A Goodwill Towards Others Post

This one has absolutely nothing to do with fashion, shopping, or my products. The end of 2008 is drawing near, and it's time to reflect on your good fortunes, and remember those who are not as fortunate as you. I am blessed with health, happiness, family, a roof over my head, and food in my stomach. There are many out there with none of these most important things in life.A gentleman named Mark

25% Off!

I know the economy is down (significantly), and we all have less to spend. For a limited time only, our Cream to Powder 10 Shadow Palettes are now fire sale priced at 25% off! These palettes are made of very expensive ingredients, and are extremely time consuming to make - each edition takes upwards of 30 hours to make. I've always tried to retail them for a little as possible while still making

I Kick Ass (and proudly)

My blog is listed in Alltop! I now proudly wear the badge of confirmation that I kick ass in Alltop's beauty section. Either that, or they're letting the riff-raff in. What is Alltop? Alltop scours all the top feeds all over the internet, and groups them into categories - not only beauty, but hundreds of categories from as generic as "shopping" to esoteric like "World of Warcraft". Select your

FREE Giveaway!

We're giving away this 10 piece super deluxe brush set to a good home.This 10 brush set, with a snap leatherette case, retails for $60.00. Brushes included are:Powder Brush (first cut goat hair);Blush Brush (first cut goat hair);Eye Shadow Brush (first cut pony hair);Concealer Brush (first cut pony hair);Angle Shadow Brush (first cut pony hair);Angle Lip Brush (Taklon);Fan Brush (Taklon);Lip

Twittering With ToysRUs

If you're reading this blog post, you're likely to be one of my pals on Twitter - or you came from my website. For the handful of you who came from the website and haven't a clue what Twitter is, it's sort of like AIM meets Facebook with some LinkedIn thrown in for good measure. It's like blogging in 140 characters or less. Like Facebook, your network grows often by "following" people who have

OMG OMG OMG!

Can ya tell I'm a little excited? Elke Von Freudenberg, the celebrity makeup artist, creator of The Model Brow, founder of the Beauty Blog Network has reviewed my products!I've been in awe of Elke since the day I started in this business, and cannot possibly tell you how flattered and honored I am. Read her full review here.

The Holiday Blues Strike Again

Jami, the Bionic-Beauty did a gorgeous look with our eye shadows! She "says" she's no makeup artist, and just did an everyday look. I think the colors look fantabulous (my new word for the day) on her! * reprinted with permission Bionic-Beauty.comDon't let anyone tell you that blue is not "in"! Read her full post, which shades she used, and how she applied it here.

Darn, I Missed World Aids Day :(

Yesterday's Cyber Monday sale was such a huge success that not only did it look like the FedEx hub here, but I missed the Bloggers Unite for World Aids Day. The purpose of the day was to raise awareness of AIDS with the help of all the bloggers out there spreading the word. I'm doing my bit, even if it is a day late - better late than not at all.I know that this blog is primarily a beauty blog,

Black Friday Special

Like this kabuki? It's perfect for those who prefer the short handle of a kabuki combined with the easy of application of a flat top foundation brush. Made of the softest synthetic hairs on the market, this kabuki is very dense as well, and applies foundations marvelously.I know I promised Cyber Monday promotions, but I just decided at the last minute to have one Black Friday item - I was feeling

Black Friday & Cyber Monday Sales

Here I am leafing through all the fliers from today's newspaper, and I'm really not seeing anything super special that merits getting in line at 4:00am. Where are the $199 computers? Has anyone seen any store that's offering super good stuff that you have no shot of getting because there's only 2 of them per store? You know, the very reason you get in line to try for that lottery, then go buy

Reuters!!!!

Jami's wonderful review of my products on her Bionic Beauty blog got picked up by Reuters! I feel like Robyn Obama! First, I was dancing in the streets with her glowing review (and she's a toughy when it comes to skin issues), but it have it picked up by a national news service? Woo Hoo! OK, 'nuff said. I just wanted the bragging rights of actually seeing Purely Cosmetics and Reuters on the same

Purely Cosmetics Launches New Products

I've been adding stuff to the website right and left, but haven't been updating the blog much. Deviating slightly from all naturally derivied ingredients, I've added a few products by popular customer requests.We are now offering all of our eye shadows in pressed powder versions. There is absolutely no way to successfully press these puppies (that I've found, at least) without using a non-natural

Isn't She Beautiful?

Tia is the first one I've seen who received her Pretty Pink Box already. Yesterday (the day after the Pink Boxes were up and sold out), she posted about her haul in her box - and quite the haul it was. Many of her followers asked for a FOTD using my shadows she received. So she did one today with disclaimers all over the place about not being a professional makeup artist. I don't know about you,

Faster Than The Speed Of Light!

Okaaay... within 2 hours, MyPrettyPinkBox has alreadySOLD OUT!!! Did any of my readers get one?I told you these were akin to Woot's Bag of Crap! If you missed out, I'll be in the December box as well. This time, make sure to sign up for a reminder notice here. Then be on Linda's website ready to hit the buy button immediately the day they gone on sale at 7:00am PST!

BeautyBlvd Reviews My Products!

The word is spreading about my products - YIPPEE! Joi from BeautyBlvd reviewed my Cream to Powder Eye Shadow Palettes today! Oy - if I only knew I've been filling the pans too full (don't look at the inside of the lid on her photo of the palette, LOL). She also likes the flexibility of being able to control exactly how much color you really want - add one layer, and you have a very sublte look.

Better than Woot's Bag of Crap!

My friend Elke posted on one of her blogs about a new way to try stuff: My Pretty Pink Box. Some of you know I'm a huge fan of Woot, and there's nothing more coveted than their Bag of Crap. Like Woot, My Pretty Pink Box is a mystery purchase, but instead of a 2005 calendar or a telephone handset (missing the base), it's filled with all sorts of girly girl items. It's a great way to try new and

New Release: 2nd Edition of Cream to Powder Eye Shadow Palette

Just released! We've sold out of the First Edition of the 10 slot Cream to Powder palettes (though most of the shades from that collection are still available in limited quantities in Duo Compacts. The 2nd Limited Edition shades have just been released. The new colors include (starting from the top row, left of the palette):Mauve24 Karat (lots of gold sparkles)Soft Russet BrownTruly

Foundation Travel Jars - $28.00 or $7.50??

Bare Escentuals® came out with a new "Beauty on the Go" kit to help you travel with your makeup. There's nothing worse than carrying around a sifter jar in your purse and have the top come loose. Even if the top stays on, when you open the lid, WATCH OUT! Powder flies everywhere. For $28, you get their new baby buki and a refillable storage area with a flip top that when open acts as a surface to

My Customers Know How To Make My Day!

With all the busy lives we lead, and the little free time we have, most people will contact a company only if it meets a need for them: they have a question and need clarification, or have a complaint and need a resolution. When was the last time you took time out of your hectic day just to tell someone how much you like their products or services? I've received several such emails just this week

They're New, They're Cool, They're Limited Editions!

The Cream to Powder Eye Shadow Palettes are finally done! I've posted about these before, and finally got them up on the website. These shadows are hand-crafted in very small batches, so each is a limited edition.A Cream to Powder Eye Shadow is a semi-solid shadow. It's like a firm cream (you could dig a fingernail into it) in it's palette, but once applied to the skin, it instantly becomes a

CBS 2 HD Consumer Profile: Mineral Makeup

CBS did a profile on mineral makeup today. The link to the video is here. I wish they'd let you just imbed the video right on this post, but that can only be done on Facebook (why?)At the end of the report, they mention a list of commonly used ingredients that are used as preservatives or fragances that many will have sensitivites to. The ingredients that they list are as follows:Stearic Acid,

Contouring Your Makeup

I watched this video on YouTube today. Not only is she extremely funny, it's a great tip! I immediately took some of my matte medium brown eye shadow, mixed it with some of my blush base mix and tried it out. OMG - my face lost 10 pounds! Think I can figure out how to contour my whole body? After I finish my Cream to Powders project, this might be my next project to develop. Wouldn't you know, of

Sneak Peek: Cream to Powder Eye Shadows

Things have been a little quiet from me. It's not that I haven't had anything to say, but because I've been a busy little bee behind the scenes working on the new Cream to Powder Eye Shadows that I've posted about. For those of you who are hearing about these for the first time, these cream to powder shadows will like MAC Paint Pots meet pressed mineral eye shadows. They are a soft solid (you

Pressing Mineral Eye Shadows

The other day, Vanessa did a post on her blog about pressing her eye MAC pigments. Unfortunately, alcohol won't work on mineral eye shadows - they become hard as a rock and brittle as can be. But it got me thinking... I have all these palettes coming in for the new cream to powder shadows (hopefully, it will be on the website in the next couple of weeks):What if I end up with a whole bunch of

FOTD: Shimmering Bronze Eye Shadow by Vanessa

Look how beautiful Vanessa's eyes are using our Shimmering Bronze shadow over the new Cream to Powder eye shadows she's testing for me. The Cream to Powder Shadows should be available in another couple of weeks, and will be in both 2 slot compacts and 10 tin palettes. Here's a closeup of her eyes:I wish I had such talent! Follow Vanessa's tips, tricks, reviews and FOTD's on her blog.

Hi, my name is Robyn, and I'm an Addict.

I've decided I'm totally out of control, and need a 12 step program. Most of you guys are MAC-aholics; I'm a coloraholic. Which is pretty bad when you're color wheel retarded like me. I've been reorganizing my cabinets and drawers to make room for all the ingredients I've been acquiring. This is only part of my stuff: I counted how many different mica colors I have - 81!! This doesn't include the

It's My Birthday, & I Can Do What I Want To!

OK, so the title is modified a little, though I suppose I'm old enough that I should cry too! In my house, the only one who gets birthday gifts if my daughter. Unless it's a birthday ending in a "0", we don't exchange gifts. Although, this year I supposed you could say I'm getting a gift: the house is going to be repainted. Romantic, huh?But that's not the purpose of this post. I'm not whining,

I'm Making Lemonade Out Of Lemons!

I've been working on some new products - some with success (Silk & Pearl Powder Primer, for example), some with zippo luck at all. Guess that goes with the territory of making your own formulations! I've spent forever trying to develop a cream-to-powder foundation, and it just ain't happening (sniff sniff).Cream-to-Powder is a soft solid in the container (you could stick your fingernail in it and

So I Went to the MAC counter....

All this hullabaloo about MAC! MAC, MAC, MAC. Every beauty blog raves about MAC! So I strolled over to the MAC counter yesterday (well, I ran to the counter to match someone's shades who wants to review my products). I went, I saw, I played. What's up with MAC that you guys are so hyped up about? OK, granted I'm a little biased - and it's really, really hard for a Jew to get excited about paying

Foundation Sampling on a Shoestring Budget

I've always disliked getting samples in a little baggie - eye shadows are ok that way, since you can just dip your brush right into the baggie, but I'm not coordinated enough to tap out foundation powders from a mini-ziploc. So they've never been offered as a method of sampling until today. There are many of you who prefer to sample many different companies and many different types of products.

The Mineral Makeup Blog: A Review of Purely Cosmetics' Skin Smoothing Foundation

Woo Hoo! We've been reviewed on one of the most popular blogs for mineral makeup - The Mineral Makeup Blog. Sohpie has reviewed a couple of our products in the past few days. Two days ago, she did a review of our 100% Pure Silk Powder, and how well it performs on her oily skin. Today, she reviews our Skin Smoothing Foundation. This blogging diva loves the staying power of our foundation, in

The Ultimate in Primers: Silk & Pearl Powder

Primers, in general, aren't very good for your face. They're great in providing a moisture barrier to keep your foundation from soaking into your skin, but they aren't very good for your skin. Look at your favorite primer that you currently use: I'm willing to bet you that one of the main ingredients is either silicone, dimethicone, or some other silicone derivative in it. Yes, they are good at

FDA Globalization Act of 2008

There is a proposed act on Capitol Hill that would effectively put all small cosmetic companies and makeup crafters out of business. It would leave you with only Big Business from which to choose - you know, the very ones that add cheap fillers and harmful additives to their products just to reduce their costs?Please read the Petition Against the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 and sign it. This

Beauty Blender - The $20 Pink Egg

I've been meaning to write this article for days, and just haven't gotten around to it. But just emailing with Vanessa, got me to start writing about this gizmo. OK, it's not the article I was intending to write (and still will, eventually), but where better to start than my own blog that is in serious need of updating anyway?I've been hearing about the Beauty Blender for quite awhile, but

PR on a Shoestring Budget

I've been working really hard lately on trying to get some visibility for PurelyCosmetics, and can't afford the $3,000+/month fees charged by people who actually know what they're doing. I've joined LinkedIn, and have been getting the most marvelous help from those who either do PR professionally, or Beauty Bloggers themselves. I cannot thank these people enough for all of their help.Check out