Be A Goddess: Lime Crime's Venus I and Venus II Review PLUS a Bonus Tip

Be A Goddess: Lime Crime's Venus I and Venus II Review

Lazy, rainy Saturday's are the perfect time to practice some makeup so while I hear Maesin and her friend giggling before they start dolling up for prom, I thought I'd finally get around to reviewing Lime Crime's Venus I and Venus II palettes. (I'm also throwing in a "HD Powder Tip"

Let me first start off by apologizing about the grunge hair. It's a Saturday and I'm absolutely ready to get rid of this mop. It spends a lot of time pinned up. This is actually the longest my hair has been in decades. But we aren't here to bemoan that.

To preface the review, the entire eye shadow review is solely done with each respective palette. I wanted to show the versatility of this highly pigmented eye shadow.

As I've mentioned before, high pigment eye shadows are absolutely wonderful but I also want to mention that they can be extremely treacherous when just starting out. High pigment eye shadows are a beast. You have to carefully layer the colors and be gentle. If you pack a lot on right away, it is so hard to distribute. The payoff for layering and building is definitely worth your time to try and master them.

Let's begin with some pictures. Try to ignore the incredibly red skin because after the eyes I decided to go full on full coverage. I'll mention what I used as I go.

Here is the Venus I palette is a treasure trove of warm, rich colors. They definitely fall into the Reds and I love that. My favorite palette is Urban Decay's Naked 3 Palette and it is for just this reason. For being a red head, surprisingly red tones in eye shadow play out beautifully. Here is the look:

 Now let me remind you to please ignore the red skin with the broken capillaries around my nose. This entire look was created with just the Venus I Palette. I did not borrow any other colors and the only thing not from the palette is my mascara. (Unlike a lot of makeup enthusiasts...I'm not really into the false eyelashes. Maybe because I suck putting them on. Meh...maybe I'll start practicing or just saving up for lash extensions!)
Anyway...back to the eye shadow. I did a very high cat eye but it didn't turn out that well. The brown I used I didn't go bold enough and I am not always a fan of cat eye. I've learned to do it well with just about any media but it doesn't suit my face. I guess I'm just old school.

Next up on the other eye is the Venus II Palette

 This one is a terrible picture. I went out of my comfort box and played around with the mustard yellow, the bright Robin egg blue and the very sparkly black. You'll be able to see it them both better here. One note...the black used for the eyeliner is more like a deep purplish black with a lot of sparkles. I love it!

 There...now you can see the differences. This also features a full face makeup with contouring (not easily seen on this picture.) It is with Kat Von D's Lock-it Foundation (please see previous review). Younique's Scarlet concealer. (I think that is the color.) and LA Splash matte lip stains and two different colors of shimmer. I think all told I used 4 different lipstick products to get that gradient effect.  I am also wearing a taupe eye shadow as a contour. Why? Because people with fair skin like mine often do far better with shades of grey and taupe as contours because anything else makes us look a bit orange. Mascara is one coat of Lights Camera Action by tarte. And Makeup Forever's HD Powder.

I really, really like the Venus Lime Crime world of products. Palettes aren't cheap but these would hit into the affordable line. No, not as affordable as drug store lines but still pretty great considering that a little goes a long way.
Shop here for the best Venus I and II deal You can get both palettes cheaper than buying them separately.


All told the whole effect is pretty good, I'd say. I do think I need to apply more of the stand out colors, like the blue, to really showcase how great these colors are. And next time I'll take more time when doing the whole look but as I said, rainy Saturday.

Oh...by the way. I haven't forgotten my bonus tip. None of these pictures have a filter. They have no enhancement besides makeup. But I do want you to see how a flash and lighting can change your look entirely. Have you ever seen a celebrity on the runway have a lot of white powder beneath their eyes? I see commentary from everyone when that occurs. It's almost a crime (ha! You get it...considering we have talked about Lime Crime.) Moving on.
HD powder is awesome but it can catch you unaware. I blended my powder, contouring and foundation very well. But I still missed taking some of the HD powder away after baking.

That is the effect with flash. You don't see the powder in the previous pictures because it is in different lighting and not using flash.
So beware! The cake and bake can catch you looking like your eyes are trying to do drugs. :)

I hope you have enjoyed our time together today. it has been fun for me and now the makeup has been washed away.

Lime Crime Venus I and Venus II Palette rating: Pardoned by the Judge with a slap on the wrist (4 out of 5)
Pigmentation: 5 piggies
Blending ability: Moderate blenders so 3 out of 5 blenders.

Kat Von D's Lock-It Foundation...Cover it up!

Review: Kat von D Lock-it Foundation

I’ve been such a bad girl with my reviews and blogs. It’s been chaotic lately and I’ve had a lot going on but the good news is that I have at least 3 reviews coming to you.

Today I want to cover Kat von D’s super, duper full coverage foundation, the Lock-It Foundation.

The Lock-It Foundation is not new to the makeup world but it was one of those items that were marketed to a select audience. The original audience was primarily for people looking to cover tattoos. And this foundation addressed that perfectly with only one other type of makeup that is absolutely the best for covering up anything. Krylon is the makeup of choice for Fx and it is one used heavily in the Drag community. It’s why they have the best makeup and can transform their faces into virtually anyone.

Back to my review…

Lock-It comes in a wide array of colors and that is always great, but they took it a step further and addressed cool and warm tones. You can pick your shade and then pick the tone. Fabulous!

I chose the lightest shade and it was a mistake. I should have gone one darker but it isn’t something absolutely horrid. A little powder and it is fine. That being said, when they advertise this as full coverage…they ain’t talkin’ about your normal drugstore full coverage foundation. I’m a die hard fan of Urban Decay’s Born this Way which is marketed as a full coverage. When you compare that to Lock-It…all the others look sheer.

We have all seen YouTube videos where someone grabs their foundation and goes to town on their face. They all look like flawless coverage that can hide any imperfection. I’ve even seen people mark their face with a Sharpie. Those are really deceptive practices because they NEVER show you up close and personal and never show it at the end of the day. I can promise that the Sharpie will eventually come through. Lock-It? You will never see it. Period.

The problem I had with this foundation is that it really is too much coverage for my face. I have problems with red tones (which this completely addressed) but I don’t have wide spread breakouts, scars or really big issues that need a full coverage.

The second issue to be aware of is application. Do you know how you have some foundations that you can dab on a brush, or beauty blender, and then just run with it? I don’t recommend doing this with the Lock-It foundation. You really need to dot your face and then connect the dots, so to speak. The thickness of the formula does not spread as easily as others and this is completely a consistency issue. I dotted my face and used my brand new awesome make up brush (I’ll review another time.) The application went on well. I also tried it with a damp beauty blender and it took more work but it left a smooth finish.

Third issue: it does not do well if you try to thin it out. I didn’t want the heaviness of a full coverage on hot days when I tend to get sticky. (Y’all know what I mean ;) When you are flushed and feel like you are in a swamp. We don’t have humid days here but when it gets warm, I do not want to feel caked down.)

Trying to thin this out with a BB cream or lotion just didn’t work as well as I thought it should. I think it goes back to the formula. This is not ever meant to be a sheer foundation. I’m sure there are people who can make it sheer but for me it was just not as successful as I wanted it to be.

Fourth Issue: Dry spots. If you have any rough spots, dry spots, or flakey bits…this will accentuate those. You MUST exfoliate and moisturize WELL and use the appropriate primer. In this case I would highly recommend using Kat Von D’s Lock-It Primer. Typically I have one or two primers that I use for every foundation in my arsenal. One for water based foundations and one for silicone/dimethicone and I don’t often buy ones that match the foundation. In this case I highly recommend you making that additional purchase.

 

All issues aside, I still plan on keeping this foundation in my lineup. I usually always have at least 5 different types of foundation at any given time and this one solidly rounds out the full coverage.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 Shonté’s approve.