adorned with Grace: Defining true beauty

...so if you did not grab one of these special sets before Christmas, get one now before these sets go out of stock! We don't have a whole lot of them left and will likely not be offering these prices again for a while. I've also put all the LE colors on Clearance as I am trying to clear them out to make room for new LE colors that may be up late January/early February. Even if they don't sell out, they will be removed from the website about the time we put up the new colors. Due to their popularity, Regal & Innovative have actually been added to the regular line, but you can still get them at a less expensive price should you decide to get them in the Christmas Edition set if the other colors have not sold out. Don't forget we also have a Get With Purchase deal (see previous blog post) that will run until Jan. 8! Happy New Year everyone! Add: For those of you that were wondering, we expect to get back our Ingenue Petite Dual Fiber Blush & Eyeshadow brushes, Ma...

Wow! 2009 is here in TWO weeks, can you all believe it? I do want to start off by saying thanks to every one of you that have placed an order with us these last couple of months, both with the makeup and brush sets and especially to those of you that have helped spread the word; as you all know, that is how small companies like me grow best, through word of mouth. :) Since I will be out of town almost the entire week of Christmas, my Brush Sale will also be taking a vacation (lol) to slow sales down a bit so I don't run too behind on filling orders when I come back. I will add the Premium Face and Eye brush sets (not many of the Eye sets left though!) back January 1 (Thursday) as well as the couple of Natural Lash sets that were left AND a few other goodies on Clearance. So if you all are just waiting on Christmas bonuses or cash presents before spending any more, this will be a great time for you to partake in this deal if you were unable to this last week. EDIT: I forgot the be...

Per request, I've had a few of you ask me for some arm swatches of the Christmas Edition colors--but before I do that, let me show you the picture from page 204 of the November 2008 InStyle Magazine that inspired me to include some purples that were actually formulated this past spring & summer! As you can see, this is a very simple yet eye-brightening look! You can use either Gifted or Innovative (I personally prefer Innovative due to the awesome golden shimmer in it that seems more eye-catching) on the lid and then Regal (wet-lined) around the outer corners of your eyes as eyeliner. When I first formulated Regal, I laughed at the brightness of it and did not think it would fit in my "Bobbi Brown-like" makeup line, but worn as an eyeliner, I got more compliments from it than any other colors from my line that are huge favorites! Yes, it is totally scary in the baggie/jar, but beautiful on especially for those with brown or green eyes. Now for the swatches (the left...

The new sale is finally up! First of all, be aware that most of the items on sale are a LIMITED STOCK ONLY! So once I run out of the brushes and Christmas Edition eyecolors (including samples), they will be gone! So MAKE sure that if you get an LE sample "a la carte" or in one of the kits, you have some backup colors in case they become out of stock as your order is being processed. Also, I can't allow for any substitutions (with an exception of one brush in one kit) for that reason since we are limited on how many brushes we have of each so we apologize ahead of time for not allowing for that. In addition, most of these brushes will not be restocked until January and the Premium eyeshadow brushes will be available individually then as well. We are just offering them in a special set for the Christmas season this time around. So come check out some of the special brush deals we've got on our Brush page and our Christmas colors under the Limited Edition page ! So thi...

FYI: I will go ahead and extend the Early Christmas sale to this Wednesday, December 3. ** EDIT (12-4-08): Starting the week of Dec. 8, there will be a smaller sale on some brush sets (not Individual brushes however) as well as the Christmas Edition colors that will be up for sale in both samples & full sizes. I've had fun getting everyone's orders from this past holiday weekend together. Most of them should be shipping out tomorrow! (Yes, I've been joyfully working ALL day on this!) I hope you all had a great weekend!

**Quick Reminder: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I will be out of town, so any orders placed after 7:30 a.m. Central Standard time on Wednesday, November 26 may not be shipped out until Monday morning. Sorry for the inconvenience! For those of you that live in the U.S. you know that this Thursday is our annual holiday of Thanksgiving. Many of us think of turkey (except vegetarians like me who eat the “veggie” versions like Tofurky or the much better tasting homemade varieties, lol), football, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, traveling to see family (which is what the DH & I always end up doing), and then of course all the great Black Friday sales going on the day after. But I wanted to take this time to actually express my thanks because despite some of the “doom and gloom” that I end up reading on the Internet or hear on the evening news (especially with the economy), I know there is still a lot to be thankful to God for! I am especially thankful that my little dream of starting ...

And with the same free shipping that I give to my US customers! I was looking at the postage charges for my US & Canadian packages, and they were actually very similar--so I feel kind of funny adding an extra charge for my Canadian friends out there. I do have to spend an extra 2-3 minutes filling out an online Customs Form, but not enough for me to want to charge extra for it. So unless something drastic happens with our Postal system and prices go up significantly, I'll be keeping the free shipping for both US & Canadian orders.

Okay, for those of you that might have possibly been trying to order something from the Ecrater site in the last hour our so and noticed that the "Buy" button was replaced with an "On Hold" button, it was because I was updating my site to include some special sale reductions on our Makeup sets & also a specially-priced lip balm set for gift-giving. (Ecrater does not have a place for me to add a coupon code unless I use Google checkout, but I know most of you prefer PayPal.) Forgive me if this sale seems kind of early for Christmas, but I admit, I like to get a jump ahead of things and just want to pass this on to you all! (I already did half of my Christmas shopping for this year the week after Christmas last year with all the great sales, lol!) But I purposely put my already value-priced mineral makeup sets at an additional 15% discount (EXCLUDING Limited Edition sets) so that you can stock up for Christmas gifts/stocking stuffers. Most women love getting b...

I'm excited to tell you all that the Mascara Guard , Premium Chubby Blender , & Premium Small Pointed Face Brush have arrived, and I was able to get them photographed and added to my Ecrater store. Also, Japan has now been added to the International shipping list! So now I am currently shipping to these countries: Australia, Germany, Japan, Norway, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland. If you don't see your country listed, you are welcome to email me at adorned_with_grace@yahoo.com and we'll see about doing a Test Ship to your country. I believe the only ones I cannot take are Mexico (due to shipping policies) and I believe Italy also has some issues as well? (It seems there are a few MMU companies that have had problems there.) I have also added a *ONE WEEK ONLY* special on some customer favorite neutrals in a special set. Whether it be a super early Christmas shopping , birthday, or a "just being nice" gift, this is a great set to get them--or yourse...

For those that were interested, we have set to arrive mid-to-late next week the Premium Chubby Blender (like a foundation brush with a shorter head), Small Pointed Face Brush, and Mascara Lash Guard. So if you were thinking of placing an order but were also interested in these items, you may want to hold off until these arrive. We will only be stocking a very limited amount this first time around, but we'll make sure to restock within a 7-10 days should they be as popular as our Jumbo Buffer & Flat Top. In addition, we wanted to let you know that we have also added Switzerland & the Philippines to our list of International countries we ship to. Because we have added quite a few new countries this last week, there is a chance we may run out of stock on some of the accessories (especially the Jumbo Buffer) so please be patient with us if it is Out of Stock when you order. Thank you everyone!

I am now slowly starting to add International countries and the ones named above in the title are the first ones! These are countries that I have had testers in and have shipped repeatedly to over the last year with an exception of Australia who I just recently tested out with an inquiring customer and everything went over well. Currently, I have test packages in progress right now going to France, Switzerland, Canada, & the Philippines and once I get word from those countries how long the ship time is and how easily it got to them, I can add them as well. FYI, shipping to Norway, Sweden, & Australia has been about 6-10 days, IIRC (fastest so far--faster than when I mail stuff to Iowa, lol!) and Germany, Singapore tend to take more time due to Customs holding them a little longer for whatever reason. Regardless of where you are at, PLEASE allow at least three-four weeks for your package to get to you. Once I have shipped it off, it really is out of my hands and cannot do anyth...

After working pretty steadily the last few days, I have finally finished adding the items to my store! As mentioned in my previous post, I have added fifteen Premium eyecolors , three Limited Edition eyecolors , three new blushes , a foldable metal eyelash comb , untinted foundation (as well as a set that includes a jar/scoop ), and a "clearance" vegan lip balm (as I had messed up my first batch). As you'll see, the Premium eyecolors also come in specially discounted kits. The Premium line is slightly more expensive that our regular eyeshadows due to the ingredients as well as the packaging (a very elegant looking sqaure jar) but from what my Consumer Panel tells me, they are totally worth it! As noted in the Ecrater description, we cannot allow for substitutions of Premium colors in the *regular* sets (5 for $19.99, 10 for $29.99) but you may substitute one of the regular eyecolors in the Premium sets (2 for $8.99, 4 for $16.49) although you'll have to do the math to...

As I mentioned in my last post, adorned with Grace Minerals will be releasing about 15 new eyecolors (will be from a brand new Premium collection which will be slighly more expensive due to the more expensive ingredients they are made from), 3 LE eyecolors, 3 cooler toned blushes, and an untinted, vegan lip balm. I don't have everything quite ready yet, but I did take some photos for you all of the upcoming colors so you can decide if you want to place an order for any of them when they become available. I do want to apologize because I am really not the best at taking arm swatches; it is part of the reason I don't put any up on my Ecrater site (or for my future site).But to promote these new colors, I thought it would be helpful since some of these will be a different finish (low shimmer & metallic) and you all can decide if it is something worth having in your collection. (I'll explain with their appropriate posts on which ones are fairly true to color and which ones ...

I just wanted to give you all a "heads up" that Monday is Columbus Day; I checked with USPS and mail will NOT run that day. So any orders that are shipped out Friday Morning will likely not get to you until the Tuesday after (at the earliest) and orders placed over the weekend will not be shipped until Tuesday morning as well. Remember this when ordering from other companies, too! Also, I have been busy getting a new collection of eye shadows (18 new colors in more office friendly neutrals and about 1/2 to 1/3 of them low shimmer as requested by many customers) and several cooler-toned blushes as well as a vegan lip balm that I *hope* to have ready to put up on the store by the end of October/early November. For those that order anything early next week AND depending on the eyeshadow & blush samples that you actually purchase, you might just get to sample a few from my new collection. As some of you know, I like to give a couple freebies with each order and really try to...

Okay, you’re thinking how awesome it is that there is now a makeup company dedicated to those hard-to-match olive/yellow skintones…BUT after seeing the adorned with Grace Minerals TM foundation colors, you are wondering where in the world to even start! Well, one of the most basic ways is to hold a bright white sheet of paper next to your face as you look at a mirror in a well lit room and note what undertones you think you see: *If you see a lot of orange you likely have strong peachy undertones and may match the Kindness (Peach) or Grace (Peach, Olive, & Golden) category. *If you see a lot of yellow, you likely have strong yellow/golden undertones and may match Love (Yellow with slight Peach) or Hope (Yellow/Olive). *If you see a green tone, you likely have olive undertones and may match Peace (Neutral Olive), Grace (Peach, Olive, & Golden), or Hope (Yellow/Olive) *If you see mainly a neutral brown, you likely have neutral undertones and may match Faith (Golden Brown) or Pea...

Ingénue Series When I was first planning this business, I really didn’t think I wanted to add brushes to my line until much later on. However, because loose mineral makeup really needs the best tools for application, I thought that I at least needed to have available some brushes that would help beginners “get their feet wet” to using minerals. Especially in the case of eye brushes! Up until I started using minerals , I am ashamed to admit I used those awful foam applicators that most drugstore brands come with. Of course, ignorance is bliss, and I didn’t really know what I was missing…until I started experimenting with the eyeshadow brushes that came with my makeup kits. I was amazed at how well it packed on color, how it did not waste as much product, and how I was able to use them again and again with regular washings. I think the most fun thing for me to realize was getting to use different styles of brushes to get the effect I wanted! So for those of you that have yet to experienc...

So to give you all a little idea of what items you might want to purchase, I’ve decided to do a “Top 10 Faves” from the adorned with Grace Minerals line. These are the products that have gotten the most raves and ones that I am afraid would cause a riot if I ever discontinued them! Let’s countdown backwards and start with…. 10. Celestial Silkening Powder: Would you believe this was kind of an “accidental” product? I only have one formula for my foundation which is a high coverage finish and when I was trying this out on my foundation testers, I sent this “just in case” they though it was too heavy and they could lighten it up. The idea was that they would share with me the ratios and I would adjust the final formula with the numbers they gave me. Well, the majority preferred the foundation as I had sent it, but there was a handful that loved the idea of having this powder to help add a dewy finish as well as decrease the coverage (those lucky girls with perfect skin!). There are also s...

I'd like to write a second WELCOME to the rest of you all who have just been invited to see the temporary online store and our blog! This has actually been up for about two weeks but I wanted to test everything out on a handful of people before going public. For those that are new to adorned with Grace Minerals TM, you can probably skip over some of the posts that deal with the products change of names--it might just confuse you more, lol! But do read the very first post as well as the explanation of the change of names. But if you did order anything at T123 (my "test store") and want to order a color that was out of stock or one you have used up, then definitely keep reading on down! I've come to some road blocks with getting the real website up but because I am ready to get these products out to the public, I thought I'd open an Ecrater store to get it started. I've gotten compliments on how nice the site looks but let me say I can't really take any cred...

**In case you didn't read the prior post, click here to understand the reason for the name changes. The old eyecolors names are listed alphabetically with their new name next to them in RED : Antique Gold - Wisdom Berry Purple- Elegance Black Raspberry- Extraordinary Blue Green Sparkle- Playful Bronzed Mahogany- Exquisite Brown Berry- Sophisticated Chestnut Brown- Captivating Chocolate Roses- Romantic Cool Grape- Adorable Cool Tan Shimmer- Trustworthy Coppered Taupe- Intuitive Creamy Pearl- Pure Dark Jewel Green- Enduring Dark Taupe -Genuine Deep Dark Brown- Tenacious Deep Sea Green- Tranquility Dutch Cocoa- Devoted Earthtone Pink- Virtuous French Almond- Brilliant Golden Copper- Noble Golden Olive- Benevolent Golden Beige -Honesty Indigo Shimmer- Inspiring Lime & Gold- Exuberant Nude Peach- Natural Pearl Latte- Simplicity Petal Pink- Beloved Plum Fudge Mint- Ingenius Rose Bronze- Compassion Soft Cocoa- Charming Sugared Mulberry- Stunning Super Sparkle Gray -Fearless Teal Gray...

**In case you didn't read the prior post, click here to understand the reason for the name changes. FYI, The lower the number (i.e. “1”), the lighter the shade. Currently, most of the colors fall in the Very Fair to Medium Tan range. Colors for darker yellow/olive tones will develop as they are needed. These are the old Foundation names listed alphabetically with their new names listed in red: Golden – Faith G1.0 4.2 G1.5 4.0 G2.0 3.5 G2.5 3.0 G3.0 2.5 G3.5 2.0 Neutral Olive Peach – Charity NOP – 1.7 4.0 NOP – 2.3 2.8 Olive – Peace O1.0 4.2 O1.5 4.0 O2.0 3.5 O2.5 3.0 O3.0 2.5 Peach – Kindness P1.0 4.5 P2.0 4.0 P2.5 3.5 P3.0 3.0 Peach Olive Golden – Grace POG1.0 4.5 POG1.5 4.2 POG2.0 4.0 POG2.5 3.5 POG3.0 3.0 POG3.5 2.5 Yellow – Hope Y1.0 4.5 Y2.0 4.2 Y2.4 3.8 Y2.6 3.5 Y3.0 3.0 Yellow Peachy – Love YP 2.0 4.0 YP 2.5 3.5 YP 3.0 3.0

When I was testing out my products on some of you I got some excellent feedback and really believe many of you helped me to narrow down the colors that are ending up to be some top favorites. :) I know one of the areas of feedback you all gave me was in regards to the name of the product. There are a few of you that may remember that I said not to worry too much about the name because I will likely change them anyway? Well, ALL of them are changing! In running with my theme of “defining true beauty” I really wanted to name ALL of my colors (foundation, blush, eyecolors) with a positive virtue, characteristic, or quality that defines how we are all so uniquely beautiful. The foundation colors are named after those basic virtues that “lay the foundation” of a beautiful sprit… such as faith, hope, love, peace, etc. Most of the blushes tend to name a mood or state of mind like sassy, passionate, or serene. The eyecolors are a little more general but still nouns/adjectives that describe bea...

Welcome! What a joy and privilege it is for me to bring you the adorned with Grace Minerals TM Blog. This Blog will obviously be a bulletin board of sorts to mostly supplement my website and products in regards to any changes, extra photos, and application tips, etc. However, in staying true to my theme of “Defining True Beauty TM ” I won’t just talk about the makeup that helps your physical appearance, but also natural health and beauty topics that also work from the inside out! I believe that true beauty is holistic. No, we don’t all have to look like those red-carpet celebrities but definitely enhance the beauty God gave you! At the same time, beauty doesn’t just stop at skin level. The same skin the cosmetics sit on needs to start from a base of a healthy body via nutrition, exercise, a peaceful mind, etc. Natural health and beauty has really been gaining popularity among many women (hence many of you switching to more products with simple ingredients like Mineral Makeup), and it h...