I'm Blusche-ing: Blusche Minerals

I saw this website on Mineral Makeup Worldwide, listing many (but not all!!) MMU companies around the globe. I came across an entry on Blusche Minerals, listed as a Canadian company, so obviously I had to check it out.

After reading a positive review from trusting Shades of U and this review, why not! Samples were only 75 cents, 3 for $1.75. As my mom says, "You can't go wrong!" Right you are, Mom!

Although a Canadian company, Monica at Blusche intended for her target audience for The Philippines as there are no dominant MMU companies catering to them. When I read that in one of the reviews, I figured that SOME of her foundation colours must suit filipinos, therefore myself (I didn't fail Logic in university...LOL)

For the three samples of foundation I chose the obvious Medium Warm Creme Brulee, and chose the lighter Brazillian and darker Mocha Java to give me some custom mixing if necessary.

I figured since shipping was $3.50 for the samples, I'd add a few more items to the cart.

I bought a 3-baggie sample of Primer in Medium and a Phoebe Mineral Veil in Matte (there's a Glow formula that's more lustrous), a neutral colour, and Shelley Mineral Veil in Matte, a slightly yellow colour.

I threw in baggies of Medium Concealer, and a Yellow and a Green Corrector too.

$5.75 later (+the shipping), the samples came out to less than $1 per bag, and in Canadian dollars to boot!

I promise, this is the last thing I'm buying....this month. Oh look at that: is tomorrow the last day in January?

Slightly sM.A.Cked!

It was like the world was in slow motion as pushed the stroller closer and closer. Like it was a dream, fate, karma, if you will. Yes, I was so close, as my eyes widened in amazement, a sight I haven't seen in years, it seemed...the M.A.C. counter!

My toddler in tow, I managed to convince him that we go in the store "just for a little while".

- Mom, that's girl stuff!
- But Mom is a girl...
- No, you don't need makeup...

I sighed and blushed as the SA looked up and greeted us with what probably would have sounded like an "aww!" if I were any closer to her. Either that or she was telling herself, oh shit, don't come any closer.

I browsed around staring at all the new items I have only seen online, while constantly removing pans of concealer and foundation out of my son's hands. What should I buy today? Concealer? Lipstick? Hmmm....

I didn't know how to select a concealer so I asked the SA about the various kinds. She tells me that on February 5, M.A.C. is revealing a new line called Studio Sculpt that provides full-coverage yet won't crease or fade. The current products, she said, either provide medium-coverage and don't crease or full-coverage and can crease. The Studio Sculpt coming out would be the best of both worlds.

I looked up more information and found out this on Makeup and Beauty Blog :

Studio Sculpt Concealer: Inspired by the needs of M·A·C makeup artists, who demanded a full-coverage concealer that never becomes dry and cakey, the gel-based cream formula slips onto skin, effortlessly hiding imperfections. Its silicone coated pigments help retain color purity for superb coverage that blends easily yet covers completely with just a small amount of product.

It'll probably cost around $20 CDN since it will be $16.50 USD. So I booked an appointment next Thursday to try it out. And maybe, while she's at it, she can colour type me too...and try some other products that I'll be tempted to buy!

So I bummed around the place a bit more. I fondled the Paint Pots (how lovely! Groundwork would look great as an eye base with my skin colour), and tickled a few of the lipsticks.

Before I left, I picked up a pot of Lip Conditioner SPF 15. I heard great things about it, and although it was $15, at 15g of product, that's about on par with the Kiehl's lip balm I used to use, and that was just "ok". So far, I love the slight vanilla taste and it applies smoothly. A little bit goes a long way. Right away, I can tell it'll work better for me than my current pomegranate Burt's Bee balm.

I can't wait until next Thursday!

Re.Edit. Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog posted a review on the Studio Sculpt Foundation and Concealer....check it out!

LaurEss Pure Minerals

Ok, I'm weak.

I made another online purchase today to try out LaurEss foundation.

I got my second order from Buff'd Cosmetics today, with the darker shades of foundation. I thought the Caramel was darker than I needed, so I thought I'd mix 50:50 with the Saffron I had. Once applied, it gives off a darker finish, but it's a little bit too tanned for me. There's almost like a faint peachy look to it. Sigh. Should I try 75:25 Saffron:Caramel? Maybe tomorrow...but for the meantime...

I googled around for "Buff'd" and "filipino" thinking, just maybe, someone out there actually found a good colour match, other than Christiana. I bumped into a forum discussing the differences between Buff'd, LaurEss, and Monave.

I hit the LaurEss website and was instantly drawn. I don't know if it's the case with all MMU, but the LaurEss website claims that its makeup is water and sweat resistant. And they have free shipping to Canada! I thought perhaps their shipping was free for only samples, but I put in 3 full-size items in the cart and shipping would be free. Granted, the samples are a little more expensive, at $2.50 each and the foundations and powders run around $22. Hey, if I can get a match, great!

These are the colours I chose for samples, with swatches taken from the website:

Pure Gold - Medium Golden with Yellow Tones
Pure Yellow - Medium Yellow Tones
Fresh Gold - Dark Medium Golden with Yellow Tones
Warm Gold - Medium Dark Gold with Yellow Tones

The Warm Gold could be too dark, but at least I'll have a sample to mix with if I need a more intense shade.

LaurEss' foundation shades come in 3 formulas: Minimalist, Elemental, and Ethereal. Minimalist is the sheerer formula but buildable, Elemental is their medium coverage, neither flat or shiny, while Ethereal has a creamier, heavier coverage. All the shades come in any of these formulas. I believe I counted 54 available shades, at 10g for a full-size.

And since I was purchasing 4 samples already, I figure I'd try out a primer and a finishing powder, just to complete the look.

They have 3 primer formulations: Kick Start, Fresh Start, Jump Start. Kick Start is for dry complexions, Jump Start for oily complexions, and Fresh Start somewhere in between. They have shades Light, Medium, Tan, Dark for each of these formulas, each shade matching the foundation you choose. Since most of my samples were from the "Fresh" or "Pure" colours, Jump Start Tan would compliment well.

They have similar formulas for their finisher powder. Finishing Touch for dry, Fantastic Finish for oily, and Ultimatte Finish is probably somewhere in between. Obviously, I got the Fanastic Finish in Tan.

So, $15 later, free shipping, I ordered 6 samples? Worth it? We'll see. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a proper review.

I guess I should post a better pic of myself, to show you what colour skin I'm dealing with here. Another day, I guess. Hmmm....thinking of checking out Monave now...

Re.Edit. Monave sounds promising but they don't offer USPS First Class Mail. It's USPS Priority for $19, as high as $55 UPS Worldwide. For a $5 cart! Yikes....forget it! I guess I'm done shopping for now!

Re.Re.Edit. Turns out that after reading a few forum posts, Minimalist Foundation is for normal to oily skin, as most closely resembles their Original formula which was discontinued not too ago. Elemental is best suited for normal to dry skin. I shot an email to LaurEss to see if they can switch my order from Elemental to Minimalist. Keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be able to do that! Maybe I'll give them a call tomorrow!