Bang for your buck: ELF cosmetics

I decided to check out ELF's site because twitter was all abuzz with how great their sales are. And they really are great. I probably spent about $25-30 on both of these hauls, and the second one came with a free complete brush set. ELF has a lot of different palette options for eyeshadows, as well as some great beauty products.

The nail polish cube was maybe one of the best buys out of all this. It was $10, and came with 14 nail polishes. They're mini-sized but great colours and have lasted well on my nails. The one I have is the "party" set, which comes with great pinks, greys/silvers, and greens, but the other sets are really beautiful too and I have a feeling I might go back and collect them all.

My other favourite is the Studio Prisim Eyeshadow Palette, which I have in "smoke", but also  comes in a great set of pinks, and everyday neutrals. The eyeshadows are really beautiful glimmers, and blend pretty easily. They're not so highly pigmented so you'll have to build up the colour if you want it really dark, but I really love the shades and the palette is a great deal, also at $10.

I was a bit hesitant to buy concealer over the internet without trying swatches first, but I took a bit of a gamble and went with their Studio Under Eye Concealer & Highlighter. The coverage is surprisingly good, the colour worked out well, and the highlighter is great for the corners of my eyes. The 2-in-1 thing makes my morning routine so much easier.

The Studio Lip Primer & Plumper is also a great 2-in-1 deal. The plumper doesn't work as well as I'd hoped but has a nice cinnamon-y tingle, and did fill in the lines of my lips. The primer is great, and my lipstick stayed in place all day, also with the help of the Lip Lock Pencil. I really like the Lip Lock Pencil because it goes on clear, which means you don't have to worry about finding matching or coordinating lipliners.

The Eye Refresh worked just okay - I didn't see a huge difference in my dark circles but it does leave a nice refreshing cooling feeling in the morning, which helps me feel more awake. The concealer does a better job at covering up my under eye area.

Stay tuned for part 2!
-Christina

Evil Queen Inspiration: Daphne Guinness Could Probably Kill You

"Her appearance is so interesting it suggests that her appearance is the least interesting thing about her." - The New Yorker on Daphne Guinness, Sept 2011

Here's the thing about Daphne. She's the daughter of the Guinness brewery heir (and therefore heiress herself), and Diana Mitford of the famous Mitford sisters. She was friends with Lee McQueen and Isabella Blow, and recently saved Ms. Blow's clothing collection from going up for sale and instead made it into an exhibit. She's done collaborations with MAC, worked with Chanel, Philip Treacy, and Gareth Pugh. FIT hosted a gallery of her couture collection. She is all at once heiress, model, muse, designer, collector, and supreme bad ass bitch. And she wears gigantic shoes that make you feel like the underling you are, and clothes that cost more than your soul, and looks consistently like she rules the world by day and sacrifices things to the devil at night. And I love her. 

"Fashion is not just about trends. It’s about political history. You can trace it from the ancient Romans to probably until the ’80s, and you can see defining moments that were due either to revolutions or changes in politics. At the end of the Roman era, there was this whole move against togas, because that was the signifier of the Roman Empire. In the same way, the ’60s were a reaction against the ’50s and so on. But now we’ve been feeding on a sort of cadaver. At the moment, we’re just endlessly recycling the past." - Daphne to Interview Magazine

Wearing Alexander McQueen for Vanity Fair, then at Lee McQueen's funeral

All That Glitters: RMK Ingenious Cream&Powder Eyes 01*

So I haven't really blogged about makeup yet but I'm going to start doing that more often, because if there's anything essential to being an Evil Queen it's not only having flawless skin but also flawless makeup. I'm a big fan of bold eyes and bold lips, so you probably won't be seeing a lot of "natural look" mumbo jumbo on here. We're going for fierce, exciting makeup that makes you look like you're about to fuck shit up.

I was sent the RMK Ingenious Cream & Powder Eyes 01 by the lovelies at lookfantastic.com, and though I don't ever wear gold, this was still really fun to play around with. The packaging is ADORABLE (the silver box says "open me choose me" all over it, like it's begging for you to pick it up off the shelf in the store and take it home with you), and the two eyeshadows swivel out from each other in a very sleek silver compact. It comes with a brush which you can push out to either side, one for the cream shadow and one for the powder, so you never mix. I really like things that come with brushes. It makes my life easier, and feels like a 2-for-1 deal.

The cream eyeshadow is a very lovely, shimmery gold, and goes on pretty light and sheer. If you want a lot of colour, you have to pack it on, and then it can get a little clumpy. The silver is also very sheer and very glittery, which I do like, and mixes well with the cream for a blended look. I did a very simple look with these - gold all over the lid, silver on the outer V of my eye and under my brow, and winged eyeliner. I think it makes a pretty perfect holiday look, and it's super easy to do with just this one compact. I really enjoyed playing with it, and I think I would look for other colour combinations with this item like the purples or greens, and there's also neutrals - all available on lookfantastic.com! And apologies in advance for my horrible eyebrows that need to be done badly:

Try it out for yourselves and send me looks that you come up with!

x
Christina
* indicates PR sample

Guest Blog from the Good Queen: Battle of the Primers

A few weeks ago Christina asked if I wanted any of the product samples she wasn't going to use. I love makeup, so of course I said yes. I also offered to write this guest post. But be warned: There is no way my writing could ever be as funny as hers, so I won't even try. 

I was really excited about the primer samples Christina gave me. Ordinarily, I am completely devoted to Bare Minerals for makeup and skin care. My skin is sensitive and breaks out at the slightest change, and I find that Bare Minerals products keep everything under as much control as possible. But this week I put aside my trusty BM primers to try Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and Benefit "That Gal" brightening face primer.

I used "That Gal" for two days, and my face exploded. So it's going in the bin thanks to my pesky pores. For those two days, however, I didn't really notice any "brightening," though I think that effect may be more noticeable under a tinted moisturizer or liquid foundation. It kept my face in place for most of the day. To make the comparison fair, I used the Bare Minerals Prime Time foundation primer on the third day. It worked just as well as it always does and, like the Benefit product, kept my makeup in place for most of the day. I really don't think there is any primer in the world that is going to make me look perfect at 8 p.m. when I apply my face at 7 a.m. I always have to touch up in the afternoon.

With the eyeshadow primers I could literally do a side-by-side comparison (see photo above). Urban Decay on the left; Bare Minerals Prime Time eyshadow primer on the right. I used both shimmery and matte eye shadows. The consistency of the Urban Decay is a bit more liquid-y and goes on smoothly. The Bare Minerals is thicker and I feel like I used more of it to get the coverage I wanted. Both products worked perfectly. Unlike the foundation primer, that stuff stayed on my eyelids for 12+ hours -- my eyeshadow looked exactly the same at the end of the day as it did when I applied it. 

Has anyone thought of using eyeshadow primer all over their face? Because I'm starting to think that might be a good idea.

The Good Queen Katherine (sister of The Evil Queen Christina)

Christmas Wishlist Part 1

The holiday season is quickly approaching and this year it is all about the Naked 3 Palette. I am a huge fan of Urban Decay but so far the Naked Palette's haven't impressed me - or rather, they're not colours I'd actually use. I'm not a brown kind of girl, and yes I get that the whole point of the Naked palettes is neutrals, but neutrals don't have to be brown. So, I fucking love this palette. It's pink and purpley instead of browny, which is 100% up my alley. I'm obsessed. I need it. I have to have it. It better be in my damn stocking come Christmastime.

Since I'm trying to change up my makeup routine a little (read: experiment with something other than what's come to be my signature MAC black liquidlast winged eyeliner), I think it's time for some COLOURED EYELINER INSTEAD (because the wings are mine forever), and I'm going with Stila this time:

What's appealing to me about the Stila High Shine Liquid Vinyl Eyeliner is the applicator tip. The MAC is definitely a brush, which makes it a little hard to apply and get even every time. I like that this applicator has more of a pointed tip, so if I wanted to, say, wear a line of purple above my black, I think it would be much easier to do with this.

I'm also going to ask for the TokyoMilk Dark Body Souffle in Destiny No. 79, which is the same as my rollerball perfume.  I'm really into this brand right now, not only because their packaging and marketing is totally on point, but also because the scents are just fucking badass. There is no other way to describe it. Destiny No. 79 musty, mysterious, sexy, and make you feel like the fucking Queen of the Wood Nymphs or something. It smells like a fairy tale, and not the Disney kind, the original Grimms Brothers kind where people get their limbs cut off and eyes pecked out by creepy birds. I love it. It's Evil Queen epitomized. I want to bathe in it (oh wait, there's a Shower Gel? Add that to the list too).

I want to start experimenting with Lush products so I'm going to go with their Dream Cream first, which I hope will be good for my extremely dry skin. I've heard a lot of great things (Mindy White of States is a fan and I fucking love her) about the brand and since I've got so many skin problems (dry patches, itchiness, etc) I'm hoping Lush will be good for me. It's so hard to find products that really work, so we'll give this a go and see how it works.

Also in desperate need of some new wardrobe additions, so I'm going with:

Faux Shearling Mix Biker jacket from Topshop

Luxury Rebel Aberdeen Lace Up Boot from Free People

Amulet Maxi Dress from Nasty Gal

Real Evil Queen Style. 

xx

C

Goth birthday + pink hairspiration

It has always been my dream to have pink hair. I really do want a full head of cotton candy, but a) since my hair is so dark we'd have to bleach the crap out of it and that's expensive and b) I was always at a place of work where that wasn't allowed. So needless to say, I was really stoked to find Bumble & bumble's Spraychalk in Blush, which is the perfect light pink. It's a temporary spray-in colour that shampoos out, and after reading reviews about how good it was on dark hair, I gave it a try. Needless to say, I was stoked about the results. There isn't a ton of colour in one can but I think doing the tips looked really cool, and it was absolute perfect birthday hair. The only problem was that I was too drunk to shower after we got home so the colour got all over my boyfriend's pillows, but since it washes out, its no matter! I wore a beautiful Elizabeth & James dress, and I even matched my nails to it:

(Nails Inc in Onyx Rush, Essie in Sugar Daddy, and Julep in Chelsea. Become a Julep Maven here! I love their monthly boxes, it's so much fun to get new nail colours!)

Unfortunately it's only temporary hair colour, so I'm still dreaming of a full head of pink. One day it'll happen!  Here are my favourite pink hair looks:

Abbey Lee's dipdye

Audrey Kitching is totally to blame for my wanting pink hair

The wonderful Angelina aka ALB

Bad bitches, the lot of them.

Tearing My Skin Off: An Adventure in Exfoliating

I feel like sometimes I don't really get the point of exfoliating. It's supposed to clear off all the dead skin cells so my skin is all radiant and such, right? Right. But sometimes it just feels like I'm scrubbing my face off. 

Okay so last post I talked a little bit about the Soap & Glory Greatest Scrub Of All (which is on sale at Sephora now for anyone looking for stocking stuffers). Super smooth, really gentle, smells really nice and pepperminty, and definitely a keeper. And I still love the Fresh Umbrian Clay Mattifying Exfoliant , but I'm running out of it. So it was time to try some of the samples that had come in my Glossybox/Birchboxes. 

So, I'm not as impressed with Birchbox as I am with Glossybox. I feel like I get higher quality and better sized products from Glossybox. But I wanted to try the Dr Brant Microdermabrasian Exfoliant because I've heard a lot of good things about the brand. 

I used it in the shower in conjunction with my Soap & Glory Clarity Face Soap which was probably a mistake because afterwards I felt like my face was on fire. Apparently cleansing and then exfoliating with this stuff is a recipe for disaster, which is weird because I didn't have that problem with any of the other ones. Maybe that means it's good, maybe it's supposed to burn my damn face off. Maybe some people need their faces burned off to get that ever elusive youthful glow. But now I'm terrified of it. 

However, not as terrified as I am of the Sesha Renu Exfoliating Gel which came in my Glossybox. THIS IS NOT A JOKE. IT PEELS YOUR FACE OFF. I'm not even kidding. You rub it on dry skin, and it's a gel formula so it goes on wet. And then it dries. AND THEN YOUR SKIN PEELS OFF. Little white flakes of your FACE. And it smells like a damn electrical fire, which is cool for the first minute until you realize that it's ON YOUR FACE. And it seemed to work pretty well, I felt nice and smooth after. But it's JUST SO WEIRD AND TERRIFYING. 

I think I'll try the Dr Brant again without cleansing, but honestly, I am not in this for my face to get destroyed.  In fact, quite the opposite. So I think I'll stick with Fresh and Soap & Glory, thanks. 

x

Christina

Glorificus

I have to admit that what first interested me in Soap & Glory products was the packaging. I'm a sucker for anything retro looking, and whenever I'd see S&G in Sephora, I'd think "Shit, that stuff looks so cool, it must be really good, I have to try it one day." So finally I did, and I'm really pleased about it.

I've had A Great Kisser for a while and it's one of the best lip balms I've ever tried. It's really moisturizing, but not sticky at all, so when I kiss my boyfriend I don't feel like I have to wipe it off (or wipe it off him). It stays for a really long time without drying out, which is awesome. Mine is peach scented, but I hear it also comes in peppermint or vanilla (which I think is the one I'll try next, when this runs out).

Both The Greatest Scrub Of All and Flake Away Body Polish are very gentle exfoliators, for face and body respectively. Last post I talked about the Fresh face and body exfoliators that I have, and in comparison, these are very much lighter and creamier. My skin is very dry so sometimes I feel like I need a really great scrub, but these are good for every day/every other day or if your skin is sensitive. The exfoliating beads are very gentle, and the smell is very subtle and pleasant.

Clarity 3-In-1 Daily-Detox Vitamin C Facial Wash feels much more gel-like in comparison to the Fresh cleanser, and also has little exfoliator beads for a gentle massaging effect. It's cooling and minty which leaves my face feeling very refreshed, which is great after a workout or a long day out when I feel particularly dirty and worn down.

There are a lot of other Soap and Glory products I want to try, particularly their hand and foot creams since everything else I have by them is so moisturizing. But all in all, the products are very gentle and smell great!

x
Christina

Back to Black

I do love dying my hair, and I do this colour a lot. I think it's my signature. Actually it's gotten to the point where I hate my natural colour, and feel so relieved when I'm back to black. I use L'Oreal Feria in "Bright Black"  which, I know, okay, box dye is bad for your hair. But I'm lazy and impulsive with colour and the last time a salon did my colour, it came out all on the top and none on the bottom and looked weird. So I did it myself, and y'all can just deal with it. I think Feria doesn't make the Blue Black that I used to do, but this works just as well, and the blueyness doesn't wash out.

What I don't like about the Feria is that the conditioner that comes with smells gross. Fortunately, a spontaneous mall trip resulted in my ending up with two samples of Color Protecting Caviar Shampoo and conditioner from celebrity colourist Kelly Van Gogh (I mean, totally randomly some salesgirl came up to me and asked if I coloured my hair, and I was about to do it that night. What luck!). Both the shampoo and conditioner were really gentle on my hair, left me feeling soft and silky without stripping any of the colour out. And they had a very light, clean smell which was nice, so my hair didn't smell like the dye or like a shit ton of flowers trying to cover up said dye.

Fortunately, my every day Serge Normant Meta Silk shampoo and Meta Velour Conditioner are also sulfate-free and colour safe, and have worked wonders for my hair. My hair naturally is very thick and frizzy, but the Serge products make it so soft and just UGH, like I'm touching my hair constantly and making other people touch it too to see how good it feels. It's such a huge difference and I'm so happy to have the chance to use these products. The conditioner is good and thick too so I've been working it through my hair, then running a comb through in the shower just to detangle. It's really really great stuff. And my Bright Black is still bright!

-Christina

VIB status achieved!

So the other day I leveled up at Sephora and became a VIB! I'm actually really stoked about this, because the package not only came with 10% off my next purchase and Free shipping, but also a card for a 45-minute makeover, which I am totally going to cash in for my birthday next month. Playing at Sephora is one of my favourite things to do when I have the time, and I've had pretty good luck with the recommendations they've given me, even at my local store.

I went in there to look into skin exfoliants, especially a sugar body scrub, after reading this article from Huffington Post about SW Basics of Brooklyn (which I still fully intend on trying, because the article was hilarious and convincing). I picked up Fresh's Brown Sugar Body Polish and Sugar Lip Polish, as well as samples of their Umbrian Clay facial exfoliant and Soy Moisturizing Cream. I'm loving pretty much all of it, especially the Sugar Body Polish and the exfoliant, which works much better than the Grand Central Beauty S.M.A.R.T. Skin Perfecting Polisher. That left my skin feeling dry and tight, and Fresh's product doesn't at all. There are lots of little microbeads in there that make me feel like I'm getting a good scrub, and I can feel my skin getting softer already and I've only used it twice. So next time I go back to Sephora I'm going to pick up full sizes of those, for sure, though I'm tempted to try the Facial sugar scrub too! Sugar scrubs all around!

I also picked up a small size of Urban Decay's Naked Skin BB cream to try. I'm a big fan of Urban Decay and have been using their products for a long time, and recently switched over to their Naked Skin foundation. My friend Michaela of A Mane of Her Own uses a BB cream and loves it, so I wanted to give it a go. It gave me a really nice glow and was nice and thin, very light and easy to wear. However, I didn't feel like I got enough coverage without a proper foundation. I think a BB cream like this is great for weekends or lazy days when I don't want to wear a lot of makeup or just need a little SPF, though. Definitely great for the no-makeup makeup look.

Instagram update

"A pop of pink with "Something New" by MAC!"

This is one of my favourite lip colours that I got as a gift. It's a bright, shocking pink and lasts forever. I only ever by lipstick from MAC because I love those highly pigmented and long-wear colours. I don't think this particular one is on the market yet, but Girl About Town is also a favourite and a must-have!


"Missy, Ciara, and Kendra in my Rebel for It Girl Julep Maven box!"

At the beginning of this blog I signed up for three monthly boxes - Glossybox, Birchbox, and Julep Maven. Julep sends me nail varnish every month and I LOVE IT. I love getting new colours and the Julep shades are really unique. I love the iridescent green of Kendra, and it's on my nails right now. Perfect for fall!

"Gifts from Serge Normant! Loving the Meta Luxe hair spray and dry oil!"

I got the Serge Normant Meta Luxe hairspray in my Birchbox last month and loved it - it keeps my curls in place without being sticky or crunchy, even on day 2. I got gifts of the whole collection, and so far I'm also loving the dry oil, which made my hair super soft and shiny and frizz-free when it was straight. Highly reccommended!

Review: Embelleze Novex Keratin cream

Okay. I am officially swearing by this shit.

My hair is nuts. It's frizzy and thick and hard to manage, and I've never really gotten the hang of styling it without it still looking like I've stuck my finger in a socket. I've used quite a few different shampoos over the years and some get my hair softer than others, but I've had a really hard time learning to control frizz and get it to style the way that I want it to.

This. Shit. Works.

It was one of the first things I wanted to try out of my Glossybox, for sure. So the directions tell me to "apply to slightly dry hair", wait three minutes, then wash out. I have no idea what "slightly dry" is so basically I dipped my head in the sink and wet it a little and then put this in like any other cream. I probably waited a little longer than three minutes (I have no idea if this makes a difference or not) and then washed it out in the shower without using shampoo or anything else. Probably I should have shampooed first, I don't know, that isn't in the directions. I blew it out straight and did a little flat ironing to fix it up.

BUT ANYWAY. My hair was so silky smooth and soft and easy to work with, I was making everyone touch it when I was at work. It really is kind of a miracle. I mean, my hair naturally is basically a big poof ball on top of my head, but I've used this twice since I got it, and my hair still feels really great, even after washes and everything. So, I'm really down with this. Will definitely keep using.

xx
C

First Glossybox delivery!

In anticipation of blogging,  I signed up for three separate beauty box services - Glossybox (reccomended by I Covet Thee ), Julep's monthly box, and Birchbox.

Glossybox was the first to arrive and I AM SO EXCITED! The best thing is getting product testers that I wouldn't know about or have thought to try. I'm especially excited about the Keratin hair treatment cream (which is in my hair as we speak), the lip color from Jelly Pong Pong (a brand that I know of because they work with Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud, who I LOVE), and the facial spray. I'm not really sure how to use it yet, but that's part of the fun of trying it out!

Anatomicals Spray Misty For Me facial spritz / Novex Brazilian Keratin Hair Treatment Cream / Jelly Pong Pong Lip Blush / ModelCo Eyeshadow Duo in bronzed goddess / Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder

First Sephora Haul

Since I'm just starting out on this journey of trying new products, I decided to pick up a bunch of tester sizes and boxes to get a feel for everything without spending big money. I need a new mascara since mine flakes a little, and I regularly use Urban Decay foundation, but it's hard to find in stores anymore since I think they're phasing it out in favor of the Naked line. I'm also really excited to try some facey glowy things and the dry shampoo (which was as per the Sephora lady's recommendation). So we'll see how this goes!

From top left:  Benefit Goodtime Gals: Posietint lip & cheek stain, Girl Meets Pearl face brightener, That Gal brightening face primer / Smashbox Photofinish Foundation Primer with SPF 20 / Benefit Ooh La La Lift under eye brightener / Buxom Lash Mascara / Too Faced Beauty Blogger Darlings: Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer, Primed & Poreless face primer, Better Than Sex mascara, Shadow Insurance eye shadow primer / Oscar Blandi dry shampoo / Bumble and bumble straight blow dry / TokyoMilk Dark eau de parfum Destiny #79 / Urban Decay Naked Skin Liquid Makeup / Soap & Glory A Great Kisser lip balm

The Beginning pt 2

These are the products I use now: 

Conair Curling Iron (and occasionally a Chi straightener), True Blue Body Cream from Bath and Body Works, Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream-To-Powder foundation, MAC liquidlast liner, and Benefit Bad Gal lash mascara.

I like the things I use, but also my foundation is nowhere to be found these days except for on the UD website, and my mascara flakes a little and irritates my eyes. So I'm going to try some new things, and have a little beauty adventure. 

Ready? Let's go.

The Beginning

Alright, so, here's the deal.

I basically know sod all about skincare. I don't even use soap on my face, I just wash it with water. I do my makeup pretty much the same way, and only just started using foundation maybe a year or so ago. I use very simple makeup, and I don't moisturize or use any kind of skin treatments or anything. I also have crazy, thick, uncontrollable hair that I usually just pile heat on to and don't protect.

But I probably should.

So I'm starting from the beginning. I'm going to be trying a ton of products to see what I like and what works  for me, and writing about it here. Makeup, skincare, and haircare. And we'll see how it goes.

This is me now:

Not the best picture I've ever taken, but you get the idea.