Coastal Scents mica haul

I posted news of a CS sale recently - well, here are the goodies:

I think there's something wrong with me - I did not experience the usual excitement when ordering, receiving the parcel or even when swatching - it seemed so "same old, same old" to me.

Pigments look the same to me - now that I have Conservatorie, TKB and CS all lined up in my stash and ready to be compared. The excitement is gone. I miss that :s I think it's impossible for me to find something new and exciting from MMU wholesalers - it's time I'll really take initiative and start making more of my own mixtures.

I was so absent minded that I ordered Goldstone again - what was I thinking! I wanted to try Gemtone Topaz! The only color that made me go "hmmmm" was Satin Rouge, nice subtle warmish red tone, no sparkle and minimum sheen. I do not know what came over me - so many bronzes and beiges in this haul... I also have to add: the Paradise series micas contain cetyl dimethicone and I think this is also the reason why they're hydrophobic - do not mix with water.

CS Antique Gold is very dirty - it has lots of dark oxides in it and if used dry, there's a great chance the outcome will not look golden but just dirty dark. No love. Remings me of TKB's Verdigris Gold.

Sparkle Blue is exactly as name describes although the glitter  is not very prominent. When Metallic Pixie Purple is more of a blueish purple Orchid Shimmer falls more to the reddish spectrum but is not as red as TKB's Grape.

Hot Side Pink is baby pink with  blueish sheen.
Satin Bronze is a pleasant dark golden color, similar to Paradise Tropic Bronze.
Metallic Pearl Honey Tan is similar to Aruban Coral though the latter seems to have more coverage.
Australian Amber is less sparkly then the same pigment in TKB's selection, more satiny.
Paradise Sand is slightly more pinkish then Aruban Coral, lovely pinkish beige.
Camel is either Conservatorie's Gold Earth or TKB's Apricot, more thorough swatching will show later.
Dark red with a bit of old lady pink in it - that's Satin Rouge.
Paradise Rose Sky has plenty of metallic sheen. Must compare it to Conservatorie´s dark reds.
Ruby has less coverage and seems to be darkish sort of pinkish red. Lots of sheen.
Misterioso Bronze is another metallic beige, looks very much like Goldstone but the latter has more "gold" in it.
Paradise Breeze - copper red-orange. Like TKB's Copper Penny.

Here's an EOTD using Metallic Pearl Honey Tan and Australian Amber:

And a picture of stuff used:

Ma vist olen vilkudest väsimas - vedru on maha käinud... pole enam uusi ja huvitavaid kohanud. Ei jää muud üle kui ise suurema hoolega segama hakata.

CS pigment comparison: Reds and Pinks

I only took three pink/red pigments from CS: Duochrome Red Orange, Foliage Flutter and Chrome Carmine.

Finish of Chrome Carmine reminded me of the golden sheen TKB's Apricot and Conservatorie's Gold Earth both have but while these have a beige base Chrome Carmine is distinctively pink in comparison. (I think e.l.f's blush in Candid Coral also carries a similar golden sheen.)

Gold Earth (Conservatorie), Apricot (TKB)
Chrome Carmine (CS), Peach Fuzz (Conservatorie)

Am thinking maybe I should have compared this color to the pinks too, like Conservatorie's Shimmering Nude. I'll make a comparison pic during weekend. 

Coastal Scents' Foliage Flutter was picked out because I wished to compare it to TKB's Foliage - the only thing connecting them is a orangeish-toned base, top colors are different, TKB's Foliage being more flesh colored and Foliage Flutter having a strong pink sheen.

Bolero (Conservatorie), Scorpio the Eighth (TKB)
Foliage (TKB), Foliage Flutter (CS)

Coastal Scents' Duochrome Red-Orange is marvelous, the sheen might be too much when used as blush, it's closest to TKB's Garnet. I guess if one loves showy high sheen lips, this would be the perfect golden pink lipstick.

Top to bottom: Garnet (TKB), Duochrome Red-Orange (CS), Strawberry (TKB),
Gemini aka Gemma (TKB)

PS! And here's the pic comparing Chrome Carmine with Shimmering Nude, the latter being much more on the pink side, Chrome Carmine has a strong golden sheen in comparison. It was a bright sunshiny day and swatch failed miserably - overlighting, sry :S.

CS Goldstone comparison

Coastal Scents' Goldstone - a lovely muted tarnished gold is a marvelous neutral eyeshadow for both glam and toned down looks. It depends on the color you pick to wear underneath - with a dark base this one turns into a true glam dark golden smoky eye. It's texture is similar to TKB's Forged Gold but the latter is redder, warmer. It's almost the same as Conservatorie's Antique Gold but that one has silver sparkle added into it. I actually thought TKB's Verdigris Gold would be closer but it has a strong dark olive tone to it.

daylight, swatches dry over primer

Hea neutraalne tumedam pehme kuldne toon, peenike struktuur. Niiskel pealekandmisel intensiivne läige. Kuna mul juba sarnane olemas, jääb Goldstone tõenäoliselt kusagile sahtlipõhja seisma.

CS pigment comparison: Greens

TKB's Shamrock Green disappearing from the market is a blow - therefore it's nice to know that there indeed are some alternatives (I have several friends for whom Shamrock is their absolute favorite green). CS's Duochrome Iridicent Green Gold is a marvelous muted green with a strong golden sheen and makes a wonderful alternative. I think it's the gold it contains that makes all the difference - warm greens like this one do not make me look washed out and overly pink.

CS's Sage Blue and TKB's Breath of Spring are similar in their sheerness but not color, Breath of Spring is a tad more sheer and Sage Blue has a darker (muted greenish gray) base. Both of them are accent colors, used over others or perhaps for delicate blending. Sage Blue should not be rubbed, the darker base will come through and make the color muddy. :S 

Kristel rõõmustab - ma leidsin midagi, millega tema lemmikrohelist pigmenti (Shamrock) asendada :). Sage Blue aga on puhtalt tõepoolest rohkem läige kui värv - katvus on minimaalne. Tuleb base-seguga segada, ehk saab katvust juurde kuidagipidi. Mul läbipaistvad primerid ja ei viitsi ihutooni katvat meigialuskreemi vaid selle tühja pärast hankima hakata.

CS pigment comparison: Blues and Purples

Spent a weekend swatching - here are the results:

Left to right: Grape Parfait (TKB), Sagittaire (TKB), Blue-Red Chrome (CS), Pure Purple (TKB), Metallic Pixie Purple (CS), Lavender(Conservatorie), Bishops Violet (TKB), Grape (TKB)

Swatches are dry over Manhattan's eyeshadow primer.

New ones amongst the purples are Coastal Scents'  Blue-Red Chrome and Metallic Pixie Purple. Blue Red Chrome seems to be TKB's Ballad Blue but since do not have it, can't confirm. Description and swatches seem mighty alike though. Has a distinctive red sheen to it. Metallic Pixie Purple is just that -  purple.

It gets more interesting with the blues, I could have sworn the Duochrome Sparkle BY226Y is a dupe for Pisces Blue - alas no. The latter has darker blue base. The intensity of the base actually reminded me of Capricorn Sea.


Duochrome BG826C is pretty Close to Indian Blue but it's less "blue", less opaque. It seems a tad greener too - I'd say if you have one, do not bother with getting the other.  CS webpage suggests other wholesalers may sell the same color under the name of Coral Reef. M.K. commented on this post that it's not a dupe for TKB's Coral Reef but it could  be Conservatories's (Conservatorie has messed up the pic for their Coral Reef pigment - it's orange there).

Top row: Duochrome Sparkle BY226Y (CS) and Duochrome BG826C (CS)
Bottom row: Pisces Blue, Ocean Green, Capricorn Sea, Indian Blue,
Lucky Green (all TKB)

One thing I would like to know though - Why is it that these CS colors don't have names? They are so bloody difficult to remember this way...

Need kaks esimest, Metallic Pixie Purple ja Blue-Red Chrome on veidi õnnetud toonid: kumki pole mu jaoks eriti kantav. Esimene on suht igav tavaline lilla ning teine on veidi põnevam kuid siiski nagu sinikas.

Duochrome Sparkle sobiks mõnele diskotibile, efektne näki-meik, Duochrome BG meeldib neist neljast mulle endale kõige rohkem - kõige kantavam. Selle tooni muutumine kuldse, roheka ja sinaka vahel teeb ta kantavamaks kui seda oleks  puhas sinine.

Small Coastal Scents haul

Almost 3 years in MMU and no CS piggies - unheard of! This flaw has been now fixed - starting from last week I am a proud owner of some CS mica samples and a couple of duo-fibre eye brushes. CS micas are $1 a teaspoon baggie, there's no minimum order and shipping seems to be quite quick.

There are no decent swatches available on their homepage, swatches of the micas are quite difficult to find (their palettes on the other hand are reviewed a lot) and therefore I'm very grateful to MK who has  made lots of CS swatches and put them up in her blog Polish&Pigments for all of us to marvel.

Here are the piggies I got:

Duochrome Iridicent Green Gold - looks dirty, must compare to TKB's greens;
Duochrome Sparkle BY226J - reminds me of TKB's Ocean Green but the base looks somewhat darker;
Sage Blue - bluegreen shimmer;
Goldstone - olive gold, will compare to antique golds of other companies;
Duochrome BG826C - on the homepage it said this could be TKB's Coral Reef but I do not have that to check;
Blue-Red Chrome - I suspect this could be TKB's Ballad Blue which I do not have;
Metallic Pixie Purple - will compare to TKB's purples, reminds me of my least favorite purple, TKB's Pure Purple from Edda's set;
Duochrome Red Orange - lovely golden red color, seems awfully familiar;
Foliage Flutter - nothing like TKB's version, this one is much more pink toned;
Chrome Carmine - reminds me of TKB's Apricot and Conservatorie's Gold Earth.

Coastal Scents mica swatches, colors applied dry over Manhattan's primer
(with the exception of Sage blue which is applied wet)

I do not trust CS ingredient labels. Last night as I pressed some of the colors, some of them bled on me. And this does NOT happen, when product is plain mica. This means there must be some alum dyes in there that are not listed on the ingredients list. What do you think?

Lõpuks ometi on mu kollektsioonis ka veidi CS vilgusegusid ja paar pintslit. Valisin proovimiseks duokroomseid toone ja duo-fibre silmapintsleid. Nonde kohta tuleb veel eraldi postitus. Pakk jõudis kiirelt kohale, alla kahe nädala võttis aega - ning lisaks oli juurde pandud imepisike clam-shell tester miski sädeleva roosa puruga. Järgmisel nädalavahetusel võrdlen erinevate hulgimüüjate sarnaseid toone. Peale seda ei taha jälle oma kuu aega midagi swatchida.

Pigmendid on siin pildil kuivalt Manhattani silmameigi aluskreemile pintseldatud - tavaliselt teen swatchid märjalt, seekord ei viitsinud.  Sage Blue on pigem shimmer, katvus on väga nõrk - meenutab TKB Breath of Spring'i, mis on rohelisem ja veelgi läbipaistvam läige/sädelus. Selle pidin märjaks tegema, muidu ei jäänud pea üldse näha.


PS! To all devastated fans of the TKB's discontinued Shamrock green - CS's Duochrome Iridicent Green Gold is almost a dupe! It's more golden while Shamrock is greener but the extra green can be added :P

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

DIY MMU: Silk Naturals & The Conservatorie

DIY ehk siis eestikeelsena ja lahtiseletatult - sega ise endale meik.

Selle võimaluse pakuvad Silk Naturals, The Conservatorie ja veel mõni firma (Archetype - toodab valget puudrit, millega saab talvel suvesegu heledamaks muuta): Silk Naturalsil valge aluspuuder, millesse saad siis vastavalt oma jumele FeO pigmente segada (mitu erinevat värvisegu). Samuti sisaldavad Silk Naturalsi tooted siidipulbrit,mis võib allergilise reaktsiooni põhjustada. Sellest on Makeuptalk-foorumis päris palju kirjutatud.
NB! allergiat põhjustavad sagedamini loomsed (siid) või taimsed komponendid (allantoniin) kui et mineraalid (mica või ZnO) - see tuleks MMUd kasutades alati meeles pidada.

Mõtlen vaikselt, et kui no-buy läbi saab ja dollar jälle kümne ringis on (võibolla ehk ülejärgmisel palgapäeval), siis julgen ehk jälle ka The Conservatorie kodulehele kondama minna.
Hulgimüüjad, kes müüvad ka odavaid testreid - ülimõnusad hinnad, suured kogused ja kaunikesti suur valik. minimum order 15 USD ehk siis 10 testrit. Testrid olevat suured - vähemalt 2-3 kuud igapäevast kasutust sees. Kuna ise tellinud pole,siis ei saa kinnitada... Võimalik on osta tumedat pigmenti,mida saad ise endale valgele meigipurule sisse segada. Siin kodulehel surfates on abimeheks lbs to kg konverter, mille keegi armas inimene on progenud.

Customer service (foorumites selleks lühend CS) on neil suht mage - saatsin oma pildi 2 kuud tagasi kuid toonisoovitust pole siiamaani tulnud. Seega ei jäägi eriti muud üle kui igast mineraalpuudri toonivalikust heledamatest 1 välja valida ja ebasobivad pärast kellelegi ära sokutada. Miskipärast on toonikirjeldused Conservatorie kodulehel minu jaoks kohe eriti arusaamatud ja kuigi fotod seal suure resolutsiooniga oleks rumal pidada tõelisusele vastavaks tooni, mis paistab ekraanilt.
Koduleht uueneb neil pidevalt - uued toonid, uued tooted. Ja uudisena on neil ka (lahjendamata) värvipigmendid (multi-use minerals) tootevalikusse tulnud. Rahakott saab sellest jälle seedehäired.
Pintslid tunduvad neil fotodelt vaadates tsipa kehvavõitu - karvad on harali ja lahtised. Fotod seevastu on mõnusalt uhke resolutsiooniga, pisemgi defekt paistab kätte ära: ausus meeldib mulle. V.o. pole need pintslid lihtsalt fotogeenilised :D.

The Conservatorie on koht, kust saab osta kaoliini, siidipulbrit, pärlipulbrit, riisipuudrit jne - mida saab primerina nahale kanda (kaoliini isegi ei soovitaks puhtalt näkku kanda, parem vast võtta mõni seda sisaldav peitepulber vms segu appi - suur oht endale enne kodust väljumist klounimask teha - väga tugevalt valge kraam).

Need, kes retseptides vilunud, võivad ise endale meigi kokku segada seal müüdavatest baaskomponentidest. Mina nii kogenud pole, selleks kulub vast aastake-paar. Kahtlustan, kas Eestis üldse kedagi sellist on. Väga vähesed siin on MMUst üldse miskit kuulnud.

Siin on muidu üks hea link : näitab, mis aineid hulgimüük edasimüüjatele MMU kokkusegamiseks müüb. Ausalt öeldes ei olegi niiväga hirmutav kooslus. TiO2-di on kahte sorti, veega segatavat ja õliga segatavat. See seletab asjaolu, et miks mõni MMU foundi on peale kantav palja veega segatult ja teine tunnistab vaid niisutavaid kreeme.

Hilisem lisandus:

Coastal Scents on samuti paljukiidetud. Eriti nende odavad pintslid, mida Enkore youtube's rave'b, vt klippi siit. Uskumatult hirmus vaadata kuid seevastu informatiivne. :D
Kahtlustan, et CS pintslid sakivad täiega, Conservatoriel tunduvad samasugused müügis olevat ja need olid küll kehvad.

Hilisem lisandus:

TKB Trading on odavam kui Conservatorie, suuremad testrid. Samas on minimum order 19.50 USD ning shipping 12 USDi. Karm.