Gothique

Sugar Skulls is now available from Fyrinnae!  Not too long ago I tweeted that I was searching for a nice pink shadow with an orange duochrome and glitter.  Next thing I know the boys at Fyrinnae created Sugar Skulls for me!

Although these swatches are nice, they don’t do the color or the shimmer justice at all.  The left is swatched over TFSI and the right is over PE.  The pink is very nice and clear, sort of a soft raspberry and the orange glitter and duochrome are not at all overwhelming, but rather very subtle, but stunning when caught in the light!

It’s a beautiful color and I’ve been wearing it with Painted Roses and Rapunzel Had Hair Extensions.

The look of a modern day Anne Boleyn is a little excessive.  Luxurious.  I found this ruched scarf at Target and wrapping it around my neck instantly got the feeling on an Elizabethan ruff.  Although by nature, Anne preceded Elizabeth, I thought the sentiment perfect and used it as a basis for this look.

As I wandered through, I stumbled across these almost damask like lace stockings.  Pairing them with the black peep toe heels was a perfect way to show off the pattern.  The shoes themselves have some visual interest without being too overwhelming to support the lace pattern.  I also found the ornate red ring there as well.  Everything from Target was incredibly affordable.  I’m often surprised at what you can discover.

I ran into Micheal’s and got  thick strand of bright red beads and strung them into three bracelets, meant to be worn together to mimic a thick cuff.  The red is a perfect match to the ring.  Something about Anne screams ruby, although my wallet whimpered back acrylic.

One of my favorite shops on Etsy is Starz Selection.  She often custom makes amazing floral headpieces for me, and this red one was also a custom design.  It features red satin roses trimmed with black gems and netting.  While I wouldn’t say there was anything particular Tudor about it, it’s certainly ostentatious in it’s own way, and yet wearable.

I finished the look with dramatic makeup.  I picked Equality and Kuroneko from Fyrinnae for the eyes, giving them a near holographic and intense look.  I paired it with a deep red matte lipstick from Revlon (#006, Really Red).  I found the perfect scent from Demeter in Holy Smoke, which is the scent of church incense.

* Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, executed May 19th, 1536

Yesterday was sort of an amazing mail day.  I got TWO new lip colors that are just amazing.

Remember last week when I posted about MAC’s Show Orchid?  Down in the comments we were comparing it to Morgana Mineral’s Azalea, which we determined was just a little different.  A day or so later Melissa from Morgana offered ten tubes of Azalea Blue on her Message Board.

I pretty much pounced all over that.  I love Morgana’s vegan lipsticks, they are an amazing consistency and have such a vibrant range of colors.  It arrived yesterday, much to my surprise!

Then when I opened my Fyrinnae order I found a tube of their new Lustre, Trickster.   I’d seen it on Phyrra’s blog and pretty much had to have it.  It’s the same pink/blue combination that I’m crazy for.

From left to right : MAC Show Orchid, Morgana Mineral’s Azalea Blue, Fyrinnae’s Trickser

Show Orchid

Azalea Blue

Trickster

They are all very beautiful and slightly different.  MAC’s color, while Limited Edition in store, is a permanent PRO color.  If I had known Morgana was coming out with Azalea Blue, I might have skipped Show Orchid, preferring vegan lipsticks.  Morgana is also gluten free, for those of you who can’t wear the Amplified colors from MAC!

Fyrinnae’s Lustre is, as always, a joy to wear, the formula unique and easy to wear all day.  It has a very subtle flavor to it that I freely admit I can’t identify.

Both the Morgana and Fyrinnae versions should be available soon!

La Vie en Rose!

The heroine in our Hollywood mystery, Dotty, walks tentatively into the office of the city’s best (and most discrete) Private Eye. On her feet she wears Two Toned Spat Booties.  She pairs then with a comfortable pair of polka dot thigh highs, mimicking the pattern formed by the buttons up the spats.

Her hair is adorned with a simple hairpiece, pinned to the side of her messy up do, the dots echoing again the pattern on her shoes.  Her hair was done in haste as she hurried this morning, the memory, or lack there of, of her evening pressing on her conscious.

Around her neck she plays with her necklace, fumbling it between her fingers nervously as she waits in the doorway, her nails polished carefully.

Her face doesn’t show a bit of her anxiety, however.  Her dramatically double lined eyes (in Fyrinnae Marshmallow Puff and Kuroneko) focus her gaze towards the man in the expensive pinstripe suit sitting behind the enormous desk.

Pursing her lacquered red lips (in #635 Very Cherry), she begins with confidence, “I need you to find the man that this belongs to,” she says, walking forward to hand him a ring.

By now I’m sure you know Fyrinnae has a line of new Arcane Magic eye shadows coming soon.  I was lucky enough to get a full set of them this week.  I saw the package and mentally ran through what I might have ordered when I wasn’t paying attention (you know, you throw a few things in your cart and next thing you know it’s 30$ later and you just placed for fourth Fyrinnae order this week…) and realized it *must* be some goodies to sample!

I had gotten Velvet Vampire in an order (as a free sample) not too long ago.  I thought for sure it would be my favorite.  It’s the opposite of my AL Angel color, Georgiana.  Velvet Vampire is pink with gold, Georgiana is gold with pink, so wearing them together is a-MAY-zing.

Georgiana and Velvet Vampire

I was wrong.

I don’t think I actually CAN pick a favorite color, although Glitterboi is really up there.

From top to bottom, left to right, Sequined Master, Pyromantic Erotica, Velvet Vampire, Leopard Print Galaxy, Electric Stardust, Glitterboi, and Futuristic Glam Rock.

Glitterboi is such a complex color, it can be worn with both Sequined Master, a purple, and Futuristic Glam Rock, a turquoise.

I will probably end up getting most of these in full size when they are available!  You can read Ana’s review here, she does a great job describing the actual colors and how they shift.

Didn’t get Georgiana while it was available and want a sample to try with Velvet Vampire?  I have a few samples to give away, so the first five people to comment and request one will get one!

** Yup, that’s a nice cat scratch on my hand because SOMEONE didn’t want a bath…

I’m making a list so I don’t forget all the amazing posts I’m working on and so that if I don’t finish them you can yell at me to get moving.

• A Sugarpill review.
• An exclusive interview with Shrinkle and LaurenWK.
• A review of Tarina Tarantino’s new makeup line from Sephora.
• A review of Urban Decay’s new Eden Primer Potion.
• Two new looks, both with their own giveaways.
• A Haus of Gloi mini haul post.
• Amazing new swatches from Fyrrinnae’s new Arcane Magic line (hello, Glitterboi!).

My latest little order from Fyrinnae was a selection of golden eye shadows, complimented by a soft pink City Glam Glitter and Lustre.

I ordered:

Medieval Haunting

Griffonrider (which I keep calling Gryffindor)

Fool’s Gold

Genie Lamp

Lights of Las Vegas

Lollipop Pop

From top to bottom, left to right : Arcane Magic Velvet Vampire (FS), Medieval Haunting, Lights of Las Vegas, Griffonrider, Fool’s Gold, and Genie Lamp

Lollipop Pop Lip Lustre

1 – L’ Oreal 360 Go Clean Deep Cream Cleanser

The only reason I got this was I had a free coupon.  I wasn’t particularly interested in it, I have a ‘routine’ I like that I stick to for my face.  So it actually sat in the downstairs bathroom for a while.  Since I’ve been sort of out of commission, I didn’t want to have to walk upstairs to wash my face, etc etc.  So instead of using soap on my face (never) I used this, since it was there.

Wow, do I love this stuff.  I’m not even sure if I got the ‘right’ formula for me, but it’s super amazing.  The little scrublet dealy-ma-bobber pops in and out of the actual bottle so I can never lose it.  And it works.  It leaves a really nice tingly feeling, and yes, I realize that doesn’t mean it’s actually doing anything, but I like it.

In the last few days I’ve noticed an obvious change in my skin, the pores around my nose seem like they aren’t even there and the new problem spots I’ve gotten on my chin (long story, but I normally have very good skin) have all cleared up.  I’m actually considering switching from my usual cleanser to this L’Oreal product permanently.

Next time I’m out I’m defiantly going to get the exfoliating version of this as well.

2 – Maybelline Lash Stiletto

There are two versions of this.  One in a red tube with a funny wand and one in a black tube with a normal wand.  Pretend that the red one doesn’t exsist, even though it’s newer and supposedly better.  Between the formula and the brush, it’s crap.  But the original formula in the black tube,  the lengthening formula, is amazeballs.  I usually use Great Lash Big and it makes my lashes nice and fluffy, but this Stiletto seriously makes me look like I have falsies on with only a coat or two.  It doesn’t have the volume I usually get, but the actual ‘voluminous’ formula isn’t all that great, that would be the red tube.

3 – Fyrinnae Arcane Magic Eye Shadow in Mystic

I have a new favorite Fyrinnae shade every other day.  This time it’s Mystic.

Sparkly deep pewter with shimmer that varies from aqua, pink, lavender, silver, and light green, depending on the light.

It’s beautiful as a liner.  Or all over the lid.  Or in the crease to darken up another shade.  Or just to look at, it’s that pretty.

…tell ‘em I ain’t coming back.

Vera Wang Booties

The cornerstone of this look are these stiletto heeled booties from Vera Wang.  Black and sleek and just a little bit dangerous they are deceivingly comfortable.  Pair them with some dramatic fishnets.

Ruffle Bum Panties

No one else might know they are there (unless the night goes *very* well), but you will.  This pair is from Target, but places like Frederick’s and Vickie’s also sell more, ahem, adventurous versions.

Black Jewelry

Wearing an assortment of simple beaded bracelets gives the look of a complicated cuff.  Pair it with an overwhelming ring for an eye catching adornment.  Just make sure you talk with your hands, add to the mystique.

A Dramatic Fragrance

This look calls for a deep rich scent.  Sobe Botanicals makes a wide variety of Essential Oil Perfumes to chose from.  Wearing a spicy scent like clove gives you all the mystery of being draped in a veil of clove smoke catharsis, just with less of the carcinogen.

Black Polish

Try a matte for a bit of a twist.  Man Glaze in The Death Tar is a great alternative to a shiny black, and just a little unexpected.

Neutral Lip Stick

To counter the intensiveness of the rest of the look, go for a soft neutral lipstick, such as Hug Me from MAC.

Black Eye Shadows

Using a combination of three black shades, wearing a simple smokey eye adds easy drama.  The shades I’d wear are Harlequin from Fryinnae, Shadow Play from Aromaleigh, and Ebony Matte from Aromaleigh.

Rose Hair Peice

This burnt black organza rose from Sugar Vanity adds a touch of softness to whatever hair style you wear.  I’d suggest softly pulling your hair up and fastening this rose close to one side of your updo.

1 – China Glaze polish in Bad Kitty

As soon as I am possibly able I plan to re-polish my nails in this amazing sparkle filled watermelon shade.  It reminds me of those jelly shoes I wore as a kid.  I picked it up the other day (before I wrestled with the garage door) and it’s such an whimsical and springy color.  I realize it’s bleak and cold in *most* of the world, but it remains bright and clear and pleasantly warm here in So Cal.

2 – Sobe Botanicals Fill Me In eyebrow powder

As a result of reshaping my eyebrows I’ve got sort of an odd bare spot that’s growing in on one side.  When my eyebrow cake (I was using something from MAC) fell on the bathroom floor and shattered into a million powdery bits, I turned to Lex at Sobe to replace it.  While this shade is dark and matches my brows perfectly, she was willing to mix something for me custom.  The chances I’m ever going to use all of this jar is slim, it’s highly pigmented and I only need the smallest amount for natural looking, crisp and even brows.

3 – Sobe Botanicals Glitz Gel Shadow/Liner in Truth or Dare

I’m not sure Lex is selling this yet, but I got a special little package of goodies from her not too long ago.  This is a gorgeous creamy blend of glitter and gel.  In the past some of these gel liners I’ve tried felt like I was smearing sandpaper across my skin.  This formula is very smooth and I really can’t FEEL the glitter at all.  I haven’t used it as liner, but I’ve been using it on my lid (smack dab in the middle as a little highlight) and I’ve really liked the look.  Ever since I rediscovered glitter from Hi-Fi, I’ve been collecting as many smooth shades as I can.

4 – Fyrinnae Nijiro eyeshadow

I looooove this color.  I love all Fyrinnae’s colors, but this one I can just about wear with anything else as a highlighter.  Bright pink?  This works.  Dramatic greens?  This works.  Smokey blues?  This works.  Classic muted eyes with black liner?  This excels.  The boys at Fyrinnae are not shy about packing the jars full, either.

5 - Liplicious Tasty Lip Color in Black Cherry

I can’t seem to find this flavor online, I got mine in The Mall.  In the tube it’s a burgundy sort of color.  On my lips it’s a sheer purple/pink color with amazing shine and a hint of shimmer.  It looks AMAZING over so many different lip colors, my favorite being MAC’s Rebel (which will be featured in a ‘Purples’ post next week).  Plus it has a real great cherry flavor that’s quite true and not at all sour or overpowering.