bath & beauty

Natural Mineral Makeup by Madison Street Beauty

by MissMalaprop on January 13, 2012

I recently ran out of blush, and was searching for another mineral makeup blush that would work with my SUPER pale skin and not make me look clownish. Somehow in my search on Etsy, I discovered Madison Street Beauty, which specializes in handcrafted 100% natural mineral makeup. I ordered a sample size of their Pale Peach – it arrived super quickly, and I love that you can order inexpensive sample sizes first. (Honestly this shade is pretty light, even on my ghost white skin, so I might try the Peony shade next time.)

I’ll definitely be back for eyeshadow though – they have an AMAZING selection of just about any color you could want. I can tell by the blush that anything I order from them will be excellent quality, plus this video review on YouTube illustrates just how amazing some of these colors look on all skin types. Here’s another great makeup tutorial which uses a bunch of different eyeshadow shades by Madison Street Beauty so you can see how they look on a real person.

You can shop online in their Etsy shop for natural mineral makeup by Madison Street Beauty, or check out their Facebook page for occasional discounts and giveaways!

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Wickedly Chic’s Indie Picks

by MissMalaprop on September 1, 2011

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My friend Liz of Wickedly Chic is just as passionate about indie businesses as I am, and she always does a great job of discovering and promoting some of the best. She just sent me a list of some of her current faves, which I thought were too fun not to share with you!

A handcrafted tote bag, made just for you in your choice of fabrics, by Seat of my Pants.

All natural, sulfate-free and paraben-free bath and body products by Beecology, plus organic aromatherapy bath gels, body lotions and more by Golden Earth.

More styles of hoop earrings and other jewelry than you can shake a stick at, all crafted by a variety of U.S. and Canadian artists, available at Happi Hoops.

Ridiculously fun t-shirts and accessories, for guys, girls, kids and pets, created by Crywolf Clothing.

Handcrafted jewelry designed by June Beach of Beach Haus Designs.

Custom monogrammed spa robes, perfect for bridesmaid gifts, made by TRN Designs.

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New in the Shop: Funny & Sarcastic Greeting Cards by Flytrap

by MissMalaprop on August 1, 2011

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I’m so excited – I just added one of my favorite indie brands to the shop: the line of funny & sarcastic greeting cards by Flytrap. I’ve featured Flytrap here a few times before over the years, and I’m so pleased to make these cards the newest addition to my shop! You can check out all of the other new arrivals here. As usual, I have plenty more goodies on their way, waiting their turn to be added to the shop, but I’ve recently added plenty of new handmade jewelry and a couple of new soap scents by Sweet Olive Soap Works:

Skeleton Cameo Necklace

Satsuma & Mint Soap

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BirdProject Soaps: Biodiesel Glycerin Soaps for BP Oil Spill Cleanup

by MissMalaprop on May 30, 2011

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Some of you might remember last fall when I posted about the Kickstarter campaign for this great project to create biodiesel glycerin soaps to benefit organizations working for BP oil spill cleanup. Well, not only did the BirdProject get funded via Kickstarter, but now I’m also involved in my own small way, stocking BirdProject soaps in my shop!

A few weeks ago, I went to the home studio of the person behind BirdProject, artist Tippy Tippens. (And yes, that’s her real name, she was named after Tippi Hedren, the star of Hitchcock’s The Birds! It’s all come full circle!!) Anyway, Tippy shared with me her studio space and the process of how the birds are made. Tippy has a background in industrial design (her other project is MATTER Design for Social Change), and she crafts each of the ceramic birds herself:

The pictures above show her workspace where she crafts each tiny ceramic bird. The last photo is a whole bunch of finished ceramic birds, ready to be delivered to my friend Emily of Sweet Olive Soap Works so that they can be inserted into the lovely soaps! Tippy designed and made a special bird shaped mold for Emily, so that the soap can be poured into the big bird shapes, with the little ceramic birds placed inside, and then the soap cures around the tiny ceramic bird. Here are some of the molds that Tippy created in order to make the soap mold for Emily:

This is Tippy’s helper:

And this is how the finished product looks once Emily is done with her part!

I’m so happy to be helping spread the word about this great project and sharing these BirdProject soaps in my shop. Not only does the soap smell amazing (a delicious Rigaud cypress scent – reminiscent of Louisianan bayous!), not ONLY does the soap come with a little ceramic bird keepsake inside, but 50% of profits are split between two great organizations helping with BP oil spill cleanup and restoration, Gulf Restoration Network & International Bird Rescue.

Tippy was also just in Austin, TX at the Renegade Craft Fair selling the BirdProject soaps – so some of you Texas folk may have seen her there!

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Name the Next Organic Eyeliner Color by Johnny Concert!

by MissMalaprop on February 16, 2011

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I wrote about the eco-friendly handmade cosmetics by Johnny Concert here last year, and now owner Joanna has asked me for a little help in picking out a name for one of their newest organic eyeliners, which will be coming out this spring. Joanna writes, “I would absolutely love for your creative indie inspired readership to pick a name for our shimmery lilac color.”

One lucky Miss Malaprop reader will get to name this next shimmery lilac color and be the first to own it! Just reply in a comment to this post with the name you choose and why. As the winner your new color and name will also be credited on the Johnny Concert website.

Here’s how it works:

1. Head on over to www.johnny-concert.com
2. Check out their current colors and names to get a feel for what they’re looking for (they’ve got a very edgy, rock n’ roll aesthetic)
3. Tell us in a comment what this next color, pictured above, should be named

This is a worldwide contest and you may enter as many times as you’d like! Winner will be notified 2/28/2011.

The winner from this contest will be notified on Johnny Concert’s Facebook and Twitter pages, so make sure to add them. (Plus if you check out their Facebook wall right now, you can find links to a couple of the other upcoming spring eyeliner colors!) You can also check out Joanna’s personal beauty blog, Beautypunk, for more green beauty and personal style tips.

So tell me – what should this eyeliner color be called?

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Guest Post: DIY Valentine’s Day Gift – Heart-Shaped Soap!

by MissMalaprop on January 30, 2011

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Valentine's Cookies, photo by Aine D on Flickr

Thanks to writer Maria Rainier for this great guest post with her tips for an easy DIY Valentine’s Day gift idea – heart-shaped handmade soaps!

You don’t have to go down to a specialty store or Whole Foods to find cute, aromatic, moisturizing hand soap. Make a few bars yourself and imprint them with sweet messages for a cheap, easy, but heartfelt Valentine’s Day gift for him or her (everybody loves to smell good, right?).

Things You’ll Need:

- Nonstick 9” square pan
- Heart-shape cookie cutter
- Glycerin soap (scented or unscented, it’s up to you)
- Spray bottle full of rubbing alcohol

Optional:

- Food coloring
- 1 tbsp almond oil
- tsp vanilla extract
- tsp strawberry extract or cinnamon oil

Directions:

You can get glycerin soap at craft stores and some grocery stores like Whole Foods. With an inch-high cookie cutter and 2 pounds of glycerin soap, you’ll make 16 hearts.

1. Break or cut the soap into small chunks and microwave them in a glass cup until melted. Stir, adding food coloring (think pink for Valentine’s), almond oil, vanilla extract, etc. Use all of the above for a strawberries and cream scent to your soap.

2. Pour the liquid into the pan and spritz lightly with the rubbing alcohol (this will get rid of bubbles). Leave it alone for an hour or two so it becomes solid at room temperature. Stick it in the freezer after 2 hours for 10 minutes.

3. Prepare a clean cutting board and flip the pan upside down so the soap falls out. Use the cookie cutter to cut heart shapes (pull the cutter out with needle-nose pliers if it sticks).

4. To go the extra mile, grab a few letter stamps from the craft store — just enough to spell the typical Valentine’s Day messages like “Be mine,” “Love,” XOXO,” and the like, or get more personal if you want. When stamping the letters onto the soap, make the letters even by taping them together beforehand. Apply light, even pressure when imprinting.
Find a ceramic soap dish at the thrift store and tie a ribbon or twine around it, topping it with your soaps on Valentine’s Day!

Thanks for this easy to do tutorial Maria! For those of you too lazy to do it yourself, there’s always these fun New Orleans inspired handmade soaps!

About the author: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where recently she’s been researching the highest paying degrees versus the lowest paying degrees. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.