[Review] Portland Black Lipstick Part 3

Hi everyone,

We're back with more Portland Black Lipstick Co colours! This batch is a fairly eclectic mix of colours that I mostly haven't seen or tried myself which arrived with my latest order courtesy of the ever awesome Kim Damio.

A quick overview of the colours as per their website:

Goodbye, Little Yellow bird : Not available,because I can't find anywhere that sells it besides Beauty Bohemia. It's not a new colour though.

Lux Et Voluptas : Lux et Voluptas is a two-toned lipstick. It has a top layer of metallic gold backed by a charming carmine-based pink. It is somewhat more translucent, light and sparkly than most of our other colors, which works well for those who prefer more subtle lip wear than we usually offer. And, yes, this is a personal tribute to the restrained decadence of the 1990s, to Hakim Bey, and to this year's long awaited spring season in Portland. Look forward to the launch of our new autumnal color -- 'Nox et Veritas'!!!

Imitation Cherry: This colour has been around for a fairly long time, but doesn't seem to be for sale anywhere as far as I can find it. You should still be able to order it though, by contacting the sellers via email or their FB page.

Graey: None either, because I'm highly suspicious this is a new colour ( or at least not one that has been updated anywhere afaik). Only place stocking it is yet again, Beauty Bohemia.


Imitation Cherry

It's a very deep dark cherry red. It's a fair bit brighter and seems to have more of a true red base than compared to say, Undead Red which is a bit more of a plum colour. Seems to be great for making a statement or hitting the right note for that film noir style. Might be a tad too fierce for work though, but I love it all the same.

Goodbye, Little Yellow bird

It's a cheerful yellow as expected, is creamy and a bit minty as all their stuff. I personally find the shade a bit weird to wear, and it's like a matte non metallic version of Gilded Lily. I had some issues getting it as opaque as I wanted with my brush. Slightly pastel too. It's oddly not available on either their Etsy or website pages but I've seen people purchase tubes of it before.

Graey

It's a creamy bluish matte light gray. It takes a few more layers to get it opaque compared to the rest, the consistency reminds me of Abominable. It is a very nice steely light grey colour but I can't think of an application for it at the moment unless you are a cyborg or something and have metal lips.

Lux Et Voluptas

One of PBL's more 'recent' colours, it's a very wearable pinkish colour with gold flecks in it. The flecks aren't very visible once it goes on but it's a very cute colour. Similar in vein of shade with The Coral is Coming Out of the House.  It's also available on their site! Whoo!

Rating: 4/5

Pros: Creamy, tastes nice, has staying power. Wasn't as hard to remove as the darker colours.

Cons:
Save Lux Et Voluptas and maybe Imitation Cherry, I have no clue what I would do with these colours outside of costume use. Lux Et Voluptas contains natural carmine and might prove to be an allergen to some people.

[Review] Portland Black Lipstick [part 2]

This time, we're taking a look at Portland's titular Black lipstick, Metallurgy, Artificial Amethyst and Chaiborg.

A quick overview of the colours as per their website:

Black: The best ever! A perfect blend of black iron oxide and mice in a moisturizing base, this colour is opaque and long lasting.

Metallurgy: This unique lipstick is forged from black, green and gold colours to produce a truly unusual metallic experience. The results are surprisingly sophisticated - but with the primitive boldness you have come to expect from Portland Black Lipstick Company products.

Artificial Amethyst: We introduced this dark purple lipstick at this year’s wonderfully fun Portland Hallowe’en Bazaar. In true modernist fashion, we celebrate the fact that it is not made from real gemstones, but from FDA approved mineral pigments. After all, have you ever *tried* to stick amethysts on your lips? They fall off and bounce around on the floor…

Chaiborg: This futuristic lipstick is a cross between the metallic silver gray of industrial robotics and the warm light brown of milk tea. Neither too warm nor too cold, Chaiborg is a cosmetic life form all its own!

Time for swatches!

Artificial Amethyst

Looks like a rich metallic dark purple like it's namesake The colour goes on beautifully, producing a very deep purple colour with a faint metallic shimmer. I would call it within the same family as Indigo Bridge in terms of looks. 

Of all the colours tested I like this about as much as Indigo Bridge. Photo doesn't entirely do it justice.Very pigmented as well, it took very little to get it this opaque. If you want it slightly lighter, a blotting would bring out more of the purple hue.

Black

Ahh yes, the colour that Portland Black Lipstick is most famous for. It's a very rich black that goes on opaque with minimal amount. It stays on pretty well too and is one of the darkest blacks I know on the market. The caveat: it's a bit hard to get off and might stain lips a little bit. Time to break out the makeup remover! it's rich and pigmented but it really isn't a huge favourite  for me though I can see why lots of people love it.

Chaiborg

Is a  metallic silver grey with a warm brown tone, like it's namesake chai. It's very similar to the other metallic lippies but being one of the more neutral shades, it's pretty wearable. Makes you look kinda like you have iron -robot lips, and it straddles the line between being a warm and cold shade too. Photo sadly doesn't really do it much justice either. 

It's nice but it's not one of my favorites because it looks a little odd against my crazy pale yellowish skintone.

Metallurgy

Is a deep greenish gold, metallic colour. I'd say it's somewhere between black and pewter cauldron with a hint of gold sprinkled in. A nice shiny metallic colour for those who don't want to hit full on black. It goes on great and it's crazy pigmented. In terms of metallics I still like chaiborg more in terms of the cooler metal colour options.

I think I was a little unlucky with this sample that it had gone off a little. It smelled and tasted weird so after the review I got rid of it. I've tried it before with another friend who introduced me to the brand and I didn't experience this. We HAVE very hot weather and I hadn't stored the sample properly so that's likely the cause of it. According to Portland Black Lipstick Co. each lip stick colour has a different shelf life and if it smells sharp and a little like crayon or has dried out, it's probably reached the end of it's lifespan.

Rating: 5/5

Pros: Creamy, tastes nice, has staying power.

Cons:

All these colours save for Artifical Amethyst were very hard to remove without any form of makeup remover. Artificial Amethyst has natural carmine and might prove to be an allergen to some people.

[Review] Home made lip balm!

Hi everyone! I know things have been a bit quiet lately but it's mostly because I've been pretty busy at work ^_^ but that doesn't mean I haven't been up to my usual shenanigans. For starters I just started a YouTube channel sometime last month so all the recordings have been keeping my time jam packed too.

Anyway, lets get to the crux of things.

A friend of mine recently started making her own home made lip balm! she makes both tinted sheer lip pots as well as the clear kind using food grade ingredients so they're not chock full of weird chemicals and other oogey stuff like that.

I got to try out the clear one, in a pot of course, because she hasn't quite nailed getting them in tubes yet but it's all part of the process ^_^

Here's the full ingredient list:

Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (cold-pressed), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Beeswax, Grapeseed Oil, Chocolate Flavoring (food essence), Cosmetic Grade Mica Pigments (not in the clear version).

Verdict:

The lip balm feels quite velvety without being too oily or melty, which is great for our rather hot local weather. It melts to the touch which makes it even easier to apply. The primary ingredients are beeswax and virgin coconut oil so you get a nice coconutty scent alongside a whiff  of mellow chocolate essence.

It feels quite moisturizing without that oily feeling so I like that part. But I'm not sure if I really like the chocolate scent but I'm still waiting on the peppermint one once it comes out XD I pretty much leave it in my office because the air conditioning is pretty cold and causes my lips to dry out so it's great I've got this heavy duty balm just sitting there when I need it.

[Review] Do thine eyeballs good; CooperVision Contacts

If you have ever cosplayed (or attempted to cosplay) you would have at least once gone down the slippery path of getting contact lenses. These are quite necessary to portray your characters properly, unless you were somehow born with the innate ability to colourshift your eyes at will; in which case I'm severely envious of you :P

At any rate getting and wearing contacts have always been a challenging thing for me because I have a prescription that's so terrifyingly high that I'm halfway to being declarable as legally blind. Sadly my eyes are also the kind that easily irritate which tend to puff up when I put in contact lenses of any brand, prescription or colour. The result was pretty much always the same. This has ruined my pictures on multiple occasions and has been something I cannot avoid due to being a blind bat.

My eyeware doesn't help either. My glasses are heavy and leaves horrible red indents on either side of my nose which I'm sure is probably scar tissue by now :(

Spectacle face!

Contacts probably sound like rubbish. And they can be, if you get cheap unbranded lenses without proper regard to your needs. Still sounds scary? oh alright. Let me tell you a couple of things I've heard and learned over the years of wearing contacts:

- My eyes will get permanently damaged because of contacts.

+ If you fail to clean them properly and like to scratch your eyes maybe, but the lenses themselves do no harm when taken care of with the appropriate hygiene and actually following the wearing periods listed on the box. No keeping for later!

-They kinda hurt; a lot.

+ Given that lenses are now very soft and breathable, this is pretty much a thing of the past as long as they're from a reputable brand. Most of the time you forget they're even there.

-They are impossible to wear and take off.

+ Everything takes practice. Contacts are no different. They may be awkward to wear at first, but once you get used to it, they pop in and out almost no effort at all :D

-I have astigmatism. I am screwed :(

+This is something I didn't learn till fairly recently; there are indeed lenses for those with astigmatism, called toric lenses. They're not much different from regular lenses so the usual procedures in getting them applies, if just a slightly longer wait if you have an odd prescription.

-Contacts are too troublesome.

+These days you only need one bottle of solution to keep your lenses fresh and clean. If that's too much for you, daily lenses are even easier to handle; wear them once, toss them out when done. Rinse and repeat.

Now that isn't so bad isn't it? 

Enter CooperVision Biomedics 1 day Extra lenses:

CooperVision has you covered with a large range of multifocal, daily, or toric lenses for every prescription and lifestyle!

Biomedics® 1 day Extra, a daily disposable contact lens from CooperVision. Designed for all day comfort, these lenses are a great starting point for those new to lenses or monthly lens users who want a more convenient option. Hit the link to find out more about their toric lenses!

So what makes them different from regular lenses?

• 55% water content
• Comfortable lens wear for up to 16 hours 
• Healthier eyes (replacing your lenses everyday regularly helps to promote good eye health)
• No-hassle convenience – no need to deal with the cleaning and storage hassles of conventional contact lenses
• Reduced effects of allergies - allergens have less time to build up on daily lenses

What's the pricing like?

To be perfectly honest, it really depends on your prescription. So it's best to head to your nearest CooperVision practitioner to find out more! They've all over the Klang Valley so you're likely to find one in your near vicinity.

What I think about CooperVision's lenses

To be perfectly honest I was a bit sceptical at first, having an overall bad experience with contact lenses as a whole. But two weeks with these lenses have turned my entire perception of them on it's head!

I initially thought that daily lenses would be quite troublesome but as it turns out I've never had more comfortable lenses. They don't cause any reactions, and they fit so well they barely move till it's time to come off. 

Half the time I actually forget they're there; to the point I actually think I'm still wearing glasses sometimes (it's especially awkward when it's time for bed. I almost forget to take them off even) Best part, they're actually pretty hassle free as it comes. Pop on for the day, pop off when you're done. I didn't even need eyedrops for the most part.

Farewell nose ornament!

If you would like to give it a try yourself, CooperVision is offering a FIVE (5) Day trial! Just fill up your particulars and head on to your nearest redemption outlet to pick up your set!

Get your lenses here!

Disclaimer: In return for this review, I received free trial CooperVision contact lenses. All opinions and experiences stated above are mine with the exception of CooperVision supplied information and various resources.