(re) WORK IT, BABY....

Hello! Yeah, it’s been a while. 2022 was a bit…empty for writing and reviewing for me. And since I don’t really get makeup subscriptions anymore, and just haven’t really been into reviewing makeup and beauty stuff, I may rework this page to talk about all the things from South Korea that I’m obsessed with.

I do get a quarterly lifestyle box, as well as a snack box, both from Daebak Company. I’m also really into Korean Dramas and movies so I can included quick, or even indepth discussions, of that stuff, too.

I’m looking things over, thinking about redesigning the whole website, so why not rework a few of the pages, too?

Stay tuned, nae chingu! (that’s “my friend” in Korean) If I can figure out how to get a Korean hangeul keyboard, I’ll try to use that, too.

Final Morgue Drawer 2021

I’m not sure if I mean this will be my final MD post ever or just for 2021. My garbage, makeup, and fav reviews have kinda left the building. But, like Elvis, they were spotted a few times throughout the year. But I wanted to wrap up 2021 with one big MD post, and I’ll write up another one with my favorites and hated-its. Hmmm, that’s a little catchier than PD, MEH, and GFY.

We shall see…

But first - GARBAGE. As I’ve been collecting these empties for a loooong time, this is gonna be one big ass post. So let’s get to it.

Boka Toothpaste (ela mint): I tried this out because it’s supposed to help remineralize teeth (I did the research a long time ago and the nano-hydroxyapetite technology been used in Japan since the 70s). Not sure if it did anything, to be honest. But it’s nice.

Tom’s of Main (rapid relief): My go-to toothpaste to relieve tooth sensitivity, which I have. And it’s the only one that doesn’t make my mouth peel (yes, it’s a thing and only happens to a small percentage of the population that uses things like Sensodyne or any other commercially produced sensitivity toothpaste).

Native Deodorant: I tried this with a coupon code and, as usual, natural deodorants just don’t work for me. I think I ended up sweating MORE than I normally do. Yes, this isn’t an antiperspirant. I get that. But it shouldn’t make me sweat more. I’m just saying…

Hask Dry Shampoo (biotin and charcoal): The biotin one is ok. It does feel like it thickens my hair a bit but it still looks and feels dirty/greasy after I use it. The charcoal, on the other hand, is awesome.

Cake Beauty Dry Shampoo: It smells really nice, maybe a little heavy, but it doesn’t work that well.

Marc Anthony Argon Oil Hairspray (extra hold): I love this stuff and just realized, as I’m typing this, I don’t have any backups. Dammit!

AG Hair Care (extra firm hairspray): The name makes you think it’ll result in crunchy shellacqued hair but it doesn’t. Unless you really apply it heavily. Either way its a nice product. I had the mini size and it lasted quite a while.

Raw Sugar Living Raw Boost: This is one of the only products I’ve found that helps tame frizz and makes my wavy hair look smooth. It’s hard to find and I had to stock up 5 or 6 of them. Hopefully it doesn’t go away ever!

The Body Shop Banana Shampoo/Conditioner: Meh. It smells nice but don’t think it really did any favors for my hair.

Mario Badescu Rosewater Facial Spray: This is a staple product for me. Will always repurchase.

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water: Now that Garnier is cruelty free (hooray!) I bought this again. It’s the only micellar water that doesn’t burn my eyes. I also use it as my cleanser in the mornings, as it’s pretty gentle and my face doesn’t need harsh cleansing after a rough night of sleeping.

Mamonde Rose Water Toner: Noooope. This stuff broke me out. My skin was very unhappy. I have a 50/50 record with Korean skin care and I usually know with 1-3 days if it’s going to go horribly wrong.

Urban Hydration Micellar Cleansing Water (apple and banana): I loved the smell of this but again, it burned my eyes and didn’t really take off makeup that well. Bummer.

Fourth Ray Beauty BFD Cleansing Oil: I do like this cleansing oil but the smell went off sooner than I expected.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Wash: Another staple; will continue to repurchase.

Mad Hippie Cream Cleanser: I really did like this. Very gentle. This brand is a little expensive, IMHO, and now that I really don’t need something like this in the morning, I won’t get it again.

OhK! Drying Pink Blemish Powder: This is kinda cool. It would be a dupe for the Mario Badescu one, and I’m sure there are others out there. If you’ve never seen this, you don’t shake the bottle. Just dip a Q-tip into the clear liquid all the way down to the pink powder and remove. Dab the wet powder onto your zit. It does work and it’s kinda fun.

The Ordinary Niacinamide Serum: I do enjoy this serum. My skin likes niacinamide. I switch it up, though, between this one and the Fourth Ray Beauty brand. For some reason, my skin prefers if I do this. After too many bottles of one brand, it stops working. Weird.

Good Molecules Ultra Hydrating Facial Oil: I love this stuff. With colder weather, it’s nice to add an extra layer of moisture to the skin. I forgot all about this product. Will definitely repurchase.

Nature’s Truth Rose Water: I can’t remember why I bought this. I don’t really need a toner so maybe it was just to add rosewater to my regimen? *shrug*

Facetory Facial Oil with Oats/Squalane: This stuff is brilliant. My skin adored this and it gave a nice glow. It’s more like a milky serum than an oil, to me anyway. Will definitely repurchase.

Fourth Ray Beauty Papaya Face Milk: I love this stuff. It’s a nice gentle acid in a milky suspension. It almost seems like it might not be doing anything but don’t put this over an open pimple or a scratch. Just FYI. I will keep buying this!

Mad Hippie Triple C Night Cream: Very nice night cream but this stuff is too expensive for what it is. Won’t be buying again.

Derma E Night Cream: This was fine. I like Derma E products. Little pricey though.

Purito Sea Buckthorn Cream: I used this as a night cream. It’s not heavy, more like a gel cream. But this is one of those Korean products that my skin liked. I might end up repurchasing.

Formula 10.0.6 Day Moisturizer: Yet another staple. I will repurchase.

Wow, I think that’s it. What I might end up doing is combining this and the favorites posts into one. That makes a little more sense and a lot less work for me.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and here’s hoping 2022 brings us more hope, joy, and health!

Spooky Chick "Goth" Eye Shadow Palette

Folks, this is a first for me. I have a friend (I know, shocking) who started the webpage, Spooky Chick. There are movie and book reviews, a blog, virtual psychic readings, adventure videos (like highlighting a local haunted graveyard or abandoned town), as well as an on-line store. There you can find all types of goodies: jewelry, apparel, mystical and ritual items, as well as an eye shadow palette.

From what I understand, this palette journey all started because my friend couldn’t find red eye shadows that actually stayed red (anyone who struggles with this color knows what I’m talking about). She found a company in California that could formulate the shadows for her, and the back of the palette is stamped with a Cruelty Free logo so that’s pretty fucking cool, too.

This palette contains what she considers the essential ‘goth’ color story. These are the colors she wanted to be all in one place, but could never find anywhere. And she included two of the same black shade, since that’s the one she runs out of the most!

I keep putting goth in quotes because while most of society believes that goth people only dress in black, wear black makeup, and walk around all angsty (and to be fair, some of them do), if you’ve had any exposure to the outside world and/or social media, you’ll have seen that black is a staple, but many goths wear a ton of color somewhere. I can point you to the Instagram of Victoria (@toribiohazard). Yes, her closet seems to only consist of black clothes, some dark reds thrown in. But look at her eye makeup posts - FILLED with bright, pigmented colors. So when you get down to my full review of this palette, don’t be surprised to see reds and purples, whites, and shiny iridescent shades going on.

This is where the “first for me” comes in. My friend sent me the palette to review. I’ve never had anyone do that before so of course I said yes. Anyone who’s been here for a while knows how much I’ve gotten into makeup the last 5 years or so. THAT SAID - do not assume that I will kiss her ass and write up a perfectly glowing review about this product. In all my reviews, I’ve always given my honest opinions, good or bad. This is no different. I hate that I have to put that disclaimer in but people can be….short sighted about a lot of things.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that. On with the review!

Enjoy my weirdness…

The packaging is a nice sturdy cardboard with magnetic closure. I love the red logo on black background, but I’m a red freak so hard to go wrong with that in my eyes. The ingredients and Cruelty Free logo are on the back. The outer package is smooth so it gets beat up easily. That doesn’t bother me, except for when you’d want to take pretty pictures. Otherwise, it’s totally fine.

I do like the size of the mirror - and it’s not one of those cheap, wibbly ones you find in kid’s makeup. I usually don’t use palette mirrors, though, because they don’t have magnification. And my 52 year old, astimagtism laden eyes need their 10x, people!

You can see the inside of the palette is a bit of a mess. But it’s really just that 2nd from the top left, the GORGEOUS icy silvery white shade that causes it. A few of the other shadows are powedery but they don’t get all over the place.

Like you’re mom.

(Wow, sorry about that. I’m feeling feisty today. Fuck it - #sorrynotsorry.)

You can see the palette stayed relatively clean even after some swatches. The purple does get a little powdery so be careful. You’ll see in the eye looks further on just how pigmented some of these shades are, that purple being the best one.

Let me try to go through each row.

TOP ROW: Basically we’ve got a satin finish black, icy white shiimmer, satin gunmetal grey, a matte very very light grey, and a matte white. The first three feel like BUTTAH and work well. I’m really only disappointed in the last two shade. First, they don’t look all that different on the eyes. Second they are hella dry and don’t swatch well so you can’t really tell what they’re like until you use them. And third, they are the least pigmented of the bunch. Almost to the point of being hard to work with. You can work with them, though, so they’re not completely lost causes. I just wish there was more color differentiation and that the white was way more pigmented. To be fair, it’s hard to find a white eye shadow that shows up well (at least on my pale skin).

SECOND ROW (all matte): warm red, grape purple, berry red, deep red, and charcoal grey. The first red is dry and a little finicky but works. The purple, deep red, and grey are like BUTTAH and probably my favorites in the whole palette. Also, layering the warm and deep red together look great. The berry shade is a little dry but again, works well.

LAST ROW: We start with two matte blacks, and the last three shades are actually pressed glitters - or they’re in some kind of gel suspension. Makes them easy to work with. I’m not a glitter kinda gal generally speaking but that silver, irridescent one calls to me in my sleep…(Just always be aware that glitters CAN be problematic in the sense of literally scratching your eyeballs. Didn’t stop me from trying them because I’m an adult and can make my own informed decisions.) The blacks are dry but they still deliver a lot of pigment.

Let’s take a look at some of my creations. I wanted to use every shade in the palette, and I have, and used them over several weeks so I’d have enough of an idea how they work - together, alone, etc.

Obviously the blue in the first look is from another palette, but this was for July 4th so I had to. I mixed the warm and deep reds and put that icy shimmer in the middle. So gorgeous. And these reds lasted all day and into the evening. So, GOOD JOB, REDS!

The second was using that purple and the white. Now, I only dipped into the purple once and got 95% of this look completed. On both eyes! I only dipped back in one more time to sweep the color down around the outside corner of my eyes. HOLY HELL, this is such a gorgeous color. Just be careful when you go in with your brush. You have been warned.

The first look here is was just using the black. That’s it. I wanted to see how it stood on its own two feet, so to speak. No extra primer or sticky base, no black liner or gel color to help saturate it. On its own, this black is pretty damned good.

The second I used that berry shade with some black in the outer corners. It’s not very pigmented but I think it could look super opaque with a base under it.

The last two looks had the same base. I think I mixed the black and deep charcoal grey satins. Then on one eye I put the black glitter, and the other I used the silver irridescent glitter. The black doesn’t pick up as well, and I’m not sure why. But it took a little time just to get that small amount on my eye ball. I may try a glitter glue in the future to see if that helps, but for this first round I wanted to see it on its own. That irridescent glitter, though, is like manna from heaven. Didn’t have to work hard to get that on there and look stunning.

These were just for shits and giggs. I put the black and irridescent glitters over the moon drawn with liquid liner, and the red over the spider of the same base. The red and black work almost the same. Little hard to get on the brush/finger, but they’re fine for what they are.

That about covers it. Over all, I really enjoyed this palette. The quality is good, with just a few exceptions, and the color story is great. I agree with the store owner that you really can’t find all these shades together in one palette so I’m glad she went out and did it herself. This would also make a great companion if you want to play with brighter colors, go rainbow, whatever, but want to add a little dark drama to it.

Interested in trying these for yourself? Head on over to SPOOKYCHICK and get yours today.

Apocalyptic Beauty Look of the Month Club May and June 2021

I’ve gotten a little behind on my reviews, I’m sorry to say. But I’m hoping I can catch up on most of them before I have to disappear while I’m busy working conventions again (hooray!). So I’m squeezing two months into this review for Apocalyptic Beauty.

For those who may not know, AB is an indie brand makeup company who has a monthly subscription service. For $15, you will receive 4-5 makeup products that fit a particular theme. They are also 100% vegan and cruelty free. Check out their website for more info on this and everything else they’ve got. APOCALYPTIC BEAUTY

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

Let’s look at May first. Theme: GODS OF OLYMPUS

I love that each month comes in a cute little reusable mesh bag with a piece of candy. This month’s bag was rather unique! But let’s take a look at the products.

Apollo: a sunny peach gold eye shadow

Aphrodite: golden seafoam blue eye shadow

Hades: sparkling iridescent blue over a black base. Foil for maximum drama!

Ares: shimmer balm. It’s pretty smooth and creamy, the golden copper just shows up a bit on my lips. Smells very strongly of warm spices, like cinnamon and/or french toast. Not sure I can handle it.

The candy is an Olympic Mastic candy. Basically it’s from Greece and is made with tree resin. Kinda tastes like cedar and pine. But in a good way, actually!

Not super excited about the color story here, and the scent on the lip balm is so strong. However, I have already used that Apollo shade a couple times. It’s GORGEOUS.

Now, on to June. The theme: CLASSIC MONSTERS

In. Love. With. This. Month. Are any of us surprised? Thought not. Moving on. Let’s take a look at the products. We got all eye shadows this month.

Count Dracula: Brooding red (a warm coppery red)

Frankenstein’s Monster: Void green (moss, swampy green)

The Mummy: Sheer iridescent grey-blue

Phantom of the Opera: Sparkling violet with red sheen

Creature Feature: Neon yellow green*

*In the US, the FDA has not approved neon pigments as “eye safe”, while many other countries deem them safe for all cosmetic use, including near the eyes. So it’s up to you if you do or do not want to use them. I, personally, cannot fucking WAIT to try it out.

I am so jazzed about this month. The colors are awesome, and though maybe not obvious to everyone, they look like they’ll work really well together.

I can’t tell what the theme is for next month because it got cut off at the bottom of the card. It looks to be “Sinister Sprite” maybe? I’m excited to find out.

What did you think of these products and themes?

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid June 2021

For those who don’t know, Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly makeup subscription service from the indie brand, Notoriously Morbid. For $15, you get 4-5 makeup products, full and trial sized. Each month is curated to a pop culture theme. They are cruelty free and some of their products are vegan. Check them out here: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

June 2021 marked the 7th anniversary of the Vanishing Cabinet service! So we all got a bonus item in this month’s themed box. The theme? AHC Season 3 - Coven.

While Coven was the least favorite of the series I watched (I stopped paying attention after my favorite season, Freak Show) I’m digging all the products from this month. Let’s take a look!

Don’t Be a Hater: a metallic, silver semi-loose eye shadow.

Surprise, Bitch: a metallic, cherry red semi loose eye shadow

Sister Witches: a satin, black based shadow with a purple glow, and sprinkled with a few sparkles

Unholy Nether Realm: solid perfume stick fragranced with….a shit ton of stuff. Smells very clean and floral to me.

Mad for Tartan: cool, slightly brown toned deep red Mystic Matte lipstick, with a hint of gold sparkle. Creamy Caramel flavor!

When Witches Don’t Fight, We Burn: matte peach blush

I love all the colors in this month’s bag. The blush looks more of a neutral tone with a hint of peach, and surprisingly, my underbelly of a dead fish pale skin can pull it off.

The hint for next month….there really can be no doubt. I’m stoked!

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid May 2021

For those who are new, the Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly makeup subscription from Notoriously Morbid. For $15, you get 4-5 products that fit some kind of pop-culture theme. Check out the brand for more info: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

The theme for May is: THE GOLDEN GIRLS (dear gods can this get any cuter or more nostalgic??)

I was never the targeted demographic for this show. It ran from 1985-1992 and I’m pretty sure I watched it as it aired (as opposed to in syndication after it ended). The show created stories and situations and characters that were universally relatable, no matter your age. It still makes me laugh and cry to this day, though I am now approaching the same age the actresses were at the time it was made.

Also, you can see in the photo, the reason they picked this theme - in memory of Brennan’s grandmother. (I’m not crying. YOU’RE CRYING.)

Picture It - Sicily! - a berry-purple cream blush with pink and gold shimmer. I don’t notice the shimmers but I don’t apply it heavily. It looks a little bruisey if I’m too heavy handed.

I’ll Get the Cheesecake - strawberry cheesecake and snikcerdoodle flavored slumber salve. This is by far the best lip balm/treatment I’ve ever used. You have no idea how excited I am to have one again!

Thank You for Being a Friend - mystic matte liquid lipstick in a soft coral red shade with pink shimmer. On me, it looks more pink-based with a hint of warmth than straight up coral-red. Gorgeous either way.

Can I Ask a Dumb Question?: a gorgeous dusty rose eye shadow with gold and pink shimmer

Better Than Anyone I Know: a dark blue-grey matte eye shadow

I love the names of everything; I love the colors; I love the theme. I can’t wait to play with these.

The hint for June. What do you think it means??

NEW SUBSCRIPTION - Apocalyptic Beauty (March and April 2021)

Considering my growing collection of loose shadows, did I need to sign up for another indie brand makeup subscription? No, I did not. But after experiencing this brand’s loose highlighter, I had to see what else they had to offer.

For $15 a month, you’ll get a themed bag with 4-5 makeup products that are vegan and cruelty free, plus a little sweet treat. Niiiice. Check out the brand here for more info: APOCALYPTIC BEAUTY

It seems the colors in each month are specific to this subscription as I couldn’t find them listed anywhere on the site so I don’t want to do a price breakdown here. But you can still get an idea of pricing for similar products if you peruse the site.

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

We’ve got two months to cover for this first post. So let’s start with March: WICKER MAN

March’s theme is Wicker Man (so appropriate considering a movie review post I’ll be putting up in a day or two). Each month you get a cute little bag with the info card, business card, and the products. This month there are four eye shadows and a loose highlighter.

March Hare: a semi-matte soft brown (eye shadow)

Seed of Flame: a fiery orange (eye shadow)

Wicker Man: smoldering brown (eye shadow)

Parthenogensis: a duochrome sparkle over a translucent red-orange base (sorry I didn’t get a better pic of that one) (eye shadow)

Midsommar: golden highlighter

All these colors work very well together. So not only is there a pop-culture theme for the month, even the products themselves fit a specific color scheme. And that sparkly orange is calling my name, dude.

The highlighter is pretty yellow, and probably too dark for my skin. HOWEVER, I do have green and purple and “weird” highlighter colors in my collection so why can’t I have a gold one, too?

I’m also impressed with how full the eye shadow pots are. As in pray an earthquake doesn’t hit the moment you open one because that powder will spill.

Now on to April: KAWAII OTAKU

I had to look up “otaku” for this one. Here’s what I found: “otaku is a Japanese term for people with consuming interests, particularly in anime and manga.” There’s also a negative connotation with this term, as in these people are so obsessed that it becomes detrimental to their social skills (which sounds like a higher education Harvard passive aggressive definition of a geek or nerd…so fuck that definition). And “kawaii” refers to things that are cute and adorable. Looking at the color scheme for this month, I’d say that’s spot on.

Cosplay: A vivid turquoise blue (eye shadow)

Chibi: a shimmery pink (eye shadow)

Mangaka: shimmering silvery purple (eye shadow)

Kawaiisa: a duochrome pink-purple gloss

Holy crap those are some vivid eye shadow colors. They also give off that Barbie/ bubble gum/ cutesy vibe, right? It’s hard to see the shimmer in the pink and purple but believe me, they’re there.

Like any gloss, you can see the color better in the swatch. But on the lips, it’s not that noticeable. I suppose if I really layered it and didn’t smoosh my lips together, you’d see the color better. The gloss itself is very comfortable - not sticky or gloopy at all, though the squeeze tube applicator gets a bit messy.

That’s it for my first ‘review’. I did try the Wicker Man shadows and highlighter. They were fantastic. So I’m excited to see what else I can play with from this brand. What do you think? Are you going to check them out?

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid April 2021

Trying to get back into reviewing my makeup…uh, stuff. Anyone who knows me understands that since the loss of our dog, Dozer, I haven’t been up to doing much of anything. But I’ve recently gotten back on the movie reviewing bandwagon, and that’s made me want to get back to enjoying my makeup purchases. So, here we are.

For anyone who doesn’t know, Notoriously Morbid is an indie makeup brand that has a monthly subscription (several, actually) called Vanishing Cabinet. For $15 every month, you get 4-5 makeup products (eyeshadow, lipstick, perfume, etc.). Each month is also themed - could be a movie, a game, a mythology, WHATEVER. It’s pretty fun actually. And they’re cruelty free! Check the brand out here: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

I didn’t review March and, honestly, already put everything away so I can’t remember what the products were. So for April, let’s just dive into “GAME OVER”, a Resident Evil themed bag.

RESIDENT EVIL, PEOPLE!!!!!

I was going to cancel this subscription after April because I signed up for another brand’s service. But Resident Evil is the game that got me into gaming in the first place, and survival horror specifically. So I kinda wanna keep Vanishing Cabinet for a little while longer…

Great, A Chainsaw: A dark grey Mystic Matte with silver sparkles. This liquid lipstick is one of my favorite formulas. Very comfortable, and wears pretty well.

Complete. Global. Saturation: Blue based highlighter with blue and purple sparkles. You can’t really see the glitter in this because it’s very fine (which I prefer). It’s a gorgeous lavender shade on the skin. I’ve come to determine that loose highlighters are some of the best. Yeah, they’re messier than their pressed powder cousins but dayum, they’re worth it.

The Umbrella Corp logo makes for a perfect lid on these pots, no?

Abandon Hope: A pale silvered blue eye shadow with green sparkles. GORGEOUS.

Welcome to Raccoon City: A deep matte red eye shadow. I love that they picked this name for this brick red shadow.

B.O.W.s: A bruise yellow eye shadow with blue-purple-orange shifting shimmers. It’s hard to tell but this matte yellow does shift to a shiny purple-pinkish color.

I have to admit, I don’t understand the color story here. Not a big fan of primary colors together. But separately, I think they’ll be great. I’m actually dying to try that yellow shade. I have a couple yellows in my collection, but they’re a little difficult to work with. And now to have one that kinda shifts depending on the angle/light, um, yes please!

That’s it for this month. I can’t figure out the hint for May’s theme. It sounds sort of familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on it. What do you think it’ll be?

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid January 2021

I’m a smidge late in posting this one. January kinda got away from me.

For those who don’t know, Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly themed makeup subscription service from Notoriously Morbid. For $15, you will get 4-5 makeup items (mostly mini or travel sized). This is an Indie makeup company, and all their products are cruelty free. Check them out for yourself here: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

The theme for January is based on one of the Legend of Zelda games. I know nothing of this particular game/franchise except that most everyone who doesn’t play it, thinks that green-capped elf is actually Zelda. (spoiler: it’s not)

Theme for January

Twilight Princess

First up, we have a face and body glitter gel, in the shade World of Shadows. Personally, I don’t like wearing this stuff on my body, and I don’t want it on my face, which is where my eyeballs live. But if this is your jam, have at it. It’s got some awesome colors going on.

The two eyeshadows I got this month are:

Twilight Realm: a teal loose shadow with a gold sheen and gold/green shifting sparkles. The sparkles fall out everywhere, but I can’t stay mad at that color.

Mirror of Twilight: a semi-loose, metallic, antique silver with blue/purple shifting sparkles. Gorgeous.

There’s also a loose highlighter, and liquid lipstick (sorry, I didn’t get a picture of the actual tube of lipstick, but it’s the same packaging they always use).

Benevolence to Banish Evil: a pearly orange highlight with rainbow sparkles. It’s hard to see all that on the face, particularly the sparkles, because it just looks smooth and shiny to me.

Light & Shadow Can’t Mix: a pale pink-leaning-lavender shade with a slight gold/peach/red shift and copper sparkles. I do love these kinds of lavender shades.

That’s it for January. Everything is gorgeous as usual, and I’m excited to keep playing around with these (except the body glitter). The hint for next month made me almost bust a gut laughing - if I guessed it correctly. What do you think?

Anyone have a guess?

Daebak Box - Winter 2020

Well, I tried to keep all my reviews for products from 2020 in 2020. But I just got overwhelmed and thought it was too much to keep up with for those last few weeks in the Year That Shall Not Be Named. *shrugs* It is what it is.

For those who many not know, this Daebak Box is a quarterly subscription of all things Korean - pop culture, makeup, skin care, snacks, clothes, etc. It’s way too much fun for its own good and has led me to purchase more (insert item here) from their on-line store after hooking me via the box.

You can purchase this service two ways: 1) pay $54.99 each quarter, or 2) pay $199.96 for the whole year. Either way you’re saving some good money. Check out the website for ALL their other subscription services and store fronts. DAEBAK

I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

If I haven’t mentioned it before, the actual cardboard boxes are very thick and sturdy. I’ve repurposed a few into storage containers! Also this month we got a cool, smaller booklet that actually tells us what everything is. Now, did I save mine? I have no idea…

STATIONERY/LIFESTYLE

I forgot to take separate pics of that little fuzzy bag on the left. It’s just about the right size for a cell phone, maybe a thin wallet, too. It comes with a removeable strap. The tag says “I Was Plastic” - can’t remember if that’s the brand or just the description. Because this little fuzzy pocket WAS plastic and recycled into that cute bag.

Apeach Mirror: I think I have one travel mirror (one of those metal cases that snaps closed - except mine doesn’t really close anymore and the mirror keeps falling out). So this is perfect!

Bookmark Pen: Yes, that is a pen shaped like a banana leaf. It works great as a bookmark, too. I’m going to keep it in that sparkly silver 2021 planner. (EDIT: I’ve already misplaced it somewhere in the Black Hole of my office…*son of a bitch*)

iStyle Planner: I’m going to use this as a planner for author stuff (cons, readings, publishing stuff) because gods know, I don’t have enough fucking calendars and planners in my life. I just love how shiny it is!

QMask Face Mask/Strap: These particular material/style masks as super comfortable. And I love that it came with a strap you can hang around your neck. Now I don’t have to worry about which pocket I stuffed the damn thing in next time I’m at the dentist or doctor.

The Saem Hand Lotion Set: I do like a good hand cream. These are very nice - just thick enough, and absorb so damn fast. Good thing to have in this time of excessive hand washing. I gave one away because it said it was sage scented and I’m not about that. Right now I’m using the Green Grape one. It has a slight scent of grape with a powder/perfume finish. Very nice, if a little strong.

FOOD

Lotte Pepero Rich Choco: If you don’t know what Pepero is - what have you been doing with your life (also Pocky - basically the same thing, but I think Pocky is from Japan)? These are rod shaped cookies (sometimes pretzels) covered in various flavors of chocolate. This one had white and dark layers. SOO FUCKING GOOD. You can find them in a lot of places here in the US now, so you really have no excuse not to give them a shot. Unless you have diabetes or something…then I’ll let it slide.

Lihan Rice Paddle: We have the generic plastic paddle that came with our rice cooker years ago. It’s soooooo 2005. I love this one. The textured surface helps grab all the rice, the size has good heft while still being light, and the base is weighted so it’ll stand up straight when you need to set it down or after washing to let it dry. How cool is that?

SKIN CARE

Mediheal Sheet Masks: Two different skin care options came in this pack. I have so many sheet masks already that I gave a couple of these away, too. Mediheal is a big name in skin care so I’m excited to give them a try.

Mediheal This Patch: Now, I did try some of these and honestly, my skin said no way. To be fair, my skin is super sensitive so I’m not surprised that at least one thing in this box didn’t work for me. I have given these to a friend so I hope she can get some good use from them!

Tenzero Therapy Essence: I love these little individual packets of serum. I do smell a bit of mushroom (truffle, so not a surprise there) but my skin enjoyed the one I used. (EDIT: I used another one and yes, my skin still likes it.)

That’s the Winter 2020 box. I’m still really enjoying these lifestyle boxes. I love being surprised each quarter with the items! Until next time, hope you all are hanging in there and keeping safe and healthy.

BH Cosmetics Naughty Palette

I did a series of posts on Instagram, with 10 different looks using the holiday Naughty Palette from BH Cosmetics. So I thought it might be a good idea to post a quick review and some swatch pictures of it so you can get a better idea what all is going on in this thing.

I’ve been using BH eye shadows for years. I did a separate post on the first Zodiac palette (or I included it in some favorites or something…). I’ve tried face stuff from them - a foundation and concealer - and they’re just not for me. Too heavy, too thick, and pretty drying. HOWEVER, the eye shadows are a totally different animal.

(I paid for this palette with my own money so all opinions are my honest ones)

Some of these shades do kick up a bit of powder (understandably as they are pretty pigmented), that periwinkle shade in particular. Doesn’t stop me from loving them, though.

If you follow me on IG, you’ll have seen the 10 looks I created using this one palette, but I’m going to repost them here. I played with the filter edits on this computer, though, so they might look a bit smoother or fancier here.

I was a bit worried at first, because when I did 5 looks with BH’s original Zodiac palette, everything I created was much darker since there weren’t a lot of options for mid to light toned shades. Not really a problem with this palette!

Below are all the swatches of the shades. Read from bottom to top, each arm contains two rows of shadows.

I’m actually impressed with the swatches. Though most of the time, you can’t trust how a shadow will or will not perform on the eye by these things, I gotta say these look good. Really only two shades look very similar (Nutcracker and Brick) but otherwise, there’s a ton of variety - in colors and finishes. Even the pressed glitters look pretty good, though they perform more like toppers (unless you try to pack too much on and then it’s all ‘oh shit I got glitter in my eyeballs!’ which did happen to me and it wasn’t fun, but at least they weren’t big ass chunks of glitter).

If you’ve never tried BH Cosmetics before, and don’t have to worry about traveling with big palettes of makeup (and right now, who does?), I would highly recommend this. Last time I checked, it was on major sale at the BH website.

So what are you waiting for? DOOOO EEEET.

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid December 2020

These packages come later in each month so my review usually goes up the following month. But I wanted to wrap up all 2020 stuff WITHIN 2020. Keeping its taint to itself, so to speak. So I haven’t used these products yet. I’ll probably do some updates later, maybe on this post or a fresh one. We’ll see.

For those who don’t know, Notoriously Morbid is an indie makeup brand with several subscription options. This one is the Vanishing Cabinet. For $15 each month, you will get 4-5 products - usually mini, but sometimes full size. Each month is themed, and all their products are cruelty free! Check the brand out here: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

December’s theme was Anime - Dogs, Demons, & Deities, specifically concentrating on InuYasha.

From myanimelist.net - SYNOPSIS: Based on the Shogakukan award-winning manga of the same name, InuYasha follows Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old girl whose normal life ends when a demon drags her into a cursed well on the grounds of her family's Shinto shrine. Instead of hitting the bottom of the well, Kagome ends up 500 years in the past during Japan's violent Sengoku period with the demon's true target, a wish-granting jewel called the Shikon Jewel, reborn inside of her.

After a battle with a revived demon accidentally causes the sacred jewel to shatter, Kagome enlists the help of a young hybrid dog-demon/human named Inuyasha to help her collect the shards and prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Joining Kagome and Inuyasha on their quest are the orphan fox-demon Shippo, the intelligent monk Miroku, and the lethal demon slayer Sango. Together, they must set aside their differences and work together to find the power granting shards spread across feudal Japan and deal with the threats that arise.

You know, FYI…

This month we have a Mystic Matte, a liquid eye shadow, and two loose eye shadows.

(pay no attention to my dry, crusty hands)

Wolf Prince: Described as “a semi loose mocha brown with a gold sheen and rose gold sparkles.” I can’t see the rose gold so much as the regular gold, but that could change once I actually use it on my eyeballs.

Fire Rat: Described as “a bright red shimmer with silver sparkles.” So fucking pretty, I can’t wait to use this one.

Sit, Boy!: Described as “a metallic forest green liquid eyeshadow with green sparkles.” I did put a little of this on each eye lid without eye primer. Once everything set (and I don’t know if it sets completely - I forgot to check) the sparkles did end up falling onto my under eyes and cheeks. So maybe with a primer or glitter glue, it’ll work better. We’ll see. It sure is pretty though.

Fear the Fluff: “A light warm toned purple with a shift from green to blue to violet.” I didn’t see the green, but the blue and violet are beautiful. I love this formula, so I will wear it more and will look for that green shift.

That’s it for December. Not much of a review as a listing of what I got, but I’m looking forward to playing with all these in the future. For those of you familiar with the InuYasha world, how did this theme pan out? En pointe?

MORGUE DRAWER December 2020

Reviewing garbage is just so appropriate right now. Used to feel kinda weird, but now that 2020 is coming to a close, it’s more fitting than ever.

Let’s take a look at all the stuff I used up over the past few months!

BEAT THAT MUG

Notoriously Morbid Slumber Salve: I can’t remember the flavor/scent on this one but this stuff is awesome. It actually stays on overnight and my lips feel so soft in the morning. I really need to get more…

Essence Lash Princess Volume Mascara: I don’t enjoy the other formulas in this line, just the OG Volume. Really great at volumizing and separating my lashes. I love the bristle brush, too. I think this particular tube was a little clumpy, though.

Dionis Goat Milk Lip Balm: Pretty good balm. I think I have one more, in a different flavor, to try, so we’ll see if they’re consistent quality (looks like they may have changed the scent formula - Peppermint Twist is the name now).

Crazy Rumors Lip Balm: This one ended up being terrible. It dried out my lips the more I used it.

Medusa’s Makup Rage Against the Bean Lip Balm: Very good lip balm, wonderful vanilla scent. Would definitely buy again. This looks like it might be an old formula (there are new balms with new packaging on the site) so this is on mega sale right now.

Tarte Sex Kitten Eye Liner: This is a great eyeliner. Very black, and doesn’t smudge or move all day. It’s probably one of the few liners that actually stays on my waterline, too.

Milani Highly Rated Mascara: It’s…okay. It works better as a layering mascara, not so great on its own.

LIKE BUTTAH

Carol’s Daughter Almond Cookie Frappe Body Lotion: HOLY AMAZEBALLS. This stuff is a great moisturizer AND the scent is straight up almond cookie. It’s aweoms.

Nature’s Truth Sweet Almond Oil: I get this stuff at Meijers. Great base oil to mix with essential oils or scent oils to make you own…whatever!

Theme Creme Screaming Lambs: I can’t remember if the name of the shope is Theme Creme, or that’s the line. But I met the owner at a local horror con a few years ago and bought 3 jars. This one has ingredients that help with sore muscles and bruising (a strong clove scent). And it was really great, as are the other 2. The only problem is that when this gets warm, the beeswax beads resolidify so there are a bunch of little wax beads in the lotion that take a while to remelt against the skin. Otherwise, I loved this stuff, but I don’t know where to buy it.

MY SKIN WOULD MAKE A GREAT LAMP SHADE

Formula 10.0.6 Picture Perfect Day Cream with SPF 15: Staple moisturizer. Will continue to repurchase (though with the winter months upon us, I’ve been adding in a facial oil with it).

ELF Happy Hydration Cream: Nice, and I liked that it had no scent.

The SAEM Baobab Collagen Cream: I really liked this but the company is not cruelty free so will not repurchase. I can only find this on Amazon and Ebay (as opposed to Asian beauty websites) so not sure if they still make it or it’s being phased out.

Fourth Ray Beauty BFD Cleansing Oil: Since cleansing balms now bother my eyes, I’ve turned to oils. This is a really nice one.

The SAEM Green Tea Cleansing Water: It was okay. Not great, but not the worst.

Mad Hippie Cream Cleanser: This is a new brand to me, and this cleanser is fantastic. Already repurchased.

Mario Badescu Rose Facial Spray: Staple face mist. Will continue to repurchase.

TN Dickinson’s Witch Hazel: This was fine but the scent was a little off-putting (the natural scent of witch hazel is very earthy). I got a different brand now and it does NOT have a scent like this one at all.

Formula 10.0.6 Berry Fresh Balancing Mud Mask: Good, but I didn’t use it up fast enough. Had to pitch it. Also it doesn’t look like they make this one anymore.

Look At Me Sweet Honey Sheet Mask: This was awesome. Good scent, good serum, and my skin felt great the next day. I got mine in my Facetory subsription but you can get this at YesStyle.

The Ordinary Niacinamide Serum: My skin loves this serum so I will keep buying it. Eventually, my skin acclimates and rebels, but if I just switch it out for the Fourth Ray version (and go back and forth between those two brands), it’s fine.

Fourth Ray Beauty Reveal AHA Serum: Really enjoyed this and it smells great.

Fourth Ray Beauty Papaya Face Milk: My skin loves this particular face milk (I’ve tried other and my face ain’t having it). Smells like papaya candy and my skin actually gets a nice glow from it (hubby even commented one day about it).

Good Molecules Niacinamide Serum: This is okay. My skin doesn’t like it as much as the Ordinary or Fourth Ray Beauty. You’d think they’d all mostly be the same but nope.

GEE, YOUR HAIR SMELLS TERRIFIC

Hask Coconut Dry Shampoo: Works pretty well, and the coconut scent isn’t TOO overpowering.

Hask Unwined Dry Shampoo: This also works pretty well, but the scent is very very strong. Won’t be getting this one again. Can’t find this particular dry shampoo anymore (they have regular shampoo in this line, though).

DEBRIS

Tippy Toes Baby Wipes: I use these to wipe off swatches or my hands. I will use wipes to clean up fall out under my eyes, but always have to apply a face oil afterwards. No matter how gentle the brand says it is, it’s always a bit drying on the face. The scent on these is awful, though. Maybe their unscented ones are better…?

Apagard Nano-Hydroxyapetite Toothpaste: I wanted to see if this stuff actually works. NAHA is an ingredient, created by NASA and sold to Japan, that helps build enamel in your teeth from the inside out (as opposed to fluoride which helps on the outer layer of the teeth). You can look up scientific papers on-line about it and why NASA created it, but Japan has been using it in their dental care since 1970 (I believe). And I’ll be damned if this stuff doesn’t work. My teeth are sensitive and if I don’t use sensitive toothpaste, they hurt like hell. NAHA helps with sensitivity by repairing micro-scratches or breeches in your enamel so now I don’t need sensitive specific toothpaste. How fucking cool is that?

Tom’s of Main Sensitive Toothpaste: This is what I used before I found that Apagard stuff (I’m also trying the Boka brand with the NAHA since I won’t want to have to wait to get the paste from Japan). It’s great stuff.

Native Natural Deodorants: Natural deodorants don’t work on me - and these are no exception. They actually make me sweat more. But I wanted to try this brand because so many people were singing its praises (and I got a coupon). So…yeah. Total bust. But it’s fine if I’m staying at home and not overexerting myself with anything. They smell really nice, too.

All righty. That wraps up my trash for 2020. Fingers crossed that 2021 will only have me talking about literal garbage instead of metaphorical.

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid November 2020

For those who may not know, Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly makeup subscription service from the indie brand, Notoriously Morbid. Each month, you get 4-5 products (usually mini), based on that month’s theme, for $15. For more info, check out their website here: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID VC Also note that NM is a cruelty free brand!

(I pay for this with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

All righty. The theme for the November VC is Harry Potter. Please just know I’m a muggle and that’s the only reference I know from the franchise (I’ve neither read nor seen the movies - and please don’t tell me I have to because that’s the surest way to keep me from doing it).

I love that they’re including price/cost information now!

We’ve got three shadows and one of their Mystic Matte lipsticks (if you don’t like liquid lipstick, you really should try this formula).

Floo Powder Power: Gorgeous mauve/murky rose color in the matte formula.

Supermegafoxyawesomehot: Semi-loose multichrome with a rosewood base; shifts from turquoise to green to blue to purple. You just cannot capture these kind of shifty shades in swatches or sometimes even in video (especially if you have no technical deftness to bring out their beauty). Just trust me - this is a beautiful shade.

Totally Awesome: Another semi-loose multichrome but with a black base that shifts from teal to gold to green to blue. *sigh* Check out my Instagram for a couple pictures with this shade (@Pmonkey710).

I tried to get the shade swatches in two different levels of light, but it’s still hard to see just how pretty they are.

A Mystic Matte in the shade “Ugh, Now Two People Are Mad at Me”. Beautiful warm purple with sparkles that shift from green to blue to violet. I love this color so much. I really enjoy purple lipstick shades (second only to red) so this is a lovely addition!

That’s it for this month’s goodies. Apparently December will have their first anime theme! *pleasebeattackontitan* *pleasebeattackontitan* *pleasebeattackontitan*

PDs, MEHs, and GFYs December 2020

Well, here we are folks. Almost to the end of the shit show we’ve come to know as the year 2020. I anticipate over spillage into 2021, but I’m hopeful it will only taint the first few months with its grubby little paws.

In the meantime, let’s go through a handful of stuff I really enjoyed, or not, or really had luke-warm feelings toward. I’m thinking of changing the GFY to FO: FUCK OFF. Little shorter, little sweeter…well, maybe not sweeter.

Also, I’m sure that all but one product mentioned here is from a company that’s cruely free! (I don’t know about the toothpaste, Think Your Teeth).

PANTY DROPPERS

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Mascara: One of my favorite mascaras. It’s expensive so I wait until it goes on sale to purchase. It seemed I either bought an older tube or I had this sitting in my stash a little too long. Felt kinda dry and clumpy this time around and didn’t last very long. It’s usually not like that.

Tarte Busy Gal Brows (Medium Cool Brown): I love colored brow gels since my eyebrow hairs are very fine and few. If I don’t want to draw them in, I use a gel like this. I really liked the color, even though the hold isn’t great. But the teeny tiny brush is the best part. This is way to expensive to justify buying (unless it goes on mega sale - which I think it did and I have a backup). I kept the brush and am trying it with another brow gel that’s a little too thick. Hoping the smaller brush will help apply it better.

Essence Precise Eyeliner Brush: I love this fucking brush! And it’s $3 (used to be slightly cheaper, if I remember correctly but it’s worth it). I use this for gel eye liners or when I need more precise application for cosplay makeup.

Milani Retouch & Erase Light-Lifting Concealer (Light): This is pretty much the only concealer that looks good on me. Not drying, not heavy, blends out well. It works best if I’ve put a facial oil under my eyes, let it sit for about 10 seconds, then blend the concealer on top before setting with powder. I’ve since discovered Milani has one lighter shade (Fair) which is good because Light is way too yellow. Sometimes you can get it from Ulta, but I had to get mine directly from the Milani website.

NYX Cosmic Metals Lip Cream (Electro Magnetic and Celestial Star): I loved these lip creams. Gorgeous jewel tones, shiny and sparkly but didn’t feel gritty on the lips. Unfortunately, these just got too old and now are a little dry and streaky. (They have fewer colors available at Ulta, and the NYX site is out of stock on some so I’m wondering if this product is slowing being phased out)

MEH's

Sky Organics Rosewater Facial Mist: At first I really enjoyed this, but the longer I used it, the heavier the scent became. To the point where it’s just unbearable now and it stinks up the entire room. Otherwise, it’s a decent face mist. I got mine at CVS but I bet you can get them all over.

Think Your Teeth Toothpaste (BTS Collab): I think I got this in a Daebak box. The toothpaste itself seems fine, but the flavor is off-putting. Lavender, I think. I’d be interested in trying their sensitive formula, though.

Milani Trifecta Mascara: Doesn’t really do much, definitely not three things. Looks more just like a soft, natural mascara. It’s on sale at their site…shocking.

LA Girl Oomph’d Mascara: See above.

AOA Studio Buttercream Gel Liners (Blueberry and Pistacio): This is the Shop Miss A house brand, I believe (pretty much EVERYTHING on Shop Miss A is around $1 - no joke, and there’s some good stuff on there). Loved the colors on these (rich blue and green) but the little pots are completely dried out. Like we’re talking little round bricks and they’re not that old. Granted, they were super cheap, so I’m not that mad about it.

Colourpop Pretty Fresh Creamy Concealer (Light 33C): The color is great but the product itself looks very dry on me (so much for that hyaluronic acid part, eh?). EDITOR’S ASIDE: if you go to the CP website now, they just launched a Hello Kitty collab and your computer cursor TURNS INTO A SNOWFLAKE!!!!

Colourpop Creme Gel Liner (Puppy): I love this color so much. I went through a phase of only wearing this with a matching matte shadow in the crease of my eyelid. But the pencil dried out way too fast, and is completely unusable now.

ELF Flat Brush: For an inexpensive brush, this lasted longer than I thought it would. It was nice for spreading out concealer or inner corner highlight on the eyes. But the little bristles pushed down into the ferrule and I can’t use it anymore. But I’ll probably get another one, since they’re pretty cheap. I think this was the concealer brush, but mine doesn’t have a name on it, where the packing now does include that (better late than never).

GO FUCK YOURSELVES

Fourth Ray Beauty Mellow Milk Mist: As you can see, it took me nearly the entire bottle of using this stuff to figure out it was what made my skin take a nose dive into the shitter. Broke me out something horrible! Which is sad because it gives a nice glow to the skin. GAH!

NYX Gel Liner/Smudger (White): So fucking dry, so fucking difficult to work with, so fucking NOT pigmented, and so fucking dry within a short amount of time. TRASH!

Notoriously Morbid Eye Base (Dreams Fade): Anyone following me on IG knows I’ve been loving on NM so hard. But this eye base is terrible. It doesn’t help shadows last longer, nor does it help with intensifying pigment, AND it ends up making all eye shadows crease like crazy on me. FUCK! (not available on their site, so it may have been a Halloween Advent Calendar exclusive)

Milani Stay Put Waterproof Eyeliner (Linked On Black): This product is the reason I refuse to wear waterproof makeup any more. It’s nearly impossible to remove this stuff (which might be a pro for some people) and irritated my eyes. The actual liner also dried out and separated from the wooden pencil around it. WHAT THE HELL?

Catrice Long Lasting Lip Pencil (And The Cherry On The Top): Spoiler Alert - it’s not. And it’s not for sale anywhere that I can find. WEAK!

BONUS ITEM - The Year 2020: No explanation needed, amirite?

Okay, well that wraps up my loves, likes, and hates for 2020. Here’s to hoping 2021 doesn’t suck as much giant donkey dick!

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid October 2020

For those who are new here (Hello, welcome), Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly makeup subscription service from the indie brand, Notoriously Morbid. All of their products are cruelty free (a lot are vegan, but I can’t be sure all of them are). Each month, you get a package of 4-5 themed products (usually mini-sized) for $15. Check out their site for more information: NOTORIOUSLY MORBID

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

OCTOBER THEME: HOCUS POCUS

Not surprised that the theme for October is based on the movie, Hocus Pocus. I, personally, don’t think it’s all that. But then again, I’m a horror whore. I prefer more scary fare than cutesy (though I’m not opposed to it), or an excuse for Bette Midler to show off her incredible pipes.

I have to admit, though, when Sarah Sanderson gets punched in the stomach after repeating “Amok!” over and over, it fucking hilarious.

Anyway…

This month we’ve got three eyeshadows, one perfume oil, and a face brightening powder. Obviously, I can’t swatch the perfume (I Put A Spell On You). It smells wonderfully like fall - sweet and spicy, little smoky with a hint of bourbon. The face powder (Light A Candle) is a very light lavender, and doesn’t show up either. Just know that the brightening/lightening power of this stuff is pretty decent. Almost a little too brightening, even for someone as pale as me, but it doesn’t look dry on the skin at all.

That leaves the eyeshadows.

Double Damn: An emerald green shadow, with a slight blue and purple shift.

Satan Has Married Medusa: A matte, burnt pumpkin orange shade

I Am Beautiful: An orange shimmery shadow, with a blue to purple to pink sheen. Mostly the pink and slightly purple colors show up on me.

I’ve always wanted to try a lavender powder and now I have the chance! The perfume is fine, but I do have a few other brands with nearly the same scent profile. So we’ll see if I keep this one. The shadows are gorgeous, as usual, and fun to play with.

Here’s the hint for November’s theme (I assume it’s a Harry Potter thing? It sounds like a Harry Potter thing, but I’ve neither read any of the books nor seen any of the movies). What do you think it is?

Daebak Box - Fall 2020

For the uninitiated, the Daebak Box is a quarterly subscription service. It contains all things South Korean: pop culture, makeup, skin care, snacks, and lifestyle. Not sure what all the hullabaloo (or hallyu - sorry, inside joke) is about, head over to the site and check them out. You can sign up for the annual subscription ($199.96) or get a one time season order ($54.99) to test the waters. It’s up to you! DAEBAK CO

(I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

General overview of the box and it’s contents. I love the shiny detail of the name and the mountain. So pretty!

I am never disappointed in these boxes. They are huge (that’s what…nevermind), and almost overstuffed with goodies. I may not end up using everything in it, but in general, these are great boxes and worth the price. I’ll break down the items into separate categories - otherwise, it gets a little overwhelming.

Hot Brew Vanilla Latte (I think the brand is HY but I can’t be sure): Collab with BTS, there are two flavors - Americano or Vanilla Latte - and I’m glad I got the latter. It is already sweet, but not over sugary. I opened it first and downed it. I needed a little pick me up that afternoon, and it was perfect. Not mad about J-Hope being on it, either. Yes, I saved the bottle. Shut up.

Petitzel (again, I THINK that’s the brand) Water Jelly in Mango: I absolutely love these water jelly drinks. They’re basically like Jello that hasn’t set all the way, making it easier to suck through the straw opening. I’ve gotten a few in the Snack Fever box, too, and they’re just fun. Also delicious, but mostly fun.

There are always some kind of coupons, and cards, and promotional stuff included in each box. And this month, there was just one beauty/makeup product. You may have thought it was really a Hershey bar but no, dear friends, it’s makeup.

Etude House Hershey Eye Shadow Palette: I’m not a huge fan of Etude House skin care stuff. My skin has a 50/50 chance of reacting to their products, but I’ve never had any of their makeup (I don’t think). In general, it seems to me anyway, that Asian powder makeup products are very soft in color. Not just the shades, but also the pigment. These are NOT patchy at all, but no matter how much I pile the powder on or build up, the color remains soft. This isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, I might actually turn to this palette first if I want to do a soft neutral/brown/bronze look. The shadow are soft and perform very well. And that packaging. I mean, come on. How fricken cute!

I love the stationery products this month, and I think they’re all from iStyle. The notebook has lined pages, as well as the graph style (good for practicing your Hangul), and blank pages. The cover is a cool, soft matte. The pocket sticky notes are sweet - for those times you want to leave more than just a simple note! I do like that the planner band is something separate, so you can move it to from one book to another (as opposed to the attached ribbons or dividers normally in a notebook or planner.

I’m not mad at the clear plastic pouch either. Those things are great for travel when you have any toiletries or makeup that might spill and ruin everything in your suitcase!

Cica gives us the Smoother, which is basically like aloe vera gel, but doesn’t leave a film or residue on the skin. It’s a really nice moisturizer that’s great for the warmer months. So…not so much right now for me as we move into winter. But it’s a GIANT ASS bottle of product, right?

Teehee by Daebak is a vegan face mask, in stick form! It’s really cool. You just wipe it across your face directly from the tube, wait 5-10 minutes for it to dry, then wash off. Even though it feels like a clay mask, it comes off very easily. I’ve used it a couple times now and my skin really likes it, and feels very soft afterwards.

The Le Plein hair and body spray is…not good, though I do appreciate the size of the bottle. This and the two fabric sprays we’ve gotten in the box are not my favorites. They don’t work, and the scents are just too heavy. Not a fan.

The slipper socks ARE MY FAVORITIST THING EVAR. Since I got this box a couple of weeks ago, I haven’t gone one day without wearing theses. The fabric is a little on the thinner side, so I wear them over my regular socks. I wear them to bed; I wear them around the house; I wear them outside. I LOVE THEM. (I threw away the original package and label so I don’t remember the brand, and they’re not for sale in the Daebak store)

The Kakao Friends tumbler is totally adorable. I always seem to get Ryan on any Kakao product, so I’m glad he was on this, too. It’s a smaller cup (more like a regular eight ounce glass, as opposed to the American favorite of 64 ounces or more), a removeable lid, and a friggen screw on cap to protect the straw. How cool is that?

There was also a gift bag with the members of BTS on it, as well as a few coupons and promo cards. But otherwise, that’s everything. As usual, I loved about 95% of what’s in the box; I’ll probably use about 85% of the products.

Have any of you purchased this service? What do you think?

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid September 2020

Seems I’m late for a September review but this subscription isn’t mailed out until the end of the month so…..

Anyhoo….for those who may not know, Vanishing Cabinet is a monthly makeup subscription service from the indie company, Notoriously Morbid. Each month, you get five items that are curated to a specific theme. If you’d like more info, head over to NOTORIOUSLY MORBID and check them out. Most of their products are vegan and/or cruelty free. HOORAY!

(I buy this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

September brought us a mash-up between The Craft and Clueless, two iconic mid-90s films. In the box, there are three loose shadows, one solid perfume, and one lip gloss. Let’s take a look.

Solid perfume stick in “Rolling with the Weirdos”: Obviously I can’t swatch a perfume, but I wish we had Smell-O-Vision already. Yummy fruity scent of strawberries and guava. If you’re a sweet, fruity kinda person (and honestly, those are the BEST kind of people), you will love this. I like solid perfumes, too, because they’re easy to transport without worrying if they’re going to spill everywhere. Just don’t leave them in a hot car…

Cosmic gloss in “Witching Hour & Makeovers”: A soft, iridescent pink/gold gloss that smells like chocolate. Not sure if it’s supposed to, but I like it. The gloss itself it pretty dang thick and gloppy, but if you’re conservative with the application, it’s totally fine. It also looks really cool if you put it over darker lip colors.

Whatever, It’s Only Magic: A gorgeous icy blue with blue to purple sparkles. This is NOT your mother’s 1970s powder blue eyeshadow. Stunning! I wore it with a little dark eyeliner one day, and it was beautiful.

That Was Way Harsh, Nancy: A perfect for fall, burnt orange shade. Actually, wear it any damn time you want. It’ll look great.

Plaid & Pentagrams: Look at that deep purple with gold shimmer and sparkles. Mother fucker, that’s gorgeous.

(I’m already picturing that purple and blue together for an icy wintery look…who the hell am I??)

October Theme Hint….Hocus Pocus reference? Some kind of witch thing!

So there you have it. Month two of my subscription, and it’s looking good. I would like to patronize a lot more indie brands when possible. Goodness knows, 2020 has sucker-punched a lot of small businesses right in the dick, so if I can help keep them afloat, I’ll do my best!

Anyone sign up for this? What do you think?

Vanishing Cabinet from Notoriously Morbid August 2020

I don’t know if it’s quarantine, or I just missed having a makeup subscription service, but here we are. I’ve signed up for a monthly makeup subscription from Notoriously Morbid (remember the lipstick one I did with them for the dragon themed year? No? Well, click HERE to read one).

I’ve been very drawn to indie brands of makeup, and since I’ve tried eye shadows and lip products from NM (and liked them), I thought I’d sign up for their Vanishing Cabinet service. For $15 each month, you get 4-5 themed items (some mini, some full size) ranging from lip products, blusher, solid perfumes, etc. all with that month’s pop culture theme. Check out NW’s site for more info. Keep in mind they have a really long waiting list for this service, but will contact you once a spot opens (assuming you sign up to wait, that is). NOTORIOUSLY MORBID VANISHING CABINET NM is also vegan and cruelty free!

I purchase this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones.

So, let’s take a look at August 2020 - X FILES!

Lots of super pretty stuff this month! Highlighter, blush, two eye shadows, and a liquid lipstick.

I Want to Believe: Light green highlighter. You can see the gold in that swatch and that’s mostly what you see when it’s applied to the cheekbones. But…if you look straight on at my face, you can see a slight green wash of color. Not super happy about that, but it’s not that noticeable, so I can live with it! And loose highlighters are great to get an intense shine!

They Call Me Spooky: Deep pink blush. I can’t be sure, but I think there’s a little shimmer or shine in the blush. It’s not over the top, if it exists at all. BUT IT IT SUPER PIGMENTED! Tread carefully…since it’s loose, get a little on your brush and tap that on your hand before putting it on your face. Trust me…

Trust No One: Matte teal eye shadow. Gorgeous. The swatch doesn’t look great, but I think I had a spot of lotion that was still a little damp on my arm right where I swatched it.

The Smoking Man: Multichrome shadow, pewter base that shifts from rose, to green, to gold. The rose is a little hard to see but the shadow is no less stunning for it. I also love the little eye shadow pots look like UFOs.

Sure. Fine. Whatever: One of the NM’s Mystic Matte liquid lipsticks in a beautiful chocolate brown. I am not a brown lipstick girl, but dayum. This formula is very comfortable and doesn’t dry down completely. It’s also very thin at first application so it WILL bleed into any lines around your mouth. But if you stay on top of it with a Q-tip, or use a lip liner, it’ll be fine.

I love the names of everything in this collection. I think the lipstick and The Smoking Man eye shadow are my favorite. I’m excited to keep using them.

Also, the hint for September’s theme….HELLZ YEAH (though, I don’t remember anyone saying ‘as if’ before that famous line, but it has been a while since I saw the movie).

Storybook Cosmetics

About a year ago, Storybook Cosmetics popped up on my IG feed (I don’t remember if it was an ad or someone I follow talking about them). And they have this monthly makeup subscription called the Book Club, and the eye shadow palettes look like little books! How cool is that? Naturally, I signed on. I wanted to get at least three of them to test the products properly.

Look at that gorgeous logo!

However, what was originally going to be a monthly service, turned to every other month. Then not exactly sure. Now we don’t know when. After a year, I finally got the third palette, and I think I’m done.

Don’t get me wrong - I’m not blaming or shaming anyone here. This business is run by three women (triplets, actually!) so anytime life throws a monkey wrench into the works, the schedule is messed up. I get it - family illness/death, manufacturing problems, supplier issues, global pandemic - that shit is not fun. But I know my ass is impatient, and I don’t want to hang around and wait, hoping no more issues raise their ugly heads.

That said…I really have enjoyed these shadows and lipsticks. The books come with three eye shadows, one lip product, and a bookmark. The last two books also came with eye shadow brushes that are ADORBS. The packaging is not for those who want sleek displays, or to save storage space. These are thicc, even if they are small. Just look at the pictures below to understand what I’m talking about.

Despite my reservations, I do not begrudge anyone who wants to check them out, and maybe sign on for the subscription. You can buy their products individually, too. Check them out here: STORYBOOK COSMETICS

(they’re also cruelty free, so bonus points to them for that!)

So let’s go over each palette I received and talk about them, shall we?

First up was Little Women!

Each book has beautiful detailing, a mirror, a quote from the book, and the bookmark contains the product ingredients. You can see what I mean by the book’s bulk, even though the book is small, so it takes up some room.

The shadows are named after three of the sisters in LW, and Jo gets the honor of the liquid lipstick. The shadows do kick up some powder so be careful when applying. The lipstick formula is wonderful. It never feels super dry when it sets, and it even has a bit of tackiness to it (particularly on the inner rim of the lips). It WILL come off on stuff so be warned. My applicator had a funny little extra bit at the end, but I just cut it off and all was well. I dig the shape of the doe foot itself, though.

I wanted to create at least three looks with each palette. I have to say this color story was the least inspirational to me, but I ended up really digging the simple look of the soft pale green all over the lid.

Next book is The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Dig that eye shadow brush, people, with working magnifier! Not that I use it for that, but it’s pretty cool.

This palette scream falls to me. Probably because of the Harvest Orange and Forest Green colors. The lipstick is a more neutral nude color on me, maybe leaning a little yellow once it sets down. But again, the formula is very comfortable. For the eye shadows, I think Watson and Moriarty were my faves, and they worked so well together.

And last, but not least, we have Jane Eyre.

I think I was most excited about this because the pink and rose color story was just calling my name! Not that I’m a pink person at all, but for some reason, these got me excited enough to keep my subscription until it arrived. They are a nice mix of cool and warm tones, too. The brush feels a lot cheaper than the Sherlock one, but that could be because the Sherlock one has actual thick glass in it!

Instead of a liquid lipstick this time, we got a gloss. Decently pigmented, thick, not sticky at all, and super comfortable. Probably my favorite lip product of all three.

I loved all the shades in this palette and can see myself using this more than the others. Well, except for maybe Watson and Moriarty. Oooh, we could have a palette party!

Like I said, I loved the idea of this. As a writer, how could I not? The shadow formulas are nice, little powdery, but they perform well. The lip products are pretty and comfortable. All in all, these are good products. I just don’t have the patience to keep my subscription, not knowing if it’ll stay on schedule or be more “well, we’ll ship it when we can”. I did put a link to the company above, though, so please check them out and see for yourselves what they’ve got going on!