Hi everyone, I just wanted to so a quick post about a couple of little hauls I recently received (yay!).

I ordered some foundation samples, eyeshadow samples and a glow sample from Dreamworld Minerals. I’ve already potted the samples (I forgot to take swatches) So, I’ll have to dig them up and do a little review later (I will say this though, I really like thier luna foundation)

I also ordered a bunch of brushes from Coastal Scents:

• Deluxe Buffer Brush- Very soft, but the hairs are kinda “floppy”, would be good for bronzers.
• Italian Badger Round Crease Brush- I like this little brush, soft, very similar to thier old Picture Perfect Shadow Blending Brush,
• Pink Blending Fluff Brush- Very smelly, soft, a lot larger than I thought it would be.
• Flawless Face Chisel Blush Brush, soft, hairs look like they will “fray out” easier, smaller than I thought it would be
• Pink Oval Fluff Shadow Brush- Very soft, Haven’t tried yet.
• Pink Oval Synthetic Concealer Brush- Very soft, Haven’t tried yet.
• Italian Badger Chisel Powder Brush- Soft, I really like this one.

I’ll have to review them better after I’ve tried them. I also received a few samples of thier Paradise micas, I have to say they are some gorgeous colors, and can be used straight as a multi-use pigment. Here is a photo of the three I’ve tried.

From left to right Paradise Tropic Bronze, Paradise Blush Rose, and Paradise Sand.

At Shoppers Drugmart they have a few new products from Quo for the summer, they have a few “baked” Bronzers that resemble the MAC MSFs, but after swatching aren’t pigmented at all, and the sparkles were too chunky. I did fall in love with their True Skin Foundation, although it’s not very good as a foundation it is excellent as a primer.

Last but not least, is my favourite haul item, my new traincase. OK I know it’s not a professional traincase, but it works great, was under $20 and is washable. It is a fishing tackle box. Here are some photos of it in action:

This model is the Plano Guide Series 3-Tray. If you are looking for something a little more colorful, you can try your local craft store. Plano has come outwith a new line of craft storage solutions that look perfect for Makeup storage (unfortunately I can’t seem to find them in my area, but others ate having luck at Joanne’s) . Check out the “Grab and Go systems” for a more portable storage solution, or if you have a vanity I LOVE the “Desktop stacker” and the “Swivel Stacker”(under the heading “products”> then “workstation organization.” If you are creative, you can try using spray paint made for plastics to change the color, you can also use stencils to further decorate it (think pink leopard print <—I might just do that one <rarrr!>)

When I first started experimenting with mineral eye-shadows I was really excited over all of the colors and finishes available. I loved the natural, subtle look that minerals gave. But lately I’ve been itching to try more daring looks, and was having difficulty getting the most color payout. After discovering eyeshadow bases it was much easier to get brighter more vibrant color out of my eye-shadows. Here is a comparison of the few bases that I’ve tried:

From left to right; Just eyeshadow alone, Wet n’ Wild MegaEyes cream eyeshadow in Cafe au Lait, Urban Decay Primer Potion, and MAC Shadestick in Beiging.

As you can see the eyeshadow alone is very subtle looking, and after rubbing it gently it all but disappeared. The Wet n’ Wild seems to give good color pay-off but after rubbing it a little, the purple mineral eyeshadow rubbed off and all that was left was the Wet n’ Wild base. The UDPP held onto the eyeshadow very well, and brightened the color considerably, it still looks good now, even while writing this (after rubbing it a few times, and doing some light housework). The MAC shade-stick worked well too, it helped achieve good color payoff, although it did darken the colour a bit rather than brighten it, it too looks good while writing this.

Here is my faves, from best to worst:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion (bright colors, great staying power)
2. MAC Shadestick in Beiging (great staying power, although darken color)
3. Wet n’ Wild MegaEyes (Good initial color payoff, lousy staying power for the minerals, although the base itself has great staying power <just minerals rubbed off>)
4. Eyeshadow alone

#4 Taylor Made Mineral
My top 2 products is her, eye pigments & eye pigments (she makes great eye pigments!).

• Eye Pigments: Taylor Made has possibly the most color selection you will find. From Sparkly colors to matte, and in every color imaginable. Her prices are very reasonable, and she offers generous samples. A few standout colors are, Envy- a deep green with gold highlights, Grave- a grey/gold/brown colour with sparkle, and Cheval-a matte dark brown/purple color (my favourite liner color hands-down!)

Taylor Made is on my Top Five list, because she had such an amazing array of colours. Her matte formulations make smooth and creamy eyeliner, when mixed with an eyeliner sealant. I also love the fact that many of her colors are shown with wet swatches, and applied to a model.

#5 MAD Minerals
My top 2 products are, mineral eyeshadow sealant, and multi-use colors.

• Mineral eyeshadow sealant: I really like this product, it is a must when lining your eyes with mineral eye-shadows. This product allows you to use virtually any eyeshadow as an eyeliner. It seems to seal in your eyeliner, to prevent smudging you would otherwise get with using water alone, this one is my favouite because it does the job for less $$.
• Multi-use colors: MAD makes some of the nicest eye-shadows, the color payoff is so good that many times I don’t need to use and eye primer. MAD also offers a wide choice in matte colours.

MAD Minerals is on my Top five list because they offer very nice products for a reasonable price, they often have great sales and their website is well organized.

So these are my favourite Mineral Makeup companies, they stand out because all of them have good prices, reasonable shipping, and good customer service. I hope you can find a favourite in one of my Top Five.