Savvy Thinker » Mineral

Need input: Choosing between brands of mineral eye shadows

Karin — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:15:26 +0000

Since there are a bazillion different mineral eye shadow companies abounding, how do you choose which brands you will investigate to wear, if you wear mineral eye shadows?

Repackaging
I understand there are companies that only repackage. I'd prefer not to buy those, and I don't think I have, but I wouldn't mind if I had made an informed choice to do so. That's what's behind Mineral Makeup Mutiny.

Companies I wear:
Aromaleigh
As anyone knows who has been reading my blog, I love Aromaleigh (which I found via a perfume site.) AL is really cutting edge in my book.
Meow
I also like Meow. The colors are lovely, including the blushes.
Fyrinnae
Fyrinnae is lovely, but different in application techniques. Also cutting edge.
Bare Escentuals
Additionally, I like and own many Bare Escentuals shadows and facial colors. BE may not be quite as cutting edge as AL, but they have some beautiful sets.
Mary Kay
Most of MK's minerals are pressed, which have their place. All of the above companies' minerals are loose. I don't consider MK minerals to be cutting edge. They are better than average, but they are more mainstream. Their 2009 Fall/Xmas shadows come in a wand and are loose, but I didn't care for the look when I tried them, albeit I did not have my proper brushes with me.

Outside of these companies, are there others which are not on my radar screen?
Do you find that you can wear some brands, but others you are sensitive to?

Why do you love them?

Are there any you'd like to see me work with?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-11-17 13:45:06.

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FOTD Meow eyes, NYX lips

Karin — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:24:49 +0000

I was happy with the way this turned out.

I spread out my Meow samples and thought what did I want to try:

Eyes:
Base: Nude Frost (there is some question as to whether this irritates me, but so far, so good today -- I gave it a rest, then tried again today) then my sparkly eye mix
Lid and Crease: Meow VandalEyes Misdemeanor (lime)
Crease and drylined top and lower: Meow VandalEyes Shoplifting (deep vibrant purple)

The lime is a little lighter and brighter than it photographed. You can see the glitter liner on the eye to your right.

Lined: Estee Lauder Plum Grey pencil (which turned out to be more grey than I remembered, so I went over the line and past the line with Meow)
Glitter lined over the top of liners: GirlActik Lavender -- gorgeous color, this line was my first foray into glitters, before AL Rocks! glitter
Mascara: (top, to your left) Mark Scandalash Indigo (purple)
Mascara : (top, to your right and lower lashes) Estee Lauder MagnaScopic purple
The EL is a tad darker.
Brows: La Prairie pencil

Finished look:

Primer: Smashbox Purple Primer
I like the color lift that this gives.

Foundation: Revlon Age Defying Liquid Color 04
I like this foundation and use it often.
Rouge: Mary Kay stick from a limited line
Powder: Lustre Aromaleigh Twilight supernatural powder
Nice gleam. Used my normal powder brush, not a FO.
Blush: Meow Masterpiece Water Lilies Love this color!
Lips: NYX Round Gloss Apricot 19
This is gorgeous and vibrant when applied heavily. Later it softens to a delicious stain-y look, but it is still moist with product on the lip. You can see how it looks here.

I quite like Meow mineral shadows. I am sampling several types, but they all seem to be equally pigmented and equally easy to use.

VandalEyes are our newest, most highly pigmented collection of multi-purpose eye shadows. Silky smooth and designed to be extra long wearing, they're intense and powerful but they are *not* for the faint of heart...Can be applied dry for a bold look, or foiled (applied wet) for the most intense color and sheen.

I'd love to try more of their Masterpiece blush line.

Masterpiece Blush Gallery: Our newest blush collection, uniquely formulated and unlike any other blush you've ever tried. They're sumptuously sheer, and sweep on your cheeks invisibly, leaving only a pure wash of gorgeous colors behind!

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-23 13:32:53.

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FOTD AL eyes + AL lips

Karin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:21:19 +0000

Finally! I'm current -- this is my FOTD today. I wanted to wear the same eye colors as yesterday.

Comparing two lower lash mascaras one is Tarte; the other is Guerlain's Le2.
AL concealer.

Back to trying to use up the discontinued Chanel foundation. Primed with Laura Mercier. My usual sparkly mix of powder, then SCA Hyaluronic as a bronzer.

Blush: AL Dolly

I'm trying uploading directly vs. using Photobucket. The images are smaller. But it is a lot faster for me except for waiting for it to upload into wordpress.

Lips: AL Gala + AL Pinafore (on each lip, then smooshed) + rimmed and topped in center with Beauté Paramour Love this color!

Day 2 into Arbonne:

And we finally have some rain around here -- all the ponds are low. I'm going to enjoy the rain!

To buy Arbonne from Bookgirl, if you don't have a representative, go here.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-05-18 11:27:19.

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FOTD AL + Lashes + MAC lips

Karin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:54:19 +0000

It's kinda fun to wear lashes again and to get out my stash.
Eyes
Base: Nude Frost + BE Queen Phyllis
Inner lid: AL pavane en pointe
Outer lid: AL odile en pointe
Upper lined inner corner: MAC blackgraph pencilto fit into lashes
Lower lined: Clarins Midnight Flashpencil
Lashes: Ardel Sophisticated
Glitter dry lined: Lancome Hologramme Micro-pallettes (white with multi glitter) to match into glitter line of lashes
More lashes

You can't really tell from the picture, but there are tiny bits of glitter through the lashes. Time will tell if it sticks or falls off.

Lips
MAC Love Alert Dazzleglass

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-11-28 09:32:07.

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FOTD Sunday Lancome + Arden + glitter pencil rimmed on lips

Karin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:28:45 +0000

Lined top and lower with Peacock gel liner.

I really liked my lips. I don't know if you can tell from the photo.

Lightest color in Arden Palette rimmed with Hard Candy Pink Glitter Eye pencil; outer corners Tony and Tina Pink Gold glitter eye pencil

I hope you had a good weekend! I was busy beading and etc. And I'm reading a cute book that I need to get back to.

Karin

Originally posted 2009-05-26 23:28:28.

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FOTD BE Rocker Star

Karin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:14:24 +0000

BE Rocker Star is one of my favorite sets. I had some trouble applying it this morning, working around everyone that was getting in and out of the bathroom, then I realized I forgot to start with the sparkly beige powder base I usually begin with. Hello! It looks more even than the photos show, and I accidentally deleted one photo, but these give you an idea.

Eyes:
BE Rocker Star -- great colors and a wonderful brush, the one end does narrow lining
Medium Shade in crease; Darker sparklier shade in outer corners; Dry Lined with darkest black on top.
Inner eyes: flash of bright color from NYX Purple Shadow
Lined bottom: MAC graphblack in waterline; earthline just below it
Lined top NYX Jet Black pen liner -- probably should have bought extreme black.
Mascara: NYX Glitter Wand in midnight Hard to get this to show up on my eye, but it is a gorgeous shade. I might use it as liner.
Brows: Clinique Blond pencil

Cheeks: NARS The Multiple in Riviera

Lips: NYX Chandelier This is really a gorgeous color and very nice formula. The pictures don't do it justice. A really great light-medium orchid pink with a lot of sparkle. Every bit as nice as Too Faced; maybe not quite as sparkly.

I love the way the Purple NYX shadow pops the smokey eye look (though they don't call it their Smokey Eye set.)

What do you think?

Karin

Originally posted 2009-03-07 10:23:27.

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FOTD NYX +MAC +Too Faced+

Karin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:11:03 +0000

This is the 3rd NYX trio palette in my amazingly cheap NYX haul.

Eyes:
TS 30 Baby Pink, White Pearl, Baby Blue
These are more my colors than yesterday's!
Base: Lancome pink cream
Pink on my lids; Blue in the crease and lined under lower lashes; White on brow bone.
Brows: Prescriptive pencil -- has a super thin lead, easy to use
Lined top: Lancome Blueberry wand
Tightlined Lined lower: Tidal Wave gel liner
Lined top and lower: Prestige Denim pencil
Mascara: Lancome Hypnose on upper; Tarte Bottom up on lower

Primer: Smashbox purple
Foundation: L'oreal N1
Rouge: Chanel stick
Powder: my sparkly mix + BE Mineral Veil as bronzer
Over powder: Benefit Georgia Peach
Blush: MAC Moon River
Concealer: Dior Skinflash

Lips: I liked this really well!
Too Faced Pink Diamond Gloss from their super Vintage sale
Rimmed with: MAC Baby Sparks Dazzler gloss

I was happy with the way this turned out. The color was nice with my denim top. And much more to my taste than yesterday.

What do you think?
Karin

Originally posted 2009-04-23 20:48:30.

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FOTD MK Minerals +

Karin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:24:44 +0000

It's been a while since I've posted a current FOTD. I wanted to try out the new color of MK mineral foundation, .5. I find the 1.0 is a little dark and a little yellow on me. The .5 is just perfect.

Eyes:
Base: Nude Frost, then Revlon Lilac Shimmer Perle (it is glittery)
Lids: Prescriptives Hyacinth
Crease and outer corners: Sephora # 9 and Milani Royalty # 06
Dry lined top and bottom: Some combination of darker shadows
Gel Lined Sheer Cover: plum shade and some SC black

Foundation: MK Mineral .5 ($18); then my sparkly mix powder, not only because I like my sparkly mix (which I do) but also to make it have more illumination. I didn't want to look like I had foundation on or that I was dry.
Blush: MK Pomegranate Cheek Jelly (new product) ($16) (comes in two colors)
My Review: Foundation was very easy to apply and extremely fast. It is still a drier look than I am used to. It's been on for several hours now, and it doesn't feel dry. The longer it is on, the more it seems to blend more natural. I think the coverage is lighter too, though it might be that I was very frugal in use of it, not wanting it to be too heavy or cakey. Love the Pomegranate shade.

Lips: MK lip balm ($7.50); MK Rose, then later MK Passionfruit ($13 each)
I like the colors. They are emollient without being sticky. My lips feel good and look good -- that is equally important.

Have you tried any of the new colors or products?
More reviews will follow tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2010-04-08 13:09:57.

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FOTD Weds NYX eyes +

Karin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:16 +0000

As I said in my earlier post today, I wanted to try the NYX colors I had not tried before. Once in a while a color combo blows you out of the water. This color combo is gorgeous and one of my faves!

Eyes:
Base: Nude Frost on lids, not under brows; then BE Queen Phyllis
Lids: NYX Luxor, square individual shadow with a clear lid, an exact match to my T
Drylined: NYX Red, square loose shadow with micro shimmer
Lined: Chanel blue duo pencil, lightest color
Tightlined: NYX Jet Black Felt Tip liner
Inner corners: Arbonne Illume (white matte)
Mascara: Clinique
Concealer: Guerlain
Brows: La Prairie pencil

Primer: Avon Magix
Foundation: Revlon Age Defying cream
Rouge under my sparkly powder mix: Chanel stick
Blush: Arbonne Promise
Highlight: Arbonne Bashful

Lips: AL Balm + MAC pencil -- see my LOTD for more.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com
don't steal my posts -- you know who you are

Originally posted 2009-09-04 15:29:17.

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FOTD Meow and Aromaleigh

Karin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:12:14 +0000

The trouble with having so many choices is that it is difficult to make a choice! I started out thinking of one thing, and ended up with another, quite happily I might add, but making the choice was just one too many choices today. Is it boring to have only one choice -- or is it supremely simplifying? Don't answer that!

I so totally did not know what I wanted to do. But I was happy with it, when I was done. I thought I was going to do AL, then saw the bag of Meow samples and changed my mind. Somthin' simple.

Base: Nude Frost, then BE Queen Phyllis
Lids: Meow Amy F ScandalEyes (Pale rose)
Crease and dry lined: Meow Jessica R ScandalEyes (Grape)

Blush: Meow Water Lilies Masterpiece

Lips: AL Smitten, rimmed and up the center with Beauté Heroine

Have you tried either Aromaleigh or Meow eye shadows?
I like them both. Each of them apply very easily. I have way more AL than Meow, simply because I started with AL and her colors are so gorgeous.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

Originally posted 2009-11-11 17:54:54.

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