On the Indie Scene

What have I been up to the last year?! Oh nothing much, just getting to know the scene...the indie scene of beauty and bath products. In the last year there has been a boom in brands other than the ones at the drugstore or high end shop though for some the quality is the same or better. I see these small internet based shops as the Mom and Pop stores of the 21st century. People single handedly starting their own business, making their own products, and selling them through an online store front. Many start with an Etsy or Storenvy, gain a following, and grow large enough to venture to their own websites. Some have seen such exponential growth that they have to move production out of their house to an actual workshop, eventually bridging the gap between online and brick and mortar. The community that surrounds these artisans build up and support their makers and it's become a world where the customer really does have a say in what's made.

I ventured into this world through a soap box subscription (you can see that post here), similar to Birchbox or Ipsy but geared specifically towards the bath side of beauty. Jars of whipped soap, triple body butter, and body scrubs started to fill my shelves as I learned that the shower (or bath) could be an experience. But it doesn't stop there- skin care, makeup, nail polish, beard oil, and so many more products are being produced by your neighbor and buying it is just a click away. Moving forward I'll try to highlight some of the gems I've come across and maybe bring something new your way, just so you know that the possibilities really are endless.

Just some of the amazing brands and products

It's (Softly) Electric!

With Urban Decay's newest palette released in March, many people took a break from the nudes and looked to add a little 'tude with The Electric Palette. Ten bold, bright shades from a company that had perfected the nude look three times over, this shook up things a little, and is now the perfect way to add a little POP of color to your face. When you see this in person it's rather intimidating, especially if you tend to lean towards softer, more natural shadow colors. I've been playing around with it and have come up with some looks to help ease you in to adding more bold colors to your look.

First, the palette comes in a gorgeously colored black plastic case, with puffs of neon color all over the top. It comes with a dual sided brush and large mirror on the inside cover. It's sturdy and well made with a hitch in the hinge so it will stay closed while traveling. The ten shadows inside are INSANE and this has been the hardest product to photograph so I highly encourage you to take a look at it in person if you have the chance. I took three separate photographs (after changing the lighting a little) to try and capture the shadows in their true color but still don't think it's 100% accurate.

*The palette has three types of finishes-shimmer, matte, and satin. Four of the colors (Slowburn, Savage, Jilted, and Urban) do carry a warning against using around the immediate eye area because of the ingredients in these particular colors, but this is mostly if you have sensitive lids. I've used all of the shades on my eye area and the only issue I had was a little staining from Slowburn so make sure you use a primer-plus the colors look better and will last longer with one. I would recommend trying them out on a day you're at home, just to make sure you don't have a reaction.

Awesome, right?! The top row has Revolt (solidly silver), Gonzo (a beautiful cerulean blue), Slowburn (bright tangerine), Savage (neon pink), and Fringe (teal).
The bottom row is Chaos (true navy), Jilted (purple with a tinge of pink to it), Urban (purple, all the way), Freak (a limey sea foam green) and Thrash (bright yellow green). I think my two favorites are Gonzo and Freak!

Now that you've seen them, how do you wear them? I've seen many bright rainbow eye tutorials and while those are great, sometimes we need to dip our toe in before we jump in. I picked up my Naked 2 palette to help soften these colors a little and make them more wearable for the office.

First I used a good primer, patted all over my lid and up to right under my eyebrow followed by Foxy.

 

I took Bootycall and patted that right under my eyebrow to lift the area, and Half Baked for the rest of my eyelid. 

 I took a little bit of Tease into my outer V, and Snakebite all over the lid.

I dabbed Chaos in my inner corner and blended out slightly, then took Urban and packed it on from the outside in, I didn't want to do too much blending at this point until I had the colored laid out so I could clearly see how far in they went over Suspect. Once I got Urban and Chaos where I liked them, I used Suspect and blended outward over Urban and Chaos. Now, you can go back in with the color if you want to make them a little bolder, blending them out each time is crucial, but I liked the look and just finished it up with eyeliner and mascara.

Going Bananas

Does anyone else spell the word banana and have that Gwen Stefani song play in their head? No? Just me?
Anyway... that's what I want to talk about in this post, bananas. Mainly the shampoo and conditioner from The Body Shop which uses actual, real life ripe banana puree and fair trade honey and smells good enough to eat (though don't do that, you'll be severely disappointed).

They're both a thick, yellow cremes that are easy to spread through your hair, with the conditioner being slightly brighter in color than the shampoo. The shampoo gives a nice lather and both have a dominantly banana smell, with the sweetness of the honey coming through. They are nice for daily use in the shower, leaving my hair soft and rather moisturized and my shower smells like an amazing tropical paradise-all I needed was the umbrella drink.
Sadly I had to leave paradise behind when I stepped out of my bathroom. My hair still smelled good but you wouldn't identify it right away as banana, just sweetly fruity. I think if you have a thing for bananas, want a good daily use moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, and spot them on sale at thebodyshop.com (like they are now with 40% off sitewide) you'll be happy that you did.

Zoya's Earth Day Exchange

Good news for all Zoya lovers! It's time for the annual Earth Day nail polish exchange which means you can have them safely recycle your unwanted polish and get new Zoya polish for half off! The promotion starts today through next Monday but you'll want to act fast if you've had your eye on a particular color.
You have to buy at least 6 polishes, no more than 24, and new Summer collections are excluded (Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical Pixie Dust).

                                                    Use the code ZDAY2014

Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical PixieDust

Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical PixieDust

Tickled, Bubbly & Summer Magical PixieDust

Snapshot Sunday: Sephora VIB Sale

Clean White Woods perfume, Lavanilla roller ball in Lemon and Lavender, Laura Mercier Creme de Pistache, Urban Decay Electric Palette, Too Faced Lip Injection, Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster, First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream, Face Cleanser, and Facial Radiance Pads.

Too Faced Chocolate Bar Deal

Everyone has been raving about the new Too Faced Chocolate Bar eye shadow palette-which, if the colors don't pull you in, smells just like chocolate! It retails most places, including Sephora, Ulta, and TooFaced.com for $49 but I have a huge deal for you guys today-get the full sized palette AND a full sized Shadow Insurance for only $29 (this includes shipping).

The Home Shopping Network has this deal for regularly $49 but if you're new to the website you can use the code 20NEWSPRING and get $20 off plus the free shipping. A reader had sent this offer to me a few weeks ago but it sold out fast, so if you have been eying this palette jump on this asap HERE!

April Ipsy Bag

This month's Ipsy beauty bag was Beauty Rocks! and came in a squire bag with a print of a vinyl record on it. It came with five products, three of which were full size and include Urban Decay's 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Pencil in Black Velvet, Coastal Scents Medium Shadow Brush, dr. Brandt's Microdermabrasion gel, Elizabeth Mott's Pop Goes the Shadow in Champagne, and Starlooks Luscious Longwear Lip Pencil in Naked.

I have used this liner in Zero for years and I love to use it to tightline and on my waterline because it really does stick all day. This particular pencil is in Black Velvet which is a softer, matte black.

This is a great sized eye shadow brush from Coastal Scents. You can use it to pat color all over the lid or just to add highlight under the brow bone, its even precise enough to do contour work around the nose and temples.. The natural fibers are suuuper soft and it's got a nice feel to the length and weight of it.

 Dr. Brandt's microdermabrasion is a gel that you massage into clean skin for 1-2 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. It should reveal younger, healthier skin by sloughing off dead skin cells that can dull the complexion, help diminish the appearance of fine lines, acne marks and evens out skin tone.

I've never tried this company before but from the little bit of interaction I've had with it, it's not too bad. It blends well, doesn't require a lot of work to get it on, and this champagne color is a nice universal shade that will look good on all skin tones. You could even use it as a highlight if you're medium or so skin tone. I used this with some of the UD Naked eye shadows and liked how it felt and looked on the lid.

The last item this month is the Starlooks lip liner in Naked which is your standard pencil that you sharpen. The product is soft and doesn't tug when you draw on the lips. Its a little light for my lips and honestly, I don't wear a lot of lip liners-I'm terrible at refreshing things like lipstick throughout the day so I just keep up with lip balm- but this one is easy to use and almost feels moisturizing. It doesn't have a long wear time-around 2 hours without eating or drinking, but again, I'm not the expert on lip liner but I do feel that this is on the short side.

Left to Right: Elizabeth Mott Shadow Champagne, UD 24/7 liner in Black Velvet, Starlooks lip liner in Naked

Has anyone else started getting their own Ipsy bags? There are a total of 16 different products for this month so you could have a totally different bag. What did you like this month? What didn't really strike your fancy?