Formula X To Go System

Thank you to Sephora for sending this to me!

Nail Cleanser- Alcohol based with a tiny bit of oil in it (I guess to prevent your nails from drying out).
Base- This is a sheer pink sticky basecoat. I've never used a sticky base before, and I'm definitely into it.
Pyrotechnics- Lovely balanced red. There are two other versions with different colors if you're not a fan of red.
Top Coat- Leaves my nails glossy for DAYS. I've never had a gel manicure, but I feel like this gives the look of one. Not sure why, but this has deposited air bubbles on my manicure.

The first time I used the set, my manicure lasted 14 days without chipping. Yes, 14 days. I've used the nail cleanser, base, and top coat with other nail polishes, and it's worked just as good. This system is phenomenal and I have purchased full-sized versions of the system.

This was on day 14!

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. The Formula X To Go system (as well as a full-sized and individual versions) are available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Ink Liner : Neruda, Woolf

Kat Von D's Ink Liner is a felt-tipped liquid liner that claims a 24-hour wear time. I've never been a fan of felt-tipped eyeliners, but I was extremely intrigued by some of the colors that were released.  In case you were too, read on!

L-R: Neruda stamped, Neruda stroke, Woolf  stroke, Woolf stamped

Neruda: Matte balanced white.
Woolf: Cool-toned matte grey

PIGMENTATION: Both colors are semi-opaque in one swipe and are buildable.

PRODUCT: It is a waterproof, flake-proof, and thin formula. I didn't have any fading after 10+ hours either.

PACKAGING: The felt tip is very, very firm.  I found that the best way to use it was to lay it length-wise against your eye to "stamp" the product onto your eye, as opposed to using the tip like a brush tipped liner. The handle was very lightweight, and there is a shaker inside to mix up the product.

PRICE: $19 for .19 oz

Even though I have to change my method of application, I definitely recommend Kat Von D's Ink Liners.  If you're not a fan of grey or white, there are eight other colors to check out!

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Kat Von D's Ink Liners are available now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Lightning Liner: Poe, Fyfe, Hex, Jett

HOLY CRAP I JUST REALIZED I NEVER POSTED THIS REVIEW! I bought Poe and Hex the second they came out last fall, received Fyfe instead of Hex TWICE (thanks to Sephora for letting me keep the first one!), then bought Jett when I saw it in the store.

L-R: OG Fyfe, Poe, Hex, Jett in daylight

Fyfe: Deep forest green with olive green shimmer. I was sent this by accident and I am really loving this color. (I think this was a manufacturing mistake, because it looks like this color is now in Juno's packaging, which matches the color of the product.)

Poe: Smokey deep metallic purple with a hit of medium purple shimmer

Hex: Metallic burgundy

Jett: Black with silver microglitter.

L-R: OG Fyfe, Poe, Hex, Jett under an incandescent bulb

PIGMENTATION: Great! 

PRODUCT: The formula is neither too thin nor too thick, and it passed all of the tests I subjected it to with flying colors. My initial swatches first underwent water torture-- I put my hand under the faucet at full blast for close to a minute. Nothing ran nor faded. The next test was an oily one-- I rubbed a tiny bit of oil on the swatches. Again, nothing budged. Then on the day I actually wore the eyeliner, it lasted from 9 am til around 1 am (with a gym session from 7:30pm to 8:15pm) without flaking or doing anything else dumb. The liners came off with my makeup remover wipes with a little extra TLC.

Thank goodness it's not TOO bad, but you can see how Hex's brush is broken in comparison to Fyfe's.

Not sure if it's the product, or packaging, but I think Poe is close to running out. I couldn't have owned it for more than four months, and I certainly don't wear it every day. Also, the brush of Hex ended up splaying a bit, possibly from so much product coming out.

This is the aftermath of swatching Hex.

PACKAGING: The Lightning Liner comes in a click-up calligraphy pen. When you first open the box, you have to push the base into the top part (where the brush/cap are). I am a weakling and could BARELY complete this task. Poe was opened first and I wasn't quite sure what what happening, so I pushed it down as much as I could and tried using it. It worked, but I might have gotten some extra product inside the part where the brush lives-- on the day I tried to wear it, I had some troubles getting the product to show up in the brush. By the time I opened Fyfe, I was a pro and successfully closed the gap prior to using. When I wore it, I had a much easier time getting the product into the brush.

When I first heard about the click pen packaging, I foresaw an eyeliner mess. Poe and Hex delivered on that mess, but I think it was due to the packaging not being secured prior to use.

PRICE: $20 for 0.04 oz

All in all, for how great the product is inside, I am willing to overlook the packaging issues. For KvD's summer line, I noticed that a few more colors of the Lightning Liner were released, and I am definitely going to pick up some in hopes that the packaging issues were fixed.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it, Kat Von D's Lightning Liners are available now from Sephora.

Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Contour Palette

When the Shade + Light Eye Contour palette was announced, I immediately started drooling for it. I got mine early by nicely asking a Sephora employee about it, after seeing a few people on Instagram with it.

Top row, L-R: Laetus, Lazarus, Ludwin
Bottom row, L-R: Samael, Solas, Lucius, Saleos, Shax, Liberatus, Succubus, Sytry, Latinus

Top: Laetus
Bottom: Samael, Solas, Lucius

Laetus - Pale yellow beige
Samael - Light tan. Leans warm
Solas - Medium brown. Leans cool.
Lucius - Pale cream

Top: Laetus
Bottom: Samael, Solas, Lucius (Laetus and Lucius are nearly the same color as my skin, which is why you can't see them)

Top: Lazarus
Bottom: Saleos, Shax, Liberatus

Lazarus - Light taupe
Saleos - Medium-dark grey with a hint of brown
Shax - Black
Liberatus - Cool-leaning white

Top: Lazarus
Bottom: Saleos, Shax, Liberatus

Top: Ludwin
Bottom: Succubus, Sytry, Latinus

Ludwin - Slightly tan peach
Succubus - Reddened medium brown
Sytry - Medium-dark warm brown with a slight grey undertone
Latinus - Very pale yellow. This is the only shade with a satin finish.

Top: Ludwin
Bottom: Succubus, Sytry, Latinus

PIGMENTATION: For the most part, these shadows have excellent pigmentation.  Shax and Saleos fell slightly short of everyone else's mark. If I gave them report cards, Saleos would get a A- and Shax would get a B. Laetus and Lucius nearly match my skintone, but if you aren't a ghost, they'll definitely show up. (If you are a ghost, they will make excellent blending colors!)

PRODUCT: Laetus and Lucius felt a little chalky.  Samael and Solas felt almost like cream shadows when I touched the pan. Succubus, Sytry, and Latinus were so lovely and buttery.  I wore Laetus,
Samael, Solas, and Lucius the other day without UDPP (which I NEVER do) and I didn't have any creasing or fading for the entire time I had the shadows on (which was only about five hours). Eyeshadow ALWAYS creases on me- even when my skin was like paper from taking Accutane- so color me impressed. When I was dipping my brushes into the pans, a lot of powder was kicked up, but I didn't notice any fall out or crazy dust halo of eyeshadow on my cheeks (which sometimes happens when I'm trying to create magic with super powdery shadows.)

Check out that fancy background!

PACKAGING: The packaging is cardboard with decently sized mirror. This palette is divided into three tone sections: Neutral, Cool, and Warm and comes with an instruction guide on how to use the each section. There are two looks given for each tone section for a total of 6 looks-- perfect if you're new to makeup, or get in a rut. 

PRICE: $46

All in all, Shade + Light Eye Contour is THE perfect neutral palette. It has a great range of shades that really would work for all skin tones, there are no real duds in terms of texture, and it even comes with a guide to take the guesswork out of using it.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Kat Von D's Shade + Light Eye Contour palette will be fully available from Sephora soon! 

Besame Cosmetics Brightening Vanilla Powder

Besame Cosmetics is a brand that I've been looking at longingly for a really long time, but never actually bought anything.  Thanks to my dealer, Sephora, for making it easy to try one of their products out.

PRODUCT: This is a yellow-toned HD finishing powder.  It's really finely milled so the texture is really soft. The finish it gives is really lovely, and I haven't had any issues with caking or it screwing up my makeup EXCEPT on days where my skin is mega dry. On those days, it emphasizes any flakes I have (like how any powder would).  This does have a vanilla scent, which disappears very quickly once the powder is applied.

Check out that fancy manicure! *barf*

The tiny velvety powder puff that's included is no slouch either! Ok, it's nothing extraordinary, but it does the job and I feel fancy putting my fingers behind the ribbon loop.

PACKAGING: The design on this is sooo pretty, but the outer packaging is plastic. I'm afraid the twist-off cap will eventually crack or break. There is a plastic sifter on the inside, as well as a plastic guard for the powder puff, and to prevent powder going everywhere-- yay! I probably will remove the sifter because not enough product comes out to my liking.

PRICE: $22 for 0.21 oz

All in all, I really like this product! The yellow tint helps correct redness I get, and the powder itself gives a blurring effect which is always welcome considering I am cursed with large pores.

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. Besame Cosmetics' Brightening Vanilla Powder is available now from Sephora.

Bite Lip Lab Creme Deluxe Lipstick: 01/15

For 2015, the folks at the Bite Beauty Lip Lab (which is in SoHo if you're in NYC) are doing a Sephora-exclusive run of twelve exclusive lipsticks.  A new one will release each month, then disappears into the ether. I guess.  Sephora describes January's release as a "deep burgundy with red undertone" and is Bite's creme deluxe formula, which is described as "luxurious pearl, silk, and champagne" (and costs $48 if you create a lipstick in this formula at the Bite Lip Lab).

Pigmentation: I'd say this was decently pigmented, but it needed a few strokes from the tube to get there.

Maybe not as deep as described, but I think a red-toned burgundy is a pretty accurate description.

Product: Upon initial application, this had a glossy finish, but dried down to a satin. Has a lot of slip that doesn't seem to go away as it dries down, making it move around when I pressed my lips together. For the life of me, I could not get this to make a crisp edge straight from the tube, so a lip liner or brush will be crucial for future applications. (Illamasqua's Severity pencil is a perfect match FYI)  Can't put my finger on what the scent is, but it's faint, pleasant and doesn't stick around long.

I applied this on unprimed dry lips and, at first the formula was super comfortable to wear, but as I write this post I'm three hours in and it's pretty drying.  01/15 also settled into my lip lines after about two hours.

Packaging: The tube has a slanted cap and is plastic with a rubberized finish. 

Price: $36 for .15oz

Truthfully, I had high hopes for this lipstick and I'm really let down. For the price and knowing the normally high quality of Bite's products, this fell short of so many marks. I personally will be keeping it because I don't mind having to do the prepwork prior to wearing or re-applying, but I'm definitely turned off to seeing what's ahead for the rest of the year.

Update: I wore this the next day and it's SO high maintenance I've decided to return it. Or maybe take it to Bite's Lip Lab, dupe the color in a different formula, and then return it.

You don't have to take my word for it! 01/15 is available now (for a limited time only!) at Sephora.

Kat Von D Studded Kiss Lipstick: Poe

Poe was THE shade of the Studded Kiss collection that was always sold out. If you are on three fence about purchasing, here's a quick review to maybe help you decide:

Poe is navy with warm purple glitter. I LOVE the color-- it's as flattering as a blue lipstick can get bc of the rich color and the purple sparkle.

Unfortunately, the texture is awful. It is SO dry and drags on the lips. I had to really work to get it to apply evenly with a lip brush (and I hate using lip brushes gr). Once applied, It feels like I've put powder on my lips. I've never experienced this kind of texture in a lipstick before.

I returned this, and I don't recommend it.

As always,  you don't have to take my word for it. The Kat Von D Studded Kiss lipstick in Poe is available right now at Sephora.

Kat Von D Autograph Liner Set

During the Sephora VIB sale, I went crazy. It was almost like those Super Toy Runs that Nickelodeon used to televise (Yes, I'm showing my age a little).  When I saw the Autograph Liner set, I couldn't resist!  If you're unfamiliar, these are mini pencil eyeliners that can fit in the metal KvD palettes (Saint, Sinner, Poetica, Ladybird, Mi Vida Loca), or are just convenient little pencils to stick in your bag for an emergency.

Homie: medium blue-based purple. Metallic finish. 
*If you're curious, my nailpolish is OCC's Pagan

DRA: light-medium blue with tonal sparkle.

Eyegasm: light-medium green with tonal sparkle.

Proud Peacock: dark green-grey

Piaf: purple and pink micro glitter in a sheer grey base. Super pretty!

Black Metal Love: matte black with silver micro glitter

Puro Amor: matte black (previously reviewed here)

Immortal Love: matte medium-dark brown (originally reviewed here)

L-R: Homie, D.R.A, Eyegasm, Proud Peacock, Piaf, Black Metal Love, Puro Amor, Immortal Love

Pigmentation: Proud Peacock had the worst pigmentation,  and even then it wasn't terrible. Black Metal Love had the best of the set. Piaf was the most surprising out of the bunch-- I wasn't expecting the glitter to come out as well as it did! 

Product: The textures of these are smooth and buttery. No dragging or skipping problems whatsoever. Even though Proud Peacock didn't have the best pigmentation it, along with all the other eye liners, are very buildable. They also set fast, stay put, and are very water resistant.

Packaging: I didn't know what to expect for the packaging of this since it wasn't pictured on Sephora.com.The ziploc bag was a bit disappointing, but I give it points for practicality since it's reusable. 

Price: This set is a great deal: $32 for eight liners. Since they retail individually for $10, it's like getting five liners for free!

The Kat Von D Autograph Liner set  Of course you don't have to take my word for it the Kat Von D autograph pencil set is available now on Sephora.com.

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.

Kat Von D Chrysalis Palette

New for summer/14 is the Kat von D Chrysalis palette.  Sephora describes this as "a cool-toned eyeshadow palette," but it's more of a well-rounded palette. Read on for more info!

Top: Lifelike
Bottom (L-R): Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition

Lifelike: Matte cream with slight pink undertone

Hybrid Moments: In pan, this looked like eggplant pearl. Swatched, this was a matte eggplant with a red undertone

Mezzanine: Metallic medium pinkish purple with purple and blue glitter

Transition: Shimmering Mauve

L-R: Lifelike, Hybrid Moments, Mezzanine, Transition

Top: Lunar Lights
Bottom (L-R): Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk

Lunar Lights: Frosty white gold

Glasswing: Matte butterscotch.

Melancholia: Metallic pewter.

Black Milk: Matte pale warm-toned grey. This was a surprise favorite for me-- just enough warmth, with a buttery texture and excellent color payoff.

L-R: Lunar Lights, Glasswing, Melancholia, Black Milk

Top: Lucid
Bottom: Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay

Lucid: Satin lilac pink with iridescent glitter

Graphic Nature: Pearl graphite grey

Entombed: Metallic medium blue

Tornay: Matte navy blue

L-R: Lucid, Graphic Nature, Entombed, Tornay

PIGMENTATION: No pigmentation issues in this palette.

PRODUCT: No issues with application for any of the shadows, and most of them had excellent textures. Hybrid Moments and Tornay had slightly drier textures.  The former had to be built up for the swatch, but I had no issues with application.

PACKAGING: Cardboard packaging with magnetic closure

PRICE: $46

All in all, Chrysalis is a mix of warm- and cool-toned shades, with great color payoff and excellent textures. If you love playing with color, but prefer warmer colors, you will not be disappointed with this palette!

As always, you don't have to take my word for it, Kat Von D's Chrysalis palette is available now on Sephora.

Bonus!! Here's a look I did recently using this palette.

Used on my lid: Glasswing, Melancholia, Graphic Nature, Tornay, Lunar Lights