Everything's Coming Up Purple

Much like a 5th grade girl, I go through obsessive color phases. Right now I'm going through something of a purple period. It's the color of royalty and the namesake of one of my favorite Hole songs. The shades range from subtle pastel lavender, rich red violet, and cool, refreshing blue violet. Besides, Gogol Bordello has subconsciously instructed me to do it.

Gogol Bordello-Start Wearing Purple Super Energetic! from geldemlen on Vimeo.

            To that end, I decided to change my two tone black and red hair to two tone black and purple. I picked up the Splat hair dye kit in Purple Desire, and while I was at Ulta nabbed Urban Decay’s Last Call eye shadow. Onward to the reviews!

            First, let’s start with the Splat hair dye kit. The label touts a “one step process,” but really it’s a two step process. There is a bleach kit to apply first, followed by the color. I will preface this by saying I’m a little uneasy about bleaching my hair. Horrible visions of chemical burns and clumps of dry hair falling out flood my mind. For this reason I washed the bleach out after 15 minutes. The instructions indicated that it should be lifted to an ash blonde. My hair was more of an orange with blonde here and there. I was hoping I’d be safe and the cool purple tone of the dye would simply show up as a warmer purple. It wasn’t to be. After the whole process the “purple” side turned into black with slight cool purple highlights. This goes to prove that not every do it yourself project is a success story!

After the bleaching

Final product after Splat Purple Desire- slight purple highlights

            And now on to Urban Decay’s Last Call. The shade is a subtle, warm purple with a slightly metallic tone. It looks like a bright, wild color but wears like much more of a neutral shade on my fair skin tone. It has an almost cocoa undertone. 

Wearing Last Call

            To complete the purple haze I’m in I tried out OPI’s cool lavender in You’re Such A Budapest. Please don’t hold the name against me. 2 coats gave me a nice opaque finish. I topped it off with the Funky Fingers confetti and glitter topcoat in Anna. My finger and toe nails looked like cupcakes!

Left: OPI You're Such A Budapest, Right: Funky Fingers Anna

Urban Decay Reviewage Part Deux: Naked Lipgloss

As promised, a review for the new Naked lipgloss line from Urban Decay. The line is made up of barely there natural colored shades. The shade range includes Walk of Shame, Nooner, Lovechild, Liar, Streak, Naked, Beso, Freestyle, and my favorite named of the line, Rule34. (I wonder if there is a rule 34 of Rule34 yet?) The sample I received was of Naked. UD describes this color as "nude-pink with pearly pink shift."

Look at that packaging. I'm utterly enchanted with the image of the model. 

True to description, it does have an every so slight pearlescent sheen. The pink tone didn't show up much on my lips. I think it might show up a little better on a darker skin tone. Of course, this is meant to compliment the Naked III eyeshadow palette for an overall more natural look. I'm a more pigmented sort of girl. I would have preferred to try a gloss with at least a hint of color to it like Beso. Naked was more of an equivalent of rocking a clear gloss with a pearly sheen. The taste and smell aren't unpleasant. The texture is smooth. Tacky like any other gloss is, but not more or less than you'd expect of any gloss. If you're into a nude lip this may just be for you.

Wearing Naked lipgloss.

My tiny kewpie doll mouth with Naked

Has anyone else tried the Naked Lipgloss line? Thoughts? Feelings? Criticisms?

Urban Decay Reviewage:Revolution Lipstick, 24/7 Liner, Lip Primer

If you're a shopper of Urban Decay directly sometimes they're lovely and send you a coupon for a free eyeliner on your birthday. With that and a leftover gift card I took the opportunity to grab a few things I had been eying in the digital shop window. My haul: 24/7 glide-on eyeliner in "Vice" (Royal purple), Revolution lipstick in "Shame" (Dark berry wine), lip primer, and a free sample of their upcoming Naked lipgloss.

Urban Decay lip primer

Their new packaging is a little more sleek. The new lipstick box is made of recycled material. (Yay!) Previously, they packaged in plastic instead of cardboard. Greener and vegan-friendly.

urban Decay Revolution lipstick in "Shame."

First, I'll start off with the lip primer.  I expected it to be a bit drying based on what it was and a few  reviews I read on the Urban Decay website. It goes on fairly smoothly. I feel like I'm putting on a lip balm. In fact, it does have sunscreen and vitamin E in it. I have only tried it with the new Revolution lipstick on top. I'm not sure if it's the liner or the lipstick, but it didn't have a real lasting staying power. It seemed to help marginally with feathering without the aid of a lipliner, but I wasn't wowed. I'm glad this was an item I bought on sale. It was a product I wanted to try, but I would have regretted paying $20+ for it. Overall, I'd say this is something that needs a formula tweak. Good idea. Not nearly as invaluable as as their eyeshadow primer potion.

On to the Revolution lipstick. They kicked the dagger packaging to the curb. I'm sure a lot of people are happy about that. Personally, I didn't mind the clunkiness because it just looked so damn cool. When examining the lipstick itself you'll notice there isn't a whole lot of product for a $22 lipstick. However, it goes on thick and very pigmented. "Shame," the shade I bought, is a deep berry/wine red. It's a rich, deep red without veering into the brown territory. It was exactly what I thought it was. It didn't seem to have much staying power on me, nor did it stain my lips. It doesn't last nearly as long as say, a lipstain or matte Mac lipsticks.

Wearing "Shame" on my birthday dinner.

And finally the 24/7 eye pencil. "Vice" is a true cool royal purple. It goes on creamy and smooth. Nothing but good things to say about it.

I have yet to try the Naked lipgloss sample. Expect updates when I do!

Perfect Winter Color: OPI's 'In the Cable Carpool Lane'

Nail of the day time! Rocking one of OPI's new dark berry shades, In The Cable Car-Pool Lane.

Say hello to the East Coast snow.

Kitten Heels: Fashion Footwear Underdog

“If I'm not in six inch heels I may as well be barefoot,” some posh model says with her perfectly sculpted gazelle legs from a Vogue spread. Most of us women with an interest in fashion are attracted to it because of it's fantasy element. We pretend there is no utilitarian purpose to our outfits. That's fine. But what about the lot with back problems, weak ankles, or plain old gravitational challenges? Of course, there is the age old feminist adage that goes a little something like, “High heels? The easier for the men to run you down and club you over the head!”

But wait, there is a compromise! An unsung hero! A little demure, a little playful. The kitten heel. Unfortunately, designers have yet to give them their time in the sun. Paruze any online shopping website. You'll see the drop down menu is thoughtfully sectioned into heels, flats, boots, wedges, and sandals. No love for our girl the kitten heel.

Despite it's poor reputation, I have fond memories of closets lost with a few of these choice heels. I recall a pair of black faux leather darlings with fuchsia accents that accompanied me to many an interview. Last Valentines Day my boyfriend gifted me some spunky leopard patent leather numbers. I receive compliment bombs every time I wear them.

Meow

See? One doesn't have to be going to their 5^th grade chorus recital to rock these. Wake up, shoe designers! There is so much potential with these foot-friendly heels that hasn't been expanded upon. Despite my few lucky finds, I find something breathtaking in the style few and far between. Even attempting to research high end brands that offer kitten heels is a hard task. A Google search brings up nothing but Ebay and ugly Manolo Blahnick's. (Sorry Carrie Bradshaw.) Though I will give some credit to Valntino's “Rockstud” kitten heels, a strappy BDSM-inspired number I envision on Joan Jett.

Drug Store Makeup Reviewage: Part ll (Lipstick Edition)

Long time no blog, dear reader(s). Life is the leech-like vortex that sucks the time away from your hobbies and extracurricular projects.
 But I digress! I'm here to bring you another installment of Drugstore Makeup Reviewage. About a year and a half ago I reviewed the Wet N Wild longwear line, Megalast. Fergie of The Black Eyed Pea's recently put her tramp stamp on a new Wet N Wild lipstick line. While I loathe celebrity branding, the colors were similar to that of the Melt Cosmetics line I've been ogling for months. I try to shop original and independent brands as much as I can, but a low level retail check can only stretch so far. Until someone gracially gifts me some Belladonna or Six6six, these colors will have to whet my whistle. Of course, this is why I do this. I know there are other's out there who adore fashion, beauty, and lush cosmetics as much as I do, but  can't lead the life of a quaintrelle full time.
 The colors I'm reviewing tonight are Fuchsianista and Ferguson's Crest from Fergie's Center Stage Collection. Fuchsianista is a vibrant fuchsia with magenta undertones with red violet and magenta undertones.

Fuchsianista

 

Closer view of Fuchsianista and the shine (No gloss over top)

Ferfuson's Crest is a deeper more purple variant of Fuchsianista. They're sisters from another mister shade-wise. Ferguson's Crest has a more muave undertone, which makes for a very wearable purple. Both shades layer well with minimal feathering without the aid of a lipliner. It glides on with a fairly creamy consistency, which is worlds away from the Megalast line in this regard. Two con's I've noticed with all the shades from the Center Stage Collection are the fact that after a few hours of wear it will become a little drying, and it likes to cling to my teeth. This is true for most vivid lipstick shades, though. The packaging seems to have improved a little from the Megalast line. I love Megalasts, but the lid isn't terribly secure. This line has a little less lid popping off action, but it's still prone to that. When I store it in my purse I make sure to put it in it's own pocket.

Ferguson's Crest

Overall, 4/5 stars. For $3.50 each it's worth investing the few bucks and  working around slight packaging issues. You can purchase at: Walgreens.

What's Black and White and Red Allover?

My effing nails!

Is that a dead zebra? No, it's Hard Candy's "Black Tie Optional."

I had a chance to play with a friends nail polish collection last night. She had a lot of fun confetti top coats, but Hard Candy's "Black Tie Optional" caught my eye. The black and white speckling looks like graffiti over the red base coat. If put under a blue or purple it could have an interesting galaxy look. It went on rather smoothly, which is rare for glitter/graffiti topcoats. Overall, highly recommended.