A New Set of Empress's Clothes

My first introduction to Juvia's Place was an email sales notification from hautelook.com last year.

To date, I own all of their eye shadow and blush palettes, and last august when the brand was offering 40% site wide, I added the liquid lipsticks to the mix. In all honesty, I had low exceptions with how these liquid lipsticks would perform. But, surprisingly, they're good.

I also own 3 of Juvia's single liquid lipsticks. However, this post will focus on the Empress Liquid Lipstick Duo sets.

The duos come with a matte, and metallic liquid lipstick, and both formulas have a buttercream scent. I've searched, and searched, and searched, but I can't find the photo of the applicator, but it's a doe-foot. 

From left to right: Candace, Ditu, Yoko. 

Candace: both, the matte and metallic, are a milk chocolate brown.

Ditu: both, the matte and metallic, are a muted terracotta orange.

Yoko: the matte is a dark, espresso brown. And the metallic is a deep, bronzed chocolate.

From left to right: Taytu, Madame, Moro. 

Taytu: the matte is a dark brownish, cranberry-red. And the metallic is a deep, muted reddened plum.

Madame: both, the matte and metallic, are a violet purple.

Moro: both, the matte and metallic, are a deep, royal purple.

Of all the shades, Taytu needed two coats to correct its patchiness, and Moro was the only one that looked, and felt, the most drying.

Overall, the formula is pigmented, comfortable on the lips, and as long as you don't eat anything too oily or complicated, they'll stay transfer-proof (but not smudge-proof) and wear well throughout the day.

The Empress Liquid lipstick duos retail for $18.00. However, Juvia's Place usually offers some form of a discount on their website, so you may be able to get them at a lesser rate.

Game Over! China Glaze All Sun & Games Nail Lacquer

I was looking at the basket were I keep all my new seasonal nail polishes, and it's time to swap out last season's polishes for this fall's new acquisitions. And, what did I find at the bottom of the basket? China Glaze's All Sun & Games.

I want to do posts on all the shades I love for Autumn. But, before I do, I need to get this polish out of the way, and my life. The sole purpose of me writing about All Sun & Games is to have written documentation of my dislike for it, just in case my memory gets hazy with time.

All Sun & Games is a bright sherbet orange, with gold shimmer, and a matte finish. First, let's talk about the shade. Try as I might, I've come to the conclusion that these shades of orange do not look good against my skin tone.

The application was terrible. Each layer was plagued with uneven bald spots, and took a total of 4 or 5 coats (I lost count) to correct.

Generally, I dislike matte polishes; their chalky texture and finish makes my skin crawl. However, matte finishes have improved over the years, and I find myself enjoying them more and more...but not this one.

In conclusion, All Sun & Games is one polish that will not be going into the nail polish cabinets. I have thought about giving it to a friend. However, I would like to maintain that friendship, and will be disposing of this polish in the trash bin.

I'm Liming...Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena Shower Gel

I got my first cold for the season, and it's put me on my arse. I have a massive headache, sore throat, and feel achy down to my bones.

Anyhow, how are you doing? I've been working on clearing out my body wash drawer. I got down to 10 bottles, but then sabotaged myself by purchasing three Bath & Body Works Shower Gels from this year's Fall series.

This post is a month late (notice a pattern here?), but for Bath & Body works "scent documenting" purposes, here we go. August's shower gel was Coconut Lime Verbena. The blend of zest lime, verbena, and coconut was a refreshing scent combination for Summer. If it wasn't discontinued, I would repurchase this shower gel. 

The Fuchsia is Bright! Essie Nail Lacquer

Is it me or has the formula of Essie nail polishes improved? Over the last two years, I've been really impressed with the polishes I've picked up from their seasonal collections.

The Fuchsia is Bright is a muted, yet bright, magenta-pink creme. The formula of this polish is awesome! It went on easily, and was opaque in one coat. I did do a second coat to deepen the color more. The Fuchsia is Bright has a nice shiny finish, and wore for 3 to 4 days.

What's In The Box? Giveaway

Thank you to those who've taken the time and answered the giveaway questions. I've had a lot of fun reading them.

There are 53 days left in the"What's in the box?" giveaway, and here's what you have to do ;)

Answer the seven deadly questions below: you can either answer in the comments, on your blog, or instagram (please include links in the comments if you post on your blog or instagram).

1. Gluttony: Which beauty product(s) do you have the most of in your collection?

2. Sloth: Which makeup (or skincare) step are you the laziest at applying/doing?

3. Greed: If you could own everything from one brand, which brand would that be?

4. Pride: What item (s) in your collection are you the most proud to own?

5. Lust: What beauty product(s)/collection release are you lusting for?

6. Envy: What beauty product(s), that are no longer available, do you wish you owned?

7. Wrath: What beauty/skincare product(s) do you dislike.

Here's how is works:

You get one entry if you're subscribed to the blog via "the enablers." Long-time enablers get two entries.

Two entries if you're subscribed to, both, the blog and Instagram.

Three entries if you blog, tweet, and/or Instagram the giveaway (please include links or tag me).

Four entries for every additional blog post, tweet, or Instagram feature of the giveaway before the giveaway ends (again, please link the post in the comments, thank you!). 

What you win:

Seven ADDICTION eye shadows of your choice...plus, some surprise extras.

What's in the box giveaway ends on November 9th (1+1=2 and 2-9=7, get it!), at 11:59p.m. (GMT+9).

This giveaway is open internationally.

If you have any questions, feel free to email or message me in the comments.

I look forward to reading your answers.

Forbidden Playthings

My apologies for the recent absence, but two weeks ago, I was away on vacation. I brought my laptop along, foolishly thinking I would be able to blog on vacay...um, yeah, no, that didn't happen.

I got back into town late in the evening, had to work early in the morning, and I haven't stopped since. I've tried to blog in the evenings, but I've been so tired, I've passed out on my sofa (with my laptop) more nights than I care to admit.

ADDICTION's Forbidden blush Spring 2018 release was another mixed bag for me. I loved the collection, but I thought the color story would've worked best  as a transition into early fall. I definitely wasn't feeling it for Spring.

Left to right: Forbidden City, Suspicious. 

I was really upset when ADDICTION discontinued the Suspicious Cheek Polish several years ago. So, when I saw it was coming back, along with the equally beautiful Forbidden City, there was no doubt both would be mine.

 Forbidden City, Suspicious. 

I've written about the Cheek Sticks before (swatches here), and they are a great multitasking product that can be used on the eyes, lips, and cheeks. I love them! Although I already owned Suspicious, I purchased a backup, and was happy to welcome Forbidden city into the fold.

 Forbidden City, Suspicious.

Both, Forbidden City and Suspicions, blushes have a pigmented, velvety-smooth texture that blends easily.

From left to right: Cheek Polish Forbidden City, Suspicious, Cheek Stick Forbidden City, Suspicious, Blush Forbidden City, Suspicious. 

The Stolen Kiss Enhancer in Bitten Rose is a clear, moisturizing balm that reacts to your lip's chemistry to give them a flattering rosy-pink pout. A hydrating treatment that can be used on its own, under or over other lip products.

I loved all the products I purchased, except for one..."the" one.

I was so looking forward to the release of the Stolen Kiss lip products, I even contemplated ordering them all without first seeing them. I'm relieved I only purchased one because, between the applicator and formula, it would have been monetary suicide.

First of all, what were they thinking with this hairy doe-foot applicator?! There is no way you'll be able to get a neat, and precise application; something especially problematic with the darker shades.

Forget the fact that Double Suicide's formula is plagued with streaks and patchiness (goes with the territory of dark shades like this), within 20 minutes it felt like some kind of medieval vice-like torture device on my lips. The longer it wore, the tighter it got; thus, settling into (and emphasizing) every single line (probably making new ones), and bleed past the contour of the lips. My lips felts so restricted, I didn't want to move them. But when I did, I could feel the lipstick crack, flake, and crumble. Even wearing over the Stolen Kiss Enhancer couldn't save Double Suicide. Doing so simply exacerbated the color's unevenness and bleeding, with the same wear faults once the Stolen Kiss Enhancer had worn off.

From left to right: Stolen Kiss Enhancer Bitten Rose, Double Suicide Stolen Kiss. Even in the swatch, you can see how poorly it applies. 

Tonight, I attended a friend's punk band's performance, and that night's look was inspired by the collection's promo image. It's 2:20am, I still need get all this makeup off and go to bed. I'll list all the products used in the look above when I wake up in a few hours.

With a purchase of 10,000 yen or more ADDICTION products, you could choose between one of these Hiroshi Tanabe illustrated free compacts.

Pity in The Forbidden City...ADDICTION Nail Polish

It's raining, Fright Night is on the TV (the 1985 version not the cr@ppy 2011 remake) and the ambiance has me feeling vampy. So, I'm painting my nails with ADDICTION's Forbidden City 058C from the Jewels Colors Collection.

Forbidden city was so glossy, my camera had a hard time focusing. 

Forbidden City is a deep, rich, more purple-leaning Bordeaux, with a sickening, glass-like cream finish. Like all its other sister polishes, Forbidden City has an impeccable formula, and is perfect in two coats. For those outside of Japan (or don't have access to an ADDICTION counter), if you ever visit, you must make your way to a counter and get yourself some of these nail polishes. Trust me, they're habit-forming.