Tuesday, January 31, 2012

EOTD/ FOTD




Black Rose Minerals Venom in the inner corner blended out with Medusa's Makeup Jail Bait (a baby pink with lilac iridescence)



Black Rose Minerals Larkspur on the lid blended out with Hi-Fi Super Sonic Overdrive




 Black Rose Minerals Nobodies in the crease and outer V





Fyrinnae Chrome as the highlight




Ignore my messy hair...




With Shiro Cosmetics Leeroy Jenkins Intertube on the lips



Foundation is Illamasqua Skin Base in 02

Monday, January 30, 2012

NOTD- Cupcake Sprinkles


A very girly nail of the day. This is my first time trying a gradient, I think it came out alright. It would probably be easier with a thinner polish than Kiki. My second coat of Kiki went on too opaque over some of the nails (really noticeable on my pinkies).

click images to enlarge 




1. Base coat
2. 3 coats Nubar Hologram Glitter to entire nail (holographic silver glitter)
3. 1 super thin coat ZOYA Kiki to the very tip of the nail (bright blue based pink jelly with shimmer)
4. 1 super thin coat ZOYA Kiki applied from the tip to 3/4 of the way down the nail
5. 1 super thin coat Nubar Hologram Glitter to the entire nail
6. 1 coat Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Princess Cut to the entire nail (baby pink flakey)
7. 1 coat Milani Diamond Dazzle to the bottom 1/4 of nail, blend over both colors (silver, white and rainbow round glitter)
8. Top coat! For gritty glitters like Diamond Dazzle I like to use Sally Hansen Hard As Wraps Nylon + Acrylic Gel (CVS exclusive).

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Blue Sunday

EOTD and swatch comparisons with Black Rose Minerals





Hi-Fi Cosmetics Super Sonic Overdrive in the inner corner
Black Rose Minerals Larkspur on the lid
Black Rose Minerals Nobodies in the crease and outer V and as liner
Fyrinnae Chrome on the outer edge




 WITH FLASH


Far left: Sugarpill Afterparty
Middle: BRM Larkspur



Top right: MAC Deep Truth
Bottom right: BRM Nobodies





WITHOUT FLASH















As you can see Larkspur is more metallic than Afterparty. It's also a tiny bit lighter and more green. Deep Truth and Nobodies look a lot alike with out flash, but look very different with it in the first picture. Nobodies has a lot more sparkle, you can see some of the green and aqua reflects in the shot with out flash. Deep Truth likes to blend out  black due to the iron oxide but Nobodies stays more blue and true to color.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Black Rose Minerals Review




Website
The website was a little confusing for me at first but I was able to figure it out pretty quickly. The listings for categories are a bit cluttered so it took a minute to figure out what I needed to click on. Eyeshadow is sold by color under full or sample size. You can get samples in bags or jars. There is a $6 order minimum.

What I Ordered
Sample Jars: You Pick 6, which is located under the "Your Choice" category. The colors I chose are Bruised, Venom, Pacific Oil Slick, Teddy, Nobodies and Larkspur. The cost was $12.00 with $1.75 for shipping. The samples come in those 3 gram jars with the rounded bottom and the amount of product you get is very generous, it's pretty close to Fyrinnae's mini size. Jars come with out a sifter but are shrink wrapped to prevent spills during shipping.

Order Experience
When I ordered my samples there is a place on the website to input the color names, I received no errors but was promptly e-mailed saying they did not go through. This was the only problem I had with my order and was easily remedied by replying to the e-mail with my choices.

I ordered on January 7th, got the e-mail on the 8th, package shipped on January 26th and I received it on the 28th. Current turn around time on the website is 4-20 business days so this with in the stated time.

What I Got
Product Overview
Each jar is very nicely packaged, the top of the jar has a sticker with the company name and a rose. There is a sticker on the bottom with the website, full ingredients, what the product is safe for use on (eyes, lips, etc), company name and location and product net weight.



 click to enlarge

Venom, Bruised, Pacific Oil Slick, Nobodies, Larkspur, Teddy
blurred slightly to show shimmer

Venom
A bright pink that leans violet, has a bright violet sheen so it photographs less pink than it looks in person. Happy to see it's lip safe because this would be gorgeous in a gloss. This color is BRIGHT and glittery

Bruised
Perfect for a glamourous black eye. I was most excited about this color because I had a bruised colored shadow years ago and I have been trying to find one like it. It's kind of a muddy reddened purple.

Pacific Oil Slick
Reminds me of Sugarpill's Magpie, it's a blackened teal that is very sparkly. Photographs very green and metallic, but looks more like black with sparkles in person. I have a few shades similar to this but Pacific Oil Slick is the most green and most metallic. Perfect crease color for a teal smoky eye. It is also surprisingly lip safe!

Nobodies
A shimmery navy blue like MAC Deep Truth only prettier. Also similar to Fyrinnae's La Noche, but darker. In the pots they look very different but swatched they are similar. This is very satiny and shimmery and would be gorgeous in a smoky eye.

Larkspur
Such a pretty bright medium blue with a satin finish, I can't stop staring at this one. It would look lovely with Nobodies and Venom. It's along the lines of Sugarpill's Afterparty but a bit more complex.

Teddy
A rich chocolate brown with lots of shimmer. It looks to have a little pink and a little blue shimmer. On my computer the website swatch looks rather grey, make no mistake if it looks that way to you too this is a chocolate brown. It's very warm and pretty.

Extras
In addition to the eyeshadows I received a hand written thank you note and some stickers. I got little animal stickers, a Sponge Bob sticker and two scented stickers. An invoice was also included. Last but not least, business card and two shadow samples in baggies- Lunar Shower and Blood Moon. These extras came in their own wax paper baggie decorated with a rose stamp and sealed with a logo sticker.

What I Liked
+ I was promptly e-mailed when I had a problem with my order.
+ Shadows are properly labeled and include whether they're safe for lips. I often like to mix my own glosses with pigments so this is a huge plus for me.
+ Products were well packaged with shrink wrap and secured in a plastic bag in a bubble mailer.
+ Colors are very pretty and rich.
+ The shadows are pigmented and apply well.
+ There is a wide variety of colors to chose from.
+ There are colors named after Marilyn Manson songs (yes, sometimes I buy a product based on it's name... don't judge me).
+ There are multiple pictures of the shadows in action. It's shown swatched dry and wet and shown on an eyelid.
+ Did not stain.
+ Pricing was fair.
+ Sifters are available for full sized shadows, If I order full sized ones I will get them to avoid the mess.

What I Did Not Like
- The website is a little hard to navigate. I think more spacing between the categories would make it easier.
- Special collection colors aren't listed under the full color listing. If you're not careful to check each category you might miss some nice colors. The Luciferi Collection is really worth checking out.
- I made a HUGE mess when I opened these because there was a lot of product in the threads and on the rim of the jar. It's a good thing these were shrink wrapped.

Do I Recommend This Company?
Yes, I am satisfied with my order and I will probably order from Black Rose Minerals again even though I need another eyeshadow like I need a hole in my head.


Stay tuned for some EOTDs using these!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Old EOTDs

 This EOTD is absolutely ancient! I think it must be from around 2006. The colors used are Fryrinnae OMGWTF in the inner corner then Makeup Enigma Starburst and finally Medusa's Makeup Purple Rain in the outer V.
This is from when I first started getting into eye makeup. I only owned one makeup brush (the small shadow brush from Medusa's Makeup) at the time and didn't have primer. I used a Hot Topic brand paint pot and Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy. Gotta say, those Hot Topic paint pots worked wonders, I got no creasing when used with PE.



Brows are courtesy of Bare Minerals Coffee Bean.

Primer is Too Faced Shadow Insurance with Pixie Epoxy on top.
This is more recent, from last year I believe. If I remember correctly Hi-Fi Cosmetics Super Sonic Overdrive is the liner, applied wet. The Lid color is Hi-Fi Live Large with Medusa's Jail Bait lightly dusted on top. Purple is Medusa's Purple Rain (one of my favorite shadows).


 Fyrinnae Javan Rhino and a Mary Kay Grey

Same look with pink, Medusa's Jail Bait if I remember correctly.



This is a look I wore almost daily in 2008. Barry M Cherry Red cut crease with Medusa's Purple Rain.




The Blue in this is Medusa's Blue Balls. The other color I'm not sure about because it's a mix. I think I used a L'oreal HiP duo-Platinum 906 (both the black and silver) with Purple Rain.






Fyrinnae Koala in the inner corner, Fyrinnae Parental Advisory in the outer V. Parental Advisory is gorgeous, I wish I had gotten a full size instead of a mini. I will CRY when I run out!







This gradient look was done with pink, purple and black. Aromaleigh Sonic Rocks eyeshadow in Teenage Kicks is the pink in this look. The purple is... you guessed it, Purple Rain. The black is from the L'oreal HiP duo.






 This was done as a guest look for Le Gothique. A purple smokey eye. The liner is Wet and Wild gel liner.
Eyes: Fryrinnae herbivore, Medusa's Purple Rain, Mary Kay (grey), Makeup Enigma Black Lipstick


Lips: Revlon Silver City Pink







Fyrinnae OMGWTF, Bali Mynah
Medusa's Purple Rain
Unknown dark purple










Aromaleigh Sonic Rocks Teenage Kicks, Mary Kay greys, Fyrinnae Soot

Favorite Places

Fyrinnae
Most of my makeup is from Fyrinnae. The colors are beautiful and complex. The website is taken down frequently to keep orders manageable... but the products are worth the hassle of trying to catch the website being open. Their product Pixie Epoxy is amazeballs (seriously, if you don't own this go buy it right now).

Hi-Fi Cosmetics
I love the texture of Hi-Fi's shadows. They work pretty well with out primer too. There tends to be a LONG turn around time for orders though. One thing I don't like is you have to check the Facebook page for updates, they're not posted directly to her store front.

Sugarpill
Sugarpill is awesome! Everything about the brand is so well thought out and perfectly executed. The prices are a bit high but you get a huge amount of product. My MAC pressed eyeshadow looks down right puny next to my Sugarpill pressed shadows. The loose shadows are also gigantic, I don't think I'll be able to finish one. Speaking of working well with out primer, Sugarpill's hit the mark. Not that I don't use primer, it just feels worth mentioning.

Llarowe
I'm addicted to sparkly nail polish and this site is my dealer.

Shiro Cosmetics
Really pretty shadows, the Intertubes are also awesome. I need to buy 40 Cakes.

The Morbid The Merrier
My favorite fragrances of all time, I never really cared for perfume before finding this shop. I hate florals for the most part and my sense of smell is almost non-existent, most other fragrances just smell like generic flowers and blah. My favorites are Dessert Absinthe (I wear this almost every day), Horseman, Agatha, Black Jack, El Corazon, Brom and Natali.

Wish List

Bobbi Brown Electric Violet Lipgloss
I love this gloss, it's so pretty. It would be great for layering over some of my favorite lipsticks.

My Pretty Zombie MDMA Blush
This is gorgeous!

Sobe Girly Girl Lipstick
I'm a sucker for candy pinks with purple shimmer.

Fyrinnae Ultra Phantom Liplustre
Great for layering and color changing. I want to try this over baby pink lipstick.