Saturday, February 25, 2012

Waste Not - Want Not 2012

So lately I have been watching my ever growing makeup collection take over my room like a mysterious growth. Like any proud hoarder or addict I have bits and bobbles stashed in various bags all over the place. Shadows I rarely reach for but have yet to throw away, new shipments of loose pigments coming every week when I havn't put a dent in the ones I have. Eyeshadow palettes that I literally LUSTED over that still have the protective plastic and have never been touched.

Soooo - I decided it was time to have a Waste Not, Want Not party. Years ago before I became all cra cra about makeup I used to do this with Shoes and Clothes, so it should work pretty smoothly. AND I have the assistance of a couple awesome friends that will be participating with me.

Here are my rules:

1.) Before purchasing ANYMORE makeup indie or otherwise - I have to use EVERYTHING in my collection at least once. I have TONS - literally TONS of loose shadows, bases, primers, blushes, lipsticks and lipglosses. (This does not include limited edition collections from indie companies)

2.) I have to use/dispose of EVERY Perfume sample I have - before purchasing new ones. I don't count full bottles in this - but unless I have thrown it away, or used it completely as a sample - I cannot purchase new ones (this does no include travel sized body sprays either) I have about 20 of those bad boys to work through (samples)

3.) Bath and Body. - Aside from Shampoo I cannot purchase ANY MORE bath products FOR ME until I have used at LEAST half of my current collection. I have to have completely used anything that is not a trial sized item.

How I plan to accomplish this is simple. Unless I have a special occasion I will set limits for what I am using on a regular basis. I know that part of the reason I have bath stuff laying around going to waste is because I wasn't as impressed with them as I imagined I was - so I will use those first.

WEEK 1 GOALS:

1) do at least a basic makeup everyday (and use different colors/products each time)
2) Use B&BW Exotic Coconut exclusivley (even though it smells kinda like burnt rubber - well not THAT bad but still - not pleasant)
3) Use a polish I have not yet worn

Pictures and Doc will be attatched later!

This starts tomorrow - Sunday 02/26/2012 - The reason I'll be posting a document and photos is so you all can "keep me honest" so to speak :) and can follow along with my progress so you know it can be done!!!

~Vada~

P.S. Anyone who would like to join feel free to comment below and add your progress as well as we go along :)

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Dawn Eyes Cosmetics

Hi Guys!!!

I have been working diligently to get some good photos for review blogs, and that old mother nature seems determined to keep me down!!!

Don't believe me? In the TWO HOURS it took me to get these shots, the clouds covered up mr. sun about 1.5 of them ;)

Okay so on to the fun stuff - Dawn Eyes Cosmetics!!!

I - am - a - shadow - hooker. I AM - I own far more shadow than one person could wear in one year and I keep telling myself ENOUGH!! But it never seems to work out that way ... I blame the toddler ... I do ...

So this is one of the many companies I have been eyeballing for sometime and it just so happens they had a HUGE sale the EXACT SAME WEEK I got my tax return, which - was not a good thing. I have this steadfast rule that I DON'T buy full sizes of shadows from the net without having bought samples first. This is for several obvious reasons:

1) I wanna know the quality of the shadows before I invest a lot of money into them.
2) My monitor obviously sucks because things never look the same once they get here
3) I don't have the money nor storage to waste on a bunch of stuff I'll NEVER USE.

That being said Dawn Eyes had a fantastic 50% off sale when they hit their subscriber goal on their facebook page - and remember my tax return was in - so I broke my own rule.

While I did buy samples I also bought 4 full size shadows and I was NOT disappointed. I love all of the colors I got! So lets start this thing!!!

Packaging 4/5 
The shadows are packaged in clear jars - there are no branding labels on the top, instead the company, shade name and ingredients list are on a sticker on the bottom. They do come in a gorgeous organza bag as well as being packaged in a zip-lock bag. However one of the sifters on one of the shadows was not seated tightly, causing the cap to be mis-screwed and product to escape into the packaging - meaning everything was covered in blue/gold dust. So I had to subtract a point .... here is a photo of the packaging.



PIGMENTATION 5/5
A little goes a LONG way with these babies. Application was smooth and not powdery and it only took one swipe to get this color pay off - My favorite of all of them I received is the Gold Gilded Blue - and you can see why in the swatches.

Top - Treasure Chest - Gold Gilded Blue x2
Middle - Gold Gilded Blue x2, Peacock Teal
Bottom - House Vernius


Color Selection: 5/5

As I mentioned I loved every color I got! Even the samples. I find that Dawn Eyes Cosmetics offers a wide variety of unique and complex shades. They are obviously custom made by the creator and have several special effects such as colors that change with pressure, lighting, and bases.

Customer Service/Shipping: 5/5
While it did take a while to get the order, it was forewarned by the shop owner ahead of time that TAT would be longer than normal due to the sale. Shipping was extremely reasonable and was delivered in a regular mailer that was reinforced by card board which was a nice touch.

An aside but definitely a plus - the shop owner Dawn noticed that a couple of the samples I ordered were not listed at the 50% off sale price and promptly refunded me the extra funds I had paid when entering my shipping tracker number. I would have never caught that and been none the wiser so I was very impressed with her honesty!

And Finally A Look!!!!


In conclusion - I would absolutely purchase from Dawn Eyes Cosmetics again!! I love the quality and service provided by Dawn and I would love to try some of the other Chrome Collection colors. I see more full sizes in my future!

Have you ever shopped with them?? What were your experiences?