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.

Return of the Box

Once again, fellow blog diva Daphne of Becoming That Woman a giant box of cosmetic goodies. (For reference, check out the first blog about it HERE. One of my favorites has to be Tarte's True Blood themed eyeshadow set.

I dug into some of the stuff this afternoon. Face of the day featured "telepath" eyeshadow from Tarte's True Blood, No 7's illuminating lotion (highlighting on my cheeks and nose), and a new "lip bomb" from Mirenesse.

Tarte's "telepath" eyeshadow on my lids.

Tarte's "telepath": A light smokey pink/muave with shimmer. Great for a base to work cateye liner over.

Mirenesse Lip Bomb in red: Full color opaque lip gloss with a magenta base. It does smudge easily, but god damn the color is to die for. It's a bombshell red with magenta base. It does stain the lips for a while after wiping it off.

No. 7 Illuminating Lotion: Pink pearlescent lotion ideal for highlighting cheeks for a nice glow in place of blush.

Dolled up.

                                                                 Peace out bitches!

Just Belt It

My favorite fashion accessory  of the moment has to be the belt. Punk rockers looked like badasses in their spiked and bulleted belts. Mid 2010 era Russell Brand looked like a hard edged glam dandy dream with multi-layered belts hanging from his waspy waist. It's especially a friend of women with a more zaftig frame. Flowing dresses and tunic tops can look a bit bulky or plain om fuller figures.
So yes, I admit it. I'm in the cult of women who rock polkadot dresses and a skinny red belts. Belting a flowing blouse right above the waist is another classic.
There are a few other waist cinching trends that have caught my eye recently.
                                                                   Bow Belts

You had me at bow.

                                                                   Technicolor Belts:

Ah, spearmint.

Polkadot dress. Check. Red skinny accent belt. Check.

 Until next time, dear readers.


*First image courtesy of Amazon.com. Second image courtesy of Target.com.

Look Who Got Retweeted By Sugarpill!

Sugarpill retweeted my picture! <3

Impressionistic Nails

When I was growing up my mother was quite fond of impressionistic painters. I remember leafing through books of Mary Cassatt and Edgar Degas paintings as a budding curious little creative.

"Summertime" by Mary Cassatt

This is part of the inspiration for the latest nail painting, what I call my Impressionist nails. I used a robins egg blue base coat coat, and 4 other correlating shades.

Body Positive and Healthy? *Gasp*

There is a disconnect between the body positive community and the healthy lifestyle community. A fair amount of people assume that those of us who aren't compact gym bunnies sit on our asses all day shoveling Mcdonalds down our gullets faster than the speed of light. I have also seen frustrated plus sized girls post, "I love to eat, so what?" Do most of us sometimes forgo health for comfort food? Absolutely. That doesn't mean healthy folk don't succumb to unhealthy habits. Neither does that mean chubby men and women eat nothing but junk and boycott the gym. In fact, I work out at the gym and usually average 2-3 miles of walking a week via my commute to and from work. Would it be more advantageous to my waistline to hit the gym more and give up sweets? Yes. Am I going to do that any time soon? Given my current work schedule and private life stressors, that would be a hell no.
The point of all this is that we're human. We strive and we err. We may wish for someone else's body type, but what we've got is what we've got. What if that never comes? Are you going to spend your life coveting instead of living? What if heaven is in a size 0 and there is no god? To quote Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. "I'm alive and that is the best that I can do."
To wrap this up, I thought I'd share a semi-healthy pancake recipe. This is also a great recipe when you're scraping a meal together!
Recipe
1 egg
1 ripe banana
Mash together in a bowl
* I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a teaspoon of cinamon
If you like things sickeningly sweet you can add  powdered sugar. (Like I did. Because I have a package of powdered sugar from a previous recipe wasting away in the cupboard.)
This was my first time trying the recipe out. They fell apart a little bit, but tasted great.

Sometimes...

It's okay to wear a naked face.

I've been told that I "have a thing for makeup." The penciled in eyebrows, the rep lipstick, the gold eyeshadow are an aesthetic I choose because I'm a very visual person. They are an extension of my creative side. However, I feel it's important to be at home in your own skin, stripped of the artifice. We are all human, full of beauty and flaws and ugliness.

Playing with Sugarpill

Krampus Santa was kind to me and put Sugarpill eyeshadows under my religiously unaffiliated tree! I was gifted loose eyeshadows in Goldilux and Darling. For those who haven't had the pleasure of hearing about the sugarpill brand I highly suggest you get your arse to the Sugarpill Cosmetics website right now. They specialize in vibrant vegan cruelty-free eyeshadows.
Goldilux has been raved about as the perfect gold eyeshadow. After trying a few other gold colors, I was not displeased. Goldilux has the perfect balance of metallic, bright, and sparkly. For those who want a more vivid color with this I suggest applying wet. Dry is more wearable for those who want a pared down nuanced or natural look. My personal preference while experimenting with Goldilux was a more vivid look. (As you can see in the photos.)

Wearing goldilux

Close up of Goldilux on the lids

Darling is a vibrant turquoise-green shade with plenty of green shimmer. I paired this with Urban Decay's narcotic on the lid, with Darling on the crease.

Darling on the crease

Return of the Side Bun!

Devin, author at the fansite Fifty Shades of Devin Gray and adorable little sister of mine rocked the side bun after seeing my last post on the hairstyle.

Devin of Fifty Shades of Devin Gray

Rock on little sister, rock on. Anyone else try a new incarnation of the bun?

Current Hair Style Obsession

Take the chic, sometimes even dated and school marmish bun, smash together the edginess of the 80stastic side ponytail, and you've got the surprisingly fashionable side bun.
What's better about this style? Even a styling novice can do it. Put your hair in a side ponytail, twist the rest of your hair, coil into a bun, and fasten with a slew of bobby pins.My version didn't even require product!
Here's where I'm supposed to tell you that this style is just perfect for holiday parties.But I'm not.

Reppin the side bun

Beautiful Individual of the Week: Kimya Dawson

“Last night sergio valenti customized some denim for me

Special for my special shape, they fit me perfectly
Now I've got this new ensemble, certain circles I'm a bombshell
But a guardian anglo keeps saying "negro please" “

One time half of The Moldy Peaches and solo anti-folk maven Kimya Dawson is one of my inspirations for unabashed self expression.  She is a unique entity all her own, and she’s never apologized or sought to change that. The lyrics in songs like “5 Years” (You can listen to the song clip at the end of this post.) show both her pride and shame at not fitting a cookie cutter beauty, racial, or gender mold. Some may rebuff the "shame" remark. But stop and think about it a minute. How many women, transgender, minority, or just plain different people feel ashamed about who they are? I include myself in this as a strange, quirky girl who seldom fit(s) in anywhere. One of the biggest manifestations of that on my part was hating myself as I am looks-wise. I think a lot of people go through that. Whether it's based on impossible societal beauty standards shoved down our throats in myriad ways I'll leave for another post. But I remember feeling shame for being who I am "Maybe I should just conform to something I'm not because it will make other people less uncomfortable." I'd always rebuke myself later, because despite all the mental noise at the core I liked who I was and others who were strong enough to just be themselves with no apologies. The "ugly duckling"/grass is greener is always in the subconscious, but there is an evolution that happens when you realize beauty has a thousand onion layers.
"5 years" and Kimya Dawson's body of work really encompasses that sentiment as a whole.

Click here for a clip of "5 Years".

Friday's FOTD and a Rare Moment Where I Covet Designer

Well, here was Friday's FOTD (face of the day for those who aren't acronym savvy.)

Products used: Mac's Diva lipstick, Mac's kitchmas on the lids, Lime Crime's vixen on the crease of the eyes.

I recently saw a Chictopia post with a designer dress I fell in love with. High end designer is not my flavor. Most of it is emblazoned with names and insignia's that make you pay a huge price tag for advertising a brand. LAME. The dress I saw on Chictopia pulled at my inner baroque heartstrings. Black dress. Floral and cherub print. Need I say more? The heartbreak: It's $1500 price tag.

The dress in question.

*Dolce and Gabbana image was taken from this site.

High End Makeup Review: Urban Decay Lipsticks

Urban Decay recently had another one of their fantastic sales. This is about the only time I can afford to get my hands on Urban Decay products. I've always wanted to try their lipsticks to compare it to other brands, and I was finally able to afford to do that with this sale. (The markdown ended up being almost 1/3 of the price!) Anyway, I scored 2 tubes in Gash and Apocalypse. I know they've been out there for a while seasoned makeup junkies, but hey, they're new to me.
The first thing you have to notice is the badass packaging! As many people know, the lipstick tubes feature daggers on the end. Bitchin guitar solo ensues. Some reviewers find them to be cumbersome, but the inner gothling in me loves it.

Dolly's daggers.

Wearing Gash.

Wearing Apocalypse.

Right off I noticed that the colors are more sheer when applied compared to the richly pigmented Mac and even the lower end drugstore brands like Wet N Wild's Megalasts . For those who are a little worried about how wearable the lipsticks are, this is definitely a positive. For people like me, who go for a more bold color it simply means you'll have to layer it on for the pigmentation you desire. I did this, and I will say that it doesn't clump up or appear caked on. Going on it does have a moisturized feel to it that Mac does not. It has more staying power than a lot of lipsticks that go on this easily, but it is by no means long lasting. I chalk this up to the fact that it doesn't leave my lips feeling like I sucked on a lemon. I'm fine with reapplication, but it is something to note with this product. The immidiate smell is a sweet aroma that Urban Decay refers to as "creme caramel." I did note what past reviewers have said about an unbearable taste. I noticed a slight aftertaste with Gash, but nothing ungodly. Apocalypse I didn't have that problem with at all.

Gash went on as a warm red with a cool berry undertone. I wear a lot of brick and vibrant red tones, and this is something that gives a red lip with a little different hue than the norm. Apocalypse is a more brown-red. It has a little dimension to it. In fact, I've noticed that with most Urban Decay products. The shades are vibrant and edgy, but they have a wearability that caters not only to teens and twenty-something's, but also to the older makeup user who bold stock makeup may not flatter.

Gash and Apocalypse.

Overall I give the lipsticks a good review. I'm loving them, but I'm not over the moon. They're great colors with fun packaging. I've noticed a trend in reviewers to want a lipstick to be a magical tube of wonder that meets every need. People seem to want them to have fantastic color payoff, stay in place, last all day, not dry, flatter, and moisturize all at once. I have never worn a lipstick that can meet all those requirements. The can't check off all the boxes, but they do a lot within the bounds of lipstick.