FAIIINT

Archives for December 2014

Memento Mori

Covet

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Memento Mori

Memento Mori is the perfectly odd brainchild of Mattaeus Ball and Starla DuPrés. A wonderful cabinet of curiosities selling oddities and macabre goodies, from ethically sourced human bones, taxidermy, vintage medical instruments & weapons to unique art pieces created in house. Their online store is full of weird & wonderful pieces, expertly curated & is a real joy to browse through, especially if you’re of a curious mind.

Their glorious bone crowns are one of my favourite pieces, custom made to order from the bones of small mammals, they’re an original concept by Mattaeus & each one is completely one of a kind. Striking & unique, I think they’re a beautiful way to re-purpose these remains & give them a new lease of life. I wish I had a good enough reason to buy one for myself, sadly I don’t think wearing it to lounge around the house & answer the door to the postman in would be doing it justice! But, if I ever actually get married I’ll definitely be giving them a call for one, they are such beautiful pieces & it would be the perfect way to add a little quirkiness & personality.

I also love their glass bell jars of specimens, the spine one is particularly special I think & of course all the skulls too, one day I’ll add a human one to my desk! I am very tempted by the little antique human tooth necklace too. If I was a rich girl, I would be buying up practically their whole shop! Go check them out if you’re hunting for unique Christmas presents for the dark inclined in your life, you won’t be disappointed.

Tarte ‘Dollface’ Amazonian Clay Blush

Beauty

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Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in ‘Dollface’

I usually refuse to buy new makeup online without swatching it first, especially when it’s something like a base or blush where you really need to get a shade that suits you or risk it having been a huge waste of money. Tarte’s Amazonian Clay Blush has been on my wishlist for such a long time now though, the formula is always being touted as one of the best & I’ve seen so many pale skinned beauty bloggers raving that the shade ‘Dollface’ is the perfect blush for pale skin. I’ve been holding out waiting for it to be stocked somewhere I could see it in person, but with no luck. When I found that to my horror my staple everyday blush (MAC Pinch O Peach) had been discontinued though, it was my first thought in the search for a replacement.

It’s not often I find myself saying this about beauty products, but it completely lives up to the hype & I am so happy I took the risk buying it online! It’s heavily pigmented meaning you only need a little to create a natural flush, but it also blends out easily if you go a bit overboard & pick up too much. I’d describe it as a pale, bright pink with blue undertones & it’s extremely flattering on my pale skin. I usually pick up more peach or warm toned blushes as I thought they suited me more, but this has me converted, the cool tone adds a real freshness & brightens my whole face but looks totally natural too. The only point I was a little disappointed on was the ’12 hour’ claim, this is definitely long wearing & easily outlasts many of the other blushes I have tried, but 12 hours is really stretching it, I’d say it’s closer to 6-8 hours.

I really like that all of their products are free of parabens, mineral oil, phthalates & other nasties, and are cruelty free, so I now have my eye on quite a few of their other products too. For us in the UK a small selection, including the blushes, are exclusively stocked by QVC. Tarte’s Lights Camera Lashes mascara is going to be first on my hit list, along with the waterproof version, as it’s another product I’ve seen raved about countless times & I must confess, I am a bit of a mascara hoarder, I have a whole drawer full! Have you guys tried any of their other products that you’d highly recommend? Let me know so I can add them to my list!