Twinkling Hazel overall

Nordic winters may or may not be cold, this time it's not and thank God for small blessings - but they are always dark. Not very nice when one has only ordinary lighting in the apartment. Catching the light for shooting something becomes a sport itself. Following photos will be terrible, you have been warned.

Items used

Twinkling Hazel on eyelids, lips and cheeks

Today I tried to make a rather monochrome look - using the same The Conservatorie pigment in Twinkling Hazel on the eyes, cheeks and lips. Nice understated look but the piggie is a tad dark for me to be used as a blush - at least in this light it bothers me. Undertone, you see, is a bit orange and orange is definitely not my color when put anywhere else but eyelids or lips. Orange is a very nice color to be used on the eyelids - makes blue eyes pop.

At the moment I have quite a number of foundations to test, so am trying multiple ones in one go - something I can get away with only during winter. The Conservatorie's pressed foundation in Nude on the right cheek (my right, mind you) and loose mineral powder in Barely Beige on the left cheek. Forehead is all Jane Iredale's pressed mineral foundation in Warm Silk. Note to self - Nude will be ok during Summer but it's too dark for now - just look at the neck.

The Conservatorie's Barely Beige (not the matte version) is quite a good winter tone, on these pics it looks shinier then the others. Goes well with the neck - no color difference. Barely Beige also comes in a matte recipe but I felt that it was a bit drying so I took the non-matte one.

Jane Iredale's pressed foundation in Warm Silk (Starter kit in Fair) on the forehead and nose: tone-wise it's in between, a nice neutral/warm color. Consistency is very soft - pressed mineral foundations usually are - and brush should not be wielded too forcefully. My pan of The Conservatorie's Nude is an exception, it has a pressing flaw - it's rock hard and I have to scrape it with my nails to get the product loose. From all The Conservatorie pressed mineral foundations I have this is the only flawed one.

I contoured my cheekbones, temples and jawline with The Conservatorie's Milk Chocolate and highlighted apples of the cheek, nose, chin and  forehead with The Conservatories Pink Interference. Looking at the pics now I wonder whether highlighting is for me - I just look greasy. I did no fine work - so the areas around the nose and pimples are not concealed or worked upon - in this case the I made the bad lighting conditions work for me. :)

Täna testisin oma erinevaid mineraalpuudreid - laup ja mõlemad põsed on kõik eri tooni... heas valguses nõndamoodi ikka välja ei läheks küll :D. Twinkling hazel on veidi liiga oranž, silmadele sobib kuid põsed teeb veidi määrdunuks... Samas roosa oleks põskedele sobinud kuid silmad teinud palavikus küülikuks. Peamiselt  olid näppimisel The Conservatorie ja Jane Iredale asjad. Halba saab öelda vaid Manhattani ripsmetuši kohta, see on ikka paras jama sattunud seekord... Hiljem lisasin silamdele veidi matti pruuni lauvakku - tegi silmnäo veidi ruumilisemaks. Aga siis oli juba liiga pime, et piltide tegemisest unistadagi. 

e.l.f. Mineral lipsticks in Royal Red, Beautiful Berry and Prime Plum

I like e.l.f.'s mineral lipsticks, especially Rosy Raisin, the "my lips but better" tone. Now these here are much, much darker (warning - they look lighter on this photo).  Ingredients list is very nice to look at.

Prime Plum - Plum should be purple, no? Well, this one is dark brick-brown.

Royal Red - elegant deep cool-toned red but far too dark for me

Beautiful Berry - dark red, could also be described as a cross between Prime Plum and Royal Red - again not for me.

FOTD using Jane Iredale's starter kit in Fair

Tools:

Canvas:

Dream Tint in Light already applied

Result:

Warm Silk on the right cheek

Bisque on the left cheek

The kit contains two foundations in travel size: Bisque and Warm Silk, a rather dark blush Sheer Honey, a truly great concealer set Circle/Delete2, a mini lipstick (L.A. Just Kissed lip plumper), a slightly tinted makeup base cream Dream Tint and three brushes in the lower compartment of the box. All the products are used  here. In addition there's Mystikol powdered eyeliner and highlighter Dark Topaz on the eyes and my brand new Manhattan mascara (rant about that will follow soon). 

These small brushes are soft and workable but already the concealer brush is sort of loose at the ferrule and the mini flat-top sheds like mad ever since I took it out of the box. I understand that wooden handles tend to have problems with shrinking but shedding was unexpected. Small domed blush brush is soft and has absolutely no faults - perfect for foundation application around the nose area. Cannot use it for blush though - I had to use my own blush brush because this one is simply too small and the product in this kit is much too pigmented  - clown makeup guaranteed. I will definitely keep it and it's sister concealer brush in my travel bag. Flat-top will probably stay in the drawer until someone else is willing to offer it a better home.

Brick-undertoned blush in this set is more like a bronzer for me - it does not bring flush to my cheeks, makes them rather muddy-looking instead. I am surprised they would put a blush this dark in the Fair set at all - usually it's something more wearable, bright sort of pink or so. Great thing is the Circle/Delete2 concealer set in highly blendable light cream and salmon. Both when used separately seem a bit off but when combined they leave a most natural result. This concealer is applied all over blemishes and also under the eyes.

Jane Iredale's pressed powders blend well and are buildable - they can provide complete coverage if needed, assuming you also use the makeup base and concealers provided in the kit - foundation sticks to the concealer already layered on the pimples and the only thing visible will be a little bump. I prefer Warm Silk at the moment - I still have some residual tan from my trip - am usually pale as a sheet this time of year :). Yellow undertones in these foundations help to tone down my usual redness.


Box and packaging are marvellous - the well-made box could later on be used for jewellery or other makeup items. It's abit big for travelling but it has all the necessities and will do a great job. After seeing other Jane Iredale items I have to say - they excel at packaging - all products look luxurious, my Makeupheaven magnetized palettes with pressed powder pans look quite industrial when compared :).


Mängisin oma tuliuue Jane Iredale komplektiga - tegu karbikesega, kus kaks minisuuruses pressitud meigipõhja, suht tume ja tellisekarva alatooniga põsepuna, imekena roosakaskuldne minihuulepulk, peitekreemikomplekt, meigialuskreem ning kolm minipintslit. Soovitan soojalt, algaja jaoks väga mugav komplekt, täismeigi tegemiseks läheb lisaks veel vaja vaid silmapliiatsit ning ripsmetušši.

A review long overdue - The Conservatorie's eyeshadow primer

Now this one has only one fault: needs heat to disperse well... Basically, to get a proper amount I have to stick my finger into the jar, move it there for a moment and my finger has grabbed the exact amount needed for one eyelid (problematic - I have exceptionally cold hands sometimes). Texture is waxy and color is orangey but wax grabs the pigments well and color does not matter anyway - that's what the eye-shadows are for.

I have also been using it as an under eye concealer and pimple concealer - true, it's too orange BUT it grabs mineral foundation as well as it grabs eyeshadows - so I'll just rub some on the pimples and then slide the foundation brush all over the face - fast and easy.

It does have a smell but it's very subtle and does not stink like e.l.f. primers or the Manhattan one. For 3,95 USD I'd say this product is available at a very good price. I have used it since September and have barely made a dent - please keep in mind I also use it when swatching pigments ;) much more comfortable then foiling them. Weird, I seem not to have a swatchpic of the primer itself - I'll have to remedy that soonish :)

This waxy product is packaged in a standard 10 gr per volume jar (8,5 gr of product as per label) and contains Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Apricot Kernel Oil, Safflower Oil H.O, Silica, Castor Oil, Tribehenin, Carnauba Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Kaolin, Calcium Carbonate. May contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides. It's the cleanest primer I have owned so far. Phenoxyethanol - the preservative may have some evidence that it might be toxic but it's the only one in this mix.

Üldiselt - kiidan, teeb tööd hästi.  Ja kui keegi seda veel soovib, siis andke aga teada, ma panen teinekord tellimusse sisse. Odavam kui samalaadsed poodides. Ja kõige olulisem - ei haise :).

warm hands - blended like a dream

PS! Looking forward to try The Conservatorie's glitter glue that also came out recently :) I have some The Conservatorie glitters but am so far unable to use them properly - eyeshadow primer is not sticky enough for those shiny flaky buggers. Price looks really friendly - only $1,55 for a tube.

Break is over

I think it's time for a comeback :). Trip was nice, end-of-yeat workstress still continues but that should be overlooked - stress has always been there and always will be - as long as people have to do something called "work". :S

And there's so much to write about! I have visited Jane Iredale and got their fairest foundation swatches, The Conservatorie sent me a parcel while I was away, LisaLise's moisturizers have not been properly reviewed yet, and then my own purchases from Meow, Lucy Minerals, The Conservatorie and TKB Trading need to be put up as well. Those TKB pigments have not been reviewed since August! I am truly lagging behind - and there's no shortage for material.

As for the trip - Mauritius was wonderful! It was not too warm yet and half of the days had some clouds which made the conditions very suitable for me. I only got sunburned once, managed to tan my face though so now it's darker then my body - but winter will take care of that.

And local tap water was a marvel: tap water in Tallinn is such crap compared to it. It left the skin smooth and hair shiny and I had no dandruff whatsoever. And when I drank it - it tasted sweet! None of that metallic-y aftertaste I'm so used to here. The water was rationed though - we were staying in the dry bit of the island.

I only wish I had more time the next time I go - I'd really like to visit some nature-reserve as well - to see the local flora (and perhaps some more fauna). This island has had other species introduced to it ever since it's first inhabitants arrived - palms from Cuba and lots of plants (I think so) from Thailand and Indonesia.  I'd really like to know what it looked like when the first inhabitants came. And I have to say - It's a paradise for bougainvilleas - they grow everywhere. All colors, all the time. So many blooming plants - unbelievably pretty.

Mangroves - another introduced species - brought in
to help protect the beaches from large waves.