Fuschia Mineral Makeup : my two pence and pics.

I know there was a little hoo-haa over the practice of "Private Labeling**" and I am still unsure exactly how I feel about it. But I have had a good play with the bits that Fuschia Mineral Makeup sent out as part of their Blogger Call and I have formed my own opinions, some good, some bad but most importantly these are my own.

I prefer ingredient transparency, ie I like to know what is in the stuff I may be putting on my face. And so I took the time to email Gillian Moore to ask the question: Do you PL*?

Gillian, who is the owner of the brand, was more than happy to answer my questions, and she was wonderfully frank with me in her reply:

When Fuschia started, Gillian did indeed Privately Label*, she didn't have the means nor the capital to produce her own products, but she knew that is where she wanted to get to at some stage. As soon as she had enough capital, she started producing her own cosmetics, mixing and filling empty containers with her own formulations.
She also confirmed that with certain products, it isn't possible for her to locally produce these products (it is expensive to produce a small batch of product that isn't in high demand: factory floor space costs money) and so she does still engage in a small percentage of PL. Gillian did however say that she is currently in talks with Enterprise Ireland to purchase more machinery to allow her to manufacture (produce) all of her own product and hopes to have everything in place to do so by the end of 2015.

She did say that she thought it a little strange that new companies starting out did seem to all buy from the same manufacturer, but I have to say that after thinking about it, I'm not surprised at all. The products produced for PL are generally of a fairly high standard, and the public recognise the packaging and so are willing to pay for the product having seen favourable reviews.

As it goes, I appreciate Gillian's honesty. The Fuschia Factory is based in Drogheda, which is close to my adoptive home town, and I am willing to support the brand and let you know which of the products floated my boat, and which just didn't. Afterall, we are all entitled to our opinions.

I'll start with the things that I quite liked:

Fuschia Mineral Makeup MYO (Make Your Own) 5 Pan Eye Shadow Palette (€25). While I didn't actually get to choose my own colours, I do quite like the colours the team at Fuschia chose for the press packs, mostly neutrals and warm colours, perfect for easy eye looks for Autumn. The shadows aren't overly buttery, but they apply quite nicely and I found that you do need to work a little bit harder to get the lighter colours to show up as a dry swatch, like you can see on my arm. I don't use eyelid primers, its an extra step I don't often have time for and I was worried that these would be gone by lunch time. But they lasted through me standing around at the kids Rugby practice, an epic hayfever attack, lunch with the inlaws and a trip to the playground (cue another round of streaming eyes). I did have a bit of creasing, but all in all the colour was still there, despite all my rubbing/dabbing at my eyes with a tissue. My eyeliner and mascara were gone though...

Yes, I understand that there are cheaper alternatives out there, but if you are looking to build a custom mineral eyeshadow palette with colours that YOU like, then €25 isn't too bad.

Fuschia Loose Mineral Eye Dust in Bliss (€12.95) took a little time to win me over. Initially its a gorgeous multi-tonal (bronze-gold-copper-brown) glitter based pigment, but then you try to get it out of the 3 hole shaker thingy. Its nearly impossible. I do know that most pigments mess EVERYWHERE even before you open the lid, not with this. The pigment is really buttery, so buttery its a struggle to get it out of the shaker. But when you do get it out, it is GORGEOUS! It looks best on its own, over a bit of primer to really bring out the warmness. Rich champagne is how I would describe the colour. And I have taken to wearing just Bliss, all over my eyelid, blended into the crease.

Even though this is more buttery than butter, fallout is a bee-otch, and its glittery, so its best to do eyes first and then to your foundation. Its pricey, but it will last you aaaaaaaaaaggges, as a little goes a long, long way...

Bliss all over my eyelid... bliss all up in my mind...

My other favourite is their Lip Liner in Eggplant €12.95 . While it is soft enough that it goes on easily without pulling, it is hard enough to keep its point, making lining lips and getting a clean line much easier than with a super soft formulation. This deep maroony colour is on-trend for Autumn-Winter 2014, and it looks pretty good smooshed into lips with a little slick of LRP Cicaplast Lips over the top. It is a little dearer than I would like, but I have used it 4 times, and I haven't had to sharpen it yet, so this Fuschia Lip Liner will also last a looooooonnnnnggggg time.

Fuschia Classic Matte Lipstick €13.50 in Vamp is a bit of an odd muffin. Billed as a matte fomula, I think this is more of a satin finish, I don't get the matte finish at all. I do love the dark berry-maroon colour though: its very Vamp. Longevity is great (but its is a bit drying nothing a bit of cicaplast can't sort). I'll be using this on Halloween. I kind of like it, but there are cheaper, less drying options out there.

I am on the fence with the Brow Wax Kit €15. I got the shade Taupe, which (according to the website) is the darkest of the 3 available. It comes with a mirror and a little brush (in the compartment under the actual product) and the powder is quite a good colour in that its not red based, so its not too warm. But I am not fond of the wax. Its very odd... I can't get it off the brush and onto my brows. I don't know why.... I don't know how. But I just can't get with the wax. Good thing I don't really use it. This is mostly a miss for me, you can get better brow products for less.

Something else I could take or leave is the Fuschia Lip Lacquer €16.50. Love Affair (bottom swatch) is a cool mauve. And the formulation is OPAQUE. You able to get a light wash of colour if you are careful, but it is really nice when you get a proper slick of colour. Party Girl is a great Bright Pink, the perfect summer colour.

The Fuschia Lip Lacquer doesn't really set and it doesn't really stain and because of this it is very very easy to get this EVERYWHERE. No mooshing together of lips here, because it will go outside of your lipline very quickly. Don't apply this willy-nilly either, because too much will really be a gloopy mess: Less is More with these. While it feels great on your lips when you first apply it but after a while I feel that it is quite drying and I am left looking for my lip balm. And because this doesn't set, you need to re-apply frequently. Its mostly a miss.

Wearing Bliss all over my eyelids and Love Affair on my Lips.

The bits that I just didn't get on with were the Primer and the Highlighter. The Primer goes on like you'd expect, but didn't particularly make a difference to keeping my Foundation on. I have combo skin, and I found that it made me feel like a bit of a greaseball after an hour. The shimmer bits don't help. Dry skin types might get on better with this...

The Candle Glow Highlighter €25 is much loved by some bloggers, but I just couldn't get it to work for me. I struggled to get it blended and I ended up with a streak of glitter (very pretty goldy glitter) on my cheekbones. Its too much faff for me. I have a sneaky its just me though.

Fuschia havae 2 stores (Drogheda and Swords) and are stocked in a good few salons throughout the country. Or if you want to order with no fuss, give the girls a call or order online.

What do you think? Have you tried Fuschia?


**Private Labeling  : products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand.