Moved! And now for the hard part.

Hello boils and ghouls!

I've moved into the new place with Mr. Skulda and are happy with it.  The most difficult part is the chaos we are now trying to sort out.  Unpacking sucks.  I must be a terrible packer.  I managed to label most of the boxes but in the rush to get it done in the POURING RAIN we pretty much just dumped everything into the second bedroom.  Now we must climb over the boxes trying to find the things we need and manage to unpack.  Lots of "where is the dish soap?!", "I don't know, I thought you packed it" and plenty of frustrated bickering.
Ahhhh moving.

Some good new in the makeup world.  I was wanting to buy "Mistress" vegan lipstick by Morgana Cryptoria and asked Melissa if it was possible to to formulate it without the paraben coated mica.  Guess what?  A week later she emailed me back saying that she was successful!  Mistress is now paraben free. :) I'll be grabbing it next payday for sure!

And remember Jizz? Well it's now on sale for $2.99!!!  But unfortunately for this Canadian, they do not ship to Canada.  I has a sad. :(

More to come when our place is less chaotic! <3

UPDATE!

Hello boils and ghouls!  Long time no see!
It's been a highly stressful time for me so there are plenty of depressed and lethargic reasons why I didn't keep up with blogging.  But there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel.

- My husband finally got his work permit and is now working close to full-time hours every week!  YAY!
- We are moving from our crappy over-priced apartment into a nice basement suit that will save us $$$!!!  Best part?  Huge kitchen!!  WEEEE!!
- I have started playing more with make-up and experimenting.  I will do some swatching and maybe.... if I don't scare the shit out of myself with a camera showing parts of my face!  *cower*

Some products will include Evil Shades, Face Candy Couture, Aromaleigh, Meow Cosmetics, and more.

So please be patient as we pack (and pack, and pack...) and move and un-pack!  I will be back.  :)

~Skulda

Coty Response

Dear Skulda:

Thank you for your recent inquiry on Coty products regarding the use of animals in product safety testing.   We at Coty Inc. share your respect for life, and we are committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of human safety while eliminating the need for testing on animals.

Coty Inc. does not conduct animal testing.  This is accomplished by selecting raw materials of the highest quality with well-established safety records and using extensive ingredient databases, in-vitro testing, computer modeling and studies with human volunteers.  In fact, to ensure human safety all our products are clinically tested as needed on humans before they are sold in the marketplace.

Our research and development team has pioneered safety tests and alternative testing methods in order to eliminate the need for animal testing.  However, there may be rare occurrences when a government or regulatory agency may indicate to the Cosmetic Industry that an animal study is necessary, where no validated alternative exists, to ensure consumer protection for a component of our products.  In such cases, the need for testing is carefully examined by our Industry and if the test must be performed, it is strictly controlled.

Coty Inc. has been actively involved in the search for alternative testing methods for many years and we support industry research programs such as those conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing, the European Chemical Industry Ecology and Toxicology Centre (ECETOC), the European Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (COLIPA) and the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC).

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.


Amanda Perez
Product Care Specialist
Coty Inc Global Consumer Affairs
1-866-675-3845 (Canada only)
WWW.COTY.COM
Reference Number 010092591A


So basically, we don't, but we do.
There are many companies who don't test on animals at all.  I don't know which governments or agencies would require animal testing, but if there are companies that manage to get along without putting harm to animals, surely they could find a way too?


Regardless of their strictly controlled animal testing, I choose to no longer buy OPI products.  :(
...that doesn't mean I'm throwing out my current ones.  

Bye Bye, OPI

I'm sure most of you have heard that OPI has been purchased by Coty.  Coty is the same company that owns Sally Hansen and Rimmel cosmetics.  They also use products that test on animals.

I have contacted Coty's customer service with an inquiry on their current status on animal cruelty.

OPI is a huge part of my collection and I would hate to have to stop purchasing it like I have for Essie after L'Oreal bought it out.

I will keep you all posted.

Link to Coty's News Page.  Philosophy might be another brand for me to be cautious of. :(

Need Make up Help!! (please?)

Hey guys.  I'm a total noob with make up.  I've only ever used pressed eye shadows from the drug store.  I've never used loose eye shadows or pigments.  I just got my first order from Evil Shades and got so excited that I washed my face in my PJs and started putting it on my eyes.  I read somewhere that you should pat loose shadow.  I kind of patted and dragged and rubbed the brush over my eyelid to  move the colour around.
It was freaking amazing.

Unfortunately I quickly discovers that I got a good amount of that beautiful shadow on my eyeballs.
OUCHIE!
The swelling is going down but my eyeballs are still red.

How do you ladies prevent your shadow from getting in your eyes?  I can't imagine people getting used to that.  I know you have tips!

please help. :(

P.S.  I'll show my Evil Shades goodies this weekend.  I only got a few things but they are super nice! :D

Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs - Embalming Fluid

Here I am!  Sorry about the delay; I've been sick on an off and couldn't stand the smell of polish and remover.  Today I present to you one of the coolest Glow-in-the-Dark polishes ever.

BPAL - Embalming Fluid!

It glows!!

Single coat in Sunlight.

Embalming Fluid over NYC Frightful Fingers - Franken Slime

Embalming Fluid over white.

This combination is my favourite.  I put a couple coats of Embalming Fluid over a white polish and it had the lovely "glowy" look that it has in the bottle.

Embalming Fluid over the other BPAL colours.

Embalming Fluid on it's own, Destroying Angel, Morgause, MME Moriarty, Bordello, Opium Poppy, Croquet.  The picture should be clickable to expand.

When you click on a picture you can see that Embalming Fluid is loaded with blue, green, purple, and orange iridescent glitter.  Not only does this glowing polish glow like the dickens when 'charged' but it has a unique sparkle to it as well.  Charging is just exposing your glow-in-the-dark polish to light before it can glow.

So far my favourite combination for Embalming Fluid is a few coats over white.  I really like the colour of the polish in the bottle and hope to find a base colour to match it one day.  

Have you tried Embalming Fluid?  If so, what is your favourite combination?

You can get Embalming Fluid at http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/ or directly here.

For more swatches of BPAL polishes check out my review here.

Thank you, Puddin', for letting me try out these gems!

[This product was sent to me by the company for review]

Twisted Panties Test Drive Polishes!

The gals Sarah Rowland and Stephanie Mattis give nail polish a whirl in their product testing article for 24hrs News.  The 24hrs is a free newspaper that they hand out near the Skytrain stations in Metro Vancouver.  Sarah Rowland has been writing 'how-to dating' articles for women for a while now.  Her articles are honest, gutsy, and sometimes offend or attract negative feedback by prudish women and pigheaded males.  I like her, I think she is hilarious.  "Twisted Panties" is basically Sarah and her BFF going out and trying out products and give their opinions.
Check it out!  Tell me what you think of their picks!  (BOOO Essie, animal testing Booo!!)  :P

P.S.  I have never seen Bourjois in Shoppers!  I'll have to keep looking.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs [Pic Heavy]

Hello everyone!  I've been wanting to post these for a while now but so many things got in the way.  Most dismal weather that prevented me from getting any good lighting.  I'm going to break down and buy a light box set soon.

This is the last collection I tried with my "claws".  They unfortunately couldn't last for the entire collection.  I thought it was suiting since this is called Claw Polish! ;)

All photos *should* be clickable.

Bordello - dark pink/silver foil.  ONE COAT!!

I'll say it again.  ONE COAT!!1one

MME Moriarty - blood red jelly!  2 coats.

This looks more translucent in the photos than it did in real life.  Three coats might be required.

Morgause - burgandy with a slight pearl shimmer. 

I have trouble describing this one because it's so different in real life.  The colour is so rich and the pearl shimmer is very faint on the nail but you can tell it's there in the luster.  You can see it in the darker photo in the upper right. You can stick with 2 coats just fine but I did three coats to get the same richness that I see in the bottle.

Destroying Angel - dark chocolate brown creme. 2 coats

So glossy!

Maiden - sheer light pink 2 coats.

I honestly never get sheers right.  I would have loved this if it were a creme. 

Croquet - medium pink creme, 2 coats.

I can't believe I'm going to rave about a pastel pink polish.  This was the perfect consistency.  I have NEVER tried a pink cream in this colour range that wasn't streaky and difficult to manage.  Croquet was a little watery, but completely manageable.  I didn't once flood my cuticles or even fear it happening.  Not at all streaky.  If you like pink, this one is GOLD.

Opium Poppy - hot pink creme.  2 coats

Unfortunately I lost the photos for this one in a sea of pink polish pics that I was clearing out of my polish folder.  If this isn't enough I'll re-swatch this one!  It was as perfect in the application as Croquet.  Unfortunately is was clashing with my skin tone a lot in the photos which is why I might have accidentally deleted them.

Overall these polishes were pretty amazing to me for such an "unknown" brand.  I know BPAL has been surfacing pretty successfully in the nail polish blogging world but otherwise people I've spoken to don't really know about it.  The polish always applied well, dried well, and held up well with wear and tear.  I seriously hope they expand their colour selection because this can easily be one of my favourite brands of polish ever.  That is saying a lot.

The site can be a little tricky to navigate. http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/ You want to go to Trading Post, then nail polish.  As you can see they offer quite a bit from their site.

The direct link to their polishes is here.

I will be showing you more of another colour from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs in a post of it's own.

Embalming Fluid. So check back next week!

If you have any questions about this brand or any of these polishes leave a comment!

[These polishes were provided to me by the company for an honest review]

China Glaze Awakening Collection

Happy Freaky-Friday, Darlings!

I'm just going to jump right to it since I cannot contain myself.

Ick-A-Bod-Y - Natural Light

 Ick-A-Bod-Y is an orange glitter polish with an olive green jelly base.  I used 4 coats in these pictures to get as much coverage as possible.  You might need to play with gently pushing the glitter around for even coverage.

Some suggestions for different looks might be to try a creme olive green base under Ick-A-Bod-Y for a more sparse green/orange glitter look.  I will try this closer to Halloween and show you.  I think you have correctly guessed that this is my favourite of the collection.  ;)

 

 Zombie Zest - Natural Light

Flash

As a lot of you may know, Zombie Zest is very similar to a couple other polishes recently released.  It is a delightful dark green jelly base with micro glitter that looks gold or green depending on the light or angle that you hold your hand at.  The only down part of this polish for me is that it is a very sheer formula.  This required 4 coats.  (I find that it is completely worth the trouble)

...the name is awesome too.

 Mummy May I - Natural (overcast) Light  Ahhhh nubbins!!

 With Flash

Mummy May I is a dark purple base with purple chunky glitter.  It is probably my least favourite of the collection, but still an excellent Halloween polish.

Did my nubbins frighten you?  Good.  This is a Halloween collection, you know.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o!!

Thank you China Glaze for another lovely collection!  

[This collection was provided to me by the PR company for an honest review... my opinions are always honest.  kkthxbai]

Justin Beiber collection from Nicole by OPI.

I'm probably going to lose some fans here, but I have to vent.
I just read the comments on Scrangie's post about Justin Beiber's polish collection and just about vomited in my mouth.

How you HATE a little boy who has done nothing negative.  He hasn't harmed anyone.  His music might annoy you, but you can easily ignore it.  I'm not a JB fan but I find the pure hatred towards this kid disgusting!  IT'S A NAIL POLISH COLLECTION FOR HIS FANS... OH NO!!  HE IS HURTING THE WORLD OF NAIL POLISH.  /sarcasm

Another example:


WTF?  Who throws a solid object at a person's head?  This guy isn't preaching hatred to the masses... he isn't having unprotected sex with your daughters...  He is singing age appropriate music for young girls.

I think the worse part of all this is that harming someone you don't know is considered hilarious to people.  They get off on hurting and insulting others.  Look at the comedy on Fox TV, most of the funny parts are based on insulting and hurting someone.  I wish people realised how much this sort of attitude is hurting society.  People are afraid of each other and what people think and look what it is doing to us a society.  Just look at the news.

/hops off her soapbox and has a Friday doughnut