Mineral Makeup Haul

So my mineral package from Creamymilk finally arrived today. Tadaa... Well, not much, actually.

What I got:
Joppa Full Coverage Foundation in Medium #3
Everyday Mineral Semi Matte Base in Medium Tan
Everyday Mineral Color Corrector in Sunlight
Everyday Mineral Concealer Intensive Tan in sample size
Everyday Mineral Blush Game Show in sample size
Everyday Mineral Flat Top Brush

Here are some swatches, hope this will help. I got my Everyday Mineral base in Medium Tone, which is golden undertone base. As for Joppa, Medium #3 has more olive undertone to it. Here's the picture of two of them, side by side. Since Medium Tan is the second darkest shade in golden area, it appears a little orange on my skin, kinda like brick color (?) and it slightly darker than my real shade *sigh* As for Joppa, I haven't tried it. Although, judging from the color, I think it'll match me better.

As for concealer and corrector area, I got Intensive Tan concealer that is a concealer for medium to dark complexion. And Sunlight corrector, mainly because everybody raved about how great it is on concealing dark under eye area. Well, for someone with super dark under eye like me, I should give it a try, no?

Here's the what Intensive Tan looks like. I took this picture with flash and it looks kinda close to the real color. I tried, but I couldn't capture Sunlight corrector's real color. But you can still see it from picture above.

Last one is Game Show blush. Game Show fall under matte category. It's dark mauve color and super pigmented.

My Online Shopping Experiences

Honestly, I can't remember when was my first online shopping transaction. I believe it was a few months ago. All I know is, once I got introduced into brands like Stila, NARS, Cargo and all that stuff that are unavailable in my own country, online shopping is my solution. And I've been doing it until now. Luckily, I've never had any bad experience. The only bad experience I've had is being called "Sis" all the time. I hate that. And who started it, by the way?

Anyway, here are some so-called reviews on some online stores I've made transactions with. Yeah, not so much reviews. Just sharing my experiences and hope this post will help you on deciding where are you going to shop.

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FTL's Wardrobe
FTL's Wardrobe is my very first online shopping experience. I bought Stila single shadow 'Kitten' here. Febe and Lia are the two nice ladies who run the store. I love how they give such fast responses on my answers and everything. I was inexperienced and a little worried on things like, 'what if they cheated on me?' and all that. But I received my order safe and sound. Plus a lipgloss as a bonus.

Anyway, after some times finding more online stores out there, I realized that FTL's prices are kinda pricey compare to other stores. I believe they have their reasons. But this cheapskate girl chose to shop in other stores. I still regularly check out their site, though. They used to have a lot of ready stock makeup, but it's more about Pre-order now. And the products are mostly shoes and bags, hence the name Wardrobe.

Pinkymiki
I bumped in to this store few months ago. Not much customers back then and I think the store was just getting started. Lara is the owner of this store. I ordered my NARS powder blush Torrid here. She didn't have a lot testimonials back then, but still I ordered my NARS because she had some blushes ready stock (In case you're wondering, yes, I am that impulsive *grin*). Torrid wasn't ready in stock so Lara told me to leave her my number. And days later, she contacted me to tell me that my order has arrived.

I mentioned in my entry before that I got my Torrid with free shipping. She delivered the blush herself because my place is near hers. And that was my bonus. Although some testimonials did mention that she inserts some bonus. Lara also answers your questions early so you don't have to wait for days for your question to be answered. I once posted a question in her online store and she replied me via my cell phone.

So I think her store is worth checking out. Pinkymiki sells various brands like Stila, Urban Decay, Napoleon Perdis, Too Faced, NYX, and all. They're ready stock and updated from time to time. Great option for you if you hate waiting.

Le Seizieme
You can find some NYX and MAC here. I don't really check this website regularly. Mainly because everytime I come here, nothing's change and no updates from time to time.

I ordered Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliner here. Fast response. Might get earlier response if you ask question or order stuff through text message instead of leaving comment on the web. And I received my order the day after I made the payment. So, great service, I think. But not many options on the web.

Love To Make Up
Well, I don't actually order from Multiply. The lady who owns this online store is a member of FashioneseDaily Forum and she opens a "store" in the forum too. She provides some ready stock make up and brushes. But it's mostly pre-order. I got my MAC Face and Body from this store and currently waiting for Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box from the previous Sephora Friend and Family Sale.

Since she opens some pre-orders at once, some might get kinda anxious of waiting. But for desperate people like me, I choose to order here even if I have to wait for weeks.

Creamymilk
What I love about this online store is, Sheylla, the owner, opens pre-order for mineral make up regularly. She's a mmu-hunter, that I believe. And since she has quite experiences with mineral make up, she could help you if you're kinda new to this kind of make up.

Sheylla responses to your questions in no time and answers your questions, not just about order and shipment, but also helps you find your shades or which formula suits your skin type and things like that.

Other than mineral make up pre-order and ready stock, you'll also find brands such as Cargo, Benefit, Drugstore brands, etc. And there are auctions open regularly here. That way, you can get products you want with lower prices.

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So there you go, my online shopping experiences. Just remember, you need 'trust' for this kind of shopping. Make sure to be careful before doing any transactions. Read some testimonials about the store first, if any. And once you've decided to buy stuff, pay immediately. That way, not only you can trust the sellers, but the sellers will trust you too.

Good luck and happy shopping!

A Visit to My Dermatologist

So I paid my dermatologist a visit today. Honestly, I don't usually meet her. Everytime I come to her practice, it's only because I need to restock my skincare. But with my skin behaving really bad lately, I figured I have to see her for consultation.

I've been one of my dermatologist's patients for almost a year now. My skin type is combination with oily T-zone and is very sensitive too. So basically, the main goal of my treatment is to make my skin much less oily. Therefore, besides my skincare routine, my dermatologist also told me to stay away from products such as moisturizer, cream products (foundation, blush, etc) and pressed powder, anything that contains oil. Well, judging from my previous posts, you can tell that I do wear all those forbidden products. I stopped wearing them only on first few months of my treatment. In my defense, my Stila convertible color and MAC studio fix never cause any bad reactions on me, so I believe they're innocent.

I've never had any skin-related problem for almost a year, until now. I always stick to my skincare routine so I believe my current problem has nothing to do with my skincare. But still, I couldn't find the culprit. Until my dermatologist started to ask me,

My dermatologist: What happened? Have you been wearing moisturizer lately?

Me: Uhmm.. No, doc.

Okay, I lied. I got this Clinique moisturizer sample and I started to wear it as my first step of my morning routine, before I put on my sunblock and the rest of my make up. So.. I guess I found culprit #1.

My dermatologist: How bout pressed powder?

Me: Oh.. It's not allowed?

My dermatologist: Of course not. I wrote it on the note that I gave you. Pressed powder is loose powder pressed with oils. You can't wear that.

Yes, I was playing a fool. I know I'm not supposed to wear pressed powder. But my MAC Studio Fix used to be my one and only powder. Thanks God I got my NARS loose powder now. I sold my MAC Studio Fix few days ago. But I still believe studio fix has nothing to do with my break out.

So my conclusion, I think it's moisturizer and probably my sunblock that cause me break out. Since sunblock tends to be very oily. So I must stop wearing moisturizer and find another sunblock that is less oily.

In the end, my dermatologist gave me two products for me to wear. Each for day and night. I got Medi-klin for me to wear in the morning. It's an antibiotic solution for topical use. I suppose to dot it on my acne. And for night wear, I got Isotrex, that is gel that contains Isotretionin (a substance physically and pharmacologically similar to vitamin A) for topical use. The infamous pil, Roaccutane also contains Isotretionin. My dermatologist also recommend it to me.

I'm still allowed to wear loose powder daily. But I don't think I'll wear make up for now. At least until my skin shows some progress. Which means, no FOTD for now. And once my skin gets all better, I'm switching to mineral make up.

I can't really remember the last time I had a break out experience like this. I hate this. It looks ugly, plus, it hurts! So annoying. This skincare better works for me. Holiday is coming soon and I don't think an acne-covered face is an idea for holiday gift *crossing fingers*.