EOTD with Estee Lauder Double Wear stay in place Shadowcreme

At the end of October I got to visit the Estee Lauder corporate store in Roseberry in Sydney. The corporate store is essentially a a staff store for the brands under the Estee Lauder chain, the most obvious of these other brands are Clinique, Bobbi Brown and MAC, there are others but they elude at the moment. To get into the corporate store you need either a guest pass or permanent pass, which they check at the door, the guest passes gets taken from you when you make a purchase and there is a maximum spending limit of $400 AUD per invitation.

I got so much stuff that day and I will try and get around to reviewing most of it, but today I'm looking at the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in Place Shadowcreme. In the past I have had absolutely no luck with creme shadows, every single brand I have tried crease and smudge on me, but the Estee Lauder ones are amazing. These babies retail at $40 AUD each, and there is 5 colours listed on the Estee lauder site ( pink blush, antique gold, ivory lace, precious jade and vintage violet ) I picked up a pack of  3 in the corporate store for $20 AUD for the set BARGAIN, the colours in my set were Ivory Lace, Vintage Violet and Blue Velvet so they must have been selling out some discontinued colours.

I have to say I'm totally in love with these, they do not crease on smudge, when you apply them it takes a minute or so for them to set, then they do not budge, when I swatched them on my arm, I spent the whole day doing housework, then when I went to wash them off, regular water did not even remove them in the slightest, even makeup remover had to work hard to get them off. You can wear them as shadows in their own right as the colours are vibrant and very pretty, or they also make an excellent base to apply loose pigment shadows over.  Thumbs Up Estee Lauder, these are amazing!

vintage violet, blue velvet and ivory lace

Today I decided to do an EOTD ( eyes of the day ) with them to show how lovely they are.
On the whole lid I applied blue velvet all over, then in the corner and crease I used Vintage violet, and the inner corner/ tear duct and brow arch I applied Ivory lace , then smudged them in together, lined with a black gel liner and a brown eyeliner pencil on the waterline. Mascara was by chi-chi.

The photo's were taken in natural light on a cloudy day, so the lighting kept changing on me, so I'm adding in this photo where the colours have been enhanced using photo editing software, to show the true colour of the creme shadows as they are quite vibrant in real life.

I might just look into picking up a couple more of these as a chrissy gift to myself
: )

NYX Cosmetics - Bronze goddess palette

A few months ago, I came across the Bronze Goddess Palette on the NYX cosmetics website. I instantly sell in love with it. Sadly NYX doesn't ship to Australia, nor do we have any really good retailers here that stock a comprehensive range, the Gloss stores stock some NYX products, but the range is small and limited.

I turned to my trusted NYX seller on EBay  Joys cosmetics and sure enough she had it. I believe I paid $29.95 USD plus $12.95 shipping.  Joys cosmetics on eBay has an amazing NYX range, she has awesome customer service and her products ship from the US to me here in Sydney in 7 days normally!

The bronze goddess box is a gorgeous bronze colored 3 layer box/set.

Closed

Top layer - eye shadows

2nd layer - bronzers

3rd layer - lip colours

It includes 12 eye shadows, 3 of those are clear gel based with glitter, 1 blush, 6 bronzers, 5 lip colours , applicator brushes and built in mirror. The colours are all based around bronze tones, and apply beautifully and last all day. NYX makes amazing quality products at a really affordable price, and the quality of the bronze goddess box is just as you come to expect from NYX, the lip colours in the set are not your usual tinted lip glosses but much more like lipsticks with a gloss consistency, they are really pigmented and the colours actually show up well on the lips. The one blush in the set is a really pretty pink, which also makes a great pink eyeshadow. The bronzers are a range of depths, with some shimmers and some mattes.

The eye shadows are a small let down, there is only one lighter/highlight shade, with quite a few different toned bronzes and one darker plum/brown bronze, and the glitter eye shadows can't be applied over the basic eye shadows in the palette without the base colour coming off your lids, they do work well as a glitter eyeliners though.

eye shadows from the right side of palette, the pink is the blush

eye shadows left side of compact, plus glitters

2nd layer bronzers

3rd layer lip colours

Considering the price and the fact that it's an all in one you can throw quickly in an overnight or holiday travel bag, despite the limited shadow range it's still a great kit at a great price.

NYX..... Why oh why don't you ship to Australia?????

Konad Nails - new haul

Just a quick note to tell you all my new Konad stuff arrived, direct from the Konad nail stamping site.  Shipping took about 16 days, and as usual I love all things Konad!!!!

Here's a peek at what I got, please excuse the fact that I took the images of the plates I ordered direct from the Konad book, as those darn plates and the reflections on them, make them impossible to photograph.

I got the konad image plate book, which has all the first series of plates from M1 through to M82, with the plate image and coloured pictures of ideas on how to use the images off the plate............LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! (RRP US $26.90 )

I also ordered plates M57,M59, M60, M70 and M71. The plates retail at US $6.50 each on the Konad site, but the more you order the bigger the discount you get from them.  I believe the shipping for the lot came in around US $7.

Plus this afternoon I got a surprise parcel in the mail from a friend... you know who you are... Thank you : ), and in that was the aftermarket Faux konad plate with the Hello Kitty design on it.

I'm dying to have some konad'ing fun!

Mineral baggie project swatches

After yesterdays sample baggie project,  I counted up around 110 empty baggies..... EEEEK!
In no particular order heres the swatches of the colours that I ended up with.

Mineral sample baggie project

Yesterday morning as I was going though the ritual of putting my face and eyes on, I happened to glance over at my growing pile of sample baggies and wondered what on earth I should do with them.

That's half of what I had!

I don't really mind using shadow out the baggies, but they are a pain to sort through to find something that I'd like to use for the day, so this morning I searched through my drawers and pulled out a stack of old Everyday Minerals sample pots ( 5gm size ) that had been emptied ages ago.

Then I put all the baggies into colour groups and set about emptying them into the jars, mixing up the brands ad colours as I went. Most of them I grouped into colours but some of the pots got pink/gold combos or dark smoky blues mixed with whites. what I ended up with was about 30 3/4 full to full 5gm pots of mineral eye shadows in brand new colours, that are much more usable out of their baggies............goodbye baggies!

Here's what I ended up with, hopefully i'll get time to swatch them tomorrow.

DIY - Mineral eyeshadows

Last night just as I was falling asleep I had a sudden desire to find out what 3 of the Mica's I own would be like mixed and what the resulting colour would look like, so as soon as I had time today I got the colours out and set out to find out.

First I mixed together the base ingredients I use to make the finished eye shadows stick to the skin, and feel nice and soft and silky. Then I added the 3 mica's that I had been curious about. Then with a little bit of tweaking and some colour swatching tests, this is what the final eyeshadow looks like.

UPDATE - DIY low titanium mineral foundation

I have been using my new blend of Low Titanium dioxide Mineral powder foundation that I made up a few days ago.  It's coverage is not as high as I  usually like, but with the addition of concealer and colour correctors it still manages to do a fairly good job of covering spots and blemishes, and I do need to to and extra layer of it to get a great flawless look. I really didn't expect it to cover as well as a blend with  higher Titanium Dioxide levels does, so I'm not disappointed about the coverage.

I've taken a few photos to see if the white flash cast is reduced by lowering the Titanium levels and on my skin, it doesn't appear to have made that much of a difference.... but I'll keep taking more pictures while wearing it and see if it really does make a difference or not.  If not I'll attempt a foundation with higher Titanium levels while lowering the zinc oxide levels and see what happens : D

DIY - Low Titanium Dioxide or No Titanium Dioxide mineral powder foundation

Recently I was chatting on a thread on the Beautyheaven forums and we were trying to work out the best tips for makeup in photographs, one of the issues that came up was the white cast that a lot of makeup gets in flash photography,  after some chatting, and some googling, we discovered that a lot of MUA's and photographers believe that Titanium Dioxide is the main culprit behind what causes that white cast in photos - so I issued myself a challenge that next time I needed to make some foundation for myself I would attempt to make it with either no or little titanium dioxide while still retaining the high coverage and creamy finish that I like.  When it came down to it, it wasn't so easy to find a substitute for titanium that still had a solid coverage without using ingredients that aren't the best for your skin,  most of the substitutes were very translucent in finish, which would result in the foundation having a diluted coverage.  In the end I had to resort to using  minimal amount of titanium, just to get some coverage in the mixture.

Here's the finished foundation.

I'm crossing my fingers that its worked and I'll be happy with the coverage and feel, but until the next time I need to mix more foundation, I'll be on the hunt for a titanium replacement that has great coverage. For now the real test will be to take a flash photo and see if I get the telltale white cast!

Faux konad nail stamping

Around 2 months ago I purchased a Konad stamper and scraper for doing my own nails with.  In order to get my hands on a stack of designs all at once I went off to amazon and bought a Bundle Monster set of faux design plates, there was 21 designs in the set, and while they aren't all to my taste there is a fair few in it that will get used over time. The set includes some full nail designs, some french tip designs and some individual image designs, the 21 plate set, set me back US$17.99 plus $4.16 shipping to Sydney.

I've been playing around with the plates and designs for a while, and have finally come up with a technique that suits me and gets the image down onto my nails easily and clearly.  I've found that if I apply the polish to the plate and scrape off the excess, then roll the Konad stamper onto the design, then roll it onto my nail, then I get a much better image (there is stacks of YouTube tutorials on the technique) 

I only have one authentic Konad plate, plus another set of 10 faux plates I purchased on eBay, so today I placed an order for some more plates on the Konad website,  the prices are very similar to what you pay on eBay for an authentic konad plate and the shipping is very reasonable as well, plus the more you order the bigger the discount you receive.

After that I felt the need to spruce up my nails a bit, so here is my Nails of the week using an old Sax nail polish in bronze glimmer that I found lying around, I've had this colour for a long, long time and I'm not sure if Sax make it or sell it anymore, but I believe Sax is still available in chemists around Australia.  Then I used the Bundle monster plate in BM20 with black polish, and Sally Hansen Insta-dry as a top coat.

The design I used was the one in the lower left corner of the plate.  It's impossible to get a good photo of the plates without getting a big reflection on the surface.

and Ta-Da, the finished design!  I don't think I could go back to boring one colour nails ever again : )

Hi- Fi cosmetics Art Saves collection

Hi-Fi cosmetics on Etsy released a new collection around 2 weeks ago called art saves, the colours were very metallic, in some divine hues, so I jumped right onto the sample set of 10 colours ($8.99 plus $1.50 shipping US) and ordered straight away.  I simply needed to get this one!

I have ordered from Hi-Fi in the past and found the colours to be gorgeous, well pigmented and silky soft, plus they last all day!

Art Saves collection swatches

 1 - Beast untamed, 2 - Anachrist alliance, 3 - Glass memories, 4 - Religion of resistance, 5 - Sanctuary

1 - Ash and agony, 2- Storm of thorns, 3 - Vae victis, 4 - Drowning in atrocities,
5 - Covet retribution

I love all the mettallic finish and the colours are just so pretty, the only one from Art Saves that doesn't immediatly grab my attention is Covet retribution, it is a bit duller and with more glitter than the others and not quite as mettallic.
She threw in 4 free samples as well...... how sweet and generous!

1 - Rockstar eyeshadow in Clean version, 2 - Rich girl, 3 - Prince charming,
4 - Beautiful nightmare

I also have the Hi-Fi first anniversary collection samples set, and they threw 4 freebies in with that one too
swatches of those colours : )

1 - Fear the nobodies, 2 - Intoxicate me, 3 - Loser king, 4 - Last words, 5 - So what, 6 - Another day, another drama, 7 - Like a hurricane.

1 - Adrenaline, 2 - Contradiction, 3 - Your rain, 4 - Melancholy Requiem,
5 - Verge of obscene, 6 - Distortion, 7 - Suicide trees.

Aren't they all just stunning???

Eyecouture and Heatheresque mineral makeup is being discontinued : (

A few days ago I received an email from Heather Hanson, of heatheresque and eyecouture cosmetics ( formerly the old The she space ) sites, saying she is stepping back from mineral makeup and will no longer be making or selling them which I'm sure must be rather sad for her as she has been doing this for 10 years.

But it's rather exciting for me and anyone else looking to get their hands on good quality mineral shadows at a bargain price of $2 US per pot.  I have placed an order for 20 pots because I just couldn't help myself

the colours i have ordered from eyecouture cosmetics are -

Dangerous Dior - Fascinating iridescent pearl with BOLD layers of baby blue, plum, lavender and pink
Lucious Lagerfeld - Delicious smoked iridescent with colors ranging from lime, to baby blue and then turquoise
Faded Jeans:  Cocoa Taupe with splashes of turquoise light and subtle aqua sparkle
Idols of Gold:  Cocoa taupe infused with layers of golden twinkle and a kiss of golden iridescent light
Bad Catwalk Conduct:  Glittery, shimmery see-through golden lime 
Trashy Cash:  Metallic turquoise twinkle with loads of gold and aqua sparkle
Glides Like Glass:  The prefect cross between lavender and metallic grape with a hint of blue....finishes off with periwinkle and grape sparkle
Magical Moschino: Smoky iridescent with icy lilac, sky blue and subtle crystal twinkle
Fiscal Meltdown:  See-through sea foam green with a hint of iridescent aqua and twinkling flecks of hot pink and lime green sparkle
Princess Panic:  Iridescent magenta sparkle with sparkling purple and red twinkle....then a hint of lavender iridescent light

and from heatheresque's hope's quest collections -

You Are So Special:  A subtle iridescent rose/pink shimmer casts a baby pink halo

I Stand In Awe: This shade tends to lean a little warmer and can be described as a sheer, pale blushing rose shimmer 

Be the glitter girl:  subtle iridescent olive with twinkling copper and gold sparkle.

It's Okay to Shine:  This might look like lime green in the jar but it actually shows up as a twinkling iridescent golden copper with copper and gold diamonds.

I am Successful:  softest rose wine shimmer

Just Delete, Don’t Repeat:  Blackened cocoa berry….meshed with hot pink, lavender, and purple sparkle…..FABULOUS!!!!

Believe without Barriers:  This looks like a smoky green in the jar but applies as a VIVID iridescent that ranges from aqua, to lime green depending on how the light hits…. MAGIC!!

HOPE BURNS BRIGHT:  Appears lavender but shows up as an iridescent smoky lime, then lavender iridescent light with aqua twinkle

Sometimes Boys Stink: This is a blue based iridescent pink shimmer, but when the light hits, look for iridescent blue diamonds to show up

Find Your Voice:  Soft and shimmery, almost see-through caramel pearl


I'm expecting these to take a good 3 weeks to arrive considering how busy she must be, but I'm looking forward to reviewing and swatching them!

( all colour descriptions are from either heatheresque or eyecouture )

Face of Australia's Limited edition Opulent Eyes prize from Facebook

Continuing on my posts about random palettes and brands I have in my makeup drawers, its time to move onto the Face of Australia opulent eyes palettes I won on Facebook a few weeks ago. The competition called for their Facebook followers to describe our vision of pure decadence.  They were giving away 2 complete sets of the opulent eyes limited edition palettes to 2 lucky winners.

My comp answer was " picture this.... a cruise liner in the Caribbean, perfect sunny weather, warm balmy nights, unlimited spending money, staying up late, drinking and dancing with friends till dawn, lazing by the pool, unlimited food, 24 hr entertainment, no children, no cooking, no cleaning...that's my pure decadence!"

Around 4 days after announcing the winners I received a lovely package from Face of Australia with the the 4 palettes. Straight away I was impressed at how lovely they looked for products that are priced within everyones  ($14.95 RRP) reach and available at Priceline and Big W stores nationally.

They are baked shadows with 6 colours in each palette in the form of raised bars, instead of the traditional flat round palette style, with nifty little touches such as the applicators are coloured in similar tones to those of the colours in the palette.  The colours themselves are gorgeous, but I did find that after 7 or so hours of wear I  started getting creasing, which didn't happen when I applied them over an eye primer such as Fyrinnae's pixie epoxy.  I also find them a bit messy to use when using brushes as the colours above or below also make it onto the brush making the colours not as true as they could be, but they do apply really well using a long handled sponge tip applicator, with which I could control the colour I was applying much more easily.

Endless night palette and swatches

Diamonds and pearls palette and swatches

Rich and famous palette and swatches

 Sapphire desire palette and swatches

They are great little cheap and cheerful palettes that are easy to throw into a handbag or a travel case for touch ups or travel without any fear of breaking like you do when travelling about with more exxy products.