I've got the look. And the hookup.

May 25, 2008

When I first got into mineral makeup, I bought Bare Escentuals. It was there, I was familiar with the store and the brand (having bought some of their essential oils several years ago), and if I was going to pay that much for makeup, I wanted to know that I was getting it from a source that I trusted...somewhat. When I finally ventured onto Ebay, I stuck with BE. I could walk into a store, see the colors right there in front of me, and know (for example) that Bamboo was far too yellow, that Azure actually was less intense on the skin than it was in the jar, and that Silk Rose was prettier than it sounded. I am also lucky enough not to have reactions to bismuth oxychloride (a form of lead arsenic), so didn't have to go searching for something like Aromaleigh, KmS, Earth Daily, or any of the other brands formulated for sensitive skin. I was attracted to mineral makeup because of its claims not to clog pores, and the fact that it contains no preservatives or artificial chemicals. Thus, the standard rule-of-thumb that you should throw out your makeup after three years does not apply here. Mineral makeup is inert - bacteria can't grow in it - it will conceivably stay good for 10 or 20 years, perhaps longer.

Nice as it is, BE's eye color line lacks a good selection of blues and greens, and doesn't have many bright colors. I saw several dozen cottage-industry mineral makeup alternatives on Ebay, and tried out a few. One was priced nearly the same as BE, and the seller used misleading advertising. Another used the same color names as BE, and while their quantities and pricing were better, their product quality and their packaging needed some work. Then I found a particular seller that seemed to have a good selection of colors, no bismuth oxychloride, good quantities, and an excellent price. I ordered a few to check them out...and thus began my latest collection.

Simply Naturals mineral makeup can be used as eye color, face color, body color, even for decorative highlights and streaks in the hair. They have recipes on their site for mixing your own lip balms, and their reds could easily be added to those. However, since I'm not a huge lip balm user and since I have troubles making a batch of tollhouse cookies competently, I'm not mixing my own makeup — I'm only using the colors as eye makeup. When I first wanted to explore mineral makeup, I needed a safety net: I needed to go into a store, see what I wanted to buy, and test it out before plonking down my money. I know that others may need this reassurance, too...so I've compiled a long list and review of Simply Naturals' mineral makeup colors. (I'll be honest: part of my reason for doing this is that it gives me a chance to organize, compare, catalog, and organize some more - and I absolutely love doing that. I don't think I could be weirder unless I found photos of appliances highly interesting.)

I've compared the wearability of Simply Naturals to BE, as well. I have problems with eyeshadow creasing and not staying on for more than a few hours...unless I put down some mineral veil first. (The cornstarch in the mineral veil absorbs the oil, letting the eyeshadow stay in place longer without creasing or folding up.) I literally spent a few days with BE on one eyelid, and the closest-matching Simply Naturals on the other lid. Simply Naturals' powders stayed on as long as BE, looked as good...and are a fraction of the price for just a tiny bit more product.

Simply Naturals sells through their online storefront as well as through Ebay. If you want to sample a few colors, go ahead and order directly from their website. If you'd like to buy several colors, though, order through Ebay: they offer discounted multipacks of 5, 7, 12, 20, 50, or 100 colors in your choice. You might also want to buy separate sifter jars, since Simply Naturals doesn't include a sifter...with nearly 1 gram of loose-powder product in a jar that holds 5 grams of pressed powder, there's no room. (I found that two of Simply Naturals' jars will fit into one 10-gram jar with a sifter, with a small amount of overflow that sits on top of the sifter - approximately 1/16 of a teaspoon or slightly less. For comparison, two .57 gram quantities of Bare Escentuals' mineral makeups will easily fit into one 10-gram jar with a sifter with no overflow at all.)

Summary

• Quantity: each jar contains 1/6 teaspoon of loose powder...or approximately .791 grams. Compare that to Bare Escentuals's .57 grams per jar.
• Price: each jar is $1.99 when purchased singly. The price per jar goes down if you purchase one of their multipacks through their Ebay storefront.
• Wearability: same as Bare Escentuals...literally. I spent several days as an eye-makeup harlequin to prove this to myself. (If you have oily lids, put down a coat of mineral veil first and you'll need fewer touchups throughout the day.)
• Selection: they have more colors than Bare Escentuals — over 200 as of May 2008 — and since they make this themselves, they have the ability to make custom mixes. (Prices on those vary, though.) Several of their colors are what I call "transformatives": they look like one thing in the jar, but have iridescent highlights that are only visible on the skin and/or when applied heavily. Some examples are Plum Tree, Persian, Black Cherry, and Tumbleweed...and of course their Fantasy colors, which look nearly white but have colored highlights.
• Ingredients: individual colors may contain any combination of mica, titanium oxide, iron oxide, or authenitc pearl powder. Simply Naturals does not contain any bismuth oxychloride.
• Customer service: outstanding. I've had one package that was lost in transit, and they sent out a replacement very quickly (thank goodness for insurance). I've ordered items from Bare Escentuals directly, as well as from their reseller Sephora — and Simply Naturals has always shipped faster and arrived within 7-10 days, even when shipped first class rather than priority.
• Other: several samples come with every order, allowing you to test out different colors. The samples seem to change on a regular basis, so if you place one order in July and another one in August, you will get an entirely different set of samples.

Be Aware

• They don't seem to have too many bold, vivid, really strong colors in their line - colors which would show well on deeper skin tones. From what I've seen, this problem is present in nearly every mineral makeup line. I'm very fair, so this doesn't affect me personally...but people with darker or deep olive skin tones should be aware of this. I've noted the stronger, more opaque colors in my personal catalog.
• Like many other sellers of mineral makeup, Simply Naturals does not accept returns. Again, like many other mineral makeup sellers, this is done for hygenic reasons. (The good side is that they provide several samples with every order - allowing you to test the colors before you buy them.)
• A small selection of their mineral makeup is a little too grainy for me - specifically, the colors containing pearl powder. The pieces are a little too large, and so those colors aren't as silky-smooth as most of the rest of their line. When I placed my first big order, I was able to ask them which of my potential choices contained pearl powder...and so was able to choose alternates. (Though I do admit that I really like Diamond Pearl, even with the pearl powder.)
• Their photography doesn't always represent the colors well. The photo of Gypsy makes the color look medium-light orange/tan, while the color itself is actually a rich burgundy-brown very similar to BE's Here Kitty. I don't know if this is because of the photography, or because my monitor is miscalibrated. When in doubt, ask if you can get a sample baggie. (Or read my amazing descriptions. Aherm.)
• Because they mix the colors themselves, there may be delays in fulfilling your order - especially if they need to mix up a new batch. They state this clearly on both storefronts. This has never happened to me, but the possibility exists.
• Some of their color names are spelled differently: Sandlewood instead of Sandalwood, Westeria instead of Wysteria, Saphire instead of Sapphire. I know this could very well be branding, but one of my jobs is freelance editing...and unofficial spelling variants make my teeth itch.

Personal Tips

• For your initial order, get three or four jars, and choose different colors and types. They don't divide their colors by finish, but you can figure that out by reading their descriptions. (Or you can check back in a day or so and read my exhaustive catalog.) For example, my first order was for Viridian (green, sheen), Creamsicle (peach, matte), and Diamond Pearl (white, shimmer).
• When you order your packages, get insurance. The postal folk near Simply Naturals don't always scan in the packages when they're shipped...so you won't always receive up-to-date tracking information. Insurance protects you in case the postal folk lose the package. This happened to me once, and because I had insurance, Tina was able to replace the entire order very quickly.
• If you want to order more than 5 colors, order through their Ebay storefront. You'll pay less per jar...and on a truly large order, this can be a significant savings.

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of two of their colorshifting "Solar System" colors: Earth, and Venus. From the descriptions, I think these might be very much like Christian Dior's Moonstones, or like Bare Escentuals' eye quickies. They're more costly than Simply Naturals' other colors, but they still cost less than Bare Escentuals' eye quickies...and if they do what I think they'll do, they'll be amazingly versatile and fun.

Disclaimer: While this is a review, I'm not getting any special deals or incentives to write this up. I just really, really, REALLY enjoy Simply Naturals' mineral makeup. (And organizing.)

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Putting the 'dis' in 'dysfunctional"

Dec 08, 2007

Last night I went to see my friend in a performance of “The Lion in Winter”. It was funny as hell. It’s about as based on actual events as the film adaptation of Lawnmower Man is based on Stephen King’s short story of the same name; but it’s still funny as hell. King Henry II and his wife Eleanor of Acquitaine spent Christmas with their three sons. And Henry’s current mistress (this is Henry II - sooner or later, there will be a mistress). Oh, and did I mention that Eleanor was let out of prison for the holidays? Other than that, it’s fairly standard fare: kids come home for the holidays, family resentments brew, much pissing and bitching commences. Some of the best lines:

Henry: Shall we hang the holly, or each other?

Eleanor: We all have knives! It’s 1183!!

Geoffrey (to John): If you’re a prince, there’s hope for every ape in Africa!!

John: I went up in flames, there’s not a living soul who’d pee on me to put the fire out!
Richard: Let’s strike a flint and see…

The performers playing Henry and Eleanor did a spectacular job. Now I kind of want to see the 1968 movie, with Katherine Hepburn as Eleanor and Peter O’Toole as Henry.

This does put my own memories of less-than-fond family gatherings into perspective. I’ll have to put this DVD on my shelf next to Home for the Holidays.

Keywords: | Holidailies | family |
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The darker side of perfection, and the brilliance of us all.

Apr 04, 2007

Iteration 04/04/07: Books

James Alan Gardner, a science fiction author, went onto my “buy on sight” list in 1997 when I picked up the book Expendable. It sounded interesting, and had a lead-in recommendation from another of my buy-on-site authors, Robert J. Sawyer. The known universe was united under a governing body known as the League of Peoples. There is no war. There is no crime. All life is sacred, and all people are valued. Most any disease, including congenital birth defects, can be easily corrected, ensuring healthy, happy people...except for those people who show an early promise, an early tendency toward self-reliance. They're the ones whose birthmarks are left glaringly visible. They have speech impediments. They have nervous tics. They're 'eccentric'. They're given special training that allows them to have a little more initiative than the average Technocracy citizen. They're the Explorers. (See, someone saw how hard crews took it when a popular, well-liked crewmember was killed. But if someone who were less perfect died...they may grieve, but they weren't crippled by depression. Productivity wasn't impacted. And an unspoken caste system was in place.)

Gardner's Technocracy universe draws parallels and makes comparisons between social conventions, economic and political systems, philosophies, and religions. The books don't just deal with the story of the main character, but the history of their world...and of our own. I love books that do that without beating me over the head with the Obvious Stick, and these books do a wonderful job of taking a particular idea or thought further along in its evolution, then letting the reader examine the resulting society from inside and out. It's very cool (at least, I thought so.) Here are excerpts from four of the books: Expendable, Vigilant, Hunted, and Trapped. The links above lead to Powell's, an independent book store chain headquartered in Oregon.

1. From Expendable: Chee blinked at all of us for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively. “Piss on saluting. I'm here incognito. I don't haveto salute if I don't want.” “Of course not, sir,” Yarrun said, smoothly changing his salute to a hand extended for shaking. “Welcome to the Jacaranda. I hope the ride over was pleasant?” “The only fun I've had in thirty years. Can I do it again?” “I'm afraid not...”
2. From Expendable: “The other Explorer is dead,” I answered softly. “He was very old, and he just—” “He is not dead!” The woman was suddenly on her feet, glass fists clenched in fury. “Do you think you are sacred? Do you think you are holy? Fucking Explorers are not such things as can die!” And she stormed over to Chee's corpse and kicked it hard in the side.
3. From Expendable: “Do you feel sad when you look at me, Oar?” “I am not such a person as cares how others look,” she answered. “But there may be people who see you and feel like crying, because it is wrong for the only nice Explorer to look so damaged.” Ouch.
4. From Vigilant: I want to tell you everything, everything at once. I want to explode and leave you splattered bloody with all the things I have to say—kaboom, and you're covered with me, coated, dripping, deafened from the blast. A flash of instant knowledge: knowledge, not information. Burning hot. Blinding bright. Blasting down the walls of carrion-comfort cynicism. How can I do that? How? The peacock can show its whole tail at once; but I can only tell you a story.
5. From Vigilant: “Dipshit is a technical term...at least, I'm trying to make it one. Short for diplomat. Officially, these gentlemen belong to the Diplomatic Corps...which is mostly a cover for the High Council's dirty-tricks brigade.”
6. From Vigilant: “The family drew lots,” Lynn explained as she poured. “Who would keep poor Faye company in quarantine? I won.” “You always win when I'm not there to watch you.” “Not always. Only when I want to.”
7. From Hunted: The more I thought about it, the more I saw what was really going on: the Mandasars here weren't just twenty-something-year-old kids, they were children. No matter how grown up their bodies got, their house was like a tree fort filled with a hodgepodge of valuable junk they'd pulled out of trash heaps or bought for a penny. None of this was sad or pathetic, or even noble; it was just what youngsters did while rehearsing to own adult things. (Even if a Queen Wisdom table was still tacky, tacky, tacky.)
8. From Hunted: Every now and then, a puff of breeze brought the burning-wood smell of Musk B. The warriors behind me were keyed up, just itching to fight something. If I were a worker or a gentle, I'd be heading fo rhome real fast—warriors would soon be swiping at trees just to work off their tension. It wouldn't surprise me if they hauled the escape pod out of the canal and tin-snipped it to ribbons, with so much musk in the air, they'd be looking for anything to fight.
9. From Hunted: “Come on, Kaish, cut the inscrutable alien crap. Either give me a straight answer or stay on Jacaranda.” “Sorry,” Kaisho replied, “but the Balrog loves watching lesser beings get smacked in the face with surprises. Just between you and me, I think the damned moss really gets off on human astonishment.”
10. From Trapped: “Are you sure it's safe?” Annah asked. “A girl alone at this hour...” “I'll take my sword,” Fatima said. She turned back to me. “Can I take my sword?” “As long as you don't stab the town watchmen. You'll recognize them; they're the ones asleep in the gutters.”
11. From Trapped: “Our psionics teacher says Sebastian can talk to the world: as if land, sea, and air are full of happy puppies, eager to fulfill the boy's tiniest wish. So his powers cover the whole spectrum.” “The boy talks directly to nanites? And he's headed for Niagara Falls?” Dreamsinger's voice had gone shrill.
12. From Trapped: “Has anything unusual happened today?” “No, sister, it's been some quiet. You're the first folks who weren't regulars.” “I wasn't asking about your tavern,” Impervia said, making an obvious effort not to sound snappish. “The town in general. Anything notable? Fires? Fights? Sorcerous explosions?” “No, sister, nothing like that ever happens here.” Under her breath, the Caryatid said, “The night is still young.”

Other Participants

Keywords: | Wednesday | science fiction | memes | James Alan Gardner | books |
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Caffeine...mmm...

Feb 14, 2007

I'm playing around a bit behind the scenes, changing a few things here and there. Do folks listen to the weekly songs I usually post on late Wednesday/early Thursday? If people do listen to them, I'll keep posting new ones. If not, I'll just add them in the member jukebox.

T13 80:16: My Own Personal, Rather Subjective Review of Coffees

I like coffee. I like my coffee black, like the depths of my soul: no cream, no sugar. (There's a story behind this, and I'll tell you that another time.) Keep this in mind as you read through my list: while I do go to Starbuck's now and then, I drink coffee every single day and I don't add anything to it. I know that many people add all kinds of stuff to their coffee, so that pretty soon they're having a glass of sugar and milk with a dash of caffeine. I am pretty much on the opposite end of that scale. I also tend to prefer unflavored coffees, though a few are on my regular list.

Here's a little note to head some folks off at the pass: I didn't profile "arabica" coffee because arabica is a type of bean. Saying "coffee - now with arabica beans!" is like the early 1990s web designers who advertised "web design - now with links!"

1. Any kind of coffee that comes in a single serving bag — oh, the horror! It has no style. It has no panache. It has no -=flavor=-. This is less thrilling than actual instant coffee, and should only be used in dire circumstances. (I know. I've had to have both types, when things were dark. Events, that is...not the coffee.)
2. Any coffee in a bulk can (Yuban, MJB, et cetera) — not all that good for drinking, but will provide the necessary caffeine buzz. Also good for feeding to roses or scenting your rug. (Dump the can, wait 30 minutes, vacuum up the grounds)
3. Sumatran — dark, medium/medium-light flavor. Often described as "earthy". This is because it tastes vaguely like dirt.
4. Kona — Medium flavor, good color, decent aroma. Can make a good base for adding flavored syrups, if you want to taste the syrups as much as the coffee. The Garfield of coffees: it's around all over the place, it's offensive to no one, and it sells well. I have yet to taste kona coffee that really, truly knocks my socks off; though one particular brand of Kona coffee outstrips the others I've tried (and as soon as I can remember the brand name, I'll post it.)
5. Celebes Kalossi / Sulawesi — medium-strong flavor with a very faint underlying sweetness. A friend of mine must have a little coffee with his morning sugar — he loves the smell of coffee but not the taste — and he actually drank a cup of this without any cream, sugar, or anything.
6. Italian roast — very dark color, very strong aroma, tastes nearly burnt. As it should: the beans are roasted for quite a long time to get this "burnt" quality. Don't ask me why. (Possibly coffee became diluted as it headed further north. Certainly, Greek or Turkish coffee will strip the chrome right out of the mountainside. I admit, I am not daring enough to try straight qawhi. I might need to cut it by adding some water...which would probably make the brewer laugh, weep, or roll their eyes far enough back to give themself a concussion.)
7. Colombian — another staple which has not left a strong impression with me. I have not drunk too much straight "Colombian" coffee, but I also haven't tasted any Colombian coffee that made me grimace in disgust (except perhaps Yuban, which I suspect of using hulls and floor-leavings to stretch their product further) or take a quick side trip to the Happy Caffeinated Place.
8. Irish Creme — I said I don't really drink flavored coffees, and that's true. Irish creme is one of the few exceptions to this. It smells wonderful, and tastes good — though if you need a bit of sugar to drink any coffee, you'll still need to add something to Irish creme. Irish creme is one of the few coffees that, when packaged in pods or single-serving pouches, still tastes halfway acceptable.
9. Spiced buttered rum — another flavored coffee I just had to try. Rich, buttery, a good aroma, and a nice bite.
10. Jamaican Blue Mountain — this has long been touted as an absolutely amazing coffee. It's *very* good coffee, but I won't call it the end-all be-all of the coffee experience. I actually prefer Celebes Kalossi, and Celebes Kalossi costs less.
11. Hazelnut — this is a bit too bitter for me. The few times I've been able to successfully drink and enjoy hazelnut coffee was when I *ghasp* added eggnog.
12. Decaffeinated — I list this specifically because while many people will call it a variant of coffee, this is not real coffee. While some decaffeinated coffees have a wonderful aroma, and some can taste nearly as good as the real thing...it's just not real. Decaffeinated coffee is the dildo of coffees: when you're in the mood it leaves you vaguely unsatisfied, and when you're hard up and desperate, it only blunts the edge. (Does anyone but me think that Decaffeinated Dildos could be the name of a garage band? ...just me? Okay. Just checking.)
13. Kopi Luwak — I will not touch this on a bet. Starting at around USD$75 per half pound and going as high as USD$500/lb, this coffee is incredibly expensive. It is billed as being incredibly flavorful, smooth, mellow, and wonderfully piquant. It also gets this flavoring from the digestive tract of a civet cat. That's right: Kopi Luwak is cat shit coffee. I'm a zealous caffeine addict; but there are just some lines I will not cross.

Other Participants

• Di's Book Blog with "nostalgia" points from childhood. Who else remembers getting a buzz off the ditto machines?
• The Journey of Cross and Quill with things about the love of her life, her husband
• Jon Tillman with lessons he's learned this past year
• Fond of Snape with things she loves, which begin with 'A'
• Chicken-Scratch with her favorite movies
• History is Elementary shows us the lovely ring that her husband gave her for Valentine's Day
• 23 seconds to circulate with bizarre, ridiculous analogies...pulled from high school essays
• Finding Your Path with things -=NOT=- to get your sweetie for Valentine's Day
• Beaumont the Blue asking which is our favorite of her T13s - this is her thirteenth round
• Tumbled Words with skills she'd like to learn
• Heather Rae Scott with reasons why she loves her husband
• 3M Chat with books - from different decades - that she wants to read
• Life is RANTastic giving up the love for her Mac
• Writing Aspirations with reasons she loves blogging
• Cozy Reader with things she'll never do
• West of Mars with more trivia about a character in the book she's writing
• simple pleasures with ways to show love
• Around the Island with tunes from Grateful Dead
• Philly Transplant with the OCD edition
• For the Fun Of It with favorite movies, plus a quote from each
• The Mis-Adventures of Captain Poopy with her sister's strength
• the screaming pages with reasons why she loves her husband
• Ryan Velting with reasons why women are better than dogs
• Pentimento with things that make them crabby
• Green SAHM with ways she's acting more environmentally responsible
• A Virtual Hobby Store and Coffee Shop with random tidbits
• My twenty cents keeps moving! with some absolutely horrid Valentine's ideas

Keywords: | Thursday | memes | coffee |
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