A quick BPAL review etc...

DANGIT None of my pics of my looks have turned out to my satisfaction this week.  Tuesdays look was an epic FAIL anyway.  I promise to get good ones today.  :D  If I don't forget I have a camera.  LOL!

I did want to review two of my new BPAL fragrances.  I plan on doing a larger post with all my fragrances on it and reviews in the future.

First of all is Pomegranate II.  I LOVE it.....it's a beautiful pomegranate and lasts ALL DAY.  I'll go into more detail in my BPAL post.

Next is Punkie Night 2010.... I was looking for an awesome cider scent and I think I found it!  Only problem is it does go just a wee bit powdery at the end of the day but not as bad as some fragrances I've tried, including several BPALs.  I LOVE it too though. 

Hoping I won't be too tired to post todays look later, and maybe my BPAL post too.  It's been a long week. 

I think there was a mixup with my foundation order....

I got both my Meow and my Aromaleigh orders today and I think there was a mixup with the labeling on my foundation.  I took some pics to compare.

In both the above pics, I swatched my sample of my Sleek Abyssinian on the top left.  The top right is my full sized of what was supposed to be Frisky Abyssinian.  The bottom is my sample of Frisky Abyssinian, which matches my skintone.  All are the Pamperred Puss formula.  As you can tell, the full size is dead on the sample of the Sleek Abyssinian instead of the Frisky.  Sleek was too light for me. 

I also took a few pics of the Sleek sample and the Frisky Full size to compare.  First, them beside each other. 

Next I laid the sample on the jar of Frisky to compare.  So far they look the same to me.

Then I took a pic of the sample laid on the bottom of the full sized so you can see the names are different.

Let me first say that I've had minor things happen with orders in the past from Meow, and had them resolved with no issues.  I can honestly say that I am sure the same will happen in this case.  Meow is a favorite company, and their customer service is outstanding.   I have contacted them through email, which is standard procedure, and it will probably take a day or two before I hear anything.  I also sent the swatch pics to them as well.  I really believe it was something as simple as a mix up in labeling.  I just wanted a comparison here.  It's always my pleasure to report here on my blog when I have an excellent CS experience with a company.  I've had such experiences with Aromaleigh, Meow, Morgana and Fyrinnae.  People are human, and things happen.  It will be my pleasure to come back here to update you when I have heard back from them. 

Comparing Indelible to MAC....

I thought I'd take a pic of my Indelible Cream shadow in Nude Frost next to my MAC paint pot in Bare Study to compare.  They are DARN close.  I swatched them on bare skin to compare them.

They're clearly labled for you.  Color wise they're close, texture wise they're close, and ease of application they're close.  In the matter of hold though, as in how long my shadows last on them, MAC is better, but not by much.  Depending on where you get the Indelible shadows online, it's either a better buy or the MAC is.  You win with both.  I like having options, so I'll probably keep both on hand. LOL, on hand......hehe.....

Aromaleigh and Customer Service.....a Story of hope

I thought I'd tell you all my Aromaleigh story in regards to customer service.  This has to go WAYYYYYY Back though to start.  Let me take you back......

Way back in '03 I think it was I saw a Bare Escentials Infomercial.  It totally appealed to me because I have sensitive, acne prone, oily skin that's very finicky and I wanted to try something more natural.  Then I saw the price and decided to research online mineral makeup companies instead.  One of the first ones I found was Aromaleigh, and all her colors and the fact that Kristen doesn't use Bismuth Oxychloride in her powders (Makes me itch and more sensitive) drew my eye.  I researched other companies though in case I found something else as well, but eventually decided to give Aromaleigh a try.  So I placed my first order and promptly fell in love. 

At first I was Exclusively Aromaleigh.  Pretty soon I had a veritable collection going.  Eyeshadows, Eyeliners, Foundations, Primers, Glow powders, Blushes, and lippies when she offered them.  Aromaleigh covered my acne scars, took care of the oilies, and didn't bother my sensitive skin for the most part.  I still have to be careful of primers even now; occasionally a primer, depending on what is in it, will bother my skin.  Anyway, I was a staunch defender of Aromaleigh against those that had said at the time that they had Customer Service issues....I hadn't experienced it for myself at all, only good CS anytime I had an order issue. 

Then the bad CS experience.

Bear with me; this isn't a bashing Aromaleigh story....quite the opposite.  I hope my story gives some of those out there hope that things have been corrected now on the CS front.  I'm a staunch AL lover, and a staunch AL defender, and although I'm not exclusively AL now I'm darn close.  Let me finish my story for you but I wanted to clarify that point.

My bad experience happened....Oh, I don't know....maybe in '07?  Around that time.  First of all, my bad experience wasn't with Kristen herself, it was with a now former employee....the very same employee that a veritable truckload of people had customer service issues with.  The issue I had with her?  Honestly I don't remember now, it's been so long, but I'm fairly sure it had to do with attitude.  I do remember I contacted her with an issue about an order and she got attitude with me, but I don't remember specifics.  LOL I can sometimes overreact to things like that, at least at that time I did, and I overreacted then.  But even though I now realize I probably overreacted, at the time my feelings were very real to me and I was not a happy camper.  However, as was my wont at the time to avoid issues rather than confronting them (I'm much better about that now) instead of contacting Kristen and giving her a chance to help me through the problem I just stopped ordering from AL. 

So I was on the search for a new company to buy my makeup from.  I tried any number of them and none of them had the quality of products that Aromaleigh does, and I never did find a good match for my skin in them.  I got close, but just not that HG that everyone looks for.  I even had my moments of going back to liquid makeup because I was so frustrated. 

Fast forward to this past fall.....during some online searching I came across some blogger's blogs with mineral makeup posts and it whetted my appetite for more.  So I decided to search for a new company again.....and kept coming across posts about AL.  All the beautiful looks made me want to check out the site again, which I did....and so I thought "WHAT was that reason I stopped buying???? Oh yeah....CS issues....." But in ruminating over my experience up to that point with AL I realized I probably overreacted and so I decided to try Kristen's stuff again.  I started by dropping her an email to say hi, and told her I'd soon be placing an order.  I also emailed the former employee as well...so imagine my surprise when Aromaleigh Steve emailed me instead.  Aromaleigh Steve is the customer service BOMB......he's so awesome!  He welcomed me back and said if there was anything he could do to drop him a line.  Then Kristen herself emailed me (one thing I love about AL is the personal touches.....Kristen didn't have to take time out of her busy day to email me personally but she did) as well.  I placed a new order....then another....then another and I haven't looked back.

I've had a few small issues with orders....most notably getting a shipping notice that said it was sent the wrong carrier, which Steve answered and took care of for me promptly.  Like so promptly that it surprised me actually.  Since coming back to AL I've had nothing but good experiences again.  I'm happy to be back and proud to say I'm an Aromaleigh Afficionada.  Anyone who asks me what makeup I use gets led to the Aromaleigh site. 

So the moral of the story is this......SOMETIMES THINGS WORK OUT FOR THE BEST IN THE END.  I went looking for greener pastures....and realized in the journey that the greenest pastures were right under my nose.

So I hope my story gives some of you hope who have had those similar experiences in the past, that it's been taken care of now....and it's time to start grazing in those green pastures. 

My top 10 things to try in 2010

Since I haven't been blogging long, rather than doing my top list of things I found in '09 I thought I'd do a list of things I'm planning on trying this year instead.  :D  So here comes the list fun....

10.  Clarisonic:  I haven't decided which one to get yet, but I've seen so many good reviews that I definately plan on this one.  I need some skincare help....my skin is SO SENSITIVE that it's hard for me to find good products to use that work but don't make me burn or itch. 

9.  MAC cosmetics:  Yep, I've NEVER tried MAC.  Mostly because up till now I've not been near a store that carried it and when I order online I would rather order things that I can't get at a store.  I have some random things on a list that I want to try of theirs:  Mostly lip glosses though.

8.  Fyrinnae eye shadows:  I've got an order of their lippies and the pixie epoxy on the way to me; actually they should arrive today WOO HOO.....but I definately have the shadows on the list too.  I've got a wish list going that is a mile long......

7.  Morgana Minerals:  I've wanted to purchase some things from her for some time, and haven't gotten around to it.  The lipsticks look divine.....

6.  Flexi-8 Barrettes:  I've got a few small barrettes that I use to pull my sides or my bangs back with but no flexi-8's.  When I had long hair I collected hair forks....but since my hair is too short to pull up with just a fork anymore most of the time I can't wear them.  There are so many styles of these!

5.  Ficarre mini maxima clips:  Same reason as the flexi-8's.  Again, when I had long hair, I got a few ficarre clips and liked them a lot.  Love to try the minis!

4.  Brush Guards:  Because I travel fairly often for my job, these are on the list to try this year.  I'm always afraid my brushes are going to get bent out of shape when I do travel....

3.  False lashes and a heated lash curler:  Ok, as much as I do with my makeup, I've never used false lashes.  OK, once, maybe about 15 years ago and it was a disaster; hence, not using them now.  But I want to get some and try it again....especially with my little goofy lashes that stick out straight unless they're curled. 
Hence, the heated lash curler.

2.  Meow meow and more meow:  I haven't gotten to try some of everything Tammy makes, and have an ongoing, ever changing list.  LOVE her products.....

1.  Aromaleigh:  OK, this one isn't brand new either; my first foray into the world of mineral makeup was with Aromaleigh.  But it's been like years since I've purchased, and I have a boatload of stuff I want to try now. 

So there ya have it....it'll be interesting at the end of THIS year how many I actually got around to trying!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, beauty filled new year!!!!!!!