Manic Panic Review (Flashback)

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No, your memory is not failing you, nor is it that funny taste that may have been in your drink.  Although, if that actually happened, you may want to look into it.  You may have seen this post before.  In an attempt to make everything easier to navigate for everyone, I am working on transferring all of the old beauty and craft posts from the recipe blog to their appropriate homes on the newer wings.  Please bear with all the boring re-caps!

<3

-WW

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*Not compensated in any way for this review, and I bought the products for my own personal use.*

I adore this stuff.

Seriously.

This is "Hot Hot Pink".

This is "Atomic Turquoise".

As you can see, it comes out brilliantly.  Yes, my hair is bleached.  The blue didn't come out quite as vibrant in this application, but I put it on another part of my hair at a later date and left it on for 2 hours and it came out just perfectly.  (Picture below) The pink takes much quicker and I've left it on for as little as 10 minutes and still gotten bright, long-lasting results.  It also fades nicely to different shades of pink that sort of look on-purpose instead of fading to a drull, drab, odd color like some brands do.

My only complaint is that the takes forever and ever to wash out completely, which if you don't like to rotate your colors a lot, then I suppose is no big deal.  An added bonus to that, though, is that if you get impatient creative and put pink over the blue after it fades a bit, you get a cool purple color.

I adore this stuff and don't use anything else.  <3  I've tried a few other brands, but I always kept coming back to Manic Panic.

I bought these two pots at the same time for about $6 each, which is great because they last.  I have had them for 3 or 4 months now, and they are still over half-way full (update - ended up lasting A YEAR!!).  I just make sure the lid is on securely and store them in the medicine cabinet.  Keep in mind, I only do my bangs and tips, but still, that's a lot of product and I figure I'll have them for at least another 3 or 4 months...Unless I get more colors before then!  *-*

*Update - I have since been playing with these colors quite a bit and in all different ways!

I used the Hot Hot Pink mixed down 1/3 dye and 2/3 conditioner to dye my ENTIRE head and I just adore it.  I mixed it a bit unevenly so I'd get a faceted color and this was my result:

I've learned that Manic Panic's colors are amazingly easy to work with and since then I always buy the brightest shades in any color I want.  You can mix them with each other to get new and interesting shades and you can even dilute them with conditioner...I, for instance, used just a teeny bit of the Hot Hot Pink mixed with about 1/2 cup of conditioner and left it in for about 2 hours and came out with the cutest cotton candy pink streaks at one point!  Needless to say, I'm sold even more on this brand.

Update:  Since this post, I still adore this brand, but I did learn something important:  Always check whether a red is a blue base or not.  They have a ton of reds and the only one that was in at the local store I shop at was not a blue base and it came out this gawful flaming orange color!  A user error, to be sure, but still something to always research and consider!

<3
Wookie Wifey

Wet n Wild Mega Last Review!

 I almost missed out on some *gorgeous* cheap lipsticks, guys.  Fortunately for me, it didn't happen!

The story starts with this lipstick.

The color is 'Think Pink' and I was looking for a dupe for a Bite color I was obsessed with and almost out of.

I thought this baby would do the trick.

But, alas, it was too pink.  Not only that, but the formula felt a bit on the dry and heavy side and it always landed me with chapped lips, so I banished it from my makeup box.

I'd pretty much vowed not to try any more Mega Last lip colors until one day reading articles and comments on XOVain, someone had commented that Smokin' Hot Pink was a bitchin' bright pink that stained and faded nicely.

I had to know.

I found it at a local store and snapped it up.

At first, I thought I'd made another mistake because the color in the tube looked a tad bit chalky and lighter than I'd hoped.  "There goes another $2," I thought.  Then, I put it on...

...and was gifted a gorgeous truly HOT pink lipstick.  The photos do not do it justice and, the person who left the comment was right - it lasts forever, but when it does fade, it fades to a gorgeous "been making out all day" hue, a deep, pink stain.  It also doesn't dry out my lips and looks great on, stays put without liner, and has a matte finish that I just love.

Bonus!  If you layer a coat of Baby Lips Electro in Pink Shock over the top of it, it gives it a crazy dimensional neon-ish look and a bit of shine!

Lesson learned.  I'll be trying a few more of these colors!

Are there any brands/lines that you've almost given up on and they changed your mind?

<3 WW

Revlon Colorstay Liner Review and Swatches (Flashback!)

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No, your memory is not failing you, nor is it that funny taste that may have been in your drink.  Although, if that actually happened, you may want to look into it.  You may have seen this post before.  In an attempt to make everything easier to navigate for everyone, I am working on transferring all of the old beauty and craft posts from the recipe blog to their appropriate homes on the newer wings.  Please bear with all the boring re-caps!

<3

-WW

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This is yet another review from the big box o' awesome, which is so amazingly awesome that months later I'm only about 2/3 or so through the reviews!

This liner is a nice coffee shade of brown and really has some serious staying power.  You can pick one of these up for around 5 bucks at most drugstores or large retailers.  It tends to stay exactly where you put it and do so for a very long time.  I tend to swatch in designs when I first try a solid liner to see how well it will move when applying it.  If it skips when I draw the loops, then I know it will be a pain to apply evenly on my lid.

I forgot to take a shot with the cap off, apparently, but it is a thin, twist-up pencil, the kind I prefer.

It also has this little sharpener in the end, which I find handy as these are near impossible to sharpen in a standard one.  I know this because I was in high school when I bought my first twist-up liner like this it didn't say on the package that it had a sharpener in the end and I frustrated myself for weeks trying to sharpen it on my regular sharpener.  One day, the end popped off when I was using it, I instantly knew what it was, and then I felt pretty stupid.

Over all, I'd give this a 10/10.  It doesn't smudge, lasts all day, yet is smooth and easy to apply.  Not so easy to remove, though, lol.

<3
WW

**This item was a gift from a friend, but my opinion is still 100% my own and not influenced by the gift.  :)

Kirkland Brushes - Review

Let me start this off by saying that I have precisely zero experience when it comes to what most would consider "good" brushes.  The best ones I've had were Mac Hello Kitty ones that were, according to the website I bought them from a legit, albeit cheaper line, but numerous blogs and review sites either stated them to be total fakes or agreed with the 'cheap Mac line' thing.  I don't know, but I thought they were pretty damn good...Certainly better than the dollar store one I'd had before I got them.

These, however, blew those out of the water.  I'm sure I'd probably just have a 'Guy from Scanners' moment if I ever got a hold of like Sigma or Tarte or the other brands I always hear beauty bloggers and vloggers having total cosmetic-gasms over...So my opinion may not mean much here, but...Oh...am I ever in love.

I have actually had this gorgeous set for quite sometime because I wanted to use them a ton before I made a judgement call and even wash them plenty of times so I could tell how they hold up, how the shed, etc.  I am impressed.  These have had little-to-no shedding, even after several washes and have held their shape so amazingly well which is something I can't say for my old Mac(?) HK set.

This is the brush that I love the most though.  This is a dual-fiber crease brush and this, ladies, was a game. changer.  I had no idea how easy a cut crease could be - or that you could do one with just eye shadow instead of having to use eyeliner and then scrape your eyelid off trying to blend it out - until I got this baby.

The angled liner brush is great and super easy to use.  It comes to such a fine edge that I can even tightline with it.  I've tried it with a gel liner and a powder liner and it works incredibly well with both.  I'm still admittedly much better with a traditional liquid liner than I am with this thing, but I'm getting better and better at it due to my staunch refusal to buy traditional liquid liner until I have MASTERED this.

This is a...I'm still not 100% on what this is or how to use it properly.  I *think* this should be used with a powder foundation, but I have no clue.  I wear concealer and powder, but have recently had to give up foundation all together.  It has begun to age the hell out of me.  Lines I can't even see makeup-free suddenly spring to life with anything heavier on my face than a light smattering of powder and concealer on only the most troublesome spots.

Tips?  Tricks?  Help?  :(

Either way, this brush is fluffy and feels great on the skin.  I've used it to buff out my powder a few times, though I don't notice a difference other than that it seems to have a lighter powder coverage than using the powder sponge.  I seem to be totally foundation-routine-stupid for the last two years since I hit my late 20s and my skin has began to change some.

The whole set came in this cute little carrying pouch that has individual places for all of the brushes inside and a mesh zipper pocket to hold extra odds and ends.

The handles and the printing and embossing on them has all held up through several washes.

The only cons I found is that the set didn't come with a concealer brush or a blending brush, but I just simply saved the ones from my old Mac(?) Hello Kitty set.

Although I'm not entirely sure how to use all of them properly, they are such a massively huge step above what I was using before and I am so impressed!  From what I've seen on amazon, you can snag a set of these at a very reasonable price and I would say they are *definitely* 100% worth the money!

What brushes do you prefer?  Do you have any tips for have a smoother foundation/concealer/powder routine for skin that is not yet aging, but just...not exactly like it once was?

<3 WookieWifey

Manicure time! (also...review)

Oh yeah.  Guys, I finally got some of the Fergie nail polishes, thanks to a friend, and I am NOT disappointed at all!

I love the packaging, the heart-shaped bottle, and the cute little 'F' stamp on the top.

I love everything except that stupid new Wet-n-Wild flat 'pro' brush.  That thing sucks, but I guess I have to live with it.  However, I do reserve the right to bitch up a storm every time I have to wrestle with the damned thing.

Anyway, on to the color and mani!!

Fucking love this color.  It comes out somewhere between a hot pink and a bright coral.  I find that three coats work best, though I think I used two here, so you can still see a bit of translucency in the tips, and since it is a neon it dries matte, so you do have to top coat it.

All in all, though, I love this color.  I find it to be very unique since the shade is just...bizarre, but in the best way.  Depending on the tone of your skin, the lighting, or what you're wearing sometimes it looks down-right orangey and others it looks VERY pink, which is cool!

What do you think?

<3 WW

Listening to: "Fortunate Son" CCR cover by Reverend

Review - Estee Lauder Face Set

*This was a gift from a friend, but reviews are 100% honest and are in no way affected by the whole 'free' thing.

 This little Estee Lauder set is amazing.  I'm going to call it the 'Soft Clean' set since that's what most of the packaging seems to say.

The creme cleanser is super gentle and leaves your face feeling crazy soft.  It has a light perfume-y smell, but nothing that is offensive of strong.  It didn't break out even my sensitive skin.

This is the Soft Clean Silky Hydrating Lotion.  I've used up all of the products except for this one.  That isn't because it isn't good...In fact, it is the complete opposite.  I've hoarded it because it is SO GOOD for dry skin from allergies.  I tend to get dry skin around my nose from rubbing it a lot when my allergies go haywire and this is perfect to just dab around with a cotton ball so you're not having to do extra rubbing to just irritate things more.  Love.  It *is* technically a toner, but I usually just use Witch Hazel to tone and save this for the aforementioned skin problem.

This is the Advanced Night Repair, which I don't think is technically part of the set, but we're gonna throw it in there because...because.  I can.  That's why.

This stuff is good, but I found the smell to be off-putting.  While everything else on this review has the nice, soft, perfume-y smell I mentioned with the cleaner, this one smelled like vitamins and dirt.  I guess that could be good for your skin, but I'd find myself trying not to sniff it when I applied it.  Still, since it did make me wake up all moisturizey, that is something I can over look.

The only other con with this one is that I would apply it, let it dry, then apply a coat of the below moisturizer before going to bed...Maybe that isn't how you should use them because it would create a residue on my skin you could 'roll' off if you rubbed the moisturizer in too much...Like when you get glue on your hands.

Please to ignore my cold people bumps.

The Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme - What can I say about this stuff?  I really love it.  It is so thick and creamy and moisturizes wonderfully.  The only con with it is that since it is so thick, you have to wait 5-10 minutes after applying it before you can apply makeup, but that isn't a big deal.

While we could sit here and argue for days over how high-priced these are, I can say that if I could afford to keep them around all the time, I probably would.  As stupid as it sounds, the gorgeous scent of (most of) these, the consistency of their formulas, and the gorgeousness of the packaging just make you feel like you're pampering yourself and your skin so much when you use them.  I know I've said it before, but everything should have cute packaging!!

Review - Physician's Formula Flatliner

Time for another awesomely positive review!  ^_^

In the Brown Liner Showdown last month, I'd left two out.  Two of the big bunch I had just stood WAY out from the rest.  So much so that I didn't feel it would even be fair to pit them up against those other ones.  Here's one of those two:

This is, hands down, the coolest and most unique eye liner I've ever used.

This is Physician's Formula Flatliner in Dark Brown.  I rarely meet a product of theirs I *don't* like.  They are my very favorite drugstore brand.  No, I'm not getting paid to say that, but I wish I was!

Just check this puppy out - it is exactly what it sounds like.  A FLAT liner.

The top swatch is the liner used to just swatch straight across.  So easy to apply and it takes almost a concerted effort to get it on crooked.  The only con I could see is that it does go on in a rather thick line and there isn't the option to get a teeny pencil-thin one for tight lining and the like.

The bottom swatch, I used just the corner of it so you could see that it does still glide on and is very easy to control, despite the odd shape.

This stuff is awesome.  It goes on well, it wears well, and the uniqueness of it just kills me.  Definitely one I'd buy again (only in black!) and recommend.

<3WookieWifey

Listening to:  "Hell to the Heavens" - Leaves' Eyes

Estee Lauder Pure Color Lipsticks - Swatches and Reviews

Time for another great review!  I always love doing reviews like this.  Even though I started the whole 'makeup breakup' name to try to make the shit reviews a bit more fun to do, I still don't care for doing them.  It doesn't bother me as much if the product just isn't for me, but if it is something I feel is just truly shoddy quality, then I don't like to write the reviews!  In the interest of being honest about everything I try, though, I do it anyway.  For, like, all 3 of you who actually read this.  LOL

As per usual, the gorgeous 'EL' embossed onto the tops...

...but in a different color tube than usual!  I do adore that clean white and gold packaging over their normal navy!  So much brighter and happier, yet it still smacks of something a bit luxurious.

The colors here are Pure Color Rose Envy Shimmer Crystal Lipstick (20) and Pure Color Tiger Eye Shimmer Long Lasting Lipstick (86).

While they are both sort of sheer, I also found them to be buildable and they do have a lovely shimmer.

You can see they are a bit darker here after another swipe across.  The Rose Envy is my favorite as it looks very natural on the lip with only one coat, or at least it does for my lip color.  It more gives you this nice flush to your lips instead of an in-your-face color.  While you'd still have to pry my red lipstick from my cold, dead fingers, this stuff has been nice for summer.  When it is too hot to do a full foundation routine without it melting off, you need something a bit more natural as I don't personally care for the look of a super dramatic look with a mostly-bare face.

Pros: They had a super creamy consistency and weren't drying at all, which is a plus!  Consistency and moisture-wise, they rather remind me of my Maybelline Baby Lips, which is a good thing.

Cons:  I didn't find either one of them to be particularly long-lasting.  They're not unusually bad, but they just require a periodic re-application.

<3WW

Listening to:  'Dead Tree' - Dir En Grey

Wookie Wifey's Top 5 Ways to Beat the Summer Heat!

Teh fine print:
Since this is obviously all in good fun, I debated long and hard for a whole minute or two over what wing to plunk it down into.  I decided this wing was the most fitting.  Because, that's why.

I don’t know about your corner of the world, but here it is the absolute dog days of summer.  Around my neck of the woods, that means temperatures soaring over 100 degrees, a sun that is trying to bludgeon you to death, plus humidity that makes all your clothing adhere to you, melts off any makeup you apply, and ruins any hair style with insta-frizz.  Most days, all I want to do is lie on the floor in nothing but my underwear and cry.  Since I have plenty of experience with summer heat, here are my tips for beating it:

1 – Lie on the floor in my underwear and cry.

Sometimes, it is best to go with your initial instinct and just have a good cry.  The heat sucks.  Global warming is making it suckier.  People suck.  The sun sucks.  Everything sucks.

2 – Convince the neighbors I may be swelling from a horrid allergic reaction.

On the truly horrible days, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, up to and including posting yourself up over the nearest window unit whilst holding your shirt over the vents, thus allowing that sweet, sweet cold air to inflate said shirt and dry out your underboob.

3 – Fill my tub with lukewarm water and pretend I have a pool.

This is for us poorer folk, but I suppose anyone could try it, though why you would WANT to if you can afford a pool is completely beyond me.  While it is actually more effective to use hot water and point a fan at yourself, some days it is *so* damned hot that even air blowing in your face can make you want to throw a tantrum a la terrible twos.

4 – Try to finish a drink before the ice melts.

So maybe this one is more of a game than a way to cool off, but when your ice melts at astonishingly alarming rates, leaving your drink lukewarm and no longer doing its job of actually helping you be cooler, sometimes it is interesting to see if you can beat the melting ice.  

*Spoiler alert: you can’t, and trying too hard will result in paying homage to the porcelain gods.

**Bonus: this is actually effective if the drink is vodka, but it also makes the above addendum doubly-true.

5 – Develop a braver fashion sense.

Okay, so the only truly serious one on the list (except for maybe the underwear-and-cry one), when it gets so damned hot that you just really don’t give a fuck anymore, you find yourself becoming crazy brave with what you’re willing to leave the house in.  Suddenly you’re less embarrassed to go out in that sheer top or the shorts that put your cellulite on display.  Suddenly, those options seem more and more appealing and anyone who disproves of your back fat in that sheer top can just travel downward a few inches and kiss your ass.

<3, \m/, and so much insomnia,
WW

Boscia BB Cream Review (Makeup Breakup)

**This product was gifted to me via a friend - while I appreciate the gift and LOVE trying new products, I don't let that get in the way of providing an honest, objective review since every product is different for every person!

Unfortunately, its time for another makeup breakup post.  *Cue sad music*  I hate writing bad reviews.  I really hate it.  I try to be a positive person (though I fail a lot because...person), so when I find something I don't like I'll usually try it several times JUST to be sure.

This is the case with Boscia bb cream!  I love bb creams and wanted to love this so much that I used it a good half dozen times before I finally gave up on it.  This one was *almost* perfect, what with its sun protection, cute packaging, and good coverage, but the one thing that was wrong with it is a SERIOUS deal-breaker for me.

On the back, it says it creates a "lustrous" finish.  Okay.

When you first put it on, it looks deceptively like a normal bb cream.

Now, it is hard to tell in these photos, but it is "lustrous" because it has freakin' glitter in it.

Seriously.

Not shimmer.

Glitter.  Silver glitter.

If anything, this made fine lines *worse* on my face.  I'm creepin' on 29, so while I do have a few fine lines starting to show in my laugh line areas (damn you, genetics!!), they usually are completely un-noticeable to anyone but myself...Except when I put this on.  I swear, it aged me 10 years, because the glitter that is supposed to create that "lustrous" look actually settles into fine lines you didn't even know you had!

You can see a few sparkles on my hand in most of these photos.  Since my camera doesn't like to pick up shimmer or glitter for crap, then you can just imagine how many there are.

It isn't disco ball proportions, but it is still a lot of glitter...Enough that I kind of felt like 13-year-old me would have swooned.  In this photo, you can even see how it makes my HAND look older.

As you can probably tell from the way it covered the veins in my hand versus the top photo, it does have good coverage.  It didn't break me out and when I'd remove my makeup at night, my skin didn't feel dried out at all, it felt rather like I'd had a moisturizer on it all day long.

Why, when there are loose glitters, shimmer powders, and every other alternative for when a girl WANTS glitter, would you try to force it on us in something as routine as a foundation?

If you like shimmer or glitter in foundations and moisturizers, then this is for you and, due to all its good qualities, I highly recommend it.  Were it not for the glitter, I'd be almost as in love with this stuff as I am my Skinfood.  It just wasn't for me, though.

How about you?  Do you love the glitter and shimmer in foundations and moisturizers trend?  Am I the only one not enjoying this trend and thinking it actually ages you more (or just makes you look ridiculous) instead of giving you that promised, dewy, youthful glow?

<3WW

Listening to:  "Hellraiser" - XodiaK