Pastels and Flowers

Long time no see! I did a photoshoot on Saturday, it's been a while since the previous one. This was one lucky photoshoot, I have to say! My sister had found a gorgeous gown from a yard sale and got it for me, and it fit me. A friend had moved abroad and donated her wonderful headdresses for me, and there happened to be one that was perfect with the dress. Another friend suggested the spot, which turned out to be awesome. When we shot, it began to rain as soon as we started driving away from the location.

The photos will take a while, but I wanted to show you my make-up, hair and the headdress! The chains are a bit tangled, but I think it still looks pretty. These were taken after I got home from the shoot, so please allow for some wear and tear.

Model, make-up: Me

Hair: Anniina_E

Headdress: Agony von Grim

Little souvenirs I brought home ;D

I was shooting with Sanni Saarenmaa Photography and just can't wait to see the results! The location, dress, hair and everything just clicked.

Better Together Eyeshadow Palette + Mascara + Liner

Stockholm was good to me! The previous time I was there, I looked at this Too Faced x Kat von D set that was slightly discounted, but decided not to get it. It bugged me later, and I decided to go look the next time in Sephora if they still had it. Not only did they, but it was even cheaper! So I just had to buy it :>

The set has a full size Tattoo Liner in black, full size Better Than Sex mascara and a palette with two different sides that are held together by magnets, so you can easily take them apart if you want to use only one side.

The Too Faced side of the palette. Better Together is the perfect light smoky eye shade for pale skin!

Kat von D side of the palette.

I think the set was well worth the money. I paid around 27 euros for the set on discount, and even the Tattoo Liner alone would have cost about 20 euros. The mascara I sold, as my eyes water easily and water soluble mascara is really not an option. I've been using the Too Faced side of the palette quite a lot, and the Kat von D side looks very usable for evening and club looks too. I really like the design of the palette and the magnetic connection. Easy to use, nice looking and the shades are great!

Everlasting Lip Liner by Kat von D in Homegirl

I wasn't too excited when I heard Kat von D was releasing lip liners, but when I realized the line had the perfect shade for my brows, I just needed to give them a go. I bought this one from Vancouver. I always use lip liner when I wear traditional wax-based lipsticks, to get more wear out of them. My go-to liners are Mac lip pencils, but occasionally I use an OCC liner or a Nyx one. The Mac liners are very dry (I mostly use Nightmoth and Cyberworld) and stay on my lips well. Kat von D's liner is very different. Where the Macs, Nyxs and OCCs are waxy and will eventually melt, the Everlasting Lip Liner goes on just like a wax based liner, but then sets and stays on much better. Much like the Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks, it is very resistant to smudging and can be removed only with oil-based cleansers (or actual oil).

Homegirl was my choice of shade, as I just never get bored of dark reds! I own a lot of dark red lipsticks so the shade works with many lipsticks, but I also do my brows with lip liner so I wanted a shade that works also for that. I have to say that for brows the liner sets a little bit too fast. I would need more time to work the pencil. The skin on my forehead is also much more oily than on my lips, so the liner doesn't stay quite as well as on lips, but it's still very good.

The pencil is made of plastic and is of the twist up variety.

The tip straight out of package.

Kat von D Everlasting Lip Liner in Homegirl on pale skin.

I have to say I'm quite impressed with how well the liner stays! The shade is lovely and the packaging works well. I could happily buy this product in another shade too!

Nyx Lip Suede in Subversive Socialite

Moar dark purple lips! This is Nyx Lip Suede in Subversive Socialite, used with the matching lipliner. The liner looks a bit lighter on my lips than the Suede, but works well for fixing the outlines to get a very precise application with crisp borders. Usually liners tend to melt a bit on my lips and smudge, but this one is not very prone to it, possibly with the liquid to matte Suede keeping it free of any oils.

The shade is gorgeous, very me! I love my dark purple and Subversive Socialite is right up my alley. It's a plum purple, red based. On my lips the staying power is very good. While there is slight crumbling in the middle of the lips, the shade stays very nice for 5+ hours without touching it up. So it's not only beautiful, but also does what it's supposed to do. Perfect!

Outfit of the Day

Nothing fancy, just a very basic day off spent at home. My bangs are getting very long, need to trim them soon!

Top - H&M

Pants - Bik Bok

Earrings - Deadfine

Current Obsessions (May 2017)

I get easily excited, and I think that's a very good trait. I love technology and new gadgets, and I always need to have a project or two going on to not feel bored. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy lounging on the couch and taking walks, but I'm happiest when at the same time I can ponder on something. So here's a list of my latest crazes, tell me yours!

1. Apple Watch & Pokemon Go

I love new toys, and the Watch is one of them. I had been looking into smart watches for a while, and just when I was decided on getting a Pebble, the company was sold with no clear information on if support for the watches will continue. Luckily a few weeks later Pokemon Go announced the game will also work on the Apple Watch so I immediately went and ordered one ;D I love Pokemon Go, it's the perfect excuse for me to get some exercise while not feeling like exercising. I just plain hate exercising, but achievements, gaming and exploration work well for me, so I know I can trick myself into moving more by using games.

If you are not familiar with Pokemon Go, it's a location based game of collecting pokemon. It uses real world maps and requires you to actually travel to locations to be able to catch the pokemon there. You can also hatch pokemon eggs by walking. A big part is asking around for where certain pokemon appear so you know where to go to catch the ones you want or need. It was a huge hit when it came out last summer and I've been playing it ever since. I even bought a new phone cover to keep my iPhone from freezing during the winter ;D

2. Airplants

A plant without the hassle of soil that cats can then big up and spread around the apartment? YES PLEASE. I'm bad with plants, but airplants are not watered traditionally, but can be sprayed or let soak in a bowl for moisture. They look super cool and you can basically put them anywhere. I've got two glass globes to hang, because that way the kitties can't steal the plants. I'm totally sure one of the silly animals would just grab a plant and run if they had the chance.

I ordered a selection of plants from Spain and can't wait for the package to arrive! If it takes long, I think I have to go and buy one airplant locally just to get past this excitement.

Image from plantagen.fi

3. Photoshoots

Last year I didn't have much time for photoshoots and the beginning of this year has mainly consisted of running around the world, but now I finally have time! My closet is bursting with cool outfits and I have many ideas for locations!

This one is only couple of days old, me posing at an abandoned match factory. Photo by Arttu K.
Editing by me.

4. Videogames

Well, it might be a bit obvious that I like games, but now that I got a new computer finally and some time, I can play all the games I've been saving for the indefinite "later". Later is now! My favourites are tycoon games, god games and then on the other end of the spectrum story-driven games, adventure games and RPGs. Open world, platformers and shooters rarely catch my attention, but I'm willing to try anything. Date games seem especially interesting! Any recommendations?

Sugarpill Dark Lipsticks

I tried to resist these babies for a long time, saying to myself that I have many dark purple lipsticks and that I barely use wax-based lipsticks anyway. Well, then Sugarpill had a sale, and the glittery packaging just overwhelmed me and I ended up ordeting two lipsticks anyway ;D But just look at that glittery goodness!

I was already swooning for the pink and white packaging, bit when white switched to black for the Darkside collection, I almost knew I couldn't resist. I'm a highly visual person, I want my surroundings and belongings to please my eye. I would probably choose something visually pleasing with a slightly worse performance over something that looked ugly to me but was more efficient. I'm willing to pay extra for beautiful packaging and special colours. Especially if there's glitter involved!

So that's why I ended up owning Sugarpill's Anti-Socialite and Darksided lipsticks. I do love dark lipsticks (just see this post and you will understand how far my obsession goes) and Cyber is my favourite Mac lipstick, so these two were easy choices. The line also has a plain black and a dark blue, but I have found my perfect black lippie and blue I simply do not wear.

Sugarpill Anti-Socialite

Anti-Socialite is a dark rusty red. You can layer it a bit, to get a lighter or darker shade. In my picture it looks too light. The tone is fairly neutral, I can't say if it's cool or warm. A very nice and easy colour to wear for many skintones.

Sugarpill Darksided

Darksided is a dark purple. Despite my worries that it would be a match for Mac Cyber, it's not even close. Darksided is way brighter and more blue. A true purple, I would say. It's not plum but a plain, nice purple, just the way I like it!

From left to right: Sugarpill Anti-Socialite, Sugarpill Darksided, Mac Cyber and Urban Decay Pandemonium.

Here's a side by side comparison with some lipsticks I though might be close to Darksided. Mac Cyber looks like a blend between Anti-Socialite and Darksided, it's a lot more plum toned than Darksided. Urban Decay has lots of great purples in their new lipstick line, but Pandemonium looked like the closest match, but it's not at all close. So yay, I managed to buy a purple lipstick that does not look like my other purple lipsticks, go me!

I have to say I am happy I got these lipsticks. I've been using wax-based lippies to touch up liquid-to-mattes during the day, as they moisturize better and don't create the crumbling effect that sometimes happens when you try to add some more liquid-to-matte to the center of the lips and end up with a too thick layer. And just looking at the glittery packaging makes me happy!