lex wrote:

The endless hunt for purple lipstick

Try Detrivore's lipgloss in Coraline. I'll post a link in a minute.

EDIT: Cancel that, they don't carry it anymore.

Last edited by Raven Nightshade (10-28-2013 04:55:59 PM)

OOOH now I have new things to try and excuses to buy more purple lipstick

Thank you Raven and Mocha!  (BTW, totally loved that you called me Smexy Lexy Mocha---I might steal that)

Giovanna wrote:

So was at Sephora picking up some eyeliner, since I am finally out of pencil and have been finding MAC's regular pencil a little too dry to apply easily (grabbed UD), and saw this: http://www.urbandecay.com/urban-decay/t … y/356.html

Given how much their primer potion rocks, I'm inclined to suspect this is actually a good product, but I was wondering if anyone had tried it out.

It's pretty well-received, and I like applying make-up mists. They feel niiiiiiiice on the skin, especially if you want to make a very matte finish look more natural.  They can also help if you have dry skin or dry patches after application, which is more likely in dry winter weather (as well, during a time of year when slip-sliding cream foundations are more popular).  I also have concave, hooded eyes, so the mist helps out when the shadow I'm applying is too short wearing and crease-prone for a primer to handle alone.

Then again, I use the ELF make-up mist, which is like... 3 bucks.  It has some good stuff in it and does its job.


I just tried out MU4E's pro finish powder foundation.  It's crazy fucking matte, so if you don't get the precise shade for your skin it can look ruddy, but I'm pleased with it so far.  Looks fantastic worn alone, even better with a primer, and fucking controls oil.

Finally broke out my Balm Jovi pallete from theBalm, and hot damn.   The shadows are gorgeous.  So pigmented and easy to apply.  It really takes natural light to do them justice.  I finally have the perfect opaque but blend-able gold shadow.  The blush that's included ain't a joke either -it applies like an even stain, though it's a powder.  The lip products are so-so, but I've yet to meet a lip pan product that was anything better than so-so, in particular when they are meant to be lip/cheek multitaskers.  Great on the cheeks; sheer, weirdly textured and short-lived on the lips.

Keep me updated on the hunt for purple lipsticks that don't suck.  I've been looking around the drugstore, but most purple lipcolors are either mauve, hot pinky fuschias or berry and wine colors, not true creamy lilacs or amethyst colors.  Those that appear to be true purples are sheer or gloss products, which isn't my cup of tea.  When I want opacity, I go for matte shades (and just apply gloss over the top... which I never do, because I'm not a huge gloss fan). 

I'm tempted to try out the YSL lipsticks, because the shade range looks gorgeous.  I like my Givenchy lipstick as well, so maybe I'll check out more of theirs.  But $30 plus per tube of lip gunk is kinda crazy.

Even if you aren't looking for mookoops, I second Mocha's rec.  The site alone is a joy to browse.

Hey OitL, how do you feel about the ELF HD powder? I've debated getting it on my previous trips, but wanted to pick up a few other things first.



Also, any of you painted ladies have an opinion on the new UD Naked 3? I've never been super swayed by 1 or 2, or even Basics, but I'm really digging the beautiful rosey golds in this palette. I'll have to swatch it first of course, but I'm pretty intrigued.

Edit for OitL: Also, the mineral infused primer, I just saw you had listed that one. I'm debating the green bc so much red on face.

Last edited by MissMocha (11-13-2013 07:36:58 PM)

Double post because ELF officially has the best customer service. 

FedEx fucked up when delivering my order (claimed it was delivered, but I nor my Apartment Manager received it, meaning it was probably left on my welcome mat and stolen).  I emailed customer service with my name and order number, and got a reply back that same day, very apologetic, asking if I would prefer a refund or to have the order reshipped.  I asked if I could have it reshipped and the next day I get an email with a tracking number.

No suspicion, no blaming me or asking me to do about a run-around crap with FedEx.  Just problem solved.  Hot damn.

I'm not a huge fan of ELF's baked eyeshadows... even when applied wet they are bit flaky, and once on the colors don't contrast one another much.  I do really like their prism shadows, though.  Powder formula that finishes like a cream -but applies much more evenly. 

The ELF HD concealer does apply lighter than it looks in the tube (and certainly looks very different from the picture on the site). It matches my skintone great, but also I don't mind lighter concealers so much, since I always wear a powder or liquid foundation over my concealer and it allows for me to use it as a brightener as well as concealer.  It's also got the slightest tint of pink to it (at least it did on me wtf), which I prefer over yellow-toned under-eye concealers.   Does it beat out my Benefit Erase Paste?  Not by a country mile, but because it applies thinner and has a wand, it's quicker on lazy mornings.

Last edited by OnlyInThisLight (11-20-2013 10:41:28 PM)

Well being as we picked that up in fucking Bergdorf Goodman...

Yasha wrote:

MissMocha wrote:

Yasha wrote:

....so I went to the other end of the spectrum and got a Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

Hate your face so much right now. I've been wanting to get my hands on that to try and color match, but no one in this podunk town carries Kevyn Aucoin products.

Actually, it was with you in mind that we chose Kevyn Aucoin-- Gio had said that you loved his stuff, and we figured anything that you like that much would be good stuff (also I have owned various of his books from time to time).

I would be happy to get swatches on a card for you next time we run into it, but that may be a while. Or not. You never know. I didn't think of it this time because I thought you had access.

You're fine -it's not like I expect you to think of me everytime you go buy stuff, lol (although i'm totes flattered you did this time!). I'll probably just try to make time next time I'm in Orlando. The counter at Nordy's was pretty small, but if I get over to the fancy mall, I'll just get samples at the Neiman counter. It's such an HG product, but I can't justify the money without being reasonably sure of a match. I can justify an eyeshadow bc it's really hard to pick a bad color, but skin products? I'm just too much a mess. :/ Keep me updated on how you like it tho!

Glad to hear you like the KVD liner -I really recommend her shadows as well. I have the Ladybird palette and use it nearly every day. Really strongly debating another one, but the Naked 3... such pretty pinky golds!  The KVD lipsticks are great formulas as well, but the colors are mostly too bold for me -I think you'd have luck with Hellbent, Underage Red, and Rosary.

Yasha wrote:

We spent a little more than we should have in NYC.

Akio is expensive.

But god damn does he smell amazing. On both of us. (Fairly rare.)

SexingTouga24/7/365 wrote:

But how do you find a fragrance that works great on you? Or how to pick a perfume? I have no idea besides pick something you like and don't put too much on.

I love spicy and or sweet fragrances; I would love to find a fragrance that does both someday and is long lasting. Some of my favorites include Angel by Terry. M, Pink Sugar, Lust by lush, and Blue Sugar.  I like the smell and idea of ginger, but did not love the smell of Lushes Ginger perfume on me emot-frown, and in most cases, I do not want to smell floral at all.

It's not a very recent one, but have you tried Vera Wang's Princess? I have a similar taste in fragrances and remember liking it very much when I had it a while ago. I saw it described somewhere as 'sugar, spice&everything nice in a bottle' , it's sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. It does have a slight floral note somewhere deep down, but it's barely noticeable, you can't really single it out.
Plus the bottle is adorable, i still keep it
It has ton of different editions, but I liked the original best.

As for finding fragrances, the only way that works for me is spraying half of the store on my hand ( male section included ), or looking for the coolest bottles and then deciding amongst them Found Thierry Mugler's Womanity that way...best decision ever, it still has one of the coolest bottles around.
Looking for them based on ingredients rarely works for me, for some reason.

SexingTouga24/7/365 wrote:

But how do you find a fragrance that works great on you? Or how to pick a perfume? I have no idea besides pick something you like and don't put too much on.

Well, there's a whole shitload of advice if you google around, but I would say the most important thing is to take your time buying it.

Seriously, it took us two or three days to commit to purchasing any perfume at all from Aedes. We got samples of the things we liked, we put them on, wore them around, stopped to smell them whenever we remembered to, noted how long they lasted, made sure we liked the perfumes in every stage of their drydown and wear, tried to figure out how the scent changed over time, and most importantly, decided whether we liked it on each other. I'm lucky enough to have a built-in second opinion on this stuff; you should get someone to go perfume shopping with you, and ask your friends what they think of the perfume you're wearing when you test it out.

Example Time

When Gio and I went to Aedes de Venustas, I gravitated toward the Kilian shelf and ended up fascinated by their Pure Oud. It smelled like a bonfire, very masculine, with some spice and leather underneath. It's a super-dark perfume, one that makes you think of snarling animals prowling outside the ring of light from your fire. Naturally, I fell in love.

So Gio and I both tested it. This is actually really helpful! On Gio, it went to a smoky note... and stayed there. Exactly the same the whole time. Don't get me wrong, it was a good smell and we both liked it, but on her it's something to layer, something to give other perfumes a bit of that smoke smell. On me, it opened right up and went a little crazy, the spice notes and the leather notes coming up to the forefront, while the smoke stayed a loud undertone, underlining everything else. The animal notes came out a lot more too, leaving it smelling a little like sex in a dark room (in a good way). Over time it mellows a little, and with wear it grows fainter, but two days later it still smells like a succubus walking through hellfire.

That's how I know it works on me. I would never wear it if I was going to be in an enclosed space with others for long, though-- it's a really aggressive smell on me, and if someone doesn't like that I wouldn't want to subject them to it.

There's a lot more bushwah about scent families and stuff, but it's pretty much garbage if you're trying to find a scent that works for you. It's only helpful to know the scent families if you're asking the salesperson to find a scent for you, but the thing is that if you do that, you won't find anything that surprises you or changes your mind about fragrances.

Which comes to the second most important point-- smell everything. Email a fragrance store and tell them you'll pay for a bunch of random samples. Buy a sample lot or two (or ten or twelve) on ebay and check out everything. It's like wine, or good sex-- you're not going to know what you like unless you try out a lot!

Gio and I have tried out hundreds of different perfumes, so we've gotten pretty good at it. And by this point, we do know what works on us-- basically what you're looking for is something that interacts well with your body chemistry, and (not as important) lasts a while. My absolute favorite, the Voleur de Roses, only lasts anout three or four hours.... sigh. But it's still my favorite.

Edit: OITL's got some good points about the different perfume concentrations too. Most of what you'll see in the stores is Eau de Toilette, but it's a good idea to make sure you know what a perfume you like is.