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Sunday, May 12

Dermoshop's Aina cream

Dermoshop is a well known Finnish cosmetics brand - they specialize in stuff for sensitive skin and have also a range of health products like vitamins. Their products do not contain mineral oil and many are without fragrances whatsoever. I ordered a shipload of my favorite soap (they sell the cheapest available tar soap, 2,7 eur a bar). Since it's pretty potent stuff I only use the soap once or twice a week, definitely worth a review of it's own. Their shipping is for free if one orders over 50 eur worth of stuff but they had a nice free shipping offer at the time.

Dermoshop always adds free gifts (which one gets to pick oneself) and samplers - this was one of such. Aina cream is quite a recent addition to their line, it comes in one tone only. Texture is light, scent is nice - a typical bb-cream like product. Has a rather glowy finish like the rest I have tried and this sample is enough for at least 3-4 tries. This one has SPF 25 and the actual container has a pump - overall sounded really nice for I am hunting for something with good sun protection built in for the warmer months. Comes with a good price too - 9,90 eur.

Dermoshop is not a nature cosmetic shop so the ingredients (all listed on the homepage) may seem scary: just remember, getting any UV protection by means of nature only is a Herculean job in itself. If one wants sun protection, one pretty much has to agree to a much longer list of ingredients.

Well - a nice product but my skin really does not go along with the "one color fits all" policy low-end BB-cream producers tend to have, and I have to admit I did not succeed with blending the product properly (used e.l.f.'s small stipple brush). I did not use any moisturizers beforehand either.

WARNING! THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT NEUTRALIZE ANY REDNESS! That's why I end up looking like a total oompa-loompa. Cool toned persons should definitely avoid this particular product. It gets even worse when one happens to have blue eyes: orange skin with blue eyes screams disaster.


before

after

after


I'd say orange (neck and decollete also covered)

Sunday, April 7

Swatches of some TKB pigments

Some of these pigments were acquired in July 2011 and still not swatched (bowing my head in shame - I have so much material to cover now, it's insane - coming up are The Conservatorie lipsticks and blushes, loads of e.l.f. stuff and some miscellaneous talk mainly about mascaras and stuff that seriously disappointed me).

I think by now I have quite an extensive TKB piggie collection, the one I still crave is the new Moonlight from the Metalites duo. Unfortunately it was out of stock during my last shopping spree.
The new Firestarter Collection did not spark my fancy, I only got the lightest and the darkest of the three: the medium copper tone seemed something I already have in at least 2 versions.
The Cafe Collection was the same: swatch on the homepage did not tempt me, a nice trio but I already have multiples of lookalikes,  perhaps one day I'll think of sampling Cinnamon Sugar, it seemed more unique then the rest.

Ordering from TKB is not as easy as from other places: they do not have a minimum order any more but the cheapest shipping to Estonia is now 24 USD (used to be 14 when I first started ordering, then 17).  Basically if you want to order something, you better fill your flat rate envelope to the brim - otherwise the price of shipping will really jack up the cost per piggie. This of course means there's no chance in escaping the customs fee (parcel priced higher then 21,98 eur /ˇ27 USD gets VAT-taxed at customs in Estonia and you get to deal with those nice folks at the post office as well).

Without further ado here are the swatches of the last two TKB hauls:

The Chameleons
foiled swatches
Nosy Be Chameleon - youngest of the three, has plenty of purple glitter - magnificent;
Chameleon Glitter - most difficult to apply, blue glitter flies all over - once successfully applied, looks stunning;
Chameleon Fine - silky texture and wonderful turquoise-blue sheen, easiest to apply; an elegant color when used sensibly (Simply Naturals sells this color under the name of Mocha).

Chameleon family has two things in common: same brick orange smearing base-color and acute hydrophobia - these puppies do not mix well with water. No foiling!  To get a truly magnificent result use some sort of mixing medium or base cream straight on the lid and then dab the pigment on with a dry brush.

Now to the metallics... I wonder what made me buy yet another gold and bronze.
foiled swatches
Off-spec satin white - a nice white shade with quite a strong silvery metallic sheen;
Silken Gold  - related to Satin Orange gold (discontinued) but much lighter, this one provides a nice golden sheen and not much coverage;
Sparkle Gold  - a pale gold with a strong metallic sheen, a lovely accent color (I was actually ready for more glitter since it is a "Sparkle" color, same with Sparkle Bronze);
Sparkle Bronze - soft bronze with a strong metallic sheen, especially when applied wet (as is the case here);
Blush Beige - softer pinkish bronze, an everyday color (makes a lovely peachy blush for pale folks when mixed with some matte base).

Browns - I always seem to be getting more and more browns...
dry swatches, no base
Aurora - a pink highlight (for me a suitable blush color) and
Ember - reddish dark brown accent color are both from the Firestarter Collection
Aladdin's Lamp - warm reddish brown with lots of blue-silvery glitter (which is somehow missing from this picture);
Honey - wonderful neutral light brown/dark beige glitter, beautiful neutral, would really look awesome over base;
Blackstar Gold  - warm brown, perfect for blue eyes
Foxy - cool brown with metallic sheen
Chamoisee - related to Antique Silver bit has a brownish undertone - hence placed with the rest of the browns; however seems to have lost all the "brownness" during photoshoot - it's a very dark taupe color with metallic sheen;
Reflection - the warmer half of the Metallics Duo, reminds me of Winter Rose but the latter has a blue sheen; nice highlight.

Reds and pinks - why do I buy them? I do not make lippies and they are far too shiny to be used as blushes...

dry swatches, no base
Pink Coral - irresistible sparkly soft pink;
Sparkle Rose - insane gold and pink flecks on a relatively strong pink base;
Cotton Candy - soft and girly beige pink, very glittery;
Gemtone Ruby - dark pink, almost red, can be used as blush but has strong metallic sheen;
Tibetan Ochre - a more down to earth color; a nice neutral blush when blended down with base;
Red Basics - meant by TKB to be used as base to all sorts of blushes and lippies, an intense red color.

And the colors I'd hardly ever wear myself:

foiled swatches
Emerald - (this color is apparently the hight of fashion at the moment - everything is Emerald now) dark green with a strong sheen, would recommend wet as liner;
Amethyst - seems a lot like Aster Hue, I have to compare those some day - an ordinary bluish purple, the bruise kind;
Deep Blue - looks like a bag of dark nothing but when applied gives off an intense dark blue sheen; a word of warning - do not rub this color, the blue mica will subside and dirty gray oxides will emerge; I'd recommend as liner.

TKB's MyMix series was on sale when I got it. Some of the colors are sold out and Peach is discontinued by now. All of them contain bismuth oxychloride (used to better blend the oxides). Some of them contain lake dyes: Cranberry (Red#33), Bitten (Red#7), Coral (Red#40), Rose (Red#33) and Pink (Red#30). These are finished blushes, they do not need any additional mixing and since they already contain plenty of zinc stearate they are ready for pressing as well, just add the pressing mixture.
dry swatches, no base
Cranberry  - dark red, almost wine-red;
Earth - still dark but more toned down, yet not brick-red;
Heat - lighter version of Earth;
Bitten - mild, toned down Coral;
Mulberry - purplish yet fair, a winter color for a pale person when used carefully;
Coral - bright coral, only one that's not completely matte - has some golden glitter in it ;
Rose - toned down dark pink;
Pink - beautiful girly pink;
Peach - a very fair pink, my winter blush - a barely there tone, camera did not catch it properly;
Almond - light brown, suitable as a light matte contouring color;
Champagne - a very light color for brow-bones and undereye-areas, personally I use it for highlighting.

Once I'm feeling up to it, I might consider doing a color group-wise swatcharama of all the TKB piggies but at the moment I really do not have the energy :).





Friday, October 12

Ontic Minerals Kristina Ilutoas

This is a review of an Estonian mineral makeup brand called Ontic and I'll also talk about an Estonian nature cosmetics company called Joik. There was a get together at beauty parlor named Kristiina Ilutuba and there it was that I first laid my eyes on all the interesting new stuff.

Mõni aeg tagasi käisin toreda seltskonnaga Kristina Ilutoas (seal kus Raili töötab) ning tutvusime Nadjaga, kes on hakanud Eestis mineraalmeiki tootma (lugege kindasti ka Tolmu muljeid siin ning vaadake pilte). Ma unustasin küsida, et miks nimeks just Ontic sai aga omapärane ja kõlab kaunis ontlikult teine. Igatahes müts maha ta ees - ma ise küll poleks viitsinud sellest bürokraatia kadalipust läbi ronida, eesti ametniku jaoks väiketootja ju inimene ei ole.

Kristiina Ilutuba (asub Tallinnas, Jõe tn 9) on mu teada ka ainuke ilusalong, kus nahahoolduseks ja meigiettevalmistuseks Joigi sari on sisse toodud. Iseenesest sobivad Joigi õlipõhised meigieemaldajad ja kahefaasilised näotoonikud mineraalmeigiga suurepäraselt - mõlemad kaunikesti ökod. Joigi pritspudelis roosivesi aga on iga mineraalmeigikasutaja peamine abiline meigi värskendamisel/kinnitamisel või siis kui liiga palju kraami näkku topitud - jahususe tagasitõmbamisel. Sobib muidugi igasugune hüdrosool aga roosilõhn on siiani neist parim olnud.
Vaid üht asja peaks silmas pidama: Joigi sügavpuhastav näoõli kõlbab näo puhastamiseks/meigieemalduseks eelkõige õhtuti, päevameigi jaoks ajab niigi rasuse näonaha veelgi õlisemaks.Vähemalt mulle väga ei sobi. Õhtusel puhastamisel imendub üleliigne õli öö jooksul padjapüüri ning ei sega enam hommikust meigitegu. Kahefaasiline astelpajuõliga tooner aga töötab väga kenasti ning ei jäta nägu nii õliseks. See oli minu jaoks päris uus ja huvitav toode. Silmameigieemladajat ma pole proovinud aga tõenäoliselt töötab samuti suurepäraselt - õlid on head nii juustele kui ripsmetele, minu ripsmed on tänu õlipuhastusele väga pikad ja kenad. Aga aitab nüüd Joigist, läheme peaesineja juurde:
Onticul on päris soliidne mineraalpuudri toonivalik: esindatud on heledad toonid ning heledaim neist (nr 2 Panna Cotta) tundus liiga hele isegi minu jaoks. Seda proovime südatalvel uuesti :).  Toonid on mu meelest veidi naljakalt nummerdatud ja hetkel ei suuda ma Afroditet kandvat inimest endale ette kujutada -  kasutasin teist paar korda põsepunana.
Ma palusin ja sain Nadjalt Onticu mineraalmeigipõhjade sämplid: 
Mille swatchid on nüüd siin:
Ilutoas proovimisel tundus mulle, et puuder on väga glowy aga selle efekti tekitas hoopis rikkalik õlikiht mu näol. Kodus proovides jäi tulemus matt. Koostis on tuhkjas (MAD Mineralsil ja Lily Lolo'l näiteks kipub puuder niisama "pallikesteks" kogunema, Ontic on läbinisti puru). See ei tähenda et puuder on halb või ülihea vaid seda, et koostises ei ole kuigi palju suureosakeselist tsink-ja titaandioksiidi.

Koostis: Titaandioksiid (CI77891), Tsinkoksiid (CI77947), Kaoliinsavi, Vilgukivi (CI77019), Magneesiumstearaat, Jojobaõli, Taimne E-Vitamiin (Tocopherol). [+/- (võib sisaldada) Raua Oksiidid (CI77489, CI77491 CI77492 CI77499), Ultramariin (CI77007)] NET WT./kaal: 10 g, 30 ml
Magneesiumstearaat on koostisosa, mida kasutatakse nahale nakkumise suurendamiseks, tegemist taimeõliga töödeldud mineraaliga. Jojobiõli lisamisel tekib tootele automaatselt ka säilivustähtaeg, tokoferool töötab nii nahavitamiini kui säilitusainena, kaoliin imab rasu. Ma pean veidi kauem kandma, et täpsemalt aru saada, kuidas Ontic mu nahale mõjub. Hetkel võib öelda, et kergema katvusega kui Lucy aga samas on Lucy puhul märksa paremini näha, kui meik hakkab näol "ära sulama".

Mulle tundub kõige parem Suave aga kannan välja ka Snow White'i, Stories from Ivory Coast'i ning Latte for Two. Niiet siin on nüüd siis ka FOTD-seeria. Pealekandmiseks on alati kasutatud e.l.f.'i flat top'i ning aluskreemina sama Dr.Schelleri kreemi. Osadel piltidel olen kulmudega katsetanud ning erinevaid ripsmetušše ka.


Snow White

Stories from Ivory Coast

Suave
Marry the Night
Onticu lauvärvid on reeglina väga pigmenteeritud ning oksiidipõhised - siin pole kuigi palju sillerdavat vilku sees. Mul pole mattide toonidega eriti kogemust ja seetõttu läks sümmeetriaga nii nagu läks. Tekkis probleeme laule kandmisel - mingil hetkel tekkisid laugudele hõredamad laigud aga ma ei viitsinud niiske pealekandmisega jamama hakata tol hommikul. Silmameigi aluskreemiks oli Conservatorie tselluloosimöks.
Kõik tutvumisõhtul osalejad said kingituseks Onticu lauvärvi, siin minu oma:
Ontic - Marry the Night



Sunday, September 16

Lucy Minerals foundation swatches

my old jar of Pale Olive seems larger
but the new ones should contain the same
amount of product, 10 grams per weight
Recently I have been taking advantage of Lucy Minerals' generous offers - Annie has moved (and enlarged) her shop and managed to organize some nice sales events at the same time.

Her foundations have medium to heavy coverage and she has special base mixes for people with extremely oily skin (either with calcium carbonate or silica). Her ordinary recipe contains organic components as well: 
Ingredients~zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, mica, magnesium stearate, iron oxides, allantoin, Apple Poly® polyphenols, trans-resveratrol, green coffee bean extract, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate; you can read more about these skin-beneficial ingredients here.
For MMU purists she has her Lucy Light recipe which contains the basic pure mineral makeup ingredients only: zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, mica, magnesium stearate, iron oxides. No organic additives and suitable for people who might react badly to them. Of course one can always order samples of different recipes. I have ordered all my goodies in original recipe and am quite happy with my stuff: lasts up to 6 hrs on my face, then the oil takes over (I found the oil-control recipe a bit too drying for my skin - after all I am already 34).

The foundation itself is heavy on low-micron zinc oxide and titanium dioxide  which makes it extremely covering but also makes the finish not completely matte - it will have a glow (not shimmer or sparkle, sort of a pale cast). The effect is insignificant enough for the foundation still to be usable on older skin as well but complete and utter matte-ness is not achieved. This is definitely not suitable for photoshoots but is excellent when one needs to look great irl.

Because of it's recipe (heavy on those coverage providing white pigments) most tones all run on the light side - I can wear Fair and Pale Olive for winter and Light, Bisque, Light Medium and Shell Beige for summer. 
Application should be approached with care - I advise to use small amounts, cakeyness is easy to happen here, especially when on is using a flat-top brush. Packaging is ok. Sometimes some of the powder has moved on top of the sifter  (Annie uses twistable sifter seals, those are not glued shut with a separate plastic seal) but no big harm has come of it.
But enough talk: here are the foundation swatches :)
Fair, Light, Pale Olive, Cream, Bisque, Light Medium, Shell Beige, Soft Beige and Medium

Lucy Minerals on hetkel üks odavamaid MMU veebipoode - kvaliteet on hea, katvus suurepärane ja toonivalik kaunis laialdane. Tema eripakkumised on tavaliselt tasuta rahvusvaheline saatmine ja mõni eriliselt tore puudri-kit (juurde pannakse kas  testrid või selle kuu tasuta toode). 
Ostsin enda omad 20 USD kit'idena. Lisaks tasub talle ka kirjutada ning ostu tehes mainida, et "paki väärtus võiks olla selline". 20USD kit mahub alla tollipiiri ja ei jää kinni aga kallimad pakikesed jäävad napilt üle selle ning üks jubedamaid asju mida tean, on Eesti Postist tollis oleva paki kättesaamine. Lihtsalt JUBE. Ma maksan selle lisanduva käibemaksu vingumata ära aga PALUN ÄRGE SUNDIGE MIND SINNA IDIOOTLIKKU KANDEKESKUSESSE MINEMA! Ma ei taha näha haisvaid osse ja mädanevate süstlajälgedega narkareid. :S Selle kohta tuleb lausa eraldi rant teha...

Saturday, January 28

e.l.f. NYNY challenge no 3 - mineral makeup

Well - since am using MMU anyway - not much of a challenge for me. :) Anyone interested in reading more about the e.l.f.'s New Year New You challenges can look them up here. e.l.f. UK is building up a rather nice blog and they are working on swatches as well - very, very nice of them indeed :).

stuff used
The palette here is e.l.f. 32 piece eyeshadow palette in cool, brown tones are very nice and usable. Personal blend foundation kit offers 4 different tones, none are a perfect match for me: used Porcelain all over face and Beige for contouring under the cheekbones. Lips are simply Charming - from the Essential line.
For the eyes I went for the Brody Dalle messy brown smoky eye look - insanely great for blue eyes. Just rub the brown eyeshadow pencil in Coffee all over and around the eye, blend it out with your fingers and apply matte brown eyeshadow all over it - can't be any easier. I finally got one of those brow gel-thingies for myself as well - works nicely but I constantly forget to use it.