Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had (or has if you're across the pond) a lovely Christmas & enjoyed spending time with family or friends!

Too Faced Eye Shadow Insurance Policy Palette

I've been wanting to try Too Faced Shadow Insurance (aka TFSI) for a while so I went to Kit Cosmetics to buy a tube. I noticed they had a palette pack called Eye Shadow Insurance Policy which has 6 pressed eyeshadows & a full tube of TFSI for $49.95AU.

The palette has the following colours:

• Full Frontal
• Glamazon
• Socialite
• Boy Toy
• Skinny Dip &
• Lucky Charms

Considering a full tube of TFSI is $34.95 by itself, I figured that for an extra $15, it was worth getting the palette too.

I haven't used either since I bought it, and am considering whether or not I will keep the eyeshadow palette for myself or gift it to family (my Niece would love it!).

I didn't see many packs left in my local Kit Cosmetics, so if you're looking at getting TFSI, consider buying the set!

Edit: Well I happened to go to www.kitcosmetics.com.au & found the same set for $24.95 plus postage at $10, which still makes the set $20 cheaper. Don't you hate finding things at a cheaper price after you've bought them???? Oh well that happens.... however I've also looked at the eyeshadows & found that a couple of them actually looked like they've been swatched. Really disapointing. It feels like I've bought a secondhand product :( It leaves me with a bit of a bitter aftertaste.

Inglot Haul

I went Xmas shopping yesterday & ended up at Inglot (how on earth did that happen?). I needed Brush Cleanser & ended up with the following:

• Brush Cleanser
• Magnalash Mascara
• Lip Duo #13
• Metal Mixing Palette
• 1 x 6 Square Eyeshadow Palette (only $25!!!) &
• Various eyeshadow samples & a foundation sample!

I was also given an Inglot 10% Off voucher for January which I look forward to using!

Can't wait to use the products & will review them here.

I really should stop buying things so I can concentrate on reviews shouldn't I? :D

Received: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils from Tanty Cosmetics!

I came home to find my NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in the mailbox, ordered from Tanty Cosmetics! The postage time was excellent considering there was a weekend in between.

My goodies were wrapped in pretty purple paper with my name on it (just like a Christmas present!). I guess I should have put them under the tree but of course, I couldn't wait. I ripped them open right away.

Image from tantycosmetics.com.au

Ordered: Thursday 16th December, 2010
Received: Monday 20th December, 2010

The NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils are in colours Milk (matte white) & Black Bean (matte black). I can't wait to try them out.

I hadn't heard of Tanty before I found their website & made my order, but I was impressed right away (especially after receiving a shipping notice 20 minutes after the order) plus I got free shipping. I will be ordering from them again in the future.

Thank you Tanty!

Just Ordered: UNII Cosmetics Palette

I have blogged about the UNII Cosmetics palette previously & hadn't gotten it as I thought it was expensive with the postage to Australia & conversion of dollars.

As I've been home sick for a few days, I've been spending a bit of time on YouTube watching makeup tutorials & reviews on various products, including UNII. I have changed my mind as looking at other palettes, it just seems like a great quality product, something that has been manufactured with forsight & has covered issues that may arise (eg makeup breakage).

That old saying comes to mind "you get what you pay for".

Photo from www.uniicosmetics.com

Well, I saw a Tweet from @uniicosmetics advising of a holiday discount from $29 to $24!!!! So, to cut a long story short - I'm in the holiday spirit & put an order through!

I bought 2, one as a gift for a friend for her birthday (Coal - a beautiful sleek black which I know she will love), and one for little old me (Pomegranate - a gorgeous shiny Red).


My friend has no idea what depotting is & I look forward to introducing it to her to it & getting her on her way to using it!!!!!!

I've already depotted all of my makeup & bought an Inglot palette which has removable pans, so I will be using my UNII for travel/touchups.

I can't wait until it arrives next year. I will give you a full review plus photos when I get it! I will also compare it with my other palettes!

Order Update: Tanty Cosmetics

Long time no see!

Had to blog again as I noticed that I received an email 20  minutes after I made my first order with tantycosmetics.com.au to say that my NYX Pencils had been shipped - even before I had finished typing the last blog!

I have to say that I'm pretty impressed so far!

I look forward to getting the package! :D

Just Ordered: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils from tantycosmetics.com.au

I've been at home sick the past couple of days so I've been giving You Tube a bit of a workout on my phone, watching eyeshadow tutorials, reviews & more.

Image from tantycosmetics.com.au

I watched a few tutorials where the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk was used as a base. The colour is a matte white & it really seemed to make the eyeshadow colours more vibrant as they were true to colour!

I've been eyeing Inglots White Gel Eyeliner for the past few months to use as a base, & waterline highlight but haven't been back to Inglot for a few weeks (can you believe it?) to check it out. Due to Christmas madness I probably won't be getting there till the New Year. :(

So, I've decided to give the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil a go in the meantime. The reviews on Make Up Alley (www.makeupalley.com) seem quite positive about this drugstore product. I think I will give it a go!

Now onto the ordering!

Image from tantycosmetics.com.au

During a quick Google search I found a company called Tanty Cosmetics (isn't that a cute name?). Tanty Cosmetics seems to be a new online cosmetic company from Melbourne & stock products that are hard to get in Australia such as NYX, ELF & LA Girl.

I found that the prices of the NYX Jumbo Eye pencils are $5.95AU each - not as cheap as the $3.50US price, but seems to be the average price in Australia. What kept me on the Tanty Cosmetics website is that they have Free Shipping Australia Wide for Christmas. Well, that sealed the deal!


At this point I usually do a review of the company to see if there are any complaints but being in the Christmas spirit (and that the order would be just over $10) I thought that I'd just put through an order & see how it goes! *GULP*. Their Facebook page & Twitter account seem legit so fingers crossed! I'm always willing to give a new company a go.

The order was for 2 x NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils (Milk - matte white - & Black Bean - matte black) to be used as bases. Payment was put through PayPal.

I will keep you updated as to the product, and my impression of Tanty Cosmetics.

TTFN!

EcoTools 6 Piece Eye Brush set

Last week after reading some positive reviews, I bought the EcoTools 6 Piece Eye Brush set. It has 5 brushes & a little brush pouch.

I'd never really noticed EcoTools before but I'd been having some problems with applying certain eyeshadows lately (usually with glitter). I've had the experience of knowing sometimes the problem lies with the tools you use rather than with the product, looked for another eyeshadow brush.

I also wanted to have multiple eyeshadow brushes so I didn't have to clean during each application to use another colour.

So, after noticing a thread about eyeshadow brushes I decided to check this brand out. They seem to have a few different sets which looked enticing. The prices are reasonable too. I have to say, I'm not a HUGE greenie but I am not alien to the idea of being good to the environment so the Earth-friendly aspect is nice. :-)

There are 5 brushes in this set as follows:

• Blending Brush
• Highlight Brush
• Smudge Brush
• Shading Brush
• Crease Brush

The first thing I noticed was how soft these brushes are. I have to say that made me sceptical on how they would work but it seems to help. Plus they feel lovely!

All have travel sized short handles made of bamboo which is quite pretty. The "EcoTools" brand seems to be fading off the side of a couple of the brushes after only 3 washes. I guess this doesn't really matter to me, but it's just surprising.

My favourite has to be the Shading brush which has solved my eyeshadow issues! I use it as a lid brush. The bristles are soft yet firm. It picks up & distribute product well. As it's a small brush it's so easy to control where colour goes. I like that.

My second favourite is the Smudge brush which I've actually been using as a highlight brush (under the eyebrow) & a subtle highlight colour just above my lashline. It's another small brush which is so easy to control. I haven't used it for smudging but will have to be adventurous & try it!

I've been using the Highlight brush AND the Crease brush as crease brushes (trying to work out which is best). The Crease brush seems to be a little big as a Crease brush but works well with lighter colours (or darker colours if you use a corner of the brush). The Highlight brush seems to be a little too big to highlight but I'll work out what to use it for.

Last but not least, the Blending brush does it's job very well!

Would I recommend this set? I would say that these brushes do a very good job! At $19.95AUD the set is good value & would probably make a nice little gift too! I bought my set at Priceline.

Like me, you'll probably find that you're not using all brushes for what they're "intended" for. I'm going to keep working with them to see what works for me. I'm sure that the more I use these brushes I may find different uses for them, or end up using them for their original use? Either way it doesn't really matter does it?

EcoTools seem to have some great brushes & my experience with this one makes me want to try more!

Review: Demeter Honeysuckle

I was first introduced to Demeter online & decided to try & find a store that stocked this brand to test. Gee it was REALLY hard to find these colognes in Sydney, but I tracked them down to an obscure pharmacy in a shopping mall.

It was a lot of fun testing these fragrances, they have scents such as Thunderstorm (imagine how the air smells after a thunderstorm! It smells like that!), Dirt (smells just like dirt!), Kalhua (the drink), Vanilla Cake Batter (Mmmmm!) & Sex On The Beach (ummm - well smells like neither sex or the beach but its a pretty scent!).

Although intrigued, I decided not to buy any of them as they were quite expensive for a novelty cologne. Colognes are known not to last long - they are below EDT (Eau de Toilette) in the fragrance pecking order, so they were definitely not worth the price they asked for. I'm guessing other people decided the same thing, because the next time I went to that mall (for other reasons) they were no longer stocked.

Fast forward a few months!

I saw Demeter Honeysuckle online for quite a good price & had been lemming a Jasmine or Honeysuckle scent, so I read a lot of reviews, most seemed positive & purchased it unsniffed - I like a gamble! I was also impressed how they pulled off the Thunderstorm & Dirt colognes so I assumed Honeysuckle would be a cinch for them!

Finally it arrived! I was excited to get this cologne! I unpacked & sprayed it straight away. It was at that point that I was immediately assaulted by a synthetic baby powder scent.

******** KAPOW! ********

It was so strong & smelt nothing like Honeysuckle. I waited it out & luckily it turned into a nice powdery scent that lasted surprisingly well despite the experience of previous reviewers - quite a few hours. But. No. Honeysuckle.

Verdict: Demeter's Honeysuckle is a nice fragrance, safe for work (if you don't spray too much) non obtrusive or offensive, maybe even comforting but NOTHING like Honeysuckle, nosiree. I discovered that if you sniff the nozzle there is a tiny hint of flower, you could possibly even imagine it was Honeysuckle, but no, it's not there.

I may try another Demeter fragrance in the future if I'm up for another gamble, but not for a while!

If you're after a Honeysuckle fragrance, look elsewhere. If you like a baby powder scent (which Demeter also make - I wonder if that smells like Honeysuckle???) this is perfect.

Inglot 30 Freedom Palette

I finally did it! It took about 2 hours... a hard but quite enjoyable feat! Yes, I'm talking about choosing colours for a 30 eyeshadow Freedom Palette!


Inglot's Freedom Palettes are so named because you get a set price for a palette of 2, 4, 5, 10 or 30 eyeshadows - however you choose your OWN colours.


I've been using Inglot for about 2 months now & bought 5 of their eyeshadows (on sale) to test them out. I've also been using their Pure Pigments (which you may know from my other posts, I love).

So, inspired by several eyeshadow palettes, I decided to buy a palette of neutral shades with a little bit of colour.

From one of my first visits to Inglot, I had my heart set on the cute, stackable magnetic palettes. When I got to Inglot I had a chat to the SA who told me the prices for each palette & mentioned the 30 palette. She gave me a magnetic tray to pick eyeshadow testers & place on it (like a temporary palette) which helps you see what your palette is going to look like. I decided to just pick a whole heap of colours & then cull them down. That's when I realised that this would be a very hard thing to do!

To cut a long story short, I realised that it would be more cost effective to get the 30 palette, than the cute see through magnetic palettes, so that's what I got!

• 10 Palette $85AU ($8.50 per eyeshadow) 
• 30 Palette $160AU ($5.33 per eyeshadow)
  

Like other brands, Inglot's shadows have a few different eyeshadow textures. Here they are:

• Matte = Exactly as it reads - no shimmer or shine just a silky matte colour.
• AMC = Advanced Makeup Components (Inglot's own formulation - in my layman term, very pigmented!)
• Shine = Has a slight "reflects" or shiny effect. May have tiny microglitter
• Double Sparkle = Has a very pretty sparkly effect in the light
• Pearl = Has a pearlescent slight shimmer & "creamy" texture
• FR = I'm guessing the eyeshadows with FR are exclusive to the Freedom Palette?

Sorry these descriptions aren't great. It's quite hard to describe! When I have more experience with these eyeshadows I will edit.

So I ended up choosing lots of neutral colours, a pearly white highligher, browns, a bronzey gold/brown, reds, oranges, pinks, purples, a dark pearly grey & black with pinkish sparkles. I made sure I got a good mix of textures including 6 mattes. I don't have a favourite yet but I must say I'm really loving the mattes so far!

Here is a photo of my palette & numbers of eyeshadows:-

Excuse the "brush dips". I couldn't wait to try them! :)

ROW 01 ( from the left)
496 Double Sparkle
351 Matte
352 Matte
467 Double Sparkle
463 Double Sparkle
390 Matte

ROW 02
49 AMC Shine FR
31 AMC Shine
461 Double Sparkle
360 Matte
409 Pearl
52 AMC FR

ROW 03
37 AMC Shine
423 Pearl
452 Pearl
53 AMC
498 Double Sparkle
62 AMC

ROW 04
15 AMC Shine
464 Double Sparkle
51 AMC
495 Double Sparkle
449 Pearl
50 AMC

ROW 05
361 Matte
48 AMC Shine
487 Double Sparkle FR
392 Matte FR
493 Double Sparkle
71 AMC FR

It was SO much fun picking these colours, like being a little girl in a candy store! The fun didn't stop there. You can get the SA to put the shadows in the palette for you, however I chose to unpack & arrange the shadows myself when I got home. More colourful playtime! It took me a while to choose & be happy with a colour layout - only because I tried to organise the neutrals & browns by shade.

The Inglot Chatswood girls were so helpful, friendly & are never overbearing (one thing I hate about some makeup counters). A big thank you to them!

I've been wearing the eyeshadows for about a week & finding them easy & fun to use, very pigmented & easy to blend. Some shadows seem to have a tiny bit of fallout but nothing that can't be handled. I'm having a fun time figuring out what colours go best with others & how to do looks I've never attempted before.
I've tried a smokey neutral look with a hint of colour (purple liner), several neutral brown looks, and an orange look. I haven't tried the purples, black or reds yet. I really want to try the red in an everyday look.

I found an excellent site today called Beauty Addict, which has a few Inglot posts AND has every Inglot colour swatched already!!!!! This site will be where I go when I choose my next palette! For my next palette (a few months down the track!), I think I will collect the rest of the mattes, some greens & perhaps some really bright crazy unusual colours! Check out the rest of the posts too, its great!

Here is the direct link to Beauty Addicts Inglot Swatches: http://www.beautyaddict.net/inglot-eye-shadows-swatches/

What do you think of my colour choices? Have you got your own palette? I'd love to see it!

Inglot Pure Pigments #87 (Matte Black)

I've been collecting Inglot's Pure Pigments for a couple of months now after discovering Duraline*.

I was intending to buy a Inglot's black Gel Eyeliner when I discovered this Matte Black Pure Pigment #87. I've found that I'm not always great at applying Gel Eyeliner & that Duraline is easier for me to use. Anyway, I figured that I could kill two birds with one stone & get this pigment to use as eyeshadow AND eyeliner. I'm very glad that I did!

Pure Pigment #87 is a one of the blackest blacks I've ever used & is extremely matte. For the first time I've found it much easier to do a neat black eyeliner (with an eyeliner brush & Duraline).

I also use this pigment to layer over brighter colours (such as metallic orange, or hot pink) to give it a duotone look. It works really well!

I haven't used #87 as a base yet - that's something for the future.

Inglot Pure Pigment #87 Swatch
(No base/No flash/No mixing medium)
It gets even blacker with Duraline!

I found another use for #87 & Duraline too! On Halloween I used it to draw a spooky spiderweb on my face from the corner of my eye to my hairline (paired with Inglot's Red #50 AMC Eye Shadow on the lid). It worked so well! I wish I had a photo to show you but I didn't get one! :(

Tip: If you're using this pigment as an eyeshadow make sure you do your foundation & powder AFTER you apply as I'm not kidding - it's VERY VERY black. I don't get much fallout but it is a powder so things could happen. Also, take care when using it. I have daymares about dropping this pot & black matte pigment going everywhere.

Did I mention that it was really black?

I love Inglot Pure Pigments & this is fast becoming one of my favourites.

Inglot's Pure Pigments are $25AU each.


Definitely recommended!


*Duraline is a mixing medium by Inglot which turns pigments & eyeshadow into a liquid that can be used as an eyeliner or eyeshadow base etc.

Favourite Perfumes: S de Scherrer by Jean-Louis Scherrer

Let me introduce you to one of my favourite perfumes - S de Scherrer.

From the design house of Jean-Louis Scherrer (pronounced "She-Rer") S de Scherrer was launched in 2002. This perfume is completely underrated - even I underrate it as you can see by how little I've used.

S de Scherrer was one of the fragrances that started my perfume obsession - one reason why I don't use it enough as I have so many on rotation now. However, it is a very special fragrance & has a special place in my fragrance wardrobe.

I found this special scent on a perfume hunt about 4 years ago. I had grown tired of wearing the same perfume & went looking for another signature fragrance. I intended on only buying Joop! Femme, a perfume I was already familiar with but had never owned.

The SA (as they do) talked me into trying this and 3 others on different places on my arm. I walked around the Mall for an hour smelling all 4 fragrances periodically. S de Scherrer was not a fragrance I would have thought of trying, but the notes really hooked me, it was so pretty. I immediately went back & grabbed it.

Here are the notes:

• Top Notes: Pepper, Bergamot
• Middle Notes: Lily-of-the-valley, tiare flower, rose
• Base Notes: Sandalwood, Patchouli, Musk, Vanilla

S de Scherrer is a subtle & elegant fragrance. As soon as you spray it on your skin you can detect a hint of Pepper - not too strong - with Bergamot. The Middle notes do not take too long to follow - all 3 flowers mingle & for some reason smell a little like Pear to me. Finally once Base notes come out the perfume mellows with the Vanilla & Patchouli pulling all of the notes together. This is not a perfume with a stand-out note, they are all working together as a team here.

For me, S de Scherrer lies close to the skin however I've been told it has a hit of silliage. It lasts all day on me.

Where to wear S de Scherrer? I find that this is one of the most versatile fragrances in my collection. It's perfect for work, formal OR casual occasions, a night out with friends or romantic interludes. Speaking of romantic interludes, my OH (other half) doesn't seem to comment on this one but he doesn't usually.

Would I repurchase? Yes! I already have a couple of backups as S de Scherrer very hard to find in Australia now. It can be found online however.

If you get the chance to try this fragrance out, definitely give it a go. It's unique & very very pretty. I highly recommend it!

Order Update #3: Stars Makeup Haven Package Arrived

Yay! My package from SMH finally arrived! It happened 3 days ago (sorry I didn't have a chance to post) & I'm so happy it's here.

In the order:

1 x SMH Freestyle Palette (Large)
1 x SMH 28 Eyeshadow Palette
2 x SMH Eyeshadow pans (Flare For The Dramatic & Light My Fire)
2 x SMH Eyeshadow pans bonus (Metro & Electra-fied)


So, all up it took 22 days to arrive from the USA to Australia. This isn't too bad I suppose but considering that half of the wait was due to the order not being processed & sitting in limbo with no communication, it was frustrating.

I had no idea if the delay was due to one or all of the products not being in stock as I did not receive any order updates (until it was shipped). I also sent an email to which I received no reply.

I have no qualms about delays, I'm a very patient girl, but it's nice to know why something has happened. A quick email is all anyone would ask for.... plus it would probably stop people asking about their order, a time consuming thing (I know from personal experience working in customer service)!.

The packaging for the order was really basic - a thin cardboard satchel. The palettes were sitting inside & the eyeshadows were wrapped in a layer of bubblewrap. Despite the basic packaging there was not much damage other than one of the eyeshadows touching the top of the plastic case in an impact (thank god it didn't shatter).

Anyway, the order is here now & I'm having fun filling the palettes - but that is another post altogether. Watch this space!



Stars Makeup Haven
Ordered: 13th October, 2010
Shipped (As per postmark): 23rd October, 2010
Shipped (As per Online Tracking): 26th October, 2010
Received: 5th October, 2010

SAVVY by DB - Loose Mineral Eyeshadow - Unmissed Missing Eyeshadow!

I was emptying my handbag yesterday & guess what I found in one of the pockets - another SAVVY by DB jar in Chocolate from my haul a couple of weeks ago!

I can't believe that I forgot about it - though I did do an intensive training course on the same night (which is why I was in the City). Also, I took them all out of the Priceline bag & put them in pockets in my bag so I wouldn't have to carry it separately.

SO this brings the to light that the haul was even cheaper than I said in the last post. This means that each eyeshadow jar cost about $2.08 each, rather than the $2.60 I estimated previously.

How cheap is that?

I love finding things I hadn't realised I'd lost!

I still haven't used these but I will let you know how they go.

Order Update #2: Stars Makeup Haven & All Cosmetics Wholesale - ACW arrived!

My package from ACW arrived today. It's a cute 12 pan SMH palette (magnatised). It took 6 hours for the palette to be shipped, & 9 days to arrive on basic postage. So, all up from order to goods in my hand (USA to Australia) - 10 days (inc Weekend). EXCELLENT!

The palette is not exactly what I thought it would be (more on that later) but I've put my MAC & Urban Decay pans in & filled it.


All Cosmetics Wholesale

Ordered: 20th October, 2010

Shipped: 21st October, 2010

Received: 30th October, 2010

Stars Makeup Haven
Ordered: 13th October, 2010
Shipped: 26th October, 2010
Received: ?

Order Update: Stars Makeup Haven & All Cosmetics Wholesale

So, here's an update for my orders - they've both been shipped & (hopefully) are on their way to Australia!

Stars Makeup Haven
Ordered: 13th October, 2010
Shipped: 26th October, 2010
Received: ?

All Cosmetics Wholesale

Ordered: 20th October, 2010

Shipped: 21st October, 2010

Received: ?

SAVVY by DB - Loose Mineral Eyeshadow Haul

A few months ago I happened across a brand called SAVVY by DB in Priceline., I saw a particular eyeshadow in Steel. What caught my eye is that

SAVVY by DB Loose Mineral Eyeshadow

1. It was on sale (for $4)
2. It was a loose eyeshadow (pigment)
3. It said it was Mineral eyeshadow

I've always wanted to try Mineral makeup to see what the hype is so I picked this up. It's not a high end brand. I guess you would say it's in the NYX or ELF league.

As well as being my first mineral, Steel was one of my first pigment eyeshadows too.

I loved the colour which is a sparkly dark metallic grey. It applied really well, blended with my other eyeshadow easily & felt light on the lid.

Yesterday I visited Priceline & found that they were having a 20% off sale on all cosmetics (ends today!).

I saw the SAVVY by DB bin & the familiar little jar with a sign saying $2.99.

I picked up 4 more pigments. So, on special PLUS the 20% discount they ended up being about $2.60 each, so my haul ended up being about $10.40 all up!

SAVVY by DB -> Latte / Plum / Aquamarine / Opal / Steel

The colours I bought were (from left to right):

Latte (light beige/brown)
Plum (mauve/purple)
Aquamarine (silver with multicoloured shimmer)
Opal (light silver)

Steel (shimmery grey) my original SAVVY by DB loose eyeshadow

I look forward to using these. If you're wondering ALL of these pigments are shimmery.

In the future when I have time I'll do some swatches if anyone is interested.

Has anyone else tried these? What do you think?

Depotting Eyeshadow Continued

Well I'm continuing to depot my eyeshadows in anticipation of my Stars Makeup Haven magnetised palettes arriving.

Depotting is quite relaxing I have to say! You need to be very patient, which I was not in the beginning... however the more patient you are, the less breakages you have. Learnt the hard way!

Casualties

I've found that some brands of eyeshadow are rather fragile - MAC & Clarins in my case.

A top layer of my MAC Orange lifted off, MAC rule broke in about 3 pieces so I broke it up a little more before putting it into a sample jar.

The Clarins Eye Colour Trio lived up to it's name & broke in a trio. Unfortunately I threw out the packaging so I've forgotten the name. I hope to remember it one day! Hopefully I'll come a cross it online.

These were some of the first depots so it was probably a mixture of the fragility plus my impatience.

The chance of breakage depends on.

• How fragile the eyeshadow is
• How you treat it (ie, forcing it out)
• The amount & quality of glue used
  
  

The Methods I Tried

The Candle Method: I found this method quite easy however the fumes that came off the melting plastic really noxious. It gave me a headache as well as making me light headed!

The Alcohol Method: I found that this did not work for me, the pans did not lift out. Perhaps the alcohol did not penetrate below the pan or I didn't use enough?

The Hairdryer Method: This was by far the easiest & fastest way for me & it's the method I stuck to. The hairdryer melted the glue really well & let me lift out the pan easily.

So, the Hairdryer Method was the most successful way for me, but that did not stop the casualties. :(

A few things you need to watch out for:

• Digging your nails or your depotting tool into the eyeshadow (so easy!)
• Dropping the eyeshadow
• Having the eyeshadow "fling" out
• Don't forget the name of the shadow! Write it on the back of the pan (or keep the product sticker on it).

So, all in all it's going well! I've taken off the labels & put them on the back of the eyeshadows. In the case of the MAC pans I haven't stuck them down all the way as I know I'll need to get magnets for these.

I think I might stop depotting for the moment as I don't want to depot all my shadows to have them not fit in the new palettes or put them back into their original packaging.

Brush Cleaning - The Miracle that is Olive Oil!

I can't remember where I read this (sorry!) but somewhere I found a great tip on cleaning makeup brushes that have been used to apply Gel Eyeliners, Mixing Mediums & other hard to get off makeup! All with things you should have in your home!

In the last few months I've discovered the joy of Gel Eyeliner & mixing medium.

The products I've used are:

• Stila Smudge Pots
• Inglot Matte Gel Eyeliners
• Inglot Duraline (with Pure Pigments & Pressed Eyeshadows)
  

Love these products as they last on the eye FOREVER & are waterproof. However, because they are waterproof - they don't wash off easily with handwash or baby shampoo. SO you have to (or should) clean the brush before you can use them again.

Previously I used just Isocol to get the Gel Eyeliner off but it didn't always work well.

However, if you use Olive Oil, you can EASILY clean the product off your brush. I haven't used this method with other similar products from other brands, but I'm guessing it would for others too!

HOW I CURRENTLY CLEAN MY BRUSHES
(That have used Gel Eyeliner or Duraline)

1. Collect your used makeup brush(es)
2. Pour some Light Olive Oil into a small bowl (just a couple of millimetres will do)
3. Pour some Baby Shampoo or Hand Wash in another small bowl, I also add a little Isocol (rubbing alcohol) if the handwash does not contain anti-bacterial properties (or using baby oil).
4. Dip used makeup brush in bowl & draw small circles in the oil - you will see the pigment/colour just fall off the brush! I use the one area so the next brush doesn't accidently pick up the previous brushes pigment.
5. Continue your little circles until you don't see any pigment.
6. Dip oily makeup brush into Baby Shampoo or Handwash. Do the small circles again, this should get rid of the oil.
7. Rinse throughly under a tap.
8. If you find the brush is still oily get more Shampoo or Handwash on it. Continue until non-oily.
9. Set out to dry.

The Olive Oil seems to condition the brushes. I've tried Vegetable oil too (it works as well) but I like the olive oil. It may be my imagination but I think it conditions better. I have not encountered any shredding with this method.

I have found that sometimes the Shampoo bowl gets an oily sheen if you're doing a lot of brushes at the same time. To counter this I'm thinking of putting the Baby Shampoo into an clean, empty handwash dispenser so I don't have to dip all my oily brushes into the same bowl - I'll just dispense what I need per brush. Will see if that makes it easier to get the oil off & wastes less product!

How do I clean my brushes only used with eyeshadow? I go straight to step 6 with the addition of having a separate bowl of hot water. I used to have a separate bowl of hot water in the olive oil method but I found it got an oily sheen on the top.

One day I'll buy a store made brush cleaner to try, but I think this method is great & will continue to use it at home.

Do you have any other methods that are similar or perhaps easier?

UNII Palette

Yes, I know..... I have palettes on order but on my travels I found a cute travel palette by a company called UNII.

It seems to have been created by a makeup consumer who was looking for a way to keep her makeup together without having to have everything in separate packages.

Photo from www.uniicosmetics.com

It has a cute little square "thumb grip" (moveable) which looks weird at first, but makes complete sense as you can hold the palette steady whilst using it, as well as a rubber gasket which would stop spillage in your handbag if any shadows decide to break. This sounds perfect for travel. Love the different colours too. Hmmm I wish I found this site last week before I bought the 3 other palettes.

One thing is, these palettes do seem to be great quality, but even so they're a little pricey at $29US each plus International postage. This means it would probably make it too expensive for me in Australia. :( However, for those of you in North America & Canada (lucky peeps!) for a limited time UNII are offering free postage!

Their website is good, with de-potting tips, links to reviews & a video on the "history" of the palette. There's also a page showing photos that people have sent in of their own palettes. I love seeing how other people arrange their makeup inside a freestyle palette.

The website address is www.uniicosmetics.com

Do you have this palette? What do you think about it?

Stars Makeup Haven Update

Received an email yesterday advising that my order has been shipped!

Do you think 9 days is a long time to be waiting for a product just to leave a store? I guess I should be happy as some accounts I've read have been much longer (2 or more weeks).

I will update when I receive further info & of course, the package... fingers crossed it will make it safely from USA to Australia.

Depotting Eyeshadow

Well I've spent the last couple of days slowly de-potting my makeup.

There've been some casualties on the way - 3 x MAC shadows shattered. :( I also shattered a Clarins eyeshadow this afternoon. I kept the eyeshadow in separate small Inglot sample jars so I can still use them with Duraline (or even just a brush). Just realised that I probably should have kept the pans in case I wanted to try re-panning them. Oh well. One had a hole (which I made whilst trying to depot) in it anyway.

The Chi Chi eyeshadow pans are huge & I'm not sure if all will fit in the palettes I have on the way. Each pan is about 3 times a MAC or Urban Decay one. They're so easy to depot - much easier than the other eyeshadows I have. I stopped at 3 just in case. We will see how much room I have when the palettes get here.

I'm looking forward to having my makeup together so I can see what colours I have & hopefully stop buying more!

Depotting continues!

Stars Makeup Haven Processing & Experiment

I know I'm starting in the middle of a story here, but the long & short of it is that I ordered 2 x 28 magnetic palettes + 2 single eyeshadow pans from Stars Makeup Haven last week (14th Oct 2010). I've been patiently looking at my order online & it's been stuck on "processing" since then.  I read some similar reviews but of course, thought I would be the lucky exception to the rule.

Well, I'm usually patient & I tried really hard not to check it every day but you would think it wouldn't take 6 days to pick 2 palettes & 2 single eyeshadow pans that are in stock?

Anyway, I saw the smaller 12 palette on All Cosmetics Wholesale & knowing that they sell SMH products (& having regretted not ordering a smaller portable pallette for travel) I ordered the smaller 12 shadow palette. I got an email saying it was picked & (put aside to be) shipped less than 6 hours later! Really happy with that!

I don't mind waiting, but unnecessary delays aren't faith building. The order remains in "processing".

I sent Stars Makeup Haven an email just asking for an ETA. Hope I get a reply soon.