Five Favorites...Purple Eye Edition!

I get so many questions on what mineral companies I like and what I would recommend, so I decided to start a little thing called "Five Favorites"! From now until the end of December, I'm hoping to post one or two of these a week sharing my favorite indie (and maybe not so indie) products for a different category! Feel free to email, cbox or comment asking for a new category, thats what will make it fun! Oh and I won't include any limited editions, cause that makes it such a pain!
Today I decided to go back to my old standby, purple eye shadow. I love me some purples and at one point, I was buying them all up from every company I could find! Lately, I haven't been as into them, but my tastes change all the time. So, here we go...

It was really, really hard to only pick 5!

In no particular order, here are my five favorite purple eyeshadows! Each one has that "special something" to it...something that makes it unique and an awesome addition to a collection!

1. Aromaleigh Gothic Lolita collection in Violet Ruffle- violet with lush silvery glow & complex periwinkle and rose tones
2. Stardust Neon Femme- futuristic purple with subtle blue undertones
3. The She Space Virgo collection in Miss Status Quo- metallic grape shimmer with a very distinct layer of copper, then aqua and gold sparkle
4. Hi Fi shadow in Pixies- bright, iridescent purple! Lots of glitz...just like a vision of pixie dust!
5. Sassy Endless Party- vibrant purple with blue and purple sparkle

Click on the links above to see a look or swatch of the color! Of course, each one of these shadows are layered and complicated so they look much more gorgeous in person!

Wanna know which purples almost made the list? TSS Convicted, Reap & Sew, Tinted Wisdom, Vixen is a Virgo, Aromaleigh Colette, Lush Memoir, Morbid Curiosity, doubledare, Evil Shades Mysteria, Exposed Organics Paradise, Morgana Mesmerize, Mum Mum's Craft's Wisteria, Pure Luxe Deviant, Frolic, TKB Pure Purple. It took me a long time to narrow it down!

What are your favorite purple shadows? Do you like any that made the list? Anything you want to see in the next installment of Five Favorites?

Hi Fi Glittery Mermaid & Mini Eye Glitz review

So I went to get the mail the other day and saw that I had two packages...One of which was from Buff'd Cosmetics to do a review and the other was from...Hi Fi cosmetics? I thought back like "hmm did I order something? No, I'm completely broke, I don't think I did..." I opened up (more like ripped lol) the package and to my complete and utter surprise, there was a thank you note from the owner Veronica! It was so sweet and such a touching gift, I was really excited! Inside she included some new products, including a not-yet-released primer, a Glam Rock Eye Glitz and a few new shadow colors! I was so excited, my husband asked me what I was up to, since I was smiling so much!

I haven't worn any makeup since Tuesday (it's horrible, I know!) so this morning I knew I wanted to try out the Glam Rock Eye Glitz since its so gorgeous! It's very close to the color of China Glaze Atlantis, a turquoise, tealish, blueish green! It reminds me of mermaids (who I think would *totally* wear glitter)! The picture below, while blurry, shows the color perfectly!

What I used:
-Hi Fi shadow in Crazy Little Thing- bright metallic teal with turquoise sparkles
-Hi Fi shadow in Nebulas of Eternity- light neon pink with flecks of fuschia and glitter
-Hi Fi Glam Rock Eye Glitz in New Age- turquoise, tealish, blueish green glitter
-Allure by Jen Iced Peach- delightful mixture of peach, pink, and shimmer
-Hi Fi shadow primer
-Avon Colortrend black liquid liner
-Allure by Jen blush in Innocense- glowing pink
-Jane lipstick in Cotton Candy- bright pink
Hi Fi primer. Crazy Little Things all over lid, slightly up into crease and as liner on lower lashes (all dry...can you believe it?!). Nebulas of Eternity in inner vee (looks much bright in person). Teensy weensy bit of New Age spread out on outside of lower eye. Iced Peach as highlight. Cotton Candy slicked onto lips, then buffed out to make a pink stain.

Now, I'll be doing a full primer review later on some time, but I think it might even be better than my Holy Grail Detrivore primer...maybe XD I'll have to test that out!

The Glam Rock Eye Glitz are a concentrated glitter gel that you can put on top of shadow or directly on lid. I believe that the base is clear. I used literally a tiny bit and buffed it out to create the shape I wanted, but you can use more (like the size of a pea) to get a more evenly glittery lid. I put this on about 9am and its 6pm now and it's all still there! The gel dries to a even finish (none of that weird white flake crap) and the glitter is so fine, it doesn't bother my eyes at all! Of course, if you rub the area, a few bits come off but really there is no getting around that.

Now, you all know I love Hi Fi shadows, right? But since I have a lot of new followers, I wanted to link my review here just in case you haven't seen it!

Those of you who have seen the new Sephora catalogue (which I love!) know that glitter is HOT for the holidays! Of course, glitter is always fine in my book! Now, I wore this pretty boldly, but a small amount used with an eyeliner brush would be so glam! I'll be sure to do a another look with it soon!

Are you down with the glitter trend this holiday season?

Stardust Cosmetics Review & Swatches!

After my initial review, I must say that nothing has changed! I still *love* Stardust and plan on buying lots and lots more!!

These swatches are not very good, but the sun probably won't shine here again until May! Also keep in my mind my skin is like computer paper white, so the light colors don't show up that clearly in the swatches!

Click on the color, if it is linked, to see a "look" featuring it!

Moondance- platinum with slight shimmer (amazing when used as a highlight with Sateen!)
Lace- palest golden nude, must have highlight
Firefly- satiny gold with subtle green glitters (A more orange-y gold, this color looks amazing with blue eyes!)
Enchanted- pale gold with a green pearl (Divine! I love how the pearl isn't too heavy, so this can be used as a sexy highlight color!)
Hug- sexy nude pink shimmer (A nice neutral-ish pink)
Soul- warm, fleshy taupe
Sateen- purple toned taupe (A must have! This color goes with everything and makes my eyes pop!)

Treasure Chest-
Mysterious- reddish brown with a surprising blue pearl
Cool Brown- smoky, deep matte brown (Must have!)
Wood Nymph- silvery brown (So gorgeous in real life, love the silver!)
Pink Ruffle- vivid pink with subtle blue pearl (Lovely! The pearl is soft enough to not compete with the pink, but still "there" enough to be seen! This is so much bolder than in the pictures!)
Oh My- golden peach pearl (I have a minor obsession with this!)
Neon Femme- futuristic purple with subtle blue undertones (A really unusual color!)
Go to Paris- beautiful violet blue
Seaglass- pale matte blue green (Love! It's so delicate and soft, a nice pop of color without being "too much")
Tender- multidimensional green with copper highlight (Drool-worthy green! When used wet, its a very bold color, but when dry is soft enough for anybody to use!)
Asphalt- matte deep black (Sooo perfect for smoky eyes or lining! Very pigmented, you only need a small amount to get the color!)Born Beautiful blush- stunning rosey bronze with delicate shimmer, universally flattering shade (This is really gorgeous, even on my pale skin, it isn't too dark!)
Vixen blush- daring plummy mauve shimmer (So fun and sexy!)
Romance blush- warm peachy rose shimmer (Warm, but not over the top, I love this color on all skin tones!)
Ara- ethereal nude pink with vivid blue pearl (Oh why won't this gorgeous color let me photograph it?? Its a light mauve with blue pearl and is amazingly soft and gorgeous!)

The shadows are gorgeously pigmented, but in a soft, wearable way. Each color blends beautifully with the next, no matter what the tone is. None of the colors I tried, even the bright ones, were too garish on my pale skin and everything stayed on very long. I had no trouble blending the mattes, which can sometimes be an issue. No fallout on these babies either! The texture on the shadows is very finely milled and soft. I did wetline a few of these and they go on rich and creamy.

I blogged about the blushes before, they are so so so nice! Easily blended into my skin, both with and without foundation. The shimmer on the colors is very soft, almost unnoticably so once on skin. It creates a dewy finish that makes your skin look amazing. I also raved about the luminizer, which gave me a glow from within look without being obvious!

One of things I like most about Stardust is the variety of colors and different "people" it caters to. Some companies are all about the bright, bubblegum, outlandish colors and others keep it simple with natural, neutral colors. Stardust combines these two in such a great way. The brights, while pretty and pop-ish, can easily be toned down for a softer look. The neutrals are interesting and complex, which I think is really special and still gives a look some fun to it. Without desperately trying to capture ONE market (like only mature women or only teens), Stardust shows its versatility. This is one company I would recommend to everyone from my MAC-obsessed best friend to my neutral-lovin mom.

That's about it! I hope you enjoyed this review and will visit Stardust very, very soon! The new Crystals and Velvet Holiday Collection was just released, but I'll be blogging about that soon!

Sally Hansen Fast Fix Eye Shadow Base Review

I recieved the Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy Fast Fix Eye Shadow Base (holy long ass name!) from Sara at the Makeup Snob in my goodie package from her giveaway. So, well, I didn't pay for it, but it wasn't given to me for review, so, uh, not sure about the "government guidelines" for this one? XD Of course, as always, this is a completely honest (and brutal) review!

Anyways, Fast Fix claims to do a butt load of stuff...according to the website, it is supposed to "Lock on shadow and prevent greasy, creasy lids with this multi-purpose nude eye primer. You can wear it alone or under your favorite eye shadow. Micronized pigments help even out skin tone and eliminate darkness and imperfections without looking or feeling heavy. Fast Fix Eye Shadow Base leaves a satin-smooth finish that lasts"

I have a sordid history with primers. I used to use Urban Decay Primer Potion religiously, until it all of a sudden gave me an allergic reaction. I then switched to Too Faced Shadow Insurance, which was fine, but didn't do much for me and then gave me yet another allergic reaction. I was using Indelible cream eye shadow, which was a fairly nice base and did help lasting power. I now use Detrivore primer, which I love.

I was really excited to try this product, since I am all about putting nice, healthy, natural products on my skin! Also, I have super sensitive eyes (see allergic reactions above) so I thought this would work very well.

The Claim: "Lock on shadow and prevent greasy, creasy lids"

Did it work?: Hell no. I never have creasing issues until I used this. I used it for a week straight, with many different brands (including Urban Decay along with mineral companies) and I got creases every single time. As for it "locking" on shadow? Well, it creased so nothing looked good after 3 or 4 hours.

The Claim: "Evens skin tone and eliminates darkness and imperfections"

Did it work?: That it did do. It is slightly tanner than I am, but worked well. I do not see this working on dark skin tones though. It is only available in one color.

The Claim: "Without looking or feeling heavy"

Did it work?: It's true, this is light as a feather. It goes on creamy and dries to a powder.

The Claim: "Satin smooth finish that lasts"

Did it work?: The finish is very nice, but lasts? For a few hours. I have less creasing without a primer!

Overall, I probably won't be using this. I do not have greasy lids and have never had trouble with creasing, so that is my main issue. If you are looking for something to even out skin tone and don't want to put on eyeshadow...I'd say go ahead! My hopes were high for this, and I didn't have an allergic reaction to it, but it still gets a thumbs down from me.

Have you tried Fast Fix? Did you have the same problems as me? What's your favorite primer?

You never feel as special...

As when someone makes you a custom pigment!! My darling Evil Angel, (you may know her from her blog, Black Nail Polish and Lipgloss, or her makeup company, Evil Shades), made me the most beautiful, dainty, totally LK eyeshadow!

A big, fat THANK YOU to Evil Angel!! You know I love ya, girlie!

I know, I know, you are SO jealous XD This isn't for sale (yet...I totally think it should be, but I'm a bit biased!) but I also used some of my other fabulous Evil Shades colors to complement it! Check out my review and swatches here if you missed it!


What I used:
-Evil Shades Lisa Kate custom blend- a blue-ish, purple-ish, gunmetal grey silver uh-mazing!!
-Evil Shades Double Barrel- grey with multi colored sparkles
-Evil Shades Illusion shadow in Mysteria- orchid purple with multicolored holographic sparkles
-Allure by Jen in Iced Peach- delightful mixture of peach, pink, and shimmer
-Exposed Organics Nectar mixing medium
-Stardust blush in Vixen- daring plummy mauve shimmer
-Stardust lumizer in Dewy- natural glow
-Aromaleigh aromatherapy lip balm in Cremesicle Delight
-Gosh Velvet Touch lipstick in Darling- nude
-Exposed Organics custom blended lip gloss in Lexi Lilac- sheer sparkly purple

Lisa Kate blend all over lid and inner vee, then wetlined on top lid and outer half of bottom lid. Double Barrel a bit into outer crease. Mysteria wetlined on bottom lid and into outer part of crease. Iced Peach as highlight and to blend harsh lines. Ooh! I just love it so much! Mysteria is ultra gorgeous too, you can't really see the holo sparkles in the pictures, but believe me, its there! Here's a better picture of the Stardust blush and luminizer. I've been getting more into blushes lately, and Vixen is one of the most beautiful ones I've tried and I think it will look great on any skintone. It's plummy mauve (great description, btw!) and shimmery, but not overly so. I only put the blush on my "cheekbones" and then added Dewy on the apples. I really love the luminizers from Stardust, they gently buff out my pores while adding slight shimmer. Now these pics look SUPER DUPER shimmery from the flash, of course, but in real life, I'm all glowy! The blush/luminizer combo is making me love my skin again XD

Have you ever had a custom color made for you?? (I know some of you have!! Heather from the She Space made a whole LE dedicated to you girls!) What's your favorite blush color right now? Do you change "addictions" like me, eye colors to blushes?

Yum! Strawberry Cake Inspiration!

I'm seriously obsessed with Melanye from Less Apathy More Cake's teeny tiny adorable foods! This girl is crazy talented! Here is her kawaii miniature strawberry cake that is available for purchase on Etsy...

Yum! Don't you wanna just eat it?! It's only 3/4ths of an inch!

I was browsing this morning and decided I wanted me some Strawberry Cake eyes today, so here's my look inspired by her!

What I used:
- Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Oh My- golden peach pearl
- Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Hug- sexy nude pink shimmer
- Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Lace- palest golden nude
- Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Underground- metallic taupe
- Allure by Jen blush in Innocense- glowing pink
- Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Flavor of the Day- semi-sheer light peach-pink with gold shimmer
Hug on lid and bottom lid, halo-ed around eyes. Oh My in crease. Lace on browbone. Underground on outer 1/3rd of eye.

Whee! I love pink makeup for Fall! I know not everyone likes wearing it though...I think you need the right color, like Hug, which is sort of a pinky brownish color though. I definately recommend it!

I hope you liked my Strawberry Cake look today XD

Do you ever wear pink shadow? Do you find inspiration in weird places like me?

A Piece of Me In...November 2009!

So the lovely, darling Toothfairy (who, in my head, I call Toof-fairee like Flava Flav would) decided to start a fun game for all us bloggers out there. I thought it was really cute and fun, plus its pretty neat to see how you evolve!

Here is what she said about it:

I've decided to host a new game, called "A piece of me in ... ".
Previously, I've written a post about change. This game is based on that subject. We, bloggers, share pieces of ourselves with the world, tiny pieces, bit pieces. In the meantime, we all change, we evolve. That's life, even Pokemon and Dragonball Z characters evolve, so yeah, you can't stop that. *wink*

This game is to share a piece of you, every month. That way, you and your readers can see what's happening in your life, including the changes. I.E. one month, you might love chocolate, a few months later you've might come to hate it. It's also to remind ourselves of people you love and the plans you have.

Adorable right? So, of course mine will be a bit more makeup related but thats okay!

This month, I like...mexican food (that's every month though!), painting my nails (which I haven't done since I got married last December, eek!), finding awesome new brands that I am totally addicted to (hmm...Stardust, Sassy, Exposed?), crossword puzzles, peach blush, Sleek everything, my new dry shampoo, neutral makeup, coffee from the gas station and my blogger girls that always pick me up when I'm down!

This month, I do not like...troublemakers, my hair, not sleeping ever (writing this post at 4am), that my college messed up my financial aid and now I'm struggling to figure out what the hell I'll be doing in January, the fact that "fall" in Ohio is like 2 weeks long and my history class with its incredibly looooong papers to write!

This month, I want you to know...that I freaking love you girlies XD and I'm sorry I was so melancholy lately!

This month, I've planned...to figure out something cheap and fun to do for my FIRST anniversary being a wifey!, to start doing posts I've been meaning to do for 3 months like brushes, storage, etc, to read more, to find more music thats happy (any suggestions?? I pretty much like all music except country!!) and to try to find more inspiration.

This month, I want to say to someone special...I'm sorry I curl up in my apartment and never want to leave. It's the cold weather...it does that to me!

So, thats it! I'll be doing this every month! Have any of you done it? I *know* I saw some familiar faces on the Toof-Fairee's blogroll!

And BONUS! Here's a picture of Gus in his "Halloween" costume (which is my Bitey Bat clip that I put on him haha!)
And a picture of Piggles eating melon, since he must not be left out....(check out that eye google!)Have a great day, girlies!!

Stardust Go to Paris <3

Happy Monday, everyone!! Today was a blah day...writing a paper on Civil Rights and things! I did get to play around a bit with my new Stardust colors though, because how could I resist?

What I used:
-Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Go To Paris- beautiful violet blue
-Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Sateen- purple toned taupe
-Stardust Loose Mineral Pigment in Wood Nymph- silvery brown
-Allure by Jen in Iced Peach- delightful mixture of peach, pink, and shimmer
-Detrivore Primer
-Stardust Luminizer in Dewy- natural glow
-Stardust Blush in Born Beautiful- Stunning rosey bronze with delicate shimmer
-NYX round lipstick in Saturn- silvery pink
Sateen on lid. Wood Nymph in crease. Iced Peach on browbone. Detrivore primer on bottom lid with Go to Paris.

I didn't get a good picture of the eyes closed, of course its cloudy here in Ohio, again! Sateen is so beautiful, a purple toned taupe. I really liked it with Wood Nymph, it contrasts quite nicely with still being in the same color family! And ooh, the violet-y sheen in Go to Paris? To die for!

Bah, I don't have much to say today, only 5 more hours til my paper is due! How was everyone's Monday?

Sassy Endless Party Purple & Bonus NYX Lip Swatches!

I got a few NYX round lipsticks from Shimmer Kisser's Blog Sale. I couldn't resist and they were so cheap! My Ulta sells them for $5 so I never want to buy them there and Cherry Culture's shipping is expensive. I hopped right on this! I chose Jupiter, Honey and Circe. In retrospect, Honey and Circe are pretty close color-wise, but the undertones are enough of a difference to notice.

Here are some swatches:

I love NYX lippies. They are so pigmented and moisturizing, at least the ones I've tried are!

Here's a look I did last week sometime. It was pretty basic, I was late for class, so there you go!
What I used:
-Sassy Minerals Eye Candy Liner in Endless Party- vibrant purple with blue and purple sparkle
-Sassy Minerals Eye Candy Shimmer in Merlin's Ball- soft silver with loads of silver sparkle
-Sassy Minerals Eye Candy Shimmer in Why Not- deep smoky graphite with red and silver twinkles
-Allure by Jen shadow in Iced Peach- delightful mixture of peach, pink, and shimmer
-Sally Hansen Eyeshadow Base (reviewing soon!)
-Exposed Organics Nectar Mixing Medium
-Jane Be Pure Mineral Blush in Rosy Glow- more peachy than rosy
-Gosh Velvet Touch lipstick in Darling- nude
Merlin's Ball on lid. Why Not in outer 1/3rd of lid and a bit into crease. Iced Peach in inner vee and browbone highlight (didn't want too much shimmer! this product keeps getting better and better!). Wetlined Endless Party with Nectar. This took total, with foundation and all that, about 5 minutes XD

I really really really love Endless Party! I'm a little bit obsessed with being able to see the different colors in shadows. So many companies get that wrong, but not Sassy! I love being able to see the teensy weensy blue glitters in this purple, it hads something special to it, I think. Otherwise, this look would be boring and I so do not do boring!

Not sure if I've said this before, but I'm actually on a "no-buy" on account of being broke as (not funny) joke. I did let myself buy those lippies, but 3 for $3.75? Couldn't resist that. That being said, I've been doing two things. One is making a spreadsheet of all of my colors, including samples and all that jazz, since I rarely even finish those! It's um embarrassing large...I'm trying to also keep track of which of those colors I've worn, since I want to "shop" my stash. I was thinking of making it a Google document, if you girlies are interested in me swatching or doing a look with anything! (I'm such a dork, I know.) Second is making my wishlist, which is over on the left side. I did a lot of that last night! Helps me keep track of what I want to buy and let go of "lemmings" I don't really want.

So, any tips on no-buys? Would you like to see my spreadsheet? Anyone else lurve NYX lipsticks?

Spectrum Cosmetics Review, Swatches & Look!

Spectrum Cosmetics is a "new to me" mineral makeup company that has a huge variety of products, including pressed shadows, brow products and lip glosses. They have a line called ɐ spectrum, where 30% of the proceeds will be donated to Autism Spectrum Disorder Awareness, Research and Education. Spectrum also mixes custom colors, which is pretty awesome, right?!

The colors I was sent to review were Apricot Peach, Famous, My 2 Cents and Flirt.

Swatches then?
On the left are the website pictures. Flirt was the only picture that looked nothing like the color.

Color Descriptions and my thoughts-

-My 2 Cents- Bright shine of a very happy new copper penny. This was the most pigmented color I was sent to try. The first swipe came out streaky, but a second one made it nice and smooth. I had no fallout with this color. A very satiny finish.

-Apricot Peach- Pale, peach frost with pearl. I love this color! My favorite of the four. It's very sheer with loads of shimmer. A bit of fallout with this one because of how much shimmer is in it. One of those "my skin but better" colors for pale girls.

-Flirt-Soft beige with a creamy tan undertone. The picture on the website for this looks grey, right? This color was honestly just awful on me. It looked like I put tan foundation on my eyes. Eep! I think this is more for darker skinned girls and would look gorgeous on them. This was the most "satiny" of all the colors and closest to matte. No fallout.

-Famous- Star-like glitter effects in a rich gold. This was very similar in both consistency and tone as Apricot Peach. Once on my eye, I had trouble telling them apart! This color again was very sheer with lots and lots of shimmer, which lead to some fallout. Would make a great highlighter.

Overall, well, I can't really do a normal "overall" since the colors I was sent were so similar. The website is very nicely put together, but the colors and descriptions could use a little work on whether or not the color is sheer. I really liked the two highlight/wash colors I received, Apricot Peach and Famous! Samples are available for $2.99 and according to the website, can be "used 2 - 3 times depending on how it is applied". I would greatly encourage getting sample sizes first! Ingredients are listed for each product and Spectrum even has a page that describes what each component does, which I found very helpful!

What I used:
-Spectrum Cosmetics in Apricot Peach, Flirt, & Famous
-Sally Hansen Eyeshadow Base
-NYX lipstick in Honey
-Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Crash- deep plum with silver glitter
-Too Faced brightening blush in Papa Don't Peach- soft peach
Flirt all over lid and crease. Apricot Peach in crease. Famous on lid and inner vee. Crash liner smudged out a ton.

Have you tried Spectrum Cosmetics yet? What did you think?