Here is a look featuring golds using MAC eyeshadows, Prescriptives lipstick and Coastal Scents gold gel liner in 24K. I made the shadows look neutral enough to balance the pop of gold color on the lid. I used my favorite pigment in Blonde's Gold which I believe is a very pretty name and the color is gorgeous as well. The Coastal Scents gel liner was pretty pigmented in my opinion, and it glided smoothly on the lid. I like that it is sort of bronzey-gold instead of yellow gold so it looks a little more prominent on the lashline. Here is a step-by-step illustration. All products MAC unless otherwise noted.
Apply Beige-ing shadestick on lid, browbone up to the brows and smooth with finger. Apply also on lower lashline Using the 242 brush, apply Blonde's Gold pigment foiled using mixing medium on lid.
Like so
Using 224 brush, apply Remotely Grey eyeshadow (from the N collection) on crease.
Using the 226 brush, apply 100 Strokes eyeshadow on crease, blending into Remotely Grey. Take 224 brush and blend the two crease colors together.
Fill in brows, apply Coastal Scents gel liner in 24K on upper lashline. Apply UD 24/7 liner in Zero to tightline and on waterline. Apply mascara. Apply Nanogold eyeshadow to highlight.
Face: Monistat gel as primer Pure Anada mineral foundation in 50-50 mix of Flaxen Field and Pure Gold Urban Decay 24/7 concealer in Light Medium on undereye area Bare Escentuals Well Rested over UD 24/7 DreamWorld creme topping (finishing powder) in Peaches (clay-silica formula) MAC blush in Peachykeen MAC skinfinish in Redhead over blush
Lips: Rimmel lipliner in Tiramisu Prescriptives Colorscope lip color in Golden Quartz Shimmer MAC lipglass in Soft Wave
I finally got my 1/2 teaspoon samples of Overrich pigments in the mail, and I am excited to play with these. The seller was so nice to include a sample of Sunnydaze piggie!
close up
my samples were even neatly sealed
I'll save my review/initial impressions of these for later because I am gonna crash soon.
And here is my look featuring 50-50 mix of Pure Anada's new shades in Medium Gold and Deep Gold (I'm loving it):
Took me a couple of minutes to think about the title for this entry; it contains a hodge-podge of topics! Anyways, here are a couple of looks I've been meaning to post. The first one features Eye Lustre shadows from Aromaleigh, while in the second, I used MAC Blonde's Gold pigment and one of my Meow Feliners (mineral liners), Sex Kitty. It was also one of the rare times I used bold, red lip color.
I wore Joppa soft coverage mineral foundation in Light-medium #3 mixed with Joppa full coverage foundation in Light #3 (50-50 mix), Joppa Simple Radiance finishing silk in Medium, Aromaleigh eye lustre in Cosette foiled on lid, Aromaleigh eye lustre in Persephone foiled on outer V and crease, MAC shadow in Ricepaper to highlight, Almay liquid eyeliner, MAC Graphblack technakohl to line. On the cheeks I used Aromaleigh Pure Rouge blush in Pashmina topped with Dayna's Glow #2. On the lips I used MAC Whirl lipliner, MAC Lightly Ripe lipstick, MAC Major Minor lipglass.
I used MAC Blonde's Gold pigment foiled on the lid, MAC Bronze eyeshadow on outer V, MAC Dark Edge shadow on crease, MAC Femme Fi shadow to highlight. I used Meow Feliner in Sex Kitty wetlined on upper lashline, Graphblack technakohl on waterline and to tightline, Dayna's Minerals Coral Breeze blush with Dayna's Glow #1 on top of blush. On lips I used MAC Whirl lipliner with MAC Red Romp lipglass.
I just received some free samples of Pure Anada's new yellow/golden shades from Candace (Pure Anada's owner). She is so generous to send me full sizes to try. Thanks so much Candace! Most of the asian mineral makeup enthusiasts that I have encountered find it hard to nail their shade in Pure Anada, prompting Candace to custom-make shades that suit our skintone. She told me in her letter enclosed with the products that she lives in a small community that doesn't have a large representation of ethnic groups, so she is excited about this opportunity to whip up shades to cater to the asian skintone. I will let you guys know if one of these is my perfect match. I can't wait to roadtest this!
NOTE to Pure Anada users (I know you're all out there!): If Golden Harvest would be classified as "Light Gold", Candace says these new shades are "Medium Gold" and "Deep Gold".
I went to Target today and picked up another bent eyeliner and crease brushes from Sonia Kashuk, and I got the very last blending sponge (also by SK) on the shelf! I've heard about the amazing Beauty Blender sponge, but Sonia Kashuk has a dupe for half the price of the Beauty Blender, and I've heard raves about this latter sponge as well. I can't wait to try this out.
I just bought my MAC Overrich pigment in Blonde's Gold yesterday, and I am waiting for my trusty pigment seller to send me the other six (not including Mauvement because I have it) in 1/2 teaspoon samples. Okay, just about every MAC afficionado has read/heard about the hullaballoo concerning the Overrich pigment sizes/weight. The rumor is that these new Overrich pigments are different from the rest in the sense that they are richer and heavier than the others, so the jars are not as full when you receive them, since these are sold by weight and not by volume. I got confused though by the claims (which were confirmed by MAC when they changed the weight on the website) that the pigments were 4.3g instead of 7.5g. Is one of these figures based on weight and the other on volume? Anyways, here is a pic of the brand-new pigment I got. I read from forums that certain ladies were pretty satisfied with their purchase because the jars they got were 3/4 full. I'd tell them though to give their jars a couple of good whacks on their countertop and they would see, after the pigments have settled, that these are just a little over half-full:
A little off-putting, but well, Blonde's Gold Pigment is SO gorgeous that I just had to get a full-size. This is more than enough to last me for years, anyway (although since I would use this as a lid color, I think I would go through this quicker than my other pigments). It reminds me of Warming Trend eyeshadow from the Naughty Nauticals collection. I love Warming Trend as an all-over lid color, and Blonde's Gold is another beauty that I couldn't resist. I'm wearing it right now and it's just so pretty, it has taupe-gold undertones that give an understated shimmer to the skin.
I think this would also look beautiful as a highlighter on cheekbones. Gorgeousness!
Aromaleigh had their Eye Lustres on sale last week. This is the only eyeshadow collection that I haven't tried, apart from their mattes, so I got samples of the entire Eye Lustre collection. I've also seen some remarkable EOTDs using these (check out the Aromaleigh gallery on their site), so I can't wait to try these out. By the way, they also ship internationally now so check it out!
On Sampling Small Cosmetic Companies
I received a message from a lady expressing her wariness and concern about ordering samples from online cosmetic companies, as she is not used to and is quite wary about cosmetics in small baggies. I tried to assure her that I am not getting some crappy makeup products to put on my face. In fact, it is the exact opposite: I have very acne-prone, sensitive skin, and I just cannot slap on every cake and liquid foundation I find on the market because the fillers, parabens, preservatives and what-not more often than not wreak havoc on my skin. The products I get from small online companies are pure, unadulterated natural makeup (except of course some shadows that contain synthetic materials) that are purer than some out there in the mainstream market. I've tried some drugstore (and even department store) products that have more crap in their ingredients compared to the small company-owned products that have only 2 to 5 ingredients, and all of them natural.
I also do my homework when it comes to ordering from small mineral makeup companies. I always go to makeup boards and see which ones have really good reviews, then I do some sampling. This technique made me discover buried treasure when it comes to makeup. Also, I only buy from companies I trust. Aromaleigh is a 5-star Yahoo merchant, Dayna of Dayna's Minerals uses her own minerals and also her daughter uses them, and you really know minerals are of good quality when the owners themselves use them, because you won't put anything on your face that you don't trust in. DreamWorld has earned HUGE raves online and the products speak for themselves. These are just some of the products I enjoy using everyday that never broke my sensitive skin out, that are of good quality and really affordable. I hope many would get over the initial feeling of wariness and plunge into the wonderful world of small mineral makeup companies. It's one of the best beauty-related decisions I've made. ;)
Lastly, I really want to have my hair cut like Rihanna's in her Take a Bow video. I love the song, I love Rihanna, and I love her hair (and makeup)! Obviously, I am a big fan of short hair styles, but I don't know if this would suit me because I have baby-fine hair. Is it a yay or nay?
