periwinkle_sky’s blog

I had a little dilemma with LaurEss because after hearing all the raves about the Minimalist formula of the foundation, I really wanted to try it but I only know my shade in the Original. Lauren (the owner) and I have been e-mailing back and forth and she told me that if I have a match with Elemental, then I should stick to it because the Elemental shades are dead-on matches of their Minimalist counterpart. That was the problem, though: I have not nailed my shades in Elemental, although I know my Original formula shades (are all these making your head spin by now?). So I asked Lauren for the color/shade conversion chart that was posted up on her website a few months ago when people were still trying to convert their shades from the Original to the Elemental. She immediately sent me these charts and I was very grateful because I thought I had narrowed down my choices to two shades. Check them out: Shade Conversion Chart and Color Progression Chart. My choices for the Minimalist colors would be Soft Yellow or Pure Yellow. As I was cleaning my makeup stash, though, I was surprised to find a sample of Soft Yellow in the Elemental formula. I wore it for this look and I can say that my shade is most probably a mix of Soft Yellow and Pure Yellow in both the Elemental and the Minimalist, mainly because I feel that Soft Yellow is a tad too light, while Pure Yellow may be a bit dark.

Since I was wearing khaki that day, I decided to wear Valerie Beauty mineral shadow in Classy, a pretty khaki color that is a gorgeous neutral shadow as well.

Lastly, just want to share a cute little project hubby did for me. I asked him if he can do something so my damp brushes that I'd just washed can stand upside down while drying, and this is what he came up with:

(Click for FOTDs)

Here are a couple of looks featuring my Milani Runway Eyes Wet/Dry eyeshadows and Quad 5 of The She Space. I am a little disappointed with Rockin' Egyptian from that particular quad because I didn't think it was pigmented enough even though I applied it foiled. I should have used All That Buzz instead from She Space's Drama Queen collection because the one is pigmented with a capital P. I just mentally filed that observation away and will use All That Buzz next time (a vivid pure gold color). The other colors in that quad, namely Down and Dirty and One Dark Night, were pretty pigmented especially when foiled, and they pretty much met my standard for vivid, pigmented eyeshadows.

In my She Space look, I used Lumiere's Cashmere foundation in a mix of Medium Golden and Light-Medium Golden. I am more inclined to use Medium Golden straight when summer really unleashes its full force here in a few weeks. I love how Lumiere's Cashmere gives off a really soft glow on the face, very much like MAC's mineralized loose foundation but in a purer mineral formula.

(Click for the rest of the entry)

I was able to take a peek of Naughty Nauticals when it was launched yesterday, and I would have loved some of the colors if I didn't have them already. Unfortunately, nothing really unique (i.e. anything that doesn't look remotely similar to anything in my stash) caught my eye, except for Illegal Cargo eyeshadow. I even think this is kinda similar to my Flirty Number LE eyeshadow but since I love Illegal Cargo nonetheless. The blues in the colors are awesome as well. I also liked Pandamonium but I already have that from the Pandamonium quad of the Balloonacy collection. Shore Leave is definitely pretty too, but a little too garish on darker skintone. I don't know if it is because of the color or texture, but a light handed application would make it a very pretty color. Submarine and Meet the Fleet would make a sultry smokey blue-eyed look.

See how pretty Illegal Cargo is?

I also like the fact that MAC came up with lustreglasses instead of lipglass in this collection. I like lustreglasses because they are a little bit thinner in consistency compared to the lipglass and are not as sticky, and the shine/gloss is outrageous. I was drawn to Bateaux and Hey Sailor the most because the suit my complexion better. Bateaux is described as neutral brown peach with white frost, while Hey Sailor is described as blue plum pink with white pearl flecks. Both sound and look ultra-yummy!

(Click for more swatches and FOTD using MAC mineral foundation)

During The She Space's last sale, I ordered several full-size pigments and a couple of quads which I was really excited to get. Heather just mailed them to me this week because she never received a notification of my order and just found out about it after checking her Paypal account. Good thing she shipped my package via Priority Mail (free upgrade) because I just received them last night. They are beautiful! I love the intensity of the pigments and I actually am glad about my lone custom pigment purchase (Round the Town which I chose Gold Twinkle to be added). It makes for a pretty wash on the lid, and I can't wait to play with these! All pigments were swatched with a damp brush:

Doesn't this eeriely remind you of the MAC Smoking Eyes quad from the Smoke Signals collection? Yummy!

Pampered Feet

Many people from California, especially in the L.A. area are probably familiar with the $15-an-hour foot reflexology craze going on. For 15 bucks an hour, Chinese-speaking attendants will massage, stroke, knead and apply pressure on every nook and cranny of your toes and feet and other parts of your body using the ancient Chinese technique to de-stress, detoxify and flush out impurities from your system. I tried one of the better foot reflexology salons in Southern California when I went there several weeks ago, and it left me in Cloud 9 and craving for more. They bring out this bamboo bucket filled with very hot water with herbs mixed in it for you to immerse your feet in. They let you soak your feet for a good 15 minutes then they start a massage on your head, neck, shoulders, back, arms, hands for 20 minutes, then they concentrate on your feet and legs for about 40 minutes. You get out of the salon really sore but totally de-stressed!

I left California with a heavy heart as I thought I'd never find that kind of foot reflexology using asian techniques here in the valley. I have been looking high and low for something like that in my area (and with the same price as well), and although I didn't find service as cheap as that, I did find a foot reflexology spa that is as good, and I'd say even better, than the one I tried in California.

First, for those of you who are new to this kind of massage, what is Reflexology? Wikipedia describes it as "the practice of massaging, squeezing, or pushing on parts of the feet, or sometimes the hands and ears, with the goal of encouraging a beneficial effect on other parts of the body, or to improve general health. Reflexologists posit that the body contains an energy field, invisible life force, or Qi, the blockage of which can prevent healing. Other reflexologists claim to be able to relieve stress and pain in other parts of the body through the manipulation of the feet. Other proposed effects of reflexology include the release of endorphins (natural pain killers found in the body), the promotion of lymphatic flow in the body or the dissolving of uric acid crystals." They say that every part of your hands and feet corresponds to a certain area or organ of the body. Reflexology is a complex system that identifies and addresses the mass of 7,000 nerve endings that are contained in the foot and hands. Reflexology is a completely natural therapy that affords relief without the use of drugs.

(Click for more She Space swatches and my foot reflexology experience)

Here's a purple look I used with my DreamWorld mineral foundation in mostly Theia (90% Theia and just 10% Tethys). It does look dark, though. I guess more Tethys in the mix next time! I also used my favorite mineral eyeshadows from Valerie Beauty, and this time I chose Periwinkle Sky and $400 Shoes. I just love the combination of these two lilac colors. I added my favorite purple pigment, MAC Grape, as a crease color. I'm sleepy so I guess it's time to shut up. I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Sorry for the uneven brows, they will be waxed pretty soon!

(Continued)

I have a 10-drawer hardwood dresser where I keep my makeup stash as well as some of my favorite personal items like back-up body creams, false lashes, perfumes and what-not. I keep my lipsticks and glosses in transparent drinking glasses in one of the drawers (making it look as similar as possible to the glass beakers MAC uses to store its tester lip stuff). As I trudge along my morning makeup routine, however, I notice that the transparent glasses are getting harder and harder to use each day. I have to go through several glasses just to find the lipstick/lipgloss that I want. This weekend, however, I was shopping at Target with the whole family when I came across this at the dollar bin:

It's a tin pail that is as big as the pails used by toddlers for their sandbox activities. Underneath it, you can see my craft boxes holding my full-size mineral eyeshadows (that is an altogether different story, though. More of those in another entry). I figured since this has a bigger circumference/diameter, I can hold more lipsticks/glosses and eliminate the hassle of scrounging for lipsticks in different containers.

Hmm, this would work, I think. This holds part of my MAC lipglass collection. C-thru is sticking out of the pail because it just wouldn't fit anymore - but I wanted C-thru in this group, dammit! Yes, all are still fresh, wearable and still have the sweet vanilla scent; I chuck out rancid lipglass regularly.

(Click for the rest of my lip stuff in pails)

I have amassed quite a bit of FOTDs lately as I have been either too lazy or too tired to post them. As a result, I think (I hope not) I have forgotten some of the products I used for these. I remember vividly though the foundations I used for these looks: Joppa, DreamWorld, and Meow (with a layer of Oceanmist underneath). I love these brands as they control my oilies and yet do not make my skin super dry. I am always amazed by the ultra-smooth finish these foundations give.

For this first look, I used my limited edition and rare MAC eyeshadow in Sunplosion for the first time. Yes, the first time. I'd wanted to really pack it on so that the beautiful vividness of the coppery orange could be seen, but I didn't have the time. Also, I didn't want to wear a very bright eye look for work, so this would have to do. I did commit a cosmetic mortal sin, though - I totally forgot to put on (the horror!) - mascara! I was such in a hurry that it completely slipped my mind. I know, eye makeup without mascara looks funky to say the least - but hey, nobody's perfect!

(Click for complete FOTDs, EOTDs and list of products used)

I've been testing out my spring/summer shades for two brands: DreamWorld and T123 (Adorned With Grace). The latter is still in the testing stages and will be open to the public in a few months or so. DreamWorld is a fledgling mineral makeup company that's been earning rave reviews based on the quality of its products and Ellie's (the owner's) amazing CS.

I've found my fall-winter shade in DreamWorld using a mix of Theia and Tethys. It's been working great until I realized that I would be getting a wee bit darker soon and would therefore need a summer formula/shade to use.

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Theia-Tethys mix

In THIS entry, I mentioned how Ellie was kind enough to send darker yellow-toned foundation samples for me to try and see which one would match my spring/summer skintone. I tried a 50-50 mix of Amenti and Theia which was still a wee bit dark, so I added Ashnan into the mix. Ashan has lighter yellow undertones and it made the look a little lighter but still a tad dark. However, I plan to save it for the onslaught of the summer heat here when I'd be considerably darker than I am now.

(Click for the rest)