Loot Alert! New Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lipstick Swatches!

Greetings from the head of the party, fellow rogues!

A quick report from the scouting front today, party members! No, I haven’t discovered a trap (unless you’re watching out for your wallet at the moment!), it’s something much better! Loot! The new Guerlain Kiss Kiss lipstick line has arrived on New Zealand’s shores (lagging a little as usual), and your best rogue friend Syl has all the swatches for you! Obviously, these apply best if you are a) a vampire and b) in New Zealand, as these are the particular shades we got here. One in the stand was doubled, so maybe we did get another shade and it sold out instantly, but I doubt it. I must also apologise for having derped out and forgotten to swatch #325 Rouge Kiss, the signature one for the line. It was positioned off to the back next to a fake lipstick, and I just looked straight over it. As you can probably guess, it’s, uh, red. I’ve linked Sunny’s review of it just a little further down, so you can see some swatches after all!

 

See that red tester right off to the back there? Yeah. That’s Rouge Kiss. *cough* #rogueshame

 

Compared to the Guerlain International website, we seem to be missing:

323 Spicy Girl, 324 Red Love, 328 Red Hot, 362 Cherry Pink, 363 Fabulous Rose and 368 Baby Rose

However, different to the list on the website, we got:

301 Candy Beige, 302 Romantic Kiss, 342 Fancy Kiss, 364 Pink Romance and 367 Kiss Blossom.

It’s all very confusing, but I suspect we probably got the Asia line rather than the US/EU line? A mystery for the ages, or as long as it takes me to check other websites, I suppose.

ANYWAY! That’s not why you’re here! You’re here to see the swatches, and thus I present to you the results of my swatchfest. I do apologise for the iffy mobile quality and department store lighting, but they’re pretty true to colour! They went on very smoothly and creamily, and pretty much all of them except the palest ones left a mild stain. They come in two flavours, really: creme and iridescent shimmer. Don’t let the word ‘shimmer’ put you off, however. As you might expect of Guerlain, this is very stardust-y, sophisticated shimmer. Adult shimmer, if you will. There was only one lipstick where things verged properly onto frosty, as I will mention below.

If you would like a review of the formula, you can check a few of the lipsticks out here with a couple of my favourite adventurers:

Sunny at Mostly Sunny: Rouge Kiss and Pinky Groove

Christine at Temptalia: Forever Brown and Rouge Kiss; Air Kiss and Rosy Boop; Red Strass, Red Hot and Very Pink

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog is wearing Cherry Pink here too.

As always, click the picture to make it bigger!

 

The Nudes, Beiges, Browns and Reds! Click the picture to enlarge!

 

A couple of notes here: You see that shine/shimmer on top of Air Kiss? That’s not just the glossyish creme finish. Oh no – that’s pure iridescence there, on top of that brown lipstick. It’s really quite something, and surprised me when I swatched it!  Looking at these photos, Red on Fire and Red Strass don’t look as identical as they did in the store, but they’re pretty close. Both follow a kind of ‘red with gold iridescence’ thing, but I guess Red on Fire is a touch lighter/brighter/more coral, on me anyway.

Despite the rather odd name and unassuming appearance in the tube, Beige Booster is actually one of my favourites here, along with Red Passion – it seems like a really nice warm MLBB for my skintone. Miss Kiss has a nice juiciness to it that will probably make it a great peach/coral for many skintones, as you can choose the intensity.

 

The peaches, pinks, corals and fuchsias! Click the picture to emlarge!

 

There are some gloriously bright shades here, notably Excessive Rose and Sexy Coral. It’s worth bearing in mind that if you’re not a vampire, these may come off as less neon on you 😉

Pink Romance is the one I mentioned above – the shimmery shade that (partly by virtue of its baby pink colour) comes across as almost frosty. This one will almost certainly make your lips look fuller though (something the whole line is supposed to do).

My favourites here are Sugar Kiss, Very Pink, Pinky Groove, Kiss Blossom and Rosy Boop. As soon as I saw Pinky Groove I was all MAYBE ITS A GLOSSY, NZ-ACCESSIBLE VERSION OF TOM FORD PUSSYCAT OMG, but I should tell you that I think that about basically every NZ-accessible mauvy/rose shade I see. Nevertheless, it’s very pretty!

 

In other beauty news, for NZ adventurers:

An OPI Holiday collection (possibly in conjunction with Gwen Stefani) has emerged, and includes a rather nice ‘snow’ looking polish that I have my beady rogue’s eye on. The Body Shop have released their Holiday stuff too, which includes three limited edition scents – there is a vanilla one and a cranberry one that are just repeats from previous years, but the ginger scent has been replaced by an apple one! It’s quite nice, fresh and smooth without being too ‘fake apple candy smell’. It still smells a little bit like fake apple though – it’s like grape scent in that respect. I like it anyway 😉 The new Chanel Rouge Allure Glosses/liquid lipstickglossthings are out too, in ten shades that I couldn’t get at to swatch 😦 However! Sunny comes to the rescue again with a couple of reviews and swatches here! We don’t get the Chanel holiday collection in Middle Earth (?!?!?!), but Dior’s Golden Shock Holiday 2014 collection is out now. Benefit have all their holiday sets except the advent calendar which sold out in a nanosecond, and that awesome blush set, which they decided to bring as far as Australia and no further (thanks, Benefit). The MAC Heirloom Mix Holiday collection is out (as of just this morning), the pick of which is probably the Extra Dimension eyeshadow sets and maybe some lipsticks (from the reviews I’ve seen). The release is staggered, so the pigment/glitter sets won’t be out for a couple of weeks. If you’re in Auckland and didn’t manage to get to the MAC counter in the ten minutes it took them to sell out, I’ve noticed that the Pro Store down in the Atrium on Takutai at Britomart sells out much slower than Smith and Caugheys does. Bobbi Brown seems to have a new collection in stock (possibly the Holiday one?), and Clinique is having a GWP at the moment. YSL, in their aggravating randomness, aren’t bringing the Fusion Ink Foundation here for the forseeable future.

 

So! What do you think? Have you tried any of these Kiss Kiss lipsticks? Are you interested in picking any of them up the next time you’re on a makeup quest?

 

Happy Looting!

Until next time, fellow rogues, don’t forget to check for loot as well as traps!

Syl

 

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and original text on this blog are the property of Syl unless otherwise noted. They may not be reproduced without permission – if you do, I’ll send demons after you. You know, the ones that mush up the testers and open new lipsticks to try them out on their warty lips. Those ones. Yyyep.

The Rogue’s Ultimate Pocket Guide to Stealthy Pink Lipsticks – I Need YOU!

Greetings from the pocket of an adventuring rogue, fellow..uh, adventuring rogues!

Today’s post is designed to help you out on those mornings when you have to be somewhere in five minutes (or less..or more..or you’ve gotten confused because of that wibbly wobbly timey wimey spell the wizard cast last night), and you can’t decide on a lipstick. You know, the druid and the wizard are nagging at you to get going, despite having agonized over their robes while you were checking the newly hired horses for traps, and you just need to look awesome and feel comfortable for any occasion…those times? We’ve all been there.

First they hassle you to get on with the whole lipstick thing, and now they have no idea where they’re going. This is what happens when you let the wizard lead, honestly…

 

In such difficult moments, I highly recommend the following: you know how you often have somewhere close to the door where you keep your extra daggers, hideout keys, Amulet of Not Getting Splashed By Passing Carts, etc? You need a Magical Chest of Inoffensive Pink Lipsticks, too. Like this one:

.

A Magical Chest of Inoffensive Pink Lipsticks, awaiting your command…

 

They’re great. You just open it up, tell it what you want (or, you know, just stick your hand in), and if you’ve stocked it correctly you’ll always pull out something appropriate. Here, I’m going to suggest that classic of everyday wear, the pink lipstick (or gloss). If your everyday situation involves reds, you can tailor it to that. Or purples. Whatever floats your little rogueish seagoing craft. 🙂

Inside… no, there are no teeth. It’s not a mimic…promise 😉

A pink lipstick is pretty much always appropriate. It adds bloom to your complexion and makes you look healthier (handy when you’ve been hit by a Hex of Withering or too many deadlines). You can work it with a smoky eye (good for tavern brawls or evenings at the opera) or a simple hint of liner (perfect for low key weekday adventures) and everything in between! It’s natural, pretty, and freshens up any outfit (great if you’ve just been in the Underdark for an extended period – uh, that’s some gelatinous cube you have cliniging to your shoe, by the way). Everyone has their own favourite ‘MLBB’ pink shade, whether it leans pinker, peachier, browner or beiger – if you’re looking for inspiration for a handy Magical Chest of Inoffensive Pink Lipsticks, here are a few of my favourites…

(Links to reviews are at the bottom of the post, along with a call to action!)

 

Not actually all of the ‘MLBB’ pink lipsticks I own. Yes, I may have a problem. Zip it, you.

 

The Rogue’s Guide to A Few Great Inoffensive Pink Lipsticks

(click the image to enlarge itty bitty text!)

 

A Rogue’s Ultimate Pocket Guide to Inoffensive Pink Lipsticks (and how to order them out of your magical chest)

 

Now, in the interests of being more comprehensive, my fellow adventurers, I want to ask you: what would you put in such a chest (doesn’t have to be pink). While we are on the subject of inoffensive, MLBB, all-purpose pink, what are your favourites? I’m keen to hear from both fellow vampires, and non vampires alike! Help me out here, friends, and maybe I can update this post with some tips from you all to make it truly the ultimate Pocket Guide for adventurers! If you’ve got a review/swatch I can link to, so much the better! 🙂

Links to some spiffy reviews of the lipsticks above, plus more!

Clinique Chubby Stick in Chunky Cherry

Clinique Chubby Stick in Pudgy Peony

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Snow Pink

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Peach Parfait

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Pink Sizzle

Revlon Lacquer Balm in Demure (also a great nude for pale rogues!)

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Lip Colour in Antique Pink, Lip Glace in Blush and Lip Pencil in Plumberry (so much goodness)

Bloom Sheer Lipstick in Tangerine (my first even blog post *sniffle*)

Guerlain Rouge Automatique in Rose Lip (ugh, perfection)

Burts Bees Lipgloss in Rosy Dawn

Marc Jacobs Lovemarc Lip Gel in Have We Met?

Chanel Rouge Coco in Charme (my wedding lipstick!)

 

 

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find that your morning hot beverage tastes a little…different than usual. Didn’t the rogue say something the other day about that new poison that makes your inner ear itch maddeningly for the rest of your life? I think she did…

Operation Desert Rogue Part 1: What’s in My Travel Kitbag? and Desert Makeup Tips

Greetings from amidst swirling desert sands, fellow rogues!

Hello from Sharjah! I know I’ve been saying Dubai, but that was more for convenience of recognition (and where most of my makeup shopping was going to happen ;-)). Sharjah is the neighbouring emirate, and that’s where the conference actually is. I’m so happy to be back in the Middle East – I love adventuring in this part of the world, and if you ever get the chance, I highly recommend paying the countries in this region a visit 🙂

Right, so! I expect you’re all just desperate to hear all about it, right? You’ve been waiting by your computers, refreshing your blog feeds every five seconds in the hopes of a glistening gem of rogueish wisdom? Right? *tumbleweed skitters past* 😛 Well, I have several posts in the works for you, but this first one will cover the makeup I took with me on my trip. Fair warning,  I couldn’t take my big camera with me,  so all of the pictures from my trip are/were done on a mobile device, mostly in bad light. Yeah. *cringe* Sorry about that, but when you don’t have a handy wizard with an illumination spell, things get sticky…

First up: What did I take with me?

My relatively minimalist, conference appropriate travel makeup selection!

 

As you can see from the photo, I didn’t take a *huge* amount of stuff. Partly this is because I wanted to keep my kitbag pretty light (amusing: my carryon, with my massive laptop, weighed 9.6 kg. My checked luggage weighed 9.2 kg – gotta leave the rest of that 30kg checked limit for the new makeup, amirite? ;-)), and I knew I was going to be doing some makeup shopping, so there didn’t seem to be much point in going nuts. I did know, however, that most of my makeup purchases here would be lip-related, so I still brought the staples from the eye and complexion catgories!

We have:

Tarte MATTEnificent palette (toss up between this and the Naked 2, but I thought I’d give the Tarte one an outing since I took the Naked 2 around Europe and Morocco last year. Can’t have the palettes getting envious, you know). This palette is also conference-appropriately matte and neutral. I’ve reviewed it here, and the Naked 2 here.

Urban Decay 24/7 liners in Demolition/Perversion and Corrupt/Zero Can’t go wrong with black and brown, right? My everyday shade is Demolition (matte medium dark brown), but I wanted to take Zero (matte black) because the Perversion (matte super black) end of my liner is a dud. Corrupt is a shimmery brown for variety. LOVE these liners!

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Peach Pop A gorgeous blush. Need I say more? The Tarte Palette has a pink blush, so I thought I would bring my peachy friend here along too for some variety. Reveiw here.

Chanel Curlers A must-have, (well, curlers at least. They don’t have to be Chanel, although these ones are really excellent) because you can make yourself look more awake even without mascara!

YSL BB Creme in Clear My staple ‘foundation’ for when I want to be naturally, hydratedly (totally a word) polished. It’s 40 degrees Celsius (104 Farenheit) here by, like, 8am so I didn’t want too much on my face, but it’s also a desert (or heavily air conditioned), so I wanted something moisturising. Review here.

Clinique Universal Primer I’m trying this out, and I quite like it. Makeup goes on a little more smoothly, and I feel like it lasts a little longer. Review coming soon!

Clinique Waterproof Mascara A rogue and her mascara samples can never be separated, you know. 😉 I’ve reviewed this product here – what can I say? I live on mascara samples. I like waterproof mascara though because it never smears or travels or smudges. Great for hot weather traveling!

Lancome Eyeshadow in Tres Chocolat – My Eyebrow Powder I’ve done a charisma stat-boosting eyebrow tutorial here with this nifty little eyeshadow – I absolutely love it for my brows! It’s a matte dark brown that’s great for its intended purpose (eyeshadow), but it also doesn’t budge in the brows and gives a nice soft, filling effect.

Clinique Chubby Stick in Voluptuous Violet This nearly transparent purple has the twin virtues of being balmy and hydrating (great for the desert!) and able to match every outfit (sice all it really does is kind of intensify/darken your natural lip colour. Review here.

Revlon Lacquer Balm in Demure The perfect nude conference lipstick for pale rogues! The thing I like about it though, is that although it’s quite conservative, it’s moisturising, minty without plumping, and has *sparkles* 😀 Review here.

Chanel Nail Lacquer in Frisson I wasn’t sure about nail polish for this trip. It’s kind of heavy, and all of the colours I like to wear while flying (reds like this, don’t ask me why) aren’t really conference fodder. I know that sounds silly, but see this post for a discussion of the issues academia and makeup have. Frisson is great and aptly named – it’s a peachy polish with lots of gold micro micro micro shimmer. You can use one coat for a sheer hint, or two/three for more definite colour, but it never gets too overt, and just gives you a nice sparkle in the light. Very sophisticated, but it has glitter, so yay!

Lancome UV Expert BB Complete SPF 50 PA +++ I’m bnot sure if this is available in the US, but it’s basically a tinted sunscreen. Sunscreens and my skin don’t usually get along that well (TiO2 blocks my pores a bit, chemical ones irritate my excema), so I generally don’t wear a standalone one – I just cover my head and face with things when I have to go outside, and run from shadow to shadow (once a rogue, always I rogue, I guess!). However, when you travel to the desert (even though this one has more of an ozone layer than NZ does), I feel sunscreen is appropriate. I think this comes in 3 or so shades. I have a sample of the lightest one, although the tint is not really super strong anyway. If you’d like to see a review, let me know!

 

Desert quest time! Will your makeup last till the end of the catacomb?

 

Lastly, I just wanted to share a couple of tips for desert/hot/dry weather makeup! Most of this is probably obvious, so I’ll keep it brief 😉 The main thing is to take waterproof makeup, preferably with a good SPF where appropriate. It’ll resist sweating, and around the eyes it’ll resist any watering you get from dry/dusty desert conditions (or excessive aircon). The next thing is to make your layers of makeup thin. Lisa Eldridge is a great proponent of this theory and has an excellent video about hot weather makeup that discusses it. I like my foundation sheer anyway, but a good primer (mattifying if you get oily in the heat) will help to keep things fresh and in place. Make sure your lipsticks/glosses/balms are nice and hydrating. If it’s really dusty, a lipgloss is usually not your friend, as it will collect the dust and grit in the air. Fruity or floral smelling/scented lipglosses or balms are also not necessarily great, as large flies can be attracted to your lips, and (on a less gross note) if you’re covering your face with a scarf to keep out the dust/for cultural reasons, the fabric will get stuck to a lipgloss. Lastly: you’re going to be drinking a lot of water, so make your peace with more frequent re-application of your lip products now ;-).

I think that’s probably enough for the time being! Hope you enjoyed this little travel makeup ramble, and stay tuned for Part 2, my Duty Free/Travel Exclusive Makeup showcase… if you like random travel pictures (especially of food), check out my twitter feed ^_^.

What are your tips for desert makeup? Have you been to the desert before? 🙂

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images and text on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. If you nick off with any of it, be prepared to find a dagger in your back. Possibly with a legal troll attached to it. You don’t even want to *know* what he powders that wig with.

The Rogueish Wedding Guest Makeup Look! (and some suitably scenic pictures)

Greetings from the aftermath of a happy feast, fellow rogues!

The wizard and I have been carrying out a little mini-quest over the last couple of days, journeying through storm and night to the frozen South, to see a couple of fellow adventurers leap over the branch. It was truly a marvellous celebration, and today I thought I would keep you entertained with some details about the makeup look I put together for the occasion, and a few photos I took along the journey.

A quick note: both the photos taken here and the post itself were done via the medium of a mobile device, so this is a bit of an additional adventure!

 

The tools required for this rogue’s effort at an evening wedding guest makeup look!

 

 

I had decided to shed my usual black adventuring ensemble for a coral coloured tunic dress, with a navy cardigan and tights (it really was the frozen south). This prompted me to bust out a few of my tried and tested favourites, as well as a few new products that are on probation…

 

The foundation of the look! Clinique primer, YSL BB Creme, Chanel Powder Compact. Lancôme Tres chocolat eyeshadow, Urban Decay Primer Potion and Chanel Affinite Blush.

 

I started with a layer of Clinique’s Superprimer, which I’m currently testing out. So far, things are going well, so I should be bringing you a full review soon! On top of that went a thin layer of the YSL BB Creme (review here) to even things out where I needed it, some YSL Touche Éclat to brighten up my undereye area (review here), all followed by a dusting of the Chanel powder (Compact Douceur) to finish.

Chanel’s cream blush in Affinite (review here) brightened up my cheeks, and Lancôme’s matte eyeshadow in Tres Chocolat filled in my brows (tutorial here).

 

Tools for an eye look: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette, Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils in Uzi and Sabbath (these ones are double ended, so there’s Empire and Stash there too).

 

Onto the eyes… I laid down a base of the Urban Decay Primer Potion (previous photo) first. On top of that went a wash of Chopper over the eyelid, with a little Tease in the crease (sounds…dirty?), and some Verve in the inner corner (all from the UD Naked 2 palette). I then did the upper lash line with a smoky line of UD sabbath (matte navy liner), and covered that with a dusting of the YDK shadow to take the edge off (Sabbath is quite a statement!). I did my water lines in UD Uzi (softly shimmering gunmetal) to keep the look softly smoky.

After that, I curled my lashes and applied a couple of layers of the Clinique waterproof mascara (review here).

 

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Demure, Clinique High Impact waterproof mascara and YSL Touche Éclat.

 

For the lips, I went quite simple with the Colourburst Lacquer Balm in Demure from Revlon (review here). It makes a great ‘nude’ for my skintone and the moderately smoky eye I was sporting, it has some nice evening sparkle, and is easy to reapply.

So, by this point I imagine you might be wondering what the end result of all this powdering and lining and shimmering was. Well, I managed to get a couple of photos, despite the miserable lighting and the mobile camera I was using, so, I present:

 

 

This was about the best quality I could get for he eye look. The weather was so bad that even my eyebrow got a little blown off course!

 

 

The lip look and partial outfit, plus some jewels (a rogue can’t miss an opportunity to actually wear some sparkles, can she?

 

Right! So (with some apologies for the miserable eye/lip photos), that was the look! Perfect for an autumn wedding evening, where a storm has just cleared to allow a little of the sun to shine through before it got dark.

For those interested, the bride was sporting an absolutely fabulous smoky eye and bright pink red lip for the evening. She looked phenomenal! I didn’t really get to quiz her on the exact products, though 😉 .

Before I leave you to continue on my quest back to the rainy north, I thought I’d post a couple of the photos I took along our journey. Scenic ones!

 

A beautiful, feathery maple (?) in autumn colours.

 

A sheltered pool. I think I saw some kappa, but we got out of there pretty fast…

 

A beautiful bridge. Fortunately, no trolls were underneath it.

 

 

The calm after the storm 🙂

 

Until next time, fellow rogues, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

 

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog are the property of The Painted Rogue unless otherwise stated. These images may not be reproduced without permission, unless you want a fleet of gelatinous cubes after you.

How to make a Rogue Blush: Le Blush Crème de Chanel in #65 Affinité

Greetings (with an elegantly pretty flush in the cheeks) fellow rogues!

If you’re wondering why I look so girlishly healthy today (despite spending most of my time in places where the only light is phosphorescence), I’ll let you in on a little secret. I finally embraced the concept of blush.

I’ve never really been a blushy sort of person. I have a vampiric complexion, and I don’t turn pink naturally, unless you count the ‘all-over puce’ colour my face attains after extreme physical exertion (not a good look, but after four hours of ballet or a clearing out a troll den…). Unfortunately, this tends to lead people to ask if you’re OK a lot, because you look like you’re pale and ill, not pale and interesting. Fortunately, that house of sorcery, Chanel, has come to my rescue with its line of magical cream blushes.

Today, we’re going to look at #65, Affinité:

Khael the Venerable wasn’t sure what to make of this artifact…the chest was elegantly made, but the cloth seemed to have been designed to catch dust…

I should mention here that this post was inspired (prompted?) by Nikki’s recent Chanel cream blush post over here!

Affinité is a medium-bright (in the Chanel cream blush range, that is), slightly cool-toned pink with a silken cream-to powder texture. Seriously, you can smoosh it with your finger in the pan and feel the slip, but by the time it makes it yo your cheeks it’s like an effortlessly blendable…crowder? It’s absolutely weightless, and I’ve even blended it over face powder with no problems.

Le Blush Crème de Chanel in #65 Affinité. Khael stared thoughtfully into the hibiscus-coloured pool, puffing on his pipe and pondering the artefact’s magical qualities.

The colour is very flattering, and gives me a wonderful ‘Yes, I’m actually healthy!’ look with absolute minimum effort. I ghost a fingertip just over the very surface of this blush, then repeat the same motion in the desired area of my cheek. Even only having ghosted my finger over the product  (kind of like the way you would brush your finger over your skin if you wanted to actually feel the tiny little hairs that are all over your face – odd comparison, but the best one I can think of), there is a bright, opaque spot of colour on my finger…but this translates to only as much as I want on my cheek. It’s hard to describe how foolproof this stuff is, really. I think even Hilarion the paladin would manage with it.

From left: swatched and blended to near invisibility (still looks good!), full-pigment swatch (one swipe, from gentle pass of finger over pan), and normal amount, blended. Interestingly, my skintone makes this look peachier in the middle swatch than it does in the pan or blended.

Wear time is ridiculous. On bare skin, over powder foundation and over bb cream, I’ve never seen this blush fade within normal wear times. When I take my makeup off at night (maybe 12 hours later), the cotton pad is BRIGHT PINK. It lasts through multiple hours of sweaty ballet. This blush has your back (cheeks?), seriously. Another important thing to note is that my cheeks are dry. Consequently, their texture is also sometimes a bit less than silky to start with, but this blush doesn’t cling to dry bits.  The finish is satin/semi matte on me, has absolutely zero shimmer or glitter, and doesn’t emphasise pores or battle-scars.

Khael might have been watching the blush…but somewhere, from the Chanel dimension, something was watching Khael…

I know what some of you are thinking. ‘Syl, how can you possibly expect me to pay that much for one blush? Have you been sampling those iridescent cave mushrooms again?’. I know, Chanel is an expensive brand. But when you get this much quality in a product, combined with daily use (and I will scrape every last bit of this stuff out of that pan, you can be sure), I think it’s worth it to save up a bit for one. These cream blushes are a wonderful example of why sometimes, paying a bit more is actually *really* worth it. Of course, if you prefer sampling lots of different blushes, this might not apply. But even so, this blush is so amazing, so versatile, and so hard-working, I think it (or one of its friends)- deserves a place in every kitbag or collection.

Remember, there’s more recent Chanel cream blush eye candy over at Nikki’s blog!

The verdict: Le Blush Crème de Chanel in #65 Affinité is your new BFF (blush friend forever). It’s pigmented, endlessly blendable, lightweight, wears like iron, and the colour is neither to cool nor too warm. Even if this particular colour isn’t for you, these cream blushes from Chanel are well worthy of a look, and serve as a great reminder of those times when paying a bit more does actually net you distinctly superior quality. Highly Recommended!

The practicalities: Chanel’s cream blushes cost NZD ~65.oo / USD 38.00 each for 2.5 g/0.09 oz, are permanent (although limited edition shades do come out frequently), and may be acquired from Chanel counters and stores the world over, and www.chanel.com.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

The Lipstick Tag… Rogue-Style!

Greetings from the depths of my makeup chest, fellow rogues! (And before you ask, yes, of course it’s trapped…)

Recently, I  saw a delightful tag over at The Makeup Train, namely, The Lipstick Tag! Being a fan of lipsticks in particular (amongst all the types of face-adorning goo you can apply) I immediately decided to compile my own list of answers to the following questions.

I’d like to mention before we start that I have shamelessly modified a couple of the questions to suit my own personal preference. If you are not a rogue, this might seem like cheating. If you are a rogue, it will make total and complete sense. In order to try and keep both camps from setting snares under me while I sleep, I have included both answers. I have also added a couple of new questions, just to spice things up (and because the original tag doesn’t, I feel, adequately address the role of lipsticks in adventuring).

 

1) How many lipsticks do you own?

A hoard of lipsticks. What we can learn from this about the habits of the rogue (subspecies: ‘Syl’) is that they have poor lipstick organisational skills.

 

Honestly? I wasn’t sure about this. I was afraid the number would be atrociously, astronomically high (especially for a rogue from the land of $56 MAC lipsticks), but in actual fact, the pile seemed comparatively modest when I gathered it all together. It appears to total about 32. This still seems (in an attempt at objectivity) like quite a lot of lipsticks. However, I did include gifts, mini versions that you get as GWPs, and things that I have had for a very, very long time. It’s amazing what you find at the bottom of your lipstick hoard, including…

2) What was the first lipstick you owned?

 

Dior Rose Coup de Coeur, in all its vintage glory. Now comes with daylight and shade swatches on the arm of a genuine rogue!

…the first lipstick I ever owned! Yes indeed, this is a rare and marvellous moment in Painted Rogue history: Syl’s first lipstick! It is Rose Coup de Cœur (#449) by Dior! Admire that vintage ’90s packaging! This lipstick is so old that Google just shrugged when I tried to find out more about it. There’s still quite a bit left, because not very long after getting this, I lost it. I know, I know, but we were all baby rogues once, friends. Now, of course, it is fabulously expired – the texture and colour are still alright (I feel like it’s a touch more brown than I remember, but it is from the ’90s, so…) but the smell is extremely plastic, and the place on my arm where I swatched it itches a bit now. Stil, I treasure it as a relic of my early makeup interest 🙂

3) What is your favorite lipstick brand?

OK, this is actually kind of difficult. There isn’t really one brand that I have an overwhelming majority of lipsticks from, so I’m shamelessly dividing this question into subcategories:

• Brand I have the most lipsticks from, numerically: this seems to be a tie between Clinique (since I have 5 Chubby Sticks (3 of which came together in a set, and two of which I bought separately), and Bloom (5 lipsticks total, one of which isn’t in the photo because I can’t find it at the moment. I suspect the bard).
• Brand I favour the texture of the most: Probably a tie between Bloom (specifically their sheer lipsticks) and Rouge Coco from Chanel.
• Most ridiculously weightless brand to wear: Estee Lauder, by a long shot.
• Brand I wear most exhaustively: Revlon Colourburst Lip Butters
• Brand that has the best colours: Make Up Forever, obviously, because purple.
• Brand that’s the most fun: Urban Decay – can you spot the ones I have in my collection photo?

4) What is your most worn lipstick?

I kind of covered this in the question above, but my difficulty with this question is that there isn’t really one. Prosaically, it’d probably be Revlon’s colourburst lip butter in Peach Parfait or Bloom’s sheer lipstick in Tangerine. But that’s, well, prosaic. And here at Syl’s Adventuring Corps, we’re anything but prosaic! (Well, except maybe for Hilarion, but he is a paladin after all). Anyway I decided to give an alternative to this question:

‘What’s the most reliable lipstick to take with you into a dungeon?’

The brooding, crushed-blueberry goodness of MUFE #49! See? it even repels orcs!

Well, Syl, I’m glad you asked. For me, the most reliable lipstick to take into a dungeon is probably MUFE #49. It wears like iron, it fades evenly with a good stain, it is comfortable to wear and it’s dark enough to count as stealth/camouflage in dank catacombs and the like. What’s not to love? Sure, you can’t apply it easily while sprinting from a dragon’s flame, but if you take a bit of care before you go into that dragon’s lair, it should last you well.

5) What is your favorite finish?

A good example of the glostin finish – Estee Lauder’s Fuchsia Fever.

This one is easy to state, but hard to find! I like a finish that lies somewhere between glossy and satin. Not too shiny (I have glosses for that) and not too satiny (can be a bit matte-leaning for my taste). Now, I’ll happily wear lipsticks with many different finishes, but my favourite is definitely ‘glostin’. That’s totally not a word I just made up right now. Definitely.

6) What was the last lipstick you bought?

Chanel Rouge Coco in Charme, for my wedding to the Wizard 🙂

7) How many lip products do you currently have in your bag? 

Usually two: whichever lipstick I’m wearing, and then a plain gloss (like Benefit Dandelion, Estee Lauder Rock Candy or Revlon Snow Pink) for when I get sick of lipstick and want something I can just kind of smear on while launching myself, dagger raised, from the shadows into the back of an unsuspecting troll.

8) What is your favorite red lip color?

OK, here’s the thing. I actually only own two red lipsticks, and I love them both for different reasons. So I have to pick both Estee Lauder Rich Red and Revlon Fire and Ice. But that’s a boring answer, so once again I’m modifying things to:

What’s your favourite purple lipstick?

To which the answer is, obviously, the shimmering violet glory that is Make Up Forever #15

Blog the orc, and MUFE #15. A match made in adventuring limbo (it’s a standoff, you see).

9) How do you store your lipsticks?

Contrary to what my earlier picture may have suggested, I store them standing up in a box. Plus a few strewn around my laptop/blogging area. Plus a couple in my bag. You know how it is.

10) Which lipsticks are you currently lusting after?

Chanel Fleurie, the forbidden lipstick fruit of this rogue’s dreams.

 

This one is also an easy one!  I did a recent post on some green beauties that I’ve been eyeballing, but the list extends to a more conventional shade, namely Chanel Fleurie. I want this thing so badly I can’t even begin to describe how much. However, it’s an online, LE exclusive and Chanel doesn’t recognise Middle Earth as a real country in online shopping terms, so it will have to remain a glorious dream…  *sobs*

(I’d like to note that the colour of this picture from the Chanel.com site is typically strange. For much better photos and swatches, please see a myriad of US beauty bloggers, particularly Christine from Temptalia)

 

Right! Now for the extra questions I have diabolically decided to add to this tag, to challenge my fellow adventurers (should they choose to accept the adventure posting, of course…)

 

• Which lipstick do you find the most stealthy/deceptive?

  • For me it would be any of the MLBB shades I have that make me look actually healthy, but don’t actually scream I”M WEARING LIPSTICK OVER HERE, DID YOU NOTICE?!?’

• Which lipstick, when thrown, will most effectively stun a passing guardsman so that you can enter the treasure vault undetected?

  • Chanel has the weightiest packaging of my collection, but MUFE #15 might dazzle them into distraction.

• If someone invented a stylish bandolier that allowed you to have your lip products on hand at all times *and* use them as a fashion statement, would you wear it on your next dungeon raid?

  • How is there even a question there? Of course I would!

Well, there is it, fellow adventurers, the Lipstick Tag (Syl Style). If you’d like to attempt this adventure, I hereby tag you (non-dagger hand, don’t worry)! I’m looking forward to reading what your thoughts are on this weighty matter 🙂

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided! All images on this blog, are the property of the author of this blog (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced without permission. If you do, I’ll send minotaurs after you. Crazed ones.

My Rogueish Valentine: A Love Quest with Chanel Rouge Coco in #40 Charme

Greetings from the side of my trusty wizard adventuring partner!

Probably everyone has at least one piece of loot that means more to them than any other. Usually these pieces of loot are associated with strong feelings and significant experiences, hopefully happy ones (and not, say, that time the cleric lost his leg to a gelatinous cube…).

In my case, this piece of loot is, without question, Chanel’s Rouge Coco lipstick in #40, Charme. Why, you ask? Well, it’s the lipstick I wore when the wizard and I got married 🙂

 

Ahhh, memories. This is the quest where we first uncovered Charme. Don’t worry, the lipstick was unharmed by the wizard’s fire spell. The undead…not so much.

 

Like a couple of the lipsticks I’ve reviewed before, Charme is a ‘my lips but better’ shade – a slightly sheer (but still more than adequately pigmented), hydrating, medium-cool pink lipstick that you can toss on without thinking about it, or using a mirror. You can rest assured that when I did my makeup for my wedding I was all about the mirror, but it’s so important to be able to touch up while in the middle of a goblin raid without having to stop and rummage in your kitbag.

 

True love and lipstick. Also a skeletal king but he kept relatively quiet, actually. I think he realised that this was a special moment for us.

 

The packaging on this lipstick is the usual glamorous, understated Chanel black and gold, and has a really pleasing weight to it. The mechanism is smoother than a lock after I’ve had a go at disarming it , and the engraved bullet doesn’t rattle around or smoosh at the sides while you’re using it (unless one of the goblins actually crashes into you, in which case shit is gonna get REAL for that goblin). The lipstick is unflavoured, but has the usual soft Chanel rose scent.

 

Daylight swatch of Charme. In the bullet the lipstick reads medium to cool. Because I’m ghostly pale, it reads a little warmer on my skin, but it’s definitely not a *warm* lipstick.

 

Charme applies smoothly and evenly, and gives a pleasant creamy, ‘softly coated’ sort of feeling to the lips. The finish is satin, not glossy (that’s what the Rouge Coco Shines are for) and the colour wears well for about four hours on me, which is enough for a decent sized dungeon or wedding ceremony up to the reception. It doesn’t leave much of a stain, but then it’s an MLBB shade anyway, so you probably shouldn’t expect much there.  It does leave my lips feeling hydrated, so combine that with the coating aspect and you’re all set for rooftop chases in night winds as well.

 

Artifical light swatch to show the satin finish. Dungeon lighting will have a similar effect, but may impart a greenish tinge.

 

You can build the pigment up to a certain extent if you want to try and get the bullet colour as ‘opaque’, but that’s not really how this lipstick works best. The finish is satin, although you can see lots of tiny gold and pink sparkles in the bullet. These sparkles were inadvertently shown off when the wizard cast a flare spell:

 

He cast a flare spell. I think the Skeletal King’s expression perfectly sums up how everyone was feeling at that moment. You can see the sparkles in the lipstick though!

 

 

You can use this lipstick as a very soft cream blush that has a few tiny sparkles in it, but it will probably only show up if you have quite pale skin. One advantage if this lipstick’s relatively sheer, non-staining colour, however, is that you can safely kiss your wizard, without leaving him looking like he’s been molested by a saucy sorceress. Unless you are a saucy sorceress, in which case pack tissues to clean him up before the post quest or wedding ceremony photos :-).

*one quick note – the swatch on the Chanel website for Charme is a lot darker and more orange the lipstick – so you might want to exercise caution with those swatch images!

Rogue + Wizard 4 Eva ❤
(Don’t mind the skeletal wizard – we didn’t take him home with us ;-))

 

The verdict: Chanel Rouge Coco in #40 Charme is a gorgeous, soft pink, ‘MLBB’ shade that’s perfect for all your romantic adventures, whether they be questing for hidden loot, going out for Valentine’s Day, or getting married to your adventurer of choice. It’s also a fabulous every day shade that will fill a staple niche in your beauty arsenal. Highly Recommended!

The practicalities: Chanel Rouge Coco lipsticks cost NZD ~60.oo / USD 35.00 for 5.8 g/0.2 oz, are permanent (although limited edition shades do come out), and may be acquired from Chanel counters and stores the world over, and www.chanel.com.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

Historical Roguemance: A Wearable 60’s Inspired Eye with the Tarte MATTEnificent Palette

Greetings from the mystical time portal, fellow rogues!

Many of you have been kind enough to request some looks with the Tarte MATTEnifficent Palette, so I thought I would put on my big girl rogue britches and make the attempt! We’re going to start with something simple (er, so that *I* could start with something simple) and take a stab at a look inspired by the ’60s.

As soon as you look at the pictures below, you will be immediately struck by several things. Firstly, I am so pale that even a pale eyeshadow kind of blends into my face. Secondly, I don’t own false eyelashes, so I’ve done the best I could with the lashes I have and a good mascara. Thirdly, I am not wildly experienced at taking photos of my own eye (you should have heard the cleric sniggering at the faces I was making trying to get the right angle).

HOWEVER! None of these things is a problem, because I wanted to bring you a look today that I feel is quite wearable and quick to achieve. The ’60s, with its penchant for colour blocking and bright eye makeup was not (I feel) a particularly rogueish era. In order to help you avoid a negative modifier on your stealth rolls, therefore, I have toned this look down. If you wish, however, you can easily amp it up to sorceress levels, and I’ll mention how as I go.

Without further ado:

Eye veins, unplucked eyebrows, camera reflections in the eyeball – it’s all for you, dear readers. You know you’re getting the unvarnished truth when your rogue blogger doesn’t even *own* Photoshop!

 

This look was also inspired, I should mention, by one of Lisa Eldridge’s excellent videos. I highly recommend you check out her blog and YouTube channel, as the woman is actually a wizard. No, seriously.

So: this look is essentially an eyelid/browbone full of a pale neutral shadow, with a dark shadow blended just into the socket line. Add some black liner and a metric trolltonne of mascara, and hey presto! The ’60’s live on, but in a wearable way. How does this tie into the Tarte MATTEnificent palette? Read on, fellow adventurers!

 

Pardon the ‘rogue after too much mead’ expression here…

 

The first step is to apply your favourite eyeshadow base, if you use one. I like Urban Decay’s original Primer Potion, but go ahead and use whatever you prefer – if it’s kind of pale tinted, or paler than your skintone, this is a bonus.

Step two is to cover your whole eyelid, up to the browbone, in a pale eyeshadow. Here I’ve used Pink Outside the Box from the MATTEnificent palette. If you have a deeper complexion than mine or a different undertone, you might prefer to use Sand out From the Crowd or Peach for the Stars, or another less starkly white-based shade. Because I’m so pale, I’d probably have to wear pure TiO2 to have it stand out, so adjust the shadow you use to suit your skintone and the level of drama you’re going for.

I do both of these steps with my fingers, but you can use whatever brush/finger/gryphon feather method you prefer.

 

A rogue never sleeps – this is just for eyeshadow demonstration purposes. YES I CAN SEE YOU, HILARION! Put the cookies down!

 

Step three is to take a pointy-ish brush, like a pencil brush or (in my case) the flat end of the MATTEnificent palette’s brush, and use the edge/tip to blend a line of Don’t Stand Black all along the socket line. Don’t go too far in at the inner corner, and don’t wing it out at the outer corner – it’s just that half moon over your eyeball. Don’t Stand Black’s softness and its less than extreme pigmentation actually work really well for this, as it’s difficult to dump on too much black shadow and end up with a much more dramatic effect than intended (or a mess). Keep going gently over this half moon line to smoke out the edges  and soften it.

Alternatively, you could use Two Plums Up for a purple take on this, Dream in Chocolate for a brown one, or any other dark/black shadow you like.

 

I wonder if this is what all the locks that I’m trying to disarm see of me when I’m working. Just a big eyeball (with fabulous makeup, obviously, except for that one little clumpy lash tip DAMMIT!)…

 

Step four is to take your favourite deep black liner, preferably liquid or gel, and line your upper eyelid all the way across from inner corner to outer corner. You could do a flick of some sort if you wanted. but I was going for less drama here – the contrast between the pale shadow and the (relatively) thick deep black liner is enough for me. I used Lancome’s Liner Plume, my favourite black (01 Noir) liquid liner.

Lastly, curl your lashes (I use Chanel‘s eyelash curler), and apply a banshee’s worth of mascara to your upper and lower lashes (I used YSL Volume Effet Faux Cils Waterproof in black). If you have appropriate false lashes, you can use those, and go a little easier on the mascara – you’ll get a much more strongly ’60s, party eye kind of effect.

If, like me, you want more lashes but don’t have falsies, fret not! There are a few measures you can take to give your look some extra rogue-factor.  Use your liquid or gel liner to get as close to your lash roots as possible, even pressing liner in between individual lashes. Then line your upper waterline with a black liner (I used Urban Decay’s Zero pencil in this look). This will help to make the base of your lashes look super thick and lush without adding clumps. You can do the same with dots of pencil liner (I used Zero again) along the lash roots on your lower lashes.

Congratulations, you’re done! This look is suitable for any dungeon (use waterproof liner and mascara if you think there will be dampness/fishmonsters involved), and equally for bardic performances in small tavern or adventuring settings. You can easily give it a boost into party/feast territory, and you can change the colour scheme to suit your mood. Enjoy!

The practicalities: All the bolded product names are links to the relevant website where you can see/purchase the item. If you’re in Middle Earth, you can obtain Urban Decay easily from the UD website with YouShop, the MATTEnificent Palette with the methods described in the practicalities section of this post, and YSL, Lancome, and Chanel from the appropriate counter in Farmers/department stores.

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

A Rogue Can Dream, Right? – January Wishlist

Greetings from the depths of the darkest dungeon, fellow rogues!

Today we’ll be taking a look at some of the things that I wish were in the bottom of the dungeons our party usually gets sent down.  Generally speaking, we find a lot of giant spiders and gelatinous cubes, which are much less desirable and hell to get out of your boots afterwards (don’t even get me started on hair).

Yes, it’s this rogue’s wishlist for January 2014 – things that I’ve been eyeing wistfully this month (and probably for longer in some cases!). I’ve broken it into three categories: Skincare, Beauty and Rogueish Geekery. All the photos were taken from the manufacturers/creators/distributors websites, which are linked if you click on the title of the paragraph about a given item. Just to be clear, none of these links are affiliate!

Let’s get stuck in (like a dagger into a drider) shall we?

I. Skincare

A rogue’s face and feet (actually, any adventurer’s, really) take a beating – these are some things I’ve been eyeing up to combat the issue! (Also orcs, but the manufacturers don’t mention the products’ efficacy on that front…)

 

1. Freeman Bare Foot Foot Lotion in Dragonfruit

I’ve had quite good luck with Freeman products in general (see posts here and here), but I can’t quite overstate how exciting it is to see a dedicated foot lotion that DOES NOT CONTAIN PEPPERMINT. Seriously! It’s incredible. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to try it out soon, and I’ve nearly finished some of my other, similar products.

2. Hurraw Lip Balms, specifically in Chai Spice and Earl Grey

I’ve heard a lot of good things about these lip balms, and being a lip balm hoarder (how can you not be when you spend what seems like half your life in cold, rooftop air?), I feel it my duty to investigate. I’m particularly attracted by the two flavours listed above, but they have a wide range of tasty sounding offerings!

3. Dermalogica Medibac Special Clearing Booster Magical Potion Thing

It’s a zit zapper. Supposedly a very effective one (hopfully strong enough for post-curse situations – get the wizard to check that jewellery, kids!). It’s on my wishlist because it’s >$100 a bottle here in Middle Earth, and my skin isn’t so cruel to me that I feel like I *need* it. But sometimes…let’s just say it’d be damn helpful (if it works)!

4. Michael Todd True Organics Honey and Oat Cleanser

I get quite dry skin on my cheeks, and this is supposed to be good for dry skin! I already have (and love) the Tropical Fruit Exfoliant Scrub from this line (review coming soon!), and I’d love to try more of his stuff! I really, really wish just *one* loot chest or dragon hoard would have a set of Michael Todd products. Just one. But they never do – it’s always gold and jewels, pffft.

And now! On to the makeup shinies…

II. Makeup

 

SHINY! So many coloured potions for the face, so little time.

 

5. Clinique Cheek Pop Blushes

In case you’ve missed it, these blushes are supposed to be AWESOME. I’ve been drooling over Christine’s swatches and reviews over at Temptalia, and I think I’d like them all. Unhelpfully, Clinique’s website only gives the picture for one of the colours, but there are four in total – you can see them in Christine’s wonderful pictures. Somewhere, I suspect there is an overgrown temple where these blushes sit like jewels in the eyes of a colossal statue. Sadly, no-one has posted a quest for it yet.

6. Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in Mirifique

This is, as most of you may be aware, not a new product at all. However, I am a longtime fan of these eyeshadows (particularly Fantasme, which can be used for basically *everything*), and I feel like the sparkly black one is missing in my life. How can I create the perfect glittering smoky roguelike eye looks without it? The sages are still debating just such a question. The sages have also unfortunately not provided any information on how to afford it, either ;-).

7. YSL Gloss Volupte

To be clear, although this is an awesome-looking black gloss (it’s the gloss volupte in ‘Smoking’), and I would love to own a black gloss (if it were opaque!), the colour from this range I’m really interested in is Grenade Pepite. There is a swatch/bottle photo on the same website linked in the title, but the colour is, in my opinion, rubbish. It looks nothing like the magnificence of the actual gloss. How do I know what it looks like? Why here, of course! Feast your eyes on the magnificence, people. Want.

8.  Revlon Colourburst Matte Balms

These. Are. Almost. Here. In. Middle. Earth. Seriously, the display is in Farmers, but they haven’t filled it yet *facepalm*. Once again, the Revlon website only actually has a picture of one of the colours (in full packaging form), but anyone who knows this rogue can probably guess which one I actually really want, and that’s the one called ‘Shameless’…which I think is the perfect name for a bright purple matte lip pencil!

Phew! Two down, one to go…

III. Rogueish Geekery

 

So many wonderful things to drool over…

 

9. Dark Sword Miniatures’ ‘Female Bard With Lute’

This is a gorgeous 28mm scale female bard from Dark Sword Miniatures, who (in my opinion) make some of the very best fantasy RPG miniatures out there. What you can see in the picture is the original model, from which the actual minis you buy are cast – those minatures are in pewter metal. This bard is a sculpt by Jeff Grace, and if you click on the link in the title you can see a couple of different painted versions as well. I’ve been wanting this bard mini for ages, but haven’t been able to justify it because she’s in a resting pose, which makes her better for display than gaming. Love this mini, though!

10. The Last of Us (Naughty Dog)

I’m fairly certain that every person with a Playstation and a pulse has already tried this game, and it comes very highly recommended! I’ve wanted it since months before it came out, but I have such a backlog of unfinished games that I haven’t been quite able to justify getting it yet! I’ve just been running around the internet, trying not to get spoiled 😛 Naughty Dog are the developers behind one of my all-time favourite PS3 games (Uncharted 2), and I can’t wait to see how this one goes!

11. Descent: Journeys in the Dark 2nd Ed. Expansions

Fantasy Flight make wonderful boardgames. Descent is one of them. There are expansions. I wouldn’t mind all of them! Not much else to say really, except to point out that, as a rogue, I feel that these games are less ‘playthings’ than they are serious adventuring training. They’ve got it all – monsters, dungeons, adventurers, loot, and the quests are actually non-trivial to complete! Plus there are minis – what’s not to love?

12. Hirst Arts Molds #57, #58 and #59

I’m fairly certain Bruce Hirst is actually a wizard. Not only does he make the most amazing, detailed, gorgeous molds for miniature (fantasy) architecture so that you can create, paint and build your own from scratch, but his website is crammed full of detailed instructions (with photos) for how to cast, paint, build, decorate and generally make the most out of the molds you buy. The image in the picture is the one from the link I’ve put in the title. It’s an inn he created from the casts of molds 57-59, which are some of the moulds I’m considering acquiring. We have a couple of Hirst Arts molds already, and they’re amazing. If you’re at all interested in miniature modelling, fantasy or historical style, you need to check his stuff out, pronto. This is my serious rogue face, people!

 

So! There we go! Those are my ‘why are these never in the loot?’ items for January. Have you tried any of these things? What are your thoughts?

Until next time, fellow adventurers, don’t forget to check for traps!

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!

An Ode to Pink: Chanel Rose Insolent, OPI Pink Yet Lavender and Iambic Pentameter

Greetings, my fellow rogues!

This post was inspired by Susie the Rockbard, both in the sense that it is about things that are pink, but also in the sense that it will strive to be as poetic as she is. Today’s Zero to Hero task was to post in a style that we’re not used to, such as a photo scrapbook or a short inspirational quote. Since I had already planned to post this particular review, which requires both photos and a certain amount of text, I thought I would spice it up a little bit by doing the whole thing in iambic pentameter.

Iambic pentameter is a literary/poetic technique in which the lines of the text are written to give a series of five ‘iambs’. In English, an iamb consists of a pair of syllables, with the emphasis on the second one. In the original ancient Greek/Latin tradition, an iamb is a set of two syllables where the first one is short and the second one is long, because that’s how they did it back in the day. If you’d like some examples, Wikipedia and xkcd have your back. (I should note for the purposes of this text: ‘OPI’ needs to be read as the individual letters, not ‘Opee’!)

I make no guarantees that I will succeed in this endeavour without fault, but I hope what follows gives you a chuckle at least (and let you know about a couple of polishes!). Iambic pentameter does not have to rhyme, but I  think I may have gotten a bit sonnet-y at times, and not at others, because…poetry. Enjoy! 😛

An Ode to Pink (by Sylirael)

At left we have Chanel in Rose that is
Most Insolent and then at right we see,
A shade of OPI that glitters bright;
a ‘Pink Yet Lavender’ it seems to be…

Chanel Rose Insolent is creme and pink

A bright and vibrant shade to cheer the mood

and lift the spirits when the orcs attack.

Its application is quite smooth and clean

Though shaking is a necessary feat

As pigment settles quite deceptively

Three coats are best for colour most opaque

But two will work if glitter tops the nail.

The finish is a mostly shiny one,

though I prefer a ‘lacquer’ look, which makes

A Sally Hansen topcoat best for me.

A rogue who rests her hand on flasks of wine,
whose thumb appears most odd in corners right,
has painted nails in shades of brightest pink.
Yet when upon the pink the glitter rests,
it actu’lly looks more like silver, see?

Now Pink Yet Lavender from OPI:

A shade Mariah Carey ‘made’ you know!

See holographic tiny glitters mixed,

with hexes in a pale pink-purple shade.

The application is most irksome, on

occasion needing pushing ’round the nail,

to get the glitter cov’rage where you want.

However I will say that it is cute

and makes an end-effect that’s worth the quest

In artificial light they look like this:
the pink takes on a much more coral hue.
The glitter seems to better match its name,
as now you see the ‘lavender’ there too.

The wear time for Chanel is very long,

on me, that is, which only means two days –

maximum, I mean it, seriously!

The glitter in the OPI is more

long wearing by sheer virtue of the fact;

it’s glitter top coat here I mean, come on!

But by itself it prob’ly lasts twelve hours…

(Remember though that I am freakish here,

and twelve is ‘normal’ in my polish hours!)

Yes, rogues have cuddly sweaters too you know,
they keep the dungeon chill at bay quite well.
The glitter statement nail is one of my
fav’rite ways to cheer a troll-filled hell

The Verdict here is one of mixed design:

Chanel’s Rose Insolent, it stole my heart

with vibrant, cheery pink that fends off gloom.

Pink Yet Lavender is more ‘okay’,

but little work rewards with glitt’ring light.

Practically: these polishes aren’t rare

Chanel is found at counters, stores and at

chanel dot com across the world, it seems.

A bottle, thirteen ml, costs forty eight

In Middle Earth that is, in ‘Merica

the cost is twenty seven for the same.

The OPI is even more widespread,

and may be found in Farmers, drugstores too.

A bottle, fifteen ml, costs twenty six

in Middle Earth again, where costs are high.

Americans will find them for a snap!

Just eight, the dollars needed in that land.

Until next time, my rogues, you must take care,

to check for traps in every dungeon lair.

Syl

I am an adventuring rogue, not a mercenary for hire, and as such, all opinions expressed here are my own, based on a genuine fondness for/interest in this product. If you have any queries or suggestions, please do not hesitate to pin your parchment to the board (contact me) at thepaintedrogue [at] gmail [dot] com., or use the contact form provided!