Posts (page 2)
Was surfing around the net this afternoon in an attempt to fight the formatting demons that are my labels.. and guess what I found????
Forever Female Brushes ARE ON SALE!!!!!!
A whopping 25% off until August 6th. That gives me 3 days to make a dozen ghost carts and wait for payday to come around and get Exactly What I Want.
All you have to do is create an account (you don't see the discount if you just browse the site without logging in).
*hyperventilates* OMG... and if you refer someone and they buy (you have to email Ann and tell her you've referred them) YOU GET A BONUS FREE KABUKI!!!
And have you SEEN the new brushes on the site???? They have the Flat Top Kabuki, some new FIBRE OPTICS, and and and..
*passes out*
Ok now, let's see.. I'd like: dual end eyeshadow brush, LH FT, Flat Top Kabuki, all the fibre optics...
What? What do you mean I already own fibre optics and I have more Flat Tops and Kabukis than I can poke a stick at? ... But these are NEW!!!!
Is anyone going to cave? I'm on that no buy and am trying to be strong here, but boy is it hard.......
Now if I cave into this sale, does this make me a Brush Ho?
i know, what are the chances???
well, when the boss is away... geminisc comes out to play ;)
muahahHAHAHhahaha
*ahem*
I went down to a new op shop today. I was originally in there to find a water barrel to use for my markets. I found something that was the right size, but didn't like the push mechanism - I wanted a tap type mechanism - so I didn't get it.
Instead, somehow or other I found myself going through the clothesracks - surprise surpise. =P
This is one of the first tops I picked up. I love the colour - it's a bright red-pink that always looks nice on me.
V-neck with some elastic ribbing across the bottom, and some girly sleeves.I also tried it on back to front - and it still worked quite nicely. (I was trying to use it as a layer to work with the white top below)
I hesitated a little on buying it, but when I spotted the tag buried in the side, I couldn't resist.
It's a FCUK top. I've always loved all things from them, and I must say, I rationalised it to myself in the craziest of ways. I stood there in the change room telling myself "I didn't even know it was a brand-type top. I just loved the colour and it fits, and the design's nice. The fact that it's a brand I like just means that it was meant to be." That and the fact that it was only $6. FCUK never sells anything for $6 - even on special. I've bought tops from them for $30 and thought I was getting a good deal. See? I'm crazy.
The next one I got was a cheapy top. SES Brand. But I liked the floral embroidery (always a sucker for embroidery) and it's one of those tie-back ones. The front bit is interesting, because it's a ribbon-tie-together thing, rather than buttons. And it fits. At $7, I probably could've NOT bought this one, but I couldn't resist the embroidery. On a lucky day I reckon you could've gotten that top at SES for about $9. So not much in terms of bargain. But it's pretty and girly enough.
Last but not least was this cute Johnny Dexter black dress. The label had a huge red heart on it - so I had to buy it, if only for that. LOL
I just googled them, coz the name rings a bell somewhere. Apparently it's an Australian brand. Not that I should care - as long as it looks good on you who cares what the brand is right? Having said that, I always check labels at op shops. I figure if it's a brand name (even just a chain dept store) it will give me an idea of how long the item will last. Eg, a top from CUE or ESPRIT is likely to survive longer in my wardrobe after a few washes than say, a top from supre or sportsgirl. That said, I always feel the fabric and check for defects etc
I'm sorry that the pics are so bad - I took them on the sly at work. The tops are just draped over my desk here. Can't really drape them properly or borrow a clotheshanger or something to really show you. Anyway, this dress is a little 60s. Fits very well, finishes above the knee and flares out a little. Will look super cool with my knee-high boots. If I dare to wear it to work of course. It's a bit more fashionable than your usual work dresses - and I hardly ever wear work dresses. But at $9 this was an absolute steal. I'm gonna go home and try and pair it with one of my white shirts to see what it will look like then. But yeah, might be a bit too spicy for work. Although then it becomes a matter of when WOULD I actually wear the damn thing?? Sometimes I think I'm just not very brave when it comes to clothes and fashion...
Oh, and before I forget, here are the $10 leather gloves I got at the market the other day. My hands always smell 'leathery' when I take them off, so I think these really are the "real deal"
Will try and take the pics of the box and the lingerie soon. Spent last night trying to put some semblance of order into my lab - it's a total mess atm. *gulp*
So ever since I started making my own mmu and skincare, I've found myself buying less and less. Why go to the trouble of buying eyeshadows that I've never tested before when I can make my own in any colour or texture (shimmer, glitter, sheen, matte) that I want?
Why buy foundation and spend HOURS sorting out my best match before going back and buying again and again and again... when I can spend HOURS making my own best match before making it in bulk and having a big 60gram jar full of foundation?
I've never used much blush, concealer or bronzer, so that's no biggie off my list. And my skincare regime is working pretty well atm. I love the control I have as to what ingredients I use. Lipstick colours are limitless, I can make a super thick face cream for the dry days, and a light one that sinks in well during the hot ones.
THe only thing I can't make are jars and bottles and brushes.
...mMMmmm... BRUSHES!!!
Anyhow, I was reading up on some of my favourite bargain sites and came across this: Price USA.
They are an Australian-based company that lets me buy things that sometimes are only for USA only. They order in the US for me, so I can take advantage of "free shipping on domestic orders" or any other US-based specials.
It's a 5% commission on anything that you buy plus all the shipping costs involved - but they only ship with USPS.
I had a look at their website and it looks pretty good to me. The reviews I read elsewhere suggest that this is one of the more reasonably-priced forward mailers out there.
I'm currently sitting here trying to think of all the mmu stores that I've thought about buying from but have either dismissed because of shipping costs, or because their special offers were for US residents only.
OooOooo a girl like me could get so tempted!!!!
Has anyone else heard of this place or used them or something similar? What kind of experience did you have?
And then next thing you know, there I am, making more rings. This is fast becoming an addiction.
Here are my absolute favourites so far:
The butterfly one I made last night, and absolutely love. It looks a bit hippy on, but I don't care. =D I don't have many of these beads though, so I have to go and find more. I originally got these as part of a bulk set I bought on ebay. It was a mix of random beads that I paid about $10 for. Worth every penny. I love buying other ppl's beads when they no longer want them. You get things you'd never get for yourself, and sometimes you'll get things that you'd never seen before.
They look slightly different (even though they're the same pair) because on one side it's black mother of pearl, and on the other it's normal white mother of pearl. VERY very cool. =D
Here are some of the other things I've made:
The second one is of small carnelian pieces (wearing this one today), and the one underneath is catseye (i think - the listing i bought from just said 'gemstone beads).
Below: The one on the left here has white cats eye beads on either side of a faceted clear flat bead, while the one in the middle is actually 4 acrylic pearl beds, (the last one is hiding under the ring). The one at the end is another one I quite like - the beads are very pretty. Clear, with bits of aqua and gold.
Not so sure about the one on the top. White gemstones with filigree balls. Not convinced that it works well.
The pink one is an attempt to make a flower out of briolettes. You can tell that the wire wrapping got a bit messy.
On the right is a ring with a mixture of silver beads.
I was thinking today as I went to work, I really enjoy all this jewellery making. If only because I can now afford to wear something different and unique every day. No need to have to buy something. All the materials and tools are there. I get so much range to play with. It really is very liberating to be able to make whatever you need or want. Much better than having to be at the whim of other people.
To wrap up, here are some pics of all the rings together:
Time to give it a bit of a break? Hrmm.. let me think about it ;)
Here is one of the dodgy ones I made the other night. I made about 3 dodgy ones, but dismantled the other one. I couldn't find the second ring, so I'll keep looking and post up pics later.
The stones are little garnet rectangles. I like this one very much.
Here on the left are two rings - both made from rose quartz. The top two (silver wire) is of one ring, with three rose quartz chips strung together.
For eg, see the two on the left here. This is one that has 4 diamond garnet stones in them. It reminds me of a butterfly. Very cute ring. Unfortunately it only fits on my pinky finger =/
What I really need is a mandrel, which is a stick thingy that lets me make rings on them according to size. At the moment I'm making these rings on various 'sticks' ranging from a lipstick case, to a used cork, to a thermometer. Don't look at me like that! As long as the size is right and it lets me wind them, who cares, right???
.
I started looking online yesterday to see how much a ring mandrel would cost. Friggin' expensive. Some sites are charging as much as $34!!! I think not. I mean, it's just a stick with letters on it....
The one on the right is another version, that I'm not 100% sure I like. You can still see from the last bit of wire that I haven't finished this one yet. Still thinking about it.. =) But the pearl and those silver beads remind of an oyster shell or something seaside-esque.
The pearl one is very simple. But again too large (damn cork). The pic on the far right is the ring sitting on my thumb =/
The last one is of some pink mother of pearl pieces with the metal bead in the centre. It looks VERY funky on. And I used a thermometer, which I think is about the width of my right ring finger. LOL.
Here are all the rings sitting on my left hand so you can get an idea of what they look like on.
And here are the rings sitting on the table so you can get an idea of what they look like off.
I find the silver ones don't look as pretty - mainly (i think) because of the wire. I need to get sterling silver, or some more polished wire. Atm this particular silver it looks very dull. I think the gold ones all look slightly prettier because of the 'shine' that comes from the wire. Strange, because I got both wire spools from the same store, and they're the same brand. Weird, huh?
So if I never said it before, doing a market is a LOT OF HARD WORK!
I've been busy the last two weeks preparing for my market. I have some new shadows and started selling some lipsticks. Organising that, as well as replenishing the stock that I ran out of the market before took up all my time. I guess being constantly sent away on work trips didn't help much either.
I also made new posters to put up and tried to make my table a bit more interesting and enticing to look at:
I had an old camera with me and couldn't zoom out enough to get the whole stall. But you get the idea. I was worried that I had *too* much on the table, and it might be too busy.
I sold NOTHING for the first two hours. I was getting worried! And set up took FOREVER. I had new stock, and was trying to arrange everything nicely.
Those trays that the shadows are in are the cutest. I was in a bargain store and saw some trays with the hearts cut out on the side and went 'omg!' and had to buy them. LOL
My stand was slightly too high for me though. I ended up having to stand on my tippy toes in order to demonstrate the shadows over the top tray. Next time I'll need to get a little step to stand on. *grin*
The Sales Pitch
My first market, I was pretty quiet. I let the customers come to me as opposed to the other way around. I was so grateful that anyone was showing interest. And I was slightly scared too. LOL.
My friend came with me to my second market and gave me all these marketing tips. So I was trying to use all of them on Sunday. She pointed out that whenever I got eye contact I should smile and say hello and offer them a sample of my creams etc. I probably took it to a slight extreme, and pretty much said hello and smiled at everyone who walked by. If they looked like they were interested or their eyes roamed the stall, I would start to tell them that I made everything, etc. And that seemed to usually pique their interest. I'm not sure if I was going a bit overboard with the sales pitch. We all hate those pushy salespeople. Basically I said hello to everyone, did my two liner talk offered some hand cream to try, and then if they were still there showed them what the eyeshadows were like. I could see a few ladies out of the corner of my eye watching as I did the demonstration for one person.
I love being able to finally get my products out there, but I must admit, it's getting harder than I originally thought it might be!
I also had one repeat customer!!! She came by with friends and was telling them how she'd bought a cream for me the month before. She tried out all my new lippies but unfortunately I didn't have a shade for her. Guess I better start making up all the other colours I have and selling them, huh?
The finacee's mother also came by. She was so sweet. She even bought a shadow off me! =D And she didn't just come by and say hello. She sat with me for a little while, wandered off and came back again. She eventually left while I was busy with a customer, so I didn't get to say a proper goodbye.
* * *
Overall I found that it was an entirely different crowd this time around. Last market I sold mainly skincare with a few eyeshadows. This time even though I was pushing both the eyeshadows and the hand creams etc, I only sold eyeshadows and lipsticks. It was slightly demoralising, considering I'd nearly sold out on some of my hand creams last time. Although I will admit it was FREEZING yesterday. Everyone wore gloves, and it probably wasn't very inducive to testing out hand creams etc.
Anyway, if you are in the neighbourhood, I will be at the Colo Vale market this weekend. Boss is away today also, so I think I'm gonna crawl under the desk and catch a few more snooze time. LOL
Whew! So talk about disappearing for ages!!!
I've been so busy sorting out my little business that I've barely had time to do anything else, let alone check out vox. What have I missed out on!?!?!? It hasn't helped that work keeps on sending me away on business trips. I'm out again next week for 6 days going to an annual conference out in the middle of the country.
So updates!!!
The markets went great. I had about 20 customers. About 15 at the first one, and 5 at the second. I was surprised. I didn't expect to sell anything at the second market, coz it's so quiet. But I didn't do bad! Sold a whole bunch of eyeshadows as well as hand creams etc.
Now I just have to hope that they get really impressed with the stuff they bought and come back next market. My worst nightmare is them coming back and going, "this was terrible!" and demanding their money back. *gulp* I'm sure it's all alright. All my testers have been very supportive and I've never had any complaints. But it's still nervewracking. It's one thing to give things away for free with the understanding that it's all still a work in progress. It's another thing when you ask ppl to hand over money.
And then there was that dilemma of pricing. I've been agonising over pricing for months. I've sold a number of things since last year, but they were mainly to friends. And at the time they always offered to pay for the things I made. I made a few Christmas packs for friends, as well as a mother and baby pack last month. Anyway, I made a point of giving discounts to them rationalising to myself that they were my first customers.
I was showing my price list to my cousin two weeks ago who immediately told me they needed to be raised up by 20%. And I was like NOOOOOOOOOooooo!!! And she pointed out to me that if the quality was good, and they're all natural etc, people will pay. Not to mention that I need to pay for my own time, and I only have weekends to do it in. It wasn't like I was charing $50 for a 30ml jar. The fact that some people DO in fact pay that much is another story entirely. So I compromised and raised my potential prices up 10%.
My first sale of the day was for a 30ml speciality cream that has lots of expensive essential oils in them. I must say that I was a bit shocked when the woman willingly handed over her $18.50 without blinking an eye. LOL. I must say, the learning curve between budget-conscious el-cheapo geminisc, and "ordinary people" is very high.
It was also reassuring that I had other people come by and go to their friends, "oh that's reasonable" when looking at my products and prices. Although I have yet to find the Super!Customer who comes along and goes "I WANT IT ALLL!!!" LOL.
One of my friends came to help me out on Saturday, and she helped me out with a sale. A lady and her three daughters came by to look and my friend goes, "I bet this colour would look great on you!" to the teenage girl. We did the whole testing thing (dry vs wet on the hand) and you could tell the girl was entranced. She was trying to convince her mother to buy, but the mum was like "but look at the price!" and dragged her away. I immediately pointed out how long the shadows would last. Twenty mins later they're back and not only did they buy the eyeshadow, but they also bought a hand cream. Score! LOL.
MMU is only just starting to take off here, so it's interesting to see what comments and questions I get regarding the mmu as well as the skincare.
A lot of them come up and go, "oh, I've heard of this mmu... it's supposed to be really good for you.." And I nod and smile and try to push the shadows closer to them.. LOL.
I'm starting to get a lot of requests for foundation. I must admit I'm a bit scared. The eyeshadows, lipsticks and blushes are easy enough. But the foundations? *shudders* Foundation is daunting enough to make for myself, let alone for other people. And we *all* know how picky I am with my own foundation. I think I reformulated my own colour like 10 times. God knows how long it would take to make ones for other people... And then there's the demographic. Most people who visit the markets are caucasion. Not Asian. So it's an entirely new colour palette to boot!
Anyway, I'm very very excited. I signed up to be a permanent stall holder at both markets!! So now I will be selling at two different markets twice a month. I'm toying with the idea of selling at a few more markets but haven't decided yet, since I will only have the other 2 weekends to make everything I need. I'm running low on shadows atm, so I need to make more.
I'm also in the process of registering my business name, getting an ABN and setting up the website.
In case you're curious, I've named my little business "i heart cosmetics"
I thought it up while I was sick in bed in Shang-ri-la, of all places. LOL. Remember when I was on that whirlwind trip in China for a month last year? I had one night of really bad food poisoning, and in an attempt to help me sleep, I kept on thinking up names for the business. I remember the first time I thought of it, and thinking to myself, "hahaha. so girly!! i'm not that girly!!!" but somehow or other the name stuck. I've tried other names, but this is the one I always seem to go back to.
It's actually quite funny because at the markets I had a whole bunch of women who'd walk by and smile at the name etc. And then a few old ladies who'd come by and go "what does that mean?" And I had to explain, "y'know, heart, love....." and they'd go, "oooohhhh..."
The men on the other hand.. they just look at me blankly. I was talking to my accountant last month, and he just went, "right ok." and moved on. LOL.
So what's in my inventory? I'm selling mineral makeup eyeshadows, mineral lipsticks, as well as natural skincare such as face creams, body creams, face cleansers and scrubs, as well as my doggie shampoo. I'm still working on the human shampoo, but I'm getting there!
Slightly hyper atm.
So I've been pretty much incognito from vox for the last week or so. For two reasons.
1. My camera battery died - and I can't be bothered recharging, because we're housesitting atm, and the camera is in one house, while the batteries are in another.
2. I've been busy putting together my cosmetics empire. I booked myself into my local market yesterday, and have been busy over the last month making things to sell. My first market is due on the 26th April. So I've been pacing myself and getting things together.
I've also been ringing around on and off to find out how much it costs to sell stuff in the other markets in the area.
On a whim, I rang up the Bundanoon Markets this afternoon to see what was involved in setting up a stall there.
Bundanoon markets is actually a very popular market. It's in a little hall, but it's always jam-packed full of stall holders. Usually you can't book in advance unless there are cancellations.
And guess what?
I got one!!!!
on the 20th April!!!!
Which is one week before my OTHER market.
And my current inventory is nowhere near enough to be able to do 2 markets within the space of a week of each. I'm also going to be getting on a plane that evening to go on a 2 day business trip. Talk about jam-packed!!!!
This means that I will have to work very very very very very hard this weekend in order to get all my inventory up. Because, get this, the Bundanoon market will have 7 COACHES ARRIVING!!!!
omg omg omg omg omg omg
BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE, BREATHE....
I'm absolutely terrified - but in a good way.
The fact that she happened to just have one spot, tells me that this was meant to be. This is my chance. And I'm so excited.
I've just had to rearrange my business flight to leave from the airport at 7pm as opposed to 3.30 pm. But it'll be worth it. *hopes*
The lady tells me that they used to have a stall there that sold handmade cosmetics and she made a killing. *fingers crossed that that might be me in a week or two*
OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
*dances around in glee*
Can you tell that I'm excited? LOL
Anyway, if you happen to be in Sydney and want to wander out into the lovely Southern Highlands for a day trip on the 20th April, and happen to come by Bundanoon, feel free to drop in and celebrate my inaugural market day with me!!!!
Sorry for disappearing off the face of the vox world lately. I've been very busy lately and haven't had time to update. And when I *do* have time to update, I discover that my camera batteries have run out of power, and I seem to have lost my charger! Grrrrr.
Feeling very frustrated because there's lots of stuff I want to share with you guys that only pics can show! LOL.
Anyway, I opened my email this morning, and what did I see?
Joppa has another free shipping sale. *clutches hair*
Someone save me. I'm currently putting together a ghost cart... Did anyone ever try the Medium #3? For those of you who match Naughty Manx, how does Medium #3 compare?
So what has the disappearing geminisc been up to? Well, this past easter weekend I was busy making things for my stall. I plan to start selling at my local market at the end of April. So I was busy formulating on the weekend. Looking at all my finished products it looks very exciting. And I can't wait to get started! It feels like I've been waiting forever to do this.
I also revamped my foundation, and it seems like a good match - but I won't be able to tell for sure until I see pictures. However based on the lighting in my bathroom and in mirrors whenever I can get near one, it's looking good. And the finish is lovely and smooth and matte.
Got the bf to give me his opinion, and he actually hesitated before he picked my normal side (I wore foundation on one side, and no makeup on the other). His reasoning was a bit odd though.
Me: "which side do you like better?"
Bf: [hesitates] "ummm... they both look good. Maybe.... your left."
Me: "why?"
Bf: "you can see your pores on that side"
Me: "but that's BAD!!!"
Bf: "I know. Your left just seems.. 'brighter' somehow." [shrugs helplessly and then runs away before I ask him more questions"
*shakes head*
I think he meant that my foundation side would've evened out skin tone better, and therefore my natural blush wouldn't have come through as much, etc etc. Of course I could be wrong, and large pores are all the rage...
I tried it on my chest this morning, and while you can see it slightly when you put it on, once you buff it in, it disappears. I'm finding that my foundation also feels lighter than my Manx to apply. Less drag. If anything, it feels very soft and light, but definately not powdery. Finish also seems good. I put it down mainly to there being slightly more coverage. I wish I could find my charger so I could show you the pics.
I also made a finishing powder, but realised that while it worked, it went on slightly white. So I need to reformulate that one. But I'm definately getting there, in terms of what things I do and don't need (another reason NOT to buy from Joppa). But free shipping is soooo tempting!!! *bites nails*
Oh no. I opened my email today to discover a trojan horse sitting in my inbox. An email from Coastal Scents showing their range of new brushes.
Pink handles.
Pink Flat Top Bronzer = $7.49
Pink Duo Fiber Brush = $7.49
Pink Blending Fluff Brush = $1.99
Pink Kolinksy Lip Brush = $2.79 and it looks sooo swish in its silver case.
*sobs*
I don't NEED any more brushes.
Although I eyed my old CS Flat Top this morning and wished I could have the same brush in softer EDM or Lumiere bristles.
And there's this sable flat top with a pink handle... which claims to be super soft. *drools*
*drowns in puddle of drool*
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