e.l.f. NYNY challenge no 3 - mineral makeup

Well - since am using MMU anyway - not much of a challenge for me. :) Anyone interested in reading more about the e.l.f.'s New Year New You challenges can look them up here. e.l.f. UK is building up a rather nice blog and they are working on swatches as well - very, very nice of them indeed :).

stuff used

The palette here is e.l.f. 32 piece eyeshadow palette in cool, brown tones are very nice and usable. Personal blend foundation kit offers 4 different tones, none are a perfect match for me: used Porcelain all over face and Beige for contouring under the cheekbones. Lips are simply Charming - from the Essential line.

For the eyes I went for the Brody Dalle messy brown smoky eye look - insanely great for blue eyes. Just rub the brown eyeshadow pencil in Coffee all over and around the eye, blend it out with your fingers and apply matte brown eyeshadow all over it - can't be any easier. I finally got one of those brow gel-thingies for myself as well - works nicely but I constantly forget to use it.

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. 

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.

The Conservatorie pressed mineral foundations in action

Before (this is how my skin looks without makeup):

After:

Fairly Light

After:

Fair

After:

Ivory

After:

Porcelain

Nude - cant remember which pics are of Nude (the darkest one that has a difficult consistence - too well pressed), I'll do them later. But I remember that Nude was the one with the best staying power. I think it's hard structure (less oil) helps it to stay put on my face. But it will definitely be too dark for winter because even now it has a pretty strong contrast with my face.
And here's Nude:

skin's gone quite bad recently...

Üldiselt vihkan ma tervet nägu näitavate piltide  postitamist aga eesmärk pühendab abinõu - kellelgil võib neid nahaswatche endale puudrit valides vägagi vaja minna. Rohkem on need pildid siiski mu enda jaoks.  Hetkel on Porcelain liiga hele - Fairly Light ja Nude meeldivad mulle enim - samas on talvel Porcelain just see, mida vaja - kaelaga pole erilist toonivahet juba praegu näha. Fair on kindlalt liiga roosa ning Ivory tundub kollasemat sorti olevat.

Terrible lazyness...

I have made some EOTD's and FOTD's but never gotten around to post them. By the time I actually had the time to sit down and blog I had already forgotten what it was I used to do the look with. Recently I have come out with a brilliant solution :D - it's so easy, all I need to do is take a pic of the stuff used! This way  anyone interested can just biggify the pic and see the details for themselves.

So last Wednesday I looked a bit red in the face (e.l.f.'s mineral foundation in Fair does that to a pale person):

still have "long" hair on this pic

And the stuff used to look like this was all this:

I think I did a lot better job on Friday, of course this time I used EDM's Intensive Fair instead (Fairly Light Neutral was for contouring, e.l.f. Studio foundation brush is very good for the purpose).:

TKB's Apple Blossom as blush - it only has a pink sheen, no particular coverage

Conservatorie's Brown Coco in the crease and TKB's Dusty Rose al over lid,
Satin White as lower liner blended downwards with Pearl Sunlight

Even though I say it myself - my skin looks friggin' amazing!
Perhaps now I've grown out of puberty?

And yes, I have a new haircut - a very short pixie.Why? Because my hairdresser returns from holidays in September - I need to look decent all summer long - bangs this short will start to annoy me in August at the soonest :). I look like a little boy when without makeup and dressed down. :D

FOTD: lets see if silica microspheres make a difference...

Still 30 outside, everyone sweats like a pig, no makeup holds - smart people wear their tinted moisturizers and sunscreens and I'm still trying to get the makeup to last at least until I get from home to work (15 minutes walking). I have to go read the Indonesian/Filipino girls blogs, I cant imagine how they do it... must be some very potent primer they use. I don't use any, just the jojoba-oil to moisturize after the morning shower - I guess the primer really makes a difference.

This time I applied EDM's semi-matte Olive Fair wet, by dabbing it over with a moist (E.L.F. Studio powder) brush - effect was instant, face became very shiny. Not the result I was looking for but nevertheless, worth a try. Then the contouring (EDM's Fairly Light Neutral o-glo), DIY blush (see last post) and on top the silica microspheres (TKB Trading sells it).
After arriving to work let me say - it looks no different from yesterday. Except that the face stings a little... Sweat conquers all.
On the eyes I used the E.L.F. eye primer & liner sealer, dabbing it over with some foundation. Colors used are: TKB Trading's Echo in inner corners, The Conservatorie's Gold Earth on the lid, TKB Trading's Foliage in the crease and outer corner. E.L.F.'s " featherproof" (actually says so on the pencil) eyepencil to fill out the eyebrows.

I'm doing lots of neutral eye-do's recently, must be the Make-up Store magazine... they had some very nice 50s looks in their last issue (see issue No. 13).

EOTD Gray: Burlesque Revival

Archetype's Burlesque Revival all over lid, dry
Archetype's Erotic Underground as liner, wet
EDM's Pearl Sunlight under the eyes
EDM's Buff-Ivory (intensive) as base
Simply Naturals' Primrose as blush (pink undertone, lots of gold sparkle)

Burlesque Revival is dove gray with pink sheen.
Unfortunately the pink sheen is not visible on the photos.

The gleam under the eyes is magnified by the camera - the Pearl Sunlight effect.

Neck is the same color as the face

The blush is almost invisible.
Primrose is light pink with lots of gold sparkle.

Should start using the silver-purple conditioner - the orangeness of my hair is annoying me.

My tiny Archetype haul is finally here

Took it long enough - almost 4 months.

The foundation samples I ordered for my friends (5 samples, 15 USD incl shipping) and my own order (2 full foundies, 2 small pigments and some samples totalling 31,75 USD incl shipping) arrived at the same time in different envelopes. They were shipped out on the same day too, January 27.

The foundation samples are in darker tones then the foundations I wear myself. It will be interesting to swatch them.

As for me - I've got full size foundations in Striptease formula Level 1 Yellow Beige for day wear and Level 1 Pink Beige for evening wear (the first tones down the redness of my face during the day and the latter supposedly helps to give a more radiant look to me in the artificial light - the theory is yet to be tested). I am a little disappointed that the foundies are only 20gr jars - they will not last long.

Also ordered some small eye shadows: Burlesque Revival (on the homepage described as:

"Looks dove grey in the pot, and in the picture, but when applied it reveals a spectacular pinkish iridescence and a moderate silver sparkle. Applies fairly opaque."

and Erotic Underground (on the homepage described as:

"Flat out gorgeous color- this one has a velvety grey satiny silverypink look straight on, but tip it to the side and see it change to a blackened green, and has a tiny bit of blue sparkles. Looks very multidimensional when applied, like several shades rolled into one.";

I have begun not to like the last one - too dark for me) and some more multi-use pigment samples - they are so affordable, I could not resist: Madame Terpsichore, Dirty Blonde, Epiphany, Silk&Cyanide and Angel Dust have been now added to my collection.

The foundies I am going to swatch later on are:
Yellow Beige Lev 1
Yellow Beige Lev 2
Yellow Beige Lev 3
Pink Beige Lev 1
Neutral Lev 2
Neutral Lev 3
... all in Striptease formula. According to the Archetype homepage the Striptease formula consists of:

"Striptease Contains: Titanium Dioxide (77891), Zinc Oxide, Mica (77019), Boron Nitride, Silicon Dioxide, Polymethylhydrogen Siloxane, Iron Oxides (77499, 77491)."

They also carry a very minimalist formula called In the Buff for those who wish to entirely avoid any man-made substances (that one is completely matte, Striptease has an in-built sheen, which I absolutely adore).


The samples in this haul:

Angel Dust
Apocalypse Meow
Autumn Leaves
Child of Hounds
Dirty Blonde
Dungeon
Epiphany
Fool in the Rain
Lisa's Busted Camaro
Madame Terpsichore
Silk&Cyanide
Spun Sugar
Starfall
The Oak King
Xibalba

The haul:

Full sized foundies (20gr) and mini eye shadows (5gr)

Eyeshadow and blush samples:

Now the foundation swatches:

(dry application, no primer) just in case - another photo too:Swatches of the samples
(dry application, no primer)
All the Archetype browns I have:
(dry application, no primer)
All the Archetype pinks:
(dry application, the upper ones are applied on Manhattan Cosmetics eye shadow base but there seems to be no difference - they are so shiny the camera is unable capture the colors)
EOTD in browns:


Absolutely love this foundation...
no primers, no nothing - looks absolutely flawless on it's own

How to find your foundation online? & How to choose foundation color?

The best place - beauty forums (Everyday Minerals forum, Makeuptalk Mineral Makeup forum). Just post a picture (preferably taken in daylight, with slight overcast and not in direct sunlight) of yourself and ask for advice. People are kind.

Because pictures are not always trustworthy and every computer screen is different from the other - to be quite sure just go to your nearest MAC counter and ask the consultant to match your skin tone. The MAC skin color codes are often useful when looking for the right foundation because it's such a big and well known international makeup company with substantially large assortment of colors. Some ppl have even gathered comparative information in excel datasheets and are kind enough share them with all (this MAC skin tone is this and that in EDM, Meow etc).

The smart thing to do is to order samples in colors that are suggested to you or if you trust the descriptions, you think that will match your skin tone.

Lighting is very important when choosing one's foundation. The sensible approach would be testing the foundation in daylight first. The stuff the salesgirl puts on you in store - boy have I been disappointed when I got home! Artificial lighting tunes down the orange color and as you arrive home with your new foundi - you discover you look like an orange.
One should always test the foundation in daylight before buying it. But even this may be difficult. This is a picture taken this afternoon: one near a window facing south and the other facing north. The one taken near the northern window is considerably more bluish...

Differences in lighting play hell with the swatches I make... pictures taken during summer and pictures taken now - there's a world of difference.

It's important to choose the foundation to match your neck, not the face; test it on your neck or decolleté, not on your cheek or forehead. Even the jawline is not very trustworthy imho, because of the shadow. You have to use a smaller mirror in order to see properly - and mirrors reflect light.

Here's an "in your face!" to all of those obnoxious "know-it-all" ppl in Estonian forums, that think no one can possibly be whiter then MAC's fairest:


MAC Studio Fix Fluid in NC15 and NW15 (always thought that NW means neutral warm or smth but it's actually the "cool" color group - how can it possibly be considered a cool tone - it's friggin' orange!)

So shut up about the MAC's fairest!
It's either yellow or orange and therefore totally unsuitable for us pale gurls.

The salesladies at The Body Shop were also very nice and provided me with samples of their lightest foundations: Moisture Foundation SPF15 in 02 and 03. Tried them on my neck and the result fully matched my expectations - too orange. The coverage is somewhat lesser then the one of MAC but this was to be expected - it's basically a moisturizer. I gave the swatches 10 minutes before taking these pictures:

The upper picture gives a good idea how horrible I look without foundation. Lots of hormonal blemishes and impurities.

And on the decolleté:

The funny thing is I went like aargh - my perfect match! when I saw the swatch of No 03 on my skin - it was like sooo perfect in the store. And as I got home and swatched in the daylight - all the magic was suddenly gone. I think the No 3 would be quite passable during the summer though.

Kui kurdad kusagil ilufoorumis, et emamaal ei müüda piisavalt heledaid toone, hüppab alati põõsast välja keegi, kes teatab, et loomulikult on: mine vaata vaid MACi letti. AGA mida pole seda pole. NW15 on oranž ja NC15 on kollane.

Kui aega leian, siis kontrollin ka väidet, et Max Factor Lasting Peformance 100 olevat ülivalgele nahale sobiv. Kui õieti mäletan siis see oli suhteliselt kollane...