Review: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush

When I saw this it tugged at two weaknesses that I have: one is that I suddenly want to try all of the different types of blush that I can find. The second is that anything with the word "pearl" in it I will immediately desire. Anyhow, I grabbed the Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush in rose pearl. 

First impressions about the packaging is that I love it (my adoration for pearls strikes again). It's definitely a nice shade of pink that is a bit demure. Note that this type only comes in two colors: rose and natural, my local store didn't not carry the latter.

Under the pan you will find the mirror and the brush. Sure the packaging is a bit flimsy (as in the pan doesn't lock in properly) but otherwise I think it's a decent compact. The brush is a bit coarser then some of the other ones I've tried out. And yes, I always test out the brush that came with the packaging before tossing it. 

Excitement aside, I finally got to try it on and I was disappointed by how it actually worked out. The brush was coarse but when I brushed it on, the colour just vanished. I tried to build upon it but that was a fruitless effort. There's a lot of shimmer to this blush but colour? No. Very lacking. Obviously there's no need for endurance here because it never showed up in the first place.

Sadly, as cute as the packaging is, this is something you should probably skip on.

Pardon the sadness. I really wanted a
compact with a pearl on the lid.

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Product: Physicians Formula Powder Palette Mineral Glow Pearls Blush
Price: $10.95
Would Recommend? No.
Takeaway: I couldn't get any colour from this product but I did get a lot of shimmer.

Review: Aged BPAL Imps

A little while ago, I posted reviews for some of the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab imps that I had ordered earlier this year. In that post I had mentioned that it was someone from LiveJournal who got me hooked on them by sending me a few imps for Christmas. Well, some time after that post I visited my parents who found my old stash of imps -- and here I thought I had just lost them when I was moving. So the really awesome thing is that there was still a bit of perfume in some of the imps but the down side is that I got these imps back in 2006 which means they are very aged -- which would be fine except that a lot of these aren't in production any more. So if I get any of the information incorrect, I apologize in advance.

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How I store my Imp's Ears. More about
this below.

Gennivre, L’Artiste du Diable

Description: Hyson tea leaf, pale mint, sugar cane, orange blossom, lemongrass, and honey.
Line: Carnaval Diabolique, Act II: Fiat Nox (BPAL.ORG)
Reaction: I vaguely remember drooling over this line but I don't remember this scent. I put it on and it smells like honey, which I love. It an amazing light scent which you can make out the orange blossom and in a far distance get the notes of the tea leaves.
Currently Unavailable.

Belladonna
Description: The devil’s herb, which he cultivates with skill and pleasure. According to lore, the spirit of this plant may take the form of a breathtaking, achingly beautiful woman, deadly to behold. This scent is a tribute to such a dark and magnificent plant: a rich green and floral blend, earthy and haunting.
Line: Rappaccini's Garden
Reaction: Oh my goodness, this was like Bengay out of the bottle. Very, very strong scent of menthol and it took a little while for the true scent to come in. When that strong methol died down, there was a hint of something else... something erring on the side of floral, but not quite. The interesting thing though is that time apparently has changed this imp very much especially since all the reviews on BPAL mention the same thing. Super strong florals though which caused a headache.
Still in production.

Erato
Description: She is the Muse of mimicry, and inspires both erotic and romantic poetry. She is crowned in roses, holding a lyre. Her scent inspires creative expressions of love and lust: a crush of roses with sweet pea, myrrh, ylang ylang, orris and stephanotis.
Line: The Muses: Erotic and Romantic Poetry (BPAL.ORG)
Reaction: It smells like incense -- not in a bad way but has this musky like feel to it (but it's not musk). It smells antiquated with that rose coming through strong and just a slight hint of ylang ylang. Very strong florals come in so a headache tends to come in with it. Luckily it doesn't completely dominate so I can definitely get on board with this one.
Discontinued.

Bayou
Description: A lazy, warm deep green scent with a thick aquatic undertone: Spanish moss, evergreen and cypress with watery blue-green notes and an eddy of hothouse flowers and swamp blooms.
Line: Wanderlust
Reaction: This definitely has a darker and almost deeper scent to it. The florals lightly come out but I can't quite distinguish the scents. It's a bit woodsy but over time the florals really dominate. Overall, I really like this one and I'm glad there is more of a woodsy undertone so that it doesn't make me need to wash it off.
Still in production.

Hades
Description: A dark, palpably sacred chthonic blend: black narcissus and cypress, stephanotis, opoponax, labdanum, onycha and ambergris.
Line: Excolo
Reaction: Out of the sealed bottle, this one had a very very light scent. You can just barely make out all the florals but once it is on your skin it slowly grows. The florals just completely dominate and you can make it out with complete ease. It's not overpowering as some of the other florals I've smelled but gracefully treads on that line as it remains solidly earthy.
Still in production.

Brides of Dracula
Description: Unquenchable desire, seething lust, malevolent sexuality, and voracious hunger lurking beneath a shimmering veil of unearthly beauty: gleaming skin musk, honey and white amber, plum blossom, osmanthus, sandalwood, calla lily, and a light, sensual blend of Eastern spices.
Line: The Order of the Dragon (BPAL.ORG)
Reaction: Powdery scent with a bit of musk and you can make out the hints of spices. This was one of my favourites when I first got these imps 6 years ago and this one continues to be my favourite of the batch. The spices and the honey comes in smoothly with just a hint of the florals. Overall I love this scent and I'm pretty sure I'll continue to hoard it.
Discontinued.

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About the holder that I created, I used balsa wood and glued pieces together. The black fabric is actually ribbon that was cut and fitted to hold the imp's in. I used to hang the holder in a dark place (the imps should always be kept in a dark and cool area), and the black ribbon assisted in making sure they weren't exposed to light.

Prior to getting my Imp holder back (special thanks to my parents who found it), I had them stored in a drawer organizer (pictured on the left). Sorry for the blurry picture but it's dark in there.

BPAL sells the Imp's Ears for $4.00 each (they are 1/32oz). Some imps cannot be purchased if they are part of a set (and they make it clear what you can or cannot request) and you can get 6 imps for $22.00. These imps were a gift back in 2006 which is why many of them are no longer available. 

Swatches: Sugarpill Cosmetics Eyeshadows

One thing that I am a sucker for -- well, aside from black eyeliners and black mascara, -- is black eyeshadows. For some reason I tend to rack these up and use them a lot. Even if they aren't very good, I'll keep them around with the confidence that come Halloween, they'd be put to good use. Ever since hearing about Sugarpill Cosmetics, I couldn't wait to give them a go but as you might have noticed, I'm very weary about colours. After all, I have a yellow undertone and it seems to kill the joy as it sucks the colour out of makeup. It's a fine line to tread so I decided to play it safe for my order from Sugarpill -- I'd buy colours that I always use on Halloween. 

This was my haul! And I got a bit carried away since there were a couple things that I wanted to give a try. The very noticeable first thing is false lashes! I've never worn false lashes before since my own are pretty full so I figured that if I were going to give them a try then I should go big.

In my box I got the CatEye False Lashes, Daydreamer, Flutter, and the adhesive. I have yet to really try them out just yet. (You can check out a slightly close up picture of the eyelashes here.)

For eyeshadows, I sprang for the Chromalust Stella Loose Eyeshadow (which is black) and for the pressed eyeshadows I got Bulletproof, Love+, and Tako. (You can check out a closeup of the eyeshadows here).

Initial swatch without the primer.

From left to right on the initial swatch, you're looking at Stella (the loose powder), Love+, Tako, and finally Bulletproof.

This was exactly what I was expecting for the makeup without a primer. They come off a bit weak however they still show potential for when the primer is applied. Generally speaking, the white and red usually disappears on me so I'm forced to use stage makeup. This was a refreshing change that at least they were kind of showing.

Second swatch with primer.

The picture below for the second swatch shows them with primer. And yes, I did use all clean brushes so I don't really know what happened to the red there. however, you get a smoother application with the primer and I know it looks much cleaner.

The great part is that at this point during the secondary swatch, there's the potential to build on the colour. Now with a clean and even application this can definitely be built upon which is another good sign. The only one that I'm still on the fence about is the loose eyeshadow but since that one is the one with all the glitter (which I wasn't able to capture), I assume that if I pair it with the Bulletproof pressed eyeshadow that I can get the dark black that I am looking for.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with but it remains to be seen how well it all pulls together. So hopefully soon in the future I can actually pull together a look with the eyeshadows and the eyelashes. 

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Sugarpill Cosmetics sells all of the pressed and loose eyeshadows for $12 each. The eyelashes range from $5 - $8 and the adhesive is $6.

Review: Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Defining Creme

When I got my hair cut, my stylist said she'd recommend a couple of items for me, especially since I told her that I will probably never blow-dry or straighten my hair (because I really want to grow it out again). As a result, she gave me a cut to accommodate for the pending curliness. Before I left though, I figured that my usual routine wouldn't cut it anymore.

Before with long hair: Shampoo scalp, condition ends, add in a nickel size worth of Argan oil to the ends, and the blow dry my bangs.

Current haircare: Scramble to adapt. Shampoo and condition everything, use the Curl Conscious creme, and hope my hair doesn't dry in some weird pattern. (It usually does.)

It's been about two weeks now that I've been using the curl creme and I have to admit, I'm very impressed with it. My hair is naturally wavy and usually at this short of a length it reverts to long wayward waves which means that I have to straighten it.

With the curl creme, my hair forms shorter waves which allows it look a bit more lively. It still dries in weird ways and can get wild, but overall I'm impressed with how well my hair likes this creme. The curls aren't too defined so I don't know how other curly-haired mavens would like it but those with wavy-haired might like it a lot.

The great thing is that even when my hair gets all greasy (I have yet to figure out that part) I can definitely crunch it up and get some shorter waves in. I've temporarily made the switch to this from Argan oil till my hair grows out.

I have noticed that my hair has been a bit more greasy as of late and I'm not sure if it's attributed to this creme (I guess that will be next week's experiment) so I will mention that you should keep that in mind, especially since I've seen reviews that explicitly mention that greasiness was attributed to this product.

I don't have any pictures of my hair just yet, but you might start seeing it in all it's ridiculous glory in some of the other makeup shots. 

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Product: Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious Defining Creme
Price: $28.00
Would Recommend? Yes, with caution.
Takeaway: Those endowed with wavy hair might appreciate this but there is the risk of potential greasiness.  It definitely shortened my waves creating a nice wind tossed look but I can't imagine this doing much were my hair longer.

Primer Samples Time!

Since my stress has been a bit overwhelming lately, my face decided to take a break (and by break, I mean, break out) so instead of trying to perfect the cat eye or any general eye shadow technique, I decided to gather up all the primer samples that I've accumulated and try them out for a week (well, approximately a week anyway).

Our starting point is that I've only ever used one clear primer and that is Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer. To be honest, I actually don't use primers that often but overall I've been content with the Revlon one. It is a gel like consistency and I always end up using just a dab of it -- it goes on a bit greasy but absorbs really quickly. Overall, I'm satisfied and I have no real complaints toward it. So that's what I'll be comparing the others to -- so just understand that we're starting from a "satisfactory" (hereby known as a "C" rating) standpoint.

For this post I'll be grading each of them and since grading varies, here's the breakdown is below. (Interestingly, there is no use of the letter "E" in this grading system because like that of grade school, it was temporarily phased out [depending on the system used] so in that way one couldn't confuse "E" as standing for "Excellent." (Source)).

A = Excellent
B = Good
C = Satisfactory
D = Bad
F = Fail

L'Oreal Magic Lumi Light Infusing Primer

I got this in the Target Beauty Bag and I was kind of hesitant to try it out. I looked at the colour and immediately went "Oh no..." which is my usual reaction when I see anything that boasts "Suitable for all skin types and tones" but isn't clear. Sorry, I'm a cynic when it comes to that and rightly so. I put this on and while the consistency which was a cream like texture was good, I immediately noticed how "bright" my face was. And by bright I mean, I had this ghastly pallor, one that can be described as ashy or an indication of wearing a shade too light for my skin tone. This was before I had even put on makeup which meant that my medium coverage mineral makeup went into overtime which was a rough start. Overall, this is something that I'd stay away from since it just looked terrible.
Grade: F

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer
This one has SPF 15 in it which is a plus. I loved the light creamy consistency of this one and also liked that a little went a long way. It was lightweight, absorbed quickly, and left my face feeling like a blank slate. Which was fantastic (if I didn't have bags under my eyes but were not counting that). Overall, I am in love with this primer, it goes on like a dream and lasts all day. When I was creating Sugarpill Cosmetics swatches, the colours looked so smooth and vibrant. Love, love, love this primer, but really hating on the $52 price.
Grade: A

Amazing Cosmetics Anti-Aging Face Primer
This one is clear -- not quite a gel but a bit liquid-like. It turns out that it does have a moisturizer in it (or at least that is what the packaging claims). It applies just like the Hourglass primer which is just dreamy, with that new added bonus of being a two-in-one. It is smooth and silky and the absorption is quick so on the first day I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed. I'm still incredibly happy with this one and it's at a much more affordable price of $34.
Grade: A

Sephora Perfecting Ultra-Smoothing Primer
I will completely admit that after trying to the Amazing Cosmetics primer, I kind of didn't want to try any others. I was in love and that was all that mattered (in regard to a primer). I finally got over that (took about two weeks to get over it, to be honest) and started using a different primer again. The Sephora primer feels pretty good and is almost comparable to the Amazing Cosmetics and Hourglass primer but it was a bit more thicker in consistency. This wasn't a problem; it held up well and felt good. This one goes for $15 and I have to admit, I'd really consider it -- I think the only thing that puts Amazing Cosmetics in the lead is the fact that it doubles as a moisturizer.
Grade: B

BritePrep FX

I was kind of excited to try this one since I already have other CoverFX products. When I tried it on though, the first thing I noticed was that it was ridiculously greasy. Maybe I just got a bad one but my skin did not like it at all. It didn't absorb into my skin and just created an oil slick which meant I ended up using way too much powder to try to cover it up. The bright side I guess what that my makeup didn't look caked on even though I knew that it was. My assumption was that maybe it didn't react well to my moisturizer.
Original Grade: D

I tried this one again without a moisturizer and overall, I really like it. It is very moisturizing on it's own and definitely helps the makeup go on well and stay put. It is trully amazing how well it works together with mineral makeup. It made my skin look fantastic and this is definitely one to consider (but it does cost $45).

Updated Grade: A

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Let's do a recap... A few days out of the weeks that I tried these primers, I'd throw in the use of Revlon Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer for comparison. I made sure that I kept the tubes around to mix them up over time (which is why this post took so long to create). The ones that I kept coming back to was the Amazing Cosmetics -- even if I forgot that it had a moisturizer in it, the primer was able to accommodate for the extra moisturizer and make the makeup look good.

The others were not so kind to that error -- the BritePrep FX looked hideous if I tried to add a moisturizer  but alone it looked fantastic. If I were to run out to Sephora right now, I'd definitely get either the Amazing Cosmetics or the BritePrep FX. Don't get me wrong, I think that Sephora's own primer along with Hourglass are good, but Hourglass comes with a hefty price tag and Sephora's own lacks the moisturizer.

Moisturizer is incredibly important because I have combination skin and the parts that get really oily and really dry need to be balanced out. So what is the final verdict?

Winner: Amazing Cosmetics Anti-Aging Face Primer
Reason: Lightweight moisturizer and primer that feels good and absorbs fast. It can handle the extra moisturizer if need be and allows for makeup to look amazingly flawless.

Runner-Up: BritePrep FX
Reason: Brightens the skin, great for "setting the canvas" -- but it naturally greasy on its own and while it absorbs semi quickly, don't think that you need a moisturizer with it. If you do put moisturizer on, it will not be kind to your error. It does help to brighten the skin and even out the skin tone.

On Gardening and Holding the Fort Down

Sometime last year, I endeavored to take on gardening -- after all, I wasn't going to be using my kitchen for cooking so I figured I'd throw some planters in there and try. Then the great mistake happened. I bought organic soil (looking dead at you Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix) and then my plants and kitchen was taken over by a swarm of fungal gnats. I ended up loosing most of my plants with the exception of one baby basil sprout (let's recount what I lost: moon flowers, basil, cucumber, squash, argula, and chives). I tried using flypaper, tried to "clean" the soil (this is when you wash the soil out), and then tried the potato slices. None of this worked and it came down to the final attempt.

Hydrogen Peroxide. Generally speaking this isn't what you want to use and should probably be a last ditch attempt. Probably because it is very effective but can also kill the plant if you don't do it right. I do one part hydrogen peroxide and three parts water (although some online sources will tell you to use more water). Either way, it annoys the hell out of the bugs and slowly kills them.

After I successfully killed them all off, I was left with one basil baby sprout (which is doing well now) and I was able to bring in a terrarium. Overall, the kitchen is doing well which means that it's time for another set of my plants to go awry. At work I have a pot of basil, moon flowers, and a terrarium as well. Go figure that sitting next to the kitchen has finally reared it's ugly head. The fruit flies from the kitchen have migrated over to my plants and now I'm having trouble with flies yet again.

Work station trio. From left to right, moon flowers,
basil sprouts, and terrarium.

I've employed the use of hydrogen peroxide but I'm trying to keep it's use down to a minimum. The terrarium is new to me and I don't know how well it will react to the use of it. In the center you'll see a little fruit fly trap (filled with apple cider vinegar). I don't know how well the duo (hydrogen peroxide and fruit fly trap) are going to work but fingers crossed that I don't loose the plants in the process.

Review: Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo

In my Quest for Dry Shampoo, I had to wait a while to finally test out the Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo (which is like one of the only two dry shampoos that my local drugstore carries. Which is odd). Anyhow, I have a better idea of what I'm looking for in a dry shampoo.

1. White spots are okay, so long as I can work them into my hair.
2. Creating dullness because of said white spots (or just general dullness)  is also okay because my hair is super shiny at times and that doesn't matter as much.
3. The scent needs to be good or at the very least, tolerable.
4. It cannot weigh my hair down or make my hair feel dirtier than prior to using the dry shampoo.

I'm pretty easy to please in terms of dry shampoo so with that being said, NYM works out well! I did get a few white spots which I was able to work in quickly. This one didn't create any dullness in my hair, so my hair remained bright, shiny, and black. The scent was good as well, I couldn't quite place it but it was pleasant and didn't smell too fake. The absolutely best part? It didn't weigh down my hair and didn't make my hair feel dirtier, in fact my hair felt cleaner because it was bouncing and the waves were still short. 

How does it stack up to the others? I think that the NYM should be high on your list. It's a pretty good starting point for a dry shampoo. In fact, with the NYM I don't feel the need to have another bottle of dry shampoo stashed at my desk at work. It lasts for a long time and keeps my hair in check which is awesome.

For a cheaper version that is tropical, go for the Suave. It does almost everything that the NYM does but I will admit, Suave left my hair a little bit dull. In terms of overall performance, they are comparable -- and the Suave was about $3 cheaper. Also you will probably have to reapply it throughout the day which is kind of annoying.

TRESemme, well. I get why it may have weighed down my hair so much: it has a lot more ingredients and in general I think the clay in particular weighs down the hair which makes it feel dirtier. In concept, it sounds great however in execution, it was terrible.

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Product: Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Dry Shampoo
Price: $6 online, $7 in store
Would Recommend? Yes!
Takeaway: I highly recommend this one over the other two -- lightly scented, doesn't weigh down the hair, and is long lasting. Overall, my hair rejoices in this and I'm happy to give up the other two for it.