I’ve been behind on posting gallery looks with all of the moving miscellany going on around here (new space is being completed early next week, eek!) but I’m going to try to get caught up, I’ve got so many beauties sitting in my looks folder waiting to be unveiled…

Here’s some gorgeousness from Melissa… lots of use of the Gothic Lolita Eye collection in these. Wonderful!

Thanks Melissa!!! Click here to read more about these looks and Melissa’s many, many others!!!

We all have much to contemplate as we celebrate the anniversary of another Independence Day. Being in an election year, this one should have special panache. But does it? How many Americans honestly think of the sacrifice and bloodshed that brought this country to independence while they are chowing down hot dogs and potato salad and lighting up sparklers?

I hate polls, but interesting poll on CNN this morning. And I agree. I think that the founding fathers are probably turning in their graves.

(CNN) — As Americans celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, an overwhelming majority say the 56 signers of that document would be displeased at how the country has turned out.

According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, close to 70 percent say that if the signers of the Declaration of Independence could see America today they would be disappointed, while just under 30 percent say the founding founders would be happy with the country 232 years later.

Am I un-patriotic? Why, no. I’m extremely patriotic. I’d say that in the last few years, I’ve more than ever cared more about the twists and turns our country takes, and what “Democracy” really is.

Then why on earth am I reading “The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot”? Quite simply, because our civil liberties and freedoms are being chiseled away little by little and who’s going to stop it? Every day we lose more and more of our constitutional rights. (I never was a fan of Wolf’s first book “The Beauty Myth” but this was recommended to me and looked too interesting to pass up)

Next thing you know, I’ll be re-reading “1984″ by George Orwell. Because that’s where we’re headed.

So on this July Fourth, I celebrate in my own special way. I’m going to finish reading my new book by Naomi Wolf and turn my ire into positivism and activism. Because if we, the people, don’t speak up and act up and try to change things, then nothing will change. Miss Bell has just been feeling somewhat bellicose… when it comes to certain issues. Chuckle, chuckle…

Happy Fourth of July Ladies ( and Gents)!

xoxo

Miss K

PS: I also ordered my HBO box set of the John Adams mini series today. If you haven’t seen this series, I cannot recommend enough… It is exquisitely done and makes you contemplate, “when does one grab their gun and leave behind their wife and children to go and fight for freedom?” This series left me with goosebumps on my arms. Usual great job by HBO…

Hi ladies!!!

A very special impromptu Rocks Eyes sale… from this very moment through midnight EST July 1st…

Take 50% OFF all Rocks Sonic Eyes shadows with coupon code ROCKS50

You must choose your Rocks! eyeshadows from the drop-down menu on the main Rocks! eyeshadow page (not the express purchase page- it won’t work on shadows there!).

Entering the coupon code will subtract half of the cost of each Rocks! eyeshadow that you purchase from your order in a lump sum.

Like all Aromaleigh coupons, this can’t be combined with other coupons or offers, and can’t be applied to previously placed, shipped or received orders.

Have fun, and stock up on Rocks! shadows!

Please feel free to share this great sale!

xoxo

Miss K

Sunday update from Aromaleigh…

I stopped in to check on building progress with our new location yesterday only to find things at a terrible standstill… and so I tell you how slow-as-molasses things move here in Hilton Head. This is the strangest place. I don’t know how people stay in business here. It’s a town where you’ll call an electrician, or a plumber, or contractor of sorts and tell them that you have a job that needs to get done, and you get the following answer “Well, I’m on vacation right now, and I really am trying not to work next week. So I can pencil you in for the week after”. You might go through the yellow pages and receive several of these same calls until you find someone who CAN fix your water heater, or broken window, or what have you… And it’s like this with ALL businesses here! I really do feel like I’m living in an alternate reality most of the time. So now I’ll wait a week for the landlord to return my call, then I’ll call again, and again, and again…

Anyway… our move obviously is not going on time…. and we kind of NEED to move, like now!

But in the meantime, I have almost 50 comments of wonderful color feedbacks on my post about potential new eyeshadow colors to look over (there are some gorgeous suggestions in there, by the way!!!). Please do leave more, if you would like. I love reading over your ideas! Most of them are possible, except for the black lustre. If a shiny black mica was possible, I definitely would be doing it. Unfortunately, black mica- when it reflects light and is shiny- is no longer black. It is gray! There is actually no black mica or (truly) black glitter on the market. Once you treat the surface of mica with oxides and titanium dioxide at different refraction angles to produce reflectivity, it loses it’s black color and becomes grayish. Our smokescreen pure hue is the closest you can get to black while still being gray, and this produces only a soft sheen. We can only add white lustrous or silver mica or other flake interference micas to black to produce varying effects and make it seem like a lustrous black. A lot of the Rocks! shadows are like this.

Now, a topic that is always coming up. We’ve been seriously discussing the potential for offering international shipping again, once we are moved and settled in to our new location. Many changes have taken place with our capabilities to print labels and customs forms with our software, and USPS packaging has become greatly simplified (no more separate boxes for international, no more green customs slips, no more filling things out by hand!).

We receive emails daily from our Emilie Autumn fans wanting to receive Aromaleigh overseas, as well as customers wanting to try our Gothic Lolita collection. And we want to try to find a way to make Aromaleigh available to all of you.

Please let us know where you are, and if you are regularly receiving packages from different companies in the US, please let us know about how you are receiving them, how much the rates are, how long it takes, if you have had delays with customs, what country you are in. Let me know your expectations. If you have had trouble receiving international packages, or if you have had difficulty dealing with companies shipping internationally, let me know what troubles you have had. If it is specific to cosmetic companies, you you feel your feedback would be helpful to Aromaleigh, that’s great-, but let’s not name any names or insinuate anything about any other companies or owners.

As much information as you’d like to provide is always helpful so that I can collect it, organize it and get to work trying to make your makeup dreams possible.

We’ve had a lot of problems providing international shipping in the past (loss, customs delays, customers blaming customs delays on us and badly flaming us on beauty forums because of delays outside of our control) and after a few attempts at providing it in the last ten years have always stopped because it became so troublesome. We’d like to avoid all of those things and try to come to a way to provide international without the hassle and the problems.

Your feedback is welcome!!!

xoxo

Miss K

I get so many comments about how lovely the Le Mysteré shades are… and I agree! These colors are quite lovely if I do say so myself!

If you don’t know what the “Le Mysteré” shades are, here’s a little info from the website:

Also… Le Mystere is here… so you will receive a fourth bonus item in your order!

If your most recent order is #65122 or higher, you’ve received a packet of eyeshadow surprise called “le mystere”.

What’s this extra special bonus? Well, it is a one of a kind, unable to be ever replicated, limited edition eyeshadow treat. When I put on my mad scientist gear and mix and match powders and potions, I am left with plenty of sparkly little extras. I usually discard these. Instead, I am now saving them and purposefully mixing them into special never-to-be-recreated-ever-again shades. Each “le mystere” color is special in that there is a limited number bagged, and then we start including the next number in the series in your orders.

So these gorgeous mystery shades are fun to collect! But use them lovingly, because once your baggie is gone, it’s gone unless you can find one via a forum friend, a swap board, or possibly ebay…

But never fret, because another loving dose of “le mystere” is just around the corner in your next order!

Now, I also know that a lot of you probably have a lot of samples in shades that you might not be sure of, or maybe even are very sure you might never wear. While you can always pass these colors along to a friend, you can also mix them together to create your own “Mysteré” shade!

Here’s an example!

I took these four sample baggies… and shook them up vigorously… to create this lovely cool taupe! Pretty, eh?

You can mix your samples in a jar, or pour all of your samples into a baggie and “squish” the colors together until they are blended. Voilá… there you have it, your very own mysteré samples created from your extra sample baggies. Try any combination of colors… you never know what you’ll get. Don’t like what you end up with? Add a little of this, or a little of that… the options are pretty much endless!

Have fun!!!

xoxo

Miss K

Hi girls… if you’re regular readers, you might recall my post from April 21… in which I let you all know that I had begun my latest beauty experiment… using Retin A.

What my skincare routine been’s missing…

I’ve been using Retin-A .1% for about 3.5 months now, and I am duly impressed with the results. Despite my initial fears, my skin has adapted well to the product, and I carefully followed both my Dermatogist’s instructions (which were a simplified version of those found in the link above supplied by Dr. Kunin, a great article with lots of information about Retin A, Tretinoin and Retinol).

I started off using my Retin-A every third night, with a Retinol product on the in-between nights (I chose Philosophy Booster caps), and then as my skin grew more and more tolerated to Retin A’s effects, I switched to every other night. I am comfortable staying at this regimen, because Retin A increases cellular turnover and exfoliation. My goal isn’t to thin my skin, but to keep it well exfoliated, luminous, evenly pigmented, smoothly textured and free of fine lines and wrinkles, and my biggest goal for Retin-A- to increase collagen production. Retin-A is absorbed deep within the skin where it does this fantastic job.

Have I noticed any, or all of these things? Yes. My skin is noticeably smoother and texture is much finer. Pores are getting smaller and less deep. I didn’t really have any fine lines to start with, but I certainly don’t have any now. My skin is well-exfoliated and has a very luminous, glowy and creamy appearance. I get an occasional blemish, but these rise to the surface very quickly and abate just as rapidly.

The one thing I have not made progress with is the pigmentation around my eyes that was caused when I took those evil BCP’s, Yaz and Yasmin. I developed melasma under my eyes rapidly after taking these pills and it did not go away after stopping. I have tried various products to lighten it… Murad Lighten and Brighten, Lumedia, Bliss Sleeping Peel Lightening Gel, and a few others I can’t recall. My Baby Quasar is also supposed to assist, since it has 4 wavelengths of intense pulsed light- unlike my Marvel Mini which was only an LED. Nothing has worked. And I am convinced that these areas have actually been getting more yellowish.

I went back to the dermatologist for a checkup, and I was right. Retin-A removes the top layers of our skin through it’s exfoliating action, often revealing layers underneath that are sun damaged, or affected by pigmentation, as in the case of melasma. Retin A was uncovering areas of yellowed skin that were previously covered, and unable to be seen- or at least not seen this vividly!

The solution? A prescription fading creme, or in-office IPL. I decided to try the sample of the creme- Epi-Quin (a stronger version of the fading cremes I had been using), and to see if that worked. This hyper-pigmentation has been driving me crazy for a long time, because my skin is SO pale, it just sticks out like a sore thumb. And one day I didn’t have it and the next day it seems like I did. I think Yaz and Yasmin should be taken off the market. $50 per pack birth control pills. The pharmaceutical companies should be ashamed. But that’s another blog post.

Anyway. The Epi-Quin creme has been working very well, with just the tiniest little dab, twice a day. I already am seeing significant fading. Whew!

For a long time, Vitamin C products were my little miracle. They made my skin feel fresh, firm, luminous and like I was making some sort of anti-aging investment for the future health of my skin. Vitamin C products DO all of this. But if I could give you a metaphor, using Vitamin C products is like using regular film in your camera and waiting for it to get developed. Using Retin A is like going digital. You get some sort of instant, measurable results with each use, and each use leaves you wanting more.

But don’t overdo it. More is not better.

Peptide serums are purported to help speed the healing during resurfacing, and help to thicken the skin. A favorite of mine is the paraben-free and pricey but well-worth it Dermaquest Peptide Mobilizer. With the highest percentage of peptides on the market, this stuff really is the next best thing to Botox in a bottle… no fooling. I apply this serum after my Retin-A has been well absorbed, and each night thereafter. One little squirt is all you need, I’ve had my bottle since February!

• Increases healing potential and tissue regeneration
• Aids in increasing skin thickness through the stimulation of collagen I & IV, fibronectin, and glycosaminoglycans in the dermal matrix
• Relaxes muscle contractions which lead to fine lines and wrinkles
• Increases dermal and epidermal hydration
• Enhances the effects of resurfacers, peels and laser treatments



The other reason that Retin-A has been smooth sailing for me? Baby Quasar, baby… this cutie soothes and heals my skin, relieves redness and irritation and keeps my face firm and happy. My Marvel Mini left me in a great place. Then I graduated to the Baby Quasar. I will give a more detailed review of this product soon, but this product is definitely responsible for the success that I have had with Retin A.

Stay tuned for more from me, soon!

xoxo
Miss K

If passed, this law would drive consumers back to the days when they could only choose between a few huge, faceless, nameless big box stores and brands for their cosmetics and personal care products. And fewer consumer choices always leads to higher prices.

Tell Congress you want none of it by reading this Petition and then leaving your comment as your signature to the Petition opposing the draft law.

The Indie Beauty Network is assisting small companies in opposing the draft legislature, but we need YOUR help, and your signature on the petition!

Do you love your Indie Beauty products and mineral cosmetics? Please help Aromaleigh and all of your beloved small, women-owned companies by joining us in signing the petition that Donna Maria has prepared.

Once you have signed the petition, copy and paste this email letter of opposition and send it to Virgil Miller at virgil.miller@mail.house.gov. Mr. Miller is a Professional Staff Member with the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Thanks so much!!!

Petition

We are the owners of small cosmetics companies, and the customers who love their products.

We understand that laws must be in place to protect everyone from unsafe products, but we are outraged by the Draft Legislation that would require small cosmetics companies to pay thousands of dollars a year in registration fees and comply with burdensome paperwork that would serve only to put them out of business.

If passed the legislation would deny thousands of families the ability to earn an honest living, and also deprive consumers of the variety of cosmetics and personal care products available to choose from.

We oppose this law and condemn any companies that support it as being interested only in creating an unlevel playing field where small and family owned businesses will be forced from the marketplace before they even get a chance to start out.

We urge you, as our representatives in Congress, to stop this law which would serve only to make it even harder for families to support themselves. We call instead for a real and meaningful discussion about how Congressional goals can be accomplished without enacting unfair laws that make it impossible for small businesses to survive.

In signing this Petition, we formally request that the Discussion Draft of the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 be marked up so that the legitimate concerns of small businesses and the consumers they serve can be translated into reasonable laws that protect consumers without also killing small businesses by making them pay unfair fees and comply with burdensome paperwork.

We sincerely thank you for your time.

Hi ladies… even with the whirlwind going on around me getting ready for our big move (I wish it was one big all at once whirlwind instead of tons of little intermittent ones!) I’ve just got a serious creative itch… and I think that expending some creative energy would make the next few weeks a little more bearable… I hate moving!

The last collection I blended was the Gothic Lolita Eyeshadow collection and that feels like it was ages ago!

The last time I took requests I got a lot of mentions for variations on browns. Browns with interference, interplay, color highlights and undertones… just lots of interesting fascinating browns, taupes, mochas, fawns, you name it!

What’s your must-have brown? Or other must-have color?

Please let me know, and provide as much detailed information as you please… the more the merrier, words always help me to envision a color!

xoxo

Miss K

Several months ago I posted about the benefits of Fish Oil capsules. These not only are great for your skin, but for many aspects of your general health.

Beauty from the Inside Out…

An excerpt:

I had tried taking fish oil capsules once before, but it was a rather, uh… overwhelming experience. Anyone ever hear of the dreaded “seal burps”? It was unpleasant enough that I stopped taking them, despite the benefits that Dr. Perricone and numerous other reliable sources claim. Things such as: radiant skin, healthy hair, stress relief, relief from depression, metabolism boost, appetite control, lowers cholesterol, improves memory loss, improved cardiovascular health, relief of dry skin, and improves acneic skin conditions. How lucky I was when I found out about enteric coated fish oil capsules! I now take these capsules twice daily with absolutely no unsavory side effects. The caps I take are Nature’s Benefit “Fish Oil Naturally”.

I always like to establish results I’ve had with my various health and beauty experiments, and I’ve got some definite quantitative results that relate to some of the claims of fish oil. I applied for a disability insurance policy last fall and had bloodwork drawn, and then this May applied for a change to my life insurance policy and had the get bloodwork drawn again. So here I had two sets of bloodwork drawn 8 months apart, one before starting to take fish oil caps, and one after taking fish oil caps for approximately 4-5 months.

The results? My cholesterol levels went down considerably! Both my Cholesterol and my HDL Cholesterol levels went down 30 mg/dl. This was a 15% change. To put this into perspective, Cheerios advertises that eating Cheerios every day for 12 weeks can lower your cholesterol an average of 9.1 mg/dl, or 3.8%

I made no changes in diet or exercise… just the fish oil caps. I recently got back into my workout schedule again, but my bloodwork was drawn before that. My insurance agent was so impressed with my results and what I told him about the fish oil caps that he’s going to start taking them also. And so is my husband (and he hates to take pills).

So there you go girls… Fish oil caps, definitely great for your skin, and your heart. Now, if they could just make those darn things easier to swallow…

Hi Ladies!!!

It’s been a slammin’ week here at AL… we’ve been busily buzzing around like bees processing your sale orders and replenishing inventory as we go!

Just a reminder… the sale ends tonight!

So if you haven’t used your coupon code yet, cash in on the sale! We may not have another coupon sale for a little while because we’re about to move into our new headquarters and every last jar, table, chair, computer, shelf and sifter seal must get packed and moved to it’s new home in the next few weeks then we’ve got a lot of organizing to do… This is a major move and we’ve got lots of glorious wide open space waiting for us!!!

I will post photos of the messy process to satiate curious minds as we go. I know I sure an curious… LOL.

I’ve gotten some of my Etsy goodies… and ordered some more, too! You’ve got to feel good about shopping on Etsy, I must repeat… and I am shopping with no guilt these days (the BEST kind of shopping) as I’m a closet recycler. When I get tired of things, I simply list them on Ebay, sell ‘em and then fill up my PayPal account and start again. Thank goodness Etsy takes PayPal!

Right now I am waiting for this new red dress and two new necklaces!

The red dress is from Wildewear, whom I mentioned in a post last week and received a dress from early this week. Their stuff is great, I highly recommend!

Once the sale is up I’ll be back to regular blogging. I’ve got TONS of gallery photos to add, as well as updates on Retin A, the No!No! and some other stuff…

Stay tuned!

xoxo

Miss K