My Stash Debut series, which takes you through my first purchases from various brands/lines, is focusing on Etvos today, and I will be sharing my thoughts on Mineral Eye Color Palette in Chocolate Beige.
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mineral makeup
(images/info from i-voce.jp)
Shiseido Integrate will release its spring 2012 makeup collection in Japan on March 21st. The collection includes:
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(images/info from i-voce.jp)
Kosé Visée will release its spring/summer 2011 base makeup collection in Japan on March 16th. The collection includes:
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(image/info from www.nikkei.com)
Shiseido’s Integrate will release its spring 2011 makeup collection in Japan on February 21st. The collection includes:
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(image/info from www.nikkei.com)
Kanebo Kate will release its spring 2011 makeup collection in Japan on February 1st. The collection includes:
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Aromaleigh is one of the many well-known mineral makeup lines. It carries a vast number of shades with various finishes. Today I am featuring some of the line’s eyeshadows.
The shades in the Opulent Lustre range layer well and can look very intense. The powder has a very good adherence to the skin and the lasting power is outstanding. But the drawback is that it is not very easy to blend. (These descriptions apply to the shades in the Valentine 2009 and the Eye Lustre ranges featured further below.)
Tamarind, Camellia, and Jasmine are soft pale shades that look slightly different in the packets. Tamarind looks the coolest and Jasmine looks the warmest. But, when worn, they look virtually the same. They show up as a silvery cool pink with a richly metallic finish that is very light-reflective. These shades are much more suitable for evening makeup since the metallic finish is very dramatic.
Color-wise, Sweet Nothings, from the Valentine 2009 collection (which is still available), looks virtually the same (when worn) as the three shades above. The main difference is that the finish (which is even more light-reflective) looks less flat and more dimensional due to the more varied sizes and colors of shimmery particles. (Based on how it looks in the packet, color-wise, it is between Tamarind and Camellia.)
The Les Papillions range features bright colors with the same staying power. Dormant Dream is a vivid orchid purple and Morphing Moon is a green-toned turquoise. They are less metallic than the shades from the Opulent Lustre range, and I find them to be a lot more blendable. Between the two, Morphing Moon is more shimmery and metallic than Dormant Dream.
Circé from the Eye Lustre range and Chocolate Heart from the Valentine 2009 range are medium-to-dark brown-toned shades that are suitable as shadowing/contouring shades as well as lining shades. Circé is more bronze-toned and Chocolate Heart is more red-toned. Both are quite easy to wear but I personally find Chocolate Heart to be slightly more wearable.
Overall, these are relatively solid products with a great staying power (in terms of both color and the shimmery/metallic finish). The darker and the more vibrant colors show up on the eyes as they look in the packets. On the other hand, it would be great if the lighter colors could show their differences when worn as well and if the metallic shades were more blendable.
(The products featured in this review are provided by Aromaleigh.)
Other posts on mineral makeup:
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(image from www.bareescentuals.co.uk)
– Shiseido Co., Ltd. will acquire Bare Escentuals, Inc. through a US subsidiary (Blush Acquisition Corporation). You can read more about the acquisition at Yahoo! Finance.
(information from Nikkei Net and Yahoo! Finance)
(information from Nikkei Net and Yahoo! Finance)
– My post on Paul & Joe’s spring 2010 makeup collection has been updated with more images of the Disney collection. Do have a look!
– I have got my first Magie Deco item (Shadow Brilliance II in DC 025 Foxy Lady) and my first impression of it is very good. I will be reviewing it later on.{ 4 comments }
Founded in 2005, Lily Lolo is perhaps one of the most well-known UK-based mineral makeup lines. I think some of you outside the UK might have heard about it as well. Today I am reviewing three of Lily Lolo’s Blush Pots.
(Rosebud)
Rosebud is a very pigmented warm rosy red with pink shimmer and iridescence. For people with a light or light-to-medium complexion, the shade can be too dark. (Also, it is not easy to be light-handed with it to create a sheer finish.) But if you have a medium or medium-to-dark complexion, I think this can be a beautifully luscious shade for the cheeks.
(Cupcake)
On the other hand, Cupcake is a suitable shade for people with a light complexion. It is a sheer peachy salmon pink with a softly glowy finish. (There is no visible shimmer or iridescence.) It shows up subtly on my light-to-medium complexion as well. This is my favorite shade of the three, since I tend to prefer sheer blushers with no shimmer. Even though I usually go for medium and cooler pinks, this shade creates a gentle and natural look for the cheeks.
(Rosy Apple)
Rosy Apple has the same pigmentation level as Rosebud, and it has a similar shimmery/iridescent finish. It is a warm brown with a bronze undertone and it works more as a bronzer than as a blusher. Again, like Rosebud, a little goes a long way. As a bronzer, it should suit those with a light-to-medium complexion. (It can be too dramatic for those with a fair complexion.) It can be applied very gently under the cheek bones to contour/shade the face. It can also be used as an eyeshadow if you tend to like warn-toned neutrals.
All the three shades have a decent staying power.
On the whole, Rosebud and Rosy Apple seem to be quite typical blushers from mineral makeup lines as they are very pigmented and they carry iridescence and shimmer. They also tend to set on the skin very quickly, so it is crucial to make sure that the brush picks up the powder very evenly. If you are looking for very pigmented blushers, these two shades could work well for you (if you have the complexion that they are suitable for).
(The products featured in this review are provided by Lily Lolo.)
Other reviews of mineral makeup:
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(Clockwise from top:Color Balancing Powder in Buttercup,
Satin Finishing Powder in Keiko,
Satin Matte Blush in Tulip,
Pearluster Eyeshadow in Taupe
Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Aubergine)
Among so many mineral makeup brands that have been trying to be part of the mineral movement, Alima is one of those that seem to have been noticed by many. Today I am reviewing its items for face, cheeks, and eyes.
– Color Balancing Powder in Buttercup
It is supposed to work as a primer and is applied before the (mineral) foundation. It is available in tinted yellow, lavender, pink, and green. Buttercup is the tinted-yellow one, and I’ve tried applying it as a primer before my ZA Two-Way Foundation. The powder does have a little bit of coverage and evens out the complexion to some extend, which means my foundation does not have to work that hard. However, like many mineral items for the face, it can dry out my skin, which I can feel after I take my makeup off in the evening. I prefer using it as a setting powder after my foundation. The matte finish helps control the shine although it does not happen to have any noticeable pore coverage.
– Satin Finishing Powder in Keiko
This is a fairly decent setting powder with a very softly luminous finish that doesn’t look shimmery. It is less matte and has less coverage than Color Balancing Powder but it has slightly more pore coverage. Keiko will suit light complexions.
– Satin Matte Blush in Tulip
Tulip is another item that will suit light complexions. It is nicely moderately pigmented, unlike some other mineral blushers which are too densely pigmented and are difficult to work with. The finish looks very natural, but I think it might look ashy on darker skin tones.
– Pearluster Eyeshadow in Taupe
Among all the mineral makeup items I have tried, I tend to like eyeshadows more than anything else. The two Alima eyeshadows I’ve tried continue the postive experience. (On the other hand, I think mineral foundations still have a lot of room for improvement in many respects.) Taupe has a very pearly and almost metallic shimmer. I usually wouldn’t go for such a finish, but, since this shade goes on only slightly darker than my skin tone without looking either too ashy/greyish or too bronze, the very pearly finish actually works fine for me. As a very subtle shading color, it gently adds depth to as well as brightens up my eyes.
– Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Aubergine
Aubergine is a deep violet that works well as a lining shade and it can also be used to create an intense smoky-eye look. It is quite shimmery but noticeably less pearly/metallic than Taupe, which I will take to be the difference between the two eyeshadow ranges. Some violet shades can go greyish in hours, but I am relatively pleased with how Aubergine’s color and shimmery finish last.
Overall, I think the eyeshadows are good items to try if you are interested in testing out the brand. The good things about Alima’s on-line shop are that small samples are available for purchase and that the color swatches seem fairly accurate (based on the items reviewed above). Also, you can check the ingredient lists of all the products, which is particularly useful if you have very sensitive skin.
Related Posts:
My “Mineral Makeup” category
ck Calvin Klein Subliminal Purity Mineral Based Loose Powder
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(Clock-wise from top-right:Setting Powder in Translucent,
Eyeshadows in Pixie, Velvet, Gift,
Blush in Smitten)
Today I am bringing you another review of mineral makeup, this time from Afterglow Cosmetics. (Check here for the US website.)
Setting Powder (in Translucent)
This is a loose powder for setting your foundation. It is not totally translucent as the name of the shade suggests, as the white powder does have a bit of coverage. If you have darker skin tones, this might leave a white cast on you. On the other hand, if the foundation you are using is a little too dark for your complexion, this setting powder can be of some help.
This matte powder is fairly good in controlling shine, but it has little efficacy in covering pores.
Eyeshadows (in Velvet, Pixie, and Gift)
Velvet is a medium-to-dark warm purple, Pixie is a pale lilac, and Gift is a medium-to-warm muted pink. Velvet is slightly too dark for me as a shadowing shade, so I pair it with Pixie and use it as a lining shade while Pixie gently lights up the eyes. But my favorite shade among the three is Gift, which is a wearable pink and a nicely subtle shadowing shade for daytime.
All the three colors have sparse shimmering particles over a predominantly matte finish. While I like the softly matte finish, which doesn’t look too heavy or chalky, I feel that the shimmering particles look a little flat and they are slightly too big to go with the matte finish of the colors themselves.
Also, they are not very easy to blend, which is particularly problematic for the darker Velvet, but the saving grace is their satisfactory staying power.
Blush (in Smitten)
Afterglow’s (UK) website describes Smitten as a “cool medium pink with matte finish”, which doe not seem accurate. According to the photos on-line, Smitten does seem to be on the cooler end of the brand’s blushers, but the shade itself is definitely not a cool medium pink. It is a very warm peach with a slightly dark brick-red undertone. But it is indeed matte as described.
It is very pigmented, so make sure that you apply as little of it as you can and gradually build it up. The staying power is as good as the eyeshadows. If you like warm-toned heavily pigmented blushers, then those from Afterglow might be worth your consideration.
Like many other mineral makeup lines, Afterglow’s items can potentially be ideal for people with sensitive skin. (Full ingredient lists are available on the US website.) However, it would be great if the brand could work on the finish of the eyeshadows as well as come up with a couple of cool-toned blushers to suit more skin tones.
Other mineral makeup reviews:
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