August 2015 – Fake On The Outside

Nail Product Reviews, Nail Product Swatches

Seventeen Rock Hard Nail Effect Review & Swatches

August 31, 2015October 12, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Meet Rock Hard Nail Effects by 17. It’s a textured nail polish that costs £3.99 either online or at your high street retailer.

They don’t have interesting names the deep navy blue one is called Blue and the black one is called Black. Neither are shiny polishes instead going for a more tarmac type look. It certainly looks rock hard.

It’s easy to apply. You need a thinner base coat of the colour and once that’s dry a nice thick layer on top will make it pretty much perfect. It takes a little longer than normal to dry so just watch out for that.
It’s got good chip resistance and doesn’t need a top coat.
It’s textured, so it is as much of a pain to remove as you’d expect.

It love the blue shade of this and how hard wearing it is. I like it a lot.

MakeUp Review, MakeUp Swatches

Thrust Blush by Illamasqua Review & Swatch

August 27, 2015October 12, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Thrust is a deep magenta pink powder blush from Illamasqua. It costs £22 for 4.5g. So it’s wicked expensive but it is packed with colour.

If you’re pale as a ghost like me use this sparingly. This package is going to last me forever since I have to use so little for a nice blush. If you’re darker it’ll show up nicely. It’ll also last a good while as long as the base you’re using doesn’t shift.

Is it worth it? well yes because it’s going to last me forever. Can it be duped for cheaper? Yes. In the end the cost is the problem. It’s hella expensive but it’s good.

Nail Product Reviews, Nail Product Swatches

Models Own Banger Nail Polish Review & Swatch

August 24, 2015October 12, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Meet Banger from Models Own. It’s part of the fireworks collection and costs £4.99 online or £5 in your local bottleshop.

It’s a glitter polish with a clear base and several different types of glitter in it. There are some really small bits, larger round ones that are blue or pink and lots and lots of long straight pieces that are blue with a green duochrome. It gives the polish an overall blue effect.

The effect is wonderful and definitely looks like fireworks. I love this on a black base but can be used with any complimentary colour for a bang! As it’s a glitter polish it’s a bit of a nightmare to remove but it’s so pretty I don’t care.

I love it. Well worth the cost.

MakeUp Haul

Freedom MakeUp Haul

August 21, 2015August 7, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Freedom MakeUp is the newest brand of Tam beauty. I did a haul of some of the products on offer. If you’d like to see me open it then click play.

MakeUp Review, MakeUp Swatches

NYX Macaroon Collection Review & Swatches Part 2 – Citron, Earl Grey, Lavender, Black Sesame, Coconut, Chambord

August 20, 2015October 12, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Meet the Second half of the Macaroon Collection from NYX. Available in the UK only from Top Shop, each lipstick costs £7.00 each. These are the last six, featuring a more neutral colour board.

Citrion is a bright orange. It’s sadly got quite poor coverage, so isn’t very wearable.
Earl Grey is a grey toned light blue. It has surprisingly good coverage for an usual shade.
Lavender is as the name suggests lavender in colour. It’s not got great coverage, definitely needs help with a liner on this one.
Black Sesame is a grey lipstick. It’s a nice grey colour with averaging coverage.
Coconut is a white lipstick. This is one of the worst and needs a lot of help. It’s also the most unwearable but will be good for highlights or lightening a colour you think is too dark.
Chambord is a black lipstick. It’s practically perfect in every way. The coverage is great and it goes on smoothly.

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Are these colours worth £7. In my opinion no. The really unusual colours don’t have great coverage. They’re pretty poor for the price. They perform more like the £1 lipsticks I get from Makeup Revolution. So I have to say I’m not impressed with any of them except for Chanmbord. They have fairly short wear time of a couple of hours and will come off on anything you eat or drink.
Do I like them? Yes because they’re unusual colours but that’s it really. You can get better out there but they are more expensive. To me the extra cost is worth it.

Blog Posts

Delivery and Despatch times

August 19, 2015October 11, 2018by CrimsonFeather

So I often see people praising companies for delivery times. You won’t see me doing that on here. Why not? Because it’s actually got nothing to do with the company. It’s all to do with the courier. What actually matters is despatch times. So what you need to look for is if they pick and despatch their parcels quickly.

Illamasqua is one of the companies that in general has good despatch times, as does Sugarpill. I’ve found that Make Up Academy can have a poor despatch time but generally that’s only around sale times.

You really do need to take into account things like sales and new product releases. During those times they will obviously companies are going to be slower. If they’re taking too long do make sure you contact them. It can help speed up the process of your order getting dispatched. The one thing you should not tolerate is late dispatch when you’ve paid for special/next day delivery, even during sale times. If the option is there, they need to honour it.

MakeUp Review, MakeUp Swatches

NYX Macaroon Lipsticks Review & Swatches Part 1 – Rose, Orange Blossom, Key Lime, Blue Velvet, Violet, Pistachio

August 13, 2015October 12, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Meet the first half of the Macaroon Collection from NYX. Available in the UK only from Top Shop, each lipstick costs £7.00 each. These are the first six, featuring some pretty blues and a lime green.

Rose is the first and it is a pretty pink colour. It’s nice and wearable, with the best coverage but it’s a bit on the light side for me.
Orange Blossom is a lovely pastel orange. Also very wearable with good coverage.
Key Lime is as the name suggests lime green in colour. It’s got quite poor coverage, definitely needing a liner to help with the depth of colour. One of the least wearable shades but good for Halloween or just to freak people out.
Blue Velvet is a bright blue lipstick. Given the colour of this lipstick, it has really nice coverage. It’s a really pretty sky blue.
Violet is unsurprisingly violet in colour. It’s also got really nice coverage. It’s one of my favourites in this set.
Pistachio is a green, it photographs much bluer than it is in real life. Again with the poorer coverage but still a nice colour.

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Are these colours worth £7. In my opinion no. The really unusual colours don’t have great coverage. They’re pretty poor for the price. They perform more like the £1 lipsticks I get from Makeup Revolution. So I have to say I’m not impressed. They have a fairly short wear time of a couple of hours and will come off on anything you eat or drink.
Do I like them? Yes because they’re unusual colours but that’s it really. You can get better out there but they are more expensive. To me it’s worth it.

Beauty News

Lime Crime gets a warning from the FDA

August 11, 2015March 2, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Remember a few months back just after Lime Crime decided to post on their social media after they’d been hacked. No? Well that’s probably because they’ve removed all the posts about it from their social media like I said they would.

Well around the same time people started to notice that the Velvetines had two ingredients listed as not lip safe by the FDA on the ingredients list. They were Ferric Ferrocyanide and Ultramarines.
They were informed on social media and Lime Crime claims it’s a misprint. The problem was months after they were informed, people were still getting products with those on the label. They’ve now been warned by the FDA for either mislabelling their product or selling a product with ‘dangerous’ ingredients.

Lime Crime now had to prove to the FDA it was a misprint and correct it, which they should have done straight away or face legal action.

Edit: Forget the link to the FDA letter : http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2015/ucm456525.htm

EDIT 2: Also Lime Crime says they’re ‘working with the FDA to resolve the situation. ‘Working with’ in the same way someone who’s been caught speeding is working with the police when attending a Driver safety course.

Since they knew about the misprint they were actively breaking the law. Instead of pulling the stock and relabelling it, they sold it as is.

MakeUp Review, MakeUp Swatches

MakeUp Monsters Review & Swatches – Talk Dirty To Me, Darkness Prevails, Dusk, Maroon Masquerade, Purp-erate, Nerfarious, Wipe Out, Tyranny

August 11, 2015October 11, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Meet the Supernatural Selection from Makeup Monsters Cosmetics. This is a collection I’ve picked of eight of the more normal unusual from the range.

Talk Dirty To Me ~ Mud Brown
Darkness Prevails ~ Black
Dusk ~ Light Grey
Maroon Masquerade ~ Dark Maroon
Purp-etrate ~ Light Lavendar
Nerfarious ~ Warm Purple
Wipe Out ~ Royal Blue
Tyranny ~ Pansy Purple

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They’re liquid matte lipsticks, hand made in America. These are long wearing but not described as touch proof. This is the old formula now, the new formula is described as touch proof. As the new formula doesn’t launch until the 15th of August I can’t give you a review on that.
They go on liquid and dry down matte. They’ve lasted a good four hours, with me drinking water. The new version should be even better.

I love these. They’re well made, with love and care. If you’re looking for a small independent lipstick maker I’d highly recommend them.

Price is $15.95 each but on launch you’ll get a $5 discount. Also, good news is shipping is only $9.99 for international orders.

Nails

Nail Art – Golden Glitter Gradient

August 11, 2015October 11, 2018by CrimsonFeather

Slightly delayed Manicure Monday.

I’m kind of in love with glitter gradients right now. They’re really simple to do but look so effective. It’s also really really good if you’ve chipped your nails and don’t have time for a complete redo.

Paint you nails a plain colour (in this case Models Own Trillion Taupe), get a sponge, paint the glitter polish (in this case Sugarpills Divinity) on the sponge and dab at the ends of your nails.
Contrasting colours work just as well as similar ones. It’s obviously not as hard getting the polish of afterwards as it’s all just on the end of the nails,

What are you wearing on your nails today?