E's Extraordinarily Eloquent Extravaganza: Pure Luxe - part two.

Right. As promised last week: part two of the Pure Luxe series. Swatches. I’m not going to write a complete book about every single one, but my favourites will get a bigger review. You’ll probably notice right away which ones I like best.

Please note: colours on the left are applied dry (over a base); colours on the right are applied with mixing medium.

Dubloon
Deep khaki in jar. Once applied you will get a smoky antiqued gold.

This is by far one of my favourite colours. Ever. It’s a gorgeous, shimmery, khaki / old gold colour, like the description says. This is very suitable for daywear, eye-catching yet not overwhelmingly in-your-face, and it doesn’t make you look cheap, which some gold colours tend to do. Au contraire. This is the epitome of class. Also, I’ve noticed that of all my PL samples, this one stays on best (as in: no creasing).

Chocomint
Medium brown with a mint green interference.

First of all: I look like a badly caricaturized prostitute wearing green. Which is horrible, since I absolutely adore every shade of green available. But alas. No use wearing things that make me look horrible, so I gave my green samples away. But then, one sunny summer day (well, actually it was February), I got adventurous, and, despite the obvious warning “mint green interference”, I ordered Chocomint. And all in all, I’m glad I did. It’s a marvellous colour. Like the description says, the main colour is a very light brown, and it has a beautiful golden green sheen all over it. Because of the brown being the main colour, the green isn’t really that noticeable. Until sunlight hits it. Then: WHAM! Awesomeness everywhere, as seen in the picture, the green is where the light hits it. This effect is much more subtle when applied dry, but I didn’t quite manage to catch it on photo. A real must-have for everyone who loves green, but shares my problem. This is your chance!

Love Spell
Lavender/blue base with brighter blue/sea green interference. Satin finish with medium shimmer.

One of the few blue colours that doesn’t look tacky on me, as long as I apply it dry. Mixing medium makes the blue too prominent; when applied dry, it’s more lavender than blue.

Forged
Deep bittersweet bronze. STRONG metallic cast.

Forged is a colour from the Heavy Metalz collection. As you might’ve noticed: this is an insanely gorgeous metallic colour. To get this beautiful effect, all colours in this collection contain real (cosmetically approved, of course) metal powder. In the case of Forged: bronze powder. Definitely not something I wear on a daily basis, but a real eye catcher at parties. (Swatch is just applied dry, as this colour is so pigmented it doesn’t even need mixing medium)

Crush
Bright copper with lots of shimmer.

The picture makes this one look a LOT more orange than it’s supposed to be. In real life, it’s a beautiful coppery/brownish colour. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really look great on me, but it’s a beautiful colour nonetheless.

Risque
Crushed velvet in a jar! Warm red/brown.

Same thing as Crush: I can’t really seem to pull this one off (not for daywear, that is), but it’s such a beautiful colour I can’t get rid of it…

Golden Sands
Soft taupe brown with bronze shimmer.

A subtle golden brown colour. Not too sure where that ‘bronze shimmer’ is, but it does have adorable purple/blue/green-ish sparkles :)

Willow
Light pastel green with silver frosting.

Honestly, this one’s more gold than green, especially when applied dry. Maybe gold with a hint of green. But hey, you won’t hear me complaining ^^

Peach Parfait
A medium warm peach shimmer.

Beautiful peachy colour, and absolutely perfect for when you want a more subtle, natural look.

The Aura Collection

I have three colours from this collection: Purple Aura, Turquoise Aura, and Opal Aura (pink). In the jar, they’re just white. Applied dry, the colour changes from white to *whatever colour you chose* when the light hits it. Applied wet, the effect is much more intense, creating a gorgeous pastel colour.

E's Extraordinarily Eloquent Extravangza: Pure Luxe cosmetics

Sado: Today we're going to do something a little different.
As mentioned before, we will, from this day on, bring you weekly installments of guest blogs by my trusted sidekick E., who, as you will recall, is a big part of why I am who I am today - especially where skincare and cosmetics are concerned.

So without further ado, I present to you the very first part of "E's Extraordinarily Eloquent Extravanga"!

Dear readers,
I have a shameful confession to make. No matter how hard I will try to deny it in the unlikely case you try to personally confront me with it, I seem to have some serious addictions.
(Well, not serious. Let’s call ‘em “strange yet harmless”. Sounds MUCH better, doesn’t it?)
Breathing is one of them. I absolutely adore breathing. Yup.
Making cookies, that’s another one. Show me a recipe, and I go nuts.
And, superficial as it may seem, make up is also one of them. Especially eye shadow. Give me some fancy colours, and I can entertain myself for hours.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I refuse to go outside without anything on. I’ve been known to venture into the wild, ruthless jungle that is my city of residence with naked eyelids on several occasions. Shopping, doing laundry, and even (*gasp*) when going to classes. But that doesn’t mean I like it. I always have the feeling something’s missing. You know, the feeling you get when you hurry outside, and halfway through you realize you’re still wearing your slippers/pyjamas/nothing at all? That kind of feeling.

Now. As an undercover eye shadow addict, I’m constantly on the lookout for possibly awesome products and brands. I have a bad habit of standing in shops, staring at make up stands. Which, of course, makes me look silly. Because even though I’m analyzing every single colour in my mind (and therefore being VERY mentally active), it just looks as if I’m... well... staring. And slightly brain dead. That’s why I love shopping for make-up online. No one around to give you strange looks while you keep looking back and forth, a different colour in each hand, desperately trying to decide which one will look best on you. No people going “Ooh, she’s buying useless stuff! There’s an economic crisis going on, you know!” No social stigma! w00t!

My favourite online make up store EVER is Pure Luxe Cosmetics. Christina Kocher, the founder of Pure Luxe, sells mineral make up. Not just eye shadow, but also things like foundation, concealer, blush, lipgloss, brushes, and even some skin care products. Although the greater part of my Pure Luxe collection consists of the eye colours, I also have some foundation, concealer, and lining gel. And I LOVE them. Especially the concealer (“What Red?”), which I use daily to hide my ridiculously red cheeks.

But enough of that, on to the shadows… Pure Luxe has an amazing range of highly pigmented colours. And when I say ‘amazing’, I really do mean amazing. The first time I visited the site, I discovered colours I didn’t even know existed. Fun? Yes and no. Mostly yes, though.
Yes, there are lots of different colours to choose from, ranging from natural to extremely bright and colourful, and even colours that are all shimmer, react to blacklight, and so on. If you don’t find anything to your liking here, it’s your own damn fault.
And no. 200+ colours to choose from can be VERY overwhelming, especially for those of you who aren’t quite sure which colours will look good and which ones won’t. Chances are you won’t even know where to start looking. But don’t let that scare you, oh no… There’s a solution to your problem!

Pure Luxe sells samples. Wonderful samples, I might add. Magical, even.
…ok, not magical. But awesome nonetheless.
They’re as cheap as 1$ per jar (2$ for special colours, but more on those next week), and VERY generous. When you order a sample, you get 1/8 teaspoon. Now, I know, that doesn’t sound like much. But for shadows, it is. Apparently. I’ve had my samples for over 6 months now, and I haven’t finished a single one yet. I’m quite positive you have enough for at least 20 applications; maybe even more. And if you don’t like the colour (which is always a risk you have to be willing to take when buying online), at least you’re not stuck with a huge, expensive jar. Instead, you’re stuck with an adorable little jar you can give away, as a surprise gift to friends. Or you can just chuck ‘em out without guilt. I’d suggest the first option, though.

Now, I WAS going to show you some swatches, as a sneek peek for next week’s article (which, I might as well spoil the surprise now, will be detailed swatches and reviews of some of my favourite PL colours, just so you can get a better idea). Unfortunately, the lighting here sucks, so all I could manage to take pictures of was either an overly lit arm or a completely dark arm. So yes. I apologise. But I promise I'll more than make up for this horrible lack of photographic evidence next week.

...to be continued...