I am back!

I disappeared!

I've been doing my dissertation etc. etc. and now I'm finally done with university and graduating on the 30th with an MSc in Pharmacognosy. Yes I chose a relatively specific and obscure course ("Sounds like alchemy," someone said to me) but I have an undergrad degree in biology and my dissertation project was on natural antimicrobials, so I hope I have a good chance of getting a job. So far I've applied to a microbiologist job and a job testing pee for drugs, I have a somewhat good feeling about the pee job. I feel that testing pee for drugs is within the range of my skillz.

Anyway. I did watch the final episode of True Blood but because of all the above dissertation etc. I haven't made any screencaps yet. The ending felt a bit anticlimactic, I'm not all thrilled and eagerly anticipating the next season like I did with Supernatural and Bones (Supernatural and Bones!) but it was alright. I did try to do a lipstick look like in the True Blood poster though, but failed desperately.


I have huge fucking teeth yall.

I used a Jordana lipliner in Silver Lilac but everything still bled desperately, I think I really do need a decent quality red lip liner. Like I'll pick up a Barry M one or something.

Looking at that picture, there's obviously a darker liner around the mouth. I tried to do that with an Urban Decay pleather pencil in Rubber, and put gloss over the top. I recommend a squeezy gloss or to put it on your fingers first. That red rubs off on the applicator. You can also see the pink 'the inside of my lips' bit on my bottom lip - I'm sure I'm not the only one with this problem. It's just a different type of cell or something I'm not quite sure, but it's wet and lipstick doesn't stick to it. And it's on the inside but it shows when you talk or open your mouth.

I used Urban Decay Pleather Pencil in Rubber as a base and as a kind of liner. This is old school stuff. You can probably find it on Ebay still or discount cosmetics outlets but I wouldn't bother. The main draw is that it's like a huge pencil and theoretically you could line your lips with it and colour them in, but it's slippery - I'd say more slippery than MAC Frost formula lipsticks so it slides everywhere. I used to be into gothness and, by association, pleather and Urban Decay (though they seem to have a way more cheerful and girly image now), so I still keep them around.

MAC Red lipstick over that. This is a new acquisition. I love this lipstick. It's less orange than Barry M Fire Engine Red but applies more of a true red on me than the other red lipsticks I have. It's also the first Satin formula lipstick I have, I've only tried Frost and Amplified finishes, and this feels 'wetter' than both of them.



I've compared it to the Prestige Velvet lipstick because I seem to have lost my So Scarlet lipstick. The last time I used it was when I went to a concert. I know I brought it back so it must be somewhere in the room, maybe under the bed or in a bag or something.

The gloss I used is something I bought when I went to Tokyo for my honeymoon. It's called 'Curvy Lip Silicone' and is made by Sony CP. I thought Sony made TVs and shit, but it seems in Japan they make makeup as well. There are a few colours available but I chose the clear one as the most versatile. It goes on shiny but feels really really sticky, stickier than Juicy Tubes.

This is one of my most treasured makeuppy things, because it is from Japan and applies with a LITTLE SPATULA! I'm a sucker for gimmicks.




I still have a few ideas about that True Blood red vampire poster opening sequence lipstick though. I possibly need a more burgundy/blood red colour, which I don't possess. Everything I have seems to be much darker or much pinker. I'll give it a go again.

MAC Rock It! Prom Palette

One of my favourite makeuppy things is my MAC Rock It! palette. It's the prom palette from I think 2004, and is mostly pink glitter. I used it today, and I'm going to use it again tomorrow since I'm going on a sort of 'date' with my husband. I'd say this is a really sweet palette for a date, for prom (like it was meant for), or for raving/clubbing, or for school. I remember really really wanting it when i was 19 but didn't want to pay full retail price for it. I forgot all about it until I saw it on livejournal recently for much cheaper so I was like, yeah, that's cool, I want that. I still wouldn't pay full retail price for it even though I love it to bits, it's one of those things that's just all lovely and girly, kind of like My Little Pony and tutus and rainbows, but it's seriously more My First Makeup Kit than other palettes you could get for a comparable price.



Pink glitter case!



That said the shades are rather lovely. The glitter cream (Rock It) is apparently comparable to the Playmate Pink glitter cream. The pink shows up on me as a highlighty kind of sheen but the glitter is large. This is like rave glitter, people. Personally I don't think it's similar to a cream colour base, it's much much drier but in a way that's good since I find the ccbs pretty oily. I use it on my cheekbones though I don't advise it for your day job, but I've also used it on my eyelids without going blind and, y'know, it just shows up as chunky glitter. It reminds me of a stack of glitter creams I got when I was 18. They were like cheap drugstore schoolgirl makeup but were similar, except they were a bit creamier. Those were awesome.

The last gloss (Up The Beat) is pretty much just sheer on me though it looks peachish in the pan, but the first and second are rather good. The first is a cute shimmery baby pink (Pretty Fab), and the second is a light berry pink (Berry Rush). They're all pretty but standard glosses.

Today I used Pretty Fab, the glitter cream on my cheekbones and eyelids, and Stila All Over Shimmer liquid in #6, Barry M Candy dazzle dust (#58), MAC Beauty Marked, MAC Boot Black liquid eyeliner, and my new mascara for September, Benefit Bad Gal Lash on eyes.



I'm not sure if you can see the glitter on my cheeks. I think you can.





I wanted a light pink eyeshadow and at first wanted Ice Pink or Pale Pink dazzle dusts, but when I tried them on in the shop they showed up too white on me. Candy is a really good light pink for darker skintones. I haven't got another pink like it but it looks like it should be a fairly common shade. I'm extremely fond of it.

Hot Day Shimmerbuds

It's a really hot day. I've been listening to the blues. The blues sound better when it's hot.



I did a pastel eye look today. Pastel is also good for hot days.





Not blended very well I'm afraid, but there you go.

I used MAC X-Rocks blush here. It's a shimmery mauve and is exceedingly pretty, except for the neon orange case. I tried to swatch it but it didn't show up well on camera.



Here's what one layer looks like on my skin. Subtle, yet shimmery and all kinds of wonderful. I don't use MAC foundation so don't know what shadeI am, now it's summer I'm guessing I'm NC45 or something, but if you're a brown girl around my colour, X-Rocks is definitely for you.



Sadly I don't think it's sold in MAC stores anymore. I heard that it's similar to Nars Lovejoy. Someone else has compared them here.

I also used MAC C-Thru lipglass. My husband says he likes my lipstick, it's very shiny. I've read some forum posts about how it might be too pale on darker skin, you need to use a lip liner, etc. etc. I do no such thing. It's lipgloss, it ain't that complicated. I just put it on The only thing is you have to remember to keep it sheer. Too much will look like - let's be honest and adult here - cum. I think that's the point of it. Anyhow,

The unpopular makeup I'm using is The Body Shop Shimmer Buds eyeshadow duo in Peach Blossom and Blue Iris from their Spring 2008 collection. It's a light peach and pastel blue duo with pictures of flowers embossed. I got it on sale. I also have the grey and green one.

For a highlight I used Bourjois Ombre Stretch eyeshadow in Maxi Blanc. It's not that popular either but it's good for a base and highlight. It's a yellowish white so it's not stark white against your skin. It's not chalky (see picture below). I have a few of these Ombre Stretches from when I interned at the magazine, and they all come in a case with a good-sized mirror and a soft, very useful eyeshadow brush.


LTR: Bourjois Maxi Blanc, The Body Shop Peach Blossom and Blue Iris.



I wouldn't buy it at RRP, or go out of my way to get one, but it's kind of nice now I've got it. It looks like a copper and pastel blue in the case but it goes on a much lighter shimmery blue and peach, as the names suggest. The blue is a very powdery blue, and while it looks fairly pretty and chilled on me it would probably look better on someone much fairer.

I've read terrible reviews of this eyeshadow and I can't say that I understand them. I concede that the texture is kind of odd, when you touch it it feels a bit strange and hard but the colour picks up easily and applies smoothly. I don't understand complaints that these aren't pigmented. Those swatches on my arm are one layer of eyeshadow and I'm brown. I can see that the colours are a peach and a light blue without packing it on. I can use it as a sheer wash on my eyelid, as I do today. Sure, it doesn't scream I AM PEACH! at you but that's kind of the point of it. It's a soft girly eyeshadow, I mean, hell, it's even got these little flowers embossed in it. It's more of a picnic eyeshadow, like something you'd wear with gingham and white sandals and things, rather than an eyeshadow for clubbing or sexiness. It's like church makeup.

I concur it's not the very best of eyeshadows, like, yeah, it fades after a while, and sure, it ain't the brightest colours as well, and it's got a lame name (shimmerbuds), but man, it's alright. I like having a little cute eyeshadow duo with sheer, pretty colours that work well together, that I can pop into my handbag.

Too Faced Rebel Yell

Yesterday I went to see Hamlet with Jude Law. It was extremely awesome and way more exciting than you'd think a Shakespearean play would be. Better than the movie (I speak of the one with Mel Gibson). I went after I finished work and so put on easy 'going-out' makeup. I had on UD Strip eyeshadow and Too Faced Glamour Gloss in Rebel Yell (now 'vintage' and $13.50 on their website). Too Faced described Rebel Yell as a raspberry sorbet: that translates to a very nice deep pink. I'm not extremely fond of the little sponge applicator, it reminds me of, y'know, Play-Doh? and you have little things that you push and the Play-Doh comes out at the other end in like, these long shapes?


I want to play with Play-Doh now.

The Glamour Gloss has a little sponge top with holes in it, and you twist the bottom and the gloss comes out through the holes. Sometimes it takes a while to come out.




The good news is, although quite a bit comes out at a time, the next few times you use the gloss you don't have to twist it as the sponge tip is full of gloss. I understand the logic - it's supposed to apply like a lipstick says the website - but hey surprise, a sponge tip doesn't equate to lipstick-like application and the twisty thing takes some time to push up the gloss. I'd have preferred a squeezy tube or one of the normal wand applicator things, especially since the applicator deposits more lipgloss than I'd like and I have to sheer it out with my fingers anyway.

The actual gloss bit I like. It's not the shiniest gloss, but it's thin and unsticky and comfortable to wear, and it lasts a good amount of time. It does rub off initially when you drink and such, but the colour sort of stains your mouth for some time after. I'm not sure if it's because I got a dark colour or that's just how the gloss is.

Too Faced doesn't nearly get enough love as it should. To be fair I do consider the line expensive, and only have this and the eyeshadow duo in Steel Magnolias (both 'vintage' now), but I find them to be of good quality and really like them a whole lot.


As mentioned, UD Strip eyeshadow, Too Faced Rebel Yell, and MAC blushcreme in Cheery.




Strip is like a straight-up silver without the glitter that Uzi has. When I bought it I somehow imagined that it was a darker slate-grey, I'm not sure why, but it's a shimmery blue-ish silver.

Swatches: