I love indie eyeshadows, blushers, and foundation…but some products (like mascaras and lipsticks) most indies don't do, or don't do often. I loved Aromaleigh's lip balms and tints (and they're doing pre-orders for Melancholia right now!!!), and I've tried lipsticks from Morgana Cryptoria and Fyrinnae's lip lusters; but I just have better luck with corporate lip colors. My only peeve with most corporate, particularly drugstore lip items, is that they're often unwrapped so some other customer will “make a tester”...or a bored clerk will! Still and all, I do love L'Oreal, Cover Girl, and Maybelline for their lipsticks. Maybelline has a summer collection out with two Colorsensational lipsticks I'm in love with: Parisian Pink and Bali Berry Shine. These both have a slight shimmer to them. I found my first at a regional chain drugstore, and soon went looking for backups of these limited-edition colors! Walgreen's didn't have the displays. Fred Meyer had the display…but only one Parisian Pink was left, and someone had obviously used it as a tester and then squashed the stick when they slammed the cap back on. Rite-Aid didn't have the displays out either, but Ulta did…halfway to the back of the store, on one of the sidemost endcaps. There are three more lip colors and about six pressed-eyeshadow duos in this particular collection. I didn't take a photo of the display, but I think it's called Exotic Summer.

I've gotten a few other Colorsensationals recently, too, from the High Shine collection. All four are from the lighter end of the spectrum: Disco Pink, Glisten Up Pink, Mauvelicious Shine, and Fruit Punch. Fruit Punch is very bright - all the High Shines are! And all the Pearls are softer shades…why they didn't provide a little more of a mix of color intensities! I also got two from the Pearl line, Luminous Lilac and Coral Gleam, that I would have liked to see just a little bit more pigmented. (Ah, well.) I was also fortunate enough to find coupons for almost every item!

Speaking of sales, the Ulta not only had a regular rack for all of its Zoyas, but the Zoyas were marked at “buy one get one free.” A true BOGO, which are so rarely seen these days. I don't know if this is a limited time thing, but I'd be surprised if it wasn't. The Beach and Surf collections were also available, where previously Ulta has had more of a delay in stocking the latest collections.

Aromaleigh is having a 25% off sale for Mother's Day, and it lasts through May 20th. This is a good chance to pick up some of the colors from their new Moulin Rouge LE collection. or from their slowly-growing stock collections. I also received coupons with my latest two orders - good for 15% off a future order, with a time limit. The codes were different, so I'm guessing that they can only be used one time. I also don't know if they are including these coupons standard, or if it's because I've returned to my old stockpiling ways. Originally I was going to steer clear of the Moulin Rouge collection, because they stated that most of the colors would be softer or semisheer instead of the more vivid, highly pigmented colors from older Aromaleigh collections. I have over half of the collection now. (Yeah, it's probably because I've started stockpiling again. In my defense, the 25% off sale was pretty nice incentive…and I'd received several samples from this collection, so had confirmation of which colors were perhaps a bit too soft / sheer for my preferences.)

I recently placed two orders with Love Hues, after seeing their eyeshadows on Sirvinya‘s blog. I was able to put multiples in my cart, since the shop tends to list two of most items; and the owner actually messaged me to ask if I meant to do that! Nice customer service…but yes, I meant to do that That order should be showing up by the weekend, and if the weather's nice I'll be able to wear my new shadows when I go out walking. (And if the weather is crummy, I'll stay inside and repot everything!) Love Hues doesn't have a huge inventory as of yet, but I do like that she has several dualcolors: taupe/purples, pink/golds, blue/greens…it's nice to see! I'll give a full review once I get the package.

Concrete Minerals has released their Pro Matte Pigments. They caution on the product pages (in regular size print, not microscopic type) that these are not approved by the FDA for use as eye cosmetics, but they sell them under the banner “Eyeshadows”...hm. And yes, I bought several. I also purchased several neon pigments from TKB Trading. Those are marked as “not approved for cosmetic use in the US”, and clearly marketed as soap dyes…but the bit about “in the US” got to me. I now want to research exactly why these (and other items) may be approved for eyeshadows in, say, the EU, but not in the US. I don't think that the various countries of the European Union want their citizens to injure themselves, so there must be some reason that the FDA hasn't approved these items (which contain polyester-3) for eyeshadows. I'm curious as to why. I've frequently worn the Rocks Sonic Eyes colors and haven't noticed any problems…but then again, as I've said before, I have no chemical sensitivities, not even any hard-core allergies.

This weekend I'm painting my nails with OPI's I Don't Give A Rotterdam. I picked it up during my successful trip to Ulta, to find those Colorsensational lipsticks. Ulta had a sale on some OPI polishes…or, at least, that Ulta did. It's a soft, muted medium blue with gold shimmer.

The plan is to paint my nails. Two weeks ago, I got a new kitten, though - and he's always up in my lap every time I sit down. It's wonderful to have him fitting in with the family so quickly! It's less endearing when I'm trying to write, or read, or do my nails. He's a black 7-month old kitten with long legs, a thick fluffy tail, medium-short silky fur, and gold-brown eyes. He has figured out that when I'm in bed and reading, I don't want kitties laying on my stomach and chewing on my books. And I only had to lift him off three times, every night for a week. (Did I mention that he's a snuggler?)

As the weather warms up, I'm looking forward to wearing my cotton gauze clothes, painting my nails more, and possibly adding a color-streak to my hair. Maybe a medium-deep magenta or a turquoise. (Phyrra, watch for panicked emails asking for how-tos!) I'll also be attending IMATS LA at the end of June, and going to GeekGirlCon in August. I'll be passing out web hosting business cards, celebrating my tenth year in business! I'm going to be speaking with some friends of mine about marketing campaigns, to see if I can't get some more clients. Know anyone that needs a web host? I give hefty referrals for sign-ups! (Well…normally, I only give referrals to existing clients, to keep people from setting up tons of “Top Ten Web Hosting” affiliate links and spamming forums in hopes of getting one or two sign-up clickthroughs. I want to reward my existing customers for their word-of-mouth referrals, not reward people for spamming.)

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