Let's all calm down about some lipstick, shall we?

As I was perusing Facebook yesterday, I came across this post by Kat Von D.  Basically, some people were calling out Sephora for her lipstick shade called "Underage Red," demanding they pull it.  Kat defended the name, and said that she refuses to pull it.  I always thought of the name "Underage Red" as the kind of bright, crazy red that teenagers are drawn to.  So, Underage Red.  I never thought of it in the crazy, child-trafficking, sexual ways that other people are saying.  They're also comparing it to "Lolita," which is a shade I've always adored not just because it's a great color, but because it makes me think of the Japanese Lolita fashion movement.

Like this.  Photo from here.

Kat Von D has never made any official statements about the Lolita lipstick, but the same people who call for the end for Underage Red make lewd statements about Lolita, too, and how it's about children being sexualized.

And that's totally fine if that's what the name means to you, because obviously nothing Kat says is going to change that, but just don't buy the lipstick.  If these names bother you so much, NARS has much worse (Orgasm, Deep Throat), but that doesn't seem to offend anyone THAT much. 

And I can't help but wonder if it's because NARS is a much bigger, more traditional, male-led company, whereas Kat Von D has complete control over her own, smaller makeup line.  And she's an alternative woman who many people just flat out don't like.  Because she helped that one guy cheat on America's sweetheart a while ago.  And because she's covered in tattoos and lives in the gothic mansion of my dreams.

Feel free to discuss below!  :)  Sorry for no makeup pictures this week--Life has been kicking my ass recently.

Lit Cosmetics Superfly Holographic Glitter Review

As you probably know by now, I fucking love glitter.  Glitter is my lifeblood.  So, I have no idea why I haven't purchased anything from Lit Cosmetics before now.  I just, I don't know.  I have no excuses. 

I picked up some holographic glitter in Superfly from Beautylish, and EEGADS is it magical.  It's a gunmetally color that's all rainbows all the time.  ALL THE TIME.  CONSTANT RAINBOWAGE.

I used Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy instead of the glitter adhesive that Lit sells, and it worked just fine.  I'm still going to try out their adhesive sometime (will probably get one of their kits next), but I went with what I had on-hand.  Pixie Epoxy is great, so I knew it would work.  I just treated the glitter as I would any other loose eyeshadow, and it worked as I expected.  No surprises!

PORN! (click to embiggen):

SO SPARKLY.

I was quivering in anticipation, couldn't wait to get it on my eyeballs.

I enhanced the photo a bit more than usual to get the glitter to show moar.

Aaaand here it is on my face!  I usually use Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner, but with glitter and loose shadows I usually have to use Stila's Stay All Day Liner.  I dunno why, but KVD doesn't do well with the Pixie Epoxy or something.  Also wearing Meow Cosmetics foundation and KVD lipstick in Lovecraft.  I also threw some random silver (Urban Decay?) in my inner crease, and another random Urban Decay in my outer Crease.  I have all the Vice palettes on-hand for such things.

THE GLORIOUS GLITTAR

It sucks that you can't see how blindingly holographic this is.

GLITTTERRR

Yepyepyep going to get a billion more of these.  They're $12 a pop, but eeehh I need moar glitter.  All the glitter!  I tried to capture how crazy holographic this glitter is in photographs, but you know how it is with holographic stuff--it's pretty hard to capture the rainbows.

<33

Fine Like Einstein Nail Perlish Review

Moon Prism Power Maaaake UP!  :D

Sephora's Fine Like Einstein is super fabulous.  It's my favorite spring polish, but it's not PERFECT.  I've had to reapply it to my nails multiple times because they keep popping off.  My husband thinks my base coat has gone bad, and he may be right.  The nails I did sans base coat have done much better, and I've been having this same problem with other polishes recently.

I've also been trying out Lucky 13's Elemental Ward top coat, which I enjoy quite a bit.  It smells and acts like Seche Vite, but it doesn't goop up like Seche Vite does.  I've gone through so many bottles of that shit because it would solidify and goop up super fast.  It looks like I've found an alternative!  It has an adorable D-20 on it, too, which is great.

All in all, if you want a polish that is SUPER CRAZY OHMYGOSH HOLOGRAPHIC AND SPARKLY, then you need this.  Even if a lot of it chips off the next day.  But here, let me drown you in buckets of nail porn so you can see for yourself the majesty that is Fine Like Einstein:

Unicorn approved.

UGH SPARKLES EVERYWHERE YES

I felt like a magical princess ;D

I MEAN ARE YOU SEEING THESE SPARKLES

AND IN THE SUNLIGHT!  I DIE!

I'm pretty sure you need this in your life.

There you have it.  Super crazy sparkly.  I don't even know why you're still here and not running to buy this polish.

<33

ZENDIKAR 2015, ALL THE YES

GUYS.  GUYS GUYS GUYS.

ZENDIKAR IS COMING BACK TO MAGIC THE GATHERING.

I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF OR TYPE IN ANYTHING OTHER THAN CAPS AND IF YOU'RE A PLAYER OF MAGIC THEN YOU WILL UNDERSTAND.  IF I WASN'T AT THE OFFICE RIGHT NOW I'D BE SCREAMING WITH THE GLEE OF A THOUSAND SUNS.  DO SUNS SCREAM WITH GLEE?  I DON'T KNOW.

I JUST, I CAN'T, GUYS.  JUST, YES.  ALL THE YES.

Image from Tumblr, otaku4prez

No More Lime Crime!

Hey, everyone!

I recently found out about Lime Crime's security breach hack shit, and have decided that I'm pretty much done with the company.  I really do love their new eyeshadow palette a LOT, and will continue using it and all the other products I have from them, but I just don't think I can continue to support a brand that treats its customers so shittily.  I was going to do three more reviews, one of their eye primer (great), velvetines (which are also really great..), and the Geradium lipstick which is awful, but I'm going to refrain.  I might do the Geradium one so you can see how bad it is.

I think the company has potential to be really great, because they have awesome products (some of the lipsticks leave a little to be desired), but it suffers from a CEO who serves her own agenda and not that of her customers.  Their website's response was pretty good, though, so maybe there's hope for growth here. But there's still a lot of other shady things about the company, and I don't want to have to preface all my reviews with disclaimers about the brand's controversy, which I almost did for my two reviews this week.

Is anyone else torn about this?  I really like their products, but don't want to give them money until they shape up as a company, y'know?  Ugh!


Also, in case anyone is agonizing over wanting the Venus palette but you don't want to buy Lime Crime, there are some shades in Urban Decay Vice 3 that are really comparable, which I can make a post about later this week!

Lime Crime Retrofuturist Review ~

 So remember when I said I'd review Lime Crime's Retrofuturist like a year ago?  WELL HERE IT IS!

Lime Crime pretty much has me with its purple case and holographic unicorns.  Yes, HOLOGRAPHIC UNICORNS.  WHAT MORE COULD I EVER WANT IN A LIPSTICK?!

Packaging aside, this lipstick is pretty good.

Lime Crime Retrofuturist

 I mean, I don't have really high standards when it comes to lipstick.  Generally all I ask is that it look good on me and last at least until I use my lips for something.  I've tried various primers and voodoo methods for getting lipstick to stay forever (but I heard about some sorcery involving blotting and powder, so I'll get back to you on that), and I just can't get it to work out.  I guess I could re-apply it after lunch, but let's be honest with ourselves here, I'm too lazy for that.

I really liked how creamy this one was, though.

 Anyway, Lime Crime's lipstick met my expectations, and even exceeded them a bit in how creamy it was.  It looks dreadful after a meal, though, but that's likely due to the fact that I don't use any lipliner or primer at all.  I hate when I have the dreaded Lipstick Outline and nobody bothers to tell me about it.

Retrofuturist is really bright red, mmk?

Like with pretty much all lipsticks ever, you're going to get the best results if you regularly exfoliate and moisturize.  I use Lush's lip scrub in Mint Julips and their Lip Service lip balm afterwards.  You can also google how to make a simple lip scrub, but I've already established that I'm lazy.  I also like that the scrubs from Lush are edible. 

Yeah,  this shit is HAWT.

 But yeah, there's only so much you can say about a red lipstick.  This is a good one.  Is it the BEST ONE EVAR?  No.  Liquid lipsticks are better if you want something that lasts a long time, but this lipstick tube has a goddamn holographic unicorn on it.  I'm a sucker for that shit.  Bottom Line, I'll probably get more.   

LOOKIT DIS SHIT

 Also, this is my last Lime Crime review for a while, I PROMISE!  Well, maybe not promise, but I'll try.

Fun Times with Venus Palette!

Hello, my dears! 

While reviewing Lime Crime's Venus palette, I remembered how much I love it.  I could wax poetic about it forever, but instead I'm just going to dump a bunch of pictures on you.  Keep in mind that this is also an experiment in photography, since I'm new to this whole Being a Serious Blogger thing, so  please let me know which pictures work for you and which don't!

Some side-action.  The adorable bat earrings are from Hot Topic.

I'm getting much better at my brow game.  Probably because I spent 15 minutes plucking this morning.

I LOVE THIS PALETTE SO DAMN MUCH

I do have my own room just for makeup

I'm not sure what my finger is doing, but I felt like pointing at myself?

There you have it, folks!  I used Aura, Shell, Rebirth, Venus, Muse, and a mixture of Muse and Icon in my outer crease.  I used Kat Von D Tattoo Liner (it's good shit) aaaand Dior Browstyler for mah brows (it's pretty much magic in a pencil).  I'm also wearing Meow Cosmetics Pampered Puss foundation in Inquisitive Sphynx and I'll have you know that I have redness bullshit and these pictures were taken roughly ten hours after applying.  I'm going to do a review on that shit next, because it's seriously The Best. 

I also need to start using mascara, I guess, because my lashes look pretty shitty in the photos, but guys I CANNOT DO MASCARA.  I've tried like ten different kinds, from drugstore to high-end, and my eyeballs are always like "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THIS HURTS REALLY BAD LET'S WATER A WHOLE LOT WHILE YOU'RE DRIVING SO YOU WRECK AND DIE YOU HEARTLESS BITCH."

I wear contacts.  I have blinking/moisture issues.

So if you have any recommendations for people with super sensitive eyeballs I'd love to hear about it! Also, please let me know if my blog name is stupid because after agonizing over it for hours I just ended up with Leslie Pwny.  Cuz my name is Leslie and I like pwning.  And I like ponies.

Lime Crime Venus Palette Review ~

Dreamy Sigh.

The Venus palette from Lime Crime is seriously great.  No, really.  It's my go-to palette for when I'm feeling "ughwhatthefuckdoIputonmyeyeballstoday."  The colors blend and work so well together, with so little effort, that I can be falling asleep at my vanity and make the most amazeballs look with this and not even have to think about it that hard.  And that PACKAGING.  It's perfection.  I'm all for having more ART on my palettes!   
 

I MEAN LOOK AT THIS SHIT.

  You know how some palettes have colors that are all over the place, which is great, but you have to mix and match from other palettes to get something that looks legit?  Not so with Venus.  These are all meant to play together.  Sometimes I'll use Bondage from Vice 3 in my inner crease, but that's when I'm getting really extra crazy fancy.

The colors have a good amount of staying power, except for Aura and Shell.  They fade pretty quickly, so I pack them on more than usual, but using a white sticky base (I use one from Lunatick Labs) over your normal primer helps.  The other shades have the longevity you'd expect from the price point (again, use some primer, but I feel like if you're spending $42 on an eyeshadow palette you're prooobably using primer anyway).   

But here, take a look at some swatches:

Venus, Shell, Aura, Creation, Icon, Rebirth peeking from the corner

Venus, Shell, Aura, Creation, Icon, Rebirth, Divine, Muse

Gorgeous, amirite?  I typically just go, from inner crease to outer lid, as follows:  Aura, Shell, Rebirth, Venus, Muse, with Icon in my crease.  Sometimes if I'm feeling REALLY fancy and on top of things I'll use EVERY COLOR IN THE PALETTE, but let's be honest here.  That's happened, like, once.  And was the first day I had the palette.  And, I'm not gonna lie, I don't really use Divine ever.  It's most likely for blending, but most days I'm too lazy for that. 

Here's me rocking the Venus palette at the office today:

Isn't it amazing?  EVEN WITH SHITTY PHONE CAMERA IT LOOKS GREAT

<3  Does anyone else have Venus?  I personally love it, and can't wait to see what Lime Crime comes out with next.  I hope they keep using lovely art on their packaging!  Or more unicorns, cuz that never hurts, either.