Review: Dita Von Teese Art Couture lipstick-Manslayer (631)

After lusting over her makeup line since it came out, I finally ordered a few things from burlesque goddess Dita Von Teese's cosmetic collaboration with European brand Art Deco.  First up is Dita von Teese's lipstick in Manslayer (631).

On me, Manslayer appears to be a deep berry red. It dries down to a matte finish in a few minutes, and it didn't feel drying compared to other red lipsticks I have.

Don't worry matte lip fiends-- it is much more matte in person.

 When I saw swatches online prior to my purchase, I was expecting it to be closer to MAC's Russian Red.  Besides the formulas being different, Manslayer is much deeper.  

Here's how it compares to my other red (and one burgundy) lipsticks:

Top row (L-R): DvT Muse Red (615), Kat Von D Rosary
Middle Row: MAC Russian Red, DvT Manslayer, MAC Viva Glam I
Bottom row: MAC Prolong (Pro Longwear Lipcreme)

If you've always wanted to try to wear red lipstick, I think Manslayer would be a good gateway color.  It's not bright, and looks great sheered down if you're scared to wear it full-strength.  

I suppose the only downside to the DvT lipsticks is that they have a vanilla-y smell.  Personally, I like it because it actually smells like food (unlike the plastic-y vanilla scent MAC uses for their lipsticks); but, if you're super sensitive to scented cosmetics, this may be a dealbreaker.

Also, if you are nervous about ordering something from another country, that will put a damper on things as well.  Dita Von Teese's line is not sold in the USA, but I was able to buy it from a UK site called Tender Loving Skincare.  The shipping was very reasonable (about $10), and their customer service is impeccable.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Dita Von Teese's Manslayer is available now at Tender Loving Skincare.

Review: Kat Von D Ladybird True Romance Eyeshadow Palette

Quick story: When Urban Decay's Naked Basics palette came out, I was pretty excited because it was a palette comprised entirely of matte shadows, but the colors were so blah.  I never ended up buying it, and boy howdy am I glad I didn't.  Dare I say it, this is my HG matte palette.

L-R: Für Elise, Vespertine, Renholdër, Siouxie Sioux

Für Elise- Matte plum
Vespertine- Matte pale peaches & cream
Renholdër- matte taupe (leans more grey)
Siouxie-Soux - Blackened blue-grey with faint blue sparkle

L-R: Unrequited, Harlow, Wolf, Cleopatra

Unrequited - Matte nude with peachy undertone
Harlow- Matte sandy brown with a hint of olive
Wölf- Matte medium brown with red undertone
Cleopatra - Matte rust (best performing shade)

Immortal Love Autograph Pencil Eyeliner

Immortal Love

Immortal Love (Autograph Eyeliner Pencil) - Slightly blackened dark brown. This had excellent color payoff in one stroke, and a creamy texture.  Once it dried, it stayed put!

Pigmentation/Product: All 8 shadows and the eyeliner are decently pigmented.  I feel like, in past KvD palettes, there's always (at least) one dud.  Für Elise was the "worst" performing shade of the bunch, but it really wasn't bad.  It was a tad dry and I had to work with it a smidge more than the other 7 to build up the swatch (2 passes instead of one!).  I've used about half the palette thus far, and of the shades I used (Unrequited, Harlow, Cleopatra, Vespertine), next to no powder was kicked up with my brush.  Pretty awesome for how buttery soft these shadows felt when I swatched them!

Packaging:  This is the same metal case of the last few palettes, and just like her other metal palettes, the lid doesn't stay up on its own.

Price:  $36.  

All in all, Ladybird is my new favorite KvD palette.  If you're into pigmented (mostly) warm neutrals, then you might love this Ladybird too.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Kat von D's Ladybird palette is available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D True Romance Eye Shadow Trio- Fever Ray

Fever Ray is one of the new Kat Von D True Romance Eye Shadow Trios to come out for Spring 2013.

Left side: Sheer frosted pink.
Middle: Matte burgundy.  This swatched a bit sheer, but when I applied it to my lid with a brush, the pigmentation was opaque.  The color is very similar to MAC's Sorcery.
Right side: Dark metallic brown with fine copper shimmer.  This was the most pigmented of the three, and reminds me of the KvD pigment Rooftop.

The package has a clear window with molded roses on the lid.  There is a button to release the lid, but I felt like it didn't do a great job.  Not quite sure if this is made of a really cheap, thin metal or of a really hard plastic.  It doesn't feel like it's of the same material as the more recent 8 shade palettes.

All in all I am pretty happy with Fever Ray.  The colors compliment my green eyes very well, and I can see these shades working across a variety of skintones/eye colors.

You don't have to take my word for it! The True Romance Eye Shadow Trio in Fever Ray is available now at Sephora.com

Kat Von D Everlasting Face Shaper Blush- Bellisima

Bellisima is one of the new Everlasting Face Shaper Blushes from Kat Von D.  Sephora describes it as "peachy pink."  I'd describe this as a pink tinged peach with a soft shimmer.  It was a bit on the sheer side, but it is easily built up.  Texture was like velvet & really blendable.

On my fair skin, this creates a nice natural flush.  However, due to the sheerer color payoff, I can't see Bellisima showing up on darker skin tones.

The package has the signature rose pattern embossed on the lid.  It opens by what I guess is a button, but it doesn't fully depress, and the lid doesn't immediately release when you press it.  With that said, it's not particularly difficult to open.  It has a nice mirror inside the lid,

All in all, I'd say Bellisima is a worthy purchase if you've got a lighter skin tone. (for you dark skinned ladies, there are darker shades available-- check em out!)

You don't have to take my word for it! Bellisima Everlasting Face Shaper Blush is available now at Sephora.com.

Kat Von D Spring 2013 Collection

Happy New Year everyone!! Sephora has just posted new Kat Von D products for 2013.  Behold:

True Romance Eye Shadow Trio / $24

I guess KVD is sick of doing the palettes her brand became known for, because we haven't seen one since Summer 2012. In these trios, there is one pearl shade, one matte shade, and one glitter shade.

•Beyond Redemption lilacs
•Fever Ray rust brown
•Dreamer browns
•Helmüt greens

 Can't believe the price on these, since the palettes (with an eyeliner) are $35!  I will say I'm interested in Fever Ray, because A. i love rusty brown colors with my green eyes, and B. they are a great band.


High Voltage Eye Primer / $15

Not sure if this is the same formula as before (which did not work on my oily lids), but it has been re-packaged in a squeeze tube.  

Everlasting Face Shaper Bronzer / $25

I didn't own the previous KvD bronzer, so I am not sure how this compares color- or formula-wise.  This one comes in two colors:

•Shady Business I (pearlized brown with gold shimmer)

•Shady Business II (pearlized dark brown with gold shimmer)

Can someone explain to me the point of shimmery bronzers?  Aren't they supposed to be used for contouring your face? It seems that shimmer would be counter-active for something you're trying to recede.  /endcomplaint

Everlasting Face Shaper Blush / $25

FINALLY! This seemed like the next logical step after making the foundation line.  I'll admit I'm chomping at the bit for this one.

•Heartagram deep rose

•Essex cool rose

•Truth natural flush pink

•Por Vida warm pink

•Belissima peachy pink

•Wish nude peach with subtle shimmer

•Lovesong bright pink with subtle shimmer

Anything strike your fancy?  What Spring 2013 collections are you excited for?

*All images and color descriptions are from Sephora.com.  Please don't sue me!

Kat Von D: Holiday 2012 collection

Just came across what's new from KvD for Holiday 2012.  In addition to an eyeliner and mini lipstick set, we have two new eyeshadow quads, as well as a new palette.  Read on for details!

True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Star-Crossed- $20

This set contains:
4 x 0.05 oz eye shadow in:
- Hyperballad (pearlized silver)
- Scandinavian (pearlized taupe)
- Oceansize (pearlized blue)
- Ville (pearlized eggplant purple) 

True Romance Eyeshadow Palette in Starstruck- $20

This set contains:
4 x 0.05 oz eye shadow in:
- Fallen (pearlized deep bronze)
- Pagan Poetry (pearlized warm chocolate)
- Unrequited (pearlized yellow gold)
- Hermit (pearlized wine red) 

Starry-Eyes Autograph Pencil Set- $49

This set contains:

10 x 0.02 oz eye liner in:
- Runaway (plum)
- Homie (shimmering violet)
- Rhi-Venge (electric blue)
- Eyegasm (jade green)
- Fool's Gold (gold)
- Napolitano (light brown)
- Immortal Love (dark coffee)
- Puro Amor (jet black)
- Black Metal Lover (matte black with silver micro-glitter)
- Platinum (silver)

I think this one will be mine.  The Autograph eyeliners are REALLY good, and there are some colors that are exclusive to the set.  At first, I thought the set was a little expensive, until I did the math-- all things considered, it's worth about $90.

Star Kissed Lipstick Set- $28

This set contains:

3 x 0.042 oz Painted Love lipstick in:
- Rosary (burgundy red)
- Lolita (dusty rose)
- Underage Red (bright crimson)
3 x 0.042 oz Foiled Love lipstick in: - Beranice (metallic poppy red)
- Forever & Ever (metallic golden peach)
- Valentine (metallic hot pink) 

Starry Eyes Makeup Palette- $49

This set contains:
- 4 x 0.25 oz eye shadow trios in Felix, Helmüt, Lohnër, Requiem *
- Full size Everlasting Love Liquid Lipstick in Lolita
- Full size Foiled Love Liquid Lipstick in Adora 

*The eyeshadow trios all consist of one pearl, one matte, and one glitter shade.  Not sure if I'm into this, but I'm definitely curious to see this one when it comes out.  The outer packaging is, however, AWESOME.

Truthfully, this collection isn't all that exciting to me, but probably because I just made two big makeup purchases and I'm still excited about them (more on that to come).  Anything floating your boat?  Let me know in the comments!

The Kat Von D Holiday collection will be available soon on Sephora.com.

Review: Kat Von D Lock-It foundation

Finally! A foundation from the KvD line. I originally bought it in L46 (which was too rosy for my skin), and also tried it in L44 and L42.

PIGMENTATION: Excellent.  This will definitely cover up any redness or imperfections you may have.  This will cover up acne, but you may need additional concealer depending on how red the pimple(s) is/are.

TEXTURE/WEAR: It's a liquid cream that goes on very smooth.  I've found that it's best to buff it into the skin with a dense brush or it end up looking really heavy.  One of the claims for this is that it's matte, but I'd say it dries down to a demi-matte finish-- not too matte, not too shiny.  If you have normal or dry skin, I'm sure the transfer resistant claim will ring true.  The swatches on my arm, when dried down, did NOT budge-- not even when I rubbed it or tried to rub it away with water. However, on my oily skin, I noticed that a tiny bit rubbed off onto my boyfriend's black shirt when I put my head on his shoulder (oops).  

COLOR SELECTION: I love that the color selection goes from super fair to very deep, and a range of undertones are covered. However of the three shades I tried, I was not able to find a good match for my skin.  L46 was too rosy.  L44 was the closest, but too yellow-- on top of that it oxidized so it wound up making me look a little orange.  Then L42 was definitely too light for me and had a pink undertone (and since I like to balance out the pink/red of my skin, this emphasized things in a bad way).  The following swatch pictures, unfortunately, look like they tell a different story. If it matters, they were taken in sunlight-- I didn't bother to take a picture of L42, but if I will if it is requested.  (Also, if you're curious, my perfect foundation shade is NW15 from MAC, since they now test on animals, I'm desperately trying to find a perfect match elsewhere.)

L44

L46

PACKAGING: This looks like it a bottle within a bottle-- maybe the extra outer packaging is to protect the inside in case you drop it?  I like how there is a button for the pump instead of the whole top being the pump, and that you can easily control the amount that comes out.

OVERALL: In opinion, Lock-It foundation is worth trying.  It's a no-fuss full coverage foundation that I think could work for every skin type, if you can find the right color match.

You don't have to take my word for it!  Kat Von D Lock-It Foundation is available now in Sephora stores and from Sephora.com.