BareMinerals’ Beautiful in Pearls kit

The first of Bare Escentuals’ collaborative kits with Honora Pearls, released for the 2010 year (other kits were Exotic Pearls in the spring, Vintage Pearls in the summer and Modern Pearls in the fall.) The colors in these kits were infused with crushed pearls. Interestingly enough, though, this didn’t give...

Meow Cosmetics’ Cinnamon Bay

This one's such an interesting color! It's a plummy red-brown - almost like a metallic light raisin shade. It reminds me slightly of Concrete Minerals Mad Hatter: the overriding visible warm brown, with hints of purple underneath. It's also a little similar - but softer - than Aromaleigh v1's...

Meow Cosmetics’ Bahia Solano

This is a paler gold than Paradise Island, and it seems to lean ever-so-slightly green. I'm rarely able to wear green-leaning golds because the color just doesn't look good on me. Apparently, with Bahia Solano, Meow found just the right soft leaf-gold tone. Perhaps it works for me because, like...

Meow Cosmetics’ Paradise Island

One of my later purchases from the Castaway collection - made after I'd bought the sample, swatched it, decided to get many of the other colors in fullsize, then swatched the sample again. I tend to be more fond of brighter golds or yellow golds rather than tarnished, patinaed, or...

Alphabet Nail Challenge: F is for Fascinante (by Ludurana)

I got two bottles of this polish when it was in the Sale section on Llarowe's web site. Looking at the site today, they don't even appear to be carrying this brand any more…so I'm really glad I got two bottles! The collection isn't even mentioned on Ludurana's site...

Meow Cosmetics’ Turtle Bay

This is almost like a soft gold-olive - it's a very pretty color, with great adhesion. I like that it's a metallic green that isn't super-dark, and doesn't have overtly yellow tones. It's not a neutral-green, but it's fairly close! This shade reminds me of Tea, from the Aromaleigh v1...

Meow Cosmetics’ Zushi

BareMinerals’ Pearl Blossom blush

The color is very soft, and the sparkle is widely scattered enough that it highlights, but isn't a solid layer of gold shimmer. It's very unobtrusive. This is not necessarily a color I would have chosen as being something I'd want to wear, but it looks good on me. Very “...

Alphabet Nail Challenge: E is for Evvie (by Zoya)

One of my first-choice colors from Zoya's fall Designer collection. This color was created for the Peter Som show, during NYFW back in February 2012. There were three colors (Audrey, Katherine, and Evvie) and two were added to the Fall 2012 Designer collection. Since I missed the Peter Som trio when it...

MAC’s Rain Drop pigment

I do wonder if these Crushed Pigments dried out a bit, once they've been repotted; because this one also had patchy application instead of the smooth metallic finish that I'm used to seeing from these colors. I bought these, and didn't get them swatched for the better part of a...