Remember this post? It was so much fun to write. :-)

When was the last time I posted something other than a product review?

I have all these little tips and tricks lying around, miscellaneous stuff I've found, things I'm happy about, random thoughts no one but you might be interested in, questions I need answers to, and a blog to tell others all about them, and... I still post friggin' product reviews. And it just sometimes happens that I want to talk about something other than cosmetics and make-up.

Sooo, it's time for Random Tidbits, Episode II.

Having a salary is so liberating: I can finally delve into the wonderful world of mineral make-up and order product samples from all those brands I set my eyes on a long while ago.

There's of course Fyrinnae whose eyeshadows, Lip Lustres and Pixie Epoxy I want to try, and Adorned With Grace where I hope to find the perfect match amongst their foundation, after all they are a MMU company creating foundation shades for people with yellow/olive skintones. Sagu called my attention to Sassy Minerals a while ago, and I've seen some great swatches of their eyeshadows on various blogs, so I'm probably going to raid their store in the future.

There's also LaurEss and their Neutralize corrector that I want to try, and though I've lost interest in Pure Luxe a while ago, there's still a small order I want to make, because I find it's hard to live without two of their eyeshadows from their Fall '09 Collection: Boy Toy and Tryst.


By the way, Pure Luxe also carries one of my favorite eyeshadows of all time: Golden Sands.




It's a gorgeous charcoal-brown with golden sheen and, according to PL, bronze shimmer. Well, the bronze shimmer is only visible in daylight, otherwise it's more sort of greenish to me. It's a very complex color, hard to describe, but until I tried to swatch it, I hadn't even noticed the bronze. I was totally convinced that it has gold and green shimmer in it, but apparently there's no such thing mentioned on PL's website.

Oh well, it's still a HG for me as it goes perfectly with my skintone, and somehow manages to be both subtle and extraordinary at the same time. It's great if you just want a wash of color on your lids, perfect for workdays when you want to look polished but not made-up and is also an excellent base for a more complex look created of browns, greens or even bronze/purple eyeshadows.



It wasn't love at first sight but now I couldn't live without it and will definitely get the full size when I place an order at PL.

Now comes my question. Back in Nuremberg I got a small jar of virgin coconut oil from Tropicai, an importer of fair-trade coconut food and cosmetic products.




It smells amazing: it has the purest, most delicious coconut scent I've ever encountered. I did use it on my short, wavy, bordering on curly, and annoyingly frizzy hair on a few occasions and got great results: only half a pea size (or even less) made my hair much softer and manageable.

But that's not the point. (Not even if this is a beauty blog and I should be telling you about things exactly like this. Will do so though, soon.)

The point is that ever since I got a sniff of that jar of coconut oil, I've been obsessed with everything coconut: the smell, the taste, everything!

So my question is: can you help out a girl with a serious fixation on coconut and let her know about your favorite coconut products? I'm mostly thinking about cosmetics here (body-lotion, hand-cream, shampoo), but you're more than welcome to share your favorite coconut recipe with me too. ;-) It doesn't matter if it's not available here in Hungary (although it'd be great if it were): there's always E-Bay to hunt these things down on, and dreaming about something unattainable has its benefits too.

Things to exclude from your suggestions: LUSH's coconut-scented products (I know them.. Wish they'd drop the vetiver...), Balea's coconut body-lotion and hand cream (Tried it, hated it, sorry.), The Body Shop's coconut line (I know about it, will hopefully sink my teeth into the body butter soon.)

So enable me girls and feed my coconut craze, will you? Thanks a bunch!  

Before I start this small review I'll seize the opportunity to welcome all my fellow Hungarian readers here on Binary Star. So many of you have visited me today and I truly hope that what you found here was to your liking and that you could benefit from my reviews.

Let's get down to business then. A few months ago I placed another small order at Pure Luxe and got myself some more eyeshadows. Half of them I managed to swatch before the truly dull days of winter set in: these are the ones I'll share with you today. The other half: let's do a little dance and pray that the sun comes out of hiding, because I'm not willing to lower my standards and give you desaturated pictures the colors of which are way off.

(In the bottom right corner of every picture there's a wet [top] and a dry [bottom] swatch of the shadow.)


And now, without further ado, I give you...








Asp is more layed-back color, a sort of pinkish gold-beige with multicolor shimmer. Don't let the shimmer part fool you though: it's a perfectly wearable color that any teenage relation of yours will probably leave where it is, not because it's not beautiful, but because the shimmer is very low-key and elegant, and not even visible when you apply it to your lids. It's there, make no mistake, but it's rather something that gives Asp its unique quality and not an in-your-face kind of thing.







Cooler than I expected, Carnivale is a pretty purple with a bit of pink shimmer, and probably not something that will make your heart flutter in your chest every time you look at it. At least I was not impressed. Nonetheless, this is a color I'll reach for time and time again to accentuate the green in my eyes and to create a not-so-ordinary smoky eye.








Oh. My. God.

Now this baby deserves all the praise I can give it. It's a beautiful taupe/dark-beige/mid-brown with gold and pink shimmer, but looking at it from afar it's just an incredibly elegant gold color, the kind I've been dreaming about all my life. What's missing here (I don't miss it at all though) is the slight orange undertone all gold eyeshadows tend to have and that made me give up on ever being able to wear gold.

What an incredible find! If you've been hesitant about wearing gold on your eyelids so far then this sure is a product for you to try.







A very unassuming color at first (and unfortunately the dry swatch came out a bit awkward too), but it really is lovely: it's a greenish grey (or vice versa?) with gold and multicolored shimmer, and it looks lovely on its own or paired with some other greens, like EDM's Cypress or In The Garden.  

2008 was a year that had brought many changes into my life, including cosmetics and makeup. Remember my rant at the beginning of last year bemoaning the fact that we have such limited access to beauty products here in Hungary? Well, the situation could still be improved, but along the way I discovered the miracle that is online shopping, starting with Everyday Minerals and then moving on to eBay and other online stores. So yeah, I guess I could say 2008 was rich in anxious anticipation of much awaited little parcels and boxes, new discoveries and sometimes disappointments, and receiving inspiration and great tips from so many fellow beauty- and fashion bloggers.

Because of the above mentioned changes I did not manage to review all my precious discoveries back in 2008, but that won't stop me from listing them here (with the promise of discussing them later), because I think it'd be an absolute crime not to share them with you.

I would like to thank Grayburn for bringing us fellow bloggers together to do this project and for supervising it all the way. Thank you dear!

To me 2008 rolled by in the spirit of discovering mineral makeup and then taking notice of the unfortunate fact that my skin just won't tolerate mineral foundation in its present state. I've been struggling with PCOS for the better (?) part of my life and I've been dreaming of having perfect skin ever since. (Fine, it doesn't have to be perfect, but one or two zits less would be great...) It seems I won't be able to achieve that until I consult with an endocrinologist this year.

Otherwise though I just love MMU, and will now introduce you to my favorite items from several different brands. I've noticed that most brands excel at producing and prefecting at least one type of product, and it seems to be just as true of MMU companies.



I tend to favor those of Everyday Minerals: they offer a huge selection of shades and produce really unique combinations of different base colors, shimmers, sparkles and whatnot. They're quite cheap and can be bought in small amounts which means less waste of both money and product.

My favorite go-to blush is Best Friends. It looks absolutely scary and unwearable in the jar, but once you blend it into your skin it becomes the most beautiful matte, rosy, just-came-in-from-the-cold shade.
I wear it practically every day now, especially when I don't want anything fancy and just want to create a low-key look.




I'll have to vote for Pure Luxe products in this category. Their shadows can't be beaten. They're wearable, vibrant, creative, long-lasting, come in a huge selection of shades and you can buy generous samples for as cheap as 1$. (Not to mention that their shipping prices are very International Customer friendly. ;-)

I have 15 or so colors so far, but I'm definitely planning to order more. The ones I recommend are: Asp, Twinkle, Seashore, English Ivy, Enlighten and Splendor.

Will review them soon!



You hear raves about Silk Naturals lippies everywhere and with good reason: these are the most gorgeous, wearable and moisturizing lip products I've ever come across, and I have tried many lippies in my life, believe me.

Right now I have seven of them, but I'm definitely ordering more as soon as our currency gets a bit stronger. *blushes*

My review of them can be found here.



Back to Pure Luxe now: I find their cream Eraser perfect eyeshadow primer ever created, though unfortunately it can't touch my face lest I break out with ever more zits due to the silicone in it...

It's not perfect in that it doesn't contribute anything towards mattifying my skin, but on my eyelids it does real miracles. Try it sometime but make sure to read my review on it before you do!




I have not been impressed with any of the mascaras that MMU companies make, but I do so love my Clinique Naturally Glossy Mascara in Jet Brown. I've been blessed with relatively long lashes but I need something that'll lend them some color and volume, and this mascara does the trick perfectly.

It's a favorite of many women who don't want any extra ooomph, but merely wish to accentuate their lashes with a pretty brown tint in a preferably clump-free way.






I haven't bought the full size version of this product yet, but I received a very generous amount of samples (6x10 ml) from a very friendly SA in my very favorite drugstore, and I'm absolutely certain that I'll invest in this cleanser as soon as I run out of my samples. The first time I used this stuff I was blown away. It removed all the makeup from my face without having to vigorously rub it with the cotton pad, which was definitely a first for me. According to instructions it doesn't need to be washed off, but I prefer to follow up with my regular gel cleanser just to have my skin free of chemicals.





I gushed about this at the end of November and I was amazed at how long-lasting this product is. Well, I bought my first tube in the middle of September and lo and behold, it only ran out the day before yesterday. I say that's pretty good mileage for a facial cleanser; at least I tend to go through them like crazy.

It's a very concentrated gel with a nice aquatic scent and the ability to cleanse your face without drying it. It also doubles as an exfoliant and a chemical one at that which, in my opinion, is far more gentle and effective than physical exfoliants.






In all honesty this product was never meant for my oily, problem skin, yet I'm on my second tube now. It's the perfect night cream and the perfect base for when I want to tone any of my serums or skin treatments down a bit. (e.g.: AHA, BHA, retinaldehyde)

It's unscented, contains no colorants, is preservative-free and hypoallergenic. Perfect for people with sensitive skin or anyone who doesn't want to irritate her/his skin more than necessary.

It also doubles as an eye cream for me.




I wish I could say that it's the best acne treatment as well, but I can't, though originally it's supposed to be just that. I mean, who's the idiot who put silicone into an anti-acne product?!?!?

Anyway, I used this for about a month and a half, and though I noticed some improvement first, it soon became obvious that the cyclomethicone in it is yet again making this product useless for me. My zits just weren't willing to disappear and I got those small zits that soon turn into full-fledged cystic acne that I get whenever I put any kind of silicone or mineral foundation onto my face. I hoped it was just what people nowadays call "purging", but sorry, I don't want to "purge" for one and a half months on end, thank you very much...

But (and that's a huge BUT, and the reason why I still mention it among my favorites) I did notice an impressive reduction in my wrinkles on my forehead (you know, the ones you get when your frown) and even around my nose. I guess that means that retinaldehyde (0.1%) and glycolic acid (6%) are capable of successfully fighting wrinkles, so if your skin tolerates silicones, a product with retinaldehyde might just be what you've been looking for all your life.

Be very careful though: retinaldehyde diminishes wrinkles through accelerating the turnover of your skin cells, meaning it's a powerful exfoliant, which leads us to two things:

1. Use a strong sunscreen (min. SPF 40 in my opinion, but 50 is better) whenever you use any kind of retinols on your face.
   
   
2. Be very very patient with your skin in the beginning, introduce it to retinols only very gradually, and never ever start with such a strong product as Diacneal. You'd better try Ystheal first and then slowly move on to stronger concentrations, lest your skin should become irritated by it. (You want to avoid irritating your skin, as it leads to the formation of free-radicals, which in turn results in aging.)

A lady I got to know on a Hungarian forum for women mixes her own blend of hyaluronic acid and vitamin B5 (ala Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel), and she was kind enough to share this miracle product of hers with me.

The results are immediate and simply amazing. Approaching 26 I still have no reason to worry about wrinkles (especially because worrying leads to more wrinkles ;-), but I do have some fine lines under my eyes, next to my lips and on my forehead. They're only visible when I smile or frown, but this product makes them almost invisible in all situations.

My Mum also loves this gel and, unlike me, she has quite a few wrinkles to get rid of, one the one hand because she's 64 and on the other because she'd been neglecting her skin all her life. This is the only product she's been religiously using ever since I introduced her to it, and that says a lot about this gel. She only uses things that really work and give instant, visible results, and boy does this gel deliver...

We also have a wrinkle correcting serum made by Clinians and we've both been seeing the same great results from that one, indicating the effectiveness of hyaluronic acid.









In this cold and dismal weather my Neonatura Cocoon EdP is a real godsend and though it doesn't smell better than it did in summer (nothing beats warm skin), it sure is even more comforting and pleasant.









This concludes my list of favorites in 2008, but the fun is by far not over. Head over to these beautiful ladies who each have their own favorites to show you:


Beautiful Makeup Search

Beauty 411

Beauty Talk

Beauty Tyrant

'*:.blu3.:*'

For The Love of Beauty

Grayburn

Life Of A Ladybug

lily loves mac

Make Do Style

Miss Whoever You Are

Perfume Shrine

Platinum Blonde Life

Searching the Inner Me

Slap Of The Day

The Beauty Alchemist

The non-blonde

Urbane Girl  

In the last few months I've been busy receiving packages. I love the thrill of hearing the doorbell ring, jumping up from my seat and welcoming the postman with a grin bordering on insane. :-D (I swear, it's only those few bucks I give him every once in a while that convince him to still approach our door. He would have fled ages ago otherwise...) And then, I like to dance around my pretty little package before opening it and dancing a bit more.

Today I got my Moleskine 18 month weekly planner, so that was reason enough for me to be cheerful all day. (Will review this one too. Until then, read about my Moleskine Plain Notebook here.)

Another package, namely my Pure Luxe sample package, arrived about a month ago, and since Grayburn was interested in reading about Pure Luxe's Eraser, I decided to review that and their Silk Dust first. (The latter one because I've been planning to hiss at Everyday Minerals for their stinky version of silk dust for a while now.)




Let me start my saying that I have pretty oily skin. Let me also tell you that ever since I started using Everyday Minerals' eye-shadows, I haven't been able to make them stay on longer than a few hours. I must admit, finding that my carefully applied make-up had once again sat into my creases and was reading a good book on how to annoy human beings made me pretty surly towards Everyday Minerals for a while.

Enter Pure Luxe's Eraser, and I soon found every single micronized particle of my eye-shadow stand at attention, laziness forgotten and ready to rock. :-)

If you look at the picture of the Eraser on Pure Luxe's website, you will get a pretty good, but unfortunately inaccurate idea of what it is like. Instead of being opaque, pigmented and beige, it's a thick, orange, unscented, semi-transparent gel which, when applied to one's face sparingly, becomes completely transparent and practically glides onto the skin. (See my pictures above for reference!)

It's very easy to work with, spreads really easily and dries down into a velvety finish after about 30 seconds or so. Once it's dry, it optically smoothes out your face and gets rid of fine wrinkles around eyes. (At least, it got rid of mine, but hey, I'm only 25 and should still be relatively wrinkle-free.) The Eraser is no miracle product, however, that will magically erase all your wrinkles: consider it's wrinkle-hiding properties a bonus, and don't expect to see... well, a miracle.

What Pure Luxe's Eraser does perfectly, however, is prime your skin so that make-up can stay put on it for much longer than on bare skin. For me, "much longer" means an entire day (at least 16 hours) without my make-up sliding off my face or my eye-shadow going on vacation, and as I said, my skin is very oily. (I wash my face in the morning, apply every mattifying product under the sun, and two hours later I look as if someone had pushed a slice of buttered bread into my face...) Unfortunately, it does all this without actually keeping my face oil-free (another high hope going to the drain...), so you might want to hold on to your mattifying products at least until you try it.

It is also capable of enhancing your make-up, like it did with my eye-shadows: they are much more vibrant, colorful and sparkly when applied on top of Pure Luxe's Eraser. By ordering a sample you get a fairly decent amount of product (perhaps not in the "Everyday Minerals sample" range, but close), so if you only use this on your lids like I do, it'll last you at least a month with using it every day. You really don't need much: for one eye-lid I use about the size of 1/6th of an average green-pea.

Prices:

Sample: 1/4 teaspoon in a sample jar = 2.5 $
5 ml airtight jar = 8 $
10 ml airtight jar = 16 $


Thank heavens I plucked up my courage and ordered Pure Luxe's Silk Dust! After a disastrous encounter with Everyday Minerals' Silk Dust (or more like Stink Dust...), I was afraid I'd never be able to try silk on my face.

You see, the first time I applied EDM's Silk Dust on my face, I did it with a wet brush. Almost seconds after application, I began to smell something very akin to the disgusting smell that lingers around public toilet facilities in the subways of Budapest. For a while I thought it was something seeping in through the open window, but after a while it dawned upon me that it was I who smelled this way. Pretty soon it also became obvious that the only new addition to my routine was EDM's Silk Dust, and after I washed it off, I put a tiny amount into the palm of my hand which immediately mixed with the natural moisture content of my skin and produced the same stinky smell.

Into the bin it went, along with all the paper tissues I used up while mourning something that could have been a great product otherwise and maybe a solution to my oily skin problem.

It seems I'm not the only one who had this experience with EDM's Silk Dust. I've found a few reviewers on Makeup Alley who were complaining about the same thing. Maybe it was just a bad batch, or maybe we have strange noses, but one thing is sure: I'll never buy silk dust from Everyday Minerals again, and I strongly encourage you to try that of Pure Luxe instead.




When it comes to the way these silk powders perform, I can only tell you about the one Pure Luxe makes, as that of EDM didn't stay on my face long enough for me to test it.

Because I have olive skin, it's very important for me that a product like this remain translucent and invisible on my skin, otherwise it'll turn my complexion beige, which is something I try to avoid at all cost. (Hey, I love my olive skintone and prefer not to look like a ghost!) Well, Pure Luxe's Silk Dust is easy to work into my skin and doesn't leave a whitish cast, provided I don't overload my brush and that I apply it layer-by-layer. Check out picture below!




When it comes to actually mattifying my skin and controlling oil... Well, I've already told you about my oily skin a bit earlier (I guess if my skin had a pet name, it would be "Buttercup"...), and my futile attempts at making it behave, and yes, this one's been a disappointment too. Maybe, just maybe, it does make my skin matte an hour longer, but that's it. Nothing special, nothing to rave about here.

Still, I like to put on a thin layer under my make-up, as silk has an antibacterial property, which is always welcome by me, but a little less so by my zits...

I haven't noticed any graininess with either of these products, but if I had to vote on which one is smoother, I'd say Pure Luxe's Silk Dust is more finely milled.

So. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make skin that likes to run amok chill out a bit and lay low? If you have, you're more than welcome to share the secret. ;-) Also, tell me if you've tried these products, and let us know how you liked them.

Cheers!
Izar