Meow Cosmetics Holiday 2012: Midnight Clear Look

I received some eyeshadow samples compliments of Meow Cosmetics to test and review.  Among them were several from the Holiday 2012 collection "Midnight Clear."  I picked the ones that I thought would be my favorites and put them together in a look.  I am very pleased with the results.

  

• Cloven Skies:  Warm bronzed russet with copper iridescence and a soft metallic  finish (more metallic than sparkly) (Meow's description perfectly describes this eyeshadow.  Beautiful, rich color.)

• Golden Hours:  Soft metallic brushed gold (Great description.  Gorgeous color! I patted it over Cloven Skies on my lid to add richness and shine in this look.)

• Peaceful Wings:  Buttery sand gold (My favorite.  It's a great highlighter for my skin tone.  Love!)

• Ancient Splendor:  Iridescent taupe with copper highlights (This one has a dark base that I wasn't expecting by the look of Meow's swatch making it more wearable for me as a liner rather than an eyeshadow.)

 My own hand swatches

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Aromaleigh v.2 Pure Eyes Frost Look: Secret/Fathom

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I posted a question on the Aromaleigh Aficionadas Facebook page asking the group members if they would like to see a look using the new Pure Eyes Frost collection.  One of the requests was for Zen (the look I did yesterday).  Another was Fathom. 

I tried Zen first because it was a color more in my comfort zone (neutral).  Honestly, Fathom scared me and I didn't think I would end up doing a look using it at all.  However, today I decided that "it's only makeup" and I was just going to grocery store so I figured out a way to make Fathom wearable for me. 

I'm so glad I did.  I love Fathom!  For me, it makes a gorgeous accent color.  It's very rich and adds lots of depth wherever you apply it.  Since I have large eyes with lots of lid space, I used it on the outer corner and almost 1/2 way across the lid extending it out at the corner to elongate my  eyes.  I used Secret as the lid color because I thought it coordinated nicely with Fathom and made my blue eyes pop.  If anyone tries to tell you that blue eyeshadow makes blue eyes look better, don't believe them.  Blue only competes with your eye color.  Warm tones like browns, coppers and reds are best in my opinion.

For a more daring lady, Fathom would look sultry and smoky applied all over the lid and blended out heavily in the crease to reveal the dark undertone.  Black eyeliner on the waterline and lots of mascara would complete the look.

I even think that mixed with water, Fathom would make an amazing liner. 

Here's what I did:

I used Aromaleigh's Bouvardia blush on my cheeks.  It's becoming my new favorite.  It has multi-tonal qualities that I really like.  It's like wearing a bronzer, blush and highlighter all in one.

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Aromaleigh v2 Pure Eyes Frost Look: Neutrals

I received an order from Aromaleigh day before yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you.  If you've never ordered from Aromaleigh, here's what you can expect.

• Your items come all wrapped up in bright pink tissue paper and affixed with an Aromaleigh logo sticker (inside a yellow bubble mailing envelope - not shown).


• All items are securely placed inside a plastic zipper bag and additionally closed with a staple.


• All of the full sized eye shadows, powders and foundations have stickers over the sifter holes to prevent leakage. 


• The sample baggies are packaged separately in yet another zipper bag.


• A detailed invoice in included with your order.

I love the attention to detail.  Everything arrives neat and tidy just as you would expect.

I ordered three full size eyeshadows (Robin's Nest, Branch Out, and Mneme), Gossamer mineral powder foundation in 2y, Glamoured finishing powder in Gypsophyllia, numerous Pure Eyes Frost shadow samples (free samples were included in my order as well), 3 rotating sifter lids (love these!!!) and two little flocked sponges. 

I went shopping with my teen daughter yesterday and this is the look I put together.

I used Boudoir, Voodoo and Caprice from the Aromaleigh Pure Eyes Frost collection.  Makes Me Smile (from the now closed company The She Space) is a light brown matte shadow that I used to blend out the crease.  I used Revlon matte eyeshadow in Rich Sable (mixed with water) as liner on my top and bottom lash lines.  My mascara is Covergirl waterproof Lash Exact.

Descriptions from the Aromaleigh web site:

• Caprice has a frost finish in a light neutral champagne color with beige and grey tones.  I can't say enough wonderful things about this color.  The description is spot on.  I can see myself wearing this regularly for those days I want a quick one-color look.


• Voodoo has a frost finish in a dark, neutral almost-black shade with beautiful complexity. I usually don't work with colors this dark for a daytime look but I wanted something to deepen the outer corner and I think this worked nicely.  It's not too black so I feel that it will go with lots of lid colors.


• Boudoir has a frost finish in a pale buttery peach shade.  I love this color.  It almost matches my skin tone exactly.  It makes a very subtle highlighter and is not overly frosty which is my preference for a daytime highlighter.

Same shadows, just different lighting.

Aromaleigh is having a 25% off everything sale (minimum precoupon order of $13.50 applies) until November 28th so you can save quite a bit of money trying out some new products or stocking up on your staples (use coupon code THANKFUL25).

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Aromaleigh v.2 "Moulin Rouge" Limited Edition Eye Collection: Review and FOTD

Hi everyone!

It's been quite some time since I've done a FOTD (face of the day) post.  I just went and checked through my old posts and found that I haven't done one since May.  Not that there haven't been any cosmetics out there worthy of wearing and showing, but rather I really don't wear as much eyeshadow during the summer months since it gets so hot here (in September alone we had 29 days that were 90 degrees or hotter with 6 of those being 100+) and everything kind of slides off anyway.

So even though it was 100 today, I had a cold and pretty much felt bleh for the past week, so I decided to break out some colors I haven't used before and experiment a little since I'm finally feeling like my old self again.  For this look, all the eyeshadows are from Aromaleigh's Moulin Rouge limited edition eye collection (check out the Aromaleigh color chart below to view all the shades in this collection).  They were samples I had purchased a while back when the collection first came out but I just never got around to using.

MY THOUGHTS ON MOULIN ROUGE:    The biggest surprise was Flutter.  The surprise about it wasn't the color (which I do like a lot) but rather the finish.  It was the first color I applied in this look and as my eyeshadow-filled brush touched my lid, I immediately thought "Wow, this shadow feels so luxurious."  It wasn't thin or wimpy.  Not that I thought it would be it's just that it was more plush and cushy feeling than I anticipated and had a sumptuous satin finish.  Just what I want from an eyeshadow.  The sparkles weren't overwhelming as with some shadows that contain sparkles, sparks or glitter, which was nice since I'm not a sparkly eyeshadow kinda gal.

Ruffle also had a nice satiny feel/finish but the sparkles were just slightly more apparent for my liking at first glance.  However, when I blended the color (from brows to crease) the sparkles were imperceptible. 

Ma Cherie and Tantalize (both more matte than Flutter and Ruffle) were the only darker colors I have from this collection so I used them for my crease and outer corner.  Both shades are warmer/pinker than I usually like (I always think these types of colors make my eyes look sore) but I think they look pretty in this look nevertheless.  Sometimes it's nice to break out of your comfort zone and try something new.  I'm glad I did in this case. 

I used Belle in such a minuscule amount to highlight just under my brow and in the inner corner that I don't really have any thoughts one way or another on it. 

The liner I used on my upper lash line is Revlon matte eye shadow in Rich Sable.  I add a few drops of water to the pan and apply it wet with a brush just like old fashioned cake eyeliner.

 

 

Color descriptions from the Aromaleigh web site:

 

Flutter- A paled lustrous grey-green (or green-grey?) sheen accented with brilliant green highlight sparkles.

 

Ruffle- A slightly sheer pale cream yellow with the slightest undertone of warm green shimmer and fine borealis highlight glimmer. 

 

Ma chèrie- A softly sheer plush luster in a midtoned cocoa rosy buff, highlighted with fine shimmers of green and blue.

 

Tantalize- A perfect warm brown, softly lustrous plush finish with surprisingly vivid sapphire and gleaming citrine sparks.

 

Belle- She's the palest grey lilac lustrous frost sheen accented with vivid sparkles of lilac.

 

 

 

Here's me with my new shorter bangs wearing my favorite maxi dress (Nicole Miller).

 

 

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*All opinions expressed in product reviews are my own and can't be bought. I do not work for any of the companies whose products I review. In some instances, products are provided to me free of charge for purposes of testing in order to provide an honest and unbiased review.

Aromaleigh v.2 "Dusk to Dawn" Overnight Mineral Treatment - A Product Review

I recently had the opportunity to review Aromaleigh v.2's Dusk to Dawn Overnight Mineral Treatment, which was based on Aromaleigh v.1's Nocturne for those of you who have been longtime customers.

WHAT IS IT:  There is so much great information on this product at the web site that I won't bother posting it all here.  But in a nutshell, it's a mineral treatment powder you apply to your clean skin at night before going to bed.  It's supposed to nourish your skin with minerals, vitamins, herbal extracts, and amino-rich silk powder among other skin-loving ingredients.

MY SKIN:  I am over 40 and have combination skin (oily t-zone/normal cheeks with occasional blemishes) but I use several anti-aging products (like Retin-A and glycolic acid serum) on a regular basis.  So for my product test, I decided to use the Dusk to Dawn on the in between days when I'm not using those harsher treatments and want to give my skin a rest. 

HOW I USED IT:  So I did what the instructions said and I applied it in a light layer to my freshly cleansed skin (face as well as neck and chest since I always use skincare treatments on all three areas) using a flocked sponge.  I use flocked sponges for applying my mineral foundation so I had them on hand.  A regular powder puff would work just as well.  In the morning, I just splashed my skin with water to rinse it and patted it dry.  I didn't feel the need to use any additional cleansers since I washed my skin the night before.

MY RESULTS:  What I found is that my skin started to feel "healed" after several days of use.  The pink/red areas were calmed and my occasional "monthly" blemishes were reduced.  I've only been using the product for a couple of weeks now, but so far I like what it's doing for my skin.  In addition to using it on my face/neck/chest, I also tried it on my scalp.  Occasionally, my scalp gets a few itchy and angry looking red spots around the hair line and other places here and there (usually when I go a day without washing it).  I experimented and dabbed some of the Dusk to Dawn on those spots and it helped heal them as well.  If you're looking for something different to add to your skincare routine or have tried higher-priced nighttime mineral treatments, I suggest you at least try a sample of Dusk to Dawn and see what it does for your skin.

MORE INFO:  It comes in two shades, Dusk to Dawn (original shade) and Dusk to Dawn II (the darker shade).  I don't have a shade preference since I'm wearing it to bed and no one is going to see me, but if I had to pick one I think it would be the original shade and then only because it would keep my pillow cases cleaner.  Samples (1/2 tsp) are only $2.50 and come is plastic baggies.  The regular sized jar (known as a 20 gram jar) is $28 and contains 10 grams net weight of product.  The large jar (known as a 50 gram jar) is $50 and contains 25 grams net weight of product.  And again, the web site has more details regarding jar size, ingredients, etc.


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Aromaleigh v.2 "Muse" Eyeshadow Review and FOTD

Until recently, I hadn't ordered any of the new Aromaleigh v.2 eyeshadows because I have so many eyeshadows in my collection already.  However, I received 3 free samples in my last product order and was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't expecting to fall in love (or deep like) with more eyeshadows but. . .

Thalia, which is from the Muse collection (based on Aromaleigh v.1's Eye Plush collection) has a beautiful texture and finish.  If a powdered eyeshadow can be considered "creamy," this one IS.  It feels smooth, rich and expensive.  Dare I say I like its finish better than the original Eye Plush?. . .yes!  Now I'm looking forward to trying more shades in the Muse collection.  The one I'm most curious about is Mneme.  It is described as a subtle and muted warm creamy yellow.  On the swatch it looks a little on the peachy side (hence the "warm" in the description?) but I'm willing to give it a try because I love me some soft yellow eyeshadow.  I use soft yellows of varying sheens regularly as blender and highlight colors because they are less stark than white or ivory.

My monchromatic daytime look using Thalia from Aromaleigh v.2's Muse collection:

♥  Aromaleigh Gossamer mineral powder foundation in 2y

♥  Aromaleigh Illuminata Luxe mineral finishing powder

♥  Aromaleigh Glamoured mineral finishing powder in Gypsophila - chin

♥  Aromaleigh Illuminata Eye mineral perfecting powder - under eyes

♥  Aromaleigh Sylph mineral cheek color in Calla - cheeks

♥  Meow i-prime - all over eyelids

♥  Thalia Muse mineral eyeshadow - lid/crease

♥  Revlon matte eyeshadow in Rich Sable - outer corner/just into crease and mixed with water and used as liner on upper lash line

♥  Aromaleigh v.1 pure eyes lustre eyeshadow in Fiona - highlight

♥  Maybelline mineral power lipstick in Pink Pearl (#100) - lips

I also received Pavot from the Bloom collection.  Pavot is described as a lovely soft coral peach accented by sparks of iridescence.  To me, the "sparks of iridescence" is actually a pink iridescent highlight.  It's one of those colors that when you swatch it on your hand, it appears nearly nude (on my skin tone) held one way and like iridescent bright pink when held so it catches the light.  If you love subtlety with a special finish, you'll want to try Pavot.

And last but certainly not least, I received a sample of Nymphea from the Bloom collection.  It is described as a pale greenish yellow frost with sparks of blue and violet.  I agree!  It is way more beautiful than the swatch on the website and is going to be one of my favorite go-to eyeshadows.  Paired with other more vibrant colors, Nymphea will pick up that color and coordinate beautifully.  The other day, I wore it on my lid with Celeste (a beautiful sea green/turquoise from the Aromaleigh v1 Eye Lustre collection) patted over the top just in the center of my lid and a medium/dark matte brown in the outer corner/crease.

I've enjoyed playing with my new samples so much that last night (using a fabulous 25% one-day coupon from Aromaleigh), I ordered samples of Flare, Branch Out, Loverly, Heliotrope, Robin's Nest, Mneme, Clio, Marguerite, Lunaire, Narcisse, Primvere, Fraxinelle, Hellebore, Stella, Elisabetta, Nadalina, and Lucia eyeshadows.  When they arrive, I'll be sure to post my thoughts and photos here.

 
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Aromaleigh v.2 Samples and Sylph Blush Review

I received my Aromaleigh v.2 sample order yesterday.  I got 9 of the Sylph blush colors (bouvardia, calla, celosia, gladiolus, paeonia, primrose, protea, sakura, and thistle), samples of all 3 Illuminata products (original, luxe, and eye), 1 Prelude treatment primer, 1 Gypsophila finishing powder (I tried this sample when the product was first introduced but couldn't remember if I loved it or not so I'm trying it again), 1 Gossamer foundation in 2y and 1 Gossamer foundation in 3w (for my teen).

First up are the blushes. . .

I haven't tried them all yet but I did attempt to swatch a few on my arm.  Blush color swatches aren't easy to photograph.  But the ones I included here are pretty close to real life.  You can rely on the color descriptions on the website because in my opinion, they are true to the samples I have tried.

Yesterday, I wore Protea.  I find that richer more vibrant colors look better on me that lighter ones.  I can apply them with a light hand and get a natural flush of color; whereas, lighter blushes tend to disappear on me or I have to layer them quite a bit to get any color payoff.  Today, I wore Celosia and loved it (sorry no pics - but soon).  It is a mid tone color that's not too peach and not too pink.  It also has a little more sheen to it than just matte.  I would call it a plush finish because its texture/finish reminds me of the Muse line of eyeshadows.

bouvardia: A medium neutral bronzed berry.
calla: A delightful coral peach.
celosia: A soft peachy pink buff.
gladiolus: A luscious pink mauve.
paeonia: An exquisite deep peony pink.
primrose: A gorgeous mauved pink with soft beige tones. 
protea: A perfect blend of pink, peach and scarlet.
sakura: A true candy pink.
thistle: A soft pinkish mauve with buff tones.

Me wearing Protea blush.  When applied sheerly, the depth and brightness is not intimidating.  I love this color!

Coming up:  Reviews of Aromaleigh v2 finishing powders and eyeshadows.

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