A Different take on the Classic Xmas Party Look

A couple of weeks ago, I attended my significant other's work Xmas party. I was GOING to behave and buy a nice, jewel-toned, classic dress and do sparkly, classic makeup with a nice berry/red lip. However, when I was at the store looking for a dress, the one that caught my eye first was a little bit different than what I was originally going for. I didn't have much time to go shopping for a new dress so I went to the Le Chateau outlet store to try to find a good deal. I actually found the dress for less than $40 and the shoes for less than $25 which was a lot less than you would pay at the actual Le Chateau store! SCORE! Since I was running short on time, I grabbed the first colourful and loudly patterned dress that I saw and tried it on and it fit! YES! Anyway, here is a look for an Xmas party that is a little bit louder and more colourful than one might see traditionally.

FACE: MAC Prep and Prime, MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC15.

BROWS: MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Stud.

CHEEKS: A Hot Mess Cosmetics*** blush in Crushed.

LIPS: Lise Watier Festive Gloss in Gold.

EYES: Base: UDPP and MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre.
Inner Lid: MPZ Vanity eyeshadow.
Middle Lid: MPZ Agonys Decay eyeshadow.
Outer Lid: Sugarpill Chromalust in Hysteric over top of MPZ Amacyst.
Outer V: MPZ Coffin Critters.
Lower Lashline: UD Ransom.
Waterline: UD Perversion.
Upper Lashline: Maybelline Black Liquid Eyeliner.
Mascara: Maybelline the Falsies Flared.

***NOTE: A Hot Mess Cosmetics does not actually exist. It is my makeup "brand" that I pretend to have whenever I DIY my own makeup, lol!***

THE EQUIPMENT

I just HAD to show some pictures of Agonys Decay by itself. It is the coolest eyeshadow ever! There are these huge, holographic glitter flakes in it!!! LOVE IT!!!

 

THE LIPS

THE EYES

 

THE LOOK

 

THE OUTFIT

Earrings: Aldo Accessories

Necklace: Le Chateau

Dress: Le Chateau

Bracelets: Le Chateau

Tights: H & M

ShoesL Le Chateau

If I look superbly pissed off in these photos, it's because I was. I asked my other half what time I had to be ready by as others were picking us up to give us a ride. He misquoted them by HALF AN HOUR so I had to RUSH my makeup and hair and rush to take pictures as well. Then we came out late and it made ME look like an @$$hole even though I would have been ready on time for the time he told me!!! ARGH!!! MEN!!!!! Thank goodness there was an open bar at the party......

Acid Kimono: A Goth Club Look

Here is a goth club look from quite awhile ago. Unfortunately, when one dresses in an alternative style, one often gets some "interesting" comments. I am fortunate in that the worst things that I have experienced were people making fun of me in highschool for my clothing or people LOUDLY commenting negatively within my earshot when I used to dress more alternative in the daytime. I have heard many bad stories on other blogs from people who dress in an alternative manner and I think this is very sad. Usually when I am dressed for goth/alternative club nights, I am met with curiosity from those who choose to inquire about my style rather than negativity. I got a bit of a weird comment when I wore this outfit, however.  When I was coming out of the club to go home at the end of the night, a woman stumbled up to me and said, "Can I buy som acid off of you?" I informed her that I did not have any. "Oh," she said. "Well, I figured that if you were dressed like that, then you were definitely into acid!!!" Um, no. What follows is my look for the evening, and NO, it was not inspired by any mind altering substances!!

FACE: MAC Prep and Prime, MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC15.

CHEEKS: Evil Shades Blush in Brazen.

BROWS: Annabelle Eyebrow Pencil in Soft Black.

LIPS: Lime Crime (not really my favourite company) lipstick in Retrofuturist with MUFE Lab Shine Lipgloss in M0 Chrome Onyx over top (not really my favourite lipgloss, either).

EYES: Base: UDPP, MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre, NYX JEP in Black Bean, and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy.
Lid: MPZ Epistaxis.
Crease: MPZ Coffin Critters.
Upper Crease: Sugarpill Love +.
Lower Lashline: Manic Panic Blush in Vampire Red mixed with Lise Watier Metamorfix.
Upper Lashline: Maybelline Black Liquid Eyeliner.
Waterline: UD Perversion.
Mascara: I forget.
False Lashes: Ardell "Sophisticated".

This came out a bit "interesting" due to my issues with the MUFE lipgloss and due to my inexperience with PE and NYX JEP's at the time. My blending got a little weird as I was not used to either of these bases. Also, I wanted to try wearing false lashes only on the bottom lashline. I thought this would have IMPACT. Uh, I think it makes my eyes look upside down or something. BACK TO THE GOTH DRAWING BOARD!! At least it's dark in the club..........

THE EQUIPMENT

 

THE EYES

THE LIPS

THE LOOK

THE OUTFIT

Synth Dreads: Made By Me

Hair Ribbons: Painted By Me

Headband: Le Chateau

PVC Collar: Some goth store

PVC Kimono: Lip Service

Criss-cross Stockings: Ebay

Boots: Demonia

Don't you just love the fridge and the empty beer box in the background? Really adds to the overall aesthetic, lol!

MUFE Lab Shine Lipgloss: M0 Chrome Onyx

It's time for another LATE AS F**K TO THE PARTY REVIEW!!!! ***slow claps*** Anyway, a LONG time ago, the closeted goth in me reared its ugly head and I purchased the rather pricey ($21 Canadian) MUFE Lab Shine Lipgloss is M0 Chrome Onyx from the Metal Collection.  Here's what I thought of it.


THE GOOD: This lipgloss formulation is very smooth. When it's on, it is SUPER shiny and has great sparkle. It has a bit of a flavour to it which I liked but some would not.

THE BAD: I definitely had application problems with this gloss. It comes with a plastic brush applicator and no matter how carefully I apply it, it always comes out patchy.  It is also not as opaque as I was hoping. Irritatingly, though this is from the METAL collection and is named CHROME Onyx, this gloss is not metallic in finish AT ALL. Also, it smells a bit "chemical-y" in my opinion.

THE UGLY: Being that this gloss isn't particularly opaque, I tried layering it over lipsticks rather than wearing it alone. It unfortunately tends to disrupt the lipstick that is worn beneath it when applied and thusly does not make a great layering gloss. It also feathers and bleeds despite the use of my clear lipliner and is a pain in the @$$ to touch up at the goth club because it comes off really easily when drinking and then messes up my lipstick when I try to reapply it. I end up having to pretty much re-do my lips a bunch of times in the bathroom rather than just touching them up which can get quite irritating after the 7th time.

THE VERDICT: This is a pricey gloss at $21 Canadian and I do not think it is worth the price. The formulation is very hard to work with but looks pretty neat for about 10 minutes if you manage to apply it over lipstick without messing it up in the process. I wish it stayed where you put it for longer and I wish it was more opaque and metallic. In summary: THIS IS NOT......GOOD ENOUGH. (10 goth points for you if you got the song reference there!)

THE GLOSS

 

THE SWATCH

 

THE LIP SWATCHES

I have decided to put full-face swatches of lip products from now on since macro photos tend to highlight my poor application and don't necessarily represent how products look on.

 

As a final note, I should mention that my makeup application techniques are not really that great so the application issues I had may be partially due to my own lack of skills. Also, I think that Lab Shine glosses in more forgiving colours might be a bit easier to wear. Does anyone have any of these? What do you think of them?

DISCLAIMER: This product was purchased by me. This is an honest review. Questions? Feel free to visit my BORING CRAP ALERT page.

An Evening Out

I use the Sleek Sparkle palette a lot. It's excellent for creating evening looks when one is going out for dinner and drinks. The palette is very versatile, you can create smokey looks, sparkly and shiny looks, and colourful looks as well. I love that I can just grab one palette and have so many options! Here's a look I did for an evening out.

FACE: MAC Prep and Prime, MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC15.

BROWS: MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Stud.

CHEEKS: Sobe Botanicals DuoChrome Blush in Nouveau.

LIPS: Avon tri-colour lipgloss in Night Violet.

EYES: Base: UDPP and MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre.
Inner Corner: Tinsel (Sparkle Palette)
Lid: Star Light (Sparkle Palette)
High Crease: Glitz and Glamour (Sparkle Palette)
Outer V: Noir (Sparkle Palette)
Waterline: UD Perversion
Lower Lashline: UD Oil Slick
Upper Lashline: Maybelline Black Liquid Eyeliner
Mascara: Maybelline The Falsies Flared

THE EQUIPMENT

THE EYES

THE LIPS

THE LOOK

YOU JUST GOT NAILED!!!

Here are a few pictures of some nail polishes I have been wearing.  I haven't been doing anything particularly interesting with my nails but I thought I would just share anyway to show how the polishes look on. I use Gelous Advanced Nail Gel Coat as a base coat and Nicole By OPI Topcoat Plus as a topcoat (even though it sucks).

Wet n Wild Wild Shine in Black Creme with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 390 Red Carpet over top. Accent nail: OPI All the Berry Best to You with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear 390 Red Carpet over top.

Bourjois So Laque! in Bleu Violet. Accent nail: Essie Trophy Wife.

Wet n Wild Wild Shine Black Creme Accent Nail: Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips in Wishnets.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail polish strips in Hot Wired. (WHY DOES THIS ONE HAVE TO BE LIMITED EDITION?? IT IS MY FAVORITE!!)

GOSH Black Passion with China Glaze Crackle Glaze in Platinum Pieces over top.

Wet n Wild Fast Dry in Gray's Anatomy. This one is kind of neat, it can look purplish, greenish, pinkish, or greyish depending on what lighting you are in. Unfortunately it's really sheer and you need a thousand coats of it to make it look nice.

OPI Atomic Orange with Nicole By OPI Black Texture Coat.

Sally Hansen CHROME in Canary Diamond Chrome. This polish is super old, I wish they still made these.

Wet n Wild Fast Dry in On The Prowl with Nicole By OPI Rainbow in the S-Kylie (WTF?) the accent nail.

I had to file my nails down so they are short right now. I broke off a couple of them and it looks funny when you have half long nails and half short nails.

Anyway, I still blow at doing my nails and any attempt at nail art I have made has ended in a giant FAIL!  I am glad that I at least take the time to file my nails and keep them nicely polished, this is at least some improvement over how bad they looked before when I used to bite them!

I've been seeing some really pretty nail colours on blogs lately. Did anyone get the Gareth Pugh for MAC nail polishes? If so, post them on your blog! I want to see what they look like!

Diamond Black Purple

Here's a simple look I did with a big lower lashline wing to show how pretty MUFE Aqua Liners look on. I used 7 Diamond Black Purple for this look.

FACE: MAC Prep and Prime, MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NC15, MAC Select Sheer Pressed Powder in NC15.

BROWS: MAC Eyebrow Pencil in Stud.

CHEEKS: MAC Coygirl Blush.

LIPS: NARS Orgasm lipgloss.

EYES: Base - UDPP and MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre.
Lid/Crease/Outer-V: Shadows from the Lancome Indigo Charm palette.
Upper Lashline - Maybelline Black Liquid Eyeliner.
Lower Lashline - MUFE Aqua Liner in 7 Diamond Black Purple.
Waterline: UD Perversion.
Lashes: Maybelline The Falsies Mascara.

THE EQUIPMENT

THE EYES

Natural Light

THE LIPS

THE LOOK

Product Review and Swatches: Make Up Forever Aqua Liners

I am WAY behind on posting and super late to the party on this, but I thought I would do a quick product review and some swatches of the Make Up For Ever (MUFE) Aqua Liners. These have been around for quite some time now and you may have already seen quite a few reviews.  I thought I'd post this anyway since I have had a lot of time to test them out and I've been using them a lot lately.

THE GOOD: This product is available in 15 different colours and three different finishes: Mat (matte), Irridescent (metallic) and Diamond (sparkle). I think that the colours are gorgeous and I love how there are some shades that I don't often see in liquid eyeliner form such as red, burgundy, and fuschia. My favourite part about these is that they are FELT TIP liners! I personally prefer felt tips for my liquid liners as opposed to brushes. I enjoy thick, graphic lines and I feel that this is easier to achieve with a felt tip rather than a fine brush. The felt tips are also able to create thin lines if that is your preference. These wear really well and stay on through just about anything. They have passed my Weekday and Goth Club tests with flying colours.

THE BAD: Even though this is a great product, I am not a huge fan of the $26 (Canadian) price tag. Even though I am a heavy user of liquid eyeliner, I still feel that this price is a bit steep. (They are $23 in the U.S.)

THE UGLY: Though these liners wear well, one has to be a bit careful with one's application technique. If you happen to be heavy-handed like I am, you will quickly find out that these tend to FLAKE right OFF after they dry if you apply a very thick layer. You can see how this happened in my swatches below (see 13 Mat Black).

THE VERDICT: I adore felt tip liners and I have been using the ones I have (7, 11, 15, and 16) a LOT! They are a great way to add a pop of colour, a touch of sparkle, or graphic lines to a bolder look. The price tag is high, but if you like felt tip liquid liners as much as I do, it might be worth it for you. I'm considering getting 9 and 10 as well!

THE SWATCHES

Top Row From Left to Right: 9 (Irridescent Fuschia), 8 (Irridescent Electric Purple)

Middle Row From Left to Right: 11 (Diamond Burgundy), 10 (Irridescent Red), 1 (Diamond Gold), 4 (Diamond Lagoon Green),  3 (Irridescent Emerald Green).

Bottom Row From Left to Right: 16 (Diamond White), 5 (Diamond Turquoise Blue), 6 (Irridescent Navy Blue), 14 (Diamond Multicolour Black), 15 (Irridescent Anthracite), 13 (Mat Black).

Left: 12 (Mat Mocha), 7 (Diamond Black Purple).

NOTE: Swatches were done using testers at Sephora so some of them may appear to be a bit dried out. There are unfortunately two swatch pictures because the first time I tried to swatch them, someone had let their children run around and paint each other using 12 and 7. Being that I did not have time to wait for them to be put back, I swatched them at a later date.

Anyone else have any of these? What do you think of them?

DISCLAIMER: These products were purchased by me. This is an honest review. Questions? Feel free to visit my BORING CRAP ALERT page.

Late as F**k to the Party Product Review and Swatches: Sleek Acid and Sparkle Palettes

So yeah.....I'm pretty sure these palettes came out, like, LAST YEAR. I also got them A LONG TIME AGO.  It is almost pointless at this juncture to post a review and swatches of the Sleek Acid and Sparkle palettes but since I took the pictures, I figured that I might as well post them anyway for sh*ts and giggles.

THE GOOD: These palettes are nicely packaged and you get a lot of product for a low price (I got these for about $12 CAD each on ebay).  Most of the shadows have good pigmentation and apply easily. Also, they come with SPONGES which are my favourite! (Sorry! BLASPHEMY!) Another plus is that they come with shadows of many different textures (sparkly, metallic, matte).

THE BAD: Some of the shadows, especially the neons/mattes in the Acid Palette, are rather chalky. A few of them also blend poorly and are hard to pick up on one's brushes (or sponges). The sparkly ones tend to have quite a bit of glitter fallout if you apply them heavily.

THE UGLY: Some of the shadows CRUMBLE and chunks fall off of them if you are too aggressive with your brush (or sponge). DO NOT WANT.

THE VERDICT: I love these palettes and want more of them. There are so many different ones that you could get a huge variety of colours for a low price. However, the eyeshadow is not of the highest quality, which I can forgive because they are so inexpensive for what you get.

THE PACKAGING

 

THE SWATCHES

Sleek Sparkle Palette

Top row: Tinsel, Gold Ribbon, Glitz and Glamour, Misteltoe, Festive, Illusion.

Bottom Row: Noir, Star Light, Twinkle, Galactic, Dream Maker, Cranberry.

Sleek Acid Palette

For some reason, the Sparkle Palette colours all have names but the shadows in this palette remain nameless. I LOVE THE NEONS!! I have learned from various other bloggers that these look SWEET over NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils.

Here's a look I did using the Sleek Sparkle Palette.

I'm actually trying to get my ass in gear and post some stuff that I have had sitting in my blogging folder for months. I often get too wrapped up in looking at other blogs and then I'm like....oh yeah, maybe I should post some crap on my own now and again!

DISCLAIMER: These products were purchased by me. This is an honest review. Questions? Feel free to visit my BORING CRAP ALERT page.