Review of The Sweet 15 Kit by our Giveaway Winner!

Kajal Couture's lovely reader Kate was the lucky winner of the Jane Iredale Sweet 15 Kit from the giveaway last month. After having a chance to test out all the products in the kit, she was kind enough to provide all of you with an in-depth review of each of the products. Again, this is a pic of the kit:

So without further adieu, here is Kate's review:

Dear Kajal Couture Readers,

The Jane Iredale Sweet 15 Palette is a limited edition palette to commerate Jane Iredale Cosmetics 15th birthday. The palette contains 15 gorgeous eyeshadow, two blushers, a bronzer, three lip plumpers and a booklet with four eyelooks enclosed in a beautiful gold snakeskin print book.

Overall, the palette is amazing and I see myself using it a lot. Apart from a one shadow, all of the eyeshadows apply highly pigmented and velvety. The blushes are also highly pigmented. I had a few problems with the lip plumpers that will be discussed when I get to the plumpers. First up are the eyeshadows.

As mentioned earlier, there are fifteen eyeshadows: oyster, peach sorbet, glimmer gold, copper brown, topaz sparkle, taupe, aquamarine, dark suede, petal shimmer, pink cloud, sparkle dust, bubbly, silver, supernova, and charcoal. Application is a breeze and feel like velvet. All--except for two--apply highly pigmented.

If you're used to drugstore eyeshadows like I am, you may need to practice using a light hand before using these. L'Oreal HiP shadows are great to practice with as they're much cheaper and 95% of them apply highly pigmented. There are a few problem children in the HiP line, so if you need suggestions, don't be afraid to ask here in Kajal's blog or my own.

Oyster-shimmery very pale creamy yellow. It looks matte and chalky in the pan yet shimmers the slightest bit on the eye. A beautiful neutral.

Peach Sorbet-a light peach color. A good neutral but very dupable. Revlon Matte in Peach Sorbet is an exact dupe of the color and has the same texture of Iredale's Peach Sorbet.

Glimmer Gold-vintage gold. This color shines! A very pretty color and looks phenomenal on my brown eyes. I foresee myself wearing this color a lot come autumn.

Copper Brown-Bronzey-brown with gold flecks. I love this color as well! Paired with Glimmer Gold, the two would make a fierce autumn-themed smokey eye. I wear this kind of smokey eye a lot as it really brings out the grey areas in my brown eyes resulting in a really moody brown eye. This pairing would look stunning on blue eyes as well.

Topaz Sparkle-Copper with teeny tiny silver and gold flecks. Another color I love using for smokey eyes. Can you tell I'm a die-hard fan of the smokey eye?

Taupe-Exactly the color of taupe and it's a matte as well. Applies just a teensy bit sheer. Somehow I don't see myself wearing Taupe much. A great base color for those who are a bit more pigmented than my vampiric pale cool-toned skin or those with blue eyes, I think.

Aquamarine-The showstopper of the palette. Teal with blue green flecks. It reminds me of marmaid's tails and peacock feathers. I have a har-core love affair with her. I don't think I have anything close to her.

Dark Suede-Matte medium suede brown. Reminds me of horse saddles and the color of hiking/camping journals. I love this color as well but probably is more suited for the green-eyed and blue-eyed gals out there.

Petal Shimmer-A hard color to describe. The best way I can describe it is a pearlized white-pink or the color of Tinkerbell's wings. I'm sure it would be a pain to photograph accurately. Reminds me a bit of pixie dust too.

Pink Cloud-Shimmery bubble gum pink.

Sparkle Dust-Mauvey-brown with a multicolor flash. Does not remind me a bit of sparkle dust. My mind sees the name with more of a clear color with a multicolor flash.

Bubbly-Another color that does not remind me of bubbles at all. Milk chocolate brown with bright pink flash.

Silver-Another color like Bubbly and Sparkle Dust. White with pale pink flash. I'm wearing this today along with Sparkle Dust and Charcoal as a (you guessed it) smokey eye.

Supernova-Brand-new-penny copper with a gold flash. A very interesting color. I'm not sure how I want to use it yet.

Charcoal-The problem child of the palette. She looks black in the pan but applies a sheer light charcoal grey. She takes a two or three light coats to be opaque. Charcoals tend to be problem children in my experience with eyeshadow.

Blushes:

Blushes apply pretty pigmented as well so use a very light hand!

Cotton Candy-Cotton candy pink with silver shimmer. I love this color as it really brings out my pale complexion.

Whisper-Coral with gold shimmer. Definitely not the blush color for me. It makes me look horribly ill as most warm-toned corals do for me.

Bronzer--Matte taupe. I actually am one of the few who don't use bronzer by choice. Bronzers have a tendency to leave me looking gaunt as I have high cheekbones and a wide jaw and this is no exception.

Lip Plumpers:

I had really high expectations in terms of pigment for the lip plumpers. I don't know if this is an Iredale thing but they applied super sheer. I don't think they'd show up at all on darker skin. Also be warned they have a strong gingerbread scent. It disappears when on the lip but my sensitive allergies had a hey-day. If you don't have sensitivity to fragrance like I do, these are okay. Be warned that they don't plump lips up any and work more like a very sheer tinted lip balm. The plumpers take a good scrubbing to wash them off so be ready for a little elbow grease when taking these off! The only good thing about them, in my opinion, is that they don't have any taste.

Milan-Super sheer, shimmery rose pink.

L.A.-Super sheer, shimmery mauve.

Tokyo-Super sheer, shimmery coral.

Jane Iredale is a mineral cosmetic line so they are highly recommended for those with sensitive or hyper-sensitive skin like myself. I've had no reactions to them when testing them on my arm and when wearing them. I don't wear eye primer and the shadows haven't budged, creased or faded in the five hours I've been wearing them. They're still as vivid as they were when I applied them.

I hope this review is helpful and if you have any questions, fell free to comment on this post or on my blog (address at the end of my teensy weensy bio). I may or may not have the post up when you comment but feel free to comment on any of the posts as I'll still see it!

Kate is the human counterpart of the duo Kate & Zena. She is also known as Ellenora on the OnSugar network. A proud Decker Rat Terrier owner, she spends most of her time in college, doing homework or spending time with her dog, Zena. Her blog, "Confessions of a Dogaholic," is a new blog and is dedicated to just about anything along with hilarious true tales of Zena. You can find her blog at http://ellenora.onsugar.com

A Smoky Eye With Just 1 Product!

I have totally been neglecting you lately with the number of posts and my lack of looks. What happened is there was an earthquake a few months ago and some stuff from the shelves on top of my desk fell on my laptop and dented the LCD. It still worked but I didn't like staring at the dents so I sent my laptop off for repairs. I just got it back and so I am ready to post post post!

This was a look inspired by the recent MAC Style Black launch. I watched the Style Black video and decided to try doing an eye look using just one product: black eyeliner. I took a soft black kohl liner and drew a thick line on my top lash line, then just drew a whole bunch of random lines/smudges all over my lid:

I took my MAC 239 brush and blended out the smudges and the harsh lines. It then looked like so:
Since the liner is soft and smudges easy, and the 239 is quite soft, it was easy to blend and did not pull and tug at my eyelid. I liked the look above but I wanted a little more color so I repeated the process above until I got a little more color. I then added some mascara to complete the look. The following was the final result:

Easy peezy eh? It was pseudo liberating to know I could do a decent eye look with just an eye pencil and a brush!

MAC Obsessed

So this is nothing but my own ramblings since I am trying to go to sleep and have no one else to tell this to.

I was twittering today with fantastic from Suka & Spice and she mentioned how lame it is that sometimes we get so obsessed with a product that we keep calling a store to find out if they have it in stock, or keep checking online to see when it is on sale. Sadly, yes, I am infected with this disease. I was/am obsessed with trying to get my hands on the new MAC volcanic ash exfoliator and the volcanic thermal mask. I missed out on it last year because my local stores never had a chance to sell it. The employees at the stores bought all the jars so I did not even have a chance. I heard that it is amazing and have been wanting to try it out. I held out knowing MAC would eventually re-release it since I did not want to pay ridiculous ebay prices. Anyhoo, I have been so excited to get it that Tuesday when it was available on line, I was itching and jumping....just ready to pounce on the "checkout" button in my MAC online shopping cart. I thought maybe I would hold out and get it in stores, but then fear of what happened last year set in and I caved. Ordering online meant I would be able to secure a tube of each product without the anxiety that I would miss out again. And alas, I submit my order midday on Tuesday.

Now, when I was browsing on the MAC website, I noticed that the thermal mask is sold out. You can't imagine how ecstatic I am that I made the right decision to order before it was sold out. Now I know I am crazy and obsessed, but now that I have shared it with all of you, I feel super lame and dorky. Sigh...

Have you ever been this obsessed with something?

MAC Style Black Swatches

Hey y'all! So I was perusing through the mall and Nordstrom happened to have the Style Black collection on display as testers, and they were doing pre-sale orders. Of course I had to swatch several of the products and share what will probably be my addiction for the coming months.

I must say, I have not been this excited about a collection in a long time. Even before swatching I was excited because I had been trying to get my hands on the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator during the last release and all my local stores had sold out in a day. Some of the stores did not even have any to sell last year because the employees snagged 'em all up! That made me want to get it even more! So when I heard MAC was re-releasing this AND adding the additional Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask, I was bursting with joy!

Before I get to the swatches my disclaimer is that I am in no way a professional photographer and have not figured out how to get makeup photos on my little digi cam to actually portray what the makeup looks like in person. That is probably why I don't post a lot of swatches or photos of my own makeup....cuz the pics don't really show the true colors.

So now to the important stuff....the swatches:

Left side top to bottom:

Shadows: Cinderfella, Blue Flame, Young Punk, Gilt by Association, Young Punk on top of the Black Grease Paintstick

Right side top to bottom: Blackwear Glimmerglass, Blackfire Glimmerglass (both glimmerglasses were starting to run so they did not swatch very well...sorry bout that!), and on the bottom is the Black Grease Paintstick on its own

Here is another pic with the flash, but its quite blurry. However, you still get an idea of how shimmery the shadows are:

I had not planned on getting any of the shadows because I am not a fan of the mineralize shadows, but ladies, these bad boys are GORGEOUS! If you are daring and love experimenting with color, or just looking to recreate the fall looks, get your hands on one of these eyeshadows. All of the colors look great on their own, but even better when applied on top of the grease stick, but my swatch does not show that since my photography skills are quite amateur. Trust me the shadows on top of the grease stick look amazing....test it out yourself if you are going to check out the collection in person.

My favorite colors are Young Punk and Gilt By Association. Cinderfella is similar to Black Tied from the permanent shadow line so I was not especially wowed by that one. The Grease Paintstick is basically a glorified shadestick. It goes on a little creamier and glossier but looks and feels like a shadestick. Layered beneath the shadows, the sparkle and intensity of the shadow is crazy intensified!!! The grease stick is way more opaque and black than the Blackground paint pot, so if you like the deep, intense color, try the shadows with the Grease Paintstick.

Here are the nail colors Seriously Hip on my forefinger, and Baby Goth Girl on my thumb. These are both black with shimmery pearl and fine glitter. Both are beautiful since they have an edge over the common plain black polish:

I know for a fact this collection will sellout quickly, especially the skin care products, so if you are lusting over something like I am, go to the stores early when the collection is launched this Thursday September 24th. If you do get something, let me know what it is!

Gasp!! A dud from Urban Decay

I have been so pleased with Urban Decay since I discovered their 24/7 pencils a year ago. I decided to try out a bunch of new stuff during the recent friends and family sale and am finally able to report back on my thoughts. To my utter shock, there is actually a product that will sit in the bottom of my makeup box for all of eternity....

I figured the color products are so awesome that their brushes must be good too, especially since they are made of completely synthetic hair and are 100% animal friendly. Ok, so in the interest of beauty, I typically don't care tooooo much about this fact, buuuut, I do like to purchase animal/environmental-ly friendly products whenever possible.

Thus, I picked up the Good Karma Blush Brush:

For your viewing pleasure, a close up of the brush bristles:

It looks cute and slick, and I really like the color of the bristles. However, they just didn't perform for me. The bristles did not have any grab - meaning they were not able to pick up any color. I had to swipe the brush several times to grab the color and even if it did, the color stuck to the bristles and did not deposit on my face! My fellow beauty friends, save your moola and do not get this brush. However, since I do love Urban Decay so much, I say take that money and spend it on some shadows, primers, or liners from the brand...as they truly are freakin awesome!

Back from India and a cure for sweat

So I had all these great intentions of perusing the makeup counters in India, testing out some new foreign products, and reporting to you on my amazing finds. Regretfully, I had zero time to even go to the cosmetic counters there. I was so caught up in shopping for clothes and in spending time with family, that I never made it out to the makeup counters. In fact, the most cosmetic shopping I did was at the duty free shops in all the airports I was in. Come to think of it, that too was mostly window shopping since I only purchased two things from all the duty free shops and one of them was chocolate. I am a chocoholic, and after my trip to London a few years ago, I took up an affinity to foreign chocolates and do not like American chocolate anymore. My most favorite is foreign Cadbury chocolates. I don't know if it is the milk or the way they make it, but chocolate from London, Australia, anywhere in Asia tastes a GAZILLION times better than the Cadbury chocolate in the US! Seriously, take my word for it. If you find any Indian grocery shops in the US, wander in and see if they have a bar of Cadbury chocolate. Any variety will do. Try it and let me know what you think. For me it's heaven in a metal wrapper....ahhh I can taste it now. My favorite type is the chocolate bar Flake. Its just like the name, flakey and oh so sinfully tasty!!

Ok back to cosmetics. So.........since I did not get to try out any of the products in India, I am going to write a few posts on products I purchased in the US right before my trip and was able to try out while I was there. I know I have been neglecting y'all since I was on vaca, so I am going to report on one of the items right now:

These are the DERMAdoctor MED e TATE injection-free medicated hyperhidrosis control wipes.

This product is used as a treatment for excessive sweating and wetness, called Hyperhidrosis. It is a medical condition described as excessive sweating despite being inactive. This condition causes people to sweat uncontrollably and results in embarrassing sweatiness, including underarm perspiration and sweaty palms. Normally, this condition requires special injections, but DERMAdoctor created these pre-moistened wipes that allow for injection-free control of excessive sweating.Now for the record, I do not suffer from hyperhidrosis (not that anything is wrong with that as it is a medical condition), but I was asked to try out this product, so I had to find a situation where I typically sweat a lot. I decided that my trip to India was a good time because right now the weather is super hot and humid, which causes for more than my usual amount of sweat. (I think this post is a bit TMI, but hey, that gives for honest blogging, right?)

These wipes come individually wrapped as shown below:

To try these out I simply tore open a packet and wiped the towelette under my arms a few times and that is it. I used these a few times throughout my trip and they really work!!! I used them on some active days where I knew I would be running around and going outside in the insane humidity. At the end of each day, I noticed that my underarms were completely dry and I felt fresh.

This product worked well for me so I imagine it really does work for those suffering from excessive sweating. If you or anyone you know has hyperhidrosis, try these out. They are available through DERMAdoctor online.

Cargo blu_ray Polishing Cloths Review

For my trip to India, I was trying to pack light and did not want to lug around my Clarisonic, so I was searching for an alternative when I came across the Cargo blu ray Polishing Cloths:

After using this several times, I can say that I highly recommend this for travelers, or for those who are not yet ready to splurge on the Clarisonic. These cloths are designed to exfoliate the skin, remove makeup and prevent blackheads and acne, and prime the skin so moisturizer and serums are able to absorb better.

I use these around 3-4 times a week, any more and your skin will get irritated. Simply apply cleanser to your face, wet the cloth, and rub in a circular motion over the skin. Rinse the cloth after use and hang to dry. I follow the box and do about 10 circles on each area of the face and that seems to work well for me. Overall my skin feels clean and fresh after using these, and I really do feel the exfoliation. These cloths are reusable so I use one cloth about 3-4 times (1 cloth per week) and you can really start to see the buildup on the cloth. That is why you need to rinse it, and should toss them after a few uses.

You get 20 cloths for $15, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than the $200 Clarisonic. I thought each sheet was quite large for my face, so I cut them in half and it fits perfectly onto my fingers, allowing a more efficient exfoliation. Overall these are a great product and I would definitely purchase again....though the first box will last me awhile. =)

The half size is pictured below: