Aromaleigh Swatches..Nothing but Awesome and WIN!

Hey Zombies!

I'm back home and so glad, though it feels more chaotic here than visiting my Mom. >.<

Like a lot of poor saps out there, I discovered Aromaleigh when it was almost too late. I was given the opportunity to swatch and review several collections, but never purchased full size until the sale. (Sounds familiar, right?!) And now, I'm utterly hooked and Aromaleigh is closed. Story of my damn life. lol

Kristen, if you're reading this, I just wanted to thank you for filling my makeup drawers with glittery goodness, and FUCK the haters who ruined it for all of us.

I received my last and final order while I was away and immediately sat down tonight to swatch them. I spent days figuring out which 10 I wanted by scouring blogs and swatches. I am SO amazed with my selection. I also placed a small order of the Wonderstruck collection via the vault sale.

(Please make sure you click these bitches for maximum goodness!)





Because I can and I rarely do this, I want to describe each color in my own words. They are all so amazing and these photos don't do them much justice. Everything was swatched over Pixie Epoxy by Fyrinnae.

Wonderstruck:
The Wrong Alice: Smoked teal with sparkles
Pass the Tarts: Burgundy with red and gold sparkles
Hearts a' Plenty: Soft pink with gold shift
Rule Forty Two: Dusty purple with gold shift

Misc collections:
Colette:  The most amazing dark purple with aqua sparkles. Utterly gorgeous
Pillowtalk: soft shimmery baby pink
Aqua Nightmare: Aqua plain and simple with breathtaking shimmer
Tansy: Amazing green gold with pink sparkles (thanks Mindy for the heads up on this)
Pirouette: light pink with intense blue shift. Similar to Gossamar blush from Evil Shades
Hioty Toity: smoked brown based purple
Velvet Dream: Velvety burgundy with pink shift
Morphing Moon: dark teal with gold shift
Jolie: Red based purple with shimmer
Flutterby: deep rose with gold shift

My favorites from this group:
Tansy, Colette, Velvet Dream, Pass the Tarts, Pirouette, and Aqua Nightmare. I do love them all though.

Pink Eye LOTD!

Hey Zombies!

Wouldn't it be disgusting if this really was a "pinkeye" post?! Ewww! Luckily my eyes are healthy and I just used a bunch of pink eyeshadow today. Oh and dyed my hair super duper red!

It's really too bad I discovered Aromaleigh so late, because I really adore my AL shadows. They are so fun and glittery and easy to blend. Amazing! Oh well, I have a good little lot, and 10 more waiting for me at home!

Swatch Spam! *Geek Chic Cosmetics*

Good evening Zombies!

Tonight I bring to you Geek Chic Cosmetics! I've been eyeballing this site after being given the heads up from a reader a few weeks ago about World of Warcraft themed eyeshadow from this company (among other fun, girly, geeky themes!). I was sold even before looking much at the site.

Chantel and Deborah sent me 4 samples to review purposes only: (descriptions from website)

Vector: Vector is a pastel ultra violet purple and sea-foam green duo-chrome. It has green color shifting highlights and a subtle touch of glitter. Glides on smooth for sheer coverage. Would look good mixed with a clear lip gloss or used wet as an eyeliner.  

All the Rage: All the Rage is a soft brown with hints of green and blue highlights. It's a truly unique shade of brown you won't find anywhere else! Mixes well with blues, golds, and greens. Can be used wet for a pearly brown eyeliner.

Bubble Hearth: Bubble Hearth is a dainty powder pink that packs a punch. With a light application it is a sheer, shimmery, pearly pink. When applied more heavily it's a soft yet vibrant pink. This versatile color can be used with your favorite lip gloss or even as a quick swipe across the cheek bones.

Green Stache: Green 'Stache is a bright limey green with gold undertones and tons of green and silver sparkle. Can be used wet as an eyeliner or dry for all over color!

A little side project!

Good afternoon Zombies!

Just a quick note to say, hi! HI! I have some fun posts coming up for you, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you my recent project. I am a huge fan of all things old. Ghost Towns, old places, antiques, etc. So, I decided to start an adventure (and a blog!) with my camera showcasing some of these amazing places in my home state, New Mexico. I'm really excited about my new endeavour but it won't take away from my makeup zombie time. This is my first love!

So, I urge you to "Walk a Mile" backwards. :) That's right, click the link, you know you want to. lol

Progess makes Perfect!

Good morning my Zombies!

I've been doing some extra special thinking about this here blog. I'm strongly considering doing nail polish posts along with my makeup looks and reviews. I counted my polish the other day and I have 63 bottles, plus 3 that are on their way to me. Why not do nail polish posts? I have the means. LOL Plus, it's another form of color expression that would be fun to explore with my readers.

I've recently installed DISQUS for comments on the blog. You can log in with your Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, OpenID (which means you just log in with your name)  or DISQUS accounts. I really like this new system as I am able to reply to your individual comments and that makes me HAPPY! Let me know what you think, ok?

I also noticed that I gained 5 new followers just in the last day, so I'd like to say welcome and I hope you'll say hi from time to time.

Hope you're all having a lovely week and recovering from Christmas!

The Day after the Day after Christmas LOTD!

Hello Zombies!

Sorry I've been MIA. I am at my Mom's house right now with the kids to celebrate Christmas and hang out with her for 5 days. It's been fun, but these kids take up all my time, especially off their normal schedule.  Thought I'd take a few minutes to post my LOTD from today. I just put together a simple look, but it turned out way more complex than I was planning and so pretty. I was pretty proud of this look.

Drum Roll Please! Sugar Plum Fairy Winner

Zombies!

Merry Christmas, Happy Festivus, Feliz Navidad, etc. etc. However you say it, I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday today!

I had 34 usable entries for this giveaway. And used random.org to decide the winner.

The winner of the Sugar Plum Fairy Pallete by Wet and Wild is.......


SKELLYBONES!


 
Congrats girly! I will be emailing you very soon to ask for your address! 

Illusive Dream LOTD!

Hello Zombies!

It's raining here! I'm thinking that we might actually have a white Christmas here in Albuquerque. It's been YEARS since I've seen a white Christmas. *fingers crossed*

Yesterday the awesome Andrea from "Black nail pllosh and lip gloss" and the owner of "Evil Shades" did a cool look on her blog using Evil Shades. I asked if I could steal her look and she gave the ok! So, this is what I came up with.

Illusive: Subject to or pertaining to an illusion, often used in the sense of an unrealistic expectation or an unreachable goal or outcome.

I am under the "illusion" that Corruption lippie will actually work with me. :(











Andrea's look had a little more purple in it, but I didn't want it to be an exact replicated copy. Corruption lippie looks OK in the natural light photo, but it won't stay even on my lips. I'm going to concur it if it kills me.  I really really like the way this turned out!

The Goods:
UDPP in Sin all over lid
NYX Jumbo pencil in Milk blended into lower half of lid
Evil Shades "Polestar" over Milk
Evil Shades "Illusive" blended above Polestar and down into the lower lash line
Evil Shades "Reondite" blended into crease and into lower lash line
Hi-Fi Cosmetics "Between the Stars" as highlight and blended into the harsh edges of Illusive and into inner corner
Mark Metaliner in "Chrome Blue"

Cheeks:
Hard Candy "Living Doll"

Lips:
Evil Shades "Corruption"

Assbite.. I mean Aspbite LOTD... and a little HUMOR!

Zombies!

(First off, sorry Melissa from Morgana Cryptoria but I think of Assbite every time I see Aspbite in my collection.. i.can't.stop.)

As I was doing my makeup this morning, Johnny Cash came on Pandora. I'm very much in awe of this man, though he battled his way through addiction and struggled with fame, he was a musical genius and his words were/are pretty damned powerful. I've been having an internal issue lately as to where I should take my blog. I have a million ideas, but along with those will come haters and nay sayers. I do this blog BECAUSE it's fun to me, and I'm not trying to please anyone/everyone. I want to keep it fun for my followers and readers, period. If I want to wear dog shit smeared on my face, I will. (It's a metaphore.)

I know that's pretty morbid and sounds like gibberish, but there is a point and maybe only I get it.

So with that being said, THIS is for my future haters!

"Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black"



Annnnd on to the look!  There will be more after the cut!

Enter Rimmel London an Indepth Review!

Afternoon Zombies!

Do you smell that? In the air? Christmas is almost here! AHHH!

I was recently given the opportunity to review two products from Rimmel London! I am super excited because I'm was able to try out and review Rimmel's Stay Matte foundation (to match my Stay Matte power) and Rimmel's new Lash Accelerator mascara.

I wasn't disappointed and these two products really have launched Rimmel into being my favorite drug store brand. And NO I am not saying that because I was sent free stuff. I am saying that because I love their lipsticks.....and, well, take a look for yourself!




If you want to check out the review and before/after pictures, make sure you check out the rest of the post after the jump!

!Sickly Sweet LOTD!

Hey Zombies!

So, today I deiced to go all out with the girly colors. Those who know me, know this is rare. As I was trying to come up with a name for this look, these lyrics kept running through my head. 10 points if you can tell me the band.

"Lime green lime green lime green and tangerine
Are the sickly sweet colours of the snakes I'm seeing
Lime green lime green and tangerine
Are the sickly sweet colours of the devil in my dreams"

I didn't use lime green OR tangarine, but this is really a "sickly sweet" color combination. And I love it!

 

 





The Goods:

UDPP all over lid
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk blended into primer
Evil Shades "Suffocation" main lid and inner corner and lower lash line
Evil Shades "Sylph" blended above main lid
Evil Shades "Cheshire" blended into crease
Aromaleigh "Heart's a Plenty" under browbone
Maybelline "Falsies" mascara in black
Random black liner for waterline

Cheeks:
Evil Shades "Gossamar"

Lips:
Evil Shades "Bane" lipstick
Evil Shades "Suffocation" wick gloss

So, do I rock the pink? ....

Urban Decay on Hautelook! $2.00 blowout!

Urban Decay is on sale today on Hautelook! Everything is $2.00! I am eyeballing the Big Fatty mascara's! How about you?

Click HERE to sign up and shop your little heart out!

Swatch Spam! Evil Shades Cosmetics

Good evening Zombies!

We're rapidly approaching Christmas, ready or not! We have all of our shopping done and now the oldest is off for Winter break. What to do, what to do? Hot chocolate, movies, and warm clothes. YAY!



Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

And there's a hand my trusty fiere,
And gie's a hand o thine,
And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,
For auld lang syne

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We'll tak a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

I recently placed an order with Evil Shades Cosmetics because I'd been lusting over the eyeshadow "Cheshire." I ordered the Winks and Kisses set and was able to choose an extra one because of the buy 2 get 1 free sale. Andrea (whom I adore) threw in the new Auld Lang Syne collection in sample clam shells from me to try as well as a Gossamar blush (Soft baby pink with blue shift) I've been hearing raves about.

I had to swatch the eyeshadow right away for you! I will swatch/use the lipsticks soon for everyone to see, as well as the blush.





I purchased:

(descriptions from website)

Cheshire: Medium/Dark Purple with pink undertones and pink shimmer.(My favorite from this group)
Suffocation: Medium pink with blue/purple undertones. (love love love!) I have the lip gloss to match!
Illusive: A red based matte purple
Sylph: Light powdery teal with a pink shift (so pretty and soft)
Corruption lippie: Deep purple with aqua sparkle (this one hated me.. I could not get it to stay on my lips at full coverage for anything. I'll have to play with this with a lip liner. It's such a pretty color.)
Bane lippie: Bright pink with blue/violet undertone( light and creamy)

Descriptions of Auld Lang Syne from the website:

Aureate- A vibrant golden with silver shimmer
Wishing Tree- Deep complex forest green with sparkling bright green shimmer
Cranberry Champagne- A deep cranberry with red tones and golden shimmer (This color is beautiful!)
Polestar- Deepest night sky blue with a purple shift and twinkling starry silver sparkles (My favorite from this group!)
Filigree- Shimmering bronze with delicate multi color shimmer
Lucia- A bright bold red with bright pink shimmer and a subtle violet shift (intense!)

**Some time ago, I purchased Suffocation lipgloss and when I received it, it had an odd taste to it. (Like I said, I'm crazy with smells and tastes. Sometimes over the top. I mentioned this to Andrea, and with this last order she included a new lipgloss. I'd forgotten all about this! Kick ass customer service anyone?!

I adore Evil Shades and the new collection is worth checking out. Evil Shades is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale on Auld Lang Syne until tomorrow 12/20/2010, so I suggest you go pickup your goodies NOW!

Let's hope I get Mistletoe'd tonight! LOTD!

Hi Zombies!

Tonight is the hubby's Christmas party and I played around with a few looks. I like this one, so thought I'd post it. I totally washed it off right after this post and did another one though. My face hates me these days, I don't know why. I've never had weird breakouts like I've been having.

Good news though, Mistletoe'd my custom Darling Girl shade is available on the website HERE!

The Goods:

UDPP in Sin
NYX Jumbo Pencil in Milk
Darling Girl Cosmetics "Honey Pot" first inner 1/2 of lid
Evil Shades "Wishing Tree" (swatches to come) on outer 1/2 of lid
Darling Girl Cosmetics "Mistletoe'd" blended into and above crease
Fyrinnae "Marshmallow Puffs" under brown bone
Evil Shades "Cranberry Crush" blended into crease
Evil Shades "Filigree" lower lash line

Cheeks:
Evil Shades "Gossamar" blush

Lips:
Morgana Cryptoria "Coraline's Kiss"
Evil Shades "Suffocation" gloss on top

Darling Girl Swatches! NOMS!

Hello and good evening lovely people!

I got my new camera and I couln't be happier with it. :D To test it out, fresh out of the box, I held it right up to my eye and snapped a picture. CLEAR picture! No blur. It was so awesome.

Anyway, I wanted to swatch an order I got today, to show you all my custom color from Darling Girl Cosmetics. I'd asked on Twitter last week for recommendations on a forest green eyeshadow with red glitter. I did get some response, but after thinking about it, I also wanted gold glitter in it. I asked Susan if she'd be willing to whip up a custom color for me, and Mistletoe'd was born. It' exactly what I wanted (to pair with Making Merry) and I am just in love. It's so much sparklier in real life. Full of glittery goodness. I bet if you asked really nice, Susan would sell you a jar too! :D

I picked up Groovology, a blue toned purple and Honey Pot a shimmery gold as well. I was sent a sample of Pixie Blush and Candy Cane Lane lippie. OMG, it smells and tastes JUST like a candy cane!

Deal of the Week: Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder

Good evening Zombies!

Talk about major blogging withdraw. I haz it! My new camera will be here tomorrow evening, so the end is in sight! I will be stealing more of your looks sooooon!

Tonight I wanted to talk a little about a new pressed mineral powder I picked up at my local drugstore last week. Rimmel London's Stay Matte Pressed Powder. I really do need powder to finish off my foundation routine, because my face is just enough oily that my foundation gets "icky" if I don't set it. I've been a faithful user of Cover Girl powders because honestly, I like the smell. (Yes, I am weird!) But decided to venture outside of my little bubble.



* this product was purchased by me.*

I picked this up for under $6.00. I don't recall the exact price. That's still a good price for a good product. Rimmel lippies have my heart and so this powder was purchased with high expectations!

I adore the smell. I will NOT put something on my face or lips if it has a wonky smell or taste. I just won't. It makes me gag and I can smell it for the rest of the day. My husband thinks I must have some sort of weird hightened smell problem. This powder smells fresh and clean, but not perfumy or medicinal like the Cover Girl powders smell. It's light.

I picked up Sandstone and while it's great to set my foundation I probably would have been just as well off to get the Transparent powder. Or for maximum coverage, just a shade darker. The powder is not chalky and is easy to apply.

It does not have any sort of applicator, so you'll need to use a brush or your own makeup sponge to apply the powder.

It did last some time before needing another touch up and was matte as stated. My face looked and felt fresh and it did help to cover my blemishes.

Overall, I think that this is a great powder! Though, maybe not ideal for carrying around in your purse because there is no applicator.

Will I switch from Cover Girl to Rimmel pressed powders? YES!

Have you tried Rimmel's pressed powders, or face products? 

So what's the DEALY...yo?!

Good evening Zombies!

So, I am sans camera which some of you know and it's been hard. Santa (my Mom) decided to give me an early Christmas present, meaning  a new camera should be delivered to me by Wednesday. :D I am so excited because this camera is a 14 megapixel which means my swatches are gonna be EPIC!  I could  blog without pictures, but I am all about the visuals.

Things coming up in the next few weeks:

• New Darling Girl Cosmetics swatches. I ordered a custom color! (Hint: Christmas-y!)
• New Aromaleigh swatches- my last and final order should be here in the next week or so. I did receive 4 from the vault sale yesterday from the Wonderstruck collection. (Pass the Tarts is SO beautiful!) I also received samples for swatching from the Astronomical collection. But because Aromaleigh is officially closing tomorrow (12/13), I'm asking you, do you want to see swatches? 
• New Evil Shades swatches. I of course ordered BEFORE the newest Auld Lang Syne Collection came out.
• Swatches from the newest "Love Story" collection by Heavenly Naturals. Boyz and Girlz, looks like these are hand blended and they are SO pretty!
• I've been asked to review a skincare line which will be coming up in the next month.
• AND, a surprise is coming up soon as well.
• Oh and TONS of looks! OMG. I can't wait to try out all my goodies. It's KILLING ME! 

If you haven't already, make sure to enter my giveaway to win the Wet N' Wild Holiday palette in "Sugar Plum Fairy!" 

Happy Sunday Zombies!

You're a Sugar Plum Fairy..Baby! CLOSED

 CLOSED

Ello' my Zombies!

Because I adore all of you and my blog so damn much and I've reached over 350 followers (which is insane!) I decided to do a little giveaway! Especially for my friends from different lands who may have missed out on these awesome holiday palettes from Wet N Wild!

For one lucky Makeup Zombie reader THIS could be yours!



OK, not this EXACT one, because this is my Wet N' Wild ColorIcon Sugar Plum Fairy palette and you can't have it. But the awesome thing is, I have a brand new one! WITH a mini Purple Velvet eye lining pencil. It looks like this:



Cool!? Hellz Yeah!

So, what do you have to do to win?

*Well.. please be a follower of Makeup Zombie. Via anyway it's possible. haha

*Please leave me a comment stating WHY you need this palette!

*Please leave me your email address so I can contact you if you win!

*Extra entries for tweeting, blogging, vlogging, facbooking, etc. etc, about this giveaway. You know the drill.

Leave as much info in one comment if you can. :D

This is open international and will run until Christmas Eve Dec. 24th! I will pick a winner on Christmas Day. HO HO HO!

I iz watching you!

Inside Morgana Cryptoria! Take a look..if you dare!

Ello' Zombies!

I have bad news. My camera.is.dead.  :( I've been borrowing my in-laws camera, but they needed it for a trip they are going on this weekend. So, this leaves me SOL for the moment. This is really hard for me because..well, I've never been without a camera. Like, ever. And the camera on my Blackberry is crap. So, I guess we'll just wing it until I can get a new camera. SUCK!

Anyway,  I will stop rambling and get on with it. I took all of these pictures yesterday in preparation for this post.

 

During Black Friday in November, Morgana Cryptoria was having a major sale. If you added $50.00 worth of product to your cart, it would reset to $25.00. That was amazing. I was able to pick up full sizes of the eyeshadow I've been drooling over for some time now. Such as Broomstick and Ectoplasm. I also picked up some samples of the older stock such as Coraline and Druscilla's Sister. I also got two cult classic lippies Coraline's Kiss and Azalea Blue.



The eyeshadow from MC are not only unique but they are really smooth and easy to blend. Customer service is amazing and MC carries much more than just eyeshadow such as: Special Effects hair dye, cosmetic glitter, makeup brushes, her infamous lipstick, and even empty mineral jars! I personally like the darker website and it's come along way since I first visited when the company was still Morgana Minerals. It's much more user friendly now.

Below are the swatches of my haul. I didn't realize I was getting such vibrant colors and so many purples. I can't help it, I'm a sucker for purple.

(As always, click these bitches for maximum, goodness!)





I adore Broomstick and all of the purples, especially Aspbite! Aqua Stars is a black base with aqua sparkles and it reminds me a lot of Evil Shades "Glooming" so if you already have that, you don't need both. The formula on these are great and though pigmented, they don't stain and they are very easy to blend.

The two lipsticks I purchased are so gorgeous. I am in LOVE with Coraline's Kiss. I love them both, but Azalea Blue is more a night time color in my opinion. Coraline's Kiss can be worn at anytime. :D Azalea Blue was a little drying but it's because it LASTS FOREVER! A good lip balm under and a dab of gloss ontop should do the trick.






Just look at the blue shift in this lippie. OMG!

I am very happy with my order and I'm looking forward to future looks with all my new goodies!

While we're at it, I was able to take a few minutes of Melissa's time to ask her some questions about Morgana's Cryptoria and herself.

Melissa, tell me how Morgana Cryptoria came about?

I wanted to expand & get away from the "mineral makeup company" classification since my shop offers other things such as hair dye. I also have plans to expand into many other areas.

How long as Morgana Cryptoria been in business?   
I started Morgana Minerals in Nov 2006. The idea for Cryptoria was born last spring.

What sets Morgana Cryptoria apart from other Indie mineral makeup companies out there?
I try to provide more personal service to everyone. I am always asking for opinions on new shades, products, packaging, etc. I try really hard to give my customers what they are looking for in a shadow or lipstick. I fulfill many product & custom shade requests.

What are your visions for the future of Morgana Cryptoria?
I want my shop to offer reasonably priced gothic clothing, decor, and jewelry. My goal since starting up has been to make my biz successful enough that I don't need a day job. I hope that by the end of 2011, I will meet that goal.

What is the turnaround time after placing an order? What's your shipping policy?
It depends on what is ordered. Most orders fall into the 3-10 business day time frame. During sales, up to 15 business days. The current shipping times are stated on the front page & at checkout. I ship to most countries. Samples ship First Class for $1 & US orders are $5 flat rate for Priority Mail. International shipping is $7 & I'll refund the difference if it's over $1. After adding the cost of package insurance, most international packages ship for $6-$7.

What is your favorite Morgana Cryptoria product? Color? Why? 
I adore so many of my shadows...Stonekeep is my fave.

What does Melissa do in her spare time?
I don't have much spare time. When I am at home, I am usually doing admin business stuff, making batches, or packing orders. I do take time to watch my favorite shows. I am also reading "The War for Late Night". I am a HUGE Conan O'Brien fan(not literally ;). During my mini break this month, I hope to catch up on some Nancy Drew games. I am also looking forward to playing "Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack The Ripper".

Tell me one thing about Melissa others would be surprised to know.
I was a real estate agent for 8 years. Also worked as an insurance agent specializing in term life insurance. On my geek side - I love to build computers & tinker with electronics.

Anything else exciting, or special you'd like to add?
A giveaway next month for Makeup Zombie's Blog!

You read that right! A giveaway coming in January. Keep you eyes peeled! And in the meantime, be sure to run on over to Morgana Cryptoria and get yourself some!

*everything above was purchased with my own money. Pictures used with Morgana Cryptoria permission. Everything swatched over Hi-Fi Cosmetics Shadow Fix. Suckonthat!*