Coastal Scents swatches - help!

I've been reading some topics about CS vs TKB Trading and who's piggies are the best. I have a huge collection of TKB stuff but for some reason I have been unable to find a decent selection of swatches of the CS loose pigments/micas. Everyone and their mum has swatched the 88-palette though.

Has anyone come across of some reviews on CS pigments? With decent swatches?

There are some on youtube but you know what most of them are like - impossible to tell the color's apart (I really am no fan on video reviews unless they feature photos of the swatches - otherwise they're quite useless).

Please add your findings in the comments-section. Thank you!

Some  swatches I did find:
Stickles's swatches

PS! This blog has some very nice CS swatches: Polish&Pigments

Reorganizing blogger accounts

I used to have different accounts Siilike and Harakas but now I'll be known as LiisK, the name I go by in Estonian forums. I'm sorry to cause confusion. It's all for the greater good of keeping blog emails separate from other communication.

I hope you like the new skin too. I think it looks more compact in this template. :) Please let me know if I made it too wide.

Kuna bloginduse meilid hakkasid ummistama mu postkasti, tegin teise accoundi kuid kuna blogi ennast uue e-postiaadressiga väga kergesti ühendada ei saa, mängisin veidi kasutajanimedega. Loodetavasti tundub uus skin ka silmale mugavam.

Stiilisoeng 60ndatest / 60s hairdo

Sattus kätte vana Siluett, vist aastast 61 või 62. Mulle tohutult imponeerib 60ndate kostüümi- ja kleidimood, endalgi üks sama joont järgiv väike must kleit olemas nagu ka kingad ning isegi kott kuid juustega seevastu olen kaunis lootusetu juhtum - juuksed teevad mida juuksed tahavad.

Siin kirjeldatakse ajastuutruu soengu tegemist kaunis lihtsana... teinekord võiks ära proovida. Juuksed on just parajasti nii pikaks kasvanud, ehk õnnestub.

I leafed through some old 60s fashion magazines, "Siluett" was THE fashion magazine in Soviet Union for decades and ruled 1/6 of the planet's fashion. It covered topics from hair to ideology but mostly it was all about clothes and cutting patterns. This hairdo caught my eye, I'm rather partial to the overall clothing-style of the era, I find it classy, functional and elegant (not so much the hairstyles, the latter seem a bit too heavy and helmet-y lookig in general). I'm not sure I am able to wear this particular do since my hair is a bit thin and perhaps too soft. And there's no way I can make this one myself... Would like to give it a try though.

Siluett 50 Hommage ja in memoriam (in estonian)

Guilty pleasures... shopping

Am quite serious about my own little pigment pressing project and started collecting the necessities. The 28 slot magnetic palette from StarsMakeupHaven arrived today and I had a warm fuzzy feeling imagining all my 120+ piggies nicely pressed, labelled and color coordinated. Since there's just this one palette, it will only be housed by a select few (28). I think there will be a riot in my makeup-drawer...

Shipping was amazingly fast, shipped on August 17th and arrived on August 23rd, communication was excellent. Item was in superb condition and the only thing I did not like was the strange chemical smell. Understandable - it's plastic and plastic usually stinks. The lid is matte and my greasy fingerprints are all plain to see. It is quite thin and looks sleek and elegant, with my soft fingernails I found it a little bit difficult to open. I believe I will be getting more of these some time in the future, it would significantly decrease the amount of space needed to stash all my piggies. I just wish they'd be more affordable. :S

Quite a lot of bloggers refer to SMH eyeshadows as "poor man's MAC". Colors already in the palette were the little extras provided by SMH: red is Light My Fire and green goes by the name Call A Treuse. I reckon I won't be swatching these, since I'm pretty sure I already have similar colors in my collection, anyone craving to see the swatches can look at them here. Maybe I can find better homes for these, I feel more comfortable wearing taupes. SMH makeup is ordinary makeup and not pure MMU, containing methylparaben and alum lakes. Ingredients can be seen here (on the other side of the plastic wrappings they come in):

Little 26 mm round pans I got earlier from TKB all fit in the slots and are magnetized as well. All I need now is the TKB Trading's pressing binder... Or if I can get my hands on some pure alcochol I can try pressing with the jojoba oil I already have (this goes rancid pretty quickly though, fractionated coconut oil is said to be better for pressing). I have to tell you one bad thing about TKB... they never stop. Somehow they manage to add just the things I like and want (and let's be frank - do not need) to their shop's inventory. Overall I think this is just mean...

Saabus mu palett - näeb imekena välja, must ja elegantselt õhuke, A5 formaat. Haiseb veidi, peab tuulutama. Kahju vaid et nad nii kallid on... oleks kohe 4 võtnud. Ühe hind koos saatmiskuludega tuli kakskümmend neli ameerikamaa tugrikut. Kui odavamaks lähevad, hangin juurde. Tõenäoliselt on aasta pärast neid eBayst ka odavamalt saada, siis saab mõelda ka ülejäänud kollektsiooni pressimisele, hetkel on prioriteet pigem neutraalsetel pruunidel toonidel. Ma nüüd põen veidi seda roppu raharaiskamist...

Joik's deep cleansing facial oil - over and done with

Finally managed to finish the Joik face cleansing oil I bought in February 2009. I used it about twice a week while bathing and lately I had been using it with baking soda - to add abrasiveness and remove old skin more efficiently (smeared the oil on the skin, letting it work it's magic for a while, then took some baking soda, rubbed the skin over with it before taking the hot sponge and removing all of the goo).

It's a good product, removes all sorts of grease-based cosmetics and the skins own sebum like a charm. Main ingredients are sunflower oil, olive oil, ricinus oil, jojoba oil and some essential oils like lemongrass, lavender and tea tree oil. It's fairly cheap, 60 kroons per 100 ml bottle ($5, £3) that'll last you a year at least. They say on the homepage "use a teaspoon of oil" but that would be enough to cover your face, neck and decollete. 5 drops is enough for the face. I think I will not buy again, I'll just mix some myself.

IMPORTANT! Please note it also contains ricinus communis oil - a well known laxative if consumed orally, and also a pretty potent hair growth agent. Some people have been complaining that they have literally grown beards (hair growth on the cheeks accelerated) after using the cleansing oil. It's individual of course, I can't really complain about having a beard :D.

Sain lõpuks Joigi sügavpuhastava näoõliga ühele poole. Hea toode aga ma vist ei viitsi teist korda osta. Päevalille, oliivi, riitsinus ja jojobaõlid kõik niikuinii kodus olemas, saab ka ise segada. Niikuinii kasutasin seda viimasel ajal soodaga pastaks segatuna, et nahka efektiivsemalt koorida. Õlipuhastus kui selline sobib mu nahale kaunis hästi.

Everyday Minerals haul from June (been lazy recently)

Since now we cannot make big EDM hauls anymore (due to customs, VAT etc) one has to order when some other one happens to visit US. This haul contained mostly brushes and only two items were actually mine :D (time to learn some restraint). Used the opportunity to get the free EDM foundation sample set in Light too (they should rename it - foundation set "yellow" would be more appropriate).

Colors in this kit were:
Buff Light Neutral matte
Golden Light semi-matte
Golden Winged Butter o-glo and
Cool Fair Medium intensive.

I also added swatches of two lightest Lily Lolo (UK MMU brand) testers: Blondie and Warm Peach. Franky - I preferred the slightly orange looking Warm Peach on my face, Blondie seemed to yellow. I liked the texture, it seems creamy and the powder tries to gather in tiny balls, more condensed, heavier consistency, not fluffy at all. Gives a nice matte finish, offers medium coverage.

On this pic I added all my full size EDM foundations, just for comparison (small testers from left to right in the same order as listed above):

Here's an overview of brushes - tried out the new dome shaped blusher (fourth from the left) and I'm still in between, it seems too dense and I am very likely to apply colors much too heavily. Needs a very light hand. I also added the long-handled kabuki I bought two years ago to this photoshoot (second from left, pale handle), freshly washed it looks just like it's brand new sister.

From left to right: flat top kabuki, old long handled kabuki, new long handled kabuki, blush brush, eyeshadow brush, concealer brush, smudge brush, foundation brush, angled liner brush, angled blending brush, eye kabuki, domed blending brush, baby eye kabuki.

Definite must haves from this lot are the LHK, FTK, angled blending brush, eyeshadow-concealer brush and smudge brush. Small eye buki is also worth having, big eye buki is good for under the eyes. Whatever you do, do not get the dome blending brush - it's absolutely worthless. Since the big foundation brush nor the angled liner brush were for me and I did not test them- can't comment those.

See EDMi tellimus tuli Eestisse juuni lõpus koos Ameerikamaale reisinud sõbraga, tegime koos suure tellimuse ja saime 45% alla (kui on üle 12 nimetuse, annab EDM ostukorvist 45% alet, toll aga võtab pärast 20% käibemaksu). Peamiselt võtsime seekord pintsleid ning mina sain endale Olive Fair o-glo täissuuruse, suure põsepunapintsli ning EDMi Light founditestrite komplekti. Pintslid on EDMist tellides hea hinna-kvaliteedi suhtega ja soovitan soojalt. Ideaalne oleks suured pintslid ELFi Studio seeriast (odavam kui EDM) ning väiksemad silmapintslid EDMilt. EDMi pintslid tunduvad mulle ELFi omadest siiski kvaliteetsemad, nonde plussiks jällegi on hind ja mugav pikk käepide, ei upu pintslitopsi ära.

The free items were a Happyness bronzer and a Weeping Willow eyeliner - neither of them something I liked and both found better, caring homes. 

Manhattan's eyeliner pencil

Can a true cosmetics freak even imagine that I have not had an eyeliner pencil for a couple of years and I have not even missed it that much? The brown "feather proof"  one (chinese manufacturers are so funny! I suspect they did it on purpose :D) that came to me in an E.L.F. kit does not count since it's far too harsh to be used anywhere near the lids. 

Well now I've got one, a fancy Manhattan Cosmetics X-treme last twist-up eyeliner (45 kr, 3 EUR). And now I also know why I have not missed it that much - the upper inner lid line transfers under my eyes. Am now in-between: should I use the pencil to optically increase the thickness of my lash-line and look like a panda or keep the lower lids clean and lashes more thin-looking?

At the moment the liner has a pretty sharp tip but I suspect it'll be dull soon and making a thin line will be an impossibility. It's very soft and smears well, a good thing to have if one wishes to achieve the smoky eye - blends well too. I guess for a thin line I'll have to apply it with the E.L.F. Studio slanted eyeliner brush.

Colors used are: China Jade all over lid, pencil line on the upper lid is covered with Travel to Jupiter (color shift from turquoise to cold green), Garnet as blush, EDM's Olive Fair o-glo as foundie.

EOTD Next to Nothing and a bath-story

I spent some time by myself this morning, had a tiny aromatherapy spa. Put castor oil on eye lashes and roots of my hair, grape seed oil on the face and hair ends, added some ordinary seasalt and a tiny touch of fresh coriander (I love this scent) to the bathwater and had a long relaxing bath. Later scrubbed the face with baking soda and warned the cellulite off my thighs with the help a big scratchy glove. Bliss! I love baths, so much more pleasureable then showers. It was so worth it although I had to shampoo twice to get all the oil out of my hair but it evens out since after oil treatments my hair has no need for a conditioner. Really, almost any oil will do for one's hair but I use the cheaper ones like grape seed or olive oil. It's so easy to have a spa in ones own home, most of the stuff is just sitting there in the fridge or kitchen cabinets. The only things missing are a manicurist and a foot massage. :D

Water one uses makes a huge difference. In the country my hair dos not get as greasy as fast as it does in the city. Tallinn is built on limestone and so is also our water reservoir, lake Ülemiste. This means very harsh water which is hard on hair (oilyness, dandruff), skin (dries it up, becomes flaky, especially in the winter) and household appliances. My hair feels so very different when I have bathed in a bog lake, silky smooth and shiny, makes me want to bring some of that soft water home in huge canisters. Rainwater is also splendid for ones hair. Sometimes it's recommended to put some vinegar in the rinsing water just to achieve the same soft result. I don't know about you but I think vinegar does not smell very nice.

After bath covered myself with jojoba oil from face to foot and pondered about todays look. Came up with this:

Colors used are:

E.L.F.'s mineral eyeshadow primer (yeah, it's the stinky one)

EDM's Olive Fair in o-glo all over the eyelid and on the browbone as base, also used as foundation all over the face;

E.L.F.'s cream eyeliner in brown on upper lashline topped with The Conservatorie's Brown Cocoa;

MoonStone in the crease and lower lashline;

Satin White applied very lightly on the browbone and inner corners;

EDM's Fairly Light Neutral o-glo for contouring the cheekbones;

whatever was on the blush brush as blush (I suspect Scorpio the Eight mixed with a touch of Garnet);

E.L.F.'s eyelash curler (for one dollar - an amazing find);

Lumene Natural Code "eye dramatizer" mascara in black (a very good find, although not waterproof, will not budge from it's place during a day's wear; looks nice and sleek too);

Slight touch-up of the eyebrows with E.L.F.'s "feather proof" brown eyeliner pencil;

E.L.F.'s mineral lipstick in Rosy Raisin as the finishing touch (gone in an hour as usual, lipsticks do not stay on me :S).

And here's a pic of all the stuff itself (quite a pile, is it not?).

EOTD Old Bruise

I spent some hours this week looking at blending and makeup videos on youtube. I really really can't blend worth a squat so am trying very hard to learn. Still the look turned out with a sharpish crease-line :S. And of course, one eye is greener then the other :S.

(these pics are taken closer to the window)

Colors used are:

TKB Tradings Pennsylvania Green on outer half of the lid

TKB Tradings Scorpio the Eigth on the inner side of the lid and also as blush

TKB Tradings Mermaid's Gold just above the iris

Just a tap of TKB Tradings Echo in inner corners and a bit on the lower lashline

TKB Tradings Cyprus Green in the outer crease and lower lashline.

E.L.F.'s dual ended eye shadow primer
EDM's Pearl Sunlight under the eyes and as highlighter
EDM's pressed powder in Fairly Light as concealer on spots (this was a mistake, looks very disgustingly caked, franky I dont't like the product at all, it is unusable on my skin. I try to use it but I always fail. Any tips? Personally I think their new formulation in pressed powders absolutely sucks - too much oil.)
EDM's  Sandy Fair as foundation

TKB Trading's silica microspheres as setting powder

Lumene Natural Code mascara in black

Before and after

I dont know about you but I feel there are not enough before and after pics of MMU out there... So here's a before (right after a hot sauna, abrasive facial peel with sugar and honey accounts for the bright red complexion):

After:

EDM's Sandy Fair in intensive, eye makeup is a mess, it was bright purple but I dissolved it using bright orange - it looked quite bad. No blush or lip stuff.

Although MMU is not very potent if skin needs serious coverage it's perfect as an all over color to even out the tone differences. Too bad that during the summer it'll turn out quite shiny like on this pic, which is taken 2 hrs after application (I think I used EDM's Olive Fair in o-glo that day, mixed with Intensive Fair concealer):

About E.L.F. brushes, in general

I remembered that I read form somewhere that the E.L.F Studio series blending/contour/crease brush can scratch the lid with its ferrule... I looked at mine and thought: how? Apparently E.L.F. has somewhat changed the design of the brush during the last year, mine looks and feels soft and useable but just look at the review a blogger made about her brush haul in October 2009 and this blogger in March 2009. This brush used to be real crappy indeed... It also looks bad on the pics Sirvinya took of her brush haul in September 2009.

I have the impression they modify the brushes all the time, this accounts for the constant rants about the quality not being stable. For instance the Studio powder brush  I got some time earlier this year has a shorter and thinner handle then the one I got in a kit later on.

The softness of the contouring/crease brushes of their ordinary line has improved and the shape of those seems to have changed at least twice. Too bad they really have not changed the glue in the ordinary line brushes' ferrules - those still  tend to shed like mad and larger (natural hair) brushes are still scratchy.

Just look at these: the same eyeshadow brushes but one's ferrule is rounder then others and of the slim ones, one has the hair all blotched (hair moved when ferrule was attached and this messed up the shape of the brush):

PS! If you wonder, what's so special about e.l.f.'s limited edition glitter brush set (studio)- there's just some tiny glitter pressed in the handles of smaller brushes, otherwise identical to ordinary Studio line brushes.

Here's a pic of powder brushes: some bought in sets and some separate.

Evening on Muhu Island

Fog moved quite fast, and I'm still not sure if it was fog or smoke caused by mum, burning the trash. It was far when I finally got the camera.

You have to imagine the sounds of crickets yourself... and of course the wet feet.