Meow's lightest mineral foundations in Chausie, Bengal, Abyssinian, Ocicat and Manx

Welcome to the mineral makeup store celebrating all sorts of felines :). Meow Cosmetics is just that - and if only you could have seen the store some years ago! So bloody confusing - but the good thing was, most MMU lovers got to be quite well informed about all sorts of cat breeds. Not a bad thing in itself, broads the horizons. Homepage has been redone though so people with less patience can now also shop there. (But it was never as bad as Dreamworld...)

I made an order in October when they had their "20% off entire store + free international shipping" offer and managed to get this parcel without having to deal with customs (Meow's shipping etc is not cheap - when you get an offer like this, you better grab it). Their foundations have quite a good renomé. I have some samples in level 0 from earlier so I already new they made some very light tones indeed and therefore picked level 1 for myself - and guess what - too light  again :D. This happens so seldom that I am not much bothered about it - this store does cater to everyone's needs indeed - even Snow Whites are not forgotten. Packaging is also very, very nice looking :).

Foundations come in 3 different recipes and 13(!) different tone-groups. This makes choosing the right one complicated indeed. Most tones have quite accurate color descriptions but the sheer amount of them is overwhelming.

photo in warm light

Tones swatched here are:
Pampered Puss (medium coverage) - Inquisitive (0) Chausie (cool pink)
Pampered Puss (medium coverage) - Inquisitive (0) Bengal (cool beige)
Pampered Puss (medium coverage) - Sleek (1) Abyssinian (yellow beige)
Purrrfect Puss (light to medium coverage) - Sleek (1) Ocicat (olive/beige)
Flawless Feline (full coverage) - Sleek (1) Manx (yellow/peach).

photo in cool light

I tried to choose colors that would help me counteract redness and looked at as many swatches as google offered but I made my decision mainly based on the main foundation chart. So now I have 3 Munchkins (meaning 25 gr per volume jar) of which only Ocicat is usable, the others will be usable should I live some years underground. Ok, maybe I could wear Sleek Abyssinian in February... but that's a maybe. Basically I have now 2 jars of foundation looking for a new home. There aren't many people paler then me - will be a bit problematic. And of course the one color of the three that I do find wearable just happens to be the one with the lightest coverage. Bummer.

wearing sleek Ocicat

Meow like every self-respecting company also adds small samples to every order. This time it was their Pandora's box Collection and the tones were Mayhem (dark brown with copper sheen/very small sparkles) and Chaos (reddish gold). 

Am not too fond of the latter but am wearing Mayhem on these pics here.

And here's a pic of all the stuff used today:

The Conservatorie's eyeshadow primer
NYX jumbo eyeliner in Milk
The Conservatorie's matte dark brown pigment in Brown Coco in the crease
Meow's Mayhem all over lid
The Conservatorie's Shimmering Nude as blush (no coverage, more like pink sheen)
Meow's foundation in Purrfect Puss Sleek Ocicat
Jane Iredale's Just Kissed lip plumper in L.A. on the lips (a very nice color BUT unfortunately always becomes invisible on the photos)
Manhattan Cosmetics Ultimate Long&  Curl mascara

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 shimmer eyeshadow trio in Mocha Splash

Am using The Conservatorie's pic as well because mine does not look so good (one small edge remained intact). I specifically asked The Conservatorie not to send a flawless product because I do not need the packaging to be flawless in order to review the content. I quite liked the shade I got when all 3 were mixed together.

The Conservatorie has other surprises for us who have not visited for a while: now they also have pressed eyeshadows and I picked Mocha Splash for reviewing. The trio has one light color and two darker brown ones,  to me the two browns seem quite similar: one has a stronger silvery sheen and the other's a bit darker. It looks a bit different on Conservatorie's homepage.  

sry, lousy swatches - blame the light

Ingredients are skin friendly, product is pressed using coconut oil:

Mica, Zinc Stearate, Boron Nitride, Hydrated Silica, Caprylic Capric Triglycerides, Allantoin. May Contain ( /-): Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Ultramarines, Manganese Violet, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Carmine, Chromium Oxide Greens and Tin Oxide.

Colors are wearable and perfect for someone who likes sparkle and sheen but cannot leave the house all guns blazing: brown is a nice safe color. The middle one is a bit too pinkish yellow to be worn as a highlighter (better for someone with darker skin, I'd look weird) but it's very good when one's blending the crease color upwards. The staying power is excellent (keep in mind, this is a glittery product) and pigmentation leaves nothing to be wished for. The shadows are very soft and adhere well, one should be careful when dipping the brush into the pan - it's really very very soft.

 I believe the foundation used here is The Conservatorie's pressed mineral foundation in Porcelain.

Personally I'd recommend these but since the shimmer shadows seem a bit fragile, I'd also recommend to treat them with great care. Shimmery and glitter shadows are a pain to press - if anyone knows this it's me: put too much oil and you got oily gunk, put too little and the shadow will crumble at a fleajump.

I'd also like to recommend The Conservatorie's loose micas in the Mocha family - my personal favorite is Super Brilliant Mocha Mica. A sample for 1,35 $ you cannot go wrong. I have not had the time to go through my samples to see which micas the colors in these trios resemble the most but I'll add that information when I have a bit more time for dabbling. :)

If you have the cash and prefer your pigments pressed, get the pressed version - for more price-conscious people I'd warmly recommend the loose pigments. Trust me, they are nice. :)

The Conservatorie's pressed mineral foundations

I have been eyeing these for quite some time now - always wanted to swatch them and compare to the loose mineral powders The Conservatorie has in it's inventory.  But I'd never have the cash to buy them all at full price just for swatching. The problem with buying cosmetics online is the risk the color might not suite at all and at almost 10 USD a piece it would not be a cheap experiment. These five here were sent to me by The Conservatorie so I could swatch and play with them. They have quite a big range on their homepage, totaling 24 shades altogether. I carefully picked the 5 lightest, afraid they'd all be too dark for me as it has been the case with The Conservatorie's loose mineral powders. To my utter surprise all of them are wearable - Nude seems a bit dark but even that one looks ok on my summer skin. I am quite happy.

I have to compliment The Conservatorie on the ingredients list - not bad at all (as befitting a MMU wholesaler no synthetic dyes, fragrances, preservatives etc):

Mica, Zinc Stearate, Zinc Oxide, Squalane, Fractioned Coconut oil, Lauryl Lysine, Allantoin, DL-alpha -tocopherol acetate, Grapefruit (Citrus racemosa) Extract , Origanum vulgare leaf extract, thymus vulgaris (thyme) extract, cinnamomum zeylancum bark extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) flower extract, hydrastis canadensis (golden seal) root extract May Contain ( /-) Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ultramarines.

The amount of all the extracts here explain why the powder has a noticeable herbal smell when the package is first opened. By now it has faded but I quite liked the original scent. I would recommend this to most people but would advise persons with allergy prone or extremely sensitive skin to be careful - there are many ingredients here and should there be a reaction, it will be quite difficult to pinpoint the culprit. I think for MMU-novices with sensitive skin the loose version would be the safer bet.

The colors chosen were Porcelain (neutral, lightest of them all), Fairly Light (slightly darker, tad orangey), Fair (pinkish fair tone), Ivory (seems quite strong yellow) and Nude (darkest of the five, neutral). In the lower left corner is another testeé - The Conservatorie eye primer but that one deserves a separate post. 

I  asked The Conservatorie for product samples (just the pressed pans) because I do not need the cases - usually these powders come in quite solid looking black compacts.

Product is pressed in a standard 58mm pan and most of them seem to be tin (only Ivory was pressed into an aluminium pan) - which is wonderful news to all Z-palette owners out there. I think The Conservatorie would do well if they'd offer the pans as refills: many of us would prefer to buy the product cheaper (without the compact) and travel with one palette rather then several tiny containers. One StarsMakeupHaven large Z-palette can take 8 pressed powder pans - I imagine many a makeup artist's eyes would probably light up seeing this option.

Now to the product itself. Pressed mineral powders do not agree with me - I have very oily skin, personally I prefer the loose version because it handles the greasiness much better. When pressing mineral foundation a binder is needed - usually some kind of an oil - here it's squalane and fractioned coconut oil. Since the product contains oil and my face also produces a lot of oil it's no wonder my makeup will start to run by mid-day (it was the same with Everyday Minerals pressed foundations). But on the other hand it's godsend for people with dry skin, for whom the loose versions might be much too drying. Coverage is medium but can be upped with some primer.

With the exception of Nude (which does not want to rub off for some reason, I've actually scratched it to get the powder out of the pan) all the pressed powders are very creamy and one should use light hand when loading the brush.They are not completely matte nor are they shiny - they have a slight sheen but it's not exactly noticeable. They were a devil to swatch so I finally gave up and used them over primer:

Horizontal stripes above are the loose mineral foundations in Barely Beige, Barely Beige matte, Barely Golden and Barely Golden matte - the lightest loose mineral powders The Conservatorie offers. Barely Beige is a bit too pink for my liking but of the loose ones it's the only one I can get away with during winter. I'd very much like The Conservatorie to offer a loose mineral foundation in fair neutral olive tone as well (hint, hint). Porcelain seems actually pretty close to the desired shade but since it's pressed I'll have to wait a decade or two for my skin to stop producing so much oil.

Sain testimiseks The Conservatorie pressitud mineraalpuudreid - siin nende kohta ka arvustus. Sobivad kuivemapoolsele nahale ning lõpuks ometi on olemas ka heledaid toone! Hind on minu meelest ok, 10 USD pole paha ja lisaks leidub teisigi asju, mida ostukorvi panna, et tellimise miinimummaksumus kokku saada - nagu alati, oleks sealt tellides mõistlik koopereeruda ja pakk maksude vältimiseks nt hoopis Soome tellida.

Importance of Literacy / Miks on mõistlik toodete silte lugeda

About how to read product labels - and why should anyone read cosmetics labels at all? Especially if one does not have allergies or environmental issues? Well to put it short: ingredients listed in the beginning of the ingredients list matter the most, rest - especially after the "perfume" - are quite insignificant. Therefore one should take note, that if some "good" ingredient is listed at the bottom of the ingredient list, it's probably represented by marginal amount only. I'd also like to recommend this article here. 
Btw the product I have used as an example is not bad (smells great!) - moisturizes well but by no means is this a natural product. :) Although it's claimed to be ruby orange & mango butter shower sorbet it does not contain neither red orange or mango. Funny that :)

Kirjutaks veidi sellest, et miks on oluline toodete silte lugeda. Sain kingituseks selle ülimõnusalt lõhnava ning naha siidpehmeks jätva dušivõi, mida annab kenasti näidismaterjalina kasutada. Mõnus kasutada ja pole paha toode - nahk ei kuiva ega kihele AGA silma torkab see, et toode rõhub oma puuviljastele koostisosadele (vt pakendil toodud müügijuttu). Lõhnab nii hästi, et tuubil on isegi hoiatus toote mittesöödavuse kohta :).

Tegemist siis n-spa fruit ruby orange & mango butter shower sorbet, double moisture shower cream & body wash´iga. Vaatame lähemalt koostisaineid, silmas pidades, et parfüüm on tavaliselt üks vähemas kontsentratsioonis esinev koostisosa.

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Parfum, PEG-18 Glyceryl Oleate/Cocoate, Glycerin, Urea, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract (jõhvikas), Punica Granatum Fruit Extract (granaatõun), Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (green tea), Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Hexylene Glycol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Benzophenobe-1, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Magnesium Nitrate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Limonene, CI 17200, CI 19140 

Esimesed kuus on esile tõstetud - toode sisaldab kõige rohkem vett, seejärel pesuained (osad neist funkavad ka emulgaatorina), siis parfüümi. Traditsiooniliselt oleks parfüüm üks viimastest koostisainetest, säilitusainete kõrval aga siin on see suht nimekirja alguses. Säilitusainetest pole mitte ühtki parabeeni. Võime suhteliselt kindlalt oletada, et väljareklaamitud granaatõuna, rohelist teed ja jõhvikat on siin tegelikult vägagi vähe sees. Apelsinil ja mangol muide on täielik alibi :D.

Seega kui reklaamitakse mingit toodet ja rõhutakse mingile kindlale eriti imepäraste omadustega koostisosale, veenduge, kas toode seda üldse sisaldab ning millises kontsentratsioonis. EL nõuab, et koostisosad oleksid loetletud sisaldumise järjekorras, st et nimekirjas esimesel toorainel on võrreldes teistega tootes suurim osakaal. Kui see "siidiproteiin" vms ikka esineb nimekirjas viimaste hulgas, siis ei tasu selle koostisaine suurde mõjusse ka väga uskuda.

Soovitan pilgu ka korraks siia peale visata. Siin on paar päris head nõuannet:

1. Kui leiad toote, mis maksab palju ja mõjub suurepäraselt - loe koostisosi ja siis vaata samade koostisosadega odavamaid tooteid ka;
2. Kui mingi toode reklaamib end miski super-hüper-imekalli koostisosaga kuid see on kusagil nimekirja lõpus ning isegi parfüümist tagapool - jäta riiulisse, tõenäoline on, et see koostisaine on seal vaid reklaamitrikina ning toimeaine mõju tegelikkuses marginaalsest marginaalsem.

e.l.f Signature in silver

Before I put this in my cart I tried to find pics of what the product looks like - could not see any good ones. So here are pics of the e.l.f. Signature make-up bag, two compartments. Brand new and seems fine for a medium sized makeup case. 

Silver is not bright silver but has a more antique silver look to it, much more sophisticated. Zipper of the smaller compartment does not run well, gets stuck on the corners.

I dislake the messiness of a dump bag so the extra room for brushes and smaller things comes in handy. It would be better if the small compartment visible on the last photo would have a zipper too. Too small for my brushes this bag :). It found a good loving home at a friend's place.

Kott on keskmise suurusega, aus ja kena, mõnus tagasihoidlik värvitoon ka. Mulle veidi väike aga iseenesest oli neist väga meeldiv pintsitele omaette tasku teha. Pintslitasku vastas olev tasku võiks lukuga olla, tundub, et sealt võivad asjad välja libisema hakata. e.l.f'il on ka üks kaheosaline magnetiga kott aga seda igaks juhuks ei proovinud - magnetid ja rahakotis asuvad pangakaardid ei saa nimelt kuigi hästi läbi. Hea on, et enamus pangakaarte nüüd pigem kiipidega :).

Miscellaneous brush sets

The Makeup Brush Company

Let us start with the elite, pink set from The Makeup Brush Company. These are high quality natural hair brushes (except the foundation, concealer and lip brushes which are synthetic) and also quite expensive. These are the only high-end brushes I have. Blush brush (5th) is soft only when freshly washed - so I do not use it often. It's very fluffy and allows even the most pigmented blush to be applied without looking like a clown. Eyeliner brush (4th) has a very nice precise tip but I prefer e.l.f's studio angled liner for lining - easier. This one would be good for detailed work. 

The Makeup Brush Company: (top to bottom):  Large Concealer, 
Foundation, Retractable Lip-brush, Eye-Liner, Powder/Blusher,
Brow Comb/Lash Spoolie, Socket Shader,
Pencil Softener/Blender, Chisel/Shadow

Brushes I actually use every day are the last 3: I've never met a better shaped eyeshadow brush then the small tapered one, last on the pic. It grabs pigments so well and the size is just perfect! e.l.f.'s studio C-brush is almost three times it's width. Next to it lies "eye pencil softener/smudger" that I use for packing color on the lid. It's a tad narrower then e.l.f's studio C-brush. 3rd from the bottom is the "blender/socket shader" - it has long bristles and therefore I only use it if I want a very slight sweep of color on the brow-bone. Most of my blending is done with EDM's smudge brush.

Ecotools (ParisPresents/Looduskosmeetika)

Ecotools' set has fallen from grace, especially after the arrival of the e.l.f set. I still use the concealer brush for swatching pigments, the angled brush for eyebrows (when I actually remember to do my eyebrows) and the thick blush brush for blending out blush when applied too much. The only HG brush amongst these is the mineral series small blending brush, last one on the picture.

The reason I do not use Ecotools eyeshadow brush is that the bristles are a bit too stiff and they do not grab dry pigment too well. I rarely use my pigments foiled. Recently I've heard and read a lot of good about the bronzer brush  (looks like a kabuki on a stick) and the big powder brush. Kabuki from Ecotool's mineral series is much too small and flimsy.

The Conservatorie

This is the Synthetic series, Coastal Scents carries them too. They look nice, although I'd prefer black ferrules - metallic ones get scratched too easily. These brushes have excellent bristle-material - soft and grabs loose pigments well.

Synthetic oval smudger brush, synthetic angled blush brush,
synthetic oval shadow brush (2 of them, first one is a bit mangled up),
synthetic crease brush,synthetic oval taklon lip brush

The first one on the pic was a disppointment - it's ferrule scratches the lid. Size-wise it would have been perfect. I do not use this at all, it's utter crap.
Blush brush is good: soft, does not shed and is light and fluffy - unfortunately I have the e.l.f. stippler now so this one just sits there. I use it occasionally for contouring. 

Next two are rather good eyeshadow brushes of the same design - bristles are softer and thinner then Ecotools eyeshadow brushes' bristles and grab powdered pigment better. It's rather amazing, but the defective brush is actually better for patting the eyeshadows on. 

Crease brush reminds me of EDM's smudger but the latter one is more stiff, allowing more precise application. I use it to blend when I have put too much color in the crease - it tends to remove some of it while blending.

Everyday Minerals brushes are coming up next. Got plenty of brushes from there and I must say - quality of bristles is a lot better then Ecotool's brushes and the design superior to the Synthetic series.

Meigivaba päev ja MicaBella

(English summary is at the bottom)

Meigivaba päeva lõpetuseks seadsin sammud kaubamajja ja läksin MicaBellat vaatama. Asukoht on tõesti suurepärane - Viru Keskuse aatriumis. See tähendab, et päevasel ajal on väga hea loomulik valgustus ja pigmentide õige toon kohe näha. Minu juhendajaks sattus Kärt, kellele see oli tema jutu järgi ka esimene tööpäev. Proovisime foundisid ning tegime silmameiki.

MicaBella heledaim meigipõhi on minu jaoks hetkel tume, suveks sobilik. Tundub, et MicaBella valikus ei ole heledat, külma tooni meigipõhja. Puuder ise on struktuurilt sarnane EDMi original glo retseptuurile, siidine ja kerge. Katvuse saavutamiseks vaja mitut kihti. Hinda unustasin küsida, ju see 500-600 ringis on ning tops tundus olema 30-40 gr per volume (tavaliselt kiputakse kõige rohkem 20 gr per volume suurusi kasutama, EDM'il 25 gr per volume). Loomulik valgus hakkas sel hetkel juba kaduma ja ma ei saanud hästi aru, kas põhi on läikega või mitte, mulle tundus matt.

Silmavärvid meenutasid mulle straight mica'sid, matte ma nende seas ei märganud. Must oli vist matt. Nahale swatchituna tundus koostis sama kui mu TKB omadel, minu meelest vajavad kindlasti primerit. Ilusad erksad värvid, 10 gr per volume karbid ning ilma allahindluseta 250 kr tükk. Pruune oli ilus valik.

Pintslid tundusid ok, puudripintsel veidi kriipis aga lauvärvipintsel (väikse kaldega) oli väga pehme, seda kohe lausa soovitaks (jällegi, hinda ma ei küsinud). MicaBella pintslid müüvat väga hästi, Kärdi pintslipõll oli päeva lõpuks juba kaunis hõre :D. Kärdile unustasin öelda, et müümise mõttes oleks parim, kui tal oleks seal käepärast ka silmapliiats või siis peenike laineripintsel - kui lainerijoon/ripsmed värvimata siis ei pääse meik 100% mõjule. Võibolla tuleks töövahendite hulka panna ka ripsmekoolutaja.

Kärt oli väga tore ja kui teda võtta MicaBella konsultandikoolituse etalonina, on meil väga vedanud. Ma loodan, et ta vaatab kõvasti youtube'i tutoriale ning väänab käesolevast materjalist välja maksimumi, annet tundus olevat. Väga meeldiv ja üldsegi mitte pealetükkiv kohtlemine, eesti kultuuriruumi jaoks ideaalne.

Hinnad tundusid soolased, minusugusele rotile isegi väga - aga eks mulle olegi netishoppamine südamelähedasem. Eks laisem/vähem riskialdis klient peagi veidi juurde maksma: konsultant aitab võtteid tutvustada ja tooted on vabalt näppimiseks välja laotud.

Üks asi, mida tahaks Gloriale südamele panna - koolitusel tuleb müüjatele tutvustada ka teisi mineraalmeigibrände, sest on väga tobe, kui ma nt ütlen et "jah, mul on küll mineraalkosmeetikat: Everyday Mineralsi puudrid või TKB Tradingu silmapigmendid" ütleb müüja mulle, et sry aga need pole mineraalkosmeetika. Müüja üleolev suhtumine kliendi enda kogemustesse/teadmistesse põhjustabki paksu verd, seda mainitaksegi päris sageli ka nendes ameerikamaa foorumites.

Maailmas on palju muud mineraalmeiki kuid koolitusel vist jäetakse müüjatele mulje nagu oleks MicaBella üks vähestest. Enamus kliente on muidugi mineraalmeigi vallas täielikud noovitsid kuid sekka satub ka rahvast, kes asja väga hästi jagavad. Hea oleks, kui müüja oleks vähemalt sama hästi informeeritud kui tema potentsiaalne klient.


Kui klient kunagi peaks mainima oma jutu sees, et tal õrn/allergiline nahk, soovitaksin küll müügijutu sisse lisada lause, et "nagu kõigega, ei saa ka mineraalkosmeetikaga olla 100% kindel, et allergilist reaktsiooni ei teki - proovime täna, jätke ööseks nahale ja kui sobib, tulge palun järgmine kord uuesti ning ostke siis kaasa." Igal võimalikul juhul tuleks reklaamijutt jätta miinimumi peale, olla võimalikult aus ja lihtsalt toodet tutvustada. Toode on hea ja müüb ennast ise.

Peaks nädalavahetusel uuesti minema, mõned swatchid tegema. Kas keegi peale minu on veel märganud, et MicaBellal peaaegu et polegi swatche netis?

Today was the "Wear no makeup day" aka "Makeup-free day" in Estonia so it's only natural that at the end of the day I'll indulge myself somewhat. This little post is about me visiting the MicaBella counter today. Expensive as expected but Estonian salespeople are not pushy and very polite and all in all I had a lovely chat. Foundations are on the sheer side, to get coverage one has to build it up in layers. I'm too pale for MicaBella, their lightest would be wearable in July or so.

Eyeshadows remind me of straight micas, imho primer is a must. Most colors seem to be sparkly, foundation in artificial light seemed matte. Brushes looked ok and the slanted eyeshadow brush, I guess it was a blending brush, seemed excellent.

I think I should visit the kiost again during week-end and make some pics too - has anyone else also noticed that there are practically no swatches of MicaBella's stuff available online?

E.L.F. mineral haul arrived today!

Fell on Sunday when skiing - some twerp cut me off and I ran into a ramp. Next time, heed my words, I shall ram my skis up your arse, u bugger! Bystanders informed me later that the flight itself was rather impressive though the landing somewhat rough. I walk like a wood-legged pirate now, according to doc takes some months to heal.Twisted knee...

It's Christmas again! Although I paid for the gift myself it's still pleasant to receive them. Just why does E.L.F. need to put it in a box 3 sizes too big??

The eyeshadow primer needs some testing before can say anything. It's definitely more liquid then my old one from Manhattan and consistency is thin. I took care to photograph everything in a way that it's possible to see the ingredients list too.

The brown eyeshadow set is superb - warmly recommend, I did not try the pencil. Confident is a really adorable color and very wearable too. Wild reminds me of TKB Trading's Swiss Chocolate, with a wee bit of more gold sparkle. It's the mattest of them all. Elegant is a very good color for highlighting the inner corners - I would not put it on the browbone unless I worked in the circus. Brushes are not bad at all - soft and not shedding... yet.

The E.L.F. mineral eye shadows I got for myself are somewhat disappointing: Socialite is asphalt gray when applied dry. Applied wet it gets more brownish and more suitable for my complexion. I have no idea what went through my head when I ordered Royal - purples are not my colors at all. SInce it's more reddich then pluish purple, I ca probably use ti. Now Confident is a safe bet though.

The sifter holes are huge, instead of removing the sifter cover just poke couple of holes in them - it's more then enough. Jars are 10gr per volume ones with raised bottoms. Jars are not filled to the brim, there's lots of room inside. And lets be honest it's no reason to bitch about since it takes forever to use up one eyeshadow anyhow :D.

E.L.F. mineral eyeshadow swatches: upper photo taken in sunlight, lower in bright daylight.

First glance: I thought Ripe Rose had great promise alas it is very creamy and a lot more pigmented/covering then the previous lipsticks - it's too dark.... Cool Coral is a total miss :S - I thought it'd be orange but it's not - it's bright red. For a blond pale girl like myself best pick has to be Rosy Raisin.

The free gift - Candy Shop lipgloss in Melon Mayhem.

All pics are klickable and can be enlarged.

PS! I may have to revalue Royal (tad reddish sheen on the right) and Socialite (brownish sheen, on the left)... both seem to be exceptionally good for Smoky eye. At least in artificial light (just primer and eyeshadow, no mascaras or liners).

Üldiselt võib E.L.F.'i hauliga rahul olla kui huulepulgad välja arvata: Cool Coral pole piisavalt oranž ning Ripe Rose on liiga tumepunane minu jume jaoks. Pruunist silmameigikompletist saab väga ilusa kingi, Confident on haruldaselt hea värv. Elegant on talutav highlighterina ja Wild on vastupidiselt oma nimele tegelikult suht igav kakapruun. Kompletis olev hajutuspintsel erineb veidi kodulehel olevast, millel tundub nagu olevat teravam tipp.
1-dollarilised hajutuspintslid tunduvad esialgsel pealevaatamisel ok olema ning üksiklauvärvid polegi nii hullud. Loodetavasti sõbrantsile meeldib ta roheline Earthy ning mina saan hakata suitsusilma harjutama oma Royal'i ja Socialite'ga. Viimane on kuivalt ja päevavalguses nagu märg asfalt, eemaldab mu näost viimasegi värvikübeme ja tõmbab mu üleni plassiks. Niiskel pealekandmisel muutub alustoon külmaks tumepruuniks - see juba sobib..
Lauvärvi aluskreem on väga vedela koostisega ja mulle tundub küll vägagi õline - tuleb ettevaatlikult peale kanda, sest minul läks esimesel korral juba see kreem ise lauvakku kokku. Aplikaator annab korraga liiga palju välja. Järsku on seda üldse vaja enne raputada, et paremini seguneks? Eks ta odav asi ole, kui kehv siis kehv ja kui joppab siis joppab.
Nüüd jääb üle veel vaid Studio-seeria haul ka ära oodata :).

Proud owner of Ecotools brushes

My CP has arrived - thanks Laura!
Shipped out 24 February, arrived 3 March. Shipping was almost $9.
Ordered 3 sets, 2 sets with the lash combs/brow brushes and 1 MMU set.
Reviews will have to wait until Saturday.
Eyeshadow brushes seem excellent for MMU, I am a little skeptical about the powder brushes. And - anyone need a lash comb/brow brush?

It's Saturday now:
These brushes are as awesome as people say: feel nice to the touch, no shedding, incredibly soft. Eyeshadow brushes are a bit big for my small eyes but they handle mineral pigments very well. The large powder blush is excellent for very sheer blushes. Must be careful with applying very pigmented ones - small amounts. Brushes are beautifully tapered.
The larger set cost $11.99 and the MMU set was $10.99: + shipping etc makes approx 200 EEK for one set.

EDM collective haul has arrived

Ordered Feb 2, arrived Feb 16th. Now where the hell are the two sample kits I ordered a week before this package?

The testers ordered on January 28 arrived on February 27, testers ordered on January 26 arrived March 9.

Comparing all the EDM stuff I've got:

From top to bottom, all swatches done wet, no primer used:

My own mix of Conservatorie's Caramel Light
Fair Neutral semi-matte
Fair Neutral intensive
Ivory original glow
Ivory intensive
Sandy Fair matte
Sandy Fair intensive
(Cool) Fair semi-matte
Medium Summer intensive
Light Medium original glow
Linen semi-matte
Intensive Fair concealer
Multi-Intensive concealer
Aussie Perk Me Up concealer

And second one, in slightly different light:

The girl who got the 6 items on the far right (see the first photo) sent me her swatches too:
She is fair skinned like me but has darker hair. Says all the powders are a match since they are so light. She got:



Mint concealer
Multi-Tasking original glow foundation
Linen (intensive)
Olive Fair semi-matte
Olive Fair pressed powder
Finishing Dust
Walkee Talkee blush and
TKB's Zion Views eyeshadow.