My Cherryculture stuff finally arrived

Eyeshadow Trio Ceramic
Eyeshadow Trio Sweet Lagoon
Concealer in a Jar Medium
Black Label Lipstick Dusty Rose
Diamond Sparkle Lipstick Sparkling Salmon
A Free Cherryculture Lip tint
MegaShine Lip Gloss Sweetheart
MegaShine Lip Gloss Perfect
MegaShine Lip Gloss Beige

I made an order on Cherryculture for some Nyx Cosmetics 6 weeks ago. It took them 2 weeks to send out because of the increased orders for the 20% off. It also took another 4 weeks for it to arrive within UK and go through custom. When I contacted them to ask them what date they sent it out, they plainly replied "Tracking is unavailable for International order. Your 2nd package was sent on April 7. 2008 " lol I only wanted to know when it was sent out so that I can estimate when it would arrive. So I thought my package was probably lost or something as I still didn't receive it after 6 weeks. I was really surprised when my postman knocked at my door to give me my parcel. Shipping was about $20.00 to send internationally which I do find a little expensive but considering the Nyx Cosmetics were cheap to buy so I went ahead. On the parcel, it actually cost them $10.20 to send which is just about half of what they charged. For some reason they sent me 2 the same shade Nyx Trio Eyeshadow which is pretty weird but I don't having another one. :D I bought all Nyx products as I heard that it was a good cheap dupes for Mac products. All this for $32 :D I love the smell of the Megashine Lip gloss. It reminds me of bubblegum and are very pigmented.

More Mineral makeup samples

lol so I think I'm addicted to sampling from different companies. I'm still actually looking for my 'dream' mineral makeup that will feel creamy and blend in with my skin to create that flawless natural look. I'm need to save money but when I see any mmu companies that are having sales, I tend to take advantage of it. I ordered some Joppa samples when they were offering free delivery which finally arrived after 1 month. I also got a surprise package from Silk Naturals. I have no idea why they sent me it because I only ordered once from them and I have already received that one package. I did send them an email but I never got a reply back so I'll think I will keep them :D Your know...so that it don't go to waste.

I haven't really had time to test them out yet so I don't know if they are that good. They actually sent me one wrong sample, I was suppose to get Medium #2 instead of Medium Light #2. I also got free samples :D I love samples.

Full Formula, L-R: Medium Light #2, Medium Light #3, Medium #3

Their formulas in 2 are peachy pink colours and the formula in 3 are actually more yellow beige colour. I think Medium #3 should work well with my skin though I haven't tested it yet as I've been so busy lately.

Simple Radiance Formula, L-R: French Toast, Honey Bisque, Prairie Wheat, Nutmeg

In Silk Naturals' package, I received another foundation mixing set, Perfecting Powder, Cherub Mineral Glow, Damsel Lip gloss and Mascara. I have bought their foundation mixing set in the pass and did like the fact that I was able to mix my own shade. They use silk powder in their products so it made my skin feel very very smooth when I apply the foundation on. However, I do think the coverage is quite sheer and would suit someone who haves a good complexion. I love Silk Natural's dupe of Nars Orgasm. It's called Climax and is a cheap alternative. It's so pretty! I wished they did them in even bigger sizes.

I finally ordered full sized MMU :D

I bought a full size Abyssinian and Primer for combination skin during the Easter hunt sale on Meow Cosmetic's webpage. I also got some more samples to test and wanted to test their undereye concealer too. At the moment I have dry skin but usually in the summer time, it's combination so this will come in handy for summer as opposed to applying silicone based primers. I love the way it feels so smooth after applying it on my skin and is a great canvas prior to applying mineral makeup. Silk powders could also be used as primers too but I really like this one as it doesn't give me a white cast and its incredibly smooth.

I bought a munchkin size naughty Abyssinian which is 8g, about the same size as edm full size foundation. It's a bit more expensive than edm. As Meow have 3 different formulas, the prices are not the same and cost more as you go up. I like their Flawless feline foundation but it does cost $15 on it's own whilst edm, when you buy in a kit, it works out about $5 :D I really like the finish and it doesn't make me look cakey as compared to edm intensive formula. I have dry skin so when I buff mineral makeup into my skin, it irriates it and I get dry patches. With Meow Cosmetics mineral I only need to buff it in a little and it's also looks and feel a bit creamy. I'm still waiting for their next sale to get the Fierce Abysinnian so that I can mix the two together for when I tan during the summer.

So I finally bought edm full size minerals. I got the custom kit which cost about £16 for 6 items. Shipping was about £8 and all this stuff came up to about £18 without shipping. Not bad considering if you bought elsewhere you'll probably be paying more.

I bought winged butter in original glow and intensive. I actually prefer original glow when my skin looks good. It give a really healthy glowly look but the downside is that its very sheer so I only get to use it when my skin looks good. Original glow actually looks darker than the intensive formula. It's a really nice formula to wear for summer and I find that it goes well with my dry skin aswell. I also got samples sizes of Golden medium in different formulas so that I could use during summer.

Edm biggest bowl is about the size of a cereal bowl. It's slightly bigger than those Chinese bowls we have at dinner. They're really worth the money, its only £2! I use it to swirl my minerals in it and I hardly use all of them. The downside is that they have the cup size imprinted at the bottom of each bowls meaning when you swirl your brushes into it, it doesn't pick up all the minerals and sometimes gets caught at the bottom.

When I ordered my full sizes mmu from edm, I was suppose to get sample sizes of their blushes but somehow it got missed out in my package :( Anyways I contacted their customer service and they sent me these 2 blushes straight away and it arrived very fast. Thumbs up for their Customer service! They reply very fast to my emails, usually within 3 hours. Really spot on service. I haven't tried their summer stroll blush but I really like their walkee talkee blush which was suppose to be similar to their siesta blush. It's got this shimmery pinky finish to it. It looks dark in the jar but when you apply it, it really pretty.

L-R Flat top brush, long handle kabuki brush

There's loads of raves about the new edm brushes so I thought I really had to get my hands on them. I'm still waiting for the angled brush as it's out of stock at the moment. Their brushes are unbelievably soft. It so soft that you can hardly feel it brushing across your face. These brushes are not that dense as compared to Lumiere's long hand kabuki brush which isn't really a downside for me as I find Lumiere's brushes to be too dense that it doesn't allow you to brush minerals in your face more freely. I actually have trouble using Lumiere's long handle kabuki brush as its too stiff and when I buff my skin, it feels like I'm exfoliating my face and it does makes my face shed skin. edm brushes on the other hand are not as dense or firm which is a good thing. The sizes of the brushes are really cute and could be easily packed to go on holiday with.

Meow Cosmetics Samples

Well since I couldn't find an exact shade and also wanted to test other minerals,Meow Cosmetics have quite a few raves. At first their name sounded very cheesy and their website wasn't as nice as edm but I got pass that bit and managed to order some samples and I could say I really like Meow Cosmetics and it's definately a keeper.

I'm a half naughty half fierce Abysinnian which is in their terms means I'm inbetween Medium to medium dark with a yellow and beige skintone. Their foundation seems really catered for Asians with many yellow combinations. I like how that once you found your colour, you only need to go up or down to find the best level of shade for you. Samples cost $1 each (50p each) and if you buy 15 or more samples, shipping would be $6 and you also get 1-2 free samples with your items too.

I kind of knew naughty Abysinnian would match me before it arrived. Lol I swatched it in a funny way. If you go to Camellia rose's blog on vox, you will find a chart which I used. I basically turned the opposite direction of my monitor with a mirror in my hand reflecting the shades on the monitor and my face. I also did it at my boyfriend's house too just to check the shade was ok and it did seem a match. :D Though I wouldn't recommend it to others. I think water and mineral foundation intensifies the colour more. When I received my actual sample of naughty Abysinnian, it was a very good match but sometime I still find the colour a little dull. I also did swatches of the different shades I got on paper and placed it near my face, facing a mirror and abysinnian did seem like the only one that matches my face.

Meow Cosmetics have 3 formulas in which I prefer the flawless feline, the full coverage foundation. I love the fact that I only need a little bit and I don't have to buff it into my face as much as edm internsive formula.I also Boought got myself some eyeshadows and blush samples.

Everyday Minerals Foundation Samples

(photo of a mixture of shades I bought in 4 different forumlas)

This is a very late review...........being an amateur at makeup, I ended up ordering a lot of minerals samples as I didn't know what tone I was and mainly because Everyday Minerals have very very bad swatches on their website. There were lots of talks about EDM being good and a cheap alternative to Bare Escentuals. Samples are free but you have to pay for shipping which works out about £2.50 and your only limited to 1 sample kit per an order. In the sample kit, you will get 3 foundations shades in any formula, concealer and a blush. Their samples are very generous so it isn't too bad at £2.50 for shipping. With edm samples, they now have sifters inside them to stop the powders falling out but sometimes when they don't put the sifters on tighly, you would still get some powders come out of it's packaging. Anyways as I didn't have a clue what skintone I was I kind of ordered a lot of samples as I didn't want to wait 3 weeks for each packaging to arrive and then to find out that I need to reorder again because the shades wasn't right. I also didn't want to send or post my images online for strangers to advise me with which shade I should try as I'm quite a paranoid person and also still camera shy. :D But for those brave people who don't mind, you could always email edm customer services or post up your picture on the edm forum.

As you could see from the images, edm have very very bad swatches on their website so unless you want to end up with the wrong shades, don't get samples according to what you see on their site. Also the way they have categorised shades into Warm, golden, cool, beige, buff or olive is really all over the place. One would think their swatches are roughly around the same colours and ranged from light to dark but that isn't really the case. It's a shame as it's very frustrating having to reorder samples again and again. Well they are coming out with a new site soon so hopefully they will get their swatches right this time round.

As I have said before, I ordered alot of samples in different shades and formulas. And yup shades does changes slightly with each formula. My camera isn't too good at catching certain colours so the shades will differ slightly.

Swatches on a piece of white A4 Paper. I mixed the mineral with a little water--->

Night Mask

Night masks are used before you sleep and doesn't involves washing off. It's basically a moisturising cream/gel/lotion that you apply on your face and allow it to sink in. One of the most well-known Asian brands would be Laneige who does a Water sleeping pack for night time use but does cost around £15 for 80ml. For the girl on a budget, I was reading reviews and the O'slee version 'clear spa sleeping mask' was considered similiar to Laneige one, but for a much cheaper price of around £6.50 for 50ml.



O'slee Clear Spa sleeping mask arrived in a nice packaged box. It's a clear blueish gel which you apply on at night as a mask. Your suppose to apply every 2 nights and a little gel goes a long way. It's non-oily and does sinks into your skin fast and easily once you apply in on your face. If I'm right, all O'slee products contain rose essence which I'm starting to think my skin doesn't seem to like it. At first it seems moisturising but after a while I started to notice I seem to break out sometimes with little spots filled with pus in the morning so maybe it is the rose essence. Actually to me, I feel that its comparable to any night creams that sinks into your face fast. Creams that sinks into your skin fast that I have used are L'oreal White perfect night cream and Lancome Blanc Expert Night cream. So my review for this product is so and so for now.

Silk Pillow Covers

Most of us have good skin during the summer months but when winter comes along, we start noticing that our skin tends to get more drier and even flaky. This happens to me all the time during winter and my skin starts getting dry during the day revealing the flakes. My skin is also extremely dry when I wake up from the heating thats always on during the cold months. I'm someone who toss and turn in bed alot just to get a comfortable position whilst I'm sleeping and I do believe all these tossing and turning are harsh on my face as I use a cotton pillow cover so naturally it is harsh. I started researching if silk pillow covers were better or not and found out that I was right. Silk pillow covers are extremely soft and easy on the face. It's also great at preventing the anti-ageing process and the great thing about it is that when you apply cream on at night, the silk pillow won't adsorb or rub off. Lastly, it prevents bed head and have good benefits for your hair.

So I had to decide if I should buy a branded silk pillow or just one off ebay? The Silkskin or a Silk Charmeuse from ebay? The Silkskin brand had lots of good reviews online and always published in magazines but it cost £35 for just a piilow case. Actually I was shocked at the price, who would spend that much on a pillow. As I'm someone on a tight budget, I really couldn't afford it and needed a cheaper alternative so I resulted in searching on ebay. lol I'm a big ebay fan as I'm proper frugal so that where I get a lot of things from. I found one from a seller called feeling_pampered based in USA who sells various silk items. I could have got one from a UK seller but I wanted to save money. I opted for the pink pillow cover and eyemask which came in deal and I paid £16 in total including in shipping. It does still seem like a lot of money for a piece of cloth but well worth it. There are lots of sellers selling silk pillows and its up to you who you buy from. I always check their feedback as sometimes, if the item is good, the buyer will leave feedback about the product more than the service. I searched for silk Charmeuse. According to Wikipedia "Charmeuse is a lightweight fabric woven with a satin weave, where the warp threads cross over three or more of the backing (weft) threads. The front side of the fabric has a satin finish- lustrous and reflective- whereas the back has a dull finish. It can be made of silk, or a synthetic lookalike such as polyester. It differs from plain satin in that charmeuse is softer and lighter in weight."

It arrived very fast considering it was from USA and was wrapped very well in an lovely organza pouch and looked good enough to as a gift. I had to hand wash it first and it dried within a day. After self-testing it for a few weeks now, I am happy with the results. I don't get as much flakies as before. It also meant I don't get anymore flakes when I apply mineral makeup so I would definately recommend it to everyone and they do make lovely presents. As for the eyemask, I was using a cotton eyemask from muji before and switched to this silk one. The eyemask is big and covers alot of areas and doesn't absorb the moisture from your skin. I tried various ways of putting the eyemask on so that it wouldn't slip but yup it does feel uncomfortable still and sometime hurts eventhough I have a small head. :D

Bare Escentuals

I'm a real amateur when it comes to makeup. I did experience with makeup when I was younger but only used it on special occasions. Most of the time, I thought I didn't really need it as my skin was doing quite well. Now at the age of 23 I have to confess that I can't get away without makeup! Dark circles were never much of a problem before until I started doing my last project for my degree. I practically had to stay up very late just to do my project as I left it till last. Yup it's my own fault and now my dark circles won't go away. I also have a lot of broken red vein on my cheeks which I had since I was younger and an uneven skintone from the sun so I really do have lots to cover. My solution was that I really needed makeup to cover all the imperfections. I needed something that looked natural and didn't look too obvious I was wearing makeup.

I came acrossed mineral makeup when I was browsing through a forum and one of the most exposed brand was Bare Minerals also known as Bare Escentuals. Being an amateur makeup nooby, I bought tiny little samples off an ebay seller for £2.50 each excluding postage! It was ridiculously expensive but I really didn't want to get wrong colour. I bought light, medium, medium beige and medium tan. I'm Chinese with a yellow skintone and have a light to medium tone. I thought medium beige was a good match so I ended up buying the full size. When my full sized jar bare escentual arrived, I applied it on straight away. Well actually I applied is quite heavierly and then I realised, oh no It's actually too dark for my skin and didn't match at all. Although I bought it a very long while ago, I do remembered I liked the finishing. It made my skin glow and look healthy. Apart from that I thought I really needed to get a mineral makeup that matches my skintone more. Actually the foundation colours for mineral makeup can be quite forgiving if you use a little bit. However in my case, I have lots to cover up so I prefer heavier coverage.

So would I recommend Bare minerals/escentuals? I don't think I would buy it again but I did like how it made my skin glow and look healthy but colourwise, it sucks! Although Bare Escentuals is very forgiving in terms of colours, but once you start adding more layers, you will notice the colour difference. So for people who might prefer a medium to full coverage, I would look for other mineral companies. They only place you could buy it from which is accessable would be from qvc but even that is expensive when you include the postage and packaging. A more cheaper option is to buy it from ebay for a more cheaper price. Also just a little note for everyone in uk, Bare Escentuals will be opening a counter in Selfridges very soon. I also bought their Flawless Face brush and I thought it was unbelievable crap. The bristles were hard and it felt like I was exfoliating my face. I even had flakies when buffing the mineral into my face so I'm staying away from their brushes! I also bought their duo container of well rested eyes and bisque and thought it was good. One was salmon colour and one was yellow but sadly It didn't cover my dark circle well enough but it did look natural but I'm pretty sure it would work on someone who have lighter circles than mine.