Jan 8, 2011

Pure Luxe Cosmetics - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES...

Pure Luxe Cosmetics - THOUGHTS and SWATCHES...


Pure Luxe Cosmetics was founded by Christina Kocher and is based in Theodore, Alabama. Pure Luxe Cosmetics is an internet mineral makeup line with a multitude of products including eye colors, lip colors, blushes, bronzers, foundation, liners, brushes, skincare, etc. The selection is quite vast and impressive for an internet based mineral makeup company.

I discovered Pure Luxe Cosmetics three years ago when my makeup obsession started. I was drawn in by the variety of colors but the real allure for me was the COST. I was able to grab numerous colors for a very very low cost which helped me to figure out my preferences and what colors worked best for me. I got 47 choices for under $50 and even the sample jars are filled with a generous amount of pigment. 

The website is a pain to navigate and locate colors without a search option but ordering is easy. Payment is accepted via PayPal and they offer international shipping. I don't remember having any issues with shipping.

I will admit I haven't used these as much as I really should simply because they get lost in my collection of high-end products. This is not to say they are not good quality and great colors. It's simply a matter of getting around to using them.


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My 4 Ps


Price

Sample 1/8 tsp. in jar - $1.00 - $2.00
5g vol. jar with sifter - $5.00 - $8.00
10g vol. jar with sifter - $9.50 - $15.00

As I stated before, the price is what really drew me to this brand. I was able to get a sizable amount of product in a sample jar (rather than a baggy) for $1. Larger sizes are also available if you fall in love with a color. 5g jars are sold for $5-$8 each which is extremely reasonable for the amount of product. This is also one of the cheaper mineral makeup lines on the internet scene. Great value for your money.

Packaging
The pigments come in sample jars (no sifter), 5g jars with sifter or 10g jars with sifter. I'm happy to say there are no baggies for this company. What is a baggy? It's just what it sounds like...a clear plastic bag with/without a zip seal...and is the cheapest way to package mineral makeup. ICK! 
The sample jars are simply labeled with the company name and color name. I can't vouch for the larger sized jars. This is sufficient and what is expected for the cost if you ask me. They are simple without coming off cheap and fragile.

Product
The product is as expected - loose mineral powder with variations is color and shimmer. I have read different comments about Pure Luxe and any other mineral line that compare them to each other. I will say this (and this covers all mineral makeup lines), yes there are similar colors from other mineral makeup companies and yes not all the colors are unique. Let's be real here, minerals only go so far in color ranges so of course there will be cross-over in shades and very similar colors across the board. You find this with high end eyeshadows too....this is why we have dupes! Then of course we can luck out and find a truly unique shade. Either way, I don't think we should expect 100% uniqueness anywhere in the makeup universe and worse of all in the mineral makeup world.

Performance
Most of the colors are highly pigmented and have great color payoff. Some of the colors are a bit more sheer but do not come off patchy on the skin (at least not for me). I find both the matte and shimmery shades are great to work with which is a surprise for the mattes. They also blend nicely together. I will say that the colors do require an eyeshadow primer and/or base to ensure that they adhere to the skin and last throughout wear. Also, beware of fallout, but that can be said for most if not all loose eyeshadows.

Overall
Great prices! Great colors and variety! Great option for those who want to try out a bunch of colors for a very low price. Be sure to get a good primer/base for use with the loose colors.



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Time for an overload of pictures and swatches!

READ MORE...




Eye Colors
*All products sold by volume not weight*
Pure Luxe eye colors can be used dry, or wet with a damp brush for lining, or more intense color on the lids. Each shadow will look different when wet. It's like having 2 colors in one!
Sample 1/8 tsp. in jar - $1.00 - $2.00
5g vol. jar with sifter - $5.00 - $8.00
10g vol. jar with sifter - $9.50 - $15.00

Black~Silver

 Phantom - Deep gray with lots of silver shimmers. 

 SAPPHIRE - Deep blue with shimmer.  Great as an eyeliner also!
 
 RACY - Steely blue, pearl finish.
 

Black Cat - Deep black with slight shimmer.
PHANTOM, SAPPHIRE, RACY, BLACK CAT

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Yellow~Orange



Sunny Side Up - Crisp bright yellow.

 Lemon - Bold lemon yellow

 Saffron - Soft pumpkin yellow with very low pearl sheen.

 Pumpkin Pie - Warm pumpkin shade.  Completely matte.

 SUNNY SIDE UP, LEMON, SAFFRON, PUMPKIN PIE
Loving Sunny Side Up and Lemon!

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Brown~Taupe~Tan~Beige

Cocoa - True medium brown.  Matte finish.

 RHAPSODY - Medium pink/beige.  Pearl finish. 

 Cashmere - Medium mocha brown with a lighter beige pearl highlight.

 Trust - Satin copper brown.

 Brick - Brown with just a touch of red undertone.  Matte finish.

 Nutmeg - Completely matte brown with a hint of peach tone.

 Solitude - Jewel-toned deep brown with subtle copper highlights.

 WICKED WAYS - A very sexy raisin shade!  The base color is a brown, with a brownish/red shimmer.

 Top: COCOA, RHAPSODY, CASHMERE, TRUST
Bottom: BRISK, NUTMEG, SOLITUDE, WICKED WAYS
Beautiful neutrals. Solitude is fantastic!

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Green~Teal~Turquoise


OLIVE YOU! - Beautiful fall shade!  Subtle olive green when applied dry, when you wet it, WOW it shines!

 SPROUT - Fresh lime green shade with a yellow/gold interference.

 WILLOW - Light pastel green with silver frosting.

 TART – Sharp sparkly lime green.

 Vibe - Matte earthy medium green.

 MOSS - Medium mossy green with a pewter/silver interference.  Low shimmer.

 JADED - Lt./med. jade green with a touch of jade green metallic finish.

 FOREST - Deep jeweled green.. Gorgeous!


 
 Sour Apple - Bright apple green.

 VENOM - Bright clear tone kelly green.

 SURFER GIRL - Ultra fun bright green/blue!  Silk finish.

 GALAXY – Ultra super sparkle!  For a true shadow diva.  Smokey blue/green with a strong golden interference.

 Top: OLIVE YOU!, SPROUT, WILLOW, TART
Bottom: VIBE, MOSS, JADED, FOREST 
Top three are very very similar to each other. Tart is not as great as I wanted it to be.

SOUR APPLE, VENOM, SURFER GIRL, GALAXY
Sour Apple is great! I want to marry Venom!

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Blue



SHAMELESS - Tropical blue with green interference. 

 Blueberry - Bright blue.

 ROCOCO - Intense medium blue with a satin finish.

 INDIGO - Rich velvet blue with lighter blue/violet highlight.

 GLORY - Completely matte blue.  Looks like crushed velvet in a jar!

 SHAMELESS, BLUEBERRY, ROCOCO, GLORY, INDIGO
 I am IN LOVE with GLORY!

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Purple
 
AMETHYST - This is a TO DIE FOR purple!  The perfect marriage of purple/pink.  Applied wet, you get a bold metallic punk purple ~ applied dry, you get a medium amethyst with a flash of pink to keep it interesting... 

 Grape - Grape purple.

 IRIS - Purple with blue and violet interference.

 BAD GIRL - Deep rich vibrant purple.  Has hints of pink glimmer.

 BLUE JEANS - Medium blue with a brighter blue highlight. 

 AMETHYST, Grape, IRIS, BAD GIRL, BLUE JEANS


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Pink~Rose~Red

SEDUCTION - Shimmery burgundy with pink highlights.  Also makes a BEAUTIFUL blush color.

 CHARISMA - Salmon pink with golden yellow interference.

 TICKLE - Medium pink/garnet.

 UTOPIA - Deep amethyst with a charcoal black base when rubbed down.  Pink and purple interference.  PERFECT liner shade!

 Cinnamon - Beautiful brown with red undertone.  EXCELLENT smoky shade for contouring.  Beige highlights.

 RETRO - Smokey plum with a surprise hint of violet flash.

 OUCH! - A candy red with pinkish tone.

 OMG! - The brightest red you will see!  Deep bright red with SUPER metallic red highlight.  Not for the shy, you WILL stand out :)

 VOGUE - Matte.  Dark mulberry with a touch of grape highlight.

 SEDUCTION, CHARISMA,TICKLE, UTOPIA, CINNAMON


RETRO, OUCH!, OMG!, VOGUE 
 Ouch! and OMG! are to DIE FOR!


16 comments:

  1. wow, great post!
    Thanks for this
    xxx

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  2. Oh how I love Pure Luxe. This post reminded me that I'm wayyy overdue for a refill order, lol. Love the swatches!!

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  3. Love this posts. Great pics. Awesome swatches. I want some! Thanks so much! XXOO

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  4. GREAT swatches, you've got a few shades I didn't pick up (new to makeup i.e. playing it safe) & after seeing swatches I'm about to place a new order lol And I whole-heartedly agree with you, the site is pretty much their only downfall... it's a pain to have to scroll back up to recall the shade(s) you want to add to the cart.

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  5. Such pretty colours! Thanks for the swatches. Grateful to see there are good brand that don't charge silly amounts of money for simple pigments or eyeshadows.

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  6. Wow...this was a very comprehensive review! Amazing.
    They look really good. I might try them now.
    XXX

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  7. Beautiful colors and for nice prices! I'm gonna check out the website!

    I also love the colors of MAD Minerals, I don't know if you've heard of them? They have lots of shades for similar prices as Pure Luxe :-)
    madminerals.org

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  8. U r very welcome Sabina.

    Hahaha Koko! I agree that thry r great! What r u faves?

    No problem Prettyful Girl. I'm glad u like them. :) They have such fun colors.

    Nothing's wrong with playing it safe Brina. The good thing about Pure Luxe tho is that u can go a bit crazy and try new colors because they r so cheap. Yep! I think the website needs an overhaul for sure! And it has been like that for as long as I have known about them. That's the only shame.

    I agree godfrina. I think these mineral makeup brands should be a bit more reasonable with their prices. But who am I?

    Thanks Mercedes! It took a while to get this done too! :) Wheeew!

    Agreed Providencebr.

    Enjoy Vivian. I haven't heard of MAD Minerals but I don't think I will be trying them out. $2 for baggies? Not my thing. I love jars. Pure Luxe seems to be a better deal for me. I'm a cheapo when it comes to mineral brands. :)

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  9. Tina I know how you love pigments! INAZ cosmetics pigments are to die for and I think you would love them! They only have a Facebook page right now for you to order from but they are AWESOME! Id love to see you do some looks/reviews with them...

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  10. Hey Tina, I love your blog but was upset when I saw you say 'I don't think we should expect 100% uniqueness anywhere in the makeup universe and worse of all in the mineral makeup world.' We should expect some uniquness. After all that is what makes a brand great. Pure Luxe is good for access to small quantities of the same thing Wholesale cosmetics places sell(TBK pigments for example).
    There are a lot of independet companies that take these plain colours from wholsalers and make unique and wonderful things. I am sure you would love them if you check them out.
    Concrete Minerals
    HiFi Cosmetics
    Shiro Cosmetics
    Fyrinnae
    Geek Chic Cosmetics
    :)
    Your swatch and product pics are awesome btw :)

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  11. Hey lycanthropica. I'm sorry hon. I do absolutely think we should expect the best from makeup.

    What I really mean is that it's hard to make truly unique colors from the same repeat ingredients u know? That's why there are so many dupes out there. After collecting for so long I have 'seen' most colors already. That's y I said 100% uniqueness. There is bound to be cross-over colors or similar colors from these makeup brands. But this doesn't mean they r copying another brand. That was the point I wanted to parlay. I'm sorry the meaning got lost in translation. :)

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  12. Hey Tina, thanks to your post, I picked up 13 of the colors from Pure Luxe Cosmetics...loved them! I rocked Indigo yesterday!!!

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  13. One thing I'm wondering about is their glow in the dark makeup, does anyone have any insight as to whether its up to par or not?

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  14. thank you soooooooooooo much for this awesome review, keep up the great job

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Free to contact me via email with further questions or business inquiries at thefancyface@hotmail.com. Comments that include advertisements, self-promotion, insults, etc. are subject to deletion.

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