On some hair stuff...

 Having used Charles Worthington's refresh & revive Dry Shampoo limited edition Front Row for a while in some emergency situations I have to admit - am not impressed. Main reason - did not look freshened up at all and made my scalp itchy. Main ingredients are rice starch and corn starch, which when applied carelessly, leave ugly white markings on the hair. I have thin weak structured Nordic hair and this stuff did not help much. I have light hair and I cannot imagine someone with darker hair using it - it will make dark hair look more gray for sure. I also hate spray bottles - the stench makes me gag.

The leave-in conditioner on the other hand is great. I know it's not a nature product or anything but it works and hair looks good with it. 

(Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Hydroxyethylcellulose, Parfum (Fragrance), Dimethiconol, Polyquaternium-47, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Hydroxypropyl Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Tetrasodium EDTA, Panthenol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate, Buteth-3, Tributyl Citrate, TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Magnesium Nitrate, Hexyl Cinnamal, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linalool, Citronellol, Geraniol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone.)

The only problem with it is: can be purchased in England, not easily available here. 

So as I stumbled across Johnson's Baby No More Tangles® Leave-in conditioner 200ml 

(Ingredients: Aqua, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Behenyl, Alchol, Polyquaternium-37, Cetearyl Alchol, Propylene, Glycol Dicaprylate/Diccaprate, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, PPG-1 trdeceth-6, Cetrimonium Chloride, Sorbitan Oleate, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Parfum)

I wondered, whether this might be a cheap alternative. Johnsons' ingredients list is shorter and the ingredients do not match. 

Any advice on the subject? Personally, I have doubts...

Silmameik: kõigepealt heledad või tumedad toonid peale kanda?

Silmameigis on kaks koolkonda: üks väidab, et kõigepealt kantakse peale tumedad toonid ja et siis heledad. Teine aga ütleb, et alustada tuleb just heledatest toonidest. Ma kaldun nüüd viimase poole ja alustan hoopis heledast kulmuluust, tuues selle värvi silmavaoni välja. Kui tume toon otse  primeri peale satub, on seda seal silmavaos kaunis raske ära hajutada (jääb kaunis konkreetne triip). Tume värv võib seetõttu tsipa heledam jääda ja võibolla ka muudab tooni aga hajutamine tundub märksa lihtsam.

About different eye makeup application habits: some people start with dark colors, others with lighter colors. Recently I've also moved towards the last technique, bringing the matte brow-bone color almost to the crease. I find it makes blending a lot easier. When I apply the dark one first, I usually end up with a rather sharpish line just above the crease.

Biggest makeup-brush I've ever held

 I had a hugeish EDM haul arriving  just the other day. You may congratulate me, the only think that was "mine" was the free foundation sample kit. But there was something new and unseen in this haul: EDM's Large Mineral brush. That MoFo is HUGE! Quality was superb as always, no hairs sticking out or falling off. The smaller brushes on the pic are EDM's Long Handled Kabuki and Dome Blush brush (sry, it's a bit dirty).

Here I've also taken out my currently biggest brush - e.l.f. Studio series' Complexion brush (black) and it pales in comparison. It would be nice to have one giant like this in the collection just for it's extraordinariness but I cannot really see a practical use for it unless it's some all-over-face product, that needs light application. Since EDM is now very expensive for us internationals after the 45% discount disappeared, I  will not be buying it for myself (it's $14).

I also had the opportunity to practice e-Customs. It's not very hard, I'll do it myself again and skip the handling fee of Eesti Post in the future. The speed of the procedure was astonishing! Once I had filled the form and paid the money, my parcel was released from customs in 15 minutes! All I had to do was to tell the curier to drop it off.

Deklari täitmine on täiesti tehtav kui abitelefonilt veidi konsultatsiooni paluda. Ülikiire paki kättesaamine. Järgmisel korral saab sama deklari järgi täita ka uue tellimuse deklaratsiooni, kui saatjamaa ja kaubagrupp sama. Eesti Post, eat my shorts!

For all taupeists - Max Factor's Burnt Bark

Happened to go by a drugstore cosmetics' counter and  met Max Factor's Burnt Bark from the Earth Spirits Collection (No 107) - beautiful silvery brownish taupe with nice creamy consistency. You might like ;)

Price I did not like, it was some 116 kr (EUR 7,4)  for a single eyeshadow.

EOTD Neutral Sparkle Mocha Mica

TKB's Champagne on the browbone and The Conservatorie's Sparkle Mocha mica all over lid. Darker then yesterday's look but still very wearable. EDM's Pearl Sunlight under eyes and as highlighter on cheekbones and nose-bridge. I even tried contouring with a darker foundation but it did not look good to me. I need to use other technique, I cannot use methods that make my already angular jaw look even bigger.

Tried 2 different foundations at the same time: Barely Beige foundation and Barely Beige foundation in matte (my right side). I prefer the latter. It seemed to me  that makeup lasted longer on the right side of my face. On this pic it's the matte one, TKB's Apple Blossom as blush and Deepest Beige matte foundation for contouring.

Skin looks much better too, oh happy day :)

EOTD Neutral with Conservatorie pigments

I must say I do find Pink (green) interference mica (on the browbone) quite lovely: it's sheen is understated and to me it does not look not so much pink as beige. Luster Brown (all over lid) is a nice bland neutral color, more yellowish brown then Moonstone and has very nice texture.

Foundation used was Conservatorie's Bare Foundation in Barely Beige. It's light enough to be worn during winter. Coverage seems to be medium and it lasted quite well. Since I only use jojoba oil as moisturizer and no foundation primer, half a day on my olily skin is a good accomplishment. Eyeshadow pigments did not crease on the primer.

Brushes were quite nice as well although I must say I like the blush brush the most. It's far better then EDM's dome shaped blusher - the latter one is much too dense and too round

The blush brush does not stink or shed but had some rogue hairs sticking out - those could be clipped away easily. Pics of the eyeshadow brushes turned out terribly blurry, they'll have to wait for the next photoshoot.

Finito - Johnsons baby oil

Johnsons baby oil - purest of the pure mineral oil is wonderful for people who are not allergic to it or have allergies to natural oils. It dissolves makeup, even mascara and washes off easily. Bought it 4-5 years ago and it's finally empty. I used it to remove eye-makeup (put some on cotton pad and wipe over the eyes, taking care not to rub the skin). 

I see no point in repurchase since I can achieve the same with any ordinary cooking oil (i.e. rape seed oil). Of course I could use extra virgin olive oil for it's extra benefits, vitamins etc but I do not like it's smell - smelling like a salad is not my idea of elegance :D.

Although mineral oil is considered very bad I cannot say it was bad for me - eyelashes liked it a lot. From now on I use ricinus oil for melting off the mascara.

Depression is cured!

Conservatorie's package arrived TODAY! 8 days shipping from US - amazing...

Can there be a better way to fight depression? (I've just made a discovery: Christmas presents are a necessary cure against kaamos, the winter depression. Without Christmas presents, not many of us would probably make it out of the dark season. :P)

Samples are just as big as I remembered them: one teaspoon. And to my utter amazement there seem to be light foundation colors as well - for the summer at least.

At least 2 of the 6 micas I've sampled are not represented in TKB Trading's inventory: Golden Green and Pink (Green) Interference mica (Echo but blue sheen is replaced with  golden green sheen). Pewter is pretty much Antique Silver, Luster Brown reminds me of  Australian Amber. Brilliant Mocha mica looks like Luster brown but with a stronger bronze sheen and Sparkle Mocha mica is more reddish, but just not as sparkly as the Super Brilliant Mocha mica.

Foundation swatches and piggie comparisons will have to wait until weekend.

First snow

Damn, I'm depressed.

Eyeshadow primers

Here's a comparison between 3 different eye makeup bases: e.l.f.'s Eye Primer and Liner Sealer from the Studio series ($3), e.l.f.'s Mineral Eyeshadow Primer ($3) and Manhattan Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base (ca 70 kr, $6).

e.l.f.'s Eye Primer and Liner Sealer  has a very thick texture and when applied, looks yellow. I find it a little bit difficult to apply. No love because of the strong yellow color. Liner Sealer has a strong chemical smell but works very well on skin. In fact, it's quite hard to bet the product off the lids afterwards. This one gets bonus point for it's casing - looks great.

Ingredients: Paraffinium Liquidum (Mineral Oil), Mica, Talc, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Ozokerite, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Methylisothiazolinone, Caprylyl glycol. May Contain: Iron Oxides(CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Liner Sealer Ingredients: Aqua(Water), Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone

e.l.f.'s Mineral Eyeshadow Primer is very liquid and STINKS. Mirror, mirror on the wall, which one's the stinkiest of them all - well this one wins. It stinks so bad (terrible chemical smell) that when I use it I hold my breath when I lift the product close to my face. It also cannot be applied using the doefoot applicator cause then you end up applying too much. And if you apply too much, it creases as soon as you apply it. Trick is to put it on the back of the hand first and from there use your finger to get it to the lid. No love, will not buy again.

Ingredients: Isododecane, Cylopentasiloxane, Octyl Palmitate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Triacontanyl PVP, Propylene Carbonate, Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Mica (CI 77019), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163).

Last and imho the best is the Manhattan Cosmetics Eyeshadow Base - skin-colored (with some light sheen), holds pigments in place, does not stink and ingredients list is rather short. Does not contain triclosan like ArtDeco's eyeshadow base. Problem with this one is application... and it's tendency to dry up quickly. The consistency is rather thick (mostly mineral oil derivates) and difficult to apply with brush so I use my fingers. Must take care not to scoop up too much because the excess will start rolling on the lid.

Ingredients: C11-12 Isoparaffin, Talc, Mica, Cera Microcristallina, Polyethylene, VP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Tocopheryl Acetate, Bisabolol, Propylparaben, CI 77891, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499

Swapping with Nea

I noticed Nea (Fashioned in Finland) had some colors in her TKB collection that I do not and asked for some samples.

I was curious about Moss Grass (which despite it's intriguing name is actually a boring light-toned gray color with low coverage), Gold Leaf (golden yellow with slight greenishness in it), Blush Beige (lots of formulators cant do without it (especially in blushes) but for me it's just a lighter shade of Copper Penny) and Dragonfly, the mythical discontinued pigment (orange base, warm green sheen). I'm really sorry for Dragonfly getting discontinued by the manufacturer, it was indeed a very interesting color, imho a lot more wearable then Chameleon with it's red base.

Swatches are done wet, no base (black color is just some Blackest Black pigment).

Swatchid Katrinile

Siin on võrdluses Dermoshopi heledaim mineraalpuuder,  EDMi Olive Fair (o-glo), Fair Neutral (intensive), Ivory (intensive) ja Intensive Fair concealer. Peale kantud niiskelt.

Järgmisel pildil on swatche veidi hõõrutud, et alatoon paremini näha oleks:

Entering the Crow's first giveaway

The Crow and the Powder Puff is having her first giveaway and boy it is huge... luckily it's international so it's also available for entering to people in this part of the world too!

Pictures snatched from The Crow and the Powder Puff blog

Apparently she also has a YouTube channel I was totally unawares about :).

Did some shopping, shopping, shopping...

... and now waiting, waiting, waiting. Every internet-shopper knows this... the feeling of excitement (will it get hold up by the customs?) and longing for the soon to arrive shiny new toy. 

The Conservatorie has changed the homepage and looks MUCH better now. Hopefully they also got their customer service and overall efficiency booted up too. I tried to shop there last winter when they had a 25% off sale - and the coupon code did not work. Happened to lots of people. So - this company may be a bit weird in it's organization and customer service.

It seems they also got rid of some stuff and are now focusing more to become a place for resellers for custom made pre-packaged products. Samples used to be $1,5 but are now $0.95 which makes them competitive with TKB Trading's micas. One has to take into account the size difference - if Conservatorie has not changed their sample sizes, they should be a teaspoon while TKB Trading sells mostly tablespoon samples (1 tablespoon=3 teaspoons). I also ordered some brushes for testing, hopefully they're good.

Stuff I ordered are mostly foundations (EDM really pissed me off this time) of which they now carry a shimmering and a matte version (used to be all matte but with different ingredients in the base, altogether 3 different recipies):

Bare Foundation Matte-Deepest Beige

Bare Foundation Matte-Navajo

Bare Foundation Matte-Summer Tan

Bare Foundation Matte-Light Navajo

Bare Foundation Matte-Lightly Suntanned

Bare Foundation Matte-Barely Golden

Bare Foundation Matte-Medium Beige

Bare Foundation Matte-Barely Beige

Bare Foundation Matte-Light Golden

Bare Foundation - Barely Beige

Bare Foundation - Light Golden

Bare Foundation - Lightly Suntanned

Bare Foundation - Medium Beige

Bare Foundation - Barely Golden

I suspect they have not put their emphasis on creating foundations suitable for pale folks, and am now sorry for not getting the white foundation base as well. Photos on Conservatorie's homepage are VERY deceiving, I know that from the last time I ordered (2 years ago). Although the homepage is upgraded, same picture material (for micas at least) is used. No color charts of foundations are available either.

Some micas (just to see if they overlap with TKB Trading's stuff)

Pewter Mica

Golden Green Mica

Pink (Green) Interference Mica

Brilliant Mocha Mica

Sparkle Mocha Mica

Luster Brown Mica

and brushes:

Synthetic Angle Blush Brush

Synthetic Crease Brush

Synthetic Oval Shadow Brush

Last time I tried the brushes they were quite disappointing (one brush had a scratchy ferrule, the other had a defect) but I really liked the synthetic brushes' texture. Oval eyeshadow brush would be perfect to pick up those colors that crumble easily in the palette but I'd really prefer for it to be nicely done.

Shipping was $10,56.

Champagne on the browbone, 

Artisan Coral in outer corner, 

Virgo in inner corner, 

some Grape Parfait as liner on upper outer corners, 

Dermoshop's foundation.

acne? why is it still here, I'm not a teenager any more :S

 Not happy with the result

Aquarius all over lid, Jade in the crease, Grape Parfait in outer corners and Champagne on the browbone. Dermoshop's foundi. Should stick to browns and purples...

EOTD Brown with Bronze Fine

Champagne on the browbone

Bronze Fine blended in the crease

Moonstone all over lid

Chameleon Fine dry over black eye pencil

Manhattan's eyeshadow base

Dermoshop's mineral foundation

Lumene Natural Code mascara

Skin looks terrible still, especially on the jawline. 

Foundation is a bit reddish and does not match my neck. 

Better for the summer I guess.

EOTD believe it or not - green

For some weird reason in this setting sun's light it looks more blue then green... It's actually green. Skin looks porky pink as well.

I removed the foundation I applied this morning and tried out the new Dermoshop's fairest. I really love the creamy texture, nice and silky. When applied in layers it's pretty covering too. I used the trusty E.L.F. flat-top.

Eye makeup has held pretty for 7 hours now, recently aquired new Manhattan's eye makeup base (got it on sale for 61 kr) is performing really well.  Colors used: Champagne on the browbone, Dublin in the crease, Lucky Green in inner corners, blended slightly over Aquarius which is placed all over the moving lid. Manhattan's black eye liner is covered with Grape Parfait, dry. EDM's Pearl Sunlight is under the eyes. No blush.

Dermoshop's foundi seems to be a little orange, though :S, not fair enough...

Ilumessi muljed

This post is about the beauty fair this weekend and stuff I got. I only got the Dermoshop mineral powder and some free magazines and leaflets. Dermoshop was with a good price and since it's a catalog seller, I saved some on the shipping too.

Ilumessil oli 4 mineraalmeigibrändi ja  väikesi looduskosmeetika lette. Isegi Balscand oli kohal! 30 ml jojobaõli 50 krooniga pole ju paha (ilus kena pudel ja puha). Alla sajaga sai vist kõiki neid kätte, osadel olid ka vaporisaatorid küljes (hea nt kehale pritsida). Joik'i ma seal ei näinud... MicaBella, BellaPierre ja Jane Iredale kõik esindatud ja oli võimalik tutvuda ka uue tulijaga Prantsusmaalt Couleur Caramel. Viimane läheb peatselt müüki ilusalongidesse ning Kaubamaja Ilumaailma.

Coulour Caramel'i stend

Couleur Caramel'i puudrid olid kenad, leidus ka heledaid (mulle sobis 821) ning (naturaalsed) pintslid olid ülipehmed (ning ülikallid: silmapintslid alates midagi 300ga ja puudripintslid 500ga). Imekenad pressitud mineraalpigmendid ja põsepunad - tolmuna leidus peamiselt vaid meigipõhja ja tolmpuudrit. Ainuke asi mis mind häiris oli pakend: papist paletid ja papist puudrikarbid. Puudritoosi hind oli vist 305(?) kr ja selle suuruseks 6 gr. Plussiks on võimalus täita palett (saadaval vist 3 eri suurust?) enda valitud toodetega. Aastase kasutamise jätel näevad pakendid kindlasti kaunis koledad välja... aga seevastu on loodussõbralikud. 

Pakendil on kaunis, lihtne disain.

Ainus asi, mis minuga sealt koju kaasa jalutas, oli Dermoshopi mineraalpuuder, heledaim (roosa alatooniga), kohapeal oli hinnaks 100 kr tk (veebikataloogis 136 kr), toosis 4 gr puudrit (EDM-il on 5,5 gr). Tumedam oli ka esindatud, see märksa kollakama alatooniga. Dermoshopi hädaks on see, et neil on vaid kaks tooni, muidu on tegu odavaima Eestis müüdava mineraalpuudriga. 

Tuleb tunnistada, et poole päevaga jõudsin läbi kooserdada vaid ühe angaari, fitnessi omasse ei pistnud ninagi aga sinna B-angaari mittejõudmisest on veidi kahju... Võibolla homme jälle. Siis juba flaieriga ja 25 kr sissepääs.

PS! Kui keegi soovib näha, milline ta näeks välja pikkade juustega, siis seadke sammud A-angaari, sisse minnes vasakut kätt lõpus on Hollywood-midagi clip-in'e promov box, kus  neid saab lasta endale prooviks pähe panna (originaalsed Indiaani juuksed, muide :P).

EOTD Oriental Beige with Deep Russet, beware of the Big Giant Head!

Using my newly pressed piggies. It's a bit weird for me to use pressed eyeshadows - the consistensy is different from powdered ones and skin swatches look really weakly pigmented in comparison, very sheer. On the other side - less fall out and it still looks the same on the lid. My synthetic eyeshadow brushes suck with the pressed ones. Here the slight scratchiness of the natural hair brush is actually rather welcome. ELF's Studio eyeshadow brushes have nothing to do here (exception is the small angled brush - that one works beautifully). With pressed eye shadows ELF's regular line works better - I just wish it would not shed as much...

 Colors used are: Champagne on the brow bone, Oriental Beige all over lid, Deep Russet in the crease, Hilite Copper in inner corners and on the lower waterline, Moonstone used as lower liner. 

Manhattans black eye pencil on upper lashline, Lumene Natural Code mascara in black. 

(My) left eye is done with ELF's eyeshadow primer stick and right eye is primed with ELF's mineral eyeshadow primer. I still haven't made a review of those, always forget.

Foundation is Gosh's fairest (a tester of which I bummed from a store last week) and I'm happy to say, it's really truly very light! Coverage is not the best, I applied 2-3 coats to get the coverage it has on the photos, it's very runny, much runnier then Lumene's liquid foundation I tried a week ago. I cant remember which Gosh foundation it was exactly, they carry 2-3 different formulas - I only remember it was a dark sort of tube. Blush and contour color is Peach, liquid foundation is set with EDM's Olive Fair in o-glo and as a highlighter I used silica microspheres (cheekbones, forehead, nose bridge)

Lash curler really does work :) but I forgot the eyebrows, again. I really hate my look when I have darker eyebrows - I think it makes me look mean. Unfortunately a light grayish brow color is something  I have yet to mix for myself. :)

Nüüd kinnitatud ka teise heleda jumestuskreemi olemasolu Eesti Vabariigis, aeg võtta välja šampanjapudel! Mineraalpuuder sobib suurepäraselt meiki kinnitama, Olive Fair jättis just selle vajaliku kerge kuma. Ja lisas katvust... Goshi ja Lumene jumestuskreemid ei saa katvusega eriti kiidelda.

Ilu Sõnum 2010 / Beauty World 2010 in Tallinn, 8-10 October

Beauty industry is having a fair in Tallinn next weekend (October 8-10, 2010). Tickets are pretty cheap, especially if one prints out the flyer (25 kr~1,6 EUR). Last years' fair was a disappointment for many as it was mostly about fake nails. Let's hope it's better this year. Here's an English overview for international readers.

Since I got a free pass I might just as well go and check it out :).

(They have not refreshed their blog IluSõnum... instead they have a whole new webpage Ilumess. They're on Facebook too.)

Sain vastuse meilile, milles kurtsin, et neil blogi uuendamata - tuleb välja ,et sel aastal on neil hoopis koduleht Ilumess. Loodetavasti on messi enda sisu veidi parem sellest, mis eelmisel aastal oli (peamiselt kunstküüned). Kuna (kutsega) tasuta sisse saab, siis pole kahju raisata pool päevakest ning bussipiletiraha. Täispilet on 50 kr ning flaieriga 25kr.

Imelik on see, et Ilumessi guugeldades tuleb ette hoopis Tartus peetava ürituse (ILUmess toimus maikuus 2010) koduleht. Brändinguga on lood halvad, tõesti halvad...