Black Rose Minerals' Haul, Swatches, and Look! (Picture heavy)

A while ago (and I mean a WHILE ago)  I purchased some mineral makeup samples from Black Rose Minerals.  They've got some fantastic deals and free shipping worldwide for samples, so I thought, "Why not?"  They also have a different 10% off code every month which I completely forgot to use.  I opted for the 10 sample baggies for $6 (+tax).  My package arrived within a week.

Packaging: 

Even though I was only ordering samples, my package arrived in a bubble mailer.  The products themselves were wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap, tissue paper, and plastic baggies.  Rose (the owner) was nice enough to throw in a few extra mini samples.

I got to work debagging these babies right away.  Here is my little work station.

I swatched the colors while I was debagging, so they're kind of all over the place.  To see all the swatches at once, keep scrolling down.  I swatched on bare skin, and with the side of a Q-tip/cotton bud.

Woohoo natural lighting!

I cut open the bags completely so no product would be stuck at the top.

Samples: Liberty, Saturn, and Insect.  No flash.

Snow, Basilisk, Nightengale, Pacific Oil Slick, Royal Orchid, Mome Rath

Frost, Lady, Were Me out, Earthen

Mome Rath, Frost, Lady, Were Me Out, Earthen. No flash.

With flash.

All product descriptions are from the website.  An asterisk (*) indicates my favorites.  

Snow--A true pearly white with a kaleidoscope of glistening highlights 

Basilisk*-- Wears well both dry and wet. More metallic 

Nightingale*--A mysterious and dark duochrome.

Pacific Oil Slick*--black base with a blue green shimmer

Royal Orchid*--A deep metallic violet with strong red tones

Mome Rath--Shocking violet with magenta undertones. NOT VEGAN.

Frost*--An iridescent violet tint in a white base

Lady--A beautiful shimmery blue-green with a gold shimmer

Were Me Out--Shimmery dark green

Earthen*--A deep chocolaty brown

Liberty--Like the lady, this green is very much like an oxidized copper. A little bit of pink glitter with a slight metallic finish. NOT LIP SAFE OR VEGAN

Saturn--Grey, almost silver.  I can't find this on the site so it may no longer be available.

Insect--a sparkly shimmery light neutral brown with lots of iridescence. String notes of green and gold. NOT LIP SAFE.

So many swatches...

My debagged samples.

And the look...

The BRM products I used were Frost, Royal Orchid, and Snow.  It's been so long that I can't remember any of the other products I used.  If I remember correctly, all colors were used dry.

What do I think of them?
It's kind of hard to say.  I'm not somebody who uses loose eyeshadows very often.  I want to say that they are not terribly pigmented, as I have used other brands (also mineral) before that offered AMAZING pigmentation.  But again,  these guys don't pack as much of a punch as I had hoped.  Please don't take this as a review of the products, because it's not.  I'll have to play with the makeup a lot more to have a final verdict. I WILL say that the colors are really beautiful, and if I can make them work for me, I will most certainly be purchasing some full sizes.

Thanks for stopping by :)

[I have nothing to disclose.]

FOTD: Getting Naked

I purchased a crapload of Naked mineral pigments over a year ago because there was an awesome deal on them.  Unfortunately, I'm still a newbie when it comes to using loose eyeshadows so I haven't really been using them too much.  As a matter of fact, today is the first time that I'm using them for a look (shame on me!).  Using these guys has really been an experience, because they're all so shimmery and i have to really blend them out for the glittery to go away.  I've also been experimenting with wetting eyeshadows and leaving them dry....and I made a messy.  If you don't get it right, the eyeshadow gets all clumpy and impossible to blend out.  I did succeed, however, in creating a look that I'm happy with, regardless that the two eyes don't match.

Face:
-Moisturizer
-Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base
-Smashbox Foundation Light 3
-Cover FX Setting Powder in Light
-NYC Matte Bronzer in Sunny
-NARS Blush in Oasis
-Stila Illuminating Powder in Gold
-NARS Multiple in Copacabana

Eyes:
-UDPP
-MAC Paint Pot in Painterly
-Naked e/s in Blushing Bronze #6, Mother Nature #5, Naturally Nude #5, Blushing Bronze #1
-Too Faced e/s in Heaven
-Stila Smudgepot in Black
-INGLOT waterproof mascara

Lips:
-EOS Lip Balm
-Maybelline l/s in On the Mauve
-Sephora l/g in Bronzed Beauty

I rarely (more like never) use pink eyeshadow.  Tried it once using for a muted pink and brown look and it was definitely not cute.  However, I think I have found a better way to break into pink and hope to use it a lot more often.

Thanks for stopping by!

P.S. Now I know why everyone takes pictures in the bathroom.  The lighting is so much better!

Playing around with....a lot of stuff

So my birthday was last week and my hubby got me a new camera with my youtube channel and my love of makeup in mind.  It's this sexy baby right here:



Of course, I had to try it out but since I am technologically challenged, this is going to take a while.  For sure it takes better pictures than my old Sony, but I have yet to work the settings to my advantage and overcome the craptastic lighting I have in my filming/makeup area. So for now, my pictures are not going to be 100% fabulous (unfortunately).  Still, I gotta play around with it some to get used to it and master this new toy of mine.


Back to the topic of makeup, I have been really inspired by Phyrra's LOTDs.  She almost always uses mineral makeup in very bright colors and pulls it off stupendously.  I would love to be able to wear brights like that everyday but I don't have the clothes to match nor the guts to just wing it.  Since I have a bit of spare time (well, I'm forcing it into my schedule hahahaha), I decided to try something bright myself.  I have quite a bit of mineral eyeshadows for somebody who never uses them.  Shame on me.  I find them a bit messy and not ideal for on the go looks which I find myself gravitating towards, but boy are they a lot of fun.  I was not able to come up with something super creative but I like it.  I had a bit of trouble figuring out what to do at the beginning because I already had bright teal eyeliner on and some mascara, but hey, things worked out.  And without further ado, here are some pictures of the look!

Oops. Looks like somebody for got to crop the last two pictures.  I was just so excited to show you guys.

Face:

-Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Medium
-BareMinerals Matte Foundation in Light
-Tarte Mineral Powder Bronzer in Park Ave Princess
-NARS Blush in Oasis

Eyes:
-Urban Decay Primer Potion (UDPP)
-UD 24/7 Liner in Zero [Tightlining]
-BFTE Jaded [Lid color]
-BFTE Illusion [Outer corner of the eye]
-MicaBella Sunshine [Inner crease and tear duct]
-Korres single eyeshadow in 11M Base
-L'oreal Lineur Intense liquid liner
-L'oreal Extra Collagen Mascara

Lips:
-Napoleon Perdis Lipstick in Minneapolis
-Rimmel Vinyl Gloss in East End Snob


Woohoo! That's all for now folks. I hope to do a lot more of these in the near future!