Entries for Monday April 30

My Pretty Zombie’s Forsaken

• Vendor: My Pretty Zombie
• Availability: part of the Blue Period kit
• Color Range: lapis-blue sparkle
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$3.75 for 1.5 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

The last of the Blue Period colors. The least dramatic, in terms of combined color (blue/green/teal, or blue/indigo/purple)...but it’s a gorgeous bright lapis-blue with excellent color payoff and adhesion. There was a slight bit of skin staining for me, very faint, and it was gone the next day after my shower - but make sure to wear primer under this color, or any of the Blue Period trio eyeshadows.

TKB Trading’s Oriental Beige

• Vendor: TKB Trading
• Availability: part of the regular line
• Color Range: medium golden-tan shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: USD$14 for one ounce
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: Bare Escentuals' Ta-Dah

A good tan that’s not too yellow for cool-toned people to wear easily. This is another mica from TKB, so you’ll definitely need a primer and possibly a sealant to make it stay in place. I like using this as an accent color. It’s a bit too dark to make a good soft highlighter, but it works well as a neutral-ish accent when I want to use two pretty strong shades but don’t want them to overpower the overall look.

Morgana Cryptoria’s Helios

• Vendor: Morgana Cryptoria
• Availability: part of the Cleopatra collection
• Color Range: aged-gold shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$5.50 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

There’s almost a greenish tint, a patina, to this color. It’s not a new-minted gold, more like tarnished or old gold. There’s a bit of depth to the color. In certain lighting, this color is right on the borderline of gilded olive. The finish isn’t quite metallic, but it’s a very smooth shimmer. The color payoff is equally good whether the shade is applied wet or dry.

My Pretty Zombie’s Law Firm Lamb Cake

• Vendor: My Pretty Zombie
• Availability: part of the regular line
• Color Range: pinkish white with iridescent sparkle
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$3.75 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: My Pretty Zombie's Unicorn Pee, My Pretty Zombie's Bridezilla, Concrete Minerals' White Rabbit

Staying Power:

There’s a heck of a story behind the name of this eyeshadow. Though the store description says that this is very sparkly…that depends on how you define “sparkly.” I tend to think of the colors from Aromaleigh’s Rocks! Sonic Eyes collection, which had lots of sparkle and glam. This color does have sparkle, but it’s not quite as densely packed as, say, Whitewedding or Whiteriot. And the sparkle does show up far better when the color is foiled than when applied dry.

Entries for Saturday April 28

BareMinerals’ buxom Lauren

• Vendor: Bare Escentuals
• Availability: released in the Swinger Girls kit; part of the Buxom Lip Polish collection
• Color Range: sheer peach with violet duochrome sheen
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: USD$18 for .15 ounces
• Would you purchase again: yes

This is like a softer version of buxom Tara: the peach is softened, the violet sparkle is a little sparser. I tend to use Tara when I’m wearing brighter colors, and reach for Lauren for “everyday”.

Entries for Wednesday April 25

Zoya’s Poppy

• Vendor: Zoya/Art of Beauty
• Availability: part of the Bouquet collection
• Color Range: creamsicle-orange frost
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$8 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

Based on the professional bottle photo and the description, I expected this color to either be a pale orange wash, or to be just barely too orange for my personal comfort zone. The color is actually softened a bit - “creamsicle”, as I called it. I did have to apply three coats to get the color payoff I wanted, and I am not fond of the visible brushstrokes. I do like this shade…I just wish it had better spreadability! (I wonder if it’s the batch, or my application technique? Who knows…)

OPI’s Diva of Geneva

• Manufacturer: OPI
• Availability: part of the Swiss collection
• Color Range: metallic deep mauve rose microglitter
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$9 for 14 ml / .5 fl oz
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades: China Glaze's Hey Doll

Definitely a deep rose rather than a burgundy…but it’s so very close. The texture is like a soft microglitter, where its near-counterpart in China Glaze’s Cat’s Meow collection has a bit more overt texture. This took three coats to give me even coverage, but once applied, the color stayed in place fairly well for the two days that I wore this manicure.

Given that OPIs are generally $8 to $9 a bottle, and China Glaze can easily be found for between $3 and $6, China Glaze is the better value here. (Unless you are not in favor of your polish having any kind of a texture. Then, stick with Diva of Geneva.)

Entries for Tuesday April 24

My Pretty Zombie’s Dissolution

• Vendor: My Pretty Zombie
• Availability: part of the Blue Period kit
• Color Range:
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$3.75 for 1.5 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

Fyrinnae’s Medieval Haunting

• Vendor: Fyrinnae
• Availability: part of the Endangered collection
• Color Range:
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$5.90 for 3 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

Lost in Makeupland’s Lazy Sunday

• Vendor: Lost in Makeupland
• Availability: part of the regular line
• Color Range:
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$5.99 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

This was one of the first colors I actually tried from Lost in Makeupland…but it’s taken me this long to 1) buy it full-sized and 2) write it up. This is more of a softening or blending shade, or something to use when you want a hint of color. It won’t show up on the skin they way it appears in the pot. This is right on the borderline of usable for me, because of my coloring. It isn’t too warm, but it just barely misses that mark.