Showing posts with label lipstick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lipstick. Show all posts

Sunday, 9 March 2014

Shiro Intertube and Custom Lip Gloss Swatches and Review

It's pretty obvious why I ordered the Sad Keanu Intertube - and it's not to support my fellow Eurasian - it's because it's straight up purple and purple's where it's at. Seemingly strangely though I also ordered a custom lipgloss in blue or 'Pantone 286C' as I described it to Caitlin the owner of Shiro and creator of magical cosmetics.

Sad Keanu Intertube and Custom Lipgloss

Sad Keanu is what I'd call a very tinted lip balm stain (like the ones Revlon makes) and it can be worn sheer or somewhat opaque. It's a bright medium cool toned purple that strangely turns slightly pinker a few minutes after it's been applied, and has no smell or taste (despite supposedly being blackberry flavoured).

Although comfortable to wear the pigment doesn't apply perfectly smoothly and can end up to settling in lip lines and accentuating flakes, though it's easy to fix and prevent by rubbing you lips together and starting with smooth exfoliated and moisturised lips. You're not going to want to actually use this as a lip balm because you'll end up with an unevenly coloured mouth and although not drying this balm isn't actually moisturising either.

The wear time is better than expected for a satin lip product with no feathering and minimal transfer to drinking receptacles, and leaves behind a bright pink stain.

The photos below show Sad Keanu applied directly from the tube onto my bare mouth, I used my finger to define the edges better - it was very quick and easy to apply.

Overall I'd give it a B+ as it's a really lovely product that's just a bit let down by some uneven pigment issues.

Bare lips / Sheer Sad Keanu
Moderately opaque Sad Keanu / Stain left after 15 minutes wear

My Custom Lipgloss needs something of an introduction: I love purple - as anyone who reads this blog knows - but often find that purple lip products (and even blushes) tend to lean pink when applied due to the fact that they're applied over naturally pink skin. This fact coupled with my love for Lipstick Queen's Hello Sailor lipstick (a very sheer blue lipstick that when applied adds a subtle berry tint to your lips) gave me the idea to get a more tinted blue lip gloss that could either give me a brighter or darker berry lip than Hello Sailor when applied alone, or, when applied over pink and red lipsticks turn them slightly more purple.

I described this idea to Caitlin in an email specifying I wanted a "bright/royal/cornflower blue around Panetone 286C or OCC's Lip Tar in Rx" and also clarified that "I understand it may not come out exactly as I imagined (which is fine), and I'd be very happy with a blue lip gloss that doesn't look true purple on (or just looks outright blue) - but if in doubt I'd prefer to err on the side of more/brighter blue and more opaque coverage."

When I first opened my package I was somewhat disappointed - the lipgloss looked almost black in the tube and when applied was a dark navy blue rather than a bright/royal/cornflower blue. But, I tried it on anyway and... it looked like I was 12 years old again when my fountain pen had exploded in my mouth after I'd be chewing it throughout an exceptionally boring history class.

One swipe onto bare (but stained from above) lips / Blended out with my finger
Almost opaque / AFTER 4 SLICES OF PIZZA (while not even trying to eat tidily)

I mean, it's clearly dark blue even when applied sheerly right? However I'm not complaining because I clearly did specify that if in doubt to err on the side of blue! I also like it simply because it's a very unique custom product and given that it only cost me $8 I don't think I have anything to be upset about.

Colour issues aside the formula is absolutely incredible - a completely non-sticky gloss THAT LASTS THROUGH 4 SLICES OF PIZZA. Seriously, I know it's not perfect post-pizza but that's infinitely better than every gloss I've ever tried and almost all drugstore/high street lipsticks, especially since I'd just slapped it on for those photos and was too lazy/hungry to take it off before I ate lunch. I can't discern a scent even though Shiro states that it should smell lightly of chocolate, and it obviously stains your lips very blue.

Anyway, since I doubt I'll be wearing the gloss alone (unless it's for a costume) I decided to try it over Mac's Flat Out Fabulous - a 'Retro Matte' lipstick that's supposed to be a "bright plum" but is really just a very cool bright pink, or a fuchsia/magenta.

Mac Flat Out Fabulous + My custom lipgloss =
THE PRETTIEST PURPLE / I love it; look how white my teeth look!

SWEET BALLS OF FIRE look at it!!!! It's... perfect. Bear in mind these swatches were done hurriedly with the lipstick straight out of the bullet and the lipgloss patted on with my finger - you could get much crisper lines and a more even colour mix if you take the time to use a brush!

Mac Retro Matte formulas are exceptionally matte, which I personally love but a lot of people find them too drying to wear. When my custom gloss was applied over Flat Out Fabulous they fused beautifully together creating a creamy, completely opaque, satin finish and non-sticky lipstick-gloss hybrid.

I've previously tried 'mixing' lipsticks but always find them to be a bit meh... maybe it's because the formula's don't fuse together well or because applying one lipstick over another on your mouth isn't a particularly precise way to do it. Moreover although Lip Tars mix incredibly well with each other they don't play particularly well with other lip products - hence why I'm not singing Rx's praises at transforming any regular pink/red lipstick into a purple.

Anyway, I've been wearing this combo now for about 6 hours with no touch ups, and with no feathering, bleeding, transferring or fading despite having drunk multiple cups of tea and inhaled half a dozen biscuits. It's dried down a bit but is still very comfortable, and most importantly still just looks so incredibly beautiful.

With flash, I wish I'd taken more time to apply this neatly

This combo is almost a perfect colour match with Mac's Heroine lipstick (which I swatched here) and could probably be made into a perfect colour dupe using the correct ratios, moreover it has a far superior formula in coverage and wear, I really could not praise it enough!

If you love my custom gloss you simply select 'opaque' out of the coverage options on Shiro's custom lipgloss page and write 'Pantone 286C dupe' in the description box, or, as I have so narcissistically named it: The Saskia. Though you'll probably also want to write a quick note linking this post in the 'extra info' section at the checkout since I'm not sure Caitlin'll be able to remember my humble order over a month after I made it!

Overall 'The Saskia' Custom Lipgloss is an A+ - the formula's perfect, it applies well over bare lips even if the colour's a bit odd (and not what I originally expected), but most importantly it will (hopefully) turn any boring pink or red lipstick into gorgeous shade of purple and improve its formula overall!

I can't wait to try it out on more of my lipsticks!



If you do end up buying The Saskia (or just Saskia? Saskia's lip gloss? I don't know) please shoot me a message because I'd love to hear how you find it!


Saskia, The
X


PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com





Sunday, 23 February 2014

MAC Heroine review

I recently acquired Mac's newly permanent Heroine matte lipstick - a bright orchid purple, or violet leaning fuchsia, which I've speedily swatched next to other similarly coloured lipsticks I own:

Taken in indirect sunlight, as swatch photos should be!

  • Top left: Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Gloss in Vision in Violet
  • Top right: Revlon Matte Balm Stain in Shameless
  • Centre: MAC Heroine matte lipstick
  • Bottom left: OCC Lip Tar in Hoochie liquid lipstick
  • Bottom right: MAC Flat Out Fabulous retro matte lipstick


I'm not going to describe the differences between these varying shades of purple as the above photo gives an extremely accurate colour reference, but I will say that Heroine is not as opaque as I'd hoped and expected it to be. Since I'm insanely pale and without strongly pigmented lips it's rare that lipsticks allow my natural lip colour to peep though (unless of course they're a deliberately sheer formula) and to be honest Heroine is only slightly less than fully opaque - I just expect better from MAC.

Not going to lie - I can't wink, but neither am I going to let that stop me

Since I have no time in my life right now for neat on-the-mouth swatches in daylight (I live in the library during the hours the sun is out) I'm just going to leave you with some snaps of the makeup I did for an event I attended this weekend - as the photo was taken at night under my stupid eco-friendly energy saving lights the colours are naturally slightly off - suffice to say Heroine is the colour shown above on the swatches, not how it appears here on my mouth.




Overall I'd give Heroine a B+ - it was adequately opaque, applied well straight from the tube, was matte enough to be very long-wearing yet also comfortable without patchiness. It did however leave a significant bright pink stain which doesn't bother me in the slightest but is probably something to consider. I'd definitely re-buy it if I lost or finished it because it's such a gorgeous colour and easy to use, but hopefully there's something a little bit better out there!


FACE:

  • NARS Oil Free Primer
  • NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia foundation
  • Illamasqua Hollow contour
  • Illamasqua Delirium blush
  • Illamasqua Concealer in 105 and 115
  • Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

BROWS:
  • Illamasqua Motto Brow Cake
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow

EYES:
  • NARS and Urban Decay eyeshadow primer (one on each eye - literally no difference)
  • Laura Mercier Morning Dew eyeshadow
  • Inglot 363 eyeshadow (my absolute favourite crease colour)
  • Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy
  • Fyrinnae Serendipity and Rapunzel Had Extensions eyeshadow
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
  • Urban Decay Perversion eyeliner
  • Oh My Lash Lucille eyelashes
  • Duo Lash Glue
  • Misc rhinestones from Amazon

LIPS:
  • MAC Prep+Prime Lips
  • MAC Heroine lipstick

This feels invasively close


Also here's my other and all time favourite purple lipstick, also by MAC but sadly Limited Edition - Instigator:

Hair's still wet, no one to impress


All FACE and BROW products are exactly the same as above.

EYES:

  • NARS Smudgeproof Shadow Base
  • Laura Mercier Morning Dew
  • Inglot 363 eyeshadow
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
  • Urban Decay Pervesion eyeliner
  • Red Cherry #48 eyelashes

LIPS:
  • MAC Instigator


Hopefully soon I'll find time in my life to post more than just a few snaps of looks I've done for nights out, but until then I'll be living barefaced in the library.


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com


Saturday, 15 February 2014

Happy Valentine's Day!

This friday was the first time I've been out in weeks as university's been so busy recently, and as it just so happened to be Valentine's day - despite being a holiday I don't really celebrate (except when my Dad sends me roses) - I thought I'd do something festive. Red lips, metallic gold and rose gold eyeshadow and long wispy lashes.

Viola!



FACE:
  • NARS Oil Free Primer
  • NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Siberia
  • Illamasqua concealer in 105 and 115
  • Illamasqua Hollow contour
  • Illamasqua Delirium blush
  • NARS Albatross highlight
  • Laura Mercier Loose Translucent Setting Powder

BROWS:
  • Illamasqua Motto Brow Cake
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
  • Questionable clear mascara

EYES:
  • NARS Smudgeproof Eyeshadow Base
  • Laura Mercier Morning Dew eyeshadow
  • Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow in Comex Gold
  • Urban Decay Naked3 palette
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
  • Laura Mercier Tightlining Cake in black and Activator
  • Red Cherry Wispy eyelashes
  • Benefit They're Real mascara

LIPS:
  • Armani Rouge D'Armani lipstick in 406 




I hope you all had a love/chocolate/alcohol filled 14th!


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Makeup Addiction: My Beautiful Sickness

So I bought Illamasqua Posture - the greyed lavender lipstick I've been lusting over for months and am convinced will make me look ill (but in a cool way). That combined with the fact I'd never used my Illasmasqua Rich Liquid foundation by itself - it's pure white - inspired me to try an artsy ill/tiered look.

I'm actually really pleased with the results - I almost gave up half way through because the contouring was being incredibly uncooperative - I was worried it would look too costume-y or halloween-y, but I think I've pulled it off it I don't say so myself!

Without further ado check out how fully opaque pure white foundation just looks like my regular skin:



Are you ready for a product list? [Yeah!]


FACE:
  • Illamasqua Rich Liquid Foundation in 100 (pure white)
  • Illasmaqua Hollow Cream Pigment contour
  • NYX Taupe blush contour
  • Sleek Dark Mattes eyeshadow in grey contour
BROWS:
  • Illamasqua Motto Brow Cake
  • MUFE Aqua Brow in 35/Taupe
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof eyeshadow
  • Questionable Clear Mascara
EYES:
  • Mac Paint Pot in Stormy Pink
  • Laura Mercier Morning Dew, Plum Smoke and Black Plum eyeshadows
  • Sugarpill Bulletproof, Love+ and Poison Plum eyeshadows
  • Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner in black
  • Illamasqua False Eyelashes in 21
  • Benefit They're Real mascara
LIPS:
  • Illamasqua Posture
  • OCC Lip Tar in NSFW

And now I have about two dozen different brushes to clean...


As always you can contact me at PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com -

Sask X






Thursday, 30 January 2014

Lipstick Swatches

Quick post with swatches of all of my lipsticks (disincluding my many OCC Lip Tars and a few I've relegated since upgrading them):

Neat swatching is not something I have time for

So, from left to right in a poor attempt at reading darkest to lightest:

  • Illamasqua Pristine - supposed to be matte, is actually satin - C
  • MAC Instigator (LE) - matte - A
  • NARS Train Bleu (Discontinued?) - so matte it makes the sahara look damp - C
  • MAC Instigator (LE) - matte - A
  • MAC Dark Side - satin/'amplified' - A
  • Rimmel Kate Moss Matte 107 - matte - B
  • MAC Studded Kiss (LE) - matte - A
  • Armani Rouge D'Armani 406 - cream-matte A++
  • MAC Flat Out Fabulous - 'retro' matte A
  • Soap & Glory Pom Pom - matte - A
  • Soap & Glory Pink Blush - matte - A
  • Soap & Glory - matte - Supernude - A

My grading is based on the formula alone - pigment density and evenness, comfort, longevity, feathering, smudging:
  • A = excellent in all areas
  • B = good in most areas
  • C = workable but not ideal
  • D = barely functional
  • F = garbage


Pristine, Punk Couture, Train Bleu, Instigator, Dark Side, 107, Studded Kiss, 406


It's pretty obvious my preferences lie with vampy mattes and this reason is two fold: purple is my favourite colour and I'm lazy. Essentially if I'm going to wear lipstick I want it to damn well look like I'm wearing lipstick otherwise I just don't see the point, and if I'm going to bother to apply a lipstick it better damn well not need reapplication for at least 6 hours unless I decide to attack a big greasy hamburger.

My all-time favourites are MAC Instigator and Rouge D'Armani 406, Instigator is a great formula but it's the truly unique colour that I'm in love with and 406 has a absolutely magical formula and is my perfect classic red.


107, Studded Kiss, 406, Flat Out Fabulous, Pom Pom, Blush Pink, Supernude


 Flat Out Fabulous isn't as purple as I'd hoped it to be but is still a lovely bright spring/summer shade, and the S&G shades are my nod to natural lips - Pom Pom is a very wearable bold pink, Blush Pink is a muted plum 'My Lips But Better' and Supernude is just there on the off chance I ever want to wear a nude lip (although I'm a little put off by how warm it looks here since I really dislike anything orange).


Currently on my wish-list are:

  • MAC Heroine (violet) - matte; pretty obvious why I want this
  • MAC Up The Amp (muted medium toned lavender pink) - satin/'amplified'; a toned down everyday purple
  • MAC Relentlessly Red (bright pinkish red with coral undertones) - 'retro' matte; about as far towards coral/orange as I'll go, I think this will look great with a tan over the summer
  • Illamasqua Posture (greyed lavender) - matte; to be honest this will probably make me look a bit washed out and ill but... I want it
  • Illamasqua Apocalips (dark teal green) - matte; green is my second favourite colour and I want to wear it on my face. That's all there is to it.
  • Revlon Matte Balm Shameless (red based purple) - matte; obvious choice
  • Maybelline Colour Elixir Lip Gloss Vision in Violet (violet) - gloss; because if anything is going to get me into lip-glosses/allow me to tolerate their stickiness it's going to be something bright purple, plus it's cheap.
  • MAC Sin (burgundy) - matte; I probably don't need this as I have Studded Kiss




And a bonus of this week's manicure which is appropriately purple - Barry M nail polish in Cosmo Berry and a random Topshop glitter one.


Sas X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com





Thursday, 23 January 2014

Illamasqua Pristine Black Lipstick

Illamasqua are my overall favourite cosmetics brand for many, many reasons - the most simple one being they make both conventional and unique products that are consistently amazing quality.

They also have a great £5/£7/£10 sale going on right now which I have taken advantage of to try more of their products, particularly their vampire pale foundations/concealers (which I will review separately).




Amongst many things I picked up Pristine - a "pure black, matte finish" lipstick for £7, and promptly decided that it was the appropriate thing to wear to the dinner party I was hosting that night.

First things first: it's definitely not matte - or even demi-matte - it felt and wore like a satin lipstick which would be great for those with dry lips but cut down on its wear time massively. Pristine also had good pigmentation - especially considering it's unconventional colour - but did have a slight tendency to feather and smudge (I was not wearing lip liner).


Illamasqua vs Mac lipstick bullets - my only fault with Illamasqua is their bulky and often impractical packaging


Overall it was comfortable, opaque with average staying power and a much better black lipstick option than my OCC Lip Tar in Tarred.

I paired it with my usual face and an amped up version of my favourite gold, bronze and black eye makeup (product list below) and slung a gold headpiece on for good measure. My current loves in life are obviously unconventional lip colours, headdresses, stiletto nails and - as always - ugly jumpers.


Dark Greek Goddess? I don't really know what I was going for here

FACE:

  • NARS Oil Free Primer
  • NARS Sheer Glow in Siberia
  • Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment Contour
  • Illamasqua Delirium Cream Pigment Blush
  • NARS Albatross Highlighter
  • Illamasqua Concealers in 105 and 115
  • Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder

EYES:
  • Illamasqua Brow Cake in Motto
  • NARS Smudge-proof Eyeshadow Base
  • Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow in Comex Gold
  • Inglot gold and bronze eyeshadows (from my 10 pan custom palette)
  • Sugarpill Bulletprrof eyeshadow
  • Laura Mercier Tightlining Cake and Activator
  • DollyWink Eyelashes
  • Benefit They're Real Mascara

LIPS:
  • Illamasqua Pristine



And in case anyone's interested this is what I actually look like the majority of the time:




And this is my most recent manicure (I tried to do an ombre with these colours but I'm terrible at nail art).



Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Saturday, 18 January 2014

Back with a Gothic Vengeance

One of my MANY New Years resolutions is to get this blog going again!
Side-note: can I even say 'again' when I only had half a dozen posts to start with?

Anyway, to kick off here are some snaps of looks I've done over the Christmas holidays for various social events (or y'know just baking in my pyjamas).

I got some new vampy lipsticks (MAC Punk Couture collection and NARS Train Bleu) for various birth anniversaries (my own and Jesus') so decided to be all high fashion and wear dark lips with absolutely no eye makeup! Or rather, I was too lazy to do eye makeup, whichever.


Dark lips (MAC Studded Kiss and Currant lipliner), bold brows and contour


My mother then promptly dubbed this my 'gothic phase' - well if you insist...


I was going for 'Feminine Gothic' rather than 'I'm angry at the world Gothic'
NARS Train Bleu lipstick, MAC Currant lipliner, Stila MMFFE in Vintage Black Gold



Plus a snap I made for an Instagram 'Contouring 101' (yeah I have Instagram now #socialmedia #IhavenoideawhatI'mdoing #EmilyJones) add me/follow me/subscribe(?)... aiksasarual


MAC Instigator lipstick, MAC Currant lipliner, Illamasqua Hollow contour and Delirium blush


And for anyone who's interested in photography here's my setup:

Canon 60D body and 18-135 lens with the 430EXII Speedlite flash gun and Lumiquest 80/20 flash diffuser on the Induro Carbon 8X CT214 tripod and BHD1 ball head. Everything was shot on fully automatic (I'm lazy with selfies).


Also shout out to anyone who's here from reddit - you guys are awesome!


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com

Saturday, 7 September 2013

Lip Tar Custom Mixes: Preliminary Adventures

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics make a liquid lipstick called Lip Tar - you paint it on as the thinnest possible layer (about a bead half the size of a pin head) with an included brush, it then dries to a demi-matte finish. It's amazingly pigmented, long wearing and comfortable to boot.

I currently own 10 of them - 7 traditional(ish) lip colours I love and 4 mixing colours:

Vintage, NSFW, Strumpet, Nylon, Hoochie, Lydia, Interlace, Tarred, Rx, Traffic, Feathered

I finally have the time in my life (thanks to being partially crippled due to recent knee surgery) to play creative artist with all my new colours (below are A TON of photos - proceed with caution).

Here's the method I use to apply them:
  • Moisturise with lip balm and let it sink in for a couple of minutes
  • Wipe off the excess lip balm with a tissue paper
  • Apply the thinnest possible layer to give a wash of colour and create the lip shape
  • Top up to full opacity with another tiny bit of Tar

That will give you a true to Tar colour which is cleanly and easily shaped and doesn't smudge or feather. To then mix an on-the-mouth colour (as opposed to mixing it on a tray/pot) dab on the least possible amount of your second colour and blend out. If you're trying to add a lighter colour over a darker colour (eg red over blue) remember to blot off the excess dark colour first or you'll have to add too much of the lighter colour thus ending up with a gloopy mouth and wasted product.

So without further adu check out my absurdly colourful mouth:

Bare lips
Two coats of Traffic - you can see it's pretty patchy and not as pigment dense as the others
Tried to get graphic and creative: looked like a mouth-flag
Blended it out
You can really see the texture difference between pure traffic and with Rx blended in
Fully blended out and matching my eyes!
Added more Rx, sad green lipstick doesn't suit me as well as I dreamed it would
You can really see the much smoother texture here
Blotted and added Feathered to get a mint green; quick comparison to Lime Crime's Mint To Be (I wasn't trying to colour match here)
Started a fresh with NSFW which is easily the most beautiful true red I have ever seen - neither orange nor too cool.
I originally bought it for mixing as a primary red, but will now definitely wear it alone.
Magical, majestic, magnificent... I'll stop now. It's just perfect
This is where I start getting bored with my regular facial expression
Created an ombre with Tarred but sadly the consistency was even worse than Traffic
Darkened it more - there's a ton of feathering with Tarred and it's really liquid-y, thus sadly this would not be long wearing orpractical to wear out
Blended it together
Added some Rx
Back to bare lips - a reminder of our canvas' original colour
Rx - the pigmentation and consistency was lovely just like NSFW


Added some NSFW and gave up trying to make a cheerfully neutral facial expression
Blotted, added Feathered
Blotted again, more Feathered
Ok so here you can see an issue I ran into: Rx stained my lips badly, making it impossible to get a true purple.
If you're going to be using Rx in a mix always use it second for on the mouth blending as none of the other colours really stain
Stained lips after about half a dozen scrubs with makeup remover
Attempted to roll with it and add Feathered and NSFW on top of the staining
More NSFW
You can still see the staining causing an inconsistent colour and texture. My custom purple/violet/lilac/lavender  dreams did not come true today, but I will try again soon with NSFW as the base colour
I pretty much had to shed 3 layers of skin to get them back to their (almost) original colour
Feathered. Yes, I am so pale I can colour and blend outside of the lines with a pure white lipstick
Unexpected downside: my pearly whites no longer look pearly white!
Im so bored at this point I barely bothered to blend and pose
Feathered and NSFW
After disappointment with the purples this NSFW+Feathered mix really made my night, somehow this photo doesn't do it justice
Not a custom mix but I wanted to wear purple out for cocktails so settled for plain Hoochie

Obviously this isn't anywhere close to the full creative and colourful potential of my Lip Tars (I've got my heart set on a sunset ombre like my Sugarpill eyeshadow look) but it's a great jumping off point. I'll definitely be revisiting this theme/project with both conventional (reds, pinks, corals, purples?) and off the wall colours and combinations.

Also, shout out to Cocktail Cosmetics for being an amazing UK distributor of Lip Tars (and Sugarpill and Lime Crime) - the owner Julie Burford gave me pretty much the best customer service I've ever encountered and my orders arrived amazingly fast and beautifully packaged.


Saskia X

PrettyTrivialities@gmail.com