Jade goes with everything.

Tipsy Reindeer (EotD)

2012-02-09T19:30:00.000+08:00

This look is a sneak peek of one of my new Femme Fatale Cosmetics eyeshadows and because I was at my new job today, I was able to use Sugarpill Tipsy, which is one of my faaaaavourite bright/grassy green eyeshadows.

Sorry the closed eye pic is a bit blurred, I was in a rush!

Products:
Covergirl Liquifye eyeliner in black to tightline and waterline.
Revlon brow pencil.
Australis Extenderlash mascara.
Femme Fatale Cosmetics eyeshadow in Reindeer dust patted on lid, swept lightly on browbone as highlight. (This e/s is part of the limited edition Christmas collection)
Sugarpill Tipsy over P.E as liner and a tiny amount heavily blended into crease.

Review and swatches of Femme Fatale Cosmetics coming SOOOOOON!

Rimmel haul & reviews!

2012-02-02T09:00:00.001+08:00

I should really stop filling my prescriptions at Priceline. I always walk out of there with 2-4 extra things, i.e makeup, that I hadn't planned on getting when I went in! Anyway, in the last few months I have bought a lipstick and an eyeliner from Priceline that are from Rimmel, and been gifted a lip gloss and a blush as well (as in gifted from someone, not given/provided etc for review. I'm not that lucky!)

Rimmel pricing at Priceline is pretty good - it's not as cheap as, say, BYS but it's definitely nowhere near as expensive as something like Bloom or even Kit. I would say that they fall within acceptable 'impulse buy' parameters.

The lipstick is from the Lasting Finish range, and is shade 166, simply named Temptation. $9.95

ignore the white line for now!

It's a slightly darker blue-based red with an almost metallic finish. It goes on very opaque, and slightly glossy, then stays on amazingly - as long as I don't eat anything I can go at least 4 hours without having to touch up (it loses its shine but the colour hardly even fades). It's absolutely non-drying as well . Whilst I wouldn't consider it moisturising per se, it's definitely one of the nicer lipstick formulas I've ever tried. Also it smells faintly of caramel in the tube. I can't smell anything once it's been applied. It's fairly hard to remove - it smears everywhere and leaves some glittery bits, but it doesn't stain.

The eyeliner is a Soft Kohl Kajal Eye Liner Pencil and is 071 or Pure White. $8.95

EWWW shiny forehead

now you can look at the white line!

It's probably a little bit harder than you'd want a "soft" pencil to be, but it's easier to apply than a Nyx jumbo pencil and has more colour payoff than Illamasqua Vex, which I originally bought to use for water-lining and doesn't go on my waterline AT ALL. This one does go on a little patchy, and tends to cling to my lashes more than my actual waterline, but for a cheap pencil I can't complain too much. It is still visible by day's end even with me sweating all over it!

The gloss is called Stay Glossy and is in the shade Endless Night. $14.95 (gifted) You can tell by the tube that I've had it a while!

and back to ignoring the white line.

Look at all those pretty little shimmers that don't show up at all in person! This gloss is not hugely pigmented, and because my lips are naturally beige-y it doesn't really add any colour to me. I have used this over a red lipliner to do a wear test. It stays on for a couple hours and leaves a nice moisturising sheen on your lips if you eat or drink. I also noticed the lipliner wore 'down' quite evenly under its gloss layer. The doe-foot is now a bit pinky but you can see it has a non-traditional shape.

It has a scooped-in portion on each side, kind of like those 'lip-hugging' ones, and is very flexible. I was quite sceptical of those new-fangled applicators, but it's actually really nice to use! Between the formula and the applicator, I actually went back to Priceline a few weeks ago to buy another, pinkier gloss which I promptly lost and so can't swatch for you.

The powder blush is called 04 Pink Rose. $9.95 (gifted)

This is probably the only packaging gripe I have - this one can be a bit hard to open at times. I guess if you're the kind of person who likes to touch up their blush during the day that's a good thing, because it means it won't open accidentally in your bag. Anyway, this is a light, shimmery rose-pink. I'm not great at undertones but I'd say it seems fairly neutral to me? It's fairly sheer and heavy-ish on the shimmer. It's a great blush to use if you're in a hurry, but I personally prefer my blushes to be either matte or have fine shimmer in them. The shimmer in this is a wee bit too chunky for me and becomes even MORE apparent when you try to blend it!. I have considered using this as a highlight (see above re: sheer and buildable) but haven't got around to that yet.

straight swatch

rubbed down

ohai freckles!

ohai pores!

IN CONCLUSION. Rimmel - lip products YES, blushes and eye pencils... eeeeeh. They do have some stripy bronzer/blush thingies out that are quite cute though.

EotD: first day at new job

2012-01-31T11:00:00.002+08:00

I wasn't 100% sure how many of the other girls wear make-up, and whether or not they are as into brights as I am, so I decided to play it safe and do a neutral lid with a pop of colour on the lower lashline.

Products used:
Champagne Toast by Aromaleigh (lid)
English Rose by Lost in Makeupland (highlight)
Turquoise from Sleek Circus palette (lashline)
Covergirl liquiline blast eyeliner in brown to tightline
Australis Extenderlash Mascara in black

Lips are Morgana Cryptoria Roses & Violets with Rimmel gloss over the top.
Brows are a random old Revlon pencil that is down to a stub now... I guess that means I need to start brow product shopping soon! I promise my brows didn't look as raggedy in person. That macro is unforgiving!

To match this necklace (and the eye make-up) I wore a blush-pink dress with a turquoise belt and flats.

I'm going to make a concentrated effort to go through my eyeshadow samples - especially the ton of neutrals I amassed for work! - and finish them off. I have enough full-sized neutrals in a gamut of colours to last me for EVAH (never mind that there's still some Fyrinnae and Silk Naturals ones I want. Definitely don't need 'em!)

Not make-up related: news!

2012-01-29T22:04:00.000+08:00

I'm really, really exited because I've found a new job! It's a small business with great products, I'm not taking a paycut and the hours are just as good, if not better because I'm a casual again (instead of being part-time). What has me personally relieved is that there is no uniform and the dress code is smart-casual. So I'll be able to wear coloured polish and eye makeup again! I can feel myself relaxing already! I'm giving my two weeks notice at my current job tomorrow, and by the time uni starts I will have finished there and be finishing my initial probation at the new job. You can expect to see a LOT more NotDs and EotDs from me now, and maybe even some more jewelry making (since I have to get my study ready for the semester, I might be able to set myself up a craft station as well).

It's sad how customers can ruin a job for you. I think if the company itself hadn't been so ridiculously strict on some things I could have handled that particular stress a little more easily... vice versa, maybe if we didn't have such a high percentage of rude/demanding customers, it might have left me with more head-space to shrug off management issues I had problems with. But things being what they were, I decided that having the mental capacity to concentrate on graduating at the end of the year was more important than trying to stick it out at a job that was increasingly stressing me out.

My boyfriend has been wonderfully supportive through my decision-making process. I have to stay I'm glad it happened now rather than 6-7 months ago when I was still at home, as my parents were really skeptical about me leaving such a "good" job (and I am still very much concerned with their approval :/). They are an extremely generous company to both staff and customers, don't get me wrong, but... No amount of training sessions or discounts or free product is enough for me to pander to customers being rude and demanding! You don't get to walk all over me because you 'contribute' to my paycheck. That is NOT how it works for me and since that seemed to be how my workplace did it, I felt it was time to find an employer who was a better fit for my personality and my beliefs. That it happened so quickly, and with a company who sells product I am actually passionate about is a huge blessing. When I say quickly, I mean I dropped my resume there on a Tuesday morning, received a phone call from them Tuesday afternoon, had the interview on Friday and am starting Monday (tomorrow!) It was amazing and ridiculous and I'm really nervous but also happy. I am going to miss the amazing co-workers from my old job, but if I put aside all my money worries and my anxiety about learning new things, I know I will be much better off with this new job.

Just so this isn't a wall of text, here's the Australis flaky over a taupe franken!

MORE FUN NAIL TIMES TO COME.

P.S. Check out my rant/essay on customer service at my other blog, where there will be more book and comic book reviews soon. /plugplug

Skincare and empties and favourites!

2012-01-24T09:35:00.002+08:00

This is a combined mini-review, empties, wishlist and recommendations post. Because I can.

Products I am re-buying:
Dove Clinical Protection anti-perspiration deodorant

I'm on my... fourth one of these? I'm one of those lucky gals who inherited my father's sweat glands, i.e I sweat prodigiously in winter and let's not even talk about summer, please. While I usually remain fairly un-smelly, I can quickly turn a cute blouse or funny t-shirt into an embarrassment of pit-stained-ness. Suze did a review of the Rexona equivalent to this deodorant here. The Rexona version has the exact same packaging and works the same way (I bought that one once too) but the Dove version smells much better to me. Pricey for deodorant but I'd pay nearly anything to be able to lift my arms in summer!

BareMinerals Multi-tasking SPF20+ Concealer in Bisque

I put this here although I cannot imagine when I'll need another one! This little pot of magic goes a looooong way and has absolutely revolutionised my face. I don't wear foundation to work any more - it's BB cream, a dab of this concealer where it's needed, some translucent powder and I can leave the house looking smooth-skinned and well-rested. Mega props to the beautiful salesgirls at Kit in Perth city who put me onto this (during my little demo I said "wow" about eight times). Worth every cent of the $24.95 I paid for it.

Palmer's Olive Butter with Vitamin E Concentrated Cream

I am on my... fifth tube of this? I still have two nearly-empty ones lying around the house. This, as I have mentioned before, saved my cuticles. You can use it absolutely anywhere (the tube recommends "hands, elbows, knees and feet") - but be warned this is super-rich and thick, and leaves a film of olive oil for about 10 minutes afterwards. Great protection, bad for actually *doing* anything! I keep a tube in my handbag and I usually apply it at least twice a day, once on the bus and then before bed.

Products I am not re-buying:
Sportsgirl Protect Me! Sunscreen SPF 30+

Ok. This is a great sunscreen. It is affordable, doesn't leave a white cast, isn't overly oily and smells like coconut. But that last part is the issue for me. I HATE coconut. I didn't realise this was scented when I bought it. The smell does fade pretty quickly, but I am going to be looking for an alternative when I run out of my (HUGE) tube. So Aussie ladies, if you're on the market for a good daily body sunscreen (or even face if your skin isn't oily) and you actually LIKE coconut, then go forth to Sportsgirl now!

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo

I don't know if this just doesn't work for me, or if I'm just using it wrong, or... I mean, I followed the instructions really carefully! And just... bleh. It's entirely possible my hair's just too thick for dry shampoo. I've heard so many great things about dry shampoo in general, and batiste in particular, but... nope. Not for me.

Products I have just bought:
Olay Complete Defence Daily UV Moisturising Lotion SPF 30+

I was previously using an Olay SPF15 moisturiser, but after having read so much about preventative skincare (i.e using sunscreen ALLTHETIMEONEVERYTHING) I became worried that wasn't doing enough to protect my skin from the harsh Aussie sun. This lotion smells a bit sunscreen-y, but that smell quickly dissipates, it doesn't leave a white cast and isn't too oily. I need to use it a bit longer to see whether or not I'm completely 'sold' on it, but it's already edged out my old moisturiser packaging-wise. This one has a pump which can be twisted securely closed (so great for if you need to take it with you for sleepovers) and the pump is SO neat. One does my face, and one more pump is plenty for neck and décolletage.

Garnier BB Cream (or 'Miracle Skin Perfector') in Medium

Honestly, I have had this for a while, but I'm still not 100% sure about it. It's a little bit orange on me, so I put it on my neck as well, and then dust with powder because I am teh oilies even without the dewy finish this cream gives.

Products I want to buy:
Maybelline Dream Matte Powder (see here)
I'm nearly out of all my Indie mattifying powders since I use them every day, and I was thinking about getting something pressed that would be a bit less messy to use on the go. Suze recommended this one a while ago, and although it's not translucent, it sounds promising.

Eccentric Cosmetics Silken Lips (see here)
Beautiful new product from an Aussie indie company! Fun and traditional colours and they're offering samples too.

Silk Naturals skincare
Oh man, so many things. I want to try their toners, and I need to decide which moisturiser and which serum to try next. And duh, Kisser Slickers!!!

Burnout Sunscreen (see here)
This is what I plan on getting when I finish off the Sportsgirl one. Recommended by Jacie who is sadly retiring from blogging :(

Picture Polish flakie covers
FLAKIES. On the website here, Jacie's swatches here.

Well I think that's enough blathering from me. What have you recently tried that you loved/loathed, or what do you have your sights on for future money-throwing?

Priceline, take my wallet.

2012-01-21T17:00:00.001+08:00

LOOK. AT. THIS.

That is a $10 black creme polish I got from Priceline, one of those really underwhelming brands - glamnails by manicare. It was opaque in one coat and ridiculously glossy. Over the top of that is a stunning flaky polish from Australis. I'm not making this up!

The Australis shade is called "Speck-tacular". The description on their website is rather misleading. "A holographic light reflecting foil top coat that adds a new glitter dimension when applied on top of base nail colour." But the bottle says 'flakes' and when I saw it I knew straight away what it was. A FLAKIE EXPLOSION.

At $8.95 it's cheaper than the Picture Polish Flakie Covers and much easier to get a hold of than the U.S brands. I know flakies are 'in' for this year but I was extremely surprised to see an Aussie brand jumping on the bandwagon so darn fast, with something that is NOT a straight dupe of the Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure/Nubar 2010 one - this has blue flakes, more prominent red ones, and then some lovely green/gold/orange duochrome flaky action. Thankyou, Australis!

This was a fairly thick coat. The pieces are extremely irregular, as you can see by the massive one on my index finger. If you like your coverage a bit less random you could definitely add another coat or two.

GET THEE TO PRICELINE, STAT. I'm going to get a backup of both of these.

Review and swatches: Silk Naturals Kisser Slickers

2012-01-19T09:05:00.000+08:00

I decided I needed some sort of balm-lipstick hybrid for work – something extremely moisturising, fairly long-lasting that would impart a bit of colour but wear off evenly. Tall order, I know! I decided to try out Silk Naturals Kisser Slickers. These come in a selection of both vegan and non-vegan (which I think contain carmine? Ah, no, a quick peek at the ingredients list on the product page tells me the non-vegan ones contain beeswax.) The colours are separated into vegan and not, which makes browsing really simple! At time of posting Silk Naturals offers 48 non-vegan colours and 16 vegan ones. There's a butt-ton of brand 'colour clones' i.e dupes available as well.

The first one I ordered was called Nectar, which is apparently a dupe of Clinique’s Black Honey. I’ve never owned it but have read Joeybunny’s ode to it, and it sounded like just the thing. It does indeed look a bit not-work-appropriate in the tube, but goes on SO NICE.

The Kisser Slickers (I am so sorry Silk Naturals but I really, really dislike the name of theses! I’m going to abbreviate it to KS from now on) have this incredible formula that feels just like a really good balm. They’re soft and slippy without being runny or waxy. They’re so incredibly moisturising and the colour descriptions are extremely accurate! Don’t be fooled by the tube, the colours are sheer enough to be flattering, but have enough colour that you can justify owning several different ones. After using and loving Nectar I purchased two other colours AND the clear version to wear to bed at night. Yes, the formula IS that good! The other two I purchased were deeply tinted, non-shimmery so I have a few shimmery ones on my wish list to buy next. These also work with a little gloss over the top if you do want to add shimmer – I have layered Venomous Cosmetics glosses over these without a problem, though it does knock down the moisture factor a little bit.

The only downside to these wonderful balm/glosses is the packaging. Don't get me wrong - I adore the slimline tubes and I think that the labels are just the right mix of simple and cute. However, once you have more than a few of them...

You have to actually pick them up and search for the name to tell them apart. If I could change ONE thing about the KS's it would be to add something to the packaging to make them easier to identify.

A lot of these are ‘dupes’ for high-end products, none of which I own, but for and considering how wonderful the KS’s are to wear, I plan on buying a whole lot more ‘dupes’ AND original Silk Naturals colours.

My lips for comparison (with the Clear shade on, to show you the shine level, and also because I thought it would be funny to 'swatch' the Clear shade... man I need to get out of the house more).

Nectar, "Sheer deep red/brown".

Shh... don't tell the others but I think this is my favourite shade (so far).

Berry Nice, "Sheer raspberry" (a dupe of Bobbi Brown's Raspberry Lip Gloss).

Helloooo sloppy application!

Rare Berry, "Strawberry red".

Hand swatches for more direct colour comparison!

And tube shots, just because.

So now down to brass tacks (what a weird saying. What would be modern version be? "Get down to business?" Because that always sounds a bit dirty to me): the price. Indie lip products can vary all over the shop (snort) in price and sometimes for me, trying out a new product can be scary, not only because of the price but also because shipping to Australia can sometimes take over a month, what with postal madness and indie TATs combined. I am happy to say that Silk Naturals proved to be one of the faster shippers I have dealt with. I'm even happier to tell you that the KS's will set you back $4.50, or $4.25 for the Clear version. YES, FOUR DOLLARS FIFTY CENTS U.S WHICH MEANS SOMETIMES IT'S CHEAPER FOR AUSSIES.

BRB, compiling a massive wishlist of colours.

Pink and sheer polish swatches. LOTS OF THEM.

2012-01-16T15:36:00.000+08:00

I used to hate pink and sheer nail polish, but after getting thoroughly sick of nude and beige polish, what can a girl do but branch out! Since my nails and cuticles are so nice at the moment, I figured I'd make the most of it by swatching the many polishes I have acquired recently. There will be some non-work ones soon :)

Please excuse any bad clean-up jobs, I don't have a tidying brush yet, so I did my best with cotton buds.

Orly Lollipop

This was the first 'pink' polish I bought and loved. Not only can you get away with one coat if you're careful (this is two here, for swatching purposes) but it has this gorgeous lilac tone. This is only my second Orly polish but I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up with more!

Since most of the rest of the shades I have are sheers, I'll be swatching them over Lollipop and Zoya Pandora (which you can see a swatch of here).

Rokk 96 Cinderella

I wanted something shimmery since Lollipop was THE perfect creme. When I saw this in Price Attack I thought it was too pretty to pass up. Unfortunately what looks like a lovely opaque colour in the bottle is actually really sheer. It's a pink loaded with fine champagne shimmer almost to the point of being a frost, but it's not quite as metallic as a frost and has no streakiness issues.

This is three coats and although it looks great here, in person there's major VNL which I dislike immensely. This is far better as a layering polish.

Pinkie and ring finger over Pandora (two coats of both).
Middle and index over Lollipop (two coats of both).

By layering it over another pink, VNL is eliminated. If you really like playing around with shades/tones, one coat of Cinderella over the base polish will give you more distinct colour differences. I'm thinking about layering this over orange to try and do a more coral shade next :)

Removing this one is a bit more difficult than removing a creme/jelly but not anywhere near as difficult as a regular glitter polish.

NYC Cotton Candy

These cheap polishes I had heard a LOT about but was never able to find - until one fortuitous afternoon at an IGA. Sadly Cotton Candy turned out to be a frosty sheer.

Three coats, with no signs of becoming opaque any time soon! It also has terrible brush stroke marks.

However, layered (carefully!) it adds a pearly sheen. I didn't use a basecoat for these swatches, so it does highlight all the odd bumps and ridges on my nails.

Pinkie and ring finger over Pandora (two coats of Pandora, one of Cotton Candy).
Middle and index over Lollipop (one coat of each).

Ozotic Pro 224

Picked up from a random chemist. I think it was about $12? Super-sheer pink jelly with a scattering of irregular holo glitter.

This is my 'lazy polish'. If I don't want to be bare-nailed but I can't be bothered fussing, I slap on some base coat, a coat of this, some speed-dry top coat and I'm done. Over a nearly-naked nail is my favourite way to wear this.

It can also be used to add some unobtrusive bling to other colours. I haven't tried it on non-nude/pink polishes but honestly, I can't imagine it changing the colour at all because it's SO sheer! You can't get really great coverage with the glitter either, but that means removal is super easy.

Pinkie and ring finger over Pandora (two coats of each).
Middle and index over Lollipop (two coats of each).

The holo particles in this are kind of like flakies during removal - they come off really easily and smoothly.

Revlon Preview Pink (Limited Edition)

I actually got this in the bargain bin at Gloss for about $5. It's a more pink and less frosty version of Cotton Candy - shimmery, soft, doesn't really become opaque. Another nice one for slapping over basecoat if your nails aren't too stained, it almost creates a pink duochrome.

One coat: nice!

Three coats: still not opaque, and now streaky.

Two coats each base colour, one coat Revlon to shimmi-fy.

Rimmel Speed Dry in Ethereal

This is a shimmery pastel pink which occasionally flashes blue/violet. Like Cinderella, it can be built up to opacity if you don't mind VNL, but I find it easier to work with layered.

*examines cuticles*

I think they're ok! Thank goooooood. Like seriously, you guys, I am simultaneously so proud of how healthy my cuticles are and so paranoid I'm going to do something to them. I recommend Palmer's Olive Butter - the concentrated one with Vitamin E. It turned my cuticles from raggedy, misshapen messes into, well, neat and presentable and not flaky/dry/gross! IT'S A MIRACLE. No really, it is, go buy some now.

Review: Australis Eye Primer and Extender Lash Mascara

2012-01-11T20:37:00.000+08:00

Picking these up was a bit of an impulse buy. Due to sweaty summery-ness, my TFSI just wasn’t performing as well as usual, and my beloved Covergirl Lash Blast was starting to get a bit old and clumpy. I don’t remember if I picked these up from Priceline or Price Attack, but these are quite readily available to Aussie ladies and they’re both under $15. Australis does a few other mascaras as well which I miiiiiiight pick up later on.

Anyway! I gather the primer is sort of new, since I certainly hadn't noticed it around before and it's listed under the 'new products' section of the Australis website (ME SO SMART, DO MY RESEARCH HURRR) The primer tube is made of metallic pink plastic in this sort of… serrated parallelogram? It has a doe-foot applicator.

It’s fairly sturdy, but it’s not heavy. The texture of the primer itself is really quite thin and wet-feeling (hence the doefoot applicator; I could see lots of accidents happening with this if it was in a squeeze tube!) It felt strange after using TFSI for so long, which is really creamy and thick. The instructions say to let the primer set for 30 seconds before applying product. I held my watch up to my ear and waited 30 seconds exactly. After that the product had set, it was no longer liquidy and had become transparent and creamy-feeling. My eyeshadows went on quite smoothly – there was ‘grab’ but not enough to make blending difficult.

In terms of wear, I would rate this up there with TSFI for those with oily eyelids. Overall, I experienced no fading and minimal creasing in the inner corners of my eyes. I would even go so far as to say this was a little bit BETTER than TFSI! In terms of price and availability, it is much better for us Aussie girls. A tube of TFSI retails at Kit Cosmetics for $34.95, whereas you can get the Australis Primer for $12.95 on their website (which is the price I paid for it as well).

The mascara tube is a lightweight, rounded-square shape with the product name on the tube in metallic pink writing, the same colour as the primer tube. It clicks shut really nicely BUT never ‘looks’ properly closed, there is always a gap between the lid and the rest of the tube (which in a way is good, since the writing is the only other indication which end of the tube is which…)

Is it definitely an ‘extending’ mascara only. Compared to my Lash Blast, there is a good deal less volume, so I would rate this as a good lengthening mascara, for those who have thick lashes or who don’t want a lot of volume. I always curl my lashes before applying mascara, and it held the curl quite well.

Another great thing about this mascara is the brush – it’s small enough that you can exert a lot of precision and control over your mascara application. To really test it out, I applied it on my bottom lashes for a full day at work. While applying I only smudged my lower lid once, and I was able to very quickly and easily correct my mistake. The formula is really non-clumping, my lashes looked defined and natural.

During the day I noticed my eyeliner did smudge a little bit, but it was definitely ONLY my eyeliner and not the mascara. Usually I would never mascara my lower lashes due to A) difficulty with brushes, especially the giant rubbery Lash Blast brush, and B) smudging due to sweating/oiliness.

If you’re not big on volume (har har, pun) and you’re looking for a nice daytime mascara to get you through summer, I definitely recommend Australis Extender Lash. I did get the waterproof formula so you will need a fairly strong cleanser to get it all off. I've been using Silk Naturals Apricot Cleansing Oil followed by my HG OHWTO Black Magic face soap and it leaves my face super-duper-uber clean, but not feeling squeaky/stripped.

Lid/browbone shade: 'Browbone' shade from Wet n Wild Comfort Zone palette.
Crease: 'Eyelid' shade from Comfort Zone.
Primer: Australis
Liner: 'Crease' shade from Comfort Zone.
Waterline: Nyx JEP in Milk
Mascara: Australis Extender Lash
Make-up applied approx. 8am, photos taken approx. 7:30pm (touch-up on inner corners done 3:30pm with eyeshadow palette and clean finger).

Love what it does to my bottom lashes!

Nekky lashes to compare.

Minimal creasing = happy Jade!

If anybody would like to see a more detailed vibrancy and wear face-off between TFSI and Australis EP, please let me know, and I’ll do it when I’m NOT at work and can use something a bit brighter! I also need to test out Pixie Epoxy over the primer. Hopefully there won't be any compatability issues.

A stove and nails and animals

2012-01-07T23:04:00.000+08:00

I got home from work tonight with the intention of doing swatches and finishing up the post for my Silk Naturals Kisser Slickers review. Instead, I did this:

That, ladies and gentlefolk, is the cleanest damn stove in all of Australia right now. Not pictured is the cleanest damn kitchen that it lives in, because it's the boyfriend's turn to put the dishes away and of course he hasn't done that yet. It is also a newly repaired stove - the ignitors on the two front burners have been no-worky since we moved it, and the technician finally got the parts in for us and fixed it yesterday. We waited a month for our property manager to start doing something about the problem, a month for the parts, and then it took the technician TWENTY MINUTES to fix. Riiiight.

Two months since my last post! How did that happen?! I have been working on my nails in that time (read: whining about the fact that they split and peel all the bloody time, and moisturising like crazy). IT HAS PAID OFF. Here's a pic of the fabulousness before something bad happens to them.

Picture taken with my new camera that doesn't do macro as great as the old one, but I couldn't find the old one so it'll have to do. Polish is a franken I made for work. YES, my nails are rounded! Some of my fingernails aren't really... symmetrical. Especially the middle finger of my right hand, that nail curves inward quite dramatically on one side so when my nails are long and squared, it looks really weird and is actually quite uncomfortable. I decided to try out a rounded shape with the amazing length, and lo and behold, me likey!

I have lots of reviews to do, here AND over at Jade Likes Words for those of you who like reading about books and comics. I am going to do my darndest to post once a week in both places. And you can poke me via Twitter if I don't!

Speaking of Twitter, I'm going to be online a lot less often for a while as I've, er, misplaced my phone. It's literally disappeared. I remember having it in my hand when I got home from work and then just POW! Can't find it bloody anywhere. The things I have done whilst trying to find that thing are absolutely ridiculous (read: I checked the microwave, and shook every piece of clean laundry in the laundry basket, and searched the pockets of bags I haven't used in months). It's a bit of a bummer because 1) being without a phone SUCKS and 2) I still have about 7 months left on my contract for it, so if I have to get it replaced it will be kind of expensive.

On a happier and more picturesque note, over Christmas my grandparents were visiting from Melbourne (well, that wasn't a happy note for my parents who had to deal with doddery and extremely passive-aggressive oldies for two weeks) so here are some snaps from the Perth zoo.

AMINALS AWAY

Meerkat

Pretty flower

Bamboo graffiti. BAMBOO. GRAFFITI. I so do not remember seeing that the last time I went to the zoo.

TOIRTOISE

Meerkat butt

Rhino, chillin'

While I was going through these photos I found this photo from our Sydney trip of several months ago:

Carrot cake from Starbucks. God I miss you.

(there will be honest-to-god real posts soon. After all, now the kitchen's clean I have nothing else to d- oh shit I have work tomorrow. Raincheck?)

Face Painting

2011-11-11T14:21:00.000+08:00

What does one do when the uni semester is over?

Convince people to let them put make up on their faces, of course!

I went over to my darling Elimy's house and had a peek at her stash. (When I say stash, I'm only calling it that because that's what I call mine but of course but I have a blogger's stash and she has a normal person's stash. As opposed to Tom Sellick, who has a regular stash.)

It is Movember, after all.

It was really interesting working away from my usual cache of various instruments/ make up craziness. But it was fun, too, challenging myself to think outside the square. Box. Ha. I haven't had the opportunity to do makeup on some one else since doing theatre and that's a whole different kettle of fish. I really liked the end result, and Elimy didn't say she hated it, so that's a plus.

I used mostly powder shadows from various "drugstore palettes" and used one brush from Priceline. Without further ado, please view my handiwork, and Elimy's pretty eyes.

I used a translucent white gold from lashline to brow bone, a soft dirty purple in the crease, pale pink in the centre of the lid to create a focal point and peacock green in the outer V. There is also eyeliner on the lower lashline. I wanted to emulate Elimy's style which is very soft and natural but also wanted to add a pop of colour. To complete the look I added pinky blush and lipstick. I let Elimy do the rest of her face, including foundation etc. She used Fit Me 115 which she recommends to anyone thinking of trying it.

All in all I had a lot of fun and will sneak some more colour in next time if she lets me.

Blog sale! Nail polish (Aus only)

2011-10-25T14:18:00.002+08:00

Due to international shipping restrictions I have to sadly decline any international bids for polish :( so have at it, Aussie belles!

Postage will be $5 for up to five polishes, and $10 after that. Most have been used 1-2x unless otherwise stated. Please comment with an email address and which polishes you're after, and I will email you with the total payment and ask for your address. I have padded bags and bubble wrap but if anything's broken during postage, I can't be held responsible.

China Glaze
~~Liquid Leather $3~~
~~Orange Knockout $3~~

Bloom
~~Cameron (lime green) $5~~
Bianca (dark blue-green) $5

Miscellaneous
Orly Minis in Cosmic Kiss and White out, $4 for both
~~The Face Shop in WH002 (white) $4~~
Jezy Glitter #30 and Jezy Lilac #20, $1 for both

BYS French White $1
BYS Crackle Finish in Grey $1
Nubar Baby Blue $3

CND #419 Milky Way $5
Seche Vite (half bottle) $2
~~Seche Restore (full bottle, no dropper) $4~~

Mode Cosmetics, $1 each OR 3 for $2
~~Nude~~
~~Bubblegum HTF! (2/3 full)~~
Ooh Baby

Tree Hugger HTF!
Starry Night (new formula which is green, old was sparkly black)
~~Totally Hot~~

Blackjack (black)
~~Blackberry (almost-black purple)~~
Lilac Dawn

Pearl (half full, .50c or free with 3 others)
So Parisian (half full, .50c or free with 3 other polishes)

Team Pink Eye: Unique Pigments give-away!

2011-10-16T18:45:00.000+08:00

If you haven't heard of Team Pink Eye, please go check out their blog now. They're a combination of amazing make-up bloggers and creators who are raising money for breast cancer and raising awareness.

My auntie has had breast cancer and my boyfriend's grandmother has had cancer, and they were both lucky enough to go into remission and become survivors. We don't know enough about this disease to prevent or cure it, so millions across the globe are struck down every year, leaving devastated friends and family in their wake.

My contribution to Team Pink Eye will be two-fold, I'm hosting a give-away (YAY!) and I'll also be posting a couple of looks this week.

The company I'm doing a give-away with is Unique Pigments (Artfire store link, they also have a Facebook store here). Now, I haven't personally tried this company but I've heard a lot of good things about them (read reviews here, here and here). They created a beautiful matte pink shade specifically for the project and they are donating a 5gr jar of it for the give-away :)

If you like Unique Pigments, like pink or just want to give more, there's a gift set with this shadow and two more which is available in the Unique Pigments Artfire shop and 35% of the proceeds from each sale will go to the Susan G Komen Passionately Pink for the Cure foundation.

How does the give-away work? Well! Go here and donate $5 to be a part of ALL Team Pink Eye give-aways this week! Then return to this post and comment with an email address and the name you used to donate with. Then wait for Frances and Rebecca to contact the winner at the end of the week! Even if you're not into pink (like me) this is a worthy cause. Please check out the Team Pink Eye blog for more looks and LOTS more give-aways!

Indie perfume favourites

2011-10-07T09:14:00.000+08:00

I'll admit it: I'm pretty confident when I review make-up. Colour preferences aside, there are qualities that indicate, well, quality - opacity, longevity, texture, presentation and to some extent, packaging. I've done some basic photography classes and I consider myself handy enough with a camera to get decent photos. I can structure a review well enough that I feel comfortable calling my posts "reviews" instead of just haul posts or swatches.

However when it comes to perfumes, I feel COMPLETELY out of my depth. I literally went from cheap-o Impulse body sprays to that weird musky ea de toilette perfume called Taboo (I still have a bottle knocking around somewhere, I think) and then staggered onto the indie perfume scene with a vague understanding of top notes and dry-downs and a definite dislike for powdery florals. Since then I've thrown money at several companies, sampled my nose off and generally tried to understand what and why some things make me smile after I sniff (since all the boyfriend can tell me is "I like that one" or "I don't like that one").

Perfume is so personal, my lack of knowledge aside, I'm just not comfortable reviewing it. But I didn't want to keep completely silent about the great experiences I've had with several indie companies, so I'm going to compile a list of favourites instead of actual reviews. This way I get to showcase the stuff I love without having to buy a perfume dictionary from Amazon, which means more money for smelly things! YAY!

For me, scents fall into four different categories. The first is tolerance. I don't mind smelling it, but I'd never use it. The second is like - those are the smells I might go for in a soap or scrub, but I wouldn't wear as a perfume. The third is enjoyment. Those are the perfumes I'll return to - that I have a strong memory of, and I get in the 'mood' to wear. The last one is something I discovered only recently - that is perfume love. When you find yourself reaching for the same perfume every day. When all you want to do is sit there inhaling its gloriousness. When you wish everything in the world would smell like that perfume. When you're tempted to drink it to see if it tastes as good as it smells. I didn't realise there was perfume love until I smelled this scent. Ahem.

Purple Almond
This is a definite enjoyment perfume for me. I adore lavender and this is mixed with the smell of sugared almonds - a rare treat. The lavender keeps it from becoming too 'foody' for me. It's such a calming smell. I turn to this perfume when I'm particularly stressed. I bought a full-sized bottle.

Nuee Ardente
I like spicy, incense-y smells and this perfume is amazingly so - but not musky or pungent at all. This scent is fierce and warm and the rose-y notes temper it into something beautiful. This is one of the 'boyfriend-approved' ones, so I didn't hesitate getting a full-sized one.

Wrestling Tigers While Calling Your Mom Long Distance
What a name! More incense-y, woody smells here, but this particular perfume opens with this amazingly realistic cola scent. It smells like a curious sort of medicinal drink. It's suggested as a perfume for "those days when you are doing absolutely everything", and I feel like I have those a lot, so I got a full-size of this one too.

Candy Mechanic
The backstory behind this scent was so charming, and anything vaguely oil/petrol, metallic or earthy reminds me of my boyfriend. I found the description of this perfume to be absolutely spot on. For me, this scent toes the line between enjoyment and like - I didn't get a full size of this, but I have reached for the sample vial occasionally. It's such an intriguing scent!

Visit Zomg Smells here.

Dessert Absinthe
This perfume was a surprise to me. I like liquorice but I never would have imagined wearing it as a perfume. I'm also not a big fan of citrus scents... but this perfume blends both in such a way that it becomes this sweet, effortlessly invigorating concoction. The evolution of this scent when worn is beautiful, too - it starts out with a strong anise top note, and then as it dries you can really smell the lemon - but it's a soft, sweet lemon, like lemonade cream or something. Not sour or reminiscent of cleaning products at all (which is the main reason I dislike citrus scents). The result a few hours later is this lingering sweetness - vanilla with a touch of something darker. I have a little of my sample left and also a tube of solid fragrance. I don't wear this as often as I'd like since my boyfriend hates liquorice. Lysa offers this scent as a milk bath and I'm severely tempted.

Baltus
Offer me a fragrance with coffee or chocolate in it and I'm very likely to try it - as you'll see when I talk about indie bath goodies later. Baltus was as much of a surprise for me as Dessert Absinthe was. I wasn't sure if I'd like this fragrance... I definitely didn't expect to fall in love with it.

I want to bathe in Baltus. I smell espresso - rich and strong. I smell caramel and chocolate and a bit of vanilla - creamy, sticky, sweet. Then emerges the fig, mashed together with pumpkin - an altogether different kind of sticky-creamy-sweet, much more effervescent; pungent but not sour at all. Baltus is a wild smell. The name Baltus makes me think of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine, which is fitting. This scent is indulgence. It's sexy and selfish and I enjoy every second of it. I have an empty sample vial and a full-size of this. I've been checking the shop every week or so in case Lysa does bath salts with Baltus - I'll have to buy a few packets!

I tried several other perfumes from TMTM, which have received rave reviews from various other bloggers - and they just didn't do anything for me. Not like Baltus. I also have a few other perfume vials I haven't touched. That's the problem with perfume love; sometimes you can't even make yourself wear something else!

Visit TMTM here.

Next up, favourite indie soap/scrub/lip balm scents!

Lotions and Potions and Serums, oh my!

2011-10-01T11:46:00.000+08:00

I've never had "great" skin - sure, I haven't had acne or battled a constant surge of giant pimples. However I do have enlarged pores, the occasional horror pimple, and my oily skin is black-head-ridden. Add to that the fact I'm officially 'an adult' and the cosmetic industry tells me I should start looking at preventative ageing skincare. EEP!

Not wanting to spend hundreds on expensive stuff like Clinique, Lancome, SK-II and also not being really sure what exactly my skin needs, I turned to Silk Naturals.

I already use a daily moisuriser with a sunscreen (Olay Complete UV Protection Moisture Lotion in Sensitive), cleanse with either OHWTO's Black Magic or Dream Tree Soapworks Magic Mirror Facial Cleansing Bar. I exfoliate a few times a week with St. Ives' Apricot Invigorating Scrub and at night I use Roses Are Red Face and Eye Cream from Sobe Botanicals.

I decided to focus mostly on getting rid of my blackheads and combatting the sun damage under my eyes. These are the products I got from Silk Naturals:

Microdermabrasion Cream
Apricot Cleansing Oil
Facelift Serum (sample)
Hemp Moisturiser

Then of course, not skin-care related I purchased a Kisser Slicker Lipstick in Nectar (which is a dupe of Joeybunny's much-beloved Black Honey) and got not one, but TWO full-sized GWP eyeshadows and a blush sample (which I transferred into a jar).

I already know I'm going to be purchasing a full-size of the Vitamin C Peptide Serum rather than the Facelift that I sampled. I also wouldn't mind trying some of the other moisturisers. I will review the make-up when I'm back from Sydney, but I've never really reviewed skincare, and it's something you have to try consistently to see if it lives up to its claims. I've never used anything microderma...braising? or a serum before.

One thing I am impressed with is how affordable Silk Naturals products are - and the generous GWP system! They don't sell samples of their make-up which is, for me, one of the things I like most about indie make-up. They do sample skincare though, and honestly, their makeup is so well-priced and there are so many places you can find swatches online, I'm not really fussed about that so much any more.

Any skin-care reviewing tips you'd like to share? Have you tried anything from Silk Naturals?

Op shop mini-haul

2011-09-29T14:36:00.000+08:00

I am a total op shop junkie. That's 'thrift store' for my American readers. So when my mum offered to take my Auntie and I on an op-shop spree, I couldn't say no.

I SCORED.

Adorably, ridiculously tacky shoes:

I don't understand why somebody would throw these out! Usually anything with rhinestones or diamantes is missing a few... not these babies. The soles are marked so you can tell they've been worn a bit, but from the top and front they are perfect. I never wear tan/beige but I couldn't say no to these, especially since they fit my teeny feet!

A dress to go with said shoes:

Funky pinstripe vest:

I'm slowly building up a vest collection, so far I have a denim one, a black leather one, a brown-y steampunk-ish one and now this cute pinstriped thing.

Awesome fancy lacy gothy dress:

LOVELOVELOVE. I probably won't be able to wear this for a while, since I don't go out much and it's rather cold at the moment.

Ridiculously cute denim crop jacket with oversized buttons:

Not pictured: long-sleeved shirts in purple, red and orange for layering.

There are a whole bunch of op-shops near our new house which I plan on checking out in a few weeks. If you'd like to see more op-shop hauls in the future, let me know! :) we have a cream fitted sheet on the bed that is PERFECT for photographing larger items like clothes, and we also have a little white side table which is the best backdrop for smaller things like makeup. It was totally unintentional, getting both of those things, but they're both very handy.

Born Pretty haul

2011-09-27T16:30:00.000+08:00

I pretty much covered all the details in my NoTD post, but here's pics of what I got from Born Pretty.

Set of dotting tools

Double-ended stamper, and scraper

Five (!) stamping plates. Lots of simple, cutesy designs like flowers,

butterflies, bows, hearts etc. and a few of the full-nail designs like

fishnets and swirls, which I will need to learn how to apply properly.

Stamping polishes (god I hope these work well) and nail glue.

Fimo wheel (SO CUTE ZOMG I WANT MOAR)

I'm definitely going to be getting more plates and Fimo. I've gotten the hang of Konad-ing now (mostly) and Fimo is dead easy, if you don't mind having weird protrusions on your nails for a while. Born Pretty have free shipping internationally and there's usually a 10-15% off coupon floating around cyberspace somewhere. If you're interested in nail art at all, they're a great resource.

September Box Battle

2011-09-25T17:00:00.000+08:00

Lust Have It vs. Beauty Box!

I'm a sucker and signed up for both of these (don't tell my boyfriend!) Having been far too intimidated and overwhelmed by the offerings of high and even mid-end skincare and makeup brands, I've stuck solely to my indie and pharmacy brands for years. Both of these companies/organisations/offers looked too good to be true - monthly samples of various lotions, potions and sparklies, for $15 a month including postage?!

I received my Beauty Box first since the kind postie left it in the meter box. The Lust Have It box required me to go on an epic quest involving several buses and a stroll through Curtin University's campus so I could get it from the post office, but in the end I got it, only a week or so after ordering. SUCH a change from all my international goodies.

Photos of the packaging are all over the internet and I'm not patient enough to take pictures before I open things ;) so if you're curious:
Beauty Box packaging.
Lust Have It packaging (and a review of the August box, which I didn't subscribe in time to get).
There's even another comparison here at Lucinda's Beauty Blog.

I have to admit that the Beauty Box was a bit disappointing for me, but only because it contained 3 items I knew straight away I wouldn't be using. The Lust Have It box was much more 'me'.

Beauty Box for September

1. Yves Saint Laurent Beauty Sleep
I've started using this, putting it on mostly at night but also in the morning if I've forgotten. No results as yet, I'm mostly hoping this will fade some of the pigmentation spots I've noticed under my eyes from sun exposure. I'm not entirely sure that it will, the claims are kind of vague.

2. Marc Jacobs Oh! Lola!
Since discovering indie perfumes I haven't looked back. There were three incredibly generous sample vials of this fragrance and I haven't even touched one of them. I'm just... so not interested? If anybody (within Aus. since it's perfume) wants these, let me know - you can seriously have them.

3. Sally Hansen Everyday Strength Medium Nail File.
I have three glass nail files - one to use, one to lose and one to break. Only half kidding. But after reading nail blogs and doing my own research, plus testing, the benefits of glass files was just too amazing to ignore and I'm not letting an ermery board ANYWHERE near my nails ever again. Not sure what I'm going to do with this, then. Personal bias aside, isn't Beauty Box supposed to be a collection of "luxury" samples? Why is there a $4.95 nail file in here?

4. Playboy Play it Spicy Body Spray
Pretty much an echo of my Lola! and nail file complaints. This is a cheap item, and I'm not using it.

5. Shu Uemura High Performance Balancing Cleansing Oil
This is pretty much the reason I haven't cancelled my subscription yet - oil cleansing is something I've developed an interest in but haven't managed to try yet. I've only used this once since the bottle is only big enough for 4-5 uses, but is was a sample I was actually interested in.

September Beauty Box Rating: 2/5. Dollar-wise, this box let me down by including two items which are NOT "luxury" at all. Additionally, the usefulness factor just wasn't there.

Lust Have It for September

1. Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes Mascara
YES! Lancome mascaras are the bomb, though I did drop them in favour of the more affordable and still very high-performing Covergirl Lashblast. I'm really enthusiastic about this sample and can't wait to try it!

2. Pure Fiji Coconut Milk Shower Gel
I'm not a big fan of coconut, so I'm dubious about this one. I'm definitely willing to give it a go.

3. Kerastase Elixir Ultime
I have yet to find a new hairdresser so my hair is definitely in need of a bit of TLC. This has some very promising ingredients, including the much-praised Argan oil.

4. Urban Rituelle Flourish organics hand cream
Hooray, something for my poor mistreated cuticles which isn't the smelly pharmacy cuticle cream I impulse-bought a while ago and have been regretting ever since! This bottle is so cute and small I'll be able to take it with me on the bus for pre-work applications.

5. Nicole by OPI Ultimate trend setter's laquer
Personally I've never bought OPI. I find some of their names very off-putting and occasionally offensive, which may seem like a silly reason, but there it is. However, Lust Have It peered directly into my brain and have supplied two adorably tiny bottles, one a blinged-out silver and the other an amazing metallic purple. My only objection to these is that I can't wear them to work.

September Lust Have It Rating: 4.5/5. Dollar-wise an amazing box, exactly what I imagine when I think "luxury". Usefulness rating very high - a mix of products I know I will use, and that I am definitely interested in trying out.

I won't be reviewing all of these, only the ones which are either awesome or terrible. Mediocre/undecided reviews aren't fun to read or write.

I should also note that there has been a bit of controversy about Beauty Box - a few people, like me, not too impressed with the contents of the box. Also apparently there is some confusion regarding terms of membership - on the card some people received it was written that posting reviews of the box contents "guarantees your continuing membership" - aka paying them for the box does not guarantee you'll continue to be subscribed. A bit odd. Also a few people have reported being charged more than once for a single month. After reading that I quickly checked my bank account and I have only been charged the once. Phew!

Review: Furless Brushes

2011-09-23T11:43:00.000+08:00

I am pretty bad with makeup brushes, I don’t like spending a lot of money on them and I’m not interested in brands whatsoever. My little collection of Ecotools brushes had me extremely content for quite a while. I purchased two stippling brushes from ELF, and since they were so good I decided to fill some gaps in my collection with some more ELF brushes.

A month later I was severely regretting it. They’d been a cheap buy and it showed. The crease brush was all wobbly around the ferrule and both brushes, I had to admit, were scratchy. Furless had some really lovely and useful looking brushes on sale and Suzanne had been raving about them, so I took the plunge. I got a lip brush (because I don’t have one) which was $7.95, a bent eyeliner brush (again, I don’t have one) which was $4.95 and a crease brush to replace the scratchy, coming-apart ELF one. That was $8.95.

These are really similar to my Ecotools brushes (bamboo handle, soft dark brown synthetic bristles, pale brushed aluminium handle), which is great because I LOVE them. The ferrules are really well-constructed and the bristles are so shapely and soft. The bent eyeliner brush is seriously amazing, to the point where it allows me to create cat-eye liner! WOOHOO! The crease brush is amazing for creasework, lid application of lighter/neutral shades and for blending. The lip brush is so easy to work with, I’m actually going to be able to use all my potted lipsticks and samples now. The handle on that one is a little too long for it to be really portable, but I have a pretty big makeup pencil case so that’s ok.

I’ve had these for a while (let’s just pretend I was road-testing them and not being lazy) and have washed them twice. I experienced no loosening of the bristles and NO fall-out. They dry reasonably fast, the crease brush taking a while longer because it’s so fluffy and dense.

They sell make-up as well, but it’s at Australian prices (i.e expensive) and the last thing I need is more makeup.

All three brushes

Crease brush

Lip brush (needs cleaning, heh)

Bent liner brush

(splayed a little but I swear it doesn't affect application at all)

Close-up of all three

I am very seriously considering buying more Furless brushes, especially considering my order shipped the day after I purchased, and they’re located in Australia so I had my brushes within the week (!) They always have sales on. You can get brushes in sets, singles, and by golly are there a range of colours and shapes to choose from! On my list at the moment are the Bamboo Pencil Brush, Bamboo Eye/Concealer Brush, Fat and Furless Flat Liner Brush and the Fat and Furless Precision Concealer Brush. Those are all things I'm missing in my collection. If I was going to splurge on something kinda-necessary-but-mostly-just-pretty it would be the Purple Power Set. WAAAANT.

Blue Tiger Butterfly: NoTD

2011-09-23T09:21:00.000+08:00

I have a metric butt-ton of draft posts but I'm so swamped with uni work, and moving stuff (we still have a distinct lack of furniture!) so here's a quick NoTD so you know I haven't forgotten about blogging.

I bought a bunch of stuff from BornPretty.com as a celebratory "we got the house!", also using Lillian's 10% off code. Yay! It arrived just before my three-day break from work, so I pulled out a polish I bought a while ago but had yet to use. Blue Tiger from Australis. HOLY SHIT. I don't know why I never used this before! I mean, yes it's royal blue and I prefer turquoise/aqua shades but this is beautifully bright and OPAQUE IN ONE COAT.

A little snark about Australis polishes: "Intense colour with a high shine". The last polish I tried from them, Satine, was so sheer I didn't even bother trying to make it opaque. It was very shiny though. Blue Tiger is incredibly opaque, BUT it dries semi-matte. Obviously I have topcoat on in my photos, but still, I thought it was funny.

I got Konad plates, dotting tools, stamping polishes and some Fimo pieces from BornPretty and I honestly did not know what to do first, so... I decided to use a little bit of everything, minus the dotting tools. Please ignore the cuticle on my middle finger, I banged it at work and it's taking forever to heal up, despite twice-daily applications of cuticle cream!

Stamping done with China Glaze Millenium.
Layering on middle finger done with Mode Chillax.

The Fimo pieces have hard edges from being slathered in topcoat, and they do catch on things a little bit. I was SO tempted to do a French tip-esque line with the dotting tool, but LESS IS MORE. I think. Sometimes.

Another fun layering combo: Essie Demure Vixen topped with China Glaze Wireless holo topcoat. Subtle enough indoors that I didn't get in trouble at work, but SO GORGEOUS and sparkly outdoors! This does look a bit beat up, sorry.

The holo topcoat has the effect of almost merging the base colour (soft taupe-cocoa) and the shimmer (violet) into this lovely muted mauve-brown. The holo itself looks predominantly silver-green in the shade, but direct sunlight does give it more of a rainbow effect.

I think my bottle of Demure Vixen is reformulated, because it takes at least 3 coats to get opaque, and even then there's still a bit of VNL. I'm going to experiment with some of my nude/taupe polishes and see if any of them work OK as a base so I don't have to apply so darn much of Demure Vixen to get it looking good. It also develops tipwear really fast; I don't know if it's my base/topcoat or the actual polish though.

There you go, some pretty pictures! I'm off to Sydney next week for work training (boo) and a mini-holiday (yay!) so expect some posts when I get back. I should have some sporadic internet access while I'm there and I'll also be able to VISIT ILLAMASQUA! I'm so excited. I'm planning on getting an eye pencil and maybe a lipgloss as well.

Guest post! Lip Poison review by Elimy

2011-08-31T21:09:00.000+08:00

As mentioned in the last post, I ordered a Lip Poison for my dear friend Elimy and passed one of the free mini ones onto her as well. She kindly volunteered to do a guest review of those two colours :) check out her blog for her thoughts on writing and reading!

Now, I’m a newcomer to the Indie Makeup Scene, so please bear with me if I am somewhat naive. Jade introduced me to this wonderful world, and to be honest, I am only in it for the lip colours. I’m a fairly girly girl, I like vintage and floral prints, but I also don’t like to draw attention to myself. That means, no blue lippie. It’s a simple rule, and it keeps me from looking like a Smurf. Some people, i.e. Jade, can pull it off, but I have accepted that I cannot, and moved on. (Weird colours, for me, are for nail polish... the bright green paint incident of Christmas ’07...)

Alright, so let’s do this thing.

ROCKET TO THE MOON
I’ve taken to affectionately referring to this lip poison as Rocket. I’ve been looking for a nice red colour for quite a while, and on the homepage of Venomous Cosmetics, this actually looks quite red, and you can see the blue undertones that are supposedly there. Forgive me if I am wrong, but this is orange, no?

This picture was taken this morning, but I actually wore the colour out last night. Even though it’s not the colour I thought I was getting (and really, that’s on me, I should have looked at some reviews and stuff), I have to say, I love it. This simple ordering mistake has found me a new favourite. And I think it looks kind of good on me.

One problem is that it is difficult to put on without darker, clumpier bits appearing at the edges. I found I could get around that by gently swabbing with a q-tip. Like Jade said, these feel fantastic on your lips; I don’t even have to put PawPaw on after taking them off. At the movies last night I was all prepared for a stealthy duck to the ladies’ to wipe the orange stains away from around my mouth but... nothing! Amazing. I would rather walk out of the cinema with little to no colour left than look like a clown, wouldn’t you?? Thumbs up, Venomous!

AUSTIN BOY

So you know how when you’re younger, and just starting to feel fascinated by make up, you experiment by putting highlighter on your lips? (No? Just me?!) This kind of looks like it’s going to turn out like that. It’s more fluoro than the most fluoro lippie I owned previously, which was Face It Extreme Rouge Gloss in PK102. And I thought I was being daring when I wore THAT! This colour would do Barbie proud. But don’t misunderstand me, that’s a GOOD thing. This colour is fantastic. My hair has red undertones but it doesn’t make me look like I am permanently sunburnt. It took a while to get a good photo though...

It even made my teeth look whiter! Wow!

I’m going to wear this one all day, even though I’m not really going anywhere. Just being it makes me feel pretty. J

All in all, I give both these Lip Poisons two very enthusiastic thumbs up.

Elimy

Thanks Em!

Swatch and review: Venemous Cosmetics Lip Poisons

2011-08-30T11:54:00.000+08:00

I placed a second order with Venomous Cosmetics which included a mini lip poison for myself and a full-sized for my dear friend Elimy. Tracy, being the super generous soul that she is, wrote me a note thanking me for my review and including TWO free purse sized Lip Poisons! I passed one onto Elimy, and kept the other. I thought I'd swatch them all for you. I'll definitely be getting more of these, I adore the formula.

Hallucinate

(purchased from blogsale)

I wore this at work, layered over Morgana Cryptoria's Roses and Violets lipstick, and received a compliment from a customer on my "really pretty pink lipstick" :) it's a milky fuchsia-pink with an incredible blue-violet iridescence which is incredibly hard to capture on camera.

Flamingo

(free)

Quite a sheer one, this tints my lips a pretty, soft pink. A swipe-and-go colour suitable for absolutely anything. My bottle was a bit streaky but this didn't translate to the lips, it came out quite even.

Northern Lights

(purchased by me)

This was by far the most opaque of the Lip Poisons I purchased, which was a shame because it's FAR too light for me to wear! I did a lip swatch but honestly, it looked so awful, here's a hand swatch instead.

What I DID do was layer it lightly over Morgana Cryptoria's lipstick in Cocoa, a soft nude beige. I think this is definitely more of a layering Poison for those of us who aren't ghostly white anyway ;) if you're the right colouring for this, or just a fan of pale lips, apply it thin and slow, it tends to streak.

Comparison swatches: Northern Lights alone, Cocoa alone, Cocoa with Northern Lights on top.

A note on the formula: this is an amazing gloss. It contains Jojoba and Almond oil, so after you wipe it off your lips are oh-so-smooth. Layered over lipstick the results aren't as moisturising, BUT they're not at all drying either. It's the perfect consistency and weight for me - I can tell that what's on my lips isn't a balm, but it's not oh-god-my-hair sticky either. It's tacky enough to have staying power, doesn't feel greasy, and has great slip. They wear pretty well, fading after 3-4 hours and retaining a fair bit of colour after eating or drinking. None of these three stained, but Hallucinate does leave a little hint of blue/violet sheen behind.

The price? $3.50 for a mini tube and $5 for a full-sized one! Like I said, I foresee a lot more of these in my future. The mix of conservative and unusual shades have you covered no matter what your taste, colouring and needs.

NotD: Zoya Shay

2011-08-30T11:07:00.000+08:00

This is such a weird colour. It's like a golden peach-y muted coral? I dunno. All I know is that sometimes I look down and it's goldy-orange and other times it's a yellowy-pink. It looks okay but I definitely prefer the other two polishes from the Zoya Touch collection.

You can sort of see the colour 'change' in these photos, the sunshine was coming and going in a very annoying way when I was trying to take photos!

So there you have it, all 3 Zoya Touch polishes swatched by yours truly. I still can't believe I got the full-sized versions for SO CHEAP. Ebay FTW. I've just placed a moderate order from Born Pretty, so you might see these polishes swanked up with some stamping and some Fimo (!) in a month or so as I try to find ways to spice up my nails on my days off without having to bother about changing my polish.

HELLO and Zoya Minka NoTD

2011-08-29T10:42:00.000+08:00

MOVE COMPLETE!...

More or less. All of our belongings are in the new house, we have bought the necessities like bed, fridge, washing machine, dryer, microwave, bean bags (yes they're necessary!) and we've been food shopping. I haven't unpacked anything except my makeup (hehehe) but it's feeling more and more like home everyday.

Because I'm studying externally this semester, I actually NEED internet for my uni work, so the boyfie went out while I was at work and got us some pre-paid wireless to get us through until we can clear the getting of "real" internet with the house owners <3 it's a really low cap but hey, IT'S INTERNET!

I tossed Zoya Minka in my handbag to put on after the move. Four days later it's a bit beat up and there's some tipwear and nicks but it actually still looks passable!

Ignore the dent on my middle finger. You should see my right hand! I've broken my thumbnail pretty badly. I thought this was going to be far too yellow for me, but I actually don't mind it. The formula was much thicker than Pandora, I actually did two thin coats of this rather than one thick one since it probably would've taken ages to dry.

Next to try is Shay! I have a ton of housework, uni work, unpacking and work homework (personal evaluation stuff, blah) to do today, but I'm going to take some "me time" this evening to do my nails and play some games. Boyfie bought us a new xbox game, Dungeon Siege III. I'm finding it a bit tricky to adjust to the viewpoint and controls, but I'm looooving playing Anjali with her super cool fire form! After I've finished that game, I have Dragon Age Origins for PC waiting for me :)

NoTD: Zoya Pandora aka OHGODYES

2011-08-24T10:46:00.000+08:00

My work decided to get even more strict on grooming standards. The 'neutral' and 'understated' make-up rules have been replaced by "clear, light pink or French" for nails and "natural, subtle colours" for all make-up. I will also be spending the next few months learning how to do new hairstyles to comply with the new requirements. I swear, if this job didn't pay so well and I didn't work with such kick-ass people I'd be OUTTA there. I went to private school! I've already done the Barbie-clone-automaton thing! GRRR.

So basically all the lovely pastels, beiges and greys I've added to my stash are totally out. Which pisses me off a little bit since I spent a fair chunk of change expanding my polish and eyeshadow collection for colours which are now not going to get used very much.

The only pink-y shades I have are either sheer or have such horrible formulas that I don't even want to open the bottles lest I 'accidentally' throw them in the bin. Unfortunately most nudes and nude-y pinks are sheer, and I really DON'T like sheer polishes (on their own. Layering is a-ok with me, especially the CND effects which I now own 3 of!) and I especially don't like spending fucking ages putting on tons of boring polish for work. I don't even like having to do more than 2 coats for fun, sparkly and/or bright polish! I'm lazy like that.

When I hear about the Zoya Touch polishes I was over the moon. OPAQUE NUDES?! Of course Zoyas are prohibitively expensive over here in Australia and rather hard to get. Being nudes, I wasn't sure what would work on my skintone either, and I wasn't keen on buying all three to add to my already over-stuffed 'work polish' collection.

I finally bit the bullet a few weeks ago and ordered what I thought was the mini set of all three polishes. It ended up being the full-sized set!

I grabbed Pandora first. On me it's this amazing creamy, rosey mauve which is so subtle and lady-like. The formula was a bit thick and went on with lots of brush-stroke-y mess, but it levelled itself out quickly and by the time I applied topcoat, it was smooth and shiny and most importantly OPAQUE. This is one coat (over basecoat and a coat of CND effects because I was too lazy to take it off first). If the other two apply like this as well I'm going to be over the goddamm moon. I would have to describe the finish as "pearl", it has the smooth, glossy appearance of a creme but with this super soft, glowy shimmer that doesn't make it look frosty or even really shimmery, it just adds this lovely soft glow that prevents it looking dull or drab.

The best part? I have a white mark on my middle fingernail from hitting my hand (which happens a lot) and you absolutely can't see it under the polish! ONE COAT!

I have nubbins at the moment because I broke a nail setting up a fridge and a bed yesterday (I'm moving in with my boyfie <3) and I'm moving all my shit on Friday, so I figured I may as well trim them down to prevent more mishaps then.

Expect more swatches in a few weeks, and some reviews! We do not yet have internet at the new house, so I'm not sure how long it will be until I can start blogging regularly. Which is a shame, since I have a Linnaeus order, more Venomous Cosmetics, two Ozotic Pros and a long overdue Furless Brush review...

Pikachu Party with Barry M

2011-08-15T12:46:00.000+08:00

I never usually do the "name the look with the products you used", but this one was so hilarious I couldn't not do it :)

Eyes: Sugarpill Afterparty and Shiro Cosmetics Pikachu. Tako and Frost from Concrete Minerals to highlight, Bulletproof to tightline, no mascara cos I need a new one.

Lips: Barry M gloss I got from a blogsale which smells AMAZING.

Colour combination inspired by this shirt.

Acci-drama EoTD

2011-08-12T10:55:00.000+08:00

Day off super-fun-time make-up-ness! Except I was going to a house viewing so I wanted to look somewhat normal/responsible etc. "I want a bit of sparkle," I said to myself, "But kind of neutral-ish too. And then red lips, because I haven't done that in a while."

Much blending and cursing later...

My attempts to keep my crease sparkly resulted in a WAY more dramatic look than I was going for. It looks soft in the pictures but the overall result is really dark and smoky. I like it, but it's not what I was trying to do! Lid is Champagne Toast from Aromaleigh, crease is Crown Jewels by Sassy Minerals (probably the only drama-free MMU company left on the internet by now!) I used P.E and highlighted and waterlined (messily, because it needs sharpening and I can't find my sharpener) with a Nyx Jumbo Pencil. Eyeliner is Covergirl Liquiline Blast in black. No mascara. Random brow pencil.

Lips are Stargazer 127 with Lanolips Apple over the top. I was going to use Morgana's Twinkling Rubies, but it's more of a pinky red and didn't match my outfit.

I just don't GET it.

2011-08-08T11:18:00.000+08:00

Some of the things I have read the last few days have been truly awful.

I'm still reeling from the fact that Jasmine of High Voltage Cosmetics, someone who I have spoken to and bought from several times and liked on a personal level, has revealed to have 1) had less than stellar customer service (I myself have received all my packages late, and in fact am still waiting on one), 2) has sold some extremely inconsistent products (none of my lip products from her were ever in 'great' condition), 3) has possibly fudged her ingredients lists, 4) has repeatedly told lies about her personal life to many, many people (myself included).

A group was formed on Facebook to discuss some of the issues and inconsistencies. From there, I have seen so much ugliness come out of the make-up and blogging community. Far beyond snark, people have said some really horrible things - people that I respected and considered friends have insulted, harangued and belittled others. Some misunderstandings were blown way out of proportion. Apologies were made and completely ignored. People who I expected so much better from have stayed silent whilst more and more rude and snide comments are made and it just really, really upsets me.

All I can think is who's next? Who will the next unfortunate soul be to say the wrong thing and be attacked for it?

I no longer feel safe as a blogger. I don't want to take sides, name names or point the finger because I don't want to be next. I don't want to quit blogging, quit reviewing or even worse, start censoring myself, but at this stage I just don't know what the best course of action is.

I understand that people have been hurt by Jasmine - I was nearly late for work because I was in the Twitter chat where all the issues came to light. But why did people have to start turning on each other after that?

Review: Venomous Cosmetics

2011-08-01T13:03:00.000+08:00

To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about ordering from Venomous… but only because I hadn’t read a lot of critical reviews about them. I know that doesn’t sound like a terrible thing, but I like to really know what I’m getting into.

My order was quite small – I got the everywhere palette and two pressed shadows. It ended up getting shipped a little later than anticipated, and so make up for it, Tracy gave me a bunch of loose shadows – some of which I definitely would have ordered later for myself. Some of them are from the new [edit: now discontinued] fairytales collection and are SO PRETTY. She also provided me with a 20% off code for my next order, which was just SO generous of her. My trepidations were absolutely dissolved and after swatching, felt absurd.

The two pressed shadows I ordered were Death Adder and Meteor. Both are pretty much for work.
My free samples: Faraway Galaxy, Spell-Breaking Kiss, L.A. Smog, Boomslang, In Orbit, and Enchanted Forest.

The pressed shadows are quite hard, I can see them standing up to a heckuvalot of abuse... but it also means they're a little tricky to use. You really have to work the brush into them to get any product.

Spell-breaking kiss

Violet-purple with red and blue glitter

Far-away galaxy

Lavender with aqua glitter

L.A. Smog

Medium grey with an icy blue sheen

In Orbit

Taupe with a silver sheen and a smattering of pink glitter

Boomslang

Bright, blue-based green

Enchanted forest

Blue-green shimmer on a black base

Meteor

Taupe with a stunning, metallic rose-gold sheen (almost duochrome!)

Death Adder

copper-gold shift

I haven't had much of an opportunity to play with the non-neutral shades but they're SO lovely, I have actually already placed another order for some more pressed shadows, the pressed blushes from the My Fairytale collection and one of the much-hyped Lip Poisons. Tracy's just put up a new collection with some really awesome speckled shadows. If you haven't ordered from Venomous yet, definitely go check out their site!

One more thing I have to mention is the Anywhere Palette.

It's slightly smaller than the Sugarpill palettes, but it's the same concept - sturdy, matte black cardboard, strong magnetised close, magnetised base and instead of a mirror, has a clear plastic top so you can see what you've got in there. I LOVE IT and I'm going to get another one, so I have one for neutrals and one for brights :) they're also incredibly affordable at $5.50 US.

Morgana Cryptoria: 2011 Lipstick Swatches

2011-07-25T23:09:00.000+08:00

I just realised I've had these pretties for quite a while but haven't swatched them yet! WHAT. These are from the 2011 lipstick range, and I got them during a full moon sale so I effectively got one for free :)

Cocoa

Very much a my lips but nude-r shade :) I've been wearing this to work over a lip balm on days when I feel like something more beige than pink.

Roses and Violets

My other go-to colour. It's just so pretty and effortless! Anyone that knows me will tell you I'm not into pink. At. All. But something about this lipstick just makes me feel so girly and pretty without being saccharine... the faint violet sheen and rosy scent helps :)

Shrieking Orange

This lipstick was a lot more... light orange than I expected. I don't think it looks good on me at all, and as you can see from the swatch pic, it clings to all my lip lines and dry patches. To make this a bit more wearable, I smooth some Sobe Botanicals Gothstix in Panic over the top - it deepens the colour and makes it a bit more creamy.

It doesn't look super different on here but in person it makes a HUGE difference. Oh and one other thing about Shrieking Orange... it stains.

That's after literally a few minutes. It's this crazy neon coral which I actually REALLY love. I suspect I may be using Shrieking Orange for its staining properties more than I use it for an actual lipstick! :P Bees Knees from the new 1920s collection looks a bit more up my alley.

Gilded Lime

I'm not super keen on metallic or frosty lipsticks, they always either are patchy on me or accentuate my liplines thus making me look dreadfully dehydrated (I mean, I am a lot of the time, but who wants to see that?!) but HHHNNGGGHH I love this colour so much. The golden sheen makes it look so luxe.

I still have a bunch more I want to get in tubes, but at least I have a decent lip brush now (from Furless, review of those coming soon) so I can use my potted ones. I know a lot of people have been put off by the latest lipstick price raises at Morgana, and the shortage of samples, but... I honestly believe her formulas and her colour range are worth it. And how about those new balms?! I can't even BEGIN to narrow them down to "ones I really actually would wear" versus the "OMGPRETTY" ones versus the "I gotta see that in person" versus the... yeah When I have money again I think I might just join the Lipstick Coven.

Blog sale! Other makeups and cosmetics

2011-07-25T18:29:00.003+08:00

Ok ladies, same deal as before! ALL PRICES IN AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS.

Postage will be a flat $5 for Aussie girls, and $10 for overseas. I'll be using bubble envelopes. Payment through Paypal, no returns, yadda yadda. Please leave a comment with your Paypal email and your desired items, and I'll email you with details for payment. First come first serve, and I will try to cross things off as they go. IF you have questions about items please EMAIL me at the.jade.carver at gmail dot com, as I will be able to answer questions a lot faster that way. I will be doing post office trips 2-3x a week and will email you when your sparklies have been posted.

Non-indie
~~Sleek Pout Polish in Electro Peach (usage as shown) $4~~
~~Sleek Pout Polish in Pink Cadillac (usage as shown) $4~~
~~Sleek Pout Polish in Perfect Plum (usage as shown) $4~~

~~Benefit Eyecon trial/travel sized, used 2-3x $3~~

~~OCC Lip Tar in Katrice (violet-purple) used 2-3x, $5~~

Stargazer lipstick (old packaging) #110 (black), used 1-2x, $3

ELF Mineral Eyeshadow Primer, used once $3

OHWTO
~~Solid Scent in Lemon Sugar, unused but not wrapped, $4 (comes with unused scent samples in Serendipity and Fresh)~~

Shiro Cosmetics
~~Intertube samples, ALL used 2-3x and some dented/gouged from swatching:~~

~~Robe and Wizard Hat $1~~
~~Sad Keanu $1~~
~~Yo Dawg $1~~
~~Numa Numa $1~~
~~Leeroy Jenkins $1~~
~~Rickrolled $1~~
~~Chocolate Rain $1~~

Morgana Cryptoria
~~Lipstick pots, ALL used 2-3x~~
~~Otherworldly $4~~
~~Cotton Candy $4~~
~~Absinthe $4~~

High Voltage Cosmetics

Jesse's Girl Lip Whip, used 2-3x, $3
She's Got the Look Lip Whip, used 2-3x, $3
Jesse's Girl Amplified lipstick, used 4-5x, $3

Sobe Botanicals

Fortune duochrome blush sample in jar, $1
Noveau duochrome blush sample in jar, $1

Matchy-matching LOTD

2011-07-22T10:54:00.000+08:00

You are about to be treated to a dose of my EXTREEEEEEEME colour-coordinating skills.

Here is the shirt I wore today:

Here is the eye look: Sugarpill Midori and Tako, false demi-lashes, and Covergirl Liquifyes Liner.

Lips: Morgana Cryptoria Shreiking Orange with Sobe Botanical's Gothstix in Panic over the top.

Lastly, nails: Zoya Harley.

Problem? What problem???

Blog sale! Eyeshadows ONLY

2011-07-19T15:27:00.001+08:00

I'll have another post with some more miscellaneous items and then another one for nail polishes (which will be Australian only, sorry international peeps!) ALL PRICES IN AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS.

Postage will be a flat $5 for Aussie girls, and $10 for anyone else. I'll be using bubble envelopes. Payment through Paypal, no returns, yadda yadda. Please leave a comment with your Paypal email and your desired items, and I'll email you with details for payment. First come first serve, and I will try to cross things off as they go. IF you have questions about items please EMAIL me at the.jade.carver at gmail dot com, as I will be able to answer questions a lot faster that way. I will be doing post office trips 2-3x a week and will email you when your sparklies have been posted.

Morgana Cryptoria

~~Limited Edition #1, full sized. Used 2-3x. $4~~
~~Limited Edition #18, full sized. Used 2-3x. $4~~

High Voltage Cosmetics

~~Heart Throb, sample in jar. Swatched 1x. $1~~
~~Betty, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Hot Rockin', sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Starbreaker, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1 (please note this jar has been recycled and does have another label under it. It's genuine High Voltage product though!)~~

~~Detroit Rock City, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Sunset Strip, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Cocktail Party, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Saturday Night, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~
~~Electric Boogie, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $1~~

Aromaleigh

Azure, sample in bag. Brand new, $2
Snow, sample in bag. Brand new, $2
Nightshift, sample in bag. Used 2-3x. $1.50

Blacksunshine, sample in bag. Swatched 1x $2
Helterskelter, sample in bag. Used x2 $2
Atomic, sample in bag. Used x2-3 $1.50

Cascade, sample in jar. Used x2-3 $2
Gridlock, sample in jar. Used x2-3 $2
Odile, sample in jar. Used 1-2x $2

Godetia, sample in jar. Used 1-3x $2
Odette, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $2
Moonset, sample in jar. Swatched 1x $2

Veltvetgoldmine, FULL SIZE. Used 3-4x. $6
Livewire, FULL SIZE. Used 3-4x $6

Jigsawfeeling, FULL SIZE. Used 5-6x. $6

Pure Opal Body Powder sample in jar. $3

Concrete Minerals

~~Bang-Up, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1~~
~~Zealous, sample in jar, used x2-3 $1~~
~~Souljourner, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1~~

Sassy Minerals

Schmooze, sample in jar, swatched $1
Atomic, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1
Fake It, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1

Elusive, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1
Radiate, sample in jar, used 1-2x $1
Gasoline Rainbow, sample in jar, swatched $1

Persephone Minerals

Moon Prism Power, sample in jar, swatched $1
Venus Crystal Power, sample in jar, swatched $1

Fyrinnae

Damn Paladins, sample in jar, used 2-3x $2 with BONUS, two unused free sample jars!

Sobe Botanicals

Set Sail sample in jar, used 2-3x $1.50 with BONUS OOAK shadow sample in jar
One Love sample in jar, used 2-3x $1.50 with BONUS OOAK shadow sample in jar
Fairy Tale sample in jar, used 2-3x $1.50 with two BONUS OOAK shadow samples in bags

Evil Shades

Royal Star glitter sample in jar, unused $2.00
Gryphon, sample in jar, swatched $1.50
Kharon, sample in jar, swatched $1.50

Australis

Intensifeye Palette in The Big Smoke, swatched only $4

NEXT part of the sale will contain lip products, perfume, and blushes.

Womanthology (cross-post)

2011-07-09T08:51:00.000+08:00

**This was originally posted on my writing blog, but I wanted as many people as possible to see it so I'm posting it here as well.**

I'm feeling so many emotions right now. I'm elated, triumphant, hopeful and awed.

Womanthology is an anthology graphic novel created entirely by women for Charity. The purpose of the book is to showcase the works of female creators of every age and experience levels.

The Graphic Novel will majorly consist of many short stories interpreting our theme for this volume; "Heroic". We'll also have interviews and how-to's with some of the industry's top female pros, as well as talks with young girls who someday want a career in comics. Womanthology is an anthology graphic novel created entirely by women for Charity. The purpose of the book is to showcase the works of female creators of every age and experience levels.

The Graphic Novel will majorly consist of many short stories interpreting our theme for this volume; "Heroic". We'll also have interviews and how-to's with some of the industry's top female pros, as well as talks with young girls who someday want a career in comics.

I can't remember how I stumbled onto this project but I'm SO excited about it. They've gotten on board a bunch of new/indie comic book creators, but they've also had some big names join in. Two that I'm super duper excited about are Gail Simone (famous for a buttload of things but my favourite work of hers is Welcome To Tranquility) and Fiona Staples (who worked on Mystery Society, which I have to review soon because it's a seriously great comic book that ticks nearly all my boxes). I plan to check out the works of the other contributors when I can.

Not only will this be an amazing book, but it's giving to charity and showcasing the talent of female creators! They've paired some newcomers with the seasoned pros, to give the new ladies some more experience, which will (fingers crossed) lead to more industry opportunities for them.

Their Kickstarter (a website dedicated to helping fun creative projects) opened yesterday, with the goal of $25,000 for a print run of 1500 books. I logged onto Twitter this morning and a little over 24 hours later... $36,000 has been pledged. This is more than I, and those involved, could ever have hoped for. When I sat down to work out how much I could pledge, I had imagined that in the final days of July, I'd be anxiously watching the numbers crawl up to the final goal.

But it's not over. More money = more books and maybe even a second anthology. Even if you don't care about that, the rewards being offered for pledges are AMAZING and Renee is adding more as more pledges come in. Even if you don't give a shit about women in comic books, the profits are going to charity.

I urge you to check out their website and learn more about this project. If this stirs you, even just a little, go over to the Kickstarter page. Even $5 will help this amazing cause, and if you want a guaranteed copy of the anthology, pledging is the way to do that.

Review: Lanolips Lip Ointment with Colour

2011-07-07T23:24:00.000+08:00

I accrued enough Priceline points to get a $9 voucher. Woo! I decided I’d spend it on something fun rather than something boring like band-aids or an eyelash curler. So when I walked past the Lanolips stand for the zillionth time, I actually stopped and had a closer look.

Lanolips comes in a few different varieties: the original formula ointment, in a big white tube, and then coloured gloss versions. The only ones on the stand were Dark Honey and Apple, though I knew that there were at least two other, pinkier colours around. I selected Dark Honey, since it looked like a nice soft mauve-y shade. With my coupon it came to about $4.

The texture of these takes a bit of getting used to. It really is an ointment, but it does have a more lip-gloss formula, and when it wears off, the effect is like lip balm. It’s like your favourite lip gloss mixed with Pawpaw ointment, which is what I use on my lips at night. Horribly greasy, with no staying power but BOY do my lips feel good come morning! One of the main ingredients in the product is sweet almond oil, which gives it this lovely sweet, vaguely nutty scent. It also has coconut in there, but I can’t smell it (which is great for me because I dislike coconut intensely).

Lanolips aren’t sticky like traditional gloss but it has much more staying power than Vasoline or Pawpaw. It’s extremely glossy. I was disappointed at the colour payoff of Dark Honey, but when I swatched it on my hand, I realised it’s just because it was so close to my natural lip colour. Wear time is pretty good – I can get almost 5 hours wear if I don’t drink too much. You’ll feel a soft, not unpleasant residue on your lips after you’ve eaten, but if you want more gloss and colour you’ll need to reapply. I did actually wear Dark Honey to bed and woke up 7 hours later with a moisturising residue just like a balm, and my lips were as soft as they usually are after wearing Paw paw ointment overnight.

My tube had a little “$5 off your next Lanolips purchase” sticker on it, which ended in a few days. I wasn’t initially going to get another tube, but I happened to be working the last day of the promotion, and I have to walk past a Priceline to get to work, so… I accidentally bought Apple as well :P it’s a red gloss, and I really wasn’t expecting much from it, pigment-wise.

So I was pleasantly surprised! You do have to be a bit more careful applying Apple. If you end up with an uneven application of gloss, you’ll have patches of thicker colour on your lips. Dark Honey I can sort of just slather on because it blends with my lips so well. For the swatch I applied a very light coat, so it's showing a bit more pink in this photo than it is in person; when I wear it you can really see it's a RED gloss. I am glad to report that although Apple doesn't stain, it wears off evenly.

Ahh, application, where these beauties falter a little bit! The tubes are taller than a few I’ve seen, but fit in your pocket. If you’re used to the big MAC glosses with wands, these are a bit smaller. The plastic is pliable yet sturdy, the little sheep logo is SO CUTE and the gold caps are a lovely touch. However, when you unscrew the tap, you’re NOT getting a slanted plastic applicator like I had expected.

Yeah. The ointment-style aperture means that you’re pretty much going to have to use your fingers, at least to neaten your application, if not to apply. I’m not one to carry around a lip brush all the time, and isn’t the point of gloss to be low-fuss? Not something you have to fuss with a lip brush and mirror to apply? As much as I love the product itself, the application is a real drawback for me, especially when I reach for Apple.

The gloss can be a little hard to work with when it’s cold, as well. I keep the tube in my pocket so my body heat keeps it a bit more fluid. I expect it won’t be a problem in summer, and it’s never gotten TOO runny for me to comfortably apply.

The product these are most like in terms of texture, performance and colour payoff would be Sleek Pout Polishes, but I absolutely prefer these, for three main reasons:

The tubes are less messy than the Polish pots.
I hated the smell/taste of the Polishes, whereas these are much, much lighter and more pleasant.
The moisturising affect of the Lanolips is much more long-lasting and effective.

Obviously they aren’t vegan since the main ingredient is lanolin, which is derived from sheep. Lanolin is obtained by shearing sheep, which is done in summer and doesn't harm the sheep, so they ARE a cruelty-free product. There’s a bit of beeswax in there as well, and then lots of lip goodness like shea butter, sweet almond and coconut oils. They have an SPF rating of 15, which is the same as the Pout Polishes.

For Aussie girls, these are available in a bunch of pharmacies, including Priceline. International beauties, never fear! You CAN get Lanolips outside of Australia! Find out more about the product, the company and where to get it at their website. I’m sure I’ll end up picking up a few more colours, and I’m curious to see if the original formula will be able to help my cuticles. As I’m writing this, one of them is scabbed over from a mysterious injury :(

Well hello there

2011-06-30T21:17:00.000+08:00

Scroll to bolded bits for important beauty questions! Go and read about my geeky adventures during Supanova weekend!

I’m waiting on several packages and trying to figure out how to best swatch Fyrinnae Arcane Magic and Sobe’s new duochrome blushes. It’s bloody hard! Also I’m much more reluctant to get out of bed during winter, so I haven’t found any time to photograph EoTDs L

I should have some reviews over at the comics/books blog soon, and I’ll be chronicling my JulNoWriMo adventures since I had a brainwave. On the 30^th of June. For a graphic novel script (pretty much the only format I don’t know how to write in…)

Before I forget – PLEASE ADVISE ME! I’ve been getting dry patches on my face (since its winter and there are heaters turned up high everywhere) and have reluctantly decided I need to find a nice tinted moisturiser. Any suggestions for olive-y, oily skin? I'm thinking about the new Illamasqua Skin Base stuff, but there isn't a counter in Perth yet, so finding a match will be very tricky.

Those ladies who don’t use Seche Vite top coat, what do you use? I need to find an alternative L between shrinkage and how rough I am on my hands, my polish is only lasting 1-2 days before I get obvious tipwear. I don’t like applying work-safe polish 3-4 times a week! IT IS NOT FUN.

Review which is definitely upcoming because photographing it is easy: Lanolips review. I couponed. TWICE. IT WAS GREAT.

Crappy phone picture because I can now connect

my laptop to my phone via Bluetooth. ALSO VERY GREAT.

Work franken and Konad!

2011-06-10T23:33:00.000+08:00

I frankened myself a greige-taupe! It's so on-trend and bland and work-safe I should hate it, but it applies like a dream, and it means I don't have to go searching and spending more money on nail polish I don't absolutely love. I poured a bit of Messed Up from Mode (an awesome cocoa-taupe which is just too dark for my work) into Natio Brandy, a lovely nude creme I swore by until finding Oslo, which is part of the Bloom for Target collection.

I pulled out my unloved Konad set (I only own one plate at the moment) and grabbed China Glaze Millenium. I'm hoping this will be subtle enough that I won't get in trouble for it at work ;)

My nails are extremely short at the moment because they're in such horrible condition. Sorry 'bout that.

I'm trying to resist the urge to do some gold stars over the top of the silver ones... also I'm going to slather my hands in OHWTO's rose balm before bed. My fingers don't look that awful in real life, it's just the unforgiving macro lens!

I'm going to get some more plates and some white stamping polish soon.
EDIT: I broke the cardinal Konad rule, "know when to stop". My right finger looks a bit better than my left, but of course I couldn't manage to get any good photos of it.

THIS IS WHY THEY SAY 'LESS IS MORE', KIDS.

Swatches: Fyrinnae at work

2011-06-10T21:49:00.000+08:00

Fyrinnae are best known for their beautiful, unusual colours, especially the colour-changing Arcane Magic range. Oh, and Pixie Epoxy. BUT, they make some gorgeous neutrals too!

Njiro

"Ivory with rainbow sparkles."

Over P.E.

On bare skin

Beholder

"Sparkling, somewhat silvery deep taupe."

Over P.E (the bumpy bit in the middle is a hair)

On bare skin

This shade is an amazing crease colour, and because I'm somewhat darker-skinned, I find I can get away with this as a lid shade, too.

Damn Paladins

"Soft, satiny taupe with a gentle light blue highlight"

Over P.E

On bare skin

Obviously I used a lot of P.E in my first swatch! With the correct amount of P.E/over primer, the taupe base is more visible, and the blue highlight is more of a subtle duochrome. I love this shade so much.

Koala

"A medium rosy taupe, this shade has a satin finish, but gives off a little more shine when applied wet. "

Over P.E

On bare skin

This looks ashy and matte in the jar but has this amazing silvery-white sheen to it when applied.

These four shadows definitely help spice up my work make-up routune. I also have three Arcane Magic neutrals, but obviously these are a lot harder to photograph. Expect those after I've finished my Lost in Makeupland series (palette write-up next!)

Review: Lost in Makeupland Finishing Powder for Oily Skin

2011-06-05T20:24:00.000+08:00

Review of pressed shadows here and loose ones here.

*disclaimer: I did receive this as a free product, but it has not influenced my review in any way. If I didn't like it, I'd say so!*

Pixie Epoxy was the first foiling medium I ever used, so I'd never experienced finding a HG beauty item that blew the previous ones out of the water... until now.

I have skin that I classify as "SWAMPTHING" oily. Even if I'm going barefaced for the day I need some sort of powder to keep my face from becoming shinier than a disco ball. I gave up on liquid foundation for the longest time, because I couldn't find a good match or anything that wouldn't slide off my face! I started using powdered foundation, which helped, and tried a few different oil control powders. These various combinations would usually look ok for 3-4 hours, but then I'd find my make-up had become blotchy and my face was grossly shiny.

After testing the LiM powder for a few days, over:

Primer and foundation
Just foundation
Bare, moisurised skin
And oh, the horror - unwashed skin!

I can safely conclude that this is my HG finishing powder. It is white in the jar but applies truly translucent for me; it doesn't make my olive-tan skin look ashy, whether its applied over foundation or not. Darker skintones may find a bit of ashiness, I'm not sure. I seriously do not have to apply a second round of powder for the whole day, even with sweating, rain and SWAMPTHING skin!

This powder isn't an official part of the LiM line yet, but I can't imagine any reason why it wouldn't be available soon. I ran out of blotting sheets last week, and I don't forsee myself buying any more, ever. Also my mum's requested a jar of this - her exact words were, "What do you have on your face now? Does it come in my colour, can I have some?" If you don't have oily skin, Belen does have other finishing powders for Dry and Normal/Combination skin which I would absolutely encourage you to sample. Samples are $2 US and the full-size powders $8 for 10g, which I think is extremely reasonable! Unfortunately they're not vegan, so keep that in mind.

Blush and palette posts will be delayed for a week or so, I have to fly to Sydney for work training and unfortunately I don't have time to do the posts before then :(

Lost in Makeupland part 2: loose shadows

2011-06-03T17:24:00.000+08:00

Part 1, with pressed shadows and highlights is here. These are all my loose shadow sample swatches.

Yeah Yeah Yeah

(Rock My Look collection)

"dark greenish black"
I swatched this and I went, "Well crap, I obviously am developing an obsession with emerald green".
This is a ridiculously gorgeous colour. You can sheer it on for a deep, almost-black green, or use a sticky base to make it a stunning, metallic emerald.

Bioshock

"deep, dark [green] but flashes with silver and purple"
Lighter than Yeah Yeah Yeah, and you can see the silver and purple glitter, but it's very fine and subtle. A really pretty, unusual shade! If you blend it out it has these purplish undertones. This was really hard to photograph, the lighting dulled it a bit.

Tan

"bright bronze"

Well... erm... I swatched this, and then swatched Expensive! next to it, and then looked at it again... and somehow, either because of the base I used or because of my skinton, this pulls mauve on me. Metallic, and bronzey at some angles, but it's definitely mauve! Ana's swatch is definitely more of a bronze/tan colour. So odd!

Psychedelic Mushroom

(Lifestyle collection)

This is a smoky plum with an iridescent violet highlight and silver shimmer. Blended out like so:

It creates a soft smoky, shimmery, iridescent haze.

Purrrple

This just looked like Psychedelic Mushroom with gold shimmer to me. Which is nice if you're one of those people who can't mix their metals *coughMEcough*

Party

"Electric blue mixes with multicolor glitter"
I can only see silver glitter in this, but it's so pretty and sparkly I don't care! I don't think I own any other blues quite this shade. I was really not excited about this in the bag but I cannot wait to wear it, probably with a silver inner corner and a neutral highlight.

Not Too Much

"Brick red with subtle silver sparkle"
This is the exact colour of a red brick! That deep brownish red, and matte - I think my swatch is a lot more brown, so look at Ana's for a more colour accurate one. The silver sparkle isn't really subtle, but it's not huge chunky glitter either. I'm really at a loss with this one, I like it but it's so unusual I'm not entirely sure how to wear it! I think I'll have to do some experimenting.

Mustard

(Lifestyle collection),

with Expensive on the left.

"almost metallic greenish gold"

Ink Bubbles

Lovely cheerful, shiny fuschia.

Espensive!

Beautiful bright gold, which takes on a bronzey cast when put near Mustard. I'm going to have to do a look with those two, and a comparison between Expensive and Ra from Meow.

Good Morning

"bright, beautiful orange with subtle pink and turquoise shimmer"
This isn't bright as Would (swatched in part 1), in fact I'd describe this as more tangerine, as I envision tangerine as lighter than orange (though if you look at the fruits themselves, they're the same darn colour). That being said, I LOVE this shade! Soft almost pastel orange, with beautiful pink and blue shimmer. I know it looks yellow-ish here but trust me, it's definitely orange in person.

SO MUCH PRETTY! Swatching these took a bit longer than expected, as well - some of the colours were particularly difficult to photograph, and I wanted to do them justice. Also because Blogger was being a poo and taking forever to upload photos, and then when I uploaded them to Photobucket instead, it kept telling me the URLs were wrong.

Soon, an in-depth palette discussion, some blush swatches, and the finishing powder review (I've been using it for the last two days)!

Review: Lost in Makeupland (part 1)

2011-06-01T23:34:00.000+08:00

If you haven't read Ana's post over at Lipsticks and Lightsabers about this company yet, go do so now. And then read the follow-up which has more swatches.

Done? Ok. We all know Ana's the queen of lemming creation, so of course I started looking at the selection and planning a wishlist. My big thing at that time was the lack of neutrals in my life, and also of pressed shadows. So when Belen started offering pressed palettes, and released the Alice's Chains collection, I finally got off my butt and (mostly) decided what to get.

I got myself a palette with two 15mm pans and two 26mm pans (since discontinued, now only the 26mm pans are available). I wanted to grab some more fun colours in sample form as well, so I picked 5 samples and asked Belen to pick some more for me. Since I spent over $15AU I got a free gift - actually, Belen was ridiculously generous! She split my order in half so the postage was less, and threw in lots of goodies for me.

My actual order:

My freebies:

Also my order was a bit late getting out, as Belen had trouble getting to the post office, so she gave me a coupon for a whole 20% off my next order. It was only a few days past the TAT!

I'm going to swatch all the pressed eyeshadows and highlights for this post. Part 2 will be all the loose eyeshadow swatches. In part 3, I'll talk about blushes and the palette, and by then I'll have had time to test the Finishing Powder for oily skin that I was gifted, and I'll do a Part 4! I've heard great things about it though :) and in Part 4, fingers crossed I'll have been able to do some EoTD photos.

Since I purchased, Belen has come out with new product photography which is really beautiful and much more accurate than her older stuff. Anyway, onto the eyeshadow swatches! Left-hand swatch is over Pixie Epoxy, and the right is dry, over primer.

Bruised (pressed)

"It's not purple, it's not burgundy, not brown, full of golden and purple sparkle"
Beautiful plummy brown colour. I have the pressed version so the sparkle doesn't come through much - which is GOOD because it means I can use it as a crease colour for work, which is the entire reason I got the 15mm pressed version of this. The right-hand swatch is blended out a little and you can see it doesn't get dusty and still retains its pretty plummy tones.

Glow (pressed, highlighter)

"sheer golden"
This one is like Fyrinnae's Nijiro without the pastel rainbow sparkle, and not as shiny. It gives my skin this lovely luminescent glow - obviously hard to capture on camera! It's definitely a highlight shade and not a full-on eye 'shadow'. It would probably show up a bit more on paler and darker skintones, it really melds with my olive-toned skin.

Them Bones (pressed)

"light yellowy peach/salmon with a subtle golden shine"
The original swatches of this featured a soft beige-white matte that I thought would make a great work-safe lid shade. Unfortunately now that the official description and new product photos are up, I know that's not the case! This is a nice, unassuming peachy yellow. Not what I was after but pretty nonetheless. Don't be fooled by the swatch on the right either, my skin tends to do weird things to most yellows and oranges and make them sort of blend in, when really they're beautifully pigmented. Seriously, I can make bright orange lipstick look as neutral as pink!

Would (pressed)

"tangerine with a bit of a yellowy/golden shift"
Another 'pretty but not really me' shade. Would look more vibrant on a different skintone. I need richer, deeper oranges so they actually stand out on my weird skin - you can see how pigmented this is, there's almost no difference between the PE and the primer swatches.

Faerie (highlighter)

"sheer pinkish shade"
I thought this would look ridiculous on me since it's for cool/pink-toned skin, but... it's really soft and pretty! Right-hand swatch is over a Nyx pencil which makes it look much more opaque. I've actually swept it all around the primer and PE as well, and you can see it gives bare skin a soft glow. Since I have a giant jar of this I can absolutely see myself using it to give matte blushes a bit of glisten. It's not sparkly, or really even shimmery, it just... glows! I can see why Ana loved these highlighters so much, the formula is absolutely amazing. It definitely has a pinkish cast though, so if you're going for something a bit more versatile, Glow might be more your thing.

Phew! Those were all the pressed and highlight shadows. Keep in mind that the formula for the pressed shadows is a little different from the loose; for this reason, Belen won't press any of the Rock My Look shadows, because they don't take to pressing well. I think it's great when a seller recognises that there's an issue with a product and does something productive about it. Not to mention I attempted swatching one of the Rock My Look shadows tonight... freaking gorgeous colour, so hard to photograph, and it does become dark and dusky if it's blended out too much or applied over bare skin. Over a sticky base... well, you'll just have to wait and see ;)

Part 2 will be up hopefully tomorrow-ish, 11 loose shadow swatches!

Work EoTD with Shiro & Fyrinnae

2011-06-01T08:34:00.000+08:00

At the moment my nails are incredibly short, I broke half of them off and they're just terrible looking. I bought some CND Effects polishes from eBay to keep them subtle but manicured for work until they grow out a bit. Right now picking things up from flat surfaces is nearly impossible!

The weather has gone suddenly wintery so unfortunately all attempts at photographing CND Emerald Shimmer on my nails didn't show the gorgeous pale green shimmer. Suffice to say I'll be getting more of these polishes soon, they're stunning.

I got a sample of Spinarak from Shiro, hoping it would be a lovely pastel-y green I might be able to wear to work... and it is. Here's today's look I did with Spinarak on the lid over P.E, brushed lightly on the browbone to highlight, and Fyrinnae's Beholder blended into the crease. Spinarak does look a bit more green in person.

Eyeliner is Covergirl Liquiline Blast, and mascara is Covergirl LashBlast Volume in Waterproof Black. I did curl my lashes beforehand, but it's still a testament to how awesome this mascara is! I'm so glad I bought this before I splurged on Lancome instead.

New blog

2011-05-31T11:13:00.000+08:00

Let's face it: this blog, and its followers, are mostly make-up oriented.

Comics, books and writing are huge passions of mine, and were with me long before I discovered make-up. I want these parts of me to have their own space, and so I've started up a new blog called Jade likes words.

If you're interested in reading my rants and reviews about comics, novels, and my writing journey, please head over there. This blog will continue, never fear, and it will now be pretty much exlcusive to make-up and nail stuff.

Head over to the new blog if you've been interested in my wordy stuff, otherwise you can stop looking at the tags at the top of the posts to make sure you'll be reading about sparklies!

Tubes of WIN

2011-05-31T01:22:00.001+08:00

I finally got off my butt and ordered from Shiro Cosmetics! I was mostly interested in the Intertubes, since I already have zillions of eyeshadows (not really). I ordered 4 eyeshadow samples, some stickers for depotting them, and all the Intertube samples.

I won't bother talking about the shadows since there are swatches and reviews everywhere about them, and they totally live up to the hype! Also the samples are ridiculously generous, they very nearly overflowed the 3g jars I keep arouund for samples. Since the Intertubes are going to look quite different on different skintones and sized/shaped lips however, I thought it'd be a bit useful to swatch those. Since I did get ALL of them :)

I don't have a great lip brush at the moment, so these are all done with my finger.

Three Wolf Moon

Gorgeous muted red with cinnamon scent/flavor. This did sting my lips a bit but died down after a minute. I'm getting a full-size of this for sure. I love it!

Longcat

Barely visible on my lips (applied over a lip stain here) but it's really zingy and minty. Gives a hint of silvery sparkle without becoming frosty. I don't usually like minty anything, but... I think I'll be getting this in a full-size! Gives a lovely intense cooling sensation.

Over 9000

Really pretty soft bubblegum pink. Bright but still really flattering. I don't own a lot of pink-y lip colours, and this can be built up or sheered down, so... I think I'll have to get a full-size of this too.

Rickrolled

Love the meme, gorgeous colour... EW. I had to photograph this quickly and take it off. The smell of ginger doesn't agree with me. I might see how Caitlin feels about doing unscented tubes.

Numa Numa

Sheer, frosty gold with an orangey base. Wish it looked better on me, it's very pretty and smells like creme caramels! They're one of my favourite desserts. The frostiness just settled into my liplines and accentuated all my dry bits :(

Leeroy Jenkins

Smells like... toothpaste?! I wanted to love this colour but it's pinker on me than I'd hoped. Also it's quite streaky. Maybe a full-sized version would be a bit more even, but overall, I think I'll pass on this one.

Yo Dawg

Smells a bit like Ribena. Muted, purplish-fuschia colour. A bit meh for me since I don't really like pinky-berry-fuschia type colours.

Chocolate Rain

This smells like Chicos... heh. Probably one that could have benefitted from lip brush application. It was quite patchy. Brown is probably the ONLY colour I don't like on my lips, so for that reason I won't be purchasing this in full-size. That and I'm not a huge fan of Chicos either. I mean, if they're there, I'll eat some, but I'd rather have real chocolate/real jelly babies.

Sad Keanu

Deep violet. Another one that just wouldn't even out on me! I think applying this from the tube, to exfoliated lips, would have produced a much nicer result. I already have lots of purple lip products though, so I'll probably give this a miss anyway.

Robe and Wizard Hat

I thought I'd have the same application problems with this as with the other more pigmented shades, but as you can see, I actually managed to get it quite smooth and opaque. Love this one, but if I wanted dark blue lips I've got my beloved Blueberry lipstick from Morgana :) if you missed out on that, however, this is a seriously gorgeous alternative. It's also a much lighter texture, given that Blueberry is a lipstick and this is an Intertube.

Phew!

Do you have any Intertubes? Are you planning on getting some? I reccommend samples, they're $1.80US each and good for several applications.

This is not what I ordered.

2011-05-25T00:46:00.000+08:00

DISCLAIMER: I bought these comic books with my own money and I am entitled to have my own opinion about them. These are casual diagnoses based on my reading anywhere from one to ten issues. I have neither the funds nor the patience to wait very long to see if a series 'gets better', and as a consumer I believe in excercising my right not to put money into products I view as substandard in meeting my needs.

How hard is it to find a comic book which features:
1) Strong female protagonists or at least main characters, who are:
2) Not scantily clad.
3) Not the main character's love interest.
4) Actually has some women on the creative team.

Apparently it's this hard:

Danger Girl

Title character is sexually harassed by the villain.
Gets the butt of her jeans ripped off halfway through the comic.
No women on the creative team.

Side Chicks

One character hit on by 'client'.
Other character hit on by random guy in the street.
Skintight, cleavage-y costume for one, other one gets...
Shredded shirt.
No women on the creative team.

Heroes for Hire

I actually couldn't tell you what happened in the first issue of this comic, it was so badly-written and the layout was so horrible, I couldn't even follow the action. They tried to introduce way too many characters. All I really took away from this was yet another few exoticised, scantily clad female superheroes and yet another comic book with no female prescence on the creative team.

These are just series I've read myself. The failure of mainstream 'women marketed' comic series is pretty legendary. Marvel Divas put most potential female customers off by sheer force of its dumb title alone. The failure of X-Women is pretty much legendary on the internet (yeah let's get a guy who draws EROTICA for a living to draw the superheroines in our marketed-for-women series!)

Here are some series that meet some of my criteria, but still need work before I'd call them truly egalitarian:

Artifacts (my review of #0-2 here)

Genuinely strong female protagonist, who is driven by love of her daughter who is kidnapped in the first issue so that's NOT a spoiler. But she doesn't completely fall apart when this happens, which is great since she's a cop.
However when she's kitted out with her superpowers, it becomes a skin-tight suit deal which her boobs bulge out of.
This comic features Aphrodite IV, a kickass cyborg with green hair. And do you know what's halfway through the comic book? A PANTY SHOT OF THE CYBORG. Why?! Just why?!
As far as I can tell, no women on the creative team.
Apart from those things, this is a pretty good comic series with a really solid mythology background.

Zatana

She walks around in a leotard and fishnets.
However, they do have a female artist on the team.

Executive Assistant: Iris (my review here)

Love the premise.
Hate her outfits.
No women on the creative team.
Having only read the first issue I'm still skeptical about this one - it could either be great or horrible. I'm also skeptical to learn that Aspen are releasing a bunch of other series along this line, featuring a bunch of different assassins with different flower names. I saw the promo images and LOVE SO MUCH that each woman is a different ethnicity, so I'm definitley willing to give them a go when they're finally out.

Suicide Girls

Strong, diverse all-female line-up.
Looks to have women on the creative team.
Rather cliche storyline and dialogue.
Did not like the nude pin-ups in the back of the comic book. Especially since some of them weren't even drawn. WTF? I get that this may be an important facet of the Suicide Girls movement, but it honestly put me off buying issue #2.

So I don't feel like selling off all my comics and going back to novels for good, here are a few series which, although they don't meet all 4 points, give me real hope that one day the comic book industry will finally grow the fuck up, ~~stop looking at comic books as their precious little boys' club~~ and become more inclusive. These are the ones I will be continuing to spend my money on.

Kill Shakespeare (my review of #1 here)
This comic has an all-male team, but I love what they've done with the character of Juliet. She is a strong, capable female who sticks to her guns and doesn't take crap from anybody. However she's not just a dude with tits - she still reads as a woman, without the need for revealing clothing. Super props to these guys for creating a solid female character.

Chew (my review of Vol. 1 here)
The main female character in this series is not very present, and she is the main character's love interest, and it's an all-male creative team, BUT... she's a really awesome character who isn't defined by Tony's love or even interest. She's an interesting, complex character in her own right and I'd really love to see more of her in the series (keep in mind I'm way behind in this one!)

Changing Ways (my review here)
Justin Randall gave himself two female characters that couldn't be easily sexualised - one was a heavily pregnant woman and the other is a young girl. However, both of these characters had distinct personalities and were both beautifully strong. Even heavily pregnant, this woman was kick-ass. Literally! I can't wait to see how Jesse turns out in the sequel. I have a feeling she's got her momma's strength.

Mystery Society
Ok, so this breaks one of my cardinal rules - the main female character is actually married to the main male one, but then again, I'm up to issue #4 and so far there are three more main female characters. Oh, and a robot. However, the art (which I really like, by the by) is done by a lady. So the main female character wears actual clothes and looks like an actual real female person! I love the relationship between the husband and wife in this series - it's evident that their marriage, as well as their crime-fighting awesomeness, is a team effort where they're both as valuable as each other. No female sidekicks or, conversely, henpecked husband jokes here.

Ruse (my review here)
The main female character is also the narrator for this comic. She is stubborn and witty, and keenly aware of the limitations that her Victorian society and her hellish partner, the "world's greatest detective" place upon her. I freaking love the tagline of this comic, and it has a female assistant editor (yay!). The fact that it's set in the Victoria era means there realistically can't be too much T&A, which is really, really, oh my god so nice.

Series I have yet to try:
Lady Mechanika
Velocity
Gotham City Sirens
Morning Glories
Tank Girl
Madame Xanadu
I Kill Giants

It just makes me so angry and frustrated that I can't read a fucking comic book without being forced to overlook unrealistically proportioned, scantily-clad female characters who are 1-D personality wise at best. How can I identify with that? How can I enjoy reading and looking at that? I'm not completely opposed to a little T&A in the occasional comic. BUT WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE IN EVERY SINGLE ONE. And what the fuck is it doing in the comics which are supposedly for women? What planet are Marvel and DC living on, that they think every woman wants to be reading about women with giant breasts whose clothes fall off every five seconds and jghoirieuhwenjrfpsodjfcpsidhfp3wu579w87ruisdkcfbhqwas';KL:A:qy2

*headdesks repeatedly*

Sorry.

If you can reccommend any comics to me that meet any of my criteria, pleeeease oh please do. If you disagree with any of my assessments then please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

EoTDs from April/May

2011-05-24T21:22:00.000+08:00

I think most of these are 'fun' ones. As the weather gets colder I stay in bed longer, so lately when I do makeup for work I have just enough time to slap everything on, make sure I have essentials like wallet, phone etc. and run out the door! I might be more keen to make time for photos when my new work make-up gets here (an Estee Lauder palette and a Lost in Makeupland palette!)

Cupcake Sprinkles from Fyrinnae.

Can't remember what I used to highlight :(

You can tell by the slight creasing in my inner corner

that this was taken in the evening, rather than the morning.

Sometime in the next week or so, I'm going down to my hairdresser's for a trim and I'm going to ask them to shape my eyebrows. I've suddenly realised that one is a lot bigger than the other, and it's making bright/shaped make-up hard to do, because it always looks so gosh-darn uneven! Also one brow is more arched than the other which drives me nuts when I try to fill them in.

I think this is a work look...

I think that's LE #34 from High Voltage on the lid.

I think.

On second thoughts, this looks a bit dark for work.

Ruby Slippers from Sassy Minerals, with a bit of

What a Drag from High Voltage in the crease and on the lashline.

Frost from Concrete Minerals to highlight.

If you don't have Ruby Slippers...

you should get it. It's seriously stunning.

Sugarpill! Flamepoint, Tako and Bulletproof.

I've actually been using Flamepoint nearly every day...

as a blush! Dabbing the blush brush really gently on the compact,

and then making sure to blend really well

gives me this amazing neon glow.

Sugarpill, Tipsy this time.

Actual eyeliner! Covergirl Liquiline Blast.

I did a slightly different shape with my outer corners

than usual, and really thick cat's eye liner.

Phew! No NoTDs because work polish is boring and I've broken three of my nails down to the quick and there are some bumps on them from glue and emergency tea-bag repair. Not pretty.

I hauled some gorgeous Fyrinnae neutrals recently. As soon as I finish my final assignment, I'll be doing a swatch post with those. Then after my exam, I'm going to read copious amounts of comic books, and hopefully start working on writing pieces to submit to some magazines. I felt like I really made a lot of progress in my writing this semester - no thanks to my class, though, Emily and I started up a creative writing group which meets weekly. It's been so good. I can't wait for the semester to be fully over so I can devote more time to writing.

An open letter to all indie sellers who aren't GlitterSniffer Cosmetics

2011-05-10T21:11:00.001+08:00

I was visiting the Glittersniffer Complaints Facebook page today when an exchange unfolded that had me almost literally headdesking. I'm posting it in sections, because my laptop monitor is teeny weeny and the relevant comments were a bit lower down.

It went on, and is probably still going, but I honestly didn't want to read any more. It has become infinitely clear to me that a lot of people don't actually care what goes into the things that they buy, use or even eat. Apparently, customer service is also a negligible part of buying, too!

I don't know about you, but I like to know a bit about companies that I buy from, especially online. I want to make sure that not only am I getting quality product, but that I am supporting good business practices. I dislike the idea of A) throwing my money away, or B) enabling somebody to continue ripping people off, lying to and harming people. Even if I've never had a bad reaction to a seller's products, or had bad CS, or a 'missing' parcel... I want to know about it. I want to ensure I'm encouraging good business practising with my spending habits - the only really effective way to do so, in some cases. Ignoring other people's bad experiences is short-sighted, and in my opinion, incredibly selfish.

In light of this, I wanted to write an open letter of gratitude to all of the honest, genuine, hard-working indie companies out there - more than I could name in this post, as I haven't tried them all yet.

Dear companies:

Thankyou for observing FDA regulations, for always being upfront about your ingredients and giving options to those people who are allergic to common ingredients like talc and bismuth, or those who don't want to use beeswax and carmine.

Thankyou for knowing WHAT is in your products and WHY. Thankyou for all your research and experiments and hard work in making the best and most unique products you can.

Thankyou for wearing gloves, sterilising your instruments and packaging your products carefully.

Thankyou for shipping things on time, and for updating ALL your customers when you can't because of extenuating circumstances.

Thankyou for listening to your customers - combining orders, making new products, altering old ones, making custom listings, giving advice, changing the way you do samples.

Thankyou for taking criticism gracefully and using it to help improve your company, rather than taking it personally and reacting badly.

Thankyou for combining your creativity, vision and skill with sound business sense, ethical practises and a solid understanding of what makes good customer service.

Thankyou for replying to emails, convos, tweets and making us feel like we are important to you.

Thankyou, above all, for being trustworthy.

* * *

I'm also going to plug the Sparkledex again. Blogging has become a vital part of the online community - no matter whether you're buying make-up, bath stuff, embroidered pencil cases or silicone phone cases. You're almost always stepping into the unknown, buying a product you've never seen in person from a complete stranger over the internet. Blogging helps take away that uncertainty, and give you a better idea of what you're getting yourself into. Unfortunately, most bloggers don't have unlimited income or time with which to blaze the trail constantly.

The Sparkledex will allow us to pool our resources when it comes to the indie MMU and B&B sphere. We can collect material, pointing the way to places where potential customers can get the information they need, to make a decision they are happy with. If you've recently reviewed a company, go add your review to their page! Or if they don't yet have a page, make one. Many hands make light work, and a full Sparkledex is a happy and useful Sparkledex (many thanks to VijiiS who edits like a boss and has made all the current Company pages look amazing).

Also I want to shout out to Frances, who runs the GlitterSniffer Complaints blog and Facebook. She is a patient, determined soul who really stood up for all of the GlitterSniffer casualties. It look like (I have my fingers very tightly crossed) that there's some real progress going on there, and that there might at least be some resolution for those who got caught in the mess, if not restitution for everyone who was affected. Please know that for every person still blindly following Lela and supporting GlitterSniffer, there are dozens more who support and sympathise with you.

Review: Serenity, The Shepherd's Tale

2011-05-10T16:44:00.000+08:00

Image from Darkhorse.com

I have been waiting nearly 4 years for this comic, and reviewing it has taken me nearly as many months. The character of Shepherd Derrial Book was one of the biggest mysteries of the Serenity/Firefly franchise. The premature cancellation of the series meant that the fans would never know why Book was a skilled fighter, what led him to the Abbey, or what it was on his ident card that caused the Alliance to hurry him into medical treatment when he was injured.

This project was back-benched for a while as Joss Whedon worked on Dollhouse (also cancelled), Dr. Horrible (where is mah sequel?!?!) and his various movie projects (Cabin In the Woods, the Avengers). Finally Joss decided to pass the project onto his equally-ridiculously-talented brother Zack (Jed was responsible for the recent Dr. Horrible graphic novel which I also plan on reviewing).

Fair warning: I'm coming at this comic from the perspective of a GIANT fan who is attempting to be fair and impartial. Keep in mind, though, that you need to see both Firefly and Serenity for this comic to make sense, let alone mean anything to you. This is NOT a comic for non-Browncoats.

Art
The art on the previous comics - Better Days - was really lovely. It was realistic without being too realistic and portrait-esque. It was as though the artist had looked at the actors and then more... drawn the characters rather than trying to copy the features of the cast.

The art on this comic is much too raw and unfinished. Due to the flow of the narrative and how it shifts through time, I had SO much trouble identifying characters who re-appeared. Their faces aren't defined enough. The colouring is gorgeous, for sure, and the art isn't bad per se... it's just not really suitable for such a fast-paced, emotional and at times confusing story. It comes across as blotchy and cartoonish, in a situation where there are questions that the fans desperately want answered, and by god it's a serious matter. The art didn't fit at all.

Lettering/dialogue
The dialogue of the franchise is quite unique; Joss Whedon imagined a post-Apocalyptic society where America and China had become the last two superpower nations in the world. Everybody spoke a mixture of English and Chinese. There is absolutely no Chinese in this comic, which I was a little disappointed by.

I can't fault the dialogue in any other aspect, and the lettering is neat and unobtrusive.

Storyline/characters
The major way in which this comic is let down in this area is the pace of the story. Basically they've tried to explain Book's whole mysterious past in a series of flashbacks. It's quite disjointed and choppy. The comic starts with Book's death scene, which is absolutely heart-wrenching and perfect. Then it cuts to him leaving the abbey, and it does sound like him, how he speaks and thinks, and the way he'd conduct himself. Obviously I can't comment on how 'young Book' sounds because this is the first we've seen of him. I trust Zack Whedon's writing, I just really wish Joss had given him, and Book, some more breathing space in this one.

I get that Joss is heartbroken by the cancellation of Firefly - the fans are too! Instead of exploring the world that could have been, using comics instead of TV, this graphic novel feels like some table scraps thrown to some too-loud fans. It looks and feels rushed, which is something Book did not deserve at all. I know there's no way that we could have seen his whole life in a novel - that would have been a gargantuan task and we probably would have been waiting even longer to see it... but it would have benefitted so much from a different format/narrative flow.

Summary
As I said to my friend and fellow fan, after we'd both read the comic: this is better than nothing, but I was expecting so much more. If you're a hardcore fan, of course you're going to buy it. However I can't help feeling a little bit disappointed at the meager amount of information and the jarringly spread-apart narrative.

Mini-review: Ruse #1 and #2

2011-05-09T10:53:00.003+08:00

This is actually a reprint from a small publishing company called Crossgen, which I had seen in a small secondhand bookshop a while ago. I was really surprised to see it on the 'new release' shelf of my LCS, but I picked it up.

This is kind of Sherlock Holmes-esque, but with a twist. I love the tagline, "He's the world's greatest detective. She's even better."

The comic follows Simon, a brilliant, if incredibly arrogant and socially incapable detective. However the narration is done by his assis- partner, Emma Bishop. She's his Watson, essentially, albeit a little more exasperated and intelligent. It's her wit and their interactions that make this comic so enjoyable to read, rather than being a dull Arthur Conan Doyle wannabe.

The artwork is, in all honesty, nothing spectacular but it isn't horrible either. It does its job of conveying most emotion and letting the Victorian landscape be accurate yet unobtrusive.

It's a fun read if you're into murder mysteries and banter. Issue two ends with a bit of a conundrum - without spoiling it, I'm really keen for Issue 3 to come out so I can see how Emma manages to get herself out of the rather sticky situation Simon's put her in... And what she'll do to him afterwards!

This cover is not a very accurate representation of their
relationship. If it were, she'd be glaring at him.

Welcome to the Sparkledex!

2011-05-05T00:53:00.000+08:00

In light of all the recent indie make-up dramas, scandals, and the ever-increasing pressure on bloggers to be able to identify repackagers and shady business practises, the lovely Tempest in a Teapot came up with the great idea to start an indie make-up wiki. She was kind enough to let me join her in starting this mammoth task, but now it's time for more people to get on board!

We've got a basic structure settled. The idea of the wiki is to de-mystify a lot of issues to do with ingredients and legislation. We would like to have a full ingredients breakdown to clear up the use of carmine, bismuth, vegan and non-vegan components and which bases and fillers do what.

We do not want to stir up drama. We'd prefer to use positive re-inforcement and the power of information; instead of blacklisting companies (and let's face it, most of us know which websites not to set, er, mouse on anyway) we will be providing lots of links to useful information and reviews, so that you as a customer have full knowledge of what you're getting into. This means that we will be providing, we hope, a balanced mix of reviews, from a variety of bloggers.

We need more contributors! If you don't know what to add or don't have time to write stuff for the Wiki, that is no problemo. Links to reviews on blogs, like yours, and forums are totally welcome! We want to make it easy for indie make-up newbies to find you, and thus feel safer in placing their first order.

At the moment we only have a few company pages up, so if you've just reviewed or read a really helpful review of a company, feel free to create the page and whack it on there. I'm procrastinating by writing this post and after it's done I have to go do some reading for uni.

So, this weather, huh?

Cat-astrophe, Kittehgeddon, Needlegate

2011-05-02T20:11:00.000+08:00

If you follow me on Twitter you've probably read about most of this already. It's such a bizzare story, and such an important and little-known issue that I had to share it. Plus, who doesn't like cute cat pictures?

This is my cat. Her name is Mei Mei, which means 'little sister' in Mandarin (yes, that's a Firefly reference).

note: that is not my computer, I'm a PC girl.

On the 22nd of April, Mei Mei swallowed a 2.5cm sewing needle, with 7cm of thread attached.

I don't know if you know - I sure didn't! - that the thread was actually more dangerous to her digestive system than the needle. The needle wasn't sharp enough to puncture anything, but thread can cause bunching in a cat's intestinal tract, which means the damaged portion will have to be removed. Cutting into the intestines has two pretty big risks post-operation; either the intestines will not join together properly, or the bacteria inside will migrate to the abdominal cavity and cause a pretty bad infection.

Very luckily for kitty, I realised what had happened a few minutes after she ate the needle. It being midnight, I had to do a frantic Google search to find the nearest emergency vet clinic. About an hour later, a very tired boyfriend, myself, and slightly freaked out kitty (she hasn't been in a car for about two years and didn't like it one bit) arrived. She was whisked away for an x-ray, and I attempted to remove some of her hair from the sleeves of my jacket. I looked like I was slowly transforming into a yeti, it was pretty ridiculous.

don't be fooled by the cute face, her 'FUR ATTACK' is infamous.

The vet confirmed that she had indeed swallowed the needle. She wasn't in any pain or distress so we concluded that she'd be ok to wait until morning, when we could take her down to our regular vet and organise surgery, since that was going to be a bit cheaper.

Arrived home at 3am. Boyfriend left. I fell into a fitful sleep, rising again at 7:30 so I'd be able to call the local vet when they opened at 8am.
Me: "Do you have any appointments open today?"
Receptionist: "A few, what's the probem?"
Me: "My cat swallowed a sewing needle."
Receptionist: "OH. Well in that case, don't worry about an appointment, just bring her in as soon as you can."

Shortly after 8:30am, we arrived. Kitty went straight in for x-rays (so they knew where to go) and then surgery. Around 2pm I got a call from the vet saying that the surgery had gone really well.
"The needle and thread got stuck in a fairly large hairball in her stomach," the vet said. "There was no stomach or intestinal damage at all." I laughed and promised to never complain about her hacking up furballs again. Another phone call an hour later confirmed that she had come out of the anaesthetic really well.

The whole ordeal cost a ton of money, which was not fun since my parents are on holiday. I ended up paying quite a bit for x-rays and consultations on my debit card (thank GOD for my new job) and luckily, the vet take payments over the phone, so I was able to use the credit card dad left me for grocery shopping to pay for the actual surgery.

kittybutt!

So the moral of the story - apart from "keep needles away from pets" - is OH MY GOD PET INSURANCE IS YOUR FRIEND.

There are actual companies that specialise in pet insurance. I reccommend looking it up. We could have saved sooooooo much money and stress by having it. This is probably the worst medical problem we've ever had with a pet. I mean, one of our dogs has developed a cataract over one eye, but that's not life-threatening, and he's no worse off because we couldn't afford to get it removed. In fact, most of the time I forget he's half-blind. It doesn't affect him at all. However, leaving the needle in Mei's stomach could have killed her. I am so grateful I figured out what happened. It sounds far-fetched, but it's actually a really common occurance.

If you have pets, and you don't have a spare three or four thousand dollars lying around... get pet insurance. Seriously. Just do it. Also learn how to give pills to animals. It took me nearly a week to be able to give her medicine by myself; I have to force them down her throat since apparently they taste so bad, no food could disguise them sufficiently for her to eat them ground up in any way. Also she scratched me AND my boyfriend - the first time she's ever scratched anyone, ever. I'm so glad she finishes her course of antibiotics tomorrow. Two pills twice a day = unhappy kitty and unhappy me.

post-surgery kitty

(those white bits on the bottom of the collar are from her spitting up pills. fun times)

she is REALLY hates that collar

Little things that make me happy

2011-04-22T11:28:00.000+08:00

Thursday nights the boyfriend and I are both really, really tired, and I work til 6pm, so we usually get something cheap and quick for dinner. Here's how last night went.

Window server: "That's $21.70, please pay at the next window."
Me: "I have exact change!" Waves money at boyfriend. He pulls his card out.
Boyfriend: "What was that babe? I didnt hear what you said."
Me: "Put your card away, I have exact change!" I push my hands towards him. He continues staring straight ahead.
Boyfriend: "Still can't hear you, you really need to speak up."
Me: "I have moneeeeeey!"
Boyfriend: "Really? That's nice."
I laugh and put my money away.
Boyfriend: "Oh you have exact change? Oh well, you've put it away now, guess I'll just have to use my card."
Me: "I love you, silly head."

Other little things: me not knowing my second class for Thursday has been cancelled, finding out from somebody before I went to the room, and thus having an extra two hours before work. I was able to go and have a nice, leisurely lunch in the locker room instead of having 20 minutes to buy and eat lunch AND get ready for work.

Making progress on a story I'm struggling with.

Taking a chance on a mascara and eyeliner because they're on sale, and absolutely loving them (Covergirl Lash Blast Waterproof, and Covergirl Liquidline blast).

Pocky, and feeling cheeky because I'm a girl eating MEN's Pocky.

Having good coffee with a dear friend, who you can be honest with and who will totally understand when you're geeking out about James Marsters, or are worried about a uni assignment.

Co-workers you can joke around with, even when the shop is really busy and you're all feeling a bit under pressure.

What little things have perked you up this last week?

Look at me, lookin' at you...

2011-04-14T23:13:00.000+08:00

Again, all I have are some quickly snapped EOTDs and NOTDs! At least I've been able to keep up with comments on other people's blogs, I guess.

Work looks

Mallow from Aromaleigh on lid, Spiked Stilettos from High Voltage Cosmetics in crease, Tako from Sugarpill on browbone.

Honestly, most of my work looks have just been a varation on this theme - something light and brownish in the crease, with a light and often sparkly colour on the lid, and then a soft, lighter highlight. I've experimented a little with using mattes, using shimmery colours and mixing them as well. A lot of them are really hard to photograph because they're so darn subtle! I have definitely learned to appreciate the neutral look, and I do like playing with different textures and crease/outer vee colours. I'm thinking of buying some pressed shadows to do touch-ups at work, or for the odd day when I oversleep and don't have time to do eye make-up before I leave. I have my eye on a Lost in Makeupland palette, which can hold a pressed blush as well. I think that'd be really handy to have in my work locker for touch-ups! If I end up getting one I shall be sure to review it :)

Yesterday was the FIRST day I actually put some colour into my work make-up!

Croma from Concrete Minerals with Dirty Tricks from Sassy Minerals on the crease/outer vee.

I did matching nails for this look, since purple is my favourite colour and I was getting thoroughly tired of nude nails. I need to get my hands on some more pastels and sheer duochromes to layer with.

China Glaze Light As Air.

I haven't been able to stop looking at my nails... I absolutely love this colour, it's so light (pun not intended) and pretty! I forgot how easy it is to apply, too... this is two hassle-free coats with Orly In A Snap on top.

Fun looks

I finally did it! I finally used red eyeshadow! I didn't manage to get a good closed-eye shot, and the blending doesn't show up properly in these pictures. I had a really awesome metallic pink crease from mixing the two shadows :)

Ruby Slippers from Sassy Minerals, with a silver mica from TKB, and a bit of Bulletproof from Sugarpill on the lower lashline.

Afterparty from Sugarpill (no mascara)

... matching nails!

Hook Me Up from Mode Cosmetics, with a nail sticker from BYS.

I have a review of the nail stickers somewhere... you'll notice I have nubbins at the moment. I'm fairly clumsy and I've been hitting my nails on things at work constantly! I also have bruises from drawers, blisters from my new shoes and many, many papercuts on my right arm from the paper bags. Until I get the hang of things a bit better, I'm keeping my nails short to avoid any severe and painful breaks. Also it's giving them some time with some nice strengthening base coats :)

And last but not least, behold, work becomes play with a coat of China Glaze Wireless Holo topcoat and some clumsy Konading!... Party Crasher from Mode used to stamp.

I did these three fingers on each hand; the pattern is different on each finger. It's very clumsy, and bled/smeared when I put topcoat on, but I don't mind since I'll only be wearing it for a day.

As much as I love the holo effect... I think I actually prefer Light As Air as a creme. It reminds me of sugared almonds :)

That's all for now, folks! I promise I haven't forgotten about my blog sale, comic reviews and et cetera. It's coming, I swear.

Truckin'

2011-03-28T12:21:00.000+08:00

I have a zillion draft posts, I swear. Things just keep coming up that stop me from writing, like trying to balance 26 hours of work with full-time study and not be a complete hermit. It's gotten pretty stressful, my depression and anxiety have flared up and the stupidest things make me cry. Like yesterday when I was going to have breakfast with my boyfriend before work, but my phone put the time back an hour so I thought it was still 9am when he came to pick me up at 10am and I wasn't dressed.

Yeah.

Anyway I got my Sugarpill haul, which was my birthday present from my darling boy :) my new job has a strict policy in regards to makeup, I can only wear really soft and neutral shadows. So I've tried to play with Sugarpill as much as I can on my days off.

Here's a few looks and some matching nails:

Junebug and Tako

I wasn't really excited about Junebug since I have lots of green shadows already, but this is absolutely stunning in person

Buttercupcake, Flamepoint, a bit of Fyrinnae's Banana Mochi and Afterparty.

Inspired by this tshirt :) the crease was a lot brighter and more orangey in person. I had to use Banana Mochi over Buttercupcake because yellows just do not show up on my skin for some odd reason.

Afterparty and Midori, with High Voltage Outshined to highlight.

I also did a matching manicure for this look, using China Glaze Starboard with Rokk 96 Moonlight layered over.

I ended up with a ton of bubbling, but I only had it on for two days so it didn't bother me too much.

I'll try to take some photos of my work looks soon. The whole 'neutrals only' schtick is slowly growing on me - it helps that I have a fair bit of variety of textures, tones and companies to choose from.

Hopefully I'll be back on the bloggy horse soon, and I'll be able to finish the photos for the blog sale as well.

Review of Executive Assistant: Iris (issue #0)

2011-03-18T15:44:00.003+08:00

Reading comics straight after creative writing workshops is GREAT for review purposes. Enjoyment, not so much. I started critiquing this straight away while I was reading! Not because it's bad, but because I had my "critical reading" hat on. I tried to stick to a straightforward review and keep some of my overly analytical comments to myself - I was doing some major "Ooh this word choice represents the paradox of blah blah blah"!

This is an older series (it began in 2009) that I've only recently gotten my hands on. It seems to have petered out at the end of last year, finishing with issue #5 (making it 6 issues long). I'm not sure if it actually finished there, or it just wasn't popular enough to continue.

I do love that this series' main protagonist is female. However I'm reserving judgement as to how well they develop her character.

This series looks to be full of bloodshed, secrecy and politics. Basically Iris' role as "executive assistant" includes being "a secretary, a bodyguard and an assassin". As to whether or not, as one of the unfortunate henchmen in this issue claims, she's also sleeping with her boss... We'll find out later. If she is I will most definitely stop reading - what would really make this series for me would be seeing a real divide and dichotomy between Iris at 'work' and her private life. I want contrast, I want to see that as well as being a cold-blooded obedient murderer, she's a woman too. Hopefully not a woman sleeping with her boss.

Anyway! I quite like the art so far, especially the viewpoints and the colouring. I wish Iris' business suit skirt was a bit longer and her assassins' costume was less "shiny", though. Sexualising female characters is a comic book 'thing' but I feel it takes away from how powerful and dangerous, and potentially complex she is. This is a gripe about the whole industry, I don't mean to single out this series at all. Artifacts does it too, even though several of the main characters are strong and powerful women.
In regards to this issue specifically, I have ONE bit of criticism which is a bit spoilery, so you might want to skip to the conclusion right at the end :)

*SPOILERY-ISH BIT*

The second to last page, when the comes into his daughter's room and sees her all bloody, I almost gasped out loud. It was a great set-up, great bit of plot/character development... But... I think that if we had SEEN Iris do that, it would have accomplished two things:

A) drawn out the moment of suspense a lot longer

B) told us far more about Iris' character

If she had walked into the child's room and stared at her sleeping face, perhaps straightened the blanket and smoothed her hair... Then have a frame from the child's level, looking at Iris' face... Then a close-up of the knife in Iris' hand... Then a frame with Iris lifting the knife... And then go into the sequence of the man hearing the "whump" and going to investigate?

WAY MORE IMPACT.

*END SPOILERY BIT*

My conclusion:
It's very promising! I'm going to try and get caught up on this series real quick, it might be a nice surprise in terms of story and character development. At this stage, I tentatively recommend picking it up. I think there is a trade version available if you'd like to take the risk and splurge on getting the whole story at once.

INCOMING!

2011-03-15T13:40:00.000+08:00

This is mostly for my make-up oriented readers: just letting you know I've been staring at my stash lately and going "Ehh, I hardly use most of this."

So early April I will be having a blog sale. It will pretty much be eyeshadows and nail polish only. ALL of it has been used, or at least swatched. I will try and be really accurate with the descriptions and take good photos so you know what you're getting into.

Eyeshadow brands will include:
Aromaleigh (some full sizes)
Evil Shades (some glitters)
Sobe Botanicals (some OOAKs)
Concrete Minerals
Sassy Minerals
Morgana Cryptoria (these will mostly be large samples in unstickered jars, I'm going to share out some of my fullsizes)
Sassy Minerals
Meow Cosmetics

Nail polish brands will include:
BYS
Mode (lots of it, heh)
China Glaze
Orly (minis)
Rokk 96
The Face Shop
Bloom

I'm going to spend the rest of the month A) deciding what to get rid of, B) photographing stuff and C) trying to figure out some ballpark postage costs. All stuff WILL be available internationally, but I'll have to be careful with the nail polishes as international regs are a bit tricky, and they may be pretty pricey to ship because I'm totally paranoid about bottles breaking in transit.

Please comment to register your interest! If there's no interest, well... not much point in having it :P

Review and Swatches: Persephone Minerals

2011-03-14T14:08:00.000+08:00

I ordered from Persephone Minerals after seeing Annamax's review and swatches. I had previously been a bit hesitant to order from Persephone as the product photos are... well, quite bad, to be blunt! I was really excited about two things: duochrome shadows and a SAILOR MOON collection! I used to love Sailor Moon when I was little. I'm seriously considering buying a DVD box set so I can indulge in some nostalgia :P

Victoria put together a custom order for me. I wanted to get all of the Sailor Senshi Crystal Power eyeshadows and a few other things too. I ordered sample jars as I find it hard to work with baggies. Victoria's response was prompt, the listing was up right away, my order was posted quickly and I got my package within about 14 days - super fast for international shipping!

HOW CUTE ARE THESE JARS?!

They're slightly smaller in circumference than your usual 5g eyeshadow jars (that's a Fyrinnae mini on the left and a Persephone sample on the right) so they just made me AWWW when I opened the package. They're very clearly labelled on the bottom. Stickers are NOT waterproof and may get smeary if you're not careful with them.

Victoria very generously included a free sample jar of a new colour, Rampid. It's a bright fuschia, I didn't swatch it here because I gave it to a friend. I hardly ever wear pink, I actually doubled my pink shadow collection just with this order!

The shadows are smooth, a little translucent (though they can be patted/layered on for complete opacity) and the Crystal Powers are amazingly duochrome. I didn't have a lot of pinks or golds in my collection before now. I would reccommend using Pixie Epoxy or a similar sticky base with these to get lasting power and the full effect of the colour shift. If you want the gold to stay a little more subtle, these work just fine without PE. I've done my swatches over Concrete Minerals primer.

Mercury Crystal Power: "amazing duochrome shift from gold to bright blue. It is chock full of sparkles of gold and pink."

This is ridiculously duochrome - the gold does tend to show a bit more than the blue, though. The pink sparkles are very subtle, which I like because I'm not a big fan of pink, and I think this colour is lovely just as a duochrome..

Jupiter Crystal Power: "a duochrome shift from bright green to gold complete with sparkles of gold and pink."

Goldy-lime green and gold duochrome. The pink sparkles do show up in this one, but it's a nice touch. I'd definitely reccommend PE for this, so the pink glitter stays the whole day.

Jupiter Oak Evolution: bold green overtaken by green and gold sparkle.

Not so sure I'd call this a 'bold' green. It's more of a deep foresty green, and has a slightly lighter sheen. I really love this one - I admit I was a lot more excited for the duochromes, but this is seriously beautiful - you could easily use it as a liner with PE. The glitter is very present in this one.

Mars Crystal Power: "this is one hell of a duochrome shift from bright red to gold, chock full of pink and gold sparkle! It looks like a pinkish color in the jar, but do not let that fool you!"
The disclaimer here is GOOD, because here's the jar:

The swatch:

I don't know if it was a disagreement with the primer, or if I rubbed it with the brush too much, but I ended up with a red streak that had a gold halo, rather than a proper duochrome like the other Crystal Power shades. I guess I'll need to experiment with this a bit more. I don't wear a lot of red shadow anyway, it's one of the colours I'm not really confident with unless it's on my lips/fingernails.

Mars Flame Sniper: "nice deep red, overloaded with red, orange, and gold microfine glitters."

This is such a nice deep, almost maroon red and seems to have a slight pinkish sheen in some lights. I can actually see myself wearing this! The glitter is fabulous. Again, you'd probably want to use PE to get it to stay on your lids. I love this so much, I had to make myself put it away and keep swatching! I wanted to put it on and play with it.

Moon Prism Power: "A striking duochrome of blue and pink with the palest possible touch of blue so that the pink dominates. Topped off with lavish gold shimmer!"

Well, this is embarassing... the shadow is white in the jar, and then as soon as it is applied becomes a sparkly, iridescent fuschia sheen with a hint of gold glitter. I don't get any blue out of it. Could I get it to show up on camera? NO. I tried every light setting I could think of, tried flash, tried artificial lighting, tried natural lighting... no matter WHAT I did, the pics showed the shadow as a soft, shimmery white. I did a swatch over PE. I broke out my Nyx Jumbo pencils and swatched over Milk and Black Bean (it goes almost purple over Black Bean). More settings, lighting... and nada. Every picture it shows up plain white. I stuck my SD card in my computer and stared in disbelief at the sea of white swatches. Then suddenly...

It's a bit brighter and glowier in person, but it's NOT WHITE!

This is not the Pixie Epoxy shot. Or Nyx pencil, or flash or tungsten. It's the first shot I took, dry, in natural light with the macro setting. I just couldn't see it was pinkish til I looked at it on the computer. /facepalm.

Moon Crystal Power: "A shift from pink to gold, leaning more on the pink side when foiled."

Pretty, soft, girly. I will probably do a super-soft wash of this as a work look.

Venus Crystal Power: "this is a slight shift from orange to gold, chock full of pink and gold sparkle!"

This isn't really a duochrome to me, more like a slightly orangey gold. The pink glitter shows up really nicely in this swatch, but from a distance it's barely visible.

After all the crap that's been happening in the MMU world recently, it's refreshing to find a new company that makes quality products, has good customer service and takes criticism well. There are lots of positive reviews of Persephone Minerals just a Google search away, if you're wanting more opinions and swatches. Her prices are very fair as well, she does full-sized sets, sample sets both in bags and in jars.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to put the pretties away and do some studying. SIGH.

Chew win!

2011-03-12T22:31:00.000+08:00

Chew giveaway is now closed! I'm too cool for random.org (I didn't think there was any point using it for three people :P), so I put the names on pieces of paper, screwed them up, and let my cat pick the winner. This was determined by which piece of paper she jumped on first.

And it is?...

(Cat's like, "Oh, so you wanted me to play with the paper? In that case, I'm not interested").

Because only three people entered the give-away, I've decided to offer Lillian and Florida Girl a copy of Chew issue1 as well! The official WINNAR, Silhouette is also going to get a copy of The Example, which is an amazing short comic from Gestalt Publishing, which I will review in the near-ish future :)

I'll be having lots more small give-aways over the next few weeks, and they will be sneakily hidden at the end of posts ;) so keep yer eyes open. A few more comic books, some makeup, some polish and also some perfume.

I'm going to go crawl into bed now. Winnarz, please email me at the.jade.carver at gmail dot com with your postage deets! I'll buy the other two comics on Wednesday after work, and I'll post them Friday at the latest. Lillian, the other two will get theirs before you do :( silly oceans!

Tales of a Part-timer

2011-03-10T22:07:00.000+08:00

**Please read my review of Chew if you haven't already, and comment on the review for a chance to win a copy of issue 1!**

You guys, I did it! I made it through my first week (by week I mean two days, I haven't done my weekend shifts yet) of part-time work (mostly) intact!

I look a bit tired because, er, I am, and also because I'm wearing NO MAKEUPS in this photo. I'm smiling behind the paper, I promise. I was going to do the whole cheesy thumbs-up thing, but I can't find my tripod at the moment. It's probably hiding under my couch cushions. One day I'll find a dust bunny under there the size of an actual bunny. Then I'll sell it on eBay.

These are some of the more entertaining thoughts that were running through my head over my first few shifts:

This POS system is so old I think that it might actually BE a dinosaur.
No, sir, I cannot give you a free display box worth $60 because you're buying a "lot" of coffee. FYI, you are not actually buying a lot of coffee.
Oh god which one did she say?! Just tell me the package colour please. On second thought, don't do that, because you'll say gold and then I'll have to ask you if you mean the pinky gold, the pale gold, the yellow gold or the copper gold... and then it will be bad (thank god there are only three reds, two greens and one that people keep referring to as blue but I swear it's purple... albeit a very bluish, cool lilac-y periwinkle-y colour).

Today I had the trial run of what I like to call the "doomsday race"... basically, I have classes from 8:30am to midday. Then I have to somehow:
1) Get changed into my work clothes.
2) Have lunch.
3) Get to Perth, which is an approx. 20 minute trip via public transport.
And I have to do all of this in one hour. Hence by the time I got to Perth it was 12:45 and I hadn't eaten yet. I ventured to the closest and least busy place-that-sells-food, which happened to be a great Japanese sushi bar. I got a Teriyaki chicken box which was about twice the size of the one I normally get (from a different shop). It was my first shift with the assistant manager so I was absolutely FREAKING out about being late and making a bad first impression, so I starting wolfing down my food like it was going out of fashion (funny phrase, but I can't think of anything similar right now).

I got the hiccups. I'm eating and freaking out trying to eat fast, and hiccuping, and thinking "oh NO, I have the hiccups, how long is this going to go for aaaah nobody is going to be able to take me seriously!..." and then they stopped. Normally when I have hiccups I have them for a good twenty or so minutes. By sheer force of will I made these ones go away. I didn't quite finish my food because I suddenly realised how much I'd eaten and I didn't want to make myself feel sick later, so I hurried off to work. The assistant manager is delightful, in case you're wondering.

One of the girls I worked with today will be on with me on Saturday, and she's already told me I can ask her anything at any time, which is so nice. Also my boyfriend has promised to get up (gasp!) on Sunday morning to have coffee with me before I go to work. It's not that early, don't worry, but I do feel a bit bad making him miss out on his weekend sleep-in. He's a tradie so he starts work at 5:30am.

More makeup reviews, swatches, comic and webcomic reviews are on the way! I was going to do 'a something' tonight but this will have to be it... I kinda sorta maybe haven't done my readings for class tomorrow (EEP) and I'm rather sleepy.

How are you all, any significant changes in the last few weeks? Read any good books lately? Had something funny happen to you or to someone you know? Share in the comments, or if it's something you'd rather not tell the whole interwebz, you can email me at the.jade.carver at gmail dot com. Or tweet me. I'm on Twitter all the freakin' time!

Review: Chew volume 1

2011-03-06T11:24:00.000+08:00

I picked up volume 2 not so long ago, and was eager to review it, when I realised I never even did a proper review of volume 1! So, vol. 1 collects issues #1-5, and vol. 2 collects issues #6-10. I really like getting trades, because it's cheaper, you get nice little extra bits, and then you're not waiting torturously in-between issues. I only do trades of Chew, Buffy and Angel at the moment. I collect Deadpool mini-series singles, and if anything remotely Firefly/Serenity-related comes out I grab it no matter what format it is.

Alrighty. Chew takes place in a universe where bird flu became a massive pandemic, causing the keeping, cooking and eating of chicken to become illegal in most countries. Because of this, the FDA (food and drug association, of America) have become a special-ops type unit who investigate any reports of black-market poultry dealings.

The main character of the series is a cop named Tony Chu, who is a cibopath. Don't bother Googling it, as far as I can tell it's a term the creators of this comic whipped up. Basically it means that he gets psychic impressions from anything that he eats. Yep, eats. But fellow squeamish people, do not worry, this comic isn't ridiculously gory (a la Nemesis), despite the premise.

Please click on that cover to full-size it, I love the artwork in Chew, and especially the fact that Rob Guillory does the covers AND interior art, so the style is consisent. Yay, consistent!

My other favourite thing about this series is the banter. I'll freely admit I'm a sucker for witty banter. The relationship between Tony Chu and his partner John Colby is awesome. Where Tony is quiet, serious and focused, John is loud, flashy and careless. They hate each other. It's hilarious. Unfortunately their relationship doesn't last long, as John gets a meat cleaver to the head thanks to a serial killer in an illegal restaurant that he and Tony stumble across. Tony ends up being booted from the police force after he uses his, er, 'ability' to find out the names of the previous victims. He is subsequently recruited by the FDA by a mysterious, and humungous man named Mason Savoy.

Having read all the way up to volume three, I can tell you that this series is immaculately crafted. There are twists, there are turns, the alternate universe is close enough to our own to be scarily relateable, and differeent enough to be absolutely fascinating. The characters are so interesting, especially Tony's love interest, who has a special ability of her own.

Like all good 'reality-based' stories, Tony has to deal with crap from his job, crap from criminals who threaten him and crap from his family - often all at once. This comic makes you wince, cringe, laugh and want to give Tony a hug (after he washes his hands and has a mint. Or some gum).

This series is well worth picking up, despite the HORRIBLE CLIFFHANGERS at the end of the trades, but if you're still not convinced, you can do one of two things:
1) Find more reviews, there are plenty of them since Chew won an Eisner award for best new series last year.
2) Comment on this post and on the 12th of March, one of the commenters will win a copy of Issue #1. It will come bagged and boarded so you get your comic in pristine condition. It also has a pretty cover, see?

Well, definitely not pretty in the sense of content... but the art is amazing. Dark but not gothic, anime-inspired without being cartoonish, proportioned without being too studied... I could go on. Or I could show you the stunning two-page splash of Tony's cibopathic experience...

... but that would spoil it for you.

High Voltage Cosmetics: mystery colours on sale!

2011-03-06T00:07:00.000+08:00

Just letting you all know the High Voltage Mystery Colours are on sale again for this weekend!

For $1.25 you can get a fairly generous sample of colours that are not available on the rest of the site. During the last mystery sale I picked up 21, 28 and 34. I decided to do some reeeeeally quick swatches, since there don't seem to be a lot floating around online yet. Swatched over Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk. It was the closest :P

21: leaf green with gold-green duochrome

Really pretty. The gold isn't overpowering in this, just makes it lighter and shimmery.

28: muted gold with a strong gold flash

Not anywhere near as metallic and intense as my beloved Ra from Meow Cosmetics, but still a beautiful soft, non-sparkly gold.

34: brass

This is more of a metallic brown - an antiqued, dirty brass. I can see this being an awesome crease colour. It's quite lovely and I don't have anything quite like it. It was quite hard to photograph, hence the larger swatch!

I'm working on a bunch of reviews for comics and books at the moment, but as I'm now a third year uni student (gulp) my workload has increased quite a bit... bear with me! Thankyou all for your comments and support. I have met some really awesome people thanks to this blog :)

A bit royal: EOTD/NOTD

2011-03-01T22:50:00.000+08:00

A while ago I did a swap with a lovely lady I've been chatting to on Twitter for a while - I'd link you to her blog but she's between, er, topics? Anyway, I wanted to get some fullsize Meow Cosmetics shadows without paying their (frankly exhorbitant) international shipping fees. In return I provided some Aussie bits and pieces. No Vegemite, I wanted her to still talk to me afterwards!

I painted my nails with China Glaze Passion, a new acquisition. Unfortunately the end result was very streaky. I layered some gold-and-pastel glitter over the top to try and disguise it a bit:

I don't really like it, but honestly I don't use/wear gold very often, so I decided to leave it on for a while and made the most of my Midas-y theme by using Ra, and a bit of purple (Sassy Minerals Cocktail Party in the crease/upper lid, and Neverending on the lower lashline. Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk is on my waterline. Cocktail Party turned up quite mauve-y in the photos, it's more of a sheer, shimmery pinky-purple in real life).

This is without PE, folks. Just TFSI. Ra is liquid gold in shadow form. I know everyone raves about Goldilux from Sugarpill, but I probably won't ever buy it because to me, Ra is sheer perfection. It's not glittery or shimmery at all, just a smooth, gleaming metallic. It's ridiculously beautiful, and shows up on my medium olive skin, which is great. A lot of yellows and golds just sort of disappear on me. Not this baby.

I realised I didn't have any gold and purple earrings, so I dismantled a bracelet I hadn't ever worn, and made these really quickly before running off to uni:

I have six of the crackle beads left, so I could either make a bracelet with some gold chain between the beads, or I could use more wires to make a wide/long pendant. We shall see!

Grovelgrovel

2011-02-26T11:55:00.000+08:00

Sorry for the unplanned hiatus guys! Whilst I've been silent on the blogging front, a lot of stuff has happened, such as:

Being really sick on my birthday
Going back to university
Flying to Melbourne for the weekend for a family thing (NEVER. AGAIN.)
Having a job interview (for a super fancy coffee place)
Turning down a job interview (the shop was waaaay too far for me to get to)
Having another job interview (for a supremely overpriced makeup shop)
Not getting a job (at the makeup place)
Getting a job (at the fancy coffee place! part time! OMG)
Reading a buttload of new comics, and a few books
Enduring stinking hot weather (it's 29 degrees Celcius in my house right now)
Buying new jewellery supplies and not doing anything with them
Accumulating more makeup and trying new perfumes

Two weeks into semester and I'm behind already! There's a lot more reading to do since I'm in third year, and there are small, recurring assessment components as well. I have about 16 draft blog posts at the moment, I'm having trouble finishing things. Blogger's block? Anyway, I'm aiming to try and post 2x a week from now on, bare minimum.

I have a give-away planned in a few weeks :) true to my blog's theme of 'everything', the prizes range from comics to perfume to a pair of earrings made by yours truly. I'm waiting for something to come in the mail and then I'll set it up.

READER QUESTIONS! Please comment OR, if you feel like a more private chat, you can email me at the.jade.carver at gmail dot com. I'm also on Twitter a lot more than I should be.

1. What would you like to see first, or more of in general from my blog? I.e comic/webcomic reviews, book reviews, personal posts, photography posts, makeup reviews, EOTD/NOTDs, Blog Brags?

.2. What have you blogged about recently that you would like me to read and/or comment on?

3. What weather do you prefer, hot or cold? (Personally I can't wait for winter to come back, though I haven't really made use of the hot weather at the moment - I've probably swum once so far and I haven't been to the beach yet. I am such a bad Aussie!)

If you've ever bought makeup online

2011-02-11T16:54:00.000+08:00

You need to read this, NOW.

If you haven't heard about the Glittersniffer Cosmetics scandal, thank your lucky stars.

This is why independant beauty bloggers are important. Wasting your money on repackaged products is one thing, being scammed into buying UNSAFE products, having money stolen and being suckered into supporting a lying, amoral seller with NO business ethics is another. Beauty bloggers like Grey, Ana, and Phyrra put their wallets and now apparently their skins on the line to make sure that when we click that 'buy' button, we know what we're getting into.

I hope that anybody who has ever read a review of mine - be it of cosmetics, a comic or anything else - knows that while I don't keep up with current releases, or do hours of research into ingredients and FDA regulations like Ana does, that I will ALWAYS be honest in my reviews.

Link sharing

2011-02-07T13:29:00.000+08:00

10 comic books that pass the Bechdel test. More in the comments.

Support the online mag I slush read for!

Bubble wrap, anyone?

This is funny to those who live in/have visited Aus.

In more personal news, I updated my list of magazine submission guidelines, and I have five articles I am starting to work on so I can actually start submitting stuff! I don't expect I'll be published until late 2011, but I know I need to write more often, and get much, MUCH better at editing my work.

Feel free to share some interesting links in the comments :)

EDIT: Persephone Minerals review and swatches coming soon, I checked the mail after posting this and there was a package full of SPARKLY DUOCHROME GOODNESS!

I ain't doing this for kicks

2011-02-03T07:08:00.000+08:00

Lately it seems I've written about a million cover letters. I won't deny the practise has been helpful, but lordy is it depressing! For every application I send, for every half an hour I spend agonising over word choices, I am getting nothing back.

I've heard a lot of people say that Australian employers are by far the worst for getting back to you. I've never tried to get work outside of Aus, but I'm inclined to agree with that assessment. If you don't want to hire me, FINE! Just bloody well let me know! I'm not going to sneak in during the middle of the night and vandalise your shop!

It especially gets me when I drop my resume off at a shop in the city that I walk past often. No emails, no phone calls, and nearly a month later they still have their 'staff wanted' sign up. Doesn't do much for a girl's self-esteem. I've heard back from maybe one out of four places I applied to, and it's all been "Blah blah thankyou for your application we found someone with more experience".

Picture snitched from here.

I pretty much am doing the assistant manager's position at my current job, because we don't HAVE one, and one of the 'co-managers' has been away. I've done rosters, customer orders, banking, returns, opened and closed the store, and tracked the budget. I'm not getting paid extra for it but I don't care. It needs to be done and I'm here pretty often so I just do it. However when I get back to uni, because of our weird shop schedule and overabundance of casuals, I'll be getting 6 hours of work a week. Yup. SIX. HOURS.

Hence why I am looking for another position. New or second job, I'm not fussy. Except that I've been looking since about November.

I have a lot more availability this semester than I did last semester. A lot of places are looking for full-time staff but even more are looking for casuals. I have a ton of experience in a wide range of fields. I learn fast, I'm easy to work with and I'm great with customers. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong! I want to be able to save money while I'm at uni, not just scrape by.

Writing endless cover letters and worrying about money isn't fun. It's sapping my creative energy, hence why I haven't been blogging much. I haven't done any writing for myself lately either, despite having some really great feedback from a magazine.

I've got about a week and a half til I go back to uni, so I'm applying for things left right and center, and trying to muster inspiration to get things started and finished before I get bogged down with studying and assignments. I have been thinking about (thinking about thinking about :P) opening a jewellery shop on Etsy - simple and slightly geeky items, but I don't know if I have the stamina for such an extended creative project! I also don't have the equipment or expertise to do anything beyond beading. I know that some of the stuff I have come up with is really quite pretty and marketable:

The first and last necklaces also have matching earrings. Some of the pieces I can fairly easily re-create... but some of them are really 'one-off' designs that were made out of vintage beads or just took really long to make. I've been working on a gorgeous tiered safety-pin necklace for months now, it keeps falling apart on me! I'm thinking it may need to be soldered. Clamping them works fine for the earrings as there's no strain on them, but the weight of what I want to make usually ends up being too much for a necklace and it just falls to pieces on the third or fourth wear.

I also don't want to just make random junk-y things, I wanted it all to be 'discreet geek': inspired by books, games and TV shows. I don't know if I'm going to be able to come up with enough designs to merit a whole shop... I get inspired by beads, by jewellery and by plain ol' necessity. Most of the pieces in those photos were created because I didn't have a piece with a certain colour scheme, I acquired a piece of jewellery that didn't quite work for me so I altered it, or I saw the beads and just HAD to make something with them. This inspiration process can take anywhere from a day to years.

I have had these beautiful blue marbled beads for months and still haven't been able to decide what to do with them.

I guess I'm still in a state of indecision, where I'm waiting for things to happen (i.e, uni to start so I know how busy I'll be, and to hear back from some jobs) so that I can figure out what my next move should be.

Blogger Collaboration: Eyeshadow swatches!

2011-02-02T14:26:00.001+08:00

A while ago Wendy of Turtle Beauty was asking for volunteers to do a collection of 'favourite colours' swatches. I'm doing black/silver/grey.

Li-Ann did yellows.

Robyn will be doing greens

Kimmie will be doing blues.

Wendy did purples.

Rachel will be doing reds and oranges.

Here we go!

Thunderstruck from Sassy Minerals: smooth, light matte grey

Phoenix from Evil Shades: dark matte grey with red and gold glitter

Bling from Sassy Minerals: soft black with gold glitter

Chantal from Aromaleigh: greeny-silver with violet glitter. Quite hard to capture the glitter in photographs, it is quite evident in person.

Double Barrel from Evil Shades: light shimmery silver-grey

Crown Jewels from Sassy Minerals: smoky charcoal with silver, green and aqua glitter

Smoke and Mirrors from High Voltage: deep black with flecks of silver holo glitter

Saved my three most used for last.

Black from Sleek Safari and Curious palettes - the Safari black is completely matte and a little chalky, but the Curious one is opaque and shimmery. I use these to line my upper lashes.

Immortality from Fyrinnae - black with rainbow glitter, and Gasoline Rainbow from Sassy Minerals - black with rainbow glitter. I didn't realise before today how very similar these two shadows are! Both are a beautiful opaque, matte black packed with rainbow glitter. The Sassy is on the left and the Fyrinnae is on the right, but the differences really are miniscule.

That's my stash of black/silver/grey shadows! Hope you enjoyed the prettiness, make sure to go check out the other installments :)

EDIT: forgot to add, all swatches are done over Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer, except for Immortality and Gasoline Rainbow, which were done over Pixie Epoxy.