Follow up to the last post

 I was just going to leave my last post as it was, just links and me saying 'this sucks' but I've been feeling all angry and need to rant!  To apologise for the upcoming drama llama below the cut, here's Justin Bieber made from meat:

Some posts you should read

Some rubbish stuff is going down in the makeup world at the moment, here's some posts I think are important to read:

http://www.makeupzombie.net/2012/01/putting-worries-to-rest.html 

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/fcvm91

http://portraitofmai.blogspot.com/2012/01/lime-crime-youre-doing-it-wrong.html 

I'm also having a big problem with an indie company I ordered from at the end of November. Hopefully it will be sorted out soon, if not watch this space.

:/

To lighten things up, here's a picture of My Monster High Dolls making out:

 

Oh Lagoona, you're such a cad!

Quick FOTD

Hullo everyone! I'm a lot better now (though I'm still snuffly),  but last night I went dancing to celebrate my birthday and am feeling all sleepy and crunch today so this is just a quick look from about a  month back when I still had ginger hair.

Wearing:

(can't remember what the lipgloss or blush was I'm afraid)

Face: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 02, ELF Studio HD powder

Eyes: Brazen cosmetics eyeshadows in Millennium and Submission, Collection 2000 glam crystals eyeliner in Night Fever, Black mascara.

Off to finally reply to comments, sorry Ive been so incredibly crappy!

Still here

Hope to be back posting soon but I've come down with a terrible case of Man Flu and am finding doing basic things like breathing irritating. But I had a great birthday and new years and have lots of posts planned for when I'm not wading through a sea of snotty tissues and rubbing lip balm on my nose every few minutes. <3

Happy new Year!

 

Tonight I'm going to a David Devant gig which should be magical enough for the Cullens to approve of. 

I'm going to be doing the traditional 'what I got for Christmas' and 'best of 2011' posts asap if anyone is curious, but I'm busy for the next few days so it might be slightly later than everyones elses :P 

It's my birthday on Wednesday, I shall be 24! ... WHEN DID I GROW OLD???? D:!!!! (If anyone gets that reference then I love you)

And at Callooh and Callay we're having a New Year Sale! It's buy 2 get 1 free on all our Christmas Collection and 25% off everything else (apart from our Devant jewellery because 25% of the proceeds of those go to charity) until the 7th of January :)

I hope everyone has a lot of fun tonight, but stay safe kids! CHAMPAGNE!

Illamasqua Freak

A little while ago I was sent a sample of Illamasqua's first perfume - Freak (AKA possibly the perfume with the worlds most beautiful bottle) - to test out. 

Ohh such a beautiful bottle! *__*

Beware, I find discussing perfumes very difficult. All the talk of top, heart and base notes just baffle me (generally) apart from the initial strong smell you get when you apply perfume they tend to smell the same on me regardless of how long it's been on (apart from the smell fading and stuff) they don't seem to 'mature' or change and no new notes come through. Also perfume is much harder to describe than makeup because I can't photograph a scent! And of course it's really subjective, what someone loves may smell rank to someone else and vice versa.  

 And describing this perfume is particularly different as there are quite a few notes in it that I don't think I've ever encountered before! But anyway let's give it a go!

 

 

This is what Illamasqua says about Freak:

'The rich and daringly provocative opening notes of Black Davana cast a magical spell of desire across the senses to celebrate the night. The compelling burnt orange bloom base is highly prized the world over for its ability to enhance the wearer's natural perfume. The subtle mustiness of Poison Hemlock haunts the background tone of Freak, adding alluring depths of mystery.
Datura, the Moonflower, has an intoxicating scent that has long been used as a heady aphrodisiac. The exquisitely rare Queen of the Night blooms fleetingly for a single night each year, and completes this daringly provocative concoction with its warm, soft floral scent touched with sweetness.'

As for me... Well I think the description is pretty accurate! This is a strange, almost mysterious perfume. To me it mainly smells like musk or incense, dark, oriental and exotic. It's earthy and musty. But there's also a strong floral note that I can't put my finger on (probably because I'm not familiar with the flowers in it!). These flowers are not sweet or at all 'old fashioned' smelling, no roses or jasmine  for instance, they're unusual, earthy, and fresh. Finally there is a slight sweetness from a hint of sugary orange blossom and honey.

To me it seems like a very sexy perfume, it's heady and seductive. The notes are unusual and as a lot of the floral ingredients are actually poisonous it adds an exciting thrill! I personally would think of this as more of an evening scent as I do not find it at all invigorating, quite the opposite in face, to me it seems almost intoxicating and calming. It also just smells distinctly 'nocturnal' to me. I also think it could be a good unisex fragrance, the florals are so unusual it doesn't come across as overtly feminine. It is also very long lasting, while it fades in intensity I can still easily detect this after a full days wear.

You can probably tell that I really like this! I didn't expect to, I generally like very fruity, sweet scents, some of my favourites are Diesel Loverdose (which to me smells like a floral based licorice with a hint of tangerine), Gap So Pink (smells like a softened grapefruit), Prada Candy (like baked goods and toffee with a small amount of musk) and Nina Ricci Les Belles Liberty Fizz (which to me smells like tomato flowers). I tend to dislike strong woodsy, oriental or musk smells. So it's odd that I like this so much. I think it's because it's just so unique. I can imagine this being the scent of choice for a  femme fatale or Film Noir heroine because it's so mysterious and seductive. And the sweet undercurrent of the honey and orange blossom makes it more palatable than other oriental/musk smells. I think another reason I like it is because it conjures up images in my head. It reminds me of churches and cathedrals (because of the musty, incense) but also a deep, dark forest, full of slightly rotting leaves and exotic plant smells.

It probably won't become my everyday choice, for that I'll stick with my fizzy fruity smells, but I'd love this for a special evening out or, indeed, a special evening in ;D

Sadly at £59 or 75ml the full bottle is out of my price range at the moment, so I won;'t own that beautiful bottle :( But I'll be enjoying my little sample vial! 

*sample sent for review, all thoughts and opinions are my own*

Christmassy FOTD

This was a quick and easy look but I thought it was purty.

 

Wearing:

Face: Illamasqua Skin Base in shade 2 mixed with moisturiser.

Eyes: Darling Girl eyeshadow in Donner, black mascara, Sugarpill Love + Pressed eyeshadow on the eyebrows.

Lips: Originally I was wearing Darling Girl Cookies for Claus Colour Rich Lip Balm with Holly Jolly Holo-Gloss over the top but then I just topped it off with Holly Jolly and Cookies For Claus wore off, I can't remember at what point these photos were taken :P

 

Holly Jolly is my favourite lip colour at the moment, it's just so festive :)

Shoe Review!

A couple of weeks ago I had the amazing opportunity to choose something from One Stop Plus to review. I picked this lovely pair of shoes. They're made by La Redoute Creation come in sizes 3 - 8 (35-42) and come in black, taupe, cerise and duck egg (a tealy blue colour) and cost just under £40. I chose the cerise in a size 8.

Shoes tend to fit differently depending on the brand, usually a size 8 will fit me perfectly or be a bit small (I might actually be a size 8 1/2) but these were actually a little too big for me. I could have sent them back and swap for a 7 but I am sure that would have been too small. They're not too big as to be a problem though, they don't slip, they're just quite roomy and the problem is solved by wearing thick tights or socks. However as I said I am quite a big size 8 so other people may want to order a size down from usual, they're definitely bigger than the norm.

Anyway they're really lovely. They're a bright cerise colour with a chunky heel, round toes and a t-bar strap with ruffles on it. I love t-bars anyway but the ruffles make them really unusual and cute! They're made of a fuzzy suede-like material but they're entirely synthetic so great for vegetarians like me! 

  

I haven't been able to wear them out yet because the weather has been very rainy and, as they are suede-ish I don't think it's a good idea to get them wet :( But I have worn them a lot around the house and they're bizarrely comfortable! They have a 7cm tall heel without a platform but somehow they don't hurt my feet. Maybe it's because the heel is so chunky. I'm sure if I did wear them out for a whole day I would change my mind because I have terrible feet that hurt in flat shoes and absolutely die in heels. I can walk in high heels but get a bit wobbly in stiletto style heels but because these have chunky heels they're pretty sturdy. 

The fact that they're synthetic is a big plus for me because I'm a vegetarian but if you don't mind wearing leather then it might be a bit of a problem. Leather is generally meant to be more comfortable and better fitting. The fabric does feel a little bit less sturdy than usual but not flimsy. 

They're go absolutely perfectly with this new playsuit I bought from Warehouse:

And I bet they'd look good with some bright blue or turquoise tights.

All in all I really like them, they're really pretty, easy to walk in, vegetarian and comfy. But the sizing is a bit of an issue and the fact they're synthetic may not be to everyone's taste. At the moment they seem comfortable but time will tell how they stand up to long term wear. The price, £40, seems just about right.

Thank you One Stop Plus :)

 

Have a happy Christmas everyone!

Or if you don't celebrate Christmas then just have a nice December 25th :)



kiss kiss

Have a very Glam Christmas!

My friend Mikey was playing a glam themed gig on tuesday, so I dressed up all Christmassy. Also a you can see I've dyed my hair. On the packet it was bright bright red but it's come out sort of Burgundy. I still think it's quite pretty but it's almost the same colour as my Mum's hair which makes me feel a bit weird :P

Here's mah face:

 

Wearing:

Face: Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 02, ELF Studio HD powder, Sleek blush in Salacious
Eyebrows: Sugarpill pressed eyeshadow in Love +

Eyes: Darling Girl Blitzen Eyeshadow, Darling Girl Honeypot eyeshadow, black mascara, the liner is just some loose glitter mixed with ELF Studio Makeup Lock and Seal.

Lips: Red lip pencil (offbrand :P), Darling Girl Jolly Holly Hologloss 

Here's my outfit. I know I probably 'shouldn't' wear something like my plausuit, it's too high cut and not particularly flattering on my little round body, but I like it so who cares?

 Wearing:

Polka dot Jacket and diamante tights -  Topshop

Sequin playsuit - Asos

Hair bow - Dolly Dagger

Badge and necklace - Callooh and Callay

Shoes - Office (I would have worn more interesting ones but I cut my foot on a bit of smashed bauble :( )

For some reason here in the UK a disproportionate percentage of our Christmas songs are from the Glam Rock genre of music.  Wizzard, Mud, Slade, Bowie (with Bing Crosby who is, of course, totally glam) and of course this which you never here anymore. I wonder why...