trusy Jesse's Girl liquid liner and drew a thin wing and also added a swirly under eye accent and dots on my brow bone. I finished up my eys with a line of glitter from a retired Urban Decay heavy metal glitter liner.

On my lips is MAC Rebel, one of my favorite lipsticks. I put this on before the faire and it was still there after eating dinner!

My ear cuffs and high elf ears are from Aradani Costumes. I added the leaf charm myself and I painted the ears with my foundation and makeup.  However because our faire trip was delayed two weeks I think my foundation turned more orange the longer it sat on the ears, resulting in them not matching as well.  My necklace is from an Etsy shop called Pegasus22.

Here is a full body shot of my costume taken right before we left.  Excuse the messy background as we were running about an hour late and were throwing everything everywhere trying to get ready quickly.  My dress is the same dress I wore to my high school prom, so I was glad to get at least one more use out of it. I originally wasn't planning on wearing the sweater, leggings, or boots, and was instead going to wear just the dress with wings tucked in the back and sandles adorned with fake flowers. My costume couldn't be exactly as I envisioned it but I still had a ton of fun and got tons of compliments on my ears and dress.

I was originally supposed to go with my boyfriend, his brother and his brother's girlfriend but they had to cancel last minute because of illness so my boyfriend and I went just the two of us.  It was his first time ever at the Ren Faire and I hope that I was able to show him a good time.  There is so much to see, so many shops to visit, and so many shows to watch that it was impossible to be everywhere.  Therefore we are definitely looking forward to going again next year! :)

Surprise!  One of my very best friends was also at the Faire!  Here we are hugging it out in front of the human chess board after the show.  I'm sure you can see just how bundled up she is....yeah this was later in the day and the temperature was dropping quickly.  You can't tell from the photo but I was perpetually shivering after about 4pm.

Even though it was cold, the people we were supposed to go with canceled, and my costume wasn't as I imagined I still had a really great day enjoying the faire with my boyfriend.  Next year we plan to go when its a bit warmer.

Rediscovered Love: MAC Violetta

I bought Violetta at least 2 years ago and it was seriously my most worn lipstick for a long time but with all the new purples that have come out lately it got pushed to the back burner for quite some time.  Well I woke up one day, had my clothes picked out, then sad down to do my makeup.  I did my eyes in all matte with my Blackbird Cosmetics shadows and just got this sudden desire to pair it with Violetta.  Oh my am I so glad I did!  I was really digging my overall aesthetic that day.  Violetta just went amazingly well with the matte eye, purple jewelry, and black top.

The best thing about Violetta is that its a very wearable purple.  It is definitely more pinkish purple than true purple and the slight shimmer just really makes it stand out when paired with a dark outfit.  I always feel confident when I have this lipstick on and I really need to pull it out more this Fall.

As you can see it looks much more purple in the tube than it does on the lips.  It is a beautiful pinkish purple with blue shimmer and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

For my eyes I used all Blackbird shadows with Figment on my lid, Gravity in my crease, Smudge as definition, and Vintage under my eye.  

Also if you can see my earrings I made them by wire wrapping the pearls that came in the Fall Fortune Cookie Soap Box.  They were just too cute to throw away so I decided to turn them into something useful!

tldr; GET MAC VIOLETTA. SERIOUSLY.

Colourpop Lippie Stix in Feminist

With my latest Colourpop order I also purchased a single Lippie Stix.  I already have small ones that I got from a friend for Christmas so I knew I loved the formula and wear time.  I decided on Feminist because it was much darker than any of the Lippies I already had and also I do not own a matte purpley black.  With fall coming up I figured this would be a great purchase!

So when I swatched this on my hand I was nervous because it applies fairly patchy and not super opaque, especially when next to the new Ultra Matte lippies. Luckily the lip application is another story!  This glided on so smoothly and covered wonderfully.  It goes on very opaque and pigmented.  It also stays nice and creamy on my lips without just sliding off all over the place. I do have to say...the website said it was matte but it definitely has a satin finish, but no matter I still love it!  I think it goes amazing with my hair, and I'll definitely be pulling this out as the weather gets chillier.

Where to buy: colourpop.com

Price: $5

Epica Concert Makeup

Alright! So last night my boyfriend and I went on a very special date to the Baltimore Soundstage in Maryland to see Epica! In addition to Epica, The Agonist and Eluveitie also performed.  As a warning this post is going to be super picture heavy.

So we were a bit rushed to get everything done in time to get to this concert as it was on a weeknight in a not very close location.  Therefore I did a very fast dark makeup look focusing on my eyes.  I attempted to spruce up my overall look by doing a bit more with my jewelry.  My dangle earrings are ones I made and after all that headbanging only one of the leaves fell off....but I ended up finding it so it wasn't even a loss! The Zelda necklace you might recognize from my Pagan Pride post, I decided to put it on a drop style kind of chain.  As for the choker....I totally sewed that together the day before using some ribbon and jewelry clasps.  I'm honestly surprised it didn't fall off because I can't sew for crap, haha!

Well this post is on a makeup blog so let's get the details on my face!  To do this look I put Urban Decay's Blackout all over my lid and blended it out into a smokey eye.  I then took Shiro Cosmetic's Mother of Dragons and patted it on my eye lid to give my lid a neat shimmery effect.  I then took Blackbird Cosmetic's Ruca and blended it under my eye, into Blackout to add at least a bit of color.  I then lined my eyes with Jesse's girl liquid liner and then did another layer over that with Jcat Beauty's red glitter liner.  I finished with Urban Decay's Perversion mascara.  My contour was done using MAC's Strange Imagination and on my lip's is Colourpop's Trap.  This only took about 15 minutes and definitely had the desired effect of dark but not too over the top. I wore dark lipstick to Nightwish and it looked horrible by the end of the night so I opted out of doing double dark eyes and lips this time. 

My entire outfit wasn't too exciting.  I went with all black and comfortable.  My top is a hand me down from B Crew, my jeans are from Loft, and my boots are from Hot Topic.

Now let's move on to the concert!!!

Here is the obligatory pre concert selfie Aaron and I took before getting into the venue.  We arrived right as the doors opened and the line wasn't long at all, the venue was super tiny, so we weren't outside for very long.

Up first was the Agonist.  I am pretty familiar with their songs from when Alissa White-Gluz was their vocalist but I haven't listened to their new album near as much.  Overall they did a pretty decent job.  I think its great that they kept pushing forward after Alissa went to Arch Enemy and I hope they continue to improve.

After that was Eluveitie, a Celtic inspired band that incorporates a large variety of vocal styles and instrumentals.  They played for a very long time, basically just as long as Epica, making me think that this tour is perhaps a double headliner.  Anyway they did a great job.  I had only listened to a handful of their songs before this show but it didn't even matter, they really made it enjoyable.  Once my boyfriend helped me move away from Inconsiderate Blonde Chick, I had a really great time dancing and headbanging to their set. 

And then EPICA! Simone is seriously even more beautiful in real life.  They played a great show with a nice mix of old and new songs. Sometimes Simone's voice was drowned out by the instrumentals but overall it was an absolute blast!

The only thing that I think was missing was a nice ballad.......and more play time, haha.

Now the only band left on my top list to see is Kamelot.

Here is what I bought.  I didn't go too crazy and only picked up a t shirt and a flag.  I got the only small in this design they had.  The guy actually had to remove it from the display.  At the end of the concert this style was completely sold out, as was the small size in most designs.  I hope they refill the stock each night because this was the first night of the tour and there were tons of people being turned away from the stands because they didn't have shirts in mediums and smalls. As for the flag....its freaking huge!! I have no idea where I'm going to put it but I can't wait to decorate my apartment with it!

If you are catching a later show on their North American Enigma Tour then I hope you have a great time too!

Urban Decay Revolution High-Color Lipgloss in Bittersweet

Sephora was giving out these mini Urban Decay lip glosses in Bittersweet when you entered a specific coupon code upon checkout.  I absolutely loved NYX's intense butter glosses so I had to try out Urban Decay's new competitive release! The tube itself is very nice looking for a sample size.  It is just as decorated as the full sized tubes.  There also seems to be a decent amount of product inside so I would assume this will last me quite some time. 

I had talked a bit about Urban Decay's new glosses in my last Ipsy glam bag post so I'll just do a quick run through.   They apply easily and pigmented.  They last for a long time as far as glosses go (3-4 hours for me) and keep my lips moisturized.  the only downside...if you do not like sticky glosses you will not like these. This color in particular is hard ot get even, I didn't have that problem with the lighter Failbait but I have to use a decent amount of this to build up to a solid more opaque color. Overall I like these glosses but I probably would not buy any more as they are not offering any truly unique colors.

Because I also own NYX's purple gloss, Berry Strudel, I decided to swatch them side to side for you to see.  I had thought Bittersweet was purple but after putting it next to Berry Strudel which is a very true purple it looks way more plummy in comparison. NYX's gloss is much more opaque after only one application and is also much much more affordable.  The only categories UD really wins in with this gloss is the longevity and packaging. With NYX's really great intense butter glosses out there I see no need to spend 3 times as much on UD's version.  Unfortunately the formula is not good enough to justify the price when compared with NYX, even if the packaging is really pretty.

Where to buy: Sephora, urbandecay.com

Price: $22

Black Lavender FOTD

Forgive the name.  I really had no clue what to  call this look but I rather enjoyed it, especially because of how simple it is. 

I also really like combining stereotypical spring colors with an overall darker look.  I just love the contrast! :)

I started by applying NYX Milk just because light colors like this tend to not show up very well on my skin.  After blending Milk I patted Hello Waffle Cosmetic's Catticus Finch onto my eye lid and blended up to my brow bone. I then took a tiny dab of Urban Decay's Blackout and used it to darken my outer corner. I then took my Jesse's Girl liquid liner and made a super long exaggerated wing because why not!

I love Catticus Finch so much but it photographs really crappy.  It is such a beautiful pale lavender but my camera just hates it.....:(

On my lips is Cold Hearted by NYX which I will review very soon!

Golden Raspberry FOTD

This week is finals week so I've been doing a lot of studying and definitely not any procrastinating whatsoever......

Hah.

Today is my physiology II final...its in about an hour....and since its such a nice day out I decided to do a springy look using a color I normally don't work with...gold!

For this look I first put down NYX Milk to make that gold pop as much as possible.  I then used Saturn from the galaxy chic palette on my lid.  Next I took Jilted from the electric pallete and blended it into my crease and under my eye, creating a halo effect. I then finished the look up with Urban Decay's Blackout by using it to darken my outer corner and give my upper lashes a very fine line. Very easy and very cute!

On my lips is Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie lipstick in Lead the Way.

I also wanted to share my outfit because why not!  I absolutely love this top.  I got in at H&M while I was in Turkey.  It is one of the few floral prints I own and for whatever reason as of a little bit ago I've been really eyeing floral prints more and more.  I think when I do some shopping this summer I'll be picking up quite a lot of floral.  The dark green tank top is by Loft,

Now I'm going to do a small bit of extra studying before heading out to take my first final!

I'm Fabulous and Totally Not Sick FOTD

A few days ago my throat started to hurt and before I knew it I had a full fledged cold.  Bleh.  Life for a graduate student goes on so I slapped on some makeup to make myself feel and look less crappy. 

I wanted to really stress the bright colors idea to help mask my tired sick self.  Therefore I chose a bright mint green top and paired it with some equally bright makeup!

On my lid and lightly blended under my eye I have Shiro Cosmetic's Maiden Queen.  In my crease I blended Darkside from the Naked 3 into my crease.  I then darkened my outer corner with NYX Cosmetic's Punk Heart eye shadow to add a bit of purple.  After winging it out I added a touch of sparkle under my eye with Urban Decay's Heavy Metal glitter liner in an unfortunately discontinued shade. 

On my lips is NYX's soft matte lip cream in San Paulo.

I seriously feel so adorable today.  I think I need to invest in more mint colored clothing.  

Also Kamelot's new video was scheduled to release today so I was taking ridiculous pictures while waiting for it to finally go up.  Much to my surprise after uploading these to my laptop I check facebook and BAM, ITS UP! 

So happy!

For your listening and viewing pleasure, Insomnia by Kamelot <3

Rimmel London Provocalips 16Hr Kissproof Lip Colour in Kiss Fatal

A friend of mine had heard some great things about Rimmel's new Provocalyse liquid lipsticks so I decided to pick one up based on her recommendation.

I am definitely glad I did!

This product is pretty interesting.  One half is color and the other half is a clear top gloss.  I chose the color Kiss Fatal, a nice plummy color.

First you apply the color which goes on and dries to a satin finish.  Unfortunately you can't stop here as it is extremely sticky when you put your lips together. You have to then top it with the clear gloss which takes away all the stickiness and prevents drying.

And here it is with the gloss applied! I do wish it was wearable without the gloss but it is nice having a super long wearing lipstick that isn't matte. You are supposed to reapply the gloss part whenever your lips start to feel dry and they claim the color will last for 16 hrs.  That's a pretty steep claim.  Yes it will last for 16 hrs but it won't look great after that time.  It does last however.  I've eaten food and drank beverages and it still looked pretty darn good after a solid 8 hours.  This is a pretty awesome product if you don't want to pay a lot for all day wear.  I do want to warn that it may be very drying for those prone to that sort of thing.  My mom said her lips dried out pretty bad after a few hours while I didn't experience this at all.  

Here is my face after 10 hours of wear and no touch ups. In this time I ate lunch and dinner and drank water throughout. As far as looks, it has faded a bit but the fading is very even. The shine is gone which I could definitely feel as my lips were a bit sticky.  If I would have applied the gloss half way through I'm sure my lips would look just as perfect as when I applied it.

If they had a more unique color selection I may have gotten more than just this one, as I do really like the formula, finish, and staying power.

The super impressive lasting power however might be enough to convince me to pick up at least one more in the future.

Where to buy: ULTA, Drugstores

Price: $6.69

Nightwish Concert Practice Makeup

So tonight I will be going to see Nightwish, Delain, and Sabaton and I am sooo excited! Nightwish has been my favorite band since I was in middle school.  Once Tarja left I couldn't stand Annette's voice and got out of symphonic metal until just last year when my boyfriend brought me back.  I am so overjoyed that Floor Jansen is the new singer.  I loved her in After Forever and Revamp and she works with Nightwish perfectly.  I do miss Tarja's operatics but I love Floor just as much.   And then there's Marco who I've always loved.

Anyway I did a concert makeup trial run and decided to wait to post it today since there's no way I'm updating on the day of the concert.

This is my custom Nightwish shirt that I ordered from Artscow.com.  I want to do my makeup to match this as it is what I'm wearing to the show. Century Child will always be my favorite Nightwish Album. 

I don't really feel like going super dark for this show so I decided to do something a lot more colorful! I started by tracing a wing with Jesse's Girl liquid liner.  then I dabbed Fringe from the Electric Palette towards the outer half of my lid.  Then I took Cosmic from BH Cosmetic's Galaxy palette and blended that from the corner of my eye and into Fringe.  I then took Urban Decay's Blackout and filled my wing in while also blending into Fringe.  I then blended the three  colors again under my eye.  I lined my lid lightly with my liquid liner and finished with mascara! For the concert I may decide to go a bit darker with the black and line my eyes a bit thicker with the liquid liner.

I'm still not 100% sure of what lipstick to wear.  I may go pretty dark since my eyes aren't too powerful. Regardless I have to make sure to pick something that will stay all night.

I'll be sure to make a concert post again like I did after Sonata Arctica!

Charlotte Wessels Inspired FOTD

Happy Easter Everyone!

Since I know I will be busy today I have prepared this post ahead of time.  If I do an Easter look it will have to wait for another day.

It seems symphonic metal goes hand in hand with awesome makeup because I've been doing a lot of looks inspired by the genre.  Today I decided to base a look off of Charlotte Wessels of Delain.

She is very pretty and even more talented. I had not listened to them too much but after seeing them open for Sonata Arctica I've been loving their album Lucidity.  I'll be seeing them again open for Nightwish so I'm very excited!!

If you've never heard of Delain here is a video for Frozen off Lucidity.

It's weird....sometimes the close up eye pictures look better than the face as a whole and other times the whole picture is way nicer than the zoomed in eyes.  This is definitely the latter.  I just could not get a good close up picture of this look but I adore all the full face shots.  Oh well!

To get this eye look I used all Urban Decay products! It wasn't actually intentional, it just happened that way.

I started with the Naked 3 palette and put Factory on my entire lid and crease.  Then I blended Darkside onto my lid and highlighted with Strange.  Next I took the single Blackout and blended it along my lashline and in the outer corner for depth.  To finish up I grabbed Urban from the Electric Palette and blended it under my lower lashline. 

 I also contoured heavily with a combo of NYX Taupe and MAC Crazed Imagination.  On my lips is Urban Decay's Andromeda gloss which is discontinued.  I didn't really have any shimmery peachy nudes like she was wearing so I had to improvise.

So dark but yet so wearable! I might just do this again tomorrow.

And of course as is necessary here is my side by side comparison.  Photoshopped of course to fit the lighting of the original. So much contrast.  My purple is a little more intense and my darks could have been darker but overall I'm pleased with how I did.

One final picture of the lovely Charlotte to end the post!

Spring Summoning FOTD

I am oh so very much ready for spring.  I hate the cold and I love swimming and flowers and ugh stupid window needs to end.  Today I dressed as if it were about 20 degrees warmer to make myself feel better.  

For this look I used Slowburn and Revolt from the Electric Palette. I dabbed Slowburn all over my eye lid and blended Revolt under my eye for a nice pop of sparkle. I took Skinny Dip by NYX and blended it into my crease.  I then darked my outer corner using Urban Decay's Blackout single shadow. I finished with a wing and voila! Super easy spring eye!

On my lips is NYX soft matte lip cream in San Paulo.