Natural light, flash
Natural light, contrast added
Noreservation rocks! sonic lips sample was a freebie.
Not pictured: sample baggies of Silk Powder (2 USD), Pure Cover mineral concealer in shade Nr. 9 (vert/green) (2 USD), Nocturne Overnight mineral treatment (2,25 USD), "Smoothy" Premium Flocked Sponge for Mineral Makeup (4,5 USD).
International shipping was 5 USD. Ordered on 5.2 (Friday), order was shipped on 8.2 (Monday), arrived 15.2 (Monday). Impressive! One of the fastest companies! Yay!
My initial thoughts:
Have yet to try Silk Powder and Pure Cover concealer in action. Yep, I have them for almost 1,5 month and haven't worn yet! I just "swatched" this green concealer on my face once. I have to figure out how to work with colour correctors. I still don't get how to cover them with foundation when they're on. And, overall, why on Earth concealers can cover everything, foundation can cover concealer, BUT not everything!? Do you get my point? lol
I read so many good things about Nocturne Overnight mineral treatment, so I decided to give it a go. I've been using it for more than one month. I'm not sure if it works, or if it's just my imagination again, but I can definitely see some slight favourable changes in my skin condition (less breakouts! yay!). Some minor negative things: you have to literally stop breathing when applying it as you surely don't want it to get into your nose. It's an extremely unpleasant feeling, believe me! :) The scent (i.e. how it naturally smells) is quite annoying too... Remember, I'm quite sensitive to some scents! :) The sample baggie lasted only for about two weeks (had to skip several nights before the full size jar arrived). I had to order at least 2, or 3 samples to see if it really works. I learned my lesson! :) And last but not least, it's quite expensive (28 USD at the time of ordering). Oh well, if it works, who cares, right? :) And, the jar is huge (14 g)! Let's wait how it'll go!
Sponge is ok, nothing special though.
As always eyeshadows are gorgeous! Pretty shades and great pigmentation! Tapestry is a very interesting shade of black. It's silky metallic-looking black with smooth holographic (it reflects different lights, but it only could be my imagination lol) shimmer. Oh my, does my explanation make any sense? lol Other shades are green, so no comments here! :)
Noreservation looks very bright in the baggie. And you probably know that I'm not a fan of bright lip colours. So you can only imagine how surprised I was when I tried it on. It is very sheer and looks very natural and pretty. Feels like a balm, smells great too (chocolate). It was at that time I "suddenly" decided to look for perfect'n'healthy lip products, especially lipsticks. So, I decided to place my 3rd order:
Sunlight, flash (yep, it was on the same day I took pictures of my Silk Naturals Haul. Hence, it was a great combo of sunshine & flash. lol)
Sunlight, contrast added (tiny-tiny contrast! :) )
Sunlight, flash
Nocturne Overnight mineral treatment (28 USD), Rocks! eyeshadow in Moonagedaydream (4,23 USD, but got it for free as my order was >40 USD), aromatherapy lip balm in Gingersnap (4,85 USD)
International shipping was 5 USD. Ordered on 25.2 (Friday), order was shipped the same day (how great is that?), arrived 9.3 (Tuesday). Impressive!
My initial thoughts:
Check my short initial review on Nocturne Overnight mineral treatment above.
Eyeshadow are, once again, pretty! I'm totally in love with Italian Ice!
Lipbalm in Gingersnap. I got a baggie sample of it with my first order. I really liked the scent (kind of vanilla with mint/spice/ginger), but wasn't very much impressed with the texture, but decided to give this lip balm a chance and ordered a full size. Ironically, it seems the opposite now. I really like the texture and how it feels on my lips, but the scent appears different. It's not that sweet as I remember it was back then, it is much spicier and more sour. And I'm not the only one who thinks so. My hubby liked the scent of the sample I got, but says this full size version is indeed kind of spicy and sour with a tiny hint of a ginger cookie sweet scent. I guess it's a natural variation in scents due to the handmade nature of the product. Oh well, at least I don't have any problems with my lips now! :) I don't even need to apply it in the morning, my lips feel so good!
Onto the lipsticks:
Sunlight, flash
Sunlight
Not pictured: freebie - Wallflower lipstick. Baggie samples cost 1 USD.
Lipsticks. I really like the texture of these lipsticks. They feel balm-like: light, creamy and moisturising. All of them except Wallflower are sheer. Due to their creamy texture it's quite difficult to build the colour (i.e. making it more opaque), as it starts to feel a little bit too greasy. You know the feeling, don't you? :) Oh! The scents are fantastic! Orange and chocolate! Yummy!
These are all pretty and wearable shades. They give a slight tint to your lips. Gossamer looks similar to Coquette, Rosebud to Darling. I was debating whether I should go for Rosebud or Darling. But then my Silk Naturals order came, and I decided I don't need any more sheer colours right now. Besides, as you might know, natural handmade lip products have shorter shelf life (6-12 months), and I don't want to end up with a bunch of spoiled lip stuff. I hate not using products. I'd better give them away "to a better home" and be sure that they'll bring some joy to another person. :)
Yep, I ordered a sample of Wallflower and got it as a freebie. Ironically (again), this colour is my least favourite of the bunch (btw, it's the most opaque of them!). I just don't like how this shade looks on me. It looks pretty in the baggie though. :)
And I am not complaining, I just wish that they added another shade for me to try. I'd have more choice options then, right? :) Btw, I placed my order just a few days before Aromaleight announced their sad news about discontinuing lip products. How lucky am I with this discontinuation "trend" when I am almost one step from finding my HG?.. :/ :)
What are you thoughts? Have you tried Aromaleigh lip products?
PS I really like Aromaleigh's product pictures, they're very true to what you see irl! :)
DRAMA
Now onto some nasty stuff. I couldn't even imagine everything could turn that way! But I just have to share, as this shocked me so much yesterday. Jen from Jennifae's Beauty Blog posted her awesome recent Aromaleigh lipsticks haul with a statement that got my attention: "However, with the changes in sales/promos, rewards points, and the attitude (not the best customer service in my opinion), I highly doubt I will order from Aromaleigh again." I commented about my experience with lipstick samples telling her that "I really like the scent (orange) and consistency (soft, silky, like a lip balm), I won't buy them because they're too sheer and too similar to each other. And the main reason - I already have too many lippies. Plus Aromaleigh ones are "supposed" to go bad in 6-12 months. :/" and asked about the bad attitude.
Jen replied that "The customer service is not bad, but it could be better. <...> I like Aromaleigh's products, but I'd rather order from those who have equally great products (if not better) AND doesn't make me feel like answering my questions and concerns is a complete waste of time, y'know?" This is the main point! She didn't mean the service was bad (not bad and bad are different things, don't you think?), all she meant that attitude was hmmm... a bit rough in her opinion? It's not fun when a seller or, what's most frustrating, the person who you admire, eventhough trying to be polite, makes you feel you're wasting his/her time, right? Moreover, everyone has his/her own opinions and standards on what the good or bad, or not bad customer service is, right? Please, take a look at the comments section.
Miss K is very nice in her copy-pasted letters, making it feel that Jen is "seeing things". Here is what Jen says: "What Kristen failed to mention/post is the email response I was referring to. The one that made me feel like answering my emails were a waste of time." Check it out! Now you clearly can understand why Jen became frustrated. Check also my comment. It's not perfect, but it can clear up some things about some certain things. E.g., everyone's time is precious! Service is not just about giving discounts, it's about the attitude too. Making a customer feel he/she is not worth spending a precious time is not a good tone, for sure.
Now, tell me where is "slamming" (i.e. attacking)? Why calling dishonest, unappreciative, greedy and nasty? Why calling names? Why wishing "may karma treat you well"? It's SO sad, I can't even express what I felt the moment I read it! Why am I taking it so personally you might ask? Because I feel it was my fault to some extent, as I became that "fuel for the fire". Plus, I feel that Miss K misunderstood the whole thing and took it all wrong. I really admire Aromaleigh and Miss K, but this "accident" just seem so unreal! It kind of reminds me 2 dramas over Coastal Scents and Lime Crime. SAD, very sad! :(
Jen, I really hope everything will be ok! Take care! *hugs*
Do you see what I see? What are your thoughts, girls?
