Carol at Mineral Concepts was nice enough to send me a preview of her Java Collection Eye Shadows! These babies are amazing!!!

If you haven't noticed already, fall trends this year are forecasting a bronze, brown, or nude eye paired with a deep lip shade. The entire Java Collection (Latte, Mocha, Coffeebean, Cappuccino, Chocolate, Java Gold, and Tiger Spice) is absolutely perfect for making those dramatic, yet neutral, looks fall into place.


I am posting some swatches of the collection. The shadows are all in loose mineral form, and were applied wet (foiled) with no primer for these photos. Also, I used flash to pick up the shimmer and detail in each shadow.



Mineral Concepts Eye Shadows feel very lightweight and blendable on. If you are wearing mineral powder foundation, you might as well be wearing mineral eye shadow as well! These gorgeous shades look like they stepped right out of a coffeehouse on to the runway! The pigmentation is awesome, and they last very well also. I usually prime my lids with Urban Decay Primer Potion before applying shadows, so I suggest you do the same to get the most life out of all your eyeshadows.

The Java collection from Mineral Concepts is your best bet for shimmering, sultry browns, golds, and bronze shades. "Mocha" is a perfect nude shade with the finest, most slight shimmer. I personally love "Latte", a deliciously cold, shimmering taupe, and "Chocolate", a decadent dark brownie-batter brown with hints of copper. Mmm... all this talk is making me hungry!

Check out Mineral Concepts NOW to get these shadows for yourself! At $4 each for a 3g size, these little sweeties are a steal. I promise, you'll love them!

Can't get enough of Make Up For Ever's HD line? Love Cargo Blu-Ray? Well, then I have some great news for you! Kryolan has just introduced it's very own High Definition Micro Foundation line!

That's right, Kyrolan has formulated new liquid, cream, and powder foundations to be flattering even in high-definition, such as photos or tv. I had the opportunity to try some samples, and I was pleased with the results. Check out the images below!


I am an avid mineral makeup wearer, so liquid foundation is not usually my cup of tea. Although Kryolan Mattifying Mirco Foundation was slightly fragranced, I did not experience any breakouts or problems on the areas I applied it. It felt very lightweight on, and seemed to provide excellent coverage. I did notice a slight settling in to fine lines when I tested this product on my hand, however it was very minimal. The color match looked like it would not blend in as seamlessly as it did. All in all, I was pleased with this liquid foundation.

The Kryolan Micro Foundation Cream I tried was a good medium to full coverage base. The cream foundation was also fragranced, and seemed to be oil based. I, of course, would not dream of trying this on my oily skin, but if you are looking for a nicely blendable moisturizing cream for full coverage, definitely check this out.

Lastly, but certainly not least, was the Kryolan Micro Silk Powder. This powder is meant to be used as a finishing touch to your makeup to allow it to set and remain beautiful throughout the day. This powder is awesome. It is super-finely milled so it does not look cakey or powdery at all once it is on. It has no fragrance and felt extremely light and airy on my skin. This product provides no coverage, but over your existing foundation it will make you look airbrushed and lovely. I highly recommend it!

For more information, check out Kryolan's website!

What do you think of Kryolan's new line? Do you think High Definition cosmetics are just a fad, or the next big thing? Let me know!

Hey all! Hope you like the new layout :)

So, today I have some swatches straight from my stash! These are my blushes. It's a small, but sweet, collection of just the basic colors.


Clockwise, from top:

• Benefit "Thrrrob!" Powder
• Sonia Kashuk "Beach Bum" Cheek Sheer
• Milani "Sweet Cheeks" Powder Mosaics
• Jane "Blushing Plum" Blushing Cheeks
• NYX "Pinky" Blush
• Milani "Luminous" Powder Blush
• Stila "Lillium" Convertible Color
• NYX "Peach" Blush

I think people sometimes underestimate the value of a blush to brighten up the face. I really love these shades and use most all of them, except the cream/gel ones because my they don't flatter my skin type so much.

My favorites are the Milani Luminous shade, Benefit Thrrrob (which didn't show up too well in the photo, but I love the scent), and NYX Peach.

I would like to add Benefit's PosieTint to my collection in the future.

What do you think? What are your favorite blushes from your stash? Any recommendations? Let me know!

Good news! Upon strolling through my local Bath and Body Works store yesterday, I discovered that select makeup was 50% off. I bought three lip glosses and one lip balm from the Vincent Longo collection (regularly about $22 each) for half price!


The shades I bought were:

• "Love Berry" Baby Balm: a twist-up lipstick tube of a nice, light and sheer berry shade that looks glossy and healthy on
  
  
• "Traviata Pink" Diamond Lip Gloss: a sparkling, glossy, pigmented pink that feels smooth, not gritty or sticky
  
  
• "Via Veneto" Diamond Lip Gloss: a fiery red gloss with a similar texture to the previous shade
  
  
• "Baci XXX" Perfect Gloss: a great everyday gloss, looks milky light pink in the tube but shows up sheer and natural, great soft feel

Like my color choices? I tried to get items that were a little different than my normal nude/pink family of gloss shades. I have worn "Traviata Pink" all day and loved it so far, its truly a beautiful and wearable color.

All of the Vincent Longo items were half price, not just the glosses, but these were just what I was drawn to! They did have some impressive lip stains as well, and some nice eye shadows. If you normally use Vincent Longo foundations or powders, now is your chance to stock up!

Head over to your local Bath and Body Works immediately to snag some of these high quality cosmetics! They are phasing out the Vincent Longo and Awake lines so they won't be in B&BW much longer.

Hey there gals! Hope you are all off to a great start this week.

I recently stopped by my local outlet center and took a gander and what they had in the Lancôme-Designer Fragrance & Cosmetic Outlet. I was super excited to see a bunch of Shu Uemura goodies, so I picked up some eye shadows (for the RIDICULOUSLY low price of $4 each) and a Shu Uemura Depsea Treatment Lip Balm for around $13.

Yay! Here are some photos so you can share in my joy :)

This is my first experience with Shu Uemura makeup, although I do cherish their coveted eyelash curler. I am pleased to report that the eyeshadows are EXCELLENT quality. They have awesome staying power even without a primer. I am in love with the bright yellow color (boringly named ME YELLOW 300). The shadows are super blend-able and feel great to the touch, very soft and almost creamy, although they are pressed powder. They are made in Japan, which is pretty cool.

The lip balm seems to be good quality as well, and I'm glad that it has SPF 15 so I can wear it out in the sun. The only thing I dislike about the lip balm is that the tube is solid white so you can't see how much you have left, and it is slightly hard to squeeze out. It has no real fragrance, which can be good, and there is a slight sweetness to the flavor. Also, there are minimal ingredients according to the package, which I like, and NO petroleum.

Next time I am in the area, I will definitely be heading back in hopes that these eyeshadows are still priced so low! I will be STOCKING UP. I might even venture into the Shu Uemura lipsticks. If you have one of these cosmetic outlets near you, I'd highly suggest checking them out. You never know what amazing bargains you can find!!!

Any Shu fans out there? Got any recommendations of Shu Uemura products for me to try out? Let me know!

I have recently jumped on the MAC pigment bandwagon, thanks to the lovely Mary at MadeBeautiful!

The MAC pigment samples I got were: Old Gold (my new favorite!), Your Ladyship, Cornflower, Aire-De-Blu, Kitschmas, Mutiny, and Fuschia.


I love, love, love, Old Gold! It's such an awesome color! As we all know, I'm not the hugest MAC fan but so far I am digging these pigments. Kitschmas is a little different in real life than I figured it was by looking at other people's samples... but its a pretty color nonetheless. All the blues are lovely and I can't wait to try out some looks with them!


MadeBeautiful's samples come in nicely visible clear 5 gram jars. They are supposed to be about 1/4 of a teaspoon but it looks like Mary is pretty generous with it! Her prices do vary depending on whether the pigment is limited edition or whatnot, but overall it is a good deal. Most samples are in the $2 to $3 range, which seems to be the going rate for authentic MAC samples. Also, she has a special deal where you can choose 10 pigments for $25! Pigment samples are definitely a great way to get more "bang for your buck" when it comes to MAC, and MadeBeautiful is here to fulfill all your desires.


The MadeBeautiful store has plenty of MAC pigment colors to choose from, and many of other cosmetic goodies on her site! They also have MAC Paint Pot samples, New-In-Box MAC items, Urban Decay, Lancome, and even a couple drugstore items. She accepts payments through PayPal and will even ship Internationally. Check MadeBeautiful out! You won't be disappointed :)

What do you think of my growing MAC stash? Are there any pigments or MAC products you've been dying to try?

Along with some nice Mineral Foundation, the fine folks over at Mineral Concepts were kind enough to let me sample some of their lip balms and multi-purpose blush products!

What I sampled:

• Face & Lip Blushes (Mystic Mauve, Torrey Girl, Bambino)
• Moisturizing Lip Balms (BooBoo, NeNe, Rose)

I really liked their "Mystic Mauve" blush, which was a pretty, shimmery mauve color. All the Face & Lip Blushes tend to stay put very well, which means that you have to apply quickly and precisely. This was my first experience with Mineral Blushes, and I must say that it was an interesting one. I am used to pressed powders so it takes a little more skill to work with the loose powder, but the effect is sheer and lovely. The colors all have a touch of shimmer as well.

The Moisturizing Lip Balms are excellent. They come in very natural, flattering shades. The "Rose" shade was definitely my favorite, as it produces somewhat of a 'Your Lips But Better' shade. Very pretty!

Just for fun, I layered "Mystic Mauve" with BooBoo Lip Balm to create a look that rivals any long-lasting shimmer lipstick out there. My results? A really pretty effect that you would never guess was created by a powder!

So from this whole mineral experience, I've learned that you can really utilize mineral makeup to its fullest by mixing and matching colors and creating looks and effects that are suitable to your skin type, tone, and qualities.

Not sure what your skin is looking for? Take advantage of the sample size offers that companies such as Mineral Concepts provide! These allow you to test out the products for a nominal fee. You can try different colors or types of minerals to see what is your best match. Who knows, you may find something you love!

Have you ever used a mineral blush or lip product? What were the results?

Like any of these Mineral Concepts shades? Ever blended or mixed your own minerals? Let me know!

I was recently given the opportunity to try out some products from the Mineral Concepts Mineral Makeup line!


I was running out of usual foundation so it was quite convenient that I was able to test out some mineral foundations from this company. Along with other sample goodies, the 'Sampler Kit' I was provided with included two shades of Mineral Foundation, one Velvet Finishing Powder and one Mineral Blush. I really liked the coverage (medium to full) and found that the shades "Sand" and "Almond" were very close to my own skin color, but not exact, of course. Luckily, with the Kit I was able to combine two of the shades to create the optimal color for my complexion. It seems like depending on how much sun my skin gets, most of their shades would work out well for me!

The two foundation shades I blended were "Porcelain" and "Tan" and the result turned out fabulously. I figure in the summer when I have more of a tan, the accurately-named "Tan" shade will likely be my go-to color. This product feels awesome on! I applied with my trusty Kabuki brush and was pleased with the instant results. The product felt creamy and soft, and blended almost as if I was applying a lightweight cream foundation or liquid. I did, however, have to be careful not to apply too much because the coverage can get a bit heavy if you cake it on! That being said, you really do not need an extra concealer with this product. Just apply a little extra Mineral Foundation over any trouble spots or redness with a concealer brush, and voila! Flawless.


Also included was a deliciously smoothing, featherweight Velvet Finishing Powder (I chose "Matte") that set my makeup, and controlled shine. I did use a primer beforehand as well that probably helped a bit as well. I only had to reapply the Finishing Powder once throughout the day and my makeup stayed superbly. Don't be frightened by the bright white shade of this powder, I promise you it blends out to a translucent veil! You can even see on the swatch image above how it makes your skin look airbrushed!

All in all, the Mineral Concepts Mineral Makeup face line is excellent for most skin types. I have combination skin and am acne-prone, and the oil-control was pretty decent with these products. I will have to continue using to see if it improves the condition of my face (experiencing a slight almost-that-time-of-the-month breakout currently), but so far, so good. These products are irritant free, so I'm not worried. Dry skin will love the creamy, smooth application! For the very oily, more Velvet Finishing Powder can be used as a pre-base primer. You can order your generous samples right on the site!

More Mineral Concepts coming soon! :)

What do you think? Any mineral makeup lovers out there? Have you tried Mineral Concepts?