Thursday, January 17, 2013

Inglot 10 Eyeshadow Palette

Up until recently I had kind friends from America helping me shop in USD because almost everything is hiked in price here and I get annoyed having to foot the extra amount knowing I could get cheaper in America. I've done 2 MAJOR hauls (one which arrived and the 2nd should be on its way soon) but in the process of saving money, it all adds up in the amount of shipping costs and hassle. So the 2nd box will be the last, hopefully. And yes, that also means I have LOTS of stuff to get to blogging about.

My resolutions for 2013 is to not only buy everything in Saudi Arabia/locally, but to also buy less overall. I think I will be sticking to 13-products-for-2013 (I've already purchased the first 2 >.<) so lets see how that goes.

...enough of my ramble but that is why this was an exciting purchase because it's the first and only purchase made in-person and in Saudi Arabia thus far. Lo and behold! Look who finally got their hands on some Inglot? Moi. I had been wanting to make a palette for AGES.


I picked these up from the Inglot in Royal Mall in Riyadh and it the selection process was UBER-frustrating because it took me at least 3 hours narrowing down to the 10 I wanted, only to find out 5 of them were not in stock. =_= I had to write down the names of the missing ones and call back and finally managed to pick them up from another Inglot branch. Overall, the experience was a little annoying and frustrating and I've heard from lots of people with a similar experience so I would suggest going to a store and writing down all the names and purchasing them online. 

I chose not to get the bulky Inglot packaging and decided upon this palette from AnotherSoul from Etsy instead. Sparkleh' *_* 



Each Freedom System Square shadow retails for $6 or 35 SAR ($9.3) in Saudi Arabia. You get 2.7 grams (!!) and each shadow is made in Poland. 


I chose colors based on the fact that they were stand-alone shades rather than the type to compliment each other (although some could work together easily). I decided to save the basic shades for later so these were the 10 most complex/sparkleh'/exciting colors I could find. The two empty "slots" will probably be filled with some basic mattes, me thinks. 


Here's some Ingot terminology to keep in mind:
- AMC Shine: super-pigmented with a frost, or pearl finish 
- DS: Double Sparkle 
AMC (Advanced Makeup Component): semi-matte with sparkle but less glitter than DS. 



Top row:
Shine 37 burgundy-brown with silver micro-shimmer. 
DS 471 olive-khaki matte base with grey shimmer through out
DS 457 chocolate brown semi-matte base with red-gold-green shimmer
DS 459 a cool-toned matte deep-brown with silver-blue shimmer 


Middle Row: 
DS 482 matte rich blue with silver-purple-blue shimmer
DS 502 purple-grey (dare I say, taupe-y?) semi-matte base with rainbow shimmer
DS 465 cool-toned light brown taupe with a TON of gold/multidimensional shimmer
DS 460 grey-lilac matte base with gold shimmer


Middle Row: 
Pearl 444 grey-silver with slight taupe undertones and outstanding texture
AMC 68 a purple-blue with rainbow micro-shimmer 



The texture could be smoother (the Pearl shadows are the smoothest in the range) and they do require a primer but wear well and blend flawlessly otherwise. The quality and color selection is outstanding and at that price they are a great value. I will be trying some mattes next time (which I hear Inglot excels in) but overall the colors are beautiful and I LOVE the shimmer in them. Go play with the various textures/finishes on your next visit to get a feel.

Do you have any favorites or other recommendations? 


Monday, January 14, 2013

Brush Roll

When moving to Saudi Arabia from Wisconsin, I made sure to keep all my brushes with me at all times so I actually had my brush roll in my purse the whole time. >.< This brush roll stores all my brushes when I travel. The previous post was about my entire brush collection detailing all my face and eye brushes. 

The brush roll I use is by the Etsy seller ASoftBlackStar who hand-makes beautiful brush rolls, and other smaller bags for travel. Unfortunately she's not accepting any orders at the moment. Check back on her Etsy store because she offers various patterns and sizes. And while googling her shop's name I discovered she's a fellow blogger! You can check her blog here


What drew me to this particular one was the damask pattern which I have a soft spot for, ahem. And at around $22 + shipping how could I resist? The fact that it's all hand-made seals the deal. The material is all cotton and it has 12 slots with generous room to hold brushes of all most sizes. 

What I love is the flap that comes over the top so everything stays securely inside and the ribbon is a nice touch that secures and bundles everything nicely. 





I haven't washed it in the 2+ years I've had it (never found the need to thus far) so I can't comment how it holds in the wash but I will add that it is superbly-made and hasn't fallen apart on me, nor has the stitching come apart or frayed. The only thing I wish I could add would be to some how make it wipeable but other than that, no complaints.






I have some pretty fabric I found while digging through my mom's stuff and found a gorgeous vintage sparkly pale gold and black fabric which would make for the most beautiful DIY brush roll. I definitely need to see how I can put it to good use or incorporate it into something like a brush roll or...something. Let me know what you guys use to store brushes when traveling and if you use a brush roll. 

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Brush Collection & Storage

Apologies for lack of posts in the last few weeks! >.< I've finally settled down in Saudi Arabia and should be cranking out posts frequently now. And not to mention the countless new additions I've added to my stash lately, so there is LOTS to get to! Also, cannot believe it's 2013.



2012 was definitely the year of brushes; especially towards the end when I acquired most of my face brushes. The process of refining my brush collection was a lengthy one because I cannot stand clutter or too much selection so purging my old collection was a must. My previous brush collection mostly consisted of hasty-impulse-will-do-for-now type purchases and an upgrade was majorly overdue. I'll get into my purging/upgrade process in another post...but first how I store them!



I use these two glass crystal candle holders which I picked up from a local store here in Saudi Arabia (CenterPoint for those within the region) and they are perfect! The pictures don't do them justice but they are beautiful and were pretty decently priced at about $30 for the set. I love that these are the perfect height to not be too deep or too low and store any size brush save for super-minis.

Eye brushes, sorted by brand:




MAC (left - right):
- #266 (natural // $20)
- #239 (goat hair // $25)
- #242 (horse + synthetic hair // $25 // I love this for cream shadows)
- #217 (goat hair // $23 // A classic but might be replacing it w/ the Hakuhodo version soon)
- #219 (goat hair // $25)
- #224 (natural hair // $31 // one of my favorites for blending out the crease and transitioning colors)
- #227 (natural // $31)
- #214 (natural // $25 // go-to for smudging at the lash line and as recently discovered: for creating photogenic swatches, ahem)

Misc:
- Urban Decay Good Karma Multi-Tasker Brush (synthetic // $24 // gel liner and pin-point concealing)
- cheapie bent liner brush from eBay ($1-$2)

Hakuhodo:
- S142 (Blue Squirrel // $40 // perfection for blending/crease. A favorite!)
- S133 (Canada Squirrel // $48 // lovely for washes, loose pigment and glitter)
- K007 (Weasel // $15 // basic script liner brush)

Shu Uemura: <----the 3 MUST-haves from Shu Uemura and you won't need anything else.
- 5R (pure Kolinky (!!) // $60 // must-have; perfect for crease work, inner-corner highlight and smudging)
- 10N (Kolinksy + Sable // $68 // tilted at an angle in the photo but it's a staple and another absolute must-have. A shader brush that makes the crappiest of eyeshadows go on pigmented and can even blend edges, too. A favorite!)
- 8HR (Sable // $63 // great for color placement in the crease and blending)

I realize I am missing a synthetic angled brush and a synthetic shader brush for creams. Eyeing some Hourglass or Real Techniques to fill out those gaps.

Now for face brushes.




1. Hakuhdo Large Pointed Yachiyo (goat // $48)
2. Hakuhodo K020 (blue squirrel // $65 // my favorite brush for scary-pigmented blushes such as those by NARS, Sleek and Illamasqua. The soft blue squirrel allows for pigment to be deposited softly and evenly. Almost like using a duo-fibre brush but so much softer and diffused)
3. Hakuhodo B103BkSL (Goat (Sokoho) // $72 // a true multi-tasker; I use this for powder)
4. Hakuhodo 210 (Goat-Sokoho // $36 // great for bronzer or softly-pigmented blushes that need a stiffer brush)
5. Chikuhodo Z-2 (grey squirrel // $105 // THE. MOST. AMAZING. BRUSH. EVAUR. I use this for anything and everything non-cream/liquid)
6. Hakuhodo Misako Portable Lip Brush (Weasel // $36 // Shown here with the cap on. Stunning lip brush w/ beautiful vermillion and wood detail and a 24-karat coated brass ferrule)
7. Shu Uemura #14 (synthetic // $42 // A little expensive for synthetic but the shape is unlike any other)
8. Real Techniques Essential Foundation Brush (synthetic // cream blush)
9. Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (synthetic // $8.99 // creams and foundation. Flawless)
10. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Brush (synthetic // $26 // go-to concealer brush)
11. Real Techniques Setting Brush (synthetic // $7.99 // HG brush for setting under eye concealer)
12. MAC #109 (natural // $35 // workhorse of a brush; does everything right down to liquid foundation)
13. Laura Mercier Blush Brush (natural // travel-sized for the purse)

Not pictured is the Illamasqua Highlighter Brush which I have coming to me soon. From what I hear it's great for cream blush. Will report back shortly!

I am in need of just the Suqqu Cheek Brush and a traditional powder brush and my collection is complete. \o/

The next post will be about how I store them while traveling. Thank you for reading!