Spotlight: Pretty Serious Cosmetics

Pretty Serious Cosmetics

One of my goals for this blog in the new year is to review more indie brands.  When it comes to cruelty-free and vegan makeup, there is a whole world out there of independent companies doing it right. I know some people may shy away from brands that are not more mainstream, and that's why I want to introduce you to these brands, so that you know which ones are really worth spending your money on.  

A fellow beauty blogger (http://www.platinumpj.com) recommended this brand to me on Twitter. I contacted the company, and they were kind enough to send me several of their loose eyeshadows to review for you guys!  Sadly, they are in the process of phasing out their current eyeshadow and lip gloss lines. So grab them while you can!  The good news is that the brand is sticking to their vegan and cruelty-free philosophy and will be offering new items this year. Aside from eyeshadows, this cruelty-free and vegan Australian brand offers a variety of beautiful nail polishes on their site for purchase. I know many of you are looking for cruelty-free polish brands, and Pretty Serious offers a pretty awesome selection of colors. All shadows seen in this post can be purchased here:  

http://www.pretty-serious.com/collections/hello-world

Pretty Serious packages their loose eyeshadow in the most adorable way.  Purple is my favorite color, so A+ on packaging. Secondly, the amount of product you get is remarkable. These eyeshadow jars are literally about 5x the size of normal loose eyeshadow jars in my collection.You get 5 grams of product for $9.95, housed in a sifter jar with screw top lid.

This collection of shadows is called Hello World and contains six eyeshadows with corresponding lip glosses and nail polishes.

Here is my first impression of the loose eyeshadows from the collection:

 Each shadow came in the box pictured on the left. I think the writing, artwork and colors are unique and fun. I just love the little cartoon character with rollers in her hair blowing on her nails so they'll dry faster. Every woman who has every gotten ready can relate to the photo. I really like when indie brands go all out and give us a little something special in the packaging. I know not everyone thinks things like this are important, but it matters to me.  When I see a brand has put some effort into not only the actual product, but how it's housed, it makes me feel like they really care about what they are selling.

BSOD- This is my favorite of the shadows I tried. It's a very bright blue with turquoise shimmer.  This is extremely pigmented and blends very well. If you only try one of these shadows, this should be it. Even though I have a large eyeshadow and pigment collection, this color is completely unique and I don't own anything like it.

CGA- This is a pinky purple, almost lavender shadow with turquoise glitter. I absolutelly love this color for Springtime and can see myself using it a lot. You'll see this shadow again in future blog posts for sure. CGA, I have big plans for you my friend.

VT100- Is a vibrant grass green with gold and green sparkle. As you know emerald is the Pantone color of the year for 2013, making this shimmery green a must have for those looking to stay on trend. When used on a wet angled brush, this works beautifully as a colored liner along the upper lash line.

Tux-Is described as an inky blackened green with iridescent blue sparkle. I love using this as liner. I sprayed an angled brush with my rosewater glycerin spray, dipped it into the pigment and used it as liner. This color is very deep and pigmented, but the shimmer in it really adds more dimension to the color making it really interesting.

Forbidden Fruit- This is the most versatile of the shades I tested. It's a shimmery white that is more sheer than the other shades, making it perfect for highlighting. I used it to highlight the inner corner of my eyes, under the brow, along my cheekbones and as a lightener with the other colors.

Morning Java- This is a rich brown with copper and golden shimmer. This works well as a crease color, and blends beautifully into other shades. The golden glitter flecks play off the light creating the most beautiful iridescence on the eye.





All of the shades here are cruelty-free and vegan. I found them all to be pigmented and blend quite well.  The only shade that is a bit more sheer is Forbidden Fruit, and it's so indicated as the color is described as "delicate" by the brand. I think this shade needs to be a bit more sheer to work as a highlight.

Here are swatches of all the colors:

 From Left To Right (above): VT100, BSOD, Forbidden Fruit, Tux, Morning Java, CGA

While swatches are a good indication of color payoff, I always like to show you the colors in a completed eye look so that you can see how they work and blend together. As you can see, I was easily able to create the perfect blend using these shadows:

 For the eye look, I mixed BSOD with VT100 to create an aqua color. I mixed in some Forbidden Fruit to lighten it. In the outer corner of the eye, I used Morning Java, which I blended into the crease. I used Forbidden Fruit as a highlight both under the brow, and on the inner corner of the eye. I took my custom created lid color and took it on the lower lash line as well. I used Morning Java as liner on the lower lash line, and Tux on a wet angled brush as liner on the top lash line.

For the rest of the face, I used Forbidden Fruit to highlight my upper cheekbones, cupid's bow, and bridge of the nose. I really love this color as highlighter, and I think I'll get a lot of use out of it.

Make sure you pick these up why they are still available, trust me you won't be disappointed! 

A special thanks to TheProductJunkies, my Twitter friend for recommending this brand to me! 

And of course a huge "thank you!" to Kaz for being so sweet and sending me this whole collection to review for my readers. I really appreciate it!  

Again, if you are interested in purchasing any products from Pretty Serious, you can shop here: http://www.pretty-serious.com/ 

If you try this brand, I'd love to hear about it! Drop me a comment below. Remember, each comment is approved individually, so don't be surprised if you don't see your comment right away. I love hearing from you, but please refrain from linking to your own blog. If you have a beauty blog of your own and would like to do a collab, you can DM me on Twitter at @MakeupMatters1

*This review features products sent to me by the company for review. This in no way alters my review. All of my reviews are 100% honest. I do not get paid to write reviews, and have never accepted any money in exchange for writing a review. I only write reviews in hopes of helping my readers make more informed purchasing decisions. 

Valentine's Day Makeup Look

Valentine's Day Makeup Look

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and those of us who celebrate want to look special for that date night out.  Even if you have no place to be, this feminine, pretty eyeshadow look is very easy to master, and simple enough to wear day or night. 

Sometimes we buy makeup palettes, but we don't always know what to do with them. One of my favorite eyeshadow palettes from 2012 was the Stila In The Light palette. It's my favorite because it is a complete palette. It contains enough matte and shimmer shades for a good variety of looks as well as a good amount of light medium and dark colors. All of the shadows in the palette are pigmented and blend well. They can work on all skin tones to create a variety of looks. While this tutorial focuses on the eyes, I did use several other Stila products to create this look. I'll list them below in case you are interested. 

I love this Stila palette so much, that I decided to create a series of looks using the palette. This is look 1 in a series of three looks using the In The Light palette because I know so many of you have it. 

Here is how I created the eye look:  

• Prime the lids using Stila Prime Pot in Taffy. If you have a medium or darker complexion, try Caramel instead. Any of your favorite eye primers will work just fine. I like to apply my primer with a brush to create a nice thin layer.
• Define the crease with Stila One Step Prime Color in Bronze Babe (optional).  I applied mine with a concealer brush to just the crease area.
• Next, from the Stila In The Light palette, choose the color Bare (a matte ivory). Pick up some of the color on a small brush and apply just under the brow as your highlight color.
• For the lid color, I mixed Bliss (a pinky nude) with Kitten (a golden pink shimmer) and applied allover the lid.
• To define the crease, I picked up the color Sandstone (matte brown) on an angled shader brush, with the point angled down into the crease, and swept the color into my crease using a windshield wiper motion. 

• Take a clean blending brush, and blend out any harsh edges where the crease color meets the highlight shade. I used a Coastal Scents synthetic blending brush. 

• To further define the eye, I mixed the last three colors in the palette, Luster, Night Sky and Ebony. Just pick up a little of each on a very small brush and apply to the outer corner of the eye, blending slightly up into the crease (be sure to tap off any excess before applying to prevent fallout). Pull the color inward to blend with the lid color. Apply more as needed, always starting at the outer corner and pulling the color inward. 

• Next, go back to your highlight color, Bare (matte ivory), and highlight the inner corner of the eye and tear duct area for a brightening effect. 

• Apply Bliss to the center of the bottom lash line. 
• Take a mix of Luster, Night Sky and Ebony (the bottom 3 colors in the palette) and smudge along the outer corner of the lower lash line. 

• Line waterline with a white or nude liner. I used Stila Kajal Eye Liner in Pearl.  However, if you have a darker skin tone, I recommend Tarte's Inner Rim Brightener which is a nude color and will look less stark against a darker complexion.

 

• All of the shadows in this palette can be used wet or dry. I chose to use Ebony dry as a liner on my upper lash line using a small smudge brush. However, for more intensity, you can wet the brush first, or use your favorite eye liner. 

• Curl lashes and apply your favorite mascara. If you want you can add falsies, but I chose to skip them. 

With the eye look complete, I decided to add a little blush to the cheeks. I've been loving this new Stila All You Need is Love Cheek Palette.  It comes with four blush shades, that when blended create the perfect glowy flush. 

On lips, I used Stila Long Wear Lip Liner in Charming, topped with Stila Lip Glaze in Apricot. I applied Stila Lip Glaze in Kitten to just the center of the lips for added fullness. 

Other products used in this look:

Stila All Day HD Illuminating Beauty Balm (as primer)
Stila Stay All Day Foundation and Concealer
Stila One Step Bronze
Stila All Over Shimmer Liquid Luminizer

Brushes: 

Illamasqua Eyeshadow Brush

Elf Small Smudge Brush Studio Line  (for eyeliner)

Coastal Scents BR-C-S06 Blending Brush

Eco Tools Smudge Brush (small brush used to apply outer corner color)

Real Techniques Concealer Brush used to apply highlight shade (Bare)

Everyday Minerals Angled Eyeshadow Brush to apply crease color

Bdellium Tools 945 Contour Brush to apply my blush

Real Techniques Buffing Brush to powder my T-Zone and sweep away fallout

Christopher Drummond Concealer Brush to apply eye primer

Sedona Lace 224 to blend concealer

Urban Decay Multi Task Brush to apply concealer

Urban Decay Optical Blurring  Brush to apply Stila One Step Bronze

 

Here is the completed look:

All of the products seen in this look were purchased by me (including brushes).  I would absolutely love to see pictures if you try recreating this look. I hope you have a very happy Valentine's Day!

Spotlight: Lime Crime

Lime Crime

This post is long overdue and much requested. I've been testing out some makeup products from the brand Lime Crime. While this independent company has gotten some bad press, I can only speak to my own personal experience with the brand. I feel badly if people have had a bad experience with any brand, but I can only make judgements based on specific products I've used. 

All of the products in this post were purchased by me. What drew me to the brand is their brightly colored cosmetics and unique packaging. Also, none of their products are tested on animals and they offer many vegan options.

You can learn more about the brand, here: http://www.limecrimemakeup.com

The brand has newly formulated their eyeshadow primer to make it completely vegan. They have also repackaged it into a squeeze tube and increased the size of the product, without raising the cost (something virtually unheard of in the makeup world).  Lime Crime's Eyeshadow Helper is waterproof and when spread over eyelids adds staying power and increases the intensity of your eyeshadow.  This eye primer is a bit thick, so you can only squeeze a little bit out of the tube at a time, which is fine because a little goes a long way. The color is a light peach and it dries to a matte finish. This is one of the best eye primers I have ever used. I have problems with eyeshadow creasing due to the shape of my lids, and I found this product helps even with some of my cheaper eyeshadows. 

Next, I tried the Alchemy Eyeshadow Palette.  All of the colors in the palette were very pigmented and easy to blend. Even without an eye primer underneath, the color payoff is impressive.  The packaging is really adorable, and looks unique among my palette collection. All of the shadows in this collection are duochrome, meaning they shift to a different color when they hit the light a certain way. Love Potion #9 has the most shift of all the shades.

All swatches are without a primer underneath:

 Pictured: above without flash, below with flash.

Pictured from left to right:

Incantation - Copper orange with gold shimmer
Lucky Charm – Emerald green with lighter green shift (shimmer)

Love Potion #9 – Purple/pink shift (shimmer)

Spellbound – White/Gold shift (shimmer)

Divination – blue/teal shift (shimmer)

Next, I tried the lip colors. If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen me tweet a picture wearing the Red Velvet Velvetines lip color by Lime Crime on Christmas Day.

Lime Crime's Velvetines lip colors come in two shades: Suedeberry and Red Velvet. They are described as a matte gloss.  They apply like a gloss with a doe foot applicator, but the color is opague and provides a matte velvet finish on the lips.

I also purchased two lipsticks from the brand in Coquette and Centrifuchsia.  Like everything the brand seems to make, these are extremely pigmented and opaque.

Here are swatches of the lip products (below from left to right Centrifuchsia, Coquette, Red Velvet):

The lipsticks remind me a bit of OCC Lip Tars, mostly because of their opacity. If you like the idea of a lip tar, but not the application process, you may want to try these lipsticks which come in tube. I will say, I think these also apply better with a lip brush rather than straight from the tube.  Centrifuchsia is a bright fuchsia color while Coquette is a peachy pink nude. 

My absolute favorite product from the brand is their liquid eyeliner. I have the color Lazuli which is not only the brightest blue liner I've ever used, but is also the easiest to apply. I'm not sure what it is about the brush, but you can easily get a very thin line, and the formula dries so quickly that you never have to worry about smudging. If you prefer a traditional black liquid liner, they carry that also in the color Quill, which is a very intense black with a glossy finish.

While you may not want to wear all of the colors at the same time, I wanted to show you how they look on the eye as well, not just in swatches, so I did a quick eye look for you using all of the colors in the palette (pictured above). Their lipsticks also work well as cream blushes and you only need the tiniest amount to get the perfect flush.

I hope you enjoyed this look at Lime Crime. Have you tried the brand? What are your favorite products from Lime Crime?