Review- Black Rose Minerals

I first encountered Black Rose Minerals on a search for "geeky makeup" and fell in love with the collections. I placed an order of 6 sample jars and a full-size blush on Black Friday, and got it about a week ago. I did the photographs in two sessions, which is why there may be some differences.

Love the rose stamp on the note packet!

Service was great; I messaged Rosa (the owner) on facebook to change the shipping address on my order, and she sent a reply within 48 hours. As you can see in the above pictures, all orders come with a handwritten note, stickers + confetti, and samples. I got Blue Orchid and Poppy as samples.

Eyeshadows from L-R: Faye, Nobodies, Greenleaf, Rukia, Dr. Farnsworth, Marceline

The eyeshadows all applied well, although primer and foiling mediums really improve their appearance on skin.

Top row- Swatched dry; Middle: Foiled with GlamourDoll Eyes' Foil Me; Bottom: LORAC Behind the Scenes Primer

Shadows L-R: Marceline, Faye,Greenleaf, Dr. Farnsworth, Nobodies, Rukia, Blue Orchid, Poppy

Marceline's a great matte grey; I think it would be good as a cosplay foundation.
Faye is hard to capture on camera; it's yellow-cream in the jar, but a translucent pinky-white when applied. The pink sheen makes it great for highlighting.
Greenlead is a pretty pastel blue.
Dr. Farnsworth  is a semi-sheer mint green with warm sparkles.
Nobodies is a dark black-blue. It appears more black when dry and over primer, but foiling mediums bring out the navy blue.
Rukia is a dark violet-black, but it seems like a dark metallic indigo when swatched.
Blue orchid appears more purple than blue, but again, foiling brings out the blue.
Poppy is a warm coral with a pink sheen.

Dry, Foiled, then Primed: Poppy, Blue Orchid, Rukia, Nobodies

Dr. Farnsworth, Greenleaf, Faye, Marceline

I think Marceline, Blue Orchid, and Nobodies are my favorites. Faye and Farnsworth would be great for highlights.

Full size blush in Radical

Applied and blended out.

 The jar for the blush is a bit small; my normal blush brush would be too big to apply from the lid. The quantity supplied is definitely enough to last a while tough; I could probably just re-pot it. The color applies much sheerer than it appears in the jar, which is what I expect from a blush. It looked a lot more pink/peachy online, but it still looks good on me.

Radical blush, Stila Lip Glaze in Orchard, Nobodies, and Shiro Cosmetics eyeshadow in Still Alive

Close up of eyes- Nobodies and Shiro's Still Alive

You can get Black Rose Minerals on Storenvy or in the online store

December 2012 Birchbox

Pretty box!

 Sorry for the delay; I left college for winter break, so I've been a bit preoccupied with stuff. Anyways, I subscribed to birchbox a while ago, and November was my first box. (I'll probably put up the contents of that box eventually. I plan on doing a few backwards reviews/posts.)

Open box and card insert.

It arrived before the 15th, before I did, since I had it shipped to my home address. Apparently this is the first time they've spruced up the box itself, so I got in just in time!

 Inside was a full-size Model Co. lipgloss, Emily's Fortune Cookie, Juice Beauty C.C. cream, Viva la Juicy perfume sample, and Amika hair mask. It also included a gift tag and wrap, along with a discount for Rent the Runway. Most of this actually appeared in the preview video, so I guess I got lucky again.

Everything laid out.

 I've had Juicy perfume samples appear in almost every magazine I've bought in the past year, so I'm pretty familiar with the scent. Still, it's nice because my last Sephora order was actually missing this same sample. The mask and fortune cookie I plan on saving for later, maybe New Years? I doubt I'll use my Rent the Runway card.

Straight out of the tube onto skin

Blended out a bit. It's a little warmer than my skin tone, but it will probably match once the weather warms up.

 As you can see, the Juice Beauty C.C. cream actually worked pretty well for my skin tone. It smelled kind of strange straight out of the tube, like a mix of fruit and leaf juices. That may sound a bit weird, but it really does remind me of when I would squish random plant leaves and pods in between my fingers when I was a child. As you can see, I was a strange child. Anyways, the smell turns into something reminiscent of Fruit Loops after a while, so it didn't bother me anymore. Coverage is supposedly sheer, which is fine for me because I have relatively clear, young skin.

I was only wearing the gloss, yet it looked like a really pink stain on me. Still pretty though!

The Model Co. lipgloss I got was in a shade called Strip Tease. Online, it looks like a golden beige, but mine looks more like a warm peach pink. It made my lips rosy for whatever reason. I love the fruity scent and mirror on the gloss' simplistic packaging. It has some tack, which I actually like in a gloss. I plan on wearing it more; I might consider buying another in the future too.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my birchbox, mainly because of the lipgloss. I really should get to using the other items in it though.

Review- L'Oreal True Match Lumi Foundation

A few months ago, I saw an ad for L'Oreal's True Mactch Lumi foundation in a magazine. While I had previously heard of the True Match line of products, I had never actually tried it. L'Oreal actually has a website up for its True Match line, with pretty much the same information that is in its print advertisements. The website does feature a match quiz that I wish I could've known about earlier, since I ended up buying a shade a too light. That's not the fault of the product, though I wish that drug stores offered sampling counters.

The web page for the True Match line. It happens to feature Liya Kebede, who was also in the print ad.

 First off, Kebede is gorgeous, even for a supermodel. No wonder they made her spokesperson for this product along with other big names like Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez. It's really nice that diversity is featured in the product's range of shades and in the advertisements; very rarely do you see many women from diverse backgrounds in advertising. The product advertises that it is available 15 shades (for all ethnicities), and it's true. When I went to the store, there were 3 categories (warm, neutral, cool) with 5 shades in each category.

Product in advertisement vs. product in real life

The images of the foundation are accurate, as far as I can tell. According to the magazine ad, True Match Lumi has antioxidants, along with vitamins C and E. I do not understand the ingredient label names, so I cannot say for sure if this stuff actually has vitamins and antioxidants in it. Not very convincing if your ads all mention it...

As you can see, it's a little light. IT'S ALL MY FAULT

The foundation claims that "instantly skin is illuminated" and "1 month skin's clearer, more even." I can't say for sure what this stuff will do in a month's time, but I did notice some improvement in skin tone after putting on makeup. It wasn't completely opaque, so I was able to blend it pretty well.

Left: bare skin Right: L'Oreal True Match Lumi foundation over primer, along with other makeup.

While I don't think I would call this "my healthiest skin ever" (Liya's words, not mine), I do think the claim of instantly illuminated skin holds true. Overall, I felt like the product lived up to its advertisement. Liya Kebede would probably be proud that she did her job, and I now have a pretty good foundation to wear.

Review- Sunday Morning Soaps

I found Sunday Morning Soaps while browsing etsy, and fell in love with their cupcake and moustache soaps. I had never actually ordered bar soap online, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Luckily, my experience was a positive one.

My order arrived in a bubble mailer, with stickers!

I must say, there was a good amount of care placed into packing. I got a bubble mailer, with bags of air inside. My soaps were all either individually wrapped or placed into a small bag.

I ordered 3 custom mustache soaps and a mini cupcake soap. I received a mini heart and robot soap as a bonus, along with business cards.

Everything separated and out of the packages.

The one of the robot's hands broke off during shipping, but I can't complain much since it was a freebie. I'm not sure what scents the freebies are; I can only say that they're different kinds of fruity.

I ordered mustaches in jasmine rose (pink), masculine (black), and creme brulee/burnt marshmallow (brown.) The jasmine rose is my favorite of the scents because it is a prefect mix of my two favorite florals. The masculine scent is nice, but not very strong. The creme brulee/marshmallow scent is actually the strongest of the three. It's a dark, burnt scent that still manages to be sweet.

I finally have my own handlebar!

Review- Hip Hop Candy

Time for my first review! Today, I picked up my package from Hip Hop Candy. I placed my order during their Thanksgiving/Black Weekend sale, so I got free shipping.

L-R: Victorian Rose body spray, Red Velvet Cupcake lotion, Frosted Cupcake body wash, Sweet Macaron roll-on perfume

They arrived pretty quickly, in a mailer envelope. I also got a candy cane Hershey's kiss in my order.

Here's my hand for a size comparison.

The rose body spray has a light scent that doesn't remind me of old ladies. In fact, it smells a lot like my Jurlique love balm (which I might write a review for.) When it dries, the scent becomes a little more powdery, but it still smells like rose. It gets a little sticky as it dries, but not uncomfortably so. 

Ingredient Concerns: Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone- May cause allergic reactions in some

The red velvet cupcake lotion smells delicious, although you can still smell the lotion base. It's a light pink lotion that absorbs pretty well into the skin. I believe it's a holiday limited edition, so stock up if you want some!

Ingredient Concerns: Petrolatum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea- May cause allergic reaction

I had the flash on in this picture, hence color differences.

The shower gel and perfume are Christmas presents for a friend, so I won't be able to review them. I can say for sure that the shower gel has one of the best cupcake scents I have come across.

Bottom Line: Hip Hop Candy's products are adorable and handmade, but aren't for those who want something more natural. The scents are delicious, and there's actually a good amount in the small bottles. I will most likely buy again.

You can get these items from the Hip Hop Candy shop HERE.

First Post

Thanks for finding Mixed Shades! This will be my place to talk about and review things like beauty and makeup, among other things. More content will be added to this blog very soon, so keep an eye out!

-Maya