She Space Drama Queens, Camellia Rose and DreamWorld Foundation

Drama Queens with a sprinkling of shadows from the regular line

I just got my Drama Queen shadows from The She Space and I super love this new formula. I think this is right up there with the original formula, if not better. Oh gosh! The pigmentation is just incredible! I haven't tried them out yet, but I think I don't even need to foil these babies to achieve maximum color pay-off. The most beautiful shades from the Drama Queens that I got are All That Buzz and Bella Diablo. Just gorgeous! Swatching these elicited an audible "Oh wow!" from me. Wasted Intrigue, Foxy Fairy and Be lovely are also breathtaking. Let the swatches speak for themselves. These were applied wet without a base:




EDIT: By Lovely should read Be Lovely

I also received my version 2 of Camellia Rose's Skin Smoothing Primer. Yay! This V2 was specifically fomulated by Jen for sensitive skin. I can't wait to use this (of course, after I finish my current ginormous tub of her original primer). I also received my green tea shea and rose shea soap bars that Jen specially made for combination (mine!) and oily skin. Jen also threw in a generous sample of her Pearl Cream. Now this I have to try. Thank you SO much Jen!


My Camellia Rose haul


Side by side with my Joppa Brown Sugar and Cinnamon goat milk soap

I used to think that my perfect foundation shade in DreamWorld was a mix of Theia and Minerva. I think that Minerva turned out to be a tad too light, so I mixed Tethys with Theia instead, and I think I had a little "Eureka!" moment when I looked in the mirror. I didn't look too washed out or too orange/dark even in person. Here is a look using my Theia-Tethys mix, and my Joppa eyeshadow (used it with She Space). I like the texture of Joppa eyeshadows because they are not too sparkly and have amazing color pay-off.





Eyes:
MAC Beige-ing shadestick on lid as base
The She Space pigment in Swim With the Fishes foiled on lid
Joppa mineral shadow in Rain Forest on mid to outer lid and crease
MAC pigment in Forest Green on outer V
MAC eyeshadow in White Wheat to highlight
Indelible gel liner in Magnetism on upper lashline
MAC kohl power pencil in Jealousy on outer lower lashline

Face:
Camellia Rose skin smoothing primer
DreamWorld mineral foundations in Theia and Tethys (60-40 mix) (Luna formula)
Mary Kay undereye concealer in Ivory topped with
Bare Escentuals Well Rested
Bare Escentuals mineral veil
MAC Beauty Powder in Pearl Sunshine as blush

Lips:
MAC Whirl lipliner
MAC lipstick in Noveau Frou
MAC lipglass in Nico Now

Happy Mail Day

I was so stoked last Saturday when I received no less than 5 packages from different mineral makeup companies on some samples and full size products that I ordered online. I went out with the family to eat and while waiting for the food to arrive, I couldn't help but open my packages right there (I brought them with me - ha, how crazy was that?). I was mainly excited to see my prebuy Lumiere brushes (take 3), and they are absolutely gorgeous:



As expected, the duo fibre optic brush was heavenly, uber-soft and wonderfully crafted. I was just a little disappointed with the handle length, though. I didn't know there were actually two handle sizes of these duo fibre optics. My Lumiere angled fibre optic is considerably longer than my new duo fibre optic:



That was my only gripe. The head itself contains beautiful duo fibres, and was slightly bigger in circumference than my angled duo fibre, which is understandable considering that the latter is supposed to apply pigments at a precise angle rather than in all directions.


regular duo fibre optic on the left, angled duo fibre optic on the right

So now I have a MAC 187 dupe that cost less than half the price of the latter, and applies pigment as wonderfully and produces the same "lit-from-within" result as its MAC counterpart. The cat-tongue concealer is gorgeous and works beautifully to conceal blemishes or to apply undereye concealer. The shape of the head easily applies concealer to the whole undereye area, and the taklon bristles easily grasp mineral and cream concealer for no-brainer applications. The retractable kabuki is a true winner, perfect to place in my makeup kit for quick touch-ups.



I also got my Lumiere goodies. Lumiere's products are truly high quality, and I love the pigments of these blushes and eyeshadows. They are very pigmented, have excellent color pay-off and have good staying power. I LOVE the multi-hued eyeshadows in Peppermint Patty (a popular choice), Mysterious and Mint Chocolate Chip; these are gorgeous, gorgeous colors, and I can't wait to play with them. The blushes are breathtaking. Period. I got a sample of their Valentine offering, Be Mine blush, and I am excited to try that as well. Spiced Apple also looks very promising; no wonder it's a bestseller!



Of course, I was soooooo excited when I got my She Space eyeshadows. This is my first order with them and I've heard a lot of raves about them. I bought basically enough samples to play with for months, so I got really excited to play. I used two of the colors today, and I can say I liked the colors and the finish, especially when foiled. I will post a look pretty soon, and these are really nice, affordable samples for eye makeup newbies.



I found an unused photo album in my junk that I used to store my samples. It's easier than placing them in a ziplock bag or envelope or a box because you can actually see all the colors in one go, and you can choose combinations easily. The picture above is part of my She Space eyeshadow sample haul.


My Cory blush samples



I finally got my order of darker Cory foundation shades. I can now play and see if I can find a match in this brand.



Last but not the least, I got my haul from Camellia-Rose and Jen's sweet note. Her skin-smoothing primer is my holy grail primer, and this is my third container. I was just surprised that it came in a pump rather than a jar (it used to be in a jar). That's perfectly fine with me because a pump is much more sanitary (no double dipping of fingers). I love the watermelon-y scent of this (very, very subtle), and I like the fact that it's not greasy nor sticky on the face, and it does make skin appear smoother and helps makeup stay longer. I also got a bottle of her zit serum for those stubborn zits. Jen sent a sample of her goat milk soap. I tried it and wow! I like the after-feel and it smells so clean and fresh. Thanks Jen!

Going Back to Basics; Prime Time with Camellia Rose

I'm done with sampling for now. I just want to enjoy my tried and tested products because I know I'd like my appearance after application. That's the risk with sampling - you'll never know what you're gonna get. Right now I've come home to Lauress and Bare Escentuals glimmers, because the application is so fool-proof - there are no ooopses, uh-ohs or darn its. Lauress just feels like silk on my face, and yet application is a cinch. This was my first time to use Bare Escentuals glimmers in Queen Linda and Bronze Leaf, but I wasn't apprehensive. I knew the combination would be beautiful because I know how glimmers operate. They are beautiful no matter what the shade is, for as long as you master its application. There was one product that I did use for the first time, though - Camellia Rose's Skin Smoothing Primer. I love my Pure luxe, but I was looking for another primer to use on alternate days. Thanks to Lili's great testimonial about it, I asked Jen if I could buy a sample, but quickly changed my mind and bought the full-size one instead because I wanted to make the most out of the shipping cost. Boy, am I glad I did. The first thing that struck me was the subtle but so alluring fruity scent of the product. It really elicited a loud "oh my!" from me. I also noticed that there is more product in the jar than Pure Luxe (as much as I love the cream eraser, the small amount of product has always been my gripe). As I applied Jen's primer, I noticed that the slip was really good, and it really did its job in prepping the face for the application of minerals. My dilated pores seemed smaller, minerals looked seamless and stayed on during the day, and it evened out my skintone just as Pureluxe eraser did. I am impressed. I have found an alternate primer (I had been looking around for so long). I really am satisfied with this great product!







Camellia Rose Skin Smoothing Primer
Lauress original formula mineral foundation in Creamy Yellow and Delicate Yellow
Mary Kay undereye concealer in Ivory topped with
Bare Escentuals Well Rested
Bare Escentuals mineral veil
J.Lynne Latin Rhythms mineral blush in Paso Doble
MAC Enriched Refined Bronzer to contour

Lips:
MAC lipliner in Spice
MAC lipstick in Blonde on Blonde
MAC lip gelee in Jellicious

Eyes:
MAC Beige-ing shadestick as base
Bare Escentuals glimmer in Queen Linda over lid as wash
MAC eyeshadow in Almond Icing as highlighter
Bare Escentuals glimmer in Bronze Leaf on outer V
MAC fluidline in Graphic Brown to line
Maybelline Volume Express Turbo Boost mascara