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.

Drugstore Makeup Review: Wet N Wild’s Megalast Lipstick in Dollhouse Pink

Hello Lovely Readers,
I’ve written about Wet N Wild’s Megalast lipsticks in the past. It’s a great cheapie version of a lot of the high end ultra pigmented brands. ($1.99 versus $18+ for higher end Macs, etc) Well, I was perusing my local drugstore when I happily discovered a new shockingly pink shade: Dollhouse Pink. It’s a matte violet-pink with blue undertones. Worn it looks almost neon. There have been quite a few shockingly pink shades- think of Viva Glam’s Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga inspired shades, the Hello Kitty inspired shades.

Wearing Dollhouse Pink

It doesn’t seem to be quite as drying as the red shades. But I also noticed that it doesn’t have the staying power of the other Megalast’s I’ve tried. It still has a little bit of staying power, but you don’t have to steal wool it off your lips at night. Overall, I’m in friggin love with this color.