Persephone Minerals: Sailor Moon Collection Swatches

Hey all! So sorry I haven't posted in a while - Thanksgiving was muy busy and when it wasn't, I was doing some serious vegging. I had a great vacation. I left Wednesday night (one of the busiest traveling days, second to Sunday, which is the day people return from Thanksgiving) and just cruised all the way back to the NE coast. For the first time in many years, my parents took off from work to celebrate with my brother and I. I mean, we don't normally celebrate Thanksgiving so I guess this was really just a reason for the four of us to veg together. :D

Not only that, my dad put together a hot pot dinner. He doesn't like doing it because it's not very filling for him but I *love* it. :D So happy! He even prepared a bunch of items (ie: ingredients, the pot <-- COME TO MAMA) so that I could do hot pot back here.

I miss those guys. :(

I'm currently trying to make it through all the food my dad prepared for me. The mean is a beast in the kitchen. I wish I had his mad skills.

ANYWAY. Onto the much-awaited Persephone Minerals Sailor Moon swatches!









She even sent me a sample of their new Rock 'N Roll Reindeers collection:



In addition, I got me some non-beauty items. From Tempting Tart, here is a sampler set of their awesome soy wax tarts. I've never used wax tarts before so I figured samples were the best way to go. Plus, it's SOY:





I actually got 17 tarts - they sent me a freebie, Warm Orange Gingerbread. Before taking a picture, I wanted to use one. So while I was packing (yes, I pack rather quickly; 1 hr tops is all that's needed), I lit the raspberry pomegranate one:



I was originally searching around for the store Painted blogged about once but I couldn't find the post again, nor could I remember what the store was. Then, a few days after I ordered from Tempting Tarts, she tweeted about them. I was all "YAY!" and got me ANOTHER set:





I don't think these guys are soy-based but nevertheless, they smelled awesome in the box. I guess the melting temperature must be really low because the wax is super soft. I will post a review of these babies once I've got through all the scents.

On Persephone Minerals...what are your favorite colors?

Mine are Moon Cosmic Power, Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss, and Moon Crystal Power. I experienced quite a bit of fall-out with the first three colors I swatched even though I used Pixie Epoxy. Eternal Sailor Moon has some serious glitter-age going on.

On Tempting Tarts and Country Home Scents, have you tried them before? What do you think about wax tarts? Are they better/worse than scented candles? Include anything else you can tell me.

Shipping was moderately quick for Tempting Tart. I ordered on 11/14 and received my package 11/24. Shipping for Country Home Scents was supah fast. I ordered 11/21 and received these on 11/26 - 11/27.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Swatches

I ordered these samples from DGE after seeing Just Pretty post a couple of swatches from their Autumn collection. I originally went to purchase samples of that same collection but got sidetracked by the other colors.

While doing these swatches, I tried to stick family colors together so that you guys could see the differences.















Favorite colors: Oceania, Mardis Gras, Stolen Kisses, Palm Springs, BFF, Fireside, Cider, Ginger, Princess Peach, Falling Leaves, Ardor

I got a free sample of their lip balm, "Butter Rum". It's really moisturizing with just a bit of shimmer. I love it!

Hi-Fi Cosmetics Art Saves! Collection

I love fast shipping. I start to get worried if I haven't received my product by the 2 week mark. Hi-Fi arrived in my mailbox just 1 day short of that 2 week mark. I'm so glad I got to try this product because the quality is great, colors are great, and there's just SO much product. They give you 3/4tsp at roughly $1 a pop. I bought the entire Art Saves! collection - sample sizes - for only $8.99 (+ S&H). That's 10 colors and I got 4 freebies!

Check out these awesome colors:









And the beautiful colors they sent as freebies:





Must have: Don't Forget The Violence

There are so many colors I want to try out from this store. The pricing and the amount of product you receive is such a great bargain. Nothing really stood out in this particular collection but I have checked out the other colors at the store and I've already got my eye on some of them. I didn't have any issues with the transaction so I didn't have to call up their customer service. That's the best kind of transaction.

Can't wait to make another purchase. :D

See any colors you like? What do you think?

Persephone Minerals Sailor Moon and Aromaleigh Preview

I got these goodies in the mail Thursday:





My gosh, Persephone Minerals has really fast shipping! Those of you familiar with Aromaleigh know that it too, has quick shipping. I'm so excited to swatch these items!

I'm going to go watch Harry Potter again. Urgh. I can't wait. I think I was in such a stupor the first time around that I need to go see it a second time. Or maybe I'm just giving myself reasons to see it again in theaters. :)

Harry Potter DH1

Just got back from a private screening for Harry Potter Deathly Hallows 1.

Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.

Say No to Rite-Aid Makeup Remover

I was looking around for some makeup remover because I thought, "hey, don't be cheap, stop using olive oil and scrubbing your face with soap." So I ran to a Rite-Aid near work and picked up this substitute:



It's comparable to L'Oreal Eye Makeup Remover. I have never used L'Oreal's makeup remover so I don't know how comparable it really is. All I know is that it's not effective...at all. Here is me trying to take off CG Perfect Point Plus in "Midnight Blue":





I doused that sucker of a cotton ball with the makeup remover. You have to scrub pretty hard to get any of your product off. Considering this is an eye makeup remover, that's not at all good for the most sensitive area of your face. In addition, it's even HARDER to wipe off your eyeliner if you've been wearing it all day and it's set into your skin.

It works alright when taking off mineral eye shadows. I haven't tried any other types but I know if the color is especially dark, you can't just go over your eyelid once or twice - a little bit more and it'll come off. It's not the amount of scrubbing you'd need to do with eyeliner, so there is that. In addition, if you're using waterproof products? HA. Don't even try.

I'm throwing my bottle of this out. I'm not quite sure why I wasted the money since using olive oil is always a better choice than a store-brand item. All natural, cheap, and works just as well, if not better. Olive oil is a natural emollient. Instead of soap, they used to use this back in the ancient times. They'd rub themselves with olive oil, let it set in, take a wooden flat-piece, and scrape off the entire day's worth of grime. Then they would hop into the bath.

I just have to be extra careful when washing off all the oil and nastiness it takes with it. I tend to get lazy with my skincare and rush through it. You should never rush your skincare.

Darling Girl Cosmetics and Hi-Fi Cosmetics Haul

I've got some swatches for y'all this week! I figured if I didn't have any swatches, you'd all just have to bear with my looks. I don't mind doing them - it's just that I haven't figured out how to take pictures of my eye without them coming out blurry. :( Still learning to use this damn camera!

I saw some beautiful, beautiful swatches from Just Peachy! for an Autumn collection by Darling Girl Cosmetics and I just had to purchase. I set out to purchase the same collection but urgh, got side-tracked by the other pretty, pretty colors!

At $0.60 per sample, it was quite the steal! DGC also did not hold back on their samples. I received a tube of their LE Butter Rum lip balm, sample of Frolic, and a sample of Kiss Me tinted lip balm in Sassy. I am using the lip balm first thing, tomorrow morning. :D I ordered these 11/10 and received them 11/15. Holy jeepers, that's fast!

Wrapped with pretty polka dot tissue paper, protected by bubble mail, here is a picture of the samples I ordered along with the freebies they gifted:



So my Hi-Fi Cosmetics haul was ordered on 11/02 and I received it today, 11/15. I got their Art Saves! collection after seeing some beautiful swatches posted by Tianne Marie:



And the always generous freebies!



Will attempt to swatch as soon as I can. :)

Morgana Cryptoria Cleopatra Collection Swatches

I wanted to get these out before I left to do some heavy cooking with me friends. I love anything to do with the ancient civilizations - the Phoenicians, Akkadians, Babylonians, China, Greece, Rome, Egypt (and many more) - I love learning about the rich cultures. I think cultures were so fascinating back then. I wonder if they'd say the same about us, lol. That's why when I heard there was a Cleopatra-themed collection coming out, I just had to have it.

From Morgana Cryptoria, here is the beautiful Cleopatra Collection.









Favorites: Anubis, Selene, Pyramid Scheme, Isis

What are your favorites from this collection?

P.S. Ack, it looks like I may need to restock my Pixie Epoxy soon!

Evil Shades Mythology Collection Swatches

I ate 2 full-sized lunches and should not be hungry. I'm actually not hungry but my roommate (the non-weird one) made something that is making the apartment smell oh-so-delicious, my saliva glands are going hog wild.

Moving on, here is the Mythology Collection by Evil Shades!











And the freebies!



Must haves from this collection: Moirae, Dryad, Drakon, Gryphon, Succubus. I'm not usually fond of cooler pinks but Succubus is an exception.

What are your favorites? :)

Edit: Dull_Flame asked a fantastic question about the similarities between Drakon and Moirae. Since I'm absolutely horrible at describing colors, here are the swatches side-by-side:



Hope this helps y'all out!

Morgana Cryptoria and Shower Treat Soap Haul

When I found out that Morgana Cryptoria was debuting a Cleopatra-themed set, I immediately thought: MUST HAVE. I ordered 11/7 and it arrived 11/10. Now that is fast shipping!



Through a rec from LeGothique, I ordered from Shower Treat Soap also on 11/7, got a refund for extra monies in S&H, and received my order today (11/12)!



As you can see, I got the sampler pack. Each bag contains enough detergent for 5 loads each for a top loader washer. Apparently, it's so effective, you only need 1 tbsp for each super-size load. You can also pick your own scents or if you're feeling creative, mix and match. My picks were:

1. Lily of the valley
2. Rose, hyacinth
3. Mandarin, cranberry, almond

Once I have some laundry to do (just did a load last week!), I will let you all know the results.

I still need to finish re-swatching the Mythos collection from Aromaleigh, the Mythology collection by Evil Shades, and then I can swatch my Morgana Cryptoria haul. I am also waiting on orders from Hi-Fi Cosmetics and Darling Girl Cosmetics (because Just Peachy had some awesome swatches of their fall collection). I already received my shipping notification for DGC which is fantastic!

I will be cooking tomorrow so if I'm unable to post swatches, I will definitely post some pictures of the foods we cool. :)

Evil Shades LE Halloween 2010 Swatches

Good evening, y'all. I hope the week has been treating you well! Headed out to a restaurant this evening and grabbed some Mexican fare - I LOVE Tamal de Elote. I could eat that stuff all day with sour cream - it's so delicious.

In other news, I am totally not happy with the third roommie. She creeps me out. Reminds me of that chick from Paranormal Activity. Particularly, that scene where she's just standing over the bed watching her man sleep.

Yeah, it's that sort of creepy. Even my friend told me that's how he feels.

So I have swatches to share! This always puts me in a better mood. From Evil Shades LE Halloween 2010 Collection...bam! Unfortunately, these shades are no longer available but it's never too early to start planning. ;)





I love how well-blended these shadows are. Other Worldly and Witching swatched on so smoothly, Raven's Song is something I've seen before but it's still bewitching, and I want to use All Hallows Night for something, anything, because I love that crimson shade.

What are your favorites from this collection?

News, awards, and contests

I needed to share this first because I think it's something y'all should be aware of.

You know, it's sometimes really hard not to wish ill upon a person when they do shit like this. Painted's friends were attacked in their home the other night for standing up to their beliefs - they're anti-racist activists. Now, they're being called liars and people think they staged the attack to garner sympathy. WTF. Who would do such a thing? People. Please think. He had kids in that home, company, he suffered contusions and concussions, his friend even got a broken arm - nobody would stage that. Now child services are threatening to take their kids away from two very strong people because apparently, their beliefs are endangering their lives?

Come on. Just. Come. On.

I had a lot more to say but I'm afraid it's just not suitable stuff for public consumption. These sorts of things just anger me so much. Please visit the link and show your support.

On another note...

I have never won an award in my life so when both Makeup Zombie and Painted gave me an award, I was super duper psyched. You ladies made my day!! I have way too many blogs I love and follow so I'll just say y'all should visit my profile page. Every single blog on there is recommended. :)

I know you've all probably seen this but hey, just in case, I don't want y'all to miss out on this fantastic giveaway going on over at Glitter is my crack...

Here are the goodies:

#1 Haunted Eyes Collection
#2 Cleopatra Collection
#3 Victorian Zombie Earrings
#4 Victorian Zombie Necklace

Go on over there and check out the lovelies!

Aromaleigh Spring Solstice, Holiday Blast Vault Swatches

Here is a small swatch post for the vault colors I ordered from Aromaleigh the other day. Urgh, such gorgeous colors! You guys should all head over to the website because the clearance sale just got even better. They updated inventory, added some colors that were sold out, and have huge discounts going on. Full-sized eye shadows are going for $2.75 a pop, $25 for 10, etc. There are some colors I never got a chance to purchase before so I totally jumped on that. Not gonna let this second chance pass by. :)

Urgh, I should NOT be spending money. Should not. But I won money gambling on Friday so that makes up for it, right? Lol.

Onwards!







From the Holiday Blast Vault: Eggnog, Mulberry, Mistletoe

From the Spring Solstice Vault: Candytuft

Eeee. Speaking of vault items, they have Gingerbread and Butterscotch from the Holiday Blast available again! I've already snatched up my jars. :D