Kat von D Serpentina Palette

A while back, Kat Von D beauty posted some sneak-peaks of the Serpentina palette, and I knew I had to have it. I am a Egyptophile and almost didn't care what was inside.  Once swatches of the inside were revealed, it seemed that the world wanted this too, and after the strange launch it seemed that a lot of people couldn't get their hands on it.  Read on to see if it's worth your hard earned cash when it comes to stores later this month!

Bloodmilk: Warm rusty red. Matte

Medusa: Metallic bronze with tonal sparkle

Ankh: Matte black chock full of fine copper glitter

Queen: Metallic rusty rose

L-R: Bloodmilk, Medusa, Ankh, Queen

Hieroglyph: Bright metallic orange

Nile: Pearl sapphire

Scarab: Metallic blackened teal

Venom: Muted medium purple. Matte

L-R: Hieroglyph, Nile, Scarab, Venom

Prophet: Metallic olive-y gold

PIGMENTATION: Nile, Scarab, and Prophet are tied for best pigmentation, and Ankh may be the least pigmented. I don't swatch over a base, so I'm sure that Ankh would perform better over one (especially considering all the glitter in this shade!)

PRODUCT: The textures of Queen, Hieroglyph, Nile, and Scarab, are SO good. Even though it's a color I probably won't wear much, Nile is the most definitely the winner of this palette. Ankh and Bloodmilk had a bit of a dry texture. Ankh and Venom were a bit powdery. I tested out Queen, Ankh, Hieroglyph, and Venom on my eye (sans base) and here were my findings:

• Every shade except for Queen had a bit of fallout. Ankh had the most of the bunch and was the hardest to clean up because it's black (duh) and had the most fallout.
• I wore my little trash look for about 4 hours, again without a base, and shockingly Hieroglyph didn't crease on my very oily lids. It was also pretty opaque in application  (I used a flat synthetic brush to apply if you're curious). Venom faded QUITE a bit-- it would definitely benefit from a base.
• Venom applied completely differently depending on the brush I used. With a round fluffy (synthetic) crease brush, it went on VERY sheer. With a small flat brush, the color was pretty true-to-pan.
• Queen blended out SO beautifully.

PACKAGING: This might be some of the best-looking cardboard I've ever seen! I really love the shiny gold foil motifs everywhere contrasting with the matte black. It's really awesome that the shade names are on the front of this. The lid has a strong magnet, and the space for Prophet is just big enough to hold the jar in tightly. Speaking of, I don't understand the inclusion of a jar of loose pigment.



PRICE: $45 for eight pressed shadows (1.1g each) and one loose pigment (1.5g)

Even though I like this palette, I don't think it's really anything to go bananas over.  On the plus side, there are some super nice shadows and EGYPT. On the downside, the are a few possible dupes if you're a fellow makeup hoarder (I'll revisit that topic in another post bc this one is already super long), and that random loose pigment wtf.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! Kat Von D's Serpentina palette will be available in Sephora stores in or around July 22, and will be returning to both katvondbeauty.com and sephora.com eventually.



Kat Von D Shade & Light Eye: Plum

Wow it has been a very long time since I've written about anything! Today the mail lady brought me the Kat Von D Shade and Light mini palette and I knew that I had to write about it. This pallet has four color coordinating shadows that are meant to enhance and green eyes.

L-R: Base, Define, Contour, Highlight

Base: matte muted peach
Define: matte plum
Contour: matte medium greyed mauve
Highlight: matte whitened lilac-pink

PIGMENTATION: The define shade was ever-so-slightly sheer, but the rest had great pigmentation.

PRODUCT: The textures were a little inconsistent. Highlight was chalky. Define was a bit stiff. Base was very soft and buttery, and Contour was buttery but not as soft as Base. Bonus-- I think that Base could make a really nice blush for my skin tone. One thing to note: I always test makeup without bases/primers, and I've noticed that Contour  has pretty much stayed in tact after about 3 hours of being on my arm-- all the other shadows have faded.

PACKAGING: I really like how convenient the size is for travel, but the plastic feels very cheap. I'm a little afraid of how easily this could break.

PRICE: $26

Overall, this is a nice little palette. I like that there are neutral, warm and cool colors that not only are muted enough where one could wear them every single day and not feel "overdone," but also can lend themselves to SO MANY looks.  This palette will probably live in my bag, so I'll have to be careful to keep it safe in case the plastic is as cheap as it seems. With all of that said, I think that this is absolutely worth the price point.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Kat Von D's mini Shade and Light Eye palette in Plum is available now at Sephora. If plum isn't your thing, these mini palettes are available in three other colors.

Jem and the Holograms Truly Outrageous Liquid Lip Set

This month, a great makeup invention had a baby with the greatest cartoon show of all time to create the Jem and the Holograms Liquid Lip Set.  If you have no idea who Jem and the Holograms are, you can watch all of the episodes on Netflix. OR download them elsewhere or come to my house and I'll put on my Jem costume and sing only the best songs from the show for you.*

Yes, this is really me. I made the mistake of not having a bag with me that day, hence the 90 things in my hand. Photo from Comics Alliance, from San Diego Comic Con 2012. I think.

*Don't actually come to my house. Depending on when you read this, I probably don't feel like cleaning.

Fashion and Fame: Sheer glimmery opal gloss. SO PRETTY. This has a thick and sticky texture, which honestly I like.

Fashion and Fame

Like a Dream: Matte medium terracotta-pink (looks like the swatches I've seen of the original KvD Liquid Lipstick in Lolita)

Like a Dream

Music is Magic: Matte cool-toned bright pink.

Music is Magic

To the Rescue: Medium cool toned berry. I thought this was similar to KvD's Bauhau5, but it's darker.

To the Rescue

She's Got the Power: Smoky dark purple. This had a slightly more watery texture than the rest, and this was the only swatch to bleed. It was also a bit patchy.

She's Got the Power

L-R: Fashion and Fame, Like a Dream, Music is Magic, To the Rescue, She's Got the Power

PIGMENTATION: Of the four matte lipsticks, She's Got the Power was the only one with uneven pigmentation. The other three were opaque in one swipe. Fashion and Fame is supposed to be a topcoat, so it's doing its job being sheer.

PRODUCT:  So far, I've only tried To the Rescue on my lips, and it applied evenly and smoothly. I didn't have to apply multiple coats, and I was able to press my lips together after a few minutes and nothing budged.  I have a cold and can't really smell anything, but Fashion and Fame must have a super strong smell, but I was able to detect a really sweet scent from it. 

PACKAGING: For the first time, I will be keeping the outer packaging of something. The pink glitter box doesn't hold a death grip on the tubes, so they're easy to remove, and I love the big Jem logo on the outer clear sleeve.

The tubes themselves, while being mini, aren't incredibly small. The doefoot applicator is big enough to easily cover the lips, but small enough to provide some control so that the product doesn't go everywhere. The outside of the tubes have this awesome holographic lightning bolt motif that is so cool and I hope doesn't rub off with use. My camera only sort of picked up the holographic shine on the single shot of She's Got the Power.

I'm still testing these, but I'm not disappointed in this set (so far). As a Jem fan, the packaging and shade names have me excited. As a makeup fan, I like that the shades truly run the gamut and how 4/5 shades apply completely awesomely.

PRICE: $25

As always, you don't have to take my word for it! The Jem and the Holograms Truly Outrageous Liquid Lip Set is available now (for a limited time) at Sephora.

Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Remix Palette

Remember the Mi Vida Loca palette? (If not, here's my review of it.) Apparently it was a fan favorite (or maybe one that a lot of people missed out on) so Miss KvD and her beauty team created a revamped version.  Will it perform the same way as the original? Let's find out.

Warning: my camera was being fussy about photographing this palette. I'll note where things are off.

Muse: Pale lavender. Satin finish.
Echo: Medium matte violet with light magenta glitter. Worst performing of the bunch.
Dark Wave: Indigo. Satin Finish.
Synth: Bright light-medium blue. Matte finish.

L-R: Muse, Echo (definitely more violet in real life), Dark Wave, Synth. 

Hyperballad: Cool toned blue-green. Matte finish.
Lemmy: Metallic forest green.
Vinyl: Metallic acid green with pale gold shift
Misfit: Apple green with blue pearl

L-R: Hyperballad (a tiny bit more green in person), Lemmy, Vinyl, Misfit.

The lettering is silver, so I had to sacrifice read-ability for accurate color portrayal. Sorry!

Anthem: Medium red-violet. Matte finish. 2nd worst performing.
Löve: Metallic bubblegum pink.
Swoon: Slightly muted hot pink. Matte finish.
Destroyer: Muted red. Matte finish.
Rewind: Burgundy pearl

L-R: Anthem, Love, Swoon, Destroyer, Rewind

Rewind is at the top.

Harpsichord: Muted metallic copper. Best performing :)
Analogue: Matte orange.
Fran: True yellow. Pearl finish.
Legend: Pale white gold. Metallic finish

L-R: Harpsichord, Analogue, Fran, Legend.

Strutter: Cool-toned matte beige.
Lyric: Translucent pale pearly pink. SUPER gorgeous.
Black Metal: Matte black. This leans warm.
Skulls: Metallic cool toned white.

L-R: Strutter, Lyric (pic does NOT do this justice), Black Metal, Skulls

Noble:  Warm peach beige
Moulder: Matte warm cream.
Vox: Dark chocolate brown. Matte.

L-R: Noble, Moulder, Vox

PIGMENTATION: Generally the pigmentation was great in this palette. The most pigmented shadows were Harpsichord, Synth, Lemmy, and Rewind. The least pigmented was Echo, with Anthem coming in at a close second.

PRODUCT: Most were buttery and not too dry. I didn't have any problem building up Echo or Anthem without a base, but a base would definitely help.

PACKAGING: The palette is housed in a cardboard sleeve, like a record. Being the "remix" of Mi Vida Loca, I thought this was an awesome idea. The palette isn't exactly secure in it, as if it's turned over a little, it will slide out on its own. If you're klutz like me, there is an outer clear plastic box to keep everything together.  I really like how the shade names are printed on the front, and I hope future KvD palettes will have that too. This also comes with an instruction sheet for three different makeup looks you can achieve with the palette.

PRICE: $59

All in all, I'm thrilled to say this is SO much better than the OG Mi Vida Loca palette.  I love that there are neutrals to pair these crazy colors with, and for me, the color-wheel layout makes it visually easier to figure out what to pair with what. If you want ALL the colors in a variety of finishes in one place, you may want to check out Mi Vida Loca Remix.

Of course you don't have to take my word for it! The Mi Vida Loca Remix palette is available now at Sephora.

Look of the day 4/4/2015

Last week I cut my hair a bit shorter and it was so happy that it made me want to take selfies.  If you're interested in my vanity, feel free to follow me on Instagram @landofladythings!

FACE:
Illamasqua skinbase white mixed with KVD foundation L45

Too Faced Absolutely Flawless concealer- Vanilla
Dita Von Teese for Art Deco blush- pale peach (the number wore off :( )
Illamasqua blush- Katie
Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss Foundation- Sleek Mau

EYES:
Melt Cosmetics Lovesick stack- Amelie, Lovesick, Fixated
Kat Von D Ludwig palette- Tequila
Kat Von D Ladybird-  Vespertine,  Renholder
Physician's Formula Eye Booster- Ultra Black
Urban Decay Perversion Mascara
Urban Decay Anti-Aging Primer Potion

BROWS:
Tarte EmphasEYES- Rich Brown
Blinc Brow Mousse- Dark Brown

LIPS:
Bite Beauty Agave Lip mask
Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick- Ritual, Lolita

Accutane Month 4

I just completed month 4 and I'm still alive! My skin is doing well, as is my general health.  Not to be gross, but I did have some umm... "bathroom troubles" from not drinking enough water. This is why it's SO important to drink enough water in life, as well as when you're on Accutane. My doctor said that the average human should be drinking 6-8 cups of water a day.  Since I've been taking this medication, I feel normal (read: not like I'm made of sand) when I'm drinking 9-11 cups, depending on the day. So when I was only drinking around 6 a day-- problems started happening.

Another complaint is one I spoke about before-- extremely dry lips. I'm only bringing it up again because they got even worse and cracked in the corners. The corners also were a tiny bit swollen and tender at times (this is probably partially due to my horrible habit of peeling my lips DON'T JUDGE ME!!). Something that has been helping is plain old Chapstick, probably because it's so thick.  I'm getting ahead of myself, BUT when I saw my dermatologist to start month 5, she suggested using 1% hydrocortisone cream (found at any drug store) to help with the cracked corners. So far, it works but I'll talk about that more in next month's post.

Like always, I'm not wearing the any makeup in these pictures. I'm a little shiny because I JUST applied my moisturizer.

I had one of the most stressful weeks in a while, so the guy on my chin came out to let me know. Gr.

Josie Maran Argan Tinted Moisturizer- Fair

Since beginning Accutane, I have had to abandon all of the foundations in my beauty arsenal because I felt nothing looked or felt good on my dry, sensitive skin. Because my skin was/is very red, I didn't want to completely forgo color correction, so I turned to tinted moisturizers.  The few I tried definitely weren't for me, and then on a very desperately dry and red day, I found Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer. This is my review. (cue Law and Order sound effect)

PRODUCT: Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer (let's call it ATM for short) seems to be more of a foundation with a broad-spectrum sunscreen than simply a tinted moisturizer. It has a thick consistency, and I recommend either putting this on immediately after washing/towel drying your face OR wear over a bit of moisturizer. Using this just on a dry face made it really difficult to blend out. Yes, this does moisturize your skin, but I think the oil in it makes it more difficult to distribute the product without something to help it. 

Upon initial application, my face was pretty shiny; however, after a few minutes the product sunk in and I was left with a natural, semi glowy complexion. I usually prefer a matte face (which isn't an option right now because of how dry my skin is), but I really like the finish of ATM! Also, despite this being a thick texture and having decent sun protection, the product never felt like I was wearing a mask.

A kind of big downside is that when my skin is driest, over the course of the day my foundation will pool in my pores. Using a separate moisturizer usually helps with this, but not always. (to re-distribute the ATM, I'll either press and roll my clean fingers against my skin, or I'll do the same motion with the sponge from my powder compact. Note: these methods don't always work  depending on how dry my skin is.)

Left: my bare skin Center: ATM blended out (I left some streaks so you could really tell the difference) Right: ATM not really blended.  

PIGMENTATION: ATM is medium coverage.  Corrected my general redness pretty well, but I still need concealer for old acne marks and what not. The shade "Fair" has a warm undertone, so if you are cool-toned, this may not work for your coloring.

PACKAGING: The squeeze tube ATM comes in has an easy flip top cap. No frills-- which is great when I'm rushing to get ready in the morning.

PRICE: $38 for 1.7 oz

All in all, Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer is definitely more like a decently pigmented moisturizer. It has become what I use when I A. barely have any time to get ready B. am not going anywhere fancy but want to look polished. Yes, this covers 95% of my life. If you have super oily skin, I would say to proceed with caution.  Thinking back to my oily days, considering I was a constant oil slick, I think this might have felt gross on my skin and not dried down.  HOWEVER, if you are combination, normal, or dry, check it out. 

You don't have to take my word for it! Josie Maran's Argan Tinted Moisturizer is available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick: L'ecole Des Femmes and Lullabye

The long awaited Studded Kiss lipstick collection from Kat Von D became available on Monday-- a week early than what Miss Von D posted herself on Instagram quite a few weeks back. AND THANK GOODNESS! Even though my lips are sad and peeling from Accutane, I was too excited not to pass up a few colors. I wanted colors that I thought I'd wear, but didn't have 100 variations of (like red), so I settled on L'ecole des Femmes, "salmon pink," and Lullabye, "matte magenta violet."(*both shade descriptions come from Sephora.com)

Lullabye Studded Kiss Lipstick

L'ecole Des Femmes (Let's call it LDF for short): Coral pink. It's pretty close in color to the Jeffree Liquid lipstick, but slightly warmer and a tad less bright.

Although blurry, this is much closer to what  LDF looks like in real life

L'ecole Des Femmes

Lullabye: Iridescent magenta with pink micro glitter.

Lullabye Studded Kiss Lipstick

Lullabye

PIGMENTATION: LDF was fully opaque in about two swipes in the swatch above. Lullabye took a little bit more to build up. I feel like there is an underlying sheerness to it.

PRODUCT: LDF had a drier texture than Lullabye, probably due to it being matte.  There is a 10-hour wear time claim on these, which I will have to test when my lips can wear lipstick for more than 10 seconds. (wah) The Studded Kiss line has been scented with Creme Brulee, which has a slight plastic-y smell. Another update is that the lipstick bullets have been stamped with the KvD insignia, which I am loving-- it looks really nice.

PACKAGING: The updated packaging looks very nice, however, it feels like a thinner plastic so I'm concerned about breaking tubes when I'm less-than-graceful. When I saw the new packaging on KvD's instagram, I was disappointed that the color window of the old packaging was scrapped. Thankfully, the labels on the bottom reflect the lipstick color. I rarely care about outer packaging, but the Studded Kiss boxes had a raised studded pattern which was pretty cool.

PRICE: $21

Despite the weird new scent, the wide shade range, sleek packaging, and great color payoff, make Kat Von D's new Studded Kiss lipsticks a worthy buy in my opinion.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. The Studded Kiss lipstick range is available now at Sephora.

Blinc Brow Mousse- Dark Brunette

To whom it may concern, I have tiny eyebrows that make me self conscious when not made up.  Ok, maybe tiny is not the proper description, but they are naturally thin with sparse tails. Pencils are my eyebrows' best friends, but I love using a colored brow gel to go the extra step towards Elizabeth Taylor brows.

Liz Taylor, queen of eyebrows. (image from: idealbeautyacademy.net)

(tangent warning: scroll down for the review) My holy grail brow gel was limited edition and therefore discontinued, so I have been on the hunt for a replacement. It seems that every cruelty free eyebrow gel had shimmer in it- no bueno. Dear every company that makes eyebrow gels, what the hell is the purpose of putting shimmer in your product? Who has shimmery eyebrows in real life? I NEED TO KNOW! /endrant

After learning about the existence of Blinc's eyebrow mousse, I decided to try it.

COLOR/PIGMENTATION: "Dark Brunette" is a ash-toned dark brown. The product is very pigmented, and I could probably get away with using this alone to fill my brows in if i wasn't having a full-face makeup day (which, let's face it, is most days).

Blinc Eyebrow Mousse in action! I'm not wearing anything else on my brows.

PRODUCT: I wasn't sure what to expect with a name like "brow mousse" since I'm only familiar with gels and waxes, but "mousse" is not a misnomer. The product is opaque, and a thick texture (in comparison with a gel), so a little goes a long way. Despite it being thick, the application isn't difficult to master, nor do my brows look caked with product. It most definitely lives up to Blinc's claims of being fade-, water-, sweat-, and smudge-proof. 

PACKAGING: The packaging, when comparing it to a mascara tube, is a bit shorter in length, and a bit smaller in diameter. I like that the color is printed technically three times on the package (on the length of the package, and the cap has both the color name and the actual color on it)-- this will make for easy re-ordering! A problem I had with the other eyebrow products i was testing out was the brush-- usually it was too big for precise application or a strange shape that wasn't conducive to contributing excellent eyebrows. Blinc's brow mousse brush is slim, with a slightly tapered tip at the end of a short wand, which allows for a lot of control during application. However, for the sparse tails of my brows, I think I prefer to use a pencil to draw in hairs for a super precise result.

PRICE: $24

 Blinc's  Brow Mousse is definitely a winning, welcome addition to my makeup arsenal.  As a fair-complected person who dyes her hair black, Dark Brunette significantly darkens my brows without making them look harsh, and could even work when my color fades/roots start to grow in. Since the mousse is thick, it will be extremely noticeable (and probably won't look good) if you don't get the right color for your skin tone/hair color.

As always, you and your brows don't have to take my word for it, Blinc Brow Mousse is available in eight other shades (and clear) here with free shipping to boot!