periwinkle_sky’s blog

Aromaleigh and My Mineral Blush Collection: I Want Candy

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:17:44 -0700

I got my Aromaleigh loot (and several more coming), and whenever I look at them, they remind me of candy. I love the colors, the textures, the vibrancy and the sheer ease in application of these pigments. I also included some pigment swatches.

My mountain of Aromaleigh pigment samples

Full sizes under natural light without flash

With flash

Some swatches applied over MAC Soft Ochre paint pot

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Bright Pinks and Reds - A Girls' Night Out

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:11:15 -0700

Here is a look using pinks and reds by Aromaleigh. I used its Gothic Lolita and Elemental Lustre eyeshadow pigments. It was for a girls' night out - we had dinner at one of the finer restaurants in the city, and all fourteen of us girls saw Sex and The City the movie - some for the first time, and some for the nth. It was a fun night! The pigments didn't budge the whole night as well - I was out for seven hours and when I came home, the pinks were still as bright as they were when I first applied them. Here's a step-by-step illustration.

Apply MAC Beige-ing shadestick on lid, lower lashline and smoothed on brows, blend with finger, . Apply MAC Girl Friendly paint pot on inner lid, MAC Artifact paint pot on outer lid. Foil Aromaleigh Gothic Lolita eyeshadow in Little Craving on inner to 2/3 of the lid out.

Foil Aromaleigh Gothic Lolita shadow in Strawberry Despair on middle lid, blending with Little Craving, then apply Aromaleigh Elemental Lustre in Torment wet on outer lid.

another shot under different lighting

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More Aromaleigh Looks and DreamWorld Lippies

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:27:23 -0700

Here are some more looks using Aromaleigh's Elemental Lustre and Gothic Lolita collections. As I continue to try my samples, I noticed that some Elemental Lustres are not as shiny or foil-like as others, and I've worn my favorites in this look. I love how the colors pop even when only a tiny bit of pigment is used. I have already gone ahead and bought some full sizes of the Elemental Lustres as they are on sale today till next week. I also used the beautiful Satin Laces from the Gothic Lolita collection. I really loved the combination of colors in this look. I am getting a full size of Satin Laces because I've never come across a color like this, especially in real life, it is just so unique.

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Milani Runway Eyes and She Space Pigments

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:21:29 -0700

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.

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Neutrals, Oranges, and Greens

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:03:37 -0700

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)

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DreamWorld Minerals and Peppermint Patties

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 23:08:35 -0700

I just received some samples of new darker yellow-toned foundations that DreamWorld owner Ellie had just concocted for her avid fans (me included). She was so nice to offer them to me for free, and her generous samples are just SO beautiful. I do have my own custom mix of DreamWorld foundation in Theia and Tethys, but sunny days are here again and I am bound to get darker as the days go by. In fact, I feel that I am already darker and my previous mix of Theia and Tethys no longer cuts it. She sent me original Amenti, her new versions of Amenti (Amenti IV and Amenti V), plus a new version of Theia (Theia IV) and Hebe. Today I used my original Theia foundation mixed with original Amenti, and I thought it was a bit dark in person (I may have to change the recipe a bit, but more or less using the same shades). However, miracle of miracles, it still looks so luminous in pictures - not white, mind you, but just luminous and as the day wore on, it looked more and more natural on my face. I just love Ellie's foundations, they are just right up there, creme de la creme, I should say. I can't wait to try my other DreamWorld minerals, everything is just so gorgeous and softly similar to each other in shade that I think I can wear any of them. That's what I love about DreamWorld foundation, the shades are so forgiving and you look great either way.

I also wanted to have an iridescent blue/green eye look so I wore my favorite Lumiere eyeshadow on the lid, Peppermint Patti (a gorgeous iridescent green/blue/grey that changes colors at the slightest movement), coupled with Valerie Beauty's Papillon (a beautiful light teal shade) on the inner to mid-lid. I used a little of Valerie Beauty's Ancient and Bootcut eyeshadows on the crease and outer V. I applied MAC eyeshadows in Ricepaper and Nylon on the browbone to highlight. Of course, I prepped my eyes by using MAC Beige-ing shadestick as base. I also used Indelible gel liner in Black Out to line and Rimmel and MAC mascaras.

I used one of my favorite mineral blushes, Lumiere Cherry Blossom (I love all of Lumiere's silk and veena blushes, as in there are no duds; every one of them is beautiful IMO).

(Click for FOTDs)

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Milani Runway Eyes Wet & Dry Shadows

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:54:18 -0700

Milani is my favorite drugstore makeup and I will always be amazed at the beauty and quality of its products. This entry documents how much I admire Milani's eyeshadows. I have been eyeing these new Runway Eyes Wet & Dry shadows for months now, but they are always, always out-of-stock in my neighborhood CVS drugstores. I bought two of those a couple of months back, but I really wanted to get several of the awesome shades. This afternoon, I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon a CVS store with decently-stocked Milani shelves, so I quickly snagged some of the beautiful colors. For $5.99 (I think) a pop, these are a steal, especially if you realize just how gorgeously pigmented these suckers are:

(Click for swatches and Lumiere FOTD)

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Lumiere Cashmere Foundation: A Pleasant Surprise

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:01:28 -0700

I've always been vocal here on my blog about how I love Lumiere's eyeshadows, Lumi Lips lipglosses, blushes and blushing bronzers. I believe that this company truly has outstanding products and high quality pigments that would make every mineral makeup enthusiast happy and pretty. However, it was a sad day almost two years ago when I discovered that my skin rejected its mineral foundation in the Veena Velvet formula. I had really bad breakouts and I think it was because of the avena sativa (oat) ingredient. Since then, I have stayed away from Lumiere's foundations, although I kept going back for everything else. The silk blushes are to-die-for, their eyeshadows have outstanding pigment and do not need to be foiled to achieve great color pay-off, and the Lumi Lips lipglosses have beautiful shades that would suit any skintone. I thought I would stay away from Lumiere foundations forever. Until now.

I kept reading rave reviews about their Luminesse and Cashmere foundations, especially this latter formulation. I read the ingredients of Cashmere and I was elated when I didn't see avena sativa on the list. It says: silk powder, serecite (colorless mica), titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, boron nitride, iron oxides. I decided to give it a try and tried to remember my shades in Lumiere, and blindly ordered three 20g jars of shades that I thought would suit my winter and summer skintone, including an in-between shade for mixing. I got my order fast and safe, and I was so happy about this purchase.

First of all, can you imagine a pleasant-smelling mineral foundation? It was a pleasant, sweet smell that I can't describe; and no, it's not an artificial, cloying scent either. It smells a lot better than the old Veena Velvet foundation, and in fact this is the sweetest-smelling mineral foundation I've tried. Many of the ones I've used are either scent-free and some have that nasty cigarette (?) smell, and some have an earthy aroma that is natural when you use minerals from the earth. This, however, smells quite nice.

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My Bridal Makeup Attempt: A Step-by-Step Illustration

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:02:52 -0700

When I was in New Jersey, I roadtested a bridal look for my cousin Jewelyn who is getting married next month. I used MAC eyeshadows that were bought specifically for her wedding (as recommended by a MAC makeup artist), as well as some products from my own personal collection. I was a little intimidated by the fact that I (a) I am not a professional makeup artist; (b) this is probably just the third or fourth time I've ever done full makeup application on somebody other than myself, (d) I did the whole thing at night without the benefit of natural light, and (c) every step was being documented by her groom using his camera. That said, I did the best I could and if there were some mistakes, I do admit to them; but given the limited lighting, I tried my best to work under not-so-ideal conditions. Nonetheless, she and her mom liked the result. Some products would be tweaked as the big day nears, but this is more or less going to be her look. It was also a good thing that she has beautiful skin; I didn't waste much time in concealing blemishes.

Start with clean, moisturized face

Using Jewelyn's own Everyday Minerals kabuki, I used DreamWorld mineral foundation in Tethys (Sands formula), using the swirl, tap, spritz (using MAC Fix+ moisture spray) and buff technique. I did two layers of foundation.

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Tutorial Using Green Mineral Shadows

nobody@vox.com(periwinkle_sky) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:37:07 -0800

I haven't used green minerals in quite a while (in fact, I think I used Lumiere's Cat's Eye here for the first time), but I love how pigmented these eyeshadows turned out. I also love My Minerals Bath and Body's (MMBB) Smokey Green. The name may be simple but it really gave this look a smokified dimension.

Apply MAC Beige-ing shadestick all over lid, brows and browbone, blend everything using middle finger. Apply shadestick on lower lashline as well. Using a shader brush, foil Lumiere Cat's Eye using MAC mixing medium on lid.

(Click to see rest of tutorial)

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