Deconstructing a Blush

My Bobbi Brown blush has been haunting me for the last year now. It's great and while I love it, I've had it for almost four years! So here's a peek into the Red Labs in regard to reconstructing a new franken-blush!

The first thing is to figure out what colour I wanted. Luckily for me, I didn't really care, I just wanted something different. So I grabbed nectar and a sample packet of Everyday Minerals Glam Guru blush. I wish I had taken pictures of them side by side but alas, I was too excited. The EVM blush can be described as a "soft and earthy pink pigmented blush" and the BB blush is a pink coral. The closest I can get is to provide the two colours side by side to the right.

As you can see, they are a bit different. The problem I had was that I couldn't seem to finish the Nectar and the Glam Guru was in odd packaging that made it hard to get it out. As a result, I decided that combining them would be fun and a good learning experience. Sadly, there aren't very many photos since this got messy quick, but let us begin!

I broke up the pan of the Nectar blush with a bamboo skewer. I tried to break up the bigger chunks, but I figured it would be okay. Basically mixing a pressed blush and a loose powder one is somewhat difficult but still a good learning point. After breaking it up, I added the the powder blush and leveled the top.

After trying to make sure the two blushes were mixed as best as I could, I then added the alcohol. I did a direct pour of alchohol into the pan and when I realized I added too much too quickly (sigh), I went into recon mode. I took a paper towel and pressed into the powder mixture to get the excess alcohol and stop any overflow. Once it seemed stable, I grabbed some baby wipes and cleaned the outside of the pan and the surrounding area. 

Here's the "new" blush a few days after the experiment when I knew that the blush was fully dried. I have since cleaned it up a bit more but overall, I'm pretty happy with this experiment. 

Review: JĀSÖN Moisturizing 84% Aloe Vera Conditioner

I will completely admit that I don't worry about conditioner as much any more. Since switching to Pure Clean that is the one item in my routine that is never out of stock. The shampoos that I use are generally missing but the conditioner? Not once in the year that I switched has it ever been missing so as a result, I don't try out very many alternatives. When one of my housemates was cleaning up though, he came across this full bottle in his stash so he handed it to me. 

That was a while ago... I needed to get through the previous conditioner first. So now it's been a few weeks since I switched over and let's start by not knowing how old this conditioner is. The reason why I say that is because it seemed a bit chunky at first, but I shook the bottle up and while it's a bit hard to get out of the bottle cap, the texture is fine. My assumption is that given the nature of this type of conditioner, it may have separated a bit.

What is this type of conditioner? It's one that is formulated without parabens, SLS, or phthalates. It also looks that it doesn't have any cones either (but it does have proteins). The conditioner itself relies on the aloe vera so the scent itself follows the predominant ingredient. 

All of that aside, I actually love the wonders cast on my hair as a result of this conditioner. I waited a while before I posted simply because my shampoo regime was up in the air for a bit but since I'm back to my shampoo staples, I could finally properly give this conditioner the review it needed. The thing I love is that my hair has been it's bouncy and wurly self. It hasn't been weighed down and it just feels fantastic.

The one thing that drives me nuts is that if I'm out of conditioner, I can't just run into my local drugstore to grab it. I am seriously considering the addition of this conditioner to my permanent hair care routine because my hair has been so happy with it. (As a result, I want to try the shampoos out now). This has definitely been a great item that I'm glad my housemate felt like giving up. :)

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Product: JĀSÖN Moisturizing 84% Aloe Vera Conditioner
Price: $8.97
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: A great lightweight conditioner that has made my hair felt incredibly soft, bouncy, and thus allowing the wurls to really take shape. Overall a great conditioner that I have no complaints about. 

Review: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Blushing Bride

I've recently become fascinated with blush and while I'm not sure why and I can't very well explain it. It's something that has suddenly become intriguing. Perhaps because I hit pan on my Bobbi Brown blush a year ago and somehow I'm still at 50% left and I've been using it every day for the last year. I guess that speaks volume to it's longevity but also means it's kind of boring to use the same one day in and day out. Recently I acquired two blushes from Tarte: Natural Beauty and Blushing Bride.

The two Tarte compacts and my UNII palette (that houses
my Bobbi Brown blush).

Let's start with the Blushing Bride, since that's the first one I cracked open. Blushing Bride is described as a plumy rose. I had been looking for a blush that was more on the purple side, but still fell under the criteria of being formulated without all the unnecessary stuff.

Bobbi Brown on the left, Tarte Blushing Bride in the
middle, and Tarte Natural Beauty on the right.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush line, Tarte has formulated them without: parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, petrochemicals, phthalates, GMOs, or triclosan. As with my hair care, I've been trying to make a more conscientious effort to use makeup products that fit this criteria. (I have not switched over my skincare routine, just so we're all clear). While this is not necessarily important to know, it's going to make sense in a bit.

Anyhow here are some impressions: I love the packaging of it as I think the Tarte blushes are incredibly cute. This only matters since I refuse to depot them into my UNI Palette. I was somehow surprised when I realized that the Blushing Bride had a bit of shimmer since I'm normally very much against shimmer. This is what I get for buying things online without checking them out first. When I purchased Natural Beauty, I was in Sephora so I knew exactly what I was getting out of it. This is by no means something that I hold against the blush since I purchased it without doing the proper research. Plus, I like the colour.

The Blushing Bride has a great colour that I like although it comes off a bit lighter (meaning the pigmentation is not that great). I do believe that that has to do with it being formulated a different manner. My oily skin is of no service either. So, usually when I apply a blush, I put it on strong in the morning because by mid-day when the oiliness acts up, I know that I need to use a bunch of blotting sheets. By the end of the day we're looking at very minimal blush being left over as a result of this. (Some days are much worse than others though -- sometimes I get a fair amount of blush that is left over).

I do not reapply my makeup throughout the day because that would be bothersome. (Trust me, I used to do this in college and doing a midday refresh of my makeup is not optimal). As I've mentioned, the blush is somewhat weak with not the greatest pigmentation but it does provide a good light flush. If my skin is really oily then by midday any trace of the blush is usually gone (so we're talking about 4 hours here). That is generally not the case though but with my oily skin, a very minimal amount is left over.

I'll be following up in a few weeks about how Natural Beauty is working out.

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Product: Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Blushing Bride
Price: $26
Stars: ★★★★☆
Takeaway: While it's not as pigmented as others that I've used and it's longevity is not quite there, I still think it's a "healthier" (formulated without all the bad stuff) and for what it is, it's good. There is a good pigmentation to it and sometimes with my oily skin, it won't last too long, but that's fine with me. 

Series One: A Guild of Misfits

This is the first series of prototypes that I created in order to get into the swing of things. These are inspired by some characters that my friends and I play (albeit not together on the same servers). 

From left to right is Tenah (blue), Bizrot (rust), Shalori (lavender), and Damaged Goods (green). The first two (Tenah and Bizrot) were part of the first round that took a bit of time to figure out. Originally my aim for Tenah was to create a purplish blue with stars (they are present, but I didn't want too many). For Bizrot, I was going for more of a reddish gold however the bases conflicted. Obviously with round one, I didn't quite achieve what I wanted to, but I learned quite a bit throughout the process. 

While I am a huge fan of glitters, I wanted to create a series that had them light dispersed throughout rather than dominating. I felt as though I achieved what I needed to with the first two (though obviously I need more practice with mixing my reds [which is a problem I had back in my painting days]).

The second half was completed about two weeks later and this time round I was able to mix them much faster and kept my area cleaner than before. There were still some things to be learned nonetheless which I'll carry with me when I start Series Two.

Since these were inspired by my friends, I'm sending off a bottle of each colour to them. I don't exactly know if I'll be replicating these colours in the future (likely not Tenah and Bizrot since I forgot to take down the measurements in the first place), but they definitely gave me a good idea of what to expect.

I'm hoping to have the Series 2 of Prototypes completed by May and that set will also be training tools (so they will also be limited editions). 

The Wheel is Turning

For the one year anniversary of The Plum Eyeliner, I mentioned that I had a project that I was working on to be slated for early 2013. Well, that project has been to really get into making cosmetics and to start, I'd try my hand at nail polishes. I can officially say that I've started the prototypes as I've entered the "learning" phase of making my own. There's still a lot for me to learn; I've created four prototypes which I revealed to my friends last night, and I've got a few more ideas so that I can continue practicing. With that being said, I can't wait to see what happens -- I'm not really sure what direction this will take or if it will trully reach fruition but it's exciting to try. 

Some Samples from Kara's Way

Items were received by Kara's Way complimentary.

Kara's Way was kind enough to provide a few samples for my consideration and these happen to be some of my favourite types. It should come as no surprise that I love soaps and hair care is something that I am quite discerning about. As these were provided complimentary, I know that some of them appeared in previous boxes that have already gone out.

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Aubrey Organics
Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Shampoo & Blue Camomile Hydrating Conditioner

First up is the Honeysuckle Rose shampoo which is free of sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens or petrochemicals. Which basically means that there is minimal lather. The scent took me by surprise (I'm not sure what I was expecting) but it was wonderfully light and refreshing. It was easy to work with in terms of being able to wash it out quickly.

I followed up immediately with the Blue Chamomile conditioner and that also had a very surprising scent which was also quite lovely. The conditioner was creamy and while a bit on the liquid like side, it just made it easier to work with. The two combined smelled fantastic.

After my hair dried I noticed that quite few curls came in which is slightly unusual but very welcomed. My hair seemed to be enthralled by this new combination. Grant it those curls slowly dropped to wurls throughout the day but the fact that my hair even started on a happier note was wonderfully unexpected. Now all I have to do is find it at my local stores.

Price: $10.48 each for 11 oz.
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Great unexpected results for a first go. My hair was softer and bouncier which was great plus it has a great light scent that almost feels like it sticks with you throughout the day.


Fundamental Earth
Fundamental Shampoo (For All Hair Types) and Fundamental Conditioner (Normal to Dry)

I will completely admit that this one somewhat took me by surprise. I hadn't heard about this company before so while I did have a little bit of skepticism, I overlooked it. What I mean is that I frequent a lot of hair forums and weirdly enough this one never came up. On the day that I tested it for the first time, Nicole (at Spialelo) asked me if I had any recommendations for a shampoo and conditioner that was free of sulfates, silicones, and protein. Admittedly protein had never been anything that I was cognizant about so the first thing I did was check the products I had been using lately.

Of the many I have been using and/or recently tested the only ones to pass that test was Disney Baby Daily Renewal Naturals Baby Shampoo (check out the review here) and Fundamental Earth. Incidentally 100% Pure and Terressentials Organic hair care also seems to fit the bill (but I haven't tested these out). In general though, it seems that finding a protein free haircare item that is also free of sulfates and silicones is pretty tough.

Moving back to Fundamental Earth, the ingredient list is paired down which makes for a simplistic blend that hopefully couldn't go wrong. And it didn't. The shampoo had a lot of different scents such as ginger extract, honey, lavender oil, lemongrass oil, rosemary oil, etc. The one scent that really came out though was the rosemary. It worked much like any other shampoo and had a great lather. As one could imagine, it was therefore really easy to wash out.

The conditioner is somewhat similar when it comes to the ingredient list (by what black magic does this happen?!) which means it's also quite simplistic. This one has hops extract, balm mint extract, honey, Moroccan argan oil, chamomile extract, lemongrass oil, etc. It looks and feels exactly like any other conditioner that I've used but the added bonus is that with the argan oil already in there, I don't have to follow up later with a leave in. Okay, maybe that's not really a good perk to focus on, but honestly, the chamomile scent was refreshing when I used it the first time. My hair was soft and bouncy and overall seems quite happy with this one.

Price: $16 for the shampoo (12 oz) and $17 for the conditioner (12 oz).
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Definitely a great shampoo and conditioner combination; I'm even more impressed by this one since it fit all of Nicole's criteria (being free of sulfates, silicones, and protein). My hair loved this a lot and this will definitely enter the standard rotation of hair care.


Coastal Scents African Black Soap

As I already mentioned, African black soap was something I grew up with -- specifically Nubian Heritage African Black Soap. I haven't really been able to find it in local stores since I moved out to the West Coast which is why my usage of it dwindled. I received two samples of this soap from Kara's Way so I feel as though was ample to work with in order to provide a review of the long missed black soap. So wait, a step back for anyone who isn't familiar with black soap... what is it?

Black soap, or rather this particular blend of black soap is made with coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa pod ash, and palm kernel oil. The soap itself is great for trouble skin (such as eczema), reducing blemishes and the appearance of fine lines, and evening out dark spots. It also offers light exfoliation so at the end of the day what really works for me is that it provides moisture back to my skin (via the shea butter) and provides light exfoliation which is great for my dry skin without overdoing it.

A note from Coastal Scents is that they do say that you shouldn't use this directly on your skin and you should use a wash cloth or sponge. I didn't know that at the time so I used it directly on my skin and didn't have any issues. With that being said, if I did order a full sized bar (16 oz) then I'd likely follow their directions.

Price: 79¢ for a sample and $12.95 for a full bar.
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Another win for dry skin but this one is a bit different given the slight exfoliation present in this bar. Black soap is a long time favourite of mine and I'd definitely recommend their blend especially given the cocoa butter element.

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This product was featured in the December Kara's Way box and was given to me complimentary for my evaluation.

Review: Les Tai Tai Model Mirror

For the longest time, I had this mirror on my wishlist telling myself that one day I'd get it because I thought it was a great concept and Les Tai Tai had the best reviews. My friend surprised me and got the mirror for me and I was ecstatic. I immediately grabbed some batteries and tried to open the latch. Turns out that the latch is incredibly hard to open and it ended up becoming distorted as both myself and my boyfriend tried to open it. 

The picture to the right is what it looked liked after the first few attempts. I wrote back to both Les Tai Tai and the company that my friend got it from. Les Tai Tai simply responded with, "It can only be opened with a coin." Well, turns out that only a nickel will work on the latch and if it's already distorted then nothing will work to get it open. (It's actually much worse now, which I will admit is partially my own fault). The company it was purchased it from went silent after about a week or two. So if you're wondering why I mentioned this first instead of at the end, it's simply because this will clearly not be a long lasting item.

Of course, I do love the product -- the gold skull is just wonderful and the mirror itself works great. It came in a pouch that fits it well. Oh and not to mention that the lights on it are quite bright. Overall, this would be great but those lights are bright and one day, those lights will require new batteries that I cannot replace which means that this is a huge problem with that flimsy cap.

Add to that that the customer service all around dropped the ball in regard to this matter.

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Product: Les Tai Tai Model Mirror
Price: $25
Stars: ★☆☆☆☆
Takeaway: While the mirror itself it good and the LEDs are bright, the battery latch was very tight and led to the distortion of it. So basically, I can't replace the batteries on it.