16 posts tagged “valerie beauty”

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)

Some of you may probably know how much I am a fan of Valerie Beauty's minerals. I even showcased some of her beautiful colors from her last sale HERE. Some of Val's awesome colors are also in THIS ENTRY. She had her last sale last February 16th, and after that had to close indefinitely because she had to concentrate on her skin care studio, and we had been patiently waiting for her opening. A month ago she announced that she would no longer be selling minerals online (but she is still selling the Clarisonic line, skincare products and traditional cosmetics). Val simply doesn't have the time anymore since she is now a Reiki Master Teacher, and is finishing her studies to become a Certified Hypnotherapist, on top of being a certified aesthetician. I perfectly understand why she had to give up selling her awesome minerals online (they are available for purchase at her studio), and I wish Val the best, but I am just a little sad that these ones I have are the last of a dying breed. I have scored this latest Val loot from a lady on a makeup board, sealed and intact, and I just love the colors. I rarely see this kind of top-notch mineral quality, so I am really sad to see the minerals go, but still happy for Val nonetheless.

Let's hear it one more time from her awesome minerals!

(Click for swatches and color description)

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)

Here are some more neutral looks featuring some of my mineral shadows from Valerie Beauty, She Space and DreamWorld. Not much drama here because these looks were mainly for work and I didn't want to spend too much time in the morning. I am loving these neutral shadows that I've been using lately, though. There were a couple that I used for the first or second time with this look, specifically Wasted Intrigue and Atlantean Treasure, and I really am loving the shades.

I also used a heavier hand in applying my MAC beauty powder blush so the gorgeous shade can really register on the screen. There is some slight sheen to it that is not obvious in my pics but are subtly noticeable in real life. I really love these new blushes!

(Click for FOTDs and list of products used)

Here are some more gorgeous multi-purpose shadows from Valerie Beauty and MAD Minerals. I swear I can't get over how pretty these are. Both were ordered during their respective companies' sales, and I sometimes can't believe I got these minerals at an amazing price. I got Val's Blue Jeans Baby collection and these came with a gorgeous denim tote bag that is just right for laid back, carefree weekends. It's just a pretty tote and I use it to place all my books, magazines, and my son's juice when I bring him to the park to play. The minerals are pretty as well. Regular readers would know how I love Val's shadows because the amazing pigmentation and great staying power, and these new arrivals didn't disappoint. My favorites are Skintight, Stonewashed and Bell Bottom as beautiful washes, and the gorgeous Boot Cut as crease color or liner.

(Click for swatches and product photos)

I am crazy about Valerie Beauty eyeshadows, so it's only apt that I make a tutorial using some of my favorite mineral eyeshadows. Valerie has some of the most pigmented minerals available, so I only foiled the lid color and applied the rest dry, because the colors stay vibrant even without using a mixing medium. These colors are also versatile enough to be used any time of the day and night. I only used four eyeshadows for this look, so it's not complicated at all. All products from Valerie Beauty unless otherwise noted.

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 Fire Opal using MAC mixing medium on lid.

(Click to see the rest of tutorial)

Here is a look using my Valerie Beauty eyeshadows. I love the fact that I just basically foiled the wash color and applied the rest dry. These are highly-pigmented minerals and they last the entire day on the lids even when applied dry, and color pay-off is just outstanding. The colors are also gorgeous and vibrant. I've made a detailed review of these shadows in my entry a couple of days ago.

I also wore my Aromaleigh lipstick and lipgloss. I like Aromaleigh's lip stuff, especially the yummy chocolate citrus scent. In the first picture, I was wearing Buzz lipgloss, but I applied Zen lipgloss in the last few photos.

I am also wearing my Dreamworld foundation in Minerva and Theia. I just received a shipping confirmation e-mail from Ellie of Dreamworld, and I can't wait to get my full-sizes of these.

(Click for FOTDs and list of products used)

I have always loved Valerie Beauty's minerals and I've been writing about them on my blog just because of the sheer joy of sharing snippets of information about small, not-yet-popular, mostly women-owned mineral makeup companies that have amazing, high-quality products and topnotch, personalized customer service. I do it by my own accord without any incentive, as I know most beauty bloggers do, just because we love cosmetics. Period. So imagine my elation and surprise when I received a package from Valerie herself containing some of the most amazing eyeshadow colors she has ever come up with. She e-mailed me saying that she named one of her new eyeshadows after the name of my Vox blog, Periwinkle Sky (it's a blog where I cross-post my Shades Of U entries for Vox beauty bloggers). When I got her package, I was just in silent awe of the generous gift she gave me, a package filled with amazing, beautiful colors - including, of course, the wondrous eyeshadow she named after me (well, sort of!), Periwinkle Sky:

Val's sweet note

Ahh, Periwinkle Sky!

(Click to see the rest of the eyeshadows/swatches)