Dipping in to dazzle!

Hi Pretties So I have been meaning to do this post for ages but for some reason have never got around to it but it has to be done. I have to pay tribute to some beauties from Barry M. The Dazzledusts! You may remember a rave in one of my first posts. It was a top five one. Here is what I said about the ultimate dazzledust, Mushroom 51. 'Yes, you may say it is neutral and yes, you may say you're playing it safe because you can never go that wrong with neutral and you would be right but this colour is truly gorgeous on the eyes and what is more, it looks great in the pot too. It is subtly alluring with its little sparkly flakes. It twinkles and almost winks at me in the pot, whispering 'put me on, put me on'. OTT but true all the same. I like the way that I can not pinpoint the exact colour of 51. Purple, grey, brown. Everytime I look at it, it looks a little bit different. The best I can say is it seems good for this time of year, earthy. It reminds me of stewing skies and the changing colours of leaves. And like all dazzledusts, its intensity can be played up and down. A great day look then add a little more and maybe a flash of something sultry and it becomes the perfect smoky eye or it would be if my application, was a little more skilled but that is why I am here. Two warnings though! Firstly, the fallout can be messy so I like to deal with my eyes before I start the rest of my face. Secondly, these dazzledusts are relatively cheap (I think mine was around £4.50) and addictive. When I discovered them, I must have brought twelve in as many days.' http://essjay23x.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/my-top-five/ That was then, this is my collection now.  Back left to right PinkGold 3, Bright Blue 5*, Khaki 14, Baby Blue 20, Cherry 34, Tan 39?, Bronze 44, Mushroom 51, Chocolate 53, Lilac 59, Winter Berry 88, Silvery Black 91, Purple 926 Limited edition It is true. I have brought a few dazzledusts (There are a couple of fine glitter dusts in there too*). I love them. I'm not sure why as application is not always so easy but they make such an impact. I believe you can apply them dry or wet. I have always applied them dry but wonder if it would be easier to use a wet brush so the dust has something to stick to. However once I have cleared any fallout, I do believe that these dusts create a much stronger eye look compared to some of the more conventional high street shadows. I tend to prime my eye with something eg.Erase Paste concealer, a Benefit cream eye shadow or occasionally a MAC paint tube and the look tends to last all night. I have also worn dazzledusts in the day. Sometimes if I'm been lazy and only want to wear one colour on my eyes then using a dazzledust (such as Mushroom or Chocolate) instead of a powder shadow can just give a mono lid slightly more impact. I find dazzledusts more messy and timeconsuming when I'm doing a look with more then one. It can be difficult to blend symetrical balanced and matching eyes but I still use dazzledusts because the final look always makes such a statement! And because dazzledusts do talk for themselves, I'm going to give you a warning. As much as I adore my Max Factor Lash Extension Effect Mascara which grooms and defines so well, dazzledusts are heavy and I find that when I'm wearing a dazzledust look then I do, indeed, prefer more of a volumising mascara such as the L'Oreal Double Tubes even if it does clump. Anyways. You know that I adore Mushroom. Here are some of my other faves. Chocolate 53 A very deep brown which reminds me of Sable and Embark from MAC or the dark brown contour from Big Beautiful Eyes (Benefit). I love to smoke it up when I am going out and to do so, I use Mushroom to colour the lid and then some Chocolate to contour. This is supposed to be remniscent of a Cheryl Cole smoky eye (See MakeUpAdikt's tutorial here http://www.barrym.com/make-up-tutorials/video-tutorial.asp?vid=85). Chocolate can also be used alone and it will simply make the eyes smoulder. Bronze 44 Now that summer is here, I find myself watching a lot of the bronze eye tutorials on You Tube but I have to be careful being so pale as it can look too wrong or trampish on me so I've latched on to a new habit of using the bronze dazzledust to contour. I use it in the way that Lollipop26 uses MAC Museum bronze pigment in her bronzed eye look http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpRsm8Xr_T4 . Using a subtle neutral powder shadow for the lid keeps the look toned down and pretty rather then orange and garish. Although when I was looking at my dazzledusts today, I noticed just how orange this bronze is and I'm thinking I might like to try using the Tan 39 in the crease instead. I'm not sure I've used this one before but it looks so pretty and shimmery. Baby Blue 20  This colour is absolutely divine in the pot and makes me think of the sea and sunshine. If you do have good technique or time for careful application, this looks gorgeous when paired with a Bronze contour. This looks phenomenal on my little sister. She is blond, blue eyed and has a warmer complexion then me but I still think most people could work these two colours together to some degree. Just build the colours up very slowly. Use a light hand to find the right balance or maybe you find it'll work better to use the bronze as the main colour and the Baby Blue to line the lower lashes or something. Anyhow for me, these two colours just seem to team perfectly for summer. Here is a quick glimpse of what they looked like when I tried the combo out. So have you got any dazzledusts? What are your favourites, am I missing any gems? If you're a stranger to Dazzledusts, will they now be added to your wishlist? X