EOTD - A Patriotic look *Part II*

The other day I got my new toy MAC's Semi-precious "Hint of Sapphire" I tried on creating another "patriotic look" with red, white and blue. 

In the past I was very uncertain about blue eyeshadows, afraid that I will look like a hooker or some sort. But eversince my experiment with Lunasol's Ocean Scene eyes EX2 blue palette, I discover the whole new world of blue shadows.

For this look, these are my tools:

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralized Eyeshadow in Quartz Fusion and Hint of Sapphire

Kate Crysallise Quartz Eyeshadow in GN-1 , used upper right yellow for lower lash line tightlining

Majolica Majorca Jeweling Pencil in #71

Kiss Me Heroine Make smooth liquid liner

Majolica Majorca mascara

MAC Surf Baby! Bronzing Powder in Solar Riche

Paul & Joe blush in 08 Moccoran Orange

MAC Dazzleglass Creme in Sublime Shine

My finished look:

So, which of the patriotic look do you girls/guys prefer? Look #1 or #2?

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadow MAC *update* Hint-of-Sapphire

My family of Semi-Precious, don't you think they are like TVB colors?

Ever since my last post on my MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadow haul earlier, I said I had my eyes on the blue shadow "Hint of Sapphire" (all due to Miss Elain-Nio!! haha!)

I can't take this urge and so I went back to MAC (20 minutes prior to store's closing hour) to get the shadow before it's completely sold out! (I don't want anymore regrets, it's such a painful feeling!!!)

(Well, my hubby said I am only allowed 1 item per visit to MAC, but I m glad I got it... see below to see why!)

I am happy I got this Hint of Sapphire, as it has excellent veining and a good range of colors in a single palette. It looks like a little blue planet in itself... Mercury, perhaps?

I know there are no two identical semi-precious mineralize e/s based on the way they are baked. Some people would get e/s that have less veining...

I heard rants about this, and even see a thread where there is a girl that bought 4 e/s of the same color and deciding which one to keep:

I am lucky, mine has a range of deep blue, lighter lilac blue, greenish blue, and copper!

Swatches on my arm:

Under shade

Under natural sunlight

You can distinctly see 3 shades of blue and a copperish tone--I get so much out of this single e/s. I am totally in love with this Hint of Sapphire I own, I didn't regret just going out almost closing time to get this e/s!

EOTD with Hint of Sapphire:

It's quite pigmented, isn't it? I  am very happy with the lovely range of blues I get from the Hint of Sapphire. I added a little bit of Quartz Fusion on my outer lower lash line for a pop of color <3

EOTD - A Patriotic look: Red, White, and Blue! *Part I*

I wish I have come up with this look 2 week earlier as it will be perfect for Independence Day!


The red, white, and blue is so patriotic, though I am not quite an American yet! Haha!


FOTD look:

Make up used:

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralized Eyeshadow in Quartz Fusion

Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes EX02 Vacation Ocean, used upper right aqua blue and lower right pearl white for lower lash line tightlining

Canmake Glow Twin Color for highlighting

Majolica Majorca Jeweling Pencil in #BK901 and #71

Kiss Me Heroine Make smooth liquid liner

Kiss Me Heroine Make long&curl mascara

MAC Surf Baby! Bronzing Powder in Solar Riche

NARS blush in Orgasm

Canmake Melty Nude Lip in 04 Peach Beige

Canmake Nudy Glow Rouge in 05 Honey Latte

And of course, my all time favorite Mizuho face brush #101. It's a multi-purpose brush that works with setting loose powder, bronzers, blushers, etc.... I am loving it!

I used very nude color for my lips and went very light handed on my blushers to put more emphasis on my eyes!

I think it works? Perhaps, look at those eyes... it's my first time creating such look...

Please refer to my article on MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize eyeshadow for detail reviews and swatches.


And please refer to Apple's blog for a similar look with more professional techniques! (Plus nice falsies to complete the look!)

MAC Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadow

The Muse has recently did her nice reviews and swatches on MAC's newly released Semi-Precious Mineralize Skin Finish and Semi-Precious Mineralize Eyeshadow. My blogger pal Miss Elain-Nio has also reviewed her recent haul on MAC's Semi Precious Mineralize Eyeshadow in Precious Hint of Sapphire. 

This new collection was launched on July 7, 2011. 2 days later when I passed by MAC store in the mall, I was planning to get just the Mineralize Skin Finish for touch up purposes during the day.

In the end, I hauled 2 eyeshadow colors from their Semi Precious collection. (Still considering if I should get Precious Hint of Sapphire, as everyone knows I am afraid of blues, somehow...)

The 2 shadows I got this time is Quartz Fusion (red) and Unsurpassable (green)

Quartz Fusion:

At the first glance, this seems to be a difficult color because if I get a little heavy handed, I may look like someone just punch my eyes.... (reds tends to promote the beat up swollen look)

This eyeshadow in particular has a lot of glitters some rather chunky, and the reds are more on the warm side (I would describe it as brick reds...)

But I am amazed how lovely the sparkles and how pigmented this MAC eyeshadow is. Just one sweep it picks up a decent amount of pigments on my fingertips. The Muse warned that if you are not into shimmers, stay away from it (and also if you have issues with fall outs as well) or you will end up like a disco ball, haha funny!

Swatches at the back of my hand, and it's applied dried. Imagine if it's applied wet!

Though it's a lovely color, I am afraid of the punched up eyes look and the heavy fall outs of glitter. And how would I pair this red color up? So I came up with this EOTD look:

I used the light aqua blue color from Lunasol's EX02 Vacation Ocean palette for my outer lower lash line. And it was until later that I found out that blogger Alice had a very similar look, but she used falsies with her look which I rarely use these days....

Unsurpassable is a mix of greens and blues. I picked this one over Hint of Sapphire because this has more blend of green in the pot.

Again, it's highly pigmented

Swatches at the back of my hand, with Quartz Fusion to the right. As you can see in the photo, Unsurpassable is not as glittery, and it's a nice turquoise kind of greenish blue, more flattering to my skin color.

EOTD look with Unsurpassble:

This time I used a brown pencil eyeliner for a softer line and the finished look is quite natural and subtle. I blended the green color with the more copperish color within the pot to create a more even out blended brown towards the outer corner of the eyes. Unsurpassable has some awesome greens but I decided to tone it down for my everyday look :)

As I am writing this article, I am still thinking if I should get Hint of Sapphire... emm...

E*A*M Jewelry

Lily of the Valley earrings

About 2 years ago when I was strolling in Harvard Square I saw these pair of gorgeous earrings in a jewelry consignment store... I love how this jewelry design, Elise A. Moran gets has inspiration from the nature and lily of the valley is one my my favorite flower too!

But being involved in jewelry making, I know how much commission fees these consignment shops will take out of each product sold. So I have always wanted to visit her studio up in Portsmouth, NH and directly purchase from her and cut out the middleman commission. (My way of supporting local artists!)

That was 2 years ago and we have been traveling so much the past year or so and we totally forgot about this little exploration.

So as our anniversary draws near, we decided to make an appointment and visit the studio.

At first I wanted to get the pair of earrings only. But I saw another piece that captivate my heart, and my hubby was nice enough to get this lily necklace with lily pad hook closure for me as our anniversary present:

The closure is an interesting lily pad hook.

Why is the pad designed this way? I am sure a lot of you have experienced the closure of your necklae gradually make its way to the front, right? When this lily pad travels to the front, you will end up getting this look:

Aesthetically, it looks very cute too!

Details of the lily pad:

It's a very secure hook that took me sometime to get used to how to put on and take off. I like the functionality and design of it!

Now moving on to the designer.

The designer of these gorgeous pieces is Elise A. Moran. She is a very talent jewelry maker and she has a studio/workshop located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She does have a website:

www.eam-studio.com

(you will see a lily ring flower on the front page, which is the same lily that I got!)

However, you don't really see the full extent of her gorgeous designs!

During our visit, she was kind enough to let me take pictures of her studio so I can have nice blogging materials. But I can't take any pictures of close-ups of particular designs, which is understandable, because there is a lot people waiting to plagiarize her pretty designs!

Entrance to her studio in an historical warehouse building:

She has a showcase for some of her collection, and she uses a lot of brushed aluminum for her tables and showcases.... love this minimalist approach and very chic!

There are quite a few pieces of her earring pieces hanging from what I believed is a earring hanger that is handmade by her. Behind the column in the center of the photo is where her workshop is:

Her workdesk. This is so my ideal kind of workdesk too! I just wish I have that much room in my condo to put in a studio desk like this. She doesn't want me to take close up of what she is working on at the moment (but she showed me what it is, lovely!), so I just took a picture of the overall table...

Last but not least, her name card and contact info:

Hope you guys have enjoyed reading this blog post :)

Lunasol Ocean Scene Eyes Summer Limited Edition: EX01 Shelly Ocean and EX02 Vacation Ocean

Yes, I admit I am a LE addict or sucker, anything with "LE" endorsed on it, it will definitely get my attention. 

This time, I fall victim on to Lunasol's summer limited edition's Ocean Scene Eyes... initially I thought I am just getting EX01 Shelly Ocean only as I usually stay from blues (thinking blues only work well on fairer skin tones) but after a few days I saw this nice deal online for a sample of EX02 Vacation  Ocean for $35 shipped (compared to EX01 for $68 from imokoko.com), I just grabbed it without hesitation!!

EX01 and EX02 in its box:

Since EX02 is a sample, it doesnt come with the wrapped cellophane. But when I inspected this palette, everything inside seems fine inside. Not a bad deal at all (another excuse for me to haul one more eyeshadow palette!)


Application tips printed in the inside of the box carton:

The reason why this limited edition is more special than other limited palettes is because of the case design, it has Lunasol etching spelt on all over the surface of the bronzed color case:

EX01 - Shelly Ocean:

This palette comprises of warm earth tone. Since it's a limited edition, it has a brown spray on lettering on the eyeshadow, similar to the letter you seen on the palette case.

And I already knew that the spray on will pretty much disappear after the first swatch.... it will be heart broken to see it go away....

Swatches on my hand. Very shimmery nudes that suits of medium skin color, me likeee!

Please check here for Jie Jie's blog for swatches^^

EOTD with Lunasol EX01:

EX02 - Vacation Ocean:

With a "TESTER NOT FOR SALE" stick at the back of the case and over the barcode on the box. But it's fine with me, who doesn't love beauty with a deal?

EX02 has some soft blue tones to it, a very refreshing blues and it's indeed very summery!

And again, I have not swatched this palette until 2 weeks after I received this palette. I wanted to keep it at its pristine condition for a little longer. You can so tell I am a LE sucker!

Swatches, which is very pigmented and true to the colors in the pan:

The pink looks a little sheer on my arm, but probably because of my medium skin tone. The prettiest color in this palette is of course aqua blue on the upper right. In the begining I thought that these kind of blues would look terrible with my skin tone. But in fact, it's not that bad... I am glad that I pulled the trigger and got this limited edition palette before it's gone forever (like how I regret I didn't get MAC Surf Baby! My Paradise blusher!)

EOTD look with Lunasol EX-02:

If you want to check out more swatches from EX02, please go to Jie Jie's review on this palette^^


The only thing I didn't get is the EX02 Clear Coral Pink blusher. I am concerned if this blusher will be too shimmery for me. I think since these limited edition eyeshadow are so shimmery, a matte blusher will be better for a complete look.


But I really wanted to get the EX02 blusher.... sadly imomoko is selling the blusher as a set with its compact case and brush which is not necessary... and Adambeauty is out of stock for the EX02 blusher refill... where should I go??