Concrete Minerals Electric Eye Primer Review

Okay sick of paying almost $20 for UDPP in sin. It's great stuff but, the price is not so great especially when you consider that one cannot get all the product out even with the angled wand. Ugh! makes me so mad.
So to Etsy i went. Looking for a primer that didn't crease, was cost effective, and make my eyeshadow pop!
I use both loose minerals and regular pot eyeshadow so it need it to work great for both.

I saw a few that looked like just wax in a tin and was not happy with just looking at them. Then, after a few searches, Concrete Minerals kept popping up in my searches. At $8.99, this primer was in my budget. Shipping $2.99 yay!

Concrete Minerals: out of Southern California by Emily, here is her bio from Etsy:

Hey, I'm Emily, founder of Concrete Minerals! I spent years working in the natural cosmetics industry helping great companies reach much-deserved success, so I knew better than most the many benefits of mineral makeup. Yet something was missing that couldn't quite force me to completely abandon my beloved, if over-priced, Sephora brands. Something about the neutral, lifeless colors of mineral makeup made me feel so indescribably bored.

So I created Concrete Minerals! A company hellbent to create sexy, richly-pigmented mineral makeup that's not only healthy, but reminds us why being a girl is badass! We should never feel burdened by makeup, we should cherish the opportunity to play with it!

We believe in quality over quantity. We'll release our newest colors only when we're as crazy about them as we want you to be.

Concrete Minerals products contain no nonsense, commonly referred to as:
:: Parabens
:: Fragrances
:: Dyes
:: Nano-particles
:: Bismuth Oxychloride, Talc or other cheap fillers

Whether you've already made the switch to mineral makeup, or you're looking for one final, good reason, welcome to Concrete Minerals! Bold, sexy and unique, just like the girls who love us!

♥ Emily

What I also loved about Concrete Minerals was thier money back guarantee. She basically states that if you hate the product she will let the buyer exchange it or refund your purchase. Not many sellers say this up front especially with cosmetics.

The product comes in a cute tin and is about .35 oz of product just a little more than UDPP at .34 oz for the regular size. It has a bit of shimmer not as much as sin but that's fine with me b/c sometimes sin is overkill.

The ingredients are: Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Beeswax, Dimethicone, Silicon Dioxide, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene

This produces a very silky, light weight, and lush primer. Just a little bit of this primer is necessary to make you r eyeshadow pop and look really vibrant. It also lasts all day. It's about 11pm tonight and my eyeshadow is still great looking and there's no creases. I've had it on since about 9am this morning. That's no creases even in 90 plus degree weather plus humidity in south central Tejas. The only down side for me was that i can't use cream shadows with this effectively. Cream shadows are not great for me in generals b/c i have oily skin but i keep trying anyways. One day they will make cream shadows for us oily skin gals.

Anyways, this is a GREAT primer and at less than UDPP via sephora.com (including shipping) this is a keeper! Yay ConcreteMinerals!

find her on
Facebook: www.facebook.com/concreteminerals
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cm_official
http://www.concreteminerals.com/

Makeup review - mark cosmetics by avon

Looking for great base colors for my eye shadows I purchased some products from mark. cosmetics by Avon.

I got the Winkstick in Demure..which is a creamy shadow in a champagne color. According to the product description: Creamy eye shadow shades glide on smoothly and provide a lasting shimmer. It is a hook up eye shadow stick which means it's part of a modular system which makes it ultra portable to place in a purse or travel bag.

The shade is great champagne color and very shimmery. Testing it out on my hand, it was very soft and the color is excellent. Tried it out the other day as a base to a nice daytime look and I have to say i am very impressed with it's staying power and the fact that a cream shadow did not crease on me.

The next two items are the Mini mark it Stick. I got this product in two colors: Cocoa Bean and Shell. Cocoa bean is a silvery taupe color and the Shell color is a soft nude color. This shimmer stick is so creamy and soft. The product description is: A super-soft, shimmery pencil that glides over lids or along lash lines. In fact, if you mix Coaco bean and shell you get UDPP color of sin. how cool is that and cheaper than buying the genie bottle.
These are very sexy can are great to use as my first layer in an eyeshadow look. No creasing here either. This exciting for someone who has avoided cream eyeshadow for just that specific reason and that i have oily skin so the two do not mix well. Shell also goes well in the corner and lower lash line to brighten and open the eyes. Great stuff. At $6 bucks a piece it a good investment.

My final product was the mark Glossblossom Ripening Lip Tint. This product I bought truly wondering if there was a non-brown pink that could look good on me. I have full lips so i have a phobia of looking like bozo in the pink and red color tones. Phobia aside i decided to try it out and I'm glad I did.

This gloss is so awesome. Oh let me include the product description: Goes on clear, then ripens to a juicy pink to leave lips tinted and shiny. Alluring, personalized pink tone lasts even after the gloss is gone.

Holy moley when i say that my lips looked ripe. it was like what the lips look like after a long kiss with the hubby. The stain stays after the gloss is talked or fades through a normal day. It's great. My lips are so soft! It begins as a kinda clearish gloss with a gold shimmer. Really brings on the pout to the lips. in less than 10 seconds my lips were turning this outstanding pink. Not too bright and not too dark. Just like a beautiful juicy rose color. My lips are soft due to the JOJOBA oil and the best part is that it's not sticky like other lip glosses. It's a small tube but a little goes a long way. This was $6.50 and so worth it. It's affordable and delivers! I will have to purchase more of this when it eventually runs out. This will make great gifts and stocking stuffers for Christmas.

All this and I got free shipping using the code: MFS20 which gets you free shipping on an order of $20 or more. I love that mark has codes for so many levels of purchase from $15 to $35 or more. free shipping is always a great thing.

So if you'd like to purchase these or any other great mark products you can check them out at My Mark Store.

Coastal Scents Purchase

Finding Coastal Scents.com makeup has been an interesting experience. I have purchased from them in the past and found my fist blush that didn't itch me half way through my day. The blush which also doubles as a nice base color eyeshadow for the warm neutrals I love. I have also purchased makeup brushes and was flabbergasted at the quality for the great price.

With my blush purchase i received a sample of Fawn eyeshadow. It's a beautiful rich chocolate brown color. It goes on so soft and lasts all day without moving. It's lovely and trust me when i say that a little goes a LONG way. The sample bag still has a a good amount of product in there. I use it for a crease color. $7.95 it comes in a generous 10g sifter jar and is so worth the price.

Simply stunning is just too demure of a word for this eyeshadow. Along with this gorgeous shade i also ordered Lusty a high light shade that would go with everything. Pearly and has hints of gold in there but is so neutral that it can make an appearance with almost any look. Described on CS as " Lusty shadow is a creamy light satiny beige powder with low sparkle. " it''s creamy and beautiful and like Fawn, a little goes a long way.


The two jars came nicely packaged in a mini lilac organza bag and I also got a free sample of a color called Aqua Zone. The color is like a dark aquamarine and is so soft and silky when putting it on.

May have to find an occasion to wear it since i usually am a neutrals kid of gal. Maybe my sister who uses color more can use it. Though it is very pretty. I had a MAC color like it in high school that I loved using it.

Considering how long these shadows last the investment of almost $18 is well spent. I have not even gone thru half of the blush color i first ordered. Very much satisfied.


Cheers!

LA Minerals a Texas cosmetics company..Fabulous!

Well, in my journey for the ultimate mineral makeup I have encountered quite a few web pages and have greatly increased my delicious list. Upon good reviews from several makeup blogs, I decided to get samples from LA Minerals.

They offer a full line of cosmetics from foundation to lip balm and skin care. All made in the US and at great prices. Slightly less expensive than BE in the foundation area but a little more expensive than Everyday Minerals, the quality of the LA Minerals product that truly speaks for this company.

LA Minerals offers 3 levels of coverage with theier loose mineral foundations:(descriptions are from the website)

1) Hollywood: Hollywood Face BaseTM is a premium, medium to heavy coverage mineral makeup foundation that includes the best minerals and all natural mineral pigments, blended into a light-reflecting powder. Enhanced with pure silk powder, silica micro-spheres, and boron nitride minerals. Sweep on our luxurious, premium mineral foundation for a natural and flawless finish.

If other mineral foundations left you overly glowy and itching...give Hollywood Face Base a try.

2) Valley Girl: Valley Girl mineral foundation is our newest addition to the L.A. Minerals line. Designed with specific skin issues in mind, this heavy coverage, matte formula is gentle, pure and soothing.

• Acneic skin: the addition of Allantoin, famous for it's healing properties, acts as an antiseptic and skin soother. Acne is often aggravated by pore clogging makeup which holds onto dirt and oils, causing more acne. Our Valley Girl mineral foudation is free of talc, perfumes, bismuth, and chemicals. Gentle, pure minerals, infused with healing ingredients.
• Oily Skin: the addition of Kaolin Clay, world reknown as a centuries old secret to absorbing oil, will help keep your makeup looking fresh all day long. Instead of trapping the oil in your skin, our Valley Girl formula wisks it away into the millions of ultra-fine, oil absorbing, Kaolin Clay particles.
• Scarred Skin: Using industry leading minerals created for more opacity, the Valley Girl formula is the perfect choice for skin with scars or uneven skin tones

3) NoHoGlo:
NoHoGlo Face Base:

North Hollywood, otherwise known as NoHo just added you to the hotty list! Are you ready to transform your dull, lifeless skin into that ready-for the camera look? Then NoHoGlo is for you! This formula leaves you with a flawless, lit-from-within look with light to medium coverage.

This Boron Nitride based formula offers the benefits of increased adhesion, lubricity, soft-focus effect, dewy appearance, air-brushed look, anti-inflammatory, and a silky natural feel. Fantastic for young and aging skin alike. It has a tightening effect while absorbing excess oil, without drying out your skin.



I got some foundation samples and found that I am a Medium Neutral in Hollywood formulation. The sample cost only $2.00 for a mini sifter jar. Also ordered some eyeshadow samples in Aladdin's Lamp and Playful, which were $1 each for a 1/4 teaspoon in a small baggie. Today I'm wearing the foundation and Aladdin's Lamp eyeshadow and I went out running errands in the Texas heat with no air conditioning ( trying to save gas since it's $2.35 in some areas and $2.25 in other areas and that just irks and worries me).

Let me back track, putting the foundation on was like placing silk on my face. I don't even feel it on my face. A little goes a long way with this product. My initial application resulted in a color slightly darker than i had anticipated. This morning, I lightly applied the product and found that the color really blended lightly. My pores were covered and the result was immaculate.
Running errands resulted in slight itches but were soon over and my face has no oily shine, just a luminous look. The Texas heat can't beat this stuff!

The eyeshadow went on so lightly and i needed very little to get a great hit of color. Considering the baggies is only 1/4 tsp that says a lot. There was also no fallout and it felt creamy on my eyelid.

The full on foundation jar costs: $19.95 for 8 grams of product. Given that this stuff will last longer since so little is needed, this is a great price for a long lasting product translation= more bang for your buck.

Full size eyeshadow costs: $8.95 for a jar of 5 grams. It's a dollar more than Coastal Scents where you get 0.05 oz of product with them. Everyday Minerals costs $6 and 3.5 grams I have yet to try the shadows but i bet they are nice as well)

Blush is $10.95 for 20 grams (nt wt 4g), Coastal scents 2 grams (NT weight) for $8.95, and EDM for 8g NT weight at $8. Must try thier blush as well.

I'm very happy with this company as well. So exciting to find local companies that offer great products at great prices and care about what they do and how they make their products. Fabulous!

Customer service is quick and they are very helpful with recommendations and getting you to find the right shade.

Overall, this company has impressed me and i think so far this company may be the one I go with for my trip to Puerto Rico. I have one more sample set coming in from a company called Buff'd Cosmetics. They are out of Canada so we'll try them out as well my samples are on the way already. Happy Blingn' yall!