Dysfunctional yet Charming
16Dec/104

Illamasqua Betray and brush

Mr. Postman stopped by with a package for me today, and I don't know what to say. I'm not easily touched, but this package actually made me teary-eyed. Why, you ask? Well, I didn't not expect any packages from Illamasqua since I hadn't ordered anything from them lately. Inside the padded envelope I found a cream blush in the color "Betray" (deep rose plum w/ dewy finish) and a blusher brush to use with it. It also contained a personal note, which I want to keep for myself for obvious reasons - but let me just say that it made the rest of 2010 for me!

"Betray" is an absolutely gorgeous cream blush which I'm sure will look stunning on me. I also love the dewy finish it has. The blusher brush can be used for both cream and powder products, and it's actually nothing like any of my other brushes. It has the perfect shape for applying brush if you ask me, I don't really like the angled blusher brushes. And with its soft synthetic bristles it's 100% cruelty-free as well - could it be any better?

Dearest Alex, I really don't know what to say. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for thinking of me and for putting a smile on my face! I really appreciate it. ♥

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah '10

14Dec/105

GlamourDollEyes

Sure, we all know that loose eyeshadow scares me, but when I received a tweet from macismycrack promoting a 50% sale off full sized jars of eyeshadow over at GlamourDollEyes, I had to go have a look. I'm a liiittle skeptical towards "unknown" brands selling pigments like these, but some of the colors were so gorgeous I had to place an order just to try them out while the sale was still on. I picked out 13 colors, put them in my basket and typed in the promo code macismycrack had given me - and voilà!, the total was instantly slashed in half.

GlamourDoll: Angel Wings
Angel Wings
GlamourDoll: Gold Digger
Gold Digger*
GlamourDoll: Trophy Wife
Trophy Wife*
GlamourDoll: Chocoholic
Chocoholic
GlamourDoll: Pistol Pistol
Pistol Pistol*
GlamourDoll: Lovers Lane
Lovers Lane
GlamourDoll: Victorian
Victorian*
GlamourDoll: Stellar
Stellar*
GlamourDoll: Chelsey
Chelsey
GlamourDoll: Tattooed
Tattooed
GlamourDoll: Flashdance!
Flashdance!
GlamourDoll: Blue Ribbon
Blue Ribbon
GlamourDoll: Veteran
Veteran
GlamourDoll: Dirty Jeans
Dirty Jeans
GlamourDoll: Dusk
Dusk
GlamourDoll: Drag Queen
Drag Queen
GlamourDoll: Aqua Foil
Aqua Foil
GlamourDoll: Island Chic
Island Chic
  GlamourDoll: Hot Mess
Hot Mess*

Now, obviously you can order both full size jars and samples from GlamourDollEyes. What I really liked about this site was that you can choose whether or not you want your samples in bags (.5 grams), or you can choose jars (1 gram) for a little extra. I don't like receiving my samples in bags, so I really appreciated being able to choose between bags and jars. You can also choose if you want a sifter with your jar, although the jar will contain a little less to leave room for the sifter. A full jar without a sifter will contain 2-2.5 grams, while a full jar with a sifter will contain 1.5-2 grams of product.

In addition to the many colors and textures available, you can also get certain collections. Some are limited editions, like the two Halloween sets that was launched for Halloween 2010, but you can also get the 80s Child Collection which is based on TV shows from the 80s, or the Big Cities Collection. These collections both have special colored lids and labels, and hold 10 grams a jar!

Prices:
• $6.00 full size jar with or without sifter
• $2.50 sample size jar
• $1.25 sample size bag
• $9.00 individual colors from 80s Child Collection or Big Cities Collection
• $72 for the complete 80s Child Collection
• $58 for the complete Big Cities Collection

GlamourDollEyes also offers free worldwide shipping on their samples, and on all orders over $30! According to their website all orders with free shipping are shipped with First Class Mail. I've received three packages from GlamourDollEyes, one of them being samples for testing and reviewing, and the delivery time varied a little. The first shipment took 8 days to arrive, the second shipment took 14 days to reach me, while the third and last one took 12 days - it kinda gives you an idea on what to expect when you choose the free shipping. Seriously amazing!

My Verdict:
RatingI choose to reward GlamourDollEyes with almost a full score for several reasons. You can choose from a wide range of colors, there's something for everyone. My favorites are the metallic/shimmery ones by far, "Lover's Lane" and "Trophy Wife" in particular. Most of these eyeshdaows are so smooth, so pigmented - and simply to die for! Free international shipping - which is also pretty fast - adds another plus to this company, as well as their great customer service. I'm holding back a little on the top score simply because I found that a few of the eyeshadows I ordered was a little tricky to work with, blend and even out. All-in-all, this is me giving GlamourDollEyes two thumbs up!

Would I order again?
Absolutely! I'm already planning my third order.

GlamourDollEyes[affiliate link]

DISCLOSURE

This review contains product(s) sent for consideration by PR, these have been marked with an asterisk. The remaining products mentioned was purchased by me! All views and opinions expressed in this review are purely mine.

All links in this post are affiliate links.

Photos © GlamourDollEyes

24Oct/104

Illamasqua Jan

Illamasqua JanBack in August I received a few gorgeous products from Illamasqua and I apologize for not posting this little review sooner. My health has been varying a lot these past couple months, and I haven't been playing too much with my makeup. I have so many ideas for looks, but absolutely no energy to actually put them to life, I'm sorry.

I have never tried nail polish from Illamasqua, so I was thrilled to finally get the chance when I received "Jan". She's described as a "light dusky pink" with a glossy finish, but somehow it looks more lilac to me. Maybe it's my skin tone? Or maybe it's just me. A gorgeous color nonetheless!

"Jan" was quite easy deal with and applied evenly. I used two coats for my nails - I seriously love all polishes where I can get away with two coats - and it dried fairly quick, which means I managed to take a picture without messing up anything. It's now been five days with this manicure, no base or top coat, and I'm just starting to see the tiniest sign of wear on the tip of my index finger. I'm amazed with the durability of this nail polish!

The Verdict:
RatingIf you're looking for a nice, subtle nail polish where you can get away with two coats, then this is absolutely a polish worth looking into. Even though I'm no expert on applying nail polish, I really think I managed to do a decent job with this one. "Jan" is easy to work with, the texture is nice, I experienced no streaking and it dried quickly (two medium thick coats). The durability is excellent, and I know I need to add a few more Illamasqua nail polishes to my collection. Two thumbs up, and full score from me!

Picture was taken indoors in artificial lighting.

Disclosure

This review contains product(s) sent for consideration by PR.
All views and opinions expressed in this review are purely mine.

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah '10

23Aug/102

Illamasqua

On Friday Mr. Postman brought me a black envelope branded with "ILLAMASQUA", and I was thrilled! A few months ago I was in contact with Illamasqua, and I was told that I would receive a few items for testing and reviewing. Unfortunately the package never arrived, and I decided to write them an e-mail to ask if there had been a delay or if the package had been lost in the mail? Some might think of me as rude for asking, but I thought it would be a shame if Illamasqua was expecting a review which never came, because I was still sitting here awaiting the products. So I asked, and quite right - it had been sent, and could not be traced. Bah! Illamasqua was kind enough to reship some goodies for me, and as already said.. it arrived today.

Illamasqua: make-up for you alter ego

The first product I fished out of the envelope was one of Illamasqua's nail polishes in "Jan". It's described as a "light dusky pink" with a glossy finish, an absolutely gorgeous color right up my lane. Illamasqua actually won Cosmopolitan's Beauty Award for Best Nail Polish 2010, so I'm glad I got the chance to try it out! The second product was one of their Intense Lipgloss in "Fierce", which is a "bright blue purple". Do I have to spell my excitement here? The last two items in the envelope was a sneak peek of what's coming this fall/winter! I'm quite honored. It's an eye liner called Precision Ink, and I received one in "Abyss" (pure black) and one in "Alchemy" (spun gold), and they look amazing.

More info and a review of these products will come soon!

Photo © Shamini Thevarajah '10

29Nov/090

e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow

Sammen med de andre e.l.f.-produktene fikk jeg tilsendt to Mineral Eyeshadow løse øyenskygger i fargene "Wild" og "Glamorous", og en "Eye Shadow Brush". Jeg er ikke helt sikker på hvordan jeg skal beskrive disse to øyenskyggene på en korrekt måte, men begge inneholder det jeg vil karakterisere som glitter. Personlig er jeg ingen stor fan av hverken løse øyenskygger eller glitter, men jeg gledet meg likevel til å teste dem ut. "Wild" er en kjempefin brun skygge som umiddelbart falt i smak hos meg, og her hadde faktisk det gullskimrende glitteret en positiv effekt. "Glamorous" ser ved første øyekast ut som en rosa skygge, men på meg var denne tydelig plommefarget. I denne var det gullskimrende glitteret langt mindre tydelig. Siden jeg også hadde fått med en øyenskyggekost fra den vanlige serien bestemte jeg meg for å bruke denne under påføringen, og dermed slå to fluer i en smekk.

Jeg ble ikke imponert, beklager.

Som tidligere nevnt har jeg hørt mye bra om sminkekostene fra e.l.f., men etter nærmere undersøkelser konkluderer jeg med at dette for det meste handler om kostene fra Studio-serien, for meningene rundt de andre er svært varierende. Utover kvaliteten kan du skille disse på at de ordinære kostene har hvite håndtak, mens Studio-kostene har svarte. Beskrivelsen på eyeslipsface virker vel og bra, men inneholder ikke et ord om hvorvidt kostene er av ekte eller syntetisk hår, og den kosten jeg fikk tilsendt var vanskelig å jobbe med. Den var ikke spesielt fyldig, og overhodet ikke myk mot øyelokket. Nå kan det tenkes at det finnes mer informasjon om hvilken type hår som er brukt i disse kostene et annet sted på websidene, men dersom det ikke er oppgitt i produktbeskrivelsen velger jeg heller å styre unna enn å lete rundt etter infoen.

Konklusjon:
RatingDet første jeg merker meg er hvordan e.l.f. fremhever at produktene deres er uten parabener, men når jeg tar en kikk på innholdsfortegnelsen på produktene fra Mineral-serien oppdager jeg at samtlige inneholder vismutoxiklorid (Bismuth Oxychloride) som utløser allergiske reaksjoner hos veldig mange. For min del påvirker ikke dette den endelige karakteren siden jeg ikke reagerer på vismutoxiklorid selv, men veldig mange vil nok måtte tenke seg om to ganger før de velger produkter fra Mineral-serien nettopp på grunn av dette.

Øyenskyggene var helt OK, og jeg kommer sikkert til å bruke "Wild" flere ganger. "Glamorous" derimot var ikke helt rett farge for meg, det er ikke veldig sjarmerende å sminke på seg noe som minner om en saftig blåveis. Jeg understreker dog at dette har med hudfargen min å gjøre, ikke selve øyenskyggen - den var bare feil i forhold til mine farger. Glitteret i disse er på ingen måte overveldende, og det gjør at de får et ekstra pluss i margen tross glitter. Videre var de enkle å påføre uten noe særlig dryssing, noe som muligens kommer av at jeg brukte UDPP under, men jeg syns de var noe vanskeligere å blande, og å duse ut enn jeg er vant med. Det kan tenkes at det har sammenheng med at jeg ikke er vant til løse skygger, men for meg var det nesten umulig å duse ned overgangene, selv med min høyt elskede M·A·C 224. Ellers kan de brukes både i sin naturlige form, eller våte for sterkere fargeintensitet.

Kosten var dog elendig til påføring av øyenskygge, og kommer ikke til å bli brukt igjen.

Mineral Eye Shadow i mange forskjellige farger kan du kjøpe her, for 32,70 kroner eks. frakt.