There are a myriad of mineral makeup brands out there, and you all know I have a few favorites. I’m here to introduce you to another brand: Fusion of Color Cosmetics.

Eyes: Straw (matte shadow all across lid and up into the crease); To Cool (shimmery forest green shadow on outer third of eyelid); In Vogue (white shimmer shadow used a brow bone highlight).

Bionic wearing In Vogue, Straw and To Cool shadows by Fusion of Color

I’ve used Straw here as a base for my other colors. It would also make an excellent concealer, primer or matte brow bone accent! And my photographs of To Cool (the green) really don’t do it justice. It’s such a pretty shamrock color!

Fusion of Color’s eyeshadows start at $4.50 for a 1gram jar which will give you months and months of color!

Lips: Twitter Butter Lipstick

Mmm.... Twitter Butter lipstick!

Twitter Butter lipstick was very smooth on my lips and provided a sheer wash of color. Nice to wear and very moisturizing! FoC’s lipsticks run $4.25 each (very affordable!).

Blush: Uptown Girl
A slightly shimmery berry that looks exceptionally dark in the jar, but is wearable by even light colored women. Use a bit, and add more until you reach your desired shade. Blushes are available in 13 colors and run $7 each, for 2 grams.

My little Fusion of Color Cosmetics' sample jars

Face: All Over Face mineral makeup in Radiant Georgia. Fusion’s full size mineral makeup foundations run $15 a jar and come in a gigantic variety of shades.

Face highlight: In Vogue eyeshadow (swept down bridge of nose, dabbed in corners of eyes, and on angel’s bow of upper lip).

All face makeup by Fusion of Color!!

I really enjoyed testing out this brand- the foundation wore very well even in the humidity and while working outdoors. And the variety and depth of eye shadow shades is just incredible. I highly recommend checking this brand out. Unsure of what colors you’d like to try? Check out their samples section!

FTC Disclosure: This item was sent to me free of charge in return for an honest review. The opinion in this article is based on my personal experience and was not influenced by any source. I was not compensated for this article. Feel free to read my disclosure policy for more information.

Three Custom Color’s new cream blush in Morning After is a bright, poppy pink with no shimmer. Typical of Three Custom, this blush is perfect for just about any skin tone. While it looks super bright in the compact, it applies sheer and the color can be layered on for gals with a deeper skintone.

Since my skin is fair, I just apply a small fingertip dab on each cheek and then blend it out. The result is a flush as if I just went jogging!

Unlike many cream blushes, Morning After did not clump with my mineral makeup, didn’t settle into my pores, and didn’t cause breakouts.

Three Custom certainly has another winner here in my opinion. And for a quick monochromatic makeup look, try using Morning After on your cheeks and lips!

Morning After cream blush is $22.50 at ThreeCustom.com.

I hope everyone had a wonderful, spookie-filled Halloween last night! Please be sure to post a link to your costume pictures, or feel free to email them to me and I’ll feature them in an article!

And now… onto the beauty, makeup, fragrance and hair care free samples!

• Grab your own freebie of Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner. Use the sample to pack for a weekend trip, or even as a body wash. (Thanks to Bionic Beauty Lisa for scouting out this freebie for us!)
• For the guys in your life, request a free sample of Tropical Breeze fragrance for him when you complete their short contact form.
• There aren’t too many true makeup freebies offered, so when I spotted this one, I was pretty excited! JCPenney is offering a free sample of LORAC’s TANtalizer baked bronzer or Mini Couture Shine Liquid Lipstick in Glam. Download and print this coupon (it’s in Adobe pdf format), fill it out and bring it to your local Sephora store that is inside JCPenney. Please note that this samples not valid at stand-alone Sephora stores.
• Get a free sample of CK Free cologne for men when you print the postcard at Calvin Klein’s website. Then take the postcard into your local CK counter at Belk, Bon Ton, Dillards or Macys to redeem.
• There aren’t too many details about this “promotion” but if you follow Pretty City on Twitter, then tweet about them, they are supposed to send you a beauty-related goodie. Hurry, the deadline is November 2nd (no details on when on November 2nd though…). Once you follow them, and they follow you back, you’ll need to DM your mailing address to them. PLEASE DO NOT send your mailing address publicly!!

Enjoy!

This week’s Bionic Asks…

What’s your favorite cheek color? Do you prefer powder or cream blush, bronzer, cheek stains? And do you wear them everyday?

Since I’m pale, I tend to wear peach tones, like NARS’ The Multiple in Orgasm (my review and photos). I am quite find of cream blushes and sticks for their blendable and long wear. Stains aren’t my favorite, even though I adore them for my lips.

Anyhow, I’d love to hear your suggestions and favorites!

Today’s article comes to you from special guest contributor, Kimberly. Kimberly is the creator Beauty Luxe and the founder of The HyperLuxe Media Network. Feel free to contact her via twitter @Kimberly4Nicole.

The best beauty collections are released during the warmer months. Think about it. When do you see the most vibrant colors and playful products? Summertime is a beauty lovers dream. This season, all the biggies have released amazing collections from MAC’s fierce Style Warrior to Bobbi Brown’s soothing Nauticals. There are so many amazing new products, I can hardly wait to get my hands on them all. This Summer’s makeup must haves are nothing, if not diverse.

NARS Eyeshadow in Tropic

Why It’s A Must Have:
Tropic is a new addition to the NARS family found in the Summer 2009 collection. NARS is known for their incredible pigments. Their rich, brilliant colors are nearly unmatched (MAC gives them a run for their money), and I’m feening for this vibrant teal with silver specks. It’s a perfect addition to any summer makeup kit. Who doesn’t need another nighttime eyeshadow?

China Glaze Custom Kicks

Why It’s A Must Have:

Blue nail colors are definitely hot this season, and there are a ton of gorgeous blues to pick from. But this shimmer-infused dusty teal has just the right amount of edgy appeal for a beauty risk-taker like me.

Diorkiss Gloss in Grenadine Sirup

Why It’s A Must Have:
Pink gloss is a must have for the Summer season. Dior’s newest shade is an iridescent bright pink available in the Color Pop 2009 Collection. Dior glosses always provide intense shine.

Untamed Creamy Cheek Color

Why It’s A Must Have:
The Smashbox Untamed collection has a number of gorgeous neutrals, and this bronzer/blush looks like it will deliver the perfect “sexy summer flush.”

MAC Lustre Drops in Pink Pearl

Why It’s A Must Have:
I’m not exactly sure what you’re supposed to do with MAC lustre drops, but I’m infatuated with the new colors in the MAC Style Warriors Collection. I’d love to get my hands on Pink Pearl and mix it with my bronzer or use it on my lids to get a soft pink glow.

It’s been awhile since I hosted a giveaway here at Bionic Beauty… and since I’m getting ready to kick things off for the big 2 year anniversary next month, I thought I’d start a little early. Here’s your chance to win a fantastic set of mineral makeup from Ferro Cosmetics!

Come Hither Eye Candy eyeshadow by Ferro

The giveaway winner will receive:

• A Crystal Mineral Veil of your color choice,
• A Flawless Face Brush to apply it.
• An Ultimate Foundation (again in your color choice),
• and an Eye Candy eye shadow in the perfect summer shade- Come Hither.

Here’s my look using the Ferro Cosmetics kit…

Bionic Beauty wearing Ferro Cosmetics mineral makeup

To enter, tell me which shade of Ferro Crystal Mineral Veil you like best, and which Foundation color is your best match. Leave your choices in the comments section below.

The Rules: One (1) winner will be chosen randomly from the qualified entrants and will receive the Ferro Mineral Makeup set as detailed above. To qualify for entry, you must follow the entry rules as outlined in this post. This giveaway is open to United States residents only. Please enter only once; duplicate entries will be detected and discarded. Entry deadline is June 22nd, 2009 at midnight USA ET. The winner will be chosen via Random.org and will be announced here on Bionic Beauty and contacted via email. Approximate retail value for the Ferro Mineral Makeup set is $79.35.
*Please note that I will never share your email address with anyone! I only use your email address to contact you if you are a winner. However, if you do not enter a valid email address, you will be disqualified. Please do not post your email in the comment itself… *just* in the email box (for your own safety).

Don’t forget to sign up for the Bionic Beauty blog newsletter (or you can subscribe in your favorite RSS reader) so that you can keep up with the product reviews, beauty and makeup samples and giveaways offered here. Good luck Bionic Beauties!!

Today I wanted a subdued makeup look and I had the hankering for a faux-tan. So out came my Cargo bronzer, and a handful of my samples from Priia Cosmetics.

This makeup look uses…

• Priia’s Skin Complexion Enhancer in Angelic (I call this my Tinted Moisturizer of the mineral makeup world! This is a great way to look unmade up for low-key days. No clumps, no ultra-fake-matte finish, just soft dewey skin. There are 2 shades of Complexion Enhancers currently- $14 each for a HUGE jar or grab a sample.)
• Cargo Water Resistant bronzer
• Silver Bullet satin eyeshadow by Priia ($7.50 for a full size, or check her other colors and get several sample sizes!)
• Pencil Me In eyeliner in Indigo
• Me by Mezhgan tubing mascara (the Look at Me mascara)
• Priia Lipcolor in Raspberry Smash

After applying Priia’s Skin Enhancer to my entire face (I used my Beauty Blender sponge), I added the Cargo bronzer to my upper cheek bones. I also put a bit of bronzer on the bridge of my nose and just a sweep across my chin and forehead.

Eyes got Silver Bullet shadow across my entire lid. As you can see, the color is a translucent silver. It’s a gun-metal pewter in some light, and a brighter polished silver in others. Simply gorgeous!

Then I drew one quick line using the Indigo pencil along my upper lash line and finished with one coat of Mezhgan’s mascara.

I used a lip brush to apply Raspberry Smash. Using a lip brush helped the color look “stained” on my lips, kept application precise, and allowed me to achieve the subdued look I desired. Raspberry Smash is a punchy magenta cream lip color. It would work for light, medium and even darker skin tones who are on the cooler side.

The finished look…

The recently launched Priia Cosmetics is taking mineral makeup land by storm. Bionic-land is fully in love.

Priia doesn’t add extra filler minerals or ingredients. Everything included has a purpose and a reason for being included. There’s no bismuth (that’s the ingredient that makes most people sting or itch or breakout while wearing minerals- and ALL those big boys, Bare Escentuals and Pur Minerals use it) and no parabens. And prices are very, very reasonable.

Of course, nothing is tested on animals and Priia’s brushes are even Vegan! It’s a tough world to find animal-lover friendly makeup brushes that actually perform.

My new samples from Priia arrived recently. Since I have trouble matching my skin tone, I love samples. It makes it cheaper to try different shades and then I can buy a full size when I figure everything out.

All makeup in this look is by Priia (except the mascara)…

• Eyes: Eyeshadows in Birthday Suit and Smoky Plum. Me by Mezhgan Look at Me mascara in black.
• Lips: Pucker Upz lip color in Voo Doo.
• Face: Dusty Rose blush on cheeks, Mix of Skin Complexion Enhancer in Angelic and Mineral Foundation in Rosy Beige 1.

Priia’s foundation applied very easily. I tested with both my Beauty Blender sponge and my Purely Cosmetic’s flat top brush. You don’t need to work hard to buff out Priia’s minerals. Simply swipe downwards a bit. Check out the Priia website for instructions. Rosy Beige was a bit too light for me even though I am pale. I’ll need to check out some other colors.

I also blended Priia’s Skin Complexion Enhancer in Angelic with the foundation. The Skin Enhancer is like the tinted moisturizer of mineral makeup. It gives your skin a soft glow and a soft cover. I typically wear only this on “no-makeup” days. This is my favorite product from Priia.

Dusty Rose blush is a nice warm pink. You only need a dab (it’s incredibly pigmented, use a light hand) so this sample will last me quite awhile. It blended nicely with no sharp lines.

On my eyes, I used the neutral Birthday Suit all over lid, and up past my crease and almost up to my brow line. Then I applied a light coat of Smoky Plum on my lid only. Simple but effective.

Lips are topped with Voo Doo since they are the focus here- everything else stays soft.

In summary, I highly recommend Priia Cosmetics. Definitely two Bionic thumbs up!

If you’ve read my other reviews on Me by Mezhgan makeup products, you know the brand prides itself on multi-tasking products. And their Cheeky {me} blush compact does not disappoint.

Packed with 4 shades of cheek colors and a mirror that big enough to actually be useful (don’t you hate those teeny mirrors in some compacts???). In the center is a peach shimmer, similar to NARS’ infamous O blush. This is my favorite color out of the compact. So I guess that’s why my makeup bag is packed full of peachy-shimmery blushes.  This color is also great for highlighting your nose bridge, chin, and brow bones.

Around the outside is a flushy pink, great for that healthy, just exercised look; a bronzer, and a non-shimmery peach.

Just think of all the possibilities for cheek looks! Contouring, highlighting, bronzing… it’s all covered!

The Cheeky Me compact is available at MeByMezhgan.com for $45.

I know to some women, wearing blush is a staple. Personally, I feel it’s an accessory. Same days I wear it, some days I skip. More often than not, I skip.

Lately, I’ve been on a face highlighter kick, but even then I sometimes skip adding blush to my cheeks. On those days, I usually look at my “look” and figure I have enough color, or that blush really wouldn’t add anything to my overall art.

So for this week’s Bionic Asks…“Do you wear blush as a part of your normal makeup routine?”