The PIRATE collection - eye shadows from the Lolita Group

Many of you, particularly Voxers, know that I love mineral makeup... especially colorful eyeshadows. Admittedly, mineral eyeshadows take some getting used to in terms of techniques and application methods but to me the payoff and the fact that they are basically never expiring as long as you keep them dry, makes it all worth while.

When Jo from LolitaGroup posted this pic on her wall... I was rather attracted... sparkles have always called to me...

so you can imagine my excitment when she passed me a set of samples... time to swatch and to try them out!

Without further ado... here are my pics...

first up, these were swatched dry and without a primer/base - from left to right, top to bottom - Golden Age, Pirate Bay, Treasure Island, Parley, Treaties, Protocol and Truce

to me, it was rather 'meh' at this point... and I was a little disappointed to be honest. But its so silly to think this way when most if not all mineral eyeshadows require a nice sticky base to make them show their "true colors". 

so here they are on a transparent base (my all time fav - Monistat)... see the difference? Love the sparkles to be honest... so *bling bling*. Just nice for the festive season ahead.

If you don't like them, simply blend the colors out and they'll drop off. But be sure to have a layer of loose powder under your eyes to ease the clean up. :P

on a black base (NYX Jumbo eyepencil in Blackbean). I like how they look so jewel like here... especially Protocol, a really gorgeous burple... blue/purple. 

and last but not least... on a white base (NYX Jumbo eyepencil in Milk) - this one I had to post two different shots cos, to me, there are differences in the way the eyeshadows look... but aren't they pretty?

on white, Pirate Bay comes into its own as a golden yellow...  

Overall, my favourite color has to be Golden Age. It makes a really nice highlight if you're doing an all out EOTD. If you're just looking for a quick pick me up, it works well as an all over lid color together with a quick dash of eyeliner. the other color that I find myself reaching for fairly often is Treasure Island. Its a brown with a reddish tinge to it (i'm horrid at color descriptions!) I love using it as a quick crease color. I find it works with most of the colors that I use most regularly - purples and blues. 

In terms of lasting power, these eyeshadows should take you through a work day of 7-8 hours comfortably. But I did experience some creasing after that point.

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DISCLAIMER :while I am friends with Jo and have received this as a freebie, it does not in any way affect my review of these eyeshadows. As ever, my thoughts on these are as honest and open as I can be. She knows I'll tell her directly if there's something I totally dislike about these! I have many times before on other products. :P 

Silky Soft Hair

Almost 3 years ago, my girlfriend brought in this new product called Miracle Protein. She talked to me about it but I really wasn't impressed... then she sent me a sample to try... nothing to lose right? I popped it into my favorite shampoo and gave it a go. To my surprise, it really did work! How?

• no need for conditioner... shampoo it in... leave for about 10 secs or as long as you can... then rinse off... (I normally shampoo first... then using the Healing Soap, wash everything else, then my face... then rinse off everything... definitely more than a 10 second affair *grin*)
• leaves hair silky soft and smooth... well, my hair isn't frizzy to begin with but with this, I don't get knots or tangles either
• provides some protection against UV rays - don't really understand this point but hey, its good right?
• keeps the hair healthy... protects against drying - this is especially true when I go swimming. You know how chlorine just kills the hair right? makes it all dry and coarse and yucky. Well, after a swim trip, I normally add a little more silk into my shampoo and within one or two days, my hair is back to its normal silky self... *happy*
• no split ends! about a year and half ago, I started growing my hair out... and didn't cut it for about year as well. I expected to have split ends galore... but surprisingly, I didn't. My hair stayed healthy looking and even my hair stylist was surprised when I finally reappeared for a trim. 
• thicker hair - after close to three years of usage, I'm kinda thinking if my seemingly thicker hair is due to my constant usage of miracle protein... kinda makes sense right? if the hair roots are getting fed good stuff everytime I shampoo, the new hair should grow out stronger and healthier.
• doubles up as a hair mask... if I'm taking a nice hot bath in my tub, I'd mix up a batch of extra strong shampoo + silk (usually about 6-8 teaspoons with a bit of shampoo), foam it up and stick a shower cap on top... by the end of my soak, my hair is nicely marinated and after rinsing, I get shiny, healthy, silky soft hair... 

if you're wondering how to mix up the silk and shampoo... I have a nice little picture tutorial here - http://fr0nd.blogspot.com/2009/02/silk-protein-pic-tute.html.

But seriously, Miracle Protein can also be used in lots of other ways... LolitaNY has a host of various products incorporating this specific ingredient... I love it in her Essence Spray (makes my face baby soft), her clay masks (again, moisturised, baby soft, clean skin), her bar soaps (her healing soap is my daughter's and my absolute favourite... and I use it as an all over soap ie... body and face). Basically, Miracle Protein is a top-to-toe type of product, only limited by your imagination and need for a silky smooth healthy finish. 

My new HG foundation...

So... I've noticed that I've got more and more nail polish posts... so I thought I should introduce something that has been a recent addition to my makeup table.

warning... I don't normally like reading gushy posts and I try my best not to write them *BUT* this is probably going to turn up to be one. I tried my best but you know I don't normally find HG products. I'm loyal to stuff but I don't label them HG. Just scrolling through my blog, I think the only time I mentioned "HG" was when referring to my favourite e/s and base combination.

Long term readers of this blog would know I lurve SilkNaturals' foundation. For years now... well, for as long as I found SN's foundies, they have been a staple in my m/u routine. I love how they sat on my face, I loved spending time once a month mixing them up, I loved being able to tweak them to each day's needs/wants. I loved feeling like I had just skin on and not a thick layer of gunk.

So what has changed? nothing really... I just found something that makes me feel more beautiful and seems to work better on my skin as well. Let me see if I can explain why (pretty much off the top of my head)...

• This foundation melts into the skin. You can't feel it once its on. Doesn't even need that spritz to make it sink in.
• it kinda doubles as a concealer for me. works lovely under my eyes to hide any darkness. when applied around my nose, it lightens the shadows there so that my nose doesn't look quite so fat. (finally found a use for EDM's eyebuki... it works great in those areas!)
• it works as a highlighter of sorts... when applied with a sponge strategically, I get cheekbones! well... not really, but my natural flush appears and the need for a blusher goes down by quite a bit.
• its got nothing in its ingredient list that will hurt my skin. Jo even does a patch test for some ingredients to make sure of that. 
• while it doesn't have a SPF rating, I know its got mineral sunscreens like Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide in it that helps to block both UVA and UVB rays.
• its got silk in its formulation that helps to moisturize and protect my skin's moisture levels
• as compared to SN, I use less of it... with more effect. Perhaps that has to do with the different coverage levels. I don't really know. All I do know, is less of it goes into my swirly bowl and my face looks fine. 
• and the BEST part of it? its all personally CUSTOMIZED to fit your needs and wants in terms of foundation. So if you want more coverage, you got it! If you want to hide those ginormous pores... *drum roll* they're gone.

Jo L. at Lolita NY does this by walking you through a set of cards. Each card deals with a different area of concern. She asks about your sun exposure (to determine how much sun blocking ingredients you need), skin type (for oil control, moisture, etc), figures out your skin undertones (warm or cool) and asks you if you want any extra goodies (eg you could request to look more glowy/dewy).

The set of cards on the top left were her original version. I was honored to be the first to get to use the latest set (bottom centre). It was fun to read all the little writeups on each card and decide what I wanted in my foundation.

I've known for a long time that I'm a cool girl... and given that I love purple, it was such fun to see her pop some purple correcting powder into my mix. It helps to brighten up my face. Especially good on days when I feel like death warmed over. The two small piles of powders where what colored up my base mixture. Jo L. says I've got an easy skin tone/color to work with. And given that I've watched three other friends get their custom blends done and all of them took longer to get perfect than mine... I guess I gotta believe her. :P

Here was my finished product... what's new is that little recipe card that Jo L. included. Its an easy way to keep track of what went into your particular blend. And if you need to tweak something the next round, you already know what you started with. I heard from Jo L. that some overseas clients are asking that once they have their specific 'recipes', they'd like to order online... I'm not sure if that service is going to be provided but I guess they're really hoping that it will be.

I tried to swatch this foundation... but failed miserably. How do you swatch something that is the perfect match for your skin? That's really what it looks like... skin. MY skin but better.

I've used this for two weeks plus now... really can't find anything to complain about. I did switch back to SN for a day and found it just needed more work to buff in, to set, to mix up (and to think I used to enjoy  tweaking). Call me lazy...

In interests of being honest, this was a 'sponsored' foundie... Jo L. is a dear friend to me and she seen me drool while she mixes up custom blends for other friends. I kept trying them and loving the way they felt and how they looked when applied. Then I'd lament that it didn't suit my skin... like duh... it wasn't meant for me... So it was a real surprise when she asked me to sit down slightly over 2 weeks ago and set about mixing up powders for me. Its so different when you know the end result was going home with you!

Again, being totally honest... am I gonna buy more when this pot runs out... you betcha!!!! If you're looking for a skin-friendly mineral foundation, you really can't go far wrong with Lolita's!

*disclaimer* there has been no gun put to my head to make me write this post or any other post about any product/company. My opinions are my own and not influenced by friendship or any other such thing. And I think this is really my first sponsored post... in a sense... everything else has been bought by my own moolah.