Z Palette, I Salute you!

When you ask a person to describe instances they have had both bad and good customer service they can usually tell you of several of the former but struggle to recall the latter.  This is mostly because, sadly it’s a rarity and also because people retain negative memories- remember when you came out of exams and all you could think about was what you got wrong? 

I however, want to write about an instance I had recently where the customer service was impeccable.  I have been an avid user of Z Palettes for a while now.  I always order them straight from the company in the US as it’s easier and usually cheaper.  The most recent purchase though, involved one of the larger ‘professional’ palettes and when it arrived it looked a bit bruised from the journey.  Once I opened the package I discovered the spine of the palette had been ripped and it no longer closed properly.  I decided I would just live with it but I would send a note to Z Palette to inform them, so perhaps next time they could use the info to add some extra bubble wrap as I was reluctant to send it back due to the time it would take and also the cost I would incur.  I got a reply within 24 hrs stating that if I was willing to sign an affidavit to say it was damaged then they would claim it on their insurance and send me a new one.  So, I did, and as promised I received my new Z palette is less that 2 weeks from my original e-mail. 

Kudos Z Palette, not only are your products great but your customer service could not be faulted!

You can buy these awesome customisable palettes here.

(kind of) My 2nd FOTD

At work today my friend and colleague sent me this...

hmmph, hilarious, so instead of coming home early to make the cupcakes like I said I would... I did my 'Clown couture' makeup (whatabitch)

Any way, I was so pleased with it I took some pictures, the my camera died so I didn't get many, but I'm going to share them, I wasn't really doing anything in particular and I was grabbing stuff randomly, so I can't list what I used, if anyone really wants to know, ask, I could tell you.

Let me set the scene, tonight is Relay for Life in our town and the theme is 'Celebrat10n because its 10 years, so that's why I was going to make cupcakes, instead I did my celebratory-not-too-mad-for-the-oldies makeup.

Taa Daaaa.....

Yes, the photos could have been better, and if the camera hadn't died I would have got lots more, but still....I like it!

Also, the other night I was bored, I understand most people take this as a cue to watch TV, read a book or have an early night, oh, no, not me, I did half a face of makeup, I had a new blush I wanted to try out....I don't need an excuse.... I was going for creepy doll, I think I manged...so here's a picture of that too!!!

Creepy right? Yeah I thought so.... I think its the contacts... should have done the other half of my face, oh well...

Better go make those cupcakes...

Fab feedback

I swear I'm not being paid...but I have to the sing the praises of Makeup Utopia once again, but this time on a more personal note.
I originally wrote a post on Makeup Utopia Forums because I have enjoyed feeling a part of things over there, they're welcoming and caring and helpful and generally lovely.  In response to this, the founder Sara May took a look at my blog and in particular my first ever FOTD post.  If you take a look you can see that she started to write a response but it got a pretty big, so instead she wrote this How to Post a Kick Ass FOTD, how awesome is that, not only that she took the time to read my ramblings but to form an opinion and write an ENTIRE article to help people out in what has so far been the most daunting part of blogging.

I laughed, I probably could have cried, but mostly I was honoured. Kudos to Makeup Utopia....again!

"Oh I read it in a forum..."

Forums, the new friend of a friend? 
As much as I try to convince people away from forums on certain topic (I have many Google medic friends) for some topics this can be the best way to get advice, have a chat and generally be a part of a community.  For people (I was going to say girls, but really anyone) like me, in a rural area, it is an excellent way to discuss new products not available in your area yet, make contact you may otherwise never have, and of course, learn.

As much as I can sing the praises of the theory of forums, I must admit I've never joined in a discussion until now.  I've read them and quietly stayed in the background, having opinions, knowing answers and never sharing any of it.  Why? Fear.  I changed schools twice as a teenager- one time I changed countries/hemisphere's too.  I've had enough of the 'New Kid' crap to last a life time.  Just because I haven't been involved from the beginning doesn't mean I can't add value...yet I still didn't join in.  Until now.

Makeup Utopia- a Perfect World for Makeup- is as new to this game as I am, well sort of.  It's founder, editor and community manager- Sara May as been doing this a while.  She's extremely talented and a long with her band of wise and well worded contributors, she has made a welcoming world of makeup.  Like heaven on the Internet.  As well as the forums, there are FOTD challenges (I'm still not up to that) and all sorts of reviews.  To top this off there is also a weekly round up of all the action so you won't miss a beat.

I fully encourage anyone who has ever had a question about makeup to join and get involved.  I've noticed, not a single post going un-answered to and there have been some great topics brought up.

I love The Makeup Utopia and you will too, get involved now!

(MORE) Essence- Eye liners

I think I should just go ahead and take out shares in Essence, I really like them, they're so cheap and recently Target had a 25% off all makeup sale so they were even cheaper.  I picked up a few eye liner pencils because at a price of about $2 they seemed worth a try.

I got 3 colours, a purple, greeny blue (because I am addicted to those colours) and a white.
I'm a devoted Rimmel user when it comes to eye liner, it has never failed me, my eyes staged a revolt against ALL eye liners when I was about 16 where the slightest hint of a liner would have in in tears- literally, and sting like you would not believe.  Thankfully Rimmel never did this and although I grew out of the phase, I stayed loyal to the brand and product. I'm also a devoted waterline lining kinda gal, yeah I know its supposed to be bad and you're not to do it but I do and I'm ok with it. That being said, its hard to find good liners capable of the job.  Not any more, these are great, they do the job well and come in a selection of great colours.  I'm still devoted to my black Rimmel liner but I have now accepted that not all looks require black and I can choose something else!

Hoo Raaa! for Essence.

Idiot Proof Makeup Item 3. Nutrimetics Marbleyes Eyeshadow

Next on my list of idiot proof makeup, (I'm beginning to feel bad about using the word 'idiot', but its too late) is the Nutrimetics Marbleyes Eye Shadow.

You can just about see (from my not so great picture) the swirls in these shadows, which makes them cool to look at and also cool to play with.

What Nutrimetics say:
Exquisite in every way, nc Marbleyes Eyeshadows are baked with veins of glitter for supreme colour control and a truly spectacular finish.

What I say:
These shadows are great if you're not so good with blending, a bit like bronzers and blushes with the mixed the colours these blend in the pot.  The colour pay off isn't truly fabulous, you will need a few applications to get an intense colour and you WILL need a primer, having said that, given that I am describing these as an easy to use and therefore idiot proof product, they're perfect as they are.  Its far easier to add more than take off some.

The names are all associated with the galaxy, presumably due to their resemblance to planets.
They're $25 each and you can obviously get these from your local Nutrimetics consultant or here.  The 'Eclipse' shadow (a grey-black-silver-swirly mix) is perfect to complement the Nutrimetics Smokey Eye Stick or as I like to call it Idiot Proof Makeup Item 1.

Everyone loves a good swap!

This week, the most exciting thing to happen (so far)was I signed up to be a part of The Beast and Beauty Valentines Beauty Blog Swap its not too late if you want to join in and if you miss out this time, I'm sure there will be more in the future. 

Basically, being from the UK and having spent a year living in the US I'm more than aware of the mark up we Australians pay on cosmetics, and since those times the Aussie dollar has only gotten stronger.  There are ways to take advantage of this, such as websites and even eBay but there are some products we just can't get. 
So the best way I have found, except from coaxing my friends into sending me stuff, which I feel guilty about. But which totally got me my UD Book of Shadows, is to take part in a swap.  They're so much fun.  Like I say, if you have a blog and haven't signed up, there's still time. Do it!!!

More indie brands and pictures

OK, so I'm going to do a rather picture heavy indie brands post, not a review, they will come, but more like an awesome illustrated directory!!!

• Geek Chic Cosmetics

Love the name, love the products, love the colours here is lots of pictures...AND A LIP SWATCH (gasp omg- yeah, its blurry, sorry)

The lip swatch is 'Hipster Ariel' a lip stick, you can see here.  Its AWESOME! Goes on smoothly is the more amazing colour of lipstick and is generally great.

• Evil Shades Cosmetics

Awesome colours, awesome names of colours to go with the theme of evil such as Banshee and Morose both shades of blue.

• Kiss My Sass

The girl who runs this is lovely, I follow her blog about other indie brands, you can too Addicted to Indie Makeup

What an amazing selection of colours.

• Glamour Doll Eyes

Special mention to these guys who include a note in the package to tell you they will discount the cost of your samples from any full priced order because they are confident you will love their products.  They also include a collection of funky cards with tutorials on them.

• Concrete Minerals

These are so cute, and fast becoming a 'loved by all' brand

Obviously all of the companies I've mentioned ship to Australia, and they are very reasonable shipping prices (or I wouldn't have bought them) I have found that the smaller a company the more reasonable their shipping prices are, I guess its the lack of overheads or whatever but I love all these brands, my only problem is not having enough eyes/time to wear them more often.

Indie brands: My Pretty Zombie

Ages ago I said I was going to do a bit of a run down on some indie brands, well, I got slack, took the pictures but not much else, and I'm hopeless at swatches so I'm just going to introduce a few brands and you can check them out yourself!  First on my list is My Pretty Zombie.  I like zombies so I was immediately drawn to the name.  To top it off some of the colour names also rock socks, such as Pink Eye, a beautiful pink colour, or Varicose a suitably blue/green colour.  Best of all these came in the most amazing package....let the multitude of pictures begin.

So they got to my house in a little box, I love this because padded envelopes are just not tough enough for international postage.

I must admit, I opened it then was so impressed I put it all back in the box to take some pictures...HAD-TO-SHARE
Inside I got a shock then a smile at this

Oh yes, nothing like a bloody thumb, AND samples.... love it  The shadows themselves were in this rather cool bag;

Here is all the extras;

The shadows;

Then finally at the bottom of the box it was pretty shredded stuff, which also added to the safety of the package.

I haven't tried the shadows properly yet but if the care and attention put in the packaging is anything to go by then they will be fabulous and amazing.