Haul & Review: I Am Sin.

I finally placed an order from I Am Sin.

I Am Sin is owned by Masuimi Max, one of the first pin-ups/alternative/fetish models I ever followed on social media. She's been a big inspiration of mine for years, I could write an essay about my gratitude for her but I'm going to stop myself and spare you all.

Review at the bottom but make sure to read the picture captions.

Vegan and Cruelty Free.

The shades I got. Each lipstick is 5.7 g/0.2 oz.
Comparison: SugarPill Liquid Lipsticks: 5.4 ml/0.18 oz,
Colour Pop Liquid Lipsticks: 3.2 g/0.11 oz,
Kat Von D Liquid Lipsticks: 6.6 ml/0.22 oz.

Packaging.

Applicator, it's a stiff doe foot with minimal fluff.
This is actually how I prefer my applicators for direct application, it gets the right amount of product for a full lip application (for my medium sized lips). I've not needed to use a brush with these which have automatically made them staples in my purse.

Left to Right: Lady, Boss and Bite.

Left to Right: Lady, Boss and Bite.

The review:

So fangirling apart, these are probably my favorite lipsticks to date. The formula is like nothing I've tried before. It doesn't feel like it dries down but it doesn't transfer, it's the weirdest thing! By far the most comfortable transfer proof lipstick I've worn to the point that I get surprised walking past a mirror and seeing myself wearing lipstick! They're really long lasting and I've tested them hard. They do not stain while drinking but do wear off with grease as they all do. Doesn't get horrible when touching up (cracking and dry) but I'd recommend using your finger for a touch up as it applies thinner and you can just dab on where you need without caking it on the old application (I do this for all my liquid lipsticks). They apply beautifully, I ALWAYS prep my lips with a gentle scrub and a plumping balm as a mask for a few minutes before wiping it off for a lipstick. I also blot away excess and these wear beautifully as a stain or faded edges Korean style.

I'd highly recommend these to fellow liquid lipstick lover.
But prep is crucial as is with all liquid lipsticks in my opinion.
Lady is the shade I've worn most followed by Boss and lastly Bite which is gorgeous but I'm not quite as exciting... The most I go out is for grocery shopping soooo.... Yeah.

I'm excited to see the line continue to grow and there are some gorgeous blushes I have in mind for a future order...

Let me know in the comments if you've tried anything from I Am Sin and what you recommend!

Haul: Another F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics order.

Ah, nothing like a fresh batch of GORGEOUSNESS!!!

I'm now an affiliate use code: CYNTHIA at the checkout for 10% your order. Click picture to get to F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetic's shop.

I've been a fan of F.A.I.R. Beauty Cosmetics from the beginning and she recently celebrated 3 years! Yay! During this anniversary celebration there was of course a little limited edition shadow released... I know, I know, I just finished a post about quitting limited editions. But this was a GWP!

I placed an order to also catch up a bit on all the new shadows that have come to be since I ordered last, quite some time ago...

These are the gems I ordered this time round as well as a The Walking Dead (because gore) make-up pouch because handbag organisation is essential for avoiding "hand in the bag rummaging".

Keep your eyes on my Instagram feed (@cynthiaiskillikill) as I'll y using the shadows over the coming week in various looks.

Haul & review: Essence Cosmetics.

Early last month the husband had to go to South Africa for work, which I of course took advantage of and sent him on a Drugstore mission. His first attempt was a failure as I asked him to get me some bright nail polishes... He returned with a royal blue, dusty rose and a nude begie/brown... (I asked him to keep the last one) So back he went and returned the other ones as he now had a specific list of items to get me rather than me assuming he pays attention to what I use... Silly me!

I asked for a setting spray, banana powder, clear brow mascara and the polishes seen in the picture.

There's only two cruelty free brands in drugstores as far as I know in South Africa, Physicians Formula and Essence Cosmetics. If you live in Cape Town you can get a hold of NYX.

French manicure beautifying nail polish in the shade Girl's Best French.

Brushed Metals Nail Polish in the shade Can't Stop The Feeling.
One thing these polishes have in common is a very thin formula, you need a minimum of 3 coats plus top coat if you don't want them flaking off within a couple of hours of them drying.

The Gel Nail Polish in the shade Dare It Nude.
I'm not a fan of this formula.

As for my review, I'm underwhelmed.

The banana powder is alright, I was mainly looking for a substitute to the yellow powder in the Kat Von D Shade + Light Eye Palette as I'm phasing it out, I love the products I have from that brand and will use them up but I don't agree with the front characters ethics and I've boycotted brands for way less before.

"You get what you pay for" applies for the rest.

Safe to say I'm over drugstore buys, I can make anything work for me but I shouldn't need to battle to get a product to work the way I expect/need it to. I rather spend more.

I have however not tried the Glow to go setting spray yet as I'm saving it for once I finish my Pixi Fixing Mist.

Self love and personal growth: Learning to not guilt myself and taking my own advice.

Lately something has started to click in me.

I've become very aware of my patterns of neglect and have begun to give myself a breather if I don't feel like doing whatever I wrote on my to-do list in the morning.
I'm allowing myself to do what I want in the moment without making myself feel bad. I just promise myself to get back to it when I have a better plan.

This has helped me so much with my anxiety, I can actually enjoy my days and focus on a few chores without feeling sick to my stomach for not mopping or cleaning the windows or whatever task that seems ridiculous to stress about in retrospective. I can just chill. This is so new to me... And I never saw how damaging my old ways were until now.

I'm working hard on being my own sound board.
Trying to give myself advice I'd give to someone I care about, which as stupid as it sounds, I wasn't.
I think we've all been there, telling a loved one not to be too hard on themselves, that things will be fine, just relax, take some time to reflect etc. But we never take our own advice, at least not until very recently.

Haul: Darling Girl Cosmetics , second edition.

It's bedtime for me as I write this so I'm going to keep it short.

I wasn't in need of make-up and then magic appears in my Instagram feed (@cynthiaiskillikill). Damn it Susan!

So I ordered four of the new pressed mattes.

I'm sad and disappointed in myself for not getting them all.

I got a gloss which is amazing, will be searching it later this week.

Also ordered a new multi chrome thingy majiggy, which is ridiculous and I am so excited to get to wear more.

Everything is of high quality, the products are insanely pigmented and I actually swatched them without primer which I don't normally do as I can't wear shadows without so I don't want anyone thinking they're insanely pigmented if I have primer on.

I'm so impressed with the mattes, I was way too excited and had no self-control which resulted in a heavy dip into the brown shadow... I was not expecting it to be so intense! Tried to fix it by adding more mattes and made a mess. I'll try again tomorrow...

The GWP is Dark Horse, it's gorgeous!

And then a blush which I'm excited about as I have started using a lot more of it lately.

But that's my haul!

I'm off to bed before I go off rambling about food.

Gamma Ray as eyeliner topper.

See the shift?!

👌👌👌