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!

Milani Amore Matte Metallic Lip Crème in The Ultimatte

I have to say I simply love the new metallic matte lipsticks that are beginning to make their way to shops! This one is called The Ultimatte, and it's a Milani Amore Matte Metallic Lip Crème, what a mouthful! The shade is basically a cool dark pink with a metallic sheen. A simple and easy colour, and looks great with my skin tone. The product looks a bit darker in the tube, but on my lips this is the perfect tone. They staying power is amazing, I barely have to touch it up once or twice during an eight hour work day with lunch.

The Ultimatte is one of the newest shades in the range. I picked mine up from a CVS at San Francisco. It looks like the Nordic online shops don't yet carry this shade, but I hope they will get the new ones, as I'd love to try the other shades as well. 

Lets see if my matte lipstick obsession will move towards the metallics, as more appear. So far I only have this one and a metallic Velvetine from Lime Crime, and both look gorgeous. While matte finishes allow you to shape your lips easily, the metallics make lips look more plump and are maybe a little bit less drying than mattes. I still love the liquid-to-matte formula that makes the lippie stay in place with no smudging or feathering. This is the best of both worlds!

Kat von D Sanctuary, Hawkwind and Crucifix Compared

I took a million pictures with my heavy-duty DLSR camera but in the end couldn't get the colours to look accurate in any of them, so instead I offer you iPhone snaps ;D

I got a couple of the new neutral Kat von D shades while in San Francisco and wanted to do a comparison with other similar shades in my collection. Beiges and browns are notoriously hard to get to look correct in photos, but I think I did a decent job with these. The pictures are taken in artificial light.

From top to bottom: Make-Up Monsters Wolfsbane, Kat von D Sanctuary, Kat von D Hawkwind and Kat von D Lolita.

Sanctuary works excellent on my pale skin with yellow undertones. It is warmer and more red than Wolfsbane, but still more towards grey than Hawkwind or Lolita. Wolfsbane and Sanctuary look much more similar in the tube than on skin. Hawkwind and Lolita are very close to each other. I'd say Hawkwind is slightly darker and redder, but the difference is very small on my lips.

Top to bottom: (Lolita peeking on top) Sephora Cream Lip Stain number 24 Burnt Sienna,
Black Moon Cosmetics Wrath (this one has a satin finish, that's why it's shinier than the rest),
Nyx Lip Lingerie 10 Teddy and Kat von D Crucifix.

Crucifix seems to be unique in my collection. The rest of my dark brownish tones are much more red than it. You can see that the Nyx Lip Lingerie is a lot thinner in consistency than the others, and Black Moon Cosmetics lippies are satin, not completely matte. The Sephora Cream Lip Stain looked like it could be a match to Crucifix in the tube, but on skin it's very different.

I really like all the shades I bough: Hawkwind, Sanctuary and Crucifix. They are very different from each other but each one is usable and the formula is simply awesome. Hawkwind especially is a very natural and easy shade to wear, on me it's one of those my-lip-but-better shades. Easy to apply, does not need major touching up, and wonderful shades. What more could you ask for?

Lime Crime Diamond Crushers in Choke Review

Please note, I cannot recommend ordering these products from Lime Crime's own online shop due to people having problems with customer service!

I bought a Diamond Crushers lip topper from Urban Outfitters at San Francisco. The product seemed unique, I've never seen something like this, and even though the brand is not among my faves due to bad customer service, it felt safe enough to try a couple of products bought directly from a store.

The lip toppers are meant to be worn as is on lips, on top of other lipstick, on cheeks as highlight and on brows, according to the Lime Crime site. I tried Choke on its own and on top of Kat von D liquid lipstick in Echo, which is a dark blue. I have the feeling I should have swiped the product on my fingers and patted it on my lips instead of applying straight from the wand on top of another lipstick. Applying with the wand resulted in a very thick application, even when I tried to pat it a bit to get the product to go on evenly. It did not melt the lipstick underneath, which is great.

I have to say I'm a bit confused with the name, as it seems to be a plural.

Diamond Crushers in Choke

 In the tube Choke is light pink and shimmery. On its own the base is see-through and the glitter is lavender, pink and green, but seems to shift with the base colour. The doe foot applicator is bright pink, which made me first think that the product is bright pink too, but it seems to be just the colour of the fluffy end of the wand.

The glitter is very hard to capture in the tube

Choke on bare lips

Choke goes easily on bare lips and dries to a non-sticky finish. The glitter is intense and shows well and does not feather or otherwise escape to other areas, which is great! So the natural next step was to try Choke on top of another lipstick.

On top of Echo, a dark blue, all the pink seems to vanish and Choke looks more silver and blue. It goes on quite thickly, but isn't too bad to wear.

Lime Crime Diamond Crushers in Choke on top of Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Echo

Choke in direct sunlight on top of Echo

Even when layered on top of another lipstick Choke does not make my lips sticky, as the gif below tries to artfully demonstrate. You can press your lip together without the lipsticks shifting on transferring.

I like this product. It's very unique and I have a soft spot for all things glittery. I also own lots of liquid-to-matte lipsticks and these kinds of products might help me get some extra out of my collection! Choke does what it is supposed to do and gives me a way to wear glitter without having to fiddle with loose glitter and mixing liquids, and the finish is long lasting. I might even get this in another shade eventually!

Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Sanctuary

I was super excited that the Sephora I visited in San Francisco carried the new "nude" shades of Kat von D's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks. I love the formula and many older shades have been excellent on my complexion, so I did some shopping and ended up with Hawkwind, Sanctuary and Crucifix. Sanctuary was the one I was on edge about and almost passed it by. Now I'm so happy I didn't, as it is becoming my favourite of these three! Sanctuary looks a bit grey-ish in the tube, but on my lips it turns to more of a pinkish beige. Quite natural and very easy to wear, even if there's some wear in the middle, it's not obvious.

The formula is once again great, stays well on my lips and does not feather or smudge. I feel these lipsticks are not as drying as most liquid-to-matte lipsticks. I use oil-based make-up remover to wipe the lipstick off.

So here's Sanctuary freshly applied on pale skin with yellow undertones!

Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Sanctuary

ColourPop Blues Baby Lipstick Set

Playdate, Mink, Notion and Avenue (Smitten missing from the picture because I'm a silly person and put it in the wrong pile, grr!)

ColouPop's matte liquid lipsticks are one of my absolute favourites. They are very affordable, even with shipping (they occasionally offer free shipping, keep your eyes peeled!) and customs fees. The formula is not consistent, so some shades do perform worse than others, but I'd say 85% of lipsticks I've bought have been excellent. The couple that did not work for me were too thick to my liking.

Playdate, Avenue, Mink, Notion and Smitten

It might be easy to guess that Smitten is my favourite from these shades. They are all wearable on me, although Playdate is quite bright. Nice, easy to wear shades that go with many looks. Buying the set was an impulse, I was getting some eyeshadows and needed something more to qualify for free shipping, but this was an excellent choice. The set lipsticks have different packaging than regular ones. Instead of a clear tube and silver topper they have a frosted tube and a black matte topper. Very elegant, although fingerprints show quite easily on the topper.

Sadly it looks like the set is sold out and these shades are not available as singles at least yet. I hope they would be released as singles, as both Mink and Smitten are absolutely awesome, and the others are not bad either.

I Always Fall for Your Kind aka A Million Dark Red Lipsticks

I guess everyone has a few favourite shades they always end up buying. Like looking at pictures of a new make-up collection and instantly falling in love with one shade of lippie, only to notice you already own a bunch of almost similar ones.

So. Much. Lipstick.

I'm not even trying to convince myself that I need all of the make-up I own, it's more of a hobby of collecting stuff. Some people collect stamps, I collect lipsticks. Dark red lipsticks especially it seems.

I went through all of my lipsticks and picked out the ones that were dark red or dark purple, as those are the shades I always fall for. They feel easy to wear for me and I find myself always reaching for a comfy dark red when in doubt of what shade to wear. I found it interesting to see how many different reds there are in my collection, and to compare then with each other. So I present to you: 27 shades of red (or purple)!

The whole bunch. I didn't differentiate between finishes or lipstick types, there are everything from liquid mattes to satin traditional lipsticks.

Milani 24 Black Cherry , Mac Viva Glam Ariana Grande, Kat von D Studded Kiss in Vampira, Wet n Wild Ferguson Crest Cabernet, Milani 21 Sangria, Wet n Wild Vamp it Up, Mac Cyber. 

 I like traditional lippies too, but the staying power of liquid to matte lipsticks is what I really enjoy. I'm not big on touching up make-up on the go, I'd much rather spend the time to do my make-up and then have it last until I take it off. Matte traditional lipsticks last a lot better than those with a shiny finish. I've found that using traditional lipstick in the middle of the lips and a matte to liquid one on the edges is a great way to avoid the drying feel of the liquid lipsticks and they don't crumble as easily if you have re-apply in the middle of the lips. The wax based lipstick can melt the liquid lipstick a bit, but matte wax based lipsticks don't make a mess.

Black Moon Cosmetics Purgatory, ColouPop Ultra Matte Lip in Guess, Notoriously Morbid Arcane, LASplash Malevolent, ColourPop Sookie, LASplash Valentina, Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream Copenhagen, LASplash Untamed, Kylie Cosmetics Kourt K, Kat von D Exorcism, Anastasia Beverly Hills Sad Girl, Sleek Vino Tinto.

 Liquid to mattes are my absolute favourites. I have lots of different shades, but the dark red and purple ones I always come back to. Insane staying power, no feathering, no liner needed, these babies are simply awesome! The picture is missing my OCC Black Dahlia Lip Tar, but there's a swatch of that later in this post too.

Mac lip pencil in Cyber World, Kylie Cosmetics lip liner in Kourt K, Mac lip pencil in Nightmoth, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics pencil in Black Dahlia.

I don't have a lot of lip liners, but I have gotten four almost similar dark red ones. The Mac ones are clearly different, and the Kylie one was part of a lip kit and meant to be worn under a liquid lipstick. Black Dahlia helps with OCC Lip Tar feathering and I wanted a shade that matched the lipstick perfectly. I also use dark red lip liners for my brows. My current favourites are Nightmoth and Black Dahlia, but any of these will do. My roots are dark wine red so they match nicely.

Left to right: Black Moon Cosmetics Purgatory, ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip is Guess, LASplash Lip Couture in Malevolent, Mac Cyber, Wet n Wild Vamp it Up.

Left to right: Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in  Black Dahlia, Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream in Copenhagen, Sleek Matte Me Ultra Smooth Matte Lip Cream in Vino Tinto, ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Smitten, Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Exorcism, Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick in Kourt K. 

Left to right: ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Smitten, Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Exorcism, Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick in Kourt K, Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Vampira, Mac matte lipstick Viva Glam Ariana Grande, Milani lipstick in 21 Sangria, Milani lipstick in 24 Black Cherry, LASplash Lip Couture in Vampire.

ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip in Smitten, Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Exorcism, Kylie Cosmetics Matte Liquid Lipstick in Kourt K, Kat von D Studded Kiss Lipstick in Vampira, Mac matte lipstick Viva Glam Ariana Grande.

From left to right: Wet n Wild Fergie lipstick in Ferguson Crest Cabernet, Notoriusly Morbid liquid lipstick Arcane, ColourPop Ultra Glossy Lip in Sookie, LASplash Studio Shine Lip Lustre in Valentina.

Top to bottom: Anastasia Beverly Hills Liquid Lipstick in Sad Girl, LASplash Lip Couture Untamed, Kat von D Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Damned.

Lip liners from left to righ: Mac lip pencil in Nightmoth, Mac lip pencil in Cyberworld, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Cosmetic Colour Pencil in Black Dahlia, Kylie Cosmetics Lip Liner is Kourt K.

Whew, that was a lot of lipstick! I'm still of the opinion that no two are exactly the same, but all have different undertones or lean more towards red or brown. It's the tiny differences that count! Do you have a specific shade or a product you always fall for, even when you know you have lots of similar ones already?

I can confess I have two more dark red lipsticks ordered at this very moment ;D

Kylie Lip Kit in Dolce K Review

My lipstick obsession continues! I love liquid to matte lippies, so I really wanted to try a Kylie Lip Kit. Good mattes are hard to come by, and I think the packaging with black dripping pattern is very attractive. The price point is a bit high for me (with shipping and customs fees, yikes) but I wanted to give them a try anyway. So here's my take on Dolce K.

First of all I'll say that the shade is very difficult to capture with a camera. On my screen it looks too pink and too dark. Just keep this in mind when looking at the pics!

I really like the packaging. The lipstick and matching lip liner come in a sturdy cardboard box that has a high gloss finish and a picture that shows the shade dripping on the lips. The inside of the printed mouth is finished with a silver foil. The product came with a card that has the same image with foil and white lipstick.

The lipstick and lip liner look and feel high end. The lipstick tube is smooth and the cap is shiny and black. The liner is black matte plastic with a glossy cap and an end piece showing the shade of the product. I thought the lipstick felt nice and heavy when held in my hand, sort of being of high quality, but when I compared it with a ColourPop Ultra Matte they actually weigh the same amount and are identical in dimensions. The Kylie lipstick looks nicer to me, but it might be just that it's brand new and glossy black looks more expensive than the foil print and golden caps ColourPop uses. I'm not sure how well the print on the Kylie lipstick lasts, ColourPop's tends to fade easily.

Kylie Lipstick applicator. Nice and precise, nothing special but does its job.

The lipstick goes on easily an is of a very light consistency. It's still opaque in one layer, which is impressive. It has a very candy like smell, but the perfume disappears almost completely once the lipstick dries on your lips. I have many liquid to mattes and the Kylie one isn't very drying, but feels nice on the lips. Compared to traditional wax base lipstick it is drying, but not anywhere near the most drying mattes I own.

Kylie Lip Kit liner. These are not the twist type but you have to sharpen the pencil. 

The pencil is actually super nice! It's very smooth and feels like a silicon primer when you put it on. It can be smudged, but doesn't do so in regular use, so it isn't a problem. The Lip Kit instructions tell you to first fill in your lips with the liner and then apply one coat of the lipstick. I think this silicone-y consistency of the pencil acts as a primer for the lipstick and does a very good job at it. Compared to a MAC liner, the Kylie one is much lighter and less waxy.

Kylie Lip Kit in Dolce K, swatches of liner and lipstick on bare skin.

I left the photo unaltered, as I couldn't get the colours set in a way that would in my mind represent the colour truly. Dolce K is a pinkish mauve or taupe. A very natural shade, and a pretty one, it just somehow clashes with my skin tone. I have pink undertones and Dolce K makes me look a bit reddish, so it might go better with olive undertones. It makes me sad that it doesn't suit me!

All in all I really love the product, but the shade doesn't work on me. The lipstick goes on like a dream, is very light and lasts well. The liner is super smooth, doesn't smudge and acts as a primer. The packaging is pretty and the product both performs well and feels luxurious. After trying this, the price doesn't feel too high. If someone had asked me if using a lip pencil under liquid to matte works, I would have said no, but these consistencies seem to work perfectly together and support one another.  I have to say I'm impressed with the quality, packaging and uniqueness of this product! I was expecting a regular nice liquid to matte lipstick, but this combination of the lippie and the liner work better than many mattes alone.

While the shade isn't for me, I like the product. I'll most likely sell this kit and order another shade that might suit me better. It's a shame that the shipping to Finland takes a few weeks and the customs fees are a bit steep, but I'm willing to try another shade to see if it works as well as this one and suits me, wish me luck!

Pros

+ Long lasting

+ Light on the lips

+ Liner acts a primer

+ Packaging is gorgeous, it both looks and feels high end

Cons

- High price point

- Long shipping times to Finland

- Hard to find out if a shade works on you before buying the product (yes, I googled, and everyone else seems to look gorgeous in this lipstick ;D)

Gothic Night Look

I promised to DJ at a new event in Bar Bändäri. They were having a Gothic Night first time ever, and I'm so glad I got to be part of it! Many people came, the music was good and the antique sofas of the bar were soooo nice and comfy and pretty. It's always great to see an event do well!

I went to the hairdressers the day before the event to get my hair dyed and to try out a hairdo for the wedding, so I still had the curls the hairdresser put in. When loose, my hair looked kinda eighties, which is cool! I usually wear larger curls, but this is a fun look too.

Bolero - Artifice Clothing

Dress - Lip Service

Earrings - Kill Star

I just love the different shades the hairdresser put in my hair! There's sections of purple, bright pink and more muted pink and purple. All done with Elumen so my bathroom doesn't look like a massacre after shower and the colour lasts a long time (in hair, not on bathroom floor ;D).

Femme Fatale eyeshadows, some Sugarpill Tako, a pink from Urban Decay Spectrum palette, and glitter lips. I did the lips so that I lined them with a liquid to matte Sephora lipstain (it's actually a lipstick, I don't know why they call it a stain), then added some Urban Decay Jawbreaker to the middle and a bit on top of the stain, then padded on loose glitter. Works like a charm! Thanks to the liquid to matte the lipstick doesn't bleed on smudge at the edges, but the traditional wax based lipstick in the middle is a lot more comfortable to wear. And the glitter just makes everything amazing.

Urban Decay Jawbreaker Lipstick

Some weeks ago Urban Decay released a new line of lipsticks, called Vice Lipsticks. The line has are hundred different shades. A hundred! Along natural shades it had a blue shade and a couple of purples, so this meant I was at the counter the first day the lippies were available in Finland. There are two dark purples, Jawbreaker and Pandemonium, but they are quite similar so after some pondering I bought only one, Jawbreaker.

Lovely packaging!

The lipstick bullet is very pretty, it's metallic with an embossed Urban Decay text and logo. I have to say the usability is not to my liking. You have to grab the tiny golden area at the bottom and all the rest of the tube is the cap. With longer nails I feel like I can't hold the bottom securely. The cap is also quite tight, so I have to use some force. I haven't dropped the lippie yet, but it feels like it could easily slip.

Metallic bullet. Very pretty but a bit impractical.

The line has lipsticks with many different finishes. Jawbreaker is a "mega matte". I didn't compare it to other matte finishes in the line, but to me it looks more like a satin finish than a matte. Then again I usually wear liquid to matte lipsticks, and those are as matte as they come, so I might just have gotten used to different standards for matte-ness ;D

The lipstick itself is a super pretty shade and the golden metallic bullet compliments the purple nicely. The lipstick has a little embossed Urban Decay logo, a very nice looking detail!

You can see some slight "sweating" on the lipstick. This is caused by oils coming to the surface of the product. 

Jawbreaker is very easy to apply and feels nice on my lips. It's not drying, as many mattes are, but also the finish isn't very matte, so you might not go for this one if you are looking for a very matte finish. The shade is gorgeous. It's a very magenta shaded purple, as in leaning towards hot pink more than deep purple.

Jawbreaker swatched on skin.

Jawbreaker on lips, in cool natural light.

Sadly Jawbreaker doesn't last very well on my lips, but needs touching up quite often. The shade is gorgeous, goes on well, applies evenly and feels comfortable, but I'm way too lazy to touch up my lipstick often! If you are looking for a pinkish-purple that's comfy, easy to use but you are up for some touch ups, this could be the lipstick for you. I'm not sold, but I do think I might some day learn to use Jawbreaker.