Song of the Month

I have realized of late that my blog has become totally beauty orientated which was never an intention of mine, my aim was always to be a blogger of all things alternative not just beauty. So as of this month i will be giving you all a song of the month, these can be anything from old favourites to up and coming bands. Recently i have been loving some newly formed supergroups. Top on my list are Killer Be Killed, who honestly are pretty close to my dream supergroup. You may recognize the unique vocals of mastodon bass player Troy Sanders and guitarist (one of my idols) Max Cavalera. also in the band are Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan and former drummer of The Mars Volta, Dave Elitch. One thing i love about Killer Be Killed is the immense amount of talent and experience that each of these guys have, and while they all have history with some very different sounding bands the music they create has its own unique style.
My song of the month is their first single from their self titled album, this is "Wings of feather and wax"

Holika Holika: Heartfull Moisture Lipstick in Baby Beige

It's about time i do another Holika review, there products are amazing and great value although they aren't the easiest to get hold of in the UK. It's easy to see why i picked this lipstick, i'm a real sucker for packaging. The lipstick bullet is made of a pink toned metal which makes it feel much more expensive than it is and the lipstick itself is heart shaped, how kawaii is that? The lipstick comes in 6 different shades from nudes to reds and are a combination of a lipstick and a balm. 

I chose the lightest shade Baby Beige, although in my opinion it is definitely more of a light pink than a beige. The lipstick does feel quite moisturising and the colour is lovely, perfect for a natural day look. It retails for around £4.50 and is easily attainable on Ebay (if you don't mind waiting 2 weeks for delivery from korea)

Mani Monday: Ciat'e Corrupted Neon Manicure

You can always trust Ciat'e to bring out new unusual nail polish designs. The corrupted manicure takes the ever popular neon manicure to the next level by adding glitter and an uv top coat. The ultra violet topcoat adds a florescent glow once under a black light which is perfect for any ladies who love to go to nightclubs. Would you take a look at the creative packaging, holographic showing a neon face in normal light and then under a black light. The glitter and polish combination look beautiful in the daylight too, perfect for those summer beach days, or for jazzing up a christmas nail look. 

 

Would you take a look at the creative packaging, holographic showing a neon face in normal light and then under a black light. The now discontinued set retails at around £10 and includes a beautiful lagoon blue polish called "Boom Box", a neon glitter "Foam Party" and a mini black light top coat.

Daniel Sandler Invisible Radiance Foundation Review

This is my latest purchase for my quest to achieve the most flawless face in all of the lands. This lovely duo combines a foundation with a matching concealer, very handy if you have difficulty matching your skin tone. It even has a handy mirror in the lid for quick spot fixes while you are on the go. At first i thought the amount of foundation was quite small for the cost (£25) however it actually contains the same amount as most other foundations that come in those deceptively tall pump bottles. Rather than a pump the foundation has a spatula which can be used to apply to foundation to the back of a clean hand and then onto the face using a brush. I prefer the spatula as it is easier to use up all of the product in the jar unlike the amount that is wasted in a pump bottle.

I did find the product to be a little greasier than any other foundations i have previously used, so it's not great for hot summer weather. However i suffer from dry skin in the winter and this would be the ideal time for me to use this product.  I do think it made my face look more radiant and it also reflects the light beautifully when photographed, great product for anyone interested in photo shoots. The concealer is brilliant at covering any redness or spots without looking cakey or obvious, however it is also quite oily meaning that i have to use a setting powder on top. I didn't find it much help for my dark under eye circles but i am yet to find any product that really gives me great results in that area. This is a good little product and certainly worth the money if you suffer from dry or dull looking skin. But sadly i wont be using this until winter comes, my hunt for the flawless face continues!

Nails Of The Day: Topshop Gypsy Night

Topshop never cease to amaze me with their beautiful array of shades, many of those are pretty unusual and unique. Gypsy Night was calling my name, just look at this shade how can you not love it. I wore this over a black polish, however you can get the same results by layering up. The only problem i have with layering is that it takes a long time to try and can become incredibly gloopy. The durability isn't bad but rather than chip it is more easily squashed into a big gooey mess (this still happens much after the nails are dry). This isn't the best quality in comparison with other Topshop varnishes although i have yet to compare it to another of their glittery ones.

Selfridges Exclusive: Azature Canary Diamond Lacquer

Luxury diamond jeweller Azature have recently hit the fashion headlines for creating two of the worlds most expensive nail polishes. The first was the stunning Black Diamond manicure which cost a whopping $250,000 dollars and contained 267 carats of real crushed black diamonds. Black Diamond was then made to look cheap by the eye watering Million Dollar Manicure which was worn by one of my fashion idol's Kelly Osbourne. The Million Dollar Manicure contains 98 of Azature white diamonds as well as 1,400 hand chosen diamonds set into the platinum cap. Azature more recently created a more affordable yet still luxurious range for the everyday woman.

I purchased the Azature Canary Diamond polish which is exclusive to Selfridges and is available for $25 or £17 for us Brits and each bottle contains a real black diamond, hows that for luxurious. The bottle is beautiful and the golden yellow liquid looks divine. I can see the tiny little diamond in the bottom of the bottle which excites me even more, i'm a sucker for luxury. The polish itself is very sheer and takes a lot of coats to get a nice opaque covering like the picture below. Once enough coats are applied it looks stunning and there is plenty of shimmer. Due to the amount of polish needed i would definitely consider this a luxury product, but one that is certainly worth the treat. I was lucky enough to find it in the Selfridges sale for just £5 a bottle, so i got it for a steal. I'd love to know what you all think, would you pay £17 for a nail polish or do you think it is all just one big gimmick?

Glossybox Review: June 2014

Hello my lovelies, it's glossybox time again and this month I'm looking forward to some nice summery products to add to my collection to go with the gorgeous weather we have been having (some days anyway).

Teeez Trend Cosmetics: Beautiful Flat Stiff Brush

I'm always happy to receive cosmetics brushes in my Glossyboxes (other than lip brushes) and my collection is growing rapidly, i was pleased finally see an eyeshadow brush in my box. This is my first experience with the brand Teeez, and honestly I've not heard of them before. First impressions are that the brush looks tacky and a little ott for my tastes but then again its just a brush and quality is far more important than looks. The bristles are natural but feel quite rough and very stiff. I tested it out whilst applying my work makeup, it's super easy to pack a lot of shadow onto the brush however it feels quite pokey and rough once applying to the eye. I will continue to use the brush however i certainly wouldn't pay 19 euro's (£15.19) for it. 

 Rituals...: Qi Gong 24h Anti-Perspirant Spray

I am yet to fault Rituals, all of there products smell incredible too and are amazing quality, Qi Gong is no different. It doesn't have that heavy anti perspirant smell that can be suffocating once first applied, it was also very gentle on my sensitive under arms. The scent is delicate and smells clean and fresh with a little oriental hint. It also kept me fresh and dry on a very hot and busy day. This is the smaller sized 50ml version which costs £3.50, the larger 150ml costs £8

 Nail Girls: 3 in 1 Base/Topcoat & Nail Strengthener

I was looking forward to trying this as i love multi purpose products, i don't have any strengthening polishes but i have been needing to pick some up. I applied this as a base coat and honestly it wasn't great, i topped it with a red varnish which still stained my nails. As a top coat it is good, but no better than any other brands i have tried. I thought it was a good strengthener and none of my nails have broken since using it which is a big plus. This is another full size product which costs £13.50 for 15ml

 So Susan Cosmetics: Universal Blush

My first thoughts upon seeing this product were that the shade would definitely be too dark for my skin tone, however the name made me think differently. I am a big fan of  pale pastel pink blusher as i am fair skinned and anything darker makes me look like a drag queen. In reality this blush is perfect, it is a micronized jet milled blush that works with your natural  skin tone to create a balanced shade. I would certainly recommend this to anyone who has trouble finding an ideal shade of blush, it retails for £18 but in my opinion is worth every penny

 Pro:Voke Touch Of Silver: Twice A Week Brightening Shampoo

This is easily my least favourite product in the box as it is not for my hair type, Glossybox keep sending me products for blonde hair as that is what my natural colour is on the profile, however i have also marked down that i die my hair. Anyway this looks an interested concept, the shampoo is actually the same colour as the bottle and contains a violet pigment which eliminates brassy yellow tones. One of my youtube subscribers uses this on her purple hair and she said it was great, i tested it out and sadly the same wasn't to be said. The shampoo stripped the colour from my hair leaving it very blue (good thing i like it blue). I imagine this shampoo wasn't designed to be used on semi permanent dye so i can't really give it an accurate review. The fullsized 150ml shampoo costs £3.09, which is a good price if it actually works on blonde hair.

The total value of this months box is £51.22 which is the highest value box i have had in a long time, it also contains products that i will use. My star product of the box has to be the So Susan blusher, big recommendation to all you ladies out there. My dud product is obviously the shampoo, just because it's not for my hair type. Let's hope next months box is just as good. 

Skulls & Kisses

Luna =^_^=