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V3.0 Creative Companies

By Phyrra on May 20, 2010

This is the most recent incarnation of my Creative Companies list. You can see the older ones here and here. You may also find my Guide to Shopping for Quality Mineral Makeup helpful. All of the companies listed here make their own shadows, or if they sell unblended shadows, they annotate which are unblended.

Caveat Emptor
At the bottom there is also a list of companies that I personally avoid for various reasons. You should choose to shop from whomever you please, and avoid whomever you please, but I do list the companies that I avoid here so that you can at least have an idea of the sort of experience I’ve had or researched with some companies. Some of those companies may be fine for you to shop from and you may have no trouble with them. Others you may have the same experience I had.

As with any indie company, if you have a problem or an issue, try emailing their customer service first to see what sort of response you get. Most are very helpful!

You can see my eye & lip swatch gallery here, which includes swatches for most of these companies.

Aromaleigh
I’ve met the creator Kristen, who is wonderful, and you can usually see each collection that she’s working on in her blog posts. Aromaleigh has over 400 eye shadows (I’m guessing they’ll have 500 soon) and some really gorgeous colors. I absolutely love their LE collections. From having purchased countless products from Aromaleigh, I can assure you that these are well made products with a proper base. These shadows are not repackaged. Their customer service has always been excellent for me as well. You can read my review here. You can read my Indie Spotlight here.

Fyrinnae
While not technically mineral makeup, they are a vegan online makeup company. They have over 200 eye shadows and they make some amazing, complex colors, like their Arcane Magic line. These guys are awesome! Check out their lip lustres! Their lip lustres have replaced MAC’s lipglasses as my favorite lip product. These shadows are not repackaged. Their eye shadows have a great base. Their shades are quite complex, so some are best worn by patting on the color, or by using Pixie Epoxy. You can read my review here. You can read my Indie Spotlight here.

Meow Cosmetics
Tammy from Meow definitely makes her own colors. Check out the Halloween release for some gorgeous shades. They have a ton of amazing blushes and foundation, too. She also does holiday releases such as the Friday the 13th shades that come out every Friday the 13th. My favorite shades are from the Wild Child collection and the Friday the 13th collection. Other colors I really like are from the Fall 2008 release, as well as many of the Holiday releases, like the Christmas colors and Halloween collections. The Egyptian collection is pretty, too. These shadows are not repackaged.You can read my review here.

Morgana Minerals
They’ve got some nice eye shadows that I know Melissa makes herself, and AMAZING vegan lipsticks. My favorites in the lipsticks are probably Nightshade,Gargoyle, Azalea, and Ice Queen. In the eye shadows Druscilla’s Sister, Transylvanian Twist, Broomstick, Coraline and Glitter Ghoul steal my heart. These shadows are not repackaged. Her lipsticks are some of the best that I have ever used, hands down. You can read my review here. You can read my Indie Spotlight here.

Spell Cosmetics
Elle from Spell makes her own colors. She uses a 3-tier balancing system which accommodates for opacity, luminosity, & colour intensity. For instance, the Loaded Collection is opaque with high colour intensity. The Laura Christoper Collection is sheer, luminous with high colour density. Her Jewel Thief collection is a very pretty metallic collection for fall. She’s also got some gorgeous spring collections released with corals and aquas. These shadows are not repackaged. These colors are very buttery smooth and blend easily. You can read my review here.

Dreamworld Minerals
Ellie from DreamWorld makes her own eye shadows. She’s got some really interesting collections, too. She likes vibrant color She also will take customer requests, which is really nice. She has some very gorgeous, complex colors that look good over colored bases. These shadows are not repackaged. She also has a lot of lovely lippies, too. She has a wide range of foundations as well. While her site is temporarily closed, it will be re-opening soon.

Beauty from the Earth
Beauty from the Earth contacted me to let me know that while they do sell some repackaged products, they are clearly marked as Primaries, and they are carried by customer request. The rest of their eye shadows are their own custom blends. They’ve got some really fun duochrome colors. You can read my Indie Spotlight here. See some swatches here.

Silk Naturals
I’ve spoken with Karen Stark of Silk Naturals and she told me that she does make all of her own products, and anything not made by Silk Naturals is clearly marked as such. She also carries a skincare line, and makes some great vegan versions of popular shades. If you’re looking for MAC Parrot, you can find her version of it here. Having tried their products, I have been happy with everything that I’ve tried. She puts a lot of work into her lipsticks and eye shadows. These shadows are not repackaged. I love the luster of these eye shadows, and they apply very smoothly. The lipsticks are really nice, too. You can read my review here.

Sugarpill
Sugarpill is a new company started by Amy, aka Shrinkle, and her shadows are fantastic! They’re highly pigmented, bright and easy to work with. They come in loose shadow form and pressed shadow form. These shadows are not repackaged. They actually rekindled my love of pressed shadows. You can read my review about her products here.

Hi Fi Cosmetics
Veronica of Hi-Fi Cosmetics is a makeup artist whose goal is to give something unique and beautiful back to the makeup community. These shadows are not repackaged. My favorite color she created is Live Large and it looks amazing when used with Pixie Epoxy. You can read my review here.

Sobe Botanicals
This is a fantastic, relatively new company that makes custom lipsticks, cheek and lip stains, eye shadows, perfumes etc. I really like the lipsticks and cheek and lip stains.

Evil Shades
This is a relatively new company and they do custom blend their own shades. They also carry nail polish. Check out their Banshee gloss! Their holographic colors are gorgeous. These shadows are not repackaged.You can read my review here.

Beautiful Girl Minerals
Gina from Beautiful Girl Minerals makes her own eye shadows and she even sometimes makes shades at customer’s requests or suggestions. Try her lip glosses as well! These shadows are not repackaged. You can read my review here.

Glamour Doll Eyes
Glamour Doll Eyes is a relatively new mineral makeup company but Vee does a great job at making beautiful colors. Glam Girl is an outrageously bright purple. Galaxy, which is a matte black with purple glitter, and Disco White, which is a white matte with aqua glitter, are two of my favorite colors from her. Check out her glitters too! She lists unblended shades honestly, too. You can read my review here. You can read my Indie Spotlight here.

High Voltage Cosmetics
This is an up and coming company that makes all of their own shadows. These shadows are not repackaged. Peek at their stuff! You can read my review here. They have some gorgeous duochromes and some nice lippies and perfumes too.

Shiro Cosmetics
I’m a gamer geek, and all of Shiro’s current collection are named for Pokemon monsters. The collection is officially called the Super Effective Collection. Shiro Cosmetics is a very new company. In fact, they only went llive on April 30, 2010! They do NOT repackage and you can see my swatches here and here.

GeoGrafx Cosmetics
I spoke with the owner Kimberly via email and she confirmed that they formulate every one of their products from scratch. They also do custom blending for wholesale clients. Having tried their eye shadows and lipsticks, I definitely like them. These shadows are not repackaged. Their fresh lemon cleansing mousse is awesome. Their eye shadows are lovely and if you’re looking for that perfect taupe shade, check out Mushroom. You can read my review here.

Medusa’s Makeup
When I emailed Medusa’s Makeup to ask if they made their own products, they replied back with, “The majority of our products, eye dust, glitter, body shimmer/blush, lip gloss are all made in our Chicago facility.” So while their pressed shadows are private label, I think that their loose eye dusts, etc are made by them and have a base added to them. Regardless, they have EXCELLENT customer service. I have placed an order, had an item go missing, immediately called Medusa, got a person on the phone, and they sent out a replacement right away, along with a bonus item. Also, I love their makeup brushes. You can read my review of their makeup here. You can see my review on their taklon brushes here.

Suds n’ Sass
Beth from Suds n’ Sass makes her own eye shadows as well as other products. I’m convinced that she makes pretty stuff! She does LE collections with eye shadows and lippies from time to time. Also, her perfumes are nice, especially Cuddley Blue Poodle, Seductive Charm and Perfect Kiss!

Sassy Minerals
Sassy Minerals is a relatively new company that I had the opportunity to try out right around when the company launched their line. They did everything right with their launch, from having a professional site to wonderful products! The eye shadows in particular are fantastic. These shadows are not repackaged. Their blushes are also very nice. You can read my review here.

Buff’d Cosmetics
I emailed the owner after she asked me to review her makeup and she confirmed that she makes her own shadows. I reviewed their products and found them to be nice and perfect for everyday wear. While I couldn’t find a foundation match, the eye shadows were nice. These shadows are not repackaged. You can read my review here.

Fusion of Color
Kathy of Fusion of Color makes her own eye shadows. I have tried them and they’re nice soft colors. These shadows are not repackaged. She also makes her own lip products. I particularly like Cashmere Creme. You can read my review here.

Mixology Makeup
I have it confirmed that they do make their own eye shadows, blushes and foundations. These shadows are not repackaged. They tend to make softer colors, but my favorites from Mixology are Starlight, Suga, Soot, Armor, and Bones.

Abbey St. Clare
I contacted Margaret Hardy and she was very sweet. She emailed me back letting me know that she does indeed make her own makeup and skin products. She started formulating makeup based on her customers’ requests for makeup. She avoids bismuth oxychloride and adds Vitamin C and Allantion.

The companies that I personally avoid:
Stardust Cosmetics (You can read my experience with them. The owner threatened to have my blog shut down.)
Orglamix (and Urban Apothecary. You can read my experience with them. The owner threatened me over a bad review. Not every product will work for every person.)
FaceFront (You can read my experience with them. I experienced the epitome of bad customer service & lies.)
Everyday Minerals (You can read Hoyden’s horror story, or read the Beauty Frugalista‘s story)
Lime Crime (here is my friend Ana’s experience with Lime Crime and here is my friend Saila’s experience with them, and here is my friend Lillian’s, Here is an update from Ana about Lime Crime.)
Archetype Cosmetics (you can read my experience & here is Le Gothique Grey’s experience with them. They have worse than bad customer service… no customer service.)
Glitter Sniffer (Here is my experience with them.)
Calypso Minerals (here is Grey’s experience with them)
Taylor Made Minerals (here is Shattered’s experience with them)
Sweet Libertine Mineral Cosmetics (here is Grey’s experience with them)
Coastal Scents (because of them threatening a youtube blogger and calling them names )
Pure Luxe Cosmetics (here is Grey’s experience with them, and the comment that they left at the Mineral Makeup Mutiny)

If you are a company that blends your own eye shadows or other products and you would like to be added to this list, please contact me via email and let me know about your company and your products.

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How to Look for Quality Mineral Makeup

By Phyrra on November 17, 2009

I wrote up this article for my friends over at Painted Ladies. But of course, I wanted to share it here as well. Please feel free to leave comments in both places and let me know what you think.
—-

When I got into mineral makeup in April 2008, I didn’t know much about it, so I started to try and read everything I could find. Surprisingly, I didn’t find a lot of reviews (there were some) about mineral makeup companies. So I decided that I would start a blog and review everything I’ve tried. Through my trials, I’ve learned a lot. I’ve also learned a lot by emailing company owners and asking questions. They’ve shared many tips for me for discerning quality products, which I’m going to now share with you.

When there’s a company that you’re just dying to order from, before you hit that buy button, there are some things you should do.

1. Look at the products the company makes. Do they just make eye shadow? Or do they make other products? Unfortunately, a lot of companies that only make eye shadow may not have quality products or they may sell just repackaged products. Most companies that make quality mineral makeup sell at least eye shadow and blush. Normally they sell eye shadow, foundation and blush. Lipsticks and lip glosses are pretty much a labor of love for small, indie companies, so not everyone does them.

2. Look to see what they list for ingredients. If a company lists ingredients such as ‘shimmer, pigment, frost,’ that’s not right. Shimmer, pigment, frost, are not FDA approved ingredients. You can see what is approved here.

Now, you can give the company the benefit of the doubt and email the owner. They may not know that they’re listing ingredients improperly. I know I’ve contacted a few companies who didn’t realize it. Once I spoke to them, they corrected their listings. So there’s no harm in asking.

If however, the owner gets defensive or hostile, you’ve got an answer right there, and I would avoid that company.

3. Learning about what sort of ingredients are acceptable in mineral makeup helps, too.

Eye Shadows
For eye shadows, you’ll want to see an ingredients list like the following:

Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), May contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77499, CI 77491, CI 77492), Ferric Ferrocyanide (CI 77510), Ferric Oxide (CI 77491), Tin Oxide (CI 77861), Tin Dioxide (CI 778161), Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Silica
(From Aromaleigh’s Gothic Lolita collection.)

Mica, Titanium Dioxide. May contain Tin Oxide, Silica, UltraMarine Blue, Hydrated Chromium Oxide Green, Iron Oxides, Chromium Green Oxide, ferric ferrocyanide, Ultramarines, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Boron Nitride, Bronze Powder, Copper Powder, Silicon Dioxide, Cetyl Dimethicone, Zinc, and Calcium Sodium Borosilicate.
(From Dreamworld Minerals.)

Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Tin Oxide, Zinc Oxide.
(From Glamour Doll Eyes.)

Ingredients like zinc oxide, magnesium myristate, kaolin clay, coated mica, zinc stearatae, carnauba coated mica, silica etc should be in the list of ingredients because that helps an eye shadow to have lasting power and to blend.

It’s also possible to use some eye shadows as blushes if you want. Most mineral makeup eye colors are multipurpose for use on the cheeks. Some can be used on the lips but others are not lip safe.

Blushes
Mineral makeup blushes usually are very pigmented, so you can apply them sparingly to get a beautiful flush.
Blushes tend to look like the following:

Sericite Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate. May contain: Manganese Violet.
(From Beautiful Girl Minerals.)

mica, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, ultramarines
(From Buff’d Cosmetics.)

titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultra marine pigments.
(From Cory Cosmetics, mica-free blend.)

Foundations
For foundations, you’ll want to see an ingredients list like the following:

Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides
(This is from Meow’s Pampered Puss formula.)

Zinc Oxide, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Kaolin, Magnesium Stearate, Silica
(From Fyrinnae’s Superpower Mineral Foundation.)

Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Zinc Oxide, Pure Silk Powder, Boron, Silica, Iron Oxides, Jojoba Oil (vegetable derived), Magnesium Myristate. May contain ultramarine blue.
(From Purely Cosmetic’s Skin Smoothing foundation.)

Lipsticks
If you’re looking at lip products, you want to see ingredients like the following:

Ingredients: Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil(soybean), Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Kernel Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Ozokerite, Microcrystalline Wax, Sunflower Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E). May contain: Shore Robusta, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter., Garcinia Indica Seed Butter, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Coffee arabica (coffee) seed oil, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Cucurbita Pepo {Pumpkin} Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Brassica Abyssinica (Abyssinian) Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Polyethylene Terephthalate(glitter), Flavor, Tin Oxide, Tin Dioxide, Silica, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Black 2(Carbon Black), Blue 1, Yellow 5, Red 7, Red 21, Red 27, Red 28, Red 30, Red 33, Red 40, Copper, Bronze.

(From Morgana Minerals.)

Certified Organic Castor and Jojoba Oils, Avocado Oil, Organic Candelilla Wax, Cranberry Oil, Raspberry Oil, Passionfruit Oil, Carnuaba Wax. Also contains: Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C color
(From Silk Naturals.)

Cocoa Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Sesame Oil, Castor Oil, Castor Wax, Candelilla Wax, Macadamia Nut Oil, Vitamin E. Pigment Ingredients: Mica; may contain Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Tin Oxide and Manganese Violet.
(From GeoGrafx Cosmetics.)

Ingredients I suggest avoiding:
Talc, Bismuth Oxychloride, pthalates and parahydroxybenzoate.

To me, talc is often a filler. Bismuth can cause itching, especially for sensitive skin. Pthalates are being phased out of most products in the USA.

Parahydroxybenzoate is also known as Ethylparaben, and it’s often used as a preservative. I’m somewhat on the fence about this one.

Ingredients that I suggest looking at to decide if you want them in your makeup or not:
parabens like butylparaben, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, and Propylparaben.
Some sites you can look at for more information are:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-methylparaben.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraben

4. If the company makes a claim that their foundation has an SPF, see how they word it. If they say ‘this offers great SPF protection,’ be leery. If they say that their product does have titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which offers barrier protection, but that they can’t indicate a specific level of SPF, that is fine. Companies cannot actually claim a specific SPF rating with the FDA without doing expensive testing. As of right now, the only mineral makeup company that I know of that can make a specific claim is Bare Escentuals. They paid a huge amount of money to get every single shade and every single formula that they offer tested. This is why only a very large company can do such testing. A small, indie company is just not likely to be able to afford it. So if you see one claiming the same thing as Bare Escentuals, be very wary.

5. Google the company name with the word reviews after it. See what people have to say. Now google with repackage after it. If it comes up, read what people have to say, and weigh this with the other information you find on that company. You can also google the name of the eye shadows, as some companies keep the same names for colors if they’re just selling repackaged colors. Sometimes, these companies even use the same stock photos for the colors along with the stock names. There’s a set of pretty colors called Pops/Gumballs that fall in this category.

6. Just because a color is repackaged doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad. Many companies will list a repackaged color honestly and explain why they have it. Some companies have these colors due to customer request. Other companies like these unblended eye shadows because they’re pretty the way they are. If a company is honest about it, and you like it, definitely try it. Most of these companies, if they’re good, will add a base to the shadow. Be wary if a company doesn’t have any base ingredients listed for their unblended shades.

7. You can always check my Nixed list. Here I list companies that I don’t purchase from, for one reason or another.

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Join the Indie Makeup Mutiny!

By Phyrra on October 24, 2009

Join the Mineral Makeup Mutiny!

For all of you wonderful companies out there that make your own makeup, please join the mineral makeup mutiny! For all of my friends and fellow bloggers, you can take this image to put on your blog to support indie makeup companies!

As you can see, I put this badge on my blog, because I support creative indie companies.

I would love to see all of the companies on my V2.0 Mineral Makeup Companies that make their own shadows list also join up with the Makeup Mutiny.

Consumers need to know who they can trust so that they can purchase without fear of being lied to or duped. If you’ve ever purchased eye shadow from a company, and then once you received it realized that you already had another eye shadow exactly like that from another company, you know what I mean. The first time it happened, I was extremely upset and I felt like I’d wasted money. I don’t want anyone to feel lied to or duped like I was.

So it is my sincere wish that all of the companies that I trust will join in the mutiny!

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What I’ve been up to lately!

By Phyrra on October 24, 2009

I’ve been busy lately, so here’s a recap of what I’ve been up to:

Important Posts:
V2.0 of Mineral Makeup Companies that make their own Products
DKNY Fresh Blossom – my Breast Cancer Awareness post and review on DKNY Fresh Blossom

Video Tutorials:
Fyrinnae Shinigami, Sleepy Hollow, Dressed to Kill – purple & green
Aromaleigh Crimson Mimicry, Emergent Beauty, Air & Light, MAC Greasepaint Stick in Black – red & black
Morgana Broomstick, Transylvanian Twist, Glitter Ghoul – blue, purple & black
Meow Supernatural, Accident, Coffin – gold, brown and copper

Meow Dance of Death Halloween 2009 & Friday the 13th:
Thoughts on the Dance of Death & Friday the 13th
Necromancer, Skeptic, Tombstone, Poltergeist, & Greasepaint Stick in black – purple picture tutorial
Warlock, Spellbinding & Greasepaint Stick in Black – blue picture tutorial
Eerie, Asylum, Grave Robber, Spellbinding – teal & purple
Fate, Spell, Spellbinding – blue
Demon, Spellbinding, Bad Luck – copper
Witch, Paranormal, Cursed – green
Unlucky, Vampire, Tombstone, Poltergeist – red
Misfortune, Broken Mirror, Asylum, Spellbinding – aqua
Friday the 13th Swatches – video swatches
Dance of Death Halloween 2009 Swatches – video swatches

Other Posts:
Sephora Friends & Family Sale
Upcoming Reviews
Spell Victorian Couture Collection Release Information

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V2.0 Mineral makeup companies that make their own shadows

By Phyrra on October 23, 2009

Since I’ve updated this list several times, I thought I’d post the updated version. You can see the older one here, but I have been updating it.

Aromaleigh
I’ve met the creator Kristen, who is wonderful, and you can usually see each collection that she’s working on in her blog posts. Aromaleigh has over 400 eye shadows (I’m guessing they’ll have 500 soon) and some really gorgeous colors. I absolutely love their LE collections. Try their lip balms and lipsticks, too. Sweet is a FANTASTIC nude pink lip. From having purchased countless products from Aromaleigh, I can assure you that these are well made products with a proper base. You can read my review here.

Fyrinnae
While not technically mineral makeup, they are an online makeup company. They have over 200 eye shadows and they make some amazing, complex colors, like their Arcane Magic line. These guys are awesome! Check out their lip lustres! Their lip lustres have replaced MAC’s lipglasses as my favorite lip product. Their eye shadows have a great base. Their shades are quite complex, so some are best worn by patting on the color, or by using Pixie Epoxy. You can read my review here.

Meow Cosmetics
Tammy from Meow definitely makes her own colors. Check out the Halloween release for some gorgeous shades. They have a ton of amazing blushes and foundation, too. She also does holiday releases such as the Friday the 13th shades that come out every Friday the 13th. My favorite shades are from the Friday the 13th collection. Other colors I really like are from the Fall 2008 release, as well as many of the Holiday releases, like the Christmas colors and Halloween collections. The Egyptian collection is pretty as well. You can read my review here.

Spell Cosmetics
Elle from Spell makes her own colors. She uses a 3-tier balancing system which accommodates for opacity, luminosity, & colour intensity. For instance, the Loaded Collection is opaque with high colour intensity. The Laura Christoper Collection is sheer, luminous with high colour density. Her Jewel Thief collection is a very pretty metallic collection for fall. These colors are very buttery smooth and blend easily. You can read my review here.

Sassy Minerals
Sassy Minerals is a relatively new company that I had the opportunity to try out right around when the company launched their line. They did everything right with their launch, from having a professional site to wonderful products! The eye shadows in particular are fantastic. Their blushes are also very nice. You can read my review here.

Silk Naturals
I’ve spoken with Karen Stark of Silk Naturals and she told me that she does make all of her own products, and anything not made by Silk Naturals is clearly marked as such. She also carries a skincare line, and makes some great vegan versions of popular shades. If you’re looking for MAC Parrot, you can find her version of it here. Having tried their products, I have been happy with everything that I’ve tried. She puts a lot of work into her lipsticks and eye shadows. I love the luster of these eye shadows, and they apply very smoothly. The lipsticks are really nice, too. You can read my review here.

Sugarpill
Sugarpill is a new company started by Amy, aka Shrinkle, and her shadows are fantastic! They’re highly pigmented and easy to work with. You can read my review about her products here.

Hi Fi Cosmetics
Veronica of Hi-Fi Cosmetics, a relatively new company, contacted me asking to be added to this list. After I spoke with her, I am indeed convinced that she makes her own makeup. She is a makeup artist whose goal is to give something unique and beautiful back to the makeup community. My favorite color is Live Large and it looks amazing when used with Pixie Epoxy. You can read my review here.

Morgana Minerals
They’ve got some nice eye shadows that I know Melissa makes herself, and AMAZING vegan lipsticks. My favorites in the lipsticks are probably Nightshade,Gargoyle, Azalea, and Ice Queen. In the eye shadows Druscilla’s Sister, Transylvanian Twist, Broomstick, Coraline and Glitter Ghoul steal my heart. Her lipsticks are some of the best that I have ever used, hands down. You can read my review here.

Sobe Botanicals
This is a fantastic, relatively new company that makes custom lipsticks, cheek and lip stains, eye shadows, perfumes etc. I really like the lipsticks and cheek and lip stains.

High Voltage Cosmetics
This is an up and coming company that makes all of their own shadows. Peek at their stuff! You can read my review here. They have some gorgeous duochromes and some nice lippies and perfumes too.

GeoGrafx Cosmetics
I spoke with the owner Kimberly via email and she confirmed that they formulate every one of their products from scratch. They also do custom blending for wholesale clients. Having tried their eye shadows and lipsticks, I definitely like them. Their fresh lemon cleansing mousse is awesome. Their eye shadows are lovely and if you’re looking for that perfect taupe shade, check out Mushroom. You can read my review here.

Medusa’s Makeup
When I emailed Medusa’s Makeup to ask if they made their own products, they replied back with, “The majority of our products, eye dust, glitter, body shimmer/blush, lip gloss are all made in our Chicago facility.” So while I think their pressed shadows are private label, I think that their loose eye dusts, etc are made and have a base added to them. Regardless, they have EXCELLENT customer service. I have placed an order, had an item go missing, immediately called Medusa, got a person on the phone, and they sent out a replacement right away, along with a bonus item. Also, I love their makeup brushes. You can read my review of their makeup here. You can see my review on their brushes here.

Mixology Makeup
I have it confirmed that they do make their own eye shadows, blushes and foundations. They tend to make softer colors, but my favorites from Mixology are Starlight, Suga, Soot, Armor, and Bones.

Sassy Minerals
This is a very new company and they do custom blend their own shades. They have a lot of gorgeous colors. I really like Gasoline Rainbow. You can read my review here.

Cory Cosmetics
They make their own eye shadows and they even have some special mica-free blends for those individuals who are sensitive to mica. I actually think having mica-free products, such as shadows and highlighters and foundations etc is really cool. While I have emailed the company, I’ve never received a response to my email, but I’ve never had a problem with an order and the turn around time is reasonable.

Fusion of Color
Kathy of Fusion of Color makes her own eye shadows. I have tried them and they’re nice soft colors. She also makes her own lip products. I particularly like Cashmere Creme. You can read my review here.

Suds n’ Sass
Beth from Suds n’ Sass makes her own eye shadows as well as other products. I’m convinced that she makes pretty stuff! Check out Magical and Cornflower! Also, her perfumes are nice, especially Seductive Charm and Perfect Kiss!

The companies that I would avoid would be:
Orglamix and Urban Apothecary and my experience with them, as they are owned by the same person.
Stardust Cosmetics You can read my review here.
FaceFront (here is my experience with FaceFront),
Lime Crime (here is my friend Ana’s experience with Lime Crime and here is my friend Saila’s experience with them, and here is my friend Lillian’s),
Archetype Cosmetics (here is Le Gothique Grey’s experience with them)
Glitter Sniffer (here is my experience with them)
Calypso Minerals (here is Gothique Grey’s experience with them),
Taylor Made Minerals
Sweet Libertine Mineral Cosmetics
The She Space
Coastal Scent
Everyday Minerals (you can read Hoyden’s horror story, or read the Beauty Frugalista‘s story)
Pure Luxe Cosmetics (because of the comment that they left at the Mineral Makeup Mutiny which shows the nature of the owner)

Here is an update from Ana about Lime Crime.

If you are a company that blends your own eye shadows or other products and you would like to be added to this list, please contact me.

You should also join the Mineral Makeup Mutiny!

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No Originality with Lime Crime?

By Phyrra on October 14, 2009

In case you’ve missed what’s been going on with the makeup company Lime Crime, people are saying that they sell repackaged TKB and that Lime Crime doesn’t seem to have created any of their own eye shadows.

You can check out all of the information in one of these places:
1. Ana’s blog Lipsticks & Lightsabers has a great post about Lime Crime.
2. Grey’s blog has a very informative post about Lime Crime as well.
3. Jessica Allison’s blog has a price breakdown by ounce on Lime Crime vs. MAC vs. TKB Trading company.
4. Saila’s email from Lime Crime.
5. Ana’s update on Lime Crime.

Particularly of interest is the list that Grey has on her website of the color matches in TKB colors to Lime Crime’s colors. She lists them as:
LC “Color Name” = TKB “Color Name”

Since I have a standard poodle (as you probably know), the color I almost purchased from Lime Crime was (and I’m sooooooooooooooo glad I didn’t buy anything from Lime Crime)
“Pink Poodle” = TKB “Cloisonne Red”.

I also found this stunning, from Jessica Allison’s Blog:
Lime Crime is $12 for .07 oz = $171.43 per ounce
MAC pigments are $19.50 for .26 oz = $75 per ounce
TKB Trading are $4-$4.50 per ounce

I am glad that I did not purchase from Lime Crime after seeing the above numbers.

I would love to hear what you think about this whole scandal!

Please note, I have refrained from posting about Lime Crime before now, other than to say I would NOT recommend them. Something just always seemed off about them to me. Call it a feeling, a hunch, whatever. However, several of my friends and readers have contacted me letting me know that they were upset over this because they had purchased from Lime Crime.

The main reason I did not purchase from Lime Crime when I was originally thinking about purchasing Pink Poodle was because I figured, for the price of $12 for a Lime Crime eyeshadow, I can purchase a MAC refill pan for $11. I just didn’t want to pay what she charged, as I felt it was overpriced and she doesn’t offer samples, so I wasn’t even sure I’d like the color. At least with MAC, I can go into a store and see the color. With most of the mineral makeup companies that I purchase from I can try a sample to see if I like it. At worst, I’m out $1. With Lime Crime, if I didn’t like it, I’d be out $12 plus shipping.

Update: While I have never purchased from Lime Crime, now I never will because of Lime Crime‘s treatment of Grey from Gothique.com.

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Buff’d Cosmetics – A Review

By Phyrra on October 7, 2009

I was recently contacted by Jennifer Gerwing of Buff’d Cosmetics and asked to review her makeup. Before I would agree to review her makeup, I had some questions for her. I asked Jennifer if she custom blended all of her products, since that really does matter to me, and she told me that yes, she does custom blend her products. She said she formulates all of her products and tests them on her friends and famiily. She is located in Prince Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. She’s been in the business since 2005. She makes eye shadows, foundations, blushes, bronzers, illuminating dusts, setting powders, finishing powders, liners, lipsticks, lipgloss, and body shimmer. Once she told me this, I told her I would be happy to review her makeup, and she sent me some free samples.

As a recap, here is what she sent me:

Concealing foundation in Biscuit – lighest shade with balanced yellow and pink tones
Concealing foundation in Fair – pale shade with mild pink undertones
Light foundation in Fawn – lightest shade with mild pink undertones
Setting Powder in Downy – fairest neutral tone
Eye Shadow in Incense – warm beige mauve with soft silver shimmer (base color)
Eye Shadow in Carbon Paper – deep smoky plumpurple with silver shimmer (crease color)
Eye Shadow in Nightshade – intense smoky plum with silver shimmer (liner)
Illuminating Dust in Candlelight – soft golden glow
Bronzer in Honey – lighest bronzer shade for the fairest of skin tones
Blush in Petal – creamy soft pink
Blush in Tricky – peachy pink with shimmer

I did not like the illuminating dust in Candlelight. I know it’s supposed to impart a soft golden glow, but it’s just too dark for my complexion.
I did not light the light foundation in Fawn. The texture of the light foundation didn’t work with my skin and the color didn’t match my skintone.
The bronzer and the setting powder were ok, but neither were to my taste. I don’t normally use a setting powder, and I don’t normally use bronzer.

While I could not find a match to my skintone (which, to be fair, is a pain to match because I have a tiny bit of yellow, a tiny bit of peach, a tiny bit of cream and a tiny bit of beige for my undertones and a slight pink overtone), I really liked the texture on the concealing foundation. It’s definitely a more full coverage foundation. All of the foundation shades that I tried were too yellow or dark for my skin tone.

I really liked the blushes, but Tricky in particular because the shimmer was subtle and the color was very flattering with my complexion. They blend easily to give a natural flush.

The eye shadows have nice texture and the colors that Jen picked out for me were soft and flattering. I actually really liked both Incense and Carbon Paper, even though they’re neutrals and I don’t normally go for the neutral natural look. I wore Incense a couple of times and it’s a color that’s nice on me for a lid color or a highlighter. It looks as though most of Buff’d's eye shadows are what I would consider soft and muted colors. I don’t see any super bright colors, which are what you normally see me wearing in this blog.

I would definitely buy their concealing foundation if they had a shade that matched my skintone. I will likely pick up full sizes of Incense, Carbon Paper and Tricky. I’m particularly interested in getting my hands on their Violet lipstick, which looks like a lovely blue-violet color.

I think that overall, Buff’d's products are good. They’re definitely worthwhile to check out!

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Marvelous Mineral Makeup Companies

By Phyrra on August 18, 2009

It’s time for me to update my list of Marvelous Mineral Makeup Companies, so I thought I’d do that for you today. These are companies that I find wonderful to order from that have quality products and quality customer service.

Aromaleigh
What I buy from them: Eye shadows, foundation, highlighters, blushes, lipsticks, lip balm, finishing powders, glitters
Perks: Weekly 25% off sales
With over 400 eye shadow colors, it’s hard to go wrong at Aromaleigh. They do lots of nice LE collections as well. I really like their Glissade formula of foundation. I wear 1CL + a bit of Alabaster to match my hard to match skintone. They have extremely reasonable shipping and a lightning-fast turnaround time, so you make your purchase and then usually get your products in under a week. I absolutely love this. I have so many favorites that it’s hard to name them all, but the Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder, the Gothic Lolita Collection, and the Rocks! sonic blushes are among my top choices.
What I recommend you check out: Eye shadows, foundations, Rocks blushes, finishing powders, lip balms

Meow Cosmetics
What I buy from them: Foundations, Blushes, Eye Shadows
Perks: Many newsletter sales
They have well over 100 eye shadow shades and probably close to 76 something foundation shades, making them one of the most versatile foundation companies out there. They were the first mineral makeup company that I could find a foundation match in. I wear either Inquisitive Siamese or Inquisitive Sphynx. I prefer their Pampered Puss formula (they have 3 formulas). They really have some amazing blushes. Most recently they released their Taboo blush collection, which has some iridescent colors. My favorite blushes by them are Illuminate, Racy, Centerfold, Exhibitionist, Saucy, Dirty Talk, Canna and Heliconia. My favorite eye shadows by them are from Caterwaul, Heavy Petting, Sabertooth, Huntress, Witty Kitty, Nabau, Mantis, and Bromeliad.
What I recommend you check out: Foundations, blushes, eye shadows

Glamour Doll Eyes
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, glitters
Perks: Occasional sales posted to blog or newsletters, sales inserts with every purchase, discounts if you purchase collections
They have 73 eye shadow colors, most of which are pretty awesome. I found their mattes sometimes a bit difficult to work with but have since hit upon the trick of putting down another barely-visible shade to help blend them. They’ve got some seriously bright colors that I find beautiful. They have an awesome sneak-peek program that allows those who partake in it to help name shades. Their glitters are some of the best dupes I’ve found for the MAC glitters. My all time favorite shades from them are Disco White, Glam Girl, Strawberry Cupcake, Rave and Hollywood.
What I recommend you check out: Eye shadows, glitters

Beautiful Girl Minerals
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Gel Liners, Gel Shadows, Lip Glosses
Perks: Occasional sales to newsletters, discounts when purchasing collections
They have about 73 eye shadow colors, ranging from soft buttery mattes to some extremely bold brights. What first drew me to try them out was their Eternal Beauty kit, with colors named after the Twilight book series. This is an extremely gorgeous and wearable kit. They’ve got some amazing lipglosses in Golden Kiss, Wicked Kiss and Summer Kisses, and they smell incredibly sweet. My favorites are the lip glosses in Wicked Kiss and Summer Kisses, eye shadows in Daring, Fabulous, Bewitched, Devious and Impatient, and gel eyeliner in Black Out and Black Cherry.
What I recommend you check out: Eye shadows, gel liners, lip glosses

Purely Cosmetics
What I buy from them: Blushes, Eye Shadows, Foundations, Finishing Powders
Perks: Occasional sales to newsletters and blogs
They have about 35 eye shadow shades, as well as an additional 6 cream to powder shades. They have 11 foundation shades. I match beautifully with their shade Fair Maiden in their Skin Smoothing Foundation line, which I love and recommend. Their blushes are gorgeous and I highly recommend the shades Blushing (which is a Nars Orgasm dupe) and Coral. Their Diamond Perfect finishing powder is a great multi-tasker, as it works well as a primer before foundation and then a finishing powder afterwards. For favorite shades of eye shadow, I’d have to say Soft Moon, Silver, Purple Koala and Sapphire Night. They also have insanely fast shipping.
What I recommend you check out: Foundations, Finishing Powders, blushes, eye shadows

Fyrinnae
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Lip Lustres, Blushes, Foundations, Inks Liquid Eyeliner
Perks: Occasional sales
They’ve got probably close to 200 eye shadow shades and they do multi-faceted color well. I do have a mica-free foundation from them in the color Moonstone, which I like. Their lip lustres have quickly become my favorite lip product over MAC lip glasses for their staying power and colors. My hands down favorite Inks eyeliner from them is You Want Me. In their lip lustres I absolutely adore Lollipop-pop, Ryunome, Amplifier, Type A and Glitter Kittiez. My favorite shadows are Wicked, Digital Faerie, We’re All Mad Here, Faerie Glamour, Sorceress, Nijiro, Mischief Makers and Darling Misfit.
What I recommend you check out: eye shadows, lip lustres, inks liquid eyeliner

Spell Cosmetics
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Nail Polish, Gloss
Perks: VIP Club, Occasional Sales announced in blog and newsletter
They’ve got close to 100 eye shadow shades and have some really lovely textured eye shadows. Their VIP club is 25% off of whatever you purchase, which is nice, especially when an item or collection is already on sale. I’ve tried their foundation and didn’t feel like it was a very good match for me, and one of their blushes that I tried didn’t seem to blend well on me, but their nail polish, gloss and eye shadows are nice. I really love their Hologlow collection and their Moonspell collection. They also ship relatively fast.
What I recommend you check out: eye shadows, nail polish, gloss

Dreamworld Minerals
What I buy from them: Foundations, Eye Shadows, Highlighters
Perks: Newsletter and forum sales
They’ve got some great eye shadows and an amazing set of highlighters. In their cloud foundation and their mulberry silk foundation I wear the shade Devi. I absolutely adore their creme silk highlighters, especially in Ice creme and Raspberry creme. Some of their eye shadows that I’m captivated with are NeverNight, Antarctica, Tinkerbell, Pixie Sunshine and Elven Sunset.
What I recommend you check out: eye shadows, highlighters

Cory Cosmetics
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Blushes, Highlighters
Perks: -
They have some interesting eye shadow textures with their velvets, and they have a line of mica free shadows, which is great for those individuals who are sensitive to mica. I really like their blushes and highlighters. My favorites are the highlighters in Serenity, Love and Rave, and in the blushes I love Tease and Fizz and Reef. In their eye shadows I really recommend Twinkle and Tantrum, Hera and Zeus.
What I recommend you check out: eye shadows, highlighters, blushes

Archetype Cosmetics
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Lip glosses
Perks: -
Note: They do have a very slow shipping time, HOWEVER, I have always gotten my orders from them.
They’ve got some gorgeous, multi-faceted eye shadows that can’t truly be appreciated unless they’re applied on top of a sticky base such as a nyx jumbo eye pencil or a mac paint pot. Their glosses are gorgeous too. I recommend Naughty Kitty, Sex Kitten and Low Red Moon in lip glosses. In eye shadows I recommend China White, Scream Queen, Lolita’s Lollipop, Raven’s Feather, and Jar of Sorrows.
What I recommend you check out: eye shadows, lip glosses

Morgana Minerals
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Lipsticks, Lip glosses, Gel Liners, Gel Eye shadows
Perks: Occasional Website Sales
Their vegan lipsticks are really amazing and I think that’s my favorite product from this company. They’ve also got some really pretty shadows. In eye shadows I like Aqua Stars, Druscilla and Fantasy Nouveaux. In lipsticks I like Spellbound, Nightshade, Cauldron, Red Licorice and Metallic Maiden.
What I recommend you check out: lipsticks, eye shadows, gel liners, gel eye shadows

Medusa’s Makeup
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Lip Gloss
Perks: -
They have 48 eye dust colors, which are loose eye shadows, 48 glitters, 12 pressed eye shadows and 12 lip glosses. Their pressed eye shadow is nice and pigmented. Their loose eye shadows are nice. The gloss is nice, as well. The colors that I like in particular are Flamingo, Helter Skelter, and Electro Turquoise.
What I recommend you check out: eye dusts, pressed shadows and lip glosses

Heavenly Natural Beauty
What I buy from them: Eye Shadows, Jumbo Eye Pencil, Blushes
Perks: -
They have several eye shadows, blushes, jumbo eye pencils and other makeup and beauty related items. I really like their Blushin 16, which is a fuschia blush. Their blue jumbo eye pencil is definitely nice. I really like their matte eye shadows, such as Vanilla Crush, Nymph, and Rare Beauty, though their shimmery colors Dazzel Linda, Mermaid and Lemy-Lime are pretty too.
What I recommend you check out: Eye shadows, Jumbo eye pencils, Blushes

Obsessed Minerals
What I buy from them: Pressed Eye Shadows
Perks: -
They have some really pretty pressed and loose eye shadows. They will press any of their eye shadow colors for you if they don’t already come pressed. My favorite shades from them are Vivid, Marry Me Blue and Millionaire.
What I recommend you check out: Pressed eye shadows

I have had positive experiences with all of the companies listed above, which is why I am recommending them. I will add new companies to this list as I try them out.

Now that you know which companies I prefer for what items, let me tell you why I adore mineral makeup.
1. I can find foundations that are actually light enough for my skin tone.
2. I find mineral makeup to be way more cost effective than always buying Urban Decay, MAC, etc.
3. Since most mineral makeup companies do samples I can try all the colors I want, which means more makeup to play with.
4. Since I can try samples, I should never end up buying a full size product I can’t/won’t use.
5. I find that the eye shadows are more pigmented, which means I have to use less product and the product lasts longer.
6. I find that my skin is in better shape from mineral foundation.
7. While I always use sunscreen, I like the added benefit from mineral makeup as it is a bit of a physical barrier.
8. I like the ability to interact with the mineral makeup creators.
9. I do like the fact that many mineral makeup companies encourage customer feedback and suggestions.
10. I do love the sales that many mineral makeup companies have.
11. I love that most mineral makeup products are multi-purpose. You can use eye shadows as blushes or in lip gloss.
12. In general, I love the products because I feel that they are very high quality, from the foundations to finishing powders to blushes, highlighers, lipsticks and eye shadows.

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My Musings on my Foundations

By Phyrra on March 27, 2009

So I currently have a few foundations that I wear, in no particular order.

Meow in Inquisitive Sphynx and Siamese, and Fyrinnae in Moonstone and Quartz. Also pictured is Purely Cosmetics Skin Smoothing foundation in Fair Maiden.

1st is Meow’s Pampered Puss formula in Inquisitive Sphynx.
Sphynx is described as: beige, pink and peach undertones
Inquisitive is described as: 0-lightest, almost white

This is a light to medium coverage foundation, and perfect for everyday wear in my eyes. It’s great for my sensitive skin. The formula for the pampered puss is as follows: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxides

This is a really good foundation if you have sensitive skin because Zinc Oxide is soothing. This won’t make you itch. It’s a matte finish.

2nd is Fyrinnae’s Mica-Free foundation in Moonstone.
Moonstone is described as: a pale neutral, for very fair skin.

This is a medium coverage foundation on me, as it provides more coverage than my Pampered Puss foundation. It’s also a good everday wear foundation. The forumla for the mica-free foundation is as follows: Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Rice Powder, Silica, Iron Oxides

I believe that the rice powder in this foundation is good for absorbing oils. I think rice powder in general is good for setting foundation. This is also a matte finish.

3rd is Purely Cosmetic’s Skin Smoothing foundation in Fair Maiden.
Fair Maiden is described as: The lightest of colors, fair skinned with slight pink tones.

This is my most full coverage foundation. It’s nice on my sensitive skin. Unfortunately, it’s just a tad too dark for my taste. I prefer my foundation to be a bit pale.

The formula for it is as follows: Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Zinc Oxide, Pure Silk Powder, Boron, Silica, Iron Oxides, Jojoba Oil (vegetable derived), Magnesium Myristate. May contain ultramarine blue.

I believe that the silk helps to hydrate skin while absorbing excess natural oils, the silica helps to give an airbrushed finish, jojoba makes the skin soft and boron reduces pore visibility.

4th is Meow’s Purrrfect Puss Foundation in Inquisitive Siamese.
Siamese is described as: a neutral for those with creamy undertones, no dominant peach or pink, but you may see a bit of yellow, peach, pink and beige
Inquisitive is described as: 0-lightest, almost white

This is my lightest, most sheer foundation. This is a sheer matte foundation, which can be built up. The formula for it is as follows: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides

While this used to be my preferred of the Meow foundations, I noticed if I was outside and sweating that it would cause the skin on my face by the sides of my nose to burn. I still like this foundation on days when I want just a sheer veil of coverage, if I’m not going to be sweating profusely.

This foundation is good for people who want sheer coverage and don’t have sensitive skin.

5th is Fyrinnae’s Mica-Free Foundation in Quartz.
Quartz is described as the ultra pale neutral, for the fairest skin.

Quartz is just a tad too pale for me currently, so it’s good for when I inexplicably end up paler than I currently am, during some of the winter months. It’s also good for me when I’m going clubbing and want to look paler than I am.

This is again one of my more full coverage foundation. The formula for it is as follows: Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Rice Powder, Silica, Iron Oxides

This foundation also has a matte finish and is great for clubbing.

Fyrinnae comes in Travel Size & Full Size.
I have Moonstone & Quartz in Travel Size, and Moonstone in Full Size.

Purely comes in Sample Size & Full Size. I have Fair Maiden in Sample Size and Full Size.

Meow comes in Sample Size, Munchkin Size and Full Size. I have Inquisitive Sphynx & Inquisitive Siamese in Munchkin Sizes and Full Sizes. I also have a Halloween Foundation in Munchkin Size.

Here’s another picture for you to compare the Meow Munchkin Size to the Meow Full Size.

These are all fabulous foundations.

I also recommend Aromaleigh’s Glissade foundation, but I have had a very hard time finding a good match in it. I thought 1YL worked, but not so much, and 1W does not look quite right. But eventually I’ll figure it out It’s another foundation that leaves a nice matte finish. (Edit: With the lovely Kristen of Aromaleigh, I found a match with 1CL + a dash of Alabaster.)