Wood Demon for Halloween 2016

You know what? I have a list of creatures I want to be for Halloween and each year I draw one out and try to make it. So this year it was quite easy because I chose the Tree Demon. I was looking at all those sugar skulls and thinking how to make it a bit different and voilá! The Tree Demon or Wood Demon was born. 

All the stuff needed for it was either already in my make-up bag or outside in the garden. The only item I actually had to buy was the contact lenses. Duh! So in case you are wondering, they are ColorVue's Black Titan and they are a bit bigger in diameter than normal lenses, which was terrible for me to get them on. And I also expected they'd cover more of my eye in the center. I don't care how terrible the tunnel vision is, I need more coverage because as you can see here, a ton of my color is showing and I don't like that. 

Anyway, makeup-wise this costume is easy because all you need is a couple of colors. First I put on a white base (a generic costume shop one) which I spread to my hair to create cool texture. 

Then I contoured my face with the light brownish color in NYX's I dream of St. John. Taking black Astor gel liner, I created that nose, eye and mouth action. Since the liner is quite shiny, I set it with the blackest black I own - the one in W7's In the Buff. Then I went back to the NYX's palette and used the dark brown to create vertical lines. I set it all with Rimmel's translucent powder.  

I used the same technique on my arms (minus the gel liner since there was nothing to highlight), there I only added the knar-looking places to really resemble a tree. 

The last thing to really do was chopping some branches and putting them in my hair and tying them on strings to go around my chest chewbacca-style ;-)

The rest was just black clothes I have no shortage of in my closet.

It looks as if I was covered in white spots but my black outfit was spotless - someone should just clean the mirror at my workplace :-)=

Vampire ... PENIS?!

I do a lot of shopping online. Yes, I am kinda anti-social but the main reason is that there's nothing for the likes of me in my homeland. And if I really need something cool - be it books or clothes - I have to shop on the Internet. 

So I came across this inexpensive lipstick with the title Vampire's Kiss. I had to have one, duh! The packaging caught my eye and I just had to have one. So, there were many shades to choose from but, obviously, I chose the darkest one in purplish/wine color and hoped it would arrive- it gets so annoying when the package just gets lost and never arrives. Since the packages from Asia take so many weeks to arrive I even got that far that I order stuff for everyone's Birthday or Christmas a year in advance to make sure it arrives.

Back to the lipstick! As you can see, the outside is very pretty. But it's the inside which will surely shock you. Or maybe not. Maybe they sell these everywhere where you are from. For me this is definitely the first oddly shaped lipstick.
As I opened the package I couldn't help but notice the smell. Roses. Really the fragrance in the lipstick is quite overpowering - even for me, I'm that kind of person who never smells anything which will one day definitely lead to my death as I won't smell the smoke from the fire which will have started by my scented candle. Yeah, scented candles are a waste for me but I like them anyway. I can smell them when I open the jar but later I smell nothing. I'm buying space with my gibberish so that you are a little bit suspended. I mean you've already stopped reading the article and scrolled down to see the picture but what the heck, why not share some stupid life stories?!

Are you ready? Because here it is in it's veiny glory!

And now that you've had an eyeful, let's move to the professional part. I SMEARED MY LIPS WITH THE PENIS FOR YOU! I couldn't just let it sit in the case, no no. I had to test it out. Now that I saw that it was just a clever way to sell a fun product I expected nothing from the lipstick. And it really is shitty stuff. It smells good, yeah, but it's not very packed with color - you need to swipe your lips with it many times which is somehow weird. 

And one kiss, one bite, just one anything will get it from your lips so it can endure nothing. It's hydrating but that's all. It doesn't last which is my main priority.

QUESTION OF THE DAY
Do vampires kiss with penises? Because if someone names a lipstick Vampire's Kiss then surely it implies kissing with penises. Or not? And do we really needed to know this detail? How do female vampires kiss when they lack this part of human anatomy? Or do they grow one during the transformation? And do I want to know?
Gosh I should stop writing articles for my blog in the middle of the night after I've had some drinks. I'll try to come up with something sensible next time, I swear. Not. You know I'm having fun right now so I won't stop going for bizzare vampire stuff. Deal with it. You're here for that reason anyway.

50 Shades of Red ... part 6

It's winter (I mean, it's probably not because as always I'm writing this in advance and I don't know which Wednesday I'm going to post it) and that means I've been wearing red lipsticks since autumn. Again. And I have new shades to share with you. So let's get ogling and comparing.

BTW, I bought a new camera which was much more expensive than the senile digital compact I had so I expected better pictures. Obviously this one tries to be artsy and blurs everything but the middle so that the focus is there. It sucks. 

This time I got two Avon lipsticks (I feel uneasy about the brand ever since that rabbit logo disappeared from their catalogue so I don't buy these), one Cien (they have this every now and then in LIDL supermarket), one Rimmel and three Sleeks.

Starting with the Avon lipsticks, they did pretty well as usual. They survived drinking and talking and lunch got only the inner rim away. I'm just not into "Red Vixen" because it's so brown it hurts. 

Concerning Spicy Red by Cien I was so happy to find a very cheap summer shade - it's very coraly and bricky at the same time. Unfortunately it just keeps moving away from the lips. It bleeds into the foundation in seconds and is eaten away during talking. 

Sleek's matte lipsticks are awesome (again, why is Vamp so brown?!) and are comparable to Avon in durability and color payoff. Not in the price though.

The Pout Paint is a different story. It's very saturated and the color... oh the color. But it doesn't stand a chance with drinks let alone food. 

The same story is with Big Bang which looks lovely, is very loud and shiny but gets eaten immediately. And moves downward. 

In this batch Sleek mattes are my favourite colors. They aren't as matte as the liquid mattes I own but they stay quite long on the lips and I just fell in love with them. So they were seen a lot on me past fall. 

Home-Made Rose and Coconut Body Cream

I've done some experimenting and came up with a really good product for winter. My skin tends to get dry in this cold season so I needed something to help me with it. I had a ton of different oils I usually use for my split ends or into bath so I could make it very rich. But coconut oil with just one other oil will do the trick, too. Apart from glycerin all ingredients are in food quality (virgin oils) which means it's good for you - say bye to the chemicals ;-)= 

And since coconut oil and rose water smell so good, so will you!

You'll need:

• 1 cup melted coconut oil
• 2 table spoons jojoba oil
• 1 table spoon cocoa butter
• 1 table spoon rose oil
• 1 table spoon avocado oil
• 1 table spoon rose water
• 1 table spoon glycerin

1) Melt all the ingredients if they need melting (coconut oil and cocoa butter probably will) and mix them in a bowl with the exception of glycerin - that one goes in in the last step.

2) Put the bowl somewhere cold for half an hour (it's winter so balcony was great place to put it in but you can use fridge). You know it's ready when it becomes solid BUT you can still press your finger through it.

3) Whip it. Use a hand mixer and beat it till light and fluffy. Now you can add the glycerin and whip it some more.

4) Put it in a jar and use it on your dry areas (split ends, chappy lips, dry elbows...). You may use it all over your body unless you have oily skin - in that case your skin won't be able to soak it all in fast and you will be shiny for a long time (you can apply it at night and you should be OK by the morning).

St. Nicolas Day Costume

I found a great deal on fake horns in one shop which was being closed and since my Halloween costume had already been in motion, I thought it would take more than a year to come with an excuse to wear them. Well, that was before I realised there were days in December. Like St. Nicolas Day. The day all the kids are scared because St. Nick, an angel and some devils will come to read them their sins. And if they've been naughty they get coal as a warning or get taken into the devil's bag and dragged to Hell if they've been extra bad. The good kids get candy and fruit. So, naturally I chose the dark side because they have better cookies. The horns became a part of me and were it not for the slant attic walls of my classroom I wouldn't even know about them. That's why I was so confused when I gave one lady in a shop almost a heart attack.

Anyway, this costume was also a test of a new purchase - Makeup Revolution's Salvation Velvet Lacquer in Black Heart. I bought this color because the official website promised dark purple (which is wearable on daily basis) but the name should have warned me, I guess. Unfortunately it turned out to look very black (which is fine with me but not with the rest of normal population) so I can only wear it on special occasions or in super bright light (yup, camera flash gets the purple out, but who would go into such trouble as being in the spotlight for so long). So, how did it go? Well, I couldn't eat because the inner part of my lacquer would just poof! But drinking was OK, no real damage there. Speaking - well, even though I don't ever lick my lips while speaking a little brushed off and winded up on my teeth. But it was specks not the typical lipstick smear so that could be dealt with much easily. But what was worth the trouble of not eating (if I don't eat I get extra bitchy) was the feeling it gave my lips. I couldn't help but to press my lips together all the time because they felt alien but in a good fuzzy way :-) Not really velvet-y but close enough. 

Quoth the Raven "Nevermore" Halloween Costume

I've been dying to dress up as this for years. But I couldn't find a big black bird. Until one unproductive day in Spring this year. I was browsing the shelves of one supermarket when suddenly something caught my eye in one of those seasonal aisles.
Yup, things for gardening. It was sitting there as if it belonged there all along and as if I was supposed to be aware of its presence. The black bird. As it turns out people who (unlike me) can keep green things growing need a scarecrow to defend their produce.Which means cheap plastic crows and ravens are somewhere out there in big numbers.

And so it was settled. My costume would become reality. You must understand. I was planning this for years and even though my skills with make-up are doubtful, I still believe this is the best costume ever because a) it depicts my favourite poem, hence it's clever b) I came up with it - I didn't see it on the Internet or anywhere else, it's just my imagination in it  c) it turned out to be pretty bad ass. Even I was afraid of the raven. I had it in my bedroom and since I applied shiny red nail foil to its eyes, the little sucker would glow in the most unexpected moments and spook the heck out of me.

But back to how to do the costume. It's quite simple, actually. If you try it at least once in advance. This was the first time I used contact lenses (White Screen) so I had to try it beforehand. As it turned out, they were quite comfortable but applying make-up through a layer of mist sucks. See, most people get tunnel vision with colored eye lenses but the ones I bought cover the whole eye, especially the pupil. Trying before doing it for real helps because all the colors become hazy and you'll find out you applied too much contour once you remove them. So bear that in mind and have light hand when applying anything since it looks harsher for the real world.

You need a lot of white make-up. As a base I used the cheapest white cream make-up I found in a costume store. Forget all the spong-y applicators and dense brushes, the fastest way is to smear it with your hands (sure it doesn't look the best but we are trying to be efficient since we have to go to work in one hour). Once that was on my face and limbs I used Catrice's 660 Ice White Open to set it. Once that was done I contoured my face (temples, cheeks, sides of my nose and above the lids) and my neck and collar bones with the light grey/brown in NYX's I dream of St. John. I originally used the silver color in it but the result wasn't as natural as the brownish color. Then I lined my water lines with a white eye pencil to get rid of as much redness as possible (the white really drew it out and I looked like a rabid statue). The following step was to use a white lipstick and a black lipstick (the black went only to the inner rim of my lips to create depth). 

I styled my hair into two buns at the back of my head and sprayed all over with a white hair spray. Since there was a lot of it in the bottle I tried to spray it over my face and arms to settle the white make-up even more and it really held! Even my oily eyelids didn't crease! Yay! More than twelve hours in the costume and it held!

All that was left was to put everything together. I put on a gold leafy head band, wrapped myself in my bed sheet toga-style (which came convenient for trapping the raven on my shoulder since its legs were made of one single piece so I could get the end of the sheet through it to keep it in place) and secured it with a gold belt. I had white stockings on and a lot of invisible layers under the toga because ... well, October!

The reactions to my costume were priceless. Most of my colleagues couldn't recognise me and then they couldn't look me in the eye. The kids were afraid of me and some still couldn't believe it really was their teacher underneath (time to time I'd just stand somewhere not moving and they'd be so afraid!). One kid told me after the class that she was not afraid of me anymore but that The Raven was staring at her and she was afraid of it still. I spooked the hell out of pretty much everyone this year, so the mission was accomplished! :-)=
Spooky Halloween to you all!

Green Lips

You can probably guess I am no stranger to loud colors on my face given the fact I've been trying to find the ultimate red color. But red is still kinda normal even when bold. 

I see tons of colors on people's eyes but only a few on their lips. That got me thinking. Why the heck shouldn't I be able to put something "unusual" on my lips instead of on my eyelids? It's still on my face, right? 

One minute on-line at Makeup Revolution store brought all those thoughts to life. A couple of days later a package with ALL the colors of the rainbow arrived and I could start experimenting with lip colors. I like the dark green Serpent probably the most so I naturally wanted to go out in this one. It even had the same shade as my tartan shirt so there was no excuse not to wear it. 

All I needed was the occasion. See, I'm from a small town and people here are not used to eccentricities. They must get weirdness in small doses otherwise their brain circuits will melt or something like that. Plus, I'm not sure my employer would take it easy - there is nothing about a dress or make-up code mentioned in my contract but you never know...

Thankfully, April Fool's Day arrived and even though I don't really like this day I chose to fully embrace it this year so that I could wear my lipstick proudly and not be suspected of enjoying it. Honestly, the people at work kept staring, then I could see the wheels in their heads spinning as if to ask me or not only to finally utter: "Oh, it's the April Fool's. You are prepared for that." Yeah... So I blamed the Day for it even thought I was secretly enjoying myself wearing the color I truly want. 

The kids' reactions were also interesting. The reactions varied from "I like green, it's my favorite color." (the kindergarten bunch) through "OhmygodI'mscaredIwillpassout." (the 4th graders) to "Wow, it's really chic. Weird, but pretty." (the teenagers). 

So, since nobody had a real meltdown, I decided to incorporate these "weird" colors into my life more often. I will keep finding special days as excuses and it will become so frequent that people will stop asking and staring. It will become a norm. 

A Touch of Color

There are those days you want to spend five minutes or less on your make-up but you want to look "sophisticated" as well. Maybe the bleak boring winter is tiring you out and all you need is a little bit of color for your energy boost.

Then why not adding an extra line to your eyeliner? Start with the liquid or gel eyeliner you normally use (I prefer liquids by Oriflame because they still keep those tiny brushes which create miracles as opposed to most of the other brands which produce spoge-y monstrosities which will never allow you beautiful lines).

And then you need either a wet eyeliner brush with your favourite eyeshadow to make the line just above the normal line. Or, you can discover Stargazer brand which makes unusual eyeliner colors and have that awesome brush. 

It looks like classic lines from the distance but you know they are not, the closer you get the better you can see there is a nice colorful touch to them.

50 Shades of Red ... part 5

You didn't think last time was actually the last time, did you? I still have a ton of products to try and compare. So, let's get this over with so that I can start using the other lipsticks I somehow acquired ;-)=

Ok, let's start. I chose them randomly, since they are all different brands. Don't look for hidden meanings in their order, okay? 

The most wine-y color from the set is Manic Panic's Black Rose. I love the shade. It's cool how it changes. One swipe of the lipstick is enough when it comes to pigmentation, so adding layers means deepening the tone. When it comes to staying power, if you have a couple of layers on then it's quite good. One layer will be eaten instantly. But if you only talk and sip some drink every now and then, then it looks still fresh for hours. Maybelline's Coral Diamonds sparkle. It looks wet all the time and the color goes to the orange-y/brown side. It's not super-pigmented but it can build up. Somehow the glittery parts in it ensure something always stay on you even if you eat so that's not bad. And the last from the first set is Rimmel's 01 from that Kate Collection. Just one layer will give you enough color to be satisfied. When you talk, it stays put. But the first drink or food will make it betray you. Since it's so pigmented, you can clearly see your pink lips showing through once you have eaten.

Next is 42 by Make Up For Ever. I like the shade which is warm-toned. The staying power is decent when one only talks and drinks but the food test will show that it can be easily eaten if you don't pay attention. Red Flame by NYC has a lot of pink shimmer in it so that it doesn't look red at all. And since it looks more like my lip color, no one notices it partially disappears when I eat. It's the most wearable color from all I'm going to mention today - I mean, I wear them all to work but for those who are afraid of loud colors, this one is for them. My Red Card by Catrice was the biggest let down from all of these. Since it wasn't the cheapest of them I thought it would hold better. It is supposed to be more luxurious line by the same company which produces Essence so I thought it would be better. But it wasn't. Twice as expensive as Essence lipsticks and absolutely no staying power. One sip of a drink at it was mostly on the glass. Even super cheap 140 (btw, I love the brick-y color) by S-he held longer than one sip!

So, that's it for today. There were definitely surprises in this, so let's take a final look at the colors indoor and outdoor while I prepare next chapter ;-)=

50 Shades of Red ... part 4

And the search continues.... For this time I have prepared some cheap products, so let's see how they work.

Ok, so let's start with NYX. The first thing I noticed was the pigmentation and the chemical smell which fortunately faded over time. But honestly, what you see is what you get here with the first swatch. The colors are amazing! One layer and you are ready to go... or maybe not. Unfortunately the pigmentation is connected to a very buttery texture which makes your lipstick disappear while you talk. I haven't got to drinking or eating yet! These face no chance unless you fix them with Lipcote (if you drink and eat) or at least set them with a translucent powder (if you only speak). The shades I chose were random since there is no way to tell which shade is which on the website (the pictures don't match the reality) but I'm happy with my choices. Chaos and Electra are nice classic shades, Hebe has pinkish shimmer to it which makes it really stunning and Black Cherry is for the days when you want to wear loud colors but black would be too much for the people around you to handle.

The next two are by Miss Sporty. One is from a limited edition (Hot Date) and one is from the regular line (High Red). Hot Date is on the pink side and is very smooth and smells like a watermelon. That's why I bought it. I knew the texture would mean it wouldn't last much but the scent.... Awww... :-)= And since it's not overly pigmented, it doesn't look that horrible if you eat a part of it. This is really only for the smell. The other one, however, is awesome. Hight Red lasts long, its pigmentation is very good for such a price. Sure, a lot of eating will destroy it but compared to its sibling it's definitely a winner. 

And the last duo for today is a cheap drugstore line Basic. I chose the two red shades they offer (12 - more on the orange side, 21 - rather a classic red). They smell lipsticky. I can't help it but this is exactly what I think of when someone says that a certain product smells a certain way. So these are typical lipsticks - the smell and all :-)=. They are quite hard so the application isn't as smooth as one would perhaps want but this dryness which make them a bit difficult to apply ensures they last quite long. They survived drinks and some food. Definitely a surprise.

 

Here you can find some more swatches but this time my camera went bonkers and the shades aren't accurate enough. But very close, so...

Easy vampire make-up for Halloween

No need to buy some fancy supplies that cost more than necessary. You already have everything you need for this look in your make-up bag.

This year, I went for a “work-friendly” vampire costume because I had six English lessons in a row to give and a hall monitoring duty throughout the whole day so I knew I needed something bulletproof that wouldn’t require any touch-ups.

The only dilemma I was facing was the teeth. As a teacher who talks a lot (duh!) I needed something which would make me lisp as little as possible and that would hold for a long time. It’s been ages since I was a vampire for Halloween so I couldn’t remember which glue was the one that lasted the whole night at one Halloween party long time ago. So I bought all three glues available and had done my “teeth rehearsal” prior to going to school like that. So, it was not that two-part putty which I hoped would hold but it was that pink one-part glue which got me through the day.

And now, to the make-up part. Long time ago I accidentally bought a liquid foundation by Avon in Ivory which was too light for me but I kept it for occasions like this one. Once I had my foundation in place (no primer, I don’t usually need that) I wanted to set it with a matte white color. Naturally, my hate toward the eye shadow palette makers subsided a little when I recalled all those whites I had (I mean, seriously! Almost every palette has a white and a black in it! Aargh, what the heck am I supposed to do with them all?!). The only issue with this is that the palette is small and applying just that one color is a bitch. To be more specific, it took me 40 minutes of trying not to compromise my white with the surrounding browns while applying it with a teeny-tiny brush on all the visible parts of my skin.

After the hard part was over, I took a dark matte brown from the same palette (NYX’s Champagne and Caviar) and tried to contour my face – temples, nose, cheeks, chin, eyes, and widow’s peak. Then I took a red eye shadow by Essence in 44 It’s up to you and made my eyes a little bit red. The last thing was to put a lipstain on my lips (Essence in 02 Save your kisses for me ) just to get that “I’ve just eaten” look.

The teeth were easy to glue with that pink transparent putty and the look survived all my lessons without any touch-ups. I must say I didn’t eat the whole day because I knew the teeth would go and I only drank through a straw. But I talked a lot and it stayed put. So it was a win ;-)=

50 Shades of Red ... part 3

I realised I haven't done this for a while which is a shame because the red lipsticks keep adding up in my make up box and I really need to sort them out in order to find my perfect red. Or a couple of reds, because let's face it - one is simply not enough. There is the one for autumn, the one for winter, the one for that sweather I wear, etc... I think  you get the picture. So, let the hunt continue!

This time I chose to take a look at Oriflame and Essence. I think some of the Oriflame lipsticks are discontinued so you may not be able to find them anymore. That is my personal hell. Falling in love with a product which was just a limited edition and is never coming back...

So, let's take a look at the infamous sheet of paper I made out with to see what today's issue of our series brings:

More swatches:

Starting with Essence. I think the lipsticks are good for you if you are afraid of colors. They are very balm-like and therefore the color pay-off is very limited. I think of them as tinted lip balms rather than lipsticks. In that case, they are good. You eat them up just like you eat any lip balm and have to reapply them often. But for the price and feeling that your lips are nourished, why not... You may also be surprised by the glitter pieces in them. Not all of them, though (Almost Famous is glitter-free, while Rockin' Red and More to Love have it). But that is the basic line. Essence introduced a new line quite a while ago and those lipsticks are killers. They are only a bit more expensive than the original line (which is still very affordable) yet don't have the same structure. They are less balmy, the color is truer to what you see and it stays surprisingly long. Sure, the first meal will kill it but you won't have to reapply after and hour of plain speaking like you would have with the balmy ones. So thumbs up for the new line (Dare to Wear in the following picture).

Oriflame also offers different types of lipsticks varying in price and quality. However, (usually) the higher the price the more likely it is to last. The creamy cheaper ones don't stay and have less pigmentation than the more expensive ones. I always buy them in sale so I am not sure how much they normally cost  but I do know that I never even think about buying one for the full price, so... I think it would make me angry if I bought Cherry Cashmere for the full price because it doesn't last much. But the color is beautiful. It's a dark red with gold shimmer and looks natural (if that can be said about a red) on the lips. But the creamy structure just sucks. Carmine and Red Devotion, on the other hand, are long-lasting and the colors are "in-your-face" reds. Cosmo and Radiant are just "meh" (I've been using this word too much lately, sorry).

I have my favourites in here but with this never-to-be-seen-again policy the manufastures so often bring I must give them up once I use them up because those beauties aren't gonna be here. I weep for humanity. Really. So, let's just see one more picture and call it quits. 

The Battle of Czech May Beauty Boxes 2

This time last year I wrote about three beauty boxes which appeared on the Czech market. Two of them joined forces and became one, the third disappeared completely. So, there is no comparing this time (only to the last year's issues). 

What I ordered then was Ladybox which swallowed Senzabox and now they act as one under the name of Ladybox. The same ugly pink box arrived filled with white paper worms which subsequently filled me with terror. Fortunately no hair popped out. My camera still refuses to give me some of the pictures I take so I only managed to take out this picture of the box's content:

1) Lavera mattifying balancing cream sample. Wow, what a flashback :-)= But I remember it smelled nice so I will use it at some point.

2) Bell Aloe Vera cotton pads. Aargh. Just when I decided to be more environmental friendly and bought myself washable pads, they send me this. Just great. It's a step back for me but they are useful at least.

3) Matcha chocolate. I don't like food in make-up boxes, however, I've ever wanted to try this matcha thing everyone has been so into lately so I am eager to try this out.

4) Ziaja olive micellar water. I've already had this one and must say it doesn't remove make-up well. It's ok with foundation but mascara is a no go for it.

5) Alva loose shadow in Soft and Gentle. I generally have problem with application of loose eyeshadows because they somehow fall all over my face. This color gives sublte shine and even though it looks like a skin tone, it's too light when applied and it makes my eyes look weird. I'll probably mix it with something else and see if I can find a use for it.

6) Xhekpon cream. This is something which promises one those anti-aging life-defying results. We shall see...

7) MeMeMe Beat the Blues in Pearl Pink. Now, finally something I've been trying to get my hands on for ages but haven't had the opportunity to do so. Can't wait to see how illuminated I'm gonna be! :-)=

I dunno but my overall impression of this box isn't nice. I was hoping to see something new (sure, Xhekpon is, but that's not very thrilling for my age group) and that was fulfilled by that chocolate which is not a normal thing to be in a beauty box. The only thing which I know will be used is the skin illuminator and that's it. Old, boring stuff anyone can get. 

You've gotten worse, Ladybox...

50 Shades of Red ... part 2

All right, I’ll jump right in. If you don’t know what’s going on, read about my hunt for the most gorgeous red lip color in the first part of the series.

For this part, I’ve prepared all my Avon lipsticks and one Urban Decay, because I had space for one lipstick on the paper, so I added the brand I only had one thing from – duh! I'm becoming a space-saving genius ;-)=

 

Notice the difference in the swatches - compared to the ELF lipsticks I did last time, these let more color on the paper -> so the pigmentation is way better than in the ELF lipsticks. But if they let so much color on the paper, will something stay on the lips? Are you hanging on the edge of your seats? :-)=

As you can see, I have a lot of Avon lipsticks – all from different lines or whatever that is – some of them quite pricey, some of them super cheap. All they have in common, however, is the pigmentation. It doesn’t matter if you buy the Color Trend line or one of those Extra Lasting ones – they will all give you the color you want in one layer.

Sure, the cheapest ones have the formula a little thinner than the more expensive ones, but I find them more then good for the price. I have a suspicion that Rich Ruby is just diluted Fiery Red. Which reminds me – Avon has a gazillion red shades but they are all very similar. You won’t notice the difference between some of them at the first glance – that’s exactly what prevents me from buying a lipstick from their most expensive line (Luxe), because I’m afraid I’d buy a shade I already have but in a “better” packaging. Better being the operative word here, because I hate gold packaging – instead of looking more luxurious, it does quite the opposite, it looks cheap. But I’ve just discovered I can buy mini samples of them so more Avon is going to appear here for sure.

What I like about all those Avon lipsticks is their duration. Honestly, they all (even the Color Trend Line) survived my meal and drink – I had to reapply the cheapest ones on small areas of my lips, but none of them was completely gone as it happens with lipsticks which will appear in the next episode ;-)= So if you want a good lipstick for a good price (around 5 dollars), invest in one of those (btw the Extra Lasting ones are really worth it - that's Fiery Red in my swatches).

The last one I added for paper saving purposes is Urban Decay’s Gravity. I saved money for a long time before I could afford this one (it was some kind of special edition with pretty steel packaging). And I couldn’t be more disappointed. Not only does the lipstick smell like it just escaped from the chemical lab, it also doesn’t last as much as one would think such an expensive lipstick would. Sure, it’s creamy, application is smooth but I dare you to take a sip from your glass or mug or whatever you drink from. Poof ... gone! Gotta reapply it. I mean one frickin’ drink will make it almost disappear! And that sucks because it is very dark, so it looks weird if you have half of your lips naked while you are sprinting toward the nearest mirror. This was a huge turndown for me.

50 Shades of Red ... part 1

I stumbled over a huge amount of red lipsticks when I was reorganizing my bedroom. Which was bad. Really bad. It made me realize I was a hoarder. I hadn't known it. Because when you take a look at my make up supplies, you can see I am quite normal - a couple of lipsticks of various colors, couple of eye shadow palettes (all containing a different range of colors), a couple of eyeliners - all in different colors as well - just all you need to make practically any kind of look with a minimum of stuff. And this sense of normalcy remains until you open the Pandora's Box which is nicely hidden under the table. Then you realize I'm nuts. I'm drawn to the red things and the worst part is I don't throw them away until I've used up the whole product so it keeps adding up (I've read about the expiracy date on these things and how we should throw them away after two years ... yeah yeah I own a lipstick which I bought at high school and still wear it which doesn't beat my granny's one which was used only on special occasions as long as I remember - and I've never seen my granny being poisoned by it).

But believing everything bad is good for something, I decided to do a mini series talking about the red lip products I have, doing swatches and maybe helping you with a good purchase.

Holy Grail of Lip Products

 First of all, I'd like to talk about how I'm conducting this experiment. Even though I always rely on Lipcote which makes any lipstick last whole day (including eating and drinking - I don't recommend kissing because it tastes weird), I decided to be little objective here and didn't use this top layer. I only used Lip Lock by Elf as a base (only a thin layer because thick layer has disturbingly flaky effect). I applied the lipstick in the morning, then did my job in which I speak a lot and then, finally, ate lunch. No lipstick actually survived lunch but some of them didn't disappear entirely. I'll tell you when describing those actual lipsticks.

It is very dry but can buy you some time. It is very good for lining your lips - at least you don't need various colors of lip pencils. All you need is this one and your lipstick is without those areas where it bleeds into the foundation.

50 Shades of Red aka My Desperate Hunt to Find THE PERFECT RED

The very first set of lipsticks I'm going to try is ELF lipsticks from their three lines (from the cheapest to the most expensive ones).

By the way, every time I see the following paper with my kisses all over it, I recall the evening I was making it. I was sitting in my room, watching Empire Strikes Back and putting the lipsticks on a piece of paper. My mom walked into my room, saw Chewbacca and made a grimace (she never understood why I would choose The Star Wars over Love Actually). Then she saw me kissing the paper and silently walked away, never asking what was going on. Hey, your daughter isn't a complete freak! She is doing beauty science ;-D

 

More swatches:

At first, I'd like to talk about packaging, because that's my never-ending problem with Elf. It just frickin' breaks. The writing on the silver lipsticks disappeared (not really, I had it on my palm). The most expensive lipstick (Rich Red) has broken and falls out so that it is difficult to apply it (I was so happy to get this skinny one because you don't need a brush to apply it with). And all three Mineral Lipsticks came covered in some weird white flakes I dare not to try to identify.

Ok, since I'm comparing a lot of them, I will take it line by line, because all in one line have similar qualities. 

The first one I have is Matte Lip Color from the Studio Line and when it comes to price it's insanely expensive. It contains only 1,8 g of the product which is 2 g less than the others, and even though the pigmentation is awesome, the cheapest shade Fearless (which is very similar, just a little lighter), wins. It stays on for a quite long time (some color survived greasy food and drinks). It isn't drying nor moisturizing so that's a nice compromise.

The next line is Essentials and as I've already mentioned, Fearless is very similar to Rich Red but has the glossiest finish of them all. These lipsticks smell funny and are very dry. The pigmentation isn't the best (you can see how very little winded up on the paper - that's WITHOUT blotting them first) but they stay on for a fairly good amount of time. I think they are good for experimenting if you don't want to spend too much on it. You may be surprised why I included Voodoo in here as a red one since it looks brown but somehow when I apply it on my lips it looks as a red with a hint of brown (and isn't nearly as brown as Royal Red). Posh looks also very berry-ish but again, it's a red with a hint of berry when applied on the lips. These lipsticks survived food as well.

The last trio is the Minerals. Apart from arriving in a weird condition which made me disinfect them, they are the buttery ones - they moisturize your lips. They go on smoothly and don't last nearly as much as the ones above them. Royal red is almost brown, Barely Bitten is the one if you don't want loud colors (hint of pink in it) and Cheerful Cherry is also on the brown side. They have golden shimmer to them which makes them quite warm. These never survive my snack.

To sum this somehow up, I don't like the color payoff of the Essentials, however, since they are dry, they tend to stay on for a long time. The Minerals are warm smooth colors which don't last. And the Studio lipstick is a pretty matte which lasts but isn't worth the money.

Stay tuned for the next episode of this series ;-)=