Liquorice Lips

I usually prefer matte black lips, because matte lipstick doesn't smudge or bleed and altering lip shape is very easy with a matte product that does not catch light. This time I wanted to give glossy black a try, and the results were surprisingly good!

This is Pretty Zombie Black Cat with a Sephora's own brand black gloss on top. The gloss is most likely oil based, because it melts the matte Black Cat. To keep the colour from feathering I left a little area on the edges of Black Cat without the gloss and it worked very well. The gloss does transfer and leaves marks on glasses etc, just like glosses usually do. But despite the lip prints I really like this look!

There's a hint of the stain left by the lipstick I wore the day before. The black is pure black, there's no pink!

Soft Look and Curls

I went to Helsinki for a friend's birthday party on Saturday. I wanted to wear light shades on my face, and grabbed my trusted taupes to create a soft look with a defined crease. I paired light eyes with a my-lip-but better shade of Manhattan Lips2Last, it's a shimmery mauve shade.

I used:
Concrete Minerals - Doe-Eyed (dark brown)
Fyrinnae - Moonchild (pearlescent champagne)

I look so serious ;D I did take smiley pics too, but they all looked retarded, sorry!

The curls were done with a tapered Remington curling wand. My other half helped, I have so much hair that doing the back of the head is a pain! I really like the wand, it's fast and easy, and my hair holds curls made with it very well.

I put Moonchild on the whole lid, all the way up to the brows. Doe-Eyed is in the crease, blended out, and on the lower lashline very lightly applied. No liner, just mascara! An easy look but still gives nice definition to the eyes.

Sneak Peek of Rogue Photoshoot!

Today I was busy modeling for Rogue! I was wicked cold outside, but us models braved the weather and the photographer was so talented she got the perfect shot is just a few frames. It's great working with skilled people!

Here's a little taste of what's coming, an unedited picture straight from the photographer's camera.

Photo by Eliza Rask (unedited)

Dress by Rogue

Make-up by Marjo Hakala

That's what a short dress and lace pantyhose in freezing weather looks like ;D I had teased my hair, but the air was so moist it just didn't hold. I still like the look of the waves and curls, even though they are not like I originally intended. Last night I came home only around three in the morning after going to Helsinki for a friends, b-day party, so I was a bit tired in the morning and mainly just fluffed up the curls. My other half was so sweet, he curled most of my hair yesterday when he saw how I struggled with the back of my head. My vanity only has one big mirror so it's tricky to work on the backside of the head by yourself. Luckily he's pretty good with hair!

I'll post more pictures when they are finished! I'm so excited to see how they turn out, we had such a great team working on this project!

Faust and Olivia Look

This is the look I did to wear with the Lip Service dress yesterday. I wanted something with a touch of green, and since sparkle is always a plus, I chose Sugarpill Olivia and a brown to go with it.

I used:

Sugarpill - Olivia (olive green with golden sheen)
Fyrinnae - Faust (a medium shimmery brown)
Black Cherry lashes
MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack (black matte gel liner)
Pretty Zombie - Black Cat (black matte lipstick)
Sephora black lipgloss (on top of Black Cat)

Lip Service Cheongsam

I promised a picture of this dress ages ago! It was just before I came down with pneumonia, so I kinda forgot ;D Here's the previous post I mentioned it in and showed an eyeshadow look I did to match the dress' patterns.

I bought the dress second hand based on very blurry pictures. It has Lip Service tag but I can't seem to find any pictures of it anywhere. Perhaps it's a sample and was never put into production? Has anyone seen this dress before? I'm interested to know what it's name is and how old it is! The only picture I've been able to find is this one. It's the same dress but in a red colorway. The tag looks like something made between 2004-2007.

It looks like Hollywood Geisha with the oriental cheongsam cut and fabric, but I haven't been able to find it in any catalogues. Nothing even seems to be made of the same fabric. Maybe it's a copy? But the tag looks and feels authentic. Maybe just my googling skills fail ;D

Edit: It's a Hollywood Geisha "Safety Pin Geisha Mini Dress" from fall 2004, thank you Jenni! Apparently they made Hollywood Geisha in at least three different oriental fabrics back then.

Dress - Lip Service (unidentified)

Boots - Big Lita by Jeffrey Campbell

These pictures encourage me to consider re-organizing the bookshelf some day ;D It goes all the way up to the ceiling, but still there's not enough room for all the books! It might be because of the amount of liquor and plushies also stored there...

Black Wall, Pink Hair

I was supposed to take pictures of the ombre lips I did, but they didn't look that nice in close-ups, so here's few full face pics! I'm wearing Sleek blush in Rose Gold and an assortment of Pretty Zombie matte lipsticks.

The lips have a blue base, then outlines in purple and a touch of black in the corners
of the mouth.

Works for smiling too! ;D

Magnus thought the lipsticks smelled interesting.

Pretty Zombie Black Cat Lipstick Review

Along with a few other shades, I ordered Black Cat liquid lipstick from Pretty Zombie. Please take a look at my customer service experience here if you are planning to order, just to make sure you won't be unpleasantly surprised!

The formula is liquid to matte. I own many long lasting lipsticks, and these are one of the lightest to wear. The product goes on very thin but it's opaque, so there's no need for extra layers. I'm wearing only one layer in the pictures. I find the doe-foot applicator very easy to use and precise, but using a brush has been suggested too. Unlike my other long lasting lipsticks, this product does feather a tiny bit during long wearing time (5+ hours). It's not very noticeable with other shades, but looks awful with black. I have another black matte lipstick, it's by Topshop and called Raven. It's of a thicker texture but does not feather at all.

While I do like the light consistency of Black Cat, I think I'll be wearing Raven when I need a balck lipstick. Feathering is a big no-no with black lipstick, it shows instantly and looks shabby. The main thing I look for in a black long-lasting lipstick is that it stay where it's supposed to all night long, so I don't have to worry about it or spend time re-applying. Black Cat does not live up to that, though it looks nice on the lips and is easy to apply.

Looks like I didn't let it dry completely before smacking my lips! That made the colour in the center transfer to the lower lip.