Amalgam Scent Company Review!

Hello Lovelies!                                      *press sample*

     I am finally back after a hellish couple of weeks. Things always happen in threes and when disaster strikes this always holds true as well. It started off with our Playstation 3 stopped reading disks so there was much sadness in the house as all three of my kids immediately wanted to play PS3 games but couldn't. Then the big one is our computer BLEW up and was possessed by the matrix which slammed a huge halt to any blogging whatsoever. And finally the router decided to stop working in a house that streams everything. Obviously the last two issues are fixed, since I am finally able to post this much over due blog post.

   I was contacted by Laura from Amalgam Scent Company to see if I was interested in testing out her products for a review. I am always more than happy to review new products so I happily agreed. 

Amalgam Scent Company originally started off with making bath and perfume products but has now branched off into the beauty aspect. All of Amalgam Scent Company's products are vegan and cruelty free which is always a bonus in my book.  What makes this company different from other indies, is while they offer loose pigments, her entire line is pressed. There is always a debate on whether pigments are better pressed or loose but it simply boils down to these two things, what you like and convenience.  I really liked the aspect that her line is pressed because for me pressed shadows are easier to store since I am quickly  running out of room for my loose pigments. Don't get me wrong, I love my loose pigments but I really liked the aspect that she decided to stand out with her initial packaging and stuck with pressed. 

     I was sent three shadows, a highlighter and a liquid lipstick from Amalgam Scent Company's first collection, La Isla Bonita (which I always sing thanks to Madonna). If my rusty Spanish is correct, the collection translates to The Beautiful Island.  The items I got are true to the name, they are simply beautiful.  Just take a look at these swatches.  

**All swatches are done over Lunatick Lab's Eyeshadow Primer.**

 Porta Del Sol is a highlighter that is also safe for the eyes 

    Check out that pigmentation! The colors were nice and buttery, super easy to used and so blendable.  I am always worried how pressed items will arrive to me since often whoever handles my mail can get very angry at times and the boxes are not always in the best conditions when they arrive. However, that being said all of the items arrived in perfect condition and were sealed in these adorable little plastic pouches. They easily fit into an empty eyeshadow pan from either TKB or a Z palette.

I also received a gorgeous liquid lip in the shade Encanto. It s a rosy mauve with a hint of brown making an excellent every day shade when dealing with muggles or the school. It wasn't overly drying like some mattes were and is ultra pigmented since this is only one coat!  Check out that swatch and once dry they a pretty much transfer proof and easy to remove at the end of the day.

   Needless to say, I am in love with Amalgam Scent Company. This collection is simply gorgeous! There is a second collection, Soigne, which has released since I have received my products which is strictly liquid lipsticks. They are all gorgeous and I will be picking some of those up in the future.  Her newest collection , Tell Me a Story, is inspired by  Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and releasing on September 23. Not only will it be makeup but also a fall scent. I am super excited to see what that collection brings. You can follow Amalgam Scent Company on both Facebook and Instagram to see swatches, looks and what is releasing next. If you are located in the US you can also try out a shadow for free (with the cost of shipping) to see these gorgeous colors in action. She also has some yummy bath and body items that sound heavenly so head over to Amalgam, I promise you won't be sorry.  So until next time lovelies!

Scentopia! Review of Twisted Wonderland Perfumery

Hello Lovelies! *press sample*


      I am back with the first of several reviews this month. There will be some changes, revamps and  possibly a new look to the blog over the next couple of months or so as I get my blogging boots back in action. If you are curious where I have been you can look the to previous post of why I feel off the planet (and blogging) for a little bit. However with that being said let's just go ahead and jump right into the review.

    While I was on my blogging hiatus, I discovered the world of indie perfumes. There were only so many "mainstream" scents that really struck my fancy and needless to say I was in total and complete amazement with the various scents, themes and of course businesses that were out there. I will state this up front, I am not means a scent expert, my nose isn't a super sniffer however I am getting to the point of where I can pick up certain individual notes. And also please remember that BODY CHEMISTRY is EVERYTHING. Just because something smells AMAZING in the bottle doesn't mean that is going to smell amazing on you. I have learned this the hard way and often scents that you love to smell betray you and turn to the smell of baby vomit on your when applied to you skin (RIP violets, I love your scent but my body chemistry hates you with a passion). That being stated I was over the moon when Twisted Wonderland Perfumery opened up and was looking for people to do a review for some of their scents. I contacted by the owner , Rae about doing a review of her products and she thought that we were a nice fit.
 
    So I was sent a perfume sampler of five different scents (a mixture of perfume oil and eau de parfum) of my choosing , a lip scrub and a lip balm. The items arrived quickly, well packaged and I loved the labels. There were not issues with not enough wrapping and all of the items arrived without incident. Rae was excellent in letting me know when my package was shipped out.  The samplers arrived in a cute box sealed with pink glittery washi tape.

Inside the five samples were safely nestled in a bed of cotton

For my five fragrances I chose Absolutely Alice, Absolem's Cocktail, Deadite, Killer Klowns, and Stay Puft. 

So let's start at the beginning and work our way down. 

Absolutely Alice is described as "A delightful sweet & fruity blend of fresh peaches, wild raspberries and wafts of tooth-achingly sweet pink cotton candy." Since it is still sweltering down here in Florida and technically still summer I was looking for a light and summer scent that I could wear. The first sniff out of the bottles is fresh ripe peaches. Applied it still smells like fresh peaches with hints of candy and rasperries help round out the scent to make it fruity and light without being overwhelmingly over the top sweet. 

Absolem's Cocktail is described as "A tall glass of watermelon lemonade with just enough sweet mint muddled in." I love watermelon so I simply had to try this scent, This is the first time I have ever tried watermelon as a perfume on me so I was hoping that my body chemistry would agree to my love of watermelon.  First sniff is just like cutting into a fresh sweet watermelon in the kitchen. Applied on the skin it still smells like heavenly watermelon (thank you body chemistry) with the clean crisp lemon scent and a tiny hint of mint. My body tends to amp up lemon scents so I was concerned with it overpowering the watermelon but it didn't . This is probably my favorite out of the five and I will be picking up a full size of this one asap.

Deadite is described as "sweet blackberry jam with a sinister twist of patchouli, black pepper and vanilla." When hearing that there were Army of Darkness/Evil Dead inspired scents I had to pick up one because I am such a huge fan. First sniff from the bottle blackberries and patchouli. My chemistry also amps up patchouli as well so my fingers were crossed that my chemistry didn't drown out the blackberry. When applied on the skin it is an equal balance of blackberries and patchouli however the vanilla mellows out the scent as well and doesn't make it as strong as patchouli can be. I didn't catch the hints of black pepper on my skin however my sniffer hasn't gained that super power yet.

Killer Klowns, while I had a distinct hatred of clowns I couldn't resist the description which is listed as "blue raspberry slush, cherry slush and cotton candy". My love of cotton candy overcame my clown hatred. First sniff is mainly blue raspberry and cherries. Applied on the skin is an equal balance of the blue raspberry and cherry and later as it dries down and mellow more of the cotton candy. This one is super sweet ,light and a lot of fun.  My five year old daughter loved it so much she claimed it as her own. 

Finally, last but not least, was Stay Puft. I am still trying to figure out if my body has a love hate with marshmallow so I took the plunge and order this scent to finally figure it out. It is described at "fresh marshmallow, marshmallow fluff, two vanillas and a dab of patchouli. First sniff  was a heavenly mingle of marshmallow and vanilla. Applied on the skin the vanilla rings through the marshmallow to make it a yummy foodie kind of scent. It reminds me a lot of marshmallow rice crispy treats. 

All of the scents had decent staying power which is about 4-6 hours on me since my body tends to devour lighter scents quickly. While I enjoyed all of the scents, out of the five Absolem's cocktail was my definite favorite since I can't get over that amazing watermelon scent. Deadite was a close second followed by Absolutely Alice.  All of the fragrances are vegan and of course cruelty free.

Next up is the Jumbo Eat Me Sugar lip scrub. I chose Pomegranate Margarita for the scent/ flavor.  

    As you can see the label does over the cap of the jar and when I asked Rae about it she stated that it was a printing error and she will be getting other labels once these have completely run out. If you do get a jar with a label like this all you need to do is use a pair of scissors right around the area and it should open up easily and you still get to have the pretty label on the front of your jar.  The scent of this lip scrub was simply heavenly! It smells just like it states and made me want a margarita ASAP! the scrub itself was a nice fine sugar easily applied to the lips to scrub. It left my lips soft and smooth. This product is also vegan and cruelty free.

Finally, last but not least, is the Deadly Kiss Lip Balm.

Due to crappy Florida weather and it constantly raining,I used the  flash and it washed out the label. See the lip scrub for actual label coloring.

 I seriously can not have enough balm in my house . Between the five of us, there is always someone stealing my lip balms to use. However this time the culprit was Mr Dreadful. I chose the flavors Green Tea and Honey and it was simply amazing the times I am able to steal it back from my husband. He is in love with it. The balm is just the right consistency without being overly hard or soft.  It also smells amazing. I have given up the good fight for this lip balm and allowed my husband this small little victory but I will be ordering more soon. For those of you who are vegan, this is item does contain beeswax. However like the rest of her products it is cruelty free. 

Final thoughts, I am really impressed and pleased with the products I have received from Twisted Wonderland Perfumery. Rae has been kind and professional answering all of my questions and the products she has put out are wonderful. For those of you with finicky body chemistry, like myself, sampler packs are a godsend so that we are able to try a little bit of everything without ending up with a bottle of something that smells amazing but doesn't work on us. I highly recommend checking out Twisted Wonderland Perfumery and trying some of her awesome product. Rae was also kind enough to give me a coupon code to share with all of my readers. DREADFUL10 will save you 10% off your purchase. 

So until next time lovelies!

What's the Deal Dreadful? Review of Petunia Skincare's Professional 12 Set Makeup Brush Kit With Travel Pouch

**Press**

   Hello Lovelies!
     Happy Sunday! I hope that everyone is having a good weekend. Sadly, not only do I have a stomach bug that hit this morning but I am also helping my 10 year old with his Science Fair Project. So no makeup looks for me. But I wanted to take a quick break and do a review for Petunia Skincare's Professional 12 Set Makeup Brush Kit with Travel Pouch.  I am a makeup addict and I can never have too many brushes so I was looking for a travel kit to be able to take with me that I can use on trips but also convenient enough to use in my everyday makeup routine. The Petunia Skincare brushes arrived quickly in a large black box. When I opened up the box there is a vinyl black brush roll with fake alligator or crocodile patterns on the actual roll. It did have a packaging smell due to being inside the box however letting the roll sit out for a day or two let's it air out and the smell dissipates. Also inside box is a pamphlet which lists all the brushes and their uses which makes it perfect for someone who is just started getting into makeup. There were also several brush guards for the brushes so that the bristles can retain their shape after being washed which I thought was  fantastic since most of the time they are sold separately. The brushes themselves are soft but also firm enough to give you good control of your makeup application however delicate enough not to irritate the sensitive skin of the eye. I have not had any issues with shedding from these brushes and I have washed and used them several times and they are still as soft as the first time I used them.  I washed them with a brush shampoo and rinsed them until the suds were gone. then I allowed them to air dry on a clean towel overnight. And since these are my personal brushes I was them once a week. Since this is a travel set of brushes they are not full size however they are slightly bigger than my MAC travel size brushes. The only thing that I wished was different was that I wish that it came with another brush instead of a sponge applicator since I never use them. However that is the only things I would change. I really love this set and I think that it is not only perfect for someone who is just starting to get into makeup but also perfect for the full blown makeup addict.

   If you would like to pick up your own set of Petunia Skincare's Professional 12 Set Makeup Brush Kit With Travel Pouch you can do so on Amazon. It is $89.99 however it is currently on sale for $37.77. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful, until next time lovelies!

What's the Deal Dreadful? Review of Insta Natural Youth Express Eye Gel

*Press*

   Hello Lovelies,
       I am back again with another review. Today I am reviewing Insta Natural Youth Express Eye Gel. I received this product in return for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Now with three kids ranging in ages from 3 to 10 there are some nights I don't get enough sleep. So naturally I have bags or dark circles underneath my eyes. I usually use various makeup techniques and tricks to cover them up but I wanted to have a product that helps the problem other than buy various products to cover it up. While I am all for new makeup, I don't want the suitcases my eyes carry with them at times.
    So needless to say, I was really happy when I started seeing results from using this product. I noticed them almost immediately since I do a lot of makeup eye shots. I started noticing the development of fine lines and the start of the dreaded "w" word. That is right, wrinkles when I was doing my close up shots. By around the third day, I noticed that the lines were not at defined an appeared smoother. The dark circles around my eyes were fading and I could feel the skin tightening up when I applied the gel. The gel is thick and cloudy like in appearance (since it is neither clear nor opaque) and a little does go a long way. It has a faint scent that dissipates quickly and while it hydrates and moisturizes it absorbs into the skin quickly. There was no oily or greasy residue and it can be worn under makeup without any issue. I use once in the morning before applying my makeup and then once in the evening after I remove my makeup. I am very pleased with the results and it has become part of my beauty regiment.

    If you would like to pick up your own bottle of Insta Natural Youth Express Eye Gel you can do so on Amazon. It is listed for $89.99 but is currently on sale for $19.75. So snatch it up while you can at this price. I hope that you enjoyed this installment of What's the Deal Dreadful? Until next time lovelies! 

Attack of the Gunpowder Holographic glitter eye of the day...

*Press*

   Hello Lovelies!
    I am back again with another EOTD this time from BeautyBarBaby. I have been on a glitter kick lately since I was trying to get the perfect holiday glitter look.

I swear this is my makeup motto..

And honestly, who am I kidding? I am a glitter whore.

Hold on to your sword Ned, GLITTER is COMING!

I just simply can't get enough of it.

See even HE MAN gets me. He LOVES glitter too!

I want to GLITTER ALL THE THINGS!

I do this same pose in my bathroom when I am about to apply glitter and this battle cry  also accompanies it.

But enough of my glitter obsession and on with the look!

I used the following products for this look:
Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Primer
BeautyBarBaby (BBB) Cream & Sugar     
BBB Striptease
BBB Rated R
BBB Poison Apple
BBB Black Velvet
BBB Gunpowder Holographic Glitter (applied over Black Velvet )
BBB Bling Bling Glitter Adhesive.


I wish that I could capture the shine of the glitter with a front shot of my makeup. But since I can't I will just have to settle for side makeup shots as well so you can see the SPARKLE!

If you want to pick up some BeautyBarBaby you can do so here on Etsy. You can also follow them via Facebook, their Facebook Fangroup, Instagram and Twitter. I hope that you enjoyed this look and remember GET YOUR GLITTER ON!

They All Float while Black Cats Cross Stripper Zombies on the Ladder to Hell with the Book of Honorious and The Necronomicon...

*Purchased*

Hello Lovelies!
 
      I am back again with another EOTD look! For this look I am using some Notoriously Morbid goodies. Notoriously Morbid had a really amazing Halloween Limited Edition (as well as an resurrection sale for old shadows on Halloween) that came out which I managed to get my hands on. But I wasn't able to able to really play with the gorgeous colors today.

I know Ash, can you believe that it took me this long to do a look with them?

  I know that is almost sacrilegious especially when they had a shadow called Necronomicon. Which being a massive Lovecraft and EvilDead/Army of Darkness Fan I knew I had to have the collection.

The shadow is just as awesome as this movie....and of course seriously LOVECRAFT!

 I also got a sample of the new product, Shadow Bind, that is releasing in January in my order as well.

Damn straight Ash, it is FUCKING Groovy!

  The Shadow Bind literally transformed these shadows from beautiful to FUCKING gorgeous. Don't worry there will be a review about this product later. But enough chattering, on to the look!

I used the following products for this look:

Lunatick Cosmetic Labs Primer 

Notoriously Morbid (NM) Shadow Bind * (releases in January)

NM They All Float
NM Black Cat Crossing
NM Ladder to Hell
NM Stripper Zombie
NM Book of Honorius ** (Halloween Limited Edition)
NM Necronomicon ** ( Halloween Limited Edition )

  Normally these shadows have a nice and pretty sparkle, but combined the with Shadow Bind it kicked it up 10 notches.

That was my face right there staring at my eye with the Shadow Bind..

   So seriously lovelies, even IF you missed the Halloween Limited Edition Set you still can get the other shadows and put them over Shadow Bind. If you want to pick up anything from Notoriously Morbid you can do so here. You can also follow then on Facebook, the Facebook Fanbook Page, and of course Instagram. And if you don't mind please head up to the top and rate this post! ^_~  So until next time lovelies, stay groovy and watch the original Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2 cause Bruce Campbell is the man.

Two looks for two awesome causes...

*Press*
Hello Lovelies!
   I am back today with not one but TWO looks done for two separate causes that often are overlooked in the hype of this really awesome Halloween Holiday season. I was asked by two fellow BeautyBarBaby promoters to participate in collaborations these two causes and both causes are really amazing so I immediately agreed.

 The first look is for Domestic Violence. I will sadly admit that I didn't know that this month was also Domestic Violence Awareness since it is often overlooked due to October also being Breast Cancer awareness Month as well. But both are equally important.

Did you know these Domestic Violence Facts?

                             

                                

I used the following colors from Beauty Bar Baby: Miss Daisy, Awesomeness, Ritual, Purplicious, and Ritual

Love should never hurt..

  If you are a victim of domestic violence please speak up and if you are located in the United States you can call the National Domestic Hotline  1-800-799-7233

   Next is the Breast Cancer Awareness look. This campaign is very dear to my heart since both my aunt and grandmother suffered and beat this terrible disease.

Save the Women !

Please be sure to check yourself often!

I used the following colors from BeautyBarBaby Miss Daisy, Strawberry Wine, Moltov Cocktail, Intoxicating and Tantalizing

I hope that you enjoyed these looks they are both done for two very important causes. 

 Until next time lovelies!