Little High Voltage Haul

Due to recent customer service complaints, long order waits, orders going missing and ingredient inconsitencies, I can no longer recommend High Voltage Cosmetics.
When High Voltage brought out the Grab Bags for lip products, how could I say no? I was really pleased when I got my package to get some of the Amp'd Up Glosses, which people have asked me about but I haven't tried.

Check 'em out!

 

Amp'd Up Gloss in 'Aces Wild '

 Amp'd Up Gloss in 'Dance Floor'

 Amp'd Up Gloss in 'Juke Box'

 Amp'd Up Gloss in 'Love Crush'

Lip Candy in 'Vampirella'

I think Dance Floor is my favourite of the bunch, and I was super pleased to find Vampirella in my order because I've been lusting after it since I first saw it. When you buy so many lip products, I think grab bags are an awesome idea... I loved opening them all and seeing shiny new surprises!

My thoughts and love for the Lip Candy have been spread far and wide, but you can read more about them here. So what do I think of the Amp'd Up Gloss.... well, basically, I love them. They're not exactly a gloss, though... more like a creamier version of the Lip Candy? They're certainly not like a regular gloss, which I think the 'Amp'd Up' part should have given away. Anyway, I'm really glad I went for the grab bag option or I never would have tried them.


I also got a few samples with my order:

L-R, London Nights, Out Law, Miami Beat, Times Square Kiss.

Samples from High Voltage are now coming in much smaller baggies, which I'm sure a lot of people will be happy with. I also noted on the site that there are a lip samples now available for some products, so I bought a few blue ones! :D

L.E Sleek Blushes in 'Aruba' and 'Santorini'

I can't resist the limited edition blushes that Sleek bring out, and as soon as I saw the promos for these, I knew I need them on my face. I think that the Westfield Superdrug have been a bit cheeky and released Sleek's Carribean collection early, so I managed to pick up Aruba, a hot orange, to live with Santorini, a hot fuschia pink. Let's have a butchers, shall we?

 Packaging with pictures makes me happy.

L-R, Aruba, Santorini.

 L-R, Pan Tao, Aruba, Santorini, Flamingo.

That comparison is there to cement the fact in my mind that yes, these blushes are different from other Sleek blushes that I have and that I did, in fact, need them in my life. When I first saw them online I thought, 'but I already have Pan Toa and Flamingo! Surely I don't need them!' Hahahaha. Oh brain. You always need more blushes.

 

 Aruba on the face.

Santorini on the face.

These are both really pigmented, but not scary at all if applied with a light hand, which these swatches aren't. Both are really lovely and face brigtening. If I was going on a festival this summer, which I'm not, thanks for asking, I'd just bung both of these in my bag with a black eyeliner and wear a la Jessie J. Pigmented, non-chalky and dead cheap, if you like a bright blush I would leg it to Superdrug to get these!

Lip Maths: Teachers are Fascists.

a squared plus b squared equals c squared....

...and it always does, so why bother doing the bloody equation in the first place?! I know the formula, ergo, I know the answer. Skip the homework man, I can pythogorate anything. I can do triangles. I'll find that missing length and stick it right up your hypotenuse.

Sadly one theorem I could not master was that of 'makeup plus school equals scrubbing your face with bog roll in the school toilets,' or what we eyeliner lovers referred to as Fascists Law.

 Shiro Intertubes in 'Leeroy Jenkins' + Gosh Light N Shine Lip Glaze in No 5 =

Yeah.... I'd have had to scrub this off as soon as I stepped foot in the school gates. Fascists.

Wet & Wild 'Comfort Zone' Looks

Soooo... since Wendy got me this palette, I've worn it a lot. I never thought I'd like a bunch of neutrals as much as I do and the fact that this palette has green in it just makes it a winner for me! Again, swatches of these are all over the interwebs, so here are a few quick looks I've been doing with it.

Sorry about mah eyebraus.

I think this palette is put together a little better than 'Blue Had Me At Hello,' (i.e., not too much black!) and it's pretty versatile. Most bloggers will probably have similar colours to these already, but for the price, convenience and the MAC 'Club' dupe, I'd say it's well worth getting. Oh, and did I mention the green? Yeah, screw you, UD Naked palette!*



*Except I really want the Naked palette.

Lip Maths: Better than Algebra

I hate it when the maths teacher asks you an algebra question, and you rack your brain trying to work it out and then the old biffer asks you *again* the next day. Remember it yourself, love! I find something like this easier - lipstick is always lipstick, and doesn't change into letters or hide in stupid brackets you have to get rid of.

 Inglot Matte Collection AMC Lip Pencil in 11 + Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Romantique =

Mmmmm.

YEAH. Differentiate that, Mrs Prior.

Purple make me lose my mind

Up in here, up in here....Just a quick LOTD for you guys today. I think I actually wore this last Friday - I just found the photos on my computer and I used a couple of shadows that I adore, so I thought I'd show it.

Eyes:
Lid: Evil Shades Lazy Daze
Crease/lower lashline: Inglot AMC 379
Outer V: High Voltage Heavy Metal
Inner corner/ Highlight: Sugarpill Lumi

Cheeks:
Evil Shades  Pouty

Lips:
Unnamed Barry M Lip Gloss Wand (one that came with Impulse spray)

The first photo was taken as I was heading to the pub, when I added a lot of Lumi to the inner corner. I got a sample of it in a giveaway prize from Annamax and hadn't used it yet, and lord help me because now I have to buy it. Also want to give Evil Shades 'Lazy Daze'  from the LE Summer Nights collection a shout out - it's a gorgeous, slightly sheer pale lilac with a hint of green duo - YUM. I'm also loving Pouty blush - I've been looking for ages for a perfect blush to wear with purple looks that isn't too cool and I think I may have found it. And it's matte, hooray!

How do you pair your eyeshadows with blush and lip colours? Do you have 'set' combinations that you go back to, a works-for-everything product or do you just wing it?

On Wednesdays We Wear Pink

Alright, so I'm writing this on a Monday, but I love Mean Girls and 'Too gay to function?!' isn't the best title for a blog post. Anyway, I pretty much just wanted to show you these:

Ha ha, you have to look at my gross feet. Suede block heels: Primark, £14. Also in tan. Bleh.

I had a crappy, crappy day and these were on my mind - I never normally buy shoes from Primark because.. well, you get what you pay for, but I couldn't resist these. I'll be wearing these with tattoo tights and a black romper, but if you're more trendy than I am, I think these would look wicked with some neutral palazzo pants or as a lairy contrast to something sweet, white and feminine.

*looks lovingly at feet*

Wet & Wild 'Blue Had Me At Hello' Looks

Oh lord, if that isn't the worst name for a palette ever, I'm Jodie Marsh. Embarrassing name aside, this palette is the bomb diggety. I can't say enough good things about the quality of W&W's shadows for the price and this palette has some stunners. It's been out for a while now, so I haven't swatched it for you - check out the great 8 pan swatches on Vampy Varnish.  Also go and look at the swatches/dupes Wendy has up here - she bought me all my W&W, pretty much, so it's only fair.

Anyway, I have been using it a fair bit this week, so here's a few looks:

Blue eyeshadow, blue eyes. Woah there, cowboy. Don't you know thems against der rules?!

I wore all these looks with Darling Girl Fuji/Boardwalk blush and Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in Primrose Path.

The only 'criticism' I have of the palette is that it really doesn't need to have black and a sparkly black... if you're using it to darken your crease, you're going to buff out all the sparkles anyway. That aside, I think the colours are chosen well and are pretty versatile - the browbone and lid colour on the right hand side are to die for. If you like blues... and crappy puns.... I'd recommend it!

I'll be shouting my love for the 'Comfort Zone' palette shortly... Urban Decay naked palette can go and do one, as far as I'm concerned!

Shoot at Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

Went on a really cute little shoot for a print maker a couple of weeks ago. It's not the most exciting of shoots make-up wise, but the photography was so pretty I thought I'd share it with you anyway!

Photographer: John Reid. Model: Nataly Guryanova. Stylist: Magdalena Marciniak. Print Maker: Emma Harriet Wright. Makeup: Me

 It was absolutely freezing that day and chucking it down with rain - poor model! She did a wicked job - we were had to wrap her with blankets and cuddle her in between shots. I wish I'd got a better shot of the makeup - I used the ELF Day2Night quad with a bit of Wet & Wild Lust Palette on the eyes, Benefit and MUA blushes and a slick of nude gloss - simple but cute. I love using budget brands on shoots, it's like sticking it to the man, man! Explaining to people about the indie products I use can be harder though!

My Purple Lipstick Collection

I thought it was about time I swatched all of my purple lipsticks! I love seeing colour-based swatchathons on other people’s blogs, I find it really helpful if I’m looking for something to see it next to other colours in the same family, as well as a stand alone swatch.  First of, let’s dispense with this ‘true purple’ rubbish… these are all in the purple/lilac family, as it were, so here they are.

Click the links to see my pink, red, orange and neutral lipstick collections. Note that I’m going though reswatching/editing some these so I have a proper archive of lipstick colours.

-Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in ‘Dark Princess’

Lovely and bright, this colour does things to me! Apologies for my mashed up lip in this photo! (This swatch is from a sample.)

-Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in ‘Corruption’

Dark greyed purple with blue shimmer. This one takes a bit of warming up before it will apply evenly – I rub it on the back of my hand, and then apply. Slight pain in the bum but it doesn’t budge once it’s on.

-Evil Shades Deviant Lipstick in ‘Fateful’

Alright, its not purple, it's black, but it is crammed with purple sparkles making it a pretty awesome black!

-Evil Shades Wicked Gloss in 'Suffocation'

Sheer pinky-lavender, perfect for layering!

-Shiro Cosmetics Intertube in ‘Leeroy Jenkins’

Pinky-lavender purple. Applies a little streakily as it's so creamy, but is certainly very workable. Has quite a strong mint smell/tingle so if you’re not into that, beware!

-Sleek True Colour Lipstick in ‘Amethyst.’

A decent alternative to MAC ‘Violetta,’ though as I don't own that I won't claim dupe status. This one is a little dry but the pigmentation/lasting power is pretty darn good.

-Sleek True Colour Lipstick in 'Mystic.'

It's matte! Love! A very pink purple.... oh, alright, it's probably fuschia. Don't care.

-Wet and Wild Megalast Lipstick in 919B ‘Vamp It Up’
 

This colour is STUNNING. Where it’s so dark and quite a dry formula, though, I’d really recommend wearing a liner under it so you don’t get ‘fluffy’ looking lip lines like I have, here. Big goth in a small town? Go and get this!

-Morgana Cryptoria Vegan Lipstick in ‘Shrieking Violet’

I adore this colour, but I just can’t for the life of me get it to apply nicely. Morgana Cryptoria have re-worked this shade since I purchased it, however.

-Barry M Lip Paint in no 129 'Palest Lavender'

Very creamy, pink-leaning lavender – quite difficult to work with if I’m honest. Great for layering or mixing though and you can’t beat the colour!

-Nyx Round Lipstick in 'Medusa'

I love this colour, though with how dark it is, the creaminess of the Nyx formula means it does need a lot of looking after.

-Nyx Round Lipstick in Fusion

Bright purplish fuscia, with blue undertones and (some) blue interference. Really fun colour.

-Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in ‘Shangri-La’

Alrighty, so this is more of a pink-purple...again...but whatever. Quite a sheer colour, really nice when you want a twist on a pink lip. Really nice with a green eye!

-Boots 17 Shine On Lipstick in ‘Twilight Teaser’

An old 17 classic which I only recently discovered in Boots. I really like the balmy formula of this one, and I was dead happy to find a lovely new purple on the high street!

-Darling Girl Tinted Lip Balm in ‘Wallflower’

Pretty pigmented for a balm, eh? Has a slight blue interference which I couldn't capture, really pretty. (This swatch is from a sample.)

-High Voltage Lip Candy in ‘Alter Ego’

When I first got this, I had major streakiness problems, but I've had a play and it comes out so much better now - it's just a different formula and more glossy than the other Candys. I'm not sure that this colour is available anymore, but High Voltage have a ton of purples.

-High Voltage Lip Candy in ‘Gagalicious’

The palest pink-leaning lavender (Actually the palest lavender, Barry M!). Great for mixing with other colours or with a really dark smokey eye, if you're brave.

-High Voltage Lip Candy in ‘Just A Girl’

Everyone I know who has this loves it, and with good reason! A perfect pastel purple.

-High Voltage Lip Whip in ‘Ultra Violet’

 
Pastel purple with a metallic sheen. Has a slight grey tone to it which I really like, makes it different from my others!

-High Voltage Amp'd Up Gloss in 'Juke Box'

These are really pigmented, creamy glosses in a pot. I love the metallic sheen on this.

-Inglot Slim Gel Lipstick in 65

A perfect glossy grape purple crème. I adore the formula of this, it doesn't feel quite like anything else I own, and is more than worthy of its £11 price tag.

-Gosh Light N’ Shine Lip Glaze in No 5

I love these glosses, though they are pretty sticky. This is crammed with blue and purple sparkles – it looks pretty similar to MAC Funtabulous, no?

So… It seems to me that there are often application problems with purple lipsticks. I’ve noted in a few I have that there are streakiness problems, and I’ve noted other bloggers have problems with purple products that I don’t have. I guess it’s just a difficult colour! If you’ve picked up an *indie* product that has an application problem, or one that doesn’t apply as well as you feel it should, I urge you to tell the seller. - quite often they’re glad to hear it and will work on the formula. Drugstore or whatever... no chance!


Got any recommendations for me girls, or tips on how to wear purple lippy? Purples I’m craving right now are:

MAC 'Smoked Purple'

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss in 'Fierce'

Wet N Wild 916d 'Ravin Raisin'
High Voltage Night Queen
Cover Girl Embrace and Divine
Darling Girl Holo Gloss in 'Jar of Hearts'

I'm sure you can recommend me some more!