Shakeup Your Makeup

A recent swing by the Cosmetic Company Outlet, and I found a few MAC items I needed to have.  The first is the Mineralize Blush Duo from the Grand Duo Collection called Hot Planet, and the second is a Loose Beauty Powder in Dancing Light.  Both are beautiful in their own right!  The Loose Beauty Powders are milled loose powders that bring a sheer irridescence to the eyes, cheeks and even lips!  I believe these are/were available through the MAC Pro stores only, if memory serves correctly.

The Grand Duo Blush in Hot Planet is a split blush, one side swirled with pale and deep corals, bronze and ivory shimmer.  The other side is a beautiful warm rose shade.  Blended together, this creates a gorgeous pink/coral flush.  Like most of these mineralize blushes, especially those with darker colors, I would suggest using a light hand to apply the first time, at least until you learn how *bright* the color will be on your cheeks.

The Loose Beauty Powder in Dancing Light reminds me of crushed pearls, or a larger version of Bare Escentuals White Gold Glimmer.  This is truely an ivory base with golden shimmer.  When applied with a brush, it sweeps across the skin and leaves behind a beautiful pale golden shimmer.  This is perfect to add highlight, use as an eyeshadow, or add some shimmer to a lip gloss.  I use this one all the time, especially in the summer when the golden shade can play on sun-kissed skin.

Swatches are above - I swiped both sides of the Mineralize Blush, and then blended together.  As you can see, it is quite pigmented!  Next to the blush is the Loose Beauty Powder...gorgeous!

A few weeks ago I placed my first order with Aromaleigh.  I know, I know, I am WAY behind the time on this one, but I decided I needed to treat myself to some new makeup, and this would be the perfect way to try out their shadows.  (Of course, about a week later she announced that the store was closing - this is definitely Karma for me not placing an order sooner!)

Aromaleigh is an online retailer of pure mineral makeup, amongst other things, with an extremely vast variety of shades and finishes.  Talk about versatility!

I decided to try out a few shadows and then pick up some samples.  I chose three colors that I thought could be used as a shadow or liner: Blast, Bette, and Ruthless Indulgence. 

Blast is a deep olive shade with turquoise, blue and purple sparkle. 

Bette is a deep navy/purple sparkle on a matte black base.  There are also hints of turquoise and fushia sparkle.  This would be a great alternative to a basic black eyeliner.

Ruthless Indulgence is a beautiful egg plant shade with lavender sparkles.

The three samples I chose were: Window Shopping (peachy gold), Air & Light (pale silver base with pink and lavender flashes) and Dragon (dark silver smoke).

Swatches are below - feel free to click the image for a larger view.  I applied these dry and without a base, just to see how the texture was.  I was very pleased to find that these are very smooth, and even those with a lot of sparkle have some major staying power without a base (although I will definitely use the Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy when using as a shadow).  I am really loving Air & Light - this is a color unline anything I have, and has a lot of versatility as a highlight and base.

Earlier this week I posted a display, here, of the new nail polish lines that CVS is carrying.  I decided to grab a polish from each line, Confetti and 10 Professional.  Today, let's take a look at the Confetti Long Wearing Nail Color in "Belle of the Ball".  (For another opinion of the Confetti line, take a look at the Recessonista's review here).  Note, she also discovered that Confetti and 10 Professional are actually from the same company!  Interesting... 

Belle of the Ball is a cream, relatively opaque, true lilac shade.  It looks a little cooler in the bottle than it does on, but in all reality, you can't tell a difference in the product in the bottle once applied.  (I mention this because I notice a lot of creme's turn a lot darker once applied and dry, but not so much with this one).  Anyway...moving on....

The brush is a little funky.  I almost think it is too long for the bottle, so as a result, it kind of *scrunches* up at the bottom, and therefore isn't straight.  I might try cutting it a bit shorter to see if that helps.  It didn't really hinder application much, in my experience, but was a bit ackward.

Product consistency is smooth.  It's a bit runny, so I think I could have gone with a 3rd coat on my manicure.  I'm not sure if you can see it in the pictures below, but in some lighting (especially natural light) I can see a little streakiness. 

The product did dry extremely quickly, and seemed to have a built in top coat.  Instead of giving that matte appearance when dry, it did have a nice shine to it.  I didn't add a top coat as a result, but just a fast drying Seche Vite to make sure I didn't ruin my mainicure during the day.  So far, so good on the lasting power as well

All in all, I can't really complain too much about the product - I mean, let's be honest - it's $1.99, and it's hard to find a full size (not Bon Bon at Walmart) polish under $5 that is remotely decent.  I'd be willing to try out a few other shades, and see if I have any different experience, good or bad, with those.  As for the particular color I picked out, Belle of the Ball, I normally don't go towards the bright eclectic shades, but I might have to start now - I am really loving this purple.  It's bright, but not so pastel that it looks more appropriate for spring.  I'd say I'm pretty happy with my $1.99 investment.

My newfound obsession is the versatile color, Mystic Sea, that came in the last Laura Geller set I purchased.  It is such a beautiful color, and has such complexity that it goes with numerous different colors, from blues (obviously!), to purples and even golden browns.  I was feeling the need for something bright and shiny the other day, so I decided to try pairing Mystic Sea with Fyrinnae's Otherworld, which is a gorgeous pale, almost ghostly turquoise with shimmer.  (Click here to see my swatches).  Otherworld looks almost like a light has been turned on behind it - it practically glows, especially when paired with a deeper color like Mystic Sea.   I really enjoyed wearing this - the colors blended well together, and wore all day long. 

Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy

Fyrinnae "Otherworld" - inner corner, upwward into crease

Laura Geller Eye Rimz "Mysic Sea" - outer corner, blended into crease

MAC "Sugar Shot" - highlight

Mary Kate & Ashley Liquid Eyeliner "Black"

Maybelline Volum' Express "The Falsies" Mascara - Black