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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.)

I tend to prefer my foundations to leave a matte finish so that if I want sparkle, it comes from my highlighter or face powder or blush.

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My Favorite Mineral Makeup Brands

By Phyrra on March 22, 2009

Part 1 – Meow Cosmetics

When I first delved into the world of mineral makeup, I was primarily looking for a foundation that was pale enough for my skin. My first several tries yielded poor results. Instead of giving up, I started searching for reviews on mineral makeup foundations, and eventually stumbled upon Meow Cosmetics.

Meow Cosmetics is the first mineral makeup company that quickly became a favorite. In MAC foundations, I’ve been matched as an NW15, NC15 and N1, none of which matched me exactly right, because they were all too dark and you could tell I was wearing foundation. Well, after talking to the wonderful Jen of Camiella Rose on the Meow Forums, she was able to analyze my skin from a picture of me in direct sunlight. She determined that I’m hard to match because of my mix of undertones. I have some peach, some yellow, some beige and some cream, and in addition to that, I have some pink overtones (which have actually mellowed out in the past 6 months). So I’d had makeup assistants at MAC match me to NW and NC because of my mix of undertones. I fully expected that I might not be able to find a perfect match, so imagine my surprise when I found not one, but two! It turns out I can wear Siamese and Sphynx, both at the Inquisitive level.

In addition to trying foundations and being pleased, I decided to test out some of their blushes. Previous to this, I owned exactly 1 blush: Maidenchant from the Lure collection. I was afraid of blush, and not comfortable wearing it. From talking with the ladies on the Meow Forums, I learned of the fiber optic brush, and so I purchased one of these to try and use blush. I was ecstatic when I could apply blush and not look like a clown!

I then branched out and tried some of their eye shadows, which are pretty. I’ve been excited by just about every collection release they’ve done since I learned about them. They also have excellent customer service. When I finally placed an order, I had signed up for their mailing list at the same time, but forgot to apply a discount code. Even after the purchase they were willing to apply the discount code for me.

My favorite products from Meow: Foundation & Blush
Customer Service: Amazing
Shipping: Good
Forums: Yes

Part 2 – Aromaleigh Cosmetics

I started reading more reviews online and stumbled across Aromaleigh Cosmetics. I was amazed at the sheer number of products that they offered, so I tried a little of everything. Again, I got involved in the forums and the women on the forums are all so nice and helpful that I tried a lot of colors I’d never previously worn. My makeup application technique improved from watching youtube tutorials and the women on the forums.

Mostly I was amazed by Aromaleigh’s eye shadows, lip balms and finishing powders. They really stand out to me. Their foundation is nice too, especially the Glissade formula, but I had trouble finding a match. In the eye shadows there are too many to name that are favorites, but I really love the RockS! Sonic eye Shadows, the Gothic Lolitas, the Pure Hues, and the Bete Noires. Recently Kristen of Aromaleigh started releasing LE collections which are awesome!

My favorite products from Aromaleigh: Eye Shadows, Blush, Lip Balm, Ultra Resolution Finishing Powder
Customer Service: Amazing
Shipping: Lightning Fast & Quite Reasonably Priced
Forums: Yes
Bonus: Weekly 25% off sales

Part 3 – Fyrinnae Cosmetics

My friend Saila recommended Fyrinnae Cosmetics to me and I became an instant fan with their complex eye shadow colors. I had to learn a new technique to apply them, but I was just so impressed with the duality of many of the colors. One shade in particular, Wicked, is really how I fell in love with Fyrinnae. It’s a dark purple with turquoise shimmer, and you can see the turquoise in it no matter what. It’s just simply amazing. I also fell in love with their Lip Lustres. It’s the first time that I’ve found a lippy that can exceed MAC in my heart.

I’ve tried many of their eye shadows, lip lustres and foundations. I was happy that I found a match in their mica-free Moonstone foundation. I also have their Quartz foundation, which is perfect for clubbing or if I need to look paler than I am.

My favorite products from Fyrinnae: Eye Shadows, Lip Lustres, Foundation
Customer Service: Amazing
Shipping: Stated clearly on their website, takes a few weeks, free if you order over $20
Forums: No

These 3 companies all have one very important thing in common: excellent customer service. Tammy from Meow, Kristen from Aromaleigh, and the staff at Fyrinnae all put their hearts and souls into their companies and treating their customers the best that they possibly can. They use the best ingredients they can. They go the extra step to ensure that their customers are happy no matter what. So in addition to excellent customer service, they make the best products they can and sell them for quite reasonable prices. If you order from one of these four companies you are guaranteed to receive quality products and be treated like a valued customer.

These three companies have my stamp of approval and my support. That’s why they are my favorite mineral makeup companies.