Last minute Empties B4 2015 is over and done with...(part II)

Same bag, different Empties from yesterday:

And my apologies for letting my used-ups on a wrinkled French Terry beach cloth...I just miss my little summertime experience at the Côte d'Azur where I bought this towel. I thought it looked more authentic if they'd be 'sunbathing' on a unperfect cloth than a neat one ;). Or, is it almost time for Champagne???

I could only call this batch Random:

• Scharzkopf Oil Miracle Barbary Fig Oil Mask: A pasty mask that smells like a chemical fruit. It conditions but it coats my hair too much: too chemical.
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• Syoss Super Defense Color Exilir Hairserum: I still has this chemical serum in my closet. I haven't used it up because I feel it does not add anything beneficial to my hair.
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• Alexis Smart Wholehearted formula: I felt down this autumn. Wholehearted somehow felt like giving me a bit of emotional hold on things you cannot always control. Love!
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• (obscured) Tatcha cleansing oil- travel size: I don't use oil cleansers that often as I do not wear heavy makeup oftenly. But if my skin needs more cleansing action, it is quite lovely.
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• (also sunblinded) Green People Age Defy+ Line Eraser Lip & Eye Serum: This serum is liquidly and slightly green tinged. It is packed with all types of organic powerhouse anti-aging ingredients and it's perfectly thin for summertime eyecare.
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• Horsetail Tinctum drops from Aromatic.co.uk: This is supposed to grow your hair if taken internally, or add it to your shampoo. I could not tell it really worked when using it. 
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• Akoma Acai Berry Oil: Sometimes I prefer a single or a DIY-mix of oils that get a good rating (or that I loved in a retailer concoction brand). Acai Oil is claimed to have strong antioxidant properties and I really loved this single oil as it was thin, easily absorbant, and I woke up with good skin. REPURCHASE.
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• Deciem Hand Chemistry Intense Youth Complex: Lookfantastic.com had a 3=2 deal and this was my 3rd to accompany my Fountain supplements. I like it, but it smells so darn chemical that I prefer a handcream like Neom over it.
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• Osmia Spot Treatment: It contains anti-acne powerhouse Cajeput, also in Odacite's anti pimple blend. I like it, but my spots still take a while to dissapear. I bought some pure Cajeput oil for occasional spots but I think I'll repurchase this blend as it is affordable and rollerhandy.

•  Fountain liquid supplements in The Beauty Monecule and the Happy Monecule: Deciem's liquid formulas are based on Hyaluronic acid, and these are fab skinplumpers. The additives for beauty is Resveratrol aand for happy it's GABA carrot complex. My skin has been plumping up since using these babies. They are pricy but they work better than pill-form Hyaluronic acid.
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• Liberty Handwash with Chamomille & Lavendel: Soooo lovely, it smells like the real chamomile/lavendel and it cleanses gently & effective.
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• Lotus Wei Infinitive Love Spray: It functions as a fraganced water that should make you more open and loving to other people, and yourself. Honestly, I loved the fresh rose fragance, but when I was moody I sure did not feel it helped me. 
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• Revitalash Eyegrowth Serum: I get longer lashes when I use them. When I stop, my lashes get shorter. I do not stop (yet)...

• Sunwarrior Immune Shild with Natural Fulvic Acid: Initially, I bought it as an affordable alternative to Phylia [de M] $$$ version. It should aid hairgrowth, and this one claims it wards off diseases like flu. I have not have a cold/flu and I have been commuting in trains this autumn with a lot of snotty/coughing people. Bonus.
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• Cod Liver Omega 3 Oil: First Krill was the best Omega oil ever, now it is Cod liver oil. Oh well, this one is easier to find and I think it keeps my skin/bones more supple.
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• My other 2 Fountain Monecules in The Geek Monecule & Energy: I have been studying since fall and my brain gotten sharper after using up the bottle. That could be the placebo effect or just training the brain, but who knows? Energy contains B12 and a liquid formula works more effective than a pill-form.

• AS.AP #6 (Coffee + Orange): This is a lovely organic lipbalm that hydrates lips without making it dependant on its contents (like chemicals can). I like it.
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• Eve Lom Mineral Powder Foundation in 3 Buff: This formula is gorgeous, though it needs a primer on the parts where pores are slightly large. 3 Buff was a bit too warm for me, colourwise, but 4 Petal finally hits the cooler skintone spot! So already repurchased in 4.
• Maybeline Lash Sensational Waterproof: Oh my, I'm such a mascara snob but this drugstore one won me over. Perfect for swimming too. Repurchased.
• L'oreal Nude Magique Eau de Teint: I threw away a full bottle because it smells like chemical bonzanza. My skin is not happy afterwards either. Similar for the Kiki 3D Lifting foundation.
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• Lumiere Pearlfection powder sand: This is a pretty perfect afterpowder to make pores smaller and skin delightfully luminous. Ohh, such a shame this company closed in 2014...

That has been an ample list of used ups. I have found some new favourites, kept faithful to my trusted ones, and started to abandon the ones that do not work for me...

So for me to wish you guys a....

 

Fantastic NYE party and a delightful 2016!!!!

Fave Colours

It has become a sort-of-cliche for me to reach for peach blush colours during spring:

This spring is nothing different, only this time I went mineral of a NARS-inspired colour [Deep Throat], delicately called Lovelace.

For people not really knowing their 70s 'classic' (??) movies: Linda Lovelace was the lead actess in "Deep Throat"*.

Oh gosh, there goes my romantic spring feeling about blush, but it's a gorgeous shade even if it is slightly peachier than it's NARS derivant.

It does sound better when a friend asks you what blush you wear: not many people connect the name to that film, but mentioning the blush from NARS could get some raised eyebrows among the non-cosmetic afficionadas. 

(from silknaturals.com)

A more harmless name with a gorgeous golden mustard colour:

Although I often think of Lamé as Lame...

In this case this $3 outlet colour is everything but lame:

Golden Mustard

Silknaturals gave out a freebie when spending over $10, and it's a taupish mauve with some interesting sparkles:

So I've been using that one as well...

So, are you always reaching for a certain colour during the change of season, or are you the experimental type in the field of blush?

*ps: if you think that a 1970s movie is going to be easy on the 'erotic' genre, then I might be a wuss on this field, but (a part of) that film was quite graphic. The story about Linda Lovelace is quite sad too (see here) and it should be reminded that most people working in that genre of filmmaking are not always there because they chose to be.

Mineralize Me

"Puuurty mineral colours" 

A couple of years ago I experimented a lot with mineral makeup and ordered heaps and heaps from their etailers.  I still have loads I have sampled quite orderly (colourwise) in maps and toolboxes, but I really wanted to order some again.

Meowcosmetics has always been a favourite of me as they make one of the better bronzers I have come across (Sunsplashers).

Meowcosmetics Sunsplasher

I ordered a small jar of that one again and sampled some of their "End of Days" collection...That was limited edition: either the world would end or the collection would stop...we all know it's been the last one.

 Some greens of the various Christmas lines:

And some purples with some blushes from the Sugarplum collection:

(I will swatch them soon)

Phyrra has some awesome swatches (here) and is quite specialised in mineral makeup and I've seen DrivellerKate experimenting with Fyrinae mineral makeup and liking it (here).

Mineral makeup eyeshadows can be quite stunning and often samples are quite cheap, eg Meowcosmetic being $1, which makes it fun to experiment. I am unbiased when it comes to mineral makeup etailers so I'd say to read the specialised blogs on it and ordering some samples yourself to find what you like. 

Slight remark: they are not for the really messy types or, the opposite, the A-type personalities that need really clean sorts of pressed palettes.  

Preview: Lavshuca Girly Whip Cheek PK 2 & Visee Mineral Cheek PK 800

I finally received my adambeauty haul for today and was able to make a couple of swatches of the cream/gel blush formulas I ordered I was waiting for
 

From the three of these I actually mistaken in thinking that the Kanebo Kate in the bottom was a cheek-product as well: it's actually a lipgloss.

Oh well, still two to swatch:

All right, the difference is already obvious by the unblended swatches.

The Lavshuca Girly Whip is indeed a foam-esque consistency and quite on the pale side. I consider it more of a highlighter. Also a bit of a con: glittery parts.

The Visee Mineral Liquid is, in contrast, hyperpigmented! I am like: is this a lipstain or something because it is really strong on cheeks and has this massive colour payoff.

somewhat warmer lightning: swatches are quite accurate to real life

I have to make some better swatches and test it for a longer period to write a proper review on these two. For the moment I hope these swatches help to show you how different these two are, productwise.

Shiseido Integrate Mineral Foundation in OC 30

I finally have a review of a Japanese cosmetic brand!

I'm happy to get back to the track I blog the most about. Although I consider myself to be a multi-flexible blogger, I often like to review beautyproducts that do not get that much love in the English language, but are still noteworthy...And...getting more popular as well in the so-called Western world: NY times has even published an article about it (here), featuring the most popular 'Westies' blogging about Japanese cosmetics...Kathi from Lotuspalace and Muse from MusingsofaMuse.

Fab thing is that the Western cosmetic brands learn and 'borrow' from Japanese brands. The foam hair dye brands is one of the most popular examples, but the Western version often gets lower reviews so, yeh, L'oreal and the likes just have to perfect their bubble dyes a bit more.

Oh, and BB cream is a funny one. Almost everyone knows they started making BB in Germany for post-operation people, and it gotten really popular in Korea (afterwards the whole Eastern part of Asia) and now it is getting popular in the West again.

Sticking to the subject: my review. Mineral foundations are another thing that has been popular in the West for a couple of years, starting out with Bare Escentuals and transferring into a million of etailer brands and larger drugstore versions.

So some Japanese brands jumped upon this bandwagon as well. Kanebo Kate has issued a Mineral powder, and Integrate suprised me with a fluid mineral foundation.



Shiseido Integrate Mineral Foundation in OC 30: 'be happy with the power of mineral'

I often prefer fluid versions over the loose powder forms. It is claimed that powder versions are often more pure and with less additives, but I like the fluidity and control you can get with fluid foundations. Oh, and they often add more moisture to dehydrated skin.

Most Japanese brand add their SPF's in their foundation these days. This foundation has a SPF 23. The PA ++ is added too.

The bottle is a squeezable plastic one and has a little opening. No pump:

 

I picked colour no. OC 30 ---> the darkest one. It starts with OC 00, OC 10, OC 20. I picked the darkest colour for when having a (self)tan.

To my suprise, it is quite a dark tone! My colouring was a NC 30 to 35 after a couple of self-tan sessions. The formula was quite the match. Normally, a Japanese OC 30...for example the Lunasol Water Gel Foundation in OC 30 (one I still have to review!), is so much lighter.

On NC30-ish skin:

LOL, it looks like a weird omelet my skin and the swatch like this!

As you probably can see, the formula is quite runny, if not watery. a little dot like this blends out quite a large part of the skin:


Shiseido Integrate Mineral foundation in OC 30- red line is line between bare skin & foundation



The arm is even more tan...ugh, I am not getting that tan again, but you can see the contrast.

For such a lightweight product, it really covers up a bit of imperfection.

It is not a glowy foundation like Lunasol Water Cream Foundation. It is quite a matte one.

That makes it a more suitable foundation for the oily and combination skintypes.

For me, a notorious shiny t-zone-y person during warmer seasons, I had about 3 hours of longer matte-ness compared to a non-oil controlling foundation (even with Jurlique Rose powder, which is not that great agaisnt the oilies, afteral). Quite reasonable, I believe.

Scent: none! Always a plus for the scent-sensitive and less-tolerant skintypes.

Summing up:

The positives:

* Colour range goes up to mid-tone or NC 30/35.

* Scent-free

* Mineral foundation

* Little bit covers quite some area

* fluid texture (might be a negative to some people...I'm quite neutral about it, but in the summer month I love a lighter texture)

* slight yellow undertone covers little bit of redness (also a negative if you are really cooltoned)

* Mattifying

* portable little bottle in not-easy-to break plastic

* mid-range price

* No personal breakouts and skin reacted tolerant

The negatives:

* Perhaps too matte for some people, which brings me to the next:

* not really moisturizing

* limited colour range, and not really suitable for cool toned skins

* not a real luxury level with the packaging that you will get with, e.g. Jill Stuart or Lunasol Water Cream    Jar

* Difficult to track down the totality of ingredients in English.

I bought it over (here) at adambeauty for $19.

still a little miss shop-a-bit!

After a bit of seriousness, I feel like writing something about the fun stuff in life again. And, most readers will agree, that is a bit of girly shopping time too.
I do not always shop for myself, he he, I am not that narcistic, and buying presents for other people can be fun too.
One of my latest purchases from etsy will be a present for a friend of mine. She enjoys quirky things a lot, just like I do. I purchased this upcycled tshirt necklace, made from old tshirts(!!!) so it is environmentally friendly too, from a seller named etnyk.
This necklace is a bit different from the ones being sold on a more common base (Urban Outfitters, etc) as it has those little velvet beads added to it. Plus, it is called Gypsy so it is a perfect present for my travel-loving friend of mine, who thinks of herself as a modern gypsy.
I also purchased a couple of things on nonpareilleboutique . Nonpareilleboutique has become quite a popular place for Dutch beautygirls to find their NYX (together with Cherryculture.com) and I wondered how their customer service would be. So far, nothing to complain about their service.
One of the things I ordered was the NYX palette in Caviar and Champagne. I was afraid I ordered this too enthousiastically, because one of the most thorough beautybloggers, Pink Sith, found it to be lacking eyeshadow-power (post here).

Even though she is absolutely right that the eyeshadows lack consistency in colour depth and pigment and are somewhat on the sheer side, I still find some of them to be ok for me.

And being superficial...I love the name...Champagne and Caviar!

I also enjoy buying from mineral cosmetic companies every now and then, even though I downsized buying from them. Mineral foundations are still one of the most suitable for oversensitive skin, which mine oftenly is.

Often they also have good offers on samples of eyeshadows and blushes, which is ideally for the colour-addictive buyers like I can be. I can try a couple of newer colours, for example, experience with the returning 80s look, without breaking the bank on expensive eyeshadows

Meowcosmetics.com had a wonderful discount on labor day with the code catshatework. I am not a cat, but I am not a workaholic either ;P. Their latest release of Taboo blush colours looked so workable (no pun intended) that I ordered most of the samples. I also picked some brighter eyeshadow colours from the Rainforest collection.

The names of the Taboo range are, of course, taboo inspired. Expect names like Dirty Talk, Nudity, Scandal, Fetish, Lust, Racy and Promiscuous....oh la la.

Besides of the provocative names, the colours look very promising and wearable in real life as well. Not scandalous at all . ;D

The Rainforest eyeshadows have rainforest-inspired names, such as piranha, boa, touchan, and poison dart frog. I picked a couple of neutral shades, and a couple of vivid colours for adding a bit of zest to my eyes.

That was a part of my shop-a-bit...I hope everyone will have a splendid weekend.

Kevin Beautymaker Mineral Finishing Powder in 03: Healthy

I want to review the Kevin Beautymaker Mineral Finishing powder in Healthy 03 a bit better than I did last time. I might clarify a bit by some pictures as well.

I mentioned that Kevin is a makeupartist from Korea, but oops, I was corrected in the comments that he is actually from Taiwan...silly me. I saw him on some Korean sites so I presumed he was Korean as well.

The powder, as I mentioned before, is a really big jar. The top is white and adorned with silver letters. The mineral finishing powder is in a translucent jar beneath.


There has been a lot of attention to the puffs and brushes included. Mineral powder can be applied in various manners which depends on the result you want from the powder or foundation. A puff is handy for applying the powder a bit thicker for better coverage. It is also handy for applying the powder wet, which results in a different finish (more info over here, here and here).

Kevin Beautymaker included both a brush...

And a puff....(underneath the brush)

I really liked that both a brush as a puff included: it makes the product versatile in applying it. The creator has done some good research in mineral powders in order to include both brushes!

The jar is sealed with a plastic sticker, which is quite common for any powder...

The next picture is a bit more neutral than the colour itself. I wish it looked like that in real life.

Finely milled powder...this is a big plus of the powder.

Now, the next picture has been made on my pale inner arm. It shows the orangy-ness of the powder, which is the only (but very important) negative of this powder. I placed my usual mineral foundation next to it: it looks a bit darker against my pale arm, but it is a match on my face. You can also see that, even though it is darker, that the base colouring is right, and that of Kevin's powder is too orangy.

I regret the colour. I can make it a tad lighter, which I often do with my mineral foundations (as my colouring changes by season), but that won't take away the orangy base colour...I should have bought no 2 or no 1, but I often find Korean (I thought he was Korean and not Taiwanese) foundations to be a tad too light, so I picked the darkest one. I wonder if this product would work on darker Asian skin-tones, but I doubt that...

Still, it makes a lovely finishing powder if you apply it sparingly. It has the ability to give a hint of warmth to the face, as some peachy colour-correcting powders can.

Kevin Beautymaker and credit-crunch wardrobe haul

Thanks to Jamilla Camel I found out about a British beauty etailer that sells reasonably priced Japanese and Korean cosmetics. After navigating on their, basically Chinese, website I caved and ordered---they had free international shipping when you order over 20 pound, and more importantly.....items of Korean Beauty Guru Kevin (Beautymaker) in stock...

The site is beautyeshop, and it took about 2 weeks for my order to come in. Sometimes British, or Royal mail, is so much slower than mail from the US or Hongkong. On the other hand, shipping from the UK can be fast if the package is tiny, as I ordered some beads for my jewellery/accessory making and they arrived within 3 days.

I ordered a lipstick in a colour which looked good on a small swatch, and it came out to be Rose, which is indeed a sheer rosy colour. Check out the colour yourself from the pictures.

It is not a flat lipstick, as it has tiny golden shimmers inside. They are hardly detectable on the lips, however, they give a really pretty and flattering glowing effect.

A swatch on bare skin: it is a sheer quality and looks delightfully rosy on the lips. I love the texture and it is reminicent of various Japanese lipsticks I have: I have the Kanebo Kate Rouge Extra Lipstick in mind, especially the sheerer version like RS-10. Kate RS-10 is a tad more mauve and more dark, though.

Foundation-wise, I have a very picky skin: it is really sensitive and sometimes overreactive, ánd it is in serious need of some covering up (oh, let's sum it up: discolourings, dry patches, beginning wrinkles, dark circles...you name it...my skin is a dermatologists dream, as it is so unperfect). I have tried some Korean/American/Japanese liquid foundation brands, but have not been happy with them. I often resort to mineral makeup from smaller companies for foundation.

When I spotted Kevin Beautymaker Mineral Foundation on beautyeshop for 12 pounds, I thought I took the plunge and ordered it.

It arrived in a really big jar...that jar is HUMONGOUS. I have to make comparing pics later, and swatch pictures as well.

Kevin's signature label:

\So, I do not have any swatches to share yet. The texture of the foundation is really lovely and non irritating, mattifying, yet not flat. The downside is the colour, which looks too orangy. A light layer is not obtrusively orange and looks even very flattering on a slightly tanned skin, but I do not want to apply several layers of this stuff, otherwise I look absolutely tangoed.

Ohhh, I haven't shared with you yet: I have been to Liverpool this week! I ordered a cheapy easyjet ticked some time ago, and last week was my OFFICIAL British shopping day. I prefer shopping in the UK over my country, as the shops have soooo much more interesting goodies.

Sorry for the lack of scenery pictures, but I was absolutely absorbed in shopping...he he. The first shop I raided was the giant Primark. Ok, the stuff is really cheap and it would probably not be adviseable to dress from top to toe in Primark fashion, but nobody over here knows Primark so my new stuff might be mistaken for Pradaaaah (yeh right, teeheee).

Ok, I bought this faux-leather colourexploded snake bag from them...I love the Chanel-esque chain....I do not know when I will actually wear this, but I could not let this quirky number sit in that shop, so it needed a special place in my closet (and hopefully on my shoulder, if I dare)

Another bag from straw. It reminds me of my childhood when I had these little straw bags toting around, filled with dolls and my little ponies...(it was such a steal for 6 pounds)

And I love the leopard lining. I could always use it for storage. It looks like a hat box, don't you think?

The next thing is an Origami skirt, as it has origami folds in the front. I call it my Cheryl Cole-skirt. For the non-British who have never heard of Cheryl Cole, she is Britain's latest Celeb obsession. (pictures here/here). I would not pick such a skirt normally, as I am more of a boho-chic-chick, but I loved to have a clubbing skirt for when I will ever enter a Club again...LOL. It is something out of my box, which makes it interesting for a change (and for the 8 pounds...I just 'jumped' in my basket)

That was my post for today :D. Have a wonderful weekend!!!!!