Neglected: Sleek Bohemian

It's mean. It's wasteful. It hurts the poor products feelings, but we all do it. The problem with having so much makeup - or anything, for that matter - is that stuff ends up gathering dust and not being used. So when I asked for a mini-challenge a couple of blog posts ago, and Wendy from Turtle Beauty told me to use the Sleek Bohemian palette for a couple of days, I took it as an opportunity to not be such a wasteful hussy.

Errrr. This is a difficult palette to get nice combinations out of. There are a few good ones, obviously, but not all of the colours are easy to put together. I think I did do more obvious combinations, but whatever. Here they are:




Used: Matte cream, matte purple, matte navy.

This turned out lovely and soft looking despite the vibrant purple. I was pretty pleased with the look, although I do still wish I had Sugarpill's Poison Plum as I suspect it is a whole lot better.




Used: Matte yellow, matte burgundy, matte green.

Sigh. My liner skills seem to be going backwards at the moment :(

I put the yellow and burgundy together and realised it was a bit Rhianna/Who's That Chick-y, so I went with it and put the green underneath. I want to do the Who's That Chick look properly, when I have the time to do the purple one as well.

I really should have given this palette another day, but I have new stuff to play with. So much for not being wasteful! Anyway kittens, I hereby challenge you to dig out something old or unloved and make use of it!

Fodderlaunch!

Want to read some new blogs?! Here are some bad boys that have been caressing my eyeballs lately!



Pretty Punk Beauty Junkie. She has an excellent, varied blog with great swatches and I love her Cheap Thrills Thursday feature! I read almost all of her posts yesterday!

Love Thing. Dazzlelight1991 is BEAUTIFUL. Her LOTDs are lovely, and it's worth checking her out just to drool over her hair!

Rockalily. ReeRee Rockette is a friend of a friend who runs a group in London called Wonderful Woman: Minding Our Own Business, aimed at chicks who are or want to run their own business and providing help and networking opportunities. Cool, huh? Rockalily is ReeRee's fantastic rockabilly blog with its own line of lipstick coming out soon!

Vulcan Butterfly flittered onto my radar really recently and I'm in love with her style already! Check our her fantastic look for Makeup Zombie!

Baroque Boudoir. LOVE this girls dress sense AND SHE HAS A STAY BEAUTIFUL TATTOO. (It's not just my blog name, it's one of my favourite songs. And no, not the Taylor Swift one.)

Hues N Blues. New blog from Sepia Raven! She's posted beautiful looks so far so go and give her some love!

Yama Yama Pretty Mama. YYPM was a rockabilly accessories online store which has really cute items, and this is Katie's blog. Lots of cute rockabilly style! Sadly the shop isn't running anymore, but she said if you email her she'll still make custom pieces.

And also a sifaka. Because they are the best.



If you've been reading anything that you've been loving, let me know!

*Insert witty title here*

In lieu of any humour or written entertainment, please turn your attention to some looks that have graced my face this week. I also ask that you politely ignore the stray hairs that have found their way into every single picture I have taken this week.




Eyes:
Lid: MAC Gesso, extended all the way to brow, Evil Shades Sylph on outer half.
Under brow bone: Shimmery shade from Wet n Wild Sky's the Limit Duo
Crease: Brighter shade from W&W duo
Lower Lashline: MUA eyeliner in Turquoise, lighter shade of Sky's the Limit Duo
Liner: Collection 2000 24/7 thing in Teal

Cheeks:
Almay Blush in 130 peach

Lips:
Darling Girl Liquid Kisses in Delight

Zing! This is the brightest look I have done in ages. It was weird to have such bright eyes again but I remembered why I liked it so much!




Eyes:
Under browbone: Living Dead Grrl Woooman
Crease: Fyrinnae Electro Koi
Lid: Fryinnae Leopard Print Galazy
Liner: High Voltage November Rain
Lower Lashline: Woooman/Electro Koi

Cheeks:
Darling Girl Fuji

Lips:
I can't remember! Sorry!

A pretty combination of shadows but I felt it was lacking something. When I work it out I really want to pair Woooman and Leopard Print Galaxy again.




Eyes:
Crease: Evil Shades Filigree
Lid: Highlight colour from Wet & Wild Night Elf palette (inner half) gold from NE, (outer half)
Outer V: Fire Opal
Lower lashline: Filigree/Fire Opal

Lid:

Cheeks:
Accessorize baked blusher in Pretty Pink
Sleek Contour Kit in Light

Lips:
MAC Russian Red

I wanted to use Filigree with Fire Opal and I got Russian Red in a package from Wendy today (Wonder Woman ftw!) so I had to use them all together. I would have felt sexy if I could have washed my hair today (boiler broken. Cue sad face.)

Next LOTDs are going to be some Sleek Bohemian looks!

-_-


P.S. I've got a lot of new followers recently, so if you're one of them, please let me know so I can come and check out your blog, too. You can also follow me on Twitter, @robynheartsslap :)

Foiling Around: Primark Nail Foils

Primark's beauty stuff, for the most part, is pretty gash but occasionally they bring out something fun and interesting, like these funky nail foils!



HOW PRETTY?!I'd wanted to try nail foils for a while now, but they can be a little expensive, and the prints in shops are often a bit boring or plain. So when I saw the Primark had the foils for £3, and they had skulls and leopard print, I didn't think I had much to lose.

So how easy are they to apply? I think it's a practice thing. The foils folding over themselves and creasing is the main problem - I have a couple of kinks on my nails, which you can see clearly in the picture of my middle finger above, and even with blasting them with the hair dyer (which is hot, obviously :S) I couldn't get them out. Other than that, it was pretty simple. These particular foils come with both written instructions and a picture tutorial:




I think that's pretty decent for a Primark product!

So how did they wear? I applied them on Tuesday evening, and I took these pictures early Saturday evening.



Wear on the left hand.



Wear on the right hand.

The chunk taken out of my middle finger has peeled away in a spot where I know I didn't file it down properly in the first place, and it only came off this morning. I'd say you get three days of good wear with these, and then they start to look a teeny bit bedraggled, but you can still get a another day or so if you're not a perfectionist. So I'm really impressed! And they peeled off easily without leaving a residue. A+, Primark!

I should mention that I don't think they'd be good for large hands. Though I have quite big hands for a laydee, my fingers are fairly slim and some of the smaller ones would be way too small for some people, so if you have wider nails, take a butchers at them closely before you buy. You do get 18 foils for ten fingers, though, so I guess they would probably work for most people.

Have you tried nail foils? Or any other snazzy new nail products? I've picked some of these up for an upcoming giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled!

Poiple

I posted green-and-purple looks recently, and it got me thinking that I don't really give my purples enough love. So for your viewing pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you... looks using purple stuffs!







Lid: Light purple from 17 palette (and to blend edges)
Crease: Fyrinnae Shinigami
Outer lid: Fyrinnae STFU
Lower Lashline: 17 purple, with STFU on the outer lashline
Highlight: MAC Gesso
Liner: Collection 2000 Glam Crystals in Shake It Up

Face:
Models Own blush in Warm Glow
Benefit It Stick Concealer
Kryolan fixing spray (testing it out... will review later.)

Lips:
Nameless sheer 'purple' gloss with holo glitter

(Eeeew, roots. I'm such a slack 'beauty' blogger!) I really liked this look. The rusty colour STFU made over the purples was beautiful. I'm playing with layering Pixie Epoxy at the moment (I've been layering it on the bottom lashline for a while now, but not on the lid) and yea, it's still awesome when you do that.














Eyes: (all Sleek Circus)
Lid: Matte Lilac
Crease: Bright matte pink (w/ shimmery fuschia in outer crease)
Outer V: Dark shimmery purple
Waterline: NYX JEP in Milk set with matte white

Cheeks:
Models Own blusher in Warm Glow

Lips:
Morgana Cryptoria pastel lipstick in Lush (blotted)
Brandless sheer purple gloss with holo glitter.

I got lots of comments on this look, probably because my real-life face is less stoopidz looking than that pathetic excuse for a photo right there. I feel really made up when I wear bright eyes and lips, so I skipped heavy liner and I think it works okay for daytime. Right...?




Eyes:
Lid/Crease: E.L.F Ethereal quad
Liner: Sleek kajal in Odyssey

Cheeks:
Darling Girl Fantasia

Lips:
Primark Well Licked Lipgloss in Sorbet


Really should have added black liner to the top lashes or something, but the combination of this kajal and Wicked is something I will be returning to fo' sho.


I did do some a couple more purple looks but my camera/memory card had a bit of a paddy and didn't want to co-operate with me for a while. Wanna know what's coming up on my blog? So do I! Nah, it's some of this stuffs:

-Looks! On my face!
-More on the MUA eyeliners
-E.L.F studio brush and eyeshadow quad review

Any suggestions? I'm pretty stumped at the moment make-up wise, I won't lie to you! Anyone want to challenge me to a week of something or something?

x

Quickie Review: Sleek Blush in Scandalous

I know its a bit beside the point reviewing this blush as it was discontinued last week*, but it reflects how I feel about my other Sleek blushers and as red is an unusual colour for blush, I saw no harm in my posting a few pics.




Mmmm, blush packaging.



Mmmmm, blush.



Mmmm, blush with flaaaash.

Its lairy, it's matte, it leans a tad orange. How does it looks on?



Applied very lightly. This picture is in the morning, around 9.




This picture is in the evening, at about 7. Hello, Greasy! As you can see, it held up pretty darn good. I really like the colour - it's very wind-flushed, natural looking and wearable. Bear in mind this is really, really lightlyapplied! I'm really pleased with the pigmentation and wear time of this - the fact I paid about £4.30 for it really helps when it's such a crazy colour. I know MAC and NARS have some red blushes, but I can't think of any that are this poppin' - anyone know of a good 'un?

*Scandalous was released as part of Sleek's Stiletto collection for Valentines. At time of writing (17th Feb) it was still available on their website, although due to recent happenings, I'd do a bit of research before you buy from their site.

Double Dares with Beauty's Bad Habit: David Bowie

On Fridays, Beauty's Bad Habit has a Double Dare - one of her readers will challenge her to a make-up dare, which they then have to do themselves. She asked for ideas on Twitter and I challenged her to do a David Bowie look. Why? Because he is sexy. That is all.

Here's my look - I'll post the inspiration picture at the end.







I didn't use much - the Sleek Good Girl palette and Beauty UK Metallic Sparks pencil in gold and that was pretty much it. I should have taken the red into my hairline and made the circle a little smaller but I just... eh, I'm not that great at the face, and that comes from not thinking about stuff like that! But it was fun to do!

Here are my inspiration pictures:





Images from Google Images.

Mmmm, David Bowie. I wish I had time to do his lovely face justice!

I can't wait to see BBH's version!

Bargain Time: Makeup Academy Intense Glitter Intense Colour liners

Make Up Academy have stolen my heart, again the dastardly imps. I'm skint at the moment and the fact I can grab pretty things for £1 keeps my cravings sated and stops me splurging in Superdrug so I can have nice indie hauls, etc.

Anyway, I saw the Intense Colour and Intense Glitter pencils in my local Superdrug today on one of the very same 'Argh, I have no money but want stuff' trips, and grabbed a couple to try. Wowza!




L-R:
Intense Glitter: Malt Chocolate
Intense Colour: Forest Green
Intense Colour: Bright Orange

The thinner liner is one stroke and the patch is layered. So basically, they're one-swipe babies. The Forest Green is more metallic in real life. Needless to say, I am going to buy the rest of the range tomorrow - look at the pigmentation! I think they had about ten colours, including a nice looking lilac. I chose the stupid colour I'll never wear- I can't believe I got a gorgeous orange liner for £1, though! Barry M has bright matte colours and they are pretty sucky so I never thought I would find one. I thought at first Malt Chocolate was an Urban Decay Bourbon Dupe, which it isn't, and got all excited.


Left: Makeup Academy Malt Chocolate
Right: Urban Decay Bourbon

The glitter stands out more in Malt Chocolate, which is more of a rusty, red-based brown that UD Bourbon which ironically is more of a chocolate colour. The glitter and finishes are similar - the MUA pencil isn't as soft as the UD, but they're both very smudge-able.

The pencils also have a built-in sharpener and they're labelled with their names, ingredients, use by dates, etc, as well. I really like that they have names, even if they are lame ones. It's so much handier than Shade 5 or Shade 12, which is the system for their other products. I'm also impressed at the range of finishes for such a budget brand - matte, glitter and metallic!

I haven't worn them yet - I'm literally vomiting this review out because I was so excited when I swatched them. If they wear as well as they look, then I'll be very happy indeed, but seriously, I'm thinking they're too good to be true right now! Stay tuned for an EOTD!

I did rolled bangs!!!

Or as we'd say in Jolly Ol' England, guv'nor, a rolled fringe.

We had a big joint birthday do last night and all went out to Volupté, which is a cabaret/burlesque lounge in London. The food and service, to be honest, were so shit we complained, which we never do because we're wimps, but the show itself was really good fun. There was a excellent jazzy trio - the compere/singer was fabulous - the burlesque dancing was beautiful and there was a cheeky topless acrobat which is always a good thing.

Anyway, I managed to make my hair do something good!



Eyes:
Lid: Shimmery whitish colour from Wet N Wild Lust Palette
Crease: Taupe and charcoal from e.l.d Day2Night quad
Brows: Rimmel Brow Pencil in Hazel/Dark matte brown from Sleek Storm palette

Cheeks:
Darling Girl Fuji

Lips:
Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Vixen
Barry M Lipgloss Wand in Cherry Glitter

I wanted to show you more pics of this but I only took this one off of my memory card, and now my memory card won't read. Sigh.

Anyway... I don't have many tips on achieving this hair-do, to be honest, except that you need a lot less wide a section of hair than you might think. Section some hair at the front of your head from your ears, and then probably the same width as your pupils are apart. Comb it straight, grab the ends and roll then up and toward your forehead (not your crown.) Keep it tight, pin it underneath with long bobby pins. Let it fan out slightly, secure further with bobby pins and annihilate it with hairspray. Add victory rolls/hair flowers/cute pigtails and you're done!

Robyn x

NOTD: Green Glitter Gradient

Alright, alright, its a nail of the... last week sometime!



I don't think I've ever done a glitter gradient before - I think I did okay considering. The most difficult part is getting the glitter to fade out at the bottom - it's difficult to get the right amount on your brush. I think I've found a good use for foam eyeshadow applicators! The base coat is a nameless sheer white glitter from an Accessorize set and the green is LA Colours Treasure Island - one of my favourite glitters!



Proper post for you soon, I promise! I was going to have a purple eyeshadow week, but I've been in a rush most mornings and have only had time to do mascara and lippy some days. I'm going to Volupte tomorrow night, so hopefully I'll have some nice retro hair and make-up to show you guys this weekend.

Tried any fun nail techniques recently?

Quickie Review: Morgana Cryptoria Vegan Lipsticks

I'd been wanting to try out Morgana's lipsticks for some time - they're widely raved about in the indie make-up community. I had a little Christmas money left over, so I picked Coraline's Kiss, Screaming Violet and Lush.

Ordering from Morgana Cryptoria was easy and the website is fun! At checkout, there is a couple of drop-down menus from which you can pick what shadows you want for your free samples, which I think is really, really awesome! Another thing I noticed about Morgana that they if something you order goes on sale or BOGOF within a certain period of you ordering, they'll credit your account or send you a free item with your next order. WIN. That is awesome customer service. Anywhoo...

Coraline's Kiss:





I'd been recommended this and I'm so glad I bought it. The texture is a little bit dry, but it is super bloody pigmented - like, really wow. I think it looks great with my skintone and I can't wait to wear it out.

Update: I wore this to work today, and I only had to touch it up twice during the day. It lost it's vibrancy more than it wore off my lips, if you know what I mean - no actual colour had worn off! I wasn't eating a lot today or anything, but I'm impressed with the wear. Good stuff!

Shrieking Violet:





I'd seen Blix wear this, and I've also seen in on a few other blog and fell in love. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed with this one. The colour is spot on, but I just can't make it work. It looks kind of waxy and is really difficult to apply evenly - I also couldn't get it to transfer onto a lip brush properly. It took a lot of work to make it look this good, and I can't get it to look good around the edges. I dunno, maybe I got a dud? I'll make it work.

Update: Melissa has said that this colour is going to be re-formulated. (Scroll down to the comments.) I think that's great as it's such a beautiful colour, it really deserves an awesome formula. I'd like to reiterate as well the fact I don't think this is a shit lippy, or unworkable, just that it's difficult. I also think it's cool the owner of the company took the time to let us know.

Lush:





Pretty! I love the finish. I saw Ana wear this on Lipstick and Lightsabers and even though I really, really, REALLY don't need another slightly-lilac-bubblegummy lipstick (I NEVER WEAR THEM) I really wanted to try this! It's so odd - it stains like a mofo, and not at all like the tube colour. I think it's awesome, but be warned if you're not into stains!


And because I know everything in this vague colour family gets compared to Viva Glam Gaga:



L-R:
Barry M Lip Paint No 177, Morgana Cryptoria Lush, Collection 2000 Bubblegum, MAC Viva Glam Gaga


Would I order from Morgana Cryptoria again: Yes, I would, although I found the shipping a bit expensive at $7 (yeah, I'm a cheapskate, it's not that bad from the States) and I'd have to remember about the bloody customs charge! The colour selection is amazing, and apart from the Shrieking Violet I got, the quality seems excellent. And rumour has it samples will be available soon, as well as a whole shitload of new colours!

Wanna fight about it?!

Purple and green one of my favourite colour combinations ever - especially when the shadows are muted, murky or smokey! I do like a bright green and purple look, but for everyday, I use this combo a fair bit.




Eyes:
Lid- Living Dead Grrl Lullaby
Crease- Living Dead Girl Fascination Street
Outer V- Living Dead Grrl Hello Brian
Highlight- Wet N Wild matte pink from Lust palette
Lower Lashline- Living Dead Grrl Fascination Street
Liner- Living Dead Grrl The Same Deep Water As You
Mascara- Boots 17 Wild Curls

Cheeks:
Highlight- Primark The Happy Couple - pink side
Blusher - Darling Girl Pink Outrage

Lips:
Boots Natural Collection Rose Petal

Hair, hair, everywhere.... whoops! I'm wearing this today - going out with the fiance tonight, so I wanted something pretty, which to me equals pink blusher and lippie. Fascination Street is such a beautiful grey-lilac colour - I'm still really impressed with my Living Dead Grrl Shadows.








Eyes:
Lid- Evil Shades Wyvern
Crease- Fyrinnae Blue Footed Booby
Lashlines- Darling Girl Making Merry
Waterline: Rimmel kohl pencil in Lovely Lilac
Highlight- Maybelline MonoExpert in Sand

Cheeks:
Blusher:Darling Girl Fuji
Highlight: NYX Mosaic Powder in Highlight

Lips:
E.L.F Super Glossy Lipshine in Candlelight

This just wouldn't capture - it was sooooo pretty in real life. Blue Footed Booby is really low shimmer, and it looked lovely with the iridescence of Wyvern. In turn, the brightness of Wyvern was lovely with the smokey duo-chrome thang that Making Merry has going on. Ah well.




Eyes:
Base: Nyx JEP in Black Bean
Lid/Crease: Sleek Intoxicated from Bad Girl Palette
Lower Lashline: Ulta Glitter Liner in Purple
Waterline: Nyx JEP in Milk

Super quick and easy look. I rarely use just one eyeshadow (highlights don't count!) but the lovely texture of Intoxicated made it interesting enough for me to wear alone. You don't get to see my face for this one - I'm suffering from The Peelies at the moment and it was particularly bad this day - but I'm wearing peach blusher and just some balm.

Do you have a favourite combination you fall back on?

Robyn xxx