A is for Arsenic - Taxidermia

I got my A is for Arsenic order in a mail about a week ago and I'm pleased as punch with the items I received! I ordered three items from the new(ish) Taxidermia collection.

The attention to detail with the package design really kind of blew my mind. I have a special place in my heart for beautiful packaging.

Signed card from Amelia which was a very sweet touch 

I ordered the Vanitas Ladies Grey Shirt and the Vanitas Ladies Black Tank. I pretty much knew from the start that the tank would be entirely too large for me to wear in public without the danger of accidentally flashing passersby.. I got it mostly to replace some old dusty pink tanks that I use as pajama tops.

The Vanitas Shirt, while still large on me, still looks flattering and I'm seriously regretting not getting the Macabre Menagerie shirt because of how beautiful the Vanitas shirt turned out to be.

I took two hasty shots of my outfit from today. All I can say is these tops are incredibly comfortable and I really can't wait for another collection to be launched. Please excuse my non-makeup face and horrible camera work, I was in kind of hurry to get out of the house.

The third item in my order was the Bleeding Antlers necklace, which I admit I almost didn't get because it was black. I wear SO MUCH black that when I wear black necklaces they tend not to stand out against my top/dress/etc. I broke down in the end because I have a serious antler fetish. It's got a gorgeous high-gloss finish and I'm sure I'll find something to wear it with.

the box that the Bleeding Antlers necklace came in

♥ le petit alice

Peacock

I've wanted peacock colors in my hair for a long time, but I couldn't bare to completely part with my purple, so I made a compromise. I also gave myself a little trim. I'm wondering when I'm going to get tired of this hairstyle... I guess I have enough wigs that I can change it up whenever I feel like it.

There are actually a total of five colors in my hair. I mixed dye in different cups to make sure it gradated the way I wanted it to. The only color I didn't use completely by itself was Special Effects Limelight, which is just mixed 50/50 with Stargazer Tropical Green. I also used Crazy Color Pine Green, Directions Turquoise and Alfaparf Jean's Color in Violet.

I'm pretty happy with how the colors turned out. They all seem to be very vibrant. No word yet on their staying power, since I've only had these colors in for three days now, but I'll probably post of photos of how it fades.

Also, I know everyone and their mother already has it, but I got Urban Decay's Naked Palette, which I used in these photos. There would be no point in swatching it since every single beauty blogger has already done it.

Some of my favorite things were laying out on my desk recently.. making it all the more clear how much I dearly love black. The perfume is Kat Von D's Sinner, which I wear daily. The nail polish is Illamasqua's semi-matte black, Scorn.

♥ le petit alice

Suppurate System Haul + Review

Recently I placed my first shopping service order with Japonica Market, a shopping service I had not heard of until about a month ago. My order comprised of mostly items from Suppurate System's Japanese webshop and a few h.naoto items.

Suppurate System makes very unique jewelry and accessories with a dark, gothic theme. The shapes and colors are all gorgeous and I've ordered from Suppurate System a couple of times before.

There are two disappointing things about their items;

a) the quality varies wildly from item to item

b) the wait time for items to ship

My contact at Japonica Market was extremely prompt with their responses. I actually tacked the Suppurate System order onto an existing order I had placed for some h.naoto items, which they took into stride.

The basic timeline for my order was:

Oct 12 2:03pm = I add the Suppurate System items to my order with Japonica.

Oct 12 6:50pm = Japonica sends me the invoice for my deposit.

Oct 12 7:02pm = I remit payment for the deposit via paypal.

Oct 12 9:57pm = Japonica sends me a confirmation that they have ORDERED the items.

After this point about a week and a half has passed. They have long since received my h.naoto items.

Oct 30 2:04pm = I ask them about the status of my order.

Oct 30 7:40pm = Japonica apologizes for the delay, but the items still have not arrived. They promise me that they will email Suppurate System to find out.

Nov 9 4:43pm = They get back to me with Suppurate System's response that it will take roughly 3-5 weeks because the items are handmade.

Nov 24 9:16pm = It has been 43 DAYS since my order was placed. More than a month. I email Japonica for a status update. I don't mind the wait as much now that I have an (extremely) rough estimate.

Nov 23 9:54pm = They ask Suppurate System one more time where my order is.

Nov 28 9:21pm = Japonica gets back to me. My items have arrived!

So all in all from the day they placed the order it has taken 47 days.

Most of the items I ordered were from older collections that have been available for quite some time. If you compare a lot of these items to their original product images on the website you'll notice that in many cases different materials were used.

A good example is the Master Key Fruit Necklace. The key used is actually different from the original photo, not by much, but it's definitely not the same. Furthermore the apple looks like a pretty generic and unaltered fake apple. In the photos the apple appears more distressed and the chain used is also different. The chain I received was of a kind of cheap, light plastic rather than the heavy metal ones you see in the product photos.

Suppurate System has a lot of cage necklaces, one of which I've owned for a while. I decided to get another because I like them so much. The Malignant Rose Cage Necklace a great example of a beautiful idea that's been horribly executed. The preserved rose in the cage looks crushed and sad and the silver base it's attached to honestly looks a bit like tinfoil. The hot glue used to attach the rose to the bottom of the cage looks sloppily applied. In some places the paint on the cage is already flaking off. It also came on a chain and in the product photos it hangs from a cord.

My favorite thing from this haul is the Satan Poison Bottle Necklace. It seems to be the most well-crafted and orignal piece, also the most true to its stock photos.

The Fruits Nails Necklace necklace is pretty much exactly how it appears on the Suppurate System website. The only thing I happen to dislike about it is the quality of the key, which is pretty clearly made of plastic rather than metal.

The Ruin Virtue Rose Choker was also a little disappointing, but only because I honestly wasn't expecting the roses to be so small. This item also seems like something I could have made at home. Once again the materials used to make this appear to be slightly different than in the original photos (the chains, roses themselves, etc).

This review came out sounding a lot more negative than it probably should have. I still love Suppurate System, but I've come to terms with the fact that in many areas what you see is not necessarily what you get.

♥ le petit alice

Shiro Cosmetics - Kawaiishadows Collection

So, this past month I placed my first Shiro Cosmetics order. What can I say, they had a Black Friday/Cyber Monday say going on; I had run out of excuses to pass them up.

My order was comprised of a million swatches;

The Complete Science Collection
The Complete Legends Collection
The Complete Super Effective Collection
The Complete Death Note Collection

The only full sized products I purchased was the Kawaiishadows.

Since my order turned out to be around eighty dollars, even with the discount, I chose the free shipping option. I received a confirmation email almost immediately afterward.

I placed my order on Novermber 28th and received it December 13th.
Total turn around time = 15 days

Kawaiishadows is comprised of five pastel shades in Yatta (yellow), Banzai (green), Desu (blue), Lolita (purple), and Kawaii (pink). The shadows plus the 2 pieces of Japanese candy that come with them are packed up in a cute little box with pink and blue ribbon. It really does strike me as something that makes a really good present.

The color payoff was good, even on my darker skin. I was especially impressed with Banzai. It shows up looking a little more on the cyan side here, but in real life it's more of a mint green. Lolita was probably my second favorite, with just the shade of pastel purple that I really like. I actually have a few pastel purple's that I want to post comparisons of it next to, since they are all actually quite similar. Kawaii is probably the one the least noticeable or flattering with my skin tone, but who knows, I'd love to find a way to use it.

Lolita, Desu, Yatta, Banzai and Kawaii (all swatched wet)

I did a really simple test on one eye to see if I'd really wear pastel shades like this. I'm not normally the type to wear a lot of pastels. I tend to think it doesn't look as good on my medium toned skin as it does on darker skin or really pale people.. but I was surprised once I was wearing it how much I really enjoyed the effect. I felt like a little sherbet princess!

Yatta (inner corner), Banzai, Desu and Lolita (outer corner) Sugarpill's Hysteric (faded) on my eyebrows

Overall I'm really pleased with these shadows. To think I was considering swatching them and giving them to someone who wears more pastels than me! *cough*Tempest*cough*

As soon as I have time I'll make an insanely huge swatch post with all the samples in my order. But I'm pretty sure they'll be equally impressive

♥ le petit alice

Alice in the Forest

This was  Halloween costume from last year. Unfortunately this year I don't have much planned for Halloween, but last year went really well.

I'm wearing the Heavy Red 'Tragic Alice' costume from 2010.

I put a petticoat underneath it and topped it off with my Kaya velvet bow. To this day I think these photos may be the best I've ever looked on camera.

Credit to the incredibly badass Joshua Patton for the Photography.

♥ le petit kiwii