Entries for Thursday March 31
Zoya’s Sunshine collection
- Vendor: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: beginning March 2011 through the webstore and salon retailers
- Contains: 6 microglitter nail colors
- Cost/Amount: USD$48.00
- Would you purchase again: not the whole kit; but individual colors, yes
Yeah…remember when I said that none of the Zoya colors from their summer 2011 collections interested me? I kind of caved on that. During their BOGO promotion I decided to get Breezi, because I don’t really have many medium-blue nail colors (they’re all navy or variants thereof.) And then I saw Faye, and thought: that looks kind of interesting, like a brighter version of Anastasia. And then I added Apple, because I don’t have many bright greens, and Reva, so that I would get another free polish. (I had my cart filled with other shades, hoping that their Great Big Huge Promo would let us choose from among the whole Zoya product range. This did not happen; and thus Mia, Paige, Vivi, and several other colors are still sitting in my cart.)
BareMinerals’ Golden and Gorgeous kit
- Manufacturer: BareMinerals/Bare Escentuals
- Availability: beginning spring 2011 through Ulta (exclusive)
- Contains: 2 eye colors, 1 eyeliner pencil, and 1 brush
- Cost/Amount: USD$28.00
- Would you purchase again: yes
The brush in this kit is, in my opinion, one of the better ones available from BE. This and the soft focus eyeshadow and eyeliner brushes are my most-often-used brushes for applying eyeshadow. The eyeliner is not yet part of the “standard” line, and isn’t available for individual purchase. Sometimes the Ulta-exclusive kits go quickly, because they contain a long-sought-after color (last year’s Winter kit, with Heaven blush.) Other times…they seem to linger on for quite some time, over a year, until they’re put on deep-discount prices in Ulta stores, snapped up by enterprising Ebay sellers and sold piecemeal. I don’t know which way this kit will go. I do know that while the colors are attractive, they’re a little to neutral for me to wear them together without another color added for a bit of emphasis.
Entries for Wednesday March 30
Sally Hansen’s Gunmetal
- Manufacturer: Sally Hansen
- Availability: part of the Xtreme Wear collection
- Color Range: semi-metallic cool grey shimmer
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$4.99 for 11.8 ml / .4 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades: Zoya's Freja, Sally Hansen's Pedal to the Metal
This is another good polish from the Xtreme Wear line. Two coats for opaque, even coverage…but some visible brushstrokes. So it’s good, but not amazing. I prefer Zoya’s Freja, which lasts longer and is the same color and finish. Still, if you really really love this color and are on a bit of a budget, or can’t find Freja in a Whole Foods or Ulta or nearby salon, Gunmetal is a decent-enough polish. (I just wish it didn’t show brushstrokes quite so readily!!)
Zoya’s Kelly
- Manufacturer: Zoya/Art of Beauty
- Availability: originally released as part of Zoya's Wonderful collection
- Color Range: cool medium grey creme with indigo undertones
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$7 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades:
Most of the polishes had their corresponding number in the Wicked collection…but Kelly doesn’t seem to be one of them. Edyta could have been the complement to either Kelly or Shawn, but the base color seems to match up better with Shawn. Kind of a pity, as a foil-glitter in this shade of grey with purple undertones would have been amazing. (Zoya, are you listening?!??)
I think I might be able to make a very interesting tone-on-tone Konadicure by using one of the silver-grey China Glaze polishes - possibly Awaken from Romantique, or even Harmony.
Entries for Tuesday March 29
NYX Cosmetics’ Lala Round Lipstick
- Manufacturer: NYX Cosmetics
- Availability: part of the Round Lipstick collection
- Color Range: lavender-mauve creme
- Staying Power: 2 out of 4
- Cost/Amount: USD$4.50 for .14 ounces / 4 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes - but only from etailers, because the tubes aren't sealed
Definitely a cooler mauve. This color is a slightly redder version of Revlon Colorburst in Lilac, and while it’s a bit similar to BE’s Buxom San Francisco, it’s a little darker. The only drawback to this, in my eyes, is that it doesn’t have much staying power and has to be re-applied quite frequently (as do all the other NYX lipsticks I’ve tried.)
Revlon’s Soft Rose Colorburst Lipstick
- Manufacturer: Revlon
- Availability: part of the Colorburst Lipstick collection
- Color Range: medium-deep dusty rose creme
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4
- Cost/Amount: USD$8.99 for 3.7 grams / .13 ounces
- Would you purchase again: yes - but only from etailers, because as of March 2011, the tubes aren't outer-sealed
Entries for Monday March 28
Shiro Cosmetics’ Subrosia / Shiro Cosmetics’ Goron Ruby
- Manufacturer: Shiro Cosmetics
- Availability: part of the Legends collection
- Color Range: maroon pearl
- Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: USD$5 for 1.8 - 2.0 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades: Morgana Cryptoria's Concubine
A truly lovely deep maroon. And like all the other dark Shiro colors I’ve purchased, it gives me excellent color payoff. This is slightly similar to Bare Escentuals’ Hello Kitty / Simply Naturals’ Gypsy, but with a pearl rather than shimmer finish.
BareMinerals’ High Shine Gold Medal
- Manufacturer: Bare Escentuals (purchase
)
- Availability: released as part of the First Look kit (in a pot); also available as part of the Shimmer and Shine kit and the High Shine Longwear Eyecolor Duo kit; rumored to be added to the regular line in May 2011
- Color Range: metallic burnished gold shimmer
- Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
- Cost/Amount: $16 for .05 ounces / 1.5 grams
- Would you purchase again: yes
- Similar shades: Aromaleigh v1's Astonish
When this was first released, it was like other BE shadows: in a 10-gram pot (much like High Shine Sand Dune or High Shine Charisma.) It wasn’t until its fall 2010 release in the High Shine Longwear Duo that this color was in the “traditional” high-shine color tube packaging. The texture of the latter high-shine colors in the tubes seems a little different, so I wouldn’t be too surprised to find that the initial versions of High Shine Gold Medal was not exactly the same as the version people can buy now. This color is slated to be available for individual purchase in May 2011, and the color is very nice. But…trust me and dozens of other BE users: ditch the tube and that lousy sponge applicator. Either repot the entire shadow, or dump a little bit out into a pot lid when you go to apply your shadow for the day.
Entries for Saturday March 26
Saturday Soundtrack: Szerelem (Stellamara)
I found an entire playlist of Stellamara songs on YT. All of the uploads by user tiad (who uploaded this particular video) are jazz and world fusion - not videos per se, but some beautifully chosen images to go with the songs. I'll just let you folks watch the rest of these on your own :D All of Stellamara's albums are available for purchase, they're on iTunes, and some of the songs have been very coolly remixed. They do live performances here and there, most often on the west coast of North America but they perform all over the world - watch their site, Facebook, and Twitter for announcements. If you want to take voice lessons and you live in the San Francisco metro / bay area, Sonja Drakulich - the lead singer of Stellamara - gave voice lessons at one point. (Naturally, I found this out as I was preparing to move out of the Bay Area.)
The links below are affiliate links. If you prefer to buy the music without using my affiliate links, just go to the site of your choice and search for "Stellamara The Seven Valleys" (the title of the album) or "Stellamara Szerelem" (the title of this specific song).
- Buy this song on iTunes: MP3: Szerelem - Stellamara
- Buy this album on iTunes: Album: The Seven Valleys - Stellamara
- Buy this CD on Amazon: CD: Stellamara - The Seven Valleys
Szerelem is an old, traditional Hungarian love song. Some kind soul typed out the Hungarian lyrics and the English translation:
Hungarian: Szerelem, szerelem, Átkozott gyötrelem, Mért nem virágoztál Minden fa? teteje? Minden fa tetején, Diófa levelén, Hogy szakísztott volna, Minden leány és legény. Mert én is szakísztottam, El is szalasztottam, Én is szakísztottam, És el is szalasztottam. Ej de még szakísztanék Ha jóra találnék, Ha jóra, ha szépre, A régi szeret?mre. Mhhhhhmmmhhhh S, a régi szeret?mért, Mit? nem cselekednék, Tengerb?l a vizet, Kanállal lemerném. És a tenger fenekér?l, Apró gyöngyöt szednék, És a régi szeret?mnek, Gyöngykoszorút kötnék
English: O, love love accursed torture why did you not blossom on every treetop? On the top of every tree, on the leaf of a walnut tree, so every maiden and? unmarried young man would have plucked it. Because I too plucked it and I let it slip away. I too plucked it and I let it slip away. O, I would pluck one again if I found a good one, if I found a good one, a beautiful one, my old lover. And for my old lover what wouldn't I do? I would skim the water from the sea with a spoon. From the bottom of the sea I would gather small pearls and for my old lover I would? braid a wreath of pearls.
Entries for Friday March 25
Review: Shiro Cosmetics
- Company name: Shiro Cosmetics
- Presence: online storefront only (Etsy)
- Products: eyeshadows, blushes (pressed and loose), lip colors
- High points: good color payoff; wide range of eye colors; excellent value
- Low points: April 2011: still a small product line
- Would I buy from them again: as of April 2011, definitely yes. I'm looking forward to new eyeshadow collections, and hoping to see a general expansion of the line.
I first started buying from Shiro some time in the summer of 2010. I got several colors from Shiro’s first big collection, and was impressed with price, turnaround time, color payoff, and longevity. I’ve continued to watch the store, and I think at this point I have every one of Shiro’s eyeshadow colors at least in sample size.