I can't tell you how excited I was when I realised that heading to the USA for our wedding meant that I could go to a Sephora (or three as it turned out). I've been a big fan of Kat Von D's make up line with them since it first began and so I knew a lot of my money would be spent building up my KVD collection but I was also keen to get my mitts on some Sephora own pieces after hearing such great things from Sophia of Tattooed Tealady. I'm really pleased with everything I bought including the spur of the moment unplanned purchases so I thought I'd share them with you!
I think the main reason that I love the KVD collections so much is that it gives you unusual bold colours at high end quality. Teenage goths like myself will likely look back on when Stargazer was the only brand in the UK that offerred white foundation, black lipstick and crazy coloured and neon make up but it really wasn't great quality with often pretty pathetic colour pay off. I've definitely not out grown my love of dramatic make up and clothing, the way I wear it has just matured a little, so being able to buy wonderful make up like this is just a dream come true.
I think I was very restrained with my lipstick purchases and only bought two of the Studded Kiss Lipsticks ($21.00 each) in the end, partly because a few of the shades I had longer for were sold out in all three stores we visited but also because I wanted to make sure I'd have money for any unplanned purchases I wanted to make. I came away with Wolvesmouth and Wonderchilde, unsurprising as I seem to have developed a real thing for purple lippies since changing my hair to a more silvery shade of blonde.
Wolvesmouth is a stunning metallic deep berry. This warm purple hued red is not for the faint hearted, it goes on deep and dark and glorious, pretty much matte but with a shimmer that makes me oh so happy. I didn't have a lip liner to match when I wore this last weekend and so went without and am happy to report that it didn't feather out and last really well, even through my visit to a local gelato shop to do a review where I drank coffee and tried an awful lot of tasty treats! It's probably a more Autumn / Winter shade but I just adore it so I doubt it will remain unworn until the latter part of the year!
Wonderchilde is one I just couldn't resist, another metallic shade this time with a little more pronounced a sparkle. It's a wonderfully bright shade of lilac that makes me think of that wonderful glittery vinyl that's used for the interiors of hot rods. Not quite as matte as Wolvesmouth, this is a colour I could wear more easily in the day time, although sadly it was also not quite as long lasting. It still had excellent colour pay off and is pretty easy to wear with it's blue undertone.
As many of you know liquid lipsticks that go on like a lip gloss and dry to a matte intense finish are my absolute favourite so I just had to try a few of Kat's Everlasting Liquid Lipsticks ($20 each). I wasn't at all disappointed, they are a wonderful texture and go on like a dream giving a dense colour finish without needing to layer up. They stay put pretty darn well although I will say that they aren't as smooch proof as some of my others as we found out when I covered Pete in bright orange kisses when we won at the Giants game!!! Definitely not a sale stopper though, I'll be adding to my collection very very soon for sure.
A-Go-Go is the best orange lipstick I've ever seen and is a real show stopper. As I said above I wore this when we went to the Giants v Dodgers game (because orange is the Giants colour) and I got loads of compliments and people asking where I got it. When I tell people of my fondness for a bright orange lip I'm often met with the question 'but isn't it really hard to wear?'. I don't find this at all, I like to allow it to have full effect and so go for a simple cat eye and toned down blush so the orange can really sing. Then again I am lucky in that my pale skin and light blonde hair allow me to wear pretty much any shade without it clashing with my skin tone or hair colour.
Bachelorette is the kind of colour I've been looking for for ages, a perfect balance of red and fuchsia for those days when I just can't decide on one or the other. Because it hits both red and pink tones but has quite a bluey base I feel this would work for pretty much any skin tone, which is pretty hard to accomplish!
My other KVD purchase was the ever talked about Lock-It Tattoo Foundation ($35.00). Now some people love this stuff and other people hate it - I am on the love camp. I don't think a foundation that is perfect for everyone will ever be invented as everyone's skin is unique, despite having certain common characteristics such as oiliness/dryness/blemishes/rosacia etc.
One of the most talked about things with this foundation is how pale a shade it goes to. It just so happens that I was the palest which is Light 42 (fair complexion with pink undertones) or so the assistant told me. I'm pretty sure she was bang on the money as this is the only foundation I've ever tried that I hardly need to work it at all for it to seamlessly blend into my own skin tone.
This foundation has excellent coverage combined with a lovely texture. I'd say it's like Doublewear but with a much more pleasant formula. I've only ever worn this over a primer so I can't comment on how it wears on bare skin, but I find it easiest to apply with my hands or a blending sponge rather than with a brush which resulted in little brush strokes, likely because it dries quite fast. This is the only foundation that I've found that will cover my blemishes and redness on its own with no need for concealer. It builds up wonderfully so I just used a concealer brush to layer it up a little over my problem areas and under my eyes.
I've also read comments that this foundation has caused blemishes in some people - to be honest I always have blemishes and acne that can be mild or severe depending on who knows what and so it would be hard for me to tell if this caused any more. As a fellow skin suffered once said to me 'I've given up on finding a cure and so I'm trying to find the best way to cover it'. Well I went ahead and bought another one of these after trying the first bottle so I guess you could say that I think this is one of the best ways!
So now for non KVD buys, first up is two of Sephora's own brand Cream Lip Stains ($13.00). Now these babies are pretty wonderful, more of the liquid lipsticks that I love so much but these wear so well and so comfortably. They're a lot less drying than others and are a lot more creamy, very easy and nice to apply and with some really interesting colours in the range.
African Violet (Shade 12) is the lighter of the two and has become a bit of a go to colour for me since I bought it. I've worn it so many times, it's so easy to wear because it's so pinky but that hint of purple makes it infinitely more cute.
Polished Purple (Shade 15) is the darker of the two and I've not had a chance to wear it yet, but it's an extraordinary colour. The most gorgeous deep and sexy purple with an insanely pretty metallic finish, it wouldn't look out of place on the lips of the lovely Lorde. I must admit that the metallic sheen is a little less pronounced when dry but it's a stunning lipstick none the less.
TokyoMilk is a brand that I've loved for some time now because of it's wonderful dark and romantic branding and the daring and unusual components and inspirations of its scents. I'd not yet made a purchase however until I spotted this travel size roller of their Tainted Love EDP ($22.00) from the Femme Fatale Collection. I figured this would be a great way to test the longevity and also meant I'd have a more purse friendly perfume for the rest of the trip and so I went for it. Unfortunately on me the scent isn't very long lasting, but it is a gorgeous fragrance. It's rich and sensual, floral but deep and with definite hints of vanilla and stone fruits with an undercurrent of spice. Old fashioned but beautiful, something I could imagine Greta Garbot wearing to great effect.
Last but not least was the only limited edition purchase of my trip, the Christopher Kane for NARS Parallel Universe Eyeshadow Duo which is now sadly sold out (you can still get the limited edition blusher or lip gloss though). I just couldn't resist these beautifully iridescent shades, photographs can't do them justice not even on the swatches below. With the lilac shade especially when you move it in the light every colour of the rainbow sparkles through, truly gorgeous. Parallel Universe is definitely the right name for this duo, they're almost supernaturally pretty!
And so here are swatches of everything above which hope fully you'll find handy!
Clockwise from top left:
Bachelorette // A-Go-Go // Parallel Universe Shade 1 // Parallel Universe Shade 2
Polished Purple // African Violet // Wonderchilde // Wolvesmouth
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