Entries for Friday December 31

Aromaleigh v1’s Pure Drama collection

• Vendor: Aromaleigh v1
• Availability: part of the regular line
• Availability: from the company's webstore
• Contains: 9 metallic eye colors
• Cost/Amount: USD$7.25 for 1.2 grams. Sample baggies also available.
• Would you purchase again: yes, some of the colors

This collection included:

• Drama Blue — metallic blackened sapphire shimmer
• Drama Cocoa — metallic blackened neutral-brown shimmer
• Drama Copper — metallic blackened copper-brown shimmer
• Drama Green — metallic blackened emerald shimmer
• Drama Red — metallic blackened ruby shimmer
• Drama Silver — metallic blackened pewter shimmer
• Drama Teal — metallic blackened dark teal shimmer
• Drama Topaz — metallic blackened antiqued brass shimmer
• Drama Violet — metallic blackened amethyst shimmer

There was another collection, the Drama Queen liners, that was essentially the same colors but with sparkle instead of metallic shimmer.

Aromaleigh v1’s Drama Green

• Manufacturer: Aromaleigh v1
• Availability: available as part of the Pure Drama collection
• Color Range: blackened emerald shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7.25 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

Aromaleigh v1’s Drama Blue

• Manufacturer: Aromaleigh v1
• Availability: available as part of the Pure Drama collection
• Color Range: blackened sapphire shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7.25 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: TKB Trading's Midnight Blue

Aromaleigh v1’s Drama Red

• Manufacturer: Aromaleigh v1
• Availability: available as part of the Pure Drama collection
• Color Range: blackened ruby shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$7.25 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: Fyrinnae's Purgatory, Fyrinnae's Monarch Butterfly

Drama Red has been discontinued - along with all the rest of the Pure Drama collection - but if you’re looking for an excellent blackened red, you have two choices…and they’re both from Fyrinnae. Purgatory is a deeper red shade. Monarch Butterfly has a bit more sparkle to it, and a tiny bit more blackening.

BareMinerals’ Saucy

• Manufacturer: bareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
• Availability: webstore, boutiques, and channel partners; also available as part of the Oh So Saucy kit
• Color Range: soft cinnamon-brown sheen
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: $13 for .57 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

BareMinerals’ Cozy Brown

• Manufacturer: bareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
• Availability: available as part of the My Signature Look kit
• Color Range: spiced coffee-brown matte
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: $13 for .57 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: Bare Escentuals' Coffee Bean

Entries for Thursday December 30

BareMinerals’ My Signature Look kit

• Manufacturer: bareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
• Availability: beginning May 2008 through both QVC and the BE webstore
• Contains: 2 eye colors, 1 face color, 1 lip color, 1 lip liner, 1 brush, and a vanity box
• Cost/Amount: USD$79.00
• Would you purchase again: no

When I first saw this kit for sale, it was $79 through the BE webstore. I couldn’t figure out why this kit cost that much, other than the fact that it was the spokesperson’s “signature look” and so therefore (conceivably) could have that cachet. There was also the fact that the eye and face colors were not available through any other kits - even if First Blush was just a mixture of First Class and Blush. Currently, this kit is available through QVC…for $49. The colors are beginning to come available through other kits - which is probably one of the motivating factors for the sudden drop in price.

Meow Cosmetics’ Blitzen

• Manufacturer: Meow Cosmetics
• Availability: available as part of the Reindeer collection
• Color Range: medium blue with pink duochrome shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

This color is vaguely - vaguely - similar to Bluespark, or Miss Defiant, in that it’s a blue with a warm duochrome. Blitzen is a softer blue than either of those colors, though. It’s not necessarily sheer. I’d say it’s about a 3.5 pigmentation level: easy to get it to look sheer-er, but a little too pigmented to use effectively as a daily highlighter or even as a blending shade.

BareMinerals’ Simply Seductive

• Manufacturer: bareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
• Availability: released through QVC beginning spring 2010
• Contains: three eye colors
• Cost/Amount: USD$30.00
• Would you purchase again: no

This kit could be good for if you loved green eyeshadows, if you really badly wanted Wicked but had never gotten it, or if you wanted to get all three of these shadows. Purchased singly (if Wicked was available singly) these shadows would retail for $39. Wicked, which has rarely been released in any BE kits, fetches some higher prices on Ebay. BE occasionally puts the color into kits, though, and as of January 2011 this kit is still available through QVC…so rather than pay inflated Ebay prices for Wicked alone, get this kit. (Unless you already own Invitation and Incense. Then maybe it’s not such a great value.)

Meow Cosmetics’ Donner

• Manufacturer: Meow Cosmetics
• Availability: available as part of the Reindeer collection
• Color Range: sheer light blue with peachy-pink duochrome shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

There’s the barest hint of a duochrome to this. More of an iridescent shimmer than a true hard-and-fast duochrome effect…but the duochrome is there. This isn’t a completely sheer color, but it would be easier to use this as a wash or a glaze. This color was more interesting than I thought it would be.