mark Magalog #4 April 2010 check it out!

April is upon us! That means the new mark. Magalog is going to debut! so in anticipation of that fact, i'm posting a sneak peak of the new magalog. This magalog officially runs from March 30th to April 27th. If you'd to place an order email me or shop my eBoutique.

Shop My store http://www.mymarkstore.com/creedy

Magalog #4 April 2010 Click on the cover to experience the new magalog online!

Here are some previews pages:


Bring out that cat eye!

To see the complete magalog click on the cover page above.
Order at My mark. Store
http://www.mymarkstore.com/creedy

Buff'd Cosmetics Samples

As part of a campaign to promote the Buff'd Cosmetics products I have requested samples from Buff'd when they emailed their followers that they needed bloggers to review some products. Being a fan already I happily accepted the challenge.

Buff'd is a company out of Canada and has a high standard of product and customer care. It's why this Texas gal loves to order from them. I have blogged about them before with glowing reviews which you can read. See May and July on the right side bar for previous posts.

My package came with foundation, finishing powder, a bronzer, Illuminating Dust, blush, eyeshadow and eyeliner (10 samples in all). A little something from each department. I love the Buff'd foundations. The original Formula works great on me. I have oily skin and i have no need to go for a more intense coverage formulation. It's great at keeping oils at bay and doesn't feel heavy or cakey. Here is info straight from their Foundation portion of their website:

mineral foundation

Formulated using only the finest natural minerals and pigments, Buff'd Mineral Foundations have outstanding versatility and wear. Available in an extensive collection of shades and three outstanding formulations, a minimal amount of product will help you achieve a flawless, radiant look while natural UV protection guards your skin. As with all our products, Buff'd Mineral Foundations are free of irritating and toxic ingredients which may be damaging to some skin types.

The Kabuki, Jumbo Buffer and Jumbo Flat Top brushes are perfect for applying these loose-mineral powders.

Available in three outstanding formulations:

original: a great full-coverage foundation with fantastic oil absorption and natural UV protection. ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxides, ultramarines

light: specifically for those who prefer a lightweight foundation that still offers buildable coverage and great oil absorption. ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, ultramarines

concealing: made with a touch of kaolin clay offering even better coverage with greater oil absorption. Ideal for those with combination to oily skin and a great spot concealer. ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, kaolin clay, mica, ultramarines

My Colors for the year are Apricot and Pecan. Pecan for when i have more of a tan going on and Apricot for the winter season. They are just wonderful and at $18, 21grams volume in a 10gram weight sifter jar is just perfect. This foundation lasts all day and i do mean all day i have worn it from 8:30 am to 2am with no problems and even forget it's on.

The finishing powder in Peony is great for those days that i really need staying power and a flawless finish without drying out. I use this more in the winter when my skin tends to get a little dry. At $15 for th full size it's a great investment powder. The generous sample baggies are also great if you are strapped for cash.

The Bronzer in Toast is fabulous. It has a wonderful shimmer to it and make me think of the beach. i use it to conture and make me look a little thinner in the cheeks. also for a pick me up if my skin is just looking blah that day. A little goes a long way. The full size is $15 and picture on the website make it look darker than it truly is so order the sample bag to test out the shades. If you are confused but know your foundation shade the staff is more than willing to help you color match for a flawless set of colors appropriate to your coloring.

On to the eyeshadows and blush...the really fun stuff:

The Blushes: Thrift and Bouquet.

Thrift is one of my faves. It is a bronzy pink and just gives the apples that just kissed look. It makes me very happy and is great a a light pink blush when doing a smokey eye. Very little is required to give you that glowing look.

Bouquet is a light pink that i love to use as well. It's that color that reminds me of a soft pink rose and that is what you get on the cheek. Very classic looking but with enough shimmer to be modern.

The blushes cost: $15
full size jar: 14 grams volume / 3 grams weight
sample size: 1/4 teaspoon sample bag

Illuminating dust:

Think of this as an allover product that gives you that extra glow with your look. Canvas has high shimmer but is extremely subtle when used with a light hand. The site says it's a soft and luminous off white and that it is. Another make you happy on a cloudy day product.

The full size Illuminating dust costs: $15

full size jar: 14 grams volume / 3 grams weight
sample size: 1/4 teaspoon sample bag

Eyeshadows:

Scribe: Blue Base in the Smoky Eye Kits - Slate Blues Collection.

Great base color, goes on light and opens the eye nicely.
very soft and easy to put on.

Denim: Cool medium blue with silver shimmer. Blue Crease in our Smoky Eye Kits - Slate Blues Collection. This one looks more grey than blue in the baggie but on the brush you can see the blue properties of the shadow. it was great for the smokey eye look i was building.

Nova: a Mineral Eyeliner. Midnight slate blue with silver blue shimmer. Blue Liner in our Smoky Eye Kits - Slate Blues Collection.

I used it as a crease color and it worked wonderfully. I love how it looks like my dark jeans that i wear all the time. The look was very pretty and soft for a smokey eye.

I am in love with this company and shipping for samples is free. Shipping to Texas takes about 2 weeks but i am very happy with service and all the products i have purchased so far. I hope to see more from this growing company in the future as they have me with their uber fabulous foundation and now going into blush and eyeshadow.

Check them out at: http://www.buffd.com

Buff'd Cosmetics samples

Okay so here is part two of searching for the perfect quad of mineral eyeshadows to compare to the Revlon 12hr color stay quad in Blushed Wines.

Buff'd Cosmetics I use for my foundations and they are very good quality ad make my skin look great. They are located in Prince George, British Columbia in Canada. Placed this order on the 22 of July and the samples arrived in Texas today July 30th. considering it's coming from Canada 1 week is great. That is how long my foundation takes to get to me as well. Samples come in a plastic baggie and are only $1 each. when ordering samples only shipping is FREE. they arrived in a simple brown mailer with the company logo on it and the recipt of my products. No frills but they are jsut samples which is okay with me. Tissue paper and fluff just go to the trash.

Buff'd Cosmetics describes their Mineral Eyeshadows as:

With colors that range from natural to earthy, from smoky to sultry, the Buff'd Mineral Eye Shadow line has a shade to suit every occasion.

Only the finest mineral pigments go into our eye shadows allowing for great wearabilty and colors that will never fade. Using the Angle Detail brush - all Buff'd Mineral Eye Shadows can be mixed with a small amount of water for the perfect eye liner.

ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, ultramarines, chromium oxide

full size jar: 7 grams volume / 2 grams weight
sample size: 1/4 teaspoon sample bag

Price: Full size jar: $8 (on sale now for $6.40)
Sample: $1

I ordered six samples of Mineral Eyeshadows and received as a bonus one extra sample of eyeshadow and one mineral blush. More on the extras later. The baggie contains 1/4 teaspoon of product and trust me when i say a little goes a long way with thsi company as i just ran out of my sample of foundation and have just started using my full size after 3 weeks of using it.

My order included these colors:

Fluff - Light shimmering pink
Candytuff - Soft creamy pink
Carnation - Vibrant pink
Electric - Dark wine burgundy
Braisin - Dark blend of purple and pink.

One sample came from the Pure Pigments Line:
Buff'd Cosmetics has this to say about thier Pure Pigments:

Buff'd Pure Pigments are pure oxidized mica minerals producing some of the most beautiful shimmering colors.

An all-purpose powder, Pure Pigments can be worn as an eye shadow, blush, bronzer and shimmer. Applied either dry for light shimmering highlights or wet for vibrant color. They are so versatile and true in color they can even be added to lip glosses and nail lacquers.

ingredients: mica

full size jar: 7 grams volume / 2 grams weight
sample size: 1/4 teaspoon sample bag

Full jar price: $8 (on sale for $6.40)
sample: $1

I ordered the sample of the color:
BabyDoll - Soft pink.

I really liked the selection of eyeshadows and pure pigments they have a nice assortment which to me is not overwhelming.


Bonus Samples
Rosewood Mineral Blush
Mushroom Mineral Eyeshaow

Here is the swatches of the samples:


From top to bottom:

Babydoll, Fluff, Caddytuff, Carnation, Electric, Braisin, Rosewood and Mushroom

Here is a closeup of the lighter pinks:


The texture of the eyeshadows is very soft and creamy, though for the Pure Pigment i did need to apply a little more and it feel a little finer than the mineral eyeshadow since it's just pure mica.
The Rosewood blush is divine in texture and i know it would look lovely on my skin just as their Thrift blush feels great on my skin and gives me a dewy look that i love. Carnation is my fave of the pinks and Braisin and electric are wonderful colors with Braisin having more of a dark plum hue where as electric has some red leanings.

Need to try teh colors out int he look to see how they work. Laready have the full size of the Blush Thrift in my cart and Mushroom..though i do need to compare it to Lusty from Coastal Scents to make sure it's not the same color.

I guess I'm easy to please when i pick colors i like. Buff'd MES are less glittery that Aromaleigh but they are stunning. They also warm the skin give off a sublte shimmer so if a subtle glow is what you are looking for in an E/S, then i highly suggest you order samples and see for yourself.

will let you know of results soon.

the Aromaleigh samples have been working well on me for the past few days and i will have a more in depth analysis soon of both companies.

Cheers!

Buff'd Cosmetics..Canadian jewel ..Review

Okay my third investigation of a mineral makeup company is of Buff'd Cosmetics out of Canada.

They offer more than just makeup. They offer body products as well.

I got samples which were $1.50 for a baggie of product. I got 3 foundations and 1 blush sample. They have cute names for the foundations like Apricot, Ginger, Saffron, and Magnolia. I got samples in Apricot, Warm and Pecan in the "Original Mineral Formula. "

Buff'd comes in three formulations: (the next descriptions taken from the webpage)

Available in three outstanding formulations:

original: a great full-coverage foundation with fantastic oil absorption and natural UV protection. ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, mica, iron oxides, ultramarines

light: specifically for those who prefer a lightweight foundation that still offers buildable coverage and great oil absorption. ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, ultramarines

concealing: made with a touch of kaolin clay offering even better coverage with greater oil absorption. Ideal for those with combination to oily skin and a great spot concealer. ingredients: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, kaolin clay, mica, ultramarines

The Warm shade was too yellow..didn't even have to open that one. The Pecan shade was a little too dark and looked a little too dark almost orangy on my skin. Finally, the Apricot was just right. Blended seamlessly into my skin. It did feel a little chalky going on but once it settled it was like a second skin and weightless. It covered anything that needed to be covered without using concealer. That was indeed a wonderful surprise.

It was 91 degrees today and i had a lot of running around today. Another day of no air conditioning in the car while doing non-church driving (have to look nice at chruch so whole body MUST have cool air in the car) It lasted and i have to say i even got compliments on my skin and it's radiance. That was amazing.

full size jar: 21 grams volume / 10 grams weight $15
sample size: 1/2 teaspoon sample bag $1.50

The Blushes are another fun looking collection. They have fun names as well like Sugar Coated, Chick Pea, and Winterberry.
The blush sample i got was in the color "Tricky." The webpage descibes it as a Peachy pink with shimmer. At $12 it's not bad for the amount that you get. It felt creamy going on and has great staying power. A little goes a long way with this product as well.

A concentrated formula of all natural minerals and pigments, a small amount of our blush is enough to flush your cheeks with plenty of color.

ingredients: mica, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, iron oxides, ultramarines

full size jar: 14 grams volume / 3 grams weight $12
sample size: 1/4 teaspoon sample bag $1.00

They also carry setting powders for oil control, finishing powders for those with normal to dry skin and color correctors all with a wonderful explanation of key ingedients that make the product work as well as a list of all ingrdients. These are $12 as well for the same amountof product as the Blushes.

There are also bronzers and illuinators that serves as highlights for your cheeks.

Eyeshadows, Pure pigments and brown powders are all $8. There is a very good selection in each category. They even have a beautiful array of lipsticks for $12. The site is very simple in construction and very user friendly. I had not problem looking around and finding exactly what i needed to know. It took the item 4 business days to get from Canada to Central Texas..not bad at all.

I have a tough decision between the LA Minerals and the Buff'd Cosmetics. I like both.