Product Review: Fresh Minerals

Last year for the holidays I got my mom a starter kit from Bare Essentials. Everyone was talking about mineral makeup, and I knew she'd love it, and I was right. She loved it, and wanted to share her newfound love for all mineral makeup with me by getting me this Venus Kit from Fresh Minerals.

I've been working with it for about a week now, and I just have to say that there isn't a single thing wrong with this product. The kit includes a regular foundation, a radiant foundation that has a bit of shimmer, a bronzer, and a finishing powder. The three included brushes are of very good quality, although I can't help but wonder why they didn't include a kabuki brush, which seems to apply mineral foundation so much better. But the three brushes they do have are nice.

So what's my beef? Well, it's not with this line specifically, it's more with the whole powdered mineral foundation trend as a whole. I think I just prefer a bit more coverage than a powder can give me. I know that these powder foundations are supposed to be "buildable," but the amount of time it would take me to buff a good coverage would be excessive, when I can just reach for my liquid foundations in about a quarter of the time.

While I'm sure mineral makeups are great for skin, and gives a nice, natural coverage, I just require more out of my makeup. I'll be keeping this and using it for my no-makeup days, though. It just won't be an everyday player in my stash.

Crazy Clearance at Cosmetic America

Wow. I'm browsing the clearance section of Cosmetic America, and you won't believe what I'm finding! These prices are crazy!



Estee Lauder Defining Beauty Set, regularly $30, now $13.95.



Dr. Brandt Lineless Essentials 4 Piece Set, regularly $100, now $65.

You know you still need sunscreen. Clarins Advanced Protection Sun Care Sun Wrinkle Control Cream Ultra Protection SFP 50, regularly $26.50, now $15.95.

There is plenty more. I'm off to do some bargain shopping!

Betsey Johnson to Remake Vintage

Just saw the most exciting thing over at BetseyJohnson.com! Betsey is reviving some of her vintage pieces! Can you get over it? Just look for this label that you see here, and know that it is a revival of some of the great stuff Betsey is known for.

I was surfing around on the site, and believe me, there is so much fun stuff on there that I don't even know where to start, but I'm super excited for the vintage pieces, and you know I have something picked out already.

Graffiti Tunic, $295. I completely can't afford it, but a girl can dream, right?

Daily Dose of Coffee's Best of 2008

I have to say, I'm happy to see 2008 off, aren't you? It was a good year, but not the best, and I'm excited to see what 2009 has to offer.

However, we've discovered some great new products this year, and this is my annual roundup of all things cool in 2008 here at Daily Dose of Coffee, in no particular order.

Best New Hair Treatment
MoroccanOil Masque. It's not cheap, but worth every penny!

Best Palette
Urban Decay's Deluxe Palette - all their deluxe shadows all in one place! Perfect!

Best New Skin Care
L'Oreal's Skin Genesis serum, but really the entire line. I have been using the serum and moisturizer ever since I wrote about it.

Best Fragrance
Bond No. 9 Lexington Avenue. This was everything I wanted it to be. I'm rarely disappointed in Bond.

Best Lash Product
Make Up For Ever's Lash Fibers. It's a staple that I discovered this year and I won't be without it again.

Best Body Scrub
Soap and Glory's Flake Away Spa Body Polish. What do you expect from the founder of Bliss?

Best TV Show
HBO's True Blood. Thankfully they have ordered a second season so I can follow the goodness of the southern vampires. Which isn't really necessary since I read all the books in like, a week.

Best Travel Destination
I didn't do as much traveling this year as I did last year. We will be changing that in 2009, so the winner for this is still New York City, for my visit in February, 2008.

Best Music
This one is so hard! So much good music this year! The best album I purchased was Adele's 19. My favorite song of the year is probably Shake It by Metro Station.

New Years Eve Look: Tinte Cosmetics

Did you all have a great New Year's Eve? I did, although it was pretty low key. I made dinner for some friends, and went to two parties. By the end of the night I was singing Gimme Shelter on Rockband, so I think I ushered in 2009 quite well.

I meant to post these photos earlier, but I wasn't feeling the greatest yesterday, so they didn't get up. But they are here now with a little mini review for you.

I used my Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Matifying Foundation over my Clarins Primer. I used NARS Blush in Crazed as a contour color by using my fingers to blend a small amount of the color under the cheekbones, then brushed some Flirt and Tease blush by MAC on the apples of my cheeks.

On the eyes, I did a base of Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, and filled in my brows with my Urban Decay Brow Box.

Then I covered the whole eyelid with the best shadow for New Years Eve EVER, Urban Decay Midnight Cowboy Eyeshadow. I don't normally wear anything with glitter, but this is perfect for the occasion. The glitter sparkles fall everywhere (don't even try to fight it) and make for a fun and festive face. Next, I took a new pigment that I bought last year and hadn't even opened yet, Golden Lava by Tinte Cosmetics. I used some contact lens solution as a mixing medium, which worked really well! This was applied over the entire lid and just past the crease, going upwards toward the outer corner of the eye. I took my blending brush and blended it well into the Midnight Cowboy, then used an angle brush to line the eyes with more of the Golden Lava. I also applied a heavier coat of the Golden Lava in the crease to help define the eye, then blended again.

Then I applied my MAC 35 Lash eyelashes and used an angle brush with mixing medium and pigment to line the upper lids again, blending out the lash line.

These pictures don't really do the Tinte Golden Lava pigment justice. It's a very dark color, but has a gorgeous almost olive-green gold tint to it. I found it very easy to work with, and comparable to that standard that everyone uses, MAC. Tinte's was about four dollars cheaper, although they don't have the color selection MAC has, it's still an excellent value. I'd definitely repurchase.

I hope everyone has a fantastic new year, and I'm looking forward to bringing you more Daily Dose of Coffee in the coming months!

Tuesday Book Review and Giveaway!


If you ever needed a "go to" book about makeup, I think Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro might just be it. It's really that good.

I actually learned quite a bit from this book, especially when it comes to color correction. Bobbi takes you through each makeup product, and explains what it is, how you use it, and gives you step by step directions and photos so you don't mess it all up. Neato!

Along with that, she discusses skincare, special makeup applications, bridal makeup, and her own 10 step guide to a basic look.

And for those of you interested in breaking into the makeup artist biz, there is a complete chapter for you too, full of helpful information as well as a who's who in the beauty industry.

Sounds great, doesn't it? Yes it does. So I have five copies to give away! Enter now through January 6 for your chance to snag a copy. US residents only, sorry about that! Good luck!

Poppy Headband

Poppy Headband

Oh my. I do love my poppies, plus I love Etsy. Two loves combined for less than $15! Who doesn't need a huge red poppy in their hair?


Post Holiday Shopping: Bliss

Bliss World, LLC
There are two things I love in this world: after holiday sales and Bliss. Check out some of the goodies available through Bliss for a stupid price:

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Napoleon Perdis Palette Patrol, $16. Includes 3 shadows, 3 glosses and 2 blushes in versatile shades, plus 3 application brushes.


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Bliss "scent"-ral Park Set, $25. Includes naked body butter, lemon+sage body butter, vanilla+bergamot body butter, and a bliss tote.


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FHI Nano Salon PRO 2000 Hair Dryer, $99. Previously a ‘pro only’ tool, this dryer’s Nano Fuzeion™ Technology combines three kinds of nano know-how to max moisture, detox your ‘do and banish bacteria—not to mention far infrared heat to keep strands from ‘sizzling’ and tourmaline crystals to enhance the moisture-maxing ionic effect. Ultra-powerful motor with two speed settings, three heat settings, and cool shot button. With diffuser and concentrator attachments.

There is a lot more, so head on over there and check it out!

NARS Cosmetics Spring 2010

Total Beauty

About Me

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Meredith Edwards-Cornwall is the founder of online lifestyle websites RetrodivasBeauty.com and RetrodivasCloset.com. She is also known as @retrodiva on Twitter. She specializes in drinking large amounts of espresso, shopping, and enjoying social media. In all of her free time she writes for StyleBakeryMom.com twice a week, and does various other freelance gigs involving writing, designing, and generally being awesome. While she believes that success is indeed a job in New York, she currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her husband, two children, and two cats and has hung on to her day job.

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