Milani Eyeshadow Primer ~Review

When I first discovered the wonders of eye-primer I was instantly in love. I have oily eyes that cause quite a bit of creasing and fading fairly quickly and with allergies I touch my eyes more than I should which causes smearing. The only downfall I found was that most primers were expensive. I tried the Urban Decay primer potion first, which worked but caused my sensitive skin to sting where I applied it. I really did like the Too Faced Shadow Insurance (TFSI), however I found that while it worked at first for some reason my second tube didn't work as well. Still better than without the primer for sure but not as nice as before. Nars eye primer was reccommended to me but it is quite a price increase over the other two which are really kind of high up there. I know they last a long time but here in Canada the Nars one is about $30, such a huge hit!

The Milani Eyeshadow Primer however is under $10 and actually works better than the Too Faced Shadow Insurance. THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!

More than enough for both eyes

Okay well I suppose if you want more information, hehe. Firstly there is currently only one shade, 01-nude. This primer is also light-weight, goes on clear (though it does appear nude once you squirt it out once blended it has no colour), and I experience no irritation on my eyes at all. It comes in a silver-white tube with a weird eye drawing on it and clearly states Milani Eyeshadow Primer on it. There is a small opening for the primer to come out of which easily allows you to control the amount, which is good as you don't need much at all to do the job.

Here are other things I like about the Milani primer. It comes in a wide, squat, tube and contains 0.3 fl oz. of product for $6.49 USD- that's like one really fancy coffee. For comparison the Too Face Shadow Insurance contains 0.35 fl. oz. for $24 CND or $18 USD (why such a huge price difference! We are almost the same worth in money between Canada and the USA!) or Urban decay Primer Potion with 0.37 fl. oz. at $24 CND or $20 USD.  Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base is a whopping $29 CND or $24 USD for only 0.29 fl. oz.

The texture of the Milani is lovely, sort of velvety and it dries down quicker than the TFSI. It intensifies the eyeshadow you place over it and it helps it stay in place as well as preventing creasing. If I'm wearing my eyeshadow of course during a particularly active time period or a very long time (i.e. over 10 hours) then I do get minor creasing but nothing unmanageable. Considering they promise 8 hours of wear I'd say they meet expectations!

Now for the few issues with it, like other primers this doesn't hold glitter in place particularly well, but it isn't designed too. If you want something to hold glitter in place or make the shadow look wet and thus uber intense you need to use something like Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy or Darling Girl's Glitter Glue. Just a reminder though neither of these prevent creasing.

The formula of the Milani Eyeshadow Primer also (like the TFSI) has a tendency of separating in the tube after a while. This has an easy fix though (thankfully!) and all you need to do is have the little twist tube cap closed and kneed the plastic tube a couple times and the problem is fixed, no big deal.

Rating: 9.5/10

Overall, For the price you seriously can't do better than this in my experience! (Though I have heard good things about the Wet n' Wild primer here in Canada I have not been able to get my hands on it). The texture, the longevity, and the eyeshadow increase in intensity of the product all live up to any hype you've heard. Non-irritating and light weight as well as being suited for every skin-tone as it blends out clear it won't change the colour of your eyeshadow. The only possible negative this thing has is that you can't tell how much you have left in the tube because it's opaque and every once in a while you need to smoosh the plastic together to mix the formula again.

Would I buy this again? YES! I certainly won't be buying any of the higher end versions of eye primers again as this one does better than the ones I've tried and is much less money. In fact I reach for this over the old TFSI I have.

Milani Shadow Eyez Pencils Review & Swatches

L-R: Royal Purple, Brown Deluxe, Cafe Au Lait, Sand Dunes, Almond Cream

Milani is a brand that has been on my radar for a few years. It's a difficult brand to find in Canada and so I was never much interested in it. Lately however, Milani has been really stepping up their game and has released a Limited Edition Shadow Eyez collection that's been getting rave reviews, and so I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Close-up of the products

The shades I picked up (in two separate shopping experiences) are Royal Purple, a matte rich medium-dark purple shade; Brown Deluxe, a shimmery bronze with a gold tone to it; Cafe Au Lait, a matte medium neutral brown shade; Sand Dunes, a super shimmery beige-gold; and Almond Cream a matte pale beige.

Let me start off by saying that these blow me out of the water! Everything you've heard about them is likely true, except maybe the ability to bring Unicorns to life- the jury is still out on that one.

Seriously though these I can see easily becoming a staple for me. They're creamy and easy to blend with, simple to apply, portable and highly pigmented. Plus once they dry down these do not budge. You can get them wet and they won't smear or rub across them (which I did) and they won't smear once they've set. They also can be applied without any primer straight to your eyelid and it won't crease all day. Just swipe, blend and go. Ahh, the pure simplicity!

In function they are much like the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Shadow Pencils. In fact they may even be better due to how creamy they start out being and the blendibility of them. Just make sure the little plastic lids are on securely and they'll stay this way too. 

(Click on any of the photos to make them bigger).

Natural Light, L-R: Royal Purple, Deluxe Brown, Cafe Au Lait, Sand Dunes, Almond Cream

Indoor Light, L-R: Royal Purple, Deluxe Brown, Cafe Au Lait, Sand Dunes, Almond Cream

A bit about the individual shades:

Royal Purple applies the patchiest of the shades I own, but it isn't so bad that I won't use it. Just swipe it again and the problem is solved.

Sand Dunes as far as I can tell is actually lacking a base pigment at all and is all shimmer- there isn't a matte or metallic base portion to the colour at all as compared to Deluxe Brown. That being said you can barely tell this as the shimmer is so dense it appears like it may be one. Creates a lovely sparkle effect that is almost airy. Very pretty.

Deluxe Brown is the best pigmented of the bunch. Not that the others aren't pigmented (they are) but this one seems to apply itself. Smouldery and rich this one makes me this of metal goblets and medieval embroidered gowns. Makes a very easy brown smoky eye.

Almond Cream is my favourite (only slightly) because it can be blended to match my skin colour perfectly. Very creamy, very pigmented, it works well as a highlight and to just even my skintone on and around my eyes. Even if you are darker than this shade it will work well as a highlight.

Cafe Au Lait is very neutral in it's undertone- it doesn't lean red or yellow. I can see this being a nice staple item for the crease for me as it's not too dark. If this is close to your skin colour I recommend it!

To remove these you're going to want to use a good eye make-up remover, water isn't going to work, and soap will work but not well. I recommend finding one that is oil based and made specifically for eye make-up removal so you don't agitate your eyes. 

Lastly I wanted to see how these worked as a sticky base for other powder eyeshadows. I don't know if the crease-free all day feature will still apply with another shadow on top but I wanted to see how they'd look. I had to work a bit quicker than normal but not so fast that I felt too rushed. The results are below.

I used a variety of different finishes and pigmentation-levels in my powder eyeshadows for this. Each line is a different Milani pencil shade with two shadows swatched on top of them with the original pencil colour peaking out the bottom for comparison.

On the left is Almond Cream with Too Faced Satin Sheets over top and Wet n' Wild's Blue Lagoon Color Icon Single in the middle. Satin sheets is usually a light semi-sheer pink with gold duochrome. Blue Lagoon is normally a medium shimmery blue.

On the right is Cafe Au Lait with Too Faced Like A Virgin on top with Mac* Sumptuous Olive in the middle. Both stayed true to colour pretty much as Like a Virgin is a matte grey and Sumptuous Olive a shimmery khaki green shade. 

On the left is Royal Purple with Urban Decay's (old sheerer formula) Asphyxia on top and Too Faced Poison Plum in the middle. Asphyxia is a sheer shimmery lavender with blue reflect. Poison Plum is a charcoal-purple with purple glitter.

On the right is Brown Deluxe with Urban Decay's Zodiac on top and Too Faced Push-Up in the middle. Zodiac is a dark sooty green with a massive amount of green glitter, and Push-Up is a Metallic pink-bronze shade.

Basically with the darker shades you are going to get some of the base pencil colour showing through, however sometimes this seems to enhance the shades as seen with Cafe Au Lait and Sumptuous Olive, or Asphyxia and Royal Purple. They also hold glitter well eliminating the need for a separate sticky eye base. I know I plan to rock both Zodiac and Poison Plum (my glittery shades) with these for bases.

One thing to take note of though is that to apply the shadows overtop I found you had to pat them into the pencils instead of swiping the powder shadows on. If you swipe the creamy base moves and doesn't work.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about these shadow pencils. They're portable, easy to use, last all day and are reasonably priced. They cost $6.99 on the Milani website. The only real downfall is that some of the shades are limited edition- including my favourite Almond Cream, as well as Cafe Au Lait and Sand Dunes.

If you are interested in getting the Limited Edition Shades Click Here. The link isn't sponsored it's just to the Milani website page where I ordered mine from. It's kinda difficult to find on their website for some weird reason.

Rating: 10/10

Would I buy it again? Yes. In fact I want another Almond Cream for back-up, and I am eyeing up the  other shades too!

What about everyone else, have you spotted these before? Do you like pencil shadows?

Cult Nails Get It On Base Coat and Wicked Fast Top Coat~ Review

Cult Nails was offering a deal with the release of their Base and Top Coats Get It On, and Wicked Fast a little while ago and I've been putting both of them through the wringer testing them out! I've now used them for four separate manicures with differing types of polishes and formulas.

First off, like the other Cult Nail polishes, these are well priced ($8 USD each or $15 USD for the two of them together) and have a easy to hold sleek cylinder bottle with excellent brush. Both have excellent consistency- a ever so slightly thin formula that applies easily to the nail. Wicked Fast is especially surprising in this aspect because all previous quick dry top coats I've tried are gloopy.

Wicked Fast is clear whereas Get It On is tinted pink. At first I was a little skeptical about the pink tint with the Get It On but now I'm so glad! It does somehow seem to brighten the nail just by itself, it doesn't affect the polish colour layered over it at all, and it makes it easy to spot out of all my other polishes. I almost wish the Wicked Fast was tinted blue so I could spot it easily too!

Get It On has a slightly rubberized texture to it to help with adhesion as well as ingredients to help with peeling, spliting, strengthening, and thinning nails. That's a whole bunch of stuff in one! It doesn't help with my splitting nails that I sometimes get as much as the Nail Tek II does, but my splitting is quite hard core at times so I wasn't expecting it to fix it. It doesn't seem to aggravate the issue though which is nice. On top of all that Wicked Fast is supposed to keep the same consistency throughout the bottle (unlike China Glaze's Fast Forward coat which becomes a sludgy mess half way through) and of course like all of Cult Nails polishes is Big Three Free.

Wicked Fast dries quicker than any other quick dry top coat I've tried, including my well loved China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. In addition to this you only need a thin layer of this stuff, which is the complete opposite of the China Glaze one which you have to almost flood the nail when applying. It also dries quite shiny too. Get It On has a very small drying time too.

Now onto what I'm sure most of you are waiting for, does it help my manicure last? GOSH YES! Plus, it dries so quick that I don't have to be careful with my fingers in worry that I'll ruin my manicure, and I never get the nicks or ripples that I sometimes used to get when the top layer of polish had dried my the layers beneath didn't and moved.

With the Cult Nails polishes I got an amazing SIX DAYS of wear out of the polishes before I noticed tip wear and chipping. That is literally unheard of for me! I am really tough on my nails, I'm forever typing, reading, writing, cleaning (I work in a lab as a lab assistant cleaning a bunch), washing, putting on moisturizer, etc. I'm usually lucky to get my nails to last three days, so as you can imagine six days is a miracle. Even my crappy polishes that only last one day on my nails with other base and top coats I get a minimum of three days wear with the Get It On and Wicked Fast combo.

Left Hand Day 7

Right Hand Day 7 (Dominant Hand so more wear)
Major chip on ring finger happened that day

The only thing I can say about these that is even slightly negative is that you need to remember not to blob on the Wicked Fast top coat because it can bubble if you do that, but since you only need a small amount it's more of a getting used to the better formula than anything else!

Overall, these were the best impulse purchase I've ever made. I seriously can't believe how awesome they are every time I do a new manicure. They work well with a variety of polish types, and are a cinch to use. If one of my friends decides to get into polish I'll be buying them a set of these because I'm in love.

Sprite Rating: 10/10 Holy Grail!

Will I purchase again? Yes. I most certainly will. I've already been eyeing my bottles trying to estimate how long they'll last before I need to make another purchase of them. I feel like I need to hoard them even though they aren't limited edition or going away! Go get yourself a bottle now!

Venomous Cosmetics Birthday Sale!

I really enjoy my Venomous Cosmetics stuff, especially their lipglosses! So if you like them too, or are interested in trying them out tomorrow is their 1 year birthday, and Tracy the owner is offering 10% off all orders, a free purse size lip poison gloss (my fav. gloss formula ever! My Review Here) and some select products further discounted! YAY!

Now I just have to hope I can resist buying anything else this month :/

Tom's of Maine Clean & Gentle Peppermint Toothpaste

This is going to be a sort of weird review. It’s about toothpaste, peppermint toothpaste at that. But it’s special toothpaste I promise.

Tom’s of Maine Clean and Gentle fluoride toothpaste in peppermint flavour in my opinion is fantastic. There are multiple reasons why so let me break it down into more manageable chunks to explain.

First Tom’s of Maine is the only toothpaste brand that I’ve ever been in contact with that is cruelty-free. Tom’s of Maine is also free of animal ingredients (so it’s vegan); shares every ingredient, its source and its purpose of every product it produces on its website www.tomsofmaine.com; includes no artifical colours, flavours, fragrances, or preservatives, makes sustainable practices a priority in every aspect of their business, works to maximize recycled content and recyclability of packaging, and also insures that 5% (12 days) of employee paid time is spent volunteering. In addition they also spend 10% of their profits on human and environmental goodness (whatever that means).

Now taking all of that into consideration and just going on the cruelty-free point alone I had tried a portion of the brand before and was majorly disappointed. The tube of toothpaste I bought fell way below normal toothpaste standards for me. The tube itself was aluminum, which made it hard to squeeze down toothpaste in the bottom of the tube. It was highly prone to forming sharp edges (which hurt) and these edges themselves were prone to breakage, which of course leads to leaks.

Not only did the packaging suck, the toothpaste itself didn’t have fluoride (which frightens me to be honest, I really don’t want to risk cavities) and the taste was wayyyyy too strong of mint. Bleehhh. I thankfully lost the tube after awhile (no really I did actually lose it) and guiltily switched back to a more normal toothpaste, wishing Tom’s of Maine was better.

So when my dad bought a new tube in the states and said I should try it you can understand why I was skeptical.

However, this new tube is in a nice super-soft, easy to squeeze plastic. The ingredients and information is much easier to read on the tube. And, there is fluoride in the toothpaste (yay!). So I figured what the heck I’d try it again. My dad has rarely steered me wrong before.

Oh wonderfully sweet subtle mint goodness. No kidding. This is coming from the girl who preferred the vanilla-mint, orange-mint, flavours when they were still available. Or bubblegum. Seriously I hate strong mint flavours, it took forever to wean me off of kids toothpaste. This mint has a sweet flavour to it. I seriously love that, it makes brushing my teeth less of a chore. Which to me is always a good thing.

Now the toothpaste doesn’t foam up as much as normal toothpastes but I’m alright with that. It still spreads easily throughout your mouth without needing extra.

In addition to this I think the cuts in my mouth are healing slightly faster than normal due to the major aloe content of the toothpaste. Now I may be wrong about this but I really do think they are. As someone who still has some trouble with the area where my wisdom teeth were extracted even six years later (eww, I know sorry!) any possible hint of slightly increased healing is most welcome.

Overall, I think it’s easy to see why I’m converted. The major bonus of this toothpaste is tied between the taste to me and the fact that the company is cruelty-free. I won’t be giving my dad back his tube of toothpaste when he returns from his trip. I’ve claimed it, it’s mine. Especially because it may be helping the more sensitive areas of my mouth.

Sprite Rating: 10/10 Yep I gave a toothpaste a perfect score. Even though this is a beauty blog. But! Keeping your smile healthy is beautiful, so there :P.

Would I buy this again? Looking above it’s fairly obvious but yes, even though I’m only able to get this across the border. Luckily my dad does a ton of work over in the USA so he can be my toothpaste supplier. Yay! :D

Venomous Cosmetics Lip Poisons~ Review

Lip Poisons

When I made my order to Venomous Cosmetics I ordered 5 of the purse size (smaller) lip poisons. I ordered 2 more everyday colours and 3 more out there shades.

I just want to mention that Venomous Cosmetics was really vigilant on making sure my package made it to me safely. Everything was lovingly swaddled in an amazing amount of bubble wrap and tape in a padded envelope. Five stars across the board for the shipping package! In addition, shipping was really cheap only $2 USD. I couldn't believe it! Fantastic on that front.

Onto the Lip Poisons! I first want to assure everyone these do NOT actually contain poison, they're just named that way to go with the Venomous Cosmetics theme. These are actually lip glosses, so no worries on that front. And my god what amazing glosses these little babies are. When I first tried these the words that instantly came to mind were "Luxe" and "Decadent". These are so smooth and amazingly moisturizing, they feel like silk on the lips. 

Although they are sticky I wouldn't be turned off by that. These are sticky in a very subtle non-gloopy way. I love the feel of these and actually have never felt a gloss out there that feels as nice or as moisturizing on as these. Plus the limited stickiness makes for super long wear-time. These hold out and manage to last three hours on me. I am literally in awe. You can tell that these are meant to actually help you lips as well due to the great ingredients Tracy the owner has included in them. Things such as almond oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E are all included. 

One thing to take note of is that these are not vegan as some of the glosses contain carmine.

These Lip Poisons don't just stop there the colours themselves are awesome! These start as semi-sheer and are easily buildable to almost completely opaque. I love this as you can vary the intensity of you lip colour than. Plus they make for excellent layering looks too. Here are the shades I got, all are swatched by themselves on bare lips and taken in full sun. Please click to see the images larger and to really appreciate the complexity of these shades!

Wicked, Wicked Witch

Oxygen Deprivation

Zero Gravity

Fairy

Hypnotize

Wicked, Wicked Witch is a rich royal purple with a very slight navy blue sheen. It can be used to darken up and cool down too warm lipstick shades. This shade was part of the Limited Edition My Fairytale collection.

Oxygen Deprivation is a dark sage green. Most of you won't be interested in this but the colour is very unique. For sure this is a new twist on a punk rock or gothic lip! This shade reflects a light pinkish-purple which really adds dimension. I may not wear it often but when I do it will most certainly make a statement!

Zero Gravity is a shade everyone should own. It doesn't look as fantastic as it actually is here, but in real life this is breathtaking! It has a super pale peach base that reflects strongly a bunch of different shades. In the tube it reflects green but on the lips it reflects blue and pink. Amazing! Plus over other lipsticks this really adds pizzaz and actually makes my lips look bigger, especially when used slightly above the cupids bow. 

Fairy is one of the two more sedate shades I picked out. It's a medium pink that has a strong blue reflect that makes it look purple in many lights. It also seems to have a bit of gold shimmer in it too. Not truly unique (I have a similar gloss called Cliche by Lorac) but a very lovely shade none the less and I'm getting a lot of wear out of it. Plus I love the name :D

Hypnotize is last but certainly not least in my opinion. What is so great about this shade is that a sheerer layer on the lips is a lovely coral shade but a more heavy application it turns into a great orange-based red with a golden sheen. So sophisticated and pretty. It's the perfect match to some flowers on my new summer dress too.

The Lip Poisons are $3.50 USD for a purse size one (3.7ml) and $5.00 USD for a full size tube (5ml). They have the standard doe-foot applicators and have a lovely matte see-through label that lists the product name, company, shade name, and ingredients list. 

My only points that could possibly be considered cons are that they have a very small amount of Mint Extract in them making them slightly smell of mint. I don't mind the smell and it is faint and goes away almost instantly but if you really dislike the smell of mint that may put you off. The only other con is that like all doe-foot applicators the posts that hold the doe-foot can get covered in gloss, but this happens with every doe-foot applicator and I just wipe the post onto my lips then spread with the doe foot. 

All in all I adore these. I will most certainly be ordering more as these are the best glosses I have ever tried. I just love how moisturizing and long wearing they are with the unique colours.

Sprite Rating: 10/10 Holy Grail glosses. I have found a new love. :D

Will I buy these again? Look above I think the answer is an obvious YES! 

Morgana Cryptoria Vegan Lipstick~ Review

T-B: Absinthe, Rose Plum

If you haven't heard of Morgana Cryptoria Vegan Lipsticks yet it's time to check these babies out! Morgana Cryptoria's Lipsticks are cult favourites across the indie cosmetic market for a bunch of different reasons. I'll go into the greatness of the formula later but for now I want to talk about the colours. The variety and intensity of these are AMAZING! From neutral to exotic there is literally a colour for everyone so don't get scared away by the super bright punk shades.
Here are all the current shades from Morgana Cryptoria sorted by colour:

Reds and Pinks

• Mistress- Deep plum toned brown-red cream
• Twinkling Rubies- Red with shifting sparkles of pink and gold
• Very Cherry- Rich medium red cream
• Azalea Blue- Hot pink with a blue sheen
• Fire Coral- Bright and warm red cream
• Love Lies Bleeding- Deep medium red cream
• IT Girl- Warm and bright red
• Cat's Pajamas- Brick rose-red
• Speakeasy- Creamy raspberry
• Flirtatious Flapper- Very dark red cream
• Very Strawberry- Pinkish red with subtle metallic red highlights
• Gilded Cerise- red-pink with gold sheen
• Dianthus- Pink with a pink sheen that shifts to silvery-green
• Roses and Violets- Light pink with a violet sheen 
• Totally Tubular- Hot pink cream
• Gilded Ballerina- Pale pink with intense gold sheen (NOT VEGAN)
• Metallic Maiden- Bright red with slight metallic sheen

Berries and Purples

• Amethyst- Eggplant
• Shifting Violet- Bright purple with red undertone and a shift of blue-green to silver
• Plumeria- red-plum with shifting blue-green sheen
• Plum Crazy- Muted plum with slight metallic finish, gold and pink shifting sheen
• Blackberry- Blackened plum with hint of a red undertone
• Sangria- Cool tones rose cream with hint of purple
• Ravenna- Deepest red-black cream
• Shrieking Violet- Bright violet cream

Greens and Blues

• Absinthe- Deep metallic green
• Brilliant Lime- Bright green with a yellow under tone and a duochrome of bright green and coppery-pink
• Enchanted Emerald- Medium green with light green highlight, changes to dark grey-green with a slight coppery sheen
• Fire in the Sky- Medium sky blue with a pink-red sheen that shifts gold
• Enchanted Sapphire- Deep blue with of blue to blue-green to blue-violet
• Sub Zero- Bright neon medium blue
• Medusa- Olive green with gold tones

Browns and Golds

• Goldrush- Metallic gold
• Cocoa- Beige brown cream
• The Charleston- Deep red-plum brown
• Gilded Brown- Warm brown with very intense gold sheen
• Platinum Chocolate- Deep brown with grey undertone, silver shine and some silver sparkle
• Mocha Blast- Brown with hints of red sparks
• Clay Bakin'- Peachy Brown cream
• Lust After Midnight- Blackened red with a brown undertone and slight metallic sheen

Oranges, Peaches and Yellows

• Bee's Knees- Warm light pumpkin orange
• Shrieking Orange- Bright orange cream
• Sunset Peach- Light peach with a gold and pink shift
• Tangerine Twist- Orange metallic
• Violet Banana- Vivid yellow with a pearly violet sheen and chartreuse shift
• Coraline's Kiss- Coral-peach

Greys, Blacks, Silvers

• Silverwitch- Metallic silver
• Licorice- Matte black with cream finish
• Lysette- Light grey
• Gargoyle's Glance- Dark grey with gold, copper and red tones

Full Sun- Rose Plum

Natural Outdoor Light- Rose Plum

Bright Sun T-B: Absinthe, Rose Plum

Shade T-B: Absinthe, Rose Plum

The most interesting thing about these lipsticks is the formula. They go on slightly dry but after a few minutes they seem to almost melt into your lips and they become almost more fluid. They seem to transform into something you can barely feel on at all. On top of that the lasting power and pigmentation of these is phenomenal. Honestly, I've never tried another lipstick formula that lasts half as long and that I know will make it through a meal.

Wearing Absinthe

The packaging for these is good too. The lipsticks come in tubes made of black plastic which is sturdy and easy to wind up and down.

There are little stickers on the bottom that list the company name and the shade which is nice because you can't tell the shades apart in the tubes otherwise.

You get one full size lipstick tube for $10-12 USD depending on the shade. Both of the colours I've worn (Absinthe and Rose Plum which is sadly now discontinued) last a minimum of four hours on me which is fantastic since I'm often drinking or eating. If you layer them they'll last even longer (i.e. more than one coat of the shade you want), subtly staining your lips too. 

To see lip swatches for current and past Morgana Cryptoria Lipstick shades You HAVE to check out this awesome collection of blogger swatches! Just click on the description of the shade and the pictures will come up underneath. So useful don't you think?

Morgana ships fairly quickly and shipping isn't too expensive, within the USA it's $5 USD and international I believe is around $7 USD. However, if you're like me I'd order more than one so that the shipping cost is spread out a bit :D

Overall I love these lipsticks! Though they can feel slightly drying when you first apply they last and last and last. Plus there are so many wonderful unique shades! The price is great, the customer service is good, and the formula rocks. You can't get much better than these in my humble opinion. It should be noted however that these do feel quite different (much drier) upon application than any normal lipstick however. That is something to be aware of going into it then I think you'll be able to enjoy them to the fullest.

Sprite Rating: 10/10 I've never found anything better and I doubt I will any time soon. Holy Grail.

Would I buy these again? YES! In fact I recently made another MC haul, a lipstick was included :D

NOTE: I have found the darker shades better consistency than the lighter ones, Peach Sunset tends to apply patchy for me unfortunately.

NOTD: Nubar Reclaim

In Shade

I finally got my bottle of Nubar Reclaim and I must say it is amazing! Such a gorgeous bright grass green with the most awesome holographic rainbow shimmer. The formula is wonderful and long-wearing, it needs 3 coats to be fully opaque, though 2 is almost good enough. I'm on day 2 and no chips or major tip wear yet.

Bright Sunlight

Look at the amazing rainbows! And the colour itself is just awesome!

In Sunlight

In Sunlight

Overall- This polish is about as perfect as you can get on the market in my opinion. The formula is amazing; easy to use and long lasting, the colour is wonderful and the holographic aspect rocks! The price is rather inexpensive for such a good product, I bought mine off Amazon for around $10 USD including shipping.

Would I buy it again? Yes. I love this polish so much and is I think my favourite green polish in my collection (which is big because Green is my favourite colour!)

Sprite Rating: 10/10 There is nothing more I would ask from this polish except that Nubar be more readily available! Holy Grail Polish here people!

Mac Fluidline in Rich Ground~ Review

Everyone always talks about the Mac Fluidlines. And with good reason! I love my little pot of Fluidline in Rich Ground. A reddened chocolate this is my absolute favourite liner to bring out the green in my hazel eyes (a hard feat to accomplish). 

These pots, though small really pack a bang for your buck. Creamy and richly pigmented, not very much is needed for the desired effect. I find the gel liners the easiest to control and can produce the smoothest line for me with my brush of choice (no included).

What I really love about these is that these literally do not budge once they set. I can literally rub hard on my eyes (which happens more than it doesn't when you're cursed with allergies) and it won't smear or fade. I still have the lovely metallic brown-red glow until I take it off at night. This stuff even lasts all day on my waterline with my very watery eyes.

This was only one small dip of my brush in the liner and look haw much I got!

Clicking above will bring you to the Mac website with all the fluidline colour options. Most people's favourite is blacktrack, obviously a black liner, but seeing as I don't use black liner I've never been tempted by it.

One thing to keep in mind is that fluidline twist caps must be secured tightly otherwise they'll dry out as it's their ability to dry when spread that keeps them from smudging. So after every use close the cap tightly and store it upside down. By storing it upside down you are keeping the moisture in the product as any that evaporates will evaporate into the gel itself instead of into the air and escaping. As I've stored mine upside down I've never had any problems with it drying out and I've had it for about a year now. If it does get a bit dry, I've heard putting a couple drops of Visine on it and then closing and storing upside down helps a lot.

Overall Rating: 10/10 I've not found a liner that stays as well, doesn't irritate, brings out my eyes and doesn't smudge yet!

And because I recently uploaded it, a cute picture of my gerbies Rowan (left) and Merlin (right) sharing a drink from their water bottle.