Archive for July, 2011
Amira has worked at Alima Pure since she was in high school, when she came after class to make samples. Now she’s full-time and one of the people who you can ask just about any Alima question, and she’ll know the answer!
In this photo Amira is wearing her foundation, Beige 3. Her favorite blushes are Satin Matte Blushes in Pink and Raspberry. Blush is particularly difficult to get to show up in photos, so we used the brighter Raspberry for the photo.
On her lids, we used her (current) favorite shadows, Luminous Shimmer Shadows in Mink as a base, from lashes to brows, Black Orchid on the lid and Ombra as a liner. We added a touch of Raven to her brows.
Several years ago, we did a special gift of a limited edition lip color, Sweet Pea. Amira loved it so much, she made a case for us to make the shade permanent when we launched our new Organic Nourshing Lip Balms. So naturally, she’s wearing Sweet Pea in the photo!
We get a lot of email asking about our Balancing Primer Powder. The key word in the name Balancing Primer Powder is “Balancing.” It was created to help bring balance to oily skin.
Featuring the ingredient Kaolin, Balancing Primer Powder gently absorbs excess oil before it can break through and disturb the finish of your foundation. It should be worn under foundation in areas where excess oil is problematic. Depending on how oily the skin is, Balancing Primer Powder can keep shine at bay for a few hours, or all day long. For extra oil-control finish your makeup with a dusting of Satin Finishing Powder.
As is often the case, our customers say it best. Terrie D., an Alima Pure customer, told us, “I use the Light Balancing Primer Powder daily and I love it! Before I used this, my face would start getting oily a few hours after getting to work. Now I can go all day long without my face feeling greasy or oily. It’s wonderful!”
Balancing Primer Powder is available in three shades. Light is appropriate for foundations from “0″ to “2″ levels, and Olive 0. Medium works best for foundations between levels of “3″ and “5,” and Olive 1, 1.5, 2 and 3. Deep is a good choice for anything level “6″ and darker, or Olive 4 and darker. Remember that Balancing Primer Powder is worn under your foundation, so if you get a shade that is a little darker or lighter than optimal, it won’t matter once your foundation goes on.
Alicia is here in Portland for the summer visiting family (her aunt, Kate O’Brien, is the creator of Alima Pure), and so she’s spending some time helping out in Production. She’s proven to be a hard worker and very fast learner, and she brightens up the office with her sweet smile and calm disposition. She will be sorely missed when she returns home! College in Oregon, Alicia? We think so!
Since she is relatively new to Alima Pure products, our makeup artist helped Alicia select some new favorite products. We started out with Satin Matte Foundation in Neutral 2, which was perfect for Alicia’s fair skin. On her cheeks we used Luminous Shimmer Blush in Freja and then warmed everything up with a light dusting of Bronzer in Mauna Loa.
To highlight Alicia’s beautiful eyes, which go between blue and blue-green, we used Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Buttercream from crease to brow, and in Brown Sugar on her lid. Luminous Shimmer Eyeliner in Paparazzi on a damp brush lines the upper lashes, and a hint of Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Leone with a dry brush is under the outer corner of her lower lashes.
We finished Alicia’s look with Organic Nourishing Lip Balm in Sweet Pea.
Do you think loose mineral foundation is messy? A lot of people think so, but if you take advantage of a few tips and tools, it needn’t be any messier than a pressed product!
The key to keeping mess down is to work product into the bristles of your brush before you bring your brush to your face. With products like blush and eyeshadows, this can easily be accomplished by keeping the product in the jar, picking some up from the sifter-top and then using the lid to tap or swirl the brush in the lid to get the product from the tips of the brush to the bristles. When it is worked up into the bristles, product doesn’t fall off the brush, either onto your face or your counter-top.
But sometimes the jar lid isn’t roomy enough to swirl or otherwise work product into the brush and in those cases, a small bowl can come in very handy.
Pictured clockwise above, from upper left are: a hand-made bowl (by a special beginning ceramics student) and three sauce dishes from import stores, including one made of bamboo.
To use a bowl, tap a bit of foundation directly into the dish and then pick up that small amount with your brush and tap or swirl the brush in the bowl to work that product into the bristles. Once it is all worked into the brush, bring the brush up to your face. If more foundation is needed, tap a bit more directly into the bowl. The larger area and higher sides of the bowl will help keep your countertops clean.
The two smaller “bowls” in the picture above are chopstick holders. These are perfect for mixing eyeliner or eyeshadow with water! Use a small spatula or even your liner brush to scoop some of the shadow or liner into the bowl, then drip a few drops of water into the “bowl.” Mix them together, adding more shadow or water as needed to get your desired consistency. Be sure to discard any product that remains after using your products wet.
If you’ve been bothered by messiness with your loose minerals, try a little bowl, we think you’ll be pleased with the results!
(Pictured above: Luminous Shimmer Eyeliner in Nuit, Satin Matte Eyeliner in Black and Espresso, and Luminous Shimmer Eyeliner in Paparazzi.)
If you are used to using an eyeliner pencil, the thought of using a powder eyeliner can be a little intimidating at first. But put your fears aside and dive in…you won’t regret it! One advantage to powder eyeliner is it’s versatility. Using it wet or dry gives a completely different look, but it can also be used as shadow or even brow color (depending on the color of your brows, of course).
If you are completely new to powder eyeliner, it might be best to start out with a Luminous Shimmer Eyeliner. The particles are just a tiny bit larger, which makes them easier to use. Once you have mastered the techniques, the Satin Matte Eyeliners will be a breeze.
To apply, you are obviously going to need a brush. Alima Pure has two eyeliner brushes, the #31 Fine Liner and the #33 Angle Liner. To determine which brush will work better for you, think about how you apply. Do you start at one corner of the eye and draw on your liner in a fairly fluid motion (as you would with a liquid or gel liner), then you probably want the #33 Angle Liner brush. If you sketch on your liner, more like you would with a pencil liner, then you might like the #31 Fine Liner brush better.
When you apply powder liner dry, the look is very soft and subtle. To make sure that the liner goes where you want it and doesn’t sprinkle down your cheek, work the powder into the brush before you apply the brush to your eye. When using the liner dry, your brush will probably need to make several trips from your jar to your eye. To intensify this look a bit, but without going for a dramatic liquid-liner type of look, spritz your brush with a bit of water after you have worked the powder into the bristles.
For the most dramatic look, you will want to mix your liner with water. Tap a bit of the liner into a small bowl or even just the lid of your jar. Then add drops of water to the liner and mix, adding more water or liner if necessary to get your desired consistency. Then draw the liner on as you would any liquid-type liner.
When applying eyeliner, remember that putting a dark line all the way around the eye will create an optical illusion that will make your eye look smaller. To make eyes look larger, stick to the upper lid only for your dark color. If you really want to line the lower lash-line, try either using a lighter color or just applying to the outer 1/3 of the lashes.
The real purpose of eyeliner is to make your lashes look longer and thicker, but eyeliner can also be a fun way to introduce a bit of a bright color. If you want that “no, I’m not wearing liner, my lashes are just this lush” look, stick with black or another dark, natural color, and rather than lining above the lashes, work the liner right into the lashes, so that the color is actually between the lashes. If you want to introduce a fun, bright color, this technique is also good. For instance, our Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Aegean makes a beautiful liner with gold shadows, but it doesn’t do much for the thickness of the lashes, so after applying Aegean, go back and work some Satin Matte Eyeliner in Black into your lashes…you’ll have the best of both worlds!
We get this question a lot! People are so trained to buy foundation, concealer and finishing powder all at the same time, that it is almost a reflex to try to do the same thing when you switch to mineral foundation. But when you stop to think about it, the foundation is a powder, so what exactly is the purpose of adding another powder over the top?
The great news is that with Alima Pure products you don’t “need” a finishing powder. The other great news is that our Satin Finishing Powder is a great product that can really polish your look and help your makeup last longer. While that may sound a little contradictory, it really isn’t. Satin Finishing Powder is a great final step for those that want it, but it certainly not necessary. Let’s look at some reasons that Satin Finishing Powder might be great for you!
1. If you have oily skin, it can help keep the oil away a little longer than the foundation alone. (Of course if you are really concerned with oiliness, you’ll want to put some Balancing Primer Powder under your foundation.)
2. You like a super-smooth, almost air-brushed look to your face. The Satin Finishing Powder is very fine, so it does really give a polished look.
3. You like to touch up during the day. Adding foundation over foundation can get a little heavy, so for some people, Satin Finishing Powder is just enough to mattify and refresh your look.
4. You sometimes like to go without foundation, but still need a tiny bit of evening-up. While the Satin Finishing Powder doesn’t offer any real coverage, it can just provide a sheer veil of color that makes everything look a little better.
5. You just don’t feel “finished” without that final sweep of powder to “set” everything. You might think this is purely psychological since powders don’t need “setting”, but this sweep of finishing powder really does help blend the edges of blush or bronzer, and refine your entire look.
Our Satin Finishing powder comes in six shades, each of which is a slightly-warm-leaning neutral. Click here to find which foundation shades work best for Yuki, Keiko, Hanae, Ami, Sayomi and Takara. In the case of foundation shades listed for more than one powder shade, either shade should work it is just a matter of your preference for a lighter or darker finishing powder, so sampling both would be an excellent idea!
Sara is more than just one of the longest-term Alima Pure employees, you could really call her the Alima Pure muse! Back when Sara was approaching the age when her mom had promised she could begin wearing makeup, mom began to have some concerns about what Sara would be putting on her young, beautiful skin. That’s what prompted Kate O’Brien to create Alima Pure!
When we needed a photo for a blog post we did on Alicia Silverstone’s blog, The Kind Life, we recruited Sara to model for us. We asked her to pick out her five favorite products to take for the photo shoot, and the results can be seen above. Sara is wearing Satin Matte Foundation in Warm 1, Satin Matte Blush in Pink, Pearluster Eyeshadow in Silk, Luminous Shimmer Eyeshadow in Tigereye and our Organic Nourishing Lipbalm in Rhubarb. The result is soft, gorgeous and so easy to apply!
