Springtime bright EOTD

Something colorful - after all for the first time since November the air temperature has finally reached above zero (C)! Lemon Drop in inner corners, Lotsa Lime in the middle and Grape in the crease, all dry. The colors contrast a bit too much for my taste, next time something more subtle to replace Lemon Drop. Needs a liner.

Looks better when eyes closed.

E.L.F. Studio series 50% off until March 1st

Seems that E.L.F does the 50% off sales periodically - all the time something is 50% off, sometimes even 70 to 75% but I've never witnessed one of those myself. Last week it was the mineral line 50% off.
Now this particular sale should interest ppl who have been eying the Studio line makeup brushes, eyeshadow primers and liquid liners.
Happy shopping and according to the recommendations of the Makeup-alley experts, do not forget to add the 1-dollar line eyeshadow brush and blending brush to the shopping basket!

PS! Message from ELF showed deadline 15th March but on the homepage it seems to be 1st March - dunno which is the correct one.

E.L.F.'i kosmeetika kohta on palju vastukäivaid arvamusi, paar aastat tagasi tehtud arvustustes  on tema renomee väga madal kuid see on hakanud tõusma ja nende uus, vist eelmisel aastal välja antud veidi kallim Stuudio-seeria saab juba vägagi kiitvaid arvustusi.

Bella Pierre

APPI, RÖÖVITAKSE!

Ma miskipärast ei usu, et kui pigment torni pakendada ja "Bella Pierre" peale kirjutada, see kohe ka kordades parem on kui teiste omad. Leidsin ühe hinnakirja - Jumestaja.ee - Bella Pierre 9ne 5gr per volume pigmenditorn 1000.- eeku.

Püha Mooses! Ma tõesti loodan, et (eelkõige vaesem)  rahvas kõigepealt siiski googeldab ja alles siis ostab, sest see hind on väga, väga, VÄGA haige. Ma saaks sama raha eest 45 supilusikasuurust testrit (25 gr per volume) TKB Tradingust, kui tollile vahele jään, siis 35.
Sama hirmsad hinnad ka Stiili-ja Meigikoolis...

Just a rant about prices... Bella Pierre 9-stack is sold at 1000.- EEK a tower, I could order 45 pigment samples (OK, 35, if I also must pay the VAT at customs) from TKB Trading, each 4 times the size of one Bella Pierre eyeshadow for that amount of dough (fyi 1USD~12EEK).

PS! säärased tornid on kasutusmugavuselt kõige hullem asi mida endale osta, isegi testrite kilekotid on kasutajasõbralikumad ja pudistavad vähem.

EOTD Pink

Colors used:

TKB Trading's Pink Crystal in inner corners, Angel Wings mid-lid and Apple Blossom outer corner.
Although the colors look very different in jar, Angel Wings and Apple Blossom are not much different, especially in their sheen, therefore this look is kinda blah. Would have been better with some Aster Hue in outer corners instead.

Used eyelash curler, pressed for 5 seconds, no difference. Walked through snowstorm, maybe that's why. Eye pigments applied dry, they look quite sheer.

Yesterday was worse - tried gray. Btw if you mix Chameleon Fine with Blueberry, you get an orangeish gray color. The mix is in the crease, lid is covered with Simply Naturals' Polished Silver. Anyway ppl kept telling me I look tired. No more gray looks.

Wonderful customer service by E.L.F.

I recieved a letter today, which amazed me. You see - it has never ever happened to me before. All started as I did an (I'd like to think) honest one-star review on the E.L.F. tweezers, that I got and that are totally unusable. Well - CS contacted me and wanted to know if they could replace it or reimburse the cost. It seems I'll be getting another tweezers to replace these. It's nice to know that if one has some problem with an E.L.F. product it will be taken care of.

E.L.F. has a sale on their mineral stuff until February 23rd, all who are interested - go for it. Coupon code is "MIN50".

Best Youtube vids on TKB Trading micas

I stumbled upon a vid in Youtube that's really good: maniac4micas has made an excellent video starring her TKB Trading samples and you can see it on her channel. I really love swatching vids without the usual "hmmm", "eeee", "ööö", "its such a luvly day for swatching" and lots of gibberish about dropping smth and so on and so forth. Most ppl talk absolute bollocks on their swatching vids and the actual swatches are not particularily good either.

Colors swatched are:

Pop Sampler,
True Micas,
Crucible Collection,
Blackstar Micas,
Interference Sampler (Basic 7),
Interference Sampler (Extra 6),
Planetary Sampler ("Travel To.." Micas),
Sparks! Collection,
Whites,
Nude-Beige Micas,
Red Micas,
Gold-Bronze Micas,
Green Micas,
Light Blue Micas,
Dark Blue Micas,
Purples and Dark Micas,
Pigments: Red-Yellow,
Pigments: Green-Purple,
Blacks.

And if you have been looking for TKB Trading swatches on Youtube for some time, you really learn to appreciate this vid: there's a lot  more colors represented then just the usual Pop! sampler.

I love mixing colors: EOTD green

Here's a new greenish golden eyeshadow, lovechild of Indian Blue (2/3) and Oriental Beige (1/3). Good to know I can use Indian Blue at least this way - it's much too blue for me to be used straight. Also mixed 2/3 of TKB Trading's eyeshadow base with 1/3 Artisan Coral to get a nice natural looking blush - very, very nice sheen. I should add some Artisan Coral to my foundie, I liked it that much. Pic taken in daylight, all dry.

The eye makeup: Indian Blue/Oriental Beige mix all over lid, Simply Naturals' Twilight in the crease, Conservatorie foundi (my lighter mix containing lots od TiO2) on the browbone, under the eyes and as foundi.

Curled the lashes too but I cant see much difference. Mascara wand can do the same fob with less fuss.

I tried the wet application of foundi today and I did not like the effect. Apparently one needs to do some serious moisturizing beforehand cause now my skin is a bit too wrinkly on the cheeks - this has never happened to me before.

Other items in the E.L.F. haul

E.L.F. tweezers... ehh
Should have known that one can't get decent tweezers for 1 USD - they are useless. Look good but the tips do not touch properly. Here's the exhibit A itself:

E.L.F.i ühedollarilised pintsetid on saast, ei soovita.

Next will be the eyeslash curlers, from the same price category. These are rather nicely packaged and even have a spare rubber with them. Can tell more about those in couple of days, after testing. Here's what they look like:

After testing I can honestly state that I see no difference - I can get the same result with just the mascara wand. Probably no fault with the curlers, it just shows that I'm a magician with mascara wands...

E.L.F's famous Studio line powder and complexion brushes were also in the haul as was the little one dollar eye brush, which was bought off me in 5 minutes with the words "you already have too many brushes anyway".

Now the only thing I did not like was that the Studio line brushes, although brand new, already showed signs of wear and tear:

They're still soft and well tapered. The complexion brush tends to whisk powder here and there when used so it must be wielded carefully. Powder brush shed a little at first, now it's ok.

E.L.F added a little freebie too, Berry Pop lip gloss. Since it's full of all sorts of shite I shall not use it myself but pass it on to someone who does not mind synthetic dyes and preservatives.

That's the entire haul. I kinda miss the one dollar eye shadow brush - it was nicely shaped and looked sturdy. Next time I'll get more of those.

E.L.F. mineral lipsticks - not bad at all

lipThe main problem with E.L.F. mineral lipsticks is that they are NOT true to pics on the E.L.F. homepage. Most of the negative comments are made by people who have bought a specific color and then ended up with something totally different. I think it's "Royal Red" that causes the biggest confusion. I warmly suggest to look at a lot of swatches first when planning to get some.
Also beware - it's not a true "mineral" product - mineral oils are used in production. Of course E.L.F. homepage fails to tell us this and those ingredients can be later found on the packaging of the product as it arrives in your mailbox.

E.L.F.i mineraalhuulepulgad on põhimõtteliselt toonivad läiked - sõbraliku koostisega (sisaldab loodusliku kõrval siiski ka paari mineraalõli-derivaati, kõigile ei sobi) ning mahedad toonid. Kui uskuda e.l.f.i kodulehel olevaid kommentaare, siis on osad huulepulgad katvama koostisega kui teised. Maksavad 5 USD tükk kuid saab ka odavamalt, kui kupongikoode kasutada.

The ones I got are Pouty Petal and Rosy Raisin. Nice colors, the first is cooler, the latter warmer toned. Both are very suitable for pale people. Remind me of my favorite lipstick-shaped  lipglosses from Manhattan that are no longer in production - sheer, moisturizing and wearable. I quite like the packaging - sleek and black, the logo is very unnoticeable - black on black.

E.L.F. ships pretty fast, ordered on 27th and received on 9th, 2 weeks is very good for packages from US. I used the coupon code "CAROLINA" which gives you 50% off on your purchase up to 15 USD. Since E.L.F. stuff is cheap, one does not exceed that limit very often. Perhaps if you crave the Studio Line makeup-brush set that costs 30 USD... but even then I suggest to wait for a special offer on makeup brushes which is bound to happen at some point. Occasionally they even offer 75% off coupon codes on some products. But the "CAROLINA" though - I think it's a permanent thing, it has been around for quite some time now.

Annoying is that once I received the lipsticks I discovered that they have a 50% sale on lipsticks until February 15th (if you buy for more then 15 USD worth) with the coupon code "50LIPS".

E.L.F. aslo has a quite reputable-looking mineral product line: bases (not much of a color selection, contains bismuth oxychloride) eyeshadows, blushes etc. and their Studio line makeup brushes are also quite famous. I also read excellent reviews on their 1-dollar line eye shadow and blender brushes.

EOTD Brown: Dark Bronze and Dusty Rose

I think the blush mix turned out just fine: equal amounts of TKB's eye shadow base, Strawberry and Winter Rose (nice blueish sheen). Very nice subtle tone, absolutely love it.

The Conservatorie's Dark Bronze (in the crease) looks much darker in the jar and TKB Trading's Dusty Rose (all over lid) is the same old pinkish-orange with strong metallic sheen. I think the combination makes my eyes/face look too red. I'm running out of options, what to combine with Dusty Rose - it makes the entire look too bland. Maybe some black in the crease, or some contrasting color...

Rest of the stuff used: for base and on the brow bone Everyday Minerals foundation Ivory in intensive, Pearl Sunlight under the eyes, Lumene's Blueberry Curl mascara. Forgot to use eyeshadow base and totally forgot about eyeliner, all applied dry.

Weekend EOTD's: Green and black

Dabbled in green on Friday but the color did not exactly meet my expectations... all the hilites and sparkles somehow managed not to show in the end result.
Mixed Green Apple with TKB's eyeshadow base, Radiant Gold and Hilite Blue - almost looks the same as Green Apple itself does, only somewhat cooler (as in "less warm").

Used it all over lid and then decided to try the trick I've seen done many times - applied black pigment in the crease to make the color there a bit more saturated - a mistake. I should have applied the black there first and then apply the green all over lid color. I mended it with some more Green Apple in the crease. Satin Orange Gold in inner corners and on the browbone, some Breath of Spring used to blend up from the crease. I am really, really disappointed in the EDM dome blending brush...

Now the dark one: colors used are Blackest Black in the crease, Blackstar Red all over lid, Hilite Red in inner corners and blended upwards from crease, EDM's Pearl Sunlight under the eyes and Fair Neutral as foundi and as highlighter on the browbone. All dry application, picture taken in daylight. Pardon the lack of symmetry, still learning how to blend. HOW  DO  THEY  DO  IT?!?!

Skin feels terribly dry and flaky, MMU makes me look a bit wrinkly now.

EOTD Pink

For some weird reason I dabble a lot in pinks and purples lately... Most of the looks do not make it to the blog cause either I'm seriously displeased with the result or I just forget to take a pic. Daylight hours are still scarce in Estonia.

Here's TKB Trading's Smokey XXX in outer V, Apple Blossom in the inner corners and all over lid and Angel Wings on the brow bone.

I really really need a good blending brush - the Everyday Minerals dome blender sucks a** - works only to remove the pigment already on the lid. It's useless crap.
Forgot to use under eye concealer. Archetype's Yellow Beige lev 1 is the foundi used here. I must say I had forgotten what lovely glow that foundation has. Incomparable to Conservatorie's Caramel lev 1 yellow matteness. I must say I do not appreciate matte foundations all that much.
I have no eyeliner - and usually I'm in too much of a hurry to make my brush wet, dab it in pigment and  make one cause I know it will be smeared on my lid as soon as I forget that it's just applied and still wet. Pigments mixed with just water do not stay long on my lash line - maybe should get either a special mixer or a proper eyeliner pencil. I think they make mineral eyeliners too now.