Entries for Thursday June 14

Shiro Cosmetics’ /kiss / Shiro Cosmetics’ Ditto

• Manufacturer: Shiro Cosmetics
• Availability: originally released in the My Nerdy Valentine collection; renamed in early 2012 and moved to the Super Effective collection
• Color Range: bright strawberry-pink shimmer
• Staying Power: 4 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$5 for 1.8 - 2.0 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

This is, in many ways, a fairly straightforward, no-frills, pink. I haven’t compared it to the pink from the Kawaii collection, so I don’t know how similar they are. What I can tell you is that the finish is a soft satin (not a shimmer, not metallic, not frost), the pigmentation levels are good, and it’s neither a pale soft pink nor a super-bright pink. It’s a good basic pink with excellent color payoff.

Originally released in the My Nerdy Valentine as /kiss, the color was moved to the Super Effective collection and renamed Ditto. And because I was so dang lazy, this happened long after I’d bought the color, but a few months before I got around to swatching it.

My Pretty Zombie’s Somnambulent

• Vendor: My Pretty Zombie
• Availability: part of the Darksider collection
• Color Range: light olive green shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4 stars
• Cost/Amount: USD$5.00 for 1.2 grams
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

Muted olive with minimal shimmer. The color payoff is on the lower end of the shades I’ve purchased from My Pretty Zombie, though it isn’t semisheer, and it can be increased. (I barely have patience for two coats of nail polish. Two coats of eyeshadow, I really don’t have the patience!)

Cooler olives or “khaki” greens look nice on me, provided they aren’t too overtly yellow. One of my first makeup purchases had a brighter green that was like neon-meets-olive. (Why, yes, this -=was=- in the 1980s, however did you guess?) I do like how this shade looks on me. I just wish there was a little more heft to it. I can use this as an all-over color or an accent shade, but not for contouring. Though I haven’t tried applying it over a dark base, just to see what effects I’d get there.

TKB Trading’s Midnight Blue

• Manufacturer: TKB Trading
• Availability: part of the regular line
• Color Range: indigo-blue shimmer
• Staying Power: 3 out of 4
• Cost/Amount: USD$14 for one ounce
• Would you purchase again: yes
• Similar shades:

A little smokier than TKB’s Deep Blue - with a bit of a blue-violet shimmer. Another straight mica, so it won’t adhere without some help (either a primer or a cream shadow base) it applies fairly smoothly. I get best results from this and just about any other mica if I “stipple” it when applying it dry, and sweep when applying it wet.

I love jeweltones, but I also love smokier blues. This isn’t quite a smokey shade, but it’s a bit greyer - and the periwinkle/indigo shimmer looks really really good with my coloring!