Candy Yum Yum Dupe?

Haz I found one? A couple of you asked me to compare Sleek Amped to Mac Candy Yum Yum. Someone lovely sourced CYY for me when London refused to provide it, so I did some swatches for you.

Top to bottom - Direct sunlight, flash, no flash.
Left is MAC Candy Yum Yum, right is Sleek True Colour Lipstick in Amped.

 

Top is Candy Yum Yum, bottom is Amped.

What say we all? In the last skin swatch picture, I think Amped looks a little bluer, but from having worn both, I think CYY is more opaque and that may have something to do with it. From the lip swatches (both with flash and both hastily applied, sorry!) you can see CYY looks more neon. They're close, in my opinion, but it's nowhere near a perfect dupe.

As for wear... the problems I have with mattes are the same for both lipstick. They don't adhere well to the centre of my lips, and after a while, my lips will dry out to the point where I have to take the lipstick off. With Candy Yum Yum, I applied it around 9 and had took it off about 5. It faded after eating at around 2, but I could have just about got away with not touching up. With Amped applied at about 9 in the morning, I felt I had to touch up more after eating and I felt like I wanted it off about at about 4. CYY feels nice on the lips when I apply, and I *do* like the nommy vanilla scent, so I'd say out of the two, I probably prefer the MAC.


I dunno guys.... It's not a dupe in my opinion, but if you just want the hot pinkness,  I'd say get the Sleek if you're a Brit - £4 to £14 is a bit of a no-brainer if you don't desperately want the exact colour. If you ain't a Brit, or you don't have a UK CP'er, get the MAC if you can find it.


Reckon I can pull it off, kids?

Quickie Review and Swatches: Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick

I really need to give up on the 'quickie review' crap - they're never quick! I think I just like saying 'quickie.' Anyway, feast your eyeballs on the Evil Shades Deviant Lipsticks in my collection.


Silk Stockings:




The last picture captures the colour of the base well, but it shows up like the top photo normally - the sparkles/shift are a soft blue! Really awesome unusual nude.

Fateful:



Fateful is a black with purple shimmer. For a black lipstick (which are tricky buggers) this is freaking ace - no rubbing it over your lips 10,000 times to get some colour to show! The only downside is you need to wear lip liner, as you can probably see, but that's the case with all blacks I've ever tried.

Primrose Path:

Such a perfect day-to-day shade - a peachy pink with subtle green shimmer. The green shimmer makes it unusual enough that I think I'm cool, but it is very subtle and wearable still!

Devilista:


One of my favourite reds! I really think this is a knock-out shade and I like its not-too-sheeny, not-too-matte finish.

Obscurity:

 

 

A deep metallic blue. I have trouble with this one - it takes a bit of effort to apply it opaquely, but it's not like it takes ten minutes or anything.  I'm going to try it over concealed lips and see if that makes a difference.

Mage:

It's green. What more can I say? I got a sample of this with an order and I love it! *Probably* wouldn;t wear it out, but we'll see...
  
Bane:

Bane is a really pretty light pink with a blue shift and I think it's a nice addition to anyone's colection. The formula of this one is really light and balmy and as such is sheerer than the others. Great for layering.

Corruption:

Corruption is a metallic purple with blue glitter (you can see it if you click the bottom picture, it's more obvious in real life). A really cool and unusual shade! This is a bit of a funny one - it is pigmented, but I have to really warm it up first to get it to show on my lips. Bit odd, but once it's warmed up, it applies nicely and doesn't budge.

Corset:

 

A beautiful wine colour. I love these shades but often find they're too red or too black - this one has a lovely berry juiciness to it. Do you have lipsticks that whenever you put them on you make kissy duck faces at yourself? (No... just me?) Well, this is one of those lippies!

Fearless:

Errrr. How awesome is this? It's quite hard for me to describe - it's very bright but it's sort of... a neon undertone than rather than a omg-my-retinas bright.The best thing about it is it's UV REACTIVE. I can't wait to see how it glows under blacklight. Funnily enough, I don't have one knocking about to swatch it under but I will update this post soon as I've got a UV shoot coming up.


Boring word time...

What to say about these? Well, the first thing I love is the price. They're $4.25 each, so about £2.60, and they're quite often on 3-for-2, so they're a freakin' steal. They wear very well - I worse Primrose Path the other day and it lasted through a picnic and beyond, which is no mean feat, I tell you, and they're not drying, although some formulas are slightly drier than others. I'll reiterate that they're cheap as fucking chips, because I still can't get over what you get for the price.


I should also mention the packaging. Here's the new tubes:

 

Versus the old tubes:

 

The old packaging was a bit bothersome - I find it hard to neatly apply some of the colours with the big chapstick round tubes as I have a skinny upper lip (not complaining, of course, as I'm sure the packaging has a lot to do with that awesome price) but the new slimmer ones solve that problem and look pretty swish too. Love the new labels as well - look how far they've come along since the original white ones!


Have you tired these lippies? Any reccomendations?

Red Brows, Black Lips

Got bored, innit.











Eyes:
Lid:Mac Gesso
Crease:Maybelline Monowear in Sand
Liner/steaks: Kryolan Aquacolours
Brows: Fyrinnae Bite Me


Cheeks:
Sleek blush in Scandalous

Lips:
Nyx Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean.


I think I should have gone a little *more* OTT with this one! The lashes are cheap ones that you get in a multi-pack from China cut up - thanks China!

I think I should do red brows more often, no?

Interview with Jasmine from High Voltage

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.
What a way to wrap up my High Voltage week! The super awesome omg-I-love-her Jasmine, the owner of High Voltage did an interview for me! Hell to the yeah!

(That's Jasmine, fyi! :P)

1) What led you to create High Voltage and how did you come up with the name?

I have a large background in theatre, and stage makeup.

I've always been exploring anything that was creative that I could get my hands on.

I first started with toying with the idea of creating cosmetics in early 2008, experimenting,researching, formulating.

I was working in the IT field and wasn't happy with my career and had felt I wasn't being creatively expressive enough.So when I wasn't working I was creating new things that I felt very confident about. The name would have to be from my love of rock and metal music.

I came up in my head with a lot of different names and when I chose High Voltage I really felt like it "stuck". I felt that it represented me and what my cosmetics were all about.

2) You often post really cute, bright looks on Twitter, etc. What say you to those who aren't

brave enough to rock bright colours everyday?

First of all THANK YOU! I love your looks too Robyn,you are truly an inspiration to me!

To those who aren't brave enough to wear bright colours, take little baby steps, maybe try wearing a little bit on the lower lash line, or incorporating colour into your look maybe by trying a colour lipgloss/lipstick you love around the house, before taking the full plunge.

3) Is it difficult to have to be both creative and business minded?

Let me tell you I keep a small notebook near me at all times, if I'm not working or I'm out running errands it seems that ideas pop into my head way too often,my brain never seems to let me rest! XD

It's very easy to be business minded,I always think of what my customers would like or dislike.

I often ask for feedback from them quite often, if something isn't of interest or in demand I take that into consideration.

I LOVE my customers very much,without them I wouldn't be nearly inspired enough to try new things:)

4) You're friends with other indie cosmetics company owners online - is it difficult not to

see them as competition?

I love every single one of the ladies I've met from other companies.

I truly find them to be a great source of inspiration and I feel my friendships with them have helped me grow as a human being. I love chatting with them about cosmetics,business,life and anything else really.

I never see anyone as competition,that's not how I view it,The commonality we business owners share are so much more than that. We are artists,we are people,we should embrace one another and learn from one another!

5) You have a Norse Mythology and Brothers Grimm collections - are you into mythology? What other 'geeky' stuff are you into?

I sure do! I grew up loving Vikings, anything to do with vikings and Norse mythology. I also really enjoy Egyptian Mythology as well.

I really love Dungeons & Dragons,I grew up around my cousin who used to play it all the time.

I enjoy painting miniatures that are used in D&D. I'm a total horror and b movie fanatic,I guess you could call me a fan girl:)

Awesome Norse Mythology swatches. More here.

6) What does your working day look like?

My work day starts at around 8 AM and doesn't end until I'm done working. My day could end anytime from 7 PM to 2 AM.

You are probably wondering when do I sleep?
Not often enough!:)

7) It seem like you're always working on something - what do you do to relax?

I am indeed ALWAYS working on something. I often start a lot of projects and work on them from a few weeks to months. I guess I love being creative whenever I can! I enjoy spending time with my children,watching a good movie,and listening to some music:)

8) Why did you decide to create Aces High, the new High Voltage membership club?

I decided to creative Aces High because a lot of my customers are frequent buyers,

I wanted them to feel appreciated by offering them special gifts when they ordered and thank them for their busines essentially.

9) You come up with new colours/products all the time. What's your favourite to make? Do you have a least favourite?

I sure do! My favourite product to make is probably the lip products. I love all the different finishes that lip products can have. I like making anything from bright to dark to sultry. There's nothing I dislike making:)

A couple of my favourite Lip Candies - Material Girl and Take The Stage

10) Your products are mostly named for rock and metal songs - Where does the inspiration for the colours themselves come from?

The inspiration comes from the music it's self,different times periods,a lot of the names are either song refrences or refrences from lyrics themselves.

Music has always been a huge part of my life and always will,it's been a true inspiration for me.

11) Do you have a signature scent?

My signature scent would have to be Bath & Body Works Moonlight Path.

12) If, because of some improbable twist of awfulness, you could only keep one of your eye colours and one of your lip colours, which would you choose?

Oh no! I would never want that to happen,haha,but if it ever did, I'd probably keep Immortal Desire eye shadow (Duochrome goodness!)and the one lip product I'd keep is Pretty Woman Lip Candy.

Immortal Desire Eyeshadow. Picture property of High Voltage.

13) Do you have any pets?

I sure do! I have 2 pet rattie Boys that I love so much. I've always been a rodent person:) They are far too cuddly to not love!

14) And finally (because this is what's important to me!), what's your favourite candy?!

My favourite candy would have to be lemonheads!


Jasmine, thanks so much for being an inspiration to all us makeup geeks! You can follow Jasmine on Twitter @HighVoltageMU and you can look at High Voltage pretties here!

I love doing 'Love Weeks!' More suggestions, please - Darling Girl? Evil Shades?

High Voltage Love Week: Day 7

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.
Last but not least, my dears, I thought I had better do a look using High Voltage Secrets and Lies. If you're ordering from HV, pop a sample of this in your cart, it's so pretty!

Eyes:
Lid: High Voltage Big Break
Outer Crease: High Voltage Secrets and Lies
Inner Crease: Kiss of True Love
Lower Lashline: High Voltage Secrets and Lies
Liner: MUA Liner

Cheeks:
Sleek Pan Tao Blush

Lips:
Forgot when I took the picture, but GOSH Light N' Shine lip glaze in No 5.


Secrets and Lies is a beautiful royal purple... the lower lashline in the second picture is probably the most colour accurate, but not quite. I love the HV purples I have and I'm lusting after Smooth Operator, Hollywood Rose and Moshing Pit. Kiss Of True Love (I always hear Ursula from The Little Mermaid when I hear the those words!) is really much more in your face than in this look... my blending was a bit of the muddy side here!


So what have I learnt during HV week? I need to buy more! Hooray!

High Voltage Love Week: Day 6

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.
Hullo thar! Got caught in a horrrrrific downpour today, right after I'd dyed my hair. NICE. Anyway...

I wanted to do a look showing off 'Roadie' for today:








Lid: High Voltage Roadie
Crease: High Voltage Ragnarok (Norse Mythology)
Lower lashline: MUA Intense Glitter liner in Malted Chocolate, HV Ragnarok on top.
Liner: Gosh Art Liner in....er, brown?

Cheeks:
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Stereo Rose

Lips:
MUA lipstick Shade 11.

I LOVE ROADIE - what a wicked deep teal-green! I really don't think I can say anything else about this look, other than I should have done a white waterline and probably a less pink lipstick shade. Oh, one other thing - with High Voltage shadows, I prefer to use a creamy base, such as NYX pencils, rather than something sticky like Pixie Epoxy - I get a much nicer, more even payoff with them, and they're really pigmented anyway! Only one more HV day! Waaaaa :(

High Voltage Love Week: Day 5

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.
Happy Egg Weekend, everyone! The weather is beautiful, so I've made some Nutella cakes and we're off for a picnic!

High Voltage has some wonderful purples, so I thought I'd put together a sultry purple eye:





No full face 'cos I was Spot City at the time, but I wore Evil Shades blush in Ravishing and Gosh Light N Shine lip glaze in no 5.


Lid: High Voltage Born to Rock
Crease: High Voltage Strutter
Outer V: High Voltage Freyr (Norse Mythology)
Inner Corner: High Voltage Starbreaker
Liner: Collection 2000 Extreme Wear liner in Purple

How amazing is Born to Rock? Purple and green duochrome?! YEAH. I 'created' a purple and green duo shadow for one of my ideas for the High Voltage contest and then realised... Durrr, Jasmine already made one. Fail.

Eyeshadows named after Kiss songs rock my fucking socks off - Strutter is the most ridiculous song in the world and I love it. If I had had more time, I might've blended Starbreaker along the line of the top of Strutter in the crease, but I didn't. I'm getting up at 6.45 now if I want to wear nice make-up... we'll see how long that lasts!