Red-Brown Look Using MAC and Aromaleigh

I used some of my pretty mineral shadows from Aromaleigh for this look, along with some products from MAC. I used a shadow from the discontinued, limited edition collection called L'orchidee. The shadow is named Chatter Box, described on the Aromaleigh website as a "rich, multi-dimensional brownish mauve smoke with frosted shimmer".


To lend reddish nuances to the look, I added a tiny bit of Velvet Dream from the gorgeous Gothic Lolita collection.





Finally, I was able to wear the famed Pure Rouge blush in Verve. It's Aromaleigh's version of NARS Orgasm blush, and I really love Verve. It is not splotchy at all on the cheek; it applies smoothly and gives this really subtle but buildable pretty coral flush. I applied it using the angled fiber optic from Lumiere and the outcome is subtle but definitely gorgeous. You can go as pigmented or as subtle as you like with this blush. I also like the tiny shimmery particles that are not in-your-face but more of like a subtle radiance.


I also used one of my favorite mineral liners, Drama Queen liner in Red, also from Aromaleigh.


I used the pretty MAC eyeshadow in Et Tu, Bouquet? from the A Rose Romance collection.


I used Hold the Pose lipstick from the Makeup Art Cosmetics Richard Phillips collection.


I applied one of my favorite MAC lipglasses, Nico.


One the lid, I applied a pretty mineral eyeshadow from Valerie Minerals, Miranda.

Here's a step-by-step. All products Aromaleigh unless otherwise stated.


Apply MAC Bare Canvas paint all over lid and lower lashline. Using Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 3/8" brush (or the 239 brush), apply Valerie Beauty mineral shadow in Miranda foiled using MAC Charged Water on lid.


Using the same brush, apply Velvet Dream on outer V.


Using the same brush, apply Chatterbox on crease. Blend with the MAC 224 brush.

Shimmery Peach and Browns Using Mineral Eyeshadow and Pop Beauty Brown Eyes Palette

Some Valerie Beauty mineral shadows





Here is a shimmery peachy-brown look using my Pop Beauty Brown Eyes Palette, and a beautiful shimmery peachy eyeshadow called Miranda from one of my all-time favorite mineral makeup companies. Unfortunately, though, it is no longer around - I'm talking about Valerie Beauty Minerals. Val's eyeshadows have some of the most fantastic mineral shadow finishes I've tried. They are similar in finish to my MAC pigments - and there is not one dud in my collection. They are not just mica bombs that emit sparkle but no pigment. These babies are really pigmented and really some of the best mineral shadows I've tried. As a tribute to one of my favorite mineral makeup companies, I will be coming up with more looks using Val's products in the coming posts.

Above are some of the beautiful mineral shadows I have from Val. I don't have an actual picture of Miranda, but gauging from the photos, one could see how pretty and high-quality the products are.


I also used my Cory mineral blush sample in Racy for this look.

Here is a step by step illustration.


Apply Urban Decay primer potion on lid, browbone and under the lower lashline. Apply Valerie Beauty mineral shadow in Miranda wet using MAC Charged Water using the Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 3/8" brush.


Apply the 7th shadow from the left of the Pop Beauty Brown Eyes palette on the crease using the Sonia Kashuk blender brush.


Using the MAC 226 brush, apply 4th shadow from the left of the Brown Eyes palette on the crease.




Blend the colors using the Sonia Kashuk blender brush.


Using Sonia Kashuk bent eyeliner brush, wetline Aromaleigh Drama Queen mineral liner in Red using MAC Charged Water.


Apply Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero on waterline and tightline. Apply Miranda on inner lower lashline. Apply mascara.







Face:
Monistat gel as primer
MAC Prep + Prime Refined Skin Zone on t-zone
Joppa mineral foundation in Medium-Light 2.5
Urban Decay 24/7 pencil concealer on undereye area
Bare Escentuals concealer in Well Rested on undereye area
DreamWorld Whipped Cocoon (silk finishing powder) in Whipped Strawberries
Cory mineral blush in Racy

Lips:
Softlips lip balm
Estee Lauder lipstick in Midnight Rose
MAC lipglass in Nico Now

Smoky Lilacs Using Aromaleigh and MAC Shadows

I made a smoky lilac look using Aromaleigh's Valentine limited edition shadows, and some of my newly acquired MAC shadows. To refresh our memory, here are the shades again:







Also, for the first time in months, I've used my Meow mineral foundation in the Flawless Feline formula, and I forgot how smooth and flawless-looking this brand is. I usually wear it during summer because it feels so light and airy, I feel like I am not wearing any makeup at all. I tried it again when I saw it sitting in a corner in my dresser drawer, and I'm so glad I did. Love this foundation to bits!

Here's a quick tutorial on the eye look. All products MAC unless otherwise noted:


Apply Soft Ochre paint pot all over lid and brows. Smooth with finger. With a fluffy shader brush, apply Fresco Rose paint pot on lid. Apply Beige-ing shadestick on lower lashline to prevent smudging of shadows.


Using Loew Cornell Maxine's Mop 3/8" brush (or MAC 239), apply Aromaleigh shadow in Sweet Nothings on the inner 2/3 of the lid foiled using Charged Waters.


Using same brush, apply a little bit of Beautiful Girl Minerals mineral shadow in Magical and apply on outer lid dry.


Using the 224 brush, apply Flirty Number shadow on crease.


Using the 224, apply Shale on crease blending into Flirty Number.


Apply Fascinating eye kohl on inner corners, then apply Yogurt over it using the 219 brush.


Using the larger crease contouring brush from Essence of Beauty, apply Shadowy Lady shadow on crease going down making a V-shape. Blend well with the 224.


Using the 227 brush, apply Yogurt on browbone to highlight.


Apply Blacktrack fluidline, Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero to tightline and on waterline, Sweet Nothings on inner half of lower lashline and Shadowy Lady on outer half of lower lashline. Apply Red Cherry falsies #1.







Face:
Monistat gel as primer
Meow Flawless Feline mineral foundation in Naughty Abyssinian
MAC Studio Sculpt concealer in NC20
Dayna's Rested mineral undereye concealer
DreamWorld whipped cocoon (silk finishing powder) in Whipped Strawberries
Valerie Beauty mineral blush in Smokin' Mocha

Lips:
MAC tinted lip conditioner in Pink Fish
MAC In 3D lipliner in Plum Mate
MAC lipstick in Rubia
MAC dazzleglass in Comet Blue

Loving Cory Mineral Foundation and A Mostly Mineral Makeup Look

I think most of you know that I am a mineral makeup junkie. I discovered mineral foundation in 2005, and I've never looked back. I mean, I might have been swayed by strong marketing and raves about the Makeup Forever HD foundation, and it was the only non-mineral foundation I'd bought since switching to mineral makeup, but I eventually went back to mineral makeup. The liquid foundation was indeed flawless, but I didn't like the feeling on my skin the longer it sat on my face, and as I had feared, it broke me out that very day. My skin instantly knew it wasn't wearing mineral makeup, and I felt that I wanted to claw my face off because the feeling was very heavy and mask-like, even though I used my MAC 187 stippling brush to apply it in very light layers. Sadly, my MUFE HD foundation sits unloved and unused on my countertop after only being used twice. My skin loves only mineral makeup, until maybe some company creates this miracle liquid foundation that would agree with my skin.

Anyway, back to mineral makeup. My face can take all sorts of cosmetic ingredients (that's why I still love traditional makeup like MAC), but the first makeup to touch my skin has to be the most unadulterated mineral makeup possible, to sort of act as a "barrier" for other cosmetic components I slap on my face. Although some are sensitive to it, I am not bothered by bismuth oxychloride, the ingredient found in most drugstore and department store mineral makeup, but I would like my foundation to contain as few ingredients as possible, ingredients I know to be very gentle on my skin. That's why I mainly get my foundation from small, mostly women-owned online companies that offer the purest mineral makeup available, that mostly contain only the following ingredients that are gentle on my skin: titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultra marines, mica, zinc oxide. Ingredients you can count with one hand; the fewer, the better. These ingredients rarely break me out, are very gentle on my skin, and even help combat the flare-ups.

I also mentioned in my Comprehensive Review Of Mineral Foundations I've Tried that I don't use just one brand of foundation everyday 365 days a year. Different seasons, different skin situations and different moods make me switch foundations according to my needs. I have a summer foundation, a winter foundation, an "I need coverage" foundation, a "light-as-a-feather" foundation, and all cater to my different needs everyday, throughout the whole year. That said, Cory is my favorite winter foundation. I get a lot of flakies because of the dryness of the weather, and also because of my retinoid regimen, and yet it gives me the best coverage, the creamiest finish - almost like liquid foundation but without the pore-clogging gunk. It is also mica-free, which is perfect for mica-sensitive skin. Without mica, the ingredients for this foundation are now down to four at the most, and maybe even just three. And as I said, for me, the fewer ingredients, the better.

Here is a look featuring eyeshadows from MAC (Warming Trend) and Coastal Scents 28 Neutral Palette, but the rest of the face are mostly mineral makeup. I used O My! mineral blush from Valerie Beauty, a beautiful coral shimmer, and from the name, it can be gleaned that they wanted it to look like NARS Orgasm. O My! even looked better on my skin than Orgasm!

I used Cory mineral foundation in Beyond Cream, and the flash made it look a shade lighter than it really is on my skin, although only in these pictures, because I looked fine in this shade in other photos. Nonetheless, I am getting Caramel Cream, a shade darker, to mix with Beyond Cream for spring. I used Indelible gel liner in Tidal Wave on upper lashline, and used UD Zero to tightline and on waterline.

On the lips, I used Silk Naturals' lippie in Jaybird, topped with MAC lipglass in Trifle.

LaurEss Soft Yellow and Valerie Beauty Shadows

I had a little dilemma with LaurEss because after hearing all the raves about the Minimalist formula of the foundation, I really wanted to try it but I only know my shade in the Original. Lauren (the owner) and I have been e-mailing back and forth and she told me that if I have a match with Elemental, then I should stick to it because the Elemental shades are dead-on matches of their Minimalist counterpart. That was the problem, though: I have not nailed my shades in Elemental, although I know my Original formula shades (are all these making your head spin by now?). So I asked Lauren for the color/shade conversion chart that was posted up on her website a few months ago when people were still trying to convert their shades from the Original to the Elemental. She immediately sent me these charts and I was very grateful because I thought I had narrowed down my choices to two shades. Check them out: Shade Conversion Chart and Color Progression Chart. My choices for the Minimalist colors would be Soft Yellow or Pure Yellow. As I was cleaning my makeup stash, though, I was surprised to find a sample of Soft Yellow in the Elemental formula. I wore it for this look and I can say that my shade is most probably a mix of Soft Yellow and Pure Yellow in both the Elemental and the Minimalist, mainly because I feel that Soft Yellow is a tad too light, while Pure Yellow may be a bit dark.

Since I was wearing khaki that day, I decided to wear Valerie Beauty mineral shadow in Classy, a pretty khaki color that is a gorgeous neutral shadow as well.









Eyes:
MAC Beige-ing shadestick as base on lid
Valerie Beauty shadow in Classy foiled on lid and inner corners
Valerie Beauty shadow in Fall foiled on outer lid
Valerie Beauty shadow in Bell Bottom applied on crease and outer V
MAC eyeshadows in Ricepaper and Nylon to highlight
MAC fluidline in Graphic Brown

Face:
Camellia Rose skin smoothing primer
LaurEss Elemental mineral foundation in Soft Yellow
Physician's Formula mineral concealer
Bare Minerals mineral veil
Lumiere mineral blush in Au Naturale

Lips:
Almay lipliner in Bronze
MAC Slimshine lipstick in Scant

Lastly, just want to share a cute little project hubby did for me. I asked him if he can do something so my damp brushes that I'd just washed can stand upside down while drying, and this is what he came up with: