Anticipating Small Aromaleigh Haulage: Brilliant Deductions Collection!

Hi everyone,

I'm prepping today for a medical procedure tomorrow, so I'm not doing the usual product review. Instead, I'm showing you photos (rather large ones to show their intricacy of color and contrasting sparkage) of the order I'm placing soon for samples (17 of the 21) from Aromaleigh v.2's brand-spanking-new Brilliant Deductions collection!

The collection is based on the PBS show, "Sherlock," which of course I now have to catch up on based on the quirky and intriguing names of the shadows :-) Makeup + mystery = "arresting" combination (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)!

This new collection is currently 25% off at Aromaleigh.com, so now is the perfect time to buy samples. I have a strong feeling that I will be getting more of these shades.

I cut and pasted these swatches from the color chart that Aromaleigh v.2 recently released. If you scroll down about half-way down the page, you'll see written description, and if you keep on going two thirds down the page, you can also see a nicely put-together slide show of color collages of each hue, including product alone and several skin swatches.

For now, these are the colors I plan to order. I'm also getting a few more from the recent Ancient Magick collection :-)

Muted teal frost with soft grey undertones and bright sparks of chartreuse and silver

Rich purplish grey with overall iridescent shimmers of peach and rose

Smooth plush burgundy wine frost with striking gold highlight

Rich warm reddish brown with cool silvery iridescence of green, blue, and violet

Smokey cocoa frost with shimmering highlights of fuchsia and violet (*contains carmine)

Lush smoked navy blue with bright, saturated sparks of sapphire blue

Strong weathered gold with olive and khaki tones and tiny borealis shimmer

Warm brown frost with iridescent gold and rose effects and brilliant sparks of teal and blue

Muted warm mauve with coppery iridescence and bright golden sparks

Smooth liquid metallic bronze with rose tones and bright sparks of green

Frosted periwinkle blue with intense golden iridescence and bright lemon-gold highlight shimmer

Vibrant medium grape purple with subtle aqua iridescence

Smooth taupe frost with golden highlights and interference shimmer of green and blue

Deep low-sheen evergreen with brilliant sparks of warm yellow-gold and cool silver

Smooth English rose frost with golden highlights and tiny copper shimmers (*contains carmine)

Soft atmospheric twilight mauve with overall iridescence of gold, green, and blue

Smooth saturated dark purple with lush rose and violet iridescence and smoke tones (* contains carmine)

Avon Glazewear Diamonds Eyecolor

Product: Avon Glazewear Diamonds Eyecolor 

Where did I buy this? I bought two of these eyeshadows from my Avon rep, Lisa Wetherby.

Price: $1.99 each (clearance price)

Performance: I try my best to review a product on its own merit, not my expectations or preferences. Having said that, I should have paid more attention to the product description in the Avon brochure/Web site. I got suckered in by the glossy photo in the brochure and the inexpensive price. Application-wise, these went on excellently and with ease, even slightly better than the Chocolate NYX cream eyeshadow.

Avon Glazewear Mauved Metal on my pale skin under natural light: You can barely see it!

There was no clumping of the product, no need to smooth it out with a finger, no need for double-dipping to get more product on the wand. It lasted all day, but I don't have oily lids, so YMMV. Color-wise, they were pretty much spot-on. Finish-wise, however, my fantasy of how they would look exceeded reality. Right when applied, for a nanosecond, I saw a metallic finish. However, like the Avon Web site description says, it "flows on like liquid metal, cools to a shimmer, and keeps its luster all day." That's the part I didn't pay attention to, i.e., that the finish changed with wear time (in just a minute or two in my experience).

Avon Glazewear under natural lighting: Mauved Metal (left) and Mocha Flash (right).

So, they did exactly what Avon said they would do, but I was "expecting" them to do something different (isn't that the definition of "insanity"?). I bought these in Mocha Flash and Mauved Metal. They are both very neutral colors, with a neutral finish, and don't show well on my lids because my complexion is very light. There not bad, just rather innocuous.  They would be gorgeous on someone with a darker skin tone. All in all, these Glazewear shadows would be good if you wear a lot of matte neutrals because they have absolutely no shimmer in them; they're quite satiny though. Perfectly acceptable for, say, church, synogogue, a job interview, or dinner with grandmother, but they're not how my lids roll :-) I wear almost all sparkly eyeshadow wherever I go (although I do love me a good matte shadow from time to time)!

Avon Glazewear under natural lighting: Mauved Metal (left) and Mocha Flash (right).

Packaging: Standard tubed wand with doe-foot applicator.

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? No, I wouldn't buy this product again (unless I find myself reaching for them a lot).

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies (for accurate color, finish, and performance as described by Avon; three lippies for my personal preference)

Dawn Eyes Cosmetics LE Universal Beauty Collection

Product: Dawn Eyes Cosmetics Universal Beauty Eye Shadow Collection
 
Where did I buy this? I didn't buy it. I won it in one of Dawn Eyes Cosmetics' (nearly) weekly collection-naming contests :-)
 
Price: N/A in this instance but currently $.50 for a sample and only $3.00 for a full-size jar.
Colors (all colors swatched over Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy and shown in alpha order, top to bottom and left to right, in the photos/videos below):

• Faerie Forest: Deep brown-based green w/ strong shift to teal and copper sparkle and pink- to gold-shifting lights
• Field and Stream:Grassy green w/shift to dusty blue w/ blue and gold stars
• Fire Opal: Pale pale pink/coral shifting through slightly darker coral to pale gold
• High Tide: Bright blue w/ lavender sheen dripping w/ blue sparkle and gold- to green- to aqua-shifting glitter
• Mossy Mauve: Mauve matte base w/ shimmering teal overlay

First five colors under flash lighting

First five colors under natural lighting

• Plum Perfect: Plummy purple w/ bright copper sparks
• Solar Flare: Bright orange satin w/ hint of pink studded with bright gold glitter
• Space Dust: Deep deep blue-black w/gold and purple glitter and tiny blue sparks
• Stormcloud: Dusty purple grey w/ tiny golden sparks
• Sweet Sunset: Pale blue w/ lavender shift w/ strong pink overtone w/ tiny sparks of gold, copper, lavender, and blue

Second five colors under flash lighting

Second five colors under natural lighting

Sephora Flash [Beta] Program

Product: Sephora Flash free-shipping program

Sephora Flash Beta program

Where did I buy this? An iniatial beta-test group received invitations directly from Sephora.com to join the program. I'm assuming that the trial period went well because they started accepting applications almost right away from us peons who had to ask for an invite (or at least it seemed that way). I requested my invite probably about 3 months ago; I received it on Thursday, and signed up for it (it shows up in your basket); and placed an off-priced-for-free-shipping order to test it out (I had to do that right a way, don't you think?). I bought this from Sephora.com.
Price: $10.00/year.
How it works: ONCE YOU PAY THE $10.00 YEARLY JOINING FEE, YOU GET FREE, UNLIMITED TWO-DAY SHIPPING ON ANY ITEM (S), NO MINIMUM EXPENDITURE REQUIRED! FREE RETURNS AND THE LIBERAL RETURN POLICY STILL APPLY! (YES, I SCREAMED THAT FOR THE AWSOMENESS EFFECT!)

Evidently you can also achieve this free 2-day shipping by becoming a Sehora VIBRouge customer. To do that, I believe you have to rack up something like $3000.00 in purchases during the year. Which do you like better to get free shipping: $10.00 OR $3000.00? I'll take the former, thank you very much :-)
Performance: Excellent! I placed my order on 8/28; it was packed and shipped the next business day; and I had it in my sweaty little hands by yesterday afternoon. So, yeah, it works. Gonna try it next with my $5 for $10 Sephora gift e-card, about which I blogged about yesterday. Unfortunately, the Groupon offer is over now. Did you get it?

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? The program: Um, yes? The products I bought:? Let's see, shall we?

1. Sephora Instant radiance Foundation in no. 10 (light): No; too dark for my pale pink skin! ($12.00 shipped).

2. Spehora by OPI nail Color in Already Famous (left bottle in photo): No, but only because it;'s nearly identical to an Avon polish I bought recently bought and love (review forthcoming) ($5.00 shipped). 

3. Sephora by OPI Let's Plie' (center bottle in the photo); No because it look too sickeningly sweet a matte peachy-pink on me and doesn't have the miroshimmer described on the Sephora.com Web site ($5.00 shipped).

4. Sephora by OPI in Wild about Shimmer: Yes because it is remarkable, fairly neutral, pale, sheer  golden/champagne with fine golden shimmer, but the sheerness is buildable, so I will also enjoy wearing this over other colors to bring out their light , so to speak!  

5. Samples included (1) Honey EDP spray by Marc Jacobs; (2) YSL Touche Eclat (I've always wanted to try this); and (2) Josiie Maran's Argan Matchmaker Serum Foundation.

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Mais oui; but of course. I'll buy a yearly Sephora.com free-shipping subscription, with no minimum purchase, as long as the price remains worth it to me!

Overall rating: 5 of 5 lippies!

Last Day to Enter Aromaleigh's Contest for a Sample Set of Ancient Magick!

Info below and at my post here:

Product: New Aromaleigh Ancient Magick eye shadow collection

Where is this available? Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics v.2

Price: Currently 25% off! Regular jar price: $8.00 -- now $6.00. Regular sample price: $1.00 -- now $.75.

Seee video close-ups of the colors here.

Enter the Rafflecopter contest to win one of five sample sets of this collection here.

And here are some fabulous labeled skin swatches from the Aromaleigh Web site. I recently ordered Bast, Anubis, Horus, Tawaret, Aten, Selkis, Khonsu, Apophis, Shu, Ma'at, Isis, Hathor, Nut, and Seth. Happy shopping!






 
 

Sephora is on Groupon Right Now . . .

. . . but only for 1 day 16 hours and some odd seconds as of publication of this post, so I advise you to pronto up if you want one. It appears that you can buy only one $10 Sephora e-gift card for $5.00, but who doesn't want free Sephora credit?

It's good in stores, via mobile device, on-line, and at Sephora sections in J. C. Penney. I'm assuming it's good only in the United States, but those abroad may search and find otherwise.

Go here to get yours :-)

Video Close-Ups of New Aromaleigh Eyeshadow Collection, Ancient Magick, Plus Contest to Win One of Five Sample Sets!

Product: New Aromaleigh Ancient Magick eye shadow collection

Where is this available? Aromaleigh Mineral Cosmetics v.2

Price: Currently 25% off! Regular jar price: $8.00 -- now $6.00. Regular sample price: $1.00 -- now $.75.

Seee video close-ups of the colors here.

Enter the Rafflecopter contest to win one of five sample sets of this collection here.

And here are some fabulous labeled skin swatches from Aromaleigh. I recently ordered Bast, Anubis, Horus, Tawaret, Aten, Selkis, Khonsu, Apophis, Shu, Ma'at, Isis, Hathor, Nut, and Seth. Happy shopping!

Cool New Tool: CVS 100% Cotton Exfoliating Nail Squares

Product: CVS 100% Cotton Exfoliating Nail Squares

Where did I buy this? I bought two packages of these at a local CVS. I don't know if any other store has them; this is the first time I've seen anything like this.

Price: They were BOGO half off when I bought them (total = $7.49 plus tax), but the regular price is $4.99 per package. That's pricey, but the squares are fairly large, and there are 130 of them (almost twice as more than in most packages of cotton rounds), so you can easily do two with one square. If you stock up when there's a sale, I don't think the price is too bad for the good value offered by the product.

"Nubblies" on pad.

Performance: Excellent! The before and after photos below speak for themselves. Little "nubblies"on the pad help to get glitter and other topcoats off without a lot of work and wastage of nail polish remover and extra pads.

Before with regular cotton pad: Nail polish and glitter topcoat left after several dips into the remover and about 50 rubs.

After with CVS exfoliating pad: Nail polish and glitter topcoat left after 2 dips into the remover and about 3 or 4 rubs.

Packaging: Clear plastic bag with a zip-lock closure that doesn't need to be snipped of first (I hate that), so it's easy open, easy close.  The bad "stands" upright for easy storage.


If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Undoubtedly. They are probably the only polish-removing cotton pad I will use from now on.


Overall rating: 5 of 5 possible lippies!

Aromaleigh Lost in Faerie (Revisited) Prize Winner

Well, the response to my contest was dismal. I don't know if the Rafflecopter tasks were confusing? I thought they were very simple and easy to follow, but I'm open to comments and opinions. I think Rafflecopter is used enough nowadays that people know how to use it. I know I have 23 followers on Blog Lovin', and I routinely get 25 to 60 hits a day, so I'm bummed that more people didn't enter. Admittedly, it was a very small prize, but who doesn't want to win free eyeshadow, especially when your odds of winning are so good? Not me, LOL.

Neither of the entries were complete: Two people entered the contest, but one person completed only one of the mandatory tasks. Another person completed three of the four required tasks. Therefore, I didn't even use the Rafflecopter's "choose-a-winner" feature; the winner was the person who completed most of the tasks. Technically, I shouldn't give out the prize at all, but I like to give out prizes! I'm rarely one to follow the rules and technicalities, so I'm choosing to send the five-sample set to Helen F. of BBFF* blog, who completed the most  tasks.

Congratualtions, Helen :-) I'll be emailing you shortly.

Helen's wee prize

Can't Wait for This New Aromaleigh Collection

Gaaaaah, I can't wait to try this new Aromaleigh Egypt-inspired eye shadow collection -- Ancient Magick. So many gorgeous neutrals for fall and brights for winter! Skin swatches and video will be released when they have some sunny weather! More info (and enlargement of colors and a link to a Pinterest board for the collection) is available here.

Why, Yes, I AM Actually Only 12 Years Old!

You have three more days to enter the Aromaleigh contest here :-)

Background: You all know by now that I am an absolute dork and geek, and I'm proud of it! I have no qualms about admitting publicly that I recently bought a kid's nail dryer from Avon because I thought it might make my one-nail manicure dry harder and thus last a bit longer. And it did:-)

Product: Avon Going Dotty Nail Dryer

Avon Going Dotty Nail Dryer

Where did I buy this? I bought this from my Avon rep, Lisa Wetherby (great rep BTW). It doesn't appear to be available on the Avon Web site any longer, but I found it on Bay. The seller currently has six of them available for $14.99 plus free shipping.

Price: $9.99 + tax.

Avon Going Dotty Nail Dryer in action, LOL

Performance: Excellent. I've never used a nail dryer before other than the only time I had my nails (yes, all 10 of them) done at a salon. Call me wacky, but I think the nail dryer actually dried my nails to a harder finish. My one-nail manicure often chips within hours of application, but my "nail" dried under the dryer lasted for a few days, plus it was more fun using this dryer than the traditional waving-my-hand-and-blowing-on-my-nail method (how's that for a mega compound adjective?). It takes a couple of AA batteries and seems to be holding up pretty well. You activate it by placing your hand on the little "platform" under the dryer head. It's obviously made for little kids, so the platform is pretty small. If I did  full mani, I'd probably have to dry half a hand at a time, which would be quite time-consuming. It's pretty noisy, so it doesn't work to use it while I'm watching the boob tube, but it's OK to use during commercials.

Packaging: Just a small brown box :-) Otherwise, no packaging or storage.

Recent single-nail mani with Confetti Silver Slipper and Wet 'n' Wild silver hologrpahic top coat with no chipping after three days!

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Actually, based on my experience with this little nail dryer, I would definitely purchase a real adult's home nail dryer. If I couldn't find a reasonably priced one, yes, I would buy this product again.


Overall rating: 5 out of 5 lippies!

How Low Can You Go? Urban Decay Sale

Wowzer. Lots of goodies on sale on the Urban decay sale page here! If there was anyway I could even slightly justify owning more makeup, I'd be all over these. Free ship with $50 purchase s usual. Make sure it's true love. All sale items are final! Just to show a few of the items:

 

L'Oreal Chrome Shine Eyeshadow in Rose Mordore (Golden Rose) Over Meow Cosmetics i-Prime

Product (s): Meow Cosmetics i-Prime (scroll down page to view it) and L'Oreal Chrome Shine Eyeshadow in Rose Mordore (Golden Rose)

Where did I buy this? I bought the eyelid primer at Meow Cosmetics, and I got the L'Oreal Golden eyeshadow in  a custom-purchase/swap with Helen F. of BBFF* blog :-)

Example of opacity of i-Prime

Price: The Meow i-Prime was $7.50. The Golden Rose runs about 6.19 pounds (approximately $7.46 USD as of today's exchange rate).

Golden Rose under natural light (left = no primer; right = i-Prime)

Performance: i-Prime: I really like this product. As you can see in the pic above, it applies opaque and so provides "clean slate" over which to apply your eyeshadow. I don't know for sure since Golden Rose is such a light color, but this feature may help colors to apply my truly to what you see in the pot or pan. Although it looks so in the photo, it's not sticky at all. I abhor anything sticky on my lids, so I thought it was quite comfortable. It's firm to the touch like a medium-density balm, so you just have to glide your brush or fingertip over it lightly. At this rate, one pot should last me forever! L'Oreal Golden Rose: I liked this shade a lot. I can't wear any yellow golds on my lids, although I adore them, but this shade is neutral enough that I can pull it off. Although it barely shows up without primer (and thence might make a good brow bone highlight), it came up beautifully over the i-Prime. It's a good "go-to" color that would suit most any situation. I read in another review that a more pale rosy shade lies under the champagne-gold color, but this was not the case for me. If I try hard (LOL), I can see just a tad of rose mixed in, just enough maybe to keep it from being to yellow? It applied in a silky fashion with the applicator provided. Some of you may not like the applicator, but I think that a sponge-tip applicator is sometimes the best way to apply drugstore eyeshadows to get a thick, even coat of shadow.

Golden Rose under shady natural light. I actually think this photo shows it's true nature :-) (left = no primer; right = i-Prime)

Packaging: i-Prime: lidded pot; L'Oreal Golden Rose: standard drugstore pressed eyeshadow case with sponge-tip applicator.

Golden Rose under incasdescent light

If I lost, spilled, or broke this item, would I buy again? Yes and yes! The i-Prime is different enough from all  of the other similar nonsticky eyelid primers I've used (UPFF, TFSI, Art Deco) that it' sure to become a repeat buy for me (and to think I was just trying to get my Meow cart up to $50 to get free shipping [what a happy accident]). And the L'Oreal Golden Rose looks pretty with my hazel green eyes and is a wonderful, yet different, neutral. Most of my similarly colored neutrals are uber-sparkly, so it's light frost is a nice change of pace.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5 lippies for both products!

Eye Extravagaza Month (Coupons Galore) at Rite-Aid!

I'll cut right to the chase. Yes, Riteaid has all of these coupons (and more) for offer at Riteaid's Facebook page [see sample below]). They are good for the first 10,000 fans, and as of right now, only one coupon is "sold out." They all appear to be valid through 10/19/13, so there is plenty of time (and plenty of weekly sales) to use them.

You must click the "click for coupons" in a circle at the top right of the page for the coupons to work. Yes, you can stack these coupons with manufacturer's coupons, and your purchases count toward the Eye Extravaganza Up+ Rewards. And, yes, you can use these coupons on sale items!

Here's what I printed out:

• $1.00 off any Maybelline eyeshadow (hope they have some LE Color Tattoos)
• $1.00 off any Almay makeup remover (one of my staples)
• $1.00 off any Wet 'n' Wild eyeshadow
• $1.00 off any Wet 'n' Wild eye pencil
• $1.00 any L'Oreal mascara
• $1.00 off any Wet 'n' Wild mascara
• $1.00 off any Jesse's Girl eyeshadow
• $1.00 off any Rimmel mascara
• $1.00 off Physician's Formula mascara or eyeshadow
• $1.00 off Maybelline Volume Express Falsies of Falsies Flare mascara

Lots more brands and products are represented, but the above are probably the only ones I'll personally use. The coupons are about a half page in size, so I just rotated one page to print a coupon on the other page. Save some trees by seeing if your printer can/will do the same.

Shop on, people. Shop on.