Garden Of Shadows Cosmetic Store

NOTD: Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish in Magnetic Burgundy

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sun, 13 May 2012 08:06:00 +0000

Having went to some serious shopping at a special fashion event I came across a makeup counter selling some really nice and hard to find brands!

There was Lime Crime which I had to scowl at, and there was Barry M!

On top of that Magnetic nail polishes immediately caught my eye with 2 shades I snapped up immediately!

After trying both shades: Magnetic Dark Silver and Magentic Burgundy; I bought both for $12 each.

Magnetic Burgundy is a stunning deepened pink, absolutely a dimensional metallic.

The magnetic effect that comes with the burgundy is a diagonal stripe.

The results are striking, very obvious! It looks quite like, dare I say, Lime Crimes Carousel lipgloss tubes but in nail polish form funnily enough!

The effect starts forming within a couple seconds and is VERY easy to do, though it recommends 10 seconds after drying a full coat. Instead I found that one coat was enough for opacity and putting the magnet with the helpful bar on top of the nail polish not too close easily brings out the stripes and stays that way.

By itself it's still a great nail polish if you don't feel like holding the magnet over. I would definitely recommend a top coat since the only downside is it's tendency to chip.

What do you think of magnetic nail polishes? Is it too gimicky or would you continue to use these?

Love Porcelaine.

NOTD: Revlon Emerald City Matte Suede Nail Polish

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 12 May 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I always insisted that I would never buy a matte nail polish again.

Essie's Matte About You covers that territory.

But the other day I fell for Revlon's Emerald City, a deep green nail polish labelled 'Matte Suede'.

At $5 the yearning grew stronger and while I knew I shouldn't buy this...well, you've caught me there!

Emerald City is a deep green with green shimmer (green, green, green...I know).

I was expecting a semi matte finish considering it was labelled 'suede'.

Instead you definitely get a fully matte finish and the 'suede' is more the faintly reflective shimmer under the matte finish.

This nail polish only needs 2 coats for opacity.

I know there are some people who find matte nail polishes, errrr, revolting!

I think there is a conception in their minds that nail polish should be a strong glossy lacquer and anything less than that is unkempt. I personally think that this shade in particular is elegant!

The good thing about Emerald City is that a top coat reveals a beautiful shimmery finish and with class.

What do you think of matte shades? Do you prefer a matte topcoat or an all in one?

Love Porcelaine.

Review: Napoleon Perdis Part 2, Lash Patrol, Brushes, China Doll Eyeliner, Khol Eyeliner, Pro Palette

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 05 May 2012 07:45:00 +0000

I have a story to tell you. I warn you. It's not that interesting! Once upon a time I bought NP's 9a brush with their 16b brush. 9a was slim and the perfect eyeshadow brush for my weird shaped eyes. I used it always when doing my eye makeup, and costing $20 it was made into a workhorse to justify its despicable price! One day it disappeared. I lamented that I probably left it on a table and accidentally flicked it off into a bin. Oh woe! I tried to think if I should buy it again and justify yet another time why I should spend another $20... Was this the end to my relationship with my perfect brush?

So far I've reviewed a fair share of NP eyeshadows. Of course it didn't end there when you go to meet the pushy saleswomen who try to decide what you should or should not buy (not that there was any limit to you buying the whole lot!).

What I bought:

Lash Patrol Eyelashes - Individual Black Medium
Khol Eyeliner Onyx $18
Khol Eyeliner Denim $18
Pro Palette Concealer $40
China Doll (Gel) Eyeliner in Equinox $25
16b Brush $26
9a Brush $20

The Product and Results

I bought the Lash Patrol Eyelashes when I fell in love with falsies. Falsies back then were pricy! Unfortunately these were pricy... I wanted to accent the outer corner of my eyes and I had never seen demis (by the way, this was before the new NP lash bars). These were natural hair (made in Indonesia) on a thin base and could be cut to shape. The problem with individual lashes is that you have to apply each one, it's time consuming to fill up all the spaces and the 'v' shape makes it hard to get even coverage. They're decent but easy to lose. I only wore them a few times with a tonne left over!

Cute packaging, really smart one liners. This has got to be the cheesiest packaging I've come across!

Here comes another (short) story! I remember flicking through Vogue. I saw a beautiful advertisement by Swarovski in 2007. It wasn't the jewellery I was looking at, it was the beautiful eyes jewelesque and pigmented. I wanted to replicate this but had no idea how to do it. Back then I was a 'n00b' at makeup! I was told by NP that this could be done with eyeliner underneath and eyeshadow above. This led to me buying Khol Eyeliner in Denim which was a rich turquoise blue, and to put on top the Turquoise loose shadow.

Above Flash, Below without Flash: Onyx and Denim eyeliner, Pro Palette Concealer smudged out.

The Khol Eyeliners were so pigmented, blendable, smooth and lasted pretty decently. I loved using this as an eyeshadow rather than an eyeliner and used it to grab onto eyeshadows. The eyeliners are just regular sized thin pencils. They were really worth it, though they didn't specify any 'extras' like being smudgeproof, waterproof, etc.

I don't buy concealer much and I have no idea why I would pay $40 on concealer. This one's decent. It doesn't create dry patchiness. It's best suited for flat areas of skin with medium discolouration rather than pimples. It is very creamy, almost oily and it's easy to accidentally blend off. I think concealer should be put on last (or both first and last) and this one especially. Fortunately because it has 3 colours to choose from you can mix up a match so that putting on concealer last blends in easily, and then finished with powder. The lightest shade is very yellow toned and the darkest very warm, maybe because they wanted to suit a range of skintones since the shades seem ethnically associated.

I bought the China Doll Eyeliner for a special occasion because I wanted a long lasting eyeliner. I initially wanted to buy Manic Panic's Gel 'Spider' Liner but the shop was closed. This was nice and rich, pigmented and matte. It lasted all day but was a little stiff and would crack a little throughout the day. I can't say that it's that much different to normal gel liners. The only problem was that it was in a plastic pot that wasn't air tight quickly turning the liner into a rock. Within a year it was dead and you had to dig in the middle to get bits of the slightly moister eyeliner (I think they are now in glass pots).

Rock anyone? I've read you can revive these with baby oil but don't take my word for it.

Lastly the brushes. 9a was the perfect brush for my eye shape. The small curved side fits into the inner corner of my eye perfectly. I actually prefer my brushes to be slightly stiffer than a normal eyeshadow brush and the sable fur (which grabs eyeshadow well) on this brush is packed flat together.

16b was suggested to me as a blending brush. It's loose, large and a struggle to blend when using strong sticky eyeshadow. I think it's still a great brush but is suited for brushing away excess eyeshadow as well and softening eyeshadows especially on the brow bone (too soft to be a concealer brush). Trying to blend away harsh stubborn lines leads to damaging the bristles so you have to be extra careful. Both these brushes don't shed and are excellently made.

But what happened to my 9a? I did rebuy it as much as it was a pain to hand over the money and many months later I found the old one wedged deep in my couch! When I compared the two I noticed a difference between them. The new one was shorter and didn't have a country of origin, perhaps to hide the fact that this was NO longer made in France! The ferrules were also differently shaped.

Now I have 2 faithful 9a brushes at my disposal!

Would I buy these products again?
No, No, No to the gel eyeliner. It looks to me that they are in a glass pot now but gel eyeliners from various brands don't differ much in my experience and NP's does the job at one heck of a price ($32 now!!!). The pencil eyeliners have also jumped to new dollar heights and while I've had a good experience with them there are many comparable products. Concealer and lashes are fine if you are into these but probably wouldn't repurchase. The brushes do get a big tick though and are comparable to other big brands (think MAC). NP Set also has another range of cheaper brushes at Target.

NB: This may all be a little outdated but I think the products here are similar or at least reincarnated into another form.

Love Porcelaine.

Sorry! + Upcoming Product

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Thu, 03 May 2012 05:48:00 +0000

I've been silent for the last couple weeks due to internet faults that *ahem insert most hated company* neglected to fix. More reviews are to come, continuing on with the 3 part Napoleon Perdis reviews.

Also my shop is a bit empty at the moment. I've been meaning to properly rehaul the old shades and bring in new ones. Here's a sneak peek to one of the new shades which is so far my favourite!

It's the loveliest blue and it changes colour from an aqua to purple, and it's a glitterbomb (blame me, I love shimmer and sparkle!).

Hold your horses, it's not coming out for a while yet and I'm very busy at the moment but I thought it would be nice to share this with you =D!

Love Porcelaine.

Review: Napoleon Perdis Part 1, Colour Discs, Loose Dust, Ultra Pearls

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 08:27:00 +0000

If you've been reading throughout my blog you may have noticed that I've mentioned Napoleon Perdis' products numerous times. You could consider NP as my personal entrance to the high end makeup up world. At the time I started using NP products they consisted solely of their own line (before collaborating with Target) where you could mainly buy them at their store, their stand alones or at David Jones. It finally came to me that maybe ? I should review their products considering I've bought a fair few of them in the past!

What They Sell

NP has pretty much anything you associate make up with. Includes primers, brushes, makeup cleaners, creams and all types of makeup.

What I Bought

I've bought quite a few products consistently over the years though I haven't bought any in the past few years.

Colour Discs at $22

#29 Black (matte)
#14 Purple (Matte dark eggplant)
#59 Terracotta (semi matte coral)
#92 Fuchsia (matte)

Loose Dust at $20

#3 Turquoise (highly shimmery with slightly golden sheen)
#39 Techno Glitter (holographic glitter slightly chunky)
#21 White Sparkle (White shimmer)

Ultra Pearls at $18

#23 Champagne Gold (gold fine shimmer on white)
#56 Blue Velvet (velvet finish dark blue)

Other products to be reviewed later:

Lash Patrol, Brushes, China Doll Eyeliner, 2 x Khol Eyeliner, Marshmallow Foam, Chandelier Shine Nail Polish, Divine Marchesa, Pro Palette, Voila Oil Control Paper

The Product and Results

It's kind of complicated since it seems that NP doesn't sell anymore of the colours I bought. They probably redid all the collections, so I can't speak for the new products. These products are nonetheless as good then as most high end brands in Australia.

Black, Purple, Terracotta, Fuchsia

The Colour Discs are bold, pigmented colours and easy to work with! The texture is fine and easy to pick up onto a brush. The Black shade is one of the exceptions being harder to blend; that's common with black colours and mattes anywhere you look but at $22 (not to mention inflation =P!) you'd expect consistent quality. Unfortunately the finishes were mostly matte and weren't texturally interesting or complicated. Each disc contained 2.8g of product in about a 4cm pan.

On the other hand the Loose Dust (4.5 g) brings in the shimmer lacking in the Colour Discs! With Turquoise and White Sparkle the texture is really fine but you can feel it between your fingers. It's very pigmented, shimmery and adhered well but loose products were fairly unpopular and uncommon at the time. Some of these colours could be complex and multidimensional, a winner in my books!

Turquoise, Techno Glitter, White Sparkle

Techno Glitter was one of 2 glitters and probably out of the whole brand. Again glitter wasn't all that popular which is still hard to find in high end makeup. This one is an undertone of light blue/lilac likely because the particles are iridescent on clear plastic, but shimmers multicoloured. It's similar to holographic glitter. The particles are a little larger than most marketed eye safe glitter so I'm reserved on these. It's still really beautiful so if you're game I'd pick this up.

The last 2 eyeshadows were the Ultra Pearls. These had a *duh* pearlish finish, semi matte, slightly shimmery, smooth and pigmented.

Champagne, Blue Velvet

Despite being an Australian brand all of these products are made in USA alongside the story of NP starting his own makeup line by himself in Paddington. The packaging was quite standard (matching my own Manic Panic eyeshadow) but the boxes were sometimes beautiful inside and out, a lot of them with windows to show each shade colour, and philosophies printed on the back. The ingredients were missing EVERY time.

One other side note (which may no longer be relevant) is that the colours on the website were almost always off and it was difficult to tell what kind of colour or finish they were. They were basically colour filled circles and not actual pictures of the product.

Today most of the product lines are still there but the products in them are different. The prices have gone up but the packaging is way better and NP has expanded their lines bringing new products (like the foundation in a spray can!).

Would I buy these products again?

I dare to say yes. There is no doubt these products are great quality. Some colours can be a little dull for the price but you get a lot of product, they are pigmented and perform like a boss =P! If I wanted something in particular I would trust NP to give me quality, so on that basis YES!

Have you tried NP? Would you rather get famous brands like MAC or support home grown brands?

Love Porcelaine.

Holiday Luggage! What I Used and What I Neglected!

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 00:56:00 +0000

I don't go on holidays often. As much as I like to there is always a reason not to go! This year was different, I had a brilliant chance to go overseas for almost a month! But the thing I was asking myself was 'What am I going to bring?'.

Well then...Here's what I did bring!

(Comment below if you want to know what a particular item is)

I really wanted to keep my luggage down. The first thing I did was make 2 pressed eyeshadow palettes to combat the problem! I made sure that they were of different colours on the spectrum. So a green here (or 2 in fact), a blue there, a gold, a brown, a purple, a yellow...Actually this basically amounted to 4 out of the 5 Heart of Gold eyeshadows creating a metallic palette and a tropical palette for my bright eyed needs. To add to that I brought with me Revlon's cream eyeshadow palette which was a huge letdown as they didn't apply pigmented at all!

Above: What I used

I found what I didn't use particularly interesting! I was looking forward to dramatic lips and brought a range of lip colours to prepare. But out of the several coloured lip products how many did I use?

Above: What I didn't use

ONE, yep, just one!

Why? Mainly because every time I did go out I was going out to eat. I personally think it's too much of a hassle to touch up after every meal and the 'lip liner' look (i.e. when all your lip stick comes off in the center leaving a ring of lip stick) isn't a particularly pretty look.

Instead my go-to was Lancome's Color Fever lip gloss in Aaron's Red.

This lipgloss was pretty low maintenance and wore down to a stain like finish.

It lasted throughout the day when I wasn't eating and provided the colour impact I was looking for!

Generally I was pretty dismal in getting any makeup on!

There never seemed like a good reason to as every day was pretty average and I was disappointed in a way.

What would I change? I probably should have brought more reliable products that I new damn straight would work! Perhaps I should have invested in products that applied semi permanently like a ColorStay lipstick...

What is your experience of bring makeup on your travels? Do you find that you have more or less time to do your makeup when on holidays? What are your tips for looking effortlessly fabulous?

Love Porcelaine.

EOTD: Tropiceye! with MUFE and Garden Of Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 09:18:00 +0000

A while ago I bought my first MUFE product!

In Australia it's pretty much non existent and hard to find.

I bought an eyeshadow which I actually eyed off for a few years in a discount makeup store but was never willing to buy it for the "heavy" (i.e. my tight ass!) price.

Actually what I really want is their Aqualiners.

But enough fussing around, here's the first look I did with MUFE and Garden Of Shadows Cos.

What I used:

TFSI as base.

MUFE #91 eyeshadow on lid.

Garden Of Shadows' Eureka! on crease.

Napoleon Perdis Loose Eyeshadow #3 above lid blending into Eureka!

Magic Glitter liner lining upper lash line.

What I found out about using MUFE eyeshadows are that they are very fine but didn't seem to stick well to my lid even with primer. Not sure why that is. It feels very pigmented but it didn't seem to work that well.

Love Porcelaine.

Review: My HORROR Experience with Wholesale7 Drama ( Chinese Wholesale Fashion Store )

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 04:06:00 +0000

I've always been a person who avoided drama in the MMU world. At least this very first time I'm going to be 'involved with drama' it's not about my beloved Indie Makeup world. Instead it's about the shady business and industry of reputed 'wholesale' sites and in particular the online store Wholesale7. It took a LOT of anger and loss of patience for me to get to this point. Here is a timeline of my horror experience and I do beg of you to SPREAD THE WORD so that less people get into the trouble that I did. This is not about scammers persay, but more on intentional shady business practices that should not be acceptable!

So here it goes...

The First order:

In September 2011 I made my first order with Wholesale7 - I found out about this site when I came across another 'wholesaler' (this will be explained below) which I became intrigued with. I googled for more wholesalers and came across Wholesale7 which I decided to make my first order from. I didn't have much of a direct contact with their CS. I think I asked some common questions about items like 'when are you restocking?' and a lot of customers do this. They always answered my questions but they were short, pretty straightforward situation.
The order consisted of 9 pieces of clothing and 1 pair of shoes. It costed in total ~$160USD so it was not short change! The shipping itself costed ~$56 shipped by EMS.

I received my package - It was shipped on time but found that it was very small. They reported that the package was 6.51kg all up from their website but I have doubts on that. I didn't pay too much attention to this and threw away the packaging.
However, what I received was definitely unacceptable. Nearly all the clothes were not as described and I was shocked with the quality.
I was very reserved about buying shoes online because that always entails problems. The shoes I bought looked great online but the construction of the shoe was definitely under par. It didn't cling to the foot properly and seemed to be cut too low. The base of the shoe was a bit slippery (non grip plastic instead of rubber) which made the shoes precarious. They didn't have a nice balance. Worst of all the laces of the shoes snapped on first use! Even with these problems I think I was still 'lucky' to have chosen this pair of shoes over others (I bought from another buyer some really shoddy Chinese shoes at around the same time which separated on first use!).
The clothes were hit and miss, nearly all miss. All of the pictures misrepresented the clothes as looking like they were made of superior fabric when it was not the case. Nearly all the clothes I bought were 1 size only and most didn't fit me; and the site lacked full measurements. That might have been my fault but some of them were smaller than they reported.
One of the clothes' colour was purple on the site (and labelled as such!) but blue in real life, the lace was a different type and didn't cover the whole cuff as they would have you believe.
The 'woolen' dress was made out of a scratchy material which probably is synthetic. It smelled a bit chemically as well.
There was one REALLY BAD dress in particular. On the site it looked great. What I received just boggled me. The dress used poplin with no stretch and the waist was fixed (the measurement not listed on their site). There was no opening so there was no way you could get into the dress unless your shoulders were the size of the dress' tiny waist. Maybe they neglected to include the waist measurement or any wear-ability details on purpose. Needless to say, I couldn't fit into it and perhaps it would take a body of a child for it to be suitable for anyone!!!
Another dress, another problem. Pictured on the site it looked fine but simple, was labelled as cotton. Instead I received some sort of cheap satin with no shaping as suggested in the photos. but it was the fact that it was so cheaply sewn with no lining, not a real facing (it looks lined in the picture), and a sewn tie ribbon on the side. Did I pay about $10 (incl. shipping) for a lazy and misrepresented garment?
The repeated problem was garments photographed in a way to make an illusion of a fuller hem (like bringing the hem to the front for more view or models doing a spin, etc). A lot of them didn't have tags or labels which irks me but it's not a deal breaker, but all of the above, that's horrendous!
A few clothes did pass the 'mark'. A cloak that I bought was reasonable, it looked like the picture with the exception of a lesser quality fabric and quick sewn buttons which all had to be stitched back on. For something that would cost almost $50 all up that's okay but a little disappointing. I also bought a simple net dress and oversized t-dress which pretty much matched what was pictured and I think it was their simplicity that was the advantage.

I complained about a few of the items - that were really unacceptable. Their response was a bit lackluster and insensitive. They basically told me that the defects shouldn't be a problem to me because 'we have a customer who bought many pieces'. They offered a discount without actually saying what the discount was. I asked them about the discount and then they pretty much mocked me by saying that 'you didn't accept discount, right?'. I obviously didn't say that but this becomes important later on in my second order when I encountered their vagueness and passive aggressive attitude. In the end they offered a 3% discount on my next order when their site stated a partial refund to PayPal for defects.

The 'Encounter' and Second order:
There becomes 2 strings of emails that happened simultaneously which you will see below. The second string is coloured brown to distinguish what was happening.

In October 2011 I started to communicate with Wholesale7 - yet again but to find out where their headquarters were. I read on the site that they were located in Guangzhou*. I was thinking of going to Guangzhou in the near future so I wanted to take advantage of this and planned ahead. They told me that they were moving soon and to email back later.
I emailed again in December and they replied with the address. I also asked on chat if I was able to go to see the clothing which they replied yes. My trip had later been organised. So far so good...
In January 2012 I was in Guangzhou and I tried to confirm - that they were at this new address and that I was able to visit their headquarters in the coming weeks. They of course told me yes it was fine.
In February 2012 I asked them carefully both in email and their online chat - firstly whether they had samples available, what currency would I be able to pay in, and if the clothes were easy to reach. They replied that they had samples, that I could choose the samples and they would give them to me (to carry or ship), and RMB or USD was fine.
I then asked (by email) if I could try the clothes on, whether I could touch or feel them, and, through chat, whether they had change rooms. They told me yes I could try them but they didn't have change rooms but to email them in advanced to let them know I was coming and they would get the samples before I came (I was under the impression that they already had the samples and they seemed to imply that they did...)
I asked (by email) when they were open and they said 24/7. In all these communications which seemed to go fine I got my hopes up and wrote some pretty happy replies.
I finally decided when I was going to visit and organised for a friend to take me. On the 5th day of continuous communications they asked me what items I wanted because now they decided to tell me that they had to get it first, and also that I should call up before I was to visit. Now, their site is HUGE. I thought that they would just have a warehouse with all the stock in there and that perhaps they would have samples of them; this seemed implied and after months of talking it was one of the first of many blows of this vagueness and sudden clarification. I scoured the site to find all the clothes I wanted to try which took hours of my time but I guess I had no choice if I was to turn up and have them not have any samples altogether. I sent off the list.
THE FIRST CALL - That day I also got someone to call up to confirm for my visit. We asked for Kate who was the 'lady' that I talked to on all occasions I emailed (I chatted to a 'different person' on their website chat system). They passed over to her and they spoke in Cantonese confirming that I was able to come and also that they would check the email of my list of items after the phone call.
THE SECOND CALL, the next day, the day I was to visit - I got the same friend to call up Wholesale7 and again asked for Kate. Then the drama arrived! Interestingly this 'Kate' no longer could speak Cantonese and had a different voice. Luckily my friend was able to speak Mandarin too and she started to speak with this new 'Kate' who still didn't check any emails I had sent, neither did she seem to remember anything about the previous call. She profusely apologised in a way but there still seemed to be a bit of an argument ensuing. It ended with the fact that nothing was organised and that we should call back in 2 hours.
That was the point we gave up - We decided that it wasn't going to happen and probably wouldn't despite what they said. We discussed that it really seemed that they were never in a position to be open for visiting and that their were probably leading me on every email that I got. I truly believe this was the case despite their 'efforts' of 'trying' to 'organise' whatever that was. We decided to do something else. We went shopping in some shopping centres...I went to H&M for the first time in my life and that filled a small gap of the disaster of a week I just had. But it wasn't over yet.
When I got home I received a message - It said it is inconvenience to come our warehouse... apology for our previouse misleading messages...we will send you some samples. They also wanted ME to reply ASAP after their failed attempts of checking my email. Well, at least I didn't have to call back in 2 hours to confirm what I already knew.
I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. I emailed back saying that I already sent a list of samples that I wanted.
They replied that I couldn't have all of them but to pick 1 or 2 and if I wanted more I would have to place an order. They again failed to elaborate in the first place and reclarified when my response didn't suit them. Okay, fine, I'll pick 1 or 2 then. So I listed 2 items.
Meanwhile there were a couple items I really wanted from the site and I was worried that they would be out of stock - This became the biggest mistake I made. I placed an order for 2 items hoping that I would be able to get the things I wanted most.
To my dismay they alerted me that one of the items were OOS (should I want a store credit or replacement of item). I told them to replace the item with something else. They told me that it was done and that I needed to pay the extra costs of ~$24. I found the shipping too high so I asked them to change the product for another. They changed it. I now owed ~$12.
At the same time I received another email from the first string of emails asking me if I wanted to put the samples together with the order. I said okay thinking that was the nice thing to do...probably shouldn't have done it. The person from this string of emails found out that I had an order owing which was $24 at the time but had since changed. I emailed back with the calculations to make sure that she knew what the new order was supposed to be.
She then told me to pay up $121 for the samples that were for FREE! They were now asking me to pay for the samples but not only that, they were asking for $22 for the existing items which were a huge miscalculation. I told them that this was not right, they were charging me for free items and that they were getting everything wrong. I was pretty inflamed because of the repetitive lying, the mistakes (if they were not intentional), the vagueness, the repeated reclarifications.
In the second string of emails 'she' became confused with what items I wanted to replace with. I again sent my calculations to them so I had sent to both strings of emails.
They apologised and confirmed that the samples would be free and asked for my order number which I replied back with.
They again alerted that an item was OOS with it seems an automated message. What was particularly stupid was that this item was the item I first asked to replace the original OOS but we already confirmed that I cancelled this item and swapped it for another one. It wasn't part of my order!
AGAIN they knocked my sample request back (which was already settled) saying that I needed to choose up to 2 items under $10 each. I was shocked since they never said this in the first place and that it seemed like these samples were dwindling to the value of nothing. I didn't choose the most expensive items and these items in no way replaced my horrid experience so far or the lost opportunity caused by their bungle. I replied asking why. They replied that I couldn't choose "so expensive"!
Meanwhile I asked them to cancel the whole order since this was taking too long. They replied that since the order was in preparation the order couldn't be cancelled. On their site they never made a mention about this and I felt that the bad customer service was grounds enough to cancel.
I told them that they already made a mistake with the OOS that wasn't part of my order, felt that I would never receive it anyway and complained about how they lied to me. They replied that my order the way I wanted was prepared but that I could choose 1 item under $10 now...
On the other line I asked if I could get 1 item under $20 instead of 2 under $10 each. I also wanted my order separated as it was in the beginning because the order was taking too long. They asked me again what my order number was and said that they would separate the order. I replied back with the number.
They then told me that they won't separate the order and that if I wanted to separate it I had to make a new order. This made no sense at all! They were first willing to send my samples for free including shipping. Now they wanted me to order more for no reason.
I asked them why I now needed to make a new order and how come it was okay for them to send the samples separately but now it wasn't okay. They replied that it was the 'rule of our company'. Rule? WHAT RULE? There was NO RULE! They just made it on the spot or neglected to put ANY information on the site about these so called rules!!!
During this time I again asked for the free sample. They told me that they organised the order and that I had to pay the extra amount. I asked them again why the FREE item was not for free.
I really had it at this point so I went to PayPal for a claim. I wrote up all the events that happened. They finally refunded my money and it seemed that their no cancel policy was not a problem anymore!
When I asked for the final time if I could get my free samples they replied no. When I asked them why they failed to reply at all. I don't think they were ever willing to rectify the problem.

So some facts need to be straightened out about this.

I know this is not the usual customer situation. This is a cause for concern since I believe this is a deeper endemic internal issue that's poisoning their industry and shouldn't be trusted. When on one hand you could have an order go okay, on the other hand it could go disastrously wrong. I feel that their actions are passive aggressive so they may not directly inflame the situation they use vagueness, confusion, broken promises, belated 'clarifying' and miscommunication to change the situation. I refuse to let them see me as easy to manipulate. Even if they were all "good intentions" it is just unacceptable for so many mistakes to occur.

* Guangzhou - China's 3rd largest city, a huge center for manufacturing and proliferates in wholesale markets especially in the fashion industry.
These wholesale sites work on the basis of buying from ACTUAL wholesalers and the sites themselves are not wholesalers but online retailers. What really identifies them as retailers is the fact that the actual clothes manufacturers and their wholesale stores don't themselves sell directly to the consumer, they sell to a lot of these online socalledwholesalers as well as other retail stores around the country/world. These socalledwholesalers are selling at around the RRP of the item that you would find in China, or at the very least are selling for a lot more than a wholesaler would ever have you pay.
Many of these socalledwholesale sites share the same clothing. That's because the clothes are distributed from wholesalers to a whole range of retailers like Wholesale7. In stores in China, and there are a lot of them, these cheap stores sell the same stuff as these online retailers.
Most of these socalledwholesale sites work in this similarly deceptive fashion as Wholesale7. Most of the pictures are stock photos from manufacturers or they are stolen from other sellers or the brands/magazines that they try to knock off! It's obviously illegal in Australia to do such things but in countries like China there isn't much interest in copyright justice.
I have a general feeling that they don't have reliable stock on hand. I'm not sure how exactly their systems work but what I know for sure is that their 'in stock' numbers are never right. They don't reflect at all the correct amount of stock they have in their 'warehouse'.
An interesting point is that the really cheap clothes, the really shoddy sewed clothes from my experience wouldn't be bought by the local people in China. It can be THAT bad.
Clothes are usually one size because it suits the local market, not really the Australian market. The clothes often skimp out on finer details, extra fabric, etc. Photos are usually different to the real thing.
What makes a good wholesale/retail site is that they pick the right items that are acceptable quality and do all they can to properly depict the product and describe the features correctly. Wholesale7 seems to indiscriminately pick anything and everything without assessing the quality and in fact uses these cheap prices and misleading images to rope in the consumer. Their general interest is for products to sell as quickly as possible in an out direction and the money to come in but not out!
These sites work best on the premise of not being in touch with the consumer to carry out their business.
What's most important is the fact that most of these clothes are not worth the money you pay for them. You can buy clothes of similar or better quality in Australia and in most countries that people are buying from than you would on these websites. Support your local market! Because there really is no comparison or worth the heartache in buying from these sites. Don't risk it because you deserve better!

You might also be wondering why I haven't shared emails. Emails are private communications so I'd like to think I'm doing the legally right thing by not sharing it all bared out. I am sharing my experience and my opinion and I hope this will warn any potential buyer NOT to every buy from Wholesale7 and be VERY WARY that other sites probably aren't a good idea either!

I want to know your experience of wholesale/retail sites! I want you all to warn people to the potential problems with dealing with these sites! Write about your experience in the comments below!

Love Porcelaine.

NOTD: Express Gradient Nails! Ulta3 Precious Nail Polish

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:16:00 +0000

This would be one of the most exciting discoveries that I've found by accident leading to a very easy set of gradient nails! When I initially wrote this post I was still enchanted by this nail polish and you can see the original post below the gradient nails info!

This all started when I was ready to take off my nail polish. When I used acetone on wipes I rubbed my nails to reveal that much of the gold came off leaving a speckled metallic silver behind! This gave me a brilliant idea!

I redid my nails with the same polish, 2 coats. I then used a cotton tip soaked in acetone and gently rubbed on the tips of my nails, more so on the edge and less in the middle of my nails. This gave a really nice gold to silver look! I applied a top coat (Maybelline Express Dry clear top coat) to protect the finish and smooth out the nail polish texture.

Don't rub too hard of course because you don't want bare patches!

- Original post -
If you're ever the one to buy things just because it looks stunning in the bottle then I know just the nail polish for you! I had one of those supermarket runs just before taking off overseas and passed by the local chemist. In the famous $2.50 allotment of nail polish I spotted a nail polish called Precious.

It is precious! It's filled half with metallic gold and half with silver and it's something unlike any nail polish I've seen. The duality on the walls of the bottle is breathtakingly mystic as it swirls and groups in silver or gold clouds.

Now, that's not exactly how it plays out on your nails. It's definitely more dispersed. Depending on the light when it's bright the silver shines more and when it's dim the gold takes over. It's still a stunning nail polish despite it's deceptive bottle!

If you see this definitely pick one up (it's $2.50 after all!!!).

Have you ever found interesting cheap finds? What's your view on budget makeup?

Love Porcelaine.

EOTD: Lost in Sharp Icy Waters

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:37:00 +0000

This was strangely one of those days when my camera actually co-operated with me and didn't totally blur my images! ...but I completely forgot what I used.

I have a feeling that these were random colours I concocted which actually paired up well but still didn't pass the mark (I'll have to re investigate because this is stunning!).

What I used:

TFSI as base.

Some sort of Aqua with gold shimmer that I concocted on lid.

Some sort of navy blue, could be GOS' Kristina or Eureka! or something new, on crease and blended above lid with the aqua.

Some sort of blue shimmer on inner 'v' and blended above eyelid.

LA Girl Mark My Eyes felt tip eyeliner winged on upper lash line.

Love Porcelaine.

Review: Garnier BB Cream / All in One Moisturiser in Light

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:01:00 +0000

BB creams have been EVERYWHERE but funnily enough it's popularity has just started to wane. In spite of that Garnier has chosen to release their version of a BB cream and are among very few Western companies that offer BB creams especially in Australia. My love for BB creams are very fond so I decided to give this interesting specimen a try!

What is it (actually WHAT IS IT????)?

This product is quite complexly presented and had me confused! I first heard about this product from another Aussie blog right at the release of this product (about a couple months ago) and it was labelled a BB cream which is what caught my eye. Meanwhile Garnier did some TV ads touting Australia's first BB cream, etc, etc. drawing me closer to buying it even though my mind was already made! I went out and bought it at Coles for about $15. What was interesting to note is that they call it a 'Miracle Skin Perfector'. Miracle Skin Perfector? Below it says 'Daily All-in-one Moisturiser'...!? That's fine and all but looking at the box I could find no mention of it being a BB cream!

Here are a few points of what was said on the box:

'Miracle Skin Perfector' on the front 'Youthful Miracle Skin Perfector' on the back
'Daily All-in-one Moisturiser'
'BB cream Innovation' on front and 'Inspired by BB creams' on back
Hybrid formula combines longlasting hydrating care with a light touch of makeup
Vitamin C
Lightweight, comfortable, UV filters (SPF 15)
Evens complexion, reduces sunspots & imperfections
Comes in Light and Medium
And huge list of proven effectiveness
Non comedogenic
Made in FRANCE

Here are points on what's on the tube!

'Miracle Skin Perfector'
'Daily All-in-one BB cream'
Made in GERMANY

So we already have a few problems pointed out at this point. First the tube says it is a BB cream and the box says it's inspired and doesn't claim to be a BB cream. Well I personally couldn't care less but to put my 2 cents in I would find it smarter if it said that it was a BB cream and explained what a BB cream was i.e. 'Miracle Skin Perfector' and 'Daily All-in-one Moisturiser' if they wanted to use their words. I totally understand that consumers here probably would feel confused with just saying BB cream, but to miss the point altogether and have mismatched packaging is pretty lazy.

Secondly what's this about FRANCE and GERMANY? Does that mean that the box was made in France and the tube and contents made in Germany? There is no answer for that unfortunately so you be the judge.

The proven effectiveness is a bit amiss for me. I wonder how many questions and how many ways they asked the subjects these questions and whether they chose which results to show off. I'm speculating of course but these are not indications that it does the job well, rather that it does give AN effect.

Results

I haven't used this much as it has been summer and this is clearly for dry skin. It's too oily for me as throughout the day an oil slick starts to develop around my T-zone. But for mature or dry skin I think this is the ticket. It's a good tinted moisturiser which keeps throughout the day but without being overly oily. It absorbs when applied and won't mask up unless you are oil prone.

Thick blob but when spread out it's very sheer and oily.

If coverage is what you are looking for this isn't suitable at all. This 'BB cream' lacks any foundation qualities as it's thin and can oddly buildup 'clumps' of pigment over time. I wouldn't call this a BB cream (an under par one if you consider it one), more of a traditional tinted moisturiser containing handy SPF. It does smooth your complexion but it's not going to even out everything. As it comes in two shades this might not suit dark skinned people or the very fair.

What's interesting is that Garnier sells similar products overseas. In Asia they sell a similar product and it's clearly labelled a BB cream which shows awareness of the market. What I like about Garnier is that they are easy to purchase in Australia, available at supermarkets and chemists.

To rub salt in my wounds I finally got sent 2 samples of this very BB cream after I bought it a couple months ago!

Would I buy this again?

Not as a 'BB cream'. It's not as I was hoping for and it's somewhat misrepresented. As a tinted moisturiser this is a decent example but as a BB cream/foundation it doesn't fit the category. This is suitable for people with dry skin who need a little extra help with their skin.

What do you think about this? Should a big company have so many mistakes for a late arriving product?

Love Porcelaine.

Digitalis Multiuse Pressed Blush Compact

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:52:00 +0000

I've always wanted to do crazy!

Bright purple?

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

So here I reveal Digitalis, of course named after the poisonous flower...

If you have the guns to wear this shade I salute you!

Digitalis is a beauty but inside she's laced with her elegant poison, potent to her core.
A warm matte mid toned purple with a matching low shimmer sheen.

Love Porcelaine.

Back! The Month That Was...

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:53:00 +0000

The last month or so has been a whirlwind of experience for me! My usual holiday destinations in my life has mainly consisted of camping parks and me trying to enjoy beaches without tanning! I'm back in Australia. Here's a taste of the month that was!

I spent a whole MONTH overseas enjoying the shivering cold which I envied as I dislike the Aussie summer! The last time I went on a proper holiday was way over 3 years ago!
I've learnt a thing or two about travelling which got me inspired and will later share some tips on how to best prepare! I'll also be sharing my smallish (tbh, large and repetitious) haul...
Sale is over but.... I will be fine tuning the shop and bringing in more blushes in a range of awesome colours for the daring!
The hiccuping posting will continue since that holiday won't pay itself LOL! But as always, I will try my best.
I lost my pink hair in a crazy chemical straightening (my already very straight hair) incident! I'll talk about chemical straightening in a 'tell all' post!
Lancome Color Fever Gloss in 125 Aaron's Red became my new best friend! I wore it practically everyday as my go to for an easy splash of colour! It looks like the perfect LIP STAIN. Now I'm in disbelief that I went so long without a few high end products (I used to be a Lancome addict and hoarded this lipgloss for ages >. > not good for the wallet)!
Learnt to drink tea. I was already trying to drink green tea before I left due to supposed health benefits like antioxidants and appetite suppressant...? I need more water intake anyway! My favourite? Korean green tea with roasted rice tea bags. It's quite different to most of the tea you get out there, the rice makes all the difference!
I've decided to join Jerry (SilhouetteScreams) on Project 10 Pan. I will attempt to kill 10 lipglosses!

So how was your month? Find any products you are love with?

Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold Palette - Garden of Shadows Cosmetics

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:38:00 +0000

This was an unexpected occurance!

I was planning to make a palette for myself to take on my travels including 4 of the 5 colours from the Heart of Gold Collection.

I didn't originally intend to sell it but thought it over and decided to make a few of these palettes to share with everyone!

They are SOOO CHEAP right now!

Since there's 30% off storewide you get 4 colours for just $9.76!

It's in handy packaging, they're pigmented and the colours complement each other beautifully.

How great is that?!

Love Porcelaine.

Review: Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F/ELF) Part 1 Shimmer Eyeliner Pencils in All colours

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 06:56:00 +0000

ELF is widely known in the USA and it's only been recently that ELF has come over the Australia (for the second time in fact!). I made this complex (joking!) purchase through an overseas friend of a friend who made the order online on the US website then (ahem) shipped it to my friend who passed it on to me a whole year ago, yeah, complex... Here's part one of the GIGANTIC purchase and long overdue review!

What I bought, and what is it?

Let's start with the good stuff.
I bought the Shimmer Eyeliner pencils in EVERY COLOUR =P costing $1USD each on the US based website. This included the following colours (all have an underlying slight silver shimmer):

Iconic Ivory - White shimmer/sparkle
Precious Pink - Light neutral Pink shimmer with slight silver shimmer
Blissful Blush - Medium Taupe brown shimmer/metallic
Boldly Bronze - Bronze brown metallic with slight silver shimmer (more brown than the website's orange tone)
Grassy Green - Slightly blue mid green metallic with slight silver shimmer (more blue than website's swatch)
Twinkle Teal - Teal metallic with slight silver shimmer (not really green duochrome on website)
Plum Passion - Grape plum shimmer with slight silver shimmer
Gunmetal - Grey shimmer/metallic with slight silver shimmer
Black Bandit - Black base with slight silver shimmer

They are standard pencil eyeliners including a sharpening lid.

Left to right as listed above.

Here's the online description:

"Instantly brighten eyes with e.l.f. Cosmetics shimmering metallic liners that put the spotlight on eyes. The smooth formulation glides on effortlessly without tugging at the delicate eye area. Choose from an assortment of 9 vibrant shades designed to add depth, definition and a special sparkle to create a very glamorous look! Pencil includes a convenient sharpener cap for easy use!"

The Results?

These eyeliners are so soft, blendable and smooth to apply. They don't crumble when blunted but crumble when sharpened to a point. Lining your eyes are extremely easy with these as they are soft enough to transfer to the lid. Blend them out and you have a metallic and shimmer eyeshadow where the silver shimmer comes out more.

Taken with flash and blended down

When you use them as an eyeliner they last all day; I've never had a problem with transfer when doing a thin line at the lash line. As an eyeshadow it doesn't have the same staying power and can crease especially on oily lids, which is understandable.

Taken without flash and blended down.

The colours are slightly over saturated on the website but they contain a punch of shimmer! They are highly pigmented and the range of colours are adequate containing a few neutrals, a few brights and a few darker colours. They are handily packaged to resemble the pencil colour, even with a shimmery finish making it easy to recognise and the sharpening lid is a surprising bonus for something that costs $1.

There are few downsides but if it had to be said there are no added 'extras' in the eyeliner. It's not claimed to be smudgeproof, waterproof, etc. In that respect it doesn't claim to do anything other than what is said which is great. The lighter shades do help brighten the eye.

In these ELF reviews I can't comment on the outer packaging simply because there wasn't any! I don't think that was the case in the first place; it seems that the person who sent this over took away most of the packaging to reduce shipping costs as I've seen other people receiving their items in their packaging...

Would I Buy this Again?

OH YES, finally one I can absolutely shout about! It's has most of the important things needed in an eyeliner and it's quite a unique and flamboyant example of interesting eyeliners at an extremely affordable price.

What's your experience of ELF? Has anyone ordered from the new Aussie website?

Love Porcelaine.

Just Before I Go....!

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 10:52:00 +0000

A reminder about what will happen in the coming month:

30% OFF STOREWIDE (to compensate for being away!)
I will be 'away' from now until 14th February. The shop will remain open and will be accepting orders but won't be made or shipped until I get back. I'll be unable to attend to emails or blogging as I will have limited internet connection (if any).
You might be wondering what will be happening with the blushes. I completed one pressed blush called Lotus! I will be working on making 2 more *bright* blushes when I'm back!
Here's is a link in case of boredom! My gothable Tumblr will be on queue and hopefully last till I'm back! My twitter will probably be quiet while I'm away. My Facebook has just been overhauled to reflect what's currently happening and I'll try and revive it to become more informative and streamlined (it will be a little quiet in the meantime).
There will be at least one more review to be posted and that will be on ELF Shimmer Pencil Eyeliners!
I'll try to take as many EOTDs. This is the first time in a long time of having continue excuses to do my makeup (except for being restricted in what I bring) as I'll be going out enjoying a different scenery.
Charity eyeshadows, hmmm. I've chosen to broaden my area of interest as it seems too obscure to find a particular charity to donate to. There will be 2 eyeshadows with ALL PROFITS going to a charitable cause. Who I'll choose is yet to be decided and details will be posted when I'm back. I don't only aim to raise money but to inform! If you haven't noticed I like putting facts on my product pages (though don't quote me on someone's life! =P!). I fully believe that knowledge and being educated are the foundations of life, should also be a joy and easy to access!
Hopefully when I'm back I'll be happy, healthy, refreshed, ready to roll on and bursting with more to come!

With love, Porcelaine.

Lotus Multiuse Pressed Blush Compact - Garden Of Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Turning the tables: A blush at last!

Although blushes have been on the agenda but have been late the fruit there's double the offering here with my first PRESSED product!

And yes, stunningly it can be used just about anywhere! Think of the possibilities!

The various releases planned have been a bit topsy turvy due to the upcoming hiatus but it's been decided that Lotus will be the first blush available to order Now and shipped around mid to late February!

Here's the lovely description!

"The Lotus plant is delicate, elegant and often pictured shrouded within an oriental scene.

Like the Lotus this Multiuse Pressed Blush Compact is a delicate cool frosty pink with a very subtle light green overlay and slight peach undertone.

This feminine and flirty colour can also be used as an eyeshadow and lip colour. Just use a small stiff brush, pack colour on and apply. Add a little lipgloss or lipbalm to lips as desired!

Every Lotus compact also comes with a free Lipstick Feminist eyeshadow*!"

I hope you enjoy this rare offering as much as I do!

Love Porcelaine.

Review on the Run: BYS Scented Nail Polish...

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:00:00 +0000

I thought it be time to get some things out there and straight. I've never been a huge fan of BYS. Actually I dislike a lot of their stuff which has been hit and miss, mostly miss. Take in mind I've been buying from this brand for several years now so I've come to know its past and its present. Most of you know BYS as the famous Crackle nail polish brand. I haven't tried it yet...though I do plan to in the future.

It seems that BYS is improving. Well I personally can't say for sure that it has been improving overall. Yes, they have brought exciting and innovative products for an absolutely affordable price especially considering Aussie standards (we Aussie know too well that our cost of living is ridiculous and product prices highly inflated to international counterparts) but among the treasure trove of successes are some predictable and true failures.

So what can I say about BYS Scented nail polish?

Scented nail polishes in (I think) Navy Blue/Blueberry, Peacock/Tropical (excuse the horrible photo)

I tested these new BYS nail polishes with a quick coat at a store to see if they worked. I smelt the bottle and couldn't smell anything apart from the usual chemical scent. Then I applied it. Unfortunately the same old applies. It was thin to apply and when it dried I couldn't smell anything, not even the slightest! I tried scratching it a bit like you do with some stickers (the wear in the photo actually was naturally done) and nothing. So it was a complete fail, in fact a rather misleading claim of being a scented nail polish...

To be honest this is disappointing considering that other nail products have been hits. But on the other hand I'm relieved that this didn't work as I don't recommend snuffing chemical scents or any nail polish residue especially to the natural appeal to children. What's your view on BYS? Would you buy a new product by BYS if you couldn't try them first?

Love Porcelaine.

Review / NOTD: Hello Kitty Violet Salome Multichrome? & Priceline Range

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:53:00 +0000

Hello Kitty is a much loved brand but it suffers from a certain ambiguity. I went to investigate Priceline's range! Here's a NOTD and mini review.

I bought one nail polish called Violet Salome which by the bottle looked like a multichrome costing $10. It's a grape nail polish with the particles sometimes reflecting pink glittery particles but isn't glitter, instead being a great alternative for glitter. It fully covers in 3 coats but you can get away with 2. Unfortunately once it starts chipping it chips fast especially which just 2 coats.

It isn't a multichrome. It can tend to reflect the colour of your surroundings but that doesn't really add any effect. You can see here the bottle looks very much like a multichrome but on the nails it's more a darkness on the sides of the nails instead of being a different colour. Despite this it's a stunning nail polish to add to your collection.

I did have a look at the other products which ranged from face powders to eyeshadows as well as the nail polishes. The eyeshadows were highly pigmented, beautifully bold colours, a little predictable. The other nail polishes were surprisingly bland and generic compared to Violet Salome.

Flash

What I dislike about Hello Kitty and similar brands is that the product ranges are usually licenced ones. There are many Hello Kitty brands out there, the most famous being MAC's collection and there are a lot in Asia (among its fakes), making it difficult to figure out or predict what kind of quality to expect from the particular brand you are looking for. As this range was from Priceline there is about no information out there (though I was pointed this way from Jerry @ SilhouetteScreams). The most I could gather was it came under a company called Heritage Brands (seeming like a wholesaler or something along those lines) including brands like Australis, Innoxa, Revlon Nails, Nailene and more. I'm not sure how long they will be in Priceline but I have a feeling it won't last long...

Would I buy this again? Probably would! It's a unique finish, eyecatching and almost worth it. The downside is that in the bottle the colour is misleading and the quality wasn't as expected for the money's worth.

What do you think of licensed brands? Does it have the same heart as other brands when considering the control of the products often comes under a separate entity?

Love Porcelaine.

Holiday Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:16:00 +0000

It's getting close to my hiatus so here is what to expect in the coming couple months:

My computer needs to be fixed. I know this is all terribly hectic! I probably won't be able to post and I'm not sure how long it will take. I'll still check up on emails and orders.
I will slowly be doing an overhaul of this blog. I've done some renaming of titles and tidying up of blog posts so that information is clearer.
I've released the eyeshadows for Heart of Gold Collection. It's been a few months of process to get this working but it has come clashing with my hiatus. These eyeshadows will be properly available in a couple weeks (under 'made to order' status) but until then any orders will expect to be processed with extended TATs as they are currently under the preorder period.
Most shop listings have been overhauled. I'll continue to simplify and clean up listings after Lipstick Feminist reformulation but that will be a while later.
I will not be processing orders from 16th January to 18th February. I'll be accepting orders during this time but they will definitely not be shipped until I come back.
I'm in the process of creating a store website. I'm not positive on whether or not it will work but that's on my wishlist. Have any ideas or recommendations?

Thanks for listening! Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold: Aurum Loose Eyeshadow

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0000

I did eventually succumb to the true gold and went for this layered gold colour.

As much as gold could be gold there is a bit more complexity and I avoided a flat and dull look.

Here's the description:

The symbol for gold?

The element gold in the periodic table has a symbol of Au coming from the latin word Aurum. It might mean wealth, courage, warmth, power, the sun ..........

Aurum is a warm yellow metallic gold with light gold sparkles.

Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold: Alluvial Loose Eyeshadow

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:00:00 +0000

If you are a budding gold enthusiast you probably know that mining gold for a hobby usually consists of panning for alluvial gold!

I've done this once at Bathurst which is probably the closest and most renowned place for gold near Sydney but it's still 3 hours away!

Instead if you're the type to watch car racing how about going to the Bathurst 1000 (yep, 1000 km of car racing on what's officially a road but is more like a race track up a hill) and then a detour to its tourist mining centres? Just a suggestion...

Here's the description:

*When the stream calls your name bring your pan to the specks of gold among the river stones.*

Searching for gold in streams by panning was a traditional way of obtaining gold. By removing the top layers of stones and moving the pan in a circular motion the gold settles to the bottom.

A lovely mid green base with gold metallic sheen.

Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold: Eureka! Loose Eyeshadow

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 03:30:00 +0000

Even though my collection is based on Gold I was determined to add shades without adding gold in them. What could be more boring then 7 completely gold shades?

So I looked to the familiar Australian Gold Rush history (And what a story! You should look up the Eureka Stockade!).

Here's the description:

"We swear by the southern cross to stand truly by each other, and fight to defend our rights and liberties!"

Australia's gold rush came at a mortal cost. A sudden battle was fought by a group of miners against the invading government forces united under the new Eureka Flag. It depicted the Southern Cross - the Crux Constellation.

A navy shimmering base with silver stars and subtle purple undertones.

Now that quote is so heartwarming and powerful!

Love Porcelaine.

Review: BYS Neon Orange Eyeliner Followup

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

On my introduction to my small BYS haul I mentioned about possibly using the Neon Orange Eyeliner as a lipliner with a coat of lipgloss to create a lipstick. As an eyeliner it was total rubbish.

Jerry from Silhouette Screams was curious to see a true orange rather than a red based one so I had a go trying it!

Previous swatch

It turned out pretty well actually. It was hard to apply since it still was hard and waxy but the colour seemed to stay true to the pumpkin orange that you see in the swatch. I applied a clear but shimmery Medusa's Makeup lip gloss on top which masked the smell of the eyeliner, smoothed out the waxy texture and softened the look of the eyeliner. I don't think I could build it up to be a lipstick texture as it was more like a pigmented lipbalm and it was hard to get full opacity without pulling at the lips. I don't think it would last long unless you put less lip gloss so that the eyeliner retains adhesion.

Verdict? It's worth a try at $3.95 if you can't find anything else to replace it. The only real downside is application.

Love Porcelaine.

Heart of Gold: Ingot Loose Eyeshadow

noreply@blogger.com (Porcelaine) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 03:06:00 +0000

A highlight colour is always good for a complement and to blur out the edges of your eyeshadow.

Blend, blend, blend as they say though I think this colour is suitable as a sheer eyeshadow itself, a brow, inner v or cheekbone highlight, or even a warm blush!

Since this is a subtle shade I went for the smaller version of gold storage - an Ingot!

So that means Blood Bullion is its bigger brother?

Maybe...

Here's the description:

Good things come in small packages!

The ingot is a small block of metal and like the bullion it's usually molded with a company signature. They can be used as commodity or for storage and manufacturing.

A sheer highlight eyeshadow of gold and warm tones.

Love Porcelaine.