Viva Glam Collection

With the new Riri Viva Glam lipstick coming up and all, I thought I'd share with you my Viva Glam collection this far.

Viva Glam I

This is the original Viva Glam lipstick first launched in 1994 and represented by RuPaul. I can honestly say that this is my favorite red lipstick in the world. It is a deeper, more musty red tone that will suit practically everyone, so if you're having trouble finding the perfect red lipstick it might be a good idea to check this baby out. :)

Viva Glam II

 Viva Glam II without lip pencil.

Viva Glam II with lip pencil Plum. 

This is a special kind of nude tone that, to be honest doesn't look too exciting at the first glance. When combined with the lip pencil Plum, though, you get quite a gothy nude look on your lips. :)

Viva Glam III

This is the darkest and gothiest shade in the Viva Glam range. Excuse the strange lip shape! I tried to do some kind of modern 20's style lip, which turned out to look better in my mind than in the real world...

Viva Glam Nicki 2

Viva Glam Nicki 2 without lip pencil

Viva Glam Nicki 2 with Nightmoth lip pencil

Okey, so this color is just hideous! (on me at least, it looks great of Nicki Minaj) And I you all know how much I LOVE ugly things. :) It's definitely not my color, but I got the idea from Maria at mroxx.se
to use it with the lip pencil Nightmoth, which creates the most beautiful purple ombré (god I hate that word *shudders*) lip. Isn't that something? :D Oooh, now I got the idea to line the lips with a blue pencil instead of a purple. Have to try that some time! *brainstorm*

Does any of these lipsticks appeal to you or do you already own any of them? Do you have any other favorites among the Viva Glams?

Thanks for reading and have a lovely day! :)

Lime Crime Time!

I don't know what took me so long but finally I have ordered some Lime Crime products and of course I want to show them to you guys! :)

Lime Crime are probably most famous for their lipsticks so I will start with those.

Recently a new kind of lipstick was introduce to Lime Crimes makeup line; the Velvetines. These lipsticks are more like lip glosses in appearance except for one significant difference - they are completely matte! Due to the matte-ness they stay on very well. Believe it or not, I wore Red Velvet for a whole day, through both lunch and dinner, and I didn't need to reapply! Ladies and gentlemen, that sure is worth an applause!

The cons with the Velvetines are that they feel very dry on the lips.

Pigmentation: 5/5
Longevity: 5/5
Texture: Very dry
Price: $16.99 here

Glamour 101 has, except for Styletto, been my dream-lipstick from Lime Crime. My expectations on this lipstick was sky high and I can't really say that I was disappointed with it, but it didn't quite live up to these expectations. The pigmentation wasn't as good as with the other Lime Crime lippies and it didn't stay on as good as I had expected either. I had to reapply twice during my day at work to keep it looking perfect.
But enough with the negative stuff now; the color on this baby is to die for and it is very moisturizing so your lips feel soft and nice.

Pigmentation: 3/5

Longevity: 3/5

Texture: Soft and nice! 

Price: $15.99 here

Like a neon sign Countessa fluorescent will light up your face and send echoes of the 80's through the minds of everyone who has the luck to lay their eyes upon it. :)

Pigmentation: 4/5

Longevity: 4/5

Texture: Creamy

Price: $15.99 here

Coquette is a pretty peachy nude with an opaque, creamy texture. 

Pigmentation: 5/5

Longevity: 4/5

Texture: Creamy and very opaque

Price: $15.99 here

And now on to the eyeliners. I very much wanted to try out the one called Blue milk but it was out of stock when I ordered my stuff so I didn't get the chance to do so. The ones I got were 6th element and Orchidaceous, which are both very much to my satisfaction. :)

I can't say that they are as insanely pigmented as Scribe by Illamasqua but honestly, they don't really have to be, they're awesome anyway! You might have to apply two layers to gain the best out of them but that's definitely not any major problem. The colors are awesome and correspond very well to the swatches Lime Crime have provided on their website.

None of these colors are anywhere near waterproof so don't do any advanced makeup masterpieces with them before jumping into a swimming pool, ok? ;)

Pigmentation: 3/5
Longevity: 4/5
Texture: Rather thin but dries into a matte opaque finish.
Price: $13.99 here

Well, that's that for now! :) Have you ever tried out Lime Crime's products and what are your opinions about it?

NOTE: I'm not asking what you think of Lime Crime as a company or of what Doe Deere has or has not done in her past. It was long ago, this "drama" with Lime Crime, and to be honest things tend to get blown way out of proportions on the internet. Besides, everyone can make a mistake. My point; as far as I am concerned Doe is a very sweet and kind woman and until she proves otherwise to me I will continue to believe so. :)

IsaDora Zinfandel Review and Tutorial

The Swedish drugstore makeup brand IsaDora has a wide range of moisturizing lipsticks of which the one that has always caught my eye is the dark plum-ish wine-red Zinfandel. Very recently IsaDora launched their fall 2013 look including a lip-pencil matching this lipstick, and sharing its name, so I decided to buy them both.

Left: Zinfandel lip pencil, Right, Zinfandel lipstick

The lipstick has been out on the market for a while but I have never tried it on until now. It is one of the  Perfect Moisture lipsticks although its texture feels almost matte on when applied on the lips.
Like most dark lipstick from the cheaper selection of brands this one tends to get a little blotchy after a while, so you have to make sure your lips are perfectly scrubbed and moisturized before application. Reapplication is necessary during the day.

Pigmentation: 4/5

Longevity: 2/5

Texture: Creamy with a slightly shimmery finish

Kiss-proof? No

Price: 119 SEK (~$18) 

As for the pencil it is the perfect complement for the lipstick. It has a smooth, velvety finish and would look good on its own as well as underneath the Zinfandel lipstick.

Pigmentation: 4/5

Longevity: 3/5

Texture: Dry and opaque

Kiss-proof? Yes, without any lipstick on it actually is

Price: 69 SEK (~$10) 

Step 1. Begin with outlining your lips with the lip pencil. This way you can compensate for any asymmetrical lip shapes, so when you perform this step do it with relaxed, neutral lips. It sure is tempting to distort your mouth in order to stretch your skin for an easier application of the lipliner, but this will not help you achieve an even and symmetrical lip-shape.

Step 2. Fill in your entire lips with the lip liner. Now you can grimace as much as you like as long as you won't transform the outline you made in Step 1.

Step 3. Using a lip pencil fill in your lips with lipstick in the same shade as your lip liner (or a completely different one - who knows, it might turn out looking fabulous!).

Step 4. If your lip line is in any way still a little wonky-donkey, despite all your efforts with the lip liner, pick up some concealer on a thin brush and smooth out any un-eveness.

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Do you have any favorite lipsticks in this shade? :) 

Thanks for reading and welcome back! :D

Inglot Lipstick Swatches

It's a mystery what took me so long to post the swatches of the lovely Inglot lipstick that Mr. Noire got me after his trip to America. Anyways, now their here so enjoy! :)

Inglot #229 is a somewhat shimmery red that reminds me about Dorothy's ruby slippers. This is probably my favorite lipstick right now, because it's the perfect color to wear for work! Also, it is long-lasting and smells delicious. 

Inglot #184 is a dark plum with some kind of blue sheen to it. This is a color that definitely will make your teeth look whiter, because of its blue undertones. 

Anyways, that's that for now. I will hopefully be back with a new look soon but as I have got some troubles with my internet connection at the moment we'll see when that will happen.
Thanks a lot for reading and hope that you will have a nice weekend! :)

Wet N Wild Megalast Lip Color

It is hard to disagree that both of this lipsticks are utter yummy-ness in a little tube. Until now, I had never tested the cruelty-free low budget brand Wet N Wild, and I must say I was positively surprised.
I came across Cherry Bomb when I was looking for a dark cherry-red lipstick and soon after the darker,  purple Vamp It Up caught my eye.

These lipsticks are part of the Megalast Lip Color series, which provides a very convenient description of them. They last long, without getting blotchy, which is very unusual for lipsticks of dark shades such as these.

Cherry Bomb is a dark cherry red, as the name suggests. Unlike many other lipsticks with the word "cherry" in the name this one refers to real cherries. Ripe ones. The ones you select exclusively because they taste the best.

Dark purple perfection. Those are the words I would use to describe Vamp it up. It is just gorgeous, long lasting and smooth like a dream. What more could you ask for? :)
This is definitely going to be a go-to lipstick for me when I want a substitute for black!

Thank you so much for reading and hope you'll have a lovely day! :)

Illamasqua Kontrol

This lipstick was the first item that I fell in love with when I discovered the brand Illamasqua. The matte, bluish violet shade will definitely attract attention to your lips! Isn't it absolutely lovely? :)

It is so damn hard to give an overall grade to a product. The product overall can be great but still have some flaws that would have to be mentioned. Therefore, I decided to do a new grading system where different variables of the product will be graded separately. What do you guys think about this? Is it more helpful than an overall grade of the product?

The formula is thick and nice but somehow the lipstick manages to go on rather sheer anyway. For full opacity you have to go over your lips 2-3 times. Blot your lips in between the applications. This creates a long-lasting result.
Although it is a matte lipstick I feel that it is very moisturizing on my lips, which is a big + in my book. After a couple of hours, though, I begin to feel the dryness.

To whom would I recommend this lipstick? To anyone who wants a high-quality lipstick in an unusual shade.

Price: £16 at Illamasqua's Website


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Have any one of you tried this lipstick? What did you think? Have you tried any other of the lipsticks by Illamasqua?

Thanks for reading!

Makeup Geek Elegant

I've always had an obsession about red lipsticks. The first lipstick I ever bought was one like that, from Isadora, but it got discontinued.

Elegant by Makeup Geek is just the kind of red lipstick that I love! It is very, very similar to Russian red by M.A.C. and I will therefore do a little comparison of the two products to investigate if they're dupes. :)

Color

I'd say that these two lipsticks are about 99% similar in color. You hardly can see any difference but if you are determined enough you might spot that there is a slightly more bluish tone to Elegant than to Russian red.

Finish and pigmentation

Both are matte and have extremely good pigmentation. The swatch above shows one coat of each lipstick. Neat, huh? 

Moisturizing ability 

I find Elegant a lot more moisturizing than Russian red. The latter tends to feel dry on my lips after about an hour while Elegant can stay on for several hours without drying and flaking. 

Price

Elegant $7.99 at Makeup Geek Store

Russian red $15 at M.A.C.'s website but if you live in Sweden it's about $30 at Åhléns

So what do you guys think? Have you tried any of these lipsticks and would you consider them to be dupes? Which one did you prefer?

Personally I wish that Makeup Geek would create a dupe for M.A.C.'s Prince Noir which such a gorgeous shade of deep burgundy. :)

Thank you for reading and hope you have a lovely day! :)

NOTE: None of the products above were sent to me for free (the M.A.C. lipstick I paid for and the Makeup Geek one I won in a contest), and even if they were this wouldn't affect my opinions about the products in any way.