cleodelinda’s blog

I haven't updated this blog for a long time, but I have been doing some shopping... :) I have mostly been using neutral colors lately and the quest for the perfect taupe goes on.
Here are some swatches of my latest Aromaleigh sample haul from the Opulent Lustre and Eye Plush collections and a comparison of some of my favorite taupes! :)

Aromaleigh Opulent & Plush

Taupe 10

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I got some samples of the new perfecting glows and two of the new blushes. I have never tried any glows from SN before, and I got their "old" Angel Mineral Glow too. I really liked the new ones - Splendid and Pristine. Angel is a little to frosty for my taste. The blushes was very pretty too! I also got a sample of the new concealer, but I haven't tried it yet. I noticed that the new glow samples were much smaller than the blushes and the angel sample, but they will be enough for a few applications at least.

The new liquid gloss were nice, but I like the ordinary SN glosses better. This one - Modern Poet - was a little to sheer for my taste. It felt really nice on the lips however. :)

Silk Naturals samples

Silk Natural Glow swatches

I'm so glad that Aromaleigh has opened up for international orders. I have seen so many beautiful fotd's with AL products and I had a long list of things I wanted to try... :)

I got my first sample order today and the colors are gorgeous!

Aromaleigh sample bags

Aromaleigh

I heard about the LipStix ReMix set from lipstixremix.com and I couldn't resist ordering it. I love making my own eyeshadows from micas and oxides and I have made a few lipbalms, but making lipsticks was new to me and I was very exited to try it.

It was easier than I had thought. I made a professional looking lipstick only within minutes after the package arrived. :) I had a sample of listick base from TKB and I melted it and mixed with some micas and oxides from Coastal Scents and TKB. One l/s base sample is good for about 4 lipsticks, now I have to order some more... :) The first attempt didn't turn out very well I learned that you should mix the micas and oxides together before you put in in the melted base... :o) But I just re-melted the lipstick and mixed it a little better and next time it turned out great.

The original purpose with this set is to re-create and mix new lipsticks from the product left in the end of the tubes of your usual lipsticks. But it works great to make you own mineral lipsticks too!
The set was only $19.95US and besides the mold you get 4 empty lipstick tubes with labels, 5 stackable jars, lots of spatulas and mixing cups. It is time consuming, and you can only make one lipstick at a time, but knowing how much a professional lipstick mold costs this might be a great alternative for the diy mmu beginner. :)

I recently ordered sample bags of the new Heavy and Medium Perfect Harmony foundation formulas and the new Peach base color. I am so happy to finally realize that I have peach undertones in my skin. Neutral foundations are often to ashy and I have been told that I have both pink and yellow tones in my skin, but I actually never realized until now that yellow + pink = peach. LOL I recently found a great match in LaurEss peach line (Radiant Ginger) and now I have found the new SN Peach mix to be a much better match than my old SN Ebony mix. Ah, it is so nice to finally have found my color identity, now I have some more sampling to do... ;)

I got the samples very fast from US to Sweden and I have already been able to try the medium formula for two days and today I'm wearing the heavy one. The medium finish is very similar to the original light/medium finish, but gives more coverage, of course. There is no foundation that looks more natural on my skin than Silk Naturals, it doese't give me that airbrushed finish I get from Lumiere, but it goes on very natural and gives a smooth even finish that makes it almost impossible to see that I'm even wearing foundation.I was on a job interview yesterday and it was the perfect foundation too wear. The staying power is good, but not the best, but it really doesn't matter since you can layer some more foundation during the day, without the risk of cakey looking skin.

The Peach base is much darker than the Ebony base. I use a 1:4 Ebony:White and about 1:8 Peach:White.
The big pot in the middle is Ebony and the small pots are from left to right, heavy, light and medium Peach.

Silk Naturals peach

I recently ordered a bunch of foundation samples from McDowell's. I have heard great things about their foundations and I finally decided to give them a try. :) I ordered 8 samples in the neutral/peach/pink range and I tried to get the ones that where light to medium in depth. The colors run really light and most of the colors was to light for me right now, but maybe they will be nice for the winter. I use a mix of Astrild and Anine right now.

McDowellvsLumiere

I made a swatch chart and added some Lumiere colors to compare. In Lumiere I wear Light Medium Beige and Medium Cool Beige 2.3. I made the swatches with a damp concealer brush and I learned the hard way that Lumiere doesn't mix well with water... LOL
McDowell's on the other hand melted like a charm in water. I really like the finish and I think I will order a full size and some more samples during the 15% sale.

McDowell's: S = Sand, L = Luna
Lumiere: C = Cashmere, VV = Vena Velvet, Lum = Luminesse

I have been waiting for this order a looong time, but it was truly worth waiting for! :)  This webbstore was new to me and I first read about it on the mmu forum on Specktra.net.

I placed the order February 29 and it arrived March 25. Holly (the owner) did send some emails to keep me updated about my order and she did throw in two full size eyeshadows to make up for the delay. This store is a one person operation, but she has hired some help now so hopefully she will get the ordering time down a bit in the future.

Archetype-cosmetics

Archetype cosmetics looks and seems like the lovechild of Fyrinnae and The She Space, for better or for worse... :) The site has a cute gothic design and a romantic underground atmosphere with unusual graphic color descriptions.

The Archetype eyeshadow samples are only $0.25 and samples of the lipglosses are $1. I got no less than 33 eyeshadows and 3 lipglosses and I payed $18.25 with shipping to Sweden. Not bad!
I wore one of the eyeshadows today and my first impression was that the staying power was good. I think I will order some fullsizes, but I'll wait for the tat time to improve first.

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Updated with swatches!
The swatches was made with a dry brush an taken in bathroom lightning.

Archetype-browns-and-golds-swatches

Archetype-pink-swatches

Archetype-green_swatches

The Ornaments Of Gold sample deserved a photo of its own. It is a truly unique sparkling black gold. The second photo shows both a dry and a wet swatch.

I have played with my samples from week four and five of the February Limited Edition Collection. They give an new dimension to the color brown! :) Heather has truly outdone herself this time!
These pigments to be even better than described IMHO. For reference I have included links to the original pictures on theshespace.com.

Shespacechocolate

The picture below shows swatches of the pigments in this picture.

Shespaceeve