There has been so much going on with makeup brands everywhere lately, thought I should do a little post to let you all know.
Heard from Makeup Junkie: Urban Decay is coming to Shoppers! My friend on twitter is already excited about the fact that she could earn or redeem Optimum points for the goodies, lol. It's just a matter of time after the launch (January 22) that more Shoppers across the country will have the line. *Happy face*
Another news also from Makeup Junkie, Cargo is pulling out from Sephora (hence the 50% off crazy sale). It's sad that Canadians now can only find the brand at Murale stores which are not widely accessible. *Sad face*
Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog tweeted news about Essence. I don't know whether a twipic link is valid forever, so here's her tweet:
"Essence, a German m/u line, arrives @ all Ulta stores by 4/10 . Nail, eye, lip & face items for less than $5!". Photo credit: Karen.
I haven't heard much about this brand except for the fun nail polishes, so American ladies, you guys are in luck for a new brand. *Happy face*
And lastly, one of my favorite mineral makeup brands - The She Space - has decided to discontinue all lines. The good news is all the shadows are on for $2.50/ jar until ran out. The bad news is there won't be TSS shadows anymore at the end. Heather decided to follow her dream of a small business (now called Hope Quest Cosmetics) with a message of hope and inspiration, broaden the idea behind the Hope Quest quad. I admire her decision so much, walking away from an extremely fast-growing business, a brand new store front with tons and tons of colours to come back to where her company was a few years ago. That is just amazing!
I'm sad to see TSS go, but curious about what Hope Quest would be like. I'm happy for Heather though, as it seems the current company isn't what she wanted. I'm wishing her best luck on the new journey. *Sad face*
This must be the biggest sale ever in The She Space history, and I am in a good party mood, lol
Heather is turning 40 and celebrates it with a bang: All full size shadows/ pigments are $2.50 each (regular $4.50) between Oct 13 - 24. Only orders placed on the sale page receive the discount, so make sure you go to the right place.
Savvy Shoppers Club discount (15%, US only) will not apply this time but free shipping still does. I am still waiting for the equivalent offer for international customers, but no news so far.
So if you have been wanting to try out TSS, this is THE opportunity. I have seen the discounted price of $3.50, but never this low, so I'll be getting my beloved Leo collection and more. This is like a wish comes true, lol.
Photo credit: theshespace.com
Aromaleigh is one of the mineral makeup brands that I appreciate. Their pigments are of great quality, strong staying power and vibrant colours.
Last time when Aromaleigh released the LE Hot in the City collection, I was so intrigued. Just look at the colours, how can you afford not to get them?
The shades retailed $8 a jar which was a bit more than what I normally pay for my pigments. So when the collection went on 25% sale to retire, plus an offer of extra 20% discount store-wide, I grabbed a few important shades at $4.80 each.
This is one beautiful collection that I couldn't manage to skip. I got 6 jars and am going to use the website description for the shades.
Top row: Heat wave (warm golden luster with iridescent pink highlights and tiny golden sparkles)
Middle row: Socialite (roses, mauves and browns in a lustrous frost with bright sparks of pinky mauve) and Italian Ice (sweet and tart bright lemon yellow with pretty pink sparkles throughout)
Bottom row: Swelter (lustrous tangerine with a pink iridescent highlight and contrasting purple sparkles), Lady Liberty (lustrous smokey blue green frost, the shade of weathered copper) and Coney Island (joyous green apple luster with bright sparks of green).
I picked the 3 free sample from the same collection as well: Girl's Night Out (warm purple frost with bright green sparkles), 24 hours (deep coppered garnets, smooth and lustrous with tiny sparkles of gold and pink) and Hustle & Bustle (a warm coppery brown shade with iridescence of pearlized greens and roses). I was happy that I get to try out a good selection of shades from this collection.
The bottom right corner is a sample of Sylvie - a mineral Colour Creme for lips.
I bought samples of Aromaleigh's Valentine collection before and really loved them. The only reasons I don't shop there often are the shipping cost (flat rate $5 for any order under $40 which isn't necessary fair if I only order a few samples) and the higher price ($8/ jar).
Sorry I couldn't post about this collection any sooner, as the order just arrived yesterday. The collection is sold out already, but there will be great ones on the site and more to come. Right now, you can save 20% on Aromaleigh with code "virgo20" till September 6. This discount even applies to the weekly 25% off items.
Talking about sales, The She Space also has 20% off all full sized eye pigments until September 7 - including LEs (which comes down to $3.60/ jar). You'll have to open different windows to check out all the collections, and then put the shades' names in the box at the sale page.
Now this might be the chance that I was waiting for when posting about the Leo collection. Should I get it now? If you are in the US, join TSS's Savvy Shoppers Club for extra 15% rebate on your purchases. Similar program that works for International orders is in the work. I can't wait.
Photo credit (the first picture): aromaleigh.com
Dear Santa,
I know it's only August, and I know you are not supposed to make an appearance for another 4 months. But it's my birthday today, and there is no Birthday Santa, can you please bring me this Leo collection from The She Space for my birthday and I promise to be good until Christmas? What, 4 months is not long enough? Oh alright, for the whole year, until my next birthday. 'K?
That was my childish joke, but since day 1 when Heather announced the Astrology theme (way back at the beginning of the year), I kept wondering what the Leo collection would look like. I already planned to buy the whole set, not knowing what colours they are yet. Silly huh?
And the time has come, the Leo collection came out late July, and it was right on!!! Honestly, this is my favorite collection among all the Astrology collections TSS has so far, and maybe among all TSS collections I've seen - after the Cindy collection (LE). That's partly because it is for my astrology sign (enough said, right?), and also because it has some gorgeous yellow shades (I can't never have enough yellow). Just look at these 3.
Tame That Shrew! is described as a "twinkling pure gold with a wink of sparkling bronze". This would probably work best as a wash colour or highlight, when you feel a bit adventurous away from your regular matte off-white highlighter. I would probably use it in the inner corner of the eyes as well, to bright up the eyes for a more awake look.
Claim the Stage Baby is a "rich egyptian gold with a hint of magenta and gold sparkle". This could be a middle lid colour, paired up with Tame That Shrew above in the inner corner. Just a little dab right in the middle of your lid, this colour can work wonder. If you prefer it as a crease or outer corner colour, maybe extend Tame That Shrew toward the middle lid, or pair with another contrast colour. Lol, you know my love with colours, I wouldn't suggest any neutral colour, would I? Lions and Witches, a "fabulous sunshine gold with varied iridescent winking shimmer". Boy, this is a bright colour or what? When I first started out with TSS pigments, I kept staring at the colours, wondering how I could find a use for them. A year down the road now, I would use these bold colours for weekend looks, toning it down with a wash colour, just to emphasize the outer end of the eyes.
Another reason for me to love this collection is that there are complimentary colours to the main yellow shade - like copper/bronze, and gold with taupe, pink or turquoise hints. Makeup looks are endless with these babies. Is that interesting enough for ya?
The collection is LE but will be up on the site until all the Astrology collections are out, i.e. the end of the year at least, so I'm gonna hopefuly wait for a sale. I need to save first :-)
On a side note, the LE August collection called Utterly Fabulous Fall was also released at beginning of the month, with 45 colours - a huge collection! But I'm loyal, as long as Leo isn't mine yet, I won't think of any other colection. Or maybe I can get them together, lol... Overly excited!
Photo credit: theshespace.com
My order from The She Space came in on Friday, but I didn't have time to open it until tonight. Talk about busy!!!
The envelop is small but always contains joy and colours when I open it. If you recall, I mentioned what I ordered in the Sale Alert post a month ago. Yes, it normally takes about a month for the order from TSS to get here - I guess that is the only down side of TSS.
Here's the Hope Quest quad: Clock-wise from top left: Hope Nomatter What, I am Abundant, I Bask in My Own Light, and I Celebrate ME. 
There're certainly 2 more jars of Hope Nomatter What but they are nicely wrapped with little note cards, so I didn't open them. I don't normally buy purple shadows, but considering the great cause behind this quad, I wanted to support Heather. And I know a few friends who love purple, so it works out well. Heather recently added Hope Quest 2 - Embracing your Natural Beauty. Same concept, different message. The shades are taupe/plum kinda tone. So now you have more options to choose from, if you decide to jump on the sparkle wagon.
The baggies of One Little Dress look fun, as always with any LE collection from TSS. Quite a nice range of spring colours. I like bold, strong summer colours for sure, but this collection might be more appropriate for work. And they would certainly be used more often, as there are 5 days of work a week :-) I personally prefer using the products from these piggies than from full sized jars, don't know why. Probably too much goodness in a jar overwhelmes me. I have been ordering more piggies than jars and the good thing is they only cost .50 each, aren't too costly to collect.
The 20 free piggies intrique me quite a bit with the blushes, Cashmere Kisses, Cashmere Stockings and Cashmere Sun, as I haven't owned any of them. You can click on the picture to enlarge, to be able to see the shades' names on the baggies. Interestingly, I don't have any of the 10 shadow samples that Heather sent either. Plus the 2 additional samples I put in (Far Too Free and Faith Without Words), my sample collection grows fast with the arrival of this order.
This is another haul dated quite a while back when Heather had a sale on permanent colours - full sizes. I have had quite enough green and yellow shades, so I went with pink/red tone this time. I took this picture with flash so you can see all the sparkles in the jars. From L-R: Top row: Kitty Kat, Laughing Princess, Halos and Horns; Bottom row: Little Miss Bliss, Storybook Love, and Killer Bees. Aren't they gorgeous? How am I going able to dip my brush in one of these jars? They are so pretty to touch. Dilema, I know.
My pigment collection outgrows the make-shift container that I store them in. Looks familiar? Yep, it is the box that Valentines or Christmas chocolate comes with. Not counting palettes, lip products, etc., I certainly need some orgnization. Just wish I had a IKEA around here to snag a Helmer to store all my makeup and nail polish. Or at least a RS To Go from Office Depot. Until I can hunt one of these down for my growing stash, I just have to find a way to organize it somehow. A bigger chocolate box, maybe, lol.
Thanks for stopping by.
Remember my The She Space's Hope Quest 2009 post? Heather just offered an incentive yesterday that is really hard to turn down: with a $30 purchase, we will get a 20-pc sample kit (10 eye colors, 2 blushes, Cashmere Kisses, Cashmere Stockings and the not-yet-release Cashmere Sun) for free. No code needed, the kit will be added automatically when the order is processed.
FYI, Cashmere Stockings are primer/finishing powder in one, and are available in 3 levels. Cashmere Kisses are Cashmere Stockings with a bit of colours added, come in 4 shades. Visit the Face and Lips section for pictures.
The samples are normally sold at $.50 or $1 each, depending on the product type. So all together, you get to try out different products from TSS in a $14 value kit for free. Now did I get you all excited?
I just put in an order today. I got a Hope Quest quad and can't wait to give the jars of Hope Nomatter What shadows (and maybe all the rest of the quad) to my friends who need a bit of colour in their life to stay positive. I also got a full sample collection of One Little Dress (April LE), as this is such a beautiful colleciton with a variety of different shades and tones. These cute little baggies could make any girl happy. I added a sample of Far Too Free from Pisces and Faith Without Words from Taurus from the Astrology collections at the end to make a perfect $30 order :-)
If you haven't heard of The She Space before, go check it out. You won't regret you did. Also visit the message board for more information and swatches posted by Heather's customers. Let me know if you get something from her. Thanks for stopping by.
Photo credit: The She Space
The very first post on this blog, I want to dedicate to a very good cause - The She
Space's Hope Quest 2009.
First, for some of you who don't know The She Space (TSS), it's a MMU (Mineral Makeup) business (About Face Cosmetics) owned by Heather. She is extremely talented in spreading her magic on many wonderful eyeshadows. Just visit the message board on her website to see what her customers think about her and her products. I came to know TSS through a friend who started me on MAC and converted me to TSS soon after. My MMU journey started with TSS last summer, and I stick around ever since, ordering quite a few LE collections. And let me tell you, Heather's love to mineral pigments is endless and therefore she cannot wait once she has an idea of a new collection. They kept popping up on the website like mushrooms after a heavy shower of rain - and I meant it in a good way, of course. I was lucky to join the "sparklecrack community" just in time for her most famous LE collection ever (Cinderella Dumped Her Fella) in July 2008. I love lots of colours from this collection and many more from later collections. Just browse around and give your eyes a treat of colours. Please don't blame me if you become one of the addicts of TSS's :-) I am waiting for the Leo collection to come out as part of Heather's Astrology collections, as a great way to give myself a birthday present.
Now on to the main topic of this post: Hope Quest 2009.
Heather has recently been informed that one of her customers took her own life. She felt that when somebody is feeling down, an act of kindness or an offer of hope might be more helpful than we could imagine. Just someone who cares. 
There needs to be hope (Heather's own words). What Heather did was create a quad of 4 purple shades of shadow (her customer's favorite colour), each was specially named with the Hope theme. When a Hope Quest 2009 quad is purchased, it would come with 2 free jars of pigments that are meant to be passed along (with a little card attached). By showing someone that you care and give them a small token of hope through a beautiful purple shadow, you could save life. I am not affiliated with TSS in any way (except for being a customer) but am passing along the information, hoping some of you out there would come out and support Heather in this very thoughtful act of caring. Click here to go to Hope Quest 2009.
Thank you for stopping by.
Photo credit: The She Space