Aromaleigh Ignis Antiquita Permanent Collection Release (swatches)

I'm so excited to be sharing this!!!

Aromaleigh has come out with an all new, permanent collection of eyeshadows.  Most of their collections have around 20 shadows a piece.  This collection contains a MONSTER 40 of them!!  Each shadow is named for a woman in history.  These women are not all so well known, but each is interesting and strong in her own right.  Half of the fun of this was reading about each woman the shadows was named for!

These are all multichromes.  What this means is that they have multiple layers to them....complexities of color the likes of which I am honestly blown away by.  Kristen has outdone herself with this collection, and this has fast become a favorite collection for me.  The full sized jars aren't available till January 1st but you can purchase a sample set here.

So what do you say we get on with the swatchfest???

First of all, these shadows can be deceiving!  Picture one shows them in indirect light in my bedroom.  They look almost matte in this!

However, get these babies in sunlight and THIS HAPPENS....

Those are the exact same shadows!!!  Same order.  Here they are in different lighting.

Do you see what I mean?  They're so complex, I'm stunned each time I look at them.  There are so many options with these!

Btw, these five shadows are as follows:  Top Left is Hildegard, Top Right is Clotilda, Middle is Chiomara, Bottom Left is Ursula, and Bottom Right is Adelaide.

Here's the next grouping.

And here also.

These are:  Top Left is Aradia, Top Right is Blenda, Middle is Khotulun, Bottom Left is Penthesilea, and Bottom Right is Hervor.

Here is Hervor by herself.  OMG!!!!

Here's the next group!

Top Left is Tomoe, Top Right is Telesilla, Middle is Skuld, Bottom Left is Hypatia, and Bottom Right is Trotula.

Next up we have on the Top Left Gwenllian (HOLY SMOKES), Top Right is Aethelflaed, Middle is Razia, Bottom Left is Boudicca (whom btw has always been a favorite figure in history for me), and Bottom Right is Honoria.





In this group we have Lozen on the Top Left, Yael on the Top Right, Agrippina in the Middle, Arachidamia on the Bottom Left and Agnodice on the Bottom Right.

Do you watch The Vikings on The History Channel??  Ragnar Lothbrok's wife is the first shadow on this group, at the Top Left.  Her name is Lagertha.  Then next to her we have Phryne, in the Middle is Tamar, on the Bottom Left is Melisende, and Bottom Right is Zenobia.

Two Groups left!!!  Top Left is Sappho, then comes Theodora, Middle is Enheduanna, Bottom Left is Tomyris, and Bottom Right is Eleanor.  You know, Eleanor of Aquitaine?

Last group!  Top Left is Lucrezia.  Lucrezia Borgia.  She is soooo interesting, even before the Borgias tv show.  Next to her is Freydis, in the Middle is Hapshepsut (the Egyptian Pharoa).  On the Bottom Left is Urraca, and next to her is Aspasia.

Bonus pic... this is Aspasia, the very last shadow, over a black base.  This is why I love minerals, especially multiple layered, complex multichromes like these.

There you have it!!!  These are all in the permanent line, so they aren't going ANYWHERE!!!!  Let me know which ones are your favorites!!!!  So far mine are Hervor, Chlotilda, Gwenllian, Penthesilea, Chiomara, Hildegard, Adelaide, Ursula....there are so many!!!!

Happy Playing!

Look with Aromaleigh Ignis Antiquita Eyeshadows!

I'm so excited to be blogging about this!

Aromaleigh has come out with a new permanent collection of shadows....40 OF THEM!!!! WOOHOO!!!!!  They're called Ignis Antiquita (Ancient Fire I believe...) And each shadow is named for a woman out of history that has a story that's not often told...and one that is full of interesting tidbits!  They're all gorgeous....they're mutlichromes, meaning that there are multiple layers of beautiful color within each shadow.  Each one is wearable for the day to day but are so complex that it's really hard to describe each one!  I'll have a post soon of them all swatched in various lighting to show how different they look.  In the meantime, here's a LOTD with two of them!

Eyes:

Tarte Clean Slate 360 Creasless 12 hour smoothing eye primer
Tarte Smouldereyes in Silver Black on lid
AL Blanche on browbone
AL Hervor (Ignis Antiquita) on lid patted on
AL Clothilda (Ignis Antiquita) in crease
Tarte Skinny Smouldereyes in Onyx on lower lashline and waterline
Hervor dry over outer 1/2 of lower liner
Clothilda dry over inner 1/2 of lower liner
MAC Blacktrack on upper lashline
Tarte Lights Camera Lashes mascara

This is inside.  ;)  LOOK HOW LONG MY HAIR IS!!!! It's almost to my bra strap!

Outside.  Forgive the squinty eyes....I was trying to get the shadows to photograph so was looking into the sun.

Face:

Hourglass veil primer
AL Silk Primer Powder
AL 2YL Dewdrop Foundation
AL Glamoured powder in Triteleia
AL Pure Rouge in Aurora

Lips:

Red Apple Lipstick in Oh My Guava
Buxom Gloss in Amanda

Couple observations....I went through some health issues around this time last year, that meant my skintone looked VERY yellow.  Sigh.  Now that I'm better I thought the 2YL may be too yellow but these pics, especially in the sun, tell me otherwise.  YAY!  It pretty much matches exactly.  Also I never really pay attention, but you can really REALLY tell in these how much weight I've lost....WOWZA!

Look for my swatch post very soon!  Thia

LONG TIME NO BLOG!!!

OMG!!! It's been SOO LONG!!!!!  How has everyone been?  I've been pretty good!! I'll use this post to update you on my life!

Sooooo I've lost about 53 lbs now!  :D  I'm below 200 FINALLY!  When I started up a year and a half or so ago again I was up to 245.  I'm down to about 193 now.  It's slow going but that's ok.  I've discovered some sensitivities that mean that I have to remain gluten free.  I feel SO MUCH better!

We've moved to a larger home, and we've added to our menagerie of pets LOL....we now have three cats, a ball python, and a chihuahua pup that just came home on Monday!  Her name is Luna, and she's so precious!  She's sitting in my lap as we speak.

I'm still doing the same job!  I've been there for going on six years.  I've been travelling a bit but I'm on vacation through January 5th now, so I'm relaxing at home!  I love my career.

Due to my myriad of sensitivities, I've had to take a step back and go more natural to stay with what I use for personal care, hair care, skin care, and makeup.  I have to use gluten free products so I'm limited even more.  But it's ok, my itching and breakouts have gotten so much better it's worth it!

I am still not sure how often I'll be able to post, but I'll do my best to post some each week.

I'm planning a few posts to catch up on what I'm using atm, my reorganized collection, etc etc, but my first post is going to be a swatchfest of a new Aromaleigh collection!  Stay tuned!!!

Happy September!!!

Long time no see!  I've been sooooo busy with work and very little time to blog.  :(   My blog has always been for my own relaxation and pleasure though, so though I may post a little few and far between it's ok.

I decided to break out some of my MAC stuff today and do a LOTD.  It was fun!  I have a few pics for you.

All products are MAC unless otherwise stated.
EYES:

UDPP in Original
Delft paint pot on lid
Partylicious pigment applied wet to lid with Fix +
Vapour on browbone
Smoulder on upper lashline and lower waterline
Desert Cloud Crushed Metallic Pigment from the Butterfly Party Pigment Stack in crease
Undercurrent Pearlglide at lower lashline topped with Partylicious pigment dry
UD Supercurl Mascara

FACE:

ELF Undereye concealer in light
UD Pore Perfecting Complexion Primer
Studio Fix Powder Foundation in NC25
UD 24/7 Concealer Pencil in NSA
Blot Powder
ELF Studio Blush in Blushing Rose
Blonde MSF to highlight
Fix + to set

LIPS:

Oak Liner
Blankety Lipstick
Like Venus Dazzleglass

I've recently gone back to Weight Watchers.  I had some minor illnesses that got me off track and I got pretty much back to square one.  In just over 2 months I've lost nearly 20 lbs!  This time I'm sticking with it.  If you are tired of starting over, then STOP QUITTING!!!! That's my mantra!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day!

A Comparison....ELF vs. MAC.....

Hey all, Happy 4th of July!!!!

So I've been wanting to do this comparison for some time now.  As large of an ELF fan as I am, I've seen several comparisons of the Studio Pressed Powders that have stated that they're very similar to MAC's Studio Fix Powder Foundation.  As I'm not going to be purchasing any MAC in the future due to their selling in China, I've been on the lookout for a good substitute for one of my favorite powder foundations.  I do love my minerals still, but there's nothing like grabbing a pressed powder and slapping it on my face very quickly if I'm running behind in my busy mornings.  So I compared my MAC NC25 Studio Fix to my ELF Studio Pressed Powder in Porcelaine.  MAC retails for $27 for 15 g or 0.52 ounces, and ELF is $3 for 0.317 oz or 9 g.  So it's a little smaller than the MAC but.....$24 cheaper!  I can buy two ELF for $6 and get more than MAC for $21 less.  :D

First of all, color wise, Porcelaine is pretty much DEAD ON NC25.  Porcelaine is the palest shade ELF carries, so if you're lighter than NC25 then it wouldn't be an option.  I can actually use either Porcelaine or Sand, which is one shade deeper, with no oxidation.  I prefer Porcelaine though.

As for coverage.....they're EXACT.  Not kidding.  Who knew a pressed powder meant to set your liquid foundation would give full coverage like that but it does.  If we're 100% honest, I actually PREFER the coverage I get from my ELF!  It made my pores look smaller and I didn't use any concealer.   The ELF is a little more powdery when applying, but I would expect that with a more inexpensive product.  It's NOT however, more powdery on the skin.

Today I did a test.  First of all I apologize for the quality of the pics.  My camera phone was acting up and it's the only camera I have atm.  On one side I applied my ELF Porcelaine, and on the other my MAC Studio Fix NC25.

This is an all ELF face, except for the MAC Studio Fix.  As I hope you can see, the color is exact as is the coverage, with the exception of my pores on the MAC side appearing larger.  I also feel that the MAC side, while not as powdery when applying, looked more powdery while worn.

Here's a closer pic.....I'm DEFINITELY going to have to invest in a good camera soon.

At the end of the day my feelings were the same.....I preferred the ELF side.  It wore better throughout the day with less sliding and wear down from my oily skin.  I don't feel that my fine lines were made worse either.

So there you have it.....ELF is a winner in my book!  Think I found a good replacement for the MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation!!!

A teal look with MAC and new hair....

Long time no post!

I decided recently that the damage at the ends of my hair was too much.  It was left over from when I went blonde and as my hair grew out the older blonde parts started to get very weak and break.  So I decided to bite the bullet and cut it off.  I'll let it grow from this point because to me, it's not worth having longer hair if I'm not satisfied with how it looks.

On to the look!

I recently got some new MAC stuff.  There's an outlet called Cosmetics Company Outlet or CCO that carries discontinued MAC products and I found a number of things I'd missed out on in the last year or so!  So I did a teal look with some of my new goodies.

All products are MAC unless otherwise noted.

EYES:

UDPP in Eden
Painterly paint pot on browbone

Pure Creation paint pot on lid

Odalisque on inner 2/3 of lid applied wet with Fix +

Deep Truth on outer 1/3 of lid applied wet with Fix +

Vapour on browbone

Spiked Eyebrow pencil

Siahi Fluidline

Fascinating Eye Kohl on waterline

Tilt in crease

Shimmermoss in crease

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara

FACE:

Prep + Prime Skin

Studio Fix Fluid in NC20

Select Moisturecover in NW20

Prep + Prime pressed translucent powder

Dame Blush

LIPS:

Boldly Bare Liner

Untitled Paint

Bloomin' Lovely from Liberty of London collection

Gone Romancin' Dazzleglass Creme

I LOVE Siahi and Odalisque!!!! 

I've got an appointment a week from Saturday for the event at my local MAC for the release of the new LE collections!  I can't wait!

Yesterday's MAC look....New Pigments!

So yesterday I decided to do a deep taupe eye.  Yep, again, neutrals!  WOW I've been wearing them a lot recently!  I got a lot of complements on it and loved the way it turned out!

One of my favorite MAC pigments is Blue/Brown.  It's a duochrome and it changes in SO MANY ways depending on what bases you use with it!  I used it in my crease and over my lower liner, and I used the new Daphne Guinness pigment in Nebula on my lid.  Here it is!

All products are MAC except where indicated.

Eyes:

UDPP in Eden
Bare Study Paint Pot all over
Nebula pigment on lid
Vapour on browbone
Spiked on brows
Blacktrack to line
Blue/Brown pigment in crease and over lower liner
Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara

FACE:

Hourglass mineral primer
Mary Kay mattifier on T zone
Studio Fix Fluid in NC20
Studio Fix Powder in NC25
Mineralized Skin Finish Natural in Medium
Buff Blush

Lips:

Oak liner
Honeylove matte lipstick
Lusterwhite Lustreglass

Sorry about the picture quality, my cameraphone is hit or miss and I still don't have a new digital camera.  Sigh....