Saturday, August 16, 2014

Just Because It's Pretty

I literally have not done one of these posts in years but I decided to do one as there are some neat looking cosmetics products out there lately.
If you haven't seen one of these posts before these are basically just images of gorgeous or cool looking cosmetics packaging. I've not tested these out unless I say otherwise.

Image from the Kiko website

Image from the Kiko website

First up is the Kiko Queen of Hearts Limited Edition Eyeshadow palette which look lovely. You can see some of the other powder products from this collection which are stunning in this blog post here by British Beauty Blogger. You can see the Daring Game Collection online  HERE. Gosh I'd love to try these out, but unfortunately I can't access them over here in Canada. Bonus news Kiko is completely cruelty-free (and possibly vegan too).

Image from Sephora

Some of the best shots of this palette are from Makeup and Beauty Blog's Post or from Not So Frivolous' post here.
I adore the look of this palette! The gorgeous snake motif in gold, the purple jewel, the dark wood. Gah. If only I needed more purple eyeshadow (unfortunately I have enough purples now to last my children's children's needs for purple and I'm trying desperately to be good).
Tarte is also a cruelty-free brand.

Image from cosmeticoskorea.com
Finally is the freakin adorable Panda White Magic Skin Cream from Tony Moly (I believe Tony Moly is cruelty-free but I'm not 100% sure).  I want this just for the package- I don't need it for the supposed anti-aging properties or the whitening properties, just for the Panda 3D love. SO CUTE! You can see some other pictures and purchase it Here. No idea if it work though :P!

That is it for now! Love any of these or used any of these products? Seen any other awesome packaging out there? Let me know!



Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick Swatches


It has been way too long since I last blogged! I've been very busy at work (I'm working with endangered turtles and snakes) and not much has interested me in the beauty world in the last little while. Until now! These Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipsticks with supposed 10 hour wear have got me perking up out of my beauty "meh" stage. So because I wasn't able to find many swatches online I went to my local Sephora and swatched all the testers that were available!
Top L-R: Noble, Gothica, Lolita, Archangel, L'Ecole Des Femmes, Bachelorette, Adora, Hellbent, Wolvesmouth, Vampira, Homegirl, Missing Sexer, L.U.V., Coven, Slayer
Bottom L-R: Agatha, Lovecraft, Thin Lizzy, Cathedral, A-Go-Go, Countess, Missing Underage Red, Hexagram, BauHau5, Prayer, Motorhead, Missing Backstage Bambi, Lullabye, Wonderchilde, Poe

This collection is 30 shades and supposed to be very pigmented and very long lasting. Most of the shades are matte but there are some glitter/shimmer/metallic shades too. The shades missing from the swatches are Sexer, Underage Red and Backstage Bambi as there weren't any testers available for them.

From what I felt when applying the shades that contained sheen, metallic finish or glitter were much easier to apply than the straight matte shades and certain matte shades were easier to apply than others- Agatha for example pulled like crazy and needed multiple swipes to lay right (even just on my arm). Wonderchilde is lovely and intense but needed multiple layers to build-up to mostly opaque- this I found was the only partly sheer colour in the line.
T-B: Poe, Wonderchilde, Lullabye, Motorhead, Prayer, BauHau5, Hexagram, Countess, A-Go-Go, Cathedral, Thin Lizzy, Lovecraft, Agatha
L-R: Agatha, Lovecraft, Thin Lizzy, Cathedral, A-Go-Go, Countess, Hexagram, BauHau5, Prayer
L-R: Hexagram, BauHau5, Prayer, Motorhead, Lullabye, Wonderchilde, Poe
T-B: Slayer, Coven, L.U.V., Homegirl, Vampira, Wolvesmouth, Hellbent, Adora, Bachelorette, L'Ecole Des Femmes, Archangel, Lolita, Gothica, Noble
L-R: Noble, Gothica, Lolita, Archangel, L'Ecole Des Femmes, Bachelorette, Adora, Hellbent, Wolvesmouth
L-R: Lolita, Archangel, L'Ecole Des Femmes, Bachelorette, Adora, Hellbent, Wolvesmouth, Vampira, Homegirl, L.U.V., Coven
L-R: Archangel, L'Ecole Des Femmes, Bachelorette, Adora, Hellbent, Wolvesmouth, Vampira, Homegirl, L.U.V., Coven, Slayer
Because of the matte texture and long wear-time of these you'll want to prepare your lips before wearing these either with a lip primer or by exfoliating your lips before use etc. 
I myself was debating what shade to get as there are so many unique as well as wearable shades. 
L-R: Adora, Thin Lizzy, Gothica
Though I am eyeing up Wolvesmouth for next time the three I was stuck between were Adora, Thin Lizzy and Gothica. I was worried that Gothica might be too brown but on the lips it takes on this rosy tone and makes for a gorgeous autumn inspired shade. You can't feel the glitter/shimmer in these at all either which is nice.

In store I tried on both Thin Lizzy and Gothica and as I was only allowing myself to get one I eventually decided on Gothica. Surprisingly wearable and so pretty. Here's a quick lipswatch.

Wearing Gothica
Also I quite like the studded plastic packaging so I've got a photo of that too.
Neat right? I'll save further pictures on the packaging for my review of Gothica but I wanted to give everyone an idea. Hopefully these swatches will help you out if your torn between shades and can't see them in store.

Do you have any of the Studded Kiss Lipsticks? Any shades really calling your name?