From the Queen of Bones: Testing Too Faced Bronzers, Scrubs, and Julep Polish

A while back, my good friend the Evil Queen passed some product my way. I’ve yet to repay her for her kindness but this is a start! Her castaways ended up being some of my favorite products. Now, I’ve never been one for a daily makeup routine, but when I do wear makeup, I go all out. 

A bit of background:

My mother has blessed me with three things; decent skin, big boobs, and a fast metabolism. Only one of those is relevant to this blog post. My skin is neither dry nor oily, I only use face wash 3-4 times per week, and I only break out around that time of the month. I’ve been using Kimberly Sayer’s Almond & Lavender Face Scrub for the last year or so with awesome results. It’s an organic product (you can actually see the chunks of almond in the scrub) and is gentle but effective for all skin types. It’s a great exfoliator and smells fantastic. The Sayer scrub just randomly appeared in my house and no one was using it so I obviously claimed it as mine like any good Queen would. Unfortunately I’ve run low and since I’m an adult still living on a college student budget, I’ve reverted back to St. Ive’s Pink Lemon & Mandarin Orange Scrub, available at your local drug store. It’s not bad. Less exfoliating but still satisfactory for my skin, plus I prefer the smell of citrus in the morning.

 That being said, I don’t do a lot to my face in terms of foundation. I have awesome freckles and I don’t like covering them up. Regularly, I only use my Eucerin moisturizer +SPF and maybe a little bit of concealer under my eyes and on problem areas. I started using BB cream when I do put on a full face of makeup because it gives me light coverage and a nice healthy glow. This is where Christina’s presents come into play. She gifted me a Sue Devitt pressed powder, Too Faced bronzer, Julep polish, Too Faced Beauty Balm, and Marchesa perfume. I began using the Sue Devitt Triple C-Weed Pressed Powder in replacement of my crummy NYC translucent powder with miraculous results. It was still sheer and shine absorbing but gave a much smoother finish on top of my BB cream. 

 I tended not to use bronzer outside of the summer months because I’m so pale it just makes my face look dirty. I also haven’t used bronzer since I figured out how to use it correctly. Now that I’m educated its been working out much better for me. I look less dead in the winter now. I really like the matte finish of the Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer and it smells like cocoa powder. No joke. Its amazing. 

The item I was most excited about that Christina sent me was a Julep nail polish. It was supposed to be the only item I was getting but she tossed in the others for funsies. When I was working much less back in May/June than I am now so I spent a lot of my free time experimenting with nail art and new polishes. A majority of my polishes right now are Revlon or Wet-n-Wild so I was thrilled to have a polish in my collection with strong pigment that I didn’t need to apply 5 coats to achieve the color it was supposed to look like. I was gifted Julep’s  “Brielle,” a really nice, rich pumpkin color. The picture here is literally one coat of polish and then topcoat. My final decision on it is that I’m in love and when I have spare money to sign up to be a Maven (Sign up for monthly Julep Maven boxes here!) , I’m taking that opportunity to chuck all my junky polish and start anew with some more sophisticated colors.

I’ve yet to try the beauty balm (saving it for a special occasion since its such a tiny tube) and I’m not a big perfume person so I can’t speak to the actual notes in Marchesa but I can say it smells really nice. I’ve also tried Not Your Mother’s Kinky Moves Curl Defining Cream as per the Evil Queen’s review and I’m in LOVE. I don’t get the sticky residue I got from other products after touching my hair and I get nice soft curls instead of that gross crunchy look. An added bonus is that it’s affordable and readily available at drug stores.

Stay beautiful,

Lush Madness!

I've been wanting to try Lush for a really long time. There's something really excited about all-natural products when it comes to skincare - I feel much better about the glop that's going on my face when I can look at the back of the container and see what's actually in it. And Lush has a really great vibe - they're all anti-animal testing and their new campaign for Valentine's Day was all about love and supporting the LGBT community, which is a cause close to my heart. 

I also had a really great in-store experience. My local mall is known for having crap customer service, so I did a lot of research about the products before going in to the store because I didn't expect the girls to really pay attention to me or know anything about the products. BOY WAS I SURPRISED to the point where I wrote Lush an email, which I will excerpt for you here: 

" I usually don't like shopping in stores because the stores are crowded, I don't get enough attention when I have a question, and most of the time the employees don't really know what they're doing. But the girls in the store were incredible. In particular, an employee there named Stephanie was a big help. She saw me staring confused at some products and offered some great advice, showed me how to use everything, and introduced me to new products I wouldn't normally try. All the girls took interest in my story and my blog and were ready and willing to help with expert product knowledge. I went home with a mountain of Lush products to try and review on my blog, and I've never been so excited. As a lifelong psoriasis sufferer, it's exciting to feel like I possibly have miracle products in my hands now. I just want to let you know that you have some great girls there. I've worked retail, I know how hard it can be, and it's rare to get customer service like that"

And an even bigger surprise, THEY WROTE BACK: 

"Thank you for taking the time to contact LUSH! You and I would make the best shopping buddies. I also go online first, get an idea of what I want and then hit the stores. I hate crowds! I'm so happy to hear that you had a fantastic experience at LUSH. I often sit at my desk and day dream about all the action that goes down at the stores. So, hearing about great experiences really makes my day! I think it's the people who used to work in retail that's hard to impress. I'm very happy that LUSH met your standards of good customer service! I will forward your feedback to our friends at the mall location so, Stephanie and the rest of the team will get all the kudos that they deserve. Your blog looks great! I tried to start one years ago but didn't keep up with it. I really admire your dedication. If there's anything else that I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

No, guys, this is for real. An actual response from an actual person. I'm really amazed. 

I ended up with a little bit of everything.

I don't usually do face masks but Stephanie recommended Mask of Magnaminty to help with my blackheads. I've used it once and it really does work - I saw a significant change in the softness of my skin and it did get rid of some of the blackheads. Next time I think I'm going to try it just on my nose - way better than any of those pore strips! Volcano is a foot mask, which is kind of weird because you have to wrap your feet in plastic wrap for ten minutes while it works it's magic, but it's great for winter feet that are trapped in tights and closed toed shoes!

Curly Wurly is a shampoo for frizzy curly hair (read: poofball hair like mine) and smells AMAZING. It's made with coconut and I mean it - real bits of coconut in there. So cool. And my hair is super soft right now (de-poofing is gonna take years, so game on,  Curly Wurly), so I'm loving it.

I love me  a scrub so I actually picked up two - both Ocean Salt and the Sugar Scrub. I've only used the Ocean Salt so far but it's really great. I'm super smooth and it's a way less expensive alternative to my favourite Fresh sugar scrub, and works just as well. The great thing about Ocean Salt is that it's also a facial scrub, so it's like getting two exfoliants for the price of one. Plus my boyfriend says I taste salty. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it's better than tasting not good? Right? Right.

Ultrabland is a really thick, creamy cleanser for makeup and dirt removal. When I was in the store, Stephanie rubbed it on my hand and you can really feel the way it pulls everything out of your skin. It's a bit strange at first since I'm used to a really light cleanser, but there was nothing leftover on my face after I used it.

I am always looking for badass moisturizers for my dry skin and Skin Drink has been working really well so far. It smells a bit strange (it's made with sesame oil) and it's kind of a weird brown goop, but it hydrates for the whole day. I'm never left wanting and my skin feels super soft. I'm all about soft, hydrated skin, especially since it's been such a harsh winter.

Stephanie also recommended using both Dreamwash and Dream Cream for my dry, itchy skin. So far they've been working great - Dreamwash smells amazing and is nice and creamy, and Dream Cream is very soothing and I've been lathering it on like a maniac every time my skin gets itchy. I'd heard a lot about Dream Cream (it's their best seller) so I was eager to try it, and so far it's been going very well.

Overall I'm really really pleased with my Lush products and I'm really excited to go into the store and try more, especially after such a great experience. Plus it's nice that I can feel really good about what ingredients I'm putting on my body. Lush products are relatively inexpensive (this huge haul was just over $100) and I really am loving their brand as a whole. Can't wait to try more!

Evil Queen Style Tips #1

Evil Queen Style Tips: Always look like you're about to chop someone's head off #evilqueen #styletips
— Christina Orlando (@christinaostyle) November 30, 2013

Coco Rocha for Dressed to Kill Magazine


Versace Haute Couture SS 14


Lady Gaga in Versace Couture


Daphne Guiness

Chiara Ferragni of theblondesalad.com



evilqueenstyle.tumblr.com

From The Good Queen: My Amazing Sephora Experience featuring Estee Lauder, Urban Decay, NARS & more!

I've been in a rut lately. Around Christmas I began trying new moisturizers because my tried-and-true BareMinerals was just not cutting it in this dry winter air. Also, I'm now in my mid-30s and not only is my skin changing, but it's time to get serious about anti-aging. I've also been feeling as if I need an entirely new routine. A dear friend told me that you can get your face done at Sephora for free with a $50 purchase -  how easy is that?! - and I've been searching for a free weekend day to go. That day finally arrived. When I went to make the appointment I discovered that there is another option: a personal beauty consultation. More in-depth and a minimum $125 purchase. Sign. Me. Up.

The appointment is supposed to last for 90 minutes. But thanks to a cancellation, my personal beauty adviser (PBA), Rosita, spent two hours with me. A PBA-in-training, Sharee, set me up in a private room in the back of the store, offered bottled water and snacks, and made me feel like a real VIP.  Sharee removed the tinted moisturizer and concealer I had on with a Caudalie makeup remover product and, because I mentioned dry skin, applied an amazing, life-changing product called GLAMGLOW Thirstymud as a masque. Rosita and I talked for a while at first about my concerns and what I was looking to achieve that day. I also brought along a all the e.l.f. brushes, e.l.f. geometric eyeshadow palette and Stila Portrait of a Perfect Eye my fabulous sister The Evil Queen gave me for Christmas, but I unfortunately have no idea how to use.

The next step was prep. The store was hosting an Estee Lauder global makeup artist and skincare expert named Derek for the day. Rosita had him come in and give me a mini-facial. Derek first cleansed with a product called Perfectly Clean, which is a non-foaming cream cleanser that doubles as a moisture mask. He recommended applying before I get in the shower, letting the product and steam work some magic, and either rinsing or buffing off with my Clarisonic. Then he used a pair of classic serums: Advanced Night Repair and Advanced Night Repair Eye. After the serums he applied Advanced Time Zone eye cream, a new product called Revitalizing Supreme, and Resilience Lift Night for the neck and decolletage.

LESSON #1: "Night" creams and serums can and should be used during the day. 

Between the GlamGlow and the fabulous Estee Lauder products, my skin has never felt better. I bought the GlamGlow, cleanser and serums. They were expensive but worth it. 

I will use the moisturizers I have (Clinique Moisture Surge Intense and Moisture Surge Eye) and will consider the Estee Lauder creams when it's time for new. And one of my self-discovery items that I may keep up forever is Clinique's Take the Day Off oil cleanser. I've been using it at night only for two weeks and I'm obsessed with it. Oils are a new trend that I hope stays around, because this cleanser is an absolute must for my dry winter skin.

Rosita stated with eyes. I had my face done at the BareMinerals boutique once and they did this also. I think the reasoning is so you don't get eyeshadow dust all over your under eye concealer. I've been trying this at home for a few days and it's a trick I will stick with. She applied Urban Decay Primer Potion using a brush, which allows for more control and only the amount of product you need, as opposed to applying with your finger. Rosita taught me how to play with color, which is something I've never been good at, and how to layer and blend eyeshadows. We went through my brushes and pallets at the same time so I could replicate the look at home. She used a BareMinerals Ready 4.0 pallete called The Happy Place: a pretty peach shimmer on my lids, matte grey in the crease, and shimmery plum as eyeliner.

LESSON #2: Apply eyeshadow first.

LESSON #3: Apply eyeshadow primer with a brush.

LESSON #4: Blend your eyeshadows!

Before we got started with foundation, Rosita color matched my face using this neat Sephora + Pantone computer system. Basically, this device takes pictures of your face in three places and spits out a code, which you then plug in to the in-store system or the Sephora website to get a complete list of all the foundations that match your skin color. You can email it to yourself and save it to your Sephora.com profile. No more testers! No more buying something that is perfect in the store but looks weird in natural light! It's pretty amazing. We tried a few different options but settled on Makeup Forever Professional Face & Body Foundation. The product is lightweight, sheer-to-medium coverage, and made of 80% water. Rosita applied Makeup Forever Professional HD primer and foundation using a cute pink Beauty Blender sponge. She applied a NARS concealer to my under eye area in a V-shape, extending the V up past the outer corner of my eye for a lifting effect, and blended with the sponge. Then she added a Sephora Smoothing & Brightening Concealer in rose to the inner eye and dark circles and blended with the sponge. The combined effect was fantastic and I've been able to replicate it successfully at home.

LESSON #5: Have your foundation color matched by a professional. It's free and easy!

LESSON #6: Apply undereye concealer in a V shape for a lifting effect. 

Rosita then brought out a NARS palette called NARSissist cheek: bronzer, Orgasm blush, and highlighter in one. She taught me how to use all three products for a combined sculpting effect that is great for everyday contouring and highlighting without being full-on Kim Kardashian. She finished the look off with a Sephora Collection Nano lip liner and lipstick, and a fantastic Tarte pencil called EmphasEYES Inner Rim Liner in nude that gives a natural bright and awake look. Advising that I shouldn't need to set with powder, Rosita gave me a light spritz of a Caudalie spray by L'Wren Scott and, after checking that the mascara I'd applied at home that morning was still in good shape, I was good to go. 

I've been able to replicate everything successfully at home because the entire concept of the PBA is to teach you how to do it all yourself. I use Urban Decay All-Nighter setting spray before leaving the house in the morning. At lunch, I use translucent powder (BareMinerals READY luminizing Mineral Veil) on my nose to reduce shine. It's been a week and I am very pleased with the long-lasting effects. My skin is happy and I feel fabulous.

QueenGram #2

How many bags of makeup do you travel with?

This month's Glossybox (so excited for the beauty blender!!!) and December's Ipsy Bag 

Eyeshadow look with Naked 3 (Trick base, Factory in the V, Strange on the crease) and Liquid Eyeliner tests (MAC liquidlast liner, Be A Bombshell eyeliner in onyx, and PUNKER Worlds Baddest Eyeliner by Ardency Inn)

My awkward face from Tuesday night wearing J Cat Beauty Big Lip Pencil in 203 Red Rose (from the Ipsy bag)

Evil Queen Style featuring Body Heat dress from Nasty Gal and boots from Topshop

Evil Queen Beauty's Favourites of 2013 Part 3: ELF palettes, Serge Normant, Bumble&bumble, Not Your Mother's, and Fragrance picks

So I posted a little bit about the major E.L.F. hauls that I had this year, but I want to talk more about the palettes. ELF has a lot of great palette options that are so inexpensive it's insane not to stock up. There are a ton of their geometric palettes in all sizes and colours - mine is the 32 piece - which are coordinated for every kind of use - lots of great neutrals for everyday in varying shades, plus great bright colours for something special. They're just the right amount of shimmer, and the great thing about all of these palettes is that they can fit in your purse. The Prism Eyeshadow Palette are perfect jewel-tones which are great for going out looks and are completely my colours, and is my favourite palette out of the ones I have. The 22 piece Mini On-The-Go Pallette is smaller than your cellphone and is great for travelling. It comes with 12 eyeshadows, 4 lip colours, 3 blushers, and a mascara with a wide range of colours. If you're looking to get some colours into your makeup kit without buying individual eyeshadows, these are a great option.

I'm pretty weird when it comes to fragrances. I think of scents as colours and the colours have to match/coordinate with what I'm wearing. My standard is Pink Sugar which is obviously a pink scent, then I also use Wild by Ralph Lauren (red) and Fame by Lady Gaga (black). I got a sample of a Tokyomilk Dark scent in with a Sephora order and immediately fell in love - they're dark, mysterious, sexy scents and I've loved all the ones I've picked up so far. Right now I have both Destiny #79 which is a very musty, woody, midnight floral scent (Jasmine, Fresh-Cut Ginger, Honeysuckle, Rose, Davana notes - a black or purple scent) and Tainted Love #62 which is lighter, more fruity (a pink or lime green scent). I carry both in my purse. I love them, I want to have their babies, I want to smell like Tokyomilk Dark forever. 

BCBG's Bon Genre is definitely a pink scent, it's floral and spicy, and very light. It came in one of my Glossyboxes, which is great because I love having the little rollerballs or spritzers to travel with. I forget to put perfume on sometimes so I carry them in my bag and spritz on the train (probably much to the annoyance of my fellow travelers, but whatever).

This year has definitely been a huge development in the haircare department. I have huge, frizzy, poofball hair that has always been hard to manage. I was just flat ironing the hell out of it and hoping for the best or curling and ending up looking like Shirley Temple, without much thought to finding the right products.  I'm glad I made a real effort this year to help my poor poofball head.

The Serge Normant products are amazing, especially the Meta Silk Shampoo and Meta Velour Conditioner. I also really love the Meta Luxe Hair Spray and the Meta Sheer Dry Oil which is great for calming frizzies and flyaways without being too oily. I can't WAIT to try the Meta Revive Dry Conditioner, cuz I think it's going to be a haircare gamechanger. Definitely worth the investment.

At some point I'm going to do a full post about Not Your Mother's, but I cannot rave enough about Kinky Moves Curl Defining Hair Cream. It has been quite a search for a curl cream that appeals to my laziness - I want something that I can just put in, scrunch a little, and let air dry and it'll come out with great curls/waves. This is it. I've tried a few other curl creams and the Not Your Mother's is by far the best, plus it smells amazing.

The Lock Luster Oil Treatment also smells amazing and is great for pre-styling heat protection. It gives my hair a nice and sleek look without being too heavy or oily, and I only need a very little bit to get the effect I want.

I posted before about my temporary pink hair which I totally loved, and it was all thanks to Bumble&bumble's Spraychalk. So easy to use, great colour payoff even on my dark hair, and it completed an absolutely perfect look.  I want to try all the other colours. No. I want to dye my fucking hair pink. I will do it one of these days!


And that concludes my 3 part 2013 favourites! Back to your regularly scheduled EQB posts soon!

Evil Queen Beauty's Favourites of 2013 Part 2: Friends with Benefits

On my first Sephora haul, I picked up a sampler box of Benefit products called "Goodtime Gals", and it contained the absolute gem that is Girl Meets Pearl. It's sort of a liquid highlighter with a really good sheen that gives you that dewy, radiant look without being too overpowering. What I've been doing is putting a little on the apples of my cheeks and my cheekbones to get that highlight, but you could really use it just about anywhere you needed a little bit of a light reflector.

Watt's Up has a similar highlighting effect but much more subtle. It's a cream stick instead of a liquid and is a little less powerful than the Girl Meets Pearl. I've been using it when I want just a little bit of glow on my cheeks and also under my eyebrows. I have Watt's Up in a travel size too, so it can go in my purse and I just swipe some  on when I need it for that little lift. They're maybe not every day products, but they work really well. Definitely going to buy the full size when it comes time to do so.

A lot of bloggers have been raving about the They're Real Mascara, and I kind of have to join in a little bit. I used to use Benefit's Bad Gal but found that it flaked a little too much. Since then I've been using Buxom Lash for my everyday, which is great but doesn't give me as much drama as the Bad Gal did. They're Real is all up on the drama. You get thick, long lashes and it's a great effect for going out. I had a little trouble with clumping but not so much with flaking, which is great. It's still a great product from Benefit and definitely worth a buy.

Now the Benefit Skincare Kit is definitely something I want to rave about. I'm always looking for great moisturizers and exfoliators, and Benefit is one of my favourite brands so I was looking forward to trying out their skincare line. The Total Moisture Facial Cream is fucking perfect. It's thick, creamy, lasts all day, smells nice, soaks perfectly into my skin, and is definitely a fullsize purchase. I've been using it at night and my Fresh Moisturizer during the day, but you could also use it during the day. Definitely loving it.

Out of the skincare kit I also really love the It's Potent Eye Cream which is so smooth and great for my tired morning eyes. It helps  moisturize that area (which I need, from scrubbing off all that winged eyeliner) and brightens any darkness that's there. I've also just started using the Moisture Prep Toning Lotion after reading Into The Gloss' "What Is Toner" and I'm liking it so far. It gives me a nice base before my moisturizer in the morning, and is cooling and creamy.

I really like that you can get a sample pack, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a new skincare line to try, and the packaging is very old-timey apothecary looking which I love. They remind me of Harry Potter potion bottles! They have other products like the Remove It Makeup Remover and the Ultra Radiance Facial Re-Hydrating Mist that I'm interested in trying too.

Over all, loving what Benefit is doing right now.