54 things gone (almost)

1. Gabriel Cosmetics lipstick sample - clay- actually not a bad color. I might seriously consider buying this at some point.

2. Lure Beauty shadow sample - Caroline. Pretty pale steely blue with greenish gold duochrome. Sadly, I'm not thrilled with the wear on this - it creases on me even with TFSI. (I actually have enough left for one more wear, but didn't want to do a blog post with just one thing)

So we'll see how things go. I'm pretty much not buying stuff for the time being (no money - and once I start getting paid from the job I'm starting soon, I'll have to start paying loans back instead). I may make an exception for a WNW Christmas palette, but probably not. In a perverse way, it might be fun to see how long I can go without buying anything new.

Used up a few more things

1. Aveeno shampoo sample packet (I always use at least twice as much conditioner than shampoo). Eh. The clean doesn't last long enough. Silicones do not belong in shampoo. I only had these packets because they were attached to body wash.

2. Tarte ReCreate silicone free primer sample. As with many of the primers I've tried, this one is a better moisturizer than a primer. Add some SPF to it, and I think it might be a nice product. Primers don't work as primers on me, but sometimes they're a nice substitute for foundation. I still think they're a scam, though.

3. adorned with Grace Illuminated blush sample baggie. This would be a great highlighter for someone with much darker skin than mine. As is, it's a half shade darker than me.

I also chucked a few things.

1. L'Oreal roll on foundation - Somehow made me patchy and oily at the same time, with highlighted dry spots. I just didn't want to fight with it anymore.

2. Cover Girl Lash Blast fusion mascara in brown (purple tube). Orange tube lash blast is great. Purple tube sucks.

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming blog sale - I have some stuff I'm not using that I need to get rid of. Also, I'm kind of hard up for cash and could use some.

More things I've used up!

1. Cozy Moments shampoo bar sample. Not for me. I have two shampoo bars from other companies I'll be getting to later, after I finish my sample packets. I hope they work better. And I used an acidic rinse, too!

2. Aveeno moisturizing conditioner sample packet. Way more coney than I usually go for (I leave the silicones for leave-ins and avoid them during my showers).

3. Fyrinnae Arcane Magic Greenman's Magic sample. Pretty nice - I have so many golds and stuff that I should probably not repurchase. Lovely color anyway.

Finally gone!

All done with the Bare Minerals Matte sample - which took longer than expected because I ended up having to mix it with a highlighter from another brand in order to lighten it enough.

Oh, and also? The sample jar looks like a 10g jar on the outside, but because the sifter goes down deeper and it has a shallower compartment area, it really holds the amount as a 5g jar - and it was half full.

Two more samples down the hatch!

1. Urban Decay De-Slick in a tube sample packet. This had enough in it to use exactly once. Honestly, I'm not sure it's better than powder - applying it most certainly obliterated my blush. I did look less shiny for an hour or two, though. Not going to buy this.

2. Aromaleigh Bete Noir shadow sample in ambré. I actually did like this alright, if not enough to buy it again (not that I could, anyway). I'll miss how Aromaleigh was always great at making dark colors wearable on paler complexions like mine. This one was a dark olive green with some really nice lighter sparkles that really made it less intense.

43 things used up!

Used up more stuff!

1. Silk Naturals Cream Concealer - light peach creamy concealer sample. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has managed to cover up my dark circles. I don't know why I expected this would.

2. Garnier face wipes - 10 pack. Alright in a pinch, but no substitute for a real face wash.

3. Bare Minerals mineral veil sample. As said before, waste of time. Silica, silk powder, and rice powder all work better for me.

Used up shampoo, lotion sample

I used up two more things!

1. GoodonyaToo açai açai salty dawg creme shampoo. This is not bad stuff. It definitely makes my scalp feel clean. My main complaints are texture (it's hard to work a salty, grainy paste into wet hair easily) and the feeling that I have to use too much. I have not yet found my Holy Grail hair cleansing product or routine yet. I suspect that living somewhere I can install a handheld shower head and being able to wash only the scalp hair when needed (I have a lot of hair) would be ideal.

2. Liza Lotion Blotch-be-Gone acne lotion. Also pretty good stuff. I got a sample of this in a pay-it-forward from the maker, Liza, and I do like it. It doesn't feel like it moisturizes enough, but it also doesn't leave flakes, and my skin is clearer than it has been lately. If going back to other lotion makes me break out, I'll think harder about buying some.

So now I'm at 39 products down!

Review - Bare Minerals Matte foundation

A while back, Sephora was giving away free Bare Minerals minis (packaged with a mini Mineral Veil and an extremely tiny kabuki brush). The sales assistant picked out Light matte as my best match.

Recently, as part of Project Use It, I've opened and started using these samples. I figured it would be a great opportunity to test out the "original" mineral foundation and see how it held up against my indie favorites.

I would love to be able to review it with my standard rubric, but I just can't. First of all, Light is too dark for me. I have been trying to make it work, with limited success. I have mixed it with the Mineral Veil. I have mixed it with silica powder. I have mixed it with highlighters. I have applied it over a sunblock that turns me pasty white. No matter what I do, it's still too dark. Today, the only reason it looks ok from afar is that I put on a bunch of a powder highlighter on top. Close-up, the caked-on powder is pretty evident.

This means that I can't review it against the other foundations because I'd be reviewing my own formula instead of Bare Minerals'.

Texture-wise, it feels like any standard mineral powder. I have a harder time than usual applying this evenly, and I can't figure out why. My kabuki brush just isn't transporting the powder well. The color mismatch makes it even more obvious. Also, it seems to take an enormous amount of product to get proper coverage. Again, the product being too dark highlights just how hard it is to get it to cover my face.

I'm disappointed. If anyone wants to send me samples of either Fairly Light or Golden Fair, so I can better judge the product's performance, let me know. An eighth teaspoon would be enough.

As for the mineral veil - its primary ingredient is cornstarch. Do you know how cheap cornstarch is? You probably have some in your kitchen. Save yourself some money and tint a jarful with a bit of your foundation.

Used up some more stuff!!!

Go me!

1. Garnier Nutrisse Triple Nutrition conditioner. This is my second bottle. I like it alright, it's cheap and moisturizing. But I like a little bit more slip.

2. Sample pod of Tarte Green Siren cheek stain. I didn't like the shininess on this one, so I swapped the full size away. But I finished the sample!

3. Sample tube of Kat Von D eye primer. Sucks as primer, much better as a concealer. Seriously, my eyeshadow creased with this. It doesn't do that with my other primers. If you want a good primer, do not buy this. I'm glad I was at least able to get some use out of it as a concealer, though.

4. Sample baggie of adorned with Grace Minerals Supreme Smoothing Powder. Good stuff, but I'm still planning on making my own silica-based powders in the future. If you like silica, don't like expensive, and want a peach tint, I can recommend this.

This brings me to 37 used-up products. I also gave up on a couple purple shadow samples because they show up grayish on me, and I found three baggies of green shadow that are too close to other things I own to keep around.

Much promised HiFi swatches!

I ordered a blogger review kit from Veronica over at Hi-Fi Cosmetics, told her I liked bright colors and neutrals, and let her surprise me. She sent me these five samples! The sample bags have some heft - they feel more like the amount some companies put in foundation or finishing powder samples.



Initial impressions from looking at the baggies:
Psycho Mind - darkish liner color.
California Girl - gold.
Queen of Disaster - Dark blue liner color.
The Hydra - Pretty turquoise!
Crazy Little Thing - sky blue? Neat!

Then I swatched them.




I was surprised at how close Crazy Little Thing looked to The Hydra because they looked more different in the baggies. The Hydra is sheerer and more shimmery, whereas Crazy Little Thing is a rich pearl. I have to play with these some more, because I think they could be more interesting if I try different things with them.

Queen of Disaster looks like it'll be a good liner color. The iridescence, and the fact that is can apply fairly sheerly, mean it might be more versatile than I think.

California Girl was kind of an outlier - all the other shadows are more creamy, and this one is more flyaway.

Psycho Mind is my surprise favorite. Do you see that? It's not gray at all, like I originally thought (I really look like death in gray). It's a shimmery plum with teal duochrome!!! Disenchanted EDM fans will be pleased to know that this is a lot like Shopping Spree, but better. I am so thrilled to own this.


I haven't had a chance to actually use any of these yet, but I will as soon as I'm done plowing through some more baggie samples from other companies. I think I'll really like them.

Disclosure: I paid for the shipping and etsy fees on these. The shadows themselves were pretty much free for review purposes. FCC, you can stop reading now.

Request

Ladies! Your EOTDs are lovely, so do us all a favor and quit apologizing for the state of your eyebrows.

We should never feel like we have to apologize for our appearance.

Also, usually I didn't notice your perceived flaw before you pointed it out.

Used up some more eye samples!

In the past few days, I've gone through a bunch of eye samples. And some other stuff. :)

1. Fyrinnae Griffonrider (Sample jar) Medium-light gold with blue shimmer. Not bad, but for gold, I prefer Polar Bear.

2. Silk Naturals Nekkid (Sample baggie decant) Flesh toned, good wash color. I think I liked Sassy Minerals Pixie Dust, which was similar in color but slightly more interesting, better.

3. NYX Jade (Sample decant of loose powder). Bright green, best used as an eyeliner. I have a pencil the same color, though. (Also, I cheated on this one and used some of it in a frankenpolish).

4. Fyrinnae Fluff (10g jar). Translucent powder. Good stuff, but since learning silica works well for me, in the future I'll probably make my own.

5. Carol's Daughter Hair Milk (sample packet). DO NOT LIKE. The lemongrass smell isn't great. At all. It kind of made me want Thai food immediately. Also, I looked up the ingredients later - it has beeswax in it (in a hair product? Who knew?). That explains why my neck's been itchy lately. I also didn't like how it makes me need to wash my hair sooner. When will I learn that my hair does not like product?




I finally got around to swatching some new stuff (including the HiFi review packet). Will post pics in a few days. Reviews to follow.

Contest over at Phyrra's

http://phyrra.net/2010/10/bfte-cosmetics-the-wizard-of-oz-some-giveaway.html

Contest over at Phyrra's