In the past six years, “mineral makeup” has exploded…or, at least, the perception of it has. As more people have tried mineral makeup, more companies have started marketing it…or, at least, they’ve started selling something that they call “mineral makeup”.
I’ve had some requests to see pictures of my hoard - which I’ve kind of put off, seeing that it’s been in a state of transition for the past eight months. Usually, I keep my shadows grouped by color, then arranged chromatically (because yes, Virginia, I’m just that OCD.)
Each of the boxes I keep my colors in is just over 14.5” wide by 14” tall by just over 2” deep. Five of the interior columns are 2” wide, and can be subdivided. The sixth column has two “shelves” - structural supports for the box, plus indentations for the latches that hold the lid closed - and that column is 3.5” at its widest point, and 3” wide at its narrowest points (the aforementioned latch-indentations, and the carrying handle.) The columns are deep enough to hold a 10-gram jar quite comfortably - there’s just over a 1/2-inch’s worth of movement-space both front-to-back, and side to side. The left five columns will hold 17 10-gram jars if no subdividers are used. The sixth column’s topmost chambers can hold two columns of four 10-gram jars, while the central chamber holds seven jars plus three more “laying on their sides” (which I don’t like doing for general storage because it allows for spillage, but which has been kind of necessary for this project when I’ve been moving the “used” jars to secondary bins.)
These are made by ArtBin, and I haven’t been able to find them online anywhere - just at my local Storables store, which doesn’t list these items on their site, either. These containers are kept over with the scrapbooking/beading/craft/office/art supply containers in my store, and they cost $14.95. They let me store my jars securely and with minimal chance of spillage, but I can still see all of my colors. So many other storage solutions that people have used have involved storing their jars of loose-powder eyeshadow on their sides, or turned upside down to allow the colors to be quickly visible. I was so happy when I found these!! They won’t stand up all on their own, you have to lean them against a wall; but they do stay upright better than most. I currently have thirteen of these bins.
They’re a more than acceptable stopgap measure until I win the lottery and can have my inset cabinets, with movable shelves and oak doors, to be built into the wall of my vanity area :D Seriously: the storage is inelegant, but it all stores neatly, lets me see everything quickly, and keeps things from spilling.
Everyday Minerals sells foundation, blush, color correctors, face colors and glow powders, bronzers, eyeshadows, eyeliners, lip colors, and brushes. Their loose-powder shadows and blushes are about on par with Ulta's loose-powder mineral makeup, in terms of pigmentation and adhesion. They also, as of early 2010, have a distinct site design and visual branding which garners mixed reviews. Additionally, some folks have had severe reactions to Everyday Minerals' products (EDM-relevant details further down the page, beneath the blue "why is this 'may contain' business so important to me?" text, YouTube video from a makeup artist and former EDM 'ambassador'). I am fortunate enough to have no skin sensitivity problems nor immune system problems, so have not personally experienced much in the way of rashes, breakouts, or other skin irritations while using Everyday Minerals' products...though I have had some minor problems with a few things, including one rather memorable instance.
I started buying from Everyday Minerals back in early 2008. I bought about four eyeshadows, and got several samples of their blushes and foundations. I tried six foundations, but was not happy with the color matches, consistency, or coverage - so I kept looking, and eventually found my foundation from another vendor. Everyday Minerals had inexpensive shadows, though, as well as a very good try-me-free program and a customizable "super kit" that allowed one to purchase a large number of samples for a lowered price. I placed another order in late 2009 for their mint color corrector and several more eyeshadows, and eventually ordered more of the eyeshadows in their mini size - a 10-gram jar, holding approximately 2.5 grams of product. I experienced no skin irritation, and was unaware of the upheavals going on among the EDM fanbase (I hadn't really frequented the now-deleted EDM customer forum - some information about what happened to it - but shortly after I placed my November 2009 order, the customizable super-kit was discontinued, their try-me-free program was aggressively streamlined, and the forum was deleted). By this time, I had about 12 fullsize eyeshadows, three blushes, and had started using (and was pleased with) the mint color corrector. I had absolutely no reactions to any of my products; but again, I'm fortunate enough not to have extreme chemical sensitivities, skin irritation issues, or even allergies (except to bee stings), so I'm not entirely surprised. I placed some orders with Everyday Minerals this past month with the intention of making "one last stop", buying as many of their eyeshadows in the being-phased-out mini size as possible (because I really prefer all my jar sizes to be matchy-matchy [I know, I'm weird]) and buying a few more of their blushes - because they looked kind of pretty, and because if Everyday Minerals changed the formulas once before and kind of forgot to tell their customer base, they might do it again. At any rate, this was my final pass through Everyday Minerals. I like the products that I got, but will not be buying from them for several reasons. I would also urge anyone else thinking of buying from Everyday Minerals to carefully check EDM's current list of ingredients, especially if you have any known allergies or chemical sensitivities.
Just a generalized news roundup before I head off to run some errands (including getting breakfast).
eyeshadow, shimmer, discontinued, Bare Escentuals, red, limited edition, cool, warm, brown, The SheSpace, purple, blue, Aromaleigh, green, sparkle, orange, yellow, lip color, sheen, nail color, neutral, matte, eyeliner, metallic, pearl, kit, grey, blush, Meow Cosmetics, one year eyecolor challenge, face color, Zoya, duochrome, collection, neutral-warm, creme, Everyday Minerals, Simply Naturals, Pure Luxe Cosmetics, sheer, white, MAC Cosmetics, black, warm-neutral, cream shadow, iridescent, brush, China Glaze, NYX Cosmetics, season: Summer, neutral-cool, Morgana Cryptoria, cool-warm, warm-cool, Shiro Cosmetics, Buxom, season: Fall, TKB Trading, Concrete Minerals, cool-neutral...
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