kat von d – Sophia Ravenna

Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

January 8, 2016Sophia Ravenna

Image shamelessly lifted from Sephora's website. — Image shamelessly lifted from Sephora’s website.

I’d been hearing good things about Kat Von D’s Everlasting Liquid Lipstick and I’m a fan of the brand in general, so last month I ordered “Ayesha” which is a beautiful lavender shade. I just love purple lipsticks!

I wore Ayesha for dinner on NYE. I mean, what better time to test a lip product than an evening of eating and more drinking than I usually indulge in? So I paired it with a mixed metal eye look… also using Kat Von D eye shadow, because like I said, I’m a fan of the brand (Monarch Palette FTW!).

So I really like the color. It’s sort of a beautiful orchid shade, just warm enough that it doesn’t wash me out. It’s really unusual without being over-the-top. I could see myself wearing this to perform, with the right costume. And I can definitely see myself wearing it to go out again.

My main concern is that the coverage is not as opaque as I would like. I feel like it would benefit from being worn over a liner or maybe a base color. I’d like to play with it some more. I did find that it was easy to re-apply when I had a little color loss after dinner and people wanted to take pictures. I’ve heard that’s a concern with some liquid lipsticks, but this one did not have an issue.

What I really appreciated was that although this dries down to a matte finish, it did not destroy my lips like the ColourPop matte liquid lipstick that I tried. As I mentioned in that review, my lips tend to be pretty dry normally, especially in the winter, so I have to be careful with the matte lip trend. This formula seems to play well with my lips so I think I’ll pick up another color or two in the coming months. I like that it comes in 29 shades ranging from pale nude to pure black, some subtle and some over the top, so there’s an option for just about everyone.

By the way, my goal is to eventually do a big liquid lipstick smack-down test, maybe once I move to Seattle and my lips will be benefiting from a less arid climate! Which brands would you like to see me review? I think the next one I pick up will be the new tarte line with the ridiculous millennial slang names.

2015 Eye Shadow Faves!

December 18, 2015Sophia Ravenna

24 glorious colors! — Mi Vida Loca palette is probably my favorite purchase for the year.

Today I had planned to give you a little sneak-peak at some things I purchased from ColourPop, but despite the fact that my order was supposed to arrive today, the tracking info hasn’t been updated since Tuesday! Who knows when my makeup will arrive? My Makeup Geek order that shipped this morning might even arrive first. We’ll see. Anyway! On to Plan B! Well, Plan B and a Half, really. Because I was going to do “favorite purchases of 2015” but then I realized I liked a whooooole lot of things, so I narrowed it down to just eye shadows.

Let’s start back in January and work our way forwards. I’ll link to my original review of the product and then give an update on how I feel about these shadows after repeated use.

ColourPop Super Shock Shadows. I didn’t realize I’d had these for about a year now! So the good news is, I just used one the other day and it hasn’t dried out. Sealing the jar really does do the trick even in this super-dry AZ climate. That said, I probably should make sure to use them more often because who knows how long they’ll hold out? Chipper remains one of my favorite colors. I don’t use the others as often. I think I would use them more often if they weren’t in individual jars. That’s the big limitation of this formula, it can’t be made into a palette and I can’t de-pot it and put it in a Z-Palette. I wouldn’t want to travel with more than 2 or 3 colors in addition to a regular palette. But the colors are amazing and I still really appreciate that the company is cruelty free and made in the USA.

Kat Von D Metal Crush Eye Shadows. I haven’t carried through with my promise to buy ALL of these, but I am up to 4 colors now. I really like how rich and metallic these are. I don’t think I have room for the entire collection, though. I may have to de-pot them and give them their very own Z-Palette if I want to buy the whole set. Oh, and they finally released the 11th color, it’s a metallic rusty orange. My most recent purchase is the blue one. I want to combine it with the green one to make a cool jewel beetle themed eye look. Once I figure it out I’ll make a tutorial.

Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca Palette. Look, I really like Kat Von D’s eye shadows. I still regularly use the Monarch palette (I just took it on a long weekend trip). And Mi Vida Loca is just an amazing palette. I did bring it along on my 3.5 week PNW adventure and I used it for all my photo shoots and performances. It’s pretty big to travel with, so I wouldn’t take it along for most trips, but I am definitely going to keep using it at home.

Makeup Geek Duochromes. Pressed shadows and pigments alike, these are a GREAT product! I haven’t used them too much more since the original review, as I haven’t been doing my makeup much lately. I will probably pick up a few more colors over time, although maybe only pressed shadows as I think my pigment drawer is full right now (might be time to clean out some of the colors I never wear). I really think these are a great option for belly dancers as they are an easy way to get a lot of depth in your makeup look.

So those are my favorite eye shadow purchases of 2015. How about yours?

Exciting Beauty Things!

October 23, 2015Sophia Ravenna

There’s so much beauty stuff going on right now, I have to do one big round-up post to cover it all, and then I’ll elaborate on some of it in the coming weeks.

First, I wrote a guest post for oVertone! How to Use oVertone With Long Hair not only covers my hair dyeing habits, but it also discusses long hair care in general and answers some FAQs about my hair. Plus there’s cute photos! I really like the one I used above and the one of me braiding my hair. I’m really happy I painted my nails nicely before that shoot, let me tell you!

Second, an update to my review of the Kat Von D Mi Vida Loca palette. I carted it along for my 3.5 week Pacific Northwest Adventure and I really love it now that I’ve used it some more! I used it for both of my photo shoots and my performance and I was really impressed by the pigmentation of the colors and the versatility of the palette. Also Skulls is my new favorite inner corner highlight color. It makes my eyes glow. I’m going to see if I can do a video tutorial to replicate the look I did for my photo shoot with The Dancer’s Eye because my eyes looked amazing.

Third, I was so excited about the Makeup Geek duo-chromes that when they arrived after I left on my trip, I actually asked my husband to forward them on to my bestie’s house so I would have them for Waking Persephone. Full review coming soon, but I love them! I got a mix of pigments and eye shadow pans and I used them for eyes, lips, and even as a face highlighter. I need to try more colors before I do my review, but the ones I used so far worked well.

Fourth, ColourPop just released eye liners! I placed an order for three colors (one gel, two pencils) plus one of their ultra matte liquid lip colors today. Those reviews should come along within a month.

Fifth, don’t forget that it is almost BELLY DANCE CHRISTMAS, aka November 1st, the day when all the fabulous Halloween eye lashes go on clearance sale. Don’t miss out!

Mi Vida Loca Palette!

September 18, 2015Sophia Ravenna

I’m so excited about this palette, I just had to do an unboxing video and talk about it right away instead of waiting to use it and give it the belly dance sweat test. Since the lighting and focus in the video are less than ideal (note to self, your bedroom is apparently not a good place to film), please enjoy these supplementary photos!

Click on any image to view full-size.

Additional notes: These colors are intense enough that I noticed a little staining on my eyelid when I removed my makeup! And yes, I checked and the palette is $59. Mi Vida Loca palette is currently available online, but is not yet in stock in Tucson Sephora locations.

OMG BUY THESE EYESHADOWS

August 21, 2015August 21, 2015Sophia Ravenna

So I’m basically in love with these new Kat Von D Metal Crush Eyeshadows. I’m giving serious thought to buying all ten, even though that would be expensive and take up a lot of room. They’re just that awesome!

So far I have these two colors. Iggy, the greenest green there ever was, and Synergy, a really rich bronze. Both are really smooth, beautiful, and hyper-pigmented. They provide an intense metallic effect on the skin that matches what they display in the pan. I’ve only worn Iggy so far, but it held up well to an evening of goofing off in the New Mexico desert. Look at how obscenely green it is.

Photo by Hannah, ridiculous behavior by me.

These are intense enough that even if you don’t normally use a primer, I’d suggest putting down some sort of base layer to prevent your eye lids from staining.

On a weird side note, the flavor text on Sephora says there are 11 shades, but there have only been 10 available on the website. So what is the mysterious 11th shade? Will it be released later, maybe for the holidays? Or is it a typo?

As a bonus, please enjoy this video swatch that I took after first finding these shadows at my local Sephora. They didn’t have Iggy in stock, so I swatched Synergy, Raw Power and Danzig.

IMG_2301

(Requires QuickTime)

Kat Von D Monarch Palette

June 13, 2014Sophia Ravenna

Things Sophia likes: Eyeshadow, insects, skulls.

Look, it was inevitable that I would buy the Monarch Eyeshadow Palette from Kat Von D. I tried to resist, since I had just recently purchased the Chocolate Bar, but c’mon. There’s a color in there called Entomology. The only way this palette could have been more obviously marketed towards me is if it had been a green beetle themed palette (which Sephora did have a few years ago, but sadly Sephora’s palettes are full of the worst eye shadow ever).

The colors are rather pretty even if there aren't any greens. — The colors are rather pretty even if there aren’t any greens.

And while it might seem odd for someone who loves crazy colors to buy two neutral palettes back to back, Chocolate Bar and Monarch actually play very well together. No seriously, Liora and I did extensive hand-swatching in the store before I made my purchase decision and found that there was very little color duplication and many colors that looked great together. To prove it, I used both palettes to create my Tribal Fest performance look.

This palette is also good for day time looks, though. On Wednesday I was going out for lunch so I decided to do my face in a nice neutral palette with a POP of metallic turquoise eyeliner, because why not? I used Tiny Death, Killing Jar and Summer Fly together.

IMG_0992[1] This made for a very nice, subtle look that held up pretty well for about 8-9 hours, until I went to hip hop class and troupe practice and got all sweaty, at which point I had some color loss.

The palette itself is made out of nice, sturdy cardboard. It’s attractive, well-constructed and has a strong magnet closure. The mirror is a generous size. It’s probably a little big to fit in most travel pouches, but not so big that it would be unreasonable to throw it into your bag. With just this one palette you could have your day and night time looks. I really like Wrath for performance makeup as it’s a really intense copper and it looks great with my red hair, so other ginger dancers should really give it a look.

But really, I’m serious, I’m not buying any more palettes after this!

Foiled Love Lipstick

April 4, 2014April 4, 2014Sophia Ravenna

The other day on a Sephora shopping trip, I saw this lipstick and I really liked it, so I tried it on. It wasn’t as dark as I needed/wanted for the particular look I was shopping for, so I didn’t end up purchasing it. But I left it on my lips and all day long I kept thinking “Wow, this looks really good on me and it’s wearing well, I should have bought it after all.” On my next trip I picked it up, and I’m pretty happy with the decision I’ve made.

The lipstick in question is Foiled Love Lipstick by Kat Von D in color “F. T. W.” It’s a really cool shimmery, metallic plummy winy fuschia-y color. I’m really bad at describing colors that aren’t green. The Sephora website calls it a “metallic cranberry rose” if that helps any. Anyway, it’s really pretty and is a good choice for my pale, freckled complexion, and because it’s got a nice blue cast to it, it makes my teeth look whiter. It applies easily, last for a while, isn’t sticky and isn’t too drying. I mean, I’m not a big fan of lipstick and I’ve worn this twice for non-performance outings and once for performing.

Seen here with an eye look also created with Kat Von D products because apparently that's what I was in the mood for yesterday. — Seen here with an eye look also created with Kat Von D products because apparently that’s what I was in the mood for yesterday.

Last night I wore it for Open Stage. When I came home 3 hours, lots of dancing, and two glasses of water later, it looked good enough for me to take this picture. Then I went out for dinner and after eating and drinking, I’d lost most of the color from my lower lip but my upper lip still looked great! I think I’ll be using this one a lot. I really like the metallic shade because while it’s not quite as sparkly as doing glitter lips, it’s a lot easier and lower maintenance. Have you ever tried to touch up a glitter lip on the go? Such a mess. This is nice for those instances where a glitter lip would be too much, but you still want to shine!