My Pretty Zombie Swatches

On New Years Eve I put an order in at My PrettyZombie. I'd been meaning to do it for forever and a day, and after getting my Christmas money I finally got around to it. Before my no-buy started (which isn't going badly). The order arrived mid January, I've just taken far too long to edit and post the swatches, I apologise. Also, small note, she has the best names for shadows!

First off, my order came in this awesomely adorable card with this brilliant sticker on the envelope (it's very true by the way, it's easy to get addicted to indie shadows. Or it was for me anyway!).

I did make a pretty small order, since I know I have a massive stash of indie shadows and the sample packs come in sets of three. I stuck to two of the sample packs plus a sample of their colour correcting powder. Honestly MPZ have so many stunning colours I could quite easily have bought three times as many shadows. The restraint nearly killed me! The colours I bought were Anthrax and Mad Cow from the Husbandry Affliction collection, Brisket from the Butcher Shop Collection, Trepanation from the Injurious Collection and Miasma and Unicorn Pee from the main range.

These swatches were photographed under natural light, with Smashbox 24Hr Primer on the left hand side and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy on the right hand side. The only editing (apart from cropping and text) was to adjust the colours a little to be more true to life as the daylight in the UK at the moment is rather blue. Sadly. Descriptions in italics are from the MPZ site.

Brisket copper with a red to gold shift

Anthrax purple to green with a gold to red shift

Have to admit I don't really see the gold to red shift, perhaps it will come out better with better light but the purple to green is very strong.

Mad Cow a mid tone purple with a blue shift

Trepanation taupe with green shift

“a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull, exposing the dura mater to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases.”

Miasma buttercup yellow with a sweet pink shift

mi·as·ma–noun1. noxious exhalations from putrescent organic matter; poisonous effluvia or germs polluting the atmosphere.2. a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere

Unicorn Pee iridescent white blue with enough multi colored glitter to make you puke!

So much glittery goodness. It was a bit of a pain to try and get all the glitter to stick, even with epoxy, but it's so pretty and sparkly I don't care.

I loved all the shadows I got from MPZ. None of them are too hard to work with, granted Unicorn Pee does get glitter pretty much everywhere, but it's a lovely shadow anyway and I like being glittery sometimes. My favourites though are Brisket which I am head over heels for, Anthrax and Trepanation which is my new most favourite neutral. I prefer shifty neutrals, it's why none of the Naked palettes ever really appealed to me.

All shadows can be purchased from My PrettyZombie.

Samples come in packs of three for $3.00

Full sizes are $5.00

And full collections or multiple full size packs are also available, often for a discounted price.

International Women's Day Makeup

Sunday March 8th is International Women's Day!

All around the world, International Women's Day represents an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.

Make It Happen is the 2015 theme for our internationalwomensday.com global hub, encouraging effective action for advancing and recognising women.

Each year International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.

Various organisations identify their own International Women's Day theme, specific to their local context and interests. Many charities, NGOs and Governments also adopt a relevant theme or campaign to mark the day. For example, organisations like the UN, Oxfam, Women for Women, Care International, Plan, World Association of Girl Guides & Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) and more - run exciting and powerful campaigns that raise awareness and encourage donations for good causes. The UN has been declaring an annual equality theme for many years.

from the International Women's Day site

As you can see I used a lot of purples in this, so why purple?

From 1908, the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Great Britain adopted the colour scheme of purple, white and green to symbolise the plight of the Suffragettes. Purple symbolised justice and dignity - two values strongly associated with women's equality. The three colours were used for banners, flags, rosettes and badges to show solidarity.

The shadows I used are: Shiro's Finklestein on the inner corner, Victorian Disco Jack & Sally above the crease, Shiro's Alkahestry on the first half of the lid and My Pretty Zombie Mad Cow on the outer half of lid (possibly not the most appropriate name, but damnit it's a stunning eyeshadow!). The liner is Victorian Disco Halloween Town and my brows are Shiro's Derp.

Chinese New Year: Year of the Goat

This year Chinese New Year (or Lunar New Yeaar) falls on the 19^th of February (that's tomorrow) and the lunar new year this year is the year of the Goat, more specifically the year of the Wooden Goat.

The Goat comes 8th in the Chinese zodiac. The 12 zodiac animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. According to Chinese astrology, each year (starting from Chinese New Year) is associated with an animal sign, occurring in a 12-year cycle. For example 2015 is a year of the Goat.Lucky Colors: brown, red, purpleLucky Numbers: 2, 7Lucky Flowers: carnation, primroseYear of Birth: 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027

I was born in 1991, but as I mentioned last year technically I am Year of the Horse (according to the Lunar calendar and the date that the New Year fell on). However I feel like I associate a lot more with the emotional profile of someone born in the year of the Goat, although I like horses as animals a lot more.

People born in a year of the Goat are generally believed to be gentle mild-mannered, shy, stable, sympathetic, amicable, and brimming with a strong sense of kindheartedness and justice.They have very delicate thoughts, strong creativity, and perseverance, and acquire professional skills well. Although they look gentle on the surface, they are tough on the inside, always insisting on their own opinions in their minds. They have strong inner resilience and excellent defensive instincts.Though they prefer to be in groups, they do not want to be the center of attention. They are reserved and quiet, most likely because they like spending much time in their thoughts. Goats like to spend money on fashionable things that give them a first class appearance. Although goats enjoy spending money on the finer things in life, they are not snobbish.

I'm not tough on the inside or good at spending money on the finer things I think that's where I'm more like a Horse. But for the most part, that's me.

Anyhow, I don't really believe in any of this Astrology stuff, I just find it interesting. Now, on to the look, I tried to incorporate all of the 'lucky colours' for the Goat. Especially red as red is traditionally associated with the Lunar New Year and is worn at the celebration.

Used: Victorian Disco Why is it Always You Three? on the inner corner, Darling Girl The Boogeyman across lid, My Pretty Zombie Brisket on the outer corner & crease, Fyrinnae Scarlet Macaw on the lower lashline & crease, Aromaleigh Cagnazzo & Hello Waffle Lust as a liner and finally Innocent + Twisted Warm & Fuzzy & My Pretty Zombie Brisket for my brows. Mascara was L'Oreal Miss Manga.

All of my information came from the China highlights site

25 Before 25

So Saturday 7th was my 24th Birthday. It was a quiet day, though I did get a treat lunch of baked cod which was awesome, and spent the evening with my family. It was nice. I've seen a lot of "x before y" posts since I've been blogging and thought it would be an awesome idea to try and get some of my goals completed for the year ahead. Or at least give me something to do before I hit 25 (scary! I barely feel like I got out of college a couple of years ago, not nearly 6!). Time flies. Anyway, here are my goals for my 24th year of life. Some are much easier than others, and some I'm carrying on from the start of the year (no-buy, films, Hellblazer and books). Hey, ticking off a few will give me motivation if nothing else!

25 before 25

1. Visit one completely new place overseas
2. See the British Museum
3. Complete a Photo a Day Challenge
4. Reach 100 followers on Bloglovin
5. Learn one new skill
6. Write 100 words a day for a month
7. Finish Hellblazer readthrough
8. Get a second nose piercing
9. Go to a Warrington Wolves Match
10. Donate Blood
11. Read 20 Books
12. Visit Ireland
13. Visit Wales
14. Visit Scotland
15. Get a professional massage
16. Watch 50 films
17. Make my own blog layout with CSS
18. Go on a date
19. Pass my practical driving exam
20. Raise money for Dementia
21. Complete a no buy
22. Cosplay
23. Have one of my papers published
24. Raise money for b-Eat
25. Run in a 5K

and as a bonus, here's the makeup I wore on the day.

didn't really work out quite as I had planned. Ah well., I used My Pretty Zombie Anthrax (I'll put the swatches up soon™), with Innocent + Twisted Alchemy Sweet Pandemonium in the center. I can't quite remember the black on the outer corner, but the glitters are Choppa Gunner by Victorian Disco and Starburst from Darling Girl. Liner is Collection Glam Crystals in Rock Chick over a plain black liner. Brows are Shiro They're After Me Lucky Charms.