Acci-drama EoTD

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.

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

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.