BareMinerals’ Get The Look: Bronze Ambition kit

One of the first wave of “get the look” kits released - buy three colors, get a slight discount - was later reconfigured to add a brush. This also increased the kit price, though…by $14. Since the various brushes come in just about everything and are available from dozens of sellers on Ebay, I’m not entirely convinced that this was a good decision for the customer. (It also stunk if the color combination you happened to like, was bundled...

L A Colors Shimmering Loose Shadow collection

I recently placed an order with an etailer who carries all kinds of drugstore brands, including L A Colors; and these loose shadows were not only inexpensive, but on sale. I decided to give them a try. The colors come in a plastic jar with a screw-top lid. All of the jars that I got were sealed with tape around the lid. The amount of product is fairly generous for the price: nearly 3 grams. Just be advised: while this is...

OPI’s Designer Series Opulence

Zoya’s Jules

I really like this color. As an elegant metallic, it almost looks out of place in this collection…but I'm not so sure I care, because I like the color. It's more muted than Jingle Bells, and it does look a bit like Swing Baby with a foil finish instead of a glass fleck.

BareMinerals’ buxom Sarina

This is the latest diamond buxom - meaning high sparkle factor. I do like these, but be aware that the glitter loses its adhesion and will migrate / fall away throughout the day. The fallout isn't as bad as some glitter eyeshadows, but it is present. If this bothers you strongly, you may want to steer clear of this and the other diamond buxoms. Sarina is a sheer near-neutral toffee brown. It's not a golden-brown like Merry, nor a bronzed copper...

Revlon’s True Red Colorburst Lipstick

You want a bright, bold, take-no-prisoners red? It's right here. Whereas many of the other Colorburst lipsticks needed a stroke or two to give me full opacity and color payoff, one stroke of this gave me full color right out of the gate. Actually…it gave almost too much color for my preferences. The only other Colorburst lipstick that I've tried that is this richly-hued is Raspberry. The lighting is a bit misleading here, but this color is actually right...

BareMinerals’ Lucky

I really really like this color. Maybe it's because it's a warm reddish-brown that isn't a red-brown. Maybe it's because it applies well and is nicely opaque either dry or wet. Maybe because, out of this entire kit, I only really fell deeply in love with the eyecolor and so the disappointment over the blush and eyeliner has really emphasized the fact that this eyeshadow actually works well for me.

BareMinerals’ Refresh

This color is kind of sad. When you look at it in the pot, it looks like it might try and do something interesting. There's potential. Potential!! But then you try to apply it. Put it straight on the lid, and it vanishes. Put it dry over primer, and you get a yellowish green that tries, it really earnestly tries. Put it on wet, and you get a lighter, shinier version of the dry application. It's a pot of wasted...

OPI’s Designer Series collection

OPI’s designer series is like the sober-hued counterpart to China Glaze’s Kaleidescope collection: tans, beiges, some pinks and peaches (and silver), all with scattered-holographic effects. While blues and purples are periodically introduced, they don’t seem to stick around very long. (Or possibly they just run out faster because they’re more in demand?) I have no idea when this collection was first released; but I do know that it’s been available since at least 2005 and that...

Jewelry from Helix Elemental

I first learned about Helix Elemental Studio from a post on Phyrra's blog. She was giving away a pair of bat-shaped earrings, but I was more interested in the word “dichroic”. I guessed that the first part of the word “di” meant that the glass was somehow duotoned…duochrome? Duochrome earrings? Okay, wait, what? Now I'm curious. I found the “dichroic glass” entry at Wikipedia, which linked to the Lycurgus Cup: a vase that looked jade green when viewed with...