Sugarpill and Illamasqua Mermaid Look and Paperself Giveaway!

Oooooh, I really need to learn how to take better photos! This looked so much better in real life, but ain’t that always the way? I did not want to take this look off – so SHINY!

Eyes: LA Colours Jumbo Eye Pencil in, Sugarpill Lumi, Sugarpill Darling, Sugarpill Royal Sugar, Elf Lock and Seal, Collection2000 Extreme Coloured Mascara in Teal, flat back pearls from eBay, Paperself lashes
Cheeks: Illamasqua Powder Eyeshadow in “Maybe?”, Sugarpill Lumi
Lips: Illamasqua Apocalips, Sugarpill Lumi, clear Inglot Sleeks gloss.

I think these are my favourite eyebrows ever. Mmmm, teal. I was feeling in the mood to use some Sugarpill today, as I thought they’re the perfect company for a mermaid look! Sugarpill Darling is one of those Goldilocks colours that's pretty simple, but  just right!

Aren’t these lashes AMAZING? My sister got me them for my birthday, and I finally got round to using them.  If you’ve not heard of Paperself lashes before, they’re laser-cut eyelashes made out of paper and they have some beautifully wierd and wonderful versions! I cut mine down because they were really really long, so I have some cute fish half-lashes for another time – even though the box says “suggested for single use only,” you’ll get at least two uses straight from the packet. I did manage to take them off carefully and I’ll get another use of them for sure, but I think if I screwed up the lashband, I could cut off the fish parts and stick them to some other lashes if I really wanted! If you want to use them a few times, I'd recommend not wearing them over shadow, as it's hard to peel the glue/shadow combination off the lashbands without them breaking. Also, you obviously can't clean them afterwards, so it's up to you if you even *want* to re-use them.

You can see how long they are here, it’s ridiculous!

Aaaaaand now for the ‘citing part. I have one pair of these gorgeous Paperself The Broken Hearts – Secret Treasures “Under The Sea” lashes to give away! All you have to do is be a CURRENT GFC follower – don’t take the piss or I’ll get Liam Neeson on your arse - and leave me a lovely comment about anything you like and I'll contact you if you win. Simples!  Open to all y’all lovely people worldwide, closes next Thursday.

Labyrinth Mini Series Part 5: Sir Didymus!

LET US BE BROTHERS HENCEFORTH!

Ooooh, I do love Sir Didymus. Every girl needs a gallant knight to protect her and so much the better if he also rides an Old English Sheepdog!

Eyes: Sugarpill Love+, Sugarpill Goldilux, brown from Sleek Storm, Illamasqua Liquid Metal in Superior, blue from Sleek Storm, Barry M Dazzle Dusts in Emerald and Orange, Barry M Fine Glitter in Opal, Inglot Matte Gel Liner in 76, MAC Gesso.

Of all the looks I’ve done for this series, this is probably my least favourite. I really wanted to capture his awesome, OTT cloth-of-gold nobleman outfit, and I don’t think I nailed it..and the red isn’t the right redddd  and also I wanted the brows to represent his foxy-ness, and, and, and… and it just wasn’t really happening! Ah well. It’s not very Didymus-y, but I still kind of like it.

I know this was supposed to be a mini series, but I’ve got at *least* three more looks to do…

Quickie Review: Illamasqua Illumine Oil in Volt

Ah, Illamasqua. How I love thee for being a higher end brand that has sales! Seriously, the Illamasqua sales are fab, and always start at a fiver, so you can get something posh and pretty for dead cheap, which is obviously marvellous. I snapped up a few bits and bobs including the Illumine Oil in Volt for the measly price of £7.50 (rrp £25.00, 100ml)

 

Damn, this shiz is hard to capture on camera! It’s shot through with larger pink sparkles and fine ultra-violet blue shimmer (you know what I mean, the colour of blackout lamps!).  I bought this to add a little something-something to my legs when I don’t want to wear tights.

The shimmer is very subtle when smoothed over the skin  (you can see it on the bottom of the photo, the top has no oil) but you can see the blue shimmer better in real life. It dries down quite quickly allowing you to layer the shimmer effect, although bear in mind that it *will* rub off during the night. Also use a mitt or wash your hands afterwards otherwise everything will be shiny and blue! It does leave my legs feeling nice and soft, and it smells great!

I love this product, but I wouldn’t have paid the full price as I just think it’s too expensive. I’m really glad I have as it's a similar sort of effect (though more subtle) as long-discontinued Lush Glitterbug which I used to adore for a night out on tiles. Body oils as a product are a very personal preference I feel, but if you generally like them, I really can’t see you having any complaints with the product at the sale price.

What say ye to a bit of body shimmer? Yay or nay?

Labyrinth Mini Series Part 4: Toby

I knew I wanted to do something stripey to represent Toby, and considering all he does for the whole film is er, wear a stripey onsie, here's what I did!

NYX JEP in Milk, Detrivore Bone, Barry M Dazzle Dust in no 85 Cherry Red, Inglot Duraline, Inglot AMC Matte Gel Liner in 76.

The more I look at this, the more it bugs me! I wish I’d worked out a way to make it not a triple wing and something more round and cute and more like a baby! It was also a nightmare to do on my wrinkly lids, so there’s lots of imperfections which are doing my head in. However, I do like the triple wing and I might try to see if I can incorporate that into a future look without bringing it all the way through the lid. I added the little circles to represent to poppers on his little outfit, as that’s the only non-stripey detail!

This is Toby (real name, for those who aren’t Labyrinth geeks! Toby Froud is the son of Brian Froud, an amazing illustrator who did all the art and character design for the film) as a baby…

D’aww! And here’s Toby as an adult…

Not bad at all!

Miscellaneous weekendness… (LOTD, OOTD, Makeover etc!)

Sort of an offload-y post today, y’all….

 

First up, a FOTD which looks nice if you don’t look too closely at it. I bought a white gel liner at Inglot and unlike their others, I don’t rate it as much! It doesn’t seem to like the waterline too well and it’s not as opaque as I’d hoped. Ah well.

 

Eyes: Shadows all Inglot, Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel in 76, Darling Girl Pixie Sprinkles
Lips: Covergirl Siren
Cheeks: Inglot AMC Cream Blush 81, MUA Blusher Shade 1.
Bone earrings: Topshop

See what I mean about the liner? It’s alright, it’s just not… amazing. Le sigh. I wish I’d done a more dramatic crease as well, but I was pushed for time.

Wanna see my awesome new skirt? Well, tough shit, because here it is…

Skirt, Central Park. Tshirt, Primark. Creeper pumps, Topshop. Necklace, Topshop.

Isn’t it the mostest perfectest skirt ever? It’s faux leather and it’s perfect for wearing to photoshoots because if I get any makeup on it, it just wipes off! I had to show off the awesome necklace as well – I love it so much even though it’s super heavy. If I see Topshop have a sale on, I head straight for the jewellery section!

And lastly here’s a quick look I did on my friend Dolly Donnahue today…



Eyes: All 120 palette shadows, Kikp Long Lasting Stick Liner in 09, Inglot Matte Collection AMC Eyeliner Gel in 76, Avon Super Shock mascara.
Cheeks: BeautyUK Baked Blusher in Peaches and Cream, Illamasqua Lover
Lips: Sleek Mystic, pink from 120 palette.

The new gel liner didn’t like her waterline much either! :( I saw a gorgeous look where the model had white on her lower lash and waterlines, and Dolly had pointed out a green look that she liked in my NARS book, so I put the two together. I love that lip colour on her!


What are you getting up to this weekend?

A few Darling Girl swatches! Kiss You Off: Color Rich Lip Blams

Howdy, y’all! I’ve had a super busy weekend, so it’ll be a couple of days until the next instalment of my Labyrinth mini series is up. A certain brave little fellow is coming up next!

Today I just want to share with you the lippies from my latest Darling Girl haul. DG do my favourite indie lippies by far. The Holo Glosses are always adorable and the formula on the KYO:CRLBs (!) is awesome – really lightweight and comfortable to wear and still packing a pigmented punch.

 

Sanctuary

As soon as I saw the name, I had to have it! Sanctuary is described as a “ a rich blackened berry red with just a touch of shimmer.” Pretty perfect description! I really, really love this colour – berry shades are great on everyone and I actually find them a much easier dramatic lip to wear day-to-day than red.

Oh My Darling

Oh My Darling… clementines…oranges… geddit? No? Bollocks to you then. Never one to resist an orange lip, I’m very surprised I’d not snagged this for my collection sooner! OMD is described online as a “gorgeous bright ripe peachy orange with some fine coppery peach shimmer.” I think it leans more yellowy on me than the swatch picture online, but I really like it! Normally an orange with even the merest hint of yellow touches my lips, I hate it but I’ve been wearing this a lot.

Tan Lines




I was really excited to try this as I’d not had a nude lippy from DG. Susan, you are a legend. I love this colour! The website says “Tan Lines is a gorgeous sun kissed tan with peach undertones and lustre” and I think that’s bang on. I love a nude to have a little peach to it or I fear looking dead – this is a great nude-y nude that doesn’t give me the dreaded jizzlip! Big fan.

 

Have you tried Darling Girls lippies? What are your favourite indie lip products?

Labyrinth Mini Series Part 3: Ludo

SMELL…BAD!

Aw, Ludo is *so* adorable! He’s such a nice beast! I was really excited to do a look based by him. I was wondering how I would fit his horns in seeing as they’re really the wrong shape for liner, but I think working it into my crease shape actually turned out quite well.

I used: Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Permanent Taupe, Fyrinnae Damn Paladins, Sugarpill Flamepoint, Illamasqua Vapour, Fyrinnae Moon Child, dark brown from Sleek Storm Palette, Darling Girl Fire Inside, Barry M Dazzle Dust in 66, Inglot Duraline, Hi-Hi Cosmetics Down In The Underground, NYX JEP in Milk, FashionistA gel liner in Dressed Down Chic, Collection 2000 24/7 Extreme pen liner in black.

I wish I’d found a way to get his shagginess in, but there’s a lot going there already. Flamepoint is applied over Permanent Taupe, so that’s why it’s not as vibrant as it normally is – I didn’t want a super bright orange. Also, sorry for the messy part at the corner of my eye – it just kept watering and wouldn’t stop!

Labyrinth Mini Series Part 2: The Worm

The worm is SOCUTEOMFG. One of my favourite Henson creatures ever and there are so many fantastic ones in this film alone – if you’ve not seen it, it’s worth watching just for the fantastic puppetry! (See also: The Dark Crystal.)

I’ve got two looks for him, and now I look at them, I realise I should have gone with a more orangey red, espeically seeing as there’s a lot of red white and blue around today! Ah, well!





Eyes: NYX JEP in Milk, La Colours JEP in Bikini Time, MAC Gesso, Inglot AMC 317, Hi-Fi Cosmetics Mornings of Gold, Inglot AMC matte gel liner (red), Maybelline Eye Studio gel liner.
Cheeks: MAC Modern Mandarin
Lips: Wet n Wild Salsa Lessons

I really liked this look and thought it was kind of cute, but it’s not… The Worm-y enough?

Take 2…

Lid: From Sleek Storm Palette
Brows: Inglot AMC 371, e.l.f eyebrow and lash gel
Crease/Lower lashine: LA Colours Jumbo Eye Pencil in Bikini Time. Inglot AMC 317, blue from MUA Glamour Days Palette, Sleek Glitter liner in Carribean.
Liner: Sugarpill Love+ over LA Colours Jumbo Eye Pencil in Popsicle.

Obviously I went for a lot of blue in this look as well, and cute blue brows to represent all his little fluffy bits!

Man, I love the worm! <3

Shimmer and Smoke LOTD with Sleek Storm Palette

I’ve been using the Sleek Storm palette a lot lately as I’ve hit pan on a lot of the colours and I want to finish some of them up.

I’ve been trying to do little tweaks on a smokey eye lately, or wear them in a different style to what I would normally do. Here I didn’t close off the outer corner, and I went a lot heavier on the lower lashline than on top. I used to wear a *lot* of eyeliner on the lower lashline when I was younger and looking back it makes me cringe, so I’ve been trying to find a nicer way to do it!

Eyes: Sleek Storm Palette, MAC Paint Pot in Blackground
Lips: MAC Lady Danger
Cheeks: Darling Girl Bronze Goddess, gold from Sleek Storm palette

I loved this look but somehow I felt like I was wearing a lot of makeup! What shape do you normally do for your smokey eyes?