Great Goth Gift Giving Guide~ Cosmetics

Do you have a friend or relative who with an appreciation for the darker things? If your not clued up finding that perfect Christmas gift can be a total nightmare. So here i give some ideas and tips on finding the perfect gift for your alternative familiar. Goth's are usually very creative, this doesn't mean that we are all artistically talented but is reflected in little things like the way that we dress or do our makeup. Today i will be focusing on Cosmetics. Before you go spending mad it's important to take notice of what your recipient is going to like. Do they wear dark or bright colours, are they really going to wear that blue lipstick and are they more interested in quality or quantity. Makeup is a great gift for your gothic girl, or guy, here are 5 of my favourite alternative cosmetic brands.

1. Sugarpill~ Sugarpill are a californian cruelty free cosmetics company founded by punk fashion designer Shrinkle. Shrinkle has created a line of highly pigmented brightly coloured pressed and powdered eye shadows that really are to die for. The packaging is embellished with graffiti symbols and bright colours, reflecting the alternative nature of the product. These aren't always easy to get hold of in the uk and can be a little pricey but if you can get it your on to a winner, especially if staying power is important to them. If your girl likes a shimmery goth eye i would recommend the cold chemistry palette which features four stunning shimmering shades. The pallet costs around £25.00 and can be found on cocktailcosmetics

2.Illamasqua~ These guys seriously know there stuff when it comes to making cosmetics so any illamasqua product would be perfect for a real makeup obsessive like myself. They have the most incredible nail varnish formula, highly pigmented chip resistant in shimmers and sparkles. At £14.50 a polish these are seriously pricey but are sure to impress a girl who is more interested in high quality makeup. They sell just about every makeup item you could possibly need, one of my favourite products is the Intense lip gloss. Intense lip gloss is a highly pigmented lip product that comes in unusual shades of black, purple and even silver. For a more luxurious present why not give the gift of makeup brushes, good quality brushes really do make all the difference and beauty obsessives will really appreciate this. Illamasqua also support the Sophie Lancaster foundation and sell wristbands raising awareness of prejudice and discrimination of alternative subcultures. All Illamasqua products are cruelty free including their cosmetics brushes which are cruelty free.

3. Barry M~ Needing some small last minute gifts? Budget cosmetics brand Barry M are really easy to get hold of, being available in the high street chain
Superdrug. They make over 100 different nail varnishes from plain blacks to textured and magnetic ones. These are available from as little as £2.99 but there are often various offers in store. These products are all very good quality and long lasting considering the price. I would also recommend gifting some of Barry M's dazzle dust, these are small pots of glitter and matte powdered eye shadows that come in just about every colour you could imagine. These also make really great stocking fillers. Barry M are another British cruelty free makeup company.





4. Stargazer~ These guys are pretty much the company that got me into makeup as a teenager, if you go into any alternative/ goth shop i guarantee you will find some. Stargazer like Barry M make brightly coloured low cost makeup, my favourite things as a teenager were the mascaras and eyeliners (i still have a red mascara in my collection). These would make a really good gift for teenagers or anyone just getting into makeup, they also make cheap stocking fillers. A product i use everyday is the Stargazer cake eyeliner, this is a pressed liner which creates a liquid liner once water is added. I love this product but it does take some practice with a good quality liner brush. I would suggest gifting the black but there are other colours to choose from, the violet is a lovely shade. Stargazer's pressed white face powder is another favourite of goths who prefer paler skin. Most of the products cost under £4.00 and are not tested on animals, however some of the cosmetics may contain products derived from animals.



5. Topshop~ Ok so this isn't really the first company that springs to mind when i think dark and mysterious but you would be surprised, Topshop has a dark side too. I recently splurged on a couple of products, the first being the nebula eyeshadow trio (£12.00). The packaging is black and rubbery and its contents are incredible, black, silver and gold shimmery shadows that are such great quality and perfect for that person in a hurry to get places. Topshop have a new collection of products collectively known as The Damned that would make great alternative gifts. One of the more interesting products they have is velvet lips (available for £10.00) which is a highly pigmented matte cream available in red, purple and black. Topshop also have a good selection of nail varnishes in desirable shades and finishes. My top 5 shades are; Cloak and Dagger, Plume, Blitz, Velvet Underground and Daredevil, all available for £6.00

Topshop Mini Makeup Haul/Review

Hello my lovely viewers, today i'm giving you my thoughts and feelings on a couple of item's from Topshop's makeup range. I am a total Topshop makeup virgin so i figured it was time for me to give in to temptation and pick up a few goodies.

The first thing that caught my eye was this gorgeous eye shadow compact in the shade Nebula. I wear a combination of blacks and silvers as part of my every day look and have been after a small compact to pop in my handbag, the packaging is pretty unusual, the compact itself has a rubbery feel which i really love. Nebula contains a beautiful trio of shimmery black, smokey grey and a cool gold shade. After testing this out i can say i am seriously impressed, even after hearing good reviews i am still surprised at just how good this is. I have tried every black eye shadow under the sun and most of them don't meet my standards, this one is actually black, not some dark grey or deep brown, but a deep dark BLACK! The silver is actually much darker and more pigmented than i expected so it blends perfectly with the black but still has enough shimmer to lighten the inner corners of your eyes. I used black on my eyelids and the gold to highlight my brow bones. Nebula set me back £12 and was worth every penny and more.

Topshop have the most gorgeous array of nail polishes i have seen in a long time, Barry M comes a close second. I seriously had to restrain myself and bought just two of them (i will be back for more of course). The first one i picked was Plume, this gorgeous purple, blue shimmery beauty. I tried it on my nails and found that its more of a tinted glitter polish than a strong solid colour unless you really layer it up. I wore it as a top coat over the my favourite Barry M nail polish (Vivid Purple) and the combination of the two are stunning, and definitely eye catching. Plume is available for £6 online and in store

I also picked up Gypsy Night because it's made up of my two favourite things; the colour black and glamorous sparkles. This polish is perfectly named it really is like looking at the night sky, unlike Plume i found i needed less coats of this to get a beautiful solid colour. I also applied it over a tarnished gold polish and it looked even better. The drying times of these polishes are about average but on the plus side they are far less gloopy and tacky than other high street varnishes. Gypsy Night also costs £6

Finally i picked up a lipgloss in the shade Surf Luxe, I never wear lip gloss especially not this time of year (sticky hair lips is never a good look) but it was free when you spent £15 on cosmetics. There were a good range of shades but i stuck to a fairly neutral tone (how dull of me). The product has no scent or flavour which is a little disappointing but the formulation feels nice on the lip, not sticky at all. I can't say i would recommend this product but that's more to do with personal preference. I would choose a tinted balm or lipstick over gloss any day, although i wouldn't mind trying the purple one. This gloss and other shades are available for £4 

I have to say i am really happy with the makeup that i got, i would 100% recommend purchasing the compacts because the pigmentation really is fab. I love the polishes too but i would suggest pairing the shimmer and glitter shades with some of the block colours in their range. I will be re-visiting Topshop to splurge on some more varnishes and possibly some other bits.

(Nebula Smokey eye)

                                                As always thanks for reading my ramblings,
                                                                           Luna x

Myleene Klass Nails

I finally have enough time off work to review some nail products (10 days, lucky me). The last time I had a week off I tested out a pack of Sleek nail stickers and I LOVED! them. The only downside was the price, £10 was a little costly for me. This time I have picked up these Myleene Klass Nails at the bargain price of £2.99. These come in a small range of basic designs, I chose the black and white polka dot wraps. In case you didn't know nail wraps are long slightly rubbery stickers that are smoothed over the nails. the ends are then filed off (most packs have a small nail file) and shaped to fit the nail. So i have to say considering the price i was pretty pleased with these. The only noticeable difference between these and the Sleek sticks are the texture, the Sleeks are a little more rubbery which makes them slightly easier to apply. They both took me about the same time to apply and have a good overall appearance. The Myleene nails look slightly rugged at the edges after application but it's hardly noticeable. After one day a sticker came off, the other ones stayed put for the next five days. So overall these are a total bargain especially if you are looking for some simple nail designs for a weekend or few days. If you plan on getting some long lasting wraps i would recommend using a topcoat or purchasing the sleek sticks instead.