Hi, everybody! Are you all ready for Christmas (Christians that is)? I still have to wrap gifts (my least favorite part of the pre-holiday process), so of course I'm putting it off by finishing this holiday bracelet for myself (it'll double for both Christmas and New Year's Eve):
The set is made of four bracelets: One each with brown, light blue gray, and burgundy-reddish glass pearls inset with a strip of faceted glass iris AB crystal beads and a fourth one a mix of the three different-colored glass pearls interspersed with the Czech crystals.
I'll be wearing red and gray with these bracelets, burgundy-reddish crystal earrings, and probably DEC Silvered on my lids and Peppermint and Evergreen as a wash from crease to brow bone. How about you? What will you be wearing on Christmas day?
. . . . for a DEC Christmas treat (and, BTW, that should be the British "shed-jeweled" pronunciation, LOL :-) I didn't feel right having Christmas come and go without (1) thanking you for following/reading my blog this year, commenting, and participating in fun contests, one of which is coming up soon (our very own Mystery Formulator) and (2) sharing with you that I won the set-naming contest that Dawn had for her 2012 Christmas Collection, which is now monikored "Winter Wonderland" by yours truly. The prizes in these contests are quite generous. I got to choose 5 full sizes -- Peppermint and Evergreen, Mistletoe Kiss, Pecan Pie, Walnut, and Sugared Plums (guess you all by now which colors I gravitate to the most, right?) -- and I also got to choose 10 samples -- which were Butter (x 2), Silvered, Christmas Tree (x 2), Three Kings, Wreath, Sweet Cream (x 2), and I got Golden Garland as an extra. I didn't get to try all of the colors yet because I wanted to get this collection (or at least the colors I have from it) up before the actual holiday it's named after :-) So, here they are, shown over several pictures and (as always) in alpha order from left to right and top to bottom:
Colors
I Chose: Web site descriptions (my take in italics)(favorites/potential favorites in bold red type)
Butter, Chestnut, Christmas Tree, and Golden Garland under natural light
• Butter:Delicious light gold lit up with golden sparkle, simple and elegant Not sure about this color, but I will give it a try. I can't usually wear anything that throws a true yellow, but this color is very low-key.
• Chestnut:Bronzy semi-metallic satin spiced up with color-shifting sparkle that goes blue to purple to pink I'm just gaga over this color; over the moon and back. Love Dawn's rich browns and other neutrals.Won't rebuy because I won a FS jar, but i *am* sharing it with some good friends :-)
• Christmas Tree: Deep forest green glittering with a rainbow of sparkle, gold, silver, green, pink, purple, and blue Boo-hoo; this green was too deep and too cool-toned for my taste, so I won't buy more :-(
• Golden Garland: Deep yellow-gold bordering on orange, loaded with golden shimmer and pink to gold color-shifting sparkle I hate to break my guideline by never judging a color by it's shade in the sample baggie, but this one got to me. It scares me like a carnival like clowns scare me, but that's so subjective. Try it; you might like it!
Franken, Mistletoe Kiss, Pecan Pie, Peppermint and Evergreen, and Silvered under natural light
• Christmas Tree/Wreath Franken(at top): The best of both words; deep AND bright!
• Mistletoe Kiss:Medium pink pearl with a coral shift and bright sparks of pink and green I looooove pinks, so I'm sure I'll take to this one, too, like a baby to a boobie :-)
• Pecan Pie:Lush deep brown satin with plenty of golden, copper, and pink glitter Nom, nom, nom . . . oh, hai; did you want to speak with me? . . nom, nom . . . can't speak right now . . nom, nom . . my mouth is busy -- nom, nom . . . mmmmm, pink sparkles. No need for a rebuy; I already have a FS of this pie . . . er . . . I mean eyehsadow
• Peppermint and Evergreen: Bright white satin with a subtle pink tinge and a soft green shift, dancing with red and green sparkle Although I can't usually wear a stark white base, this has just enough pink to warm it up for me. Love my FS jar of this color!
• Silvered: Stunning metallic silver, opaque and dripping in golden and holographic glitter I'm most excited to try this color because it's not a straight silver shade, which I don't wear very well; the gold appeared to be well-blended in hand swatches, again warming it up for my use.
Sugared Plums, Sweet Cream, Three Kings, and Wreath under natural light
• Sugared Plums:A pretty plummy purple with blue, gold, pink, and violet sparks Yummy, yummy, yummy, I've got love in my tummy -- that's what this rich buttery pigmented color makes me think of :-) Won't repurchase since I won a FS jar :-)
• Sweet Cream:Beautiful bright metallic, a pale champagne littered with gold and silver sparkle I haven't tried this yet, but if it's like Dawn's other liquid golds and champagnes, I'm sure I will. The hand swatches alone were stunning!
• Three Kings: Deep mysterious black-based purple, dancing with silver, gold, blue, and violet glitter Black-based colors really do a number on me. I usually look like I've been kicked in the eye by a not-so-talented back-street Balanchine. Not a rebuy :-(
• Wreath: Bright satiny medium green with flecks of pink and purple sparkle Way too bright a green for me, but if that's what you're looking for, then slap it on, sistah!
FYI, the Mystery Formulator series will resume after Christmas :-)
Hi everyone! OK, time for some more mystery-formulator colors :-) I have quite a few more that I won't photo or post here. I'm showing you only my personal favorites. And these five are the favorites of my favorites, LOL. As with nearly all loose mineral shadows, these shades work best with a sticky
primer to bring out the colours and to ensure that they stay on all
day. All of these swatches were done over Hi-Fi Cosmetics High Impact Shadow Fix, but they look good overt Art Deco's primer, which is my current favorite because it goes on like UDPP but has slightly sticky properties. The best of both worlds in my humble opinion (review to come at a later time). Here are the colors in order of left to right, top to bottom, as usual:
Lianne,
Petra, Silvia, Stella, Susie
Lianne,
Petra, Silvia, Stella, Susie
And here's a short video clip (pardon the heavy breathing; I keep forgetting to narrate):
Well, I've had a good couple of days in a row where I could get some (weak winter) sunshine, so I have more swatch photos of colors from our mystery formulator. In general, these are all "well-behaved colors," mainly satin/frost finish, and are suitable for wearing at home, to work, to school, and to church or other place of worship. These shades and finishes probably won't be first pick for clubbing, but then again they won't freak out your grandmother either, LOL. These are "go-to" shades and suitable for all occasions. From left to right, top to bottom, and swatched over Hi-Fi Cosmetics High Impact Shadow Fix, are the following shade names: Hayley, Heidi, Lily, Maggie, and Mashup #1 (from her Crown
Jewels collection [the ruby, gold, and silver colors]).
Don't forget, you get extra entries into the Rafflecopter contest (just a few posts away) to win some of these babies! Just leave a guess in the comment section of this post!
Mystery Formulator colors group 2 under natural winter light
Here's another photo that shows the color-shifting of Lily much better:
Mystery Formulator colors group 2 under natural winter light
Helllloooo, everyone! Long time, no blog, huh? Well, things are calming down from my jewelry sale just long enough to segue right into the holiday-frenzy season, and despite that I am determined to put up a blog series about a "mystery formulator."
I'm not going to write much at this point except to say there will be a Rafflecopter-based contest to win some samples from this formulator at the end of the series. I'll be providing more photos of different eyeshadow swatches when I can get some decent winter sun. If you're willing to take a guess (or several guesses), each guess will earn you an extra entry into the contest. Guesses must be in response to this post only. The contest will have its own set of entry requirements, but you can start earning extra entries right . . . now! I'm giving you only photos, videos, and color names to go by :-) All names match the swatches from top to bottom, left to right. Swatches done over Hi-Fi primer. Sorry to expose you to my deformed wrist in the video. Handicapped is the way I "roll" (literally). I also apologize for the somewhat sloppy swatching. It's been a loooong time.
Alison, Bella, Gayle, Goldie, and Kelly in sunlight
Alison, Bella, Gayle, Goldie, Kelly in slight shade
Just a quick check-in to say that I haven't dropped of the face of the
Earth! I managed to wangle a vendor spot in a local Girls' Night Out and
have been very busy making bracelets so I actually have some
stock to sell. Testing and reviewing eyeshadows is taking a back seat right now
on my list of priorities (imagine that!). I'll leave you with some
photos of bracelets I've made so far . . .
Hi everyone! I just
thought I'd show you some new beads I'm working with lately. Aren't they
pretty? Feel free to place a special order if you like. I have tons of
beads in gobs of colors :-) Stretch bracelets like these below (i.e., larger, themed
beads) are $6.00 each. Seed-bead bracelets (photos below) are 3 bracelets for $10.00 :-) Scroll all the way down for my contact information. The stretch bracelets below were made for a non-sighted woman, for whom shape is more important than color for obvious reasons. I hope these bracelets "feel" pretty to her :-)
Custom order for non-sighted friend who likes pretty things :-)
Close-up for custom order for non-sighted friend who like pretty things :-)
Custom order all wrapped up and ready to go!
And here's a double custom order (below) of stretch seed-bead bracelets (x 6) for a customer who lives
on the West Coast and who wanted a denim-and-neutral theme.
I also use Czech fire-polished beads in my stretch bracelets, some of which look like this (very sparkly [this is called a "vitrail" finish, which means stained-glass in French]):
I also have started working with magatama beads (mah-gah-tah'-mah), which give a slightly spiky/tribal look to the bracelet:
And here's a photo of the stretch magatama bracelets (below) blurred so you can experience the sparkle. Cool, huh?
If you're interested in ordering a custom set of bracelets, please contact me here to make arrangements re: color, style, and number of bracelets. All proceeds are going to purchase to buy a new custom wheelchair I need to get around more independently :-)
. . . until tomorrow (August 29) and now includes Al Roker, a squishy hot dog, Central Park, Gram's necklace, David Bowie, a drooling toddler, Rockefeller Center, Iman, a horse with a carrot, and a Chequered Cab among the story "bits."
Here's the official announcement from the CLA's Facebook Page:
"I'm extending the contest for 1 more day, it
will end tomorrow, August 29th, so get your entries in! And for all the new
friends we've made, WELCOME! ^_^ you can find the contest by scrolling
down. We've done so well that I'm adding single full size containers of
the prize colors to the prize pot, 1 of each color. If we can get 5 MORE LIKES [emphasis added by moi] by tomorrow night, I'll add another prize. ^_~"
Wouldn't you like to be one of the five "likes" that puts the prize over the top? Then head here, "like" the CLA, and play along!
See my blog post here for some CLA eyeshadowcolors . . .
The CLA makes some of the most beautiful eyeshadows I have ever worn and is one of my three go-to cosmetic indies, the others being Dawn Eyes and Black Rose. You can check out the shadows and their accompanying stories here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thechequeredlily.
Charlotte from the CLA
Now get on outa here, like The Chequered Lily Apothecary on Facebook, and enter the contest already, LOL! The more people who play along, the better the prize!
Summer’s end… get your 30% off coupon and save store-wide!
Posted on
As Summer comes to it’s end, it’s time for an amazing discount sale at Aromaleigh!
Save 30% OFF STORE-WIDE!
Sale runs now through 11:59 PST 8/31.
Enter coupon code summer30end at checkout.
A $20 minimum order does apply.
Coupon is applicable to newly placed orders only.
Enter coupon code summer30end in the
coupon code box at checkout, press “APPLY” and you will see your
discount taken! if you do NOT see your discount taken, try again- don’t
place the order without the discount. Orders must be placed with the
discount applied.
Insomnia gives me lots of time to get things done, like finally posting this contest, LOL.
I purchased four full-size eyeshadow from Dawn as follows:
Close to Coral
How Sweet the Sound
Rose Gold
Fresh Earth
Well, there you have it: Four lovely neutrals for fall whose beauty I can personally vouch for because I have all of them all! Now on to the sweet and simple Rafflecopter . . . the contest will run for two weeks. Good luck!
Starting
Friday July 20th will start a 24 hour 40% off sale! It will start at
midnight PST (Thursday night) and end on Friday night at midnight PST.
Use coupon code "madness."
Also the rest of the weekend there
will be a 25% off sale. This will run from Saturday July 21st through
Wednesday July 25th. Use coupon code "superstar."
If you could help spread the word please, I would greatly appreciate it.
So, please do your part by BUYING GOODIES (I know I will) and SHARING THE SALE on your beauty blog!
I like to wear the bracelets stacked a la Bollywood.
Hi everyone. I am so sorry for being such a laggard in posting. There's been a lot going on in my life lately, some of it health-related (insomnia plus lots of doctors' appointments) and some of it work-related (tons of it [not that I'm complaining]). I'm just touching base to let you know that I am here but haven't had a lot of time to test, review, and post. Something I have in the works (of my mind that is) is a comparison of UDPP plus Fyrinnae PE versus Art Deco eyeshadow base.
Also, I've worked my way through testing most of my hundreds of Aromaleigh pots and samples and think I'm going to test my Black Rose Minerals samples next. Just considering testing my way through my huge collection of H-Fi samples strikes me with fear and trembling, LOL, so I'm going to test a smaller sub-collection first. I need to remember to take it just one shadow at a time :-)
Bracelets with flash.
I have broken my no-buy a couple of times with purchases from DEC's Memorial Day clearance (discontinued shades [lots of them] are on sale of 50% off), which, in my eyes, was entirely justifiable considering that DEC is my go-to company for eyeshadow :-)
Plus, when I was doing a second level of inventory-ing recently, I found a lot of eyeshadows from different indies that somehow hadn't been put on the list of shades I'm testing (slowly but surely), so if my list looks even longer than it has, well . . . it is! I also gained some more colors from two swaps with sweet Helen of BBFF* blog. I'm removing colors that I'm not keeping and will be putting in my blog-sale-to-come.
Bracelet photo intentionally blurred to show sparkle :-)
Last but not least, I have become obsessed with collecting beads to make stretch beaded friendship bracelets! Very similar to my obsession with eyeshadow: small, sparkly, and colorful (I sense a theme here). I'll leave you with this photos of bracelets I've made sprinkled throughout this post.
It feels good to be back, and thanks for hanging in there with me! And thanks to all the prolific beauty bloggers who kept me informed while I was too busy to write for my own blog, LOL.
Aromaleigh is having a store-wide sale, until June 30, in which everything is 33% off, and there is only a $15 minimum purchase! I think it's the largest sale they have had since reopening as Aromaleigh v.2.
I'm hoping to split some jars with Helen of BBFF* blog :-) Here are the shades I am thinking of (the ones I'm particularly attracted to are bolded below):
Moulin Rouge
Dentelle
Blanche
Frisson
Frou Frou
Can Can
Pantone Spring
Loverly
Heliotrope
Spring Leaf
Bloom
Nymphea
Lunaire (yes, a blue!)
Pavot
Narcisse
Amandier
Chiara
Lucia
Bete Noir
Sybilla (I'm really curious about this one for the outer lid
corners!)
Company
name: Silk Naturals Web site: http://host.silknaturals.com/creb/
The Web Site Itself: 5 of 5 Stars
Silk Naturals (SN) has one of the best, most user-friendly,
meticulously organized indie cosmetic sites I have ever purchased from! The
storefront is a bit bland, but it more than makes up for that in specific bells
and whistles. First, aside from having the usual indie Web site
features, the SN site lets you search for eyeshadow colors by numerous
categories: all colors, color family, finish, and vegan. I can’t tell you how
incredibly helpful that feature has been for me. I mainly like very shimmery/metallic
products, and on this site I can search for them specifically instead of having
to search through 273 color descriptions (really!) to find what I want.
The color descriptions you get when you click
on a particular shade are very detailed with assessments of such qualities as main
description, color
family, finish, depth, shimmer scale, opacity, vegan, tone, and gluten free.
Almost every color description page
has three tabs: description, reviews, and related products (I would like to see this be consistent
throughout the site). You can click on the product photo to enlarge it, and
the photos often have several swatches of different but similarly colored
shadows so you can compare them. I didn’t see anywhere where it’s said what
base is used for swatching, and I think
that would be a helpful improvement. If you are searching by “see the
product comparison page” at the top left of the “all [colors]” page, you get a
really helpful list of colors with all of the pertinent information summarized.
Second, you can create an account and
save colors to a wish list, which is something I find sorely lacking on most
indie company Web sites. This feature saves me time and annoying Post-It notes
with lists of eyeshadow colors I want to try. It makes shopping much easier,
particularly if there is a sale.
Third, SN has a reward point program. For
every $1 you spend (not including tax or shipping), you receive 1 point. $100
product value = 100 points, with 100 points having a value of $5.00. The points
value is clearly stated on each product description page. So, you can earn free
products if you shop at SN a lot. This is a good marketing technique to promote
customer loyalty. SN has a referral program, too. For each friend you refer to
SN, you get 10 points. The referral code to give to your friends is the email
address that you used when you registered with SN. When your friends check out,
they need to enter that referral code, and your points account will be credited
with 10 points. This is also great for customer loyalty. Savvy businesswoman
that Karen is :-)
Fourth, SN makes some “clones” of
popular MAC, Bare Escentuals, and Urban Decay colors. I bought some of the UD Naked
clones though a blog sale and have been very happy with them.
Pricing:
5 of 5 Stars
As I’ve said many times before, I’m mainly an
eyeshadow user, so that’s what I’ll assess here. The price of SN’s eyeshadows
is only $4.00, which in my experience places them at the lower end of the
pricing spectrum for indie eyeshadow prices.The only thing I
couldn’t find on the product description page is the amount of product you get
for the price. However, from my decanting experience (I put all of my shadows
into sample baggies for easier storage), you get the usually amount of shadow,
approximately a half teaspoon. I do think
it would be an improvement to have the amount of product stated clearly on each
product page though.
It
should be noted that SN does not sell samples. However, they accept returns and
will credit you for a replacement purchase. I had to take advantage of this
feature once, and it worked exactly like the owner said it would work. I wasn’t
too keen on losing so much on shipping, but I’m assuming that not selling
samples and having a return program makes for running a “tight ship,” i.e., keeping prices low. My experiences
with SN, through on-site purchases, a blog sale purchase (with Cait of Swatch Storm), and a swap (Wendi of Makeup Zombie)—especially given the excellent search
and description features—have been positive enough that I trust I’ll get what I
wanted and will not have to return much, if anything, at all.
TAT and Shipping: 5 of 5 Stars
Because all of the colors I’m reviewing here
we obtained through a swap and/or a blog sale, I won’t be commenting on the TAT
and shipping details. However, regarding the one occasion on which I did order
from SN, the TAT was very reasonable, and that exchange I mentioned earlier was
handled flawlessly!
Colors Received: All swatches are shown in
the order below (from left to right, top to bottom) and were swatched over Fyrinnae
Pixie Epoxy. Also, the color descriptions on the SN site are extremely accurate
due to the details offered! (My favorites are bolded.)
I won’t comment
separately for these colors. Obviously I love them because they are in my final
collection of tested shades! SN is my “go-to” store for neutrals (and I have
more where these came from)! These colors were obtained through a swap as well
as a blog sale.
SN swatches under natural light no. 1
SN swatches under natural light no. 2
• Loaded: Warmish
tan shimmer with hints of pink (clone of Urban Decay Toasted)
• Range: Matte
black with gold, silver, and copper shimmer. Example of details mentioned
earlier: Color family: silvers and grays; finish: glimmer;
depth: 5 [1 = white, 6 = black]; shimmer scale: 5 [0 =
matte 6 = glitter]; opacity: 4 [0 = sheer 5 = opaque]; vegan:yes; tone: silver
with warm sparkles; original collection: Holiday
2010 Collection; gluten free: yes
• Dig It: Deep
brown shimmer with copper and silver sparkles
SN swatches under incandescent light no. 1
SN swatches under incandescent light no. 2
• Sorbet: Deep,
cool-toned raspberry red This color might
be a little too cool-toned for me, and I might Franken it with something else.
Otherwise, it’s lovely!
• Watermelon:
Bright coral pearl with hints of golden shimmer
• Wildcat: Deep charcoal brown satin
finish with lots of champagne colored sparkle Example of details mentioned
earlier: Color family:
browns; finish: shimmer; depth: 6 (1 = white,
6 = black), shimmer scale: 5 (0 = matte 6 = glitter), opacity:
4 (0 = sheer, 5 = opaque), vegan: yes; tone:
charcoal brown; original collection: Valentine's 2009
Collection; gluten free: yes)
Jelly-Or under natural light
Jelly-Or under incandescent light no. 2
• Jelly-Or: My franken of SM Jellybean
(medium pink shade with a satiny suede finish and red highlights) and SM Meteor (warm golden brown
color with a fair amount of shimmer, more pearlescent than chunky), neither of which worked for me. I think my
Franken will work better, and I hope you enjoyed seeing it :-) And here's a final video swatch for you taken under incandescent light (the sunshine disappeared pretty quickly after I took these photos). Just look at how gleam-y these colors are!
Would I Buy Again? Yes, yes, and . . . oh . . . YES
(damn, that sounds orgasmic, heh-heh)! “Prowl” is currently on my SN wish list :-)
