Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Avene's Clean-Ac Moisturizer~ Review



Avene is a skincare brand that I tend to go back to again and again but frequently forget to talk about. This product in particular is actually one of the best ones in my skin-care essentials and I can't believe I haven't blogged about it before.

Avene is a brand that uses spring water from a special healing spring in France in all of their products as well as solid dermatological formulations. I'm not so sure about all the water's healing properties myself but I have had success with their products.

Clean-Ac is a thick white moisturizer that smells lightly of cucumber, designed for red, irritated or acne prone skin. This is perfect if you are using an acne fighting system that is drying to your skin but you still have acne.

A little too thick for day, I prefer to use this at night as it's soothing, very moisturizing and I've always noticed a decrease in overall redness and acne appearance by the next morning. It also reduces the flakiness that can come with the harsh systems to fight acne.

I don't recommend this for daytime though as it doesn't have an SPF or sunscreen component (which is important for keeping skin healthy and youthful) plus it can feel a bit greasy after about 3-4 hours. I much prefer to slather on at night and cleanse off in the morning.

Priced around $18-$20 dollars it is on the pricy side, but you don't have to use much due to the thickness of the product.

Overall, it's a moisturizer but a very good one that calms the skin as well as it's hydrating properties. A bit on the expensive side but worth it, even if you only use it occasionally for agitated or reddened skin.

Sprite Rating: 9/10 (lost half a point for price and half a point for greasiness if used during day time that can occur after a few hours).

Would I buy this again? Yes, in fact I'm almost through my second bottle.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Check out Pointless Cafe's Review!

Shiela the blogger over at Pointless Cafe is featuring 4 of our mythological collection shades over the next couple days! Her review of Underhill is amazing- the photos way beyond anything I could have managed! I can't thank her enough!
Check it out here:http://www.pointlesscafe.com/2012/10/hebridean-sprite-beauty-underhill.html

Monday, September 24, 2012

Hebridean Sprite Beauty~ Nail Polishes


I know I've disappeared for about a month, but there was a purpose to my vanishing act. I've been hard at work on the finishing details of my nail polish line.

I plan to expand eventually into other items as well, like lipsticks and eyeshadows, but I wanted to start with nail polishes all under the blog name, Hebridean Sprite Beauty. This has been in my mind for over a year now and I've finally decided to go through with it.

I wanted to have a company that was everything I valued in a cosmetic line: cruelty-free, good ingredients, products that work well, unique colours and shades, and because I know how difficult it is for vegans to find animal-byproduct free ingredients in their products, I decided to make the entire line vegan as well.

These first shades are all named after Scottish and Celtic mythology and make up the first part of my main line, the Mythology Collection. There are nine in total.

Each polish is made with solvent resistant glitter or non-degrading cosmetic approved pigment as well as stainless steel ball bearings. They also come with a information card, describing the name, the thought process that went into each polish and the history behind the myth. Included on each card is also an image by an artist showing one possible presentation of the mythological creature.

Huge thanks to all the artists that helped me with this endeavour through Deviant Art, I certainly couldn't have done this without every one of you!
(All artists have given permission for their art to be used in the cards and this blogpost ONLY. Please do not take their art or use it without permission from THEM. Thank-you!)
If you want to see the cards a bit bigger just click them :).

Brownie Photograph by Me! Kylie, my model is such a sweet helpful little girl. 

 These photos are both in sunlight and in indirect light. Really close-up too as the glitter in Brownie Helper is only 0.008 inch in size.

Underhill image slightly tweaked by me, but was from a stock photograph by Pavel Azamatov on Deviant Art. 

Image- A Ripple in the Water by: Carolyn Gan
Artist's website: http://wratbox.com/
Image- Fairy Ring by: JinxMim
With stock images by: almudena-stock, Eirian-stock and Kikii-stock

Image- Harbringer of Death By: Frankie Curran
Artist's Website: www.FrankieCurran.com

Image- Pure of Heart by: Kate Bloomfield
With stock on Deviant Art by: Satrumm, Jinxmim, Humblebeez, Missystock, and Sed-rah-stock

Image- Selkie Blues by: Andrea Sgorbissa
With stock images on Deviant art from: YsaeddaStock, faestock, greenleaf-stock, Goblinstock, redheadstock, mjranum-stock, jinxmim, grace-stock, thehoneybadger, trisste-brushes, and Morgue File.

Image- Smaug and his Treasure by Raymond E. Gaustadnes
Artist's page is at: http://shockbolt.deviantart.com/

Image- Fairy by Enrique Parietti
This collection has been the slow work of a year and I now finally have something to show for all the brainstorming, mixing and testing. 

I'd love to hear what you think!

Hebridean Sprite Beauty is a little store through Store Envy, an online store service that works similar to etsy but doesn't charge fees (yay!) The paying system is all through paypal so it's very safe for everyone.

I open October 1st for business and each polish costs $10 USD. I'm only shipping to Canada and the USA at this time due to international mailing restrictions but hopefully once I figure out more of the legal mumbo-jumbo I can ship internationally too.

There is a minimum order of $20 right now (it sucks I know, and I'm sorry!) I really wish I didn't have to place a minimum but shipping out of Canada is insane right now. The cheapest shipping option available in Canada is 3x the price of American shipping. In order for me to make any money (because I take a hit for each shipment I send out over what each customer pays) I have to enforce a $20 USD or minimum 2 nail polish rule. 
If I can find cheaper shipping, hopefully I can drop this, but after searching for many many hours a day over the course of about two weeks this is the lowest I can find available and thus the lowest I can charge.

The store link address is http://spritebeauty.storenvy.com
I'll also be adding a link page at the top of the blog for quick access. I hope you'll take the time to check me out come October!

Copyright (C) 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

The Conservatorie Pigment Swatches

It's been a while I know! No excuses, but I have been super busy. Anyways, I made an order from The Conservatorie not too long ago and I wanted to show the swatches of the Mica pigments I purchased from them. The Conservatorie is a wholesale make-up ingredient supplier as well as packaging and normal make-up. If you sign-up for their e-mails you'll receive a code for 15% off your first order (hint: WELCOME). There is a $20 minimum but honestly, I found that pretty easy to surpass!

Anyways, here is the swatches. Hopefully this will be helpful to someone because I know there are very few pigment swatches from The Conservatorie available online. Plus I know there descriptions and online photos can suck but there prices are good. So here we are:

T-B: Orange Sorbet, Hot Pink, Pink Lady, Bubblegum Pink, Strawberry Daiquiri, Peach Sunset, Mango Margarita, Lemon Drop, Peak Green, Golden Green, Apple Martini

T-B: Orange Sorbet, Hot Pink, Pink Lady, Bubblegum Pink, Strawberry Daiquiri,

T-B: Bubblegum Pink, Strawberry Daiquiri, Peach Sunset, Mango Margarita

T-B: Mango Margarita, Lemon Drop, Peak Green, Golden Green, Apple Martini 
T-B: Orange Sorbet, Hot Pink, Pink Lady, Bubblegum Pink, Strawberry Daiquiri, Peach Sunset, Mango Margarita, Lemon Drop, Peak Green, Golden Green, Apple Martini

T-B: Orange Sorbet, Hot Pink, Pink Lady, Bubblegum Pink, Strawberry Daiquiri, Peach Sunset, Mango Margarita, Lemon Drop, Peak Green, Golden Green, Apple Martini

T-B: Coral Reef, Winterveld, Duochrome Yellow-Blue, Luster Baby Blue, Magic Blue,  Luster Blue, Violet, Violet Silk
T-B: Coral Reef, Winterveld, Duochrome Yellow-Blue, Luster Baby Blue, Magic Blue,  Luster Blue, Violet, Violet Silk
T-B: Coral Reef, Winterveld, Duochrome Yellow-Blue, Luster Baby Blue, Magic Blue

T-B: Luster Baby Blue, Magic Blue,  Luster Blue, Violet, Violet Silk
 All swatches were done over Darling Girl Glitter Glue, which gives the pigments a wet or super intense look.
That's all for now but I'm hoping to get back into blogging soon!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

A England Mythicals on for only 5 Pounds!

Yep, if you've wanted one of the a-england Mythical polishes NOW is the time to get one! They are on for only 5 days for only 5 GBP (or pounds) this is an amazing deal because a-england polish is excellent and is normally 9 pounds each. Plus as always there is Free international shipping. Click Here for the Mythicals collection

As for me, I know I've been slacking. I should have another post up soon but lately I've been working on a surprise for you all plus I've not been wearing much makeup other than tinted moisturizer and sunscreen as I'm at the cottage (with limited internet). I've not abandoned everyone! Just waiting for more inspiration because a bunch of things in the make-up world haven't impressed me much lately. For example Revlon after 22 years of being cruelty-free has decided to hire another company to do animal testing for them. *shakes head in disgust*

Anyways, hope everyone has a lovely Wednesday!